Search Engine Optimisation - Search Marketing Group®

How to get 5-star reviews for your business

July 5, 2022

We all want to be recognized for our hard work. For businesses, that recognition comes in the form of the coveted 5-star rating.

Everyone wants five stars to call themselves a 5-star business. Who wouldn’t? But unfortunately, it takes more than being good at what you do to get there.

If you’re wondering why you haven’t got more reviews or how to get 5-star reviews for your business, look no further. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to get 5-star ratings on Google, Facebook, and any other review platform.

Let’s get started!

The power of 5-star reviews

You know that five stars are good and 1 star-reviews are bad. And while it’s easy to take it personally as a comment on the quality of your business, reviews have far more power than we often realize.

It all boils down to this:

Humans are inherently social creatures. Therefore, we care A LOT about what other people think.

This is so ingrained in our psyches that 48% of people won’t even look at a business with less than 4 stars.

Of course, there is a delicate balance. Having all 5 stars can look too perfect, meaning businesses want to aim for a 4.7 or 4.9 average. It also means that the odd one or 3-star review won’t kill your business, so you can take a breath if you’ve been worried about that negative commenter who seems to have it out for you.

But at the end of the day, the more 5-star ratings, the better. So we’ll show you how to start bringing those reviews in droves.

How to get 5-star Google reviews

Not only do reviews account for 15% of your local SEO ranking, but they are also apparent.

As you can see below, our Google rating appears under our business when a potential customer searches for the ‘Search Marketing Group®.

Thankfully, we’ve brought in quite a few stars with our commitment to service. But if your customers are a little less happy…

…Well, it’s safe to say that your future customers will know about it.

So how can you make sure you get positive ratings? Here’s how you can get more 5-star Google reviews.

Keep doing what you’re doing – excellent work!

A quick note: before you can get a 5-star review, you need to give the customer something worth reviewing. You’re already delivering amazing products/services and customer service, so you should be covered.

But just in case, do a quick assessment of your business. Are there any areas where you could improve to generate more positive feedback? Have you received negative feedback on certain aspects of your business that you could take into consideration?

Of course, you’ll want to be careful with this. Many bad reviews out there tend to be fake, but it’s always worth considering the opinion of someone expressing genuine concern or letdown.

Ask every customer for a review.

What is the most reliable way to get 5-star reviews? Just ask.

Well, you can only ask for A review. But chances are you have a lot of satisfied customers who just aren’t taking the time to leave a review after their experience.

In fact, 70% of customers will be thrilled to leave a review for a business when asked.

So how do you go about it?

If you sell online or collect emails, simply send a follow-up email. Depending on the type of business you are in, you may want to send one immediately, or you may want to give people time to try and love your offering first. The choice is yours.

You can also put the call out on your social media accounts and display your request in-store.

Make it easy for customers to give you reviews.

Sure, most customers are happy to give you reviews. But they won’t jump through hoops to do it, so you want to make the process as easy as possible.

You can do this in several ways, including creating a custom link that sends customers straight to your reviews. Here’s how to create a custom Google review link.

You may also want to create a custom QR code for people on mobile devices and display these in your store, marketing material, and packaging.

Respond to reviews – even the negative ones.

Responding to reviews allows you to show appreciation for those who have left reviews and encourage others to follow suit.

And who knows? You might transform that 2-star rating into a 4 or 5-star with excellent customer service!

Apart from getting you more 5-star reviews, responding to reviews also helps boost your SEO, so this is a must.

Provide incentives

Some customers may love sharing their opinions or want to show their support, but others may need more prompting. There is a range of incentives that have been proven to work on customers, including:

Receiving a product free of charge. While this may not be ideal for small businesses, perhaps you have a small item in stock that you could use or a service you could add on top for a customer.
Receiving a product before everyone else. Those willing to give reviews are often your biggest supporters. Tempt them with a new item in stock that hasn’t been sold to your general public yet, and they’ll feel unique and valued.
Discounts with your store or brand. Everyone loves getting a deal. This is one of the most typical incentives businesses use – for good reason. You get a review and another purchase, with hopefully more to come. Consider offering a 5-10% voucher for anyone who gives you a review or something like free shipping.
Loyalty points with your store or brand. This may be the most doable for small businesses, as it doesn’t require you to give away stock or price things lower. And it is quite adequate, with 59% of consumers saying they’d be happy to leave a review in exchange for loyalty points. Not to mention that a good loyalty program is a great way to keep customers longer!

How to get 5-star Facebook reviews

As with Google reviews, Facebook reviews are essential to the buyer’s journey. Not only will they be seen by people looking up your business on Facebook, but Facebook pages also often rank on the results page whenever anyone searches for your business.

We can see below that our Facebook page is the second result when searching for Search Marketing Group® our Facebook page is the second result.

And under that result? Our 4.6-star rating.

Now, it is possible to disable ratings for your Facebook. However, this is an excellent opportunity to build trust with your customers and show them that others have received value from your business.

Provided that you can get those 5-star reviews, of course.

Most of the tactics we explored with Google reviews also apply to getting 5-star Facebook reviews. However, some other ways you can get reviews that are more specific to Facebook are explored below.

Make sure your reviews are set up.

