I warned you yesterday what would be coming, but here is the second installment to the infographic saga. Today we have an infographic made by marketing pilgrim, and it’s all about search engines.
Continue reading…Local Mobile Search infographic
Just letting you all know up front: I love infographics, and I share them like crazy whenever I find a good one. Recently, I stumbled upon several infographics I think warrant posting on here as they’re all relative to the world of digital advertising.
The first infographic is from a marketing firm called Orange Soda. It’s called “The Power of Local Mobile Search,” and it runs through some of the stats and figures I’ve posted on here before, but includes some fancy graphics to drive the points home.
Check it out!
Continue reading…Mobile Search: The Next Frontier
According to a report from the xAd advertising network, there were big increases in mobile and local searches during Q4 2011. The stats are pretty incredible, and just go to show how much you need to start looking at mobile and local searches.
One amazing stat is the level that mobile searchers react to ads compared to desktop users. In the study, 52% of mobile-local searchers called the local businesses after the initial click. The leading secondary action was accessing maps or driving directions (50%), compared to 42% for search ads.
The click-through rate (CTR) for search ads was also strong last quarter as well. Average CTR for search ads was 7%. This is because mobile-local searchers are seeking information related to a specific action for a need or want that they want to fill.
Another enlightening statistic about mobile search is that mobile search requests grew 60% quarter-over-quarter. That’s a huge number, and shows just how many people have smartphones these days, and how many are searching for local businesses.
So do you have any local search game? Well if you don’t, you’re in luck – we do. As part of our search targeting, we make sure to create mobile-specific campaigns that target the mobile user with a special call to action and click-to-call ads.
But what good is mobile traffic if they get sent to your clunky desktop site? We also design mobile landing pages that deliver the things mobile users want. On our custom-designed sites, we include mapping options as well as a mobile-specific call to action with a prominent click-to-call button.
Have any more questions about mobile? Ask us in the comments.
3 things to help you optimize for local search
Local search is everywhere. Think about how many times you search for something nearby. By 2015, 30 percent of all searches will be local. Compare that with 12 percent in 2009.
One of the reasons for this growth is the emergence of smartphones. 80 percent of all searches conducted through a smartphone are for local products and services. Local search is ever-changing as the major search engines give more focus in that area, and if you aren’t showing up, you need to.
1. SEO your website.
Make sure your website is search engine optimized (SEO). This means targeting certain keywords on your website, and targeting long-tail, geo-specific keywords such as “Chicago pizza in Seattle”.
2. Set up your profiles
Sign up for several business directories and Google Places. The more directories you’re in, the better, as your business is seen as more credible by Google. To get listed automatically in more than 100 directories, check out Business Listings at Local AdsUpNow. Local AdsUpNow is a service that automatically submits your business information to almost 150 directories and more than 25 mobile networks.
3. Encourage customer reviews
Encouraging your customers to review your business on places like Google and Yelp can be a great tool to help bring more business. Studies show that people are more likely to visit a business if it’s been recommended by a peer, so having your customers rate your business is essential to bringing in more sales and new customers.
So there you have it. By following these steps, you can start to optimize your online presence to come up higher in the rankings. You will not only increase sales, but your business will be more respected by Google, so it’ll have better rankings in the search results.
For more tips on digital Marketing, check out our website. We’re a Seattle ad agency specializing in digital advertising and marketing.
Have any more questions about local SEO? Let us know in the comments.
3 Ways to Increase Your Revenue By Marketing Across All Purchase Paths
Every customer you have ever landed came through a purchase path. Some of the paths are
The point is, you might have an idea of how purchase paths are laid out, but the truth is they are usually more convoluted than they seem at first.
Because of this convolution, you have to be prepared to remarket your products or services to your customers in many different ways. It’s not enough to do some local TV ads and have a website, you need to be actively targeting and communicating with your customers in order to get them to convert.
