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How Small Businesses Like Yours Are Leveraging Search Engine Optimization

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When it comes to trying to capture the attention of potential customers online, search engine optimization is key to your online success, especially for small, local businesses! In fact, in 2016, searches containing “near me” – i.e. auto repair near me, tacos near me, etc. – increase 34x since 2011!

This means customers near you are looking for your category of business, but the question is: are you appearing in the search results? Because a huge amount of the traffic from a search goes to the first three results on the first page of google. And very few people head to the second page of results.

Let’s look at how you as a small business can make search engine optimization (SEO) help build your business! And remember, we’re always available to talk.

The below statistics were supplied by The Google Mobile Playbook.

Producing High-Quality, Local ContentSearch Engine Optimization

One of the best things you can do to boost your SEO ranking is to create high-quality, engaging and local content. This content is what will help searchers convert into customers, giving them the information they need to make a decision and providing a link to the product or contact and location information so they can come to the store and make the purchase.

In regards to local, mobile searches, 51% of searchers will visit a store after completing the search; 48% of them will call the store; and, 29% of them will visit the store and complete the purchase quickly. This means local searches are extremely valuable, and creating content geared toward them is rewarding.

Employing An SEO Firm To Clean Up Data

Another way of boosting your SEO to get further up the rankings is to clean up the data behind your website.

It’s usually a good idea to hire an SEO firm like ours to go in and clean up these bits, such as page titles, descriptions, dead or misdirected links and organizing the sitemap. Everything needs to be geared toward your business and streamlined to give you the best ranking for the keywords your business needs.

Contact us anytime to learn more about how we can help you climb the rankings and capture more customers searching for your products or services locally!

How Small Businesses Like Yours Are Leveraging Search Engine Optimization

/in

When it comes to trying to capture the attention of potential customers online, search engine optimization is key to your online success, especially for small, local businesses! In fact, in 2016, searches containing “near me” – i.e. auto repair near me, tacos near me, etc. – increase 34x since 2011!

This means customers near you are looking for your category of business, but the question is: are you appearing in the search results? Because a huge amount of the traffic from a search goes to the first three results on the first page of google. And very few people head to the second page of results.

Let’s look at how you as a small business can make search engine optimization (SEO) help build your business! And remember, we’re always available to talk.

The below statistics were supplied by The Google Mobile Playbook.

Producing High-Quality, Local ContentSearch Engine Optimization

One of the best things you can do to boost your SEO ranking is to create high-quality, engaging and local content. This content is what will help searchers convert into customers, giving them the information they need to make a decision and providing a link to the product or contact and location information so they can come to the store and make the purchase.

In regards to local, mobile searches, 51% of searchers will visit a store after completing the search; 48% of them will call the store; and, 29% of them will visit the store and complete the purchase quickly. This means local searches are extremely valuable, and creating content geared toward them is rewarding.

Employing An SEO Firm To Clean Up Data

Another way of boosting your SEO to get further up the rankings is to clean up the data behind your website.

It’s usually a good idea to hire an SEO firm like ours to go in and clean up these bits, such as page titles, descriptions, dead or misdirected links and organizing the sitemap. Everything needs to be geared toward your business and streamlined to give you the best ranking for the keywords your business needs.

Contact us anytime to learn more about how we can help you climb the rankings and capture more customers searching for your products or services locally!

Times Square packed with billboardsPhoto by Luca Bravo on Unsplash

How Search Engine Marketing Has Brought Billboards To Their Knees

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These days, search engine marketing is king. Television, radio, newspaper and even roadside billboards have begun to fall by the wayside as Google and other advertising providers have brought the ability to target advertisements down to the individual, to the masses. In fact, the goliath of advertising spending – TV – is set to be overtaken by search engine marketing and online advertising in 2017. Meanwhile, billboards continue to be a miniscule portion of advertising spending in the U.S., with $9.2 billion spent in 2015, while online advertising had about $67 billion spent by advertisers with a much higher growth rate.
We’re always available to talk, anytime you want to take a look at how search engine marketing can help your business thrive.
For this post, a study by MarketingCharts supplied the statistics.

Statisticspexels-photo-12

The biggest reason billboards are not growing as fast as search engine marketing and other channels is they can’t be tracked. When a person drives past a billboard, you as the advertiser won’t be able to track whether they saw the advertisement, whether they later go to your website or call you, whether they see your ad again later or who they were (demographically speaking)!
With online advertising and search engine marketing, you can track all of those things and more, making sure that your ad is as effective as possible!

