Media Search Group – Blog https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog SEO Blog Feed, Latest SEO news, Internet Marketing Techniques- Media Search Group Blog Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:31:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/MSG-favicon-150x150.png Media Search Group – Blog https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog 32 32 How to Choose the Right SEO Package for Your Industry? https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/how-to-choose-the-right-seo-package-for-your-industry/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 13:31:54 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4580 Did you know Google introduced more than 5,000 changes to Search and ran over 800,000 experiments in 2021? In other words, Google Search – the world’s largest search engine – changes more than 13 times every single day. Besides, there are more than 200 ranking factors. Feeling overwhelmed? Is there an easy way to navigate […]

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Did you know Google introduced more than 5,000 changes to Search and ran over 800,000 experiments in 2021? In other words, Google Search – the world’s largest search engine – changes more than 13 times every single day. Besides, there are more than 200 ranking factors.

Feeling overwhelmed?

Is there an easy way to navigate the rapidly evolving SEO landscape and maintain the competitive edge? Our answer is YES.

Simply, buy an SEO package from a trusted and experienced SEO agency.

In this blog post, we are sharing a detailed guide to find the best SEO package for your industry.

What Is an SEO Package?

An SEO package is a comprehensive suite of SEO services to optimize your website for search engines. Instead of focusing on specific SEO services, such as link building and content writing, high-quality website SEO packages include everything you need to get results.

Think of your SEO package as a dedicated retainer for digital growth.

You can find monthly SEO packages, as well as annual SEO packages online.

While monthly SEO service packages help you avoid long-term commitments to a new SEO agency you have never worked with, annual SEO plans often come with a discount and allow you to save significant money.

Annual SEO plans are a great choice if you are working with a familiar, reputable SEO agency that satisfies your SEO needs and provides great support.

Here Is How SEO Packages Work:

  • You sign up or subscribe to an SEO package that suits your business and industry needs.
  • The agency charges you a fixed monthly/annual fee to provide SEO services included in your package.

Benefits of Buying SEO Packages

Getting SEO packages to meet your digital marketing goals is an excellent choice for multiple reasons:

  • It is easier to plan your budget due to fixed charges. You can view SEO pricing online for budgeting purposes.
  • You will benefit from all SEO services within one SEO package. No need to focus on just one or two specific services
  • It is easy to manage one-time payments for SEO services you use. You don’t have to juggle between multiple payments.

Is it Worth Buying an SEO Package?

Over 80% of businesses prefer hiring an SEO agency over in-house SEO specialists. An SEO agency charges (for SEO packages) only a fraction of the salary and benefits a company needs to pay an in-house SEO professional.

If it is a full-service SEO agency like Media Search Group, it can also take care of various other things, such as:

  • Website design
  • Web development
  • Website redesigning
  • Blogging
  • Social media management
  • PPC management
  • Online reputation management and more

In short, search engine optimization packages from an SEO agency cost less and provide more services and better results than an in-house SEO team or freelance SEO professionals.

When you approach an SEO company online or near you, you have two options.

  • A readymade SEO package
  • A custom SEO package

Most SEO companies design their SEO packages carefully keeping in mind what a business might need to boost website traffic, generate leads, and raise brand awareness. However, you need to make sure that the SEO package you choose can cater to specific needs of your business and its industry.

For instance, a real estate agency can see enhanced results with a local SEO package, while an e-commerce brand or retail store can benefit from an e-commerce SEO package.

However, searching for local SEO packages online and buying from the first marketing agency you see can be a big mistake. You need to do due diligence before you invest in a monthly SEO package.

A Checklist of 8 Things Your Industry-Specific SEO Package Must Have

A good SEO package is considered that includes all the essential elements to rank a website in top search results on Google’s first page. Here is what top SEO packages include:

1. Site SEO Audit

An experienced SEO company always starts with site analysis and SEO audit to:

  • Identify issues that need fixes
  • Find opportunities to boost your website’s performance

Website audit forms the basis of your overall SEO strategy. It is a must if you want to know where you stand and how to move forward.

2. Industry-Based Keyword Research

Keyword research is the most crucial step of your search engine optimization journey to dominate search results related to your industry.

A list of industry-specific target keywords is needed to:

  • Optimize SEO campaigns
  • Create SEO-optimized content
  • Curate optimized social media posts
  • Earn authoritative backlinks that provide SEO benefits to your website and set relevancy
  • Launch revenue-driven ads (if you are also planning to launch paid campaigns)

The more keywords you target, the higher the cost of SEO package.

3. Competitive Research and Backlink Analysis

Analysis of your industry competitors allows you to benchmark your search engine optimization efforts.

Your online competitors will be websites that rank on page one for your target keywords.

Competitor analysis helps you understand how your competitors perform in search engine result pages (SERPs). It also helps determine the best SEO tactics to beat your competitors.

What to look for during competitor analysis?

  • Targeted keywords
  • Content format, type, and length
  • Number of backlinks and the DA of referral sites
  • Domain Authority (DA) score
  • Top performing pages
  • Page Speed, Visual Aspects, and other technical factors

Content analysis, backlink analysis, and website analysis can help you gain insights into your competitors’ marketing strategies, find gaps, and create a robust SEO strategy to outperform and dominate the search results.

4. On-Page Optimization

On-page SEO involves optimizing the elements on your website to improve its performance and search engine rankings.

What On-Page SEO Includes

  • Title tag optimization
  • Header tags (H1, H2, H…) optimization
  • Meta description optimization
  • Content optimization
  • Removal of duplicate element
  • Structured markup
  • URL optimization
  • Internal linking
  • Schema implementation and more

With good on-page SEO, you can start seeing immediate improvements even before you start doing off-page optimization.

5. Off-Page Optimization

Off-page SEO refers to the optimizations that are done outside your website to build trust, credibility, and authority of your website.

What Off-Page SEO Includes:

  • Link building
  • Social Signals
  • Guest posts
  • Podcasting
  • Video Marketing

Among all these, link building can be time-consuming but offers significant improvements in your domain authority score and also ranking.

Link-building efforts include two types of linking:

  • External linking – links from third-party websites to your website
  • Internal linking – links from one page of your website to other pages

In link building, the quality of links provides more value than the quantity of links.

Thus, instead of building thousands of links from random websites, focus on earning quality links from high DA websites.

6. Technical SEO

Technical SEO is crucial to ensure that your website is healthy and free from technical issues that can cause your website to load slowly. Most users abandon a page if it takes more than 4 seconds to load.

The ideal page speed is 3 seconds or less.

Track Core Web Vitals for your website at PageSpeed Insights to check all the key parameters regarding speed, such as Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).

What Technical SEO Includes

  • Identifying crawl and indexing errors
  • Site Security (HTTPS)
  • XML Sitemap Submission
  • Page Speed optimization
  • Keyword cannibalization
  • Removal of duplicate metadata and more

Good technical SEO allows you to improve user experience.

7. Mobile SEO

A Statista report revealed:

  • 63% of all Google search traffic comes from mobile devices
  • 82% of shoppers reported doing “near me” searches on their mobile phones.
  • 42% of the population said they use voice search on their devices

 

Mobile SEO Statistics

Source: Statista

Google has switched from desktop-first to mobile-first indexing since 2021.

Thus, your website must be responsive and mobile-friendly to provide a seamless experience to your users.

Mobile SEO Best Practices

  • Minify code
  • Browser caching
  • Reduce redirects
  • Mobile-friendly and responsive design
  • Use structured data
  • Optimize mobile content for local search and voice search (voice SEO)

8. Google Analytics and Reporting

Progress tracking is essential to know if your search engine optimization efforts are working and where you need to improve your SEO strategy. Many SEO performance tracking tools are available to track the success of your SEO campaign.

Tools to Track SEO Performance and Progress

  • Google Analytics
  • Google Search Console
  • Semrush
  • Ahrefs
  • Moz
  • Screaming Frog and more

Metrics to Check for SEO Progress

  • Site traffic
  • Impressions
  • Click-through rate
  • Page views
  • Keyword rankings
  • Traffic conversions
  • Number of indexed pages
  • Referring domains
  • Index coverage errors
  • Bounce rate
  • Page Speed
  • Domain Authority and more

Tips to Choose the Right SEO Package for Your Industry

Following are the tips that will help you choose the most suitable SEO service packages to navigate the challenges of your industry.

1. Define Your SEO Needs and Goals

Having a clear understanding of what you want to achieve through search engine optimization is the critical first step. Different industries have unique priorities when it comes to SEO. For example, an e-commerce site may focus on conversions and sales while a content platform cares more about organic visibility and traffic.

Consider what success looks like for your website.

Do you need to rank higher locally or nationally?

Drive qualified leads?

Increase brand awareness?

Support sales?

Define 1-3 concrete SEO goals before researching packages. This ensures the SEO package you ultimately select directly supports your targets.

Potential SEO goal examples:

  • Improve website ranking for 10 core keywords
  • Generate 500+ new organic visits per month
  • Increase lead conversion rate by 15%
  • Rank #1 on Google for local searches

2. Decide Your SEO Budget

SEO delivers a good return on investment but does require an initial budget to work effectively. Be realistic about what you can invest in ongoing SEO services.

SEO package pricing ranges widely from $149 per month for small businesses to $1,199+ or higher depending on your business, the number of target keywords, and your needs.

Consider your revenue goals from SEO and what budget aligns. Services like keyword research, content creation, link building, and technical optimization carry ongoing costs. Factor in internal resources as well. Having clarity around SEO package costs prevents shock when researching options.

Tips for Determining SEO budget:

  • Review competitors’ investment if possible
  • Allocate 10-20% of the marketing budget to SEO
  • Consider ROI – how much revenue SEO delivers for your industry
  • Scale budget to website size and niche competition

Average ROI of SEO varies from industry to industry, from 200% to 900%.

3. Check If SEO Package Caters to Your Industry Needs

Choosing the right SEO package for your industry means it should be able to meet the needs and challenges of your particular industry.

For instance, if you run a service-based business, such as plumbing, AC repair, or landscaping and operate locally, your SEO package must include local search engine optimization or you should buy a local SEO package to see results.

Local SEO packages are also a good choice for real estate agents.

Optimizing your Google Business Profile can help you appear in Google Maps’s Local 3-Pack results. It will lead to brand awareness, increased local visibility, and more calls from potential customers from nearby regions.

On the other hand, if you sell products through your online shop, e-commerce SEO packages are the best choice for you. E-commerce SEO is more intensive and includes product and category optimization, promoting products through paid campaigns and on social media.

If your industry is highly competitive and your competitors run paid campaigns to grab more attention, it is a good idea to integrate PPC into search engine optimization packages.

If you are a professional working in the creative industry, such as photography, paintings, pottery, etc., your search engine marketing strategy should include social media marketing.

SEO packages for tour operators and travel agencies should include National SEO or International SEO (also called Global SEO) based on whether they serve domestic or foreign tourists and travellers. The same goes for hospitality industry, such as hotel owners and car rental agencies that offer their foreign customers to book in advance.

SEO packages that focus more on content writing and offer higher number of blogs are great for bloggers and professionals in the education industry. However, if you have a large website with tons of pages to optimize, enterprise SEO packages make the best choice.

If you have specific requirements and a standard SEO service package does not meet your needs, you should go for custom SEO packages. Speaking to an SEO consultant can help you decide the best SEO package for your business.

4. Check the Company Profile and Package Pricing

Now you’re ready to start researching SEO companies and analyzing search engine optimization packages. Look beyond SEO packages cost – the agency’s experience, proven results, and services offered matter greatly. Beware SEO promises that sound too good to be true. Quality SEO takes time.

Evaluate the SEO Company through:

  • Years in business and speciality focus
  • Client examples from your industry
  • Reviews and testimonials
  • SEO team experience and qualifications
  • Package details – services, deliverables, contracts
  • Reporting and results tracking provided

Compare potential SEO partners through this lens and find affordable SEO packages to help your business grow. Weigh benefits of organic SEO packages versus the SEO monthly costs.

Wrapping Up

With clear goals and budget defined upfront, you can confidently choose the best SEO packages from reputable SEO agencies for driving digital success. Reach out for custom recommendations if needed. Consistent, thoughtful SEO strengthens your online presence, boost site traffic, improve keyword rankings in search engine results pages of major search engines like Google, and elevates you above competitors.

Are you ready to buy a search engine optimization package? Explore our SEO pricing and packages to get started today. Or, book a consultation with our SEO specialist now.

 

 

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Top SEO Keyword Rank Tracker Tools for Every Marketer https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/top-seo-keyword-rank-tracker-tools-for-every-marketer/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 13:55:21 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4564 Keyword rank trackers are SEO tools that help marketers track the rank of specific keywords in search engine results. 43.9% of marketers check keyword rankings to measure SEO success. Keyword rank tracking is an essential part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as it allows marketers to track how well their web pages or content is […]

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Keyword rank trackers are SEO tools that help marketers track the rank of specific keywords in search engine results. 43.9% of marketers check keyword rankings to measure SEO success.

Keyword rank tracking is an essential part of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as it allows marketers to track how well their web pages or content is performing on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Keyword rank checkers are versatile tools and can be used by every SEO professional, from beginners to experts. These tools assist marketers in optimizing their online content to improve rankings in online searches and drive organic traffic to their websites.

What is Keyword Ranking?

SEO keyword ranking is the way of tracking your web pages in the search engine results for any relevant query asked by the user. It is an important aspect of search engine optimization because it gives results on how well your web pages are optimized.

For every target keyword, pages generally have a specific position in the search engine results. Web pages with high rankings in search results lead to organic traffic and more visibility. Search engines follow algorithms to measure different website elements like content, links, description, and page structure to show them on the top.

SEO professionals improve keyword rankings of websites by optimizing their content, Meta descriptions, Meta tags, and various factors. This will make their pages more relevant for the search engines.

Keyword rankings can fluctuate due to some reasons including changes in search engine algorithms, competition, and the ongoing optimization efforts of websites.

Monitoring and improving SEO keyword ranking is an essential part of a digital marketing strategy.

For example: Say you have a website that sells colored portraits in Arizona and you want to rank your website for the keyword “Arizona colored portraits”. If you search that keyword and your website comes in second position, your keyword ranking is second.

Why Is SEO Keyword Ranking Important?

If you have an established website, you need to maintain that stability in the long run. For this, you must follow some of the important rules in SEO. The first thing is to keep track of your website and update its keywords from time to time, as it will keep changing frequently. Here are some factors that might cause keyword rankings to change:

  1. Publishing of new content
  2. Losing and getting backlinks from authoritative websites
  3. Search engines continuously update their algorithms

For all these reasons, keyword rankings change and can affect website traffic.

Some Benefits of Tracking SEO Keywords

1. SEO keyword ranking checker helps in knowing what will work for the websites.

When you start optimizing your website, you have to keep an eye on important things for your website. Regularly checking your keyword rank is one of the ways to see if your efforts are delivering the results you’re looking for or not.

If you make a change in your website and your ranking increases immediately, that is a good chance you should continue making. If you make a change and nothing happens, then you should not continue to spend time making more changes.

2. SEO keyword ranking helps in increasing revenue.

If you are tracking SEO keywords in the right way, then you also know which posts on your website drive the most conversions. You can easily update that post accordingly.

If you look at your keyword tracking data and see that your highest ranking is not in the top positions of Google Page 1, you can focus on getting that result to rank higher, to drive more engagement to a post that brings high revenue. And if it works the opposite way, you can stop this action.

It will give you data that you can utilize to recover your lost rankings, which could prevent revenue drop.

3. Keyword ranking helps in monitoring competitors’ websites.

By tracking your keyword rankings, you can get to know how your web pages are performing in the search results. Also, you can use them to know how your competitors’ pages are performing in search.

For example, let’s say your business is an online retailer of massage chairs. While making huge lists of keywords, you can select only high-ranking keywords that your competitors are using as well. This will increase your visibility and keep your business in the long run.

