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.

What is Sustainability (or Sustainable) Marketing?

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.

What Does a Sustainability Digital Marketing Agency Do?

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.

Is Your Brand Sustainable?

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.

What Can Sustainability Marketing Achieve?

With the right sustainable marketing agency, you can launch successful campaigns and strategies that enable you to achieve a wide range of goals, including:

Refine Your Branding

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.

Acquire New Customers

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.

Retain Your Customer Base

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.

Increase Brand Awareness

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.

Build Customer Loyalty

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.

Launching a Sustainable Marketing Strategy

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!

Consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchasing decisions; businesses have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage their sustainability efforts as a powerful marketing tool. This is where green marketing comes into play. By effectively promoting your sustainable business practices, you can not only attract environmentally conscious customers but also differentiate your brand from competitors and contribute to a greener future.

In this quick guide, we will explore the strategies and best practices for successfully marketing your sustainable business.

What Is Sustainable Marketing?

Sustainable marketing is the promotion of eco-friendly and/or socially responsible brands, products, services, missions or initiatives. By using sustainable marketing strategies, companies can showcase their ethos and commitment to building a healthier future for all, which is why it’s such a valuable way to engage with your target audience.

Sustainable Marketing Strategies

Every business is different, so an original approach is always required to develop a winning marketing strategy. However, there are some basic concepts that you can use as the foundation of a successful sustainable marketing strategy, such as:

1. Be Authentic and Transparent

As consumers become more focused on a brand’s environmental impacts, many businesses are promoting their sustainability. However, this has led to widespread concerns regarding ‘greenwashing’, which is when companies try to appear more environmentally friendly than they really are. As you might expect, this can foster distrust amongst your target audience and damage your company’s reputation, so it should be avoided at all costs.

Instead, be authentic and transparent in all of your green marketing communications. Even if you have a long way to go to reach your sustainability objectives, you can work with a sustainability marketing agency to educate your audience, establish sustainability goals and educate your audience about your efforts to build a sustainable future. By doing so, you’ll engage your target audience with sustainability-focused content and gain their trust by being authentic, reliable and trustworthy.

2. Be Mission-Driven

Reviewing your company’s sustainable principles and the environmental impact of your operations gives you the opportunity to decide whether you want to be about more than simply generating profits. By committing to a sustainability strategy, for example, you can ensure your business is part of a larger purpose, such as reducing emissions, minimising plastic pollution or creating fairer supply chains.

Once you’ve established your mission, tell people about it and keep your target audience informed. By working with a professional content marketing agency, for example, you can deliver content that informs, educates and excites in a variety of formats and keep your audiences up to date about your sustainable progress.

3. Be Customer-Focused

Whether you’re a B2C brand or you’re launching a sustainable strategy with a B2B content marketing agency, make sure your customers remain the focus of your activities. In many cases, companies focus on pushing a product or service in the hopes of increasing sales and generating revenue, but they fail to look beyond this and really drill down into their target audience’s needs, wants and pain points.

By being customer-focused, you can truly understand what motivates your target audience(s) and respond accordingly. Not only will this help to increase sales, but it can also boost retention rates and foster trust and loyalty as you focus on delivering value, rather than being solely focused on generating profit.

4. Integrate Sustainability into Your Brand

Sustainability isn’t simply a trend or a fad; it’s a core principle that’s here to stay. For today’s businesses, sustainability and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) should be an integral element of their brands and a critical component of their future.

Instead of thinking of sustainability as a barrier to success or making it an afterthought, incorporate it into every aspect of your operations. By taking a sustainability-first approach to every aspect of your business, you can ensure that it becomes embedded into your operations and, therefore, a key element of your brand personality.

Furthermore, integrating sustainability into your brand in this way makes it far easier to achieve your sustainability goals and to have a positive impact on the planet.

5. Be Consistent

If sustainability isn’t something you factor into your business and marketing decisions, then you’re going to struggle to be consistent when it comes to delivering sustainable messaging to your target audiences.

With a defined sustainability marketing strategy and regular activities, such as green content marketing services, you can ensure that you’re delivering consistent messaging that continually educates and updates your customer base and your target audiences.

As a result, you’ll find that your brand becomes more trusted and more highly regarded, both commercially and in terms of your sustainability. In turn, this enhances your company’s reputation and helps to set you apart from your competitors.

Do You Need a Sustainability Marketing Strategy?

