Instagram for Small Business

Social Media Marketing Spotlight: Instagram

Instagram In An Instant

*1 billion+ accounts are active worldwide every month
*500 million+ accounts are active worldwide every day
*80% of those accounts are following a business

If these staggering facts don’t raise an eyebrow and have yourself asking ‘what does this have to do with me as a business owner?’ then you may just want to close up shop right now. In all seriousness though, with a social media platform that boasts a colorful Polaroid-esque icon, you must know that you’re getting ready to dive into a wonderful world of visual immersion!

Launched in October 2010 for iOS, then later in April 2012 for its Android counterpart, Instagram has millennials arranging the perfect plate of food before taking one bite and snapping selfies from 4 different angles so that they can use that warm-glow filter that makes their skin look flawless. Users can create their own view of reality and only share what they feel is most worthy to their world of followers.

It’s even turned into a game for those in the ever-changing pop culture world. @World_Famous_Egg created an Instagram account for the sole purpose of getting users to like a photo of a plain brown egg to surpass the likes on a baby photo posted by popular gal pal Kylie Jenner. When the egg prevailed with more than 50 million likes in January 2019 over her 15 million likes, her response was cracking an egg on the sidewalk. That still got nowhere near as many likes.

Where Pop Culture Meets Business

The whole egg fiasco is only one example of the influence that a dedicated Instagram account can have. Obviously, this is about as ridiculous as you can get, but the point is that it worked in a big way! If users are going gaga over that photo of your dog napping or the mini video of the guy next door mowing his lawn in his underwear, why can’t a business visually brag on their goods and services to bring in new, soon to be faithful customers?
Forbes has said that “Social media has created this intense desire and opportunity to share what we learn. Most of us enjoy sharing ideas, especially when there’s a video or a photograph or drawing.” These are the posts that go viral, not wordy posts or status updates. The best part about Instagram for small businesses is that it does not discriminate against the type of business you are either– be it a mom and pop shop or a big e-commerce brand. As long as you are consistently enticing potential clientele with the visual wonders of your goods and services, there is no doubt they will be falling in line to purchase time and again.

A Few Helpful Hints

One more fun fact for the doubters: 25 million businesses are reaching customers on Instagram! Type in the name of the closest competitor in your industry. Chances are they have a flourishing profile with eye-catching imagery, helpful information for consumers, and a following that is already purchasing. Good news is you are not too late in the “game” as Instagram and other social media platforms are constantly evolving and finding new ways to help businesses succeed. Follow a few simple steps to get started:

The Perfect Profile

One thing remains constant across most popular social media sources and that is a company needs to start with an uncomplicated, straightforward profile page with easy access to contact information and a clear idea of what type of business they are. Make sure your branding is consistent across the board with an Instagram for small business handle that matches your business name, a logo or other image that best represents the company, and a mini bio that lets the users know what you are about.

Talented Targeting

Think about your typical consumer. Are you a chic boutique looking for young hipsters to buy your one of a kind creations? Or are you a local bar with craft beers on tap and giant TVs on the wall coaxing hard-working blue-collar men in for a round after a hard day’s work? Before posting anything on your Instagram for small businesses, make sure the visuals and the captions are custom crafted to spark an interest in your target audience. Keep it simple and use niche hashtags that you know will be searched for. #rockclimbing brings up more than 3 million images of world travelers with daring mountain top views. #coloredhair offers over 1 million photos of amazingly colored and inspirational hairstyles. Find some perfect tags that fit your business model and those eager searchers who are looking for your type of company will find you!

Visual Awareness

With the emergence of free and easy to use photo and video editing tools, you have full creative license when it comes to what you post. Establish the look for your page by staying consistent with colors, filters, and the physical content you post. This does not mean that a chic boutique should only be posting the same boring photos of clothing laying on a table. Those are great for a hard sell, but it’s perfectly OK to spice things up with images of your customers strolling downtown in your signature collection or shots of the staff in the store enjoying their jobs. No matter what you post, make sure it is visually appealing!

Collaboration & Calls-To-Action

Remember not to talk AT your potential clientele. Talk WITH them. Engage them in conversations about your goods and services, ask questions and bring up topics that will get people interacting with your content, and even offer contests that encourage users to like, comment, and share posts. Don’t be afraid to throw in some easy instructions to get them closer to that final sell. “Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter to get 15% off your first order!” “Tell us who your favorite television star is for a chance to win a $10 gift card towards your next car service!” There are many options to get your followers converting to customers without saying “BUY BUY BUY!”