List of Top Keyword Ranking Checkers

1. Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a web service offered by Google free of cost that lets you see keyword ranking, indexing, and performance of your website and web pages on search engines. To check the ranking of your target keywords, you can follow the below steps:

  • Go to the “Performance” section.
  • Click on “Search results” and then on “Average position”.
  • Scroll down to find “Top Queries” section. This section shows you the keywords for which your website is ranking, along with the average position.
  • To check data for specific keywords, you can click on a particular query and see keyword ranking history over the past three months.

Google Search Console allows you to identify if any crawl errors are preventing your content from appearing in search results. You can check and set the crawl rate and view statistics about where your traffic is landing and where you are getting traffic from.

Google Search Console also provides search traffic analytics across all your pages, queries, devices, and geographies. Google Search Console offers tools and reports to fix indexing problems and request re-indexing of new or updated content.

You can also use the information in Search Console to influence technical decisions for the website and do intense marketing analysis in addition to other Google tools like Analytics, Google Trends, and Google Ads.

It gives you valuable insights into the keywords that your website is appearing for. It helps in:

  • Finding valuable keywords with lower ranks
  • Optimizing relevant long-tail keywords
  • Finding competing keywords ranking on multiple URLs

2. Semrush

Semrush is an all-in-one marketing tool that is designed for digital marketing to help SEO professionals optimize their websites for better and organic search traffic. It is a popular SEO tool for conducting competitor analysis, Google ad optimization, and keyword research.

Semrush is one of the best tools for optimizing websites which includes Keyword rank checker features. With this feature, you can track your keyword rank and put it accordingly.

You will get an overview of which keywords your competitors are applying to their websites and see how they are ranked in search results. Having much information about your competitors, escalate your position from bottom to top in search results.

Source: Semrush

The steps involved in tracking the keyword rank are:

  • Do some keyword research to determine which keyword to track and make a list of keywords.
  • Set up a tracking campaign on Semrush’s Positioning Tracking tool for your keywords, that can help monitor your and your competitors ranking daily.
  • Then, view your keyword ranking that is displayed on the project dashboard. You can compare your rankings and make a list of your target keywords, along with any position changes.

By using Semrush, you can also keep track of your competitors and you can also make the best data-driven decisions around what keywords you have to target for organic search and Google ad campaigns.

In total, Semrush is the tool that provides plenty of information, which becomes very beneficial for users. It helps in improving the overall performance of the website. SEO keeps track of the most popular keywords on search engines. It creates content that has a high chance of increasing the number of visitors and will find new opportunities for link-building.

3. Moz

Source: Moz

When we talk about SEO, one thing that comes to our mind is to create original content on search pages for our users. Many marketers and SEO professionals use tools and resources to make their content original and good for their target users. That will give the best results on the Internet.

There are many SEO tools present online that can be used to strengthen your digital marketing strategy. Moz is a perfect tool that allows you to track and optimize your website.

MOZ is a well-designed tool that has many interesting features. Once you understand its features completely, it will become very easy for you to use it.

One of its main features is Moz Rank which demonstrates the importance of any page on the internet, represented by the link popularity index. These pages rank high due to their content quality and the number of pages linking to them.

For example: If you have a blog about healthy drinks, and are highly mentioned by websites in the same segment, that always link to your posts, your Moz Rank score will be good.

Source: Moz

MOZ is a tool that provides you the information about your page’s performance on major search engines. It is one of the most relevant and powerful tools in the virtual market.

Their feature can go far beyond SEO optimization and allows the improvement of your strategies. It is very important for any SEO professional, to know how to evaluate which pages and keywords are the most relevant according to their content and the number of visits.

4. Ahrefs

Ahrefs is an SEO tool that helps marketers and professionals get higher rankings in search engines. It helps in keyword research, link building, rank tracking, competitor analysis, and site audits.

Ahrefs has many interesting features that are designed for marketers and SEO professionals. Ahrefs user interfaces are suitable for all levels of experience, from beginners to experts.

Source: Ahrefs

By using Ahrefs, you can do keyword research which lets you discover the best keywords to target your users and track the performance of competitors. First, you need to make your keyword list with filters and tags.

Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker will visualize the segment of your data exactly how you want it. Now, you can see the page ranking for your keywords. Even you can find other keywords under the “Organic keywords” that you might want to add to your rank tracker project.

Ahrefs helps you identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and recommends the right strategies and gain a competitive advantage.

5. SEO Power Suite

SEO PowerSuite is computer-based software that helps in growing and increasing organic traffic for your website in search results. This software has four main tools that optimize your website.

Source: SEO Power Suite

The First one is Website Auditor in which you have to fully analyze your website for the issues which is showing in your results and areas for improvement.

The second tool of SEO Power Suite is Keyword Ranker. This is one of the main tools of this software. The rank tracker lets you monitor your SERP (Search Engine Result Page) rankings to help you understand your SEO performance.

It gives you access to types of research methods to find low keywords. It also works as a very effective keyword research tool for finding low keywords on your website. This software has a keyword research feature, which offers different ways to come up with the keywords ideas and suggestions.

SEO Spyglass is the third feature, which helps in reviewing your link-building campaign and analyzing the strength of your website. You can also keep track of your competitors’ link-building strategies and campaigns that you can add to your website as well.

The fourth one is Link Assistant which lets you find prospects and their respective email addresses to reach out to for your link-building outreach campaign.

5. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is an SEO tool that helps marketers optimize their websites. Its aim is clearly to maintain a good position on the search results. It provides many features that will make your website authentic.

If you have a website, then it is worthwhile to invest in Content Marketing and create strategies to appear in search results organically. After all, this effort will generate good results over time.

Some SE Ranking features are amazing; one of them is SE Ranking’s Keyword Rank Tracker which automatically monitors your website position in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) for target keywords.

Source: SE Ranking

You can also track rankings on major search engines; group and make a list of keywords and see the results. It is essential to have these types of SEO tools to do complete monitoring. It can be used to track the keywords of your website or blog. In addition, it is easy to analyze competitors’ strategies as well.

7. Serpstat

Source: Serpstat

Serpstat is an all-in-one and fast-growing SEO tool for SEO professionals and marketers. It will help you to enhance your website’s overall SEO and PPC performance online.

It is a keyword and ranking research tool that is used for in-depth analysis of competitor’s websites and in building advertising campaigns.

With the Serpstat Keyword Rank Tracker tool, you have assessed unique filtering options that allow you to choose any type of keyword ranking you want to check. You have to select the required search region while setting up the project.

After having the data about your website, you can do a comparison with your competitor’s website. Analyze the changes in your website and make data-driven decisions to increase visibility in the search results.

By Using Serpstat, you can have many benefits that are:

  • You can discover international data without any cost
  • You can monitor the entire competitor’s website and make changes to your website.
  • You can create SEO reports and find out keywords that will work best for your website.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this blog helps you to understand top SEO rank checkers in the market. SEO keyword ranking refers to the position of a specific keyword in the search engine results pages. It is an important aspect of SEO strategies that indicates how well your web pages are optimized for a specific keyword. A higher ranking in the search results leads to higher visibility and it shows that you have optimized your website well.

 

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Local SEO Near Me: How to Optimize Your Website for Local Searches https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/local-seo-near-me-how-to-optimize-your-website-for-local-searches/ Fri, 27 Oct 2023 13:35:39 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4554 When you are doing digital marketing for any of your products or services, then it is very important to optimize your website very well. You need to target the right audiences because they will become your main source of revenue generation. If you are seeking to increase your ranking in local searches, and want to […]

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When you are doing digital marketing for any of your products or services, then it is very important to optimize your website very well. You need to target the right audiences because they will become your main source of revenue generation.

If you are seeking to increase your ranking in local searches, and want to get more customers, then you have to follow the right process of optimizing your site for local SEO. According to data, in the past two years, 71% of consumers have reported increased local business spending.

In this post, we will help you by giving information about optimizing your website and how you can improve your search results.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a strategy that helps in optimizing your website to increase traffic, leads, and brand awareness. Through local SEO practices, your business will be more visible in local search results on different search engines. Businesses must focus on creating local content, optimizing their social media profiles, and building correct citations for websites. Local SEO specifically targets searchers in a particular geographical area.

It is mostly valuable for a street-side business that offers products and services to its customers, face-to-face in an office, and in stores such as hospitals, hotels, boutiques, stadiums, clinics, gyms, and other professionals. Local SEO is ranked based on more specific and localized factors.

Importance of SEO

SEO is a crucial part of digital marketing that aims to provide users with more reliable organic search results. Local SEO has become more important when it comes to making brands highly visible to customers who are already looking for a product or a service. According to data, Google receives 8.5 billion queries a day, so your website should be shown on the first page. 

By optimizing your website for search engines, you can easily reach a wider audience and potentially acquire more sales. It is important because many people use search engines to find local businesses and services.

You should give useful information such as:

  • Contact number
  • opening and closing timings
  • location
  • Ratings of Company

The customer can see your services and can easily plan a visit.

How Local SEO Works

Managing and optimizing your business website is an important aspect of every successful SEO strategy. You have to claim your free business profile so it will be possible to be visible in the local pack or Google Maps.

The next step would be creating valuable and original content for your website. Content creation is one of the important tasks in SEO which needs to be done with great concentration and in the right format. There are many forms, such as blogs, videos, podcasts, and many more. Good content will help you generate high leads.

Local citations include your name of the business, address, contact number, and website on third-party sites. Local citations can easily drive more engagement toward your website.

How to Optimize Website for Local Searches

Understand the basics of local SEO

In simple words, we can understand that local SEO is a technique for optimizing a website to rank high in the local search results. Optimizing your web pages for your business is an essential part. This tool is helpful for local businesses that serve in local areas.

It allows them to connect with local potential customers, who are searching for the product or service they offer. If they rank high in the local search results, they can easily increase their brand visibility website traffic, and qualified leads.

Create a Google My Business Profile (GMB)

The main step in optimizing your website for local SEO is making a Google business profile. This tool allows you to set up profiles that include basic information about a business like their name, address, timings, and other major information.

For example, if someone makes a local search of “Best restaurant near me”, Google will show local 3 packs at the top of the organic results. This 3 pack will include 3 relevant Google Business Profiles, along with local options on Google Maps.

Maybe your business already has a profile, which is set up through Google Maps. Then, in this case, you can claim it by providing proof of ownership of your business. From there, you can fill out information to get your profile into local search results.

Build NAP Information

NAP is an important element in local search optimization that consists:

  • Contact number
  • opening and closing timings
  • location
  • Ratings of Company

NAP information is a vital aspect of local SEO that is included in your online profiles. It helps in allowing users to contact you and convert them towards you. For local search results, you need to ensure that all NAP information is correct and consistent.

Don’t list confusing and conflicting phone numbers on different sites and don’t write your address differently on your site. If Google found any conflicting information, it would not understand which page is correct, that’s why it would not rank you as high in search results. Make your landing page for the GBP profile clear, concise, and engaging with a clear call to action.

Positive Reviews

One thing that can definitely drive users to buy products or services is seeing good reviews. You can talk positively about your company, but before making any purchase they check your company reviews. However, when a potential customer praises your service and product, then for sure it convinces others for your products to acquire them. For this reason, you can focus more on achieving positive reviews and feedback from local customers. Simply, ask them to leave their comments and feedback whenever they buy something from your website or physical store/office/shop.

Target local keywords

Keyword targeting is also one of the ways to optimize your website for local SEO. It is an integral part of any website optimization campaign. Different keywords are suitable for multiple audiences. The best practice for local SEO is to focus more on local keywords that can match your domain easily.

An example of a good local keyword must be “book supplier in Alaska”. This keyword has both the industry and location that is highly relevant to any business that sells books in Alaska.  You can also do the same in selecting relevant keywords for your business.

For example, if you have a business of book supplying in more than two areas, say one in Chicago and another one in Houston, you can choose keywords for both pages like “book supplying services in Chicago” and “book supplying services in Houston.” 

Design a mobile-friendly website

Most people use their mobile phones for anything on Google. Seeking this trend, you must design your website accordingly. If you made your website design mobile-friendly then it will boost your local search rankings.

According to the data, provided by Google, over 58% of Internet traffic comes from mobile devices across the world, and now Google is also deciding the ranks of the sites based on their mobile format.

So, make your website mobile-friendly, otherwise, your website won’t rank very high. There are many ways in which you can make your website mobile-friendly, just by implementing some of the responsive design. Choose your design wisely so that all the important elements can fit easily into that design and must be clearly visible to users. That way, users will have a positive experience on your site no matter which device they use.

Benefits of Optimizing for Local SEO:

Generate traffic to your website

Around 46% of people rely on the Internet for searching any services and products near them. People vary from local communities to outsiders, who are looking for recommendations. By optimizing for local search, your website gets organic traffic from users, who are going to walk into your store or planning to come. And lastly, high web traffic can result in more conversions like subscriptions, and sales.

Build trust and maintain credibility

If you want to increase your website traffic, then you need to strengthen its base, which is trust and credible content. Many customers will check our company’s website before visiting manually. So, you need to stand out differently from competitors and gain customer’s trust. Content related to local search and link building helps establish your business’s place in the community.

Increase ranking of search results

The main work of search engines is to provide high-quality, credible, and relevant search results to all users. When you opt for the best local SEO practices for your websites, you send an invitation to the algorithms that your business is reliable and trustworthy. As a result, the algorithms can rank you higher on the local searches.

Provide full information to target audiences

In this digital era, people first search on their smartphones about the products and then make any decision to visit a store or avail of that product. So, you have the chance to provide your customers with everything they need to know about your business. Optimizing your business’s Google My Business profile actively plays a vital role in convincing customers to do business with you.

Increase your brand awareness

Local SEO helps local businesses to increase their brand value, brand awareness, and recognition in the market. Local SEO is more relevant to customers. By optimizing web pages for local search, businesses can easily connect with highly interested customers who are looking for their products or services.

Local SEO Ranking Factors

Maintaining Google business profile

When a customer needs information about something, he/she starts googling it. They collect information from various websites and then make a choice. You should establish your online presence and stand out differently from your competitors. Customers will be able to find the name of your business and other information such as:

  • Contact number
  • opening and closing timings
  • location
  • Ratings of Company

A Google My Business profile allows you to manage and stabilize your online presence across the entire Google platform. If you claim the ownership of a Google My Business profile, you can access and edit all of the information that appears in your listing, from the business timings, or locations of any ads.

By controlling information on Google Maps, you have the privilege to show more and more relevant information in Google Maps or Google Search. When customers search for your business online, they can easily get all the information.

Maintaining the relevancy

Relevancy is a significant factor in all types of SEO practices. You need to set up targeting keywords and precise topics so your potential customers can find what they are searching for. There are many ways to ensure that Google associates your business with relevant keywords.

In such ways, you need to list your business under the correct categories in directories, keep your description and content according to your business with relevant keywords, and create content based on your business’ expertise.

Acquire Proximity

Acquiring proximity means that your business is close to its users. This is one of the main factors that separate traditional SEO from local SEO. Customers usually do local searches when they want to avail of services from businesses that are near them.

There are almost three types of searches, which define your proximity to Google about users that are geo-modified, non-geo-modified, and near me.

Geo-modified searches, use the name of the state, city, neighbour city, or sometimes pin code in the search term itself. Non-geo-modified searches, leave out all these location details from the search. Lastly, the near me searches specify nearby results by adding the words ‘near me’ or ‘nearby’ to the search. Creating local content and link building are some of the ways that can help in demonstrating your proximity to users.

Tools for Local SEO

Google Keyword Planner

 

google_keyword_planner

 

Google Keyword Planner is a free keyword research tool provided by Google to Google Ads customers. You can use Google Keyword Planner to find different keywords for your businesses and campaigns. You can extract information about keywords like monthly research volume per location and device, forecast statistics, and views. It is the most successful tool for listing the keywords.

Semrush Listing Management Tool

 

listing-management-tool

With the Semrush listing management tool, it becomes easier for you to add and update data about your business to the most prominent directories. Once these listings are live, you can also track and update them to ensure that they are accurate across all the platforms. Through their data distribution feature, you will be able to share your business information on social media platforms as well.

