In today's rapidly evolving world, where environmental concerns have taken centre stage, businesses are increasingly adopting sustainable practices to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly solutions. At the forefront of this movement is the concept of green marketing. But what exactly is green marketing? How does it differ from traditional marketing approaches, and why is it crucial for businesses to embrace it?
In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the world of green marketing, exploring its principles, strategies, and the transformative impact it can have on both brands and the planet. Join us as we uncover the power of sustainable branding and the role it plays in shaping a greener, more conscientious future.
Green marketing, also known as sustainable marketing, refers to the practice of promoting products or services that are environmentally friendly or have a positive impact on the planet. It involves incorporating eco-friendly attributes into marketing strategies, such as highlighting energy efficiency, sustainable sourcing, or reduced carbon footprint. Green marketing aims to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers and contribute to the overall sustainability goals of businesses and society.
Green or sustainable marketing refers to the promotion of eco-friendly products, services, initiatives or brands.
In some instances, green marketing can be used to raise awareness of new companies that have been developed with the specific aim of enhancing the environment and protecting the planet. Alternatively, existing companies may use a sustainability marketing agency to promote their green initiatives and educate their customer base about their sustainability strategy.
If you’re still wondering, what is sustainable marketing, then taking a look at some examples will certainly make things clearer.
A ClimateTech company that develops a new product to reduce CO2 emissions in the logistics industry may use green marketing to ensure the market is aware of their new innovation, for example.
Alternatively, an established and well-known global cleaning products company may rely on sustainable marketing to show that they are committed to reducing their carbon footprint and making their products more environmentally friendly.
As companies transition from using single-use plastic packaging, for example, they often use green marketing to make their target audience aware of their increased sustainability.
Marketing is essential for every business, but what’s so special about green marketing, and why is it so important?
As awareness of the climate crisis grows, environmental concerns are becoming increasingly important in the decision-making process of consumers and B2B buyers. Many consumers are actively seeking out brands, products and services that enhance the environment, rather than harm it. As a result, companies need to adjust their operations to maximise sustainability and, crucially, make people aware of their commitment to sustainability.
Green marketing is the ideal way to achieve this goal. By educating your target audiences about your sustainable practices and ethos, you can attract new customers and even increase retention rates too.
While many companies are choosing to build a more sustainable future, there are an increasing number of regulations that demand businesses operate in a more environmentally friendly way. The incoming Corporate Reporting Sustainability Directive (CSRD) will mean that many organisations are required to report emissions across their entire value chain, for example.
This is particularly important for B2B companies, who will want to partner with businesses that have established emissions monitoring and transparent sustainable practices. So, businesses operating within the B2B sector may work with a B2B content marketing agency to ensure their target audience is aware of their sustainable operations.
Meeting stakeholder expectations is vital for continued success, particularly if businesses are reliant on shareholders to generate funds. In today’s environmentally aware landscape, investors are placing more reliance and emphasis on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), which naturally includes a company’s carbon footprint and sustainable practices.
If companies want to educate and satisfy their stakeholders about their ESG strategies, green marketing is the obvious way to do so. With a focus on the brand’s environmental and sustainable performance, green marketing can enhance the perception of the brand and reassure stakeholders that the company is transitioning to a more sustainable future.
Similarly, ESG factors are increasingly important to companies who are seeking investments. In fact, potential investors or venture capital firms will use established ESG assessments to determine the suitability and potential of an investment opportunity.
For any company that wants to create a viable growth strategy, it’s important, therefore, to factor ESG, sustainability and green marketing into its future. By using green marketing to showcase and exemplify the brand’s sustainable operations, for example, companies can secure additional investments both now and in the future.
Green marketing works in a similar way to regular marketing, but it places an emphasis on the company’s environmental and sustainable performance or the environmental impact of its products or services.
A successful green marketing strategy incorporates a variety of goals and KPIs and uses a range of activities to achieve these objectives. For example, a company may want to increase awareness of its new sustainable packaging. To facilitate this, they may work with a content marketing agency and use green content marketing services to explain how their new initiative will decrease the brand’s environmental impact.
Then, the firm may use various marketing activities, such as search engine optimisation (SEO) and paid media, to reach and engage its target audience(s).
As you can see, the underlying principles of green or sustainable marketing are the same as regular digital marketing. By recognising the importance of a brand’s environmental impact, however, we can use green marketing to help the company achieve its overarching objectives, such as:
People often assume that green marketing is only suited to companies that are wholly focused on the environment, but this simply isn’t the case. Environmental awareness and climate concern is now mainstream, which means companies across all sectors and industries must recognise the effects that sustainability (or lack of) can have on their commercial success.
By integrating green marketing into your current marketing strategy, you can expand your messaging, engage your target audiences and futureproof your brand. To find out how green marketing can enhance your strategy, contact us at Smarter Media today!
In an era marked by pressing environmental challenges and a growing consumer consciousness, businesses are recognising the need to go beyond profit-making and prioritise sustainability. This has given rise to the concept of sustainable marketing, a powerful approach that aims to create a positive impact on the planet while building successful brands. In this article, we will explore the principles and practices of sustainable marketing, shedding light on its potential to drive meaningful change, engage conscious consumers, and forge a path towards a better, more sustainable future.
Read on to discover the transformative potential of sustainable marketing and its role in shaping a more responsible business landscape.
Sustainability marketing, also known as sustainable marketing, is an approach that focuses on promoting products or services that align with environmental, social, and economic sustainability. It involves integrating sustainable practices and values into marketing strategies to create long-term value for both businesses and society.
Sustainability marketing aims to address the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, fostering a more sustainable and responsible business environment.
The terms ‘sustainable marketing’ and ‘green marketing’ are often used interchangeably, and it’s easy to see why. Both of these forms of marketing refer to the promotion of brands, products and services that are environmentally friendly, but ‘sustainable marketing’ is a little broader in scope.
While green marketing typically focuses on the environmental impact of a product, service or company, sustainability marketing incorporates this but extends to the brand’s social and economic impact too.
By marketing sustainability, companies can showcase their commitment to building an environmentally friendly future that prioritises equality and equanimity. As these principles are a top priority for today’s consumers, it’s vital that brands use sustainability marketing to promote their sustainable practices, goals and achievements.
