Given how diverse social media can be, this isn’t so surprising. Social Media has tons of benefits. It provides people with a way of connecting, it allows your Gran a way to see what her long-distance grandkids are up to, store your favorite travel memories or see that another one of your ex-school friends is getting engaged and married. Sigh.

Social isn’t just for personal use, though. Businesses can use social to increase sales, build brand awareness, and form loyal customer relationships with customers. Yeah, I’m sure you’ve heard all of this before, as well as tips on how to set a social media budget, whether or not to use a social media agency, or what social media tools you need to help smash your targets.

But today, we’re going to talk about a different, more professional side of social media. This brings us nicely to today’s question:

“Dear Katherine,

I’ll be honest with you, social media is something that I’ve been on but never really used. I knew the business benefits of social – but never thought it would be something I used for my own career.

However, my coworkers are always talking about a post they’ve seen from one of their followers or something they’ve share themselves that’s had a ton of likes and I just feel like I missed the shift to professional social platforms.

I’m now left feeling out of the loop. I want to get started and build a profile for myself but I’m not sure where or how to get started.

Please help me!”

Jane

Jane, you’re completely right. There seems to be a giant shift in using social media professionally.

It’s become an unwritten part of job descriptions to build a profile showing the commercial version of yourself. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, professional social media accounts can show your work value and act as an interactive portfolio. 

So let’s explore professional social media further. 

The first step is to choose your platform. Each one will have its own unique benefits and drawbacks depending on the industry you’re in and what you are trying to achieve. So, let’s take a look at your top players. 

Top Tip: One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t need to be on all social media platforms, that’s the same whether you’re a business or an individual. Just focus on the platforms that are going to serve you best. For example, there’s no real point in being on Instagram if you prefer just written content.

LinkedIn

It just wouldn’t be right to start this post without discussing Linkedin first. A platform that is every recruiter’s biggest dream. This truly professional social media platform was built exclusively to network online. 

And surely, it worked. LinkedIn is now home to over 830 million users worldwide. It gains two new members a second, making it one of the best places to find and connect to other professionals.

The benefits of LinkedIn

• LinkedIn can act as a virtual CV, allowing you to show off your experience and previous projects. Like with any CV, Linkedin allows you to add your skills, but as an added bonus, your connections can endorse your skills to almost give you a recommendation.
• If you want to be seen as a ‘thought-leader’ for your industry or profession, it is easy to share or write articles, posting your own take and opinion.
• It’s also perfectly acceptable to share your own achievements without having to hide them behind a wall of modesty. If you’ve done something you’re proud of, share it here.
• For marketers, it’s a great way of seeing what Ads and Marketing ideas people are really open to and enjoy. You’ll often see your connections share their opinions on the latest burger king advertising phenomenon or the latest stunt between the supermarkets. 
• It also boasts an incredibly strong job section, perfect if you’re wanting to branch off or test the waters.

The downsides

• The LinkedIn algorithm needs work. It tries to show you the most relevant things, which means it often gets stuck showing you updates from weeks ago. So If you want to keep up with current news, Linkedin probably isn’t the right place to do so.
• Some people use it as a platform to professionally show off, rather than provide any value to people. It’s alright to be proud of your work, but no one wants to see someone constantly talking about how great they are.
• Linkedin is widely becoming used as a sales tool and I get it, you’re able to quickly drop people a message directly to the person in charge rather than hoping you’ve got the right email and person you need to speak to. But what it means is that you often have a ton of spammy messages sitting in your inbox. 

Top Tip: LinkedIn is often only used when people need a new job. But it’s best practice to use it year-round, not just when you want to see what else is out there. Use it to showcase yourself and connect with others. Linkedin is a great place for recruiters and if you have a strong profile, job opportunities will be right around the corner. Hey, you may even get headhunted, saving you the hard work.

Twitter

Twitter is emerging as a hot favorite for professionals. In just 3 years the platform has grown by around 39 million users.

The reason it’s a favorite is that it’s built around what’s happening right now. Small, little updates make Twitter a timeline of relevant news and conversations that are happening right now. John Cook, Co-Founder, and Reporter at GeekWire, says that:

“Twitter is a key part of my journalistic process. It allows me to find and interact directly with potential sources and keeps me abreast of breaking stories. It also helps me compile news. l use my Twitter updates as journalistic notes which gives me a reference when I go to write a full story.”

But Twitter isn’t just about news, It’s also a great way to build or join a community by reaching out to others or even taking part in online events. 

Weekly chats are a good example of this, like #PPCChat, hosted by Julie F Bacchini on a Tuesday at 12 PM EST. Each week a set of questions are asked giving people the opportunity to respond with their opinion or experience. It not only provides you with a way to connect to other like-minded individuals but can also be very educational. 

The benefits of Twitter

• Twitter provides real-time updates about stories that are happening right now from the new series of love island to the latest IOS update.
• You can jump into relevant conversations that are interesting to you, showing your expertise naturally by helping others or showing an opinion
• You can directly talk to influencers, customers, or people in your industry. You don’t need to have them follow you, just @ them and see what happens.
• Use #Hashtags to find and jump into relevant topics. It’s easy to get involved.

The downsides

• Twitter moves fast. Sometimes content could be easily lost, meaning you might not get as much engagement as you might have hoped.
• Due to the fast-paced nature of Twitter, if you really want to build your following and engagement, you also need to post more to keep it active. It’s suggested to post anywhere between about 3-30 times a day. Providing you have the content to do so. 

Top tip: Don’t be afraid of the 280-character limit. If you’ve got something to say, start a thread. These are great ways to get attention and get your point across – without trying to ram it into a single tweet.

TikTok

Created in 2016 TikTok is still a relatively new player in the world of social media however when we compare it to some of the other platforms it’s clear age doesn’t matter. With 1 Billion active users, TikTok is now the 6th most used social media platform in the world. 

The video platform is mostly used to find funny and entertaining content, but it doesn’t exclude professionals. 

More and more professionals are using TikTok to create short engaging and educational videos. This is especially beneficial for freelancers and digital nomads who are trying to show their expertise and gain new clients. 

The benefits of TikTok 

• As TikTok is still very much growing, there are a lot of opportunities to be discovered by your target audience.
• The current maximum time limit for a TikTok video is 3 minutes, but the optimal length is between 21-34 seconds meaning videos are short and snappy, you don’t have to worry about sitting down and filming an 8-10 minute video.
• The default page is the For You Page, meaning that unlike Facebook and Instagram you’re shown new content from people you aren’t already connected to mixed in with content from the people you do-follow. 
• Let’s not forget that video marketing is a priority. Videos, build trust, boost conversions, and encourage shares.

The downsides

• TikTok favors consistency, if you’re trying to build your account you’ll want to make sure you have a constant flow of content to post. It’s recommended that while building up your account you post between 1-3 times a day. But be aware, that quality also matters. 
• Once a video is posted to TikTok it brands it with a TikTok watermark, so if you wish to use this video on other platforms you need to save the original video or use a site to remove your watermark. 

Top Tip: Using trending sounds can help your videos be seen by more people, even if your video doesn’t need an added sound it could be good to add it and turn down the volume. For example, you have a video where you’re giving 3 quick tips on Microsoft Ads, add a sound, and turn the volume to 1 or 2% that way you’ll still be able to hear yourself but also reap the other benefits.

Instagram

Instagram is a photo-sharing social media platform, making it the best choice for those in visual or creative industries to show off their work and talent.

For example, if you’re a designer, upholster, or photographer, this is the platform for you. Share pictures of your work and build a visual portfolio of your talent.

As well as photo sharing, Instagram offers numerous other ways to share content, similar to TikTok, Instagram offers Reels for short, snappy videos. 

Prefer to create longer-form videos like behind-the-scenes or tutorials? No problem, you’ll want to check out IGTV. 

Not to forget, as of 2020 Instagram now also offers guides, a cross between image carousels, and a blog post. 

The benefits of Instagram

• Find people and inspiration through #hashtags – while getting more exposure to your own work.
• If you have temporary posts that you don’t want to live on your feed you can use stories. Stories also allow you to ask questions or create polls and help promote engagement with your audience.
• Use story highlights to create categories on your profile to save old content and quickly show visitors what you can offer.
• There are so many different ways to share content, keeping your profile fresh and your audience engaged. 

The downsides

• You can’t post links on your pictures. You can link people through your stories or through your bio if needed.
• You can post comments and reply to other people’s posts, but it’s not the best for having conversations with others or taking part in group discussions.

Top tip: It’s best to think about a professional Instagram as a personal brand, you want to find a visual style that works for you, where possible try to stick to this style, whether it’s a certain preset or border. Your profile should look pleasing as a whole. Canva can be a great tool to help you create images and save your colors and fonts.

Facebook

Now you may wonder why I left Facebook until last, surely one glance at this graph should show why making a professional Facebook account is worth it…

And it’s a good point, The sheer amount of users and activity that Facebook offers is like no other.

However, Facebook for many is viewed as a personal platform, the algorithm itself will favor posts from friends and family over pages you follow, however, that isn’t to say Facebook can’t be used by professionals. 

If you want to use Facebook for professional use, it may be worth creating a separate account, purely for that purpose. 