Some companies, such as those operating within the CleanTech or Climate Tech sectors, have a clear need for a sustainable marketing strategy. After all, their entire purpose is to have a positive impact on the planet. But what about companies that aren’t rooted in sustainability?

You might be surprised to learn that every company can benefit from having a custom sustainable marketing strategy, regardless of what industry or sector you operate in.

As customers place increasing importance on the sustainability of their preferred brands, they are expecting companies to take real and actionable steps to mitigate their environmental impact and failure to do so could affect the long-term success of your organisation. So, the real question is not whether should you have a sustainable marketing strategy but, can you afford not to have a sustainable marketing strategy?

Sustainable Marketing with Smarter Media

At Smarter Media, we’re committed to helping brands achieve their goals with innovative digital marketing. Combining our expertise and experience with data-driven insights and continual optimisation, we develop and implement winning sustainable marketing strategies that fuel business growth and elevate your ROI.

To find out how our in-house experts can supercharge your brand with sustainable marketing strategies, contact us today!

Social media has revolutionised the way businesses advertise their products and services, allowing them to reach a vast audience with ease. With the growing popularity of platforms such as Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter, social media advertising has become an essential part of any successful marketing strategy.

Each platform offers its unique advertising features and capabilities, making it essential for businesses to understand how to leverage them effectively. In this article, we will dive into the world of social media advertising and explore what you need to know about Meta Ads, LinkedIn Ads, TikTok Ads and Twitter Ads.

Rise of Social Media Advertising

One of the most significant changes in marketing in the past decade has been the rise of social media advertising. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn have become major players for brands looking to reach consumers with targeted messaging. The trend is driven by increasing usage of social media platforms.

Social media ads offer a range of benefits for businesses. They can target specific demographics based on factors like age, location, interests and behaviours. This allows companies to create highly tailored campaigns that will resonate with their ideal customer base. Additionally, social media advertising can be significantly cheaper than traditional forms of marketing such as television or print ads.

The rise of social media advertising has also led to new types of content creation and delivery strategies. Brands are now creating more video content specifically designed for social media platforms and investing in influencer marketing campaigns to reach new audiences through trusted sources. As our reliance on technology continues to grow, it's clear that social media advertising will continue its upwards trajectory as one of the most effective ways for brands to connect with consumers online.

Why Social Media Ads Matter

Social media ads are an effective way to reach a large and diverse audience. Social media ads also offer cost-effective advertising options for businesses of all sizes. Unlike traditional forms of advertising such as television or print ads that require significant budgets to reach a broad audience, social media ads allow businesses to set their own budget and only pay for clicks or impressions received.

Moreover, social media platforms provide detailed analytics on ad performance. Ad managers can track metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates and engagement levels in real-time. This data helps advertisers understand which campaigns are most effective and make necessary adjustments to optimize future campaigns for even better results.

Importance of Understanding Different Social Media Ad Platforms

Different social media platforms have their own unique ad formats, targeting options and placement strategies. Understanding these differences is crucial to create effective campaigns that meet your business goals.

Moreover, measuring the success of your social media ads is not a one-size-fits-all approach either. While some platforms offer robust reporting features like conversion tracking and attribution models to measure ROI (return on investment), others might require using third-party tools or custom analytics solutions. Therefore, knowing how each platform works will help you allocate budgets effectively while maximizing performance metrics.

Meta Ads

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. It has a vast reach that makes it an attractive advertising platform for businesses. Meta's ad platform allows businesses to create ads and target specific demographics based on factors such as age, location, interests and behaviours.

The ad creation process on Meta is straightforward and user-friendly. Businesses can choose from various types of ads such as image or video ads and carousel ads. Additionally, they can select their ad objective from options like brand awareness or lead generation. The targeting options available on Meta are extensive and allow businesses to reach their desired audience effectively.

One unique feature of Meta's ad platform is its ability to retarget users who have shown interest in a business's products or services but have not made a purchase yet. This feature helps businesses generate more sales by reminding potential customers about their offerings while they continue browsing the internet.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn is a professional social network that allows users to connect with other professionals in their industry or line of work. It is considered the top platform for business networking. LinkedIn's advertising feature provides businesses with an opportunity to showcase their brand, products and services to a highly targeted audience.

With LinkedIn ads, companies can target specific demographics such as job title, company size, location and more. This level of targeting ensures that businesses are reaching the right people who are most likely to be interested in their offerings. Companies can also use LinkedIn ads to promote events or job openings on the platform.