A sustainable marketing agency delivers a range of services that enable brands to reach their marketing objectives, such as:
At their core, these activities work in the same way as regular digital marketing in that you might use sustainable SEO to target keywords that are relevant to your brand, products, services and target audience to increase awareness, boost search engine results page (SERP) rankings and drive organic traffic to your website.
However, a sustainable SEO strategy may focus on promoting your company’s environmental benefits, rather than purely its products or services. So, a cleaning product manufacturer may want to target keywords like, ‘eco friendly multi-purpose cleaner’ or ‘sustainable cleaning spray’ as part of a sustainable marketing strategy.
Ultimately, working with a sustainability marketing agency or a sustainability content marketing agency in the UK gives you the opportunity to identify the core sustainable principles that underpin your brand and showcase them in the most advantageous way.
Environmentally aware business owners and conscientious entrepreneurs may develop new products, services and companies with the sole aim of enhancing the planet. Electric vehicles are a great example of how new innovations can reduce emissions and have a positive climate impact, for example.
However, your company doesn’t have to be born from sustainability to be sustainable. In fact, most companies are modifying their operations to enhance their sustainability, even if this hasn’t been a core component of their brand to date.
So, even if your company doesn’t offer products or services that are intrinsically designed to resolve the climate crisis and protect the environment, this doesn’t prevent you from becoming a sustainable brand or using sustainability marketing to convey your company’s ethos.
With the right sustainable marketing agency, you can launch successful campaigns and strategies that enable you to achieve a wide range of goals, including:
If you’re taking steps to make your company more sustainable, make sure people know about it! Consumers are increasingly aware of which companies are committed to sustainability and this is reflected in where they choose to take their custom.
By making your sustainable strategy and ethos part of your brand, you can ensure that your target audience naturally associates your company with environmentally friendly and environmentally aware practices.
As consumers continue to prioritise sustainability, they are choosing to make purchases from brands that have a recognised sustainability profile. By working with a green content marketing consultant, for example, you can incorporate sustainability-related content into your site to promote your company’s sustainable practices.
By maximising the reach with additional marketing activities, such as paid media, you can engage both B2C and B2B customers who are actively looking for sustainable companies and solutions.
Customer retention is a top priority for every business, but you could lose existing customers if you fail to exemplify your company’s commitment to sustainability. Whether you’re already operating at net-zero or you’re taking steps to make your company more socially conscious, keeping your target audiences updated will ensure you don’t lose customers who may be tempted to switch to a more sustainable brand.
Your target audience needs to be aware of your brand before they can engage with you, which is why brand awareness is always an important aspect of a company’s marketing strategy. When raising brand awareness, however, it’s vital to consider what you want your target audiences to know about your company and what attributes they should associate with your brand.
By using your green credentials to increase brand awareness, you can elevate your company’s reputation and develop new opportunities for promotion and recognition.
Acquiring a new customer is good for business, but generating customer loyalty is even better. When a customer is loyal to your brand, they will return again and again, thus increasing their customer lifetime value. Additionally, a loyal customer is likely to become an informal brand ambassador who endorses your company both online and in a real-world environment.
Being transparent about your company’s environmental impact, sharing your sustainability strategy and aligning your principles with your target audiences’ priorities is, of course, an effective way to gain their trust and loyalty.
Like all marketing strategies, a sustainable marketing strategy should be clearly defined and have distinct objectives and KPIs, as well as established monitoring, analysis and optimisation techniques in place.
When combined with innovation, expertise and experience, these elements come together to deliver a seamless and successful sustainable marketing strategy. To find out more or to talk to our experts about your sustainable marketing strategy, contact Smarter Media now!
In today's digital world, paid search marketing has become an essential part of any successful marketing strategy. Google Ads is the most popular and widely used paid search advertising platform. While businesses can manage their own Google Ads campaigns, many choose to work with a paid search marketing agency to ensure their ads are optimised for maximum performance.
But what exactly does a paid search marketing agency do to manage your Google Ads? In this article, we'll take a closer look at the role of a paid search marketing agency in managing your Google Ads campaign and the key strategies they employ to ensure your ads are effective and successful.
A paid search marketing agency is a company that specialises in managing and optimising paid advertising campaigns on search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. These agencies help businesses increase their online visibility by placing ads at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) based on targeted keywords.
Paid search marketing agencies use various techniques to create and manage effective ad campaigns. They conduct keyword research to identify relevant terms that people are searching for. They also create compelling ad copy and design eye-catching display ads that attract clicks from potential customers.
In addition, paid search marketing agencies monitor campaign performance regularly using analytics tools to ensure maximum return on investment (ROI). By tracking metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), conversion rates and revenue generated, they can optimize campaigns for better performance over time.
Conducting a comprehensive audit of existing Google Ads account
A comprehensive audit of an existing Google Ads account helps you understand the current state of your campaigns. The audit should include analysing performance data, identifying areas for improvement and developing actionable strategies to optimise the account. This process involves reviewing various aspects of your campaigns such as targeting settings, ad copy, landing pages, bid strategies and conversion tracking.
The first step is to analyse performance metrics and identify trends or patterns that indicate strengths or weaknesses in your campaigns. This could include reviewing click-through rates, cost per click, conversion rates and return on ad spend. Once you have identified any issues or opportunities for improvement, it's important to develop a strategic plan that addresses these areas.
Creating or optimising Google Ads account structure
The structure of a Google Ads account is crucial to the success of any campaign. A well-organised account can increase the relevance and quality score of ads, which in turn leads to higher click-through rates and lower cost per click. The first step to creating or optimising an account structure is to determine the main goal of the campaign. Is it lead generation, e-commerce sales or brand awareness? Once this has been established, campaigns should be created based on these goals and ad groups should be organised by theme or product/service. This allows for more targeted ad copy and relevant keywords.
In addition to organising campaigns and ad groups based on goals, it's important to utilise keyword match types effectively. Broad match keywords can lead to irrelevant clicks, while exact match keywords may limit reach. Using a combination of broad match modified, phrase match and exact match keywords can provide a balance between relevance and reach.
Ongoing monitoring and analysis of keyword performance
By continually evaluating the performance of different keywords, advertisers can identify which ones are driving the most clicks, conversions and revenue. This information can then be used to adjust bids, ad copy and landing pages, improving overall campaign performance.
