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5 Essential Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

In the past, if your storefront got broken into, your business would be in trouble. Nowadays, if your online presence isn't up to par and doesn't attract customers, you are in bigger trouble.

That's why effective digital marketing strategies are so crucial for business success. This is because it can help small businesses reach their target audience, build brand awareness, and drive growth.

However, with the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, small businesses need to stay updated on the latest trends and tactics. In this article, we'll discuss five essential digital marketing strategies that can significantly benefit small businesses.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization, commonly known as SEO, is the cornerstone of any successful digital marketing strategy. This involves optimizing your website and online content to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant keywords.

By optimizing your website for search engines, your small business can appear in the top search results. This increases visibility to potential customers.

SEO can also drive organic (non-paid) traffic to your website. This means you don't have to spend money on advertising to attract visitors.

To implement effective SEO for your small business:

• Conduct solid keyword research
• Optimize your website's on-page elements
• Create high-quality, valuable content
• Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites
• Regularly monitor and analyze your SEO efforts (Google Analytics)
• Post regularly on your website's blog
• Add Google reviews to your website (brings in regular fresh content)
• Don't forget to tap into local or geographical SEO as well

2. Content Marketing

Content marketing is a powerful small business marketing strategy that involves creating and distributing valuable and relevant content to attract and engage your target audience.

Content can take various forms, including blog posts, videos, infographics, ebooks, and more.

Consistently creating and sharing valuable content positions your business as an authority in your industry or niche. High-quality content that addresses the pain points and questions of your audience can help build trust and credibility.

Engaging content can keep your audience interested, encouraging them to explore your products and services further.

To excel in content marketing:

• Understand your target audience's needs and preferences
• Create content that resonates with your market
• Develop a content calendar so you can post consistently
• Promote your content through various channels
• Measure the performance of your content using various metrics
• Use influencers to get to a wider audience
• Ensure your website is mobile-friendly

3. Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a valuable tool for small businesses to connect with their audience, increase brand awareness, and drive engagement. With various platforms available, it's crucial to select the ones that align with your target audience and business goals.

Don't overwhelm your marketing staff by making them post on every new and snazzy social media platform. Choose a maximum of two or three and focus on them.

Active social media profiles help your brand remain visible to your audience and potential customers. Social media platforms offer opportunities for direct interaction with your audience, enabling you to build relationships and receive feedback.

Many social media platforms offer advertising options that allow you to target specific demographics, increasing the reach of your marketing campaigns.

To succeed in social media marketing:

• Identify the platforms where your target audience spends time
• Create a content plan
• Include a mix of promotional and engaging content
• Use social media analytics to track the performance of your posts
• Engage with your audience by responding to comments
• Consider using paid advertising to boost your social media reach
• Do giveaways or draws to increase your followership
• Use humor as an effective tool to get subscribers clicking and following
• Don't overwhelm your subscribers by posting too often

4. Email Marketing

Email marketing remains a highly effective digital marketing strategy, especially for small businesses looking to nurture leads and retain customers.

This involves sending targeted emails to your subscribers to promote products or services, build relationships, and drive conversions.

Email marketing allows you to communicate directly with your audience, making it an excellent tool for personalized messages and offers.

Compared to many other marketing channels, email marketing is cost-effective and offers a high return on investment (ROI). Email sequences can be designed to nurture leads through various stages of the sales funnel, helping convert prospects into customers.

To excel in email marketing:

• Build and segment your email list
• Send targeted and relevant content
• Create compelling and engaging email campaigns
• A/B test different elements of your emails
• Monitor email metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and more
• Make sure to write a compelling subject line
• Keep it short and peppy
• Don't spam your email subscribers (and make it easy to unsubscribe)

5. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)

Pay-per-click advertising, often referred to as PPC, is a digital marketing strategy where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. PPC campaigns are commonly run on search engines like Google or social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

PPC can generate quick results and drive traffic to your website or landing pages almost instantly. It allows you to target specific demographics, keywords, and geographic locations, ensuring your ads reach the right audience.

You have control over your PPC budget, making it suitable for small businesses with limited marketing funds.

To succeed in PPC advertising:

• Conduct thorough keyword research
• Identify relevant keywords for your business
• Create compelling ad copy that encourages clicks and conversions
• Set a clear budget and monitor your campaigns regularly
• Use conversion tracking to measure the ROI of your PPC campaigns

Take Advantage of Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

It's hard enough as a small business owner to keep your head above water. You are wearing many hats and juggling many balls.

But the five digital marketing strategies mentioned above should ensure that you stay top of mind for your customers, increasing sales and revenue for your business.

Of course, this doesn't mean you have to do it all yourself. Optic Marketing Group serves the small business market, particularly HVAC, Lawn Care, and Plumbing Contractors.

Get in touch with us to learn more digital marketing tips or to get help with your digital marketing campaigns.

by Lilliam

How Do You Find PPC Competitors?

Are you tired of throwing money at your PPC campaigns without seeing the returns you anticipated? The problem might not be your strategy; it's the lack of insight into what your competitors are doing right.