LinkedIn is an excellent tool for both individuals and companies looking to expand their professional network. Its advertising feature provides businesses with a unique opportunity to reach a highly targeted audience while allowing them to build brand awareness and drive sales leads. LinkedIn is a valuable platform for those looking to advance their career or grow their business within their industry.

TikTok Ads

TikTok is a rapidly growing social media platform that has become increasingly popular among younger audiences. The app allows users to create and share short videos set to music, with various special effects and filters available. TikTok's user base has grown significantly in recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic as people have spent more time at home.

One of the ways that businesses can take advantage of TikTok's popularity is through advertising on the platform. TikTok Ads offers a range of options for businesses looking to reach their target audience, including in-feed ads, brand takeovers and sponsored hashtag challenges. In-feed ads appear in users' feeds as they scroll through the app, while brand takeovers allow brands to display full-screen ads when users first open the app.

Sponsored hashtag challenges are another popular option for businesses on TikTok Ads. These involve creating a unique hashtag around a particular theme or idea and encouraging users to create content using that hashtag. This can be an effective way for brands to engage with their audience and generate user-generated content that promotes their products or services. As TikTok continues to grow in popularity, it presents an exciting opportunity for businesses looking to connect with younger audiences through innovative marketing strategies.

Twitter Ads

Twitter's ad platform supports different types of ad formats that allow businesses to advertise their products or services on the social media site. The platform is designed to help businesses reach their target audience more effectively by targeting specific demographics such as location, interests and behaviours. One ad format available on Twitter is Promoted Tweets, which appears in users' timelines and search results; this type of ad can also be retweeted, liked or replied to like standard tweets.

Businesses looking for effective advertising solutions should consider using Twitter Ads given its extensive user base as well as its robust targeting options. By leveraging these features, they can ensure their marketing messages are delivered to the right audience at the right time and increase engagement with potential customers.

Maximising Your Social Media Ad Strategy

Harnessing the power of platforms like Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Twitter is essential for any modern marketer. These advertising giants offer a multitude of opportunities to connect, engage and ultimately convert your target audience.

However, navigating the ever-evolving landscape of social media advertising can be a daunting task. That's where Smarter Media comes in—the guiding compass that helps steer your ad campaigns towards success. With our expertise and industry know-how, we provide a comprehensive range of services tailored to elevate your social media advertising game.

At Smarter Media, we understand that each platform has its nuances, intricacies and best practices. Our team of seasoned professionals stays up to date with the latest trends, algorithms and audience behaviours, ensuring that your campaigns are not only on par with industry standards but also ahead of the curve.

Whether you're looking to conquer the vast user base of Meta, tap into the professional network of LinkedIn, ride the wave of creativity on TikTok or join the fast-paced conversations on Twitter, our team is equipped with the knowledge and skills to unlock the full potential of each platform.

We go beyond the basics, crafting compelling ad creatives that capture attention and drive action. With meticulous campaign optimisation, we continuously refine and enhance your ads' performance, maximising your return on investment.

Smarter Media goes the extra mile to provide comprehensive analytics and reports, giving you valuable insights into your campaign's impact and areas for improvement. We believe in transparency and collaboration, working closely with you to align our efforts with your business objectives.

So whether you're a small startup with big dreams or an established brand seeking to solidify your digital presence, Smarter Media is here to help you conquer social media advertising. Let's elevate your campaigns to new heights, captivate your audience and achieve remarkable results together.

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.

What Is a Paid Search Marketing Agency?

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.

Roles of a Paid Search Marketing Agency

Initial assessment and strategy development

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.

Campaign setup and implementation

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.

Keyword management and optimisation

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.

Ad copy and creative optimisation

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’.

Performance tracking and reporting

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.

Continuous monitoring and improvement

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.

Transform Your Google Ads Campaigns with Expert Management

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.

If you’re a business based in Wiltshire, you know how important it is to reach local customers. However, with so many companies vying for attention in the area, it can be difficult to make sure your website is visible to people searching for your products or services. Local SEO is the practice of optimising your website to rank higher in search results for people searching for a business within the same region.

By optimising your website for local SEO, you can increase your visibility to people searching for your products or services in Wiltshire, driving more traffic and ultimately boosting your bottom line. In this article, we’ll be discussing the various optimisation techniques and strategies that can be used to increase your website’s visibility for local SEO in Wiltshire.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is optimising a website’s content and structure to appear in the top positions for relevant local searches, such as ‘best coffee shop near me’ or ‘plumber in Wiltshire’. Partnering with a reliable SEO and content agency can help ensure your website is optimised for these local searches, allowing your business to be found by potential customers in your area.