Grid my business

 

grid-my-business

 

Grid My Business shows local pack ranking positions for a keyword in the area around your business. It is free and useful for understanding if and where local searchers are likely to see your business or not.

Keywordtool.io

 

keywordtool-io

It is a versatile tool that allows you to filter by city. It is quick, simple, and less expensive. Since it can locate similar terms and doesn’t require a current local listing, it is an excellent place to start your business. This tool is ideal for those who are new to localized keyword research. It can benefit both small firms and companies with a digital strategy.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you now have a broad understanding of how local SEO works and how you can optimize your website. It is an effective way to boost your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). It also helps in generating more website traffic and conversions. Local SEO lets you focus more on local areas and reach out to the customers who want to connect with you.

 

 

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Google Ads Keyword Limit: How Many You Should Use? https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/google-ads-keyword-limit-how-many-you-should-use/ Fri, 27 Oct 2023 11:21:50 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4549 In today’s digital age, online advertising has become an integral part of business growth. Google Ads, previously known as Google AdWords, is a prominent platform that allows businesses to reach their target audience effectively. One crucial aspect of running successful Google Ads campaigns is choosing the right keywords. However, many advertisers are often left confused, […]

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In today’s digital age, online advertising has become an integral part of business growth. Google Ads, previously known as Google AdWords, is a prominent platform that allows businesses to reach their target audience effectively. One crucial aspect of running successful Google Ads campaigns is choosing the right keywords. However, many advertisers are often left confused, “What is the Google Ads keyword limit, and how many keywords should I use?” In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the complexity of Google Ads keyword limits and provide valuable insights to help you make informed decisions for your advertising campaigns.

When it comes to running successful Google Ads campaigns, selecting the right keywords is paramount. Keywords are the foundation upon which your ad targeting is built, and they play a crucial role in determining the success of your advertising efforts. However, Google Ads has certain limitations on the number of keywords you can use in a single campaign. Let’s explore more about Keywords and Google Ads Keywords limit in the following section.

Understanding the Role of Keywords in Google Ads

Keywords are specific words or phrases that advertisers bid on to trigger their ads. Keywords act as the bridge between your ads and the audience you want to reach. When users type in specific search queries on Google, your ads are displayed based on the relevance of your chosen keywords. Therefore, selecting the right keywords is crucial to ensure that your ads appear in front of potential customers who are actively searching for products or services like yours.

Types of Keywords

Keywords in Google Ads can be categorized into five primary types, each with its own implications for ad targeting:

  • Broad Match Keywords: These keywords trigger your ads to show for a wide range of search queries, including variations, synonyms, and related terms. For example, if your broad match keyword is “running shoes,” your ad may appear for searches like “best jogging sneakers” or “athletic footwear.” This match type provides broad exposure but may also result in less precise targeting.
  • Exact Match Keywords: On the other end of the spectrum, exact match keywords are highly specific. Your ad will only be triggered when a user’s search query precisely matches your keyword. Using the same example, if your exact match keyword is “[running shoes],” your ad will exclusively show when someone searches for “running shoes” with no variations. While this match type offers precision, it may limit the reach of your ads.
  • Modified Broad Match Keywords: By adding a “+” sign before one or more words in your keyword (e.g., +women’s +shoes), you can specify that those words must be present in the search query. This provides a bit more control than a traditional broad match.
  • Phrase Match Keywords: These keywords are enclosed in quotation marks (e.g., “women’s shoes”). Your ads will show for searches that include the keyword as a phrase in the query. This means your ads could appear for queries like “buy women’s shoes” or “women’s shoes online.”
  • Negative Keywords: These are words or phrases you specify as irrelevant to your campaign. If a user’s search query includes a negative keyword, your ad won’t be shown. For example, if you sell new shoes, you might use “used” as a negative keyword to avoid showing your ads to people looking for used shoes.

Using a combination of these keyword types and regularly monitoring and optimizing your campaigns can help you target the right audience and improve the performance of your Google Ads campaigns.

Google Ads Keyword Limit

Now, let’s get to the heart of the matter – the Google Ads keyword limit. Google Ads has a defined keyword limit, and understanding this limit is essential for optimizing your ad campaigns. Here’s a breakdown of the keyword limits you need to know:

Maximum Number of Keywords per Ad Group

Google Ads doesn’t have a strict maximum limit on the number of keywords you can have in an ad group. However, it’s essential to maintain a balance between having enough keywords to cover relevant search queries and keeping your ad group focused and manageable. Having too many keywords in a single ad group can make it challenging to create highly targeted ad copy and optimize your campaign effectively.

As a guideline, it’s recommended to start with around 10-30 closely related keywords in an ad group.

Here are some considerations:

  1. Relevance: Make sure that all the keywords in an ad group are highly relevant to the ads and the landing page. This helps improve your Quality Score and ad performance.
  2. Grouping: Group keywords that share a common theme or intent together. This helps you create highly targeted ads and landing pages.
  3. Size: In most cases, having around 10-20 closely related keywords per ad group is a good starting point. This number is manageable and allows you to create specific ad copy.
  4. Negative Keywords: Consider adding negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches and improve ad targeting.
  5. Match Types: Pay attention to the match types you use (broad match, phrase match, exact match). Different match types can impact the number of keywords you need.
  6. Regular Review: Periodically review your ad group performance and make adjustments as needed. You may need to add or remove keywords based on performance data.
  7. Ad Extensions: Consider using ad extensions to provide additional information to users without cluttering your ad group with more keywords.

Ad groups are thematic groupings of keywords that help you organize your campaigns effectively. It’s essential to structure your ad groups logically to improve ad relevance and click-through rates.

Keyword Length

Google Ads allows keywords with a maximum character limit of 80. This includes spaces and punctuation. It’s advisable to create concise and relevant keywords that capture the essence of your products or services.

Quality over Quantity

While Google Ads doesn’t impose a specific limit on the number of keywords you can use across all your campaigns, it’s crucial to prioritize quality over quantity. Instead of bombarding your campaigns with numerous keywords, focus on selecting highly relevant, high-performing keywords that align with your advertising goals.

Please be aware that these limits are subject to change over time, as Google periodically updates its policies and offerings. It’s advisable to consult the latest information in Google Ads Help or Documentation to ensure you are working within the current parameters.

What is an Ad Group and How Does it Work?

An ad group is designed to encompass one or more ads with similar targeting criteria. When you create an ad group, you specify a bid (price) to be applied when the keywords within that ad group trigger your ads. It’s crucial to avoid overloading an ad group with too many keywords, as this can render it ineffective and lead to confusion for Google Ads. When structuring your ad groups, it’s essential to ensure a logical organization of your keyword lists to optimize your ad’s reach among the right audience.

Why you shouldn’t target too many keywords

While it’s tempting to cast a wide net by including a vast number of keywords in your Google Ads campaign, it’s important to understand that there can be downsides to targeting too many keywords. Here are several reasons why it’s advisable to strike a balance and not go overboard:

1. Your budget isn’t big enough

One of the primary reasons for not overloading your campaign with keywords is budget constraints. Each keyword you target comes with a cost, as you pay for each click (CPC). If your budget isn’t substantial, spreading it too thin across a large number of keywords might result in insufficient funds to effectively bid on the most important and high-performing keywords. This can lead to missed opportunities and underperformance of your ad campaign.

2. Your campaigns will stop running after exhausting your daily budget

Google Ads allows you to set a daily budget for your campaigns. When you target a multitude of keywords without considering your budget limitations, you risk running out of budget too quickly. Once your daily budget is exhausted, your ads will stop running for the rest of the day. This means that potential customers won’t see your ads, and you’ll miss out on valuable opportunities for conversions. By targeting a more manageable number of keywords, you can ensure your budget is distributed effectively throughout the day.

3. It will be difficult to identify underperforming keywords

Effective campaign management involves ongoing monitoring and optimization. When you have an excessive number of keywords to oversee, it becomes challenging to identify underperforming keywords. Without recognizing which keywords are draining your budget without providing valuable returns, you’ll miss the opportunity to cut your losses and allocate your resources to more promising areas of your campaign. A smaller, well-organized keyword list allows for more precise performance evaluation.

4. It is hard to manage too many keywords in your Ad Group

Managing a large number of keywords is a time-consuming endeavor. It requires constant attention to ensure your campaign is performing optimally. You need to regularly review data, adjust bids, create relevant ad copy, and optimize landing pages. This can be overwhelming when dealing with an extensive keyword list. It’s often more efficient to focus on a smaller, more manageable set of keywords, allowing you to dedicate more time and effort to strategic improvements rather than routine maintenance.

Finding the Sweet Spot: How Many Keywords Should You Use?

The number of keywords you should employ in your Google Ads campaign is not a one-size-fits-all equation; it hinges on numerous factors, including your campaign goals, budget, and the complexity of your products or services.

Google Ads does permit up to 20,000 keywords per ad group and a maximum of 5 million ad group targeting items (such as keywords) per account. In addition, you have the option to include a maximum of 10,000 negative keywords for each campaign. However, it is generally advisable to limit the number of keywords in each ad group to around 10-30. To maximize your ad’s effectiveness, it’s recommended to include a minimum of 5 keywords in each ad group, increasing the likelihood of connecting with your target audience.

Leveraging the Google Ads Keyword Tool can assist you in searching for keywords and generating ad group ideas, assessing keyword performance, and consolidating them into a single ad group. Let’s explore the considerations to help you determine the optimal number of keywords:

1. Relevance is Key

In the world of Google Ads, quality trumps quantity. It’s essential to focus on selecting keywords that are highly relevant to your products or services. A smaller number of pertinent keywords can often outperform a larger number of generic ones. High-quality keywords lead to better ad performance and user experience.

2. Effective Keyword Grouping

Organizing your keywords into well-structured ad groups is essential. Each ad group should contain closely related keywords that share a common theme. This allows you to create tailored ad copy and landing pages for each group, ultimately improving your ad’s relevance and Quality Score. Quality Score is a crucial metric that can impact your ad’s visibility and cost per click (CPC).

3. Consider Different Match Types

Google Ads offers various match types, including broad, phrase, and exact match. Each type has its own set of advantages and considerations. To cover a wide range of search intents, you may use a mix of match types strategically. For instance, you can use exact matches for highly relevant and converting keywords while using broad matches to capture broader audience segments. Adjusting match types requires regular monitoring and optimization.

4. Regularly Review and Refine

A “set and forget” approach doesn’t work in the dynamic world of digital advertising. Continuously monitor the performance of your keywords, ad groups, and campaigns. Analyze data to identify underperforming keywords and those with high conversion rates. Remove or pause keywords that aren’t delivering results and add new ones as needed. Regular optimization is crucial for sustained success.

5. Budget Constraints

Your budget plays a pivotal role in keyword selection. If you have a limited budget, you may need to be more selective with your keywords. Focus on those keywords that are most likely to convert and align with your primary business objectives. Keyword optimization can help you make the most of your budget by prioritizing high-impact keywords.

6. Competitive Landscape

The competitiveness of your industry or niche can influence your keyword strategy. In highly competitive markets, you may need to use a larger number of keywords to capture a share of the market. However, remember that relevance remains paramount. Don’t add keywords simply to increase volume; ensure they align with your business goals and target audience.

7. Use Negative Keywords Wisely

Negative keywords are a powerful tool in your arsenal. They allow you to filter out irrelevant traffic and improve the efficiency of your campaign. By excluding keywords that are not relevant to your offerings, you can reduce wasted ad spend and improve your return on investment (ROI).

Advanced Strategies for Keyword Management

Beyond the considerations mentioned above, there are some advanced strategies you can implement for effective keyword management:

1. Keyword Expansion

Keyword expansion involves periodically identifying and adding new keywords to your campaigns. This can be based on customer feedback, search query reports, or industry trends. Expanding your keyword list allows you to tap into new opportunities and reach a broader audience.

2. Create Targeted Ad Groups

Segment your keywords into specific ad groups based on relevance. This allows you to craft tailored ad copy and landing pages, improving the overall user experience and ad performance.

3. Keyword Match Type Sculpting

Keyword match type sculpting involves controlling which match types your keywords are eligible for. For instance, you can use negative keywords to exclude certain match types, ensuring that specific keywords only trigger ads with the desired match type. This level of control can fine-tune your ad targeting.

4. Seasonal Keyword Optimization

If your business experiences seasonal fluctuations in demand, consider adjusting your keyword strategy accordingly. You may want to bid more aggressively on specific keywords during peak seasons and reduce your spend on them during off-peak times. Seasonal keyword optimization requires careful planning and monitoring.

5. Monitor and Adjust

Regularly monitor the performance of your keywords. Remove underperforming keywords and add new ones as trends and customer behavior evolve. A dynamic approach to keyword management is essential for sustained success.

Measuring Success: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Regardless of the number of keywords you use, success in Google Ads is quantified through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Here are some essential KPIs to monitor:

1. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR measures the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it. A higher CTR indicates that your ad is relevant to users’ search queries and encourages engagement. Monitoring CTR can help you assess the effectiveness of your ad copy and keyword relevance.

2. Conversion Rate

The conversion rate tracks the percentage of users who take the desired action after clicking on your ad. This action could be making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. A high conversion rate signifies that your keywords and ad messaging align with user intent.

3. Quality Score

Quality Score is a metric assigned by Google that assesses the quality and relevance of your keywords, ad copy, and landing page. A higher Quality Score can lead to lower CPC and better ad positions. Regularly optimizing your keywords and ad groups can improve your Quality Score.

4. Return on Investment (ROI)

ROI is a critical metric that measures the profitability of your Google Ads campaign. It takes into account both the cost of advertising and the revenue generated from those ads. Achieving a positive ROI is the ultimate goal of any advertising campaign.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the question of how many keywords to use in your Google Ads campaign is not one with a definitive answer. Instead, it’s a matter of striking a balance between relevance and volume, taking into consideration your campaign goals, budget, and industry dynamics. Quality always trumps quantity when it comes to keywords, and the key is to select keywords that align with your business objectives and resonate with your target audience.

As the digital advertising landscape continues to evolve, staying informed about updates and best practices is essential for maintaining a successful Google Ads campaign. Regularly review and optimize your keywords, monitor performance metrics, and adapt your strategy as needed to ensure that your Google Ads investment delivers the desired results.

Remember that while keyword management is a crucial aspect of your campaign, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. An effective Google Ads campaign involves a holistic approach that includes compelling ad copy, well-designed landing pages, and a clear understanding of your audience’s needs and behaviors. By focusing on these elements in conjunction with your keyword strategy, you can maximize the impact of your Google Ads campaigns and achieve your marketing goals.

 

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Maximizing ROI: Top Display Ad Networks You Need to Know https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/maximizing-roi-top-display-ad-networks-you-need-to-know/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 13:49:15 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4492 Display ads are the second most popular digital advertising format in the United States after search advertising. Display advertising accounts for over 30 percent of digital ad spending. It is popular across various industries, such as retail, travel, entertainment, and more. Source: MarketSplash   Did you know? 63.66% of display ads have animated designs (Source: […]

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Display ads are the second most popular digital advertising format in the United States after search advertising. Display advertising accounts for over 30 percent of digital ad spending. It is popular across various industries, such as retail, travel, entertainment, and more.

Digital-Ad-spending

Source: MarketSplash

 

Did you know?

  • 63.66% of display ads have animated designs (Source: MarketSplash)
  • Over $58 billion was invested in banner ads in 2022 (Source: Statista)
  • With 90% of internet users, Google owns the largest display ad networks. (Think with Google)
  • 12% of total website traffic comes from display ads (Source: MarketSplash)

Most businesses expect at least a 200% return on their ad investment. However, the ROI of digital ads varies from one industry to another. For instance, e-commerce businesses often aim for ROIs of over 500%. At the same time, companies in other highly competitive industries may feel satisfied with a %100 ROI.

Besides, more businesses in the United States plan to increase their digital display ad spend.

programmatic-digital-ad-spending

 

Source: eMarketer

If you are also planning to invest in display ads, knowing the top display ad networks is a must to maximize your ROI on digital ad spend.

