Google Ads For Local Business: 7 Tips & 3 Mistakes

Google Ads For Local Businesses

Did you know that 76% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase? As a local business, it’s a top priority for your ads to be seen and used. But to do that, they have to reach their target audience. They also have to be so appealing that they lead that audience straight to a purchase. So how can your business use Google Ads to benefit your customer and sales growth? Here are 7 of the best practices and 3 mistakes to avoid for local businesses using Google Ads.

Local Google Ads Tip - Increase Your Local Reach Radius

1) Increase Your Local Reach Radius

When you’re trying to get a bigger reach for your Google ads, but still want to reach your local customers, make sure your Google location target setting is on “People in, or who show interest in, your targeted locations.” This setting is recommended by Google and will help your business reach an audience that might not be permanently residing in your location. It also can help your ads reach nearby cities. 

While Google Ads can help increase online sales, increasing your local reach radius also can increase off-line sales. Start “Geo-fencing” or learning how far your customers are traveling to visit your physical business. This way, you know how far to set your Google Ads map radius. Consider setting up surveys in your newsletters or receipt emails that ask the area code of your customers. You can also create a system of asking for area codes with physical purchases.

Google Ads For Local Businesses Article Graphics

2) Take Advantage of All Google’s Location Campaigns Types

While making a campaign is simple, there are several ways you can use campaigns to reach different audiences. For example, if you have a candy shop, you might make a campaign that looks like “candy shop near me.” This campaign will attract anyone within a your set radius.

Consider using both of the campaigns below:

[business type] near me

[business type] in [state, city]

Keyword phrases such as “near me” and “on sale” have increased 250% from 2016-2019. On the other hand, specifically mentioning a city or state is key for getting your business’ ads to pop up for non-locals. This group of people may be tourists, travelers, other businesses, and general visitors. Using both of these types of campaigns can greatly impact the response you get from your ad.

Tip: When preparing a Google Ad campaign, be sure to take advantage of Google’s geo-targeted ads, which allows you to pinpoint a target audience that’s as large or small as you want.

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3) Include Location Extensions 

If you’re targeting a local audience, be sure that your ad can take viewers to a map of your business. After all, your ad may reach thousands of people, but if people don’t go to your store or website, the ad is pointless. By including a Location Extension, you allow the ad to connect viewers straight to Google Maps. This practice is especially useful for the many people who are using their cell phones to search for local businesses, as it will help them navigate easily to you.

To add a Location Extension to your Google Ads, simply go to your Google Ads Dashboard and click on the Extensions tab. You’ll then see the option to add Location Extension.

You can also add an Affiliate Location Extension (located directly below Location Extension in the same place). Affiliate Location Extensions showcase affiliates that carry your products. If your products are located in businesses such as Amazon and Target, be sure to add that information here.

Utilizing the Affiliate Location Extension greatly benefits businesses that don’t have their own storefront. By channeling purchases through affiliates, you can increase your audience and sales.

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4) Optimize Bids For Target Location

You’ll want to ensure the bulk of your bid is focused on the areas closest to your business. There are already several aspects of your ad that is set-up to reach a larger radius. Spending your money on the local area ensures that the people who have the most potential to get to your business see your ad. It also ensures that the closest people have the most consistent exposure to your business.

To customize your bid, go to the Location Extension to your Google Ads, on your Google Ads Dashboard. From there you can click your target audience and increase the percent your keywords are optimized for viewers. Select multiple ranges of targets (5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles), and steadily decrease your bid for each level.

Google Ads For Local Businesses

5) Create Deep Links for Your Ad’s Site Link

While it’s important to make an eye-catching phrase for your ad’s site link, it’s also important to link deep into your site. For those who haven’t deep linked before, it makes sure your audience isn’t led to the homepage, but another page on your site. By deep linking, you drive customers straight into what they’re looking for. Try deep linking to contact pages, sales or events pages, or service pages. If your business sells products, also add an Amazon-style buy button to your deep linked page that will increase your conversation rates by 14%. This way, customers will be led straight to an easy way to buy your product. You could even use this for your business’ services by styling the page’s button after the Amazon button.

