Search engine optimization is an important element of any website marketing program, but it’s not the only element that a good program should have. Today we’re going to talk about another really important ingredient for search engine marketing success: interactive website marketing. There are many ways to incorporate interactive elements into your website marketing. Some of them can be pricey to implement, but others are surprisingly inexpensive and very easy. When done right, interactive website marketing is the perfect complement to search engine optimization, and a real benefit to your website’s bottom line.

What Is Interactive Website Marketing?

Interactive website marketing is any kind of website marketing which directly involves the visitors in some kind of action. Rather than simply reading the search engine optimization content, there is something else for them to do. Contact forms are not generally considered interactive website marketing, but games, eligibility calculators, forums, and many other common web design elements are. The trick to interactive marketing is that it must engage people. They must gain something from it (that might be entertainment, or something more tangible or educational).

How Does It Help My Current Search Engine Optimization Strategy?

One of the biggest benefits of interactive website marketing is that it provides something people will want to share. If you’ve got a particularly useful calculator for mortgage rates or interest, it will get shared. If you’ve got a unique game, it will go around the internet. Successful interactive marketing is about much more than entertaining a single visitor: it quickly reaches beyond an individual person, and starts bouncing around the internet at large. Once it reaches this status, it will begin benefitting your search engine optimization through increased backlinks and general traffic. Google and other web crawlers will see that your website is increasingly referenced and visited, and you’ll get a boost in your rankings to augment your current search engine optimization.

Discussion Boards Are A Simple Way To Get Started With Interactive Website Marketing

Designing and creating a web-based game from scratch is a tough task that few companies will tackle. Once you’ve got an established web presence it’s more than worth the hassle, but when most companies start out they choose a simpler website marketing technique: discussion boards. Discussion boards are a classic element of interactive website marketing. They’re easy to set up, and depending on how they’re structured and how they factor into your site, posts made on them may directly boost your search engine optimization results because they’re considered new, fresh content.

Discussion boards are interactive in an even more vital way than other forms of interactive marketing. Instead of the interaction being between a human and a computer, they’re actually able to talk with other humans. Your website can become an online gathering spot for people throughout your industry, with very positive effects.

This kind of exposure and hub status is not for every company. You might also choose to limit your forums to discussion of your products, possibly including a place where individuals can ask questions and the community can answer. This might help you indentify potential problems before they become chronic. In addition, it provides a place where your staff can answer questions and address concerns directly — a vital addition in a world where customer service is more important than ever.

Adding a discussion board to your website isn’t complicated. The website marketing team here at Upton Tech can arrange it for you, or you can talk to your own website developer about it. With a few minor tech tweaks, adding a discussion board can be just as effective as the most flashy web-based game for interactive marketing and search engine optimization.