Core Web Vitals: Improving Page Speed and Loading Times for Better SEO

In the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimisation (SEO), Core Web Vitals have emerged as key metrics that directly impact user experience and website performance. These vital metrics, defined by Google, focus on aspects such as page speed, interactivity, and visual stability, all of which contribute to the overall user experience. This article delves into the significance of Core Web Vitals for SEO and provides actionable strategies to enhance page speed and loading times, ultimately improving website rankings and user satisfaction.

  • Understanding Core Web Vitals:
  • Core Web Vitals consist of three key metrics:
  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures the loading performance of a webpage by analysing the time it takes for the largest content element to become visible.
  • First Input Delay (FID): Assesses the responsiveness of a webpage by evaluating the delay between a user’s interaction (e.g., clicking a button) and the browser’s response.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Gauges the visual stability of a webpage by quantifying unexpected layout shifts during the loading process.
  • Impact on SEO Rankings:
  • Google has indicated that Core Web Vitals will become a crucial ranking factor in its algorithm, emphasising the importance of user-centric metrics in determining search rankings. Websites that deliver optimal user experiences, as reflected in favorable Core Web Vitals scores, are likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), resulting in increased visibility and organic traffic.
  • Strategies to Improve Page Speed and Loading Times:
  • a. Optimise Image Size and Format: Compress images to reduce file size without compromising quality. Utilise modern image formats such as WebP to achieve better compression ratios.
  • b. Minimise Server Response Time: Invest in reliable hosting services and optimise server configurations to reduce server response times. Implement caching mechanisms and content delivery networks (CDNs) to distribute content efficiently.
  • c. Prioritise Critical Resources: Identify and prioritise critical resources such as CSS, JavaScript, and fonts to ensure faster loading of essential page elements. Employ techniques like lazy loading to defer non-critical resources.
  • d. Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources: Minimise the impact of render-blocking resources by deferring JavaScript execution, optimising CSS delivery, and utilising asynchronous loading techniques.
  • e. Streamline Code and Scripts: Remove unnecessary code, plugins, and scripts that contribute to page bloat and slow performance. Optimise code structure and execution to improve rendering and processing efficiency.
  • f. Leverage Browser Caching: Configure server-side caching headers to instruct browsers to cache static assets, reducing the need for repeated downloads and enhancing page load times for returning visitors.
  • g. Monitor and Test Performance Regularly: Continuously monitor Core Web Vitals metrics using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, Lighthouse, and Chrome DevTools. Conduct performance audits and A/B tests to identify areas for improvement and measure the impact of optimisations.
  • User Experience Optimisation:
  • Beyond addressing Core Web Vitals metrics, focus on overall user experience optimisation to enhance engagement and satisfaction. Improve navigation, readability, and mobile responsiveness to create a seamless browsing experience across devices and screen sizes.
  • Continuous Optimisation and Adaptation:
  • SEO and website optimisation are ongoing processes that require continuous monitoring, adaptation, and refinement. Stay informed about updates to search engine algorithms and industry best practices to maintain competitiveness and relevance in the digital landscape.

Conclusion: Core Web Vitals represent a paradigm shift in SEO, emphasising the importance of user experience and website performance in search rankings. By prioritising optimisations that enhance page speed, loading times, and overall user experience, website owners can improve their Core Web Vitals scores, boost search rankings, and drive organic traffic growth. Embrace a holistic approach to SEO that integrates technical optimisations with user-centric design principles, ensuring that your website not only meets search engine requirements but also delivers exceptional experiences that keep visitors engaged and satisfied.

Web Analytics for SEO: Using Data to Improve Search Engine Rankings

In the digital landscape, search engine optimisation (SEO) plays a pivotal role in driving organic traffic to websites. Web analytics provides valuable insights into user behavior, website performance, and SEO effectiveness. By harnessing data-driven strategies, businesses can optimise their online presence and improve search engine rankings. This article explores how web analytics can be utilised to enhance SEO efforts and elevate website visibility in search engine results.

  1. Defining Key Performance Indicators (KPIs):
    • Traffic Metrics: Identify KPIs such as organic search traffic, click-through rates (CTRs), and bounce rates to gauge SEO performance. These metrics provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of SEO strategies in driving relevant traffic to the website.
  2. Keyword Analysis and Optimisation:
    • Keyword Performance: Analyse keyword performance using web analytics tools to identify high-performing keywords and opportunities for optimisation. Monitor keyword rankings, search volume, and competition to refine keyword targeting strategies.
  3. Content Performance Tracking:
    • Engagement Metrics: Track engagement metrics such as time on page, pages per session, and scroll depth to assess content performance. Identify top-performing content and optimise it for relevant keywords to improve search visibility and user engagement.
  4. User Intent Analysis:
    • Behavioral Patterns: Analyse user behavior data to understand search intent and align content with user needs. Tailor content to address specific user queries and provide valuable information that aligns with search intent.
  5. Backlink Analysis:
    • Link Profile Examination: Use web analytics tools to analyse backlink profiles and assess the quality and relevance of inbound links. Identify opportunities for link building and disavow toxic backlinks to improve website authority and search engine rankings.
  6. Technical SEO Audits:
    • Site Health Monitoring: Conduct regular technical SEO audits to identify issues such as crawl errors, duplicate content, and page speed issues. Addressing technical SEO issues improves website accessibility and enhances search engine visibility.
  7. Conversion Tracking:
    • Goal Setting: Set up conversion tracking and define goals to measure the effectiveness of SEO efforts in driving desired actions, such as form submissions or product purchases. Analyse conversion data to optimise landing pages and improve user experience.
  8. Mobile Optimisation:
    • Mobile Performance Metrics: Monitor mobile traffic trends and performance metrics, such as mobile bounce rates and mobile-friendliness scores. Optimise website design and content for mobile devices to enhance user experience and SEO performance.
  9. Local SEO Insights:
    • Local Search Performance: Utilise web analytics to track local search performance, including local search rankings and local search traffic. Optimise business listings, citations, and on-page content for local SEO to improve visibility in local search results.
  10. Competitor Analysis:
    • Benchmarking: Conduct competitor analysis using web analytics tools to benchmark performance against industry competitors. Identify competitor strategies, keywords, and content tactics to inform SEO strategies and gain a competitive edge.

