Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
Running an efficient digital marketing campaign requires a diverse range of tactics. One successful method used is display ads. Display ads can vary in the type of ad you use including everything from text and images to flash animation and videos. Also known as banner ads, they are used to project your message and entice internet users to click on them to bring them back to your website. Display advertising is a form of paid digital advertising in which your ad will be posted on other sites strategically chosen to reach your target market. They are an essential tool that should be part of your digital marketing strategy.
This is an example of a display ad. When running display ads there are normally 8 or more variations depending on the size of screen.
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
Any time you drive down the road; it is likely that you are bombarded with billboards for any number of industries all to capture your attention, cement their brand in your head, and encourage you to purchase their product or service. The problem with roadside billboards is that they are not specially targeted to your specific market, and are placed in hopes that enough people who need your service will see it and act on it to generate ROI. Billboards can start at over $1000 per month, and are stagnant, only appearing in one location. Display ads differ in that you could run a successful display ad campaign for a conservative budget of only $200 per month. Furthermore, your display ads could appear on a variety of strategic websites whether you place them on weather.com or hgtv.com.
Why Are Display Ads So Important?
Display ads are not new. In fact, banner ads were one of the first forms of digital advertising on the internet. In the early days, banner ads were highly successful. However, their usefulness and use declined. However, display ads have come a long way from the standard sized banner ads. Better targeting on the right websites, internet speeds allowing the rapid use of audio and video, and various sized ads for maximum effect have once again brought display ads to the forefront. Furthermore, the cost of display ads has also decreased making them a very sound investment.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of display ads. It is critical that prospects be targeted with the best message, in the best manner, at the best time. Creating a strategy can be a challenging effort. That is why we “cohlaborate” with you to ensure you get the most out of your efforts.
Learn more about our PPC Management Service and the special limited time offer that will build your brand and your ROI at an incredible rate. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
Running an efficient digital marketing campaign requires a diverse range of tactics. One successful method used is display ads. Display ads can vary in the type of ad you use including everything from text and images to flash animation and videos. Also known as banner ads, they are used to project your message and entice internet users to click on them to bring them back to your website. Display advertising is a form of paid digital advertising in which your ad will be posted on other sites strategically chosen to reach your target market. They are an essential tool that should be part of your digital marketing strategy.
This is an example of a display ad. When running display ads there are normally 8 or more variations depending on the size of screen.
Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet
Any time you drive down the road; it is likely that you are bombarded with billboards for any number of industries all to capture your attention, cement their brand in your head, and encourage you to purchase their product or service. The problem with roadside billboards is that they are not specially targeted to your specific market, and are placed in hopes that enough people who need your service will see it and act on it to generate ROI. Billboards can start at over $1000 per month, and are stagnant, only appearing in one location. Display ads differ in that you could run a successful display ad campaign for a conservative budget of only $200 per month. Furthermore, your display ads could appear on a variety of strategic websites whether you place them on weather.com or hgtv.com.
Why Are Display Ads So Important?
Display ads are not new. In fact, banner ads were one of the first forms of digital advertising on the internet. In the early days, banner ads were highly successful. However, their usefulness and use declined. However, display ads have come a long way from the standard sized banner ads. Better targeting on the right websites, internet speeds allowing the rapid use of audio and video, and various sized ads for maximum effect have once again brought display ads to the forefront. Furthermore, the cost of display ads has also decreased making them a very sound investment.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of display ads. It is critical that prospects be targeted with the best message, in the best manner, at the best time. Creating a strategy can be a challenging effort. That is why we “cohlaborate” with you to ensure you get the most out of your efforts.
Learn more about our PPC Management Service and the special limited time offer that will build your brand and your ROI at an incredible rate. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.
Google’s Panda Update: It is All About Quality
Google is once again changing the game with its Google Panda update. We’ve often discussed the importance of SEO optimization being in-line with Google’s algorithm. In addition, we’ve shared the importance of having high-quality content on your website. Panda is another Google SEO algorithm update that makes this even more crucial. Google designs its algorithm to ensure that the best quality and most relevant sites for a given search term is offered in search engine results. Obviously, websites that are higher to the top of the list will have more traffic and more conversions than websites on page two or three of the results. Content is a significant driver that determines your site rank.