There are several ways you can make sure that you are targeting your customers in the right way. The first of which is search engine marketing (SEM). SEM is important because it places your ads at the top of the search results for the keywords you’ve selected, giving you the ability to reach more customers.
Another reason this is important is because your customers may not remember exactly what your business is called, but they just know what type of product you provide. For example, if they heard your radio ad, or saw your business and couldn’t remember what the name was, but could only remember that you sold heaters and air conditioning, they could type “heating and air conditioning Seattle” (or whatever their city was) and your ad would pop up at the top.
A second way you can help promote across purchase paths is through retargeting. Retargeting places a cookie in the user’s web browser when they visit your site, this causes your display ads to be displayed to them after they leave. This brings increased mindshare and brand awareness during the customer’s shopping cycle, which will result in more revenue.
A third way to promote your business across purchase paths is by using your social networks. Chances are, you have a Facebook page, and studies have shown that users who buy something from a business after going through its social channels spend more money per transaction. Leverage your social networks to get users to make purchases. Offer discounts to Facebook fans, or plan a giveaway on your fan page.
If you want to be able to promote your business in today’s changing digital landscape, check out our website for more information on what we do. We are a full-service Seattle ad agency specializing in the digital realm.
We can help you get more from the Internet.
Top 5 Reasons An SMS Campaign Can Help Your Business
So you’ve seen SMS campaigns around, but never thought that they worked or figured they were too much trouble to implement. Well
1. You get access to everyone.
Not everyone
2. You can monetize interactions through texting.
You can promote your texting program by telling people to text a has keyword to your number to get a coupon for whatever you want to promote. By offering an incentive for them to sign up, you can start building a mobile following.
3. Drive more sales.
You have the ability to reach all your mobile customers with a few clicks. You can send out a message when business is slow, or just offer deals to your mobile subscribers whenever you want to make a sale.
4. Reach consumers who might otherwise slip through the cracks.
When someone buys something at your store, they remain pretty anonymous. Unless you write down their information, they might leave and never come back. With an SMS campaign, you can remarket to them by offering them special deals for being an existing customer.
5. Acquire customers who don’t know you existed.
By promoting your texting campaign on your existing advertising, you bring something unique about your business to the table. By telling TV watchers or radio listeners to text you for exclusive deals, you can bring people to your business who wouldn’t have otherwise heard of you before.
These reasons only touch the iceberg of why an SMS campaign is good for your business. Being able to communicate with your customers at any time is a great business advantage.
Turn Your Clicks Into Customers
Every time you get a website hit, that’s a potential lead. Aside from the people who accidentally click on your site, all your visitors are at least somewhat interested in your products or services.
So why do you get so much website traffic and so few leads? Because shoppers today go to Google and compare everything about your business with your competitor’s at the click of a button. That means you only have a few seconds to sway them in your direction, or just hope your website was memorable enough that they’ll re-visit it.
We’ve already written some posts on retargeting, but here’s a quick recap: First the user visits your website, and your website places a cookie in their browser. Next, they leave without converting. Then, the cookie in their browser tells the websites they visit to display your ad. Finally, they see the ads, are reminded of your website, and come back and make a purchase.
So what’s so great about retargeting? Well it follows-up with your prospects automatically. As they surf the Internet, your ads appear and remind them of your services. Also, to increase conversions, you can even promote a special deal for people who click on your ad.
As a full-service ad agency in Seattle, we have a retargeting program that delivers return traffic to your website, guaranteed.
Retargeting allows you to cater to website visitors no matter how far into the buying cycle they are. Whether they’re just doing preliminary research, or almost ready to make a purchase, retargeting works in the same way: it reminds them of you.
Let your web traffic bring you results. More than 98% of your website visitors leave and never come back – give them a reason to.
