Why You Should Put More Effort Into Email Marketing than SEO
Email marketing and SEO are two very important channels in the marketing strategy of most companies and businesses. However, you may be wondering: which one is more effective? Should you use one or both? Can they be combined? In this article we will try to answer these questions by analyzing their benefits, similarities, differences and we will also advise you how to combine them so that they are mutually supportive and the performance obtained is greater.
SEO benefits
Without a doubt, content optimization so that websites appear in the top positions of searches made by users is one of the most widespread strategies in the world of online marketing.This is because SEO offers several benefits, among which the following should be highlighted:
Qualified traffic
The traffic that reaches your website from searches made on Google, Bing and other similar services is very important since the visit does not arrive by chance or chance, but there is a specific intention behind that search. If your content is well positioned for that specific keyword, it will satisfy the need that the user has at the time of carrying it out, so it will be someone really interested in the content you are offering.
Capture of new users, leads and customers
As part of the inbound marketing strategy, SEO allows you to attract new users to your website (instead of searching for them through ads), which is often the entry point to the funnel through which you must go. guiding with other channels until they become customers.
Great conversion rate
Because the content is optimized for the user's search intention and how to solve the specific question or problem behind it, it is a channel with a high conversion rate and, therefore, a great performance.
Long term strategy
Another advantage that SEO offers is the possibility of generating content that will continue to offer performance over time, since if you manage to consolidate it in the searches that interest you most and update it, it will continue to attract users to your website long afterhaving been published.
Brand credibility and authority
For a few years, Google has emphasized that one of the important positioning factors is the so-called EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). That is, the algorithm tries to show in each search the websites that have proven to be expert, truthful and considered as an authority in the field to which the search belongs.If you generate content with sufficient quality and relevance for the search engine to consider you an "expert" in a certain subject, this perception will also be shared by users, who will consider your content as a reference in a certain field.
Better user experience
In addition to the quality of the content, search engines attach great importance to the usability of a page and the user experience it offers. Factors such as being adapted to mobile devices, loading speed, etc. They are of vital importance to appear in the first places of the SERP, so your website must be very careful also in the technical and graphic aspect.
Benefits of mailing
Mass mailing, for its part, also offers multiple benefits to its users, the following being among the most important:
Permission marketing
To send email campaigns to subscribers, they must have previously granted you their explicit permission. This, which a priori may seem like a barrier, is actually an advantage: your subscriber is indicating that they are really interested in your content, which makes it a really effective form of communication.
Possibility of segmentation
Email marketing tools allow you the possibility of segmenting your lists, thus making it possible to fine-tune shipments to those who are most interested in them.
Possibility of customization
Another advantage is that, when registering on your list, you will be able to request certain data from users (email, name, profession, interests, etc.), thus being able to customize, in a very simple way, the content for each of them through the use of dynamic fields.
Automation by behavior
Through email marketing automation, you can schedule campaigns to be sent at specific times based on subscriber behavior, thus allowing you to send the right content at the most opportune time.
Email marketing vs. SEO: similarities
Despite being two very different channels, both share some specific characteristics:
Importance of content
In both, as they say, content is king. If you get a user to reach your website or open your emails but the content they find is not interesting, or does not satisfy what they expected to find, your page will fall from the SERP and your open rate will suffer, significantly reducing the results of both strategies.As much as you optimize your content for search engines or for your subscribers to open the email, remember that it has to be content made for people, and that you have to add value to them so that your strategy continues to work.
Adaptable to the different stages of the funnel
The content, in both cases, must be designed for the stage in which each user is (Attraction, Decision, Conversion, Loyalty). In the case of SEO, each keyword will give you this information according to its search intention.In the case of email, the behavior, if they have made a purchase on your website, etc.
Percentage of clicks
Both channels offer a large amount of data and metrics to analyze in order to optimize them to improve your results. However, since normally the objective is to attract users to the website, the CTR is especially important in both, that is, the percentage of clicks that are achieved.In the case of SEO, the most important elements will be the title and description that appear in the snippet displayed on the results page. In the case of email, the links within it, whose percentage of clicks will largely depend on whether the calls to action are correct.