Conclusion

Web analytics serves as a powerful tool for optimising SEO strategies and improving search engine rankings. By leveraging data insights on keyword performance, content engagement, user behavior, and technical SEO health, businesses can refine their SEO approach, enhance website visibility, and attract qualified organic traffic. Continuously monitoring and analysing web analytics data empowers businesses to adapt and evolve their SEO strategies to meet the dynamic demands of the digital landscape, ultimately driving sustainable growth and success online.

Google’s emphasis on mobile-first indexing and its implications for SEO.

Google’s emphasis on mobile-first indexing reflects the search engine’s commitment to prioritising mobile-friendly websites in its search results. Mobile-first indexing means that Google primarily uses the mobile version of a website’s content for indexing and ranking, rather than the desktop version. This shift is in response to the growing trend of users accessing the internet via mobile devices and aims to provide a better experience for mobile users. The implications of Google’s mobile-first indexing for SEO are significant and require website owners and SEO professionals to adapt their strategies. Here are some key implications:

  1. Mobile-Friendly Design is Crucial:
    • Websites must be designed to be responsive and mobile-friendly. This ensures that the content adapts well to various screen sizes and provides a positive user experience on mobile devices.
  2. Content Parity Between Desktop and Mobile Versions:
    • It’s essential to maintain content parity between the desktop and mobile versions of a website. The same critical content, including text, images, and videos, should be present on both versions.
  3. Page Loading Speed on Mobile:
    • Page speed is a critical factor for both desktop and mobile SEO, but it becomes even more crucial for mobile-first indexing. Optimise images, minimise server response times, and leverage browser caching to improve mobile page loading speed.
  4. Structured Data and Metadata:
    • Ensure that structured data, metadata, and other on-page SEO elements are present on both desktop and mobile versions. This includes meta titles, meta descriptions, and structured data markup.
  5. Mobile-First Indexing in Search Console:
    • Regularly check Google Search Console for notifications regarding mobile-first indexing. Google provides insights into any issues it encounters while crawling and indexing the mobile version of a website.
  6. Mobile Usability:
    • Google places a high emphasis on the usability of websites on mobile devices. Address mobile usability issues, such as intrusive interstitials (pop-ups), to enhance the overall mobile experience.
  7. Mobile-Friendly Testing:
    • Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to assess how well your website performs on mobile devices. This tool provides insights into potential issues that may affect mobile search rankings.
  8. Optimise for Local and Voice Search:
    • Mobile users often engage in local searches, and voice search is becoming increasingly prevalent. Optimise content for local SEO and consider how users might phrase voice search queries.
  9. Responsive Images:
    • Implement responsive image techniques to ensure that images display correctly on various devices and screen sizes. This helps improve the overall visual experience for mobile users.
  10. Mobile-First Design Principles:
    • Consider adopting mobile-first design principles, where the initial focus is on designing for mobile devices, and then the design is scaled up for larger screens. This approach aligns with Google’s indexing priorities.
  11. User Experience Signals:
    • User experience signals, such as bounce rate and dwell time, play a crucial role in search rankings. Optimise your mobile site to encourage longer dwell times and reduce bounce rates.
  12. Monitor Mobile SERP Performance:
    • Keep a close eye on your website’s performance in mobile search engine results pages (SERPs). Monitor changes in rankings and organic traffic from mobile devices.

By prioritising mobile-first indexing considerations, website owners can ensure that their sites not only rank well in mobile search but also provide a seamless and enjoyable experience for mobile users. With mobile devices becoming the primary means of accessing the internet, aligning with Google’s mobile-first approach is integral to a successful SEO strategy.

SEO in the Age of Voice Search: Strategies for optimising content for voice-activated devices.

Voice search has emerged as a game-changer in the field of search engine optimisation (SEO). With the increasing popularity of voice-activated devices like smartphones, smart speakers, and virtual assistants, optimising your content for voice search is essential to ensure your website remains visible and competitive. In this article, we’ll explore strategies for adapting your SEO efforts to the age of voice search.