Turned your reviews off at some point? Here’s Meta’s guide to turning on Facebook page reviews and ratings.

Ask customers to check in.

Facebook prompts people who have checked into a place to leave a review. So if you have a brick-and-mortar store, encourage your customers to check in while visiting – either verbally through your employees or with a reminder in-store.

This lets Facebook do the heavy lifting for you and means you can get reviews without asking!

Create a Facebook post asking your customers to leave reviews

As we explored above, many people just need to be asked in order to leave a review. Create a Facebook post asking for reviews and a link to your reviews – chances are, your followers will be happy to comply.

Keep your Facebook updated.

People will be far more likely to engage with you on Facebook – including leaving you reviews – if you’re active. Make sure you’re posting on a regular basis and give your customers fresh, exciting content that augments their experience with you in the real world.

Don’t have time to keep up with your socials? Our social media marketers can take care of everything for you. Book a free consultation today.

Wrapping up

We’ve shown you how you can get 5-star reviews for your business and boost your online reputation. While we only focused on Google and Facebook, the same principles apply to TripAdvisor, Yelp, Trust Pilot, and any other review site.

So go forth and get those stars!

For more digital marketing advice, check out our Blog . You can also reach out to our team of digital marketing strategists – we’ll be happy to chat about how you can improve your online reputation.

Our SEO Agency Ballarat, SEO Agency Bendigo, SEO Agency Adelaide, SEO Agency Sydney, and SEO Agency Brisbane services are planned and executed with the highest level of precision and thoughtfulness, leading to excellent results and satisfaction for the clients.

The Beginner’s Guide to (Good) Keyword Research

May 16, 2022

You can’t talk about SEO without mentioning two words: keyword research.

It’s the cornerstone of everything we do here at Search Marketing Group® – not to mention the foundation of any good SEO Melbourne strategy.

But how do you find keywords? And how do you know that they’re the right ones for your business?

Today, we’re going to show you precisely what keyword research is, why it’s so crucial for your digital marketing, and how you can get started with the basics.

What is keyword research?

Keyword research is all about knowing how your customers think and search for products, services, and content on the Internet. There’s a whole world of possible queries – it’s your job to find out which ones are relevant to your business and your ideal customers.

But it’s not simply identifying the right words and phrases. You also need to be able to analyze the keywords and decide which ones you should target for the best results.

After all, there’s no point in going after a keyword you have no chance of ranking for – it wastes your valuable budget and time.

Remember: keyword research should be the first step in any digital marketing strategy, whether it be SEO, PPC, content creation, or anything else.

Why is keyword research important for SEO?

It’s pretty simple, really.

Only 0.78% of searchers venture past the first page of Google. So if you’re not there? You’re essentially invisible.

In fact, according to Ahrefs, most web pages get no organic traffic from Google. You’re either spending a fortune on PPC, or your business has zero online presence.

Keyword research is also vital for:

Getting an insight into customers’ heads
Generating relevant topics for your blog, social media, and other content
Earning more qualified leads (not just visitors)
Building better brand awareness
And so much more

Basically, it’s the most critical part of your digital marketing strategy. Get this wrong, and you’ll be set up to fail.

Get it right? While you can’t be sure of success (nothing about digital marketing is ever certain), you’ll be on the right track.

How to research keywords

You may have a few keywords in mind that you’d like to rank for.

For example, if you run a cleaning business, you’d love to be right at the top of the page when someone searches “cleaning company Melbourne.” Or, if you’re a mechanic, “mechanic near me”.

(The list could go on.)

But there may be other, less apparent keywords you (and your competitors) haven’t thought of yet. And this is where expert research comes in. By understanding where your customers are coming from, it’s a lot easier to find valuable search terms you didn’t even know were a thing.

Start with general topics.

You know your industry. So what topics are important?

For the Search Marketing Group® for example, we have a few areas we know our customers are interested in. It’s why they come to us, after all! These include:

SEO
PPC
Web design
Social media marketing, etc.

These might be ‘seed keywords’, or keywords that inspire the next step of the process. They also help you group your keywords so you can better use them later (aka keyword themes).

Generate more keywords

Using your themes and seed keywords, generate a whole bunch of keywords – the more, the better!

Start by brainstorming all the possible ways a customer could look for your services. You can also use related searches at the bottom of the results page, your Google Analytics, and keyword research tools (more on that below). Focus on short, 1–2 word terms and longer phrases (long-tail keywords).

Don’t forget to look at what keywords your competitors are ranking for. After all, the best SEO strategies target those underutilized keywords that your bigger competitors miss.

You’ll also want to see what keywords your pages are already ranking for so that you can incorporate them into your content and start to improve your position.

Evaluate potential keywords using keyword research tools

You’ll want to take note of:

Monthly search volume
How competitive the keyword is
What sites are currently ranking for this keyword
Users’ search intent

This will help you decide which keywords you want to focus on – which ones have too much competition or lack enough searchers to invest in.

There are a number of keyword research tools out there. Some are free, some offer a free option, and some are wholly paid. Here are some of the most common.

