10 tips to supercharge your online marketing strategy

10 tips to supercharge your online marketing strategy
Micky Weis
Micky Weis

15 years of experience in online marketing. Former CMO at, among others, Firtal Web A/S. Blogger about marketing and the things I’ve experienced along the way. Follow me on LinkedIn for daily updates.

I’ve long dreamed of writing a blog post that never ends. Yes, it might sound overly ambitious, but what I mean is a dynamic article that continuously evolves through comments and my own additions along the way.

I experience so many things when working with cases, and I want to share those insights because contributing to the field of online marketing is important to me. This is also why my mentorship at Aarhus University means a lot—because I get the opportunity to pass on my knowledge to passionate young minds.

This will be a post I constantly build and add to whenever new ideas arise.

Let’s begin with these tips, tricks, and hacks for scaling both marketing and business using digital tools.

My hope is that in a year, I will have collected 100 ideas to inspire you—ideas you can implement in your own business.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization—also known as SEO or Google Optimization (a dear child has many names). SEO is an area we’ve worked with for years, even though the field has evolved significantly.

I actually started working with SEO when it was still a new concept in Denmark (about 10 years ago). Today, it’s a highly recognized marketing field that still holds significant power for e-commerce businesses and brands. Regardless of the business you run, Google will influence your online presence, and SEO is thus something we simply can’t ignore when talking about online marketing.

Here, I will build on the things I’ve learned along the way in SEO and share my thoughts on what to focus on if you want to scale your business.

CTR

Many still believe that title tags and meta descriptions are the most important elements in SEO. I won’t debate that here, but one thing I will argue is absolutely crucial: your CTR.

CTR stands for click-through rate and refers to the percentage of people who click on your site via Google. Essentially, you must optimize what users see in Google’s search results before they even land on your page.

If your CTR is low, you won’t get the full value from your rankings.

How to optimize your CTR

  • Create title tags and meta descriptions that are engaging, not just optimized for rankings
  • Consider adding reviews to generate star ratings in search results
  • Keep your on-page content updated so it remains relevant when users click

Insights from Adwords

Adwords is a goldmine for identifying keywords worth targeting through SEO.

If you’ve been running Adwords campaigns for a while, you can extract a long list of keywords that have generated revenue.

Some keywords might not be worth bidding on in paid ads due to ROI, but they can be valuable in organic search. Adwords allows you to “soft test” keyword volume and conversion potential before committing to long-term SEO efforts.

It’s an effective way to identify keywords that truly drive business.

It’s also beneficial to target these keywords in both paid and organic results on Google.

Content marketing

Content marketing has become an essential part of many companies’ marketing strategies, and for good reason. It’s about creating content that in itself becomes marketing.

Content marketing is often referred to as inbound marketing. This approach can help you get ahead of competitors by offering unique content tailored to readers or customers, depending on your business type. Content marketing can take many forms, as you’ll see below.

It includes everything from blog posts and infographics to podcasts. The format is ever-evolving, as new technologies emerge. For instance, Snapchat became a content channel overnight. Sometimes, new platforms emerge that must be explored and leveraged if you want to stay ahead.

Here are some methods I regularly return to in my work with online marketing.

Extracting “wh” words

It may sound simple, but extracting “wh-words” is a core strategy I use in content marketing.

When creating valuable content, it’s often about guiding and helping the customer. Extracting “how,” “why,” and “what” queries from Adwords or Search Console allows you to create content that answers real user questions. This is the essence of content marketing.

Many businesses produce massive amounts of content without considering why—which often leads to irrelevant content and wasted effort.

You need to consider your audience. Ask yourself: Are you solving a problem?

Content upgrades

A great way to provide even more value in one blog post is through content upgrades—resources that help readers go deeper on the topic, such as downloadable Excel sheets.

Some examples:

  • Accountant > Budget template download
  • Personal trainer > Basic meal plan download
  • Online marketer > Go-to-market strategy template

You get the idea. It’s about creating something that:

  1. Gives users added value, and
  2. Earns their email, allowing you to send them valuable content later through email flows.

Social media

I’ve worked with social media for the past 10 years and have spent a considerable amount on Facebook and Instagram advertising, along with other platforms that have emerged during that time.