An important consideration when analysing keyword performance is search intent. Understanding what users are searching for when they enter a particular keyword is crucial for creating effective ad copy and landing pages that address their needs and motivations. By focusing on high-intent keywords that align with your business goals, you can increase the likelihood of attracting qualified traffic that's more likely to convert into paying customers.
Testing different ad variations and messaging
When it comes to running a successful Google Ads campaign, testing different ad variations and messaging is crucial. It's not enough to simply create one ad and hope for the best; you need to constantly be refining your strategy based on data and user feedback. There are several ways to test ad variations, including A/B testing, multivariate testing and split testing.
A/B testing involves creating two versions of an ad with only one variable changed (such as the headline or call-to-action) and then seeing which performs better. Multivariate testing is similar but involves changing multiple variables at once. Split testing involves dividing your audience into two groups and showing them different ads, then measuring which group had a higher click-through rate or conversion rate.
By regularly testing different ad variations, you can identify what resonates best with your target audience and optimise your campaigns accordingly. This process can help improve your ROI by increasing click-through rates, conversions, and ultimately sales or leads generated from your ads. Additionally, it allows you to stay ahead of competitors by continually improving messaging that will grab the attention of potential customers over theirs’.
Utilising analytics tools for data analysis
One of the most significant advantages of using analytics tools for data analysis in Google Ads is to track your performance. With these tools, you can measure your campaign's success and identify areas that need improvement. You can also track important metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost-per-clicks to evaluate the effectiveness of your ad campaigns.
Analytics tools provide valuable insights into how users interact with your ads. They help you understand which keywords are driving traffic to your website and which ones aren't working as well. This information enables you to make data-driven decisions about where to allocate your advertising budget and how to optimise your campaigns.
Moreover, analytics tools enable you to generate comprehensive reports on a regular basis that show key performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and revenue generated by each campaign. These reports allow you to stay up-to-date on the progress of your marketing efforts and identify trends over time that can help guide future decision-making processes. By leveraging analytics tools for data analysis in Google Ads agency reporting, businesses can gain a competitive edge by making informed decisions based on real-time insights rather than guesswork or assumptions.
Monitoring campaign performance in real-time
One of the critical areas of focus for any Google Ads agency is monitoring campaign performance in real-time. Regardless of how well-planned a campaign is, there will always be room for improvement, and this makes continuous monitoring an essential activity. Real-time tracking enables agencies to identify any issues promptly and address them before they can cause more significant problems.
Real-time monitoring allows agencies to optimise campaigns based on their performance data as it comes in. This approach helps them make informed decisions about budget allocation, bidding strategies, ad placement, targeting options, and more. Agencies that monitor their campaigns regularly are better equipped to adjust their tactics quickly and capitalize on new opportunities.
Google Ads agencies understand the importance of staying up-to-date with changes in consumer behaviour and market trends. By keeping track of campaign performance metrics such as click-through rates, cost-per-click, conversion rates, etc., they can analyse trends over time and adjust accordingly. Continuously fine-tuning campaigns ensures that they deliver optimal results throughout their lifespan rather than just at launch time.
Partnering with a paid search marketing agency can significantly enhance the effectiveness and success of your Google Ads campaigns. From initial assessment and strategy development to continuous monitoring and improvement, these agencies bring a wealth of expertise and resources to the table. By entrusting your Google Ads management to professionals, you can focus on other aspects of your business while enjoying the benefits of targeted advertising and improved ROI.
When it comes to managing your Google Ads campaigns, Smarter Media is a trusted partner that can take your online advertising efforts to new heights. With our team of skilled professionals and proven strategies, we are dedicated to helping businesses achieve their marketing goals. From meticulous keyword research to compelling ad copy and ongoing optimization, we tailor our approach to your unique needs and deliver measurable results.
At Smarter Media, we understand the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing and stay up-to-date with the latest industry trends and Google Ads policies. Our proactive approach ensures that your campaigns are constantly optimised to maximise their impact. With regular communication, transparent reporting, and a collaborative approach, we work closely with our clients to achieve mutual success.
Don't let the complexities of Google Ads management overwhelm you. Let Smarter Media be your trusted partner, guiding you through the intricacies of paid search marketing. Together, we can unlock the full potential of your Google Ads campaigns and propel your business towards sustained growth and success.
Contact Smarter Media today and experience the difference that professional Google Ads management can make for your business. Start harnessing the power of targeted advertising and achieve remarkable results in the digital realm.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) can be a daunting task, especially for eCommerce websites with thousands of pages. With so much content to manage and optimise, it can be difficult to know where to start and how to prioritise your efforts.
However, with the right approach, you can effectively handle SEO for your large website and drive significant traffic to your pages. In this article, we'll discuss some of the strategies and best practices that we use here at Smarter Media for optimising a website with thousands of pages for search engines.
eCommerce SEO is the process of optimising an online store’s website and products to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal is to improve visibility and drive traffic to your eCommerce site through organic search. eCommerce SEO is an essential component of a comprehensive eCommerce digital marketing strategy offered by any reputable eCommerce digital marketing agency.
Conducting insightful competitor research is a crucial step in any SEO strategy, whether you’re working with an in-house team or outsourcing to an SEO marketing agency. It helps you identify your competitors' strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to develop a strategy that sets your website apart from the rest. To begin with, start by identifying your top competitors in the industry. Analyse their websites and note down key features such as their page layout, content structure, visual design elements and user experience. You can use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to get an overview of their website traffic and backlink profile.
Next, analyse the keywords they rank for and compare them with yours to identify gaps in your keyword strategy. Also, look at their content strategy; what type of content do they publish? Do they have multimedia elements on their pages? Ensure that you take note of all these details, as this information will help you develop a comprehensive plan for optimising your own site.
One of the most important things you can do to optimise a website with thousands of pages is to make it easy to browse. This means organising your content in a clear and logical manner so that visitors can quickly find what they're looking for. Here are some ways to do this:
One method is creating categories and subcategories that reflect the structure of your site. For example, if you're running an eCommerce site, you might have main categories such as "Apparel," "Accessories," and "Home Goods," with subcategories like "Shoes," "Jewellery" and "Bedding" under each one.
Another key factor in making your site easy to browse is ensuring that it loads quickly on all devices. This means optimising images and other media files so that they don't slow down page load times, as well as using caching techniques to reduce server requests. Additionally, consider implementing lazy loading, which only loads images when they come into view on the screen.
