Holger Freier believes that anyone who wants to do SEO marketing today successfully should not only rely on backlinks but also use social networks. The 38-year-old eCommerce, affiliate marketing, and social media expert explains in an online course how to use social networks in a resource-saving manner.

For established companies, it is primarily about the optimal positioning of their presence in the search engines – especially on Google. And that means a lot of search engine optimization, for example through backlinks. For young companies, however, Google is no longer the last word in wisdom. There are several reasons for this: Firstly, it sometimes takes months for SEO measures to have a positive effect and secondly, no reputable agency in the world can ultimately guarantee good rankings. In addition, search engine optimization is not exactly cheap and puts a strain on the already tight budgets of young start-ups. Young companies have no other choice than to carry out SEO work themselves. This saves them costs, but it takes up a lot of time. This time is then missing to concentrate on the actual core business.

Social networks – A good complement to SEO marketing

Since the launch of social networks in Germany – and especially Facebook – there have been other interesting ways to build traffic besides Google. With over a billion users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. Even though the majority of users use Facebook primarily to quickly post vacation photos or chat about the weather, more and more people expect their favorite brand to have its own Facebook fan page that provides them with current product information, for example. Facebook therefore offers a lot of potential for companies to build up a reputation, maintain it, and make new contacts. Even though clever entrepreneurs have long recognized the potential, many are still hesitant to use social media for marketing purposes.

Facebook and Google+ AS a medium for online advertising

Facebook offers excellent opportunities to generate interest-driven visitor flows in a short space of time. You just need to know how to address potential customers in a targeted manner. And that is one of Facebook’s greatest strengths. Potential interested parties can be selected precisely according to criteria to display advertising for them. Advertisers can target users based on demographics or interests and thus minimize costs. The success of an advertising campaign can be measured using Facebook Insights and calculated using various billing methods, such as “pay per click”. The advertiser retains control over the costs incurred per visitor. The data obtained from a Facebook campaign helps to avoid wastage when running future online campaigns. Or they can end the campaign if it is not lucrative enough.

But Facebook is not the only way to distribute content and make a brand known, but also Google+, which is currently experiencing strong user growth in Germany. As with the Facebook fan page, companies should also ensure that the profile on Google+ is regularly filled with user-relevant content. This should be accompanied by other measures, such as using the Google Plus button and linking the Google Plus page to the company page.

Conclusion: Effective use of Facebook and Google+ requires solid expertise

Marketing in social networks is not a sure-fire success. Using Facebook ads in particular to conserve resources requires a high level of expertise and a well-thought-out strategy. The main question to be considered is where the company’s relevant target group is and which marketing campaigns will bind them to your company in the long term. It is important to develop a feel for the language of the users and to provide users with current content.