(Updated: 29 November 2022)
We’re not saying that AdWords is a redundant tool, but if it’s your only form of online marketing, you might need to reconsider your marketing strategy…
How does Google AdWords work?
To put it plainly, Google AdWords is an online advertising platform that allows you to reach people when they are actively searching for a product or service just like yours. With AdWords, you can create service or product specific campaigns, select targeted locations based on your audience focus, set a budget, and of course direct them to a landing page on your website.
The problem?
You are not the only one using this method – competitors across the globe are also using Google AdWords to improve their product or service visibility. With thousands of companies competing for the spotlight, to turn those search queries into conversions, your business better have additional tools in your online marketing strategy toolbox to stay ahead of the game.
The solution?
With a variety of options at your disposal, let’s start with one of the common, but absolutely vital ones – SEO. We’ve all heard of Search Engine Optimisation, yet most of us don’t quite understand or perhaps realise the importance it can play in boosting your online visibility.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be defined as “the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s unpaid results – often referred to as “natural,” “organic,” or “earned” results.”
There’s a reason why there is such an emphasis on SEO – or Search Engine Optimisation: It works!
How to improve your SEO ranking
Many people break out in a cold sweat when you start discussing SEO and we don’t blame them. SEO is a multifaceted process and understanding the “where” and “how” can help your business grow its online visibility, increase quality traffic, and position your business as a trustworthy, authoritative expert in your field.
Let’s dive into it shall we?
Keywords
Keywords are words and phrases that your audience uses to find content, whether it be a product, service, or educational query. When selecting the keywords, you want your content to show for, it’s best to put the same level of research and care you would place into the creation of your AdWords campaign.
Where are keywords placed?
Keywords can be used throughout your website and are typically found within:
- H1 Heading
- H2 – H4 Headings
- Media File Names
- Image Alt Tags
- Page Title and Page Description
- Content
However, a word of warning:
- Check your keyword density: Google will see past your trick – using too many repetitive keywords will negatively influence your pages’ SEO ranking and will bring down the overall user experience (UX) of your website.
- Spelling and grammar: Make sure that the spelling and grammar of each page is faultless. Google’s bots are very strict about this (yes, almost as strict as your Grade 4 teacher was!).
- Use the correct regional language: It’s a well-known fact that American English is different from standard British English. And while America is cool and all, using their spelling will certainly affect your SEO negatively since you’ll have more competitors. Matching your English to your country’s standard will greatly benefit your SEO ranking when people search for local results.
Content
Content plays a vital role in engaging and reaching your audience. You can use content to improve your SEO ranking by incorporating your keywords, creating inbound and outbound links, thus raising awareness of your brand and so much more.
However, it’s more than just putting a few words together, your content needs to be educational, relevant, shareable, and most of all interesting. Let’s say you’re an insurance company, your content should not only cover what you do, but you could write articles that perhaps give advice on the benefit of insurance, what the different insurance packages are, or how to select the right cover.
This will help place your content in front of audiences looking to learn more during the buying journey, and if your content contains the right messaging, it’ll help keep you in the forefront of their minds when they want to take action.
Types of content
Although we’ve covered this briefly above, there’s plenty of ways to get your content in front of your target audience and these include:
- Website Content
- Videos (YouTube or Website)
- Infographics
- Blogs
- How-to Guides
- White Papers or E-Books
- Social Media Posts
Social media
Social media is no longer just a way to keep in touch with family and friends. Businesses have been utilizing social media platforms as another medium for marketing. Social media is a great way to spread your brands messaging, but another perk is creating inbound and outbound links to various pages on your website. Another aspect that influences your SEO is the number of visitors your page gets – posting relevant and interesting stuff can greatly amplify this.
How to use social media to advantage?
You can share articles or blog posts you initially created onto your website, onto your social media platforms. This will easily showcase some of the original content your company has been creating and can help get this content in front of audiences a little bit faster.
Another thing to consider is sharing posts from industry leading brands (preferrable non-competitors) that may be of interest to your target audience. Going back to the insurance example from earlier, you could share news about interest rates, insurance hikes, or governmental policy changes.
Tip: Don’t only post items pertaining to your direct customers’ interest. Occasionally, you should post articles to their clients. Remember: you want a visible online presence and shared and “liked” posts grow your visibility.
Conclusion:
Yes, Google AdWords is an amazing and useful tool in your marketing arsenal, but if your company is just starting out or perhaps tight on budget, it may not be a great idea to put all your eggs in one basket. Make sure your company takes advantage of other ways or methods of marketing to your target audience.
If your company needs help, then consider hiring a professional marketing company to get you started. With Cognite Marketing, we are able to provide our clients with a wide variety of marketing and content marketing services.
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