Google Images exists because of a dress. Yep, you read that right. When Jennifer Lopez showed up at the 2000 Grammys in that iconic green Versace gown, people flooded Google searching for photos. The surge in demand led the search engine to introduce the image search function.

I BLAME J-LO.. ! But the truth is —people are online, searching, scrolling, and interacting and if your business isn’t part of that, you’re missing out. Since COVID-19, 65% of businesses have ramped up their digital marketing efforts, and today, 72% of marketing budgets are spent on digital activities.

But what exactly is digital marketing? More importantly, how do you build a strategy that works? Let’s break it down step by step.

Yep... This is the one!

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing uses online channels—like search engines, social media, email, and websites—to promote products and services. Unlike traditional marketing, it’s measurable. You can track performance, tweak campaigns, and make decisions in real-time. Think of it as connecting with your audience where they already spend their time: online.

Step-by-Step: Crafting Your Digital Marketing Plan

1. Set Clear Goals

Before you dive into digital marketing, decide what you want to achieve. Are you trying to drive traffic to your website? Build an email list? Increase sales? Having a goal will shape everything else—your content, channels, and metrics.

For example, when Canva launched, their goal was to simplify design for everyday users. They focused their efforts on creating user-friendly tools, building communities through social media, and driving organic growth.

2. Pick Your Digital Channels

Each channel serves a different purpose, so picking the right ones depends on your goals and audience. Here’s a breakdown:

• Search Engines (SEO): Great for businesses looking to capture people actively searching for products or services. Example: A florist can use SEO to rank high on Google for “same-day flower delivery Brisbane.”

• Social Media: Ideal for building brand awareness and connecting with customers. Works best for visual or lifestyle brands. Example: A fashion brand posts engaging content on Instagram to connect with Gen Z shoppers.

• Email Marketing: Best for nurturing relationships and encouraging repeat purchases. Great for service-based or e-commerce businesses. Example: A café offers loyalty discounts through email newsletters, encouraging customers to visit again.

• Content Marketing: Use blogs, videos, and guides to provide value, build trust, and drive traffic. This works well for industries with complex products. Example: A financial advisor creates videos explaining superannuation to attract new clients.

• Paid Ads: These allow you to get in front of your audience fast by paying for visibility. Whether through search ads, social media ads, or retargeting campaigns, paid ads help businesses reach specific audiences immediately. Example: An online store runs Instagram ads with a founder's story to connect emotionally with potential customers.

Pick the channels that align with your goal. For example, if you want to build a loyal community, social media might be your top priority. But if your goal is to convert leads, email marketing will be more effective.

3. Create Content That Matters

Not all content is equal. To make an impact, your content needs to resonate with your audience and provide value. Here are some practical tips:

• Know Your Audience’s Pain Points: Create content that solves a problem for them. Example: A real estate agency posts tips for first-home buyers to answer common questions.

• Be Consistent: Use a content calendar to post regularly. Consistency builds trust.

• Repurpose Content: Turn a blog post into a series of social media posts, or make an infographic from a video.

• Use Storytelling: Stories are powerful—they create emotional connections.

Tools like Canva, Grammarly, and Buffer can help streamline your content creation and publishing process.

4. SEO: Optimising for Search Engines

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of improving your website’s technical setup, content relevance, and link popularity so search engines can easily find and rank your pages. The goal? To make sure your site appears at the top of search results for the queries your audience is searching for.

Search engines, especially Google (which dominates 83% of the market), recommend SEO practices that enhance both the user experience and the visibility of your site. This involves:

• Using relevant keywords in your page titles, meta descriptions, and headings (H1)

• Creating clear, descriptive URLs (e.g., /sustainable-fashion instead of /123abc)

• Applying schema markup to explain the meaning of your content to search engines

Search engines like Google act as information librarians. When you enter a query, their algorithms scan billions of web pages to deliver the most relevant results in milliseconds. But SEO isn’t just about appeasing algorithms—it’s also about understanding what your customers are searching for.

For example, when someone searches for “eco-friendly cleaning products,” Google analyses the query and aims to provide the best possible results. A well-optimised website selling sustainable products has a higher chance of appearing at the top of the results if its content aligns with what users need.

Google’s search results page is a blend of organic listings and paid ads. While ads generate revenue for Google through pay-per-click, organic results are ranked purely on relevance and quality. SEO helps businesses appear in these organic results, driving free traffic to their sites.

