In this article, I will share a digital transformation experience during my work at the digital marketing agency, Hostswt. I will explain the importance of CEOs, General Managers, or Business Owners receiving training in Digital Marketing.

Initial Situation

A multinational technology hardware company in Colombia contacted us: They had been financially supporting digital strategies for their distributors for several years without obtaining results. It was a complex case because we had to investigate what had been happening or how those funds were managed previously.

Situation analysis

• We detected a high level of digital ignorance at the Managerial level in this market niche. The day-to-day work consumes all working time, leaving no time to think strategically or for training.
• Internal personnel were poorly qualified for digital activities, or alternatively, more qualified companies lacked clear directives.
• Meetings at the level of Digital Strategies where management or business owners were informed about what would be done, without a counterweight who had the knowledge to debate strategies, define or request other KPIs, for example.

Set Objectives

• Identify the top 15 national Distributors with a digital presence.
• Train General Managers and Business Owners of these Distributors with our Digital Marketing for Managers program.
• Train internal staff with our Digital Marketing for Community Managers program.
• Define KPIs to monitor this program.
• Use the results obtained to demonstrate to Management the importance of looking towards the digital area.

Strategy and results

1. Meetings were coordinated where time requirements and commitment to the investment were explained, and from this point, 15 companies were selected.
2. A complete digital analysis was performed for each one, and each was given a detailed report of everything they were doing correctly and where they had potential improvements.
3. At this point, a Digital Marketing for Managers training program began. They were taught key terms, strategies, the importance of digital planning, sales funnel, definition of KPIs (importance and meaning of each), control of digital investment budgets. Additionally, how to monitor their website’s indexing on the internet, if the SEO was correct, which campaigns were active, and what was the conversion rate of each.
4. The training program for Community Managers began, where they were trained to make all modifications to the website or social networks according to the Marketing for Managers training plan.
5. The defined KPIs were: website indexing, SEO strategy, Sales funnel, and conversion rate to sales.
6. The process with each Distributor lasted approximately 2 months, and indicators were followed for the next 9 months. The result was an increase in the digital sales conversion rate, improved positive customer ratings, and increased website visits. At the sales level, the increase made the competition contact us to develop similar strategies with their distributors. It was a total success, but the pandemic arrived, and we couldn’t start with this second technology multinational.

Conclusion

Nowadays, we consider it important for General Management to have basic knowledge of Digital Marketing. This provides them with support to develop high-level conversations with their digital departments or, if it’s an outsourced department, even more reason. It’s necessary to have a digital route and strategy, where every dollar invested is fully substantiated and management indicators can be defined. To achieve this, Management must be able to have high-level conversations and debate strategies and results, given that they are talking about the company’s future permanence.

In this article, I’ll share a digital transformation experience during my work at the digital marketing agency, Hostswt. I’ll explain the importance of developing a comprehensive digital strategy to achieve the set objectives.

Initial situation

Dr. Alvaro Serna approached us because the healthcare provider (EPS) where he had worked for many years closed its doors, and he hadn’t felt the urgency to boost his private practice. At this point, he found himself needing to increase patient visits to his private consultation somehow to balance his income.

Situation analysis

• Dr. Serna’s (a gynecologist-obstetrician) digital presence was non-existent, with neither a website nor social media accounts.
• He had an assistant in his office whom we could train to support the strategy implementation.
• Dr. Serna was available and supportive in achieving the set objectives.
• Competition from other doctors at the digital level.

Set Objectives

1. Urgently develop a simple yet visually appealing website that would generate trust. Develop an SEM and SEO strategy for this website.
2. Create an Instagram account to develop digital campaigns.
3. Position Dr. Serna in the top search results for gynecology in Bogotá, especially in the surroundings of his well-located office.

Strategy and results

1. Upon finalizing the website, we proceeded to generate a keyword map based on collaborative work to define the services he wanted to promote in his practice. These were used to generate an SEO strategy in the articles created and on his website. Aggressive SEM campaigns were launched to start appearing in search engines. The aggressive investment lasted 6 months, and from this month onwards, it began to decrease until maintaining a stable budget.
2. On Instagram, equally aggressive campaigns were developed to attract potential patients.
3. The doctor’s reputation was leveraged to start requesting recommendations and comments on Google My Business (now managed by Google Maps), and patients visiting his office were asked for their support in leaving comments on this platform.
4. After 7 months, the doctor was already appearing on the first page of search results for gynecologists in Bogotá, in addition to being ranked first according to Google My Business. By the 9th month, he was in the top 3 positions for the keywords we had defined.
5. His consultations increased by 70%, with a type of patient that generated less stress for him. This was reflected in his income.