Alternatively, you can make use of groups to network and build a name for yourself. Groups are becoming really popular, even businesses are using groups to create an active community. It also means you don’t have to post work-related things to your friends or have to build out your friend list with professionals. Even us at Adzooma have a digital marketing group that you can join here.

The benefits of Facebook

• Millions of active users, making it a great place to find and connect with other professionals.
• Groups and pages make it easy to find and join communities
• The algorithm is much better than LinkedIn’s, helping you see relevant and recent updates first.

The downsides

• Is still largely a personal platform and people might not respond kindly to friend requests.

Top tip: Make the choice early on how you’re going to use Facebook. If you want to keep your personal account personal, stick to groups and pages. If you want to connect with others, create a new, professional account or business page first. It will save you a lot of time and hassle later on.

Other social media platforms you may want to consider

Some honorable mentions:

Pinterest

Pinterest is the only social media platform to offer a visual search. So, if you’re in the visual industry, you might want to get on board with Pinterest.

95% of Pinterest users say that the social media platform inspires them, and 91% say it helps them achieve their goals. Those are powerful motivators that you want to get behind. Rather than a ‘thought-leader’, you can become a professional source of inspiration on Pinterest by creating boards and pin images that will inspire your network or customers.

Reddit

Unlike other websites, Reddit forbids marketing – which means it’s often overlooked as a way to build your professional profile. But Reddit does provide unique opportunities to help people solve problems and contribute their expertise to help others learn.

There are often subreddits for certain industries or topics that you can get involved in or questions you can help users answer. You can even start a ‘Ask Me Anything (AMA)’ subreddit, where you encourage people to ask you questions.

YouTube

YouTube is filled with influencers and experts teaching their top tips and sharing their knowledge through engaging videos. Just like Google Ads Specialist Odolena Kostova. She posts updates to her YouTube channel about all things Google Ads and has been sharing some of her best tips with us as a guest blogger.

YouTube can be a tough one to tackle, unless you already have the following or you can keep up the consistency of posting, you may decide to look to one of the other channels.

Showcase, network & socialize

Fundamentally, building a successful professional profile online is about three core things:

1. Showcasing who you are and you’re expertise
2. Networking with your peers
3. Socializing with your followers or connections to build trust and credibility.

The exact platform you’re using depends on what you’re looking for and the industry. But, no matter what social network you’re using: be honest and be yourself. At least, to a certain degree.

You’re trying to build a professional version of yourself, not someone else. Don’t be afraid to give your actual opinions and put your own stamp on how you network online, rather than try to copy others.

All that’s left is to choose your platform, sign up and get talking.

All the best,

Katherine.

TL;DR

• Google Ads are one of the best ways to get started advertising online.
• The first step to creating winning ads is to choose your keywords wisely, researching more than just how much they will cost you.
• What a Google Ad is made from and why you need to create copy that will appeal directly to your customer.
• Advertising online isn’t just about your ads. It’s about taking people to a landing page that builds trust and helps convert your visitors into customers.

If you have a website for your business, online advertising is the perfect way to boost your sales.

And the best part? It’s easily accessible.

No matter the size of your business or how long it’s been running, there are plenty of ways to advertise online without breaking the bank.

But there’s a lot of guides and blog posts about it on the Internet which can be confusing. And that brings us nicely onto today’s question…

“Dear Adzooma,

I’ve run a business for selling materials for trades and home DIY projects and want to advertise my stock online. 

I want to take care of this myself, but some of the guides are a little out of my depth. What I need is someone to just explain to me, in very simple terms, the best way to get started and what I need to focus on first. 

The rest, I’m sure, will come in time. I just need step 1. 

So, Katherine, how do I get started with online ads? 

Thanks“

Richard

You’ve come to the right place, Richard.

Before we get stuck in, we need to give you a word of warning. (We’d love to keep it all sunshine and puppy dogs, but sadly, the internet can be tough and harsh sometimes.)

Before you go galloping off into the distance, know there’s no single ‘online advertising’ solution to your business. There are different ways of getting your business in front of new customers, which will have their own unique advantages and disadvantages.

For example, if you’re looking to tell as many new customers about your business as possible – social media advertising might be what you need.

But generally, if you’re looking to get started, Google Ads is the best place you can begin.

Why?

Just think about the sheer popularity of Google. Every day, over 3.5 billion Google searches are made.

That’s a ridiculous amount. But it shows that whenever a customer wants something, that’s where they’ll turn to. It’s what they use to find restaurants, businesses or presents for their loved ones.

Google Ads is how you target a customer at the exact time they’re searching for businesses like yours. Which means you can get more traffic from higher quality leads that are more likely to convert.

Don’t worry, it’s quick and easy to get started. There are just 3 simple things you need to do to create high-earning campaigns.

1. Choose Your Keywords

Keywords are the building blocks of online advertising.

They are the words or phrases you use to describe your ad. So, if you are running a campaign to advertise your bakery products, you might use keywords like:

• Cakes
• Cupcakes
• Custom cakes

If someone searches something containing your keyword, your ad makes a bid to show up in front of them. This means that your keywords play a key role in making sure your adverts are seen by the right audience.

But don’t be intimidated. You don’t need a marketing degree to choose them.

In fact, you just need to follow these two steps:

• Think about your customers. Your keywords need to be relevant to your ads and audience. Also, consider the actual terms your customers will be searching to find your ad. So, don’t just target generic keywords like “horses”. Instead, try more specific keywords like “horses for sale” or “horses near me”.
• Research your keywords! Use tools like SEMRush’s Keyword Magic Tool to see if people are searching for those keywords and how much your bids are likely to cost you. Don’t get too caught up though. Higher search volumes aren’t always a good thing and can mean a higher cost and more competition for you to beat.

Once your campaigns are live, you can use your data to really perfect your keywords.

2. Create Your Ads

Once you’ve got your keywords, there’s nothing stopping you from making your adverts.

They are simpler than you think.

Your standard advert is made up of the following things:

• Headlines. You can have 3 headlines, up to 30 characters each. 
• Website URL. This is the webpage that your visitors will be sent to when they click on your advert. 
• Description. You can have 2 descriptions of up to 90 characters. 

That’s it.

Worried about the character count? Don’t sweat it, you’ll become great at writing short and snappy sentences in no time at all.

The secret to writing great Google Ads is to create engaging, benefit-driven and targeted adverts that really convince your customers to click.

It’s no use just telling you. Let’s show you an example advert for a florist:

This first example won’t get you many clicks.

Don’t get us wrong, the information it’s saying isn’t technically wrong. But, it’s too vague. It’s trying to appeal to everyone at once and burying a key benefit of free delivery right at the bottom.

Instead, compare it to this example:

It’s more targeted and snappier. It knows exactly who it’s appealing to – and talks directly to them. It’s putting its benefits front and centre so you know exactly why users will want to click.

Don’t get it right the first time?

One of the best things about Google Ads is that you can constantly change and test new adverts.

You’re never going to be limited by one advert. Run several and test them against each other.

Don’t stop there. Keep testing and looking at your data. That’s how you get kickass ads that make you money.

Want to know more about different ad types? Read our article on responsive search ads and, for a more fun take, our special Pokemon-themed Google Ads guide.

3. Build A Targeted Landing Page

Once your users have clicked your ads, they need somewhere to go.

This is called your landing page. It should be easy to remember, as it’s the page of your website that your visitors land on.

Landing pages are where you need to turn your visitors into customers or leads. This is called a conversion.

Sadly, conversions don’t happen by magic. People don’t just land on your website and then suddenly decide to buy or get in touch.

They need something that gives them the information they want and encourages them to take action. This is what your landing page is there for. 

Want to harness the power of your landing pages?

There are a few fundamental elements you need to create a landing page that converts. To make it easier, we’ve put them into a pretty neat word for you:

CONVERTS

It should be pretty easy to remember as it’s the goal you want to achieve! Wow. It’s almost like that was done on purpose.

Anyway, here’s what it stands for:

C – Clear CTA

Whether you want your visitors to add an item to a card, ring your company or fill in a form, there’s a specific action that you need them to take.

Your CTA (Call To Action) is the thing that encourages them to do it.

It should be direct, to the point, and snappy. 

Struggling for inspiration? Use these as examples:

• Get your free quote today 
• Book your expert fitting 
• Order now for free shipping! 
• Start your free month 

O – Offer

Holy smokes, you have an amazing discount for new customers? You provide free delivery? You’ll give a tote bag out with any order?

If you’ve got an offer, no matter what it is, make it loud and clear. 

They’re a powerful motivator and something that should never be hidden.

N – Narrow Focus  

Don’t try and include everything into your landing page. Instead, make sure your page only focused on a specific product or service that you offer – relevant to the ad you’ve created.

A famous jam jar experiment once proved that having more choice doesn’t make people more likely to buy. In fact, it actually lowers your conversions.

Why?

Because more choice means more work for your customer’s brain. The more they have to think and the less likely they are to buy.

So, keep it simple and your focus narrow.

Don’t worry, you can easily create different pages for the other services you offer.

 V – Vital Information Only 

Don’t waffle on about things that aren’t important.

Boil the information on your page down to what really matters. And no, sorry, this probably won’t include how your business was founded.