 

Location

With billboards, you can only place your advertisements in certain locations: alongside roadways, in city centers, etc. And you’ll need to rotate the billboards in order to be able to reach new audiences, with no guarantee that people are actually looking at your billboard.
With online advertising and search engine marketing, you can target ads directly at certain demographics, and with Google you can even target ads at people who live on a certain block in a city! This means they will be served the ads in many places across the internet, without having to waste money showing the ad to people who aren’t your target customer!
Contact us anytime to chat about how we can help boost your ROI with search engine marketing!

How Search Engine Marketing Has Brought Billboards To Their Knees

/in ,

These days, search engine marketing is king. Television, radio, newspaper and even roadside billboards have begun to fall by the wayside as Google and other advertising providers have brought the ability to target advertisements down to the individual, to the masses. In fact, the goliath of advertising spending – TV – is set to be overtaken by search engine marketing and online advertising in 2017. Meanwhile, billboards continue to be a miniscule portion of advertising spending in the U.S., with $9.2 billion spent in 2015, while online advertising had about $67 billion spent by advertisers with a much higher growth rate.
We’re always available to talk, anytime you want to take a look at how search engine marketing can help your business thrive.
For this post, a study by MarketingCharts supplied the statistics.

Statisticspexels-photo-12

The biggest reason billboards are not growing as fast as search engine marketing and other channels is they can’t be tracked. When a person drives past a billboard, you as the advertiser won’t be able to track whether they saw the advertisement, whether they later go to your website or call you, whether they see your ad again later or who they were (demographically speaking)!
With online advertising and search engine marketing, you can track all of those things and more, making sure that your ad is as effective as possible!

 

Location

With billboards, you can only place your advertisements in certain locations: alongside roadways, in city centers, etc. And you’ll need to rotate the billboards in order to be able to reach new audiences, with no guarantee that people are actually looking at your billboard.
With online advertising and search engine marketing, you can target ads directly at certain demographics, and with Google you can even target ads at people who live on a certain block in a city! This means they will be served the ads in many places across the internet, without having to waste money showing the ad to people who aren’t your target customer!
Contact us anytime to chat about how we can help boost your ROI with search engine marketing!

Three green mailboxes against a brick wall in low lightPhoto by Muukii on Unsplash

4 Awesome Stats To Help Small Businesses Win At Email Marketing

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Email marketing can be difficult. One of the best ways to make sure that you’re successful at it is to be consistent. You may need help with that, and we’re always available to talk about how we can help you increase your revenue. But besides consistency, what other tips can help make your email marketing more effective?

HubSpot, one of the largest email marketing solutions out there, supplied the below statistics for this post.

1. People Are More Likely To Click Certain WordsEmail Marketing

When you’re writing the ‘call-to-action’ for your email, stick with something which includes “Click Here” rather than “Go” or “Submit”. “Click Here” has a much higher click rate than the other words, meaning more people will head to wherever you’ve linked the button to which is hopefully a landing page on your website!

2. Images Are Preferred To Text

Before you start typing your first draft, consider doing more with less. Use images to help get your message across. It turns out that 65% of people prefer more images than text in their emails, so be sure to capitalize on that with descriptive imagery and fewer words. We generally suggest 200 words or less per email.

3. Don’t Send Plain Text

In line with that, images are only visible in HTML emails. Even if they weren’t, 88% of users prefer to receive HTML emails over plain text emails, plain text meaning that there isn’t any formatting, fonts, colors or anything like that. So while some of your customers may find value in having emails be bare bones and get straight to the point, a vast majority appreciate a little flourish and style.

4. Optimize For Mobile Reading

And, we believe the most important tip here is to optimize your emails for mobile devices. 80.8% of users are reading emails on a mobile device!

Your email marketing software may be able to help you with this, but be sure to send yourself and/or your staff a test email and open it on multiple mobile devices to see how the images show up and how the text wraps, as well as if the links/buttons are able to be clicked easily.

Contact us anytime to chat about how we can help boost your ROI with email marketing!

Two people with laptops on their laps browsing onlinePhoto by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

4 Reasons Online Advertising Will Make Or Break Local Businesses

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Online advertising is growing and growing, and will only continue to grow as more people get online and businesses can’t reach consumers through traditional means.

