Category Archives: Content

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PPC Strategies: COVID-19 Search Trends

Due to COVID-19, people around the globe are wondering what the new “normal” will look like. Everything from the economy to consumer behavior has witnessed drastic changes. People are looking to buy their products online to avoid getting or spreading the virus.

Just within the first week of quarantine, screen time shot up 33% ! Now is definitely the time for business owners to get creative and move their marketing efforts toward the internet. The search landscape has changed across almost all industries. However, here are four industries that should definitely be taking advantage of the current situation with PPC campaigns:

Travel

It’s no surprise that travel continues to be an industry facing major challenges during the global pandemic. Search volumes related to flights, hotels, and other related subjects have decreased by 90% over one year. Consumers are hesitant to travel due to the shelter-in-place restrictions and 2-week self-quarantining required after traveling internationally.

However, now more than ever people are searching for things they can do close to home. This is the perfect time to focus your ad dollars on regional and local areas since many other travel services already have.

If your business is dependent on international travel, there are still ways to keep your business relevant. Jet2 sent out an email campaign asking what their customers were looking forward to most after the pandemic ends. The responses were:

  • 53% beach lazing.
  • 15% uncovering culture.
  • 12% cuisine tasting.
  • 8% getting active.
  • 8% experiencing nightlife.
  • 4% souvenir shopping.

Although this email poll doesn’t give Jet2 immediate sales, they now know that beachy destinations should be a large portion of their future online marketing efforts.

Marriott Hotel and Resorts went another direction with their marketing by pulling on heart strings. They went to social media to show that they are still here for their customers during the shut downs.

 

instagram post from marriott

 

Even if sales are not through the roof it is important to keep your name in the game through ads and social media!

Retail

Retail has been one of the stronger industries during the global pandemic. However, growth has massively shifted from in-person to online shopping. At-home beauty products ranging from hair dye to press on nail searches are up year over year.

There has been a 36% increase in searches around hair dyes and coloring and a 118% increase in clicks. Simultaneously, the personal grooming category has seen a 79% increase in searches and a 146% increase in clicks.

Hobby stores are also experiencing an increase in searches. There is unmet consumer interest as growth in searches outpaces the click growth for hobby-related queries. This includes genealogy, arts and crafts, birding, outdoor recreation activities, camping, gardening, cooking, model building, and home brewing.

Running a PPC campaign will ensure that your retail store shows up for customers who are in need of products like yours.

Automotive

With everyone working from home the need for a new car was brought to a grinding halt. However, in-market purchase queries increased in March, despite the shopping patterns and search themes shifting.

With job security up in the air, most people are hesitant to buy such an expensive item. That being said, search terms are showing that as people adapt to the “new” way of life they are taking advantage of the time-limited offers that dealerships and auto-related industries are offering.

A few trends that Search Engine Journal has seen include:

  • Consumers are trying to understand which dealerships are open versus closed due to varying policies related to “essential” businesses. Creating clarity for your customers is increasingly important, especially if you are open today.
  • Shoppers are increasingly looking for dealers, dealerships, and specific models “near me”, with these types of queries up 22% in the last 30 days over the previous 30 days.
  • Shoppers are looking for “affordable” vehicles, with affordable related queries up 85% year to date.
  • Leasing queries are up 51% in the last 30 days over the previous 30 days – indicating the consumers are looking for more affordable payments.

Car sales aside, automotive insurance searches are up 44%. The spike in searches is caused by consumers who are searching to lower their insurance premiums. This may seem bad for business, however, now is the perfect time to adapt and begin a PPC campaign and feature limited time coverage specials on your site.

We recommend bidding on terms related to quote comparisons, affordable policies, and pay-per-mile insurance.

Health and Wellness

With a global pandemic in motion, it’s no surprise that health and wellness is a popular topic. Searches related to the coronavirus symptoms, vaccines, and treatments are up year over year.

There was also an increase in searches related to masks, sanitizer, and disinfectants. Searches for the flu vaccine increased 478% year over year with nearly 21% of searches containing a coronavirus related term in the query.

As the months of quarantine stretch on, the searches around depression have increased 3X and anxiety 2X. With emotions running high, it’s the perfect time to get your wellness brand or product out for everyone to see. A PPC campaign can ensure that people who are searching for advice or a similar service will see your site on Google.

