Planning in advance can help you avoid trouble later.

Before navigation systems became a common item in vehicles, the typical family had to follow a roadmap while enjoying a family vacation.  A good navigator knows three very important things: where you are now, where you want to be, and the best way to get there. Without a roadmap getting from here to there is a risky business.

Creating a roadmap for your marketing strategy is vital to success, especially when you are marketing online.  Here are four components every business should consider when developing an online marketing roadmap.

SEO Roadmaps:

Where are we now?

1. Establish measurable goals and objectives.

Setting measurable goals for your website is becoming easier all the time due to useful tools like Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools.  These tools provide extremely valuable information such as the number of impressions and traffic your site receives, your bounce rate, and your conversion rate.

Where do we want to be?

2. Analyze the competition and find a niche.

Find a niche in which you can be successful and then expand from there.  Determine what you do well when compared to your competition and emphasize those qualities.  Base your campaign around these qualities that make you unique, e.g., best, high quality, inexpensive, or discounted.

What is the best route to reach the destination?

3. Optimize your site to increase rank potential.

Commit to using good SEO practices throughout your site.  Attention to detail goes a long way when it comes to search engines.  Avoid the temptation of using duplicate content rather than writing unique content for each page/product.  Get sound advice from an SEO professional.

4. Determine the investment you are capable of.

Decide how fast you hope to achieve goals.  Are you hoping for a quick jump in traffic or are you looking for a more natural increase?  Remember that SEO is truly an investment and if you put enough into it you can expect to get great results.

Enhance your marketing strategies by taking the time to lay out a roadmap.  Know where your business currently stands, know where you want to be, and develop the right plan to get you there.  You will reach your destination much more quickly when you start out on the right path.

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Colton is the former Director of SEO Strategy at Boostability testing and defining the products and processes that make Boostability's customers successful. He was part of Boostability for over 8 years. Colton loves hanging out with his family and gaming. He runs a personal blog over at www.coltonjmiller.com where he discusses gaming, life, and SEO.