What Is a Display Ad Network?

A display ad network is a platform that connects advertisers to website publishers with ad space to fill. It enables businesses to easily manage ad campaigns by compiling available ad inventory into one central marketplace.

Publishers can tap into this ad network to monetize their sites by displaying high-quality, targeted ads. The ad network matches relevant ads to the publisher’s audience and content, ensuring businesses reach their ideal customers.

This system provides advertisers access to a vast network of sites to get their ads in front of the right audience.

With Search Network, advertisers target keywords to grab attention. However, with Display Network, advertisers target audiences, interests, and websites to gain brand exposure and fulfil advertising goals.

Is Ad Network different from Ad Exchange?

While ad networks and ad exchanges deal with online advertising inventory, they serve different roles in connecting publishers and advertisers.

Ad Networks vs. Ad Exchanges

Ad Networks

  • An ad network acts as a centralized platform to match publishers with ad space on their sites with advertisers looking to promote their products or services.
  • Ad networks allow advertisers to purchase ad impressions in bulk bundles privately negotiated between the network and the advertiser.
  • This bundled inventory model makes ad buying simpler for advertisers.
  • Advertisers have less control over targeting specific sites or pages.

Ad Exchanges

  • Ad exchanges operate more like a stock exchange, facilitating the real-time buying and selling of digital ad impressions through an automated bidding system.
  • Rather than buying set bundles, advertisers can bid on individual impressions targeted to their ideal audience, websites, placement, etc.
  • It is an open marketplace where supply and demand determine the value of inventory.
  • Publishers get a better yield by selling to the highest bidder, while advertisers only pay for the impressions they want.

 

Ad Networks Ad Exchanges
Allow advertisers to connect with publishers An online marketplace for ad inventory
Private advertisement dealing Operate via open auctions
Can buy bulk ad impressions Bid on impressions
Predefined value Inventory value depends on demand and supply

 

Ad networks offer bundled package deals for a more hands-off approach. Ad exchanges provide impression-level targeting, transparency, and control through real-time bidding.

Ad networks keep deals private, while exchanges operate via open auctions. Both serve a role in making the buying and selling of online advertising more efficient at scale.

The model that works best depends on the advertiser’s goals, budget, and desire for transparency.

How Do Ad Networks Work?

Publishers install ad network code on their websites and apps to access the network’s advertisers. It allows them to earn money through their ad inventory.

Advertisers select ad network(s) to run campaigns on. They set up campaigns in the network interface, defining:

  • Budget
  • Target audience
  • Ad frequency caps and other parameters

The ad network uses advanced algorithms to match the most suitable publishers to each ad campaign based on:

  • The advertiser’s specified targeting
  • Optimization for campaign goals
  • Publisher audience, content, and other factors

When a user visits a publisher’s site, the ad network serves the most relevant ad to that user in real time. The advertiser’s ad is displayed on the publisher’s site. The publisher earns revenue from the ad network if the user engages with the ad.

Through this automated process, ad networks connect targeted ads to the best publishers to help advertisers reach their ideal audiences efficiently. Publishers monetize their sites through relevant, high-quality ads.

How Do Ad Networks Benefit Publishers and Advertisers?

Benefits of Ad Networks for Publishers:

  • Increased ad revenue – Monetize website traffic by filling unsold ad inventory through the network
  • Targeted ads – Receive more relevant, high-quality ads aligned to your content
  • Time savings – Ad network manages ad placements and campaign optimization
  • Broader reach – Access more advertisers and demand through the network platform

Benefits of Ad Networks for Advertisers:

  • Expanded reach – Get your ads in front of more targeted audiences across a wider network of sites
  • Improved targeting – Leverage advanced network algorithms to identify the best placements
  • Efficiency – Eliminate the need to negotiate individual deals with publishers manually
  • Reporting – Gain insights into campaign performance through network analytics
  • Brand safety – Ad network vets publisher sites for quality assurance
  • Cost savings – Buying inventory at scale through the network lowers CPMs

Both publishers and advertisers benefit by tapping into the targeting capabilities, reach, and efficiency of ad networks.

Different Categories of Display Advertising

Display advertising offers a variety of targeting methods to help advertisers reach their ideal audiences. Some key categories include:

Site Placement

Place ads on specific websites frequented by the target demographic. For example, ads on automotive sites for a car brand.

Keyword Contextual Targeting

Match ads to pages containing relevant keywords. Ads for software are shown on pages about “software downloads”.

Contextual Targeting

Serve ads relevant to page content, without keywords. For instance, fitness ads on a health content site.

Retargeting/Remarketing

Includes targeting ads to users who previously visited your website or took an action like abandoning a cart and following them around the web.

Placement Targeting

Allows advertisers to define specific sites, pages, or apps to run ads on and places ads only in selected ad inventory.

Targeting In-Marketing Audiences

Serve ads to users already exposed to other touch-points of a marketing campaign.

Affinity Audiences (Interest-Based)

Targeting users based on their interests, hobbies, and lifestyle. For example, ads for runners on sports sites

Audience Targeting

Uses parameters like demographics, location, behavior, and intent data to target ads.

Layered Targeting

Combine multiple targeting tactics for highly specific targeting. Like placements + remarketing. With precise targeting, advertisers can ensure their ads reach engaged users open to their messaging.

Different Formats of Display Advertising

Display ads come in a variety of formats, each with its own advantages. Common options for display ads include:

Banner Ads

  • Banner ads are static, graphical ad units
  • Served in standard IAB sizes like 728×90 leaderboard or 300×250 rectangles
  • Simple and inexpensive to create
  • Limited engagement potential
  • Best for brand awareness

Pop-up Ads

  • Display in new browser windows over website content.
  • High visibility but can annoy users
  • Helpful for promotions or lead generation
  • Blockers limit effectiveness

Pop-under Ads

  • Similar to pop-ups but open behind the current browser window
  • Less intrusive
  • Visitors may never see the ad, but still drives awareness

Layer Ads

  • Ads that float over page content without blocking it.
  • Gain attention while allowing users to continue browsing.
  • These ads can disrupt reading.

Content Ads

It is advertorial content promoting a brand, product, or service in a native ad format blended into surrounding editorial content.

  • It appears less like an ad but requires content creation.

Google Display Ads

  • Highly visible, spacious ad formats are offered through the Google Display Network.
  • Options like Lightbox and Pushdown have extra engagement and branding capabilities.

Social Media Display Ads

  • Ads placed in social media feeds and pages.
  • Native placement captures attention where users are already active and engaged.
  • These ads are shown to large built-in targeted audiences.

Other Options:

  • Video ads – Engaging sight, sound, and motion
  • Mobile ads – On apps and mobile sites
  • Rich media – Animation, flash, and interactive elements

With a mix of formats, advertisers can achieve multiple campaign objectives, from building brand awareness to generating clicks and conversions across platforms. The ideal display ad formats depend on goals, placement, and budget. Testing different options is the key to determining what resonates best with your audience.

How to Choose the Best Display Ad Network

You must choose the right display ad networks to reach the right audience and make the most of your display ad investment. Here are a few tips to help you select the best display ad network:

Define Your Display Advertising Goals

You must ensure to match your objectives to the network’s strengths. Clearly outline what you want to achieve from display advertising before evaluating networks. Common goals include:

  • Increasing brand awareness
  • Generating more website traffic
  • Capturing leads
  • Boosting conversions

Identify the Right Audience for Your Display Ads

Determine the demographics, interests, and online behaviors to reach the right target audience. Look for ad networks with robust targeting capabilities tailored to your audience profile. Reaching the right users is critical for effective campaigns.

Ad Network Reputation

Research ad network reputation before you partner with it. Established ad networks with years in business tend to be more trustworthy. Look for ones servicing reputable brands in your industry. Positive word-of-mouth indicates satisfied advertisers.

Size and Reach of the Ad Network

Bigger ad networks offer wider reach through their expansive publisher base. But niche, vertical networks may better cater to your specialized target market. Evaluate which display ad network best aligns with your goals and ideal audience. Also, consider the quality and brand safety of network sites.

Available Ad Formats and Creative Options

Assess ad formats like banners, native ads, animation, video, and rich media offered by the network. More creative ad options allow for greater engagement. Ensure the network supports the types of ads you want to run.

Most Popular Design Types of Display Ads:

  • Animated: 63.66%
  • Static: 35.02%
  • Audio and Video: 1.32%

Ad Targeting and Optimization Features

Look for advanced targeting based on demographics, location, interests, browsing behavior, and more. Optimization features like real-time bidding increase relevancy. These data-driven options improve campaign performance.

Reports and Analytics

Robust reporting and analytics help monitor campaign KPIs and optimize for better results. The display ad network should provide actionable insights through customizable dashboards and tools.

Analyze Pricing Models and Costs

Review the network’s rate models like CPM, CPC, and CPA to assess potential costs. Compare to other networks and expected ROI. Consider minimum ad budget, transparency, hidden fees, and alignment with your budget.

Billing Models Available for Display Advertising

Display advertising networks offer a wide range of pricing models, depending on the purpose of display ads. The most common billing models are as follows:

Cost per Mille (CPM)

  • An advertiser pays for every 1,000 ad impressions shown
  • Based on the number of impressions rather than clicks/conversions
  • Good for brand awareness campaigns focused on reach

Cost per Click (CPC)

  • Advertiser is charged each time ad is clicked
  • Focuses payment on user engagement vs. impressions
  • A popular model for ads aimed at driving traffic

Cost per Action (CPA)

  • An advertiser pays only when a desired action occurs (sign-up, purchase, etc.)
  • Risk shifts to network to deliver conversions
  • Used for performance marketing goals

Cost per Install (CPI)

  • Common in mobile app advertising
  • An advertiser pays when a user installs the mobile app from an ad
  • Maximizes the number of app installs

Cost per View (CPV)

  • Charges advertiser for a video ad view of a certain length/duration
  • Used in video and rich media ad formats
  • Prices can vary based on video length

Cost per Sale (CPS)

  • Advertiser pays network only after a sale
  • Aligns costs closely to sales revenue

Revenue Sharing

  • A publisher receives a percentage of the ad revenue from impressions
  • Allows flexible monetization for publishers

Top 10 Display Ad Networks Every Marketer Must Know

1. Google Display Network

Payment Model: CPC, CPM, and more

Minimum Traffic: Not applicable

The Google Display Network (GDN) is the world’s largest display ad network, delivering over 1 trillion ad impressions monthly to over 1 billion global users. GDN provides expansive reach through publisher sites, videos, and apps to engage audiences everywhere across devices.

Google Display Network consists of different Google Properties, such as YouTube, Google Finance, Gmail, and others that offer display advertising and a network of millions of partner sites and apps to run display ads.

 

Display-ad-types-Wordstream

Source: WordStream

Advanced targeting and diverse ad formats allow advertisers to connect with their best customers when and where it matters most.

Key features of the Google Display Network include:

  • Massive reach – Over 90% internet user coverage globally
  • Cross-device targeting – Ads across mobile, tablet, and desktop
  • Flexible ad formats – Options like native, video, and banner ads
  • Powerful targeting – Contextual, demographic, interest, and placement targeting
  • Optimization tools – Automated bidding and performance optimization
  • Global scale135+ countries with local expertise

google-display-ad-targeting-wordstream

Source: WordStream

With its unmatched scale, advanced targeting, and optimization capabilities, the Google Display Network helps advertisers achieve their awareness, consideration, and conversion goals.

2. Amazon Advertising

Payment Model: CPC, CPM, CPA, and Dynamic Bidding

Minimum Traffic: Vary based on product category, targeting options, and competition

Amazon offers robust advertising solutions to help brands promote products and engage shoppers on and off its marketplace. Two main Amazon Display Advertising options include:

Sponsored Display

Self-serve display ads on Amazon leveraging familiar elements like product images, ratings, and Prime badges.

  • Reach shoppers browsing related products or categories
  • Options to target custom audiences and remarket
  • Integrates with other Amazon ads

 

Amazon-ad-interface

 

Amazon DSP

It is a demand-side platform for programmatic display, video, and audio ad buying on and off Amazon. Amazon advertisers can benefit from:

Audience targeting:
  • Leverage Amazon’s data to build custom & lookalike audiences
  • Demographic, interest, shopping behavior targeting
Placement targeting:
  • Amazon sites, apps, publishers
  • Third-party exchanges
Performance analytics:
  • Robust insights on audience reach and engagement
  • Viewability metrics, cost per conversion data
  • Assess campaign effectiveness

Together, Sponsored Display and Amazon DSP offer ways to connect with shoppers throughout the buyer journey – from awareness to consideration to purchase. Advertisers can drive brand visibility and engage consumers both on Amazon as they search and browse and off Amazon through targeted prospecting. The combination provides scale, intelligence-based targeting, and measurable results.

3. Meta Audience Network (formerly called Facebook Audience Network)

Payment Model: CPC, CPM, and CPA

Minimum Traffic: Not applicable

The Meta Audience Network lets advertisers extend their campaigns beyond Facebook to partner websites, apps, and OTT platforms. Based on a study conducted on Facebook ad campaigns, people who see ads across different platforms such as Facebook, Messenger, Audience Network, and Instagram are 8 times more likely to convert than people who see ads only on Facebook.

Massive Reach: Over 1 billion Facebook users plus additional partner inventory

Types of Display Advertising:

  • Native ads – Blend organically with the platform’s content
  • Banner ads – Can appear anywhere on the app
  • Interstitial ads – Offer a fully immersive experience for Meta Audience Network users
  • Rewarded video ads – Are great for gamer audience and provides a player-initiated, player-friendly, and seamless ad experience in exchange for an in-app benefit

Types-of-display-ads-in-Facebook

 

Source: Facebook

Display Ad Formats:

  • Image ads
  • Video ads
  • Stories ads
  • Messenger Ads
  • Carousel Ads
  • Slideshow Ads
  • Collection Ads
  • Playables

Facebook ads allow you to filter target audiences based on interests, such as food, lifestyle, shopping, entertainment, etc. You can create goals like Boost Post, Get More Website Visitors, and Get More Messages.

Some Key Things to Know About Meta Audience Network

  • Targeting: Leverage Facebook’s powerful demographic, interest, behavioral, and lookalike audience targeting
  • Cross-Platform: Ability to reach users across devices (mobile, desktop, tablet)
  • Seamless Integration: Easily launch campaigns using existing Facebook ad accounts
  • Measurement: Robust campaign analytics and reporting through Facebook
  • Brand Safety: Facebook screens all network publishers and inventory

Benefits for Facebook Network Advertisers:

  • Expanded reach beyond Facebook users alone
  • Retarget people who have engaged with your Facebook ads
  • Powerful built-in audience targeting capabilities
  • Cross-device and cross-platform omnichannel approach
  • Familiar, easy-to-use Facebook Ads interface

With unmatched targeting scale and seamless integration with Facebook ad campaigns, the Facebook Audience Network is a compelling option for display advertising.

4. Microsoft Advertising

Payment Model: CPC, CPM, CPA, and Dynamic Bidding

Minimum Traffic Req.: Vary based on targeting options, industry, etc.

Microsoft Advertising offers display, native, mobile, and video ad solutions to help brands connect with target audiences globally.

 

Microsoft-ad-interface

Source: Microsoft

Scale and Reach:

  • 50+ markets, 30+ languages
  • Microsoft properties like MSN, Outlook, Xbox, and Microsoft Casual Games
  • 425+ million monthly unique visitors across Microsoft sites

Premium Ad Inventory:

  • High viewability rates in a brand-safe environment
  • Native ads on Outlook.com perform exceptionally well

Flexible Buying:

  • Programmatic marketplace and direct deals available
  • No minimum spend required
  • Pay only for clicks

Multi-Channel Options:

  • Display, native, mobile, and video ad formats
  • Omnichannel approach across Microsoft properties
  • Engaged Xbox audience and large Outlook commercial inbox

Targeting Capabilities:

  • Leverage Microsoft first-party data for audience targeting
  • Contextual and geographic targeting
  • Retarget website visitors

Seamless Integration:

  • Easily import existing Google/Facebook campaigns
  • Robust analytics and reporting

With unmatched reach through Microsoft’s global properties, powerful targeting capabilities, and flexible buying options, Microsoft Advertising provides a compelling platform for brands to engage relevant audiences programmatically across devices and formats. The ability to tap into Microsoft’s owned-and-operated inventory gives advertisers a major advantage.