Marketing Magic

This is the part where you do your thing and we do ours! A business owner has much to do when it comes to keeping the shop going, the workers happy, and the clients wanting more. Not to mention the bookkeeping, the problem solving, and the trailblazing of new and interesting products and ideas! Devote your time to business development while we devote ours to the strategy and implementation of awesome marketing magic!

 

To get started on an Instagram for Small Business profile, or jump head first into a full-blown social media marketing campaign, call the experts at The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm at 321-255-0900. We truly enjoy collaborating with our clients and offering our amazingly imaginative social platform expertise in order to position your business for ultimate success.

Graphic Design Melbourne FL

Top 3 Problems That Graphic Design & Branding Can Solve | Graphic Design Melbourne FL

Top 3 Problems That Graphic Design & Branding Can Solve | Graphic Design Melbourne FL

“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.”

-Paul Rand

Time & Money

In business, time and money are your lifelines. Think of them as fuel for your tank. If you burn them inefficiently, you’ll stall. You must use them wisely to accelerate. Every unnecessary email, every confused customer, every vague logo is a slow leak in your system.

That’s where Graphic Design and Good Strategic Branding come in. A strong visual identity will not only save you time but also a significant amount of money. You may wonder “How?” It achieves this by reducing confusion, streamlining communication, and attracting the right type of clients from the outset. If your clients are constantly asking what you do, that is a red flag. It means that your branding isn’t doing its job. Take the Tour De France logo, for example. At first glance, it appears to be some text with a random yellow splash. If you look closer, the O, U, and R form the shape of a cyclist. It’s a very clever design, but unless you’re actively searching for the cyclist or something related, it’s very easy to miss. A Logo should do more than just look good. It should be telling your story, reflecting your services, and resonating with your audience. When your brand is both meaningful and clear, you stop wasting time explaining yourself and start saving money by converting interest into action. 

First Impressions & Credibility

First impressions are crucial, and in business, they can make or break the decision to work with your business. Your brand identity is often the very first thing your customers see. Your logo, website, and social media graphics. Even the colors and fonts you choose. When these elements are polished and consistent across every platform, they send a clear message: You’re professional, reliable, and worth investing in. On the other hand, a cluttered logo, outdated design, or mismatched branding can create doubts before you’ve even had the chance to talk about your business and what it offers. Good graphic design and branding aren’t just about looking nice; they’re about showing customers how much you care about quality and details. When your visuals inspire confidence, you’re already halfway to earning their trust.

Forgettable Messaging

Now, you might already have customers, but you wonder, “What’s the next step?” The next step is making sure they remember you and can easily explain to someone else what you do by just showing them your branding. A couple of questions to keep in mind: Is your business message crystal clear? Can someone look at your logo, website, or social media and instantly “get it”? Some businesses solely rely on word of mouth or great service, and while those points are important, they can’t do all the heavy lifting for you. Think of a brand like Apple. You don’t need to see the word “Apple” to know what that bitten apple logo stands for; you instantly think of innovation, sleek design, and reliable products. That’s because their graphic design and branding work together to tell a clear, consistent story. When your visuals and message line up perfectly, your audience won’t have to guess who you are; they just know. And when they know, they remember.

With Graphic Design and Good Branding, you can also be on the right track to attracting your customers and becoming memorable. With these three problems solved for your business you can now focus on the task at hand, running your business. At The AD Leaf ®, we can create any design that any company would be proud of. For more information about our graphic design Melbourne FL solutions, contact us today at info@fun-ruby-snake.65-181-111-5.cpanel.site or give us a call at 321-255-0900.

SEO Melbourne FL services

Why Your Business Needs SEO Melbourne FL Services?

Let’s go back to the ’80s and early ’90s. Back then, you had to go through the yellow pages to find a local business for a service/product you were searching for.

You had to call the business for the service or product that you were looking to find and then head over to the business if services/products were available.

Now let’s fast forward presently to the year 2019.

As you know, going through the yellow pages to find the number of a local business is a thing of the past.

We now have this nice, little invention called a smartphone where the majority of the population can easily find any type of information at their fingertips.

As a local business, it is not an option to build a website.

In the digital and information age, where things are moving at such a rapid pace, having an online presence is now mandatory.

However, even though building a website for your business online is a tremendous start, it does not end there and this is where many small businesses usually falter.