Welcome to the world of PPC competitor analysis; a systematic approach that can turn the tables in your favor. This guide will equip you with the knowledge and tools to not only identify your key competitors but also dissect their paid advertising tactics. Imagine understanding your competitors' strategies so well that you can not only match them but exceed them.

Read on to discover a blueprint for unlocking your competitors' secrets and optimizing your PPC campaigns for ultimate success.

Understanding the Basics of PPC Competitor Analysis

PPC competitor analysis is more than just a buzzword; it's a systematic approach to understanding your rivals in the paid advertising landscape.

Picture this: a chess game where you not only anticipate your moves but can predict your opponent's as well. This kind of knowledge is powerful. It helps you plan, adapt, and, most importantly, make informed decisions that drive success.

Competitor analysis for PPC is the compass you didn't know you needed. It helps you find out who you're up against and what they're doing to capture attention and clicks.

Are they using eye-catching headlines? What kind of offers are they promoting to reel in customers?

This information isn't just trivia. It feeds into your strategy and enables you to tweak or overhaul your paid advertising efforts based on real, actionable data.

Why does this matter? Because the digital advertising arena is not a forgiving space. Mistakes cost money, and missed opportunities can have long-term ramifications.

How to Identify Your PPC Competitors

So how do you figure out who your actual competitors are in the realm of pay-per-click advertising? It's not always as straightforward as identifying companies that offer similar services or products. Sometimes, your PPC competitors are businesses targeting the same audience, even if their products or services differ from yours.

Firstly, let's talk about the tools that can help you in this quest. SpyFu, SEMrush, and Ahrefs are all solid choices.

These platforms allow you to enter keywords related to your business to reveal who else is bidding on them. That gives you a shortlist of competitors right off the bat.

Another approach involves a bit of manual labor but pays off. Simply Google the keywords you are interested in and see who shows up in the ads.

Are these companies your traditional competitors, or are they new faces in the advertising space? Take note and dig deeper to learn what kinds of PPC campaigns they're running.

Now, you've got your list. What comes next is a deep dive into what these competitors are doing: their ad copy, the keywords they're bidding on, and even the landing pages they link to. All of these elements offer clues on how to refine your own PPC strategy.

Both of these steps (using specialized tools and manual searching) offer valuable insights. The real magic happens when you combine them to create a fuller picture of the competitive landscape. This isn't just data collection; this is your first step in turning the tide in your favor.

Key Metrics to Evaluate in PPC Competitor Analysis

Once you know who your competitors are, the next step is to understand what makes their PPC campaign tick. There are a handful of metrics that can really show you how well your competitors are doing. Let's talk about some of the key numbers you should be looking at.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

This tells you how often people click on an ad after seeing it. A high CTR often means the ad is compelling and well-targeted.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

This shows you how much a competitor is willing to pay for a single click. It gives you an idea of how valuable a particular keyword is in your industry.

Quality Score

Search engines rate the quality and relevance of both your keywords and PPC ads. A high-quality score can lead to lower costs and better ad positions.

Ad Position

This shows where an ad appears on the search engine results page. The top position isn't always the best. Sometimes, ads in lower positions get more clicks because they appear more organic.

Conversion Rate

This shows how many clicks on an ad result in a conversion, like a sale or a sign-up. A high conversion rate usually indicates a well-designed landing page and a compelling offer.

Strategies to Outperform Your Competitors

Okay, so you've got all this info about your competitors. What do you do with it? Don't just let it gather dust; use it to sharpen your own strategies.

Improve Your Ad Copy

Are your competitors using powerful calls to action? Maybe they're offering discounts or special deals. Take note and think about how you can craft more persuasive ads.

Refine Your Keywords

You've seen which keywords your competitors are bidding on. Now refine your own list. Don't just go for the high-traffic keywords; sometimes, the less obvious keywords can deliver a big impact.

Adjust Your Bidding Strategy

Knowing the CPC your competitors are willing to pay can help you decide how much you should bid. You don't have to outbid them all the time. Sometimes, a slightly lower bid with a higher quality score can get you a better position.

Optimize Landing Pages

High conversion rates often mean the landing page is doing its job. Look at your competitors' landing pages for inspiration. What are they doing that you're not?

A/B Testing

Don't just set and forget your PPC campaigns. Try out different versions of ad copy, keywords, and landing pages. See what works best and refine your strategies accordingly.

The Competitive Edge You've Been Searching For

You've traversed the maze of PPC competitor analysis and emerged with actionable insights. This isn't just data; it's your roadmap to more effective and efficient paid advertising campaigns.

Why go it alone when you can have experts at your side? At Optic Marketing Group, we excel at formulating cross-channel marketing strategies tailored to your unique needs. Contact us to discuss how we can amplify your PPC campaigns and take your business to the next level.

by Lilliam

How and Why You Should Use Google Ads for Video

It's estimated that YouTube's user base recently reached an impressive 2.527 billion as of this April. When you consider the widespread nature of content on YouTube, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise.

After all, people use the platform for everything from entertainment to education. The niche segmentation that's at the heart of YouTube also makes it a valuable marketing tool for using Google Ads.

