Category: google

Prioritizing Visibility: Why Google Business Profile Comes Before Facebook for SMBs

The digital age has transformed how businesses operate, making a solid online presence essential for small and medium enterprises (SMBs). Here is an argument for why an SMB should focus on building a Google Business Profile before a Facebook business profile:

  1. Visibility and Search Relevance: Google is the most popular search engine worldwide, making a Google Business Profile a powerful tool for enhancing your visibility to potential customers. When people search for a business or service similar to yours on Google Search or Google Maps, your Google Business Profile could make you one of the first options they see. While Facebook is a popular social network, it’s not the first place most people go when looking for a local business or service.
  2. Local SEO: Google Business Profile is crucial for local search engine optimization (SEO). When you set up your profile, you’ll provide details about your business, like the address, hours of operation, and services offered. Google uses this information to match your business with local search queries, which could give you a significant advantage over businesses without a Google Business Profile.
  3. Insights and Analytics: Google provides robust insights and analytics to help you understand your customer behavior, like how customers find your business, what keywords they’re using, and how many call your business directly from the search results. While Facebook also offers analytics, they focus more on social engagement than search behavior.
  4. Reviews and Ratings: Google reviews can significantly influence a consumer’s decision to choose your business over others. A Google Business Profile allows customers to leave reviews and rate your business directly in Google Search and Maps, offering immediate visibility to potential customers. Facebook has a similar feature, but as previously mentioned, consumers are more likely to search for businesses on Google than on Facebook.
  5. Integration with Other Google Services: Your Google Business Profile integrates seamlessly with other Google services, including Google Maps and Google Ads. This integration means you can easily set up advertising campaigns to target local customers, and people can get directions to your storefront directly from your business profile.
  6. Virtual Tour and Images: Google Business Profile allows you to upload images and even a virtual tour of your business, which can give potential customers a better sense of what to expect and could make them more likely to choose your company.
  7. It’s Free: Setting up a Google Business Profile is free, making it a cost-effective way to increase your online presence and reach potential customers.

While a Facebook business profile can be a valuable tool for reaching and engaging with your audience, an SMB just starting out should prioritize creating a Google Business Profile. The visibility, local SEO benefits, integration with Google services, insights and analytics, and potential for customer reviews make it a powerful tool for turning potential customers into actual ones.

Marketing in the Margins: Hidden Hacks for Maximum Impact

In the fast-paced digital age, standing out from the crowd can feel insurmountable, especially for small businesses with limited resources. However, by strategically marketing in the margins – leveraging unconventional, often overlooked tactics – you can penetrate niche markets and make a significant impact. Let’s explore some of these hidden hacks tailored to small businesses unique needs and strengths.

Harnessing the Power of Micro-Influencers

Influencer marketing isn’t only for big brands with deep pockets. Micro-influencers, those with a following of 1,000 to 50,000, can offer small businesses a cost-effective way to reach potential customers. Despite their smaller audiences, micro-influencers often have a dedicated community of followers who trust their opinions. Establishing partnerships with these influencers can foster authentic connections with audiences you might not otherwise reach.

Leveraging User-Generated Content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC), created and shared by consumers about a brand or product, is often a valuable resource for small businesses. UGC provides free marketing content, builds brand credibility, and fosters community. Consumers tend to trust UGC more than traditional advertising, as it comes from real users and their genuine experiences. Here are some technical strategies to effectively leverage UGC:

  1. UGC Campaigns on Social Media: Encourage your customers to share their experiences with your products or services on social media using a unique branded hashtag. Monitor this hashtag regularly and share select posts on your business account, making sure to credit the original poster. This not only generates content for your brand but also incentivizes other customers to share their own experiences.
  2. UGC in Email Marketing: Incorporate UGC into your email marketing campaigns. For example, your newsletters could feature customer reviews, photos, or stories. This makes your emails more engaging and authentic, increasing the chances of clicks and conversions.
  3. UGC on Product Pages: Consider featuring user reviews, ratings, or even user-submitted photos or videos on your product pages. This can reassure potential customers about the quality of your product and help them visualize how they might use or enjoy the product themselves.
  4. UGC Contests: Running a UGC contest is a great way to quickly generate a large content volume. For example, you could ask customers to share photos of them using your product and offer a prize for the most creative or popular post. Not only does this generate content, but it also boosts customer engagement with your brand.
  5. UGC Analytics: Use social listening tools to track the reach and engagement of your UGC. This can give you valuable insights into what type of content resonates most with your audience, what products or features they love, and any areas for improvement they might suggest.

