Google offers a range of free tools to help you get the most out of your AdWords campaign. Here's my guide to what they can offer your business 1. Conversion trackingYou can track your conversion rates and cost-per-conversions using 'conversion tracking'. And, with this information, you can work out the return on investment (ROI) of your AdWords campaign. To take advantage of conversion tracking, you need to put the AdWords Conversion Tracking code on to your website. That puts a cookie on a customer's computer or mobile phone when they click on one of your AdWords ads. Then, if the user reaches one of your conversion pages, the cookie is connected to your web page. So when someone converts by buying something or making an appointment, for example, Google records that as a successful conversion. 2. Google AnalyticsGoogle Analytics is a sophisticated analysis tool. As well as basic conversion tracking, Analytics shows you how people found your site and how they explored it. With this information, you can improve your website return on investment and increase conversions. 3. Google TrendsWith Google's Trends, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories and time frames. It's a useful tool if you want to track seasonal trends. For example, if you run a holiday business, you can analyse when customers are most likely to book their summer holiday. With that information, you can spend more on AdWords when demand is highest and cut back during quiet periods. Google Trends can also help you test advertising messages and find the one that hits the spot with customers. 4. Impression share reportThis tool shows you the percentage of possible impressions that your ads could have received if your campaign budgets were higher. Impression share report data helps you make an informed decision about whether to increase your AdWords budget. 5. Bid simulatorHow much you bid for keywords and phrases affects where your results appear in the searches. The bid simulator tool shows how your campaign would have performed if you had been using different bid amounts. This tool takes the guesswork out of bidding so you can see whether bidding higher or lower would be more cost effective. 6. Keyword plannerBefore you add new keywords, get estimates for their cost and the amount of traffic they generate by using the Keyword Planner tool. 7. First page bid estimateThe first page bid estimate predicts how much you would need to bid for your ad to appear on the first page of Google search results when a search exactly matches your keyword. It's based on the Quality Score and current competition for that word. However, it is an estimate so Google warns that it is making no guarantees. That said, it enables you to maximise the chances of a higher placement in the results and can drive more traffic to your ad as a result. 8. Ad schedulingAd scheduling enables you to control when your AdWords campaigns run. With ad scheduling, you can specify certain hours or days of the week when you want your ads to appear. This is a great way to make your budget work harder as you only need show your ads when they are most profitable. With ad scheduling, a campaign can run all day, every day, or for as little as 15 minutes per week.
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Advertising online - through pay-per-click (PPC) adverts, banners and other messages - can be an excellent way to promote your brand, boost traffic to your website and generate sales. It should be an important part of your internet marketing strategy. Unlike traditional methods, advertising on the internet can deliver visitors immediately - through a simple click on your ad with easily measurable results. Deciding where to advertise onlineYou can plan your internet advertising as you would traditional press advertising, by looking for websites that have the right audience. This could include online publications or price comparison sites that cater to your target market, for example. You should also run a search with keywords and phrases your customers are likely to use. Provided that the websites that come up aren't competitors, they may well be good places to advertise. A quick check will tell you whether each site has the right image and offers the web advertising opportunities you are looking for. Or you could buy advertising from a 'content network' that automatically displays your ads on websites that are likely to have the right audience. You have less control over where your online advertising appears, but it can be effective nevertheless. PPC advertising and other online advertising optionsPay-per-click advertising (PPC) is ideal for putting your product in front of people who are ready to buy. You only pay for people who actually click on your ad to come to your site. This enables you to track visitor journeys while monitoring the effectiveness of your search engine keywords. You can also pay for website advertising according to the number of times the ad is displayed. So the more people who visit the web page on which your advert is featured, the more you pay. Often referred to as CPM ('cost per mille' or 'cost per thousand displays'), this is good for brand exposure. You can even pay for your online advertising on a cost per action (CPA) basis, where you only pay for the number of viewers who actually buy your product as the result of an ad. This kind of payment scheme requires a close relationship with the website where your ad is published, and is typically part of an affiliate marketing relationship. Choose wiselyYou are likely to have different online advertising options. For example, you might be able to buy different ad sizes in different places or choose which pages of a website to advertise on. Prices will vary according to the size, location and style of