If driving in local customers is your goal, be sure to include keywords that would indicate your business is local. Create a landing page that includes positive and local testimonials. Viewers will automatically be able to see the impact you’ve made on the community and become potential customers.

Tip: Google’s artificial intelligence can automatically generate phrases for your ad’s link, but consider writing your own to match your deep link landing page. Just make sure they are interesting and engaging.

Google Ads For Local Businesses

6) Utilize Local Search Ads

Including browsing, researching, and buying, 98% of global consumers shop online. But you also want your potential customers to find your physical business quickly. Instead of taking viewers to your website, Local Search ads lead your audience straight to Google Maps. This feature is especially useful if you need a large influx of local customers quickly. Be sure to enable Location Extensions first (see #3) and optimize bids (see #4). After these two steps are complete, you’ll want to make sure your Google My Business page is updated and correct. If you’re looking for a simpler way, there is also the option to automate your bidding by setting up specific rules.

Another way to increase your business’ presence in the community is by partnering with local organizations and events. When people search for these events and places, they will also be exposed to your business. By making sure your Location Extension and Business Locations are correct, you ensure that potential customers are able to see your location on Google Maps or visit your website.

Google Ads For Local Businesses

7) Keep Track of How Ads Perform and Adjust Accordingly

If you see that one of your ads is doing poorly, don’t be afraid to remove it. While it’s been said that any exposure is good exposure, your money should be reserved for the best performing ads. Use Google Ads to keep track of the number of clicks your ad gets, the revenue generated, how many qualified leads your ad attracts, and more. You can also utilize Google Ads’ Keyword Tracker to see which keywords are attracting the most traffic. Then you can delete the keywords that aren’t generating clicks. At the end of the day, you want to keep what works best for your business and get rid of the rest.

If you are not getting the results you want for the money you’re investing, it may be time to re-evaluate the type of paid ad you’re using. 

Google Ads For Local Businesses

Learn the 3 biggest mistakes to avoid when setting up Google Local Ads:

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Which of these tips will you put into practice?

Comment and share below!

6 Marketing Strategies To Drive Thanksgiving Sales

6 Marketing Strategies To Drive Thanksgiving Sales

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the cornucopia of online marketing options available today. The truth is that a well thought-out and carefully implemented online marketing plan can open a business to a new stream of prospective customers, drive leads to a website and motivate increased sales. With that in mind, here are six search marketing strategies to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:

  1. Event Marketing: Whether your business is holding a holiday sale or sponsoring a major conference, there is no better way to attract attention than online event marketing. Target a potential audience online and get them excited about your event.
  2. Local Search: If your business caters to a particular geographic area, use local search strategies to become the big fish in your small pond. When customers in your target area search for a business or services similar to yours, your company should be at the top of their results.
  3. SEO Marketing: Search engine optimization (SEO) studies how search engines rank their results and implements strategies to maximize exposure through this means. SEO marketing encompasses blogs, newsletters, website copy and design, and social media to drive higher rankings and awareness.
  4. WordPress CMS: Efficiently manage your online content using WordPress CMS (Content Management System), which offers one convenient location for organizing web pages, blog content, and search marketing. WordPress Plugins allow you to easily extend the features and functionality of your blog or website. Thousands of customization options allow you to improve your search engine optimization, develop a client portal for private information, and add display features such as widgets or navigation bars.
  5. Google Marketing: There are many ways to use Google’s SEO tools to increase your online visibility. Your business can run Google ads which are only shown to people who are searching for exactly what your company offers. It’s a great way to get big budget results with small budget costs.
  6. Social Media: All of your prospects and customers are already using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media platforms every day. Your company can utilize social media marketing to engage with them every time they are online and become part of the conversation.

Your online marketing plan needs to take advantage of the most effective marketing tactics, and know which to gracefully avoid. Contact Search Engine Pros at 800-605-4988 and find out how wecan help your business compete more effectively online.

