Local search for digital marketing croydon

What’s local search?

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Industry research has indicated that 78% of local-mobile searches result in offline purchases  This means that almost 8 out of 10 customers will buy the product at a later time all because of SEO (search engine optimisation). In simpler terms, businesses who invest in local SEO, helping to propel their business to one of the top results in a search engine, have the potential to turn these clicks into sales. The digital market is growing and local SEO is showing clear signs of being the way forward for firms wanting to stand out from their competitors.

Why local SEO?

Local SEO is based on finding the best results to an online search in and around the area of the person who is searching. This allows local businesses offering the requested product or service to be accessed faster for the customer, whilst attracting more local customers to a firm. An example of this would be if someone searched ‘digital marketing croydon’ in Croydon, the search engine would offer top results near the location. It’s been found that 40% of all mobile enquiries were relevant to the local area, highlighting the importance of local search and that to not capitalise on this through implementing a local SEO campaign would be to lose a large and active customer base, seen with two in three people taking direct action as a result of a local search.

How can local SEO help?

SEO uses features such as local listings such as Google My Business  in order to rank websites on search engines. Put simply, if you’re searching via Google it will try to find you the best results that you’re looking for. So, if you’re in need of a local plumber, it will look for plumbers on local directory listings, the most relevant being Google My Business, but also includes others such as Check-a-Trade, Yell or Thompson. Therefore, when a firm has very good reviews on these directories, the website listings on search results will be better. So, if you’re an SME wanting to get exposure and build brand awareness adding your details to local listing directories enables your customers to provide reviews to help lift your search ranking.

Local SEO optimises word choice to suit the location, for example if your business is near The Shard, having ‘The Shard’ in your description tag is often an easy way to gain customer interest rather than using up  characters to explain the business function, lowering cost of Pay Per Click campaigns  in this way (read more about PPC here). Other benefits of Local SEO can be found on our website.

If you need any help understanding SEO or wanting to improve your current digital marketing programme by implementing local SEO please get in touch.

Digital marketing mix n match

Digital marketing mix ‘n’ match

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The rapid growth of digital marketing and the evolution of technology to suit a business’s every want and need makes it crucial for firms to stay one step ahead of their competition as changes occur much faster than ever, with much greater collateral than 10 years ago. Therefore, to take full advantage, it’s important to understand the nuances of digital marketing, and to realise that one size doesn’t simply ‘fit all’ anymore, as seen with Kodak film failing to adapt to digital cameras and losing their market dominance. A mix and match of disciplines is key to delivering results, and it’s all about giving customers a good brand experience.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

This is a combination of strategies to make it easier for a website to be found online. There is a mixture of on and offsite changes which can be made to optimise your visibility and ranking against competitors. When we start working with clients, we initially look at core aspects such as how your website is built, target audiences and keywords you use, then fit this in with tailored campaigns and consultations to create more brand awareness and business for your company.

Pay Per Click (PPC)

Online markets are becoming incredibly competitive, even saturated at some points, and so it can be difficult as to how best to get your business noticed above this herd of competitors. Pay Per Click allows you to place an advert where your target market may be looking, be it on Facebook, LinkedIn or Google Adwords, with a call to action or purely promoting brand awareness. This provides instant results and therefore is great for a new and growing business. Many firms have found this is a great substitute for those without efficient SEO campaigns in place or to help boost initial SEO activity when a website is launched.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing can be extremely efficient in growing an online customer base and awareness. As a popular inbound marketing strategy, it helps build rapport; with Facebook still the most utilised social network with 2.2 billion monthly users, social media channels will still be a go to place for many to get company insight and an idea of other consumer experiences of products. From bespoke content to sending targeted messages, this type of activity on social media channels will all help to increase brand and product awareness while remaining cost effective.