5. BidVertiser

Payment Model:

Minimum Traffic: Not applicable

BidVertiser is a global display ad network serving over 80,000 publishers and advertisers worldwide.

 

bidvertiser-ad-interface

 

Source: Bidvertiser

Some Key Facts About BidVertiser Are:

  • Rich self-serve targeting and optimization tools, powered by AI/ML
  • Focus on high-quality publisher traffic and content
  • No minimum monthly traffic requirements
  • Websites must have quality content, regular updates, and 3+ month’s history

Benefits of BidVertiser for Publishers:

  • High ad fill rates and RPMs
  • Omnichannel monetization – websites, mobile apps, and more
  • Payments are available via PayPal and bank transfer

Benefits of BidVertiser for Advertisers:

  • Access to premium publisher inventory
  • Powerful audience and contextual targeting
  • AI-powered campaign optimization for better ROI
  • Pay only for clicks, actions, or impressions
  • Dedicated account manager support

With its robust targeting capabilities, high-performing inventory, and optimization tools, BidVertiser offers compelling monetization for publishers and effective audience reach for advertisers. The focus on premium quality traffic distinguishes BidVertiser in the ad network landscape.

6. AdPushup

Payment Model: Flexible revenue-sharing plans

Minimum Traffic: Not applicable but serve only sites that produce at least $5,000 ad revenue

AdPushup is an ad optimization platform built for publishers looking to maximize website monetization through display advertising.

  • Comprehensive ad management and optimization tools
  • Real-time bidding across multiple demand sources
  • Advanced analytics and transparent reporting

 

Adpushup-ad-interface

 

Source: AdPushup

 

Benefits of AdPushup for Publishers:

  • Higher ad revenue through improved fill rates and CPMs
  • Support for all major ad formats and placements
  • Header bidding implementation for access to demand partners
  • Ad layout testing and ongoing optimization
  • Detailed performance analytics and actionable insights
  • Dedicated ad operations team support

AdPushup Is Ideal For:

  • Sites with at least $5,000/month in existing ad revenue
  • Publishers focused on growing ad earnings
  • Sites with engaged, high-quality traffic

AdPushup Features:

  • Google AdSense and ADX integration
  • Header bidding for 100% fill rates
  • A/B testing capabilities
  • Real-time ad analytics and revenue reporting

With its suite of revenue growth tools and managed services, AdPushup goes beyond a traditional ad network to provide specialized ad monetization and optimization for established publishers.

7. Epom

Payment Model: CPM, CPC, and CPA

Minimum Traffic: 500,000 monthly impressions

Epom is a full-stack ad network ideal for publishers and advertisers getting started with online advertising. It requires publishers to have a minimum of 500,000 monthly impressions on their websites.

  • Intuitive self-serve platform and interface
  • Detailed analytics and customizable reporting
  • Ad campaign optimization tools

 

epom-ad-interface

 

Source: Epom

 

Benefits of Epom for Publishers:

  • Monetize website, mobile, and video inventory
  • Support for 30+ rich media ad formats
  • Real-time bidding to maximize revenue
  • Epom Market and Epom DSP demand partners

Benefits of Epom for Advertisers:

  • Access to multi-channel publisher inventory
  • Targeting by device, geo, daypart, and more
  • Pay only for results with CPC, CPM, and CPA models
  • Free sign-up and access to all features

With its beginner-friendly workflow and extensive capabilities, Epom helps publishers monetize content while offering advertisers an intuitive way to launch and manage data-driven campaigns aimed at delivering ROI.

8. Apple Advertising

Payment Model: CPC, CPM, CPA, and CPT (Cost-per-Tap)

Minimum Traffic: Vary based on campaign type, targeting options, etc.

Apple Advertising enables brands to reach targeted audiences across iOS apps and the App Store.

  • Built-in access to Apple’s huge app inventory
  • Display, native, and video ad formats
  • Target audiences based on their specific location, interests, and behaviors

 

apple-advertising

 

Source: Apple

 

Benefits for Advertisers:

  • Promote apps to App Store visitors
  • Drive installs and re-engagement among iOS users
  • Retarget website visitors on iOS apps
  • Measure performance with installs, impressions, and other metrics
  • Leverage Apple’s stringent app and audience vetting

Apple’s Walled Garden:

  • Ads only appear on validated apps in the App Store
  • Brand safety from Apple’s strict app review policies
  • Data privacy protections of Apple ecosystem

With direct mobile app promotion opportunities and access to Apple’s valuable user base, Apple Advertising provides a streamlined platform for brands to engage iOS audiences without reliance on third-party ad networks and exchanges.

9. Yahoo! Advertising

Payment Model: CPM, CPC, CPA, CPV (Cost per View), and (Cost per Engagement)

Minimum Traffic Req.: Vary

Yahoo Advertising, formerly Yahoo! Ad Manager+, offers display and native advertising solutions. Despite Yahoo’s decline as a search engine, its advertising platform still provides wide reach through popular sites like Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Sports, and more.

 

yahoo-ad-interface

 

Source: Yahoo

 

Key Features of Yahoo! Network:

  • Display, native, and video ad formats
  • Powerful audience targeting capabilities
  • Cross-device reach
  • Brand safety controls and fraud protection
  • Intuitive campaign management
  • Affordable pricing options to fit small budgets

While not as dominant as Google or Facebook, Yahoo Advertising grants access to a sizable user base of hundreds of millions across its owned-and-operated sites. Yahoo remains a practical option for advertisers seeking an affordable alternative ad network.

10. Taboola

Payment Model: CPC, CPM, CPA, and CPV

Minimum Traffic: 500,000 Monthly Page Views

Though Taboola is not as widely recognized as the above display ad networks, it has an impressive base of industry-leading players to attract new advertisers every day. This platform serves ads to publications, such as The Atlantic, The Motley Fool, and even Netflix.

You also know that Netflix alone has great potential to pull advertisers, right from beginners to well-established brands.

 

taboola-interface

 

Source: Taboola

 

Key Features of Taboola Ad Network

  • Advanced targeting options
  • Variety of ad formats
  • Large audience reach

Ad Formats Available on Taboola

  • Display Ads
  • Native Ads
  • Videos Ads
  • Sponsored content

The downside of Taboola is that you will be competing with brands that have high advertising budgets.

How to Evaluate the Success of Display Advertising Campaigns

Launching display ads is not enough. You also need to track the performance of display ads to further optimize them to get the best results. Here are key metrics you must track to measure the success of display advertising campaigns.

  • Reach: It refers to the number of people who saw your ad, including those who clicked and who didn’t click the ad.
  • Impressions: This metric shows the ad exposure or how many times your ad was displayed.
  • Click-through rate (CTR): It represents the number of impressions that are actually clicked and varies from industry to industry. It is denoted by percentage and is typically less than 5%.
  • Conversions: It refers to the number of people who took action intended by your ad. It could be a purchase, a call, filling out a form, booking an appointment, etc.
  • Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): It shows the cost of acquiring each customer and helps determine the profitability of display advertising campaigns.
  • Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): It pertains to the revenue generated by display advertising relative to ad spend.

Wrapping up

Display ads are an essential advertising tool as they help brands raise awareness, make more sales, increase website traffic, and achieve various other goals. On the other hand, Display Ad Networks provide publishers with a great way to earn money by providing ad space to advertisers. With the right display advertising knowledge and display ad network, you can make the best of the resources and tools offered by the above display ad networks. Since all display ad networks offer something unique, you must carry out due diligence about which display ad network will work best for you.

 

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Crucial SEO Principles 2023: Step-by-Step Guide to Higher Rankings https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/crucial-seo-principles-for-higher-rankings/ Mon, 23 Oct 2023 10:24:28 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4340 Search engines are the source of 93 percent of online experiences. Plus, 60 percent of marketers say that inbound marketing (such as SEO and blog) is their highest quality source of generating qualified leads. This makes SEO essential for every business to increase sales and revenue. SEO stands for search engine optimization and refers to […]

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Search engines are the source of 93 percent of online experiences. Plus, 60 percent of marketers say that inbound marketing (such as SEO and blog) is their highest quality source of generating qualified leads. This makes SEO essential for every business to increase sales and revenue.

SEO stands for search engine optimization and refers to the process of website optimization using various SEO techniques to rank your website on the top of search engine results in major search engines, such as Google and Bing.

With the help of SEO, you can:

  • Improve the online visibility of your business
  • Divert organic (free) traffic to your website
  • Rank your website in the top positions of Google’s #1 Page
  • Enhance brand awareness and reputation
  • Build credibility in the eyes of customers
  • Attract online users who are interested in what you offer
  • Generate more qualified leads
  • Improve local presence and drive foot traffic to your physical store

Did You Know?

  • The average return on investment (ROI) for e-commerce SEO is 700% or more. (Source)
  • 57% of B2B marketers revealed that SEO brings in more leads than other marketing methods. (Source)
  • 94% of search engine users ignore paid ads and prefer organic search results (Source)

If you have not invested in SEO, now is the best time to strengthen the SEO of your website and expand your business in terms of brand awareness and customers. To get started with SEO, you must know the core SEO principles to run successful SEO campaigns and achieve your marketing goals.

7 SEO Principles You Must Know to Rank Your Website Higher

1. SEO Principle: Keyword Research and Optimization

1.1. Identifying the Right Keywords

Choosing the right keywords and phrases can make or break your ability to rank higher in search results. With the right SEO approach, keyword optimization can significantly boost your website’s visibility and traffic.

Begin the keyword research by brainstorming a list of terms and phrases related to your business, products, and target audience. Think about the words and questions someone might type into a search engine when looking for what you offer.

To get started, you can also simply type the basic service or general name of your product in Google Search to find related keywords.

 

keyword-search-query

 

Aim for a thorough list of potential keywords, including common terms and specific long-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords are more targeted phrases and contain 3 to 5 or more words.

Some good examples of long-tail keywords are:

  • Organic pillows for neck pain
  • Appliance repair in Austin, TX
  • Pet food in Dubai, UAE
  • Small business accounting software

 

 

The highlighted terms in the search results show how these results associate with your search term or keyword.

1.2. Use Keyword Research Tools

Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Moz Keyword Explorer, or WordStream to analyze and refine your initial keyword list.

Keyword research tools provide data on keyword popularity, competition, and search volume so you can find the best keywords and phrases to focus on.

Typically, you should target keywords with good search volume but relatively low competition because such keywords are easier to rank for. Long-tail keywords often fit this profile.

Filter out overly broad keywords or highly competitive keywords that are hard to rank for.

1.3. Integrate Keywords into Site Content

To fully capitalize on your target keywords for SEO, you need to seamlessly integrate keywords into your website content naturally.

When adding keywords to your pages, remember quality is more important than quantity. Keyword stuffing or overloading your content with keywords will hurt your rankings rather than help.

Google’s algorithms can detect unnaturally high keyword density and may penalize your pages. So, never stuff keywords in your content unnaturally or use too many of them. Apart from ranking, it also impacts content readability and user experience.

Focus on using keywords naturally throughout your copy. Aim to incorporate target terms in places where search engines look when analyzing relevance, like:

  • Page titles and headers (but avoid going overboard)
  • Image file names and alt text
  • The first 100 words of the main content
  • Subheadings spaced regularly through articles
  • URL slugs
  • Meta descriptions

Thoughtful placement of keywords allows search engines to associate your content with those keywords. Besides, the text reads normally to human visitors without awkward repetition or keyword stuffing.

The result is pages that rank better because search engines recognize them as highly relevant for those specific terms. It, in turn, brings more qualified traffic to your site.

2. SEO Principle: Enhance User Experience for Desktop and Mobile

Creating an excellent user experience (UX) on your website does more than just make visitors happy. It also signals search engines like Google that your content is engaging and valuable. When site visitors spend more time interacting with your pages, called increased dwell time, Google sees it as a sign of relevance.

So, optimizing for user experience for desktop and mobile devices directly improves your SEO rankings. Focus on useful, easy-to-consume content, intuitive navigation, fast load speeds, and simple design.

user experience for desktop and mobile

Meeting user needs through your website experience means higher dwell time, more return visitors, and better search engine results. Delivering quality UX is a win-win for visitors and SEO.

2.1. Improve Page Speed

In today’s world of instant gratification, slow page load times are a surefire way to frustrate users. Google analysis survey reveals:

  • 53% of people expect pages to load in 3 seconds or less
  • 1 out of 2 people expect a website to load in less than 2 seconds
  • 46% of people said waiting for pages to load on mobiles is what they dislike the most

Exceeding that threshold leads many visitors to abandon your site for competitor sites that load quickly. Thus, optimizing your page speed is crucial for delivering an excellent user experience.

You can use Google PageSpeed Insights to diagnose your site’s current desktop and mobile load performance.

page-speed-insight-desktop

Source: Google PageSpeed Insights (Loading Speed for Desktop)

 

page-speed-insight-mobile

Source: Google PageSpeed Insights (Loading Speed for Mobile Devices)

 

To make your website load faster, you can:

  • Compress images
  • Enable browser caching
  • Minimize redirects
  • Optimize code
  • Reduce overall page weight
  • Upgrading to a faster web host

For more complex improvements, work with a developer to optimize database queries, leverage a content delivery network, and implement other backend enhancements.

With a fast-loading website, visitors can seamlessly access your content without delay and are more likely to be engaged and spend more time on-site.

If your website is still not improved, you can take the help of a professional digital marketing agency like Media Search Group to make your website faster.

2.2. Simplify Site Navigation

A website’s navigation design can make or break the user experience. An intuitive navigation allows visitors to find what they need easily. When structuring your navigation menu, start with broad, descriptive category labels that organize your overall content.

For example, an e-commerce site might have top-level navigation options like “Shop”, “Brands”, and “Blog”. Then, create more specific dropdowns or subcategories to direct users to deeper pages. The “Shop” menu could have sub-navigation links for categories like “Clothing”, “Shoes”, and “Accessories”.

Another good example of great website site navigation is BathTrends. The image below shows that it is quite easy to find what a customer is looking for.

 

bathtrends-product-example

 

Suppose a customer wants to buy bathroom faucets. On this brand’s website, a customer can directly see faucets on the top and then choose the type they prefer or simply explore all the categories to find the best fit within a few clicks.

Test your site navigation with user research. Observe real people attempting to find pages and note any confusion. Refine based on feedback to remove pain points.

Finding the right balance of breadth versus depth takes trial and error. Too many nested submenus create complexity. Strive for clear, straightforward paths to key content areas.

2.3. Add Quality Images and Videos

Visually appealing websites capture and hold user attention better than walls of text.

With compelling visual content, you can:

  • Hold visitor attention
  • Enhance understanding
  • Deliver an enjoyable UX

Take advantage of photos, videos, illustrations, icons, animations, and infographics to create an engaging user experience.

  • Photography brings life to your pages and shows real products, people, and places.
  • Videos efficiently convey information while being entertaining and shareable.
  • Original graphics and illustrations showcase your brand personality.
  • Infographics simplify complex data into bitesize visual nuggets.
  • Icons make navigation and call-to-action buttons more intuitive.
  • Subtle animations add flair without distraction.

Images are more important, especially for businesses where experiences matter. For example, tour agencies, e-commerce stores, hospitality businesses, real estate agents, etc.

A good example of appealing visuals on a website is Gulf Tours. Even if their images are small, they are clearly visible, have quality, and are enticing.

 

gulftour-image-visualization

website-image-visualization

 

When users arrive at a page, visuals draw the eye and break up long blocks of copy. It improves skimmability for quick content consumption. People are also more likely to remember key information presented visually.