Be sure to include clear navigation menus throughout your site, with links to important pages prominently displayed at the top or bottom of each page. Use descriptive labels for each link so that visitors know exactly where they'll be taken when they click on them.
Adding a search bar to your website helps users quickly find the information they are looking for without having to manually navigate through various pages. By providing a search bar on your site, you also save visitors time and effort, making their overall browsing experience more enjoyable. Not only does this improve user satisfaction, but it can also increase your website's retention rates.
Two of the most popular options for displaying content are infinite scroll and pagination. Infinite scroll allows users to continuously scroll down a page without having to click on any buttons or links to view more content. Pagination, on the other hand, divides content into separate pages that can be accessed by clicking on numbered links.
The title and description of your website pages are critical elements that affect the browsing experience. When you create unique titles for each page, you give visitors an idea of what they can expect on that particular page. This makes it easier for them to navigate your site and find what they are looking for without much effort. Furthermore, a well-optimised title tag can help improve search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
Descriptions, on the other hand, provide a brief summary of the content on a specific page. These descriptions must be concise, relevant and informative to entice users to click through from search results pages or social media platforms. By crafting unique descriptions for all pages on your site, you are making it easier for search engines to understand what each page is about and rank them accordingly.
Internal linking is a powerful tool that can boost the SEO of your website. However, many site owners often overlook this aspect, missing out on its potential benefits. One way to discover hidden opportunities for internal linking is by conducting a content audit to identify any gaps or areas where additional links could be added. This will help you create a more organised and user-friendly site structure, making it easier for visitors to navigate through your pages.
Another way to uncover internal linking opportunities is by leveraging related articles or blog posts on your site. By adding links from one article to another that shares similar keywords or topics, you can help guide readers towards other relevant content they may be interested in exploring. Moreover, such links can enhance the authority of both pages while potentially reducing bounce rates on low-traffic pages.
A final tip for finding hidden opportunities for internal linking involves auditing external sources that link back to your website. By analysing these inbound links and identifying which pieces of content are frequently linked-to but lack any internal links themselves, you'll be able to pinpoint areas where there's room for additional connections between related articles/pages on your site—thus improving overall user experience and SEO performance!
Keeping your site operational means users should be able to easily navigate through your site and find what they're looking for without any hassle. Here’s how you can achieve this:
In today's world, where most people access the internet through their mobile devices, having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option but a necessity. A website that is not optimised for mobile devices will be hard to navigate and may result in visitors leaving your site. That’s why it's essential to ensure your site is functional on all types of devices.
To make your site mobile-friendly, you need to optimise images and videos for smaller screens, as they can slow down page load times if they're too big. Additionally, use responsive design techniques that allow your site to adjust its layout automatically depending on the screen size of the device being used. And ensure that all buttons and links are easy to click on using fingers or thumbs.
The functionality of your website is paramount to the success of your online business. Technical errors can prevent users from accessing your website or hinder their ability to navigate it, leading to a loss in potential customers and revenue. Therefore, fixing technical errors should be at the top of your priority list.
One common technical error is broken links, which can occur when pages on your site are deleted or moved without proper redirection. Another issue is slow loading times, which can be caused by large image sizes or too many plugins installed on your site. These problems can easily be fixed by removing unnecessary plugins and compressing images.
To ensure that technical errors do not affect the functionality of your website, it's important to regularly monitor and test its performance. This includes checking for broken links, optimising images and videos for faster loading times and conducting regular security checks to eliminate vulnerabilities that could compromise user data or harm the reputation of your business. By taking these steps, you'll maintain a functional website that provides an optimal user experience for visitors while maximising profits for yourself.
A clean URL structure helps search engines understand the content and hierarchy of your site. URLs should be concise, descriptive and easy to read, making it easier for visitors to remember and share them.
One of the biggest challenges that website owners face is managing duplicate content. Duplicate content refers to blocks of text, images or videos that appear more than once on a website. It can harm your SEO efforts by confusing search engines and diluting your ranking power. That’s why it's important to identify and eliminate duplicate content on your site.
Looking for a digital SEO agency? At Smarter Media, we offer comprehensive SEO services that are tailored to the specific needs of our clients. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you improve your eCommerce SEO performance and grow your online business.
The link between a successful website and SEO has been proven to be true time and time again. This is why small businesses that embark on their SEO journeys early on have seen immense success and return on investment.
But it's not too late to join the SEO craze.
Are you a small business owner that wants to move into digital marketing?
You're on the right track!
One of the most effective ways to enter the digital marketing space for a business is to implement SEO strategies for your website. While SEO is an excellent strategy, most business owners know the basics of SEO but are confused about certain details of it.
Don't worry. Although SEO can get confusing, the experts are here to help.
In this article, we'll be getting into how much SEO costs, how much you should spend on SEO, if you should hire an SEO agency, and if it's worth it at the end of the day.
Are you looking for an SEO agency to help you weave through complex SEO practices? Schedule an appointment with Smarter Media for more information about how you can make use of SEO strategies today.
Here's the reality: there are over 3.5 billion search queries per day through Google.
But small businesses aren't usually keen on allocating a budget for SEO. In fact, there are some times where SEO marketing strategies are entirely ignored. According to a study done, 54% of small enterprise owners didn't have a budget for SEO at all.
This doesn't mean small enterprises aren't informed of the use of SEO - they simply don't know what is needed and how much to allocate towards digital marketing.
Quit the worry and learn about how you, as a business owner, can benefit from SEO while knowing how much it costs.
We first need to look at what we mean by the cost of SEO.
When we’re looking at SEO budgeting, this does not refer to pay-per-click advertising methods. Instead, SEO costs are related to improving organic traffic to a specific website through search engine optimisation and rankings.
There are already hundreds of SEO agencies scattered around the UK, and they offer various SEO services to small businesses like mom and pop shops to large conglomerates that are valued at billions.
Usually, there are three pricing structures that you might find when looking through SEO agencies and services:
Depending on the type of SEO you choose, here are estimates of what SEO could cost you per month:
Free.
For business owners that are working on an extra tight budget and/or already have the necessary SEO skills and industry knowledge, doing SEO on your website is cost-efficient. This isn’t recommended though for those that are not well-versed in the digital marketing world or have the consistent time required to dedicate to the constant updates and adjustments needed.