At Cohlab, we work hard to help small, local businesses succeed in their online advertising strategies because we know this is make or break for many local businesses, and will only increase in importance. Contact us anytime to chat about how we can help boost your business!

1. More People Are Online Than EverOnline Advertising

In 2016, the number of Americans online increased to 87%. That’s up from only 52% in 2000, an increase of 35%!

The number of people online, and searching and shopping online will only continue to increase, especially as younger generations continue to mature. The target market for your business will be online from here on out, and while the methods of reaching them may change, the channel will remain online.

2. Ads Are More Effective

New techniques, like retargeting (targeting online consumers based on past online actions i.e. visiting your website or searching for a keyword) allow you to get way better ROI than in the past. In fact, users who are retargeted are 70% more likely to convert into customers than those who are advertised to randomly. As well, the average click-through rate for display ads is .07%, but with retargeting it’s 10x higher at .7%!

3. Searches Are Becoming More Local

Google continuously works to help local businesses more prominent in search results, as they can typically fill searchers needs better. In light of this, when searchers are looking for something local i.e. “car repair near me”, the 3-pack of map results shows up in the top spot 93% of the time! So it’s very important to target those local searches with your ads, especially if you’re not naturally showing up in those local searches.

As well, getting your name in front of a searcher is important because 50% of searchers who conduct a local search on their smart phone visit a store within a day.

4. Searches Are Becoming More Effective

With recent updates like Penguin and Possum, searches are only becoming more and more effective at displaying the most relevant results to searchers. This means you either need to have the best and most pertinent content, or you need the best online advertising campaigns possible in order to keep your business running. If you don’t have the manpower or time to keep your website fresh and top notch, online advertising is going to help keep those online dollars rolling in.

Let us know when you’re ready to chat about online advertising, and how it can work for your business!

Man viewing analytics on computer

4 Ways Search Engine Optimization Has Changed In 2016 (So Far)

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The search engine optimization (SEO) game is always changing. That’s why people hire firms like ours – to keep their website ranking well for the keywords which are important to their industry, among other reasons.

At Cohlab, we stay on top of the latest news and developments in the world of SEO so you don’t have to. But if you want to here’s a breakdown of the big news, in chronological order, in SEO so far this year.

1. Google Moves Ads To Top Of Search [February]Search Engine Optimization

You might be thinking, “Hey, ads are part of search engine marketing (SEM), not SEO.” And you’d be right. Except we’re not paying attention to the movement of the ads, but the reason behind the movement of the ads.

Until February, Google AdWords ads were displayed at the top and bottom as well as the right-hand column of the search engine results pages (SERPs). The top and bottom each might have had between 1-3 ads, while the right-hand side could host up to 8 ads. After the change, the right-hand side ads were removed completely, and now between 1-4 ads will appear on the top with 1-3 ads on the bottom.

This is important because this reduces the total number of ads visible for a search, which increases the importance of appearing naturally in search results – SEO.

It’s also important because of why it was done – to create a uniform experience across desktop and mobile devices. This means optimizing your website for mobile, as well as optimizing the content on it to rank better in search is absolutely necessary.

2. Panda Update Makes Content More Important [March]

Content received another boost as a ranking factor for SERPs in March. Panda is the name of an update to Google’s search algorithm meant to lower the rank of websites with little content or low-quality content. While Panda was first implemented in 2011, it was updated this year to place even more importance on the quality of the content on a page.

3. Increasing Relevance Of Mobile-First Design [May]

In April 2015, Google started the process of dropping the SERP ranking for websites which weren’t mobile-friendly. In May, this process was ramped up dramatically, because more Google searched than ever before are being performed on mobile devices.

Mobile-first and responsive website design are more important than ever to retaining people’s interest in your website and converting them into customers.

4. RankBrain Update Makes Great Content Even More Important [June]

RankBrain is Google’s name for their machine-learning AI system they are using to help process searches and rank websites. RankBrain was rolled out to less than 15% of search queries at the end of 2015, and this summer was rolled out to every single search which goes through Google.

While this update is important, we’re keeping most of our knowledge on this update for our current clients. If you’re interested in learning more, we’d be happy to help you improve your website and SEO!