Free	Paid
Google Keyword Planner Google Search Console Google Trends Soovle KeywordTool.io	Moz Keyword Explorer Semrush (one tool we use for our keyword research) Ahrefs Jaaxy KWFinder

Put your keywords into practice

Once you’ve decided which keywords will be the best for your digital strategy, it’s time to put them to good use!

If you want to find out more about using keywords for SEO, ads, and all the other aspects of your marketing, we’ve got lots of resources on our Blog. You can also reach out and have a chat with our specialists at any time.

Ask these essential questions for keyword research

To make sure all your bases are covered, use the questions below. By focusing on the intent of your customers and how they actually search, you’ll be on your way to a more robust SEO strategy in no time!

What type of terms, products, and services are people actually searching for?
Who is searching for terms? What is your ideal audience?
Where are your customers located? Are you targeting a whole city or country or just certain suburbs?
When are people searching for a specific term? Is there a particular time of the day/week/month/year when people are more likely to search?
Why do people search for a specific term? What answers are they looking for? And what do they expect to find?
How are your customers searching for terms? Are there specific words they use or questions they ask? And do they prefer to use mobile or desktop?

Want to see how the right keywords can transform your business? Get a free consultation with our SEO specialists today! With an 85-day Page 1 Guarantee, you can be sure that you’ll see results in months, not years.

The Beginner’s Guide To Instagram Reels

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6 SEO trends you need to know in 2022

January 10, 2022

Looking to start the year off strong? It’s time to look at your current SEO strategy and see whether it’s up to scratch!

Here are 6 SEO trends you need to be aware of to thrive in 2022.

MUM knows best

Set to be released over the next few years, Google’s Multitask Unified Model (also known as MUM) is anticipated to change how we search.

Up to 1000 times more powerful than Google’s last big update, BERT, MUM is designed to produce the most relevant answers for users. It can look at search results in 75 languages and use images and videos to consider context, intent, and conversational queries.

This makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for and for different methods, such as voice search (more on later).

You can see a full explanation of MUM from Google I/O 2021 below:

While it is unclear exactly how MUM will impact SEO, you can be sure there will be a need to shift your strategy. In particular, you may want to focus more on SEO Sydney and content creation to ensure your site is optimized for users (and, thus, search engines).

We’ll keep you updated on MUM-friendly best practices throughout the release process. Watch this space!

Voice search

As of 2021, over a quarter (26%) of Australians owned an intelligent speaker, double the amount in 2020. Of these Aussies, 88% use their speaker weekly, and 67% use it daily.

These numbers are only expected to rise, and with it, voice search.

To ensure your site is optimized for voice search, you’ll want to focus on more conversational and long-tail keywords that reflect how people speak.

You may also want to tailor your content, creating pages that answer commonly asked questions in your industry or niche. To do this, make a headline that asks a common question, and in the very first paragraph, provide a clear and concise answer that would satisfy a voice searcher. For the rest of the content, include more details and elaborate on your answer for regular searchers and those who want to learn more.

Accessibility

While the notion that a site needs to be mobile-friendly is certainly not new, it is just as vital. By 2025, almost 75% of users will only use their phones to search the internet – if you don’t invest in the mobile version of your site now, you’re saying goodbye to most of your potential customers.

Additionally, Google is still in the process of switching to mobile-first indexing, meaning that the mobile version of your site will soon be the primary version if it isn’t already.

Page speed

Last year, we were introduced to Google’s Core Web Vitals, three metrics used by the search engine to gauge how user-friendly a website is. Chief among them is the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), or how long it takes for a user to see the majority of the content of your website.

Page speed is one of the most critical factors for SEO. In fact, by improving your site speed by a single second, you can increase conversions by 27%!

On the other hand, between 0-9 seconds of load time, conversion rates drop by 2.11% with each additional second.

You can check your page speed using PageSpeed Insights.

Video content

If you’ve been using YouTube to support your marketing efforts (and if you haven’t, why not?), you’re probably familiar with Seek Markup and Clip Markup.

Clip Markup manually identifies key moments from your video, allowing you to nominate a timestamp and label. Seek Markup, on the other hand, allows Google to identify critical moments that will satisfy users’ queries automatically.

This can help your videos stand out from the rest – users know precisely where to find the content they want and are more likely to click through to your video.

In 2022, all videos on Google will be able to utilize Seek and Clip Markup. You can find out more from John Mueller’s announcement below.

Apart from videos hosted on YouTube, short-form content reigns supreme. Whether posting on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any other digital platform, you’ll want to focus on shorter and easily consumable videos up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds long.

With 30% of social media marketers focusing on short-form videos above all other trends in 2022, you can’t afford to ignore this for your business.

Looking for some tips to get started? Check out our video SEO guide.

Long-form content

The more time users spend on your website, the better. This is why, in every area except for video, long-form content is king no matter the year.

In 2021, 43% of digital marketers reported an increase in their content marketing budget, with two-thirds expecting this to increase even more in 2022. Long-form content gives you more opportunities to rank for certain keywords and position yourself as an expert in your niche.

Invest in evergreen content that consistently brings in traffic and revisit some of your old pieces to update them with new statistics and facts.

And that’s it! You’ll need to consider six SEO trends for your digital marketing strategy in 2022. If you’d like to learn more about how to keep on top of the latest trends and create a more effective SEO plan for your business, contact our specialists for a free consultation!