They believe once their website is built, the traffic will increase automatically to their platform and the money will come rolling in.

Big mistake!

They haven’t learned how to market their website and how to optimize it with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques.

If you’re building your website where you want your potential customers to find and call you for your products and services, you cannot treat your website like it’s a “business card”.

You have to put in the work to optimize your website with SEO so your customers can easily find you in the search engines i.e Google and Bing.

In this post, the AD Leaf Marketing Firm will give you our reasons why your business needs SEO Melbourne FL Services if you are building your business online for the long term and to out-market your competition.

Why Your Business Needs SEO Melbourne FL Services?

Consumers Are Searching Online

According to this article, over 70% of consumers search online for products and services before they buy.

What does this tell you?

It means that consumers are becoming intelligent because they are better informed all because of the power of the internet.

The business that has the right content and information that solves the consumer’s problems will win their trust as well as their business.

Having well-constructed content and an SEO-optimized website can certainly help increase your business’  traffic and to land new customers.

Having an SEO-Optimized Website Is A Long-Term Asset

Many local businesses tend to focus on PPC (Pay Per Click} campaigns to reach new clients.

Although we agree that launching a PPC campaign is beneficial for your business, it can be expensive if you don’t have a substantial budget.

With SEO, you are building an asset that can last you long-term.

Think of your business like growing a garden.

To have your crops grow, you have to water and nurture it on a consistent basis.

This same concept applies to building your website with SEO.

By writing awesome content and optimizing your website with effective SEO techniques, you’ll build up your website so it drives more and more customers to your business.

Your Competitors Are Building Their Website

This is the number one reason why your business needs SEO.

If your competitors in your local area are implementing SEO to their website and you’re not, your business will end up on the losing end.

When it comes to SEO, you want your website to end up on the first page of Google for your relevant keywords and long-tail phrases.

By not using SEO, you will lose potential leads and customers by your competitors who are smart enough to hire professional SEO specialists to assist in increasing their traffic and their income. Don’t let this be you.

Conclusion

Now that you know why your business needs SEO Melbourne FL services, you are wise enough to know that not only having a website will help your customers find you, but it needs to be SEO-optimized if you want to out-market your competition in your local area.

If you, as a business, are in need of SEO Melbourne FL services and you don’t have the time to do this yourself, contact The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm where our professional SEO specialists will perform effective SEO Melborune FL techniques and strategies to help your business and website get to the first page of the search engines which will lead to new customers and increased revenue.

Bad Logo Design

The Pitfalls of A Bad Logo Design

A good trademark is either cancer or a cure. A bad logo design can simply destroy or flourish your business. Everyone has a face and that face whether it’s fair or not, is the first step to gaining trust. So we shave, cleanse, and smile to put our best foot forward so that we can build loving trusting relationships. The same should be brought into your business utilizing graphic design. However, what exactly is a logo and or trademark? Who will be best to bring a face to your company? In the end is the process monetarily it worth it. No matter how big or successful your company is, I assure you, nothing is more expensive than a bad logo.

What comes to mind when I say, Nike? The Swoosh. What comes to mind when I say McDonald’s? The golden arches. Even though I stated the singular name of the company you unconsciously accepted both a trademark and a logo. As in the case of NIKE’s branding, the Swoosh is the trademark and the lettering/typeface is the actual logo. The logo comes from the ancient Greek ‘Logos’ meaning word. As you can see in our modern society the two have become almost interchangeable.

Many people, to their detriment, regard the logo as secondary in nature to the running of the business itself. They have an image in their mind of something they feel would properly represent themselves as an entity. A graphic designer takes the good intentions of the client and makes that message palatable and inviting across all platforms. Building trustworthy relationships between, not just Client and Designer, but Client and their consumers. You will always be able to find an illustrator to create what you have in your head. However until you trust a real designer to get into your head to find the true motivation, direction, and audience behind the company, you might never see your businesses true value and highest potential.

A poorly rebranded logo or even a bad logo design can simply destroy a company, just as a poor logo from the beginning will assure a swift end to many, if not, most businesses. As a business owner hiring the right designer or the right agency to market you might seem expensive and overwhelming. What I tell my clients is since their head is in the money space, let’s talk money. Right now, if you have a poor logo that doesn’t properly convey the value of your business, everything your logo touches is a waste of money, and worse being used against you. Your bad logo design/trademark goes on every product, bag, email campaign, and social media post will execute the opposite of your goals. It would be akin to funding your competitors. Most people in this case with little to no understanding of the issue, believe they just need to be put more in the spotlight so they throw even money at the problem not realizing they are plastering the problem to everyone on everything speeding up the demise of their company. Before you know it, your advertising budget is gone, your clients are scarce, and your dream is over.