Happy Thanksgiving from Search Engine Pros!

Thanksgiving Marketing Tips

The Internet, And The Future Of Bumper Stickers

Bumper Stickers

Oh where, oh where have the corporate bumper stickers gone?

It used to be that in the good old days of marketing, not so very long ago, businesses could simply go to any trade show and hand out bumper stickers with their name and corporate logo on them, and that would be about it for any outbound marketing effort. Add on some type of contest like the radio stations did, and you were really going above and beyond.

But look around these days and you don’t see anything near the proliferation of bumper stickers that there used to be.

Oh sure, you can still find witty and religious sayings, magnetic ribbons for various diseases, words of support for politicians and sports teams, “my child is an honor student” and those omnipresent stick figure families.

But when was the last time you saw a bumper sticker with the name of a local business on it? If you have seen one, odds are that it was probably on an older vehicle and had a purpose of helping to keep the bumper on the car!

Well, times have changed, bumpers have changed and the marketer’s idea of only using bumper stickers to attract prospects and customers will have to change, too.

Those once-plentiful signs of company pride used to be a popular form of traditional — or push — marketing. The objective was to push information, the company’s name or branding statements out to consumers, and they would be more inclined to frequent your business.

Now it’s a much more in-depth and delicate wooing process for companies to capture the attention of prospects and win their consumer hearts. It demands the strategic use of Internet marketing.

The good news is that businesses of every size can utilize Internet marketing. The bad news is that businesses of every size have to utilize Internet marketing, or they will simply lose out to their much more aggressive and Internet-savvy competitors.

This form of marketing is known as pull marketing. It’s a little similar to fishing, where you put something of interest out there to attract some attention, and let it slowly lure in a prospect. The differences here are that you have to use lots of lures and you sometimes have to gain the fish’s permission to participate in the process.

The Move to Social Media and Online Marketing

One similarity between bumper stickers and pull marketing is that you have a very short period of time to garner some attention. Just like passing another car and noticing what the slogan is, your online communications have to be sharp, focused and consistent.

Get to the top of the search engine rankings or nobody can find you, have a succinct Facebook message or it’s gone in 60 seconds as new posts appear, catch attention in six seconds with a blog title or your prospect moves on. It’s a fast and furious world, and you’ve got to be on the top of your game.

Here are just some of the amazing statistics about the opportunity represented by social media and online marketing:

» Social media is huge and it’s still growing: In January, ClickZ highlighted a report from eMarketer that found that social media will have 5.4 million more users by 2016, on top of the 180 million Americans who already rely on it for social interaction and information.

The top five social media outlets are Facebook, TwitterInstagramPinterest and Tumblr. If your business doesn’t have a presence on these five as a minimum, you could be missing out on customers, regardless of your target age group.

Amazingly enough, there will be 4.9 million social network users younger than 12 and 21.1 million teenagers engrossed in social media. Older Millennials are the most active social networkers, and even 17.1 million 55-64 year olds frequent Facebook.

No matter who you need to communicate to in order to present your features and benefits, you had better include social media if you plan to accomplish that goal.

» Young adults are watching less TV: According to Nielsen’s 2014 fourth-quarter analysis of television viewing habits, young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are actually watching less television.

If this is your target group, it’s going to be harder and harder to find them without incorporating an Internet element to your marketing strategy.

The primary reason for their decreased interest in traditional television is their increased interest in digital devices. They are surfing the web, using social media, and Googling answers to every question that comes up in conversation. They use their mobile devices and smartphones extensively and, if they want information on a product or company, they want it now. If it’s not easily available, they are more than willing to move on.

» Social media is the new “back fence”: If people wanted to communicate with their neighbors just a few years ago, they could simply walk to the back fence and exchange information. They might ask about local businesses, relate good and bad experiences, or even provide a referral.

Now all of that is accomplished online through social media networks, bloggers and influencers. Consumers are now in the habit of searching online for answers and information first before making decisions from where to eat to where to have surgery.