£50 - £2,000.
Best for small businesses, budget-friendly SEO allows you to define your content. Services included are suggestions for content marketing and basic onsite SEO recommendations.
Those in gardening, local construction, hairdressers, and the like are encouraged to invest their budget here.
£2,000 - £6,000
Established businesses benefit from this the most - they are looking to define their content marketing and include content and website audits.
In this budget range, not only are you fixing website issues, but you are also altering and optimising the current website to generate even more traffic and revenue.
£6,000.
For websites with high traffic volumes, high-end SEO is the best option. With this budget, technical SEO issues can be fixed without worry.
SEO's benefits might seem too good to be true. They must cost a crazy amount of money!
But contrary to popular belief, SEO is one of the most flexible types of marketing in the business. In fact, many say that it's one of the more cost-efficient ways to advertise and convert leads online, as it can be bent to how much you want to spend in a month. Although it may be overwhelming at first, SEO pays for itself in the long run. And isn't that the beauty of investments?
We aren't saying SEO is cheap - all forms of advertising can cost you a pound or two. Instead, we're telling you that there are ways to temper price points based on your budget for the year or even the month.
Here are reasons why SEO can be expensive:
For these reasons, SEO can become expensive, especially if you decide to ball out on the services. But the more you spend, the better your website traffic will be, turning lurks into leads and leads into loyal customers that will stay with you forever.
So even though you need to shell out for the first few months of the process, costs will go down after your website gains the following it needs.
An agency should also make use of some of these tools to help optimise your website:
Although the budget is the determining factor of how much you can spend on SEO, also keep in mind that SEO is an excellent investment to make.
To help guide you, here are some crucial things to consider when hiring an SEO agency:
Here are the objectives a website requires to be successful or generate more traffic:
Information architecture
Content
Backlinks
If your SEO agency hasn’t mentioned any of these listed above, inquire about these services and consider including them in your SEO package. But if your SEO agency doesn’t offer these essential services, you should consider moving agencies once you outgrow the basics of SEO.
At the end of the day, all of these don’t matter if you’re working with the wrong SEO agency. Selecting the agency that you know can work best with you and you trust enough to help your business grow.
Once you find the right agency, your investment will be well worth it, especially since the benefits of SEO last for years and years.
The verdict?
Invest in SEO.
Small businesses can work with a smaller budget, but your SEO should follow suit as your business grows. Those starting can get away with just the basics, but as more traffic comes in, more website issues need fixing. More issues mean a larger budget.
One thing's for sure with SEO, as long as you're with the right company that understands your vision, SEO can be an amazing tool for growing any business in any industry.
So it’s safe to invest your money in SEO as it has proven to be successful for many.
Are you looking for an SEO agency to guide you in the right direction? Visit us at Smarter Media for more information about starting your SEO journey today!
Smarter Media is a digital growth agency using our Smarter Approach to help your business grow digitally. Working side by side with our clients, we use our 'Smarter Way' Process to create a plan that delivers results and our 'Smarter Promise' to do what we say we will. For a more comprehensive look at SEO, or to find out how you can achieve a better ROI with SEO & Paid Media working side by side, set an appointment with Smarter Media today!
Location-based PPC (pay-per-click) is becoming increasingly popular as businesses aim to reach their target audience in specific geographic areas. By targeting users based on their location, businesses can ensure that their ads are seen by people who are most likely to be interested in their products or services.
With the help of location-based PPC, businesses can maximise their return on investment and drive more sales. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the best location-based PPC strategies and how you can implement them to drive more traffic and sales to your business.
Location-based PPC is an online advertising strategy that can be implemented by an SEO agency in the UK to help businesses target customers based on their physical location. This form of targeted advertising enables businesses to reach potential customers who are near their store, restaurant, or other physical areas.
Location-based PPC is pretty straightforward and can be effectively implemented by a paid search agency. Advertisers bid on keywords or phrases relevant to their business and set up campaigns to target specific locations. For example, a restaurant in Swindon might target keywords like ‘best pizza in Swindon’ and set their campaign to only show ads to users searching within a certain radius of their location.
Through effective paid search management:
To set up a successful geotargeting campaign, whether through Google Ads management or other platforms, it’s essential to consider the following steps:
Define your target audience. Ask yourself: Who are your ideal customers? Where do they live, work or spend their time?
Determine geographic boundaries. Establish what locations you want to target and exclude from your ad content. This could be anything from a single city or town, multiple countries, or even worldwide. Once you’ve determined which regions are relevant to your campaign objectives, use this information to create targeted campaigns within AdWords and other platforms.
Optimise ad copy. Consider the language of your ads and how they should be tailored for different audiences in different markets. Culture-specific keywords can help boost conversions by improving relevancy with local users and building trust among potential customers who recognise the words used in their language. Additionally, ensure that any landing pages associated with these ads incorporate localised copy and imagery whenever possible.
Track performance metrics. Once you’ve launched your Google paid search campaigns, track performance metrics across each region on an ongoing basis. This way, you can identify notable trends and make informed decisions about where best to allocate budget resources and how to refine targeting criteria based on observed results.
1. Avoid locations with few potential customers
It’s important to exclude certain areas from your targeting so you don’t waste valuable budget attempting to reach people who are unlikely to be potential customers. For instance, if your product or service has limited availability in certain regions or counties, exclude those areas since customers won’t be able to purchase what you’re offering. Instead, focus on locations with the highest concentration of customers.
Another way to exclude locations is by using negative keywords. These are keywords you don’t want your ad to appear for. For example, if you run a pet store and don’t sell fish, you might want to use ‘fish’ as a negative keyword to exclude people searching for fish-related products. A skilled PPC marketing agency can help you effectively identify and use negative keywords.
2. Monitor granular location metrics
To measure granular location metrics, you need access to detailed user data on where people interact with your ads and how they behave after that interaction. This could include information such as what city or region someone is viewing the advertisement in, whether they’re using a mobile device or desktop, if they clicked through the ad, or if they converted into customers.
By tracking those metrics, you can:
Here are some essential location metrics to keep an eye on:
CTR – This measures how many people click on your ad after seeing it.
Conversion rate – This measures how many people take a desired action on your website after clicking on your ad.