No matter how big or successful your company is, I assure you, nothing is more expensive than a bad logo design. A logo or a trademark that is simple, elegant, and clearly projects the full spectrum of the value you provide is an investment that will allow you to focus and scale beyond your goals and not hinder you to the pages lost in chapter 11. You need to run your business with the help of a seasoned graphic designer. In conclusion, if you are an entrepreneur, you need someone in the design business who understand the business of design.

At The AD Leaf ® can help turn a bad logo design into a design any company would be proud of. For more information about our graphic design solutions, contact us today at info@fun-ruby-snake.65-181-111-5.cpanel.site or give us a call at 321-255-0900.

seo in melbourne fl

Connecting with Customers with SEO in Melbourne FL

Long-tail keywords are longer and more specific keyword search phrases that people are more likely to use when they’re getting closer to purchasing a product or service. These phrases are a little bit counter-intuitive at first, but they can be hugely valuable if you know how to use them.

The SEO in Melbourne FL competition is fierce. It is much easier now to rank for long tail keywords than for more common keywords, because fewer websites are trying to compete for these search terms. This is because the longer and more specific search terms are, the easier they are to rank for. Focusing on a group of long tail keywords will result in a great deal of traffic altogether. With the rise in smart home devices, people are using their smart home devices to search the web using voice searching. These type of search keywords are usually long phrases that are similar to a sentence.

Utilizing long-tail keywords is simply a matter of establishing a better line of communication between your business and the potential clients who are already out there and actively shopping for the product or service you provide. For example, if you’re company manufactures and sells desks, the chances of you ranking high for an organic search for “Desks” are extremely slim because there is too much competition for that keyword. But if you specialize in a certain type of desk or certain materials then keywords like “cherry wood L shaped computer desk” are going to reliably find those consumers looking for exactly that product.

Obviously, you’re going to draw less traffic with a long-tail keyword than you would with a more generalized one like “desks”, but the traffic you do bring to your website will be more committed and focused on buying your product or service which will more likely lead to a conversion. Competition for shorter keywords will be much more fierce and your return on investment can be low. By intelligently implementing long-tail keywords, you will be attracting exactly the audience you’re looking for, giving you a much higher return on investment proportionally.

Some markets are more competitive and can be extremely hard to rank in with larger companies dominating the search results. These companies have a very large budget to spend on marketing and SEO. You will be unable to compete on a small budget in a market like the furniture industry using broad search terms like wooden desk. If you have your mission clear, you should be able to define what makes your product or service stand out in your specific market. You should be able to find your niche and you should use your mission in order to start ranking. Taking the example of desks with a L shape made out of cherry wood would mean that you should focus on the less competitive term “cherry wood L shaped computer desk”. Again, use words that are used by your target audience and avoid difficult terms.

With keyword rankings getting more competitive, creating new strategies for SEO in Melbourne FL is a must. We are specialized is this field and have the tools and expertise necessary to help drive your business’s success by improving your search engine ranking. Learn more about what we have to offer your business and contact us to plan out and design a strategy for SEO in Melbourne FL.

Why Does Mobile SEO Matter?

You can’t simply make your site responsive and truly call it mobile-ready. To adjust to the dramatic rise of mobile search, you need to understand how people are using mobile devices to find your website. Mobile search engine usage surpassed desktop search engine usage in early 2015 and it hasn’t stopped growing. As the shift to mobile continues to dramatically increase, we keep investing time into learning what this increase means to your business.

Today, you now need to keep an eye on both desktop and mobile SEO in Melbourne FL because a majority of sites have different rankings on these different devices. This means that being the top listed site on the desktop version of Google doesn’t guarantee you will be the top listed site on the mobile version. So to be successful, you need to have a dual.pronged approach to your SEO in Melbourne FL strategies.

Back in 2016, Google announce they would start work on their mobile-first indexing as a response to the ever increasing mobile usage reports.In the past, Google’s search algorithm has used the desktop versions of websites for indexing and displaying results to both mobile and desktop users. This has caused issues for many users because the desktop site might not be mobile friendly. Mobile-first indexing started to roll out in March of 2018, it is a new procedure in which a website’s search engine indexing is based on its mobile version.. If your website isn’t mobile friendly it can really hurt your search engine rankings, which hurts your business.