Email Marketing

Utilise an email marketing campaign to send tailored messages to your core audience. Utilise content already produced in your blog and re-purpose for short and snappy bursts of product information.   clients whilst performing full reports on the success of leads, allowing you to store data for the future on how best to target particular customers. We use techniques such as De duplications and bounce reports to provide a wide market reach in a cost-effective manner in order for you to grow a strong digital customer base.

For more information on any of these services and more, make sure to visit our website or simply saymoo@smart-cow.com

Digital market is growing; let us help you to grow with it!

Instagram Influencers, what’s it about?

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With a recent BBC article indicating a backlash by brands on using Instagram stars and influencers, we take a closer look at the cause in such a booming digital age. We also delve deeper into how this can affect brands, whilst giving our own thoughts on the true integrity of Instagram and how it supports small business growth.

The article is founded upon consumer goods giant Unilever threatening to take a stand against fake Instagram influencers – those who buy followers with very little interaction in order to become attractive to firms looking to build a customer base. The article offers a range of examples of fraudulent behaviour from Instagram stars, with one Instagrammer using stock photos on his profile rather than his own in order to gain followers, and another using a ‘bot’ to show fake engagement – a key form of measurement for company’s looking to hire an influencer. It also highlights how unfair this is becoming on hardworking social media stars who spend a lot of time and effort developing unique content to attract a quality audience being out done by these fake influencers.

Is it all about follower numbers?

However, the piece also shows how small businesses can be productive in the way they avoid fake Instagram stars. With brands opting for influencers with less followers but good quality clout and engagement with these smaller numbers. As the saying goes – it’s quality not quantity that counts!

While you may not be looking to use influencers for your business, you can certainly take heed of the actions of large brands to help make your own Instagram feed stand out from the crowd. Small details such as imagery and relevant hashtags allow followers to track your brand, making it easier to grow engagement. Both relevant hashtags and insightful words can attract many new followers and help kickstart your account. This Smart Cow blog gives a more in-depth analysis of how exactly to grow a strong brand Instagram account from its setup too.

Social media agency Croydon

If you’re looking to create a digital marketing campaign using social media and want a little help, then get in touch with Smart Cow today.

Taking an Instagram story for a business

Instagram Stories for Businesses

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On average 300 million people use Instagram Stories around the globe, the photo and video sequences lasting 24 hours have gone viral, becoming an obvious step for new businesses aiming to enhance their social media reach. With this new age of digital marketing coming quickly upon us, it makes sense to become part of the conversation!

Instagram is a social media platform allowing people of all ages, whether using android or smartphone, to share pictures of their hobbies, lifestyle, family or even their favourite dog with friends and followers. This new platform has become incredibly popular, allowing you to tag other followers in pictures, with many brands growing untold amounts due to one tag from a celebrity as follower’s rush to buy what they’re promoting.

Instagram Stories have grown to become an integral part of a business’s social media presence, as well as helping increase awareness and ultimately the growth of your customer base. On average one in five Instagram Stories gets a direct message, that’s a lead, according to the Hootsuite article! The Stories have become an ideal way to keep your followers up to date with any news about your brand, allowing them to feel an increased interaction with you.

The diversity of Instagram Stories helps businesses create new ways of appealing to their customer bases, take the example of The New York Times showing followers behind the scenes pictures of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show giving fans a richer experience of its events. Ben & Jerry’s have used the Stories to break the news of fresh products to their range, giving followers a first glimpse at their ‘Non-dairy crew’. Whilst Maybelline New York had Instagram Influencer, Jordyn Jones, take over their feed for an inside look at New York Fashion Week, both her and the brand were able to harness relevant attention from the others audience, increasing their followers and therefore brand awareness.

Review the full article on Hootsuite’s blog which offers loads of tips on how to implement posting your story on Instagram. If you’re looking to create a digital marketing campaign and want a little help, then give Smart Cow a call on 020 3137 1826 or email today. A digital marketing agency in Croydon, we’re happy to help with any additional enquiries. 

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