Not sure what that is? Think about your customers. Everyone who visits your website will be asking the same, core question:

What’s in it for me?

Your landing page needs to answer that question. If it doesn’t, it needs to go. Simple.

E – Engaging Headline

The headline is one of the most important parts of your landing page.

It’s what draws people in. It’s what encourages them to read on. It’s the sweet little taster that really gets your visitors hungry for more. 

Don’t just take it from us though. It’s something that’s been said over and over again. In fact, here’s a pretty good quote from advertising legend David Ogilvy:

“Headlines get five times the readership of the body copy. If your headline doesn’t sell, you have wasted your money. Your headline should promise a benefit, or deliver news, or offer a service, or tell a significant story, or recognize a problem, or quote a satisfied customer.”

R – Responsive Design 

Responsive web design is essential for any modern website.

Why? Because not everyone will view your landing page on the same device.

You never know if your customers are going to visit your website from a computer, mobile or tablet. So, you need to account for all of them. 

Responsive design is how you do this, as it automatically resizes your website depending on the device people to view it on.

With a responsive design, you have confidence that your website will always look its best to every user.

T – Trust 

A landing page is designed to do one thing: encourage people to take action.

To do that you need to do two things:

1. Convince your visitors that they want or need your product
2. Reassure them that they can trust you 

So how do you build customer trust?

Through guarantees. Through accreditation. Through reviews. 

Offer a 30-day free trial? Do you have a 5-year guarantee? Do you have any industry-specific qualifications? Are you listed on CheckATrade? Did you win any awards for your product?

Tell your users about them and give them a reason why they can be confident buying from you.

S – Social Proof 

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is a powerful thing.

No one wants to be left behind and be the only one left out. So much so that it will actually drive a lot of visitors to take action just so they’re not left out.

You build this fear with social proof.

This includes using testimonials and reviews from real customers. Because nothing says you’re missing out than proof that dozens of people are already enjoying your product…

Social proof isn’t just about creating a FOMO. It’s also about building trust.

After all, nothing proves that your company and product is trustworthy than proof from other real-life people.

It’s why we have them on our own website.

If you still need a helping hand creating your landing pages, here are some of our favourite tools you can use:

• Simvoly
• Webnode
• Zyro
• Weebly
• Landingi

One more thing…

You also need to make sure your landing page offers a good UX. This basically means ensuring it’s easy to understand and use.

It’s fundamental for every website. After all, if people can’t understand how to use it, they won’t. End of story. 

Hopefully, this gives you the tools you need to get advertising online in no time.

All the best,

Katherine

TL;DR

• SEO is a tricky, slow-acting beast. It can take time to see results.
• If you’re not ranking for a keyword, you need to make sure your website hits Google’s quality guidelines.
• Keep an eye on your domain authority and make use of EAT to guide your content.
• Look at what websites are ranking and assess if you’re targeting the right keywords.

There are over 63,000 Google searches being made every single second. That’s on a scale that’s just impossible to comprehend.

There is one key thing that you should take from this stat: potential.

With all these searches happening every second, there’s always the potential for your audience to find your business online.

If you’re at the top of these searches, there’s no limit on how many customers you’ll reach and bring to your website. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is how you do this. That’s why 57% of B2B marketers say that SEO generates more leads than any other marketing initiative.

The biggest problem with SEO that it’s slow. You’re never going to get instant results from it and sometimes it can be hard to know if what you’re doing is actually making a difference or not.

The question

Which brings us onto today’s question…

“Dear Adzooma,

I run a tattoo parlour that’s just off the high-street in my local town. We don’t get much natural footfall for our location, so we used to rely on word of mouth to get new customers. But recently I’ve been building our store online to get more new customers.

I’ve added a lot of content to try and rank for relevant keywords about the individual services that we offer over the past few months. But it’s been a long process and we’re keen to see if any of it has made a difference. However so far nothing seems to have changed.

It’s frustrating and after investing so much time and resources already, I’m unsure of what the next steps are.

So, why I am not ranking for my keywords?

Thanks!”

Mylene

Thanks for getting in touch, Mylene!

You’re not the only business to be in this scenario. SEO can be a deliberately tricky and slow-acting beast. Especially when Google keep their cards especially close to their chest about what factors actually contribute to their algorithm.

You can’t blame them for that though. If everyone knew exactly the algorithms work, then anyone could cheat the system. The SERPs would be like the Wild West.

There are some rules. There are some guidelines. But when you’re trying to improve your rankings, it’s hard to tell what is holding you back.

So let’s start your step-by-step troubleshooting guide.

How’s your website doing?

Even if you’ve done everything right and got each technical detail set, if your website isn’t up to scratch, it won’t rank.

Google puts its users first. That means making sure that only quality, relevant websites end at the top of the search results. Think about it. Let’s say you want a copy of David Bowie’s albums on vinyl. If you Googled ‘David Bowie Vinyl’, you’d expect to see a list of places that sell the exact thing you’re after.

However, if you made that search and only found fan-websites that slandered David Bowie as an artist or un-trustworthy sellers that want your credit card information for “100% authentic Davies Bowtie vinyls”, you wouldn’t be impressed.

If Google only served these results, you’d go elsewhere.

Quality websites are rewarded better than anyone. If you’re struggling to rank, it’s time to look at your website as a whole. Not just your keywords.

Step 1: Check your domain authority

Your domain authority (DA) is basically a fancy metric that shows how trusted your website is. It was created by Moz and scores your website from 1-100.

It’s important to mention domain authority is not a Google-approved metric and they do not use it in their algorithms, and it won’t directly affect ranking. DA is an approximation based on multiple factors and shouldn’t be taken as a perfect measure of a website.

But it does give an indication of where you stand and where to improve.

Just don’t set your sights on that 100 mark. It’s almost impossible to get your rating this high due to how the system works. Also, no two websites are the same. If you’re looking to improve your DA, you should look at other sites in your niche and what their scores are. If they’re all below 50, that’ll be your “ceiling”.

Secondly, it’s not all in your control. If a website that ranks higher does well, you might be proportionally lowered. That’s because no website can go over 100. So the scale is recalculated to accurately show everyone’s position.

Want to find out your DA? Download the free MozBar Chrome extension for an up-to-date look at your domain authority and probability to rank for your keywords.

Step 2: Review your content 

My colleague once so eloquently wrote:

“If a website’s design is the bones, the words are the flesh”.

I love that image. Professional flattery aside, the point of this quote is that your content is the most important part of your website. It’s the juicy meat that draws visitors in, tells them the full story and pushes them into action.

Without content, you’ll just have a useless skeleton.

Google’s own Andrey Lipattsev stated that high-quality content and link building are the most important factors used for ranking. Now, I’ll cover link building later on. But in terms of quality content, you’re left with just one question.

What do they mean by quality?

Quality is an annoyingly vague term that can cover lots of areas. If quality means enjoyable or entertaining, there’s no way to measure that. If it means that it’s factual, it might be dry, bland and completely unreadable.

To clear this up, Google came up with a delicious quality concept: EAT. (Ha, delicious and EAT! Get it?!).

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Yeah… it’s not the most engaging acronym in the world.

In more detail:

• Expertise. This is, surprisingly, all about being an expert in your industry. It’s showing that you’ve got the credentials, experience and knowledge on your industry. And no, you don’t need formal certificates for this. Google’s “everyday expertise” counts those with life experience as experts. 
• Authoritativeness. This is all about how others perceive you and how well your brand is recognised in your industry. 
• Trustworthiness. This is about providing trustworthy, honest and true information to your visitors. No lying or trying to deceive people. Just straight up facts (sourced if relevant) and the good old honest truth. 

The TL;DR? Create relevant content that answers customer questions.

If you haven’t already, it’s also worth checking through Google’s Webmaster guidelines.

What websites are ranking?

If you’re not ranking – who is?

Look at the websites that are ranking for the keywords. Now, we’re not going to encourage copying the competition but it’s useful to know who you’re actually fighting against and what they’re doing.

Is it mostly blog posts? Videos? Sales pages? Find out what they are ranking for and figure out how you can use this on your own website.

Generally, the more content you have, the better it is for your business. 47% of consumers view 3-5 pieces of content before talking to a salesperson.

If they’re all global companies, like Nike, Apple, or Amazon, then chances are you’re not actually going to beat them. Sorry!

In this case, you may need to track and change new keywords. Use SEMRush’s Keyword Magic Tool – the tool shows you what keywords your competitors are bidding on and generates over 2 million keyword ideas for your SEO and PPC campaigns. You’ll also be able to see what keywords face less competition. While you’re going this, make sure you consider search intent.

When you do this, also consider keyword intent in your research. No one will ever Google things for fun. They do it because they have a specific purpose in mind, whether that’s to get information, to find something, to compare products or to buy.

Search intent is summed up pretty nicely in these categories:

It’s also worth considering long-tail keywords with low search volumes. That might sound counter-productive, but if they’re really niche and there’s little to no competition, you’re more likely to rank at the top and grab yourself a better ROI.

You can also use Adzooma’s SEO Performance Report to see where your website ranks for selected keywords as well as other phrases that you might not be aware of. The report is available to Adzooma users, try the basic version for free to get a taste of what this report can offer. Not an Adzooma user? Sign up for free, here.