You can also find more information about SEO, social media, web design, and all other aspects of digital marketing on our Blog.

Here’s Why We’re Investing More in SEO, Because of COVID-19

August 20, 2020

With all the uncertainty that COVID-19 has brought into the world of business, it is no wonder that companies are revisiting their marketing strategies.

Considering that the world of marketing — and the world itself — is in constant flux, deciding the best way forward for yourself, your employees, and your business can be challenging.

Companies have been chasing the next big thing in online marketing for years. And every year, without fail, we see posts and articles asking, “Is SEO still worth it?”

Even before the pandemic was in full swing, an article in Forbes detailed that SEO is still an essential part of any business’s online marketing strategy and is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

The truth is that SEO is still one of the best ways for businesses (especially those with a local focus) to bring customers straight to their door. It is a powerful driver of organic search results, which accounts for most website traffic and leads.

And, seeing as only about a third of business owners invest in a solid SEO strategy, you will stand out from your competitors when your potential customers are searching online.

In this post, we’re going to look at the following:

Why SEO matters during the coronavirus pandemic (especially for smaller businesses)
Why you should invest in SEO now to reap the benefits post-COVID-19 and emerge strong

First of all, what is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

You’re probably familiar with SEO, but what does it mean?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy that has been a mainstay of digital marketing since the late 1990s. Over twenty years later, it remains one of the most effective ways for businesses to maintain a digital presence.

SEO is exactly what it says on the tin; it is ensuring that your website is optimized to appear as high as possible in the search results to get in front of your target customer. No one reads past the first page of Google anymore. Therefore, it’s crucial that you actively engage in SEO to get your business ranking in the top 10 positions for keywords that your ideal customer is searching to find you.

Because of the sheer size of the online market — especially now, with so many businesses pivoting and making a mass exodus to e-commerce — SEO is essential to your marketing strategy. You must take SEO seriously to rise above your competitors and be seen amongst all the noise.

Just having a website is not good enough in today’s digital landscape. It’s all about getting that website in front of the right audience that wants to engage in your services.

If done correctly, a website that generates leads day after day, month after month, is one of the most valuable assets a business can have.

Check out some of our clients who invested in SEO and are now enjoying regularly consistent leads despite COVID-19:

Why is SEO so crucial during COVID-19?

While J. Paul Getty’s quote may seem to refer to stocks or real estate, it illustrates a fundamental principle that is the secret to investing successfully and getting ahead of the pack:

Invest in SEO while your competitors are not.

Experts argue that SEO is more important than ever. As some services may be delayed or put on hold due to lockdown/restrictions, now is a perfect time (if you haven’t started already) to swoop in and take competitive keywords while the competition is dropping out.

You see, COVID-19 has shut down many businesses but has opened up a unique, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for forward-thinking business owners.

Keywords that were once a long shot, dominated by heavy competition who’ve been doing SEO for years, are now easy pickings for those playing the long game.

After all, the SEO cost is considerably less compared to a staff salary or office rent. Neither of those things is a prerequisite for engaging in SEO: all you need is a website.

Some businesses may benefit more from SEO right now than others—health-related services, trades business, eCommerce, for instance, and other essentials—but investing in an SEO strategy now will mean that once we emerge on the other side of the pandemic, your business will already have a head start through the gates ahead of your competitors.

During a recession or economic downturn, SEO is the best online marketing strategy compared to Google Ads or Facebook Ads. Marketing costs will soon fly through the roof as more and more businesses start marketing for leads/sales. SEO, on the other hand, is free. Once you rank on the first page, you’re not charged for every visitor visiting your website.

And, if the past is any indicator, consumers will be ready and far more willing to spend in the aftermath of a recession. So you’re investing in SEO services in Sydney now, which means you could sit on the first page as the market starts picking up.

A report published by The Manifest in April of this year looking at the data on the latest SEO strategy trends stated that SEO is one of the best practices businesses can invest in during the pandemic:

Most people ignore Google-sponsored ads — you need to rank organically

Over half of all website traffic comes from organic search results; it’s been noted that up to 80% of people will automatically ignore Google-sponsored ads. Many customers, especially the ever-growing millennial consumer group, distrust paid advertisements.

But if a page has managed to reach the top of the search results without buying the spot? You’re getting one out of every three clicks, with the top three results accounting for approximately 70% of traffic.

Users trust organic rankings more than paid; they see it as a sign of quality, as Google is a source they rely on. 81% of shoppers will search before buying a product or deciding on a service, and 49% of users say they use Google to discover or find a new item or product.

Appealing directly to a customer who is invested in what you’re selling means that the quality of the leads and traffic you get with SEO is far higher; having your page front and center when a customer is considering purchasing may garner that sale.

Organic traffic is related to user intent, which is the heart of the Google algorithm. By investing in SEO, you will be able to increase the amount of organic traffic directed to your page, which in turn directs even more traffic! You have to get that ball rolling.

Compared to other expenses, SEO is your lowest cost for the highest return

One of the main appeals of SEO for smaller businesses — especially now — is the ROI you can get for relatively cheap. SEO gets you 15 times more clicks than PPC advertising, and 70% of people surveyed by Databox reported that SEO was better than PPC in generating sales for their business.