These differences in keyword rankings are driven by Google to create a better experience for mobile users, and it is important to make sure your website is compliant. At The Ad Leaf, we have a highly successful strategy for SEO in Melbourne FL to maximize your website rankings. Our approach includes a many highly critical factors like:

  • Separate strategies and plans for both Desktop and Mobile SEO in Melbourne FL.
  • Tracking page speeds for both versions of the website as mobile websites need to perform and load faster.
  • We keep track of mobile users while they are on your site so we can learn their behavior and adjust our strategy accordingly

As specialists in the field of SEO in Melbourne FL, mobile first indexing isn’t a huge algorithm change like we have seen in the past. It’s a change in how Google reads your website and how your site ranks on mobile. If you don’t have a mobile website, Google will still search and index the desktop version of your website but there is a downside to that. You can be ranked really well for certain keywords but that doesn’t mean you will turn those clicks into conversions. If you don’t have a mobile website, it could make your website difficult to read on mobile devices which will increase the bounce rate and possibly start to negatively impact for search rankings.

Since mobile devices have become such a crucial factor in search rankings, creating separate strategies for desktop and mobile SEO in Melbourne FL is a must. Understanding there is a difference will help you grow your business. We are specialized is this field and we have the tools and expertise necessary to help drive your business’s success by improving your search engine ranking. Learn more about what we have to offer your business and contact us to plan out and design a strategy for SEO in Melbourne FL.

Graphic Design services in {{lpg_city}} can be used to help your business grow

Getting More Out Of Your CMS

Every Content Management System or CMS has its own sets of advantages and disadvantages. A CMS really gives the power to website creators and website owners to add content and change or modify it as needed. How well it can build a website for your business depends on your skills to deploy it and market it. Here are some useful facts to consider when trying to get the most out of your CMS.

Customization

Every CMS allows for some amount of customization, some allow a lot more than others with the availability of themes and plugins. Plugins are what really allow you to expand on what your CMS is capable of right out of the box. Many CMSs can be enhanced with add-ons and plugins that can turn a basic blog into an e-commerce site, a forum, or a web application. Your plans for the new site could steer you towards one or two Content Management Systems that offer the plugins that you’ll need.

Usability

You don’t need knowledge of HTML or CSS to edit your website if you use a CMS. a CMS offers editing tools are provided for you in a clean and simple way and there’s very little to learn. Some CMSs do include complex content editors that are similar to popular document processing software, and some let you edit page content in a live view. If you ever have a problem using your CMS, many of the popular platforms have very large and well-established communities full or users that extend their expertise and help users with solving their problems on the platform.

SEO Responsiveness

You should never use a CMS platform that does not assure you about the site’s search engine optimization. While it’s true that most CMSs are equipped with search optimization tools, their effectiveness varies. You won’t be able to make your website prominent in the search engines without the proper tools that are needed to boost a site’s rank position. You need to be careful in picking the platform that has inbuilt SEO features or SEO features that can be easily added with the help of a plugin.

If you aren’t using a content management system to manage your website content, making the switch will certainly save you a lot of time, money, and frustration. The key is to choose the right CMS that closely aligns with the functions, extensions, and flexibility that you require.

Responsive Web Design

Importance of Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design has been an essential part of website design for several years. If you’re not a web designer, you may be wondering what this term means. You might also be unsure as to whether or not your website should be implementing responsive design.

Responsive design will make your website mobile-friendly by improving how it looks on devices with both large and small screens, and will increase the time visitors spend viewing your website. Responsive design can also greatly help you improve your rankings in search engines.

 

What is responsive design?

First, here’s a quick description of responsive design and how it functions. Responsive design is a way to build a website so that it automatically scales its content to match the screen size on the device it is being viewed on. It keeps images from being larger than the screen, and stop visitors on mobile devices from having to do extra work to read your content like zooming in. The ultimate goal of responsive design is to avoid the unnecessary scrolling, zooming, or panning that would be needed with sites that have not been optimized for mobile devices.

With a responsive website design, all content and pages are adaptable to every screen resolution and device. Whether you’re seeing a website on your cell phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop, it will be easy to navigate despite the varying screen sizes. Providing an ideal experience for the client no matter how you are viewing it.

