How do you think marinas find customers these days? Word of mouth? Good reputation? The fact that they’ve been in the business for the past 30 years?
Those things count for sure, but none of this is going to pay your bills.
Nowadays, boaters are reading online reviews and comparing prices, and whether the marine industry likes it or not, this is how business gets done.
Most businesses already know this, and they’ll happily invest in marine business web marketing strategies. But if they treat it like a checkbox and don’t really know what they’re doing, they don’t see results.
Why Web Marketing Matters For Marine Business
The best way to go is to have a professional agency that specializes in the marine industry, such as the Marine Marketing Agency, do a full audit and build a strategy based on that because (successfully – the most important part) marketing an entire brand is extremely time-consuming and costly, especially if you pour resources into it with little results. It’s best to pay someone who’s done this multiple times.
They’ll know what works and what doesn’t.
But even if you’re not doing this yourself, it’s still good to familiarize yourself with why digital marketing is important and the strategies that work.
Today’s Customers Start Online
Did you know that the first result on Google receives approx. 39.8% of all clicks? More than a third.
What happens when a boat lover needs a mechanic? Or a new set of electronics?
Nobody will wait to ask around at the yacht club; they’ll pull out their phone and open a search engine. A lot of them will search on Google Maps, especially when they need help ASAP. Most potential customers, though, will start researching weeks before they buy something or book a service, so they can get as much information as possible and pick the best option. Optimizing service pages improves search engine rankings.
This happens all across the marine industry, and the National Marine Manufacturers Association has actually confirmed that boat owners turn to digital platforms more and more. By the time they reach out to a business, a marine business that hasn’t invested in local search engine optimization (SEO) won’t show up in search engines, and they’ll lose a sale.
Sturdy online marketing efforts and a focus on relevant keywords are now the way for customers to get to know you; if the business is local, then target local keywords. Pages targeting long-tail keywords have a 31% click-through rate (CTR). What this means is that if you focus on these specific/more natural queries, you’ll have less competition, and searchers will have no choice but to go to you for answers. Long-tail KWs are also more favored in AI search, which is also a great bonus.
Online Trust Affects Buying Decisions
Once you show up online, that’s part of the tedious digital marketing game. You’ve just entered the digital world, and the competition is fierce. And the marine industry is no exception. Today’s competitive marine industry invests millions into marketing just to get ahead of competitors. There’s A LOT of money to be made here, so it’s no wonder that marine businesses, even local businesses, fight over online visibility and invest heavily in customer relationships, as well as in boosting their brand name via targeted advertising, organic traffic, their social media presence, etc.
And don’t think of your competition as a necessarily bad thing. You learn A LOT from them.
If they outrank you, this simply means that they’re doing something better than you are. Analyze them. Use that knowledge to your advantage. It might be something you’ve missed in your strategy, and by implementing it, you’ll overall be better, resulting in you getting in front of them. Stellar SEO’s owner, Travis Bliffen, said in an interview on the Honest Marketing show: “Just go and see what the successful competition is doing. Just go and see what’s ranking. The answer’s right in front of you.”
But just because you’re there doesn’t mean anyone will give you their money.
They have to trust you first, and a huge chunk of that trust comes from reviews.
A whopping 97% of consumers pay attention to online reviews, and according to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey from this year, 48% of consumers trust them as much as they trust personal recommendations.
Of course, star rating matters a lot, with 47% of consumers saying they won’t do business with anyone that has fewer than 20 reviews and a rating below 4 stars. Keep in mind that those stars have to be recent to be relevant because 74% of consumers care only about those written in the last 3 months.
The business website is a factor, too, so keep it clean and current.
The Web Marketing Strategies That Produce the Best Results
You’d think you need to be everywhere because the more places you are, the better your chances of customers finding you. But that’s not necessarily the case because that approach usually ends up wasting both your time and money.
All you really need are a handful of digital marketing strategies.
Local SEO Brings More Qualified Visitors
When a boater needs a mechanic, they won’t type in ‘boat repair’ and then look for someone in the neighboring state. They’ll search for something like ‘marine diesel mechanic near me.’ This is why local SEO is so important. It might just be the most valuable part of your marketing strategy.