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4 Simple Search Engine Marketing Pitfalls To Sidestep

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Search engine marketing is an ever-changing subject with lots of techniques and subjects to learn about. It truly is a full-time job to use it effectively for your business.

If you’re tackling SEM on your own, we hope these tips help you succeed. If you’re looking for some extra, help, let us know. We have multiple Google AdWords, Google Display Network and Analytics experts on staff.

1. Spreading Your Ads Thinsky-ditch-eye-hole

You may believe that by not targeting your ads, you’ll be able to hit everyone and have a better chance of getting more sales. In reality, it’s like hoping a rainstorm will put out your house fire; no, you need a lot of concentrated water in one spot, not a ton of water spread out over miles.

Target your ads at the people who will be most likely to react to them: target by age, gender, income, language, device they are using, along with targeting people who have visited your website in the past 30, 60 or 90 days.

2. Unfocused Ad Groups

Each ad group you create should have a single focus. Don’t make the ad group do too much, because if it’s not focused people will be less likely to click on it because it doesn’t pertain to the problem they’re searching to solve for.

3. Directing Ads To Poor Pages

Okay, so you’ve targeted your ad, and you’re pretty sure people are going to click on it. But where is it taking them?

Make sure the page you’re sending them to is worth their time. If they’re clicking on the ad expecting information about your lawn mowing services, make sure the page describes what they’ll get, pricing, and how to get in touch with you (fill out a form, call, email, location, etc.) If your landing page is vague, not helpful or doesn’t have prominent contact information, it’s not going to perform well with your SEM ads.

4. Resting On Your Laurels

Finally, remember to keep studying! One of the hardest parts of managing a search engine marketing strategy is keeping on top of the latest strategies, technology and information.

Google is constantly putting out new features for clients to try, and sometimes those features are rolled out early only to digital marketing agencies who are Google Partners, like us. That means we get to play with and test features, learning how best to use them before the general public does, giving us an advantage.

If you’d like some expert help with your SEM strategy, give us a call or send us an email. We hope these tips have helped start you on the right path!

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How Online Advertising Can Boost Your Offline Sales

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As many as 88% of consumers, and probably more now, are researching items online and then buying them in a physical store. This is according to a 2013 study by Accenture, and from it and other data we can see that the world between online and offline is blurring in regards to the purchasing process.

Whether the customer is searching for your product or brand, or is doing a related search you have an ad running for, your online ads can and do boost your offline sales. Here are some strategies to get you started, but if you are looking for more detailed advice, contact us for help.

Direct Searchers To Your Storestocksnap_rzwm4t2uad

No matter what page your ad takes the consumer to, you should have some sort of contact information nearby. People need to be able to see your phone number, address or even a map so they can contact you and find you easily.

While this information might not always fit neatly into your ad, it should be on your landing page.

Target Searchers Who Fit Your Demographics

Woody Allen famously said, “80% of success is showing up.” This couldn’t be more true as it applies to online advertising and store sales.

If you’re not doing online advertising, you’re missing out on sales, period. By doing any form of online advertising, you’re already halfway there.

One great way to refine your online advertising is by targeting your key demographics. Through Google AdWords and the Display Network, you can target people by location, gender, income and many other guidelines to increase the impact of your ads by getting in front of the right people.

Target Mobile Searchers Nearby

Like we just mentioned, you can target people by location. But even better than that, with AdWords and the Google Display Network you can target ONLY mobile phones and ONLY within a certain area, like your local downtown district. This ensures your ad is hitting nearby mobile users who are very likely to drop in.

According to Google, 32% of consumers say that location-based search ads have led them to visit a store or make a purchase, so it’s important to take advantage of these ads to drive visits to your offline location.

Include Location, Directions, Call Options

More than 70% of consumers who have used ad features such as directions or the call button say it’s important to have location information in ads, according to Google.

Sometimes it is beneficial to have your phone number, address, or even general location directions (i.e. Inside the Crossroads Mall) on your online advertisements.

Create Direct Call Ads

Google allows businesses to create Direct Call ads. These ads show up on search results only through AdWords, and only appear on mobile phones, not on desktops. Once clicked, the ads place a call to the number you choose rather than displaying a website, leading the consumer directly into a conversation with you.

This is a tactic which could be very beneficial for certain businesses, and if used right could lead to additional sales.

If you’d like some expert help with online advertising, give us a call or send us an email. We hope these tips have helped!