CPC – Cost per conversion measures how much you spend on advertising for each conversion.
3. Integrate local insider knowledge
With access to a wealth of data about local trends, businesses can better tailor their bids, ad campaigns, and keywords to better suit their local audiences. By understanding what people are searching for in a particular region, businesses can create custom campaigns to draw in high-value leads more accurately and efficiently.
4. Come up with a solid keyword structure
Start by understanding your target audience and the keywords they use to find relevant content. Once you’ve identified the right keywords, prioritise them based on their relevance and popularity to ensure maximum ROI. Use long-tail keywords, as they’re more specific and have higher conversion rates. Add geo-modifiers, such as city names, to further refine the targeting of your campaigns. And consider creating separate campaigns for each region you’re targeting so you can track performance in each area more accurately.
5. Advertise at specific times
Segment campaigns into different parts of the day. You can focus on peak hours or shift spending towards off-peak hours when competition for clicks is lower. This will help ensure your campaigns reach their maximum potential and have a better chance of driving conversions at a lower cost per click.
Creating time-specific ads also allows you to take advantage of seasonal trends or events in your target location. For example, you might create ads that promote your business during the holiday season or significant local events, such as festivals or sports games.
To create effective time-specific ads, it’s essential to understand the habits and behaviours of potential customers in your target location. This might involve analysing data on when customers are most likely to search for your products or services. You can also conduct surveys or focus groups to understand their preferences and needs.
6. Enable extensions
Extensions provide additional information to ads and can help increase CTR and generate higher-quality leads. By enabling extensions, you can add extra links, location information, contact numbers, review ratings, and other relevant information to your ads. Each type of extension offers its unique benefits and can be used to enhance different aspects of your ad messaging. For example, location extensions can help promote your business’s physical location and give users direction. Meanwhile, call extensions can encourage users to call your business directly from the search results page.
Extensions also enable you to customise your ad copy for each keyword or query you’re targeting, as well as set up different versions of the same ad for different audiences. For example, one version could target someone searching for a specific product. Meanwhile, another version could target someone searching for local services.
7. Create landing pages that are localised
Localising landing pages helps a campaign focus its message and improve performance. Landing page localisation involves customising content, imagery, and offers to match the interests and needs of regional prospects.
8. Test campaigns before scaling
A/B testing is an effective way to determine which versions of your ad are the most effective. By setting up two separate versions of the same ad, you can compare how many impressions and clicks each one receives. This helps you identify which elements are most successful in driving conversions and should be included in future campaigns.
In today’s highly competitive digital landscape, businesses are always looking for ways to gain an edge over their competitors. Location-based PPC advertising enables businesses to connect with highly relevant audiences in specific geographic areas. However, managing an effective location-based PPC campaign requires expertise, resources, and time.
As a leading digital growth agency, Smarter Media specialises in helping businesses of all sizes maximise the ROI of their location-based PPC campaigns. Our team of PPC experts can assist with every aspect of your paid media campaign, from setting up geotargeting to crafting highly relevant messaging and optimising ad copy and keywords.
So if you’re looking for effective location-based PPC campaigns that drive more traffic, leads, and sales, contact Smarter Media today. We’d be happy to discuss how we can help you achieve your marketing goals and grow your business.
As the world of eCommerce continues to grow and evolve, more and more businesses are turning to digital agencies to help them establish and maintain a strong online presence. However, with so many agencies to choose from, it can be difficult to know which one is the right fit for your business. In this article, we’ll go over some of the key factors to consider when choosing an eCommerce digital marketing agency, so you can feel confident in your decision.
An eCommerce digital agency specialises in helping eCommerce companies achieve their business goals. They typically provide a range of services to their clients, such as website design and development, search engine optimisation (SEO), social media campaigns, content creation, and curation, email marketing campaigns, and advertising campaigns.
The goal of digital marketing companies is to help businesses maximise their profits through effective digital marketing strategies. These agencies also help clients analyse data, so they can make informed decisions about how to best improve their performance over time.
An SEO company in the UK is a valuable partner for any business looking to succeed in the digital world. Here are just some of the advantages of working with them:
Let’s face it—when it comes to eCommerce, results are everything. You need a paid search marketing agency or expert SEO agency that can help you achieve your business goals and drive tangible results. To be results-driven, an agency must deeply understand your business and target audience.
They should be able to provide you with regular reports and analytics to help track your progress and measure your success. This will allow you to make data-driven decisions and adjust your strategy to ensure you always move in the right direction.
Ensure your chosen agency has a proven track record in launching successful digital commerce projects. Look for examples of prior work with industries similar to yours, as well as reviews from companies that have partnered with them. This will give you an idea of the quality of their online marketing services and how they’ve handled past challenges and successes.
Additionally, look into the team’s qualifications and expertise. Are there any members with specialised knowledge or skills relevant to your industry? Knowing who will work on your project helps ensure that the eCommerce agency you hire can deliver results that meet your standards and expectations.
An eCommerce agency with a proactive mindset can save time, money, resources, effort, and stress for both their team and their clients by avoiding potential problems in advance rather than trying to fix them after they’ve already occurred. This also shows that the agency is invested in consistently providing positive outcomes for its clients rather than simply responding when something goes wrong.
A proactive agency will also take the initiative to suggest new strategies, tools, and tactics that can help you achieve your goals.
Open and transparent communication means that the agency is always honest and upfront with you about its strategies, progress, and results. Transparent communication allows for better collaboration between you and the agency. It helps ensure that everyone involved is on the same page.
Look for an agency that takes the time to listen to their clients’ needs and goals to develop a plan that meets those needs. Furthermore, they should keep you informed every step of the way. They’ll provide regular progress reports and updates and will be responsive to your feedback and suggestions. A good agency will view your feedback as an opportunity to improve and grow.
eCommerce agencies must be able to respond quickly and adjust their strategies if needed. An agency that can provide customised solutions that meet your current needs but are agile enough to evolve with changing market conditions will be invaluable.
An eCommerce agency must also be flexible in its payment structures and services. Not all businesses have large budgets, so the agency needs to offer customised options that fit within your budget. Additionally, different projects will require different levels of service from an eCommerce agency, which means they need to be flexible enough to scale up or down depending on their needs.