If you've been on the fence about using Google Ads for video for your home service company, you're in the right place.

Why Should You Use Google Ads for Video?

There are three main reasons why you should consider using Google Ads for video platforms like YouTube. The first reason is the sheer amount of reach. As we mentioned at the start of the article, YouTube has over two billion monthly users.

And, thanks to the advanced targeting features provided by Google Ads, it's much easier to reach your specific target market. Remember that reaching your target audience is one of the main goals in this modern search landscape.

Next, YouTube video ads provide a lot more engagement for your viewer base. Because the format allows for more creativity and expression with how you present your message this can lead to higher retention rates amongst the people who watch them.

Lastly, there's the brand awareness factor. Indeed, the majority of viewers might not engage with your ad. However, even if they don't make a purchase, they're still likely to remember your company or service after watching it.

This can prime a potential customer for when they're ready to make a purchase or contact a service further down the sales pipeline.

What Are the Different Ads for YouTube?

There are three main types of ads on YouTube. The first one is in-stream ads that play either before, during, or after a video. These options can be either skippable or non-skippable depending on your budget or preferences.

The second option is in-search ads. With these ads, your sponsored video will be at the top of search results for relevant keywords.

If someone clicks on the video ad, it will charge you for it. The last option is in-display ads, which appear along the sidebar when you search for a video.

How Do You Connect Your Ads to Video?

Once you've decided on the type of ad you want, you will need to connect it from Google to YouTube. The first step to doing this is creating a Google Ads account if you haven't already.

When you're on the set-up option, you'll see a choice to link your Google Ads account to your YouTube account. Go ahead and do this. Now, on Google Ads, click on the Ads panel.

You should see a campaign option. Select this, then click 'add campaign', then choose the video option. From here you'll have to choose a few options. The first is whether you want your video for brand awareness or brand consideration.

Once you've given your campaign a title and daily spending limit, you'll also need to decide on things like:

• The start and end date
• The languages and countries you want it in
• The type of videos it will appear in
• Your bidding strategy for the ad
• Schedule of appearance

During this time, you'll also target your audience according to their demographic. Under the people tab, you can decide who will see your ad based on things like age, location, interests, income, shopping habits, and more.

Once this is done, your ad will begin to run. During this time you can monitor its progress and performance.

How to Create Effective Video Ads

One of the most important aspects of making an effective video ad is storytelling. Stories are remembered up to twenty-two times more than facts.

So if you can effectively tell the story of your company or service, you have a much greater chance of brand retention.

Don't be afraid to take chances and get creative too. Remember people are likely to skip or tune out your ad. So if you can do anything to keep their attention, it's a success. Lastly, make sure you keep it short and sweet.

How a Digital Marketing Company Can Help You

One of the best parts of Google Ads is the fact that you can target such specific audience demographics. This allows you to craft a campaign that can specifically fit your needs and goals.

However, if you don't know who your target audience is, or you're just targeting as large a group as possible, it's kind of like shooting in the dark. You might hit what you're aiming for, but you're going to waste a lot of time and resources in the process.

A digital marketing company can help you decide which direction to point your marketing efforts with promotional tools. Then, they can help you produce and place ads that best fit these needs.

While it might represent an initial cost, you get a much higher ROI when you hire an expert since you're not wasting your marketing on people who don't care about it.

It's also important to note that ads for YouTube aren't the only type of content that can help you.

There are a variety of other types of video content that can be helpful for your business, even if you're a plumbing small business. A good digital marketing company will help you decide which types of formats you want to invest in.

Need Assistance Using Google Ads for Video? Contact Optic Marketing Group

We hope this guide helped you learn more about how and why you should be using Google Ads for videos. Here at Optic Marketing Group, we know how busy home service companies are.

HVAC, lawn care, and plumbing companies rely on daily business, which doesn't leave much time to learn the ins and outs of Google Ads for YouTube.

That's why our expertise makes it easy to benefit from this marketing platform without wasting your time or money. So if you want to learn more about how we can help you with all your marketing needs, contact us today.

by Lilliam

Content Promotion: How to Balance Organic Results With Paid Ads

According to the World Economic Forum, there are roughly five billion searches made each day. There's no denying that there are ample numbers of searchers for the marketing content that companies put out.

So why can it feel so hard to reach them sometimes? Often the mistake many businesses make is relying too hard on either organic promotion or paid ads for promotions.

So what's the secret? The answer lies in a careful balance between organic results and paid ads. This is the key to maintaining a good content marketing ROI.

Examples of Organic Content Promotion

Organic content promotion refers to anything that increases the visibility and engagement of content without the use of paid advertising. There are many different types out there, but you can break the most popular types down into three categories.

The first involves the use of SEO. When you use SEO to optimize your content, it's much more likely to appear in search engine results for any relevant keywords.

However, you will need to include relevant keywords and be an authoritative source to begin ranking highly with these types of organic results. If you want to use SEO, make sure you're using these techniques to get the most out of any campaign.

The second category is social media. Social media is great for content promotion because it allows you to post articles, guides, and posts directly in front of an audience that wants to read about your business.