In addition to increasing online visibility and driving traffic to a business’s website or physical location, local SEO can improve brand awareness and credibility among potential customers. Consequently, businesses can establish themselves as trusted authorities within their respective industries.

10 Tips for Optimising Your Website for Local SEO

1.      Make sure your GBP listing is optimised

Optimising your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing can help you rank higher in local search results. One way to optimise your listing is by ensuring that all information is accurate or up-to-date. This includes details like your business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, website URL, and photos.

Another way to optimise GBP is by encouraging customer reviews. Positive reviews not only help boost your rankings but also build trust with potential customers who are researching your business online. This is why it's essential to partner with reputable digital marketing companies that can help you develop effective review generation strategies and manage your online reputation.

2.      Optimise your homepage

Start by adding your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) in a prominent location on the page. Use relevant keywords, such as “SEO services Bristol” in your title tag, meta description, and H1 tag to signal to search engines what your business is about.

Also, add internal links from other pages on your website to your homepage with relevant anchor text. This will help search engines understand the importance of your homepage and rank it higher in local search results. Adding a Google Map to your homepage can also help customers easily find your business’s location.

3.      Use schema markup

Schema markup is a form of structured data that you can add to your website’s code to help search engines understand the content on your pages. Adding schema markup makes it easier for search engines to display relevant information about your business in search results.

So if someone searches for a restaurant in their area, they may see star ratings and reviews alongside your restaurant’s name and address. This not only helps them make a more informed decision but also increases the likelihood that they’ll choose your business over competitors.

4.      Conduct a local SEO audit

If you're looking to enhance local SEO, a reliable digital marketing agency can help you conduct a local SEO audit. This audit will help you identify areas where you’re doing well and areas that need improvement. Here are some tips when conducting a local SEO audit:

·       Consider your website’s content strategy.

o   Your website should have relevant and high-quality content.

o   Create a clear call to action on every website page with consistent messaging.

o   Make your website’s structure easy to navigate.

o   Your website should also be optimised for mobile devices, as many local searches are conducted on smartphones.

·       Analyse your backlinks. Your backlinks should be diverse and natural, and they should come from reputable websites.

·       Analyse your social media presence. Check how active your business is on social media and how frequently you engage with your audience.

5.      Optimise your metadata

Your title tag should accurately describe the page’s content and include relevant keywords that users might search for. Meanwhile, an engaging meta description entices users to click through to your site.

You should also include location-specific keywords. Doing so will help search engines understand that your website is relevant to those searching for local services or products in those areas. An agency specialising in local SEO services can help you optimise your metadata effectively.

6.      List your business in local directories

This strategy can help you reach a wider audience, increase your online visibility and ultimately drive more traffic to your site. When listing your business in local directories, make sure all the information you provide is accurate and up-to-date.

In addition to accuracy, it’s also important to be consistent with how you list your business across different directories. This means using the same formatting so that search engines can easily recognise that each listing belongs to the same business. And don’t forget about niche directories specific to your industry or location—these can be excellent sources of targeted traffic and high-quality leads.

7.      Structure your internal links better

Ensure that all pages on your website are linked together in a logical or structured way. This means that each page should have at least one link pointing to another page on your site, and those links should use relevant anchor text. Ensure that your site’s most important pages are linked to other high-value pages like your homepage or product/service landing pages.

Consider using breadcrumbs as a navigation aid for visitors and search engines alike. Breadcrumbs show users where they are within a site’s hierarchy of information and allow them to quickly navigate back up the chain if needed.

8.      Create location pages

Location pages provide valuable information about your business. Creating these pages can improve your search engine rankings and make it easier for potential customers to find you online.

Include relevant keywords in the page title and meta description when creating location pages. This will help search engines understand what your page is about and improve its visibility in search results. It’s also important to include high-quality images of your business or products on each location page.

9.      Add reviews to your website

Customer reviews not only help in improving your website’s SEO ranking but also influence potential customers’ purchasing decisions. Positive reviews can increase trust and credibility, leading to more conversions and sales.

To add reviews to your website, you can create a separate page or section dedicated solely to customer feedback. You can also integrate review widgets or plugins that allow customers to leave their feedback directly on your website. Ensure that you respond promptly and professionally to both positive and negative reviews, as this shows that you value customer satisfaction.