Paying for ads can be an expenditure that is not worth it, as any gains disappear the moment you stop paying; SEO, however, is cumulative. Even if you don’t see results right away, you are setting yourself up for the future.

As mentioned, the cost of ads can increase as more and more businesses try to get online, meaning you might have to sink a lot more money into ads than you get in return.

SEO, on the other hand, is not subject to inflation. Even as we see searches increase with more and more e-commerce, you will only have to invest the same predictable amount, allowing you to grasp your marketing budget better.

With COVID-19, businesses may be experiencing budgetary constraints. SEO is a relatively cheap method of digital marketing that gets long-term rewards, bringing in more clients and more money (especially when things start to return to normal — you will be in the perfect position to reap the rewards).

We keep saying long-term, and it is essential to realize that SEO is not an instant miracle to improve leads and online traffic. It takes time, patience, and skill. SEO is all about gaining the search engine’s trust by creating good content and making a user (and Google) friendly website.

46% of ALL Google searches feature a local intent

Results For A Landscaping Company

? From 0 leads pm to 300+ leads pm

? 200x Growth

Results For A Mechanic

? 50% Increase In Business

Wouldn’t results like this be great for your business? Get in touch and see how we can help!

This is an area where SEO shines. Local SEO is one of the best opportunities for locally-focused businesses during and after COVID-19.

Yes, paid ads can be targeted to customers in specific locations, but this doesn’t always work. For one, the user is less likely to trust an ad they know is paying to be in front of them. (While we all know that we’re constantly being watched, we hate being reminded of it).

And two, as we’ve already established, why pay more to target your clients less effectively when you could be utilizing Google’s algorithm to work for you?

Google is smart — more intelligent than all of us, probably. It knows that you want to see the results that are the most relevant for you, so it tailors the results that it shows you to your geographic location. Optimizing your website content for specific areas where you know that your potential customers are clustered and more likely to come from will rank highly in the local search results for your specific niche.

This is a powerful tool that local businesses of any size can utilize to their advantage. It was found that 72% of customers who did a local search visited the store; while this may not be possible during COVID-19, it still indicates the likelihood of conversion.

Especially considering the current push to support local businesses in one’s immediate vicinity (and the more realistic travel restraints that prevent us from patronizing other, further companies), SEO is essential during the pandemic.

And buying local is a sentiment that existed before the pandemic and is likely to remain long after the last COVID-19 case is diagnosed, so take advantage!

It’s what the big businesses are doing.

When in doubt, you should look at the giants in the field to see what kinds of business practices are letting them succeed. And interestingly, what has been working for some of Australia’s biggest brands is investing in SEO during COVID-19.

Just look at Bunnings, Australia’s most trusted brand as of May 2020. Coincidently, it was also around this time that the company started to amp up its SEO efforts.

As we’ve said before, organic rankings build trust. Particularly in today’s climate, where a lot of misinformation and fear is flying around, it is important that we can trust the brands that we buy from.

This is a major factor in whether a client will buy from your business; according to a survey conducted by Edelman, brand trust is one of the most important considerations for a person when considering a purchase.

Instead of simply coasting on its reputation, Bunnings is actively increasing its organic search rankings to reach its customers online. This helps them to stand out in the eCommerce market, where they are not as dominant, and keep their image as a trustworthy source of DIY, garden, and home products.

While they could certainly afford to pay for the top spot and advertise to prospective clients, Bunning’s marketing team understands the value of well-implemented SEO and the priceless benefits it can bring to a brand.

Another staple of the Australian market, Kmart, has been working on its own SEO tactics, particularly starting in July. This was when the second wave of COVID-19 really started to take hold of the eastern states, again driving consumers online.

Rather than relying on its reputation to carry over from its brick-and-mortar stores to online purchases, Kmart took a proactive approach and doubled down on its SEO, meaning that it would be easier for customers to find them amongst all the other eCommerce options.

Many of the products sold by both of these brands can be found elsewhere online, as they are just a carrier. Much of their appeal is in the brick-and-mortar store, but without that?

These two brands made the smart move to capitalize on their reputation and trust, ensuring that they would be among the top results for the products their clients are searching for through the smart use of SEO. This has enabled them to not only survive but thrive during COVID-19 and beyond, as the eCommerce market will only get bigger and bigger.

“Okay, so I need SEO. What’s the next step?”

The best time to get started with SEO was months ago. The next best time is today.

If you want to come out on the other side of COVID-19, ready to tackle the future head-on, we can help. Check out our free SEO audit and see what you can be doing differently.

Why Keywords Are Vital For Your SEO Campaign

January 20, 2020

While keywords aren’t the only aspect you need for effective search engine optimization, they are essential.

Keywords are the foundation of your campaign and make all the difference in your results. This reason is why keyword research is an important stage of your SEO strategy.

You might think your business-related keywords are apparent, but using online tools to find exactly what people are searching for within your niche will help immensely. Not to mention, keywords are competitive, so you’ll want to focus on the most beneficial words for your business. By doing this, you’re preparing for a much better choice of keywords. This research will influence your website traffic well into the future, so preparing these foundations at the beginning is crucial.