Conclusion

It’s important to have an SEO strategy so that when money is invested in internet advertising, this investment doesn’t disappear. Similarly, it’s necessary to have a budget for SEM to invest in social media or direct traffic to the website. In this case, it was crucial to generate a potential customer flow map to visualize Dr. Serna’s reputation, read comments from other patients, and lead them to write via WhatsApp or call his office to request a medical appointment. A similar comprehensive digital strategy was developed with Dr. Jennifer Hernandez (Pasto, Colombia), obtaining similar results.

Dr. Serna, unfortunately, passed away during the pandemic, being a great human being and leaving a legacy to all who knew him, patients, friends, and family.

In the vast universe of over 1 billion existing web pages, having a website doesn’t automatically guarantee attracting more customers or increasing sales. To achieve this, it’s crucial to understand the importance of keywords, web ranking, and SEO and SEM strategies.

Identifying the right keywords, defining an effective SEO and SEM strategy, and achieving desired visibility and ranking are fundamental concepts for the online success of any business or company with a web presence.

In this article, we’ll break down these key concepts in simple, accessible language:

Keywords:

These are words or phrases with the highest search frequency in a specific niche. Identifying them is essential, as they help us build a set of relevant keywords or phrases. These should be strategically used in website development (headers, blogs, product descriptions, among others). Search engines like Google analyze each website based on certain parameters, identifying these words or phrases and the weight we’ve given to each. This is one of the conditions, among other variables, for achieving good SEO ranking and goes hand-in-hand with digital marketing strategies.

There are tools that analyze web pages and provide a keyword map of each page, indicating which phrases or words are being used in the content, how many times they’ve been used, and their importance (types of headers).

SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

SEO is the optimization of a website through keywords that are internally configured and identified by search engines. Search engines rate certain factors like speed, configured keywords, descriptions, user experience, among others. The ultimate goal is to achieve a large number of clicks on the links configured to lead to a landing page and ensure the best possible user experience. With a higher number of clicks, organic (unpaid) ranking will improve, and your site will move closer to the top search positions for the configured keywords. The cost is what you pay to an SEO consultant.

There are various SEO analysis tools to evaluate your current situation and other tools to facilitate this configuration in content management systems (WordPress, Shopify, Mercado Libre, etc.).

SEM (Search Engine Marketing):

SEM is the payment for advertising in the top positions for a specific niche of people. That is, you’ll pay to appear in the most visible or relevant places based on users’ search words or phrases. This generates sales more quickly than SEO, but the cost would be the SEM consultant’s fee plus the cost per click.

SEM positioning will be achieved based on ad configuration, the price you’re willing to pay per click, ad quality, among other variables. You can pay for ads on Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, among other platforms, depending on the niche you want to reach. It’s important to note that every SEM strategy will have a different cost, as positioning some keywords is more expensive than others, depending on various factors.

SEO or SEM:

The choice between SEO or SEM will depend on budget, available time, and willingness to develop this aspect. However, it is the only way for a website to stand out among the billions of current web pages.

To optimize resources, we suggest developing an SEO strategy and initiating an SEM strategy hand-in-hand. If only SEO is performed, results will be medium to long-term. If only SEM is implemented, clicks will be lost by not having different landing pages correctly configured with relevant keywords.

Web Ranking:

Web ranking is the goal of a successful SEM and SEO strategy. It refers to achieving the top positions when a user is browsing based on specific keywords or phrases.

It’s necessary to differentiate yourself in the vast universe of current web pages, and one of the most effective ways is through a solid and well-executed SEO and SEM strategy.

Additional Insights:

1. Content is King, but Speed is Queen: While keywords and strategies are crucial, don’t overlook the importance of high-quality, relevant content and fast-loading pages. Google’s algorithms prioritize both content quality and page speed.

2. Mobile-First Indexing: With the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, Google primarily uses the mobile version of a site for ranking. Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and fast on all devices.

3. Voice Search Optimization: As voice-activated devices become more common, consider long-tail keywords and natural language in your SEO strategy.

4. Local SEO: For businesses targeting local customers, local SEO (using location-specific keywords, Google Maps listings, local reviews) can significantly boost visibility.

5. Backlink Quality: In SEO, not all backlinks are created equal. Focus on gaining high-quality, relevant backlinks from reputable sites rather than quantity.

6. Continuous Monitoring and Adaptation: SEO and SEM are not one-time tasks. Regularly monitor your rankings, user behavior, and competitor strategies. Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console for insights.

In conclusion, the right combination of relevant keywords, effective SEO and SEM strategies, and a focus on web ranking are crucial elements for the online success of any business or company with a digital presence. Mastering these concepts and applying them intelligently can make a significant difference in your ability to attract more customers and increase sales through your website. Remember, in the ever-evolving digital landscape, staying informed and adaptable is key to maintaining a competitive edge.