10.  Create local content

Focus on producing content that’s relevant and useful to the people in your area. It could be anything from blog posts, videos, infographics, or even podcasts. Ensure your content includes information about your services or products and how they can benefit your local audience.

Use locally relevant keywords and phrases throughout the text. Make sure these keywords appear naturally within the context of your content so that they don’t look like spammy attempts at ranking higher on search engines. Keep in mind that Google prioritises fresh and relevant content on its search results page. So it’s essential to update your website with new information regularly.

FAQs

Is doing local SEO worth it?

Doing local SEO is definitely worth it. For small businesses, investing in an SEO solution can be a great way to attract potential customers actively searching for products or services like yours within your area.

How can I find my local SEO keywords?

Determine what you offer and what products or services you wish to promote. Then come up with a list of relevant keywords. Google search results can also be used to find local-based keywords. Simply enter your main keyword and scroll down.

What are some common local SEO mistakes?

One common mistake in local SEO is not optimising for Google My Business. Neglecting to do so can result in decreased visibility and missed opportunities. Another mistake is failing to incorporate location-specific keywords into website content, impacting search engine rankings for local searches.

Some businesses also make the mistake of not paying attention to online reviews. Not responding appropriately or promptly to negative reviews can harm a business’s reputation and deter potential customers from doing business with them.

Grow Your Local Business with Smarter Media’s Local SEO Expertise

Optimising your website for local SEO can help you improve your online visibility, attract more local customers and grow your business. Following the steps outlined in this article can improve your website’s local search rankings and attract more local customers.

However, local SEO can be complex and time-consuming, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the latest best practices and strategies. That’s where Smarter Media can help.

If you’re looking for ‘marketing companies near me’, our team of experienced local SEO specialists can help you develop a local SEO strategy that’s tailored to your business’s unique needs and goals. Contact us today.

When it comes to advertising your business online, Google Ads are one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. However, managing a Google Ads campaign can be time-consuming and complex, which is why many businesses choose to partner with a Google Ads management agency. These agencies specialise in creating and managing Google Ads campaigns and can help you get the most out of your advertising budget. But not all agencies are created equal, so it’s important to choose the right one.

Benefits of Working with a Google Ads Management Agency

Rely on industry expertise and years of experience

Google Ads management agencies are composed of teams that have spent years mastering the art of Google advertising. They know what works and what doesn’t, which is a valuable trait when it comes to managing your ad campaigns. With their vast knowledge in the industry, these experts can provide valuable insights to help optimise your paid search marketing campaigns for maximum results.

Apart from their experience, Google Ads management agencies also have access to the latest tools and technologies. As a result, they are better equipped to navigate complex algorithms and new updates than someone who does not have access to such resources.

Ensure up-to-date and relevant Google ads

Advertisements that are not current or relevant to the target audience can fail miserably, leading to wasted ad spend and poor ROI. With a PPC agency in Bristol, however, you don’t have to worry about such issues.

The experts at these agencies stay on top of industry trends and changes in consumer behaviour to ensure your ads remain current and effective. They also conduct thorough research into your target audience’s interests, preferences, and online behaviour, allowing them to create highly targeted ads that resonate with potential customers.

Save time

Managing a successful Google Ads campaign can be incredibly time-consuming, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the platform or lack experience with online advertising. Hiring a paid search agency means you can delegate this responsibility to experienced professionals who can optimise your campaigns for maximum ROI.

In addition to giving you more free time, working with a paid search management agency allows you to focus on other essential aspects of your business. Instead of worrying about campaign optimisation and keyword research, you can concentrate on building relationships with customers or developing new products and services. This lets you work smarter, not harder, and ultimately achieve better results in less time.

Get in-depth insights based on data

Working with a Google paid search agency gives you access to invaluable data-driven insights that can transform the way you approach online advertising. The agency will analyse your campaign data to identify trends and patterns, which can help you optimise your ads for better performance.

Through these insights, you'll also better understand who your target audience is, what they're looking for, and how best to reach them. This information can be used to create highly targeted campaigns that speak directly to your audience's needs and preferences. With deep data-driven insights at your fingertips, you'll have the power to take calculated risks that can help grow your business.

Receive ongoing optimisation services

Ongoing optimisation ensures that your ad campaigns always perform at their best and drive the highest possible ROI. This involves regular updates to your ad copy, targeting settings, bidding strategies and more based on data-driven insights.