Understanding Voice Search:

  1. Conversational Queries: Voice searches tend to be more conversational and natural in tone compared to traditional text-based queries. Users are more likely to ask complete questions or use longer phrases.
  2. Local Intent: Voice searches often have local intent, with users seeking nearby businesses, services, or information. Optimising for local SEO is crucial in this context.
  3. Featured Snippets: Voice assistants often read out featured snippets or “position zero” content as answers to queries. Structuring your content to appear in featured snippets can boost visibility in voice search results.

Strategies for Voice Search Optimisation:

  1. Natural Language Content: Create content that mirrors the way people speak. Focus on answering questions concisely and conversationally. Consider using FAQ-style content that addresses common queries.
  2. Long-Tail Keywords: Voice searches are often longer and more specific. Target long-tail keywords and phrases that match the conversational nature of voice queries.
  3. Local SEO: Optimise your website for local searches by claiming your Google My Business listing, encouraging online reviews, and ensuring your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information is consistent across the web.
  4. Structured Data Markup: Implement structured data markup (schema.org) to provide search engines with additional context about your content. This can improve your chances of appearing in featured snippets.
  5. Mobile Optimisation: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly. Many voice searches occur on mobile devices.
  6. Page Speed: Page load speed is critical for voice search SEO. Compress images, enable browser caching, and minimise HTTP requests to improve your site’s performance.
  7. Local Content: Create content that highlights local events, news, and attractions related to your industry. This can increase your relevance for local voice searches.
  8. Use of Headers: Use clear, descriptive headers (H1, H2, etc.) in your content. This helps search engines understand the structure of your content, making it more voice-search-friendly.
  9. User Experience: Provide a seamless user experience with easy navigation and intuitive design. Voice search users expect quick answers and a smooth browsing experience.
  10. Voice Search Analytics: Monitor your website’s voice search performance through analytics tools. Understand the queries people use to find your content via voice search and optimise accordingly.

Conclusion:

Voice search is reshaping the SEO landscape, and adapting your strategies to accommodate this trend is essential for maintaining online visibility. By focusing on natural language content, long-tail keywords, local SEO, and technical optimisations, you can position your website to perform well in voice search results. Keep in mind that as voice search technology evolves, staying informed and adjusting your SEO strategies accordingly will be crucial for staying ahead in the digital marketplace.

Digital Marketing Services Your Small & Medium Businesses Needs in 2022

Given the recent technological innovations and technology, the marketing world is drastically changing, especially the digital one. While we can’t control what the future might bring, we can be prepared for it.

Small to medium businesses must be highly adaptive to the changing marketing trends to stay competitive in the digital marketplace. To do that they must implement the latest digital marketing services to attract, engage and delight your audience.

In case you’re looking for more info regarding digital marketing services that your brand can execute in 2022 then keep reading as we are going to do just that.

So let’s get cracking!

1) Social media marketing

Social Media Marketing is consistently evolving, becoming a powerful online marketing resource for companies and brands. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram can immensely increase exposure and interest in your business.

Search engines have already started integrating updates, Tweets, profiles, and comments into their results pages, recognising the importance of social interaction. As the internet community grows and changes, social media campaigns, as well as their tactics, have to stay one step ahead.

2) Pay-Per-Click Marketing

Competing online is quite difficult than ever. Targeted traffic attracts actual customers at any stage of the buyer’s lifecycle. Imagine reaching your customers after they have gone through your flagship product. Imagine delighting your customers with a well-structured message, engaging them to visit your website wherever they’re just a few clicks away to find out, adding to your bottom line.

That’s Pay per click advertising (PPC). Delivering a targeted ad to your potential customers at the precise moment they’re looking out. Generating qualified leads goes a lot deeper than making a number of ads and choosing some of the keywords. It involves in-depth analysis, testing, adaption, refinement, and scaling.

3) Creating Conversion Funnel

A conversion funnel basically contains all the steps through which your likely prospects engage with your brand till they have successfully turned into customers. Needless to say that creating a conversion funnel is the base for applying successful digital marketing strategies.

Your business needs to ensure that your funnel needs to be as streamlined and user-friendly as possible. Otherwise, users who engage with your brands would most likely get confused and take their precious business somewhere else.

Its highly advised that you consider consulting a professional digital marketer to help you develop a professional, memorable & engaging brand identity with an effective conversion funnel.

4) Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO (Search engine optimisation) is an essential component of digital marketing, it uses a combination of on-site and off-site strategies that are focussed on bringing relevant traffic to your business website.

Google serves an uncountable number of searches each day, and the majority of searchers never look beyond the first page. Do you know where your company ranks? If it isn’t at the top, it might as well be invisible. Implementing the right SEO strategies can transform your business website above your competition.

Lastly,

Let’s face it, today’s online market is highly competitive And to stand tall within this competition, you need to understand your customer’s journey from awareness to consideration to purchase. 

Being a full-service digital marketing company, we can help your brand become known as “the best answer” wherever prospects and customers may be looking and that will drive value to your business. All your need to do is connect with us for a 30 minutes free consultation and we would be delighted to you out in any way we can.

Cheers!

Your One-stop Guide to Digital Marketing

Here’s QL Tech’s comprehensive guide to digital marketing, irrespective of your size or budget.