your advert (you might include animation, for example), but the most expensive may not be the most effective. A banner ad on the home page might get the most exposure, but an ad on the page most relevant to your product might deliver more people to your site. If you've got a website, you need to be doing search engine optimisation (SEO). It's as simple as that. SEO can help your website to feature prominently on search engines like Google. So if you have a flower shop in Wigan, it's about optimising your website so that when someone types in "flower shop in Wigan" on Google, your website is at or near the top of the results list. Without SEO, you may not appear at all. SEO is a fast-moving discipline and there's a lot of competition for the pole positions online. So SEO is something that has to be done regularly, and it pays to keep up with the latest SEO tools and techniques. Find your keywordsIt starts with optimising your website with keywords and phrases. You may already have a good idea which words people use to find your business but it's important to keep an open mind and do your research. The results may surprise you. Google's keyword planner can help you find the most popular words and phrases. Once you've got your keywords and phrases, you need to make sure they are used in your web content and in meta tags, page descriptions, image tags and so on. This job is all about discipline but it really helps Google to find you when people search for those words or phrases. Google is incredibly sophisticated, however, and it can spot a cynical attempt to stuff a website full of keywords. It's important to use your keywords within good quality authored content - including blogs, articles, web copy and social media. Post regularly to improve your search results even more. Link-buildingLink building is the other important aspect of SEO. The more links to your site from high-quality, relevant sites, the higher you'll rank. But tread carefully - links should never be bought, forced or acquired by dodgy means. Take time to build links naturally by offering quality content that people want to read. Local SEOThe internet may be global, but most small firms are casting their net in their local area and their SEO strategy needs to reflect this. Using tools like Google My Business can help you rank well in local searches. Can I do my own SEO?If you understand the basics, it's totally possible to do SEO on a shoestring. Otherwise there are plenty of companies out there who can help you optimise your site - just make sure you do your due diligence to make sure they're not using dodgy tactics that could do you more harm than good. Your website is an essential tool in your marketing strategy. In today’s digital world people live online, doing research and comparing suppliers. It helps new customers find you and advertises what you can offer. You can use it to keep existing customers informed, improve your customer care and offer online sales through an ecommerce website. It reaches consumers and businesses nationally and internationally - and it can do all of this very cost-effectively. Planning your marketing website Before developing your website, you'll need a clear idea of who you are trying to reach and what you want to achieve. Many businesses see their website largely as a way to attract new customers. To get maximum exposure, you'll need to promote your company website on search engines such as Google. Search engine optimisation (SEO) can help to get your website to the top of natural searches, although this does take a lot of effort. You can also use online advertising to drive traffic to your site. An appropriate and memorable domain name is an essential starting point to help customers find you. But a website can do more than attract new customers. You can use it to keep existing customers up to date with special offers, product launches and news about your business. You can improve your customer service and cut costs by providing information and contact details online. Website design and content The design of your website should reflect your business image and brand identity. A cheap, do-it-yourself approach is unlikely to give a good impression. But complex design and technologies are only worthwhile if these suit your image and help your website fulfil your goals. Above all, your customers must be able to find what they need quickly - via clearly laid-out information and straightforward navigation. Your content should be led by your marketing objectives. For example, if you want users to visit repeatedly, provide regular updates. To encourage visitors, you can send email alerts when the site is updated or circulate a regular newsletter. You can use this information to conduct basic market research and to tailor your offer to different groups of customers or even individual users. Ecommerce websites like Amazon, for example, use cookies to store visitor information so they can make recommendations based on individual users' past purchases. However, legislation requires anyone with a website to make sure their users are provided with clear information about how cookies are used in the website and have given permission for you to use cookies. Maintaining your company website Building and launching your website is just the start. You then need to make sure that it works properly and is regularly updated. Out-of-date content, slow page loading and technical hitches are deeply frustrating for visitors and they will simply click away. Choosing the right internet service provider (ISP) to host your company website will ensure your website performs. You should also respond to customer enquiries promptly. If you don't have the time to do this, pay someone else to do it. A good website design will also incorporate tracking software