Agencies use advanced tools and techniques to gather data about your campaign performance and make informed decisions about how to improve it. By partnering with a PPC marketing agency, you can feel confident that your ad campaign is in good hands. You can focus on running your business while experts handle the technical details of managing your ads. Plus, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your budget is being allocated effectively and efficiently to drive results.

How to Choose a Google Ads Management Agency?

Choosing the right Google Ads management agency can be daunting. Here are some factors to consider when selecting the best one for your needs:

Your goals and desired results

Your goals and desired outcomes are the foundation of your Google Ads campaign, so it’s essential to know them before choosing a Google Ads management agency. Are you looking to increase website traffic, generate leads or sales, or simply build brand awareness? Knowing your goals will help the agency tailor their strategy to achieve these objectives.

Additionally, ensure the agency understands your target audience and how they behave online. This knowledge will inform ad targeting tactics and messaging that resonates with your ideal customer. When all of these elements are aligned with your goals, you can be confident in choosing a Google Ads management agency that can deliver results for your business.

Reputation

You want to work with an agency with a good track record of delivering results and providing excellent customer service. Look for reviews and testimonials from past clients, as well as case studies that showcase their successes. You can also gauge the company’s reputation by checking their partnerships and certifications.

Another thing to check is the agency’s online presence. A reputable agency should have a professional website, active social media accounts, and regularly updated blog content. This demonstrates that they’re committed to staying up-to-date with industry trends and sharing valuable insights with their audience.

Transparency

You want to ensure that the agency is upfront about their strategies, tactics, and pricing structure. The agency should be willing to provide regular reports on your campaigns’ performance and explain any changes they plan to make.

Another critical factor is their level of communication. You want an agency that will keep you informed every step of the way, whether it’s through email updates or scheduled meetings. This way, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your campaigns are being managed properly and that there aren’t any surprises down the road.

Track record of success

Find an agency with a history of providing successful campaigns over time. An excellent way to determine this is through case studies and testimonials. These give insight into the agency’s past successes and how they achieved them.

You should also look at an agency’s ability to consistently meet or exceed performance metrics. This includes things like click-through rates, conversion rates, and return on ad spend. An agency that consistently delivers strong results across multiple campaigns demonstrates their expertise in the field.

Methodology

A good agency should have a clear and well-defined process for creating, launching, and managing your ads. This process should include conducting thorough research into your business, audience, and competitors to develop effective keyword strategies that will help you achieve your advertising goals. Additionally, the agency should have an approach for monitoring and optimising your campaigns based on data-driven insights to ensure that they deliver maximum ROI.

Another important consideration when evaluating an agency’s methodology is their approach to reporting and communication. The right agency will provide frequent updates on campaign performance while being transparent about the metrics they track and how they achieve results. They should be able to clearly explain their methodology in lay terms so that you can easily understand what they are doing with your ad budget.

Pricing

You need to ensure that the agency’s pricing model aligns with your budget and business goals. Some agencies charge a flat fee, while others use a percentage of ad spend as their pricing model. It’s essential to understand what you’ll be paying for and how much it will cost.

The goal is to find an agency that provides high-quality services at an affordable price point without sacrificing performance or results. It’s crucial to do your due diligence by researching different agencies’ pricing models and comparing them against one another before making an informed decision about which will best meet your needs and objectives.

How to Work with a Google Ads Management Agency?

Once you’ve chosen a Google Ads management agency, it’s essential to know how to work with them to ensure your campaigns are successful. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your partnership:

·       Set clear goals and expectations – This includes defining your target audience, budget, keywords, ad copy, and other relevant metrics.

·       Collaborate effectively – Regular communication with your account manager can help you stay updated on campaign performance and make any necessary adjustments along the way.

·       Trust the experts – While providing feedback and direction is essential, you should also be open to your chosen agency’s suggestions and recommendations.

·       Track results – This will help you see how your campaigns are performing and identify areas for improvement.

·       Stay up to date – Work with your agency to stay on top of the latest developments in the industry.

Experience the Benefits of Professional Google Ads Management with Smarter Media

Looking for a digital marketing agency for small businesses in the UK? At Smarter Media, we understand the importance of creating tailored and effective Google Ads campaigns. Our team uses data-driven strategies to ensure your paid media campaigns are always optimised for maximum ROI. Contact us today.

In today's digital landscape, businesses are increasingly turning to content marketing as a powerful strategy to attract and engage their target audiences. Content marketing involves the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience—ultimately, with the goal of driving profitable customer action.

