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Overview of the different types of Google Ads

12/06/202106/23/2020 by scmarketing

You’ve more than likely heard of Google Adwords and you may be familiar with the term Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign. Well a Google Ad is a type of PPC campaign.

However, there’s a few different types of campaigns that you can actually run from your Google Ads account.

So, here’s a short summary of the types of Google ads you can run as part of an online marketing advertising campaign. There’s a wide choice so you can find the best fit based on your business objectives.

Google Search ads

If you set up a Google Search campaign then this is the type of ad that appears in the Google search results when you type in something that you want to find. In the search engine results pages, you’ll see a few suggestions at the top of your page with a little ‘Ad’ icon beside it which denotes a Google Ad.

What’s good about a Google Ad campaign as this is the most popular search engine and by running ppc ads your business is visible on the first page of the search results.

This is a great way to get brand awareness of your business, a new site or new products and services. Plus, you can add in calls to action to really help drive visitors to your website.

Google Display ads

These type of Google ads can appear across a network of websites. Google says you can reach more than two million sites and apps across the internet using a Google Display ad.

These ads can also help increase awareness and reach to your core audience as you can target specific interests.

Google Video ads

Google video ads are still a form of PPC, meaning that you as the advertiser will only pay if someone decides to watch your video ad.

A video ad can help you reach your target audience at scale by appearing when someone is perhaps researching a product or service. This way a potential customer has the chance to view your video as it appears on YouTube or the network of sites as mentioned in Display ads.

Google Shopping ads

You know the run of ads that appear at the top of search when you Google a product? That’s what these shopping ads are. Another great way to get your product to appear in search and next to other Google text/responsive ads.

This is a great way to raise awareness of your products and boost traffic to your website for purchases.

Google App

According to Google, these ads run in search, play and YouTube. Plus a raft of its network of sites. This campaign is about getting downloads and you just need to add text, how much you will pay for the click of the ad (known as Bid) and then Google optimises it for the best results.

Ad copy

The copy is a key part of the advertising and should stem from your overall content marketing plan. Your text ads should be succinct, to the point and specific to your target audience to really encourage your ads to be clicked.

Make sure that the landing page you choose is specific for your ads. It can take time to set up the ad campaigns so knowing that all the information relevant to your campaign is in the landing page is essential for success. YOur website landing page should also be mobile optimised – so do check that too before you make your ads live.

However, the beauty of Google ads is you can hone your campaign. So, you can tweak copy here and there depending on the CTR (click through rate) or maximum bid you have associated with the ad.

Lead generation with PPC marketing

A PPC marketing campaign such as running a Google Ad (in whichever ad form) is a great lead generation tool. With the sophisticated technology you can really target your audience so you can obtain good quality leads from conducting such a campaign.

So, if you’re looking to increase brand awareness, promote your latest products or want to encourage people to take action, then perhaps a PPC campaign is right for your business.

Pay per click Croydon

We’re a PPC agency in Croydon working with a range of businesses on their digital marketing activity. We can work with you on a standalone PPC campaign or create a mix and match of digital marketing approach depending on what your business goals are.

If you would like your Google Ad Campaigns set up for you, we can do this and then let you continue to run the campaign yourself. Or we can provide this service on a monthly retainer basis. Get in touch and let’s chat further.

Your inbound marketing guide for accounting firms

06/21/202106/11/2020 by scmarketing

Inbound marketing is focused on lead generation to attract quality clients from qualified leads interested in your accounting services.

An inbound marketing strategy is about building brand awareness and trust through thought leadership content. Certainly, in the current COVID-19 situation it’s about sharing insightful content that will help your potential customers.

Adding context to your marketing activity that’s relevant to your audience is key to success.

Inbound marketing strategy for accountants

We recommend that you take time to understand who you are selling to. An accounting practice will know from experience who their main clients are. Therefore, create an imaginary persona based on this. What are the challenges that your target audience faces? Empathise with their requirements and personalise your content.

It’s all about appealing to your relevant prospects to reach those quality leads interested in your accounting services.

Think of your overarching message and USP – why should someone come to your accounting firm as opposed to another? What are you offering that’s different and make is specific to your target audience?

Download The Beginner’s Guide to Inbound Marketing to help you create your marketing strategy.

What does inbound marketing include?

There’s no one size fits all to inbound marketing, even for an accountancy practice.

There’s a number of inbound marketing tactics that a digital agency will draw on to create a strategy to generate traffic for your accounting firm. Here’s an overview of digital marketing tools.

What to do first with inbound marketing

Your website is at the core of your business, it’s your shop window. So, a review of your current site is a key first step to take.
Think of the keywords you want your accounting firm to be found for. If your expertise lies in outsourcing services such as bookkeeping, payroll and VAT returns, then make sure you have content that answers questions for your potential clients covering these topics.
Make sure your website is easy to navigate. A lot of websites these days are Content Managed Systems (CMS) so you can generally make quick fix updates yourself. If you have trouble updating anything then get in touch with a digital marketing agency that manages web design and development. We offer free consultations and can provide a proposal based on your requirements.
Have you completed your Google My Business page? It’s free to do and is the ultimate directory to be on providing quality links back to your website.
An ongoing content marketing plan is also key. This will help position your accounting firm as a thought leader in the sector. So, think of adding a blog to your website or more up to date articles as this provides great new content for a website. Having already implemented your keyword research, including relevant phrases in your new blogs will help search engines find your practice.