What Is The Panda Update and Why Should You Care?
Panda is an update to the Google algorithm that is now integrated into its core SEO engine. Named for Google engineer Navneet Panda, who developed the technology to implement the algorithm, Panda is specially designed to lower the rank of websites with “low-quality” or “thin” content. Due to Panda, it is now more important than ever that your site contains content that is of the highest quality. Panda was first introduced in 2011 and is updated periodically. This latest Panda update allows websites that were previously penalized by Panda for poor content to rise to the top of the rankings once more if the website made the appropriate changes. However, the update also places more importance on quality. This means that if your site has been enjoying positive results from your organic SEO strategies if your success did not include the use of a higher-level quality in content, your traffic could see a significant drop.
How to Handle the Panda Update
If your website already uses exceptional content, you should have nothing to fear. In fact, it is likely that as poor quality sites begin dropping in rank, your site’s rank will rise. The best way to determine how Panda is affecting you is to use Google Analytics and keep an eye on your stats. However, if you know or are unsure if your site has the level of quality Google now requires, there are ways to overcome a possible drop in rank. Matt Cutts, the head of spam at Google describes the type of content the new update is looking for.
“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”
Given that description, you may have some work to do to freshen up the content on your website.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of digital marketing through the use of quality content. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand their needs through solid data. Creating and delivering content of this caliber can be a challenging effort. That is why we partner with you and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.
Did you know that online reviews are becoming increasingly important?
Google’s Panda Update: It is All About Quality
Google is once again changing the game with its Google Panda update. We’ve often discussed the importance of SEO optimization being in-line with Google’s algorithm. In addition, we’ve shared the importance of having high-quality content on your website. Panda is another Google SEO algorithm update that makes this even more crucial. Google designs its algorithm to ensure that the best quality and most relevant sites for a given search term is offered in search engine results. Obviously, websites that are higher to the top of the list will have more traffic and more conversions than websites on page two or three of the results. Content is a significant driver that determines your site rank.
What Is The Panda Update and Why Should You Care?
Panda is an update to the Google algorithm that is now integrated into its core SEO engine. Named for Google engineer Navneet Panda, who developed the technology to implement the algorithm, Panda is specially designed to lower the rank of websites with “low-quality” or “thin” content. Due to Panda, it is now more important than ever that your site contains content that is of the highest quality. Panda was first introduced in 2011 and is updated periodically. This latest Panda update allows websites that were previously penalized by Panda for poor content to rise to the top of the rankings once more if the website made the appropriate changes. However, the update also places more importance on quality. This means that if your site has been enjoying positive results from your organic SEO strategies if your success did not include the use of a higher-level quality in content, your traffic could see a significant drop.
How to Handle the Panda Update
If your website already uses exceptional content, you should have nothing to fear. In fact, it is likely that as poor quality sites begin dropping in rank, your site’s rank will rise. The best way to determine how Panda is affecting you is to use Google Analytics and keep an eye on your stats. However, if you know or are unsure if your site has the level of quality Google now requires, there are ways to overcome a possible drop in rank. Matt Cutts, the head of spam at Google describes the type of content the new update is looking for.
“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”
Given that description, you may have some work to do to freshen up the content on your website.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of digital marketing through the use of quality content. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand their needs through solid data. Creating and delivering content of this caliber can be a challenging effort. That is why we partner with you and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.
Did you know that online reviews are becoming increasingly important?
Photo by NordWood Themes on UnsplashYouTube – The Second Largest Search Engine
YouTube—a search engine? Most people would immediately discount that because everyone knows that YouTube is site for sharing videos, right? Actually, more than 3 billion searches are done every month on YouTube, which is more than AOL, Ask, Bing, and Yahoo! combined!
People go to YouTube all the time to find a specific video or channel, and how do they find that? They search for it, of course. Even those who only go to the site with the intention of watching new videos from their subscriptions may end up doing a search or two. There are 100 hours of new video content being uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day. With that much new content being added, it’s impossible to simply browse the site and try to find what you want. You have to search for it.