Email marketing vs. SEO: differences
Next we will analyze the most important differences between both channels.
Search engine algorithms vs spam filters
In the case of SEO, whether users reach your website depends on how search engines display your page among the results. This factor, however, is beyond your control, beyond your being able to follow good optimization practices for both the content and the site.
Your place in the SERP will depend on all the factors that the algorithm evaluates and, in fact, they change through various updates every so often (some milder, some stronger, such as the dreaded Core Updates that occur 2-3 times. by year). These constant changes force you to have your content properly optimized, and make the necessary changes if you lose the ranking of an important word for your business.
In the case of email, the main concern would be the SPAM filters. The good news is that following a series of simple good practices (and not being a spammer), they are very easy to pass and ensure the deliverability of your campaigns.
SERP vs. Inbox
In the case of search result pages, your page will compete with other organic results (8 in total), and with Paid Search ads, which in some cases can also be up to 8. To this must add the different special results that may appear in certain searches (Featured snippet, image carousels, video results, news, etc.). To get the user who has made the search to reach your page, you will have three main elements: the title, the description and the URL.In the case of the inbox, the key element for the subscriber to open your email will largely depend on how attractive the email subject is.
Unknown user vs known user
Although, using Google Analytics or other web analytics applications you can extract a lot of information about the visitors to your page, it will remain anonymous.Of your email marketing subscribers, however, you can know as much personal data as you request and are willing to give you: email, telephone, name, sector, interests, etc.This is a great advantage since it allows you a wide customization of the content while your website will have to be as generic as possible.
One-way communication vs two-way communication
In the same way, the communication established with the users of your website is unidirectional: you put the content at their disposal and they consume it. In order for them to interact with you, you will have to add other types of media (contact forms, email, chat, comments, discussion forums, etc.). The email, on the contrary, allows in a simple way that they can respond to you with feedback, doubts or opinions about the campaign that you have sent them. This, by the way, is one of the reasons why it is not advisable to use no-reply addresses.
Capture vs. recurrence and loyalty
SEO is a magnificent channel for attracting new users and leads, as it is one of the first points of contact for people with your website.Mailing, on the other hand, is a tremendously effective channel to increase the recurrence of visits by these users to your website, and to get them to trust your brand through the content that you send them through your campaigns.
Should you use one or both?
We have seen the similarities and differences between both channels, but: when should you focus your efforts on one or the other? Here are specific examples of in which case each of them is more effective.
What to use Email Marketing for
Sending emails to your database are very effective in various situations, and we will explain some examples below.
Recurrence
It is a great way to increase the recurrence of your users to your website. Through the links, you can refer them to pages of your blog, product pages, etc. The more recurrence a user has, the more likely they will end up making a purchase or subscription, or not unsubscribe. This is also important in other business models, for example, if you monetize a blog through advertising.
Training
Email courses are very popular, since you can establish a certain flow to send the lessons with an appropriate cadence, which allows the student to follow it easily and systematically.An example would be our free email marketing course in which we explain all the secrets of this way of communicating with your subscribers.
Up-selling and cross-selling
It is also a very effective means of increasing your average customer order. If they have already bought a product or contracted a service, you can offer them something complementary or superior and you will have a good chance that they will accept it.
News and special offers
When someone subscribes to your list, they are interested in what you have to tell or offer them. It is, therefore, a perfect way to publicize your news, offers, promotions and any other information of interest.With the help of a marketing calendar, you will ensure that no important dates are missed and you will keep your brand in the memory of all your subscribers.
On-boarding flows
Another of the most successful use cases in which you can use email is to facilitate the on-boarding process for new users. Through a sequence of emails you will be able to welcome them and provide all the information they consider important so that they can use your website, application or store.
User feedback
Emails to collect opinions from users are very useful, especially after a purchase or a time using your service. They will give you the opportunity to improve your treatment with the client and reduce cancellations or cancellations.