that enables you to see which pages are popular and which are under-performing. Tools like Google Analytics will allow you to test different content to see how you can improve your performance. Regular monitoring and ongoing website development are critical if you are to continuously improve the results you get from your marketing website. Your brand is one of your greatest assets. It's not just your logo, slogan and design scheme, but your customers' total experience of your business. Your brand is in your customer promise, your business values, your personality, the way you talk to your customers. It's in the way you package your service and answer your phone. Communicating your brand clearly and honestly to your customers will spread confidence and goodwill. It is a badge of trust that will set you apart from competitors and can give you a lasting competitive edge. Branding benefits Your brand should tell your customers exactly what to expect from you. Deliver on your promises and they will come back again and again. How often have you gone to a familiar restaurant chain because you know what's on the menu, what it will taste like and how much it will cost? It's the same for your customers. But a good brand identity will also attract new customers by stressing the differences between you and your competitors. This is critical if you are in a highly competitive or fast moving market where it is difficult to differentiate yourself on product features alone. The power of a strong brand is such that it can lift a single company or product above others to become something truly memorable. Think of vacuum cleaners and you think of Hoover; think of MP3 players and iPod will doubtless spring to mind. Your brand values Before you can develop your brand identity, you will have to understand what the core values of your business are, what your business mission is and how you differ from the competition. You must also be sure that what you want to tell your customers about your business and your offer matches what your target customer segments want and what you actually deliver. It's no use developing a premium brand if your target market just wants value for money, for example; and a brand based on friendly service will not survive long if your staff are unhelpful. Effective branding will give your firm or your offer a personality that suits your customers, and businesses selling the same products can have very different brands. For example, a plumbers' merchant selling to trade buyers will aim for a value-for-money brand image; a DIY store will put more emphasis on providing a welcoming environment for the general public. Exploiting your brand This is where your name and logo come to the fore. Good brand design gives you a consistent image that will enable people to recognise you immediately. Trade marking can help ensure that your distinctive brand image is protected against competitors. Your brand marketing must connect to, and emphasise your brand values across everything you do. This is why luxury goods firms take out full page ads in glossy magazines, and high quality professionals make sure their correspondence doesn't have spelling mistakes. If you sell a range of products, you'll need to ensure that they all fit together within a brand strategy that makes sense. If you're a luxury goods firm and you decide to produce a cheaper range, it would be wise to develop a separate brand identity so you don't scare off your established customers. While you can stretch your brand to take advantage of new opportunities, your brand will be damaged if you fail to maintain a consistent focus on your core brand values. Keeping an eye on the competition is essential to stay ahead in business. Knowing a rival's strengths will help you identify gaps in your own offer, maintain competitive pricing and keep on top of developments in your industry. Gathering competitor intelligence might sound like something out of a Bond film, but no small firm should underestimate the value of monitoring their business rivals. Tracking others' performance will give you a critical business edge. What you can learn depends on the level of detail you go into, but just by looking at your competitors it's possible to track new trends, corporate positioning and diversity of products or services, right through to customer relationship management and marketing promotions. It's crucial to understand your sector so you can fine tune your strategy and stay one step ahead. Keeping a close eye is even more important if you're in a particularly aggressive or fast moving business environment. Internet research Before you get started, you need to identify your competitors. They may not just be local to you, consider those firms based abroad, or businesses that offer a substitute or similar product that potentially threatens your offer. Keep watch, too, on products or services currently being developed, that might affect your future market share. Start by using the internet to check out competitor websites, brochures and company material, which can give you details such as branding and pricing. To save time, consider signing up to the free Google Alert service, which will deliver the latest news on your competitors to you by email. Set up an alert for any topic, such as the name of your competitor's business or a certain product, to keep up to date. Social media is another fast and effective way to learn about other businesses. Check to see which firms have Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn profiles and sign-up to stay informed on their movements. If they have a lot of followers it's a sign they have found a successful way to attract your target audience. You should also sign up to key trade magazines online and monitor blog discussions to find out