Everyone is eager to see the results of their marketing dollars, and the sooner the better. But just how long does it take to start reaping the benefits of your efforts?
The answer… well, it depends on a number of important factors, including industry competition, budget size and strategy. But generally speaking, it takes about 6 months to start seeing the results of a marketing campaign in full swing.
To give you a better idea, here are a few benchmarks for different marketing tools.
Digital Ads (PPC)
Digital advertising via Google Adwords or “Pay Per Click” can be one the fastest ways to start seeing results. Of course, it all depends on your budget and goals. But once you launch a proper Adwords campaign using your researched keywords – you should start seeing an increase in website traffic right away, shortly followed by more conversions and boost in sales.
Keep in mind there are other components to creating an effective digital ad campaign, which will directly impact your results. You need to have a well-designed landing page that is set-up with one goal in mind: conversions. You’ll also need an effective call-to-action, whether that’s purchasing a product or signing-up for e-book.
Social Media
For those willing to put marketing dollars towards boosting posts, social media has the power to provide immediate results that grow slow and steadily over time. For example, if you share a blog article to your page and put just $15 towards boosting the post, it can reach hundreds to thousands more people in your target audience.
The better quality the content, including the graphics and imagery, the more clicks and web traffic you can expect to see as well. Compared to Adwords, marketing dollars on Facebook or Instagram go a long way. Organic social media strategies take much longer to take off, and is highly dependent on how active your brand is on the platform.
Email Campaign
Many companies are already sending out occasional marketing emails, such as a monthly newsletter or seasonal promotion. But a well strategized email campaign can boost your results exponentially, as 80% of marketers report email as the strongest performing media buy.
Just by improving your subject line you can see immediate increase in open rates. Then, by providing quality content or a compelling offer inside the email – your click-through rates will increase as well. With consistency in putting out numerous great emails over time, you should see an increase in sales in as little as a few weeks (depending on your industry).
SEO
Organic SEO is like a seed that needs to be consistently watered so it can eventually grow tall enough for the world to see it. In other words, it takes time. There are many factors that go into a successful SEO strategy, all of which require proper attention.
This includes blogging, website design, domain authority, meta descriptions, backlinks, and mobile formatting. But it is well worth the effort, as pages on the first page of Google receive 71% of web traffic from inquiries. Your efforts will begin to compound over time and gradually deliver greater returns the longer you do it.
• • •
A great marketing strategy is like a well-oiled machine with numerous parts functioning together as a whole. Each component requires a commitment to the continuous implementation of your digital marketing strategy!
It is equally as important to have clearly defined goals and a clearly defined target audience to make sure your marketing dollars are being spent in the right place. Not sure where to start? You may want to consider hiring a team of experts.