SEO is one of the most cost-effective ways to bring relevant traffic to your website. Unlike paid ads, organic search results don’t cost you anything beyond the time and effort to optimise your site. With billions of searches conducted on Google each day, ranking well in organic results is a powerful way to attract customers.

Practical SEO tips to get started:

• Do Keyword Research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find the terms your customers are searching for. Focus on long-tail keywords like “affordable organic skincare” to attract niche audiences.
• Optimise Your Content: Write high-quality content that answers your customers' questions. Include keywords naturally in titles, descriptions, and headings—avoid keyword stuffing.
• Improve Technical SEO: Make sure your site is fast, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. Compress images and minimise load times to reduce bounce rates.
• Build Backlinks: Get links from reputable websites in your industry. Backlinks act like votes of confidence, telling search engines your site is credible.
• Monitor Your SEO Performance: Track how well your pages are ranking and adjust your strategy based on what’s working. Tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console can help.

5. Paid Ads: Getting in Front of Your Audience Fast

Paid ads allow businesses to pay for visibility on platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Instead of waiting for organic growth, paid ads put your brand in front of your audience immediately. Paid ads are measured by metrics like CPC (Cost-Per-Click), which tracks how much you pay each time someone clicks, and CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition), which shows how much you spend to gain a new customer.

Here are some effective types of paid ads

• Search Ads: Appear at the top of search results. Example: A café bids for “best coffee in Brisbane” to show their ad first.
• Social Media Ads: Sponsored posts that blend into feeds. Example: A fitness brand promotes a new workout challenge on Instagram.
• Display Ads: Banner ads that appear on websites, such as news platforms.
• Retargeting Ads: Shown to people who visited your site but didn’t convert. Example: An online store retargets with a 10% discount to encourage purchases.

Here are some of the ad strategies that have worked best across industries:

• Founder’s Story: Showing the faces behind a business builds trust. Example: A skincare brand founder explains their personal struggles with skin issues, creating an emotional connection with viewers.
• US vs Them: Highlighting competitive advantages makes your product stand out. Example: A meal delivery service lists five reasons why it’s better—like local ingredients and no contracts.
• Podcast Angle: A podcast snippet about your product blends well into feeds. Example: A sustainable fashion brand promotes a founder’s interview discussing eco-friendly practices.
• Before-and-After Ads: Visually demonstrating transformation helps, but it must be done carefully to avoid ad bans. Example: A fitness program showcases a safe, realistic muscle transformation over 30 days.
• Review Ads: These retargeting ads leverage customer reviews to build trust. Example: A pet food company shares testimonials from happy customers.
• Problem Ads: These focus on the problem your product solves. Example: Noise-cancelling headphones show how they make remote work easier by blocking distractions.

At IdeaFloat, we had a clear idea of our target audience and strategy but weren’t proficient in the technical setup of paid ads. Paid campaigns require expertise in CPC and CPA optimisation, and platforms like Google and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) offer complex tools to help manage costs. We worked with experts to ensure our ads were properly targeted and creative, lowering our CPA and getting the best return on investment.

6. Track and Measure Your Results

Digital marketing isn’t a set-and-forget strategy. It’s important to monitor your progress and adjust where needed. Use tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, or HubSpot to track key metrics:

• Website traffic
• Engagement (likes, shares, and comments)
• Conversion rate (how many visitors become customers)

If a campaign isn’t working, pivot. Experiment with new content, test different channels, and tweak your SEO strategy to see what resonates best.

---

Putting it All Together

Let’s say you’re launching an online store selling eco-friendly home products. Here’s how your digital marketing plan might look:

1. Set a Goal: Increase website traffic by 40% in three months.
2. Pick Your Channels: Focus on Instagram and SEO to drive organic traffic.
3. Create Content: Share stories about sustainable living and product benefits through blog posts and Instagram reels.
4. Optimise for SEO: Use keywords like “eco-friendly home products” and ensure fast page loads.
5. Run Paid Ads: Launch Instagram ads promoting the founder’s story and retarget visitors with review ads offering a discount.
6. Track Your Progress: Monitor traffic and social engagement weekly. Adjust as needed.

---

Final Thoughts

Get clear on your target audience, what problems you’re solving for customers and develop your business plan through IdeaFloat. Once you’ve done that, you can think about your digital marketing strategy which will connect you with your audience, build your brand, and drive growth. Remember that success isn’t about being everywhere but about choosing the right channels, creating valuable content, and refining your strategy based on results.