Whether you own and run a business, or work in the marketing department, you can’t escape digital marketing. It is the buzzword and covers a vast set of opportunities – as well as its own, unique terminology. 

In this article, we’ll cover all digital marketing comprehensively, with detailed explanations. After reading through, you’ll know what your options are, and how best to leverage them effectively. 

What is Digital Marketing

Digital marketing covers all the activities that involve reaching out to people via the internet. Its foundation is content (information), which is used to attract people to get acquainted with, and buy your products or services.

Speaking of content, remember, that even a well written (and free!) Google My Business listing counts. However, as you get savvier, you’ll want to ramp it up to increase eyeballs and revenue.

There are multiple methods and channels you can use to put your message across. Some are free. Others cost money. 

But, the internet is vast and diverse. It accommodates everyone, offering several smart ways to do it, irrespective of your size, or budget.

 

Why Digital Marketing is Hot (And Will Continue to Be)

Advertising online is the in thing. Any other reasons to join the bandwagon?

Yes, lots!

Reason #1: Digital Marketing Works, Because it’s Targeted and Relevant

Let’s explain that further. Targeted means you can show your message specifically to the people you choose to. Relevant, as you can show different messages to different audiences.

Billboards and TV ads are displayed to everyone watching it. Some may like it. Others might not even relate to it.

Reason #2: When You Market on the Internet, Costs are Way Lower

A billboard costs between $2,300 to $100,000 per month. A sought-after TV spot during the grand finals will cost even more. And that’s not counting the production costs.

On the other hand, you can advertise (with plain text) on Google search pages with a budget of a hundred.

You can also pass on your message for free, with a good content marketing strategy – we’ll be expanding on this later.

Reason #3: With Online Marketing, You Only Pay for What You Get

While there are multiple billing methods on the internet, nearly all involve paying only when a user takes an action. It might be a view or a click – you choose. 

Reason #4: The Internet Opens Up a Larger Audience

89% of Australians are on the internet. You have more chance of connecting with them on the internet, than anywhere else.

Reason #5: You Can Change Your Marketing Strategy by the Minute

Once you’ve made an offline marketing campaign, you’re more or less stuck with it, irrespective of the performance. With digital marketing, you can alter your strategy in seconds. You can change your audience, messaging and even the amount you’re willing to pay.

Reason #6: Your ROI is Measurable

It’s really hard to measure how much of your sales were due to a TV, print, or billboard ad. With digital marketing, you know which ad or piece of content resulted in a conversion. This allows you to fine-tune your messaging to a T.

Reason #7 You Can Beat Rivals With Deeper Pockets

The Internet makes the David vs Goliath story an everyday reality. You don’t need to shell out big bucks to fight for limited space on a newspaper. If you play it smart, betting on the right keywords and messaging, you can beat the competition at their game.

 

How Digital Marketing Works

Effective internet marketing is built on 3 key foundations (ranked in the order of importance):

  1. Audience

While content is king, your audience is your God. They decide what will work, and what won’t. 

That’s why it’s critical to understand who your prospects are, their likes and dislikes. You need to know where they hang out on the net. Their lingo. And their online habits.

  1. Content

Once you get to know your audience, you can then create content tailored to them. You speak their language. You address their pain points. You like the things they like. And your pet peeves are the same.  

  1. Understanding the Buyer’s Journey

In broad terms, there are 3 stages of the buyer’s journey online. 

First comes the awareness stage, when your audience becomes aware that they have a problem, and wonder what the solution could be. You know the answer – you! But, don’t shout it out just yet. Address their problem, and let them in on all the possible solutions, including any you don’t own.

Second, comes the consideration stage, when your prospects are weighing the solutions very seriously. This is the time to give your products or services centerstage, expressing why you’re the best option.   

 Finally, there’s the decision stage. Your prospects have made up their minds. All they require is a nudge into your shopping cart. Time for a discount maybe?

What are the Elements of Digital Marketing?

  1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  2. Content Marketing
  3. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  4. Social Media Marketing
  5. Email Marketing
  6. Retargeting & Remarketing
  7. Pay Per Click (PPC) & its Variations
  8. Affiliate Marketing
  9. Marketing Automation
  10. Sponsored Content & Native Advertising

 

  1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of optimising your website and content towards search engine queries. 

Unless you’re a well-known brand or name, a search engine is the most likely place to be discovered. After all, nearly half of product searches start on Google. 

Optimizing your content for search engines is important because users may use different terms to the ones you think they do. 

Lets’s say you own a shoe store. You’re wondering which of your products should take centre stage and build your content around. Should you focus on sneakers, trainers, runners or running shoes? 

You think about it a lot, and decide that you’ll focus on the word ‘sports shoes’. After all, more people will search for a generic term, right? If you look up the Google search data, here are the results.

As you can see, the word ‘sports shoes’ is not so popular among Australians on Google. 

Here’s another insight you can get from search data. 

If a person searched for just runners, they might be referring to carpets! So it’s a term you must use carefully.

The key to SEO is to do keyword analysis on Google Adwords, and find the terms related to your product that people search for. You can then build your site content around these terms.

While at it, also create content related to your main keywords. When you’ve covered the topic completely, Google will consider you to be an expert in that realm, and direct more traffic your way. 