Do you need assistance with your PPC campaign? Get in contact with us today. SeoTuners can offer an affordable solution for your business to increase exposure and SERP rankings with organic SEO strategies like keywords. We’re confident we have a solution for all your marketing needs. 

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SEO Knowledge Gaps in a Digital World

This entry was posted in Content and tagged , , , , , , on by .

Coronavirus has affected the world unlike anything before, and it’s no surprise that surveys say 82% of small businesses are concerned about the impact of the pandemic. Government restrictions have forced businesses to close their doors or completely change their business models. Much like Darwinism, employers must adapt or face the decision of giving up on their dream.

Although 2020 is known for its technology and online influence, there is still a knowledge gap between millennial and generation X business owners. Obviously, the younger generations have the advantage of being more at ease with search engine optimization and promoting themselves on social media. However, nearly a quarter of business owners today are still either vaguely or not at all familiar with SEO at all.

While some businesses are simply trying to wait out the pandemic, others are choosing instead to evolve and thrive. Business owners are realizing that the internet is their friend and can help them and their business survive the COVID-driven economic crash surrounding them.

Business Owners and SEO

 In a digitally lead world, having an online presence is crucial to success. If your business executes your SEO poorly, you risk becoming like one of those TV shows that airs on an obscure channel in the middle of the night. Even if you have a great show, it will be hard for it to gain a following because you are too hard to find. Similarly, you can have a wonderful business, but if Google does not show your website in their search results, then potential customers will struggle to find out about you.

A survey revealed that nearly a quarter of business owners were only either vaguely or not at all familiar with search engine optimization. Only 25.6% of business owners classed themselves as “very familiar”, with the highest percentage of them falling into the category of “mostly familiar”, at 29.4%.

 Most people report that they don’t scroll past the second page of Google. With 83% of search traffic coming from organic searches and only 17% coming from paid searches, it is apparent that your website must compete for a spot on the first two pages of Google. If your business has a website, an SEO strategy must be implemented to compete in the current online market. 

Knowledge of SEO

As a business owner, you probably have a basic understanding that Google helps drive traffic to your website. However, 1 in 4 business owners and 2 in 5 non-business owners are not familiar with SEO.

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The positive take away from this is that there is a wealth of opportunity for business owners like you to learn more about SEO, how it can impact your business, and the steps needed to acquire a competitive edge over your main competitors.

Business owners appear to have a marginally better understanding of SEO than non-business owners. But ultimately, the survey reveals that there is plenty of room for both parties to learn more about search engines and SEO. After all, a whopping 4.54 billion people actively use the internet.

SEO Quiz Results 

A recent study of 1000 participants was done to find where the knowledge gap in SEO was most prominent. The survey included an eight-question quiz. Business owners received an average score of 48.7% correct answers, with non-business owners averaging 38.7%. With multiple-choice questions, all survey respondents failed the basic SEO quiz. The questions included:

  • Which best describes organic search?
  • What is alt text?
  • What are backlinks?
  • What is anchor text?
  • Site Speed is an important factor in Google search rankings. True or False?
  • Nofollow links do not impact Google search rankings. True or False?

28.7% of people answered that organic search results were searches directly with a search engine, rather than the correct answer; unpaid search results. Only 33% of participants knew what alt-text was, and 28.6% of them admitted that they didn’t know what backlinks were. Given that organic search and backlinks are considered two of the most critical concepts in SEO, it’s surprising to discover that only about half of the population understands them.

42.9% answered “what is anchor text” correctly, and 55.8% of people knew that site speed is an important factor in Google search rankings. More than half of the respondents chose “I don’t know” for whether or not nofollow links impacted Google search rankings.

infographic of statsBoth business owners and the public were much more familiar with the concept of keywords than they were with other aspects of SEO, like backlinking. This suggests that while people may realize how Google operates on the top level – by typing in keywords and receiving the results that hopefully best match their query – they may not fully understand how Google decides what to rank in those top positions. 

The Meaning 

It’s easy to take for granted how simple it is for you to find the answer to your question in minutes. But understanding how it works, what paid results are, and how authority and trust are built is a harder concept to grasp.