Another factor that contributes to YouTube’s huge number of monthly searches is the fact that almost 50 percent of all internet users use YouTube, and the site gets a billion unique visitors every month. These billion visitors watch 6 billion hours of videos on YouTube each month. If all these users lived in one country, that country would be the third-largest in the world!
YouTube continues to grow, too. One year the number of overall monthly views increased by 50 percent, a huge jump for a website. The infographic below includes more interesting facts and figures about YouTube.
Does your Digital Marketing Strategy include a YouTube Strategy? If not, contact Cohlab Digital Marketing to learn how to implement YouTube into your content Strategy.
Created by Mushroom Networks
Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on UnsplashHow to Recycle Content for Your Blog or Website
In our last content based article, we discussed how to choose blog topics that will generate the SEO results you hope for. We mentioned that there was certainly value in recycling or repurposing content from your blog or website when done properly. In this article, we will take a closer look at this practice including the proper time and place for it, as well as how to do it effectively. When we have content on our site that has been hugely popular or that has contributed to a high number of conversions, it only makes sense to use it as a benchmark for future content. Instead of allowing that content to sit stagnant on your site, recycling it can both bring back the same visitors who made it successful with a fresh spin, and also generate an entirely new crop.
Benefits of Recycled Content
When creating a new piece of content, in order to be effective, it takes a lot of time and effort. Because your time is valuable, it can be limiting if you are re-inventing the wheel every time you post. The research, planning, and writing of content can be significantly reduced through content recycling. The practice is also valuable to generate a jump in your SEO efforts. Having multiple content pieces that use the same keywords or focus on the same subject can drive more traffic, rank higher in the search engine results, and generate more backlinks. Also, if you use the same content, but optimize it for different mediums, you can reach entirely new audiences. From a standpoint of your branding, it also will help to reinforce your position as an expert on the subject and reinforce your desired message.
What Is Recycle-Worthy?
It may seem daunting to select the best of the best material for content recycling. It is true, not all content is recycle-worthy. However, finding opportunities to do it is not as difficult as it may seem. Your blog archive is the perfect place to begin your search. Simply start by reviewing your past content, or search for content related to the topic you wish to revisit. There are four primary aspects that you should be considering as you do this. First, the content should be high-quality. If the original content was choppy and full of holes, it is likely not a great candidate unless you plan to start from scratch. Also, the subject matter should remain relevant. This type of content is commonly known as “evergreen”. The message should be just as valuable today as the day it was first presented. Analytics can be of help as well. Look at the posts that were most popular. There is a recycle-worthy reason for that. Finally, think about whether or not there is room to expand on what was said. If you feel the information can be improved upon, added to, or has changed, it is probably an excellent candidate.
How Can I Recycle It?
There are many great ways to recycle your past content. Some are basic while others require some creativity. Use the selected content to create new posts. Simply expand on selected portions of the original content by adding detail, providing examples, or relating it to new developments in your field. The recycled material also does not necessarily need to be in the same format as the original. You could use the content as a basis to create an online slideshow, and infographic, or a video. If the content is truly exceptional and highly valuable, you may not need to do anything more than to repost it on your social media pages or highlight it on your front page. Another favorite tactic is to transform the article into an email series to send to your list or to create an eBook. These are just a few of the many valuable ways to recycle content. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and come up with some of your own.
Content can be expensive from a standpoint of both time and money. Moreover, while there is no way of getting around the fact that new content needs to be continually generated, there is still great value in squeezing every last drop of usefulness out of content you’ve already used. Recycled content can even be strategically placed in your overall marketing plan to boost traffic when you need it most. Just as a professional SEO company can help provide you with quality new original content, they can help you maximize the effectiveness of content you already have.
Use our complimentary Digital Marketing Scorecard to gain valuable insight on how your website rank compares to others. We are also glad to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.