SEO falls into 3 categories:

  1. On-page SEO

It refers to all the content optimization efforts done on your site, like in the example above. It includes keyword research, and then adding keywords in your content (not stuffing them), especially in the headlines and subheads. 

You must also add keywords in your metatags and meta descriptions – they let the search engine bots know what your site is about. Meta descriptions also appear on the search results page, just under your page’s title. Do note though, Google might decide to take other content from the page if it feels that’s more relevant to the search query.

  1. Off-page SEO

There’s another factor besides the quality and authoritativeness of the content on your site, that Google uses to rank you for a certain keyword. It’s the number of backlinks you have. 

Backlinks are the links pointing to your site from an external source. And it’s very important to have as many of them as possible.

Consider it to be like a good reputation. You wouldn’t give too much importance to a person himself claiming to be very good. On the other hand, if many other people told you he was really very good, you’d definitely take notice. 

At the same time, if a lot of shady characters recommended the guy, you’d be downright sceptical. Therefore, your backlinks must be from good sources.

2 factors determine the quality of your backlinks.

  1. Relevant Anchor Text

Anchor text is the words within which your link is embedded. So, if you want to rank high on Google search results for shoes, it helps if the links to your site come attached to the word shoes or related terms.

It also helps if the links are from pages with relevant content. Plus, links pointing to your homepage are not as beneficial as those pointing to a page hosting the content you’re optimizing for.

  1. Domain Authority

DA is a term that gives you an idea about the quality of a website. It ranges from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the more of a ranking boost you’ll get.  

A DA score above 70 is very good, but it’s not easy to get a link from such sites.

DA between 70 to 20 is good, and that’s where you should aim to get links from.

A score below 20 is like a shady reputation. Give it a miss.

Remember, that you can’t trick Google with shortcuts like placing links in comments, or using sites that are built solely for generating backlinks. Tactics you can use are guest blogging, republishing (modified) content, and creating classy infographics.

 The bottom line is to simply create awesome and original content that others will want to link back to.

  1. Technical SEO

SEO also has a more technical aspect related to your website, and how it is structured. You need to ensure that all of your pages are accessible to Google’s search engine bot, as it crawls the internet looking to find new pages and categorise them. A good web designer will help with this.

2. Content Marketing

Content is the #1 way to stand out from the competition on the net. 

But, creating good content is not enough. You also have to put it out there, calling attention to it.

Content marketing is the process of generating quality content and distributing it across multiple channels across the net.

As you can see, there are two steps to it. First, create useful information that your audience is searching for. Next, share it across multiple channels and fora to bring visitors to your site. 

Both the traffic generated, as well as the engagement that your content earns (such as likes and shares will make Google sit up and take notice.

You can only put so much content on your main pages. So to achieve the critical mass required for success, you need to diversify into multiple content types. Some of them are:

  1. Blogs

Having a blog, and posting articles regularly is key. The first step is to figure out the broad topics that you want to cover and write a bunch of articles around each. Answer the questions your audience have on their mind. Address their pain points. Offer solutions and advice. But, don’t hard sell all the time.

  1. Whitepapers, Guides & Ebooks

 Such long forms of content serve multiple aims.

They establish you as an expert. They also give your audience something to take home and keep with them.

And the best part is, that you’re giving all this helpful advice for free. Well, kind of! Before giving away your pdfs, you can ask for their email in return. That way, you can build a database of customers – a very important part of digital marketing.

The data you collect can be loaded onto a customer data platform or CRM, and you can send across emails, newsletters, exclusive offers, and more.

The one drawback of giving access to your best information only after filling a form is that Google can’t crawl it. It means that the content in your pdf won’t help your search engine results page (SERP) rankings as Google doesn’t know you have it.

Therefore, put most of that information on the page, with a button that leads to the form.

  1. Videos

Everyone loves visual content. You’re probably watching more videos than you’re reading articles. Videos are a good way to provide value for your audience’s time.

Did you know that Youtube is the most visited site after Google? On average, an Australian user spends 18 minutes on it, visiting 10 pages every day. That’s even more time than spent on the search engine. 

Besides,  82% of all consumer traffic on the net will be directed towards videos by 2022. And here’s the best stat – your video has a 50 times higher chance of appearing on the 1st page of Google, as compared to text content on the same topic. 

 

3. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

While SEO and content marketing are free, SEM is when you pay to be placed on the first pages of Google. Your ad appears when a user types in your keyword in the search box – this is called paid search. The ad also appears above the usual search results – also known as organic search.

This is especially useful when you’re starting, or you need a quick burst of sales volumes.

What you need to do, is first identify the keywords that you think will drive traffic and/or sales. Google Adwords indicates the volume and competitiveness of each keyword. The ideal one to pick has high search volumes and low competition.

That way, you can get your message across to a large number of people, without paying as much. 

Once you’ve picked your keyword, you’ve got to place a bid for it. That’s what you’ll pay if a user clicks on your ad. There are 2 ways to bid:

  1. Manual Bidding

You manually set how much you’re willing to bid for each keyword.

  1. Automated bidding

You set an average daily budget per click. Google then automatically places a bid, to maximize your clicks within your budget over a month.

