September always feels like a reset. The air shifts, calendars crowd with fresh goals, and that back-to-school rhythm sneaks into our routines. For marketers, it’s not nostalgia, it’s strategy. This is the moment to pause, reassess and gear up for the busiest quarter of the year.
And here’s the truth: Q4 success rarely comes from shiny new tactics. It comes from the marketing details most teams forget, the small, unglamorous elements that quietly drive performance. At The It Crowd, we’ve seen businesses rise or stumble because of these very details. Our job isn’t to reinvent the wheel, but to make sure it’s rolling smoothly. September is your chance to revisit the digital marketing basics, dust off the fundamentals, and give your campaigns the polish they’ll need when it matters most.
The Supporting Cast of Marketing
Every story has main characters and supporting cast. In marketing, the lead roles usually go to bold ad creatives, big campaigns, or headline-grabbing ideas. But the supporting cast? They’re the subtle details that carry the plot forward.
The “background characters” of digital marketing are easy to overlook because they don’t scream for attention. Alt text, meta descriptions, internal linking, font hierarchy, and color contrast don’t show up in flashy pitch decks. But they make the difference between a brand that feels complete and one that feels half-built.
Think about it: a website can look beautiful, but if the internal linking strategy is broken, visitors won’t know where to go next. A blog can be packed with insights, but if the meta description examples are weak, no one clicks to read it. A campaign can be well-funded, but if the color contrast accessibility is poor, part of your audience can’t engage at all.
These aren’t “nice-to-haves”, they are the infrastructure of credibility and discoverability. And when Q4 competition spikes, they are what separate brands that thrive from those that scramble.
Alt Text SEO: The Overlooked Workhorse
Among the most overlooked website elements that hurt SEO, alt text might be the guiltiest culprit.
Alt text is the short description attached to an image. It’s simple, yet its value is enormous. For users relying on screen readers, it’s the difference between understanding your content and being locked out of it. For search engines, it’s how your images show up in rankings, especially in Google Image search.
Here’s the irony: businesses spend thousands on stunning photography or graphics, but they don’t spend the extra 30 seconds to add alt text. And that’s leaving traffic and accessibility compliance on the table.
How to improve SEO with small changes:
- Write descriptions that are precise: “Golden retriever puppy wearing a blue bandana” is better than “cute dog.”
- Place images near relevant copy to give context.
- Keep it natural, alt text should describe, not sell.
Alt text is proof that the details you ignore are often the details holding back your performance.
Meta Descriptions: Tiny Ads Hiding in Plain Sight
If alt text is the silent worker, meta descriptions are the tiny billboards hiding across the search results.
Too often, meta descriptions are treated as filler text or, worse, left blank. But here’s what you lose when you ignore them: every search result you rank for becomes a missed opportunity to persuade.
Strong meta descriptions act as mini-ads. They give you 160 characters to convince someone that your page is worth clicking over the nine other options they see. They don’t influence rankings directly, but they directly influence whether your page even gets a shot at being read.
Effective meta description examples include action-oriented language, unique benefits, and clarity that matches the content. Imagine searching for “best CRM for startups.” Which result would you click?
- Weak: “Learn more about our CRM software and why it’s great for startups.”
- Strong: “Find the best CRM for startups—affordable, easy to set up, and built to scale with your team.”
The second description doesn’t just inform, it sells. And when applied consistently across your site, this strategy becomes one of the most valuable website optimization tips in your toolkit.
Internal Linking Strategy: The Hidden Map of Your Website
If meta descriptions are billboards, internal linking strategy is the map. Without a map, visitors wander. With a map, they discover more of your story.
Internal links guide users from one piece of content to another. They also guide search engines in understanding how your site is structured. Yet too many teams build content silos that don’t talk to each other, leaving high-value pages stranded without pathways to or from them.
A strong internal linking plan does more than help SEO rankings. It improves user experience, keeps people engaged longer, and gently nudges them toward conversions.
One way The It Crowd approaches this is by mapping “content hubs.” For example, if a client runs a campaign on digital advertising, every blog, resource, and case study on that topic links back to a central hub page. This centralizes authority, strengthens visibility, and gives users a logical journey.
The result? More time on site, higher page views per session, and a clear story that builds trust. Neglect it, and your site becomes a collection of disconnected islands.
Font Hierarchy in Web Design: When Type Tells the Story
Now let’s shift from the structural to the visual. Font hierarchy in web design is rarely discussed in SEO circles, but it directly impacts engagement.
When users land on your page, they don’t read top to bottom like a book. They scan. Their eyes move in patterns shaped by headers, subheaders, and the contrast between text sizes and weights. A strong hierarchy guides them effortlessly. A weak one leaves them lost.
Consider this: a landing page where every line of text looks the same size and weight is like a lecture delivered in a monotone voice. You tune out. On the other hand, a clear H1 grabs attention, H2s break down sections, and body text is inviting to read. It’s the difference between a site that feels heavy and one that feels welcoming.
We once tested two versions of a campaign landing page for a client. The only difference was type scale and spacing. The version with a stronger hierarchy saw higher form submissions. No headline change, no copy change, just type adjustments. That’s the kind of lift hidden in details.
Font hierarchy isn’t about pretty design. It’s about respect for your reader’s attention.
Color Contrast Accessibility: Inclusion and Performance in One
Finally, let’s talk color contrast—the detail that reveals how much you value inclusivity.
Poor contrast is one of the most common overlooked website elements that hurt SEO indirectly. It makes text hard to read, especially on mobile or in bright conditions. It also excludes users with visual impairments, which runs counter to accessibility standards like WCAG 2.2.
But beyond compliance, contrast is about clarity. Clear, high-contrast text signals confidence. It says: “We want you to read this.” Muted, low-contrast text can look sleek in a design file, but in real life, it creates frustration.
The It Crowd has seen businesses have better engagement simply by adjusting contrast ratios. It’s not glamorous, but when your brand’s goal is to connect with as many people as possible, no detail is too small.
The September Marketing Checklist
If September is your reset moment, here’s your simple marketing audit checklist to carry into Q4:
- Audit your top 20 pages for missing or weak alt text.
- Rewrite meta descriptions with clarity and purpose.
- Map your internal links so every page is connected.
- Standardize font hierarchy across your templates.
- Run a color contrast check and fix violations.
None of these tasks take as long as a full campaign overhaul, but they create exponential results. They’re the small hinges that swing big doors.
Why The It Crowd Lives in the Details
At The It Crowd, we’ve built our reputation not just on big creative ideas, but on noticing what others miss. We believe that great marketing isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what you already have better.
Our team blends creativity with precision. We’re storytellers, yes. But we’re also architects who care about how the story is built, from the headline font down to the alt text. We thrive on the digital marketing basics because we know that’s where the real wins are found.
When we partner with clients, our role is to become the extension of their team that makes sure nothing slips through the cracks. Because in Q4, every detail counts.
The Final Bell
As the season turns, let this September remind you that sometimes the smartest move isn’t adding something new, it’s refining what you already have.
Revisit the fundamentals and use this time to refresh your marketing before Q4, not with sweeping overhauls, but with the subtle, powerful adjustments that separate strong brands from struggling ones.
At the end of the day, marketing is like school: the details you study now determine the grade you get later. And if you’re looking for a partner who thrives on those details, The It Crowd is here, pencils sharpened and ready.