In fact, Power Reviews found that 86 percent of consumers say reviews are an essential resource when making purchasing decisions. They trust peer recommendations more than they trust advertising and, if they do have a question or concern for a business, they want to be able to get a response quickly.

Does it seem like too much effort to learn about the new “pull” marketing? The return on investment for the time and energy needed is that you get to stay in business and keep attracting customers. Not such a bad return.

So, are bumper stickers totally useless now? Well, not exactly. But I’d recommend adding your web site with a call to action and a coupon code.

— Taylor Reaume is an e-Business coach and founder of Search Engine Pros. He can be contacted at taylor@thesearchenginepros.com, or 1.800.605.4988. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

7 Lucky Tips to Improve Your SEO

7 Lucky Tips to Improve Your SEO
Holiday Marketing SEO Tips


St. Patrick’s Day is for the wearing o’ the green. While we like that, Search Engine Pros believes in the making o’ the green when it comes to implementing search marketing strategies for clients. We always tell clients that great SEO marketing isn’t a matter of luck. It’s a combination of knowledge, dedication, and persistence. As a web marketing agency, we’re providing these six lucky tips to help improve your search engine optimization:

  1. Relevance: What you write on your blog must be relevant to the searcher’s keyword. Content optimization builds your site’s relevance. In addition to providing interesting content, it must be posted using meta tags, alt tags, headings and intrasite links.
  2. Longer Content: Despite supposedly shorter attention spans, longer content of 1000-2000 words shows up well in search engine rankings and also serves to demonstrate your authority. The only caveat is that the piece must be of high quality, or you will waste your own time and that of your readers.
  3. Back links: Search engines look for pages and sites that are connected to one another through links. This can be done by testimonials, reviews, blog comments and social media shares that let the search engines know that your site is respected by other web denizens.
  4. Social Media Marketing: Your marketing plan should interweave SEO and social media to expand your online reach. Social media posts which point to relevant website information or blog posts increase the amount of shares and “likes” for existing content.
  5. Build Relationships: Increase your trust factor by showing that others respect what you have to say. Over time, you will become more well-known by the company you keep in your link-building and social media strategies.
  6. Authority: Good content attracts attention, but being relevant builds authority. With a high search engine ranking and high number of links, prospects will tend to trust your online business presence more.

Don’t just select one point and focus on that. Each of these must be combined into an all-in-one, connected, online marketing plan. Each area needs to be functioning smoothly so that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. You won’t need the luck to improve your SEO when you have Search Engine Pros as your marketing expert.

Boost Your Holiday Traffic With These 4 Online Marketing Tips

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We are getting ready to turn the page on the calendar and it’s hard to believe that we are in our final month of 2014. It’s been a great year for us here at Search Engine Pros, and we hope that your year was equally as rewarding. As we take the time to prepare for 2015, we’d like to wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a safe New Year.

Now might be a good time for you to look back at 2014 and think about whether or not you were getting the type of online traffic that you had hoped for your business. If you didn’t get the type of traction that you had wanted, then you may realize that you failed to reach your expected earnings as you tally up revenues in the fourth quarter of the year. Luckily, a new year is just ahead, and you can start fresh with an improved marketing plan that will make 2015 an incredibly rewarding year.

holiday marketing tips

With the help of web marketing, you can take your business to brand new levels of exposure. Before online search marketing, it was much more difficult for small businesses to compete with large companies. However, there are now a variety of tools that an online marketing team can implement to increase the presence of your brand.

Strategy Development Goal Marketing Vision Planning Business Con

If you are looking for a boost in holiday traffic that will carry over into the new year, here are 4 tips to consider.

1. Spruce Up Your Website

Many companies realize that they have to have a website if they want to get recognized online. But not all of those companies realize that a standard website isn’t going to be enough in today’s responsive world. Instead, it might be time to revamp your approach by stripping down your website and building it to maximize search engine optimization results.