2.4. Monitor Core Web Vitals

Google’s Core Web Vitals provide key metrics for assessing user experience. Optimizing for web vitals can directly improve your website’s performance.

The Core Web Vitals are:

  • First Input Delay (FID) – measures interactivity by timing the first time a user can click on your page. Aim for under 100 milliseconds.
  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – gauges loading experience by timing when main content loads visually. Keep it under 2.5 seconds.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – tracks visual stability by quantifying unexpected layout changes. Minimize shifts and maintain CLS under 0.1.

 

core-web-vitals-details

Check your current Core Vitals scores in Google Search Console and then work to optimize pages with poor ratings.

To improve FID:

  • Reduce JS execution times
  • Enable caching, compress images
  • Simplify page design to improve FID

To optimize LCP:

  • Minimize render-blocking resources

To optimize CLS:

  • Avoid late-loading elements
  • Use relative sizing for images/text

Tuning your site for excellent Core Web Vitals scores directly enhances user experience. And since they factor into Google rankings, core web vitals optimization also improves your SEO.

3. SEO Principle: On-Page SEO

3.1. Optimize Title Tags

A title tag tells search engines and users what a specific page is about. Optimizing your title tags is a crucial on-page SEO tactic.

It is a good practice to use target keywords at the start of titles if possible. This helps search engines understand the page’s focus and makes it more appealing in results.

For example, a title for a dog training business could be “Portland Dog Training: Obedience Classes and Private Lessons.”

Keep titles concise but descriptive – aim for around 60 characters or 580 px. Summarize the page’s purpose and highlight key information.

 

meta-title-length

 

Avoid duplicating the same title across multiple pages. For better rankings, you must create unique, relevant titles for each piece of content.

You can tweak titles over time to improve click-through rates from search results. Try different keyword placement or add power words like “tips”, “guides” or “secrets”.

An eye-catching, keyword-optimized title tag signals search engines that your content is valuable for that topic. It also encourages users to click through to your page instead of competitors. Optimizing your titles for relevance and engagement is a smart SEO practice.

3.2. Optimize Meta Descriptions

The next thing you need to optimize after titles is meta description. The meta description gives search engines and users a summary of what a page is about. It is also shown as a snippet under the title tag in search results. An optimized description can improve click-through rates.

Keep meta descriptions between 150-160 characters or 920 px – the ideal length before Google truncates them. Summarize the page’s unique value proposition. Include a relevant keyword phrase if it fits naturally.

For example, a meta description for a page about SEO tips could state: “Our complete guide to SEO provides actionable tips to boost your organic search traffic through keyword research, link building, site optimization, and more.”

Avoid simply repeating the title tag content. Write descriptively to entice searchers. Use compelling wording and highlight benefits.

 

meta-description-length

 

While meta descriptions don’t directly impact search rankings, they influence click-through rates. An informative, engaging description gives users a reason to visit your page over competitors.

3.3. Optimize Images and Alt Text

Images make content more engaging for users. With proper optimization, they also boost on-page SEO.

Use descriptive file names containing target keywords, like “rose_flower.jpg”. It gives search engines hints about the image content.

Fill out the alt text and title attributes for each image. The alt text appears when images don’t load and is read by screen readers for accessibility. Well-written alt text includes keywords while still being natural.

image-alt-text-google

Source: Google Search Central (Google Image SEO Best Practices)

Ensure you compress images so that their file size is reduced and the quality is also not compromised. Smaller image files lead to faster load times. JPEGs tend to compress better than PNGs. So, prefer JPEG images.

Include images relevant to the page content to reinforce the topic visually. Insert them throughout the content to break up the text.

Why Optimize Images on Your Websites?

  • Properly optimized images reinforce page relevance for keywords.
  • Optimized images also enhance the user experience.
  • They add visual interest, accessibility, and valuable cues for search engine crawlers.
  • Images bring pages to life while boosting SEO.

3.4. Include Header Tags (H1, H2, and H3 tags) in Your Content

Header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are HTML elements that make text stand out on a page. They help structure content and signal importance to users and search engines.

  • Place target keywords in relevant header tags throughout a page’s content.
  • An H1 contains the main page keyword.
  • H2s and H3s include secondary keywords and subtopics.

For example:

H1: Social Media Marketing Tips

H2: Develop Your Brand’s Voice

H3: Post Engaging Content

H3: Use Visual Media

H2: Promote Your Accounts

H3: Leverage Cross-Promotion

H3: Run Contests & Sweepstakes

Header tags break up blocks of text and outline the content for better immobility. They also emphasize keywords so search engines better understand page relevance.

Strategic use of properly structured header tags improves on-page SEO while enhancing the user experience.

4. SEO Principle: Content Optimization

4.1. Topic Research

Start by using keyword research tools to uncover topics and terms with sufficient search volume and reasonable competition. It helps ensure there is audience interest and opportunity to rank.

Look at questions people are already asking around your target keywords to identify knowledge gaps your content can fill.

Analyze top-ranking competitors for topic ideas and insights into user intent. Explore resources like Quora, Reddit, online forums, and influencer content to discover additional facets of a topic.

When researching topics for your website, ensure that the keywords you target and the topics you choose are related to your business.

Suppose you are an AC repair company, and you see that many people are searching for the best landscaping design. If you write a blog post about this topic, our website may get higher traffic than before. However, you will not gain any leads, customers, or revenue. This is because people searching for landscaping ideas are not going to hire an air conditioner company.

So, it is a must that you choose the right keywords that bring in relevant traffic and leads.

4.2. Content Creation

With your outline as a guide, write content that provides comprehensive value for your keyword targets. For content creation, try different content formats, such as:

  • Blogs
  • Articles
  • Videos
  • Infographics
  • Guides
  • E-Books

Seamlessly incorporate keywords throughout your content using headings, subheadings, meta descriptions, image alt text, URLs, and bolded in-text mentions. But avoid awkward stuffing of keywords.

  • Keep sentences concise and paragraphs short for better readability.
  • Break up text with relevant images, infographics, videos, and quotes.
  • Use tools like Grammarly and Hemingway Editor to refine your writing.
  • Use Duplichecker or other plagiarism checker tools to identify and remove duplicate content.
  • Insert links to related content to develop keyword clusters.

Promote your content upon publication through social media, outreach for backlinks, and internal cross-linking. Track analytics to identify opportunities for refinement.

Performing diligent research and writing engaging and optimized content is one of the key strategies to ensure SEO success.

5. SEO Principle: Technical SEO

Technical optimization makes your site more search engine friendly so pages can be crawled, indexed and ranked properly. Here are key areas to focus on:

5.1. Optimize Site Structure

A website’s information architecture impacts how easily search engines can crawl and index its pages. Follow these tips to optimize site structure:

  • Design intuitive navigation so that site visitors can quickly find what they are looking for. Use clear menu labels, site search, and breadcrumb trails.
  • Interlink internal pages through contextual links in content and site menus. It helps crawlers discover new or updated content.
  • Organize your site into logical, hierarchical categories centred on topics.
  • Keep the homepage focused on the overarching site purpose. Create subcategories for additional pages.

Avoid burying content too deep. Try to limit page depth to 3 or 4 layers.

Create an XML sitemap listing all pages to be indexed. Upload this to your site and register it with Google Search Console to improve page discoverability.

An optimized site structure streamlines user journeys and makes crawling more efficient. By designing an intuitive architecture and enhancing internal linking, you ensure search engines can fully index your content for better rankings and visibility.

5.2. Make Your Pages Indexable

Search engines need to access a page’s code to crawl and index it. Thus, you need to ensure that your web pages can be easily indexed and crawled by search engines.

To make your pages indexable, you need to:

  • Ensure correct server settings to allow indexing and enable directory browsing for URLs.
  • Avoid restrictive robots.txt files or iframes.
  • Check for noindex meta tags that are mistakenly added.
  • Verify pages to ensure that they are fully indexable and can be discovered easily.

5.3. Make Your Website Easy to Crawl

Search engine crawlers follow links to discover new content.

To make your website crawlable, you should:

  • Link your website pages internally using contextual text links and site-wide navigation.
  • Limit site hierarchy with a maximum of 3-4 levels for better accessibility.
  • Use sitemaps to outline your URL structure.

Optimizing crawlability helps search bots fully explore your content.

5.4. Check Robots.Txt File

The robots.txt file gives crawling instructions. Avoid restrictive settings that block bots from key pages.

Disallow irrelevant directories and test your robots.txt using online tools to spot errors that prevent indexing. Proper robots.txt settings allow helpful bots while screening scrapers and bad bots.

Also, submit your sitemap here for faster discovery.

Important Note: Do not use robots.txt file to hide webpages from Google search results. If you want to hide certain pages, you must use noindex.

5.5. Pages with No Index

The noindex meta tag blocks indexing. Review where you have used no index tags to ensure high-quality pages aren’t mistakenly noindexed. This can happen with 5xx error pages or outdated content that has not yet been removed.

For pages that need to be hidden, use “noindex, follow” to retain internal linking value. It is a good practice to manage noindex tags proactively to prevent the loss of good pages.

To prevent all search engines from indexing your site, you can use the following code:

<meta name=”robots” content=”noindex”>

To prevent only Google Search from indexing your site, you can use the following code:

<meta name=”googlebot” content=”noindex”>

5.6. Verify Sitemap

A sitemap lists your URL structure for search engines. However, just having one isn’t enough. Verify your sitemap is submitted to Google Search Console for crawler access.

According to Google Search Central, here is a basic XML sitemap containing the location of a single URL:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″?>
<urlset xmlns=”http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9″>
<url>
<loc>https://www.example.com/foo.html</loc>
<lastmod>2022-06-04</lastmod>
</url>
</urlset>

For complex sitemaps, you can visit sitemaps.org.

After creating a sitemap, submit it to the Google Search Console.

Check for indexing errors that are blocking the pages listed. Refresh sitemaps regularly as you add new content and pages to your website.

Sitemaps aid discovery but still require verification for full SEO benefit.

6. SEO Principle: Off-Page SEO

6.1. Internal Linking

Internal links between pages on your site are a key off-page SEO tactic. Here are tips for using internal links to boost rankings.

Why Internal Links Matter

Internal links allow pages to pass “link equity” to each other. A page with numerous quality backlinks can share its power by linking internally.

This raises the authority of pages with fewer external links. So, adding contextual internal links helps less popular pages rank better. Link relevant pages using anchor text keywords where appropriate, as shown in the image.

relevant-internal-link-example

 

It also enables new or updated content to gain rankings faster by piggybacking on established pages. Smart internal linking amplifies your overall domain authority.

6.2. Strategies for Effective Internal Linking

  • Cross-link blog posts on similar topics to develop clusters around keywords. For example, link each SEO tips post to others.
  • Link important pages like “About” or “Contact” from higher-traffic pages for visibility.
  • Add links within on-page content where useful, not just within menus and sidebars.
  • Use descriptive anchor text, not repetitive generic phrases like “click here” or “read more”.
  • Install WordPress plugins to automate internal linking suggestions during content creation.

Analyze internal linking patterns using site crawl tools. Identify orphaned pages that lack internal link juice. Assess which pages accumulate the most internal links to inform link-building priorities. Continue adding relevant links and monitor their impact using Google Search Console.

6.3. Earn Backlinks

Backlinks from external sites are a major ranking factor because they signal authority and relevance. Earning authoritative backlinks should be a priority.

Start by identifying websites, blogs, and resources that overlap with your industry and target audience. Look for sites with high domain authority and quality content.

You can use a tool, such as Ahrefs, to check your website’s backlink profile. All you need is to visit Ahrefs backlink checker and enter the URL of your website.

For example, we entered the URL of Investopedia, and the result is shown in the image.

ahrefs-backlink-checker

Source: Ahrefs

Outreach these sites about contributing a relevant guest post with a contextual backlink. Don’t spam! Pitch thoughtfully and provide value.

Look for link roundups and lists like “top blogs” or “best tools” in your field where you can apply to be included.

Having a diverse backlink profile with links from widely trusted sites helps lift your own domain’s authority for better SEO.

6.4. Social Share

Social sharing is a great way to earn backlinks that point to your website. Here are some of the tips you can try to build links through social sharing:

  • Share your new posts on relevant LinkedIn Groups and Quora Spaces.
  • Engage followers on Twitter with content teasers, polls and questions.
  • Use high-quality visuals on Instagram and Pinterest to drive organic engagement.
  • Make shareable PDF guides, tools or resources related to your content and promote them on SlideShare.
  • Use YouTube to host webinars, behind-the-scenes and instructional videos.
  • Podcast interviews are an engaging audio format that can yield backlinks.

Interact meaningfully with others’ content instead of just self-promoting. Comment on blogs, share others’ posts and engage the community. This raises your visibility and credibility for potential backlinks.

Monitor click-throughs from social shares back to your site using UTM tracking codes. Pay attention to which platforms and content types perform best. Keep diversifying your outreach for ongoing improvements.

7. SEO Principle: Analytics Tracking to Monitor SEO Performance

Analytics tracking is crucial to know whether your search engine optimization efforts yield any results or not. Remember only one thing “if you can’t measure it, you can’t treasure it”. So, when you want to gain and improve SEO results, it is important to measure the key metrics right from the beginning and see any improvements.

7.1. Key SEO Metrics to Track

  • Clicks and Impressions
  • Organic traffic
  • Keyword rankings
  • Referring domains
  • Indexed Pages
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Bounce rate
  • Exit rate
  • Pages per session
  • Average session duration
  • Organic traffic conversions
  • Top Queries

7.2. SEO Tools to Track SEO Performance

  • Google Analytics
  • Google Search Console
  • Ahrefs
  • Semrush
  • Screaming Frog

For example, using Google Search Console, you can track different metrics that determine SEO performance easily.

7.3. How to Track SEO Performance

Go to Google Search Console and click on the Performance tab to see how your website is performing.

Also, explore other metrics, such as CTR, average position, page experience, core web vitals, etc.

thehealthspace_console-stats

Checking top queries is also a good way to find out what your targeted customers search for online and create relevant content.

keywod-search-queries-gsc

 

Conclusion

SEO is a successful digital marketing technique as SEO leads are found to have a 14.6% close rate, which is 8.5 times higher than outbound leads. So, don’t delay anymore and make a strong online presence using the above core SEO principles.

If you find it difficult to manage the SEO of your website, get professional help from a reputable SEO company that serves your area and offers comprehensive SEO solutions within your budget.

The post Crucial SEO Principles 2023: Step-by-Step Guide to Higher Rankings first appeared on Media Search Group - Blog.]]>
Revolutionize Your Business with B2B Local Marketing: Proven Tactics https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/revolutionize-your-business-with-b2b-local-marketing/ Fri, 13 Oct 2023 10:54:46 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4311 In today’s competitive business landscape, it’s crucial for companies to explore every avenue to maximize their growth potential. One often overlooked strategy is B2B local marketing. By focusing on local markets, businesses can tap into a lot of opportunities, establish strong connections with their target audience, and ultimately revolutionize their operations. Understanding the Essence of […]

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In today’s competitive business landscape, it’s crucial for companies to explore every avenue to maximize their growth potential. One often overlooked strategy is B2B local marketing. By focusing on local markets, businesses can tap into a lot of opportunities, establish strong connections with their target audience, and ultimately revolutionize their operations.

Understanding the Essence of B2B Local Marketing

B2B local marketing is a powerful tool that allows businesses to connect with potential clients and customers in their immediate vicinity. While global marketing campaigns have their place, there are unique benefits to focusing on the local market. For starters, local businesses tend to trust and prefer working with companies that are nearby. By positioning yourself as a local expert, you can build strong relationships and establish your brand as a go-to solution provider.

Additionally, B2B local marketing allows for better customization and personalization of your marketing efforts. You can tailor your messaging, offers, and promotions to suit the specific needs and preferences of your local target audience. This level of personalization can significantly enhance your conversion rates and overall marketing effectiveness.

Key Tactics for B2B Local Marketing Success

Now that we understand the importance of B2B local marketing, let’s explore some key tactics that can help you achieve success in this area.