 

Why should you invest in responsive design?

We live in a society where most people have a smartphone in their pocket and because of this, it is important for your website to be easily viewable on their device. Responsive web design stats show that it’s wise to appeal to both desktop and mobile viewers. In fact, the number of mobile viewers now outnumbers desktop. This number will continue to rise as global smartphone accessibility continues to increase.

Responsive web design is also an important ranking factor when it comes to SEO. Websites that are responsive will generally load faster which is going to support the website ranking and decrease the bounce rate. SEO campaigns and website maintenance will be a much smoother process with a responsive website design. Responsive web design implies you just have one website to take care of; it’s also quicker and more affordable than making a stand-alone mobile application in addition to your desktop website.

 

There are numerous responsive web design benefits and if your website isn’t yet responsive then planning a redesign and a new fluid layout is a great first step. It will help you determine which page elements are most important, which pages can be eliminated, and how much you want to keep on your site. Once you’re clear on the direction of your redesign, you can dive into choosing the right platform and the right theme for your site.

7 Reasons Why PPC is Vital To Your Business

Pay-Per-Click marketing is like the gold rush. Everyone is flocking to the land, but only a few come out with more riches than they know what to do with. PPC marketing is very challenging, unbelievably frustrating at times, but it’s worth it. Actually, it’s more than worth it. Think about it. You have the ability to show thousands of potential customers your ads all day, and night, every single day of the week. Why wouldn’t you want to do that? Continue reading and I will go over 7 reasons why PPC marketing is vital to growing your business.

 

  1. Pay-Per-Click

One of the reasons why this business model works and works well is because you only pay when someone clicks on your ad hence the name “Pay-Per-Click” or PPC Marketing.

Your ads can appear on searches but if a user doesn’t click, you don’t pay.

Your goal is to appear when your services are needed and wanted.

The whole point to PPC marketing is to appear in front of users who are in need, and properly offer your solution to their problem.

 

  1. You’re in Control

Yes I know we’re advertising on Google’s platform and all, but we’re not at their mercy. We (the advertisers) are still very much in control of our success. Here are the following things we are in control of.

  • Which keywords trigger our ads to be shown
  • Which keywords we DON’T show up for
  • How much we spend
  • When our ads show up
  • What our ads say
  • Who we show up for (E-Mail list)

The things we’re in control of is utterly important. Do your due diligence when it comes to keyword research, negative keyword research, the latest trends, and be sure to test until you find your winning formula!

 

  1. Google Analytics

One of your greatest allies!

Google analytics eliminates any and all confusion as to what works in your PPC marketing campaigns. Google lets you know which keywords are performing the best, what search terms your ads are appearing for, what time of day your ads are being clicked on, and much more.

This tool was created by Google tool to help us advertisers make informed decisions about our campaigns, and how to optimize them accordingly.

 

  1. Tracking Conversions

How do you know if your campaigns are successful or not?

That’s where conversion tracking comes into play.  

Conversion tracking allows you to know which aspects of your campaign are working, and which ones are not (in terms of performance)

AdWords allows you track phone calls, app downloads, e-mail sign-ups, sales, leads, etc

Conversion tracking is one of the most important parts of daily campaign management, and conversion tracking should be set up as soon as possible.

We don’t want to spend money on clicks, and not know for a fact if they’re converting or not.

Be sure to set up conversion tracking as soon as possible!

 

  1. Unlike SEO, Pay Per Click Marketing Can Yield Better Results & Do it Faster!

Don’t get me wrong, SEO is one of the most important parts of a great digital marketing strategy, but it takes a long time (I’m talking several months) to see results.

On the other hand, Pay-Per-Click marketing can have your ads on Google in front of your ideal customer in just several hours.

Let’s go over some of the benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

  • It’s cost-effective (you never pay for a click)
  • Increase brand awareness
  • SEO can decrease your Cost Per Acquisition
  • SEO builds trust and credibility

Let’s go over the downsides of Search Engine Optimization

  • Takes an incredibly long time to see results
  • Appear below paid ads
  • Most people don’t go past the first couple of results (aka the paid ads)

Benefits of Pay-Per-Click Marketing

  • Fast Results
  • Accurate Results
  • Trackable Conversions

Downsides to PPC Marketing

  • Costs money
  • Daily monitoring
  • Constant optimization
  • Never ending testing

 

Both SEO, and PPC have their pros and cons, but the best way to see fast, accurate, and trackable results is through PPC. To rank your page on Google using SEO will take you months, and even when you’re in top position for organic searches; you’ll still be below the paid ads.

