How Search Engine Marketing Has Brought Billboards To Their Knees

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

Statisticspexels-photo-12

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

 

Location

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

4 Awesome Stats To Help Small Businesses Win At Email Marketing

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

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

1. People Are More Likely To Click Certain WordsEmail Marketing

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

2. Images Are Preferred To Text

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

3. Don’t Send Plain Text

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

4. Optimize For Mobile Reading

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

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

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

4 Reasons Online Advertising Will Make Or Break Local Businesses

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

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

1. More People Are Online Than EverOnline Advertising

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

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

2. Ads Are More Effective

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

3. Searches Are Becoming More Local

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

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

4. Searches Are Becoming More Effective

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Panda Update Makes Content More Important [March]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4 Simple Search Engine Marketing Pitfalls To Sidestep

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

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

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

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

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

2. Unfocused Ad Groups

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

3. Directing Ads To Poor Pages

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

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

4. Resting On Your Laurels

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

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

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

How Online Advertising Can Boost Your Offline Sales

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

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

Direct Searchers To Your Storestocksnap_rzwm4t2uad

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

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

Target Searchers Who Fit Your Demographics

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

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

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

Target Mobile Searchers Nearby

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

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

Include Location, Directions, Call Options

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

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

Create Direct Call Ads

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

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

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

4 Extremely Common SEO Mistakes To Avoid

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Search engine optimization (SEO) is necessary if you want any part of your website to rank highly in Google searches. If you’re not on the first page of Google results for the keywords you’ve chosen, you’re nearly invisible to searchers.

You may know some of the brighter points about what to do to have good SEO, like having consistent, fresh content and using relevant keywords, but today we’re going to look at huge SEO mistakes we see people make, and which should be avoided at all costs. Whether you work with us or not, take heed of these tips.

1. No SEO At Allpexels-photo-52608

The most common form of bad SEO is to have no SEO at all. This means the website has been left in it’s most basic, original state.

None of the titles or descriptions have been updated, so they are generic and unoriginal, e.g. Home, About Us, Contact, Blog, Services, Products, etc.

The descriptions might be something like, “We provide solutions for clients to help them succeed.”

Some of the content might even be left over from the development process of the website. Placeholder content such as the fake Latin “Lorem Ipsum” is common in the web development world, but can be accidentally left behind and make your website even more confusing.

No keywords will be specified, or if they are they are far too general. Not having any SEO makes it hard for search engines – as well as your customers – to understand what you website is about, leading people to leave your website very quickly without contacting you.

2. Duplicate Titles/Descriptions/ContentSEO Mistakes

One of the worst mistakes which can be made is duplicating content. Whether it’s the titles of pages, the descriptions or the words on the page itself, duplicating content is a lazy way to create volume.

When content is a copy of another page, search engines will notice and only index one of the pages, meaning the effort put into creating the duplicate pages was wasted anyways. And if the content was duplicated from another, pre-existing site, none of your content may be indexed at all in favor of the original content.

Individual users will also be repelled by duplicate content. No one wants to go to a new page, only to find the same exact material as was previously covered. That would be like opening a book to page 52 and finding out the author simply started over with Chapter 1 at that point. That book wouldn’t sell a lot of copies.

3. Still Using Meta Keywords

Meta keywords were heavily used in the 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s to help search engines and searchers understand what a webpage was about. While the meta keywords form can still be filled in with keywords, it can now be more damaging to your ranking than helpful.

Most major search engines no longer use meta keywords to help them rank webpages; they instead check the content to decide what a webpage is about.

By continuing to use meta keywords, you can confuse search engines and possibly searchers, because your meta keywords may not match up perfectly with the topic of your content.

4. Keyword Stuffin

Keyword stuffing is the practice of taking a keyword or keyphrase – think “Cars” or “Used Cars For Sale In California” – and sprinkling it heavily throughout the content of a page, as well as in the description, meta keyword section and/or title.

Instead, it’s best to write about a content naturally, and let the keyword appear a few times naturally throughout the content. There is no longer a hard-and-fast rule about how many times a keyword should appear in content, as long as the content is valuable for the reader and brings people to your page.

If you’d like to learn more about how to create good SEO on your website, give us a call or email us today!

3 Ways To Get the Most Out of Your SEM Spend

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If you don’t have an agency by your side, it can be harder to get the most out of your search engine marketing (SEM) dollars.

Whether you’ve done your own SEM in the past, had an agency manage it for you or haven’t tried it yet, as a Certified Google Partner we have a few tips to help you get the most bang for your buck from advertising with search engines!