So, do you have to outbid everyone else for your ad to be seen? No. Google decides which ad appears based on this formula:

Ad Rank = CPC Bid x Quality Score

What is the Quality Score in Google Ads?

Google measures your quality score based on 3 factors:

  1. Expected Click Through Rate (CTR)

How likely is it that your ad will be clicked on for a certain query?

  1. Ad Relevance

Does your ad content match the user’s intent?

  1. Landing Page

Are the landing pages (where the click takes users) relevant and useful to those who’ve clicked?

The gist of it is, that your ad content and landing pages must closely match the user’s keywords and intent. How your ad performs over time ultimately determines the quality score.

By fine-tuning your content, you can get your ad to appear higher, despite bidding lower than your competition. 

Another big advantage of SEM is that you can show your ad to very specific audiences. You can define who sees your ads based on demographics and current location. You can also create different content to be shown to different audiences, even if they type in the same thing. 

You can also be picky about the keyword variations your ads appear for. You can choose:

  1. Broad Match 

Your ad appears if your keyword matches with the intent of the query

  1. Phrase Match

Your ad is displayed if the keyword phrase is included in the query.

  1. Exact Match

Your shows up only if the exact keyword or a close variation is typed in.

  1. Negative Keywords

You can also choose to not show your ads if a certain word appears along with the query. For example, if you’re targeting the word ‘runners’ for your shoe store. You can ensure your ad does not appear if the word ‘carpet’ and related terms appear.

The wider your net, the more impressions your ad will receive, but it will also increase your costs.

  1. Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social Media Marketing is simply promoting your content on social media. There are 2 ways to do it.

One is to create highly engaging as well as share-worthy content and promote it among your social communities. This is absolutely free. You can also take part in social discussions, and converse with influencers to spread your message.

Besides, networks like Instagram allow users to follow the hashtags of their choice. When they do, they are shown posts containing the hashtag, even from people they don’t follow.

So, add relevant hashtags that your audience is likely to be interested in.`

The other way to market on social media is to pay for your ad or content to be shown. This is great to connect with new audiences. 

Here’s proof. 60% of Instagram users in a survey have followed a new brand after seeing an ad.

Social media is also a great place to sell. More than 33% of the respondents in the same survey have made a purchase after seeing an ad on Instagram.

Some of the top social sites are: 

  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

The most common mistake marketers make when on social media, is taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Each channel is different, and the same audience does things differently on each. You should do the same too.

Tailor your messaging to mimic your audience’s actions. Use the appropriate content format. And focus on building a community of believers.

Paid social media marketing works very similarly to PPC. Each channel has its version of the quality score. And all allow you to target specific audiences.

But, there’s one additional variable when it comes to user targeting on social media – audience behaviour. 

You can, for example, show your sports shoe ads to people who follow a certain athlete, are part of a fitness community, or, liked/shared a post related to sports in the recent past.

This allows you to show your ad to more precise buyer personas, allowing for more clicks and conversions.

  1. Email Marketing

An email is perhaps the one means of communication that you’re sure will reach your prospect. But the drawback is that every other marketer knows this, and inboxes are flooded with emails – most of them unwelcome.

So how do you stand out among the clutter?

Here’s the step by step way to being welcome in your audience’s inbox.

  1. Create a Database of Customers

Offer every visitor to your site something in return for their email id. It could be an eBook download. A discount code. Or a newsletter they’d love to read.

You can do the same across social media channels too.

  1. Segment Your Database

Segment your users according to their personas, tastes, and stage in the buyer’s journey. 

  1. Send Personalised Emails 

Send emails that are in tune with each user segment’s needs. Also, refer to each person by name. If your database is huge, an email or marketing automation tool can help you achieve this without a sweat.

  1. Avoid Spammy Content

There are certain words email service providers use to classify mail as unwanted and send them to the spam folder. Words like FREE, offer and discount are red flags.

  1. Allow Easy Unsubscribing

Make it easy for a user to stop receiving emails. Otherwise, you might end up in the spam folder, and that’s always a black mark against your email id.

  1. Display Advertising

Display ads are visual ads that appear on websites. To put up a display ad, you can get in touch with a site popular among your audience directly, or link up with a display ad network.

The top display ad networks are:

  1. Google Display Network (Adsense)
  2. Facebook Audience Network Ads
  3. Yahoo! Network
  4. Apple Advertising
  5. Taboola
  6. Airpush 

Each of these networks has its own advantages, and it’s up to you to pick the right one. Facebook Audience Network Ads, for example, uses the humungous user data the social network has, as well as its other in-house channels like Instagram and Whatsapp. 

Apple Advertising gives access to the apps in the Apple app store. Taboola lets you display ads on its vast network of affiliate sites.

There are hundreds of display networks. Many focus on niche categories and geographical locations. So, find the sites your audience frequent, and create the appropriate messaging for each site you’re advertising on.

In addition to PPC, there are 2 more ways to decide the terms on which you’ll pay.

  1. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

You pay every time 1,000 users view your ad.

  1. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

You pay only when a predetermined conversion occurs. 

 

7. Retargeting & Remarketing

Retargeting is simply sending a relevant message to users who’ve already interacted with your site before.