1. Optimize Your Online Presence for Local Search

b2b-local-marketing-Cleaning-Companies-Business

In today’s digital age, the first step to conquering local markets is to ensure that your online presence is optimized for local search. This entails a series of strategies to improve your visibility when potential clients in your area search for products or services related to your business. Here’s what you can do:

1.1. Claim Your Google My Business Listing

google-my-business-cleaning-company-profile

Google My Business (GMB) is a powerful tool that allows you to manage your business’s appearance in Google search results. By claiming your GMB listing, you can provide essential information like your address, phone number, business hours, and even post updates and promotions. This makes it easier for local customers to find and contact you.

1.2. Optimize Your Website for Local SEO

optimize-websites-for-local-seo

Ensure that your website is optimized for local search engine optimization (SEO). This involves including location-specific keywords in your content, meta descriptions, and headers. Create location-based landing pages to target different local markets you serve.

1.3. Encourage Customer Reviews

encouraging-customer-review

Positive reviews can significantly boost your credibility and visibility. Encourage your satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and industry-specific review sites. Responding to reviews, both positive and negative, shows that you value customer feedback.

2. Optimize Your Business Website for Local B2B Marketing

In addition to local SEO, optimizing your website for local B2B marketing is essential for success. Your website is often the first point of contact for potential clients or customers, so it’s crucial to make a great first impression.

optimize-website-for-local-searches

Start by creating a user-friendly and visually appealing website design. Ensure that your website is easy to navigate, loads quickly, and is mobile-friendly. This is particularly important as more and more people use their mobile devices to search for local businesses.

Furthermore, make sure your website clearly communicates your value proposition and showcases your expertise in serving local businesses. Include testimonials and case studies from satisfied local clients to build credibility and trust. Finally, provide clear and prominent contact information, including your address, phone number, and email, so that potential clients or customers can easily get in touch with you.

3. Leverage Social Media for B2B Local Engagement

Social media platforms have emerged as invaluable tools for businesses seeking to establish a strong connection with their local audience. In this section, we will explore in-depth how you can harness the potential of social media for effective B2B local marketing.

3.1. Craft Targeted Content to Resonate with Your Local Audience

To effectively engage with your local audience on social media, it’s crucial to tailor your content to meet their specific needs and interests. Here are some strategies to consider:

  • Share Local News and Events

Stay attuned to local news and events relevant to your industry or niche. Share updates, articles, and announcements that showcase your active involvement in the local community. For instance, if you run a technology consulting firm, share news about local tech meetups or conferences.

  • Spotlight Local Success Stories

Highlighting the successes of local businesses or clients you’ve worked with can be a powerful way to connect with your audience. Share their stories, testimonials, or case studies to demonstrate your impact within the community.

  • Use Location-Based Hashtags

Harness the power of location-based hashtags to increase your visibility among local users. Research popular local hashtags and incorporate them into your posts. For instance, if you’re a dentist based in Los Angeles, using hashtags like #LosAngelesdentist or #LCdentistry can help local dentist searchers discover your content. You can further optimize your website with the help of best dentist SEO services provider to improve your presence in local search results.

3.2. Active Engagement with the B2B Local Community

Building meaningful relationships within your local community on social media goes beyond posting content. Here’s how you can actively engage:

  • Join Local Groups and Forums

Explore social media platforms for local groups, forums, or communities related to your industry or niche. Joining these groups provides an opportunity to interact with other local businesses and potential clients. Participate in discussions, offer insights, and establish yourself as a knowledgeable resource.

  • Respond to Comments and Messages Promptly

Promptly respond to comments and messages from your followers, especially those from local customers or businesses. Engaging in two-way communication shows that you value your community’s input and fosters a sense of trust.

  • Collaborate with Local Influencers

Identify local influencers or thought leaders in your industry who have a substantial following in your area. Collaborate with them by featuring their content, co-hosting events, or running joint campaigns. Their endorsement can significantly boost your local credibility.

3.3. Run Targeted Localized Ad Campaigns

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer sophisticated targeting options that allow you to reach specific geographic areas with your advertisements. Here’s how to make the most of localized ad campaigns:

  • Define Your Local Target Audience

Clearly define your local target audience based on factors like location, demographics, interests, and behavior. Understanding your ideal local customer helps you create highly targeted ads.

  • Promote Local Events and Offers

Use localized ad campaigns to promote local events, workshops, or special offers. Highlighting promotions tailored to your local audience can drive foot traffic to your business or boost online sales within your community.

  • Measure and Optimize

Social media ad platforms provide robust analytics tools. Monitor the performance of your localized ad campaigns closely. Pay attention to metrics like click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and engagement levels. Use these insights to adjust your ad strategies and allocate resources effectively.

Incorporating these strategies into your B2B local marketing efforts will enable you to leverage social media as a powerful tool for connecting with your local audience. By crafting targeted content, actively engaging with the local community, and running localized ad campaigns, you can maximize your impact and create lasting relationships within your local market. Remember that consistency and authenticity are key to building trust and credibility in your local social media presence.

4. Develop Partnerships with B2B Local Marketing Businesses

Networking and forming partnerships with other local businesses can be a game-changer for B2B local marketing. By collaborating with complementary businesses, you can tap into their existing customer base and gain access to new potential clients or customers. Consider the following approaches:

4.1. Joint Marketing Campaigns

Joint marketing campaigns represent a strategic alliance between your business and complementary local enterprises, amplifying your collective expertise to achieve greater marketing impact. For instance, if you operate a web design agency, consider collaborating with a local content marketing agency to deliver comprehensive digital marketing solutions. By pooling resources, knowledge, and creativity, joint marketing campaigns can create a compelling value proposition that resonates strongly with your target audience, ultimately driving business growth.

4.2. Cross-Promotion

Cross-promotion is a dynamic strategy where businesses mutually showcase each other’s products or services to their respective customer bases, expanding their reach and influence. Leveraging platforms like email newsletters, social media shoutouts, or even co-hosted events, cross-promotion offers a powerful synergy. By endorsing and featuring each other’s offerings, both businesses benefit from increased exposure and credibility. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of community within the local business ecosystem, where businesses unite to enhance their value proposition and offer more comprehensive solutions to their clientele.

4.3. Referral Programs

Referral programs establish symbiotic alliances with local businesses, encouraging the exchange of client referrals when there’s alignment. By setting up structured referral systems, you incentivize fellow businesses to recommend your services to clients who can benefit from them. In turn, you reciprocate, referring clients to them when suitable opportunities arise. These reciprocal acts strengthen your local business community, create a network of trust, and amplify growth prospects, resulting in a win-win scenario for all parties involved.

5. Attend Local Events and Trade Shows

Participating in local events and trade shows not only establishes your presence but also fosters connections within the local business community. These connections can lead to collaborations, partnerships, and growth opportunities. Here’s how to make the most of these opportunities:

5.1. Network Actively

When attending local events, your mission should extend beyond showcasing products or services. Actively engage in conversations, showing genuine interest in building lasting relationships with other businesses and potential clients. These connections can yield fruitful collaborations and opportunities for mutual growth and support.

5.2. Sponsorship Opportunities

Exploring sponsorship opportunities at local events and industry-specific trade shows is a strategic move that can significantly enhance your business’s visibility and credibility within the local community. By becoming a sponsor, you not only contribute to the success of these events but also position your brand as a prominent supporter of local initiatives. This association reinforces your commitment to the community and strengthens your reputation, making you a trusted name in the local business landscape.

5.3. Host Workshops and Seminars

Hosting workshops or seminars at local events is a powerful way to showcase your expertise, positioning your business as an industry authority. Beyond that, it provides a unique opportunity to engage with potential clients on a personal level. These interactions can foster trust and create meaningful connections that go beyond business transactions, solidifying your presence within the local community and driving future opportunities.

6. Create Valuable Local Content

Content marketing continues to be a potent tool for B2B local marketing, offering a means to provide value to your local audience by sharing relevant and timely information. Develop content that resonates with your local audience:

6.1. Localized Blog Posts

Publishing localized blog posts is a key element of your content marketing strategy. These posts delve into local concerns, trends, and challenges, catering specifically to your local audience. Additionally, showcasing success stories and case studies featuring local clients provides practical, relatable examples of your solutions in action. This approach positions your business as intimately acquainted with the unique dynamics of your local community, establishing trust and credibility.

6.2. Local Expert Interviews

Conducting interviews with local industry experts and influencers enriches your content with valuable insights for your audience. Additionally, it serves as a bridge to tap into their networks, fostering collaborative relationships that enhance your local presence and authority within your community.

6.3. Local Events and News Coverage

Producing content related to local events, news, and industry developments keeps your audience well-informed. This not only positions your business as a reliable source of information but also demonstrates your commitment to being actively engaged in your local community, fostering trust and loyalty among your audience.

7.Implement Email Marketing with a Local Focus

Email marketing offers a highly personalized avenue for connecting with your local audience. By crafting tailored content and messaging specific to your local clientele, you can create a more meaningful and relevant connection. This approach demonstrates your commitment to understanding and meeting the unique needs of your local customers, reinforcing your brand’s local presence and trustworthiness. Here’s how to make it work:

7.1. Segment Your Email List

Segmenting your email list based on geographic location is a pivotal step in local-focused email marketing. This practice enables you to deliver highly targeted and location-specific content and promotions to your subscribers. By tailoring your messages to the unique preferences and interests of each local audience, you enhance engagement and demonstrate your commitment to providing value within your community, thereby bolstering your local reputation and connection with your audience.

7.2. Local Event Invitations

Sending personalized invitations to local events, workshops, or seminars you’re hosting is a potent email marketing strategy. These invitations not only inform recipients of upcoming local events but also make them feel like valued community members. By tailoring the invitations to their interests and location, you create a sense of belonging and community engagement, encouraging attendance and fostering stronger connections within your local audience. This approach aligns with your local-focused email marketing, enhancing the effectiveness of your outreach.

7.3. Highlight Local Success Stories

Incorporating local success stories into your email marketing campaigns is a compelling strategy. By showcasing how your products or services have positively impacted local clients’ businesses, you build trust and credibility within your community. These real-world examples resonate with your local audience, inspiring confidence in your offerings and reinforcing your role as a trusted local partner. Sharing these stories through email demonstrates the tangible benefits of your services to potential clients, strengthening their connection to your brand.

8. Monitor and Analyze Your B2B Local Marketing Efforts

To ensure the effectiveness of your B2B local marketing strategies, it’s imperative to consistently monitor and analyze their performance. This data-driven approach empowers you to make informed decisions and refine your strategies for optimal results. Here’s how:

8.1. Use Analytics Tools

Leverage analytics tools such as Google Analytics and social media insights to gain valuable insights into your local marketing efforts. These tools allow you to track essential metrics like website traffic, engagement levels, and conversion rates originating from local sources. By analyzing this data, you can make data-driven decisions to refine your strategies, allocate resources effectively, and continually optimize your B2B local marketing campaigns for better results.

8.2. Gather Feedback

Collecting feedback from customers and partners within your local community provides invaluable insights to fine-tune your B2B local marketing strategies. Their perspectives offer a unique understanding of local preferences and expectations, enabling you to adjust your approaches for more effective engagement and relationship-building.

8.3. Adjust Your Approach

Data and feedback-driven insights are essential to adapt your B2B local marketing tactics effectively. Recognize that what proves successful in one local market may not yield the same results elsewhere. Be prepared to elevate, fine-tune, and customize your strategies to cater to the unique dynamics of each local market you serve, ensuring consistent relevance and success.

Conclusion

In the world of B2B marketing, the significance of localizing your approach cannot be overstated. The strategies outlined in this comprehensive guide are tried-and-true methods to transform your business and solidify a commanding presence in your local markets. However, it’s crucial to bear in mind that B2B local marketing is not a one-time endeavor but rather an ongoing commitment.

 

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Media Search Group Celebrating 12 Years of Digital Marketing Success https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/celebrating-12-years-of-digital-marketing-success/ Fri, 29 Sep 2023 11:37:51 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4293 This year marks a major milestone for our digital marketing agency as we are celebrating 12 years in business! From humble beginnings with 3 visionary founders and one dream in 2011, we have grown into an esteemed digital marketing agency of over 100 talented professionals serving thousands of clients across the globe. Our Digital Marketing […]

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This year marks a major milestone for our digital marketing agency as we are celebrating 12 years in business! From humble beginnings with 3 visionary founders and one dream in 2011, we have grown into an esteemed digital marketing agency of over 100 talented professionals serving thousands of clients across the globe.

Our Digital Marketing Agency Growth Over the Years

The Early Days of Building Our Foundation

The initial years were marked by hard work, limited resources, and full determination that led to our growth and success.

Over the years, we achieved one milestone after another as we built upon our long-term partnerships with clients, scaled up our skills, and created a strong foundation in the digital marketing industry.

Global Expansion and Digital Growth

As our reputation grew, so did our client base across the globe. The one thing that made us unique and successful is our data-driven approach to online marketing.

Instead of making random strategies, we always rely on data to make informed strategies and decisions. Gradually, we expanded our services, catering to global clients, especially in the United States and United Arab Emirates. Our dedication to quality, results, and customer satisfaction earned us the trust of clients from diverse industries.

We are proud that we are listed as one of the best SEO companies in Dubai.

Our Digital Marketing Services: Driving Digital Success

At Media Search Group, we have something for everyone as we offer a comprehensive suite of digital marketing services to meet the diverse marketing needs of our clients.

  • SEO services
  • PPC and Paid Social Advertising
  • Website Design and Development
  • E-commerce SEO
  • National and International SEO
  • Local SEO Services
  • Industry-Specific SEO
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Content Marketing
  • Online Reputation Management and more!

From a small startup to a leading digital agency, our services have scaled dramatically based on client needs and expanding capabilities.

At our core, we are still focused on delivering real, transparent results through data-driven digital marketing strategies customized for each unique business. Our growth would not be possible without our loyal clients and MSG family.

Thank You to Our Amazing Clients

We owe our success to our incredible clients who have put their trust in our agency over the years. Some have been with us since the very beginning! Thank you for:

  • Your partnership as we strategize and execute marketing campaigns together
  • Valuing our expertise in an ever-changing digital landscape
  • Providing us with opportunities to help grow your business
  • Your referrals of fellow business owners looking for digital solutions
  • Your feedback to constantly improve us
  • Celebrating our wins and milestones together

Here’s to many more years of helping your business succeed online!

Our Digital Marketing Team Is Our Greatest Asset

Of course, we could not have accomplished so much over the past 12 years without our talented team pushing boundaries and striving for excellence every day. We consider each member a part of our MSG family. Their passion, creativity, and dedication are what drive our success in the industry.

Thank you team for:

  • Embracing our core values of transparency, honesty, and empathy
  • Building relationships with clients and each other
  • Giving your efforts to digital marketing innovation
  • Continuously expanding your skills and knowledge
  • Making Media Search Group a fun and rewarding place to work

We are so proud of the work our team does to drive real results for amazing clients. Here’s to reaching even greater heights together!

Looking Forward to Many More Milestones and Achievements!

Thank you all for being part of our digital marketing journey filled with endless possibilities and opportunities.

 

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How to Plan SEO Strategy and Better Your Results with Enterprise SEO? https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/how-to-plan-seo-strategy-and-better-your-results-with-enterprise-seo/ Thu, 14 Jul 2022 16:54:33 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4242 Do you run a big business? If yes, then your SEO efforts and other digital marketing strategies should also be bigger to meet your enterprise goals. Large corporations as well as mid-sized businesses that provide a diverse range of products and services to a diverse range of audiences fall into this category and need enterprise […]

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Do you run a big business? If yes, then your SEO efforts and other digital marketing strategies should also be bigger to meet your enterprise goals. Large corporations as well as mid-sized businesses that provide a diverse range of products and services to a diverse range of audiences fall into this category and need enterprise SEO, to be very precise.