Once you’ve found the right keywords, your next step is working them into your website’s metadata. Metadata contains descriptions of the site’s contents and keywords linked to the content. The use of strategized metadata on web pages is crucial because they have keywords related to your content, which is critical for SEO purposes.

Twitter lists make it easier to filter the content on your social media account. You can easily ignore content and people you’re not interested in following, and you can navigate your way toward information and people you want to engage with. These lists can save you lots of time on unnecessary searches.

If you want to find your influencers, they are listed. If you are looking for social fun, simply tune in to your friends’ lists. If you want to promote a new product, then all of your prospective customers are on your easy-to-access list.

Once you’ve worked your keywords into your site’s metadata, your next step is to add plenty of high-quality webpage content based on your selected keywords.

You should also track the website’s performance and use tools to discover which keywords are working.

It’s possible to see what people searched for when they found your website, so using this information is most beneficial. You can then change or add new keywords as your SEO campaign develops.

Imagine you own an electrical shop in Melbourne, for example, and you think the keywords’ electrical shop Melbourne’ and ‘light fittings Melbourne’ might be helpful. If you check an online tool and discover that many more people are typing ‘lights Melbourne,’ this is a highly significant difference.

Furthermore, you might discover from the back of your website that people are finding your site with unexpected search terms. This means you can focus on these keywords in your site’s content and further strengthen your SEO status.

The keyword process is an ongoing one and should be natural organic growth. This process also works well for a business’s image, as people like to see this kind of growth. The keywords are quietly working away in the background of your website’s success and remain an essential part of your overall SEO campaign.

Super Keywords and How To Find The One Which Works For You

When it comes to search engine ranking, the usage of proper keywords is an inescapable aspect. So, you need to know the keywords which work with your industry and how to find them.

The importance of keywords for a business

Keywords are not solely about SEO. They can boost your marketing campaign too. The keywords you choose show the uniqueness of your products.

For instance, if you own a graphic designing company in Melbourne, Australia, think about your service’s specialty.
If it’s affordability, your keyword should portray that correctly; “affordable graphic designers Melbourne” is a sample keyword.

So, this keyword itself links your business and visitors who are searching for affordable graphic designers in Melbourne.

How to find the correct keywords for your business

Use ‘key phrases’ instead of ‘keywords

Although we’re used to saying keywords, you must use key phrases — otherwise known as long-tail keywords.

Suppose you sell pet food in Melbourne, Australia.

How will you get potential buyers to find you? What is the single word you’re going to use? Words ‘pet’ or ‘food’ will not work alone.

Each word is too broad.

But, how about a phrase like “best pet food Melbourne”?

Such a key phrase contains the specialty of the product you sell and the geographical location. This phrase narrows down the results and exposes your website to those who live in Melbourne and are interested in buying top-quality pet food.

Observe what your competitors do.

TIf you sell a product or service with high demand, you will have competition in the industry. This likely means your competitors are already using prominent keywords to get better traffic. Study the aspects like meta tags, page titles, and type of content they use. So you can plan your campaign accordingly.

Use Google Trends

Google Trends is an excellent online tool that allows you to find highly essential keywords related to your niche.

This website is a user-friendly tool, and you can find a large variety of keywords and compare them for effectiveness. Such an approach allows you to pick the most effective keyword of all and maximize the efficiency of your campaign.

Regardless of the strategy you use to find keywords, it’s essential to integrate them wisely with your website. This integration is when effective content creation comes to play. Clever usage of keywords within the content on your site makes your campaign successful.

This strategy is why most business websites incorporate a blog page. So you have several individual pages on which you’re able to include keywords without having your essential ones with too many words. Because if you’re like most people when first arriving on a website, you want the necessary information, fast. No one wants to get bombarded with thousands of words on a page.

Meta Keywords and SEO, How They Work Together

It’s important to know you can read plenty of conflicting information when it comes to what works in search engine optimization or SEO.

These conflicts are because the internet constantly changes and evolves, and different ideas and patterns emerge. If you set up a website and decide meta keywords are unimportant, or you have a fixed idea of SEO based on something you’ve read, you won’t have much chance of success.

Your Twitter profile needs a lot of links. You should link your profile anywhere with strong keywords in the anchor text. You can also encourage others to link to your Twitter profile to improve the authority it receives from search engines.

The correct implementation of meta keywords within your SEO Perth is essential, along with many other aspects.

If you’re seriously developing and building an SEO strategy that works, you want to take advantage of every possible positive impact.

For example, you might read ‘Google doesn’t use meta keywords,’ and imagine using them is pointless. However, there are plenty of other reasons you should keep utilizing every strategy you can.

Don’t forget other search engines and social media searches look for meta keywords. With a focused SEO strategy, you want to leave no stone unturned.

If you’ve discovered, for example, your chain of chocolate stores in Melbourne is not ranking highly for a ‘chocolate in Melbourne’ search, then you’ll focus on inserting this search term in as many relevant places as you can. This will be worked into the content of your website, but also behind the scenes in the meta tags. Together this strategy will work with off-site search engine optimization, including listings in local directories that include the exact search term and social media pages.