If the content is engaging enough, it even has the potential to be shared by people which further extends your organic reach. Lastly, there's influencer marketing. This happens organically when an influencer willingly posts and shares your product or services.

Examples of Paid Ads With Content Promotion

Ad promotion involves the use of paid advertisements to reach a wider audience. The most common area to see this applied to in content promotion is through Google Ads.

When you search a relevant keyword on Google, you'll typically see the first two to three results are sponsored links. That means that someone paid to have their relevant content appear at the top of the search rankings.

With this type of ad, you'll pay-per-click. That means that the more people who engage with the sponsored content, the more you'll pay for it. Google Ads is perhaps the most cost-effective way of driving engagement for a specific article or video.

The other main type of paid ad for content promotion is social media ads. With this option you can pay to have your Facebook, Instagram, or X content appear on people's feeds.

While this will be labeled as a sponsored post, it's still a fantastic way to get your content in front of people's eyes. And, like Google Ads, it comes with a lot of demographic and keyword options to reach a relevant target audience.

How Do You Balance These Areas?

So marketers will tell you that one form of content promotion is better than the other. However, the reality is that both organic and paid ads have a place in most digital marketing campaigns.

The challenge is finding the right balance between them. In this section, we'll go over some of the ways you can find this balance.

1. Set Your Goals

Without a clear idea of what you're trying to achieve, your content promotion is going to be directionless. So ask yourself some questions to set your marketing goals.

Do you want to improve your business's brand awareness? Or do you want to drive traffic to a specific piece of content? Once you have clear goals you'll be able to get a better idea of whether more organic or paid promotion is right for you.

2. Use Organic Content Promotion for Credibility

The role of trust in business shouldn't be underestimated. If a business can establish its credibility as an expert in the field, then audiences are going to be much more susceptible to its products and services. Organic content is vital for building this type of trust and credibility.

3. Use Paid Ads for Conversions

Sadly, when it comes to marketing it takes money to make money. Nowhere is this more apparent than with paid content promotion. Compared to organic promotion, paid promotion drives conversion much more quickly. It's also great if you want a boost of traffic quickly.

4. Track Your Results and Optimize

It's not likely you'll find the balance right away. So make sure you track the progress of any organic and paid ad campaigns. Find out what's working and what's not, then adjust the balance accordingly.

How a Digital Marketing Company Can Help You Maximize Content Promotion

Creating valuable content is the key to unlocking your digital media success in this day and age. However, without effective promotion, your content is almost sure to get lost in the sea of the internet.

As we mentioned, finding the sweet spot between organic and paid promotion is the key to optimizing the ROI of content marketing. However, as you can tell from the last section, finding that balance can involve a lot of trial and error.

When you hire a digital marketing agency you get access to expertise that can help you find this balance much more quickly.

Since time is money when it comes to marketing, this can help you see an ROI sooner. More importantly, it frees up your time to focus on running your small home service company.

Ready for the Content Marketing ROI You Deserve? Contact Optic Marketing Group

We hope this guide helped you learn how balancing organic results with paid ads can lead to the highest content marketing ROI. The problem is that the balance varies for each business.

And finding it can require both a lot of expertise and trial and error. When you partner with Optic Marketing Group, you're getting a company with multiple tried and true digital marketing strategies.

We work with you to find the specific balance between paid and organic content that's right for your business. So, if you're ready to get the ROI that you deserve, contact us today.

by Lilliam

5 Reasons for Hiring Local SEO Services: An Overview

By the year 2030, the SEO market is expected to reach a staggering $234.8 billion in value. Now, when most people think of SEO for a business, they tend to think of traditional SEO that works by ranking nationally on search engines.

However, one of the more underrated areas of this form of digital marketing is local SEO. Local SEO can be particularly cost-effective for small businesses looking to connect with customers in their immediate area.

Not convinced? In this guide, we'll break down five reasons why you should use local SEO services for your next marketing campaign.

How Do Local SEO Services Differ From Traditional Services

Before we learn about some of the reasons you should consider local SEO, it's vital to first understand how this differs from traditional SEO. Traditional SEO uses a variety of strategies to ensure that you rank highly for relevant keywords regardless of the location parameters.

It does this using strategies like link building, on-page SEO, keyword placement, and on-page optimization for blogs. If done correctly, it ensures that your website and content will be one of the first things people see.

While a local SEO service uses a lot of the same strategies as traditional SEO, it uses geo-targeted keywords to ensure that your results attract local traffic. Let's say you own an HVAC company in Tampa, Florida.

When someone searches for 'HVAC help Tampa,' you want your business to be the first thing that comes up out of all the other businesses in that area. Local SEO can help you achieve this. If you want to learn more about what local SEO is, you can check out our helpful guide here.

1. You Can Target Specific Types of Traffic

One of the main problems with traditional SEO marketing is that it doesn't fit the needs of many businesses. Sure, if you're a remote IT company, then ranking highly for IT keywords can be beneficial.

After all, it doesn't matter where your clients come from. However, this isn't the case for many home service companies. If you're a plumbing company, it doesn't matter if you're getting website traffic from outside of your service area.