A well-planned enterprise SEO strategy is required to dominate Google searches and reduce your customer acquisition cost (CAC). It also helps you improve the ROI of your brand and achieve growth in ranking, traffic, and revenue for overall performance in the long term. In this post, we will learn about Enterprise SEO, common Enterprise SEO challenges, and ways to plan an effective Enterprise SEO strategy. Let’s start!

What is Enterprise SEO?

Enterprise SEO is not the same as traditional SEO, which the majority of web owners are familiar with. Though it encompasses everything traditional SEO has, it is planned at a bigger level to manage:

  • Hundreds of thousands of pages on enterprise sites.
  • Business websites in multiple languages / for different countries.

Enterprise sites face fierce competition at every stage of SEO planning, particularly from brands employing sophisticated SEO strategies to target a small segment. Because of it, formulating enterprise-level strategies is very challenging due to the complexity of SEO practices at every stage and requires critical thinking, experience, and significant resources to produce results.

Like traditional SEO practices, a well-planned enterprise SEO strategy includes:

  • On-page optimization
  • High-quality content creation
  • local SEO to penetrate deeper into specific market segments.

Investing in enterprise SEO helps big corporations decrease their CAC (customer acquisition cost) and improve CLV (customer lifetime value) when it comes to long-term growth and scalability. To be at the top of your enterprise-level SEO game, your CLV to CAC ratio should be high. A high CLV to CAC ratio indicates a long-term profitable business model.

While most businesses focus on paid search channels for a quick win, studies have repeatedly shown that SEO and content marketing target the lowest CAC in the long run. It pays off exponentially in terms of increased traffic and sales for sustainable business growth. Simply put, SEO is the way to go if you’re looking for a long-term strategy to reduce CAC and increase ROI.

Enterprise SEO Challenges

Enterprise SEO is more complex and formulating a winning strategy requires more time, resources, effort, and creativity than standard SEO practices for small businesses. You require a comprehensive enterprise SEO strategy that is tailored to your specific business requirements and customer targeting goals. As a result, many big companies struggle to develop an enterprise SEO strategy that results in lower CAC and higher CLV. Some common enterprise SEO challenges you will face while creating a winning strategy for your business, include:

The majority of enterprise SEO content available out there is too generic, misleading, repetitive or copied. Either it is not relevant in all parts or not tailored specifically to meet enterprise goals. Because each enterprise is distinct from others in some way, every enterprise’s SEO and content strategy should be as well for different target audiences and markets.

Scalability is one of the primary conditions for a truly effective enterprise SEO strategy and many SEO agencies fail to fulfill that. If you want to expand into new markets or grow your organization, you’ll need the infrastructure and resources to support large-scale search engine optimization, even in multiple languages. Effective workflow management, process automation, and robust reporting are the key requirements to achieve scalability with your enterprise SEO strategy.

Leveraging enterprise-level local SEO is another challenge for big companies because they face fierce competition from small businesses targeting a specific market with sophisticated SEO strategies by using all of their resources. Any company that operates in multiple markets or locations must be present in local search results. However, the majority of them lack the coordination required to win the local SEO game. You must have the right local SEO enterprise tools and strategy if you want your individual stores, branch offices, or franchises to perform well in search results.

Six Enterprise SEO Strategies That Really Work

1. Optimize for Voice Search

Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortona, and Amazon’s Alexa, all are here to assist users through voice assistance to help with their searches and queries on the internet. If your business is not ready for voice SEO, you are lagging big and have to catch up more quickly. Voice technology has evolved significantly and has become a major digital trend; businesses must revise their SEO strategy and adopt voice search through content optimization to keep up with these changes.

2. Target Keywords with Striking Potential

If you want the quickest way to win big with your keyword strategy, identifying Striking Distance keywords and including them in your future and existing content is the way to go. these are the keywords that aren’t ranked at the top in Google SERPs (search engine result pages) but have the potential to rise to the top of results with a little time and planning. Refreshing your content with striking-distance keywords takes little time but produces excellent results.

3. Internal and External Linking

When working on your enterprise SEO strategy, you cannot rule out inbound and outbound linking to your site. Internal links keep visitors on your website longer and encourage them to make a purchase or subscribe. They are frequently used as a call-to-action because they may prompt a site visitor to take any action that will result in increased engagement with your site or lead generation. Internal linking to your site boosts the authority of your web pages while increasing your website’s search visibility and rank.

External linking or backlinking is a crucial ranking factor and an important component of Google’s search engine algorithm. It is a free source of traffic to your website from other sites. External links are links to your website from other websites. These links boost your site’s credibility and value in search engines.

4. Optimize for Featured Snippet

Featured snippets are the short text snippets that appear at the top of Google’s search results. They can be a list, tables, paragraphs, or steps to provide quick information to a user’s query. A featured snippet is derived automatically from Google’s index of web pages. The featured snippet box is known as Position zero because it appears before the top spot on the search page. The majority of featured snippets are generated by questions. As a result, ensure that your content has sections addressing how, when, where, who, what, and why about a particular subject. Focus on relevance and quality while ensuring that each section is between 40 and 50 words long. It also helps Google understand your content and business better.

5. Follow the E-A-T Approach

If you want to be found in online searches, you must improve your E-A-T strategy, which stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. Google wants to ensure that the information it recommends in search results is correct, authentic, useful, and comes from experts in that field for a greater user experience on the web. Google uses the E-A-T approach to evaluate web pages, content creators, and websites to enhance the search experience. If you want to establish authority and improve your online reputation and trustworthiness, focus on appearing good in more links, shares, mentions, and reviews.

6. Blog Post

“Content is King.” It is true and relevant in every aspect of SEO optimization even today. Make sure that your company’s website has a dedicated section for blogs, articles, and news to keep your audience interested, build trust, and represent your business creatively. Blog posts can help you achieve high visibility across digital platforms by utilizing various SEO techniques such as content marketing, keyword targeting, and linking to your site, allowing your brand to be seen by thousands of people.

Every new blog added to your website creates a new web page, giving search engines another reason to crawl your site for new content. It also aids in keeping your website fresh and up-to-date. Regular blog posting keeps your website fresh and up to date-for more value in search engines.

Conclusion

Enterprise SEO has its challenges and complexity regarding the availability of infrastructure and resources. However, with the right tactics and strategies, you can boost your rankings, drive more organic traffic to your site, and increase conversions to witness growth. There is nothing new that you don’t do in your standard SEO strategies, all you require is to put in more time, effort, and resources to win over a wider audience across the world while planning business expansion.

Media Search Group is a leading SEO company that helps businesses to be in a better position and achieve top rankings in search results, regardless of the size of the business or how complex a website is. Contact us to discuss with our SEO experts and get a customized SEO strategy to grow your business.

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How Brands Are Leveraging Native Advertising for Higher Engagements https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/how-brands-are-leveraging-native-advertising-for-higher-engagements/ Thu, 02 Jun 2022 08:24:22 +0000 https://www.mediasearchgroup.com/blog/?p=4238 Native advertising is booming, and brands who haven’t yet jumped to take advantage of this trend must rethink their advertising strategy. While SEO, SMO, organic blog posts, and paid advertisements are still important to catch the attention of potential audiences, native advertising will allow you to make your content more shareable. While sponsored content is […]

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Native advertising is booming, and brands who haven’t yet jumped to take advantage of this trend must rethink their advertising strategy. While SEO, SMO, organic blog posts, and paid advertisements are still important to catch the attention of potential audiences, native advertising will allow you to make your content more shareable. While sponsored content is typically created to be read, native advertising content is designed to be shared. In short, if you are a brand looking to go viral with your content, native advertising is your answer.

Here, you will learn all about native advertising and how brands are leveraging it.

  1. What is native advertising?
  2. What is the example of native advertising?
  3. What is the purpose of native advertising?
  4. What are the benefits of native advertising?
  5. Why is native advertising controversial?
  6. Are there any cons of native advertising?
  7. How are brands leveraging native advertising?
  8. Why should I consider native advertising?
  9. How to do native advertising?

What is native advertising?

Native advertising is a relatively new form of paid advertising that is designed to easily blend with other posts and doesn’t make the viewers feel like they are watching some kind of ad.

Even if it is tagged with sponsored, the content of native advertising follows the natural flow and function to enhance the user experience and entice the viewers to share it as much as possible.

It is designed to match the native user experience so that viewers can relate to the ads. Inherently, it is non-disruptive and works like just natural content.

So, in clear words, native advertising is:

  • A customized form of paid advertising
  • Created to naturally blend with the platform it appears on
  • Designed to be shared and go viral

What is the example of native advertising?

Most probably, you have already seen many examples of native advertising. Let’s understand native advertising by a simple example.

Assume there is a car manufacturing website and its marketing department develops a short blog post on “the future of the car industry” and pays a magazine company (that specifically shares content about car models, latest trends, and car reviews) to post that blog post on its website.

Now, this paid content is called native advertisement because it is not going to disrupt the readers of that magazine and they won’t have the feeling that that blog post appeared out of blue for no reason. Even though the content is paid for, it will seamlessly blend into the car magazine platform. Besides, car enthusiasts are more likely to stay updated on the upcoming future car trends and they are more likely to read the content and share it with their friends with the same interests as well.

So, this type of content ticks all the criteria of native advertising.

Now, let’s talk about some real-life examples of native advertising.

The paid post of Allbirds called “The View from Above: Why Our Future May Depend On the Fate of Birds” in The New York Times is an excellent example of native advertising. The brand advertised itself by creating a meaningful post for the readers of The New York Times. It was placed as an in-feed/in-content ad on the platform’s newsfeed. The article talked about how important birds are to our environment and the ways climate change is putting their survival at risk.

What makes this content more sensible is that the brand name, itself, contains the word “Birds” and the brand has a major focus on sustainability. It featured mesmerizing animated graphics and a soothing soundtrack of bird sounds that enhanced the experience of the viewers while promoting the company without directly selling its products, i.e. shoes and clothing.

We hope, by now, you have a clear idea of what native advertising exactly is.

What is the purpose of native advertising?

The main purpose of native advertising is to improve the number of shares and popularity of the content created to boost brand awareness without shouting at the audience to use their products and services.

On the contrary, regular paid advertising directly talks about the products and services and asks people to do business with the brand.

In short, the key to Native Advertising is “Be Natural, Be Subtle”.

What are the benefits of native advertising?

The booming trend of native advertising reflects how much it is effective and also tells that it seriously comes with many great benefits.

Here are the top 20 benefits of native advertising:

  1. Promotes your brand without making undesirable noise
  2. Positively influences your existing and potential customers  
  3. Helps develop a sense of “knowing” your brand
  4. Builds trust among people for your brand
  5. Spikes the number of shares
  6. Surges the click-through-rate (CTR)
  7. Makes your content more likely to be viral
  8. Increases the reach of your brand
  9. Targets specific audience segments, resulting in more viewership
  10. Increases the chances of generating engagement
  11. Helps you work on your brand image in an effective way
  12. Enhances the reputation of your brand as long as the content is relevant and not misleading
  13. Helps you tackle the increasing “banner blindness” problem
  14. Works even if ads and pop-ups are blocked on the users’ systems
  15. Returns more value as more native ad viewers are influenced and get converted than regular ads
  16. Works on any relevant platform you want (mobile, desktop, social media, networking apps, news websites, online magazines, etc.)
  17. Results in better performance of ad campaigns
  18. Features high-quality content that people find fun, interesting, and non-disruptive
  19. Drives more the targeted audience to make purchases or interact with the brand
  20. Useful and high-quality content of native advertising negates the branded nature of the content

Why is native advertising controversial?

Even with so many benefits, native advertising remains a controversial topic because some brands are using deceptive and misleading content for native advertising.

Originally, native advertising is designed to benefit the customers and targeted audiences as any type of advertising should be. However, many marketers are using it as a tool to profit from it without giving value to the readers and viewers.

Consequently, even though the industry of native advertising and content marketing has been unregulated, the FTC has generated Native Advertising Guidelines and there are also talks in the town about establishing standards.

Of course, while audiences don’t want to be disturbed by noisy and flashy ads, they also don’t want to be cheated into believing that an advertisement is anything except what it exactly is.

So, tread carefully when starting the journey of native advertising, and don’t get swayed in the hopes of getting viral anyhow. You need to stay true to your brand identity while creating and sharing native ads.

Are there any cons of native advertising?

Yes, there are. Native advertising can be more expensive because you need creators and writers who can think out of the box and create viral content without selling your offerings directly. A great story, concept, and design take significant time and require talent.

Other than this, native advertising is non-disruptive, which means it is discreet and doesn’t catch the attention of the audience instantly. The readers and viewers will find your native advertisements naturally through feeds, recommendations, and regular content updates.

While this property of native advertising doesn’t help grab the eyeballs right away, it may increase the likeliness of the content being read and getting noticed eventually. So, being non-disruptive is not exactly a drawback.

How are brands leveraging native advertising?

Native advertising has become an effective tool in the arsenal of marketers, and thus, has caught the attention of many brands. It allows your brand to appear also in front of those who are averse to explicit advertising. Leading brands understood this well very early and began testing it, and many of them have succeeded at it greatly as well.

Netflix’s Narcos Series

Launched in 2015, Narcos is a TV series that portrays the life of drug lord Pablo Escobar and the legacy he left. Netflix created an interactive app for the readers of the Wall Street Journal to promote the show. On their website, they also published articles discussing the history of the international drug trade and its personalities, a map of the main routes, and also a quiz. All these types of content were created as a part of a native advertising strategy to promote the Narcos series.

Taco Bell’s Cinco De Mayo

Another most successful native ad campaign is Taco Bell’s Cinco de Mayo Snapchat Ad. Undoubtedly, millions of people are accustomed to using Snapchat filters. Taco Bell recognized this opportunity and launched the funny lens during the Cinco de Mayo holiday to advertise their brand without being disruptive to the users of Snapchat.

These two examples are enough to get an idea that leading brands are trying every way and not focusing on just the text content but providing the content in a format that makes it easier for viewers to understand things clearly or be more entertained in a subtle way.

Why should I consider native advertising?

Even if your business is averse to the “Fear of Missing out (FOMO)”, you must consider native advertising as it is not about getting in the race and leading it but about creating a brand image that people perceive positively.

Whether your native content is funny, informative, or eye-opening, it makes more people aware of your business and brings more conversions. So, unless your company doesn’t want to make sales, garner reputation, and boost brand awareness, add native advertising to your list and start working on it. Otherwise, there is no point in running a business that nobody knows about!

Plus, native advertising is continuously getting popular and is still on the rise. This means that as early as you get on native advertising, the better results you will see. Brands that are turning a blind eye to native advertising for now might lag and experience a huge loss as their customers would develop an interest in their competitors. And when they will realize it, it might be too late because when the road is crowded, it’s harder to run and you might grapple to benefit from it.

How to do native advertising?

When you choose to do native advertising, you can make a head-start with the following steps:

  • Set up your principles for native advertising that supports the FTC guidelines. As per the FTC, an act or practice is deceptive if there is a material misrepresentation or absence of information that affects consumers’ decision-making. In short, when creating and publishing native ads, be transparent.
  • Make your employees informed on what is considered deceptive, misrepresentation, or misleading content as per the FTC’s native advertising guidelines.
  • Learn how to make clear and noticeable disclosures in native advertising so that consumers can recognize the native ads as paid ads.
  • Make a list of platforms where you want to publish your content natively.
  • Be strategic about the proximity and placement of native advertisements. Remember that consumers don’t read every content piece on a publisher’s site. So, the proximity and placement of your native ads matter a lot.
  • Be clear about what kind of brand image you want to create and how you can bring value to your customers through your native ads without stepping on their feet.
  • Communicate everything with the content creators and designers and create proper guidelines for them to follow so that you don’t get on the radar of the FTC, while still profiting from native ads indirectly.

Native Advertising is your opportunity to lead the advertising industry and garner a wider clientele that engages with your brand. Always remember:

“An opportunity is like a train on the move. Once its doors have closed, it’s gone. But do stick around, another one will surely be on its way; carrying with it better opportunities.”

― Naide P Obiang

Having said that, also know that the early bird catches the worm. So, start early, and make the most out of native advertising.

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