1. Stay ActiveSearch Engine Optimization

Consistency. It’s important in sports, life and advertising. Even if you’re only looking for short term results, spend a little bit more and for a little bit longer of a timeframe than you originally planned. You may find that if you stop advertising and then come back, it will cost you more than if you had just stayed consistent.

2. Utilize Analytics

Your SEM with Google is managed through AdWords, and while there are some good statistics available in AdWords, Google Analytics is where you are really going to get insight into who is clicking on your ads and what they’re doing once they’re on your website. You can also tie your AdWords account to Analytics, so you can view your AdWords statistics inside of your Analytics dashboard.

Be sure to analyze your results, so you can fine tune the text and targeting of your SEM.

3. Keep Your Organic Ranking Strong

While concentrating on SEM, it’s important to keep your organic ranking strong. Strong organic placement is very important, as organic search results still receive the majority of traffic as compared to ads.

A search engine optimization (SEO) company can help your website ranking through user experience design, responsive website design, content development and more. These changes will also help users stick around when they click on your paid ads, as they will be easier able to navigate your website and find what they want.

So, increasing your SEO can increase the effectiveness of your SEM.

Lastly, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or are having a hard time with your SEM, let us know! We’re always glad to help small-to-medium-sized businesses succeed.

8 Strategies To Boost Email Marketing For Small Businesses

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As a small business, it can be hard to keep up with an ever-changing marketing field. Email marketing and other types can be time intensive. But if you can make the time for them, they can really boost your business.

At Cohlab, we help our clients build and sustain email campaigns across multiple industries. If you need expert help, let us know, but we hope these strategies can help set you on the right course.

8 Strategies To Boost Email Marketing For Small Businessesemail-824310_1920

1. Make It Obvious

The first key to successful email marketing is getting subscribers. You may already have users heading to your website, landing pages, blog or Facebook; use this to your advantage and give them some way of signing up, whether you find a WordPress plugin, a Facebook feature, or just give them a link to send you a generic email opting in.

The most important part is to make it obvious. Put it at the top of your pages, make it part of your Facebook cover photo, do something to get the idea of being on your mailing list in front of them and easy to do. All they should need to do is give you their name and email, don’t confuse the issue by asking for anything else.

2. Keep Them Informed

Once you’ve begun building a list, let them know what you’re using it for. Send everyone a welcome email as they are added to the list letting them know you’re grateful and that they’ll be receiving Marketing/Coupons/Blog Summaries/Survey/Etc. emails from you.

Email services like MailChimp and HubSpot (which we’ll discuss later) have an option to automatically reply to someone when they sign up for your list.

3. Subject Lines Are Important

Subject lines are key. What are you trying to get them to do, and what information is inside? Readers should be able to know without even opening the email whether anything valuable is inside for them.

Technically speaking, emails with subject lines of less than 50 characters tend to be opened more often than any other length, while subject lines of more than 70 characters tend to have links or coupons inside clicked on more often.

4. Consider Using A Service

In point #2, we mentioned MailChimp and Hubspot. These companies provide email services, allowing you to create lists, email templates, as well as keep you on the right side of the law. These email marketing providers automatically put unsubscribe links at the bottom of every email, which allows readers to opt out at any time and saves you the hassle of breaking the law.

5. Be Brief

About half of all emails are read on mobile devices, which means people are on the move. Keep your emails brief. You should really have only one or at the maximum two focuses in a single email message, to prevent confusion and keep the length in line.

200 words is usually a good maximum. If you need more than 200 words to get your point across, write a blog post instead and link from a short summary on the email to the blog post.

6. Be Committed

Keep it steady. If you feel customers will benefit from one email a month, do that and stick to it, always hitting it on the same day at about the same time. Create a calendar if you have to.

If you are doing more than one email a month, you’ll probably need a calendar. Keep it steady, with one email a week or whatever you choose.

If you decide you absolutely need to change your emailing frequency, inform your email list so they aren’t confused, or create separate lists and encourage people to subscribe to both lists if interested.

7. Stats Are Important

With an email marketing service like MailChimp or HubSpot, it’s easy to watch your statistics roll in from your email campaign. Open rates (what percentage of subscribers have opened a particular email) as well as click rates (what percentage of subscribers have clicked a link within a particular email.)

Not seeing good results? It might be time to change the time/date of your emails (see point #6.)

8. Images Might Not Show Up

Alt tags. These are text descriptions of graphics (images, photos, videos, logos.)

Every graphic you put in your email should have an alt tag, not only for those who use software to read their email to them, but also for those whose email provider has blocked images from appearing. Otherwise your customers might not even know you included a valuable coupon, or what it’s worth!

We hope these strategies have helped you on your journey, and if you need anything else, we’re just an email away!