what people are saying about your industry. Talk to customers Other key ways to stay informed include attending industry networking events and talking to your customers. Get your sales teams involved too, they are customer facing and can pass on valuable comments from what they are hearing about competitors. Depending on your sector, you could even consider using "mystery shopping" to measure how your customer service compares with competitors or to learn how consumers view your products over rivals. Act on the information To get the most out of the data, you need to aggregate and analyse the details, draw up a table that contrasts key factors such as brand, product, pricing, service and promotions between competitors, which you can update as required. Then, once a month or quarter, draw out the key insights from your analysis, such as the biggest threats or opportunities and use this to develop your own strategies. Identifying what others do well will help strengthen your offer and highlight any weaknesses. Follow these tips to help you create clear, concise, lively writing that captures your e-mail readers' attention. E-mail marketers use many strategies to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns, but one area often overlooked is what fills the page--the copy you write. Whether you're a seasoned writer or a novice, it's always important to strengthen your editorial skills and make sure your e-mail marketing communications contain valuable information. Good copy helps your readers understand your offer--and how to respond. The following copywriting tips are ones that pros know well. Keeping these "commandments" in front of you when you write will help you create compelling copy that engages your readers, conveys your business message and creates effective calls for action. Commandment #1: Know your audience. Who is this e-mail going to? Picture the average person on your list. Give them a name, even. Think about what their day is like. Think about what's important to them. What are they passionate about? How old are they? What products or services have they purchased from you in the past and why? The more you know about the audience you're writing for, the more targeted and relevant your copy will be. Commandment #2: Determine your value proposition. Know the answers to these questions: Why should your customer buy your product or service? What's in it for them? Why is your product better than the one down the street? What are your key differentiators? Commandment #3: Find a unique selling proposition. The more your offer stands out from the competition, the better your chances of getting a response. Rosser Reeves, author of Reality in Advertising, defines the unique selling proposition as a promotion that offers "something that competitors do not, or will not, offer." He also says, "The proposition must be strong enough to pull new customers to the product." Commandment #4: Establish an objective. What's the purpose of this e-mail? What action are you trying to get the reader to take? You need to be clear on this before you start writing. If the answer isn't clear to you, it certainly won't be clear to your reader. Commandment #5: Use a compelling subject line. The subject line is what gets your e-mail opened, so don't write something quickly just before sending. You have to convince your readers that they really need to open your e-mail. The best word you can use to get the reader's attention is you. The word you says that the message is about them. Other great words for subject lines (and headlines) include new, exciting, exclusive and introducing. Also, try to keep your subject line to 50 characters or less, including spaces. Commandment #6: Write a great headline. If the subject line gets your reader to open the e-mail, then the headline gets them to read further. Consider using some of the buzzwords mentioned in commandment #5 in the headline so it'll grab readers with an obvious "What's in it for me?" message. Here's a question to ask yourself: What if my customers only read the headline? Will they know enough about you and what you offer? Tip: Write five to 10 different subject lines and five to 10 different headlines to see what works best. Also, you may find that it's easier to write a subject line and headline after you've written the body copy. Commandment #7: Avoid weasel words. When writing headlines, subheads and body copy, don't use words that avoid a direct command, aka weasel words. These include may, maybe, hope, wish, try, but, could, perhaps and strive. Instead, use words like willand can to describe what your product or service will or can do for your reader. Commandment #8: Don't use passive voice--write in the present tense. Passive voice weakens your message. It's best to avoid it. Here are a few examples to help you see the difference:
Commandment #9: Include a customer quote. Do you have a great customer quote that you can include in your e-mail? A brief and convincing quote can add credibility to your campaign. The more real you can make the person to your readers, the better. Including their name, what city or state they live in and even a photo, if it fits your campaign, is a great way to communicate the value of your service. Commandment #10: Keep your copy clean and concise. After you write your first round of copy, read it out loud. Also, have someone else read it to see if they understand the message and the call to action. As you edit, cut unnecessary words and consolidate ideas. See if you can get your text down to 30 to 50 percent of what you started with. Also, include bullet points and possibly subtitles to make it easy to read-and, more important, easy to scan--as most readers scan a page before deciding whether or not to read all the details. Great copywriting