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Archives for April 2018

To Bid Or Not To Bid on Your Branded Keywords?

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As a PPC manager for an agency, I have heard multiple reasons from clients why not to bid on their own branded keywords. “Branded searches should lead to Organic/Free clicks” is definitely the most common. But what if it doesn’t… what if a search for your brand leads to a competitor’s sale?

Let’s say a potential customer is looking for you, but he or she found your competitor instead because you assumed branded keywords generated free organic traffic to your site. That’s a loss for you and a win for your competitor. Who would want that?

Does Paying for Branded Keyword Clicks Help or Hurt Your Bottom Line?

If your competitor is bidding on your brand name and you are not, there is a good chance their ad is showing above your Organic listing. This means they are likely stealing clicks which could be leading to sales. This would definitely be hurting your bottom line!

If you are bidding on your branded keywords, you should easily have a high Quality Score and therefore, should only need a minimal bid to capture the #1 position. This would prevent competitors from stealing potential clicks and sales away from you. However, does it help your bottom line or just do damage control?

Google Ads Bidding Tips

Fortunately, studies looking at running Pay per Click (PPC) for keywords that you already rank for organically have already been analyzed and written. Thank You, Search Engine Land (@sengineland) and Google Research (@googleresearch)!

The Research is in – Bidding on branded keywords does not steal from your own organic clicks, but rather leads to incremental clicks, leads/sales, and revenue! The question is not longer “To Bid or Not To Bid?” instead it should be “Why aren’t you bidding on your branded keywords?”

Have any questions concerning PPC? We would love to hear from you via Facebook, Twitter, or comment below. If you are looking to build, protect, and/or improve your brand awareness, we can help you with that, too.

Increase Your Business’ Brand Awareness With SEO

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You have a great business that does fantastic work and offers quality products or services. So, why don’t more people know about you? Why isn’t your phone ringing off the hook and your email full? You have a website, that’s enough, right (it’s not)?

In order to increase your business’ brand awareness online, you need to be investing in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). According to a study by MarketingDive, 82% of participating marketers see SEO becoming more effective and 42% of this group stated its effectiveness is increasing significantly. This means that other businesses will be devoting more efforts towards SEO, which only stiffens the competition.

Build your business’ brand awareness and outperform your competitors online by utilizing the SEO tactics listed below.

1. Get In Front Of Your Audience With the Right Content

Unless you’re a large national brand, like Walmart® (if so, why are you reading this?), most people aren’t searching directly for your brand. Rather, they are typing in product/service related keywords.

To ensure your business pops up front and center amongst your competitors, you need to optimize your content to include the keywords and verbiage that your target audience and industry uses.

In addition to including the most relevant, trending, and traffic driving keywords, you also need to be cognizant of the forms of content you’re producing. Is your audience more susceptible to read blogs, articles, and white papers? Or, are they a younger, more visual audience who prefer videos and infographics?

By creating the appropriate content in the form most suited for your audience, users will be more likely to find and share your content. Thus, increasing the digital exposure your business receives.

2. Dominate the Local Market With Local SEO

For over a decade, Google and other major search engines have been placing a heavy emphasis on the importance of locality. Like your business, search engines also have a product and service, and their goal is to provide the most relevant and useful information to their users. While there are hundreds of factors that influence their results, the location has a massive impact, especially in regards to business-related searches.

To enhance your business’ local performance, there are a few tactics you’ll need to pursue:

Optimizing Your Site Locally

  • Have your name, address, & phone number (NAP) consistent throughout the site.
  • Embed Google Maps on your contact page.
  • Develop localized content.
  • Link to local partnerships, memberships, and affiliations.

Being Listed, Active, and Optimized on Popular Local Platforms

Many of these platforms (like Google, Facebook, and Yelp) have a review functionality. Meaning, customers can leave reviews about your business directly on their platform for the public to see. By owning these accounts, you are able to clearly see what people are saying. This allows you to get in front of any potential negative situations that may occur.

By being on top of things, you have the opportunity to improve your business based upon feedback, and resolve the situation. Showing that you’re listening to your consumers and taking action will actually help improve your brand’s online public perception.

According to a study by Moz, online reviews have been shown to impact 67.7% of purchasing decisions. Being uninformed of your online reputation can potentially spell disaster for your business.

3. Build Links Through Local Influencers

Link building, or link earning, is the process of obtaining backlinks from other websites that lead back to your website. While many owners may not see the value or understand fully the impact link building has, it is a hugely important component of a local seo strategy.

To improve your business’ brand awareness in your local market, you should target the following sites in terms of link acquisition:

  • Local Business Directories
  • Local Chambers
  • Local Businesses
  • Local News Stations
  • Local Bloggers/Social Influencers

Being listed on these sites will send local signals to search engines and place your website in front of your local audience.

Build Your Brand Organically

Increasing your brand awareness through SEO can take some time, but it’s well worth it. By following all of the steps and tactics mentioned above, you’ll set the foundation for your business to flourish digitally within your target market.

Ready to improve your brand awareness online through SEO? Schedule a FREE consultation today!

By: David McDowell