How important is SEO to local businesses?

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You’ve probably all heard the phrase SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), but have you thought about the impact this can have on your local business? Considering the importance of these three little letters could see visits to your website soar which in turn can provide quality leads and sales.

What is SEO?

But what is SEO do I hear you cry? In short, SEO, is all about making your website visible to the people who want your products or services. When you search, for example when you use Google or Bing, you get an immediate list of results. These search engines use complex algorithms to decipher what is most relevant to the question you’ve asked. Ultimately, you want your company showing on that first page of results. And, for local SMEs looking for business growth, this is extremely important because it helps create stand out amongst competitors offering the very same service as you in the same geographical location.

If you think about walking down the high street you’re attracted to shops because of window displays showing what you want. The online world is no different, it doesn’t matter how good your website looks, if you don’t have signposts directed to it, it won’t be seen. Utilising local classifieds such as Yell or free local listings can help enhance your visibility and improve SEO ranking.

Build trust with relevant content

Customers feel trust towards what they see first – in SEO terms that means being top of the list. But you need to build that trust first which is why SEO is so important for local businesses. To gain that trust and up your rankings you need fresh and relevant content on your website. A blog is perfect for this. Whether you post images with a related picture caption or share insightful news, including appropriate keywords, this will all help build towards you becoming visible in the SEO crowd. This is referred to as link building and a vital way of building your page authority.

We’ve only touched on a few key points here but they are important ones to take on board. It’s not a quick win, SEO does take time but by working in partnership with SEO experts who can devise a tailored campaign, your business will reap the benefits. Be patient, build a comprehensive website and people will come!

What you could do to complement SEO activity initially is consider Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising with Google AdWords – but that’s another blog!

SEO agency Croydon

Contact us about building Search Engine Optimisation into your inbound digital marketing strategy. We can also conduct a free audit of your website. Call on 020 3137 1826 or email saymoo@smart-cow.com

Categories SEO

Imagine the content possibilities

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‘Imagine the possibilities’ may be a couple of years old, but by Jove this advert stands the test of time. On a surface level, we challenge you not to crack a smile. On an advertising level, this is a superb example of the importance of good content to get your message out there.

‘Imagine the possibilities’ film for Barbie sees the use of hidden cameras capture priceless reactions, from students, a football team and a dog owner, to the girls who are imagining everything they might one day become. When it was launched, the advert went viral and to date there’s over 25,000,000 views on YouTube. While comical, and sometimes laugh out loud, the underlying fact is that it is great content.

We were lucky enough to attend an inspiring Q&A celebrating women creatives hosted by Pitch magazine where the director, Karen Cunningham, spoke about ‘how everything comes down to a good idea’.

At Smart Cow, we work with many local SMEs, so you might wonder how this relates to you? It doesn’t matter that this is a huge brand and a massive advertising campaign, it is the idea and content that is crucial. If the content you have on your website or that you post on social media is good and relevant to the services you offer, then you will build brand awareness and it will help you stand out when a potential customer is looking to purchase.

Content marketing agency

Talk to us about your content marketing needs and we’ll guide you towards the best combination of channels and tactics to utilise, making you stand out from the crowd. A reliable digital marketing agency in Croydon, Smart Cow will be glad to answer any further questions.

Woman holding smartphone

Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em laugh

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Make sure your content lives up to the expectations of your witty company name

With 40% of UK consumers more inclined to use a business with a witty name rather than traditional, is it time to revisit how your customers view your business?

The recent research by Vistaprint listed the most popular named businesses including ‘Spruce Springclean’, ‘Surelock Homes’ and ‘Planet of the Grapes’. While these names certainly do create stand out on the high street – online and offline – the brand needs to live up to its name and deliver the customer experience that is expected.

When you start out or you’re thinking of a rebrand, take a moment to create a company profile that mirrors your ethos and thoughts. Keep it simple, say what you do and end with a quirky phrase to emulate your fun company name.

Keep this philosophy in mind for any communication you do and try to keep a similar tone of voice with whatever channel you’re using to communicate with your audience.

With email marketing being one of the most successful ways of reaching your customers, making sure the content of the email is fun like your name suggests is key, but ensuring that you clearly indicate what the offer is in the subject line is just as important. Don’t let the joke take over from what you want the customer to do which is open the email and grab that special offer.

Ultimately people want to know what you do so don’t lose sight of that with too much comedy. It’s all a balancing act.

Email marketing agency Croydon

If you need a helping hand building an email marketing strategy, get in touch with us at Smart Cow Digital Marketing for expert advice on how to conduct an effective digital marketing campaign! As email marketing experts in Croydon, we can create your initial email template, write content and distribute to your database.

Blog as part of content marketing strategy

How Wi-Fi is shaping the small business workspace

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Coffee shop, bar and restaurant operators find opportunities with freelancers, SMEs and start ups by offering free & fast Wi-Fi

Often known as the ‘Third Space’, the local coffee shop offers a place away from the office or from home. It provides the opportunity for collaboration and brainstorming or simply a chance for to think. But, most importantly for freelancers, start ups and SMEs alike it’s somewhere to run a business from.

Research has revealed that more than a quarter (27%) of UK small business owners work from coffee shops rather than their usual office space*. Shared or co-working workspaces have cottoned on to the fact that a buzzing, cool and trendy coffee shop fronting the paid for members only workspace areas can entice new customers through the door, not only for coffee but it acts as a way to attract sign ups for permanent membership.

Whether simple café or co-working space coffee shop, what these spaces have in common is a Wi-Fi hotspot. You can have the best small batch coffee on the high street, perfectly smashed Avo on toast and vegan friendly protein balls but if you don’t have Wi-Fi, that’s either public or easy to register with, then you may as well say goodbye to enticing new customers through the door during the pre- or post-lunch period.

But, it’s not just the local coffee shop that can benefit, small business owners also work from restaurants (14%) and bars (11%)*.

If you’re a small business or start up in the local area, then Croydon has some new co-working spaces to explore such as Tomorrow (which includes Byte Café) and The Exchange Workspace at Matthews Yard. Plus, check out independent coffee shops such as Crushed Bean and Smoothbean. Even the Cronx bar, based in the new BoxPark, has tapped into this opportunity and has mobile and laptop plug points dotted all around the shipping container interior.

So, what are you waiting for. If you’re a freelancer or start up go and explore the spaces to work in Croydon. And, if you’re a café, bar or restaurant in the area, think about tapping into these potential new customers to boost pre- or post-lunch sales.

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