2. Get Help When You Need It

With a marketing group that is familiar in SEO, you can have a customized online presence that is tailored to your every request. With the advice of these marketing experts, you’ll get some of the top web design ideas that will interest your audience and keep them on your page. In addition, these web marketing methods will help with your online search engine rankings by accommodating to required expectations. If any part of your online presence is outdated, you may be hurting your SEO wherewithal. This is why it’s important that you make a beneficial change that will quickly boost your presence and maximize your online efforts.

3. Re-Target Your Marketing Approach

Along with other methods of online marketing, you’ll also want to evaluate your marketing plan to see how well it is targeting your audience. In many cases, we’ve worked with business that have a viable approach in place. However, once we dig a bit deeper, we realize that their SEO marketing plan is limited and they aren’t getting the sort of exposure that they desire.  To make the shift, your new approach should include an emphasis on social media marketing. The way that customers interact with companies is drastically changing on a day-to-day basis. This is why you need a marketing agency thatcan help you keep up with these changes on social media and other online avenues.

4. Track Your Results

No matter what sort of marketing service you implement, it won’t matter if you don’t know how it’s working. This is why it’s vital that you track your results and use analytics to formulate any changes that are necessary. If you are unfamiliar with tracking analytics, your marketing agency can assist you.  The more that you track your results as to what is working for your online approach, the better of an idea you will have into what works. You can then use this information as you move forward and tailor your online marketing toward your target audience.

Marketing
Santa Barbara Web Marketing Questions
PPC (Pay Per Click) Google Adwords

Q: Is it too late to jump start my online marketing for the holiday season?

A:  Traffic from Google Adwords can be sent to your web site in less than an hour.

Q: How does online marketing compare to other forms of advertising?

A: Online marketing has changed the way that people connect with businesses. Instead of sending out mail flyers or other physical services, online marketing lets businesses communicate with their clients instantaneously. In doing so, your business will be able to bring in new clients and build your reputation as a reliable brand that people can trust in.

Web Marketing Events

Here are some fantastic events to attend that will be sure to grow your company by leaps and bounds.

Social Media Strategies Summit: Las Vegas 2015 – Anyone who is anyone will want to make sure that they visit the Social Media Strategies Summit in Las Vegas. This year, the event will be from February 10 – 12. You can learn more about how to market your brand online at this great conference.

Social Media Marketing World – There will be over 2,500 people in attendance at the Social Media Marketing World from March 25-27. The event is held in San Diego, so be sure to get your ticket early to be part of one of the biggest social media events around the nation.

2015 Christmas Colorful Background

SEO Is Like A Rubik’s Cube

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Steamling your SEO campaigns is a bit like solving a Rubik’s Cube…

If you have visited Google’s home page today, you’ve seen that they replaced their logo with a rendition of the mesmerizing Rubik’s Cube. According to Wired Magazine, Google is celebrating the iconic puzzle’s 40th anniversary with an interactive Doodle.

At Search Engine Pros, this got us thinking that SEO (search engine optimization) is like a Rubik’s Cube. SEO is complex and requires an integrated, all-in-one approach to solve it. Getting one area perfect does not complete the picture if other puzzle pieces are incomplete. Instead of colors, here is what we’d put into an “SEO Solver’s Cube”:  

marketing strategy on google
  • Great Web Design: This part of the puzzle helps all the others fall into place. An old, outdated, or ineffective website can hurt your marketing strategy and keep you from achieving your goals. Our web marketing agency can help put your website to work. We can develop a web design plan, execute that plan through top web designers, and implement a branding strategy.
  • Blogs: Our professional SEO company can constantly publish high quality content on your behalf. Our marketing agency takes advantage of the best WordPress plugins, SEO tools, and top WordPress themes to make your blog capture the audience’s attention. A well-written blog also increases the opportunity for SEO optimization by providing content that generates back-links.
  • Newsletters: Newsletters and email marketing can sometimes be the forgotten cousin to the sexy blogs, but they keep your business in touch with prospects and current customers. While blogs usually focus on one topic, newsletters help you communicate to a wider audience on several topics. As a marketing consultant, we believe that the best marketing strategies should incorporate a newsletter component.
  • Social Media Marketing: In today’s connected world, it’s crucial to keep in touch through social media. Our Santa Barbara social media services can improve your exposure on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Our social media agency can develop a Facebook marketing plan that provides a mechanism for engagement, interaction and two-way communication.
  • Public Relations: Not only can a high quality press release communicate specific points about your business, it can also get picked up by many online news outlets, adding even more to your internet marketing and SEO effectiveness.
  • Pay-Per-Click (PPC): Use our PPC services to capture attention at the very moment a prospect is searching for your product or service. Ask us for a PPC campaign proposal.
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Put it all together in a concise marketing plan and you’ve found the solution to your online marketing puzzle. Our Santa Barbara marketing group can help you with all aspects of online marketing, web marketing, social media marketing, SEO marketing, and PPC marketing.