All these factors influence internet searches, and it’s harmful not to implement them.

Keep in mind when it comes to building successful websites, as with building a successful business, everything matters.

And finally.

What are your keyword questions? Please post in the comments below and let us help you out. Or share any other keyword implementation strategies which work for your business.

Oh, and if you like this post, don’t forget to share it with your friends and tell us which point from above you found most beneficial for your business.

What is Better for Your Online Presence – SEO or Adwords?

June 25, 2018

Any business, website, or platform knows the importance of an online presence. If you’re one of the many looking to increase this presence, you might wonder whether SEO or Adwords is the best option.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) allows you to increase your organic traffic and organic rankings in Google and other Search Engines. In contrast, Google Adwords allows you to buy this traffic instead of getting it for free.

Below, we’ll tell you about both tools and which is better.

Paid Ads

Let’s start with Google Ads, which you might have heard of as Pay Per Click. The great thing about this tool is that you can be exposed to many people relatively quickly. All you have to do is create your ads and have them running to get a return on your investment.

Another benefit of using Adwords is that you can gather a large amount of data while your ad is running. Using Google’s Ads portal and Google Analytics, you can see how your ad is performing and what people are searching for when they find your ad.

One of the only real downsides of this tool is that you have to pay for every single click, and if you’re in a competitive field with competitive keywords, it can cost you big bucks per click.

Therefore it is essential to find an experienced Google Ads partner to run your campaign so you get a great return on investment; otherwise, you can lose a lot of money very quickly.

Why SEO

The main advantage of SEO is that the traffic from Search Engines to your website is accessible. Search Engine Optimisation can be the best investment for your business if you find a talented company that can understand your business and knows what they are doing.

SEO is complicated, and you need a team to pull it off. You need SEO Strategies, a skilled content writer, a web developer, and a link builder to work together towards a common goal for your business.

The benefits of SEO are long known, and businesses that have done it right enjoy the benefits of free traffic and getting a fantastic return on investment from Search Engines like Google. If you want to take advantage of SEO Perth, you should release content onto different parts of the internet; that means you should create content across many other platforms and connect it back to your main website.

With Adwords, there’s limited space regarding the number of ads you can create; but you don’t have these limitations with SEO. Since it uses targeted search terms, you can be easily found on Google by anyone who’s looking for the content you’re providing.

The downfall of using SEO is that you have to work hard and long before you see results. Once you do, though, it’ll be like a snowball effect.

While you can’t see exactly how well you’re doing with SEO like the way you can with Adwords, if you have a better understanding of SEO, you’ll be able to increase the chances of increasing your traffic and ranking on Google.

Conclusion

If you’re one of the many who want to improve their online presence, you should consider whether you want to invest in Google Adwords or SEO. Overall, Adwords might be better for people looking for short-term solutions; however, SEO is best for those who don’t want to pay for their advertising and are comfortable with seeing their ranking improve slowly in Google.

If you want to find out more information about Google Adwords, otherwise known as Pay per Click, or about SEO Melbourne, then read our above guide.

Should Google+ Still Be a Part of Your Marketing Strategy?

June 11, 2018

A couple of years ago, Google+ was the social platform that every brand and business was trying to get on. Building circles and social profiles on the platform was an essential aspect of marketing strategy, and every effort was geared towards making the most out of the platform.

That was until Facebook and Twitter made additions to their platforms which led to massive migrations. The monstrous numbers of users on Facebook and Twitter have made them the social platforms of preference and most if not all brands are scampering to optimize their marketing strategies for these platforms.

The big question since the advent of Facebook and Twitter has remained to be if it is worth the effort to incorporate Google+ in your marketing strategy and every indication shows that you should be just as vigorous on Google+ as you are on Facebook and Twitter marketing. Here’s why;

Google+ in Google

No matter how you look at it, Google+ is still a large part of Google, and your presence on the platform will significantly influence your rankings on Google. Your Google+ posts are integrated into search results. For instance, when logged in to Google, you can see your Google+ profile on the far right, and a the same time, you can also view posts from people you follow. Simply put, even with what Google+ lacks, your presence and activity on the social media platform will profoundly influence your SERPs on Google.

Google Collections Feature

One of the recent changes to Google+ allows you to create a page within a page and customize it with a header image and name. You can use this page to discuss and post about specific topics under one roof. For a business, this is a great way to organize your content and ensure that your audience only accesses what they need without going through all the posts.

The private collection feature allows you to share posts in that collection which is easier to access, and you can create multiple private collections. For content marketing strategy, this can be a helpful feature to have.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is still essential to Google+ and will also be important for your brand. The application allows you to record and host webinars and share them on your YouTube channel. The Google Hangouts feature is going to be especially critical if webinars are a part of your content strategy.

You can invite guests and influencers for guest appearances that can help you reach new audiences and cement your authority in the industry. You can then repurpose the content to maximize effectiveness and improve your marketing strategy.

Website Traffic

One of the most significant strengths of Google+ is that the posts show up in search results. This is a great way to drive and build organic traffic to your website. If you include links in your posts, Google+ will redirect the traffic to your website. This makes Google+ an essential social network tool and, more importantly, a great tool to drive and boost your organic authority.