Diving deeper into the importance of SEO is exceptionally more important for business owners. It’s your key to unlocking exposure and staying in the game!

Get in contact with your trusted experts at SeoTuners! We provide a number of search engine optimization services to businesses looking to optimize their website such as branding, e-commerce, Google Local, organic SEO, and Link Building  If you’re interested in improving your website’s search traffic, get in touch with us today. SeoTuners can offer an affordable solution for your business to increase exposure and SERP rankings with organic SEO strategies like keywords. We are confident that we have a solution for all your business marketing needs.

 

 

 

10 Facts on Why You Should Focus on SEO in 2020

This entry was posted in Advertising, Content, Local, Marketing, SEO on by .

There is a misconception that SEO is an outdated marketing strategy. Because it has been employed for so many years, there are many businesses who think it’s best to move past this reliable standby and find new approaches to marketing.

The fact is, SEO is a widely-used industry standard for a reason. It is one of the most effective methods of marketing – and also one of the most affordable. Here, we’ll show you a handful of reasons why SEO is still number one in 2020 and beyond:

Organic Search Results Work

Today’s consumers spend a lot of time researching the products and services they invest in. That’s why search results are so important. High-ranking results that seem entirely organic are a proven way to get your brand in front of consumers’ eyes and into their minds. This kind of organic advertising is ultimately the best way to get the clicks you want and the traffic your business needs.

SEO is Affordable

Perhaps one of the best things about SEO continues to be that it is an affordable addition to your overall marketing strategy. Its cost is lower than almost any marketing approach but yields demonstrable results, making it an incredible value for your investment. Indeed, investing in affordable SEO service is one of the smartest business decisions your company can make.

SEO Beats Pay-Per-Click Every Time

You may be tempted to believe that more expensive forms of advertising – like paid search promotion or pay-per-click – are more effective than SEO marketing. After all, you get what you pay for, right? Not always – and SEO is definitely a case in which you can get more for less. SEO’s ability to power organic search results beats the more expensive approaches in creating website traffic nearly every time.

It’s Easy to Tailor SEO to Your Needs

SEO isn’t one approach – it’s whatever you need it to be. You can easily tailor your SEO marketing strategy to meet your business’s needs and get even more out of your investment.

SEO Works Well Others

Don’t want to rely exclusively on SEO? No problem! You can deploy SEO marketing as part of a comprehensive overall strategy that includes numerous approaches. It’s a great addition to any approach and is complementary to just about all others.

Making the Most of Social Sharing is Easy with SEO

These days, people often do a lot of marketing for their favorite companies. This is called social sharing, and it pairs very well with SEO marketing.

Building Trust is Simple with SEO

Trust is an important part of the relationship between corporations and consumers. If you are trying to foster more trust in and credibility for your brand, few things do so as easily and organically as SEO marketing. Pushing your company’s search result to the top of the list will give your consumers a more positive impression of your brand and build more trust that you can lean on later.

SEO Keeps on Working

SEO isn’t one of those strategies that you apply and only see benefits from for the next few weeks or months. It keeps on working with minimal adjustments over time, continuing to bring business into your company year after year.

SEO is Perfectly Suited to the New Market

With the COVID-19 pandemic and all of the changes that it has brought to the way the world functions and does business, the market has never been more perfectly suited to SEO. More people than ever are searching for services and shopping online. Utilizing SEO now is the smartest move for your business – and is likely to continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

8 Effective SEO Techniques to Drive Traffic in 2020

This entry was posted in Advertising, Content, Local, Marketing, SEO on by .

Companies love the many benefits of deploying affordable SEO packages – but are you doing the most that you could be to maximize those benefits? Here are some ways to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your SEO efforts – and driving traffic directly to your site.

Content Creation Remains Critically Important

While there are plenty of things you can pay to optimize and tweak, having great content remains one of the best ways to get consumers to your site and keep them there. Focus first on top-quality content creation. Your customers and your bottom line will thank you!