Someone on the other side of the country isn't likely to hire your contractors. Businesses that rely on local clients don't require more traffic, they need better traffic. Local SEO might not bring in tons of new people to your website, but it will bring in traffic that's primed for conversion.

2. It's Cost Effective

Like traditional SEO, local SEO is one of the most cost-effective forms of digital marketing. With it, you can get a lot of targeted leads without having to spend a whole lot on a massive ad campaign.

Just keep in mind that it will take time to establish yourself in the local SEO market. Patience is the name of the game here.

3. Helps You Build Authority With the Local Community

Let's say you're a lawn care company. You want to establish yourself as an expert within your local community. Besides showcasing your work, what's the best way to do this? One way is through articles related to local SEO.

You can provide solutions to common lawn care problems people in your area might be facing. While this might not provide you with immediate new clients, it does establish your authority in the lawn care industry.

Plus, it provides brand awareness for new clients further down the sales pipeline.

4. Can Provide You With Local Reviews

People don't want to hire businesses that they can't trust. And businesses with no reviews (or worse, bad reviews) look incredibly suspicious. Local SEO can help your audience engage with your business more by leaving reviews on sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and more.

This, in turn, helps establish credibility. People are much more likely to contact a business if they know other people have had a good experience.

5. Allows Local Customers to Find You

We'd like to think that local customers might find businesses by driving by them or through word of mouth. Sadly, those days are gone. These days, people will research a company before ever contacting them.

One study found that 76% will look at a business's online presence before visiting. That means that if you aren't ranking with local SEO, you're likely missing out on clients that would have otherwise found your business.

By investing in this type of service, you make it possible for local customers to discover your business amongst the many competitors in the area. This sets you up for success with more conversions.

Tips for Improving Your Local SEO

There are a few things you can do on your own to improve your local SEO on your own. That starts with updating your Google My Business profile.

This is one of the main tools that customers will use to find businesses in their area, so you want to make sure that all the information is accurate. Optimizing other directories and adding location pages are two other great options.

You're also going to want to make content that's specifically location-based. For example, if you're a plumbing company in Houston, Texas, you might write an article titled 'How to Find the Best Plumbing Company in Houston, Texas'.

However, if you're serious about improving your local SEO, you'll hire a digital marketing service to help you. Professionals like the Optic Marketing Group know all the tips for improving your local ranking. That way, you don't waste time and money trying to do it yourself.

Need Local SEO Services? Contact Optic Marketing Group

We hope this guide helped convince you of the benefits that come when you hire local SEO services. Here at Optic Marketing Group, we know how important local SEO is for home service companies in the plumbing, lawn care, and HVAC industries.

This type of marketing puts you directly in touch with local customers who need your services. That's why we've become experts at leveraging the strategy to lead to real, tangible conversions.

If you want to learn more about how our digital marketing services can help you, make sure to contact us today.

by Lilliam

Google’s E-A-T: What Is It and How Does It Impact Your 2023 Marketing Goals

Nearly 50% of consumers report turning to Google when they are on the hunt for a particular service. If your business's online presence is lacking, you could be missing half of your target audience.

Luckily, a solid organic marketing strategy can help solve that problem. Organic marketing utilizes high-quality content (e.g., blog articles) that features search engine optimization (SEO) to increase a website's Google ranking.

But how exactly do you create this high-quality SEO content? In 2023, it is critical to use Google's E-A-T guidelines to produce content search engines will love and reward with a higher ranking. Here's why.

What Are Google's E-A-T Guidelines?

E-A-T is an acronym for expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. It is an update to Google's search engine ranking algorithm that came out in 2014. Though E-A-T alone will not determine your Google ranking, it does affect it.

Expertise

Expertise is defined as expert knowledge or skills. People typically have expertise in a particular field (e.g., technology). However, generalists can have expertise in many different fields.

Why is expertise important to Google? People with expertise in particular subjects can think deeply and intelligently about problems in their field.

Authoritativeness

Being authoritative means someone or something has authority over a particular skill or field. In other words, an authoritative website can be trusted to give out correct advice or information.

Authoritative content inspires, motivates, and influences people. Readers know that the author of the article is providing valuable and reliable information.

Trustworthiness

In the age of clickbait and fake news, trust is increasingly difficult to foster online. That makes honest and reliable content, content creators, and content publishers more valuable than ever before.

And building trust with your audience will not just improve your search rankings. Readers will begin to think of you as a safe source of information and services.

E-A-T and Your Digital Marketing Goals

Now that you understand the basics of E-A-T, you may be wondering: why is E-A-T so important? Here are three ways Google E-A-T digital marketing trends can impact your business marketing goals.

E-A-T Determines High-Quality Content

The number one reason Google implemented E-A-T was to weed out low-quality content. More specifically, Google wanted to address high-ranking websites that provided irrelevant or incorrect information to readers.

E-A-T intends to do the reverse: reward websites that consistently turn out correct and relevant content.

As long as a piece of content abides by the E-A-T guidelines, the Google ranking algorithm will consider it high-quality. And as we will discuss next, publishing high-quality articles on your site can improve your Google ranking.