is within your reach. Keeping these tips in mind when you write will greatly improve your copy, making it easier for readers to understand and respond to your e-mail campaign. Good, thoughtful writing will ultimately improve your success as an e-mail marketer. Marketing used to be about companies pushing their ads in front of people in order to sell; now it’s about engagement with the audience. There has always been competition in business but with such a plethora of options these days, companies must stand out in a very positive way, they almost have to seduce potential clients like a new sweetheart. Less than a decade ago, few people thought of social media as a useful channel for online marketing, now small businesses are embracing it and are reaping the benefits with increased customer engagement and sales. From Facebook to Twitter and Instagram to LinkedIn, some of the savviest businesses are establishing a presence on social media and capitalising on the massive exposure available from it. Whichever social media platform you choose will depend on your individual preferences of course, but to some extent the nature of your business can determine the most suitable for your purposes. LinkedIn for example is the platform of choice for some professionals because of the more formal nature of their business services, whereas Facebook and Twitter are less formal, and reflect more of an individual’s or company’s personality, while still providing opportunities to promote the business. Twitter gives valuable exposure to small businesses and Pinterest is highly visual, which businesses can benefit from using the impact of images to attract interest. Once we’ve identified the best platform(s) for our business we cannot rest on our laurels. Continued interaction is important in keeping people interested and they will, in turn, reward us with their loyalty, and their custom. Content can go out-of-date very quickly and if we are not updating it, our followers may just head off somewhere else. Also, we can get insights into what is being said before it ever becomes a problem. The best performing businesses constantly monitor and measure activity and responses and adapt their strategies accordingly. Social media is a stage upon which we can stand, view the landscape and make a judgement about where we need to be heading to effectively market and promote our business. It reaches the ears of so many more potential opportunities than was ever possible before its invention. It does the hard work connecting us to the people that matter to our business and we reap the rewards. Knowledge is key to running a successful business - knowledge about your customers, your competitors, your own operation and the wider business environment. A SWOT analysis will help you gather the information you need to make a proper assessment of your business and your market. A SWOT analysis is a simple but powerful tool for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your operation and the opportunities and threats you face in your market. It will give you a clear picture of how well your business is running and the wider marketing and sales environment you are operating in. Business analysis - your strengths and weaknessesIdentifying your firm's strengths and weaknesses should be straightforward, particularly if you talk to a range of people when putting your SWOT analysis together. If you have employees, you'll find they have a good idea of what works and what doesn't. Customers, suppliers and other business partners can also give you feedback on your performance. Work through a list of the different elements of your operation. For example, finance, staffing, operations and marketing are key areas you can examine. Your SWOT analysis will be more useful if you look at your strengths and weaknesses in terms of what you are trying to achieve and if you compare yourself with your key competitors. Where do you have a competitive edge - or a problem? Market analysis - opportunities and threatsYou should also talk to employees, customers, suppliers and other business partners about the main opportunities and threats facing your business. Ask them about all the people and organisations that affect your business and how they are changing. Competitors, customers, suppliers and distributors will all have an impact on how successfully you trade. You should then assess the broader business environment and how it is changing using a PEST analysis:
A good PEST analysis can provide you with a strong foundation for an effective marketing strategy. Carrying out and using a SWOT analysisA brainstorm with employees may well be the best starting point for your SWOT analysis. You'll have to be open-minded and willing to accept some criticism of your business - but remember, the idea is to get a realistic view. Likewise, ask your customers for their honest feedback about your products and service standards. If you want to take a more formal approach to SWOT analysis, you could pay for professional help or get involved in a benchmarking study. Whichever approach you choose, however, your assessment must lead to an action plan. This should focus on how you exploit opportunities that play to your strengths and how you address weaknesses in your business in order to deal with threats that face you. Your marketing strategy should also aim to protect your business against threats. Building strong relationships with customers and making sure that your products and customer service stand out can be key elements of your defence against the competition. What are # (Hashtags) and How to Use them on Social Media Once upon a time, # was but a simple pound sign or hash. But then came Twitter and turned this mundane sign into an online sensation. Today, whether you are