Search Engine Pros is an ethical SEO company that stands ready to help you reach your online marketing goals. So stop playing with the Rubik’s Cube on Google and start working on your SEO strategy!

About Search Engine Pros: Search Engine Pros is a Santa Barbara web marketing firm which specializes in SEO marketing,  online marketing, PPC (Pay Per Click Google Adwords), and SEO/web design. Visit the website and Facebook page or call 800-605-4988 for more information or to request a copy of 101 Ways to Drive Traffic.

Google Marketing Is Like A Big Rubiks Cube

Big budget results. Small budget costs.

Step 1. Design a site that captivates, informs and motivates customers to action.
Step 2. Develop a content publishing plan detailing specific steps to success.
Step 3. Delegate execution to a team with a strong track record for success.

Ready to get started?  Fill out this form to receive a free web site analysis and rank report.

Smile, It’s Contagious!

Why Your Website Strategy Doesn’t Get any ROI

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“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” – John Wanamaker

Let’s face it – you’re still not happy with the results your website is generating for you. You’ve changed designs, updated copy, and added new photos, but it still doesn’t seem to be gaining any traction. At Search Engine Pros we offer personal and ethical search engine optimization that utilizes the latest, most effective online marketing strategies. Based on our experience, here are some reasons why your web strategy may not be providing a strong return on your investment:

  • Lack of an Overall Strategy: Over 81% of consumers make buying decisions on the internet, and your business needs a total strategy to attract their attention. A sexy website alone isn’t enough to do the job. Your strategy must include all elements from “The Strategic Circle” for website marketing success.
  • Consumers Can’t Find You: A website that just talks about your business without any search engine optimization (SEO) will not appear in search results.
  • Nobody is Linking to You: Search engines look for websites that have links to and from other sources as a way of establishing credibility and topical relevance. Back links are online referrals for your business.
  • Not Functional on all Devices: Consumers are now accessing the Internet from PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Websites that don’t translate well to all devices are missing out on potential traffic.
  • No Social Media: Your customers like to stay in touch and are using social media to do it. Be sure to have links to your Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages and keep them updated, too. Have a constant stream of outgoing information, try to link up with online influencers, and respond quickly to requests for information.
  • One Language Limitations: In a bi-lingual and multi-lingual world, a website that only provides information in English excludes a significant portion of the buying public. The key to International SEO is optimizing a page for foreign language natural search.
  • Not Driving Customers to Your Site: Sometimes a little extra push is all a consumer needs to be motivated to visit your site. Properly worded and placed pay-per-click (PPC) Google Adwords can provide just the right touch at the moment of decision.

As online marketing professionals, our role is (1) to help you gain a better grasp of what is often a complex maze of decisions; (2) to help ensure that decisions you make are carried out; (3) to keep your strategies up-to-date.

Our clients include small business owners, financial professionals, lawyers, doctors, and corporations – people who struggle for time to carefully focus on their online marketing goals.  The Accelerator Plans we offer are advanced marketing plans designed to optimize your internet presence and grow your customer base.  All project related information is stored in the project center. Google Analytics and Get Clicky tracking software are utilized to fine tune efforts each month.