The bottom line here?

• Make sure you’re trying to rank for keywords that aren’t heavily competitive
• Have an intent that matches your business needs
• Establish yourself in your industry niche.

Nail these three and your rankings will improve.

Good content marketing can generate quality backlinks

You run a tattoo parlour, Mylene. That means your aim is to get more people to visit your parlour and get tattoos. But you might not want to write about your parlour all the time and that’s fine. So you could write about the best tattoos you’ve ever seen or where the word tattoo came from.

This is called content marketing. You’re writing about your industry without directly selling your product. It shows you’re an expert in your field and builds trust in your services and your overall brand. After all, you’re the one with a tattoo needle in your hand – they need to trust you!

Content Marketing Institute found that 72% of marketers say content marketing increases engagement. Now, you’re not a marketer by trade but if you’re writing the content, this applies to you. Increased engagement = increased opportunity to gain customers.

Content promotion

But once it’s written, never let your content just sit there and go to waste.

If you’ve written a great piece of content, get the word out. Push it out across your social accounts and get people reading it. If you can, get people to link back to it. Backlinks are incredible for your SEO. They help improve your authority and tell Google that your website is one to be trusted. This will help push you into the top 10.

Just don’t get totally caught up on the links though. They’re important, but not the only ranking factor to focus on.

It’s more important to make sure you’ve created a quality website with content that your users trust and find value in. This is how you rank for a keyword.

Once that’s done, it just takes time to see results.

All the best,

Katherine.

TL;DR

• Creating ‘SMART’ marketing goals can give small businesses a better idea of where to spend their budget.
• Researching your competitors and spending your budget in areas they’re lacking can drive more customers to your business.
• Though organic social media is free, it’s still just as significant as paid social media.
• Money doesn’t equal leads – research, testing and strategic decisions do.

Social media spending is expected to rise by 73% over the next five years.

No matter the size of your business, having a realistic social media budget is crucial to your success. Not just because you’ll be able to improve your paid ads, but because it allows for more internal resources, time and effort to be spent on organic traffic.

In return, you can drive more growth for your business, build brand awareness and strengthen customer loyalty – with budget left over for creative ad hoc projects.

But setting a budget can be difficult. For some SME’s, their social media budget is spent entirely in the wrong areas, causing them to fall behind their competitors and their social accounts to stagnate.

Which brings us nicely onto today’s question.

“Dear Adzooma,

I help run a rustic cafe in the Peak District. It’s a lovely place, but a bit out of the way. It’s something that travellers stumbled across on their rambles.

We started posting things ad hoc on Instagram and Facebook and it started to build an interest. We found customers actually recommended us to new people and more people started coming through the doors.

Now we’re looking to do it seriously and have put a set budget aside. But with everything being ad hoc before, we’re not sure how much we need to spend on advertising or running our profiles as normal.

So, where should we spend our social media budget?

Thanks!”

James

Congrats on your social media success so far, James!

Looks like you’ve stumbled on a taste of what you could achieve with more budget and time. Now, speaking of this budget, it’s not an easy one to answer.

There’s no straight forward split or guide. I’m not going to tell you to put 60% into advertising and 40% on your normal profiles. It all depends on one key thing: your goals.

Work out what you want to achieve

If you’re going to take anything from this article, make it this:

You need a clear objective before you start spending your budget.

Don’t get me wrong, there are other factors you need to consider too, but deciding what you want from your socials always comes first. You can’t spend your budget in the right places otherwise.

Think about every time you see an irrelevant ad. That’s someone’s budget wasted targeting the wrong people, in the wrong place, with the wrong content. But because they’ve used paid marketing, they assume the outcome will be better.

For a better example, imagine buying an outfit with no idea where you’re going. You’d spend the whole day splurging on fancy clothes that might never get worn, all for an event that ‘might’ happen.

You’d be wasting your budget – just like businesses who spend money on paid ads for the sake of it.

Put simply, your social media budget depends on your goals, the number of customers you want to reach and most importantly, the size of your business.

• As a small business, you should start by testing different platforms and creating ‘SMART’ marketing goals that you can work towards.
• As a large or medium-sized business, research your competitors and find out what differentiates your brand from theirs. If their posts don’t perform very well, you could create a content-driven strategy to encourage more engagement.

What does your social media budget entail?

Many businesses assume that having a social media budget means having money to spend on paid adverts, but that’s only half of it. Spending your budget wisely also means making use of free services so that you can maximise your paid advertising and make a bigger impact.

So while some traffic is free (organic), that doesn’t mean it’s worthless. A lot of time and resource is still put into it to attract customers in the first place.

Organic

Organic social media is everything you aren’t directly paying for.

This includes the day-to-day activities you do without even thinking about, such as replying to customers, naturally building an audience and posting regular updates. Basically, the things you do on your personal accounts.

It may be technically free, but it takes time. And time is money.

• As a small business, you can use organic social media to build an audience and show that you’re a genuine brand. Start small, post consistently (not spammy) and make sure you respond to mentions – both good and bad.
• As a medium-sized business, take the time to create an individual strategy for each social media platform so that you can repurpose content and reach a wider audience.    
• As a large business, set yourself apart with amazing customer service that enhances your brand. Make use of your team to remain at the front of the conversation while simultaneously posting engaging content.

Paid social

Paid social is the exact opposite.

It involves all of the advertising you pay for, including boosted posts, native ads, in-stream video ads and story ads. This type of advertising can help you work out the lifetime value of your customers so you know where to invest your budget in the future.

While organic social media helps you inject personality, paid ads can amplify your results, help you reach an ultra-targeted audience and most importantly, provide measurable data.

• As a small business, run a few ads at a time and see how they perform. Target a narrow audience without excluding too many people, e.g. East Midlands rather than the entire UK population.
• As a medium-sized business, look into more advanced ads to hit your customers while they’re browsing, e.g. Facebook Messenger ads, Instagram Rewarded videos and Twitter Conversational ads.
• As a large business, work smarter, not harder. Use social media management tools like Crowdfire and PromoRepublic to streamline your processes, monitor your ad performance and gain valuable insight into multiple channels.

Want more information? Read our article on how to choose the best social media marketing services.

Which social media platforms are right for my company?

To help you make up your mind, here are loads of relevant social media stats to leaf through, because making the most of your budget doesn’t mean paying for sponsored posts on every single platform.

It’s about maximising results on the platforms that work for you, rather than trying to make platforms work for you with paid ads.

No one on Linkedin cares about your vintage 80’s fashion pieces whether you’ve paid for them to see your ad or not. They care about making professional contacts, business opportunities and engaging in corporate conversations.

Splashing your budget on any and every platform will only drive customers further away from you and lower your ROI (return on investment).

• As a small business, use a couple of platforms like Facebook and Twitter/Instagram to begin with. Do some research into similar brands and see where they get the most engagement.
• As a large or medium-sized business, advertise on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram simultaneously. Share similar content across all platforms and monitor engagement to see what works best, before expanding your reach across the web.

How much money should you spend in total?

There are no strict rules here.

You’ve probably seen some numbers floating around the internet or been advised to spend X amount a month by your financial friend. They’re wrong.

You won’t know exactly how much you should or shouldn’t spend on social media advertising until you get started and measure the results. Every business is different. Someone selling pensioner socks wouldn’t benefit from spending £70,000 on Instagram advertising as much as someone selling OTT utility mesh neon belted chain outfits for festival-goers.

Not because pensioner socks are terrible (if you sell them, we’re sorry), but because 65% of Instagram users are 18-34, and only 2.8% are 65+.

The amount of money you spend depends on how much you’re going to get out of each platform. If 90% of your customers are on Facebook, Facebook advertising is for you.

If your business is completely B2C, avoid Linkedin at all costs.

• As a small business, start small rather than trying to splurge straight away. But don’t spend so little that it doesn’t make a difference.
• As a large or medium-sized business, find out where your customers are and spend the most money on those platforms. Pay attention to where your ads are being served, as like Facebook Ads, you have the choice to set a daily or lifetime budget.

The wiser you are, the higher your chances of success

As social media spending is expected to skyrocket, you can’t afford to spend your budget with your eyes shut. Your competitors would steal your customers.

But that doesn’t mean you need to go searching for the ‘recommended’ budget or copy what everyone else is doing. The amount of money, time and resources you put into your marketing entirely depends on your goals.

For example, if you want a few customers, you don’t need to spend £2,000 every day. But if you want to reach millions of people, get more leads and have a consistent stream of customers, you might consider it.

Ultimately, be realistic for the size of your business and account for both organic and paid social media, and you’ll be on your way to success.

All the best,

Katherine.

TL;DR

• Advertising your business online is a great way to bring new customers through your door. We’ve got a list of the 5 quickest ways to get started.
• For trade businesses, you need to get listed on online directories, like CheckATrade.
• Build authority and trust, by stating social media profiles and begin blogging on your own website.
• Get your business to the top of Google with SEO and draw more eyes to your business with Newsworthy PR stories.

More and more businesses are using online advertising to get new customers through their doors.

And why wouldn’t they? Online advertising is projected to make over $20bn (approx. £15bn) in revenue in 2020.