Remember, obtaining the proper permissions before using UGC in your marketing materials is crucial. Always respect the rights of the content creators and adhere to the terms of service of each platform.

By leveraging these technical UGC strategies, you can create a more authentic and engaging brand presence, build stronger relationships with your customers, and gain valuable insights into their preferences and behavior.

Making the Most of SEO ‘Long-Tail’ Keywords

For small businesses, search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of online visibility. However, competing for popular, broad keywords can be challenging, especially with a limited budget. Instead, focusing on long-tail keywords—specific, less common phrases—can attract customers further along the buying cycle and make them more likely to convert. Here’s how to make the most of long-tail keywords:

  1. Long-Tail Keyword Research: Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, Moz’s Keyword Explorer, or SEMrush to research long-tail keywords relevant to your business. Look for phrases with lower competition but reasonable search volume. These keywords may not bring massive traffic, but they’ll likely attract more qualified leads.
  2. Understand User Intent: Different keywords reflect different user intents. Some people may be looking for information (“how to train a puppy”), while others are ready to purchase (“buy puppy training kit online”). Understand the intent behind the keywords you target and ensure your content aligns with it.
  3. Content Creation: Create high-quality content around these long-tail keywords. This could be in the form of blog posts, guides, tutorials, product descriptions, or FAQ pages. Remember, content quality is crucial for SEO, so focus on providing real value to your readers, not just keyword stuffing.
  4. On-Page SEO: Incorporate long-tail keywords into the title, meta description, headings, and body content of your page. Also, use these keywords in the alt text for images. However, maintain a natural flow; forced or excessive use of keywords can harm your SEO and user experience.
  5. Monitor Performance: Use an SEO analytics tool to track how your pages are ranking for the targeted long-tail keywords. If a page isn’t performing as well as you’d like, you may need to optimize the content further or address other potential SEO issues like loading speed or mobile compatibility.

By focusing on long-tail keywords, you can create a more targeted and effective SEO strategy. Though it may take time and patience, this approach can lead to higher conversion rates and a better return on your marketing investment.

Local Search Marketing

For many small businesses, the local community is the lifeblood of their operation. This is where local search marketing shines. Ensuring your business appears in local search results, including on platforms like Google My Business and Nextdoor, can significantly increase your visibility among the customers most likely to use your services or buy your products.

Nextdoor, a social networking service for neighborhoods, allows businesses to reach local customers directly within their community. On Nextdoor, you can create a business page, respond to recommendations from neighbors, and even advertise your services.

Additionally, claiming your business on Google My Business and keeping your listings consistent and updated across platforms can significantly improve your local search rankings. Encouraging customers to leave reviews can also bolster your visibility and credibility.

By leveraging these local search marketing strategies, you can connect with your local community more effectively, fostering relationships and trust that contribute to the long-term success of your business.

Utilizing Reddit for Niche Market Penetration

Reddit, a platform with a lot of user-generated content and discussions, can be a goldmine for marketing if leveraged correctly. This social media platform, often referred to as ‘the front page of the internet’, boasts a variety of niche communities (known as subreddits) where users share insights, ask questions, and engage in discussions on topics ranging from the mainstream to the obscure.