Photo by Kaleidico on UnsplashHow To Pick Your Blog Topics – A Few Top Tips
Having a blog for your business is an invaluable addition to your overall SEO strategy. However, to generate the results you need to bolster a competitive online presence requires consistency, quality, and relevance. Consistency can be achieved relatively easily by creating a plan. Quality and relevance are not always as simple. If you are adept at writing, have someone on your team who is, or have hired a professional writer or SEO company, it will make your life a bit easier. However, it can often be challenging to come up with a topic to write about. Furthermore, if a writer or SEO firm is providing your blog content, how can you be sure that they are relevant to your target audience? Fortunately, there are some ways you can employ to help come up with topics on your own, or check on the usefulness of topics provided for you.
Does the Blog Topic Make Sense?
One of the primary purposes of a blog is to generate traffic to your site, to demonstrate your expertise in your field, and to increase conversions. Because of this, it is crucial that the topics you choose be relevant to your audience. If you are a construction company, posting blogs about the latest fashion trends will not likely do much for your traffic (or your image). Put yourself in the place of your ideal customer, consider the topic, and ask yourself if it would be relevant to your business focus.
Is It Helpful?
There is certainly a place for blog topics that are general interest pieces. For example, providing a history of your market or how your product was invented may drive traffic simply because it is interesting to read. However, most blogs really gain traction when the topic solves a problem for your reader. If you sell high-performance engine parts, perhaps a blog about how to improve gas mileage may be a wise choice. The blog post does not have to be strictly dependent on your product or service alone, but may provide a solution to a general problem that can be tied back to your product or service at the end.
Is It Fresh?
There is perhaps nothing more damaging to your blog traffic than posting topics that have been over-covered, or that provide no fresh information. Again, there is a place for recycling content and finding ideas from other blogs on the web. However, the blog should either provide the information in a better way than has been done before or should have fresh information not found on every other similar blog or website. Keep it fresh, look for ways to improve on what’s already been written, and consider ways to say it in a way that is easier or more beneficial.
Can It Lead To A Clear Call To Action?
If you were writing purely for your own enjoyment, or as a personal outlet for your creativity, you could write anything you wanted without having to consider if your audience takes action on it. For your business, however, your blog topic should provide you with the opportunity to pull it all together for your reader and prompt them with a call to action. If you cannot easily relate the content to such a call, whether it be to contact you for a consultation or purchase your product, it may prove to be a waste of effort.
Writing a successful blog for your business should be done carefully and intentionally. Following these steps and doing your research can help you leverage your blog in ways you never imagined possible. The time it takes to choose the right blog topics and craft blogs that make that sort of difference may not be a possibility. If that is the case, look for time to block out blog work in your schedule, or seek out an SEO firm or content writer that can do it for you. The investment will be well worth it and an excellent way to an exceptional ROI.
“Cohlaboration” With Cohlab
At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their SEO efforts. Our team can help you with your blog topics, as well as provide you with comprehensive SEO and web design services that ensure you become a force in the search engine results. Use our complimentary Digital Marketing Scorecard to gain valuable insight on how your website rank compares to others. We are also glad to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.
Photo by Luke Chesser on UnsplashMeasuring your Marketing Automation ROI: Digital Marketing ROI Series
As part of our digital marketing ROI series, we are going to learn how to measure your return on investment (ROI) for marketing automation. Marketing automation refers to software that automates your marketing processes for you. Automation is specially designed to help you prioritize and execute all of your marketing tasks in a more efficient manner. The goal is to help free up your time and streamline your tasks without compromising the quality of the content your website produces. Automation also has the added benefit of allowing marketers to reach their goals faster.
To generate more revenue, you need to drive traffic to your website, convert it into leads, and convert those leads into paying customers. You can also use it to define quality leads you can move through your funnel. Marketing automation helps you do all this and more, but how can you measure your ROI?
Calculate Traffic Generated to Your Landing Page
A common marketing automation technique involves sending out emails and newsletters with information that will attract potential clients to your website. Calculate the number of visitors brought to your landing page. Use tools like Google Analytics for this task. Google also offers a variety of webmaster tools that are useful for tracking traffic and length of each visit to your page.