E-A-T Impacts Your Organic Search Ranking

Search engine marketing (SEM) heavily relies on organic search. Organic searches occur when a customer types a query into the Google search box. Then, they click on one of the pages that come up under their search.

The majority of Google searchers only look at the first three results. So, how does your site get ranked in the top three results for a search query? You have to improve search engine optimization (SEO).

Publishing high-quality content that adheres to E-A-T guidelines can help you do just that.

E-A-T Can Reduce Bounce Rate

Another benefit of E-A-T that has less to do with Google and more to do with your prospective clients is bounce rate. Bounce rate refers to the percentage of people who visit your website and leave after viewing only one page.

A poor bounce rate is usually a sign of a low-quality website. As such, Google may consider bounce rate when ranking your website. But this is not the only reason bounce rate is important.

A high bounce rate means something about your website is turning away prospective customers.

Tips for Improving E-A-T on Your Site

The number one thing to do to improve your site's E-A-T is to update your content. Focus on providing trustworthy and easily verifiable information to your readers.

It is also a good idea to update content regularly as new information comes out. Keeping up with changing trends will impress not only Google but also your prospective clients.

Yet, updating the quality of your content is only the beginning. You should also consider doing the following to improve your site's E-A-T.

Publish Contact and About Pages

Blog articles are not the only kind of content to consider when updating your website for E-A-T. Google will also take into account the other pages on your site, including your contact and about pages.

Your contact page should provide trustworthy contact info. That includes but is not limited to your company's email address, phone number, and physical address. Include as many customer support points of contact as possible.

Your business' about page should speak to your authoritativeness. Include any credentials or relevant degrees members of your staff hold. You can also talk about prior speaking engagements that speak to your firm's expertise.

Check Your Facts and Cite Them

An authoritative and expert business website should have factually accurate content. If you do not have the expertise to create this type of content, it is important to hire a content creator who does.

Another way to build authority for your online business presence is to link to other high-quality sites. Always search for high-ranking, authoritative, and trustworthy sources when creating citations to achieve this goal.

Work With a Digital Marketing Firm

Google's E-A-T guidelines can be tricky to understand. And even if you do get the basics down, you still might not outrank your competitors. That is where a professional digital marketing service can come in.

Digital marketing firms are experts in Google's algorithm and SEO. They can help improve your rankings, even if your own efforts have not achieved the results you want to see.

At Optic Marketing Group, we specialize in digital marketing strategies for home services businesses like yours. We can help you design a new website from scratch or update your old one to adhere to E-A-T standards.

Optic Marketing Group Is the Partner You Need

Google's E-A-T guidelines help distinguish high-quality content from low-quality clickbait. In 2023, it is critical to creating an expert, authoritative, and trustworthy website. If you don't, your Google ranking could suffer.

Do you need help updating your business website according to SEO best practices? Optic Marketing Group is the partner you need to get it done right the first time. Contact us today to learn how we can help you E-A-T.

by Optic Marketing

New Year, New You? ..... Well, the Same Applies to Your Business. 2023 Is the Year to Focus On Building Back!

New Year, New You: Why 2023 Should Be When Your Business Builds Back

It is estimated that there are 32.5 million small businesses currently in America. It is also estimated that 50% of those businesses will fail within 5 years.

The new year is just starting, and your focus on your business should be building back. This new year provides an opportunity to grow your business and become part of the small businesses that succeed.

One mistake that business owners make is not having business goals. You will not be able to hit your target if you don’t know what your target is.

Keep reading to find out more about building back your business in the new year.

Review Your Expenses

A recession is looming and has become something that is weighing heavily on business owners. That is why your business initiatives should include analyzing your expenses.

You can counteract this problem by looking closely at your business operations and where your money is going. Chances are, there are a few areas where you could cut back and save.

The first thing you should do is review your pricing strategy. Do some research on your competition to see what rates your local competitors are charging their clients.

Sometimes it can be worth raising or lowering your prices depending on what is going on. No matter which option you choose, you will need to look at how it will impact the rest of your business.

You should also review unnecessary expenses in your business. There is a good chance that money is going to places that aren’t actually benefiting or growing your company.

This is a good time to review the areas where you lost money last year. By looking at the mistakes that you made previously, you can avoid losing money this year by trying other methods.

Create Goals

Part of building back your business in the new year includes business goals. You should take some time to sit down and figure out what the goals for 2023 are that you want to achieve.

You should have made goals last year, which you can compare to the goals you want to reach this year. If your business is growing, your goals should also grow and become more extensive.

You can also take the time to share these goals with your employees. This is a great team-building exercise and helps everyone to stay on the same page.

Nurture Your Clients

It's very easy to run into the new year with a goal to scale a business quickly. When you do this, it can be very easy to start to neglect your current clients.

Every small business wants to grow by collecting more and more clients that you can depend on. But you will need to be able to do this while nurturing the relationships you already have.

Many businesses neglect to do this and risk losing their current clientele. You want to make sure your clients continue to feel important and valued by your company.

One great way to do this is to send out emails for the new year to your clients. You can let them know how much you appreciate their trust and look forward to continuing to work with them in the new year.