Give Your Website an SEO Overhaul

Want to brush up your website’s SEO performance? Check off these key points:

  • Ensure titles and subheadings are optimized with key terms
  • Make sure every page contains key SEO terms or phrases, including local pages
  • Polish your URL if needed, shortening and removing unnecessary capitals
  • Check for formatting across all pages
  • Ensure that graphics load properly and contain SEO terms in their ALT text
  • Double-check links from other pages to your own and contact owners of high-ranking or important sites that may contain broken links

Enhance User Experience

With better content and a more search engine optimized website, it’s time to ensure that it’s also user-friendly and enjoyable to navigate. You would be surprised by how many people abandon their search of a website due to frustration or confusion once they’re there. Make it a priority to make your website an enjoyable place to be and see the rewards you garner – including higher sales and better consumer satisfaction.

Make Mobile Optimization a Priority

Did you know that around 60% of all searches conducted in 2020 were performed on mobile devices? That means that the majority of your online consumers are visiting your site from their phones or tablets – and you have to be ready for that. To create a site that will drive sales, you must create one that is optimized for mobile use.

Focus on Local SEO

A larger percentage of customers than you likely realize are using your website to research a visit to your storefront or to find goods and services close to them. As such, optimizing your website for local users is a key priority for successful SEO marketing.

Optimize for Voice Search

Just as you should optimize for mobile use and local SEO, you should also focus on the likelihood of voice search by consumers. More and more people are using the voice search feature of their phones, tablets, and other devices, making focusing on it an important part of creating a powerful SEO approach for your business.

Improve Your Portfolio of Backlinks

Links are still a vitally important part of your SEO efforts. When overhauling your site or even just performing regular updates, check all links for accuracy; do they still effectively lead where they’re supposed to? Also don’t be afraid to swap out links for more effective, higher-ranking ones. A solid portfolio of backlinks will help your site rank higher in search results, just as it always has.

Measure and Evaluate Your Performance

Want to see how well the previous points on this list are working for your company? Take the time to accurately and extensively measure performance via reliable metrics and consistent evaluation. Ask consumers for feedback. Take stock of how your business was doing before deploying new techniques and after. All of this will help you find out if your approaches are working or need adjustment – and make better choices moving forward.

Best SEO Packages: Why Your Business Absolutely Needs SEO

This entry was posted in Advertising, Content, Local, SEO, Social on by .

Running an online business for the first time can be a daunting task. Are you wondering why you’ve got high bounce rates and poor traffic? It could be due to several reasons—from bad content, poor navigational experience, and cluttered site design. Get help from a pro. Start checking out the best SEO packages. Here’s why your business can’t live without SEO and without a team of professional digital marketing experts to help you.

Constant Traffic

The more traffic there is to your site, the higher the chances of conversions and sales. SEO helps generate a steady amount of traffic to your pages, so you won’t need to worry about having zero sales. The fact that SEO works 24/7 means that you can expect traffic at all times, which can lead to an exponential increase in sales.

Keyword Optimization

Search engine optimization experts know the best keywords that your pages should rank for. Your pages will publish content that’s not only optimized for social, but for search as well, hitting two birds with one stone. That optimization will help your site rank higher. Higher rankings on the SERPs mean that more people can find you.

Brand Awareness

SEO helps your brand and business establish a strong online presence. With the right campaigns, your SEO team can help you build content that can position your firm as an expert and trustworthy advocate in your field of expertise. That helps generate a lot of consumer trust. People buy products or try out services from the companies they trust.

Brand Loyalty

If you’ve ever wondered how big brands generate the level of consumer loyalty so that all they need to do is announce the launch of a new phone or shoes to get people to flock to their stores, lineup, and pay, the answer is marketing. Excellent marketing does that. That’s what you can get when you hire a digital marketing team. Find one that takes the time to know your business and goals. Does the firm have the expertise and talent to provide content that engages your target market? That’s a must. Strong engagement can eventually lead to brand loyalty.

Adapt to Change

Changing business environments mean that companies need to learn how to keep evolving and staying up to date with the latest technologies, platforms, and tools. The right SEO marketing team can do that for you. With a team to build, manage, and update your social media accounts, your business can reach out to your customers on that platform. Meanwhile, you won’t need to take time out of your busy schedule to handle all that. You can focus on running your business.

Competitive Edge

A business that doesn’t know how to adapt will find itself edged out by the competition, sooner rather than later. If you don’t want your firm to get left behind in the dust, hire search engine optimization pros to help you get your business up to date on the industry’s best SEO practices.