They may have visited a few pages without taking any real action. They may have loaded an item onto a shopping cart, but haven’t returned since. Or, they could have visited a CTA page, without filling in the form and pressing the button.

In the first case, wouldn’t it be great if you could offer a guide related to the pages the prospect was browsing? For the second, a discount on that very product might turn the tide in your favour. And in the last case, offering that CTA page goodie without having to fill the entire form (only keying the email id) – might be a nice display of empathy.

All of the above actions are possible, and it’s put into action by the humble cookie.

When a visitor visits your site, you can allow the browser to place a cookie on his or her computer. When another site is visited by the same user, you can display the appropriate ad. For this to happen, you’d have to tap into a display network, and give them a collection of display ads. The network will then display the ad.

This form of retargeting is also known as offsite retargeting.

With the help of the cookie, you can also perform actions on your site. Like an on-page popup displaying a discount, or maybe offering to take the visitor back to the page they were last on. This is an example of onsite retargeting.

Remarketing is essentially the same thing, except that you use cookie information to send highly contextual emails.

In addition, display networks also allow you to use a visitor’s email id to identify and send them the right ad. In this case, the line between retargeting and remarketing blur, to mean the same thing.

8. Marketing Automation

As you’re probably wondering, how is it possible to retarget visitors? After all, everything occurs in milliseconds. 

The visitor visits your site. Then leaves to visit another site. Between the time your prospect clicks on that site, and the page loads, the decision on which ad to display is made. And when the page content appears, your message is there too.

All of this is possible with marketing automation. It connects all the key players in your online marketing efforts – website, customer database, email engine and marketing systems – as well as your sales and marketing teams. 

The perfect marketing automation system helps you identify and segment your audience, create the right content, and automatically perform the appropriate actions based on what your audience is doing – in real-time

Here are some examples.

Email Automation

You can retarget site visitors, send thank you emails on a purchase, and send the appropriate newsletter to the right audience segment. All, without moving a muscle.

Nurturing Leads into Customers

You can send the apt information at the appropriate time to your prospects, to nudge them along in the buyer’s journey. The information can be sent via multiple channels – free as well as paid – and coordinated across your marketing, sales and service teams.

Programmatic Advertising

Targeting the right audience at the right time with the right messaging – automatically, is called programmatic advertising. All of this happens in real-time.

Measuring ROI

There are multiple ways to measure ROI. You might want to calculate your returns based on conversions, sales, or simply brand engagement. With an automated system in place, you can check all of these factors on the go. With such information at your fingertips, you can focus on your marketing strategy, recalibrating it by the minute.

Attribution Modelling

When it comes to online marketing, conversion usually happens over multiple touchpoints. A customer may have read a blog, then viewed a video, and finally clicked on a display ad with a discount before buying. 

So, which of these touchpoints do you give credit to?  

There are various attribution models. Some give credit to the first touchpoint(s), and others to the last (few). There are also attribution models that distribute the credit to different touchpoints in a weighted manner.

An automated digital marketing system can automatically attribute your successes to the touchpoints you choose. Over time, you can decipher which of your assets are giving you the most returns.

Marketing automation allows you to let the system handle all the mundane, repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus on the strategic decisions that’ll grow your business.

9. Affiliate Advertising

You can display ads from other brands on your site, to earn additional revenue. To do so, you’ll have to join an affiliate network. After you join, you can open up spaces on your webpage for advertisers on the network.

There are many compensation methods, including:

  • Revenue sharing/commissions/pay per sale (PPS)
  • Cost per action/acquisition (CPA)
  • Cost per click (CPC)
  • Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) 

Getting a commission on a sale is the most popular way to get paid as a member of an affiliate network. So, ensure that your audience, the content of the display page, and the ad messaging are aligned, for best results.

10. Sponsored Content & Native Advertising

 As you know, ads are sales-y and viewers know you’re making a pitch. To overcome this hitch, there are forms of advertising that are not so obvious.

  1. Sponsored Content

Sponsored content may be in the form of an advertorial, where a website or online publication publishes an article that conveys information about your brand and/or products. Influencer marketing is also a form of sponsored content, where you pay social media stars in cash or kind to promote your products.

  1. Native Advertising

Native advertising is creating promotional content for a site in a format and tone that looks exactly like the other material on the site. A good example is this article on the dreariness of filing tax returns on The Onion by H&R Block, a tax payment firm. 

 

Three Ways to Minimize Costs With Digital Marketing 

The key to minimizing your online advertising costs is to target your ads to as specific an audience as possible. That way, you display your ad to the people most likely to take the desired action, driving down advertising costs, and pushing up conversion rates and ROI.

Besides the targeting techniques mentioned in the article so far, here are 3 more: 

  1. Ad Scheduling

You specify the time periods when your ads are displayed, picking the times your audience is most likely to be online.

  1. Device Targeting

You choose the device on which your ad is displayed, like picking mobiles for queries with ‘near me’ in it. That’s when your prospect is most likely to buy. 

  1. Geotargeting

You aim at users within a target radius, ideally when they’re close to your store.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is the holy grail of marketing today, and leveraging it effectively is critical to win customers and make friends in the digital age. The advantage of internet marketing is that small players can punch above their weight, and quick, agile marketers can outfox the heavyweights.  

