Unless you’re a health care worker, supermarket employee or bottle shop worker in Australia, and you still have a job that can be performed remotely, you’re probably working from home.
Falling in a heap, taking time for self-care, or doing nothing at all are legit ways to cope with the COVID-19 changes to our lives.
However if like me, you’ve lost the time spent on commuting and are possibly twiddling your thumbs a bit (in between bouts of existential crisis and snacking), you might be keen to pick up some useful digital marketing skills. Remote skills that are actually in demand right now.
Here are three super handy digital marketing skills to teach yourself remotely…
1 – Learn Google Analytics
Arguably one of the most powerful (and free) tools in your marketing arsenal. Google Analytics (GA) is where to find the majority of answers to your website questions.
So long as you have it embedded… which you absolutely should, and if you don’t, please go do that NOW. Here’s how.
Straight out of the box, GA has powerful info on:
- Where your users are coming from
- Where they are located
- Their interests
- How they interact with your site
I have personally worked with many founders who cannot find the answers to these questions in GA, and some who can. You get one guess as to which founders have had a better idea of who their customers are.
There is a fabulous (and free) online resource from GA to teach you everything from the very basics to the ultimate grand Google ninja level.
2 – Learn How To Make a Website
“But that’s a developer skill!”
I hear you cry out in consternation, but actually… no. Most folks with digital marketing acumen know their way around a content management system.
If my grandmother can learn to build a site (with a forum no-less) for her group of knitting enthusiasts, you too can learn a little code.
You don’t even need to learn much code with great site builders like Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, Webflow and WordPress. Even if all you need is something to point to a mailing list subscription, learning to do this yourself can save you literally thousands on development costs and teach you tech problem-solving skills that have far-reaching future benefits.
Eventually you’ll want an elegantly designed solution with varied capabilities for your growing business. Setting something up yourself is a great way to learn and it’s super creative and fun.
3 – Learn How To Do Keyword Research
Something that should fall out of the Google Analytics melting pot is a great bunch of queries people are using to land on your site.
Creating new and relevant content can be challenging. Having a bank of “ideas” to draw upon when you’re stuck is beyond useful. Knowing which terms to seed throughout your site’s pages can ensure you are set up for some Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) success.
It’s fairly easy to create content that matches the current zeitgeist (just like this post). How many lists of “Great #RemoteTools For Working at Home” or “Strategies To Cope With Being Cope Cooped-Up” have you seen?
What will you create when this is no longer the news?
There are some great guides to start off your Keyword Research journey. These beginner guides from HubSpot and MOZ are fantastic. Or you could start with a spreadsheet and some googling. Take a look at the “related terms” down the bottom of page one when you Google your type of product or service (not brand name) and go from there.
Knowing your best-ranking terms and what people are searching for in relation to your business is great for new content, content optimisation and starting on Google Ads.
Have a blast! Get creative and enjoy learning and if you’re hungry for more here’s a list of growth marketing skills we think should have you covered for pretty much all bases.
