Now that your website is complete, it's time to plan your marketing strategy. So, the big question is: Should you hire an inbound marketing agency or a web designer? As much as web designers are well-meaning, there are a few things you need to consider.
For starters, Website designers will only focus on design and development, but not so much on the marketing side. More importantly, they don't usually focus on the conversion path and lead generation. On the other hand, there are numerous benefits of hiring an inbound marketing Agency. But to give you a much clearer perspective of the two, let's break it down in the section below.
Your website generally acts as a brochure. Undoubtedly, it's the first place your customer will learn more about your company even before engaging with it.
Most companies will typically focus on lead generation, traffic, and sales. That is why when building your website; you need to communicate the goals of the website to your team, both long term, and short term, especially if it's a new website.
Most web designers understand the goals of user-focused designs, how to guide users around the website instinctively. And website designers will primarily focus on code and visuals to convert the organic traffic to sales. But that's not all there is to marketing. Start by asking yourself; are you just looking for a “redesign” of your website? Or do you want to sure up your website for lead generation? When you get the answers to these questions, you will understand your next course of action.
Unfortunately, when you decide to go with a website designer, most solutions will focus on visual and design changes. But an inbound marketing agency will get into the nitty-gritty details that your web designer will likely miss or ignore.
Much like working with a website designer, an inbound marketing agency will also look at your website's general design and work on it. However, a marketing agency's work will not stop there. Inbound marketing agencies go above and beyond to achieve your marketing strategy goals and understand that a website is simply a marketing tool.
More importantly, a great agency will recommend the most effective marketing strategies for your business and how best to approach it. That ensures your company's sales will continuously grow without any hurdles. That includes but is not limited to content marketing, SEO tools, how to improve user experience, and so much more.
Typically, most inbound agencies have internal resources that help them to support critical strategies of your website's marketing puzzle. Your average web designer might not have these resources; hence, your business will not effectively use the opportunity of having a website. And that's not all! There are tons of benefits of hiring an inbound marketing agency, for instance.
Website redesigning is not a small task at all. It takes precision, creativity, and most of all, experience. That makes having the right team vital if you'd like your company sales to go through the roof, thanks to your website. Generally, you will have to partner with a web designer or inbound marketing agency company for the long term. That means you must identify the right company for this partnership to truly succeed.
Website designers offer varying levels of support, depending on their level of expertise and the service they are offering. In most cases, website designers operate alone or in a team of two people. That ensures they are as efficient as possible and lean. Even though these experts will create an excellent website for your business, their services usually stop there. And as such, you will start feeling there's a lack of support in specific areas, including SEO practices and content generation.
An inbound marketing agency typically has a team of experienced members. These members are competent in different areas, and they all come together to ensure you get the best service, even after the website is redesigned. Specialists in an agency include SEO experts, copywriters, Google AdWords, and more.
Check back PART 2 HERE when we conclude by discussing, Budget, Relationship and Accountability