But there are many advertising platforms and it can be tough to know which or how many to use.

And, let’s face it, you simply don’t have time to test them all.

Which brings us on to today’s question:

Dear Adzooma,

Our family has owned our trade company for the past 40 years. We’re a proper part of the local community and have mostly got new customers through word of mouth.

But that doesn’t seem to have the power it used to back in my dad’s day. I want to bring in some fresh customers into the business and put us on the same map as the new trades people who are getting customers online.

We know we’re better than most of the other tradespeople in the area. But we’re losing out because people can’t find us online. That’s why we need to get set up as quickly as possible.

So, what is the easiest way to promote my business online? 

Mitch

You’ve come to the right place, Mitch.

With all my years in the industry, I know what works and what doesn’t. I’ve done the testing for you, so you can jump straight into the benefits of online advertising.

Here are 5 free, quick, and easy ways you can promote your business online.

1. Use online listing directories

Remember the Yellow Pages? Those massive yellow books that listed businesses run by every Tom, Dick & Harry in your area.

Well, before they rebranded as Yell, people relied on them to find services in their area – plumbers, electricians, builders, carpenters, you name it.

The Yellow Pages are no longer distributed, but online listing directories run under the same principle. Only now they’re quicker and more convenient to use.

Local business listings are some of the easiest ways to solve potential customers’ problems.

This is particularly useful for trade industries.

Take CheckATrade for example.

With over 12 million businesses listed on the website, CheckATrade is one of the most trusted online directories for finding tradespeople within the UK.

That’s because it doesn’t just list your business. It provides a place for people to rate the company and leave reviews, which a lot of people will check before they call.

This ensures that the companies are reliable, fully qualified, and do a good job.

Essentially, they help build trust which leads to repeat custom.

CheckATrade is perfect for exposure and as an invaluable tool for gaining customers for free.

Other local listing services to consider

• Google My Business – promoting your business here means you appear on Google searches on the right-hand side of a results page (see Adzooma as an example).
• Yahoo! Small Business – Yahoo! recently had a rebrand but much of their features remain the same, including Yahoo! Small Business. The bad news this is for US businesses only and there’s no UK alternative. But if you’re from the US, you have the opportunity to join a major database of local businesses
• Bing Places for Business – Microsoft’s local listing service acts in the same way as Yahoo! and Google by allowing local business owners to promote their services on Bing’s network. They can also add and verify up to 10,000 business listings.

2. Use social media

With billions of active worldwide users, social media is one of the best ways to expand your reach and create free awareness for your brand.

But social media isn’t just for brand awareness. It’s a fantastic network to build relationships with consumers and strengthen customer loyalty.

That’s because the majority of users on social media are active users.

They’re posting their own content online, interacting with people, and constantly checking the apps on their phones. In fact, 74% of Facebook users visit the website every single day.

If that’s not enough to want to join in, then know this:

Businesses on social media have improved their ROI (Return On Investment) by 119%.

Before you dive in headfirst, here are some top tips to follow:

• Don’t use every platform available. Stick to the ones you know and the ones that your customers are actually using. That means you don’t necessarily have to be on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
• Be careful with hashtags. Not every platform uses hashtags in the same way, so do your research. Buffer wrote a scientific guide to hashtags. #Success. #NailingIt.
• Post relevant content. Make sure your content is on-brand and provides value to your followers.
• Use high-quality images. Images improve engagement – but only if they’re good ones. Don’t use cheesy stock photos or low-quality images or you’ll ruin the reputation of your brand. And use GIFs sparingly.
• Schedule your posts for the best times. Don’t just post whenever you feel like – post when your customers are online for maximum engagement. 
• Stay active online! Don’t post one update and leave for 3 months or your customers might think you’ve gone out of business. Keep your profiles active and always respond when people interact with you. Services like Buffer and Sprout Social can help with scheduled social media updates.

Not sure how much to spend on social media? Don’t worry – I’ll be writing about where to spend your social media budget soon!

3. Start blogging

If you’ve read any marketing articles over the last two decades, you might have seen this phrase a lot:

‘Content is king’

Bill Gates said it in 1996 and it’s true.

But not just any old content. Just like your social media updates, it needs to be relevant and serve search intent. Blogging is a great way to to do that by writing about relevant topics that your customers will find useful. This includes topics that answer common questions in your niche and solve problems related to your industry.

Make them engaging with titles that create curiosity and convince people to read.

Struggling with inspiration? Here are a few to get you started:

• 10 Easy Ways To Make Money Online 
• How To Install A Roof Window In Just 9 Minutes
• The 3 Summer Must-Haves You Need In Your Wardrobe 
• Are You Making This Costly DIY Mistake? 
• The 100% Guaranteed Way To Tell If Your Cat Is Trying To Kill You

You don’t have to just write blog posts for your own website either.

Want extra advertising? Create a high-quality guest post on someone else’s blog that your customers are likely to read. There, you’ll have an extra source of traffic to lead back to your own website. For more on this practice, read our article on backlinks.

Don’t forget – your blogs also make great social media posts.

4. Understand SEO 

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of getting your website into search engines. When people search for things, you want to be on the first page.

I can’t stress how important SEO is for your business.

Customers use search engines like Google to find nearly every business. Think about it. Need a plumber? Google search. Need a florist delivery service? Google. Locked out at 3am by your partner and need a marriage counsellor – oops, locksmith? Google.

But there are other search engines around (it’s just that Google is by far the most popular in the world).

In fact, 67% of web users won’t go past the five listings on a search engine results page (not including the ads).

Want to get your website to the top of the rankings?

SEO is how you do it.

Unfortunately, search engines keep everything rather close to their chest. This is so no one can fool the system and cheat their way to the top.

Don’t worry though, there are tactics and guidelines to follow that will help naturally build your SEO. Such as:

• Pick relevant keywords. Don’t try and target everything to do with your business. Think about what it is your customers are actually going to be searching for and build your keywords around that. There are profitable benefits in targeting keywords that not many people search for. As strange as that sounds, our article on low search volume keywords will explain more.
• Don’t stuff your keywords. Trying to fit your keyword into your content, plumber, as many times, plumber, as humanly possible, plumber, doesn’t actually help your SEO. All it does is drag the quality of your content down and Google may penalise you.
  • Instead, write unique, insightful and helpful content. When users are searching for something, there’s a particular answer or product they need. Your job is to give them what they want (what they really really want). It’s not only helpful for your customers – but search engines rank pages higher for doing this. That includes providing helpful links to your other pages and external sites that show authority.
• Build links in your blogs. When you create blogs, make sure to include links to strengthen your SEO. This doesn’t just include pages on your own website but also includes other relevant, high-quality sources.
• Use clear and relevant URLs. Don’t use URLs that make no sense, like www.kittens.com/dsh/aos/182947. Tell your users exactly what’s on the page and help search engine bots (or web crawlers) understand your website, with URLs like www.kittens.com/adopt/whitecats. There are also SEO benefits to having relevant keywords in your URLs. But remember not to stuff them in.

There are so many SEO tools you can use that will help get you up the rankings, here are our favourites:

• SEMRush
• Mangools
• SEO PowerSuite
• Answer the Public
• Advanced Web Ranking
• Dashword

Before you start, be prepared. SEO is no quick and easy solution. It takes time to see results – weeks or sometimes months. If you need further help with SEO, check out Adzooma’s SEO Performance Report for free or consider hiring an SEO agency or consultant.

5. Press releases

PR is an excellent way to share news, successes, and updates with your local communities.

This means more exposure, attention and brand awareness for you. Yay!

It can include things like:

• An exciting new product or feature launch for your company. 
• New executives joining your business partnerships with other individuals or companies. 
• Any events that you’re hosting or exhibiting at. 
• Or even winning a prestigious award – after all, you should never be ashamed to boast about your success! 

But don’t overdo it.

Not everything is worthy of PR. Before you get writing, ask yourself this one important question: is it newsworthy?

Would people who know nothing about your business be interested?

Yes? Go ahead! No? Maybe you want to just keep that one as a blog post instead.

You also want to stay up to date with the latest trends to avoid putting out bland press releases nobody wants to read. This presentation on changing trends in digital PR is a good read.

Prepared to spare some budget? Try paid advertising. 

The techniques we’ve outlined are fantastic methods to promote your business.

The problem? While they’re free and easy to implement, they can take time to produce results.

If you want to see results straight away, consider to paid online advertising.

And, when it comes to PPC (Pay-Per-Click Advertising), Google Ads is one of the best places you can get started.

Why?

Because it’s a way of getting your business seen and noticed by your customers. Ads appear right at the top of search results pages and they get right to the heart of what you offer.

That means more exposure, more traffic, more conversions, and fundamentally, more sales.

PPC is nothing to be scared of. Start slow and test what works. Over time, you’ll build and optimise a campaign that’s generating high-quality leads.

Check out our PPC tag for more on paid advertising and how it can help promote your business online.

But this should be enough to get any small local business started online and bringing those customers in.

Hope that helps. All the best,

Katherine

TL;DR

• SEO is an $80 billion industry that can increase conversions and help customers to succeed.
• But it’s not just technical magic. You need a strategy and the right fit to deliver results.
• SEO agencies have big talent pools and access to cutting-edge technologies. They can help you grow and scale but can be expensive and push your company into the background.
• Consultants will always put your business first. But if they’re not the right fit, the whole strategy can come crumbling down.
• Whichever you choose, ask the right questions and put your goals first.

