17 April 2019
How to beat the SEO cowboys and get
more ROI from your digital marketing
A high
percentage of New Zealand businesses are wary of the search
engine optimisation (SEO) and digital advertising sectors
after being let down by broken promises and dismal results
but, in many instances, business customers may be the
architects of their own misfortune.
CEO of search
marketing agency, Insight Online, Kim Voon, said that
there is no question that the SEO and online advertising
sector is plagued by cowboys but no more than any other
industry. The only way for businesses to protect themselves
is through better education and strict due
diligence.
“Many business owners, even marketing managers,
can find themselves out of pocket for thousands of dollars
before they know it because they don’t understand some of
the fundamentals – very often these are simple business
fundamentals applied in a digital context.
“For example,
if you are a business-to-business company offering a premium
service, its unlikely people will see one Google Ad and call
you immediately. If you are a retail or eCommerce business,
then you can stand to make bigger wins using Google Ads
because it’s a simpler purchase.”
Voon said it is
important to understand what you’re buying, because ‘cowboy’
digital marketers will sell anything to anybody, even when
the channel is not appropriate, and that’s the reason why so
many businesses end up unhappy.
“SEO helps to lift a
company’s organic search results by working to get that
company listed on page one for specific keywords. To succeed
at SEO, you need good quality content published regularly,
and you want rich content like blogs, video and photographs
on your website. Add to that a healthy length of time and
patience.
“Google Ads works best where other direct
response advertising works well such as consumer goods,
rental cars or when deals and specials come out. Niches with
high demand and simple business-to-consumer (B2C) product
offerings work.”
Voon said it doesn’t mean that
sophisticated, high value B2B or B2C offerings won’t work
on Google Ads but they’ll require more thought, more
allowance for a longer buying cycle and customer research,
which is where SEO can also help a lot.
He offered the
following tips on how to avoid being let down by their
digital marketing agency:
1. Don’t be
cheap
Marketers who shop for the best price are
their own worst enemies.
“This isn’t about saying spend
more; it’s about knowing what you’re prepared to spend
before you go looking for a supplier. Putting yourself out
there for ‘quotes’ and then trying to drive the price down
isn’t a good start to any marketing campaign or agency
relationship – base your budget off a percentage of your
turnover and expect to pay for quality. You get what you pay
for.
“If you’re serious about generating revenue from your
digital marketing efforts, be prepared to spend. Your
minimum should be $2,000 – $3,000 per month,” Voon
said.
2. Driving demand or demand
driven?
While having your website’s SEO structure
in place is important for all businesses, your online
tactics will vary according to your type of business,
product or service.
“Retail, which allows for discounts,
sales and promotions is demand driven and suited to Google
Ads, but it is unlikely to work by itself for
business-to-business. You need to think hard about your
marketing strategy, and understand how to get the most from
each channel at the right time.
“If you’re in a business
that doesn’t have that much search volume, perhaps you
need to create demand and convince people using high quality
content, and then spending more on SEO as a long slow burn
will be the best option in the long run.”
3.
Solidify your value proposition
Voon said
business-to-business campaigns offering generic free
consultations on Google Ads, for example, are unlikely to
work no matter how much money you throw at them. Neither
will huge retail discounts on stuff nobody wants.
“If your
advertising isn’t working, or you’re just not getting the
clicks via SEO, it may be because your product or service
has no value proposition or it hasn’t been articulated very
well. The same goes for if you are overcharging, expecting
more sales than your market will realistically support or
your product has a bad reputation or negative
association.
“Advertising and digital marketing are tough
enough without trying to sell a product or service that is
flawed. Don’t throw good money after bad because there are
people out there who will take it and run. Perhaps one of
the best measures of your digital marketing partners is how
honest they are with you.”
For more information visit: https://insightonline.co.nz/
Ends.
ends