Digital marketing 101: Understanding the terminology of digital

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Digital marketing is an incredible industry. At the beginning of the 21st century, it was a little known pocket of tech-savvy online specialists, and now, just a few decades later, it is one of the most lucrative fields in the communications industry.

With so many businesses rushing to become more digital, it begs the question, what does the world of digital actually entail?

Is it simply nice images and catchy content? And, how does knowing this information help you and your business?

In a world so heavily reliant on technology, to bury your head in the sand and refuse to become properly digitally literate to aid your work is no longer an option.

Having business knowledge is no longer the only key to getting yourself ahead.

You must also have an understanding of digital marketing in order to bring your business into the present day.

So, to help you take your first steps forward, we break down what digital marketing actually is.

And, we give you a go-to glossary to help you to understand what's going on behind the closed doors of the online world and how it can improve your business.

Before you get started with the terminology of digital marketing, it's important to understand what digital marketing actually means.

To understand in-depth, taking online marketing courses would be supremely beneficial for your career and your business.

Digital marketing is one of the most common forms of marketing for modern businesses, and arguably, one of the most important.

It refers to marketing campaigns accessible via your mobile phone, computer, tablet, and virtually any other device that is connected to the internet.

In today's world, where we are so wired in, marketing in other forms has taken a back seat and businesses are focusing increasingly on how to make their brand more digital and their employees more digitally literate.

However, having a strong understanding of digital marketing goes far beyond being able to work on a laptop or even an eye-catching campaign.

You need to understand the relevant terms and what they mean for your work.

SEO stands for search engine optimisation and is the action of getting your website more visible online so that, when users search up a particular product or service, your site is more visible to prospective clients.

After all, the loneliest place in the world is the second page of Google.

It's important to take classes to properly understand SEO, however, optimising your site is done by having strong and authoritative content that is updated regularly and having relevant links within are some of the best ways to bring your ranking up.

SEM refers to search engine marketing, this is the process of gaining continued and increasing amounts of traffic to your website, by using SEO or alternatively, paid ads.

Because of this, it often acts as an umbrella term for these various forms of digital marketing.

PPC stands for pay per click, meaning advertisers paying marketing agencies will only pay a fee when their ad is actually clicked. But why do this and what are the benefits of it?

When PPC is optimised correctly it can be incredibly cost-effective for a business, and if somebody searches for a related term to what you are advertising, your ad will come up alongside it which can give you more organic traffic and reach as a result.

Due to the fact that your ad will be displayed alongside related searches, it gives more of a chance that the traffic you receive will be related to your services and therefore receive a higher click-through rate (CTR) which in turn will bring up your rankings on search engines.

Backlinks are the backbone to your website. It refers to linking good quality sites back to your own.

These links will essentially tell the search engines that your website is one of authority and therefore will boost its rankings.

Understanding what sort of links are the correct kind is so imperative to the success of your business.

Taking courses, even post-tertiary education, to further understand digital marketing and how it can aid the success of your work is so imperative to continue to succeed as you continue to become more and more digitally inclined.

The world of digital is an ever-changing one. What was successful five years ago is out of date today, the online world never stands still.

This is why continuing to educate yourself and further your understanding is such a key component to the success of your work.

Marketing is essential to the growth of your product or service, as no matter how good it is, if people don't understand it, or can't find it, it will never succeed.

Digital marketing brings that principle online, and since people use search engines for everything in today's world, if you can't find it on Google, it may as well not exist.

Understanding not simply the terminology of digital marketing, but also what it means for the growth and future of your business will help it exponentially.