By 2020, the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) industry will be worth $80 billion. 

That’s an unfathomable amount of money. Ever played that game where you ask how you would spend a million in a lottery win? Well, what would you do with £80 billion?  It’s impossible to think about. And frankly quite depressing compared to my own bank account. Sigh.

The SEO industry is worth this much because it can deliver incredible results. In fact, when done right, SEO can drive conversation rates as high as 14.6%.

Why?

Because whenever we need something, we Google it. This search engine alone handles over 3.5 billion searches every single day.

We want that information instantly. And we’re not prepared to dig for it either. 75% of users won’t even go past the first page of the SERPs.

That’s why SEO is important. To get your business high on that search results page and noticed by your users. So, getting the right SEO people on your side is essential. Which brings us nicely onto today’s question. (It’s almost like that was intentional!).

“Dear Adzooma,

I’m currently looking at bringing new clients into our local tax accountancy firm. We recently did our website and have had some success with PPC campaigns. We’ve even got a content marketing strategy in place and starting to roll out on the blog.

It’s all going well – but our SEO is lacking. Our website isn’t ranking organically and we don’t have anyone on the team that knows the technical details on how to improve this. 

We need to bring this onto the team. But I’m not sure on the best route to take here. Do I need an SEO agency or a consultant? 

Thanks,”

Jeremy

Hey Jeremy,

It sounds like you’ve got things mostly under control there. Well done on that front!

You’re completely right about the SEO aspect though. It’s an important part of your digital marketing strategy and website that people often underestimate. 

There’s a lot more to it than inputting the ‘technical details’ and waiting to see your rankings skyrocket. SEO needs a full-blown strategy in its own right. It should influence your content and include things like link building and PR.

It’s a big job. Finding the right person to take it on makes a big difference in your strategy.

It’s not something that you want to rush into, full steam ahead. So before you do anything, let’s look more closely into the pros and cons of having an SEO agency or a consultant.

Should you hire an SEO agency?

First, let’s look into the option of an SEO agency. There are plenty of benefits for going down this route.

An agency is stocked with everything you need to deliver a fantastic and well-executed SEO strategy. This includes teams of talented individuals and access to the latest technology.

Because SEO is all they do, agencies are likely to be at the bleeding edge of the industry. They need to know all the latest updates and guidelines – otherwise, their agency will sink deeper than the Titanic.

In some cases, agencies can also use their vast client base to help form strategic partnerships and improve your link building. Some agencies also have a global reach, making it possible to help scale up your company from a local tax accountancy firm to a national chain if that’s what’s in store for you.

Of course, there are downsides. 

You are not an agency’s number one priority. The world doesn’t revolve around you. It revolves around ME.

Sorry. I get carried away with my own importance sometimes.

The point is that agencies deal with several clients at a time. Their focus and attention might slip and take the foot of the gas. Sometimes, you will need to prompt them to make sure that they keep your car on the road.

Although agencies have a pool of talent, there’s nothing keeping them there forever. Staff turnover in agencies can be pretty high, which might mean you’ll be passed between managers. According to a survey by Forbes, more than 30% of agency employees believed they would be working someplace other than their current company inside of 12 months.

And last but not least, agencies can be pretty pricey. You’re paying for employee time, technology and a lot of overhead. That bill quickly racks up. Worse still, some agencies might try to lock you into expensive contracts you can’t escape.

For some businesses, agencies just aren’t worth the price tag. Finding an affordable SEO agency is a pretty rare thing indeed.

Should you hire an SEO consultant? 

Now you’ve got an overview of the agency, let’s talk about SEO consultants.

Rather than getting an entire company to work alongside you, a consultant lets you hire out the expertise of one particular person without having to hire them as a full-time member of your business.

Excellent.

Unlike an agency, a consultant will give you time that’s completely focused and dedicated to you. There’s no multi-tasking or being pushed to the bottom of the list. Your time is yours alone.

If you’re working with any other marketing agency or other companies, consultants can also help you bridge the gap and ensure that your SEO strategy is correctly implemented across all areas of your business.

The downsides?

Great consultants can be difficult to find. Because there’s a single point of failure, there’s a lot more riding on getting the right match for your business. If they’re not right, the whole thing falls apart. Yikes.

There’s just a single point of failure after all. 

What questions should you ask before you hire?

Making the decision between an SEO agency and a consultant is one stage. You’ve still got to find the right one for your business.

Yes, this is a lot of work. But making the wrong decision will be disastrous, Jeremy.

Before you rush into anything, ask them these questions first. It will help get a better insight into whether they’re right for your company or not.

1. How much do they cost? 

Straight to the point, but this is an important one to ask.

If they don’t fit into your budget, don’t work for them. That’s it. Problem solved.

Right, swiftly moving on.

2. What services do they offer?

This is where you find out exactly what an agency or consultant can provide you. It’s a pretty important question. You don’t want to assume they’ll do everything if they’re only offering a very specific SEO strategy.

So, talk to them about your goals. Tell them what you want to achieve and see how they intend to get you there. 

Just be wary of any ‘guaranteed packages’ or plans that promise a certain amount of links. They sound nice but they don’t work. They’re more akin to black hat SEO, which if you’re not familiar, is a no-no.

This is basically where you use rather distasteful methods to get your website ranking higher. But, if the search engines find out, they can have you banned.

Avoid at all costs.

3. What are their qualifications?

Just like you would do for any interview, you need to to find out if they’re qualified and capable of handling the work.

So, ask for their qualifications and previous experience. The power is in your hands, so make them prove to you that they are worth hiring.  The most important qualification to look out for is a successful experience working with companies just like yours. Which brings us to the next question. 

4. Can they give you case studies of past work? 

Case studies are physical proof that the agency or consultant is able to deliver exactly what they promise.

Just make sure that the case studies are similar to your industry and business size. If they turned around and presented a fantastic story of how they increased M&S’s organic rankings by 2000% – that’s great!

But as a local accountancy firm, it’s not really that relevant.

Ask for case studies that prove how they deliver success for companies like yours. 

5. How will they communicate? 

You also need to work out some of the more nitty-gritty details before you commit.

How often are you going to hear from them and how will they communicate with you? It could be by phone, email, or face-to-face with regular meetings. Not every method works for everybody so it’s important to outline what works best for you and if it’s possible.

If you’re looking at a consultant, will they physically come into your office to work or be a remote worker?

This doesn’t include the physical way that they communicate either but should outline exactly how often you get results and how they intend to measure success. You don’t want to be blindly paying for SEO work with no idea if it’s even working.

Find out the details so there’s no surprises or disappointments down the line. 

Consider your goals to pick the right solution

When finding the right SEO option, figuring out your goals is the first step.

Once you know this, take a look at the pros and cons of hiring an agency versus a consultant and decide which is the best move to help you with your goals.

Then, sit down with them. Spend the time making your goals clear and getting to know them better. Figure out if they’re the right match to help you achieve your goals. If they are, fantastic. If not, keep looking.

That’s how you find the best SEO solution.

All the best,

Katherine.

TL;DR

• Asking how much Google Ads costs is like asking how long is a piece of string?
• Ranking isn’t all about the cost. It’s about relevance and quality too.
• You can save cost by bidding on less expensive keywords further down your sales funnel and by making your campaigns smarter.
• The only way to know for sure is to build your campaigns and test them.

Anyone who wants to see huge success with their business is advertising online. Quicker, cheaper, and more effective, advertising on search engines such as Google just makes sense.

If you want something, what do you do? You Google it. So, as an advertiser, you want to be where everyone is looking.

But advertising online isn’t free. There’s no set price, which gets people scared about spending. Queue today’s question…

“Dear Adzooma, 

I’ve recently set up my own business online. It’s a really exciting change and now I’m ready for the next stage – online advertising. 

This is the first campaign I’ve ever set up. We want everything to go great and are prepared to spend – but at the same time we don’t want to blow our entire budget on the first one. How much does it cost to run Google Ads?”

Megan

Ah, this is one question that comes up for everyone that’s looking into advertising online. So thanks for bringing this one up Megan.

Well, the short answer is… There isn’t really a short answer.

I mean, there is, it just doesn’t help anyone. It’s a bit like asking “how long is a piece of string?”

If you’ll bear with me, I’ll try to explain.

Why Online Advertising Is Different

See, online advertising isn’t like most things. It’s not like buying a computer, a car, a new hairdryer. You don’t get what you pay for. You could spend a fortune and still get something that will blow up once you plug it in.

The main difference with Google ads is that it’s not all about the money you have. 

The most popular general keywords like “insurance” will cost loads and are likely to return weak leads (unless you’re the biggest insurance provider).

But if you’re bidding on “alien abduction insurance over a million”, it’s probably going to be super cheap as I doubt there would be much competition. Better still, you’ll find someone who’s actually interested (if they exist).

It really depends on what industry you’re in. If it’s a saturated market, things are going to get expensive a lot more quickly than searches with little traffic.

The good news is: you can’t just buy your way to the top of the search engine results page (or SERPs).