Branch Out in Marketing

Building back your small business is going to require some new steps. If you really want to experience business growth in 2023, you need to experiment with marketing services.

Marketing is going to be your number one tool when it comes to growing your business. This is something that can be far too easy to neglect, but your business will ultimately suffer from this.

Handling marketing on your own can be quite difficult if you don’t know what you are doing. Juggling a business and trying to hit all of those marketing goals is not usually going to be a productive use of your time.

Companies like Optic Marketing Group make this much easier for your company. They will handle all of the marketing services that you need, so that you get guaranteed results.

Find What People Want

At the start of 2023, you should put the time into researching what people are looking for. In the HVAC, lawn care, and plumbing industry, there are plenty of statistics that you can dive into.

You will want to look at the services that people are predicted to need this year. You should also compare that to the types of services that were in high demand in 2022.

Predicting what people want is going to predict the services you offer. It will also help you to know where you should invest your money in your business.

Take Time Off

Something you may not have done in 2022 is taking enough time off of work. As a business owner, it is very easy to neglect yourself and throw yourself into your work.

The downside to this is that eventually overworking yourself will lead to burnout. This will result in a lack of motivation and less concentration when it comes to important business details.

You need to set aside time for yourself, so that you can recharge and regroup. Pushing yourself too hard will only damage your business operations in the long run.

Building Back Your Business in 2023

If your business goal for 2023 is building back your company, there are a lot of places to start. This is something that all small businesses should aspire to do for better growth in the new year.

Do you want to use marketing services to grow your company? Contact us today at Optic Marketing Group to create a marketing plan for your business.

by Optic Marketing

How to Make a Website Mobile-Friendly

In 2023, 60.9% of all website traffic come from mobile device users. With more mobile-based traffic on the go, it is essential for businesses to have a proper mobile website. If your website isn't up to speed for mobile use, your business will suffer the consequences.

61% of mobile users will abandon a site altogether that isn't mobile-friendly. This means you're missing out on a huge chunk of potential business. But having a mobile-friendly website across a variety of devices is one of the best things you can do to boost your online presence.

If you're looking for ways to make your website more mobile-friendly, this guide can help, so keep reading.

Enhance Your Mobile Website's Loading Speed

Your business may already have a mobile website, but is it truly mobile-friendly? This pertains to areas like the loading speed of your site on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. If your website lags and takes too long to load, this can cause major issues such as site abandonment and a poor opinion of your overall business.

In the digital era, the attention span of users waiting for websites to load on average is about 3 seconds tops. You must check your mobile website's loading speed to determine what could be holding up the process. This could be due to a number of reasons like large images or too many videos loading at once.

Compress Images for Your Mobile Website

If large images are slowing down your mobile website's loading speed and affecting its mobile-friendly capabilities, there's an easy fix. Compressing large images limits their overall file size so they take up less space and require less time to load and view.

You also have the option to only load these images when needed instead of all at once. For example, you can make it so that images lower down on the mobile website will only load when the website visitor scrolls down. Both of these methods will make your website more mobile-friendly and load faster.

Utilize a More Responsive Website Layout

Along with speed, having a responsive layout is another key aspect to consider. This means that your existing business website can easily scale itself and adapt its layout for use on different mobile devices.

The content should still be readable no matter what the screen size of the mobile device is. This also means that it won't interfere with your mobile website's loading time.

Not only do mobile-friendly websites have a more user-friendly layout, but they can also help you improve your ranking on Google through SEO. Google heavily favors websites that are mobile-friendly and ranks them higher in its search result data.

Adjust Your Font and Button Size and Placement

Your mobile website fonts and buttons must also be adapted to create a mobile-friendly experience for its users. If buttons on a standard website are already small, they will likely be even smaller on a mobile website and make it hard for users to see or tap on. Make certain they are larger, visible, and accessible.

Avoid using ornate or fancy text fonts that may be difficult to read, especially on a smaller screen. Your fonts should be clear and legible. Also, don't use too many different types of fonts, you want your mobile website to have a uniform and professional look.

Ensure the Proper Use of Pop-Ups

Pop-ups may be a part of your website marketing to get users to opt-in for mailing lists and other purposes. But they can be a nuisance for creating a mobile-friendly website. Using too many pop-ups can feel spammy and detract users from further navigating your site.

A mobile website pop-up may also be harder to close out since the "X" in the corner is too small to see or tap on. This can create frustration for mobile website visitors. Use pop-ups sparingly and ensure that they don't trap your mobile website visitors on the page and prevent them from viewing the website.

Use Appropriate Link Spacing

When using links, you need to remember that these will also appear smaller and closer together on a mobile page. Links rely on the user's thumb to tap on them to open them, which is much larger in relation to the mobile screen.

Mobile website users may get frustrated easily if they mistakenly keep tapping on the link above or below the one they want because your links are placed too closely together. You need to allow for the right amount of space between links for a more user-friendly navigation and mobile-friendly experience on your site.

Simplify Your Website's Design

One of the best ways to make your website mobile-friendly is to start with a simple and straightforward design.  You don't need a lot of bells and whistles to attract attention, a good mobile-friendly website design will do this for you. So make sure that your website content is up-to-date, well-organized, and easy to find or search.