In this article, we'll dive into the fundamentals of content marketing, why it's important and how businesses can leverage this strategy to achieve their marketing goals.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience with the goal of driving profitable customer action.

This type of marketing focuses on building relationships with potential customers by providing them with helpful information that will help them make informed decisions. If you're a business looking to implement content marketing strategies, it may be worth considering working with a B2B content marketing agency.

Why Is Content Marketing Important?

Content marketing is essential for any business that aims to attract and retain customers through valuable and relevant content. By working with a content creation agency and investing time and resources into creating valuable content, your business can increase its visibility online while building lasting relationships with customers.

Why Businesses Should Leverage Content Marketing

To increase brand awareness

One key aspect of content marketing is creating high-quality and engaging content that resonates with your target audience. By doing so, businesses can increase their brand awareness and gain more visibility in their respective industries. This is especially important for small companies or startups that are looking to establish themselves in the market.

To create compelling content, it's essential to understand your audience's needs and preferences. This involves conducting research on their interests, pain points and behaviours online.

By tailoring your content to meet these needs, you'll be able to capture their attention and build a loyal following over time. However, not all businesses have the resources or expertise to create compelling content marketing strategies on their own. This is where a content marketing agency can be of great help.

To drive website traffic

Creating valuable content that solves your target audience’s problems can help drive traffic to your website. By optimising your content for search engines, you can ensure that potential customers find your website when searching for solutions to their problems. Content marketing companies can help with this.

To generate leads

Content marketing is an essential tool for businesses to generate leads and attract potential customers. By offering valuable resources such as ebooks, whitepapers and webinars, companies can capture the attention of their target audience and encourage them to provide their contact information in exchange for access to these resources. This approach is more effective than traditional advertising methods because it offers real value to the user.

In addition to delivering valuable content, content marketing can also help businesses position themselves as thought leaders. By creating high-quality blog posts, infographics or videos that offer insights into relevant topics or address common issues facing customers, companies have the opportunity to showcase their expertise and build trust with potential customers. As a result, they will be more likely to turn those leads into paying customers.

To build thought leadership

Creating high-quality content on a consistent basis can help businesses showcase their expertise while offering value to customers through valuable insights into the industry trends they operate within. With the rise of digital marketing, content has become a crucial component of any business's marketing strategy. By producing content that addresses the pain points and challenges of their audience, companies can not only attract potential customers but also gain authority within their industry.

When businesses work with a content marketing consultant and consistently produce valuable and informative content, they are more likely to gain the trust and respect of their target audience. Thought leadership is not just about sharing opinions; it’s about providing insights that are backed up by research and data. By doing so, businesses can demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields. Moreover, this helps them create a loyal following that trusts them for advice or guidance.

To increase sales

Consumers are now more informed and empowered than ever before. They have access to a wealth of information at their fingertips and are no longer willing to settle for mediocre products or services. As such, businesses must be strategic in their approach if they want to succeed in this highly competitive landscape.

One way that businesses can stand out from the crowd is by partnering with a digital content agency and leveraging content marketing. By providing solutions to consumers’ challenges through valuable content, companies can position themselves as problem-solvers and earn the loyalty of potential customers.

To foster customer loyalty

Content marketing is an effective way for businesses to foster customer loyalty. By creating valuable content, companies build their authority and establish credibility with their audience. This trust can lead to long-term relationships with customers who are more likely to continue doing business with a company that consistently provides them with helpful information.

Additionally, content marketing allows businesses to stay top of mind with their customers by regularly sharing new and relevant content. This can help ensure that customers remember the brand when it comes time to make a purchase or seek out services. By consistently providing value through their content, companies can keep customers engaged and interested in what they have to offer.

How to Develop a Content Marketing Strategy

Define marketing goals

Marketing goals are specific and measurable objectives that businesses want to accomplish through their marketing efforts. Companies must set realistic and achievable targets that align with their budget and resources. Having clear marketing goals allows companies to measure their success in achieving those objectives accurately.

Understand the target audience

Understanding your target audience. This involves researching and analysing their demographics, interests, behaviours, pain points and aspirations. Understanding the target audience helps create content that resonates with them and encourages engagement.

One way to understand the target audience is by creating buyer personas. Buyer personas are fictional representations of your ideal customers. They include information about their age, gender, income level, education level, job title and more. Creating buyer personas allows you to visualise your customer base and tailor content specifically to them.