Web Marketing Strategy

As your marketing partner, we’re experienced enough to be proactive, not reactive. Working with a marketing agency should be fun, not annoying, and tiresome. We handle all the time-consuming details in a cost-effective way for you. Remember that the true cost of working with our company is ZERO when considering year-end business growth figures. Inaction is much more expensive in terms of lost market share and lost revenues.

How To Make Your Website Sexier

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Does sex sell? Many marketers think it does. Just ask the editors of Sports Illustrated whether having images of bikini-clad models on their cover helped sell any magazines! Consumers want to be associated with products, services and brands that help them feel good about themselves. Your company may be able to increase its sales by having a website that plays into this need for self-appreciation.  Your web site needs to be sexy to convert visitors. Even the greatest SEO marketing strategy will do no good if it draws traffic to your site only to bore the visitor. 

Sexier Websites

At Search Engine Pros we offer personal and ethical search engine optimization that utilizes the latest, most effective online marketing strategies. We have helped clients in every type of industry improve the appearance and sexiness of their websites without sacrificing SEO strategies or content. Based on our experience as web site conversion optimization specialists, here are some suggestions you can use to make your website sexier:

  1. Smashing Design: Start with a dynamic website design that pops out, invites visitors to stay, and leads the eye on a coherent journey through the information you need to impart.
  2. Looking Good: Closely inspect the graphics you use to draw attention to your website. Photos should have attractive people that will appeal to the visitor’s eye. Graphics should be clean and classy, with a feel of elegance and sophistication.
  3. Beautiful Buttons: Most web designers fail to focus on the little things that can make a web site more attractive. Those “submit, cancel and download” buttons don’t have to be just a dull gray square. Use some color, beveled edges and gradient fill to really make them pop.
  4. Social Sharing: You want visitors to let others know about your site, so it’s important to make it appealing to share on social media. Make sure your social sharing buttons look great, load quickly, offer choices that will help your SEO, and fit with the overall feel of your page.
  5. Relevance: Nothing is sexier than finding out what visitors want and providing it. It’s the online equivalent of “I hear you.” Is your website screaming “It’s all about me, Me, ME!” or is it saying “Here is how I can help you achieve more in your life.” If your content doesn’t live up to the hype, no sexy photos can help make a sale. 

Need our help? Call upon the professional web design conversion experts at Search Engine Pros and we’ll help you design eye-catching banners and embed powerful calls to action which will lower your bounce rates, boosts conversions, increase the time people spend on your site (which will increases rankings and doubles your sales).

 learn more about how a web site marketing strategy can help your company grow

If you’d like to learn more about how a website marketing strategy can help your company grow, visit our booth at the 2014 Santa Barbara Business Expo at The Fess Parker DoubleTree Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Boulevard on Saturday, April 5 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Search Engine Pros Founder, Taylor Reaume, will be presenting from 9am-9:30am on “How To Rank Your Web Site by Helping Others First”.   Add yourself to the SBBE Event page,  Click LIKE on the fan page: https://www.facebook.com/BusinessExpoSB to stay up to date.   Download the event flyer here

How To Write Adwords Ads For Valentine’s Day

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Show your business some love this Valentine’s Day…

Google Adwords Love

Some businesses are obvious candidates to advertise with Google AdWords for Valentine’s Day. Since it is the second biggest gift-giving occasion right after Christmas, every gift-giving opportunity is online trying to attract attention – candy, flowers, photos, romantic getaways – you name it, somebody is using AdWords to attract leads. If you think your business can’t take advantage of this online marketing opportunity to drive more traffic to your website, you might want to think again. Even those businesses which might think they don’t have any relation to Valentine’s Day can benefit by adding some sort of Valentine’s twist to their advertising. You might find that the mere act of offering a Valentine’s deal could attract more site visitors.

Valentine's Adwords Ads

If you’re not sure what Google AdWords are, they are those short ads which appear right next to organic Google search results. They offer a strong marketing opportunity for your business to boost website traffic and sales by being right in front of prospects that are searching for your service. It’s the perfect opportunity to draw attention. No matter what your budget, you can display your ads on Google because this is pay-per-click marketing. You pay only if prospects click on your ads and visit your website.