Monitor Contact Interactions
Monitoring traffic is the first step, but you also need to monitor all interactions with your contacts. Which links do they click on, and what content are they downloading? All these actions can be used to calculate the number of potential leads. The data also gives you an idea of what kind of content your clients want. Create content to reflect the demand.
Learn How Many Leads Turn to Sales
Bringing in new contacts using automation won’t do any good unless they generate sales. Determine how many of your leads convert to sales. Use the data to calculate your closing ratio. The closing ratio formula is calculated by dividing total sales with total proposals or inquiries generated by the automation marketing.
Prioritize Contacts that Generate Sales
Use the data you collect to build lists of potential return clients. Develop and send these contacts specially tailored emails promoting your content. Your primary goal is to create new leads, but you can use this method to capture additional information about your established customers, and create special offers that can lead to more sales.
Schedule Social Media Posts and Track Responses
You can use marketing automation tools to schedule your company’s social media updates and promote your content directly to your clients. Track their responses and respond to any queries viewers have. Positive responses mean your automation campaign is working.
Setup Automated Reports
Automation tools can provide you with reports on how your campaign is doing. Set up automated reporting and stay informed. You can also set up automation alerts based on how your leads behave. If your campaign isn’t effective, find out why and work to reinvent the problem.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of knowing your marketing automation ROI. That is why we do take the time to ensure you understand both the tangible and intangible results of your digital marketing efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you on proving out your marketing ROI, and our strategy has been greatly successful for digital marketing clients. Use our complimentary Digital Marketing Scorecard to gain valuable insight on how your website rank compares to others. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.
Measuring your Marketing Automation ROI: Digital Marketing ROI Series
As part of our digital marketing ROI series, we are going to learn how to measure your return on investment (ROI) for marketing automation. Marketing automation refers to software that automates your marketing processes for you. Automation is specially designed to help you prioritize and execute all of your marketing tasks in a more efficient manner. The goal is to help free up your time and streamline your tasks without compromising the quality of the content your website produces. Automation also has the added benefit of allowing marketers to reach their goals faster.
To generate more revenue, you need to drive traffic to your website, convert it into leads, and convert those leads into paying customers. You can also use it to define quality leads you can move through your funnel. Marketing automation helps you do all this and more, but how can you measure your ROI?
Calculate Traffic Generated to Your Landing Page
A common marketing automation technique involves sending out emails and newsletters with information that will attract potential clients to your website. Calculate the number of visitors brought to your landing page. Use tools like Google Analytics for this task. Google also offers a variety of webmaster tools that are useful for tracking traffic and length of each visit to your page.
Monitor Contact Interactions
Monitoring traffic is the first step, but you also need to monitor all interactions with your contacts. Which links do they click on, and what content are they downloading? All these actions can be used to calculate the number of potential leads. The data also gives you an idea of what kind of content your clients want. Create content to reflect the demand.
Learn How Many Leads Turn to Sales
Bringing in new contacts using automation won’t do any good unless they generate sales. Determine how many of your leads convert to sales. Use the data to calculate your closing ratio. The closing ratio formula is calculated by dividing total sales with total proposals or inquiries generated by the automation marketing.
Prioritize Contacts that Generate Sales
Use the data you collect to build lists of potential return clients. Develop and send these contacts specially tailored emails promoting your content. Your primary goal is to create new leads, but you can use this method to capture additional information about your established customers, and create special offers that can lead to more sales.
Schedule Social Media Posts and Track Responses
You can use marketing automation tools to schedule your company’s social media updates and promote your content directly to your clients. Track their responses and respond to any queries viewers have. Positive responses mean your automation campaign is working.
Setup Automated Reports
Automation tools can provide you with reports on how your campaign is doing. Set up automated reporting and stay informed. You can also set up automation alerts based on how your leads behave. If your campaign isn’t effective, find out why and work to reinvent the problem.
At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of knowing your marketing automation ROI. That is why we do take the time to ensure you understand both the tangible and intangible results of your digital marketing efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you on proving out your marketing ROI, and our strategy has been greatly successful for digital marketing clients. Use our complimentary Digital Marketing Scorecard to gain valuable insight on how your website rank compares to others. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.