on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube or Facebook, you simply cannot escape the all-encompassing presence of the #hashtag. To the social media novice, hashtags might seem confusing, annoying and pointless at first glance. But if you understand their purpose and learn how to use them, hashtags are a powerful tool to help you engage your target audience and increase your brand awareness. So What is a # Hashtag? A hashtag is a keyword or phrase preceded by the hash symbol (#), that people include in their social media posts. Essentially, it makes the content of your post accessible to all people with similar interests, even if they’re not your followers or fans. For instance, let’s say you’re an Apple fan and that you’re playing with the idea of buying an iPhone 5. A simple “#iPhone5” search on any social network will open a dedicated news feed with all iPhone 5 latest updates, deals, rumours and hacks. The results you see on this feed are the aggregated posts of any users who used “#iPhone5” in their posts. But usually, users don’t actively search for hashtags, but simply spot them. Hashtags appear as clickable links on posts they see and a mouse click will display a real-time live feed of every other post tagged with the same hashtag. How Can Using #Hashtags Help you Promote your Business? Assuming your social media profile is public, using hashtags make your posts visible to basically anyone who shares your interest. No longer are your posts limited to just your followers; your content is now accessible to all other users interested in similar topics. Choosing the right hashtag can greatly broaden the reach of your social media posts to thousands of potential followers, fans or customers. Creating an Effective Hashtag To create a hashtag, all you need to do is include a # and a relevant keyword or phrase. You can insert hashtags anywhere in your posts: front, middle or end. Some people like to weave their hashtags into the middle of posts, while others prefer inserting them at the end. It does not really matter, as long as your hashtags remain relevant. Hashtags are powerful when used wisely. Nothing turns people off more than a cluttered post with excessive hashtags or overly lengthy hashtags, e.g. #thisLongHashtagIsSoPointless. As a general rule of thumb, keep your hashtags to a maximum of two or three when tweeting on Twitter. For Instagram, the ideal number of hashtags is five. Always remember to use clear, unique and relevant hashtags. Three Powerful Hashtags to Use on Social Media Content Hashtags: If you are totally new to hashtags, first consider using hashtags that directly relate to your brand, product or service. Content hashtags will greatly expose your brand to potential customers on those social media platforms who weren’t previously familiar with your brand. In the Tweet below, New York restaurant Madison Bistro skilfully includes hashtags about its products (#coffee, #breakfast) and location (#nyc), coupled with a clickable hyperlink that directs users to the restaurant menu on its Facebook page. Through this simple Tweet, the company increases its visibility among relevant Twitter users and in the process might have attracted some potential coffee-loving customers in New York City. Trending Hashtags: Another great way to boost your brand’s visibility is using existing hashtags that have grown popular among millions of users, also known as ‘trending’ hashtags. Before you hashtag trending topics, remember to first ask yourself whether your social media posts are adding value to the existing conversation. If your post does not add value, it is highly likely to be ignored and lost in the plethora of posts. If however your post is informative, funny or viral, it would get re-shared by fellow users and this greatly enlarges awareness of your brand. As Halloween approaches, there are many brands and companies who have hopped on the #Halloween bandwagon. Here are some good examples: Brand-Specific Hashtags: Sometimes, the problem with using generic or popular hashtags is that your posts might be lost in the noise of hundreds of posts using the same hashtags. Hence, it is a good idea to create your own dedicated brand-specific hashtags. These can be used for general branding, promotions, events, contests or other marketing campaigns. For example, as part of its 100th anniversary, Oreo created a special hashtag #oreomoment and got users to share about their favorite memory of their product. The hashtag got so popular that it elicited thousands of responses from users. Soon, what was originally a brand-specific hashtag became a trending hashtag as more people (even companies) used the #oreomoment hashtag.
Effective Brand Specific Hashtags The key to creating an effective brand-specific hashtag is to ensure that there is no one else using the same hashtag. Make sure it is unique and memorable. For general branding, use a short motto or tagline (e.g. Kit Kat uses #haveabreak). When creating marketing campaign-specific hashtags, make sure to give users a compelling incentive to use them. For example, you could get users to post with a campaign-specific hashtag to stand a chance to get discounts or win prizes. In return, your brand stands to benefit from major viral marketing publicity. So what are you waiting for, start harnessing the power of hashtags and broaden your reach to millions of potential followers or customers now! |
AuthorLisa Hunter is an experienced Marketing, Events and Project Manager. She has over 10 years’ experience working in the IT and marketing industry, delivering strategic marketing support and managing creative projects for a wide-range of clients. In this blog she shares her knowledge and experiences…we hope you enjoy it. Archives
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