Google Ads Copywriting

It’s easy to start a Google AdWords campaign. Simply pick a business category, write your ad, and set a budget. Then call Search Engine Pros at 800-605-4988 and we’ll kick your campaign into high gear. We’ll help increase clicks to your website and decrease the cost of those clicks by optimizing your ad positions.

Be sure to use Valentine’s Day related keywords to make sure your ad stands out. For instance a florist would have Valentine’s Day Flowers while a card shop would have Valentine’s Day Cards. A helpful word cloud from Google found that phrases like “Valentine’s Day meals” and “DIY Valentine’s gifts” were highly searched.

If your business doesn’t have a specific Valentine’s Day gift idea, you can always show your love for customers with a Valentine’s-related sale or bonus offer. Gift certificates might fall under the categories of “Valentine’s Day Gifts for Him” or “Valentine’s Day Gifts for Her.”

Happy Valentine's Day From Google Adwords Pros

At Search Engine Pros your Google Adwords PPC Manager can help your company achieve its internet traffic and revenue goals. Your PPC Manager will assist you with pay-per-click campaign management, Google Adwords account set up, tune-ups, campaign audits, and monthly management. A PPC Manager from Search Engine Pros will help you improve your ROI. Our PPC campaign management services can help you turn your PPC efforts into effective revenue drivers.

Top Ten Ways to Increase Your Customer Base in 2014

Top Ten Ways to Increase Your Customer Base in 2014

Dear Friends,

Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope 2013 has been a great year for you and that everyone continues to realize the benefits of SEO and social media marketing in 2014. Many of our clients have benefitted from having an online marketing plan. If you’re not marketing online you’re missing out on one of the most effective ways of attracting customers and closing sales.

Here are the Top 10 ways to increase your customer base in 2014:

  1. Increase Your Google Ranking: Use our free Google rank analysis to find out where you are now, and learn how you can do better.
  2. Initiate a SEO Marketing Strategy: Search Engine Optimization is the fastest way to get found online. SEO copywriting provides you with unique and interesting content that generates rankings in the search engines, and boosts credibility levels with your customers.
  3. Try A Pay-Per-Click Initiative: Increase clicks to your site and decrease the cost of those clicks by optimizing your ad positions.
  4. Make Your Website Work Harder: Have Search Engine Pros conduct an objective site analysis and provide you with a free 30 page report that tells you how well your website is working.
  5. Use Email Marketing to Maintain Top-of-Mind Awareness: Send out powerful high impact monthly newsletters that remind prospects to buy.
  6. Ask for Referrals and Testimonials: Use the nice things that clients think about you to build credibility and increase sales.
  7. Optimize Website Code: Having Google Friendly Code is crucial to generating thousands of targeted visitors to your website every month. Simple edits can generate top rankings in 3-6 months’ time.
  8. Use Press Releases: Increase profits with search engine optimized press releases that attract media attention and engage consumers.
  9. Get Social: Social media marketing is the newer, better, faster way to reach customers.
  10. Convert Website Visitors to Customers: Use eye catching banners and embed powerful calls to action to lower bounce rates, boost conversions, increase time on site (which increases rankings) – and double your sales.

Search Engine Pros are trained across multiple disciplines, guiding you every step of the way, helping you maximize profits through a low cost, highly effective online marketing plancomprised of search marketingSEO marketingemail marketingand SEO enhanced press releases.  When you need a unique approach that brings results,  call on the Pros!

Find out more about using the internet to boost your sales in 2014 by inquiring via our contact form. You can beat your competitors with a well-defined web strategy, social media and web marketing.  Search Engine Pros can help you meet your online marketing goals. Outsource your online marketing to our team and let us show you how great 2014 can be. https://www.youtube.com/embed/54sZd0x2u3k?rel=0

From all of us at Search Engine Pros,

Happy Holidays and here’s to your business growth in 2014!

Taylor Reaume

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