If you could, you’d definitely have a much harder job finding answers to the things you search for.

We’d find ourselves in a world where you search for a local mechanic to repair your heap of crap that’s died again… and the ads would be inviting you to go to a destruction derby in the USA.

Now, your car’s probably not ready for the scrap heap just yet, and if it was, it definitely wouldn’t make the drive to America. All in all: not helpful.

Relevance, user experience, budget… there’s a whole host of things that get considered when it comes to Ad Rank because Google only wants helpful information. 

Basically: it’s not all about the $$$ bills.

The Funnel

You should picture keywords as a funnel. Say someone searches for “a calendar”.

How many possibilities does that have? I’m exhausted just thinking about writing out the options.

The funnel’s wide end captures everything: generic words, vaguely related things. So, “calendar”, “cheap calendars”, “buy calendar”.

The bottom end has a narrower focus: specific phrases, longtail keywords. This is more “2019 calendar with ginger cats in jumpers”.

As you move from the top to the bottom of the funnel, you go from people who don’t know what they want to the people who do. But, the number of traffic also decreases the narrower it gets.

The further down the funnel you bid, the cheaper and more targetted things become. Obviously, you don’t want to go too far down the tunnel and have no audience, but there’s a sweet spot to find.

The headline: step away from the top of the funnel (expensive and broad), make use of your keyword match types and tighten your focus.

Get Your Head In The Game

If you’re smart and keep revising your Google ads, you’ll get a lot further.

Someone with a much smaller budget could be doing a lot better than a wealthy competitor just by understanding the game better.

Because that’s all it is really, a game.

The aim: who can get to the top.

How to play: apart from a few basic rules, it’s entirely up to you. Make it up as you go along, that’s fine. Read someone else’s tactic sheet, also fine (kind of).

But what you bid on, what campaigns you run, how they’re organised, is all up to you. You’re in total control which is one of the biggest benefits of PPC. 

You won’t find a good (emphasis on the good) guide out there that will tell you exactly what you should be spending. As we’ll talk about later, if you’re doing online advertising well, then you shouldn’t have a budget at all.

Going back to the keywords, you need to work out which are profitable for you. This might surprise you, so test them.

You can use tools like Google Ads Keyword Planner, bid simulators, and a whole other host of tools to suggest what the picture should look like. There are even tools that will give you an idea of what your competitors are bidding on. That might give you an idea of what your costs could look like.

But, it’s all just guesswork until it goes live.

Only then do you see what the playing field really looks like.

Learn To Walk Before You Run

If you’re just starting out, you’re not going to smash it out the park on your first swing.

You need a test budget. This is easier to dictate: get yourself a fixed timeframe, budget and some patience.

Say you’ve got £200 to spend over a week. Start by building a campaign with different ad groups and split the budget equally across each. Then try different combinations.

On the off-chance you’re selling ghost costumes, here are some suggestions:

• “Ghost costumes” (Obviously.)
• “Kids’ ghost costumes next day delivery” (Think about who’s buying: it’s not the kids.)
• “How to make a ghost costume” (This is particularly good if you’re cheap and making one turns out to be a lot of effort.)
• “Fabric ghost outfit with bendable arms” (For those cool ghoul enthusiasts.)

The point is, mix things up with short and longtail keywords. Try different angles. This is the time to take a punt.

Then, wait. Don’t be tempted to mess with things. You need to leave it alone to get accurate results.

After your set timeframe, say a week, you’ll have enough data to know what’s cracking off. But you need to be patient and collect the data first.

The Results

Once you’ve got some numbers to work with, you can start making decisions.

• Which keywords brought the most qualified leads in?
• Which were absolutely a waste of money?
• What was too expensive?
• What was too general?

Just look at the data and use your common sense as to what is working. Don’t be afraid to test something new. The idea is that you take the budget from your underperforming ads and move it to your best ones. Then, rinse and repeat.

However, you don’t have to immediately pause an underperforming ad. Look at why it’s not working. You’ll probably learn more from that than your best ads. And knowledge is power.

Assemble Your Bandmates

Your PPC ads should be part of an overall strategy. If you expect them to be solo superstars, you’ll be booed offstage.

Think of your business as a band. Your ads can be your singers – have as many as you want. Unless they’re singing from a completely different song sheet, they’ll fit right in and harmonise.

But, it’s going to be an acoustic set if you’ve not briefed in your other members.

Your landing page is on drums: it looks after the basic beat of your business, what you’re all about, and bangs it out loud and clear.

You can have as many instruments as you think you need to sound amazing.

Just make sure you remember the most important part: your audience. If you’ve not considered your audience, you’re singing to an empty room. Pointless.

The Future

Scrap the budget. Yep, I said it.

When your Google ads are profitable, costs aren’t as important. Because you shouldn’t set a limit on making money.

Of course, you need to be mindful of your cashflow. If you don’t get money from your clients instantly, you’ll need to build things up slowly.

But once things are up and running, don’t be afraid of spending a £100 a click if it’s getting you double that in business.

You could be paying thousands for clicks, but getting much more in return. By setting an upper limit on your budget, you’ll be setting a limit on the number of customers you’ll get.

Pay attention to the lifetime value of your customer so you can really understand their value and the cost of your Google ads.

Also, take time to understand what your business can handle. You still need to be able to fulfil the needs of your business day-to-day. And if 1000 is too much for you to deal with, you need to be honest about that when setting your goals so you don’t get overwhelmed.

If after a while you’re still at the other end of the spectrum and the limited money you have is just getting wasted, change things up. Use the data you do have to inform new campaigns. Don’t keep flogging a dead horse out of sentiment. Your new horse will get you much further.

Get Testing

So there’s your long answer…

Basically, the cost varies massively from industry to industry how much clicks will cost you. But the funnel analogy works across everything and highlights why it’s worth testing different combinations to find that sweet spot.

It’s not a question of how much money you have, but how you respond to the results you get.

Collect the data: it’s the only way to know what’s going on.

All the best,

Katherine.

Which brings us to today’s Ask Adzooma question:

“Dear Adzooma, 

It’s summer, which means a lot of weddings, BBQs and family gatherings. Which is great, until someone asks about work. 

My brother is a teacher. My sister is a doctor. My cousin is a mechanic. All of these jobs are something that family understand and they can spend hours talking to them about their day. 

But then it turns to me. After I try to explain that I work in SEO for a marketing company, I either get awkward silence or fake statements like “oooh that’s interesting”. That’s it. The conversation moves on and it’s back onto how many lives my sister has saved this week. She always was the family favourite.

It’s hard to talk about what I do to people outside of the industry because they don’t understand it. How could I explain SEO to my grandparents?”

Elle

We feel your pain, Elle. We really do.

It’s an absolute nightmare explaining what you do to people. Especially when you watch all the light behind their eyes die and the immediate regret on their face that says “I wish I just asked them if they had any pets instead”.

The first time I tried explaining this to my own grandparents, I gave up after about 2 minutes.

That’s because they are the furthest people away from the technology that I know. They refuse to get wifi for their home and once famously threw their first mobile phone away because they couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

My conversations usually end with “I work with computers” and they nod and ask me how to fix their camera because this now means I’m good with technology and can do that sort of thing.

But there is a way to explain SEO to your grandparents. You break it down into their level. 

This is actually useful for explaining SEO to anyone that needs it. After all, if you can explain it to your grandparents, you can explain it to anybody.

Break SEO down to its core

Before we dive into how you should explain SEO, we need to take a moment to discuss what it is.

You already know this. But when you’re explaining anything, the first step should always be to break it down.

SEO (search engine optimisation) is a set of strategies to help improve your organic search rankings. That means that on search engines like Google, your business will be shown higher on the list.

The higher you rank, the better this is. It’s not some ego-boosting tactic to see your business on top. Here are the facts:

• The first search result gets 32.58% of all traffic.
• This rate goes down for every position under that.
• The website in 9th place only gets 1.53%. That’s 18 times less than the first position!

The higher you rank, the more traffic you get. 

In essence, SEO is all about getting customers to find your business. Great, now that’s a concept we can roll with and your grandparents can understand.

Relate it to something they’re interested in

If you want to explain a concept to someone, you need to explain it in terms that they’ll understand.

Unfortunately, I don’t know your grandparents. But, using the holy power of stereotypes I’ll just assume that they’re interested in knitting.

And who wouldn’t be? It’s making clothing using tiny swords. Well done to grandma for pulling this off.

Anyway, your grandma wants to knit a special present for their granddaughter. But they need a new ball of yarn in this fantastic purple colour because they just know that baby Jasmine will look amazing in it.

This means a trip to a local store for wool. So, grandma heads off into town where there are 5 different shops that sell the exact wool she’s after.

All of these shops are on the same bus route. Grandma can get off at any time and visit any one of them to get her wool.

So, which one does she go to?

When you’re online, Google tries to answer that question for you.

It puts what it thinks is the most relevant place at the top of the list, so people can go there first. It’s quicker, it’s easier and if they find what they’re looking for, they don’t have to visit any more stores.

SEO is all about making it easier for people to find a particular business, so they’ll visit that store instead.

How does SEO do that?

Okay, your grandparents are absolutely absorbed by your story so far. Here comes the next question: “Well, how do you do that?”.