 

  1. Constant Testing is Encouraged!

When you’re a PPC manager the only thing that’s constant is change and why are we constantly testing, tweaking, and messing around with ads?

The question is, why aren’t you?

As a PPC manager, your job is to find a winning formula and duplicate it over, and over, and over again. That’s the only way to increase business for your client and keep them happy.

Here’s an important tip to remember… Not everything you test will be successful!

Don’t be discouraged by this instead think of it as a blessing, you figured out a way that didn’t work, so that eliminates one more thing that you have to test.

Your winning formula is out there! You just need to keep testing!

How do you know if one of your strategies is working or not?

Use Conversion Tracking and Google Analytics!

Because of these two amazing tools, you don’t have to guess whether or not something works. You’ll have empirical data that will show you if it’s working or not.

 

  1. Remarketing

What is remarketing? 

Have you ever been to Amazon started browsing around, maybe you even added an item or two into your cart and now everywhere you go those same products seem to follow you?

That’s remarketing folks.

Remarketing is showing your ads to users that have been to your website, took an action on your ad, or have added an item to their cart.

If you have 100 clicks on your ad, and 20 of those users become customers you have a 20% conversion rate. But you may be asking, what about the remaining 80%?

You’ve already spent money getting them to come to your website, they clicked on your ad for a reason, so why not pursue them some more?

It’s much easier to convert a prospect into a customer if they see your advertisements over and over again

 

What’s so great about remarketing?

Remarketing is amazing because you get to target users that already interacted with your ad in one way or another, and remarketing costs a fraction of what a normal PPC campaign costs

If a remarketing campaign is setup properly, it can get you results for cents on the dollar and be sure to use remarketing as a part of your overall marketing strategy for maximum return on your investment.

As you learn more, and more about how PPC Marketing can positively impact your business; you’ll quickly realize that it can generate quality leads at a fair price, and at an incredible rate of speed. PPC is a hard beast to tame, but once you get the hang of it the results can be astonishing!

Google My Business Setup Guide

You’ve heard all sorts of hoopla about the internet, and how it affects your business, but have you taken any action? How many customers are you missing out on simply because your business isn’t listed on the world’s most popular search engine, Google? Those days are over, and your shift to promoting, and showcasing your business online starts today with Google My Business!

Introduction

At this point, you’re thinking two things.

  1. What in the world is Google My Business?
  2. Why in the world should I care?

Google My Business is a feature that Google offers to businesses that puts them right on the search engine map (literally) as well as Google’s organic search results, and Google+. The reason you NEED to care about Google My Business (GMB for short) is because this feature makes it unbelievably easy for customers, and clients to quickly and easily find your business no matter which device they are using.

This fantastic tool goes beyond the old simplistic features such as including your hours of operation, and your phone number. Google has made it very simple for everyone to navigate and use this feature; users can even find driving directions, or call you directly from the listing. Best part of it all? It’s FREE! The initial investment of creating, and setting up a Google My Business account can yield some amazing returns.

 

Setup

Alright, you’ve made it this far, let’s get your company or business listed with Google! To get started, the first order of business is to navigate Google’s new business page as shown in the picture below.

By clicking the “START NOW” button, you’ll be prompted with the following screen…

  • Simple stuff, enter the name of your business

  • Next, you’ll be prompted to fill this location form

  • Pick your location on the map
  • Users will be able to see your business location on Google Maps as well

  • Name the type of business that you run (i.e – carpet cleaning, hvac, dental office, toy store, etc)

  • You can add your phone number here to add a contact method
  • You can also add your business address

  • After you fill everything you’ll see this screen, simply hit “Continue”

  • On this interface, you’re able to add and edit photos, phone numbers, hours of operation, business addresses, and virtual tours

  • Once the progression bar reaches 100% then you’re fully finished with the setup process and can show off your awesome business listing
  • You can make changes at any time by adding new photos, changing your location, etc

Conclusion

Google My Business setup is now complete! You can now go to sleep knowing that people who are looking for your business will find it, no matter what time of day they might be looking for it. Update this page on a semi-regular basis with new photos, and/or any major changes that may occur within your business (i.e hours of operation changing) An up-to-date, and strong online presence ensures potential customers that you’re on top of your game.