Identifying your goals is your first step in choosing an eCommerce digital agency. What do you want to achieve with your eCommerce business, and how can an agency help you get there? Knowing what you want the agency to accomplish for your business and setting clear objectives will help you find the right partner and maximise the success of a project.
Think about what you hope to gain from working with an eCommerce digital agency. Do you need them to develop a website? Would they be responsible for creating content or streamlining processes? Answering these questions can help narrow down potential SEO agencies in the UK that specialise in the specific services you require. Additionally, consider any time constraints or budget restrictions.
Consider your short-term and long-term goals as well. Are you looking to increase sales and revenue in the short term, or are you focused on building a strong brand and customer base for the long term?
Make sure to thoroughly document each goal so that it’s easier to understand expectations and ensure successful collaboration. Once completed, refer back to this list during project meetings as well as throughout its duration; this will help keep everyone on track toward reaching shared objectives.
Once you’ve identified your eCommerce business goals and needs, it’s time to start researching agencies. There are countless SEO companies out there, so it’s essential to take the time to find one that’s the right fit for your business.
The best place to start is online. Look for reviews from previous clients and see what other people say about their work. Ask questions such as: What kind of eCommerce campaigns have they executed in the past? Are there any case studies that demonstrate their success?
Another way to research agencies is through referrals. Ask friends or colleagues who may have previously hired an eCommerce digital agency which one they recommend. This can be a great way to find first-hand information on how reliable a particular agency is and if they managed to deliver successful projects.
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential agencies, schedule a consultation or meeting to discuss your goals and needs and learn more about their services and capabilities.
Finally, compare different agencies side by side before deciding on which one will be right for you. Make sure you understand exactly what services each provides and consider factors like cost, timeframe, and size of the team.
Ensure the agency has a strong portfolio of successful projects related to eCommerce. Aside from reviewing the team’s core skills and experience in the industry, you should also assess their knowledge of modern trends and technologies used for eCommerce. By determining these, you can ensure you choose a partner with the skills, expertise, and experience to help you achieve your eCommerce business goals.
Consider the services offered in each proposal and how they match the needs of your project. Does one agency provide more or better services than another? Additionally, review the timeline of deliverables each agency has proposed; which do you feel is most realistic and achievable? Consider as well if an agency’s proposal includes details on how they plan to measure success or ROI. Lastly, assess the cost associated with each proposal. While cost should not be the only factor when selecting a digital agency, it can be used as part of an overall evaluation process.
Ultimately, choosing between two different proposals will come down to weighing all these factors against each other and selecting what best meets your goals for the project.
Choosing the right eCommerce digital agency is crucial for the success of your online business. With so many options to choose from, it’s essential to take the time to research, evaluate and compare potential partners to ensure that you find the right fit.
When it comes to eCommerce digital marketing, Smarter Media is a top choice for businesses looking to achieve success online. From SEO and PPC to social media, Smarter Media knows what it takes for eCommerce businesses to thrive. Our team of marketing experts works closely with clients to understand their business needs and develop tailored strategies that drive results and maximise ROI. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve your eCommerce marketing goals.
So what is a competitive analysis report, and why should you create one for your business? A competitive analysis report is a detailed information sheet about your website's competition. It usually contains the website's most important characteristics (such as domain rankings, social media profiles, links, potential risks and more) so that you can make informed decisions on optimising your website.
Creating a competitive analysis report requires researching your SEO competitor's website content and related elements, such as keywords and links. The report can include analysing keywords, competitors' backlinks, keyword gaps and the top content.
A competitive analysis report allows you to observe what your competitors are doing and incorporate it into your SEO strategy. Rather than guessing what keywords to use, content to write and links to create, you can use the report to learn what has worked for others and build from there.
Without keeping up with the latest trends, companies can go out of business instantly. But regardless of whether your industry is prone to seismic change, you should know what drives your clients' decisions. This is where a competitive analysis report comes in handy, giving you an overview of your competitors and your market.
When you regularly analyse your marketplace through competitive analysis, you'll notice improvements to competitors' existing products or services and potential threats from new competitors. As such, this helps you adjust your strategy accordingly.
For SEO competitive analysis, follow these steps:
Identifying your SEO competitors is the first step. When undergoing this step, it's important to remember that your largest market competitors may not necessarily be your biggest SEO competitors. Smaller companies can have excellent SEO and perform better than their competition in the digital world.
Identifying your competitors shouldn't be a guessing game. When you rely on your instincts to figure out who your competition is, you may miss some important details. Often, large companies concentrate on high-volume keywords and neglect long-tail keywords, which allow smaller companies to gain a competitive advantage. So conduct a wide-ranging SEO comparison and analysis of various keywords. Next, check out the top 10 or 20 sites that consistently rank for them.
Identifying non-competitor sites depends on factors such as current ranking, resources and effort invested. Remember, the more established or bigger the site, the more effort you will need to devote to outranking it, affecting your overall strategy.
So focus instead on competitors who will impact your traffic the most. Your lost traffic will likely come from these sites.
Often referred to as keyword gap analysis, competitive keyword analysis helps you uncover keywords that your competitors rank high for but not you. To optimise individual pages, you should conduct a keyword gap analysis.
Look for keywords relevant to your business, highly searched for or likely to result in sales. Ideally, the keywords you choose should also be ones that you can rank well.
Manually analysing keywords is difficult because there may be thousands of keywords that you or your competitors rank for. The good news is that there are simple solutions and keyword analysis tools you can use to make things easier.
Once you discover relevant keywords for your business, you can create a page dedicated to ranking them. By doing this, you have a chance to attract customers to your site instead of the competition.
Content ideas can be developed using keywords. Aside from keywords, it is also a good idea to check out your competitors' most successful content. This content may be the ones that have earned the most links for your competitors. Links are essential for ranking, so focusing on topics others link to is a good idea. Once you identify your competitors' best content, you can significantly improve it in one or more ways. Afterwards, you can share your content with a similar audience.
Rather than simply copying your competitors' content, make it significantly better. It could be enhanced with more information or eye-catching graphics–anything that would improve its appeal and utility.
You can also determine your competitor's top pages by looking at the pages' traffic. You can identify good topics based on this information with accurate traffic estimates for each page.
Backlink analysis involves analysing the inbound links that point to a website. By studying these links, you can learn a lot about your competitors' SEO tactics, such as the type of content they're producing, their link-building strategy and how powerful their backlink profile is.
