Digital marketing is the only way forward for 21st century businesses. Gone are the days when billboards and commercials determined markets and product values; everything is online now, and online buyers are the ones pushing the economy. If you’re lagging behind with your digital marketing efforts, you could be missing out on a lot of potential sales for your brand. Here are just five ways to improve your digital marketing skills.

1. Embrace SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) should be your first step towards a more virtually-focused business. It’s what you need to help your website climb the ranks of search engine results pages (SERPs) and become the first thing that people see when they look for your goods and services. Whenever someone puts “sneakers” or “hotels” into a search bar, you want your business to be front and center. This is most easily achieved with SEO and its tricks, so do your research and figure out how to integrate SEO with your site. A good way to do this is to follow SEO experts like iCrossing to learn their strategies.

2. Know Your Demographic

This is critically important for online advertisers. Since you can’t be everywhere at once, where and how should you focus your advertising efforts? If your target market is hip young artists, you might want to look to social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. If your demographic skews in an older or more technology-challenged direction, you might have better luck running an easy-to-use blog. Knowing how your customers use the web can be a big help when designing, creating and launching your website.

3. Integrate Social Media

Speaking of social media, you’ll want your website to be fully compatible with places like Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pininterest and LinkedIn. You don’t have to make any drastic changes to your site design or navigation; just throw in a few action buttons at the bottom of the screen. By allowing people to “pin it” and “tweet it,” you’ll encourage word-of-mouth brand visibility among social media users everywhere. It’s essentially free marketing powered by the people.

4. Leverage Your Location

If you run a brick-and-mortar business that relies on sales, services or actions in a physical location, it’s important that you advertise this area with your website. For example, if you own a carpet cleaning company in Phoenix, you’ll want your website to make it clear that you operate out of Phoenix. People who don’t see “Phoenix” or even “Arizona” emphasized on your website might get you confused with a similar carpet cleaner who operates elsewhere. This is a silly reason to lose sales.

5. Ensure Accessibility on All Platforms

Last but certainly not least, make sure that your company’s website can be accessed on more than just a laptop. Many people use their tablets, smartphones and e-readers to browse the web, and sites aren’t automatically compatible with these platforms. You may need to create an app or “mobile version” of your website that allows people to use it without switching devices. If you aren’t willing to accommodate their needs, you run the risk of losing their business to a competitor who is.

These are just a few ways to boost your digital marketing efforts. For more information, check out groups like iCrossing. They’ll help you improve your sales, retain your customers and generally turn your business around with smarter, more efficient marketing techniques.