Don't use long and cluttered menus, especially when using drop-down-style menus. You want your website users to be able to easily find the options they are looking for to navigate through your site. Use white space strategically in between to accommodate easy website viewing.

Test Your Website to Check Its Mobile-Friendly Usability

When it comes to creating the best mobile-friendly website, don't just assume that it's mobile-friendly. Check it out for yourself first. Try accessing your mobile website from a variety of different mobile devices like tablets, Android, and iOS mobile operating systems to ensure that your website's display and design are optimized for all devices.

Run additional testing from time to time to verify that all of your website options and settings still work with new software updates or device releases. This will help you keep your website's interface user-friendly and working its best for users over time.

Let Optic Marketing Group Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Your business website is your unique opportunity to inform and attract potential customers. When it comes to designing a website that is also mobile-friendly, don't leave anything to chance. Come to Optic Marketing Group.

Optic Marketing Group specializes in designing all types of websites for businesses from HVAC to Plumbing and Lawn Care. We are a premier, full-service marketing agency with locations in Tampa, FL, and The Woodlands, TX. We want to help you tell your story to your customer base through a professional and well-designed website.

Contact us today for more information on your business website design needs today.

by Optic Marketing

Small Business Marketing Ideas and Tips for Business Owners

As a small business owner, you have a lot of competition. There are around 32 million small businesses in the United States.

In order to be successful and beat out your competition, you must invest in marketing. The idea of creating a marketing strategy can be overwhelming and you may not know where to start.

It doesn't matter if you studied marketing in college or if you have a small budget; the tips in this article are going to help you push your company to the next level. Read on so you know what small business marketing steps to take next.

Know Your Audience

The first marketing tip is knowing your audience. Who is your ideal client?

If you're offering residential lawn care, then you'll want to grab the attention of homeowners and landlords. You'll then need to figure out where they get their information.

How are you going to get your business information to them? Find out where they hang out and what their hobbies are.

You need to put yourself in a position where you can help them solve a problem. Another example would be if your small business installs HVAC systems.

Are people in your area having a hard time keeping their homes cool in the summer? Or maybe they are having issues with high humidity levels.

You need to know this information about your audience so you can better serve them and market to them. If you're marketing a solution to a problem that your ideal client doesn't have, you'll be wasting your time.

Build a Website

The next step when it comes to a marketing strategy for small businesses is creating a website. Now it's a bit more complicated than it might sound.

You must have a working website that is easy to navigate. You don't want your clients to get frustrated and leave your site.

All the information your customers may need should be laid out in an organized fashion that is easy to read. Be sure there aren't any glitches before launching your website as well.

It's likely that there are other companies in your area that offer similar services. When someone searches for home services, you want your website to be the first one to pop up.

This requires you to do some research. You'll need to include keywords throughout your website to make it SEO-friendly. The more quality content you provide, the more traffic you'll have to your site.

Get On Social Media

It's crucial that you get your company on as many social media platforms as possible. It's affordable, but you will have to invest some time into it.

People tend to overthink social media, and while there are strategies out there that can help you grow your following; the algorithms are different for each platform. One post that gets a lot of views or likes on TikTok may not reach as many people on Facebook.

It's a lot of trial and error and figuring out what your audience likes to see. When it comes to marketing small businesses on social media, it's crucial that you don't get discouraged.

Offer Rewards

Another small business marketing tip that will help you find new customers and keep old ones coming back is to offer rewards or a loyalty program. Back to the lawn care business example, you could offer your clients half off their fifth lawn mowing appointment.

If you're installing HVAC systems, you could offer one free maintenance check a year. Everyone is always looking for a good deal and marketing rewards and discounts will grab people's attention.

Look at Reviews

As a business owner, it's crucial that you look at your online reviews and encourage your clients to leave them on all platforms. Take the time to respond to as many reviews as you can.

If someone said they had a great experience, write them back thanking them for their loyalty. This shows your clients and future customers that you care about them personally, not just about making money.

Seeing a negative review can be discouraging; however, how you handle the situation is key. Respond to unhappy clients and ask if they would be willing to speak with you offline so you can work out the issue. This shows anyone who reads the review that you genuinely care and didn't try to make excuses.

The problem could have been out of your control or it could be an issue you need to address with your staff later. You can't make everyone happy, but as long as you're doing good honest work and treating your customer's rights, you'll have more positive reviews and the negatives will fade away.

Send Emails

Our last small business advertising tip is to send out emails. This can be tricky as you don't want to send too many and annoy your clients, but you also want them to know about the services and deals you're running.

You want to send just enough to keep them engaged. Setting up an automated system to send emails out regularly can help save you some time, too.

Small Business Marketing

Whether you just opened or you've been running your business for years, creating updated and new marketing strategies can be challenging. There are so many things to think about when you're running your company and it's vital that you don't put small business marketing on the back burner.

Don't continue to struggle with your marketing plan. We work will all types of companies and our experts will help you grow your clientele. Give us a call today to get started!

by Optic Marketing