And boom, now we can get into some of the more interesting parts.

With SEO, there are tactics you can do to make sure that one knitting store is at the top of people’s minds. Such as:

Increasing the store’s authority

This would mean spreading the word about how useful and knowledgeable the store is to its visitors.

In this example, the store’s owner, Karen is the best knitter in the town. There’s absolutely nothing she can’t help you with and her advice is much more trustworthy. You can come in with any knitting problem and she’ll sort you out with the right solution.

The more trustworthy the store is, the more people are likely to visit it first. 

Regularly updating the store’s content

Karen, the store’s owner, doesn’t just sell knitting supplies. She’s always changing the displays with her latest creations and offering the patterns up to anyone who wants to make it at home.

If you knew that there was always something new and exciting going on in her store, people will take a look more often. Which again, makes her store the first one people think of.

Doing these tactics online means that Google recognises that your store should be visited first. So, it moves the website higher on the search pages, which brings in more customers and sales.

Go forth and tell your grandparents

Admittedly, this explanation is a little long.

So, it may be easier to just run away, or pretend that you misunderstood the question.

But if you’ve got the time, break SEO down into its fundamental parts and explain it to them using something that they are familiar with. That’s how you get people to understand it and ultimately be interested in it.

Do this, and suddenly your job is much more interesting than being a regular old teacher.

All the best,

Kathrine.

Kathrine Collins. Bio:

I am the guru of all things online advertising, giving advice from my home that I share with my two cats, Moon and Dustie. When not online, you can find me tending to my lucrative garden, reading up about space travel or relaxing with a glass of wine.

TL;DR

• There’s no short answer to the best times to post on social media, it all depends on each platform and your customers.
• To get started, stick with these guidelines to the peak times on each platform.
• But going forward, you need to test what works for you and the times that your customers are most active.

Social media changed the online world. For many, including Sean Case, social media is the internet. Collectively, there are billions of users worldwide and the number keeps growing.

Every day, more and more businesses are signing up to take advantage of social media marketing. And with some companies seeing their return on investment (ROI) improve by up to 119%, it’s not hard to see why. According to Hootsuite, the number of social media users worldwide in 2019 is 3.484 billion.

Wow. 

That impressive figure brings us nicely on to today’s question. 

“Dear Adzooma, 

I run a little florist shop in East London and have been recommended to start getting on social media to boost sales. This is the first time I’ve run social profiles for business. It’s a whole new world to me and I’m not sure how much we’ll get from it because we aren’t a massive business to begin with. 

We’re in need of some tips to help us start out. A lot of the things I’ve posted so far don’t have a lot of engagement and I’m not sure if I’m posting them at the right times at all. So, my biggest question is, when is the best time to post on social media?

Thanks!” 

Jackie

Thanks for getting in touch Jackie! 

First of all, posting on social media is absolutely worth it for your business. If the sheer reach alone isn’t enough to convince you, maybe this list of benefits will: 

• It makes your company more accessible. If your users have a problem or need to get in touch, they’re likely to try you on social media first before picking up the phone or emailing. If you reply quickly and provide great customer service, your customers will spend on average 21% more on your products. So, you’ll increase your profits by being more accessible.
• As over half the people on social media interact with brands more than once a month, social media is also great for building relationships with your customers. Building on these relationships will increase customer loyalty to your brand, which in turn will increase your sales and profit.
• In addition, 60% of customers will tell their family and friends about a brand that they’re loyal to, expanding your customer pool.
• Plus, every time someone shares or interacts with your posts, you’ll get noticed by a wider audience, making it an excellent way to expand your reach.

Convinced about social yet? Great, let’s discover the best time to post on social media for each platform.

When is the optimal time to post social media updates?

Generally, the best time to post on social media depends on the platform you’re using and the customers you’re appealing to.

If you’re using tools like SproutSocial or Kontentino, they include features that automatically create schedules based on how many posts you’ve got queued up and ready to go out.

But features like this aren’t always the best for your company. Some posts are more important than others – and will need to go out on the days and times that they’ll get the most impact.

That doesn’t mean that as soon as you know the best times to post, that’s the only time you post.

You shouldn’t rely on a strict posting schedule. If you’re only posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12pm exactly, your users will start to notice.

Doing this can make your profiles look unnatural which goes against the ‘in the moment’ and ‘real-time updates’ selling points of the platforms.

Now that warning is over with, let’s look at the best times to post for each platform. All data is taken and collated from SproutSocial, CoSchedule and HootSuite research.

Facebook

• Weekdays are the best time to post on Facebook, particularly in the daytime between 10-3pm.
• Thursday is the most popular day for Facebook, with TrackMaven showing that Thursday at 8pm is a key time to post.
• Wednesdays are also popular on Facebook, particularly between 12-2pm.
• On the weekends, 12-1pm shows the most Facebook engagement.

If you’re B2B the best times to post are around 9am and 3-4pm on a weekday. This is most likely as people prepare to start a normal working day and when they need a break in the afternoon.

For B2C companies, the best times are 9-10am, 12-1pm and 4-5pm. This shows that these customers are likely to check Facebook on their lunch break, as well as the start and end of their day.

Read: 44 Practical Facebook Marketing Tips For Businesses

Twitter

• Twitter also sees the most engagement during weekdays, particularly around 3pm.
• To SproutSocial, Friday is the best day to tweet, especially between 9-10 a.m.
• Sunday mornings are the worst time to tweet and show the least Twitter engagement.

Co-Schedule have found that people use Twitter the most when they’re waking up, winding down or commuting to and from work.

For B2B companies, the best time to catch people is 8-10am, midday and 7-9pm every weekday.

B2C companies also have a similar timeframe, offering 7-8am, 11am, 6pm and 9pm as peak times to post.

Instagram

• Instagram is another social network that’s regularly checked during people’s lunch hours, with the best time to post between 12-1pm during the week.
• The platform sees the most engagement Tuesday – Friday, between 9am-6pm.
• Sunday is the least engaging day to post on Instagram.

For B2B, it’s best to schedule posts around lunchtime in the weekday, but 5-6pm and 8-9pm can also drive engagement.

For B2C, lunchtime is also a great time to post. However, it’s recommended to also expand the posts into the evenings and weekends, with 9 pm proving to be a popular time for engagement.

LinkedIn

• As a professional network, LinkedIn should not be used on evenings or weekends.
• Tuesday – Thursday are the best days to post, between the hours of 7am-6pm.
• Wednesday 3-5pm sees a spark of engagement and is the best time to post on the platform.

Generally, both B2B and B2C businesses will see the same amount of engagement for posting during the weekday, particularly in the morning, lunchtime and early evening from 5-6pm.

However, B2B companies posting news updates will see more engagement in the morning 7-9am, as many users check the platform before starting work similar to a newspaper.

Pinterest

• Pinterest is more commonly used during weekends and evenings, with Friday and Saturday being the best days to post.
• Off-peak hours work better for this platform, with peak times of 2-4pm and 8-11pm.
• 2-4am is also a highly engaging time to post on Pinterest, capturing those who use the platform when they can’t sleep or wake up early in the morning.

The golden rules of social media marketing for engagement

The above times are guidelines. But they’re not set in stone. 

To help you achieve social media success, follow these 3 golden rules:

1. Post When Your Customers Are Online

These guidelines are great as a starting point – but they won’t magically fit every business out there.

You need to monitor your results and data and see when your customers are online and interacting with your posts.

Then, test it.

See if posting at these times affects your engagement and response rates – until you’ve got an optimum posting schedule to really get the most from your posts.

2. Stick To The Platforms That Work

The temptation when starting out in social media is to get yourself online on every single platform.

After all, if one business can profit from Facebook, you can too right?

The truth is that most businesses won’t need every platform. Each one has its own purpose and type of customer. You should stick to that.

As a florist Jackie, visual platforms like Instagram will work really well for you, as your customers will be able to see your flowers in the best light. But more professional ones like LinkedIn aren’t going to see you much good.

If you choose the wrong platform, all you’ll be doing is wasting valuable time and energy building your profile on a platform that your customers won’t even see.

So, save your budget and time for the ones that matter.

3. Think About What You Post

Social media posts aren’t just thoughtless bits of content.

Whether you’re on Twitter, Instagram, or Linkedin, your updates should have a purpose. It should be on brand and on message for your company. Otherwise, you start to promote a confusing image of your business.

There has to be a reason for people to follow you, else your engagement will stay low.

You can’t just blindly post sales messages. These posts aren’t engaging and offer your followers nothing in return for following you.

Instead, link your followers to useful content (such as from your own blog). Keep them updated with exciting news and events. Interact with them and build relationships. Get involved in relevant discussions that position your company as an industry leader and watch your engagement rise.

Tools You Can Use

Tools You Can Use

Here are some great tools that you can use to easily draft, schedule and publish your social media content:

• Postoplan
• PromoRepublic
• Crowdfire
• SociaMonials

And there you have it

In answer to your question Jackie, there’s no simple answer to the best time to post on social media. 

You can use these peak times of each platform as a guide, but it will take research and testing on your own customers to see what actually works. 

If you keep going, you’ll see success in no time at all. 

All the best, 

Katherine.