As you transform your business into an online marketing machine, remember to keep your audience at the centre of all your efforts. Focus primarily on your customers, not the competition. Create content that they’ll love. And spread it across the channels they frequent, in their everyday language. 

Remember, as the world moves online, a well-thought digital marketing strategy will give your business the immunity to survive the pandemic and its crippling effects.

At QL Tech, we’ve been aiding businesses in their digital transformation efforts with market analysis, process & marketing automation, customer database platforms, and digital marketing. Get in touch, and we’ll help you get ahead too.

5 Horrible On-Page SEO Mistakes & How to Resolve them?

Nowadays, it is quite understood that it’s hard to rank a webpage on search engines. There are dozens of algorithms that are necessary to be followed or else, your page is neglected for being indexed. Some are hard to follow every time but most of them are mistakes that we unknowingly ignore. Here we have some on-page SEO mistakes which look ordinary but if solved, their impacts are extraordinary. 

So, consider going through the below-mentioned on-page SEO mistakes with their solution to rank your web pages on search engines.

1) Content Not Matching With Searcher’s Goal

2) Depending On Repetitive Keywords For Ranking

3) Not Optimising Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

4) Excluding Relevant Topics

5) Adding Inapposite Tags That Block Indexing

On-Page-Optimization-SEO

1. Content Not Matching With Searcher’s Goal

Not every time you will be able to understand the intent of the searcher typed in the search bar. Most of the time it becomes quite difficult to know what searcher wants to know.

The keyword used by the searchers has no specific intent. For example, if a searcher types a query “Pasta” then it becomes confusing for a Search Engine whether he/she wants to make pasta, order pasta or learn about pasta?

To know and learn what your audiences are looking for on your pages, you will have to take a look at Search Engine Result Page(SERP).

Search engines extremely test the searchers to know their search intent and to provide them with the information to which they are looking for. To know what genuine searchers want for their query, SERP works as an indicator which indicates the searcher’s query.

This way you can easily acknowledge the queries of your audience and can provide them with the information which they require.

2. Depending On Repetitive Keywords For Ranking

Earlier it was quite easy to rank keywords on Google’s first page by one of the most common methods i.e., stuffing keyword multiple times in the content. However, now their algorithms are mature. 

Google’s algorithms have improved but many webpages are yet not optimised and still repeating the keywords. Repeating keywords in some specific density in the body content was one of the best shortcuts to rank a webpage. 

At present, if you are stuffing your target keyword multiple times then the search engine will indicate your page as less satisfying for the searcher. And will not rank it on its first page as your content is more about keyword repetition.

On page seo keyword ranking

There are various tools to identify repetitive keyword stuffing in your previous content.  It’s better to answer the query instead of repeating it in your content.

With all being said, keyword repetition technique should not be thrown away as it is quite helpful in some specific situations. But not always as Google and other search engines consequently promoting quality content pages

It’s better to repeat the keyword in the body content that perfectly answers searcher’s question.

3. Not Optimising Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

Title tag and meta description are an integral component of on-page SEO. Both have their qualities that affect the search results. Title tag helps in ranking pages for some particular query. And meta description helps to increase the number of clicks on pages from search results.

Knowing the fact that these two are known to be the best on-page SEO activities from years. Still, digital marketing services providing agencies and individuals are avoiding it to increase the visibility of on-page SEO element like the content.

However, Google has some of the best optimization guidelines regarding the title tag and meta descriptions. Take a look at the following:

  • Every page should include the title tag as well as meta description.
  • Make sure not to use generic or repetitive text.
  • You can add descriptive words but remember to neglect keyword stuffing.
  • No need to add generic data. Your meta description should only include accurate information about your content.

If focused on these two elements with any fail, your page can get better ranking as well as organic traffic on the search engines.

4. Excluding Relevant Topics

At present, Google is promoting those pages whose contents are relevant to their topics.

According to the studies, it has been found that marketers focus on single keyword throughout their whole webpage. However, it is the most common mistake as searcher will not be using that same single keyword.

. Excluding Relevant Topics

The searcher does not know what to type on the search engine to find the answer to their query. Which is why it is necessary to focus on multiple keywords that are quite relevant to the focused one.

Always make sure to include words as well as phrases that are logically similar to your targeted keyword. Adding relating words connects the overall concept or else, Google will not accept your content as a relevant answer to the searcher’s query.

5. Adding Inappropriate Tags That Block Indexing

Your page content should be designed in a manner that sends search engines a positive signal!

Well, this is also counted as one of the most common on-page SEO mistakes i.e., adding useless tags on your webpage which prohibits your it being indexed on search engines.

Tags like noindex meta instruct Google to ignore the page out of its index. Consider going through your website for removing these similar tags if you want the search engines to crawl and index it in search results.

CONCLUSION

The above-mentioned are the most Horrible on-page SEO mistakes that many marketers follow and receive no exceptional results. However, every mistake has its solution and is mentioned with the same.

There you go, you got the answers to your queries. So, make sure to go through your website again and solve your on-page SEO mistakes. Or else, consider connecting to an SEO agency in Perth to resolve all your website issues.