For small businesses, Reddit can provide a unique opportunity to engage directly with potential customers, gain insights into their needs and preferences, and enhance brand visibility. However, the key to Reddit marketing is authenticity and value contribution – overt self-promotion is often frowned upon. Here’s how you can use Reddit effectively:

  1. Find Relevant Subreddits: Start by identifying subreddits that align with your business. These can be industry-specific, related to your product or service, or aligned with your target customer’s interests.
  2. Become an Active Member: Don’t just dive in and start promoting your business. Instead, become a genuine member of the community. Engage in discussions, answer questions, provide helpful information, and establish your credibility. This builds trust and brand recognition over time.
  3. Share Valuable Content: Once you’re an active, respected community member, you can start sharing your content – but ensure it’s valuable to the community. This could be a blog post that answers common questions, a tutorial, or even an infographic. Remember, the focus should be on providing value, not on selling.
  4. Sponsored Posts and Ads: Reddit offers paid advertising options, including sponsored posts and display ads. These can be targeted based on user interests, location, and other factors to reach a highly relevant audience.
  5. AMA (Ask Me Anything) Sessions: Hosting an AMA can be a great way to engage with your audience and increase brand visibility. These sessions allow Redditors to ask questions about your business, industry, or other relevant topics. AMAs require careful planning and moderation but can offer valuable engagement.
  6. Monitor and Respond: Be sure to monitor the discussions related to your business or industry and respond promptly and professionally to comments or questions. Reddit users appreciate engaged and responsive businesses.

Remember, Reddit is a community-based platform where respect and authenticity rule. While it may take time to establish a presence, the insights, connections, and brand visibility you gain can be well worth the effort. It is a marketing hack in the margins that can significantly impact.

Retargeting Shopping Cart Abandoners

A common challenge for e-commerce businesses of all sizes is shopping cart abandonment, with research indicating that nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned before the purchase is completed. Rather than viewing this as a loss, you can see it as an opportunity to re-engage potential customers and encourage them to complete their purchases. Here are some key retargeting strategies you can use:

  1. Email Retargeting: If you have the customer’s information, an effective strategy is to send a friendly reminder email about the items left in their cart. Timing is crucial here; consider sending the first email within a few hours of abandonment and then a couple more over the next few days if they still haven’t completed their purchase.
  2. Personalized Offers: In your retargeting emails or site banners, consider including a customized offer, such as a discount or free shipping, to incentivize the customer to complete the purchase. Use your customer data to tailor these offers based on individual shopping habits and preferences.
  3. Retargeting Ads: Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook offer retargeting (or remarketing) services that allow you to display targeted ads to users who have visited your website or added items to their cart without completing the purchase. These ads, which can follow the user as they browse other websites or social media platforms, can be a subtle, constant reminder of the products they’ve shown interest in.
  4. Cart Abandonment Analytics: Use analytics to understand why users abandon their carts. This could include website funnel design, the checkout process, shipping costs, or a lack of payment options. Comprehending the reasons behind cart abandonment can inform your retargeting strategies and help you address any issues on your site.
  5. Exit-Intent Popups: Use exit-intent popups – messages that appear when a user is about to leave your site – to provide a final engagement opportunity. This could be a reminder of the items in their cart, a discount offer, or a prompt to save their cart for later.

By implementing these retargeting strategies, you can reconnect with potential customers, provide incentives to complete their purchases and recover lost sales. Be sure to test different methods and measure their effectiveness to find the best approach for your business.

Marketing in the margins entails strategic innovation beyond traditional approaches. By employing these hidden hacks tailored to small businesses, you can maximize your reach, penetrate niche markets, and realize substantial growth, all while ensuring your marketing budget is used effectively and efficiently.

Generating Leads Through Paid Ads. The Best Social Media Platforms for Financial Advisors

Learn How to Leverage the Power of Social Media to Grow Your Financial Advisory Practice

Generating leads as a financial advisor can be difficult, but there are several ways to do so. Paid advertising on the right social media platforms is one of the most effective strategies for financial advisors to reach new clients and build their business. By focusing on the right platforms and strategies, financial advisors can create highly targeted campaigns that will generate leads and help them grow their business. Knowing which social media platforms are best for financial advisors is essential to success, and this article will provide key insights on which platforms are the most effective for generating leads.

Generating Leads Through Paid Ads on the Best Social Media Platforms for Financial Advisors
Generating leads as a financial advisor can be difficult, but there are several ways to do so. Paid advertising on the right social media platforms is one of the most effective strategies for financial advisors to reach new clients and build their business. By focusing on the right platforms and strategies, financial advisors can create highly targeted campaigns that will generate leads and help them grow their business. Knowing which social media platforms are best for financial advisors is essential to success, and this article will provide key insights on which platforms are the most effective for generating leads.