As you analyse your competitors' backlinks, you should consider the number of backlinks, the domain authority of websites that link to theirs and the relevance of the links in general.
Understanding the right keywords isn't enough. To succeed with your keyword, you must understand search intent.
The idea is to understand what the searcher is looking for by getting inside their head. You can do this by looking up a keyword you want to target. You can also use tools that would provide a SERP analysis report on a keyword's monthly volume, difficulty, priority and more.
Using the relevant data, prepare a competitor analysis report. With this report as a basis, you can develop your SEO content strategy. Please make a list of keywords and content ideas and save it. The next step is implementing the content strategy and contacting external sites if necessary.
After you publish new content or re-optimise old ones, you should track their performance. Ensure your competitor analysis strategy works by auditing your keywords regularly and creating competitor analysis reports.
Are you looking for an SEO company in the UK that can provide professional SEO services? At Smarter Media, our team of search engine optimisation consultants can help you achieve greater visibility for your website. Contact us today to learn more about our SEO packages.
The link between a successful website and SEO has been proven to be true time and time again. This is why small businesses that embark on their SEO journeys early on have seen immense success and return on investment.
But it's not too late to join the SEO craze.
Are you a small business owner that wants to move into digital marketing?
You're on the right track!
One of the most effective ways to enter the digital marketing space for a business is to implement SEO strategies for your website. While SEO is an excellent strategy, most business owners know the basics of SEO but are confused about certain details of it.
Don't worry. Although SEO can get confusing, the experts are here to help.
In this article, we'll be getting into how much SEO costs, how much you should spend on SEO, if you should hire an SEO agency, and if it's worth it at the end of the day.
Are you looking for an SEO agency to help you weave through complex SEO practices? Schedule an appointment with Smarter Media for more information about how you can make use of SEO strategies today.
Here's the reality: there are over 3.5 billion search queries per day through Google.
But small businesses aren't usually keen on allocating a budget for SEO. In fact, there are some times where SEO marketing strategies are entirely ignored. According to a study done, 54% of small enterprise owners didn't have a budget for SEO at all.
This doesn't mean small enterprises aren't informed of the use of SEO - they simply don't know what is needed and how much to allocate towards digital marketing.
Quit the worry and learn about how you, as a business owner, can benefit from SEO while knowing how much it costs.
We first need to look at what we mean by the cost of SEO.
When we’re looking at SEO budgeting, this does not refer to pay-per-click advertising methods. Instead, SEO costs are related to improving organic traffic to a specific website through search engine optimisation and rankings.
There are already hundreds of SEO agencies scattered around the UK, and they offer various SEO services to small businesses like mom and pop shops to large conglomerates that are valued at billions.
Usually, there are three pricing structures that you might find when looking through SEO agencies and services:
Depending on the type of SEO you choose, here are estimates of what SEO could cost you per month:
Free.
For business owners that are working on an extra tight budget and/or already have the necessary SEO skills and industry knowledge, doing SEO on your website is cost-efficient. This isn’t recommended though for those that are not well-versed in the digital marketing world or have the consistent time required to dedicate to the constant updates and adjustments needed.
£50 - £2,000.
Best for small businesses, budget-friendly SEO allows you to define your content. Services included are suggestions for content marketing and basic onsite SEO recommendations.
Those in gardening, local construction, hairdressers, and the like are encouraged to invest their budget here.
£2,000 - £6,000
Established businesses benefit from this the most - they are looking to define their content marketing and include content and website audits.
In this budget range, not only are you fixing website issues, but you are also altering and optimising the current website to generate even more traffic and revenue.
£6,000.
For websites with high traffic volumes, high-end SEO is the best option. With this budget, technical SEO issues can be fixed without worry.
SEO's benefits might seem too good to be true. They must cost a crazy amount of money!
But contrary to popular belief, SEO is one of the most flexible types of marketing in the business. In fact, many say that it's one of the more cost-efficient ways to advertise and convert leads online, as it can be bent to how much you want to spend in a month. Although it may be overwhelming at first, SEO pays for itself in the long run. And isn't that the beauty of investments?
We aren't saying SEO is cheap - all forms of advertising can cost you a pound or two. Instead, we're telling you that there are ways to temper price points based on your budget for the year or even the month.
Here are reasons why SEO can be expensive:
For these reasons, SEO can become expensive, especially if you decide to ball out on the services. But the more you spend, the better your website traffic will be, turning lurks into leads and leads into loyal customers that will stay with you forever.
So even though you need to shell out for the first few months of the process, costs will go down after your website gains the following it needs.
An agency should also make use of some of these tools to help optimise your website:
Although the budget is the determining factor of how much you can spend on SEO, also keep in mind that SEO is an excellent investment to make.
To help guide you, here are some crucial things to consider when hiring an SEO agency:
Here are the objectives a website requires to be successful or generate more traffic:
Information architecture
Content
Backlinks
If your SEO agency hasn’t mentioned any of these listed above, inquire about these services and consider including them in your SEO package. But if your SEO agency doesn’t offer these essential services, you should consider moving agencies once you outgrow the basics of SEO.
At the end of the day, all of these don’t matter if you’re working with the wrong SEO agency. Selecting the agency that you know can work best with you and you trust enough to help your business grow.
Once you find the right agency, your investment will be well worth it, especially since the benefits of SEO last for years and years.
The verdict?
Invest in SEO.
Small businesses can work with a smaller budget, but your SEO should follow suit as your business grows. Those starting can get away with just the basics, but as more traffic comes in, more website issues need fixing. More issues mean a larger budget.
One thing's for sure with SEO, as long as you're with the right company that understands your vision, SEO can be an amazing tool for growing any business in any industry.
So it’s safe to invest your money in SEO as it has proven to be successful for many.
Are you looking for an SEO agency to guide you in the right direction? Visit us at Smarter Media for more information about starting your SEO journey today!
Smarter Media is a digital growth agency using our Smarter Approach to help your business grow digitally. Working side by side with our clients, we use our 'Smarter Way' Process to create a plan that delivers results and our 'Smarter Promise' to do what we say we will. For a more comprehensive look at SEO, or to find out how you can achieve a better ROI with SEO & Paid Media working side by side, set an appointment with Smarter Media today!