Develop a content strategy

Based on the marketing goals and target audience, businesses should develop a content strategy that outlines the types of content they will create, the channels they will use to distribute it and the frequency of publishing.

Create valuable content

Valuable content is content that your target audience will find informative, helpful and engaging. To create valuable content, you need to understand your audience's needs and what kind of information they are searching for.

One way to create valuable content is by conducting research on your industry or niche. This can help you identify trends, hot topics and frequently asked questions that you can address in your blog posts or articles. You can also use tools like Google Analytics to see which pages on your website are getting the most traffic and which keywords people are using to find your site.

Optimise content for search engines

Optimising your content for search engines means ensuring that your website and content are easily discoverable by search engines such as Google. There are several vital things you can do to optimise your content for search engines.

Promote the content

Creating great content is only half the battle, as it’s equally crucial to ensure that your target audience actually sees it. One way to promote your content is through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. You can use these channels to share links to your blog posts, infographics or videos with your followers, encouraging them to read and engage with your content.

Another way to promote your content is through email marketing campaigns. This involves sending out newsletters or other email communications that include links back to your website, where users can access and engage with your latest blog posts and other resources. By targeting specific segments of your audience with personalised messaging and content recommendations, you can increase engagement and drive more traffic back to your site over time.

Analyse results

Once you have executed your content marketing strategy, it's important to analyse results in order to understand what worked and what did not. One of the most effective ways to do this is through metrics tracking. Metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates and lead conversions can give you a clear picture of how well your content has been received by your target audience.

In addition to tracking metrics, it can also be helpful to gather feedback from your audience directly. Surveys or social media polls can provide valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and what they would like to see more of in the future.

Boost Your Online Presence with Quality Content Marketing Services

Looking for a digital content marketing agency in the UK? From content strategy development and creation to distribution and promotion, Smarter Media’s team of experts works closely with clients to ensure their content marketing efforts are effective and drive results. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you leverage content marketing to grow your business.

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.

What Is eCommerce SEO?

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.

Top 14 Tips for Optimising a Website with Thousands of Pages

Do thorough competitor research

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.

Make your site navigable

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:

Creating categories and subcategories

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.

Ensuring your site loads quickly

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.

Have clear navigation menus

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.

Add a search bar

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.

Implement infinite scroll or pagination

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.

Make each page’s title and description unique

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.

Find internal linking opportunities

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!

Ensure your site is functional

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:

Optimise your site for mobile

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.

Resolve technical issues

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.

Maintain a clean URL

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.

Check for duplicate content

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.

Smarter Media: Your Trusted Partner for eCommerce SEO Success

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.

How much does SEO cost?

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.

How much does SEO cost for a business?

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:

  1. Hourly pricing: Presented at an hourly rate, these SEO agencies base their pricing on the hours it takes to accomplish specific tasks.
  2. Monthly retainer: This type of pricing is used by established SEO agencies that see the value in monthly analytics and provide ongoing SEO on websites.
  3. Per project: Usually, upon the request of the client, project-basis payments are usually made by quoting a price for an entire SEO project, no matter how short or how long - as long as the agreed-upon terms are met.

How much does SEO cost monthly?

Depending on the type of SEO you choose, here are estimates of what SEO could cost you per month:

DIY SEO

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.

Budget-friendly SEO

£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.

Mid-range SEO

£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.

High-end SEO

£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.

How much is SEO marketing?

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:

  1. SEO takes a while before it works organically. With SEO, organic growth is key. This means overnight results is nonexistent with SEO unless, of course, they're using black-hat SEO which is harmful to any website. SEO takes time to grow, and anything worth something is the same!
  2. SEO requires work. SEO requires a lot of hours and human resources. From building a website, monitoring monthly analytics, creating content, keyword research, and conducting audits, it takes a lot of effort and skill for SEO to work efficiently.
  3. Successful SEO is the handiwork of professionals. Speaking of expertise, SEO requires a ton of it. You wouldn't entrust your finances to a fraud, right? Keep the same principles for SEO.

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:

How much to spend on SEO?

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.

How much is SEO worth, and is it worth it?

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.

What Is Location-Based PPC?

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.

How Location-Based PPC Works

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.

Importance of Location-Based PPC for Businesses

Through effective paid search management:

How to Set Up Geotargeting Campaigns

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.

Top 8 Location-Based PPC Strategies

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.

Leverage Location for PPC Success

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.