There are millions of businesses around the world fighting for the top position on Google within their niche. If you are one of the businesses who has beaten the competition, well done – but this isn’t the end of the road! There are loads of ways to generate even more enquiries after getting to the top of Google.
In 2013, the second generation of Penguin updates was made to Google’s algorithms, meaning that there were around 200 different SEO factors that affected your success at the top. Improving your activity in some of these areas will not only secure your position, but boost your enquiries too.
People of all ages check their social media accounts every day; using the likes of Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to socialise, network, make recommendations and buy things. It should come as no surprise that using it on your business website will be very rewarding.
▪ Create more social media links and social signals, for example “share this article” “tweet this offer”. This method is often used by large brands that might not optimise their landing pages through keywords, but create an excellent platform for social networking.
▪ Using Google Plus more could be a smart move for gaining more enquiries in future. In 2013, 40% of people shared content via Google +1, compared with 34% via Facebook sharing. If this trend continues, Google Plus will overtake Facebook in terms of social sharing by 2016.
▪ Posting varied content that includes a link back to your website will get you more enquiries, as you’re spreading your net wider. Share product photos and inspiring images on Pinterest. Promote latest offers and business updates on Twitter, create competitions and topics of discussion on Facebook; the options are vast.
As well as marketing your business with SEO, are you running display adverts in Google Adwords? If not, then you’re missing out on untapped markets and hundreds of leads that aren’t searching for you on Google, but will be interested in what you sell.
Once you have set up a Google Adwords account, set up a Display campaign, which allows you to show business ads on the Display Network. This is a global network of websites that lets ads show on their pages. Placing your ads on the right websites will improve CTR (click through rate) to your website and enquiries. You can target your ads with:
▪ Display keywords – only on websites that mention specific keywords
▪ Placements – only on website URLs of your choice
▪ Interests & remarketing – only on websites with an audience that has certain interests and hobbies
▪ Topics – only on websites that follow a certain topic or theme
▪ Gender – only on websites who’s audiences are predominantly male or female
▪ Age – only on websites who’s audience fit into a certain age bracket
Read more about the display network here: A UK Business Owners Guide to Display Advertising
You can dramatically improve conversion rate by having a better optimised landing page. Landing page quality and effectiveness is more in favour than ever with Google, so shouldn’t be ignored.
A landing page is basically the page that someone ‘lands on’ when they click on a link or ad. Not only do great landing pages get you a lot more conversions, they strengthen your position at the top of Google! Here are the points to consider:
▪ User experience – provide helpful, relevant information that your visitors will value. 52% of companies believe that a personalised page experience is fundamental to their digital marketing strategy.
▪ Clear focus – don’t include any distracting content, links etc. that will stop people from enquiring.
▪ Targeted offer – make sure the offer matches prior expectations and reinforces a message.
▪ A/B testing – regularly monitor user interaction and conversions on your landing pages, then accordingly test different colours, content, layout, buttons etc.
More information on split testing can be found here: How to Split Test Landing Pages on your Website for More Enquiries
Writing a blog that is relevant to your website and the interests of its visitors will improve the chances of new enquiries. Linking it to your website and including plenty of long-tail keywords will also maintain your high ranking in Google.
Write about the latest updates for your products/services or current topics that will encourage your audience to enquire. Blogging gives your business a sense of personality as well; a clever move if you want to build trust and a relationship with your leads.
This stands for Pay Per Click and is an extremely effective marketing strategy in Google Adwords. Essentially, you write ads that are triggered by keywords, which you bid on. You only pay the bidding amount to Google every time someone clicks on your ad, then that person will be linked to a relevant landing page on your website.
You can’t expect to rank highly in Google search results for all of your keywords, but you can rank highly for many using PPC. Your ad can appear on page one a lot quicker and at a low cost if you bid smartly and optimise relevancy. Also, the more clicks your ads get, the more enquiries you will receive.
You are much more likely to get enquiries if you have qualified leads. One of the easiest and quickest ways to do this is by targeting better keywords. By ‘better’ I mean longer, more descriptive and specific.
▪ SEO – if your website is optimised using keywords that describe the exact requirements of your visitors, you will get more clicks and enquiries from the search results page.
▪ PPC – bid on descriptive, long-tail keywords and optimise your landing pages for them. This will get you more valuable enquiries at a lower price.
▪ Social media – for example, on Twitter use hashtag keywords that are highly relevant so that people who see your post will be more likely to enquire.
All of these tips prove that you can’t be complacent when it comes to being in the top Google positions. There are always new ways to get more enquiries, even when you think you’ve done the best you can. This is especially true when Google’s algorithms are always changing.
Article by Laura Wootton