If I run a digital marketing campaign how long will it take for me to see results? While this is a bit of a loaded question, it sits at the top of the minds of all new customers looking to invest in one or more internet market tools. While this is a fair question to ask, it is also like asking a publisher when their latest book will begin generating sales. The answer will always be unique to each business and their goals and will depend on a number of variables including:
- Your goals
- Your starting point
- Your strategy
- Your market place
- Your competition and what they are doing online
- Your time and/or budget you have to invest
- The agency you work with
In this blog post, the experts at our digital marketing agency in Toronto highlight four of the biggest strategies in internet marketing and the expected timeline for achieving goals for each one.
Timelines for Getting Results from Each Online Marketing Campaign
1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is a long-term commitment. Depending on your goals and ongoing efforts and competition, it may take anywhere from several months to well over a year to see impactful results. The bottom line is your keywords may have started on page 3 of Google and while they are moving up, they will only have a meaningful impact when they rank on the first page of Google. Things may be moving positively for several months but the results won’t be felt till the goal is met. You might also notice that as you move up in the rankings it becomes more and more difficult to advance further. For example, it may take you a few months to reach position 11 on page 2. However, moving from position 11 on page 2 to position 9 on page 1 could take a year or longer to achieve.
However, once the keywords are on page 1 of Google, the positive impact on your campaign will be a game changer.
2. Paid Advertising (PPC)
Paid advertising programs, such as Google Adwords and Bing Ads, boast two advantages over SEO. First, PPC is a faster way to run advertising campaigns and get results instantly. Strategically crafted paid advertising campaigns can bring in quality traffic, leads, and customers immediately after the ad(s) start running. Another benefit of PPC is that everything you do has a measurable target. From the moment your paid advertising campaign goes live, you can get insight into how much you spend, how much profit you are getting (or loss), how many people are viewing your ads, and how many of them are clicking on the links. You also obtain valuable data on your target market.
Investing in paid advertising does not mean that you should dismiss the idea of SEO; SEO is still important. Think of these services like buying a house vs. renting an apartment. Investing in SEO is like buying a house. While there is an upfront cost with little initial return, you are building equity that will drive strong long-term results and gains. Investing in PPC is more like renting a piece of real estate. You are paying money for a good spot with immediate results during the timeframe the ads are running.
3. Email Marketing
Results for email marketing rely heavily on your goals and the quality of your mailing list. If you have a large base of subscribers, you can expect to see results after two to five emails. If you have yet to build your list, it could be several months or a year before leads and orders come pouring in. The key here is to build a high quality email list. The bottom line is that your results and timing of success will be contingent on the quantity and quality of your list.
4. Social Media Marketing
Organic social media marketing efforts that start from scratch can take anywhere from a few months to over a year to see substantial results. That is unless you have something really exciting and engaging to sell (e.g., trending) or talk about. On the other hand, if you already have a solid social presence and a large following (3000+ fans/followers), social media can generate conversions within as little as a few days.
To ensure that your social media marketing efforts have the most impact in the shortest time, the following six rules should be adhered to:
- Create and share well written and well researched content.
- Be consistent. You do not need to post every day, but you do need to be consistent over time.
- Only use the social media channels that your industry’s consumers frequent
- Vary the type and format of your content.
- Measure the results and refine your strategy (ongoing).
- Maintain a mobile-friendly, conversion-driven website.
If you execute these efforts with consistency and quality, you will see measurable results within a several month period and a solid foundation for the continued online growth of your business and your brand. As the saying goes, “the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it” and social media is no different. Always keep in mind you can see results faster but it will require more planning, more investment and more work.
About iRISEmedia | Digital Marketing Agency | Toronto
iRISEmedia is an internet marketing company located in Toronto that focuses on helping clients in Canada, the U.S. and globally with digital marketing services consisting of social media marketing, website design, SEO and SEM, app development, online reputation management and online PR. Our team helps clients manage and grow their online presence and branding to increase their social media presence, qualified web traffic and online leads. For any internet marketing needs or inquiries, please contact us today. We would love to hear from you.