Working with an inbound marketing agency in Surrey

As a digital agency for accountants, we would look at your business, understand your objectives to then tailor an inbound marketing campaign for your firm encompassing the tactics that are right for your goals.

Why not contact us for a FREE consultation? If you’re looking to grow your business, talk us through your current position, where you would like to be, your target audience and objectives and we can work on a proposal for you.

In the meantime, Download The Beginner’s Guide to Generating Inbound Leads.

Why you should work on your content marketing strategy

05/06/202106/05/2020 by scmarketing

In the last couple of months, we’ve placed a focus on the importance of maintaining presence online during this time of uncertainty and change. The reason being is as we move into the easing of lockdown and ongoing gentle reintroduction of getting back to ‘normal’, firms that have maintained visibility from the start will have kept their existing clients informed, helped to build awareness with prospects and potentially gained warm leads.

But, if you haven’t been able to keep up your marketing activity whether social media marketing or regular blogs, distributing email marketing or running a google ads campaign, it’s not too late to start. But, now is the crucial time to work on your content marketing plan.

Ramp up marketing activity

With the easing of lockdown gradually taking place, more people are returning to work as non-essential shops will begin to open, sports will start to return (albeit behind closed doors), people are beginning to step out of hibernation so to speak. But throughout this time, potential customers have been looking and listening to what’s out there, ready to jump at opportunities that they have put on hold.

For those of you who have continued digital marketing for your business, carry on and ramp it up. Perhaps explore other avenues to extend reach further such as creating an ebook of your core products or services with tips and advice, or send out that email that you’ve put on hold and create that video to share on social media.

Content marketing tips with SEO at the core

If you fall into the camp of not being able to do any content marketing during this time, then pick up your digital marketing plan now, it’s not too late.

Here’s our top SEO tips on what you could do as part of your online marketing strategy to help give your visibility in search engine rankings a boost. But note this is a long-term strategy so once you start, you need to continue working on SEO to reap the benefits when we truly are back to ‘normal’.

1. Be targeted

Review your website, especially your homepage. Are you telling your target audience exactly what they want to hear about when they reach your website? A little market research can help you hone your messaging.

2. Be relevant

Refresh any out of date content throughout your website. In the back of your mind always think about what your target audience searches for online and make sure you include those keywords in content. But make sure it fits. Search engines know when you’ve just added words for the sake of it.

3. Fix broken links on your website

This can impact your search rankings so make sure all links are working. And, add more where necessary to help ease of navigation.

4. Calls to action

Add eye catching buttons with calls to action that will encourage engagement and ‘action’.

5. Now write some blogs!

Regularly uploading content relevant to your target audience is a great way to keep content on your website fresh and search engines interested! Search engines want to return the best results to someone searching, so it has to be relevant.

If you already have social channels but have stopped posting, now is the time to get back to it. Tell people you’ve just added a new blog to your website. Remind people of your core services and products. There’s a lot of activity out there so you need to be in the mix to start to be heard.

This is just a quick summary for those who need to pick up on marketing activity. If you start implementing this now, it will help place you in much better position than waiting until life is ‘back to normal’.

Free resources

We’re a digital marketing and content marketing agency in Croydon and we have the following resources you can draw on if you need any help.

Free website review

Find out how to improve your website’s performance.

Free digital marketing consultation

Our Free Consultation should be between 15 and 30 minutes. The goal is to provide you with thoughts on how to start an effective marketing campaign and for us both to see if it would benefit your firm. No obligation at all, we just want the best for you.

Navigating the modern sales process

06/19/202006/03/2020 by scmarketing

Technology and analytics are making it possible for us as marketers to tailor messaging and identify how we strategically place ads, who to target and in a timely manner. But it’s not the marketing and business development teams that are leading the charge. No, the tables have turned.

Consumers are extremely savvy. Everything for the buyer is now at a touch of a button. So, it’s no longer about a sales team closing a deal, it’s about how your business can help.

Here’s our marketing tips on navigating the sales process today so that you implement a successful marketing campaign to generate leads.

What’s the problem?

Do your market research before you get in contact. Has a prospect visited your website? We recommend to our clients to include tactics such as e-newsletter sign up options of forms to download free ebooks.

So, not only are you already helping your prospects by giving them information for free, you are now knowledgeable about what services they are interested in and have a point of discussion when you do contact them.

The decision

The decision to purchase a product or book a service is not as a result of a scripted conversation. It’s very much in the buyer’s court.

The 3 stages of decision making are:

Awareness: A potential client is aware they have a challenge they need to overcome. So, they begin to search widely online.
Consideration: A potential customer has researched and now understands the solution they need for their problem. This may be through Google ads they’ve seen, testimonials or advice on social media. The awareness touchpoints are endless, but these are vital to build trust to move your prospect into this consideration phase.
Decision: The buyer is now searching for specific key phrases (or keywords in search engines) as they know what they want. But, they now need help to purchase it. A chatbot conversation on your website for starters can help filter a response and get the answers your customer needs in a timely manner.

How to get quality leads

It’s about tailoring the sales and marketing process so that you help guide your customer. By creating specific marketing plans for your target audience not only makes the process pleasant for the customer but it helps make your business efficient. By taking time to understand your audience’s challenges and needs, your customer makes a purchase or registers for a service that is right for them. Your customer is then happy, leaves good reviews online, this is then seen by another potential client and the cycle starts again.

Book a consultation

If you would like help with your marketing strategy to nurture leads through your sales funnel, then get in touch with us and book a free consultation. We’re a digital marketing agency in Croydon which also has a specialism in marketing for accountants.