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What is SEO and why consider it?

08/19/202212/09/2020 by scmarketing

Your website is the centre of your digital world. Everything you do should lead back to it. Therefore, what it looks like, where it is found, how up to date it is and how easy it is to navigate are all crucial factors to keeping visitors on your website for longer therefore making it a success.

So, factoring in a tailored Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign into your 2021 marketing strategy will help your business be seen online.

SEO is a collection of processes that make it better for a website to be found through the search engines. Most online searches start with a few words relevant to what a prospect is looking for. So, if you’re an ‘accountancy’ practice in ‘Guildford’ then you would likely be interested in your company showing up on page one of a search relevant to these keywords.

Website optimisation involves looking at how your website is built, the keywords within content on your website as well as understanding your target audience and their search behaviour. Armed with this background you can build a strategy to improve your rankings in the organic (non-ads based, natural) search results.

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Target audience

As part of your SEO strategy, you will need to think about who books your services and buys your products. If you don’t already know who your target audience is then take a look at our blog to help you create a persona.

Then make a review of your website and seen what updates you may need to make to content or imagery.

It may be a simple case of adding more call to actions, contact forms or changing content. However, if you think a new web design could be in order then drop us a line to discuss as we can also provide a website audit for you.

Keywords

Be specific with keywords for your business. Think about what your target audience would type in the search engine function to find what they are looking for. This is a great place to start to help you create a list of the keywords for your audience. We can help you build this list with reference to search volume and keyword difficulty so that you can factor in the right keywords to attract the quality leads.

Our blog on how to improve onsite SEO with keywords provides further insight.

Link building

As part of the ranking process, search engines consider the quality of links, awarding scores based on the usefulness and relevance of those links. Internal links can ease navigation within the website itself, so when you add a blog to the website make sure there’s at least 2-3 internal links included.

Getting your company details on directories is also useful to help with incoming links to your website. This provides an indication of how useful your content is to others. Less links will have an impact upon where you return in a search result for a given term.

We always recommend setting up your Google My Business page as it allows for you to post updates. Therefore, this is a simple repurpose of your own blog and provides a fantastic link back to your website.

Meta descriptions

Think about when you’ve recently searched online for something. You see a return of results where companies have great headlines and a paragraph of succinct copy that entices you to click the link instead of others. Behind the scenes you can create these paragraphs or meta descriptions on pages on your website – these are really good when it comes to blogs you may upload. Meta descriptions tell Google and other search engines exactly what each web page is about, what to display and how to display it in the results.

SEO Agency Croydon

By incorporating SEO into your marketing strategy, you can enhance brand perception and online presence as it helps your business rank better in search engines. This can help generate a better rate of enquiries due to improved visibility.

If you feel you need some support in getting your website Search Engine Optimised, then get in touch with Smart Cow Marketing. As an inbound marketing agency in Surrey we’re prepared to discuss your digital marketing needs further.

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Why create specific landing pages?

12/03/2020 by scmarketing

In this blog, we give you an overview of why you should consider creating specific landing pages when you set up a Pay Per Click (PPC) ad campaign.

What is a landing page?

Firstly, let’s clarify what a landing page is. A specific landing page is about helping to get you more leads. These pages usually contain forms where you can collate contact information as a result of the visitor completing an action on your page – this is usually an offer or a download. Whatever you choose for your landing page the offer has to be good and provide a reason for people to hand over information.

How a specific landing page can help your PPC campaign

For a PPC campaign to be successful it’s about having the right copy in your advert in the first instance so that prospects click the link to your website. Then once on your website it’s about keeping that potential customer there for as long as possible.

This is where a specific landing page can help your campaign. The page is a place where your prospects will learn to trust your brand and be inclined to read more. So, be relevant to the advert that has just been clicks on that leads to your website. This way you are more likely to keep them on your website for longer. Your content should be insightful, offer tips and advice.

What your landing page should look like

Here’s our advice on what you should look to include on your landing page to help create a great marketing campaign.

Content

To keep visitors on your website as long as possible, your landing page needs a headline that tells the visitor what to expect.

Once you’ve sorted the headline, the content needs to be to the point, clear and engaging. And, provide a clear call to action.

Be image led

An image helps to convey your brand and help to illustrate what the content of your landing page is about.

If you have video content then this is great for engagement but only if it’s relevant to the content of the ad. If it is, then place this towards the top of the page.

Lead form

The ‘contact us’ form or rather the ‘lead’ form should be near the top of the page – above the fold. A name and email address should be enough information for a new lead.

Call to action

Make a bold and colourful call to action with clear instructions about what you want the visitor to do. Depending on the purpose of your ad and its call to action will be dependent on what you offer on that page. It may be useful to add a relevant download, ebook or discount to help build that trust further.

Remove menu navigation

With a specific landing page, we advise to remove the main menu from sight so that the visitors focus is purely on the action you want them to complete on that page.

Mobile optimised

Remember to optimise your specific landing page for mobile. The last thing you want is less leads because it isn’t suitable for viewing on mobiles.

Landing page layout

The following layout is best practice to follow:

Headline
Image
Lead capture form
Call to action
Relevant content

PPC agency Croydon

We’re a digital marketing agency in Croydon. With many marketing tactics whether organic or PPC advertising, we can provide a tailored marketing package to help you generate leads for your business. Book a free consultation.