What are the Benefits of Paid Ads for Financial Advisors?
Paid advertising can be an effective way for financial advisors to reach their target audiences and generate leads. Paid ads allow advisors to reach their target audience quickly and efficiently, and they can be used to target a wide range of audiences, from those looking for financial advice to those who are already clients. Paid advertising also offers a variety of customization options, allowing advisors to craft ads that are tailored to their target audiences. This allows for more effective targeting, which can lead to higher conversion rates. Finally, paid ads can be used to test different strategies and measure their performance to optimize campaigns for the best results.

In addition to the benefits of paid ads, they are also relatively inexpensive compared to other marketing strategies. Most social media platforms offer pay-per-click and pay-per-view options, which allow businesses to control their costs and get the most bang for their buck. This makes paid advertising an attractive option for financial advisors who are looking to maximize their return on investment.

What are the Best Social Media Platforms for Financial Advisors?
When it comes to choosing the best social media platform for generating leads, financial advisors have a number of options. The three most popular social media platforms for financial advisors are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Each of these platforms offers different advantages and disadvantages, so financial advisors need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each platform before making a decision.

Facebook  Ads is the most popular social media platform for financial advisors, and for good reason. With over two billion monthly active users, Facebook offers a huge audience for financial advisors to target. The platform also offers a wide range of targeting options, allowing financial advisors to create highly targeted campaigns based on user interests and demographics. Additionally, Facebook offers a variety of ad formats, from static images to video and carousel ads, giving financial advisors the ability to create engaging campaigns that will capture the attention of their target audiences. Tips include:

    • Track qualitative data such as comments, shares, and reactions to measure your ad performance and engagement.
    • Experiment with audience targeting by using different criteria such as interests, behaviors, locations, and life events to find your ideal customers.
    • Use video, vertical or square images, and short text to capture attention and convey your message quickly.
    • Create a lookalike audience by using your existing customers’ data to find people who are similar to them and likely to be interested in your products or services.
    • Separate retargeting and prospecting by using different ad sets and messages for people who have already visited your website or app and people who have not.
    • Test different variations of your ads by changing elements such as headlines, images, copy, and calls-to-action to see what works best for your audience.

LinkedIn Ads is another popular option for financial advisors, as it offers access to a large and professional audience. LinkedIn is a great platform for targeting professionals, as it provides detailed insights into users’ job titles, industries, and more. Additionally, LinkedIn offers a variety of ad formats, such as sponsored content and sponsored InMail, allowing financial advisors to create highly targeted campaigns.

    • Tailor your LinkedIn ads to your target audience by using relevant keywords, images, and messages.
    • Choose an ad type and format that works best for your campaign objective, such as sponsored content, dynamic ads, document ads, or conversation ads.
    • Test your ads by using different variations of headlines, images, copy, and calls-to-action to see what performs better.

Twitter is an excellent platform for financial advisors. With over 330 million monthly active users, Twitter Ads offers a wide range of potential audiences for financial advisors to target. The platform also offers a variety of ad formats, including promoted tweets, promoted accounts, and promoted trends, which allow financial advisors to create effective campaigns that will help them reach their target audiences.

Twitter advertising is a great way to reach your target audience on one of the most popular social media platforms. Here are three tips for creating effective Twitter ads:

    • Use humor, creativity, and visuals in your tweets to stand out and engage your audience.
    • Keep your tweets personalized and relevant to your followers’ interests and needs.
    • Use hashtags properly to increase your visibility and reach potential customers.

Generating leads as a financial advisor on Reddit can be a great way to reach potential clients. As a financial advisor, it is important to have a strong presence on social media, and Reddit is one of the largest and most active communities on the internet. With the right approach, you can use Reddit to build brand awareness, foster relationships, and generate high-quality leads. First and foremost, you should create a Reddit account and start participating in the relevant communities. Look for subreddits related to finance, investing, personal finance, and financial advice. This will help you get familiar with the platform and build relationships with like-minded individuals.