First, claim and optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP), and pay special attention to high-quality photos. Use local keywords to help search engines understand which area you work in. Once that’s done, put your focus on earning high-quality backlinks from other businesses or boating industry organizations.
That’ll tell Google that your business is legit.
A Better Website Produces More Inquiries
If you can get people to your website, pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
Now you need to keep visitors there, though. A high-performing website has to be responsive across most mobile devices because most of your visitors are on their phones. If the text is so small they have to squint or your buttons don’t react to tapping right away, they’ll give up.
Fast loading is important, too, as are simple navigation and clear calls to action on every page.
Content Marketing Builds Authority
If your website only lists services and prices, nobody will stick around for long, and you won’t have too many returning readers. This is where content marketing can help. If your content is of particularly high value/quality, it’ll also help in building backlinks as it gets shared by others online.
That’s what can show potential customers that you’re an expert in your field and your business actually knows what it’s talking about. Publish valuable, relevant content like buying guides, articles on maintenance, electronics, FAQs, etc. Social media platforms also benefit from content marketing, because you can always recycle/repurpose existing web content onto other channels (social media in this case).
Every new blog post will give search engines fresh material to index and more keywords to rank for. Over time, this’ll build brand awareness.
Email and Paid Advertising Increase Sales Opportunities
Local SEO can get you strong organic traffic, no doubt about it. But some customers need a little nudge in the right direction, which is where email marketing and paid digital advertising come in.
Email marketing is probably one of the most underrated channels out there. You’ll hear that email is dead. But that cannot be further from what the numbers are showing. Email has one of the highest returns on investment (ROI) compared to all other marketing channels. In 2027, email marketing revenue is projected to exceed $17,9 billion (USD).
Google Ads will get you people who are actively searching for services, and you can always remarket to take things further and show targeted ads to people who were already on your site but didn’t spend any money.
Why the Best Results Come From Combining Strategies
The mistake many marine owners make is that they pick one strategy and then focus only on that. But that makes no sense because no single channel can do everything.
Every Channel Has a Different Job
Every digital strategy is like one tool in your toolbox, and unfortunately, you really do need all your tools.
Search engine optimization is how you get boating enthusiasts to find your business, and social media marketing builds presence and trust, especially if you’ve got reviews from satisfied clients. Email marketing will help you bring past customers back, and paid ads help get things going when they’re slow.
Track the Numbers That Matter
No marine marketing plan can work if the information behind it is bad (or non-existent). This means that you have to track the important numbers, like website traffic, bookings, inquiries, and so on. Increased sales are the ultimate proof that you have effective strategies in place.
Cost per lead will help you see if the channel in question is worth the investment, and conversion rate will show how many visitors turn into customers.
Statistics are clear on one thing: those that track performance do better than those who don’t.
A HubSpot-backed study actually found that businesses that analyze their marketing data are 3 times more likely to get strong returns!
FAQ
What is the 3-3-3 rule in marketing?
This means that you focus on 3 key messages about your brand, 3 target audiences, and use 3 main marketing channels to reach your customers.
What are the 5 marketing strategies to promote business?
Building a website, optimizing your Google Business Profile, running targeted paid ads, using social proof (e.g., reviews and testimonials), and following up with leads.
What is a BoAt marketing strategy?
This is a strategy for marketing boats and/or a boat business with the primary goal of attracting customers/buyers.
What are the 7 strategies of marketing?
Product (what you’re selling), price (how much you charge), place (where your customers can buy the product), promotion (how you communicate your value), people (your staff), process (the experience of buying), and physical evidence (the proof that builds trust).
Conclusion
You can do this on your own, or you can hire a boat marketing agency.
The thing is, good marketing will transform your business, so unless you truly know what you’re doing, it’s best to leave this to professionals. Yes, it’s an investment, but it’s also the road to success.
If you ignore web marketing, you’ll soon be asking yourself why the phone doesn’t ring as much as it used to.