Social media is constantly evolving, offering endless opportunities—and just as many pitfalls. That’s why I’ve dedicated the past few years to sharing knowledge through videos and blog posts.

I’ve gained experience from working with large e-commerce businesses like Firtal Web (later acquired by Matas), personal brands like Christian Stadil, and app cases like Tattoodo. I’ve also made plenty of mistakes—which helped me grow. I hope sharing these experiences will help you grow, too.

Remarketing ads

One of the easiest ways to grow your business is through dynamic product ads on Facebook, tailored to users’ behavior on your site.

Facebook’s platform makes remarketing incredibly easy across Facebook and Instagram.

You can set it up based on user behavior, and customize the ads’ appearance with overlays, price tags, and your brand logo.

Below is a very simple screenshot from Facebook’s platform.

 

Lead generation ads

A highly underrated tactic is using Facebook’s lead generation ads to collect emails directly within the platform.

Just a few years ago, users had to visit an external landing page and fill out a form. This created friction and increased ad spend.

Facebook solved that by allowing users to submit forms directly in the ad, prefilled with their data. This reduces friction and increases conversions—while keeping users on Facebook, of course.

Email marketing

Email marketing remains one of the channels with the highest ROI.

Many believe email is dead due to the sheer volume of messages we receive. But the solution isn’t giving up on email—it’s doing it better.

That means creative subject lines, personalized messaging, and smart segmentation. The more data we have, the more users expect tailored messages.

Otherwise, your emails will provide no value—and get ignored.

We must also be strategic about how we collect emails, creating real value in the process.

Pop-up lead hooks

One of the easiest ways to collect emails is by using pop-up tools like Sleeknote.

Sleeknote allows full control of pop-ups without needing developers to change the content. It’s intuitive and flexible.

Be mindful not to run too many pop-ups at once, as that frustrates users. Keep an eye on bounce rates in Google Analytics.

Welcome flows

An effective email strategy begins with the right welcome flow.

Too many still overlook this. When someone signs up for a newsletter or places an order, the following minutes are critical.

Send a welcome email that reflects your brand and tells your story. Make it personal and establish a connection.

In today’s saturated digital landscape, building relationships and showing personality is what sets your brand apart.

Organization and scaling

When I worked as CMO at Firtal, I learned a lot about structure and scalability.

I thought I could manage all eight webshops they owned—but it became unmanageable fast.

That forced me to create structure, and it taught me how valuable well-organized processes and platforms are.

Streamline communication with Slack

Slack is one of the fastest-growing communication apps out there.

It enables what Facebook and other messaging tools can’t—dedicated workspaces for different areas of your business.

You can set up channels like:

  • Customer support
  • Marketing
  • Development
  • Finance (restricted access)
  • General (sick days, alarm issues)
  • Fun & games (company events, cake in the kitchen)

It’s a simple way to limit discussions to relevant areas and onboard new employees effectively, helping them feel productive and included from day one.

Stay on top of your projects with Trello

Another important thing to keep in mind—something I learned a lot about at Firtal and have used ever since—is structure.

Especially when it comes to outsourcing tasks, whether to employees or freelancers.

There are many systems out there, and I don’t have shares in any of them, but I can honestly say that Trello has worked really well for me—many times. It’s free (or at least it was when I used it).

Trello allows you to break down your tasks into different systems and use cards to delegate them.

Below is a screenshot from a Trello template I often use.

Here’s a structure I often use:

  • Ideas: Collect new ideas
  • To-do: Prioritize ideas in weekly meetings
  • Doing: Active projects (typically 1–5 weeks)
  • Done: Completed tasks
  • Projects: Long-term initiatives involving external partners

Trello also offers a range of inspiration boards you can use to get started.

It’s a free, visual way to stay organized and maintain momentum across teams.

Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, my goal here is to create a base of all the tips and tricks I come across during 2019—and things I’ve learned in the past.

I’m gathering all of these in this post, and the plan is that by the end of 2019, you’ll have 100 tips and tricks.

I hope you find value in this post. Do you have a tip or two to share? Feel free to leave a comment below so we can help each other and contribute across our businesses.

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