You can use Reddit Ads to share your own content and promote your services. Once you have established a presence on Reddit, you can start running paid campaigns to generate leads. Reddit’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising platform allows you to target users by interest, location, and device. You can also use Reddit Ads to promote your blog posts and other assets to reach more people. This can help you build a larger audience and bring in more leads. Reddit Ads PPC tips include:

    • Know your audience. Reddit users are generally well-informed and skeptical of blatant self-promotion. You need to understand their needs, interests and pain points before creating your ads.
    • Provide value. Reddit ads should not be just about selling your services, but also about educating, entertaining or inspiring your potential clients. You can use content marketing strategies such as blog posts, videos, podcasts or infographics to showcase your expertise and credibility.
    • Engage with the community. Reddit is based on user-generated content and interactions. You can join relevant subreddits (such as r/PersonalFinance3) where you can share your insights, answer questions and build relationships with your target audience.

Finally, you can use Reddit to showcase your expertise. As a certified financial advisor (CFA), you have a lot of knowledge to share. You can answer questions and provide advice on Reddit to demonstrate your expertise and build trust. This can help you attract more leads and establish yourself as an authority in the financial advice space. By leveraging the power of Reddit, you can generate high-quality leads and grow your business as a financial advisor. With a strategic approach and some creative PPC assets, you can reach your ideal clients and foster meaningful relationships.

How to Create Effective Paid Ads for Financial Advisors
Creating effective paid ads for financial advisors is essential to generating leads. Before creating a paid ad, financial advisors need to understand their target audience and the message they want to convey. Financial advisors should also consider the ad format they want to use, as different formats will a. Additionally, financial advisors should consider the goals of their campaign and the budget they have to work with.

Once financial advisors have determined their target audience, message, and ad format, they can begin creating their ad. For most platforms, this will involve creating the ad copy and selecting the visuals that will be used. Additionally, financial advisors should consider the call to action they will use, as this will be key to encouraging users to take the desired action. Finally, financial advisors should also consider the budget they have available and the cost-per-click or cost-per-view they are willing to pay.

Tips for Optimizing Paid Ads for Financial Advisors
Creating effective paid ads is only part of the equation when it comes to generating leads. In order to get the most out of their campaigns, financial advisors should also focus on optimizing their ads. There are a number of strategies financial advisors can use to optimize their campaigns, such as A/B testing, audience segmentation, and creative testing.

How to Track and Measure the Performance of Paid Ads
Once financial advisors have created and optimized their paid ads, they should track and measure their performance. Most social media platforms offer a range of metrics that can be used to measure the performance of ads, such as impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost per click. By tracking these metrics, financial advisors can get an understanding of the performance of their campaigns and make adjustments as needed.

In addition to tracking performance metrics, financial advisors should also track their return on investment. This can be done by calculating the ratio of revenue generated from the campaign divided by the cost of the campaign. Tracking ROI can help financial advisors determine if their campaigns are worthwhile and make adjustments accordingly.

Best Practices for Generating Leads Through Paid Ads
Generating leads through paid ads can be a challenging task, but there are a few best practices that financial advisors can follow to get the most out of their campaigns. First, financial advisors should focus on creating highly targeted campaigns. By targeting the right audience and creating tailored ads, financial advisors can ensure that their campaigns are more effective. Additionally, financial advisors should focus on optimizing their campaigns, as this can help them get the most out of their budget and ensure their ads are engaging and effective. Finally, financial advisors should track and measure their campaigns to ensure they are getting the best results. Addition tips include:

    • Make use of lead magnets. A lead magnet is an offer that you provide to your prospects in exchange for their contact information. For example, you can offer a free ebook, webinar, consultation, or newsletter that showcases your expertise and value proposition.
    • Target a specific niche. Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, you should focus on a specific segment of your market that has a common problem or need that you can solve. For example, you can target retirees, millennials, women, doctors, etc. This way, you can create more relevant and personalized ads that resonate with your audience.
    • Review reports regularly and make adjustments accordingly. You should monitor your ad performance and track your key metrics such as impressions, clicks, conversions, cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-lead (CPL), etc. You should also test different elements of your ads such as headlines, images, keywords, etc. to see what works best and optimize your campaigns accordingly.