3 Ways to Increase Sales on Valentine’s Day
So Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, which means millions of couples around the U.S. will be purchasing traditional Valentine’s Day things such as flowers, jewelry, candy
Even if you don’t sell any of the traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, use this holiday as a chance to offer a special promotion, and perhaps even persuade your customers that a new car or hot tub is a better alternative to blowing money on an expensive dinner and diamond bracelet. Sending these kinds of updates through email gives you an easy way to tell all your customers that you’re offering a special.
Follow these three tips to make your Valentine’s email blast successful.
1. Target men
Segment your email list to your male customers. The reason you do this is simple: men spend more than twice as much as women on Valentine’s Day. That means you need to use language targeted to males. Stress the importance of coming up with a gift for their special someone, and highlight the idea of giving a unique gift, depending on what it is that you’re selling.
2. Timing is everything
Depending on how much your product costs, you might want to send the email out a couple of weeks in advance. If your product is a little cheaper, a few days before – or even on – Valentine’s Day will work because it will be fresh in their mind about buying a gift for their significant other.
3. Promote it via social channels
Social Media is a great way to promote your Valentine’s Day offer. Provided that you have a fair amount of followers, sending out timely updates leading up to Valentine’s Day can give your fans and followers a reason to check out your store.
There you have it. Follow these three tips, and you could capitalize on thousands of local Valentine’s Day shoppers. For more tips on local marketing and advertising, check out the rest of our blog or go to our website.
4 Ways you can apply lessons from Superbowl commercials to your business
For those of you in Antartica last weekend (or non-sports fans), the Superbowl took place last Sunday, and the best football players competed with the best ad agencies for the limelight. You might think Superbowl ads don’t apply to your business because there’s no way you would ever be able to afford one, but all the ads had takeaways that can help with advertising and marketing for any budget.
1. Add a social layer.
If you noticed, almost every ad in the Superbowl had a social media element to it. Some had hashtags associated with them, such as Audi’s vampire commercial’s #SoLongVampires. Others, such as Bud Light’s commercial, encouraged watchers to go to Facebook for more content. While you don’t necessarily have to have a hashtag, promoting your specials on Facebook, or offering extra discounts to users who share your content can help add a social layer to any promotion you do.
Audi’s Vampire Commercial
2. Make it unique.
Every Superbowl commercial has a unique factor to it – usually humor. Do your ad spots say or show anything to separate your business from your competitors? Beware of bad jokes or going overboard, however. Your commercial may go viral for the wrong reasons.
3. Don’t just sell your product.
Not many people want to hear numbers about how your car has 6hp more than the other guys’, or why the hot tub you sell has jets that deliver 26psi more than your competitors’. Instead, focus on the lifestyle aspect of your product. VW’s commercial showed a dog getting in shape so he could chase a New Beetle, and became one of the most watched TV spots because of it’s unique approach.
VW’s Dog Commercial
4. Don’t jab at the competition
Chevy learned that lesson the hard way this year with their Superbowl ad that said Ford drivers didn’t make it through the Mayan apocalypse, but Chevy drivers did. While it generated some buzz, it didn’t do anything to help the brand at all, and Ford released a statement taking offense to the ad as well.
Let us know of any other Superbowl commercials you enjoyed in the comments.
The Explosion of Mobile Search
Mobile paid search is set to increase in 2012. Already this year, mobile made up 15.9% of paid search traffic in January, and mobile made up 21.5% of all paid search clicks. Meaning click-through rates were higher for mobile than desktop.
According to a forecast by Perfomics, an online analyst firm, mobile click share may rise to 28% of all search clicks over the next six months.
Click-through rate is also higher on the mobile platform. Mobile CTRs were 45% higher than their desktop counterparts.
Also, cost-per-click is lower on mobile as well, coming in at 40% below traditional computers.
So what do all these numbers mean? Well they mean you need to get started with a mobile campaign – and fast.
Conversion Logix is a full-service digital ad agency in Seattle. We can help you get your mobile game off the ground.
Check out some of our other posts on the importance of mobile marketing.
