Search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click marketing (PPC) help Illinois businesses by making them visible on search engines. Customers navigating onto websites is important for businesses because once they are on websites, it is easier for potential customers to purchase products, sign up for newsletters, or ask for appointments. In today’s business environment, customers are looking for real estate agents, financial planners, insurance companies, or agricultural providers on search engines.

Before your website is visible on search engines, a search engine needs to recognize it as relevant to searchers. Search engine optimization is a digital marketing strategy that looks to make changes to a website, so Google or Bing pushes it to the top of organic search results based on the relevance of your website to people looking for businesses that provide your services. Some of the most important factors that a search engine analyzes when they devise their rankings are:

• Your website’s content
• Which high demand keywords your business is utilizing in its content
• Which websites are linking back to yours
• How responsive and user-friendly your website is

Pay-per-click marketing is used in search engine marketing to populate a search engine’s paid advertising space. For the most popular industries in Illinois and Chicago, it is important to utilize it in combination with organic search strategies like SEO. In PPC, businesses bid on high-demand keywords and place bids on them. These keywords could be “Chicago financial advisors” or “Illinois agricultural firms.” As its name suggests, a business pays whatever amount they bid on these keywords whenever someone uses these paid advertisements to navigate onto these websites.

Social media marketing should be a foundational piece of Illinois digital marketing.   Social media marketing is especially important in Illinois’s burgeoning service and agricultural industries. People looking to partner with an agricultural business or business in the service industry need to see that previous customers have had positive experiences with your business. There is no better way to show positive experiences than through photos and videos. Platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are the perfect places to showcase your engaging photos and videos. LinkedIn allows businesses to put a professional spin on their content.

Aside from sharing content, social media platforms allow Illinois businesses to conduct outreach strategies and funnel customers onto your website. Much like the search engine marketing services noted above, social media should be seen as a tool for guiding people into your website, where they could purchase products or undergo another conversion.