Making the most of online advertising
Online Presence, the Heart of Online Advertising
An intuitive, well-designed website can make a huge difference in terms of getting new customers and sales.
Make sure that your website is relevant to your business and provides important information such as location, phone numbers, opening hours and other contact details.
Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective customer and check whether your website is useful, professional, attractive, easy to find and well-organised. Can you find information about the products and services you are looking for? Can you order them online or find answers to your questions?
8 Tips for SMEs to get the most from Google
1. Make pages for users, not for search engines. Create a useful, information-rich site that others will link to, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.
2. Avoid ‘tricks’ intended to improve search engine rankings. A useful test is to ask: “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?”
3. Keep the content on your site fresh and updated, to encourage repeat visitors and higher web visibility.
4. Use Google’s free Analytics tool to monitor how people are using your site and where they come from: www.google.com/analytics
5. Check out Google’s Webmaster Console which provides you with a free way to diagnose problems and make your site more Google-friendly: www.google.com/webmasters/tools
6. Make sure you have a free listing in Google Maps via the Local Business Centre. This helps users locate your business, phone number and other information about your business: maps.google.com.au
7. Explore Google AdWords. It’s easy and measurable advertising. Many Australian small businesses are using our advertising program as a sort of matchmaking service for new customers they might otherwise not reach: adwords.google.com
8. Think about signing up for Google AdSense, which enables you to place “Ads by Google” on your site and earn online advertising revenue: www.google.com/adsense
Tips for Search Marketing Success
Search marketing allows you to deliver your marketing messages to the people who are actively searching for your products or services at the exact time that they are doing so. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad and it’s completely transparent. It’s easy to set up an account, set a budget and get started. But there are a few things to keep in mind to be successful:
1. Always keep your target audience in mind. What are they searching Google for? Do they know about your product or brand? Where do they live? This will help you target your campaign more effectively.
2. Choose the right keywords. Select a list of words and phrases (also known as keywords) that you think your potential customers would type into Google to search for your products or services. Make the words highly relevant to your business. This helps ensure that the ads associated with those keywords appear in front of the right audience and customers are more likely to click on them and visit your website.
3. Write ads that encourage people to visit your website. With a “Sponsored Link” alongside the search results, you have three lines with which to grab that potential customer’s attention. Here are a few tips for getting it right:
-Get to the point quickly – what do you have to offer and why should people buy from you?
-Include your keywords in your headline.
-Include a call to action: what do you want people to do when they click on this ad and are taken to your website?
4. Measure your success online and offline. Advertising is only effective if it generates measurable results for you. Be sure to track and analyse which keywords and ads actually turn visitors into customers. Track sales that happen offline as well. The best way is with a coupon or an order form, or simply by asking customers how they found you.
5. Test, test, test. Never be complacent. Be prepared to review and change your approach over time to ensure you get the most from your advertising. You may need to revisit your ads, keywords and budget and tweak where necessary, to maximise your profits.
Seeking to promote your business? Create your free Australian business listing with Dynamic Search business directory – Sister site of Dynamic Business.