How to achieve growth with inbound marketing

06/14/202111/16/2020 by scmarketing

This blog covers some of the steps to consider to help you achieve growth with your inbound marketing strategy. Right now, businesses are vying for attention online as we’ve all shifted focus to conducting business remotely. Our networking events and exhibitions have gone for now, and everyone is searching online for services and products.

With 89% of B2B buyers and 81% of consumer shoppers starting their online search for products or services by turning to Google, how do you get your business in the mix? How can you generate web traffic via search engines and get good qualified leads who are interested in your products and services visiting your website?

Here’s a few tips on achieving growth with an inbound marketing strategy that attracts leads that are right for your business.

Who are your customers?

If you don’t already know who your core customers are, then you need to. This will ensure that any inbound marketing is targeting the right people, with the right messages and when they want to hear from you. This means that your budget is more efficient and provides a better return on investment.

Be consistent

Now you understand your target audience and their needs and challenges then you need to tailor content for them. You need to make your messages consistent across all marketing platforms. Creating a core message document with a tone of voice specific to your business helps. As well as creating an online buyer persona of the person you would like as your customer.

Being consistent helps build trust for your brand.

Content marketing

Now you need to attract customers. Part of your lead generation strategy is to get people to your door and that means to your website. Therefore, great content is what you need including keywords that will help with website optimisation and your website rising in search rankings.

We recommend you have a blog page for your website which allows you to update relevant and unique content regularly to your website. Include your researched keywords in a blog post not only for SEO but to continue that consistency of messaging.

This is all part of lead nurturing. You want to engage with your prospects and maintain your existing customers. So become that thought leader with interesting content offering advice that solves their problems. Know any industry legislation that will impact their business and provide informative templates and eBooks that can help grow their business.

Be professional yet approachable

Having a relevant social media account can help with this, especially of you are an accounting firm. However more often than not accountants are inclined to the think that social media is not the right channel for them. However, it’s worth remembering that social media is not all about Tik Tok and photographing food. Your audience is somewhere on social media.

It’s about thinking of the right social platform relevant for the people you want to reach. For example, LinkedIn is perfect for networking and ideal for reaching out to SMEs in a professional manner. However, don’t dismiss the virtues of Facebook. If you think of Facebook as another search engine. If for example your accounting firm has a company page on this channel then this helps reassure people about your firm.

Inbound marketing agency in Surrey

If you’re looking for qualified leads become a lead generation magnet with the help of Smart Cow. Take a closer look at our marketing services or book a consultation and we can discuss digital marketing strategy that is best to achieve your business goals.

We specialise in digital marketing for accountants as well as providing digital marketing services and web design for local businesses within Croydon. If you’re looking to grow your business, get in touch.

Find out more about lead generation strategies for your business in our blog.

Marketing tips for November 2020

11/04/2020 by scmarketing

With lockdown version 2.0 on the horizon, here’s some top digital marketing tips to help keep up awareness of your business going through this period.

Social media

Keep up that solid work you’ve done to build your social media followers. Now is the time to ramp up your presence further with your chosen social networks.

Keep your clients and prospects updated. If you need to change contact details, opening times and whether your services have changed, get your profile updated and share in social posts.

Update your social banner images to let people know you are still open for business even if that is remotely.

Don’t forget to add hashtags in your social posts or add other account handles. This helps to extend reach further.

Website updates

If you have a website, make sure that all your contact details, services and products are up to date. People will still be shopping and searching for services during lockdown.

On the homepage make an update to say that you are still open for business.

Content marketing

If you have a blog, make sure you add content to it and do so regularly. This really helps with search engine optimisation (SEO) and your business being found in search engines. Relevant content is great for ongoing organic rankings.

If you don’t have a blog, we would recommend that you get this added asap to your website. We can help you with that and we can also provide a website audit which will highlight any changes that can help with SEO.

Google My Business

Do you have a Google My Business page? If not, get one set up – it’s free! If you do have a page already then make sure all details are up to date with the correct contact details.

Add blog posts, offers, images to this page. It all helps with SEO and getting your website seen online.

Our blog, ‘have you told search engines you exist’ has tips about setting up your Google My Business page. Also take a look at our marketing minute videos we have a selection on Google My Business.

Pay Per Click advertising

You may be thinking why would you do advertising at this time. Now really is the time not to disappear. So, Pay Per Click or PPC can help give your website a boost in search engine results pages (SERPs). If people can find you they will discover your services.

Email marketing

If you have an email distribution list, then perhaps think about starting an email marketing campaign.

Distribute to potential and existing customers and existing on your database. Remember to be clear in your message, include a call to action and ensure you have contact details visible.

Look at our blog on what to check before you send your next email marketing campaign – we’ve created a checklist of what to run through before you send your email including a visible unsubscribe link. You must make sure you are GDPR compliant.

Digital marketing Croydon

We’re a digital marketing agency in Croydon and the team are all from Croydon so we have a real passion for the area to be successful, inspirational and attract new business and customers for us all to grow and support each other.

We’ve got some additional marketing resources you might want to take a look at which cover the different types of digital platforms and online advertising to help you form a digital marketing plan.