Conclusion: Generating Leads Through Paid Ads on the Best Social Media Platforms for Financial Advisors

Generating leads as a financial advisor can be a difficult task, but paid advertising can be an effective way to reach new clients and build a successful business. By focusing on the right social media platforms and strategies, financial advisors can create highly targeted campaigns that will generate leads and help them grow their business. Knowing which social media platforms are best for financial advisors is essential to success, and this article has provided key insights on which platforms are the most effective for generating leads. With the right strategies and tactics, financial advisors can use paid ads to generate leads and grow their business.

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Google My Business Benefits for SMB in 2022

Make sure you register your SMB (Small Business) website with Google My Business. Search Engines like Google are the new yellow pages.

Registering your site with Google My Business (GMB) should be priority (particularly if you’re starting a brand new business). Doing so can give your business a quick win by helping it appear in relevant geographic search results — within just a couple of weeks. Industry stats show that people who see your “Google My Business” listing will click through to your website, and will call your business directly. Google My Business listing can also drive local SEO success for small businesses, pretty much guaranteeing visibility on Google Maps and Google Search. Make it easier to reach product or service escape velocity with the power of Google search and Google My Business.

Your GMB listing gives potential clients easy access to your hours of operation, phone number, website and directions with a click of a button—all at no cost to you. As zero-click searches become more and more prevalent, having a means to represent your business in search engine results pages (SERPs) is essential. Without a Google My Business listing, you could miss out on converting customers at the earliest stage!

What do Search Engines like?

Trust. Search engines like Google, Bing, etc., are looking for signals that signify trust. Search engines want to give searchers the best possible result. That’s why you need to work on your trustworthiness on all levels, both technical as well as in content.

Use up-to-date software, have your SSL in order, make strong passwords, use tools such as Cloudflare to protect your site from DDoS attacks. An SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer) is a set of data files that you can add to your server to achieve this encrypted connection between a browser and your server. Besides securing your website by way of encryption, it also helps with SEO (Google Rankings). Google has confirmed that HTTPS is a ranking signal. An unsecured website risks users’ online safety and could be hurting your SEO efforts. Google confirmed way back in 2014 that HTTPS is now a ranking signal. So, if your site doesn’t have SSL certificates and is on HTTPS, then now would a good time to update.

A SSL certificate increases customers trust and confidence in your website. Customer confidence is essential to increasing conversion rates.

Can Your Product or Service Reach Escape Velocity in 2022?

Category power, Company power, Unmatchable offerings. Google comes to mind. Google Search and Google My Business that is. Make sure you register your website with Google Search Console and Google My Business. Submit your website sitemap thru Google Search Console for indexing! No matter whether you’re using Shopify, WordPress, Wix or Squarespace, adding your website to this service is the starting point for good SEO and will ultimately help sell your products or service through increasing traffic.

Registering your site with Google My Business should be priority (particularly if you’re starting a brand new business). Doing so can give your business a quick win by helping it appear in relevant geographic search results — within just a couple of weeks. Industry stats show that people who see your “Google My Business” listing will click through to your website, and will call your business directly. Google My Business listing can also drive local SEO success for small businesses, pretty much guaranteeing visibility on Google Maps and Google Search. Make it easier to reach product or service escape velocity with the power of Google search and Google My Business.

Google Search Console adds Page Experience Report

Looks like the Google Search Console “Page Experience” report is going to be pushed out and delayed until mid-June and the end of August.

So what’s the Page Experience Report In Search Console? The new report combines the existing Core Web Vitals report with other “components of the page experience signals,” Google said. So this report also tells you if your pages are over HTTPS, are they mobile friendliness, do they not have intrusive interstitial, and the current status of safe browsing on those pages.

the Page Experience update will see Google’s Core Web Vitals become more influential elements in search ranking. The 3 vitals include:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – This element measures loading performance and how fast the key visual elements of your pages become available for the user after clicking through.
  • First Input Delay (FID) – Similar to LCP, FID measures how long it takes for your page to become interactive, so users can click and search.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – This element measures visual stability.

The Search Performance report is also getting the ability to filter pages with good page experience to let site owners keep track of how those pages compare to other pages on the same site. This is a good thing and will help in configuring and tweaking your website funnel!