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Maybe you’re dipping your first toe into the world of blog writing, hoping to get your business seen online. 

Maybe you’ve heard that having a blog that produces fresh, relevant, and regular content can boost your SEO. 

Or maybe you’re already writing great content that’s getting seen by… no one.

Whatever the issue, we’ve developed a helpful guide to Blog SEO that will lend a hand on your journey. 

Do I need a blog?

People may say blog writing was no longer relevant in 2022. Those people are objectively wrong. 

Consider:

• 77% of internet users read blogs
• 60% of marketers say that content marketing generates more demand and leads
• On average, businesses with a blog produce 67% more leads every month
• Businesses with a blog get twice the amount of email traffic than those that do
• Companies who blog get 97% more links to their websites

Basically? Blogging can only be a plus for your business. By putting fresh, relevant content out on the regular, you can bring in far more leads and customers than you would otherwise. 

Why blog writing is vital to your SEO

A blog is a key component of any digital marketing strategy for a number of reasons. Below are just some of the things that you can accomplish when you write regular blog posts:

• Target more keywords than you can with your website pages
• Earn more high-quality backlinks from reputable sites
• Demonstrate your expertise on a subject to potential buyers (and Google)
• Build a relationship with your readers and slowly turn leads into buyers
• Have more opportunities to rank for a user’s search 

How to write a good SEO-friendly blog post

Planning 

As with most things in life, planning is essential to blog writing. This is where you determine which ideas are worth talking about, what your customers are searching for, and how you can communicate them in the best possible way. 

Topic

You can find topics by looking at what your competitors are putting out, what issues are currently relevant in your field, and what your customers care about. 

What’s your take? Do you have a unique perspective or expertise on the matter?

Keyword research

Your blog will simply be sent to the ether without targeting the right keywords. And worse, you’ll be wasting an otherwise excellent opportunity to drive traffic to your site and target long-tail keywords, which often have far less competition. 

Long-tail keywords are a great place to start if you’re still looking for topics. This tells you what questions or interests your audience has. You can use any keyword research tool or stick with Google’s free Keyword Planner.

Ensure you’re not using the exact keywords as other web pages on your site, as this will confuse Google when deciding which one to rank. You’ll also want to avoid keyword stuffing – only use keywords when and where they feel natural. 

Structure

Though you’ll touch on this in planning, it’s worth mentioning.

You’ll need an introduction to the article, the main body/content, and a conclusion to wrap everything up. It can help to start with an outline:

• A (tentative) title
• Subheadings covering the different aspects of the topic you want to explore
• Dot points under each, giving a brief explanation about what you want to write

Remember that no one has time to sit down and read an essay.

Break up your content into more minor subheadings; the more, the better. This will help with scanning and ensure your reader finds the information they’re looking for much more accessible. 

Writing 

As you can imagine, how your blog is written will have a significant impact on how well it performs on Google. 

We know that Google prioritizes results that include well-written and relevant content, so how can you make sure that your blog passes muster? 

Outside of outsourcing a professional content writer, consider these 4 things. 

1. In general, longer posts perform better. However, according to Google’s John Mueller, word count is not necessarily linked:
   “Word count is not indicative of quality. Some pages have a lot of words that say nothing. Some pages have very few words that are very important & relevant to queries. You know your content best (hopefully) and can decide whether it needs the details.”
   To be on the safe side, aim for at least 300 words. Blogs over 1000 words are ideal, giving you plenty of room to explore a topic and answer a reader’s question in detail.
2. When you include research or facts, or cite someone else, link externally. Not only does this build trust with your reader, but it also helps show the search engine that you know your stuff.
3. Link to other blog posts and pages on your site (when relevant). This helps index your new post faster, build an accurate sitemap, and guide users to find more content they want from you. 
4. Keep it simple and casual. The best blogs are written like a conversation, which means it’s okay to start a sentence with ‘and’ or use more informal language. 

Of course, this depends on the subject and the audience – for serious topics, it may be best to keep things a little more serious. 

Title optimization

The title you choose is crucial – after all, it’s what gets clicks. Make sure you stick to the following:

• No tags longer than 60 characters, or it’ll be cut off on the results page
• Include your main keyword
• Use numbers and specifics where possible
• Grab the reader’s attention – what is it that they most want to know? What matters most to them? 

Above all, avoid clickbait. While this may get that desired click, your bounce rate will skyrocket and Google will suppress future content from your site. 

Images

The visual elements of your blog are just as essential as your words. Blogs that feature photos, infographics, videos, and other visual elements are almost guaranteed to rank higher than those that don’t.

You should also optimize every image using alt text that describes what it depicts – and includes your main keyword, if possible. 

Editing

Make sure you take a final read-through. Check for spelling, tone, and how easy it is to scan. 

You’ll probably also want to let someone else read your draft before posting – after you’ve read it a few times, there are always mistakes your brain will skip.

And there you have it! By following this guide, you’ll be on your way to writing better blog posts in no time. 

Need more help with your blog? We specialize in keyword research, content writing, SEO, and everything else you need to create regular blog posts that bring in leads. Get in touch with our team to find out more.

Our SEO Agency Cairns and SEO Agency Perth services are planned and executed with the highest precision and thoughtfulness, leading to excellent results and client satisfaction.

Starting in June 2022, you’ll no longer be able to create or edit your expanded text ads on Google. Instead, Google is now prioritizing responsive search ads. 

As responsive ads have been Google’s default since last February, you may have already dabbled with them. But today, we’re going to do a deep dive into everything you need to know about the world of responsive search ads: 

• What they are
• Why they’re great for your business
• How can you create a perfect one

What are responsive search ads?

Currently, there are two types of search ads you can use: responsive and expanded. 

The more traditional expanded text ads are static – you create up to 3 headlines and 2 descriptions, and the ad will be shown to the user exactly as written.   

On the other hand, responsive ads are a more flexible format that allows you to adapt to users and show them the most relevant ad. Although the format is the same as expanded text ads – a user will see up to 3 headlines and 2 descriptions – you can create up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, which can be shown. This means there are 43,680 possible permutations. 

You can use expanded text ads until June 2022, and any that you have running will still be shown to users afterward. However, you cannot create expanded text ads or edit existing ones. 

Benefits of responsive search ads

There’s a reason so many people love responsive ads and that Google has chosen to double down on them going forward. 

Below are some of the best benefits of using responsive search ads for your business. 

• Your ads can adapt to the