Google Local Reviews

Another helpful feature of Google+ is the Google+ local pages. It is a crucial tool for local businesses because the pages are integrated into Google’s search listings, mobile apps, and maps. This dramatically improves traffic to your site and visibility and helps in conversions.

If you thought it was time to ditch Google +, you might want to rethink your marketing strategy. It is still a vital social media and marketing tool with many features that are invaluable to any business.

AI is Changing the SEO Game – Should You Be Wary?

September 27, 2017

Artificial intelligence is an inevitable concept. As technology rapidly evolves, we are becoming more and more reliant on computer-spawned innovation as a convenient and efficient alternative to human labor.

“AI” is a blanket term that actually covers many types of technology, from self-driving cars to personal assistants like Alexa to online customer support systems. And now, the topic is on the lips of every person working in Internet-based fields, as AI is changing the world of Search Engine Optimisation and digital marketing as we know it.

Artificial Intelligence is a double-edged sword, as the risk of wholly automated content could make our jobs irrelevant. But as threatening as it may seem, it can also be very beneficial for digital marketers.

Here are a few ways that AI technology can help boost your SEO strategy:

It makes search engines more “human.” As we’ve previously noted, searches are now utilizing Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to search for content rather than keywords, which allows web searches to match the user’s intent.
As a result, this makes for better content that reads and flows more naturally. Without keywords stuffed at every turn, you can write in a more organic tone while still trusting that search engines will pick up what you’re putting down.
AI provides more reliable predictive analytics. This gives marketers a better idea about which audiences will likely become customers or which customers will become repeat customers based on past information. It helps narrow our target demographics and look at our campaign history to speculate future leads.
If anything, AI makes our jobs more critical (and our campaigns more successful) because we now have an opportunity to appeal to people on the computer, NOT the computers themselves. If searches are becoming humanized and more intelligent, our likelihood of reaching the right audience improves.

With that in mind, quite a bit of strategy is still required when crafting digital content in AI.

Here are some considerations when developing your web presence and SEO tactics:

Make sure to answer questions better than competitors. Search results are your chance to stand out from your competition, but only if you provide the information that users are searching for. So be sure your content answers the right questions in the right (read: easily understandable and straightforward) way.
Put more focus on visual content. The juxtaposition of quality graphics and text fares well in the current system of search engine rankings. Articles with images and videos will be your friend when you try to get your content seen amongst all the other competing material.
Get back to basics. What attracts people? How would you find your voice if you were creating content for a magazine (or some other platform with no need for SEO as we use it)? What tone would you embrace, and what content would you highlight? When crafting content filtered by knowledgeable and “human-like” systems, these questions are highly relevant.
Avoid black hat tactics like the plague. Using such “unethical” methods is inadvisable, but AI integration makes the process even more demanding (and therefore less appealing). As search engine algorithms improve, they will also become more adept at understanding and stopping black hat methods.

Until machines start creating all content independently and AI spawns its search algorithms, we’ll continue to tell ourselves that AI’s place within seo company melbourne is positive.

So don’t be scared just yet– embrace the power of Artificial Intelligence if you want to boost your web strategy. And for even more help, contact Search Marketing Group® today!

Voice Search is changing SEO. Here’s Why

February 17, 2016

For those who checked out our “What does 2016 have in store for SEO?” blog post, we touched on the growing influence of voice searches. The growing use of Siri and Google Now means that people, more than ever, are conducting searches with their mouths rather than their fingertips.

What are voice searches?
Apple’s Siri and Android’s Google Now are the prime leaders in the new age of voice searches. These audio commands are designed to make things easier for clients with straight and effective search results. You ask the question that you want and get the response and search results right after.

The popularity of these audio commands has forced search engines to alter the way that commands are interpreted. There is an ongoing process in which this is happening, and search engines are constantly evolving to the changes. This has forced businesses to think along the same lines.

Voice searches will shape the future of SEO Melbourne techniques and will put pressure on businesses and marketers to alter their search engine marketing approach. But how to stay on top of it all? Here’s how:

Natural language will set the groundwork.
The critical difference between typing a search as opposed to voicing a search is the nature of the language used. In comparison, you would merely type “coffee Melbourne city,” you would ask: “Where to go for coffee in Melbourne?”. Voice searches do not rely on classic keywords, and it is here that marketers and business owners have to alter their approach to how customers find them. Business owners have to think about what kind of questions and simple words will be asked and how their site has to respond to them.

Questions, not words, will lead the search.
The focus here will be on integrating “who, what, where, why, and how” into marketing campaigns. Questions are natural when it comes to voice searches, and it is crucial that business owners now focus on bringing up questions in their searches as opposed to merely just keywords. A marketing campaign involving “who, what, where, why, and how” will see a higher return in search results and visitors.

Content in a natural voice.
Voice searches also influence website content. Formal and focused content will not be exposed as vibrantly as conversational content. Business owners and marketers must make sure their content and brand sound more like “everyday” language instead of more formal voices. Picture the language your customers will use and build your content from there.

Don’t worry. There is still time.
Do not fear that you are behind the eight-ball. Voice searches are on the rise, but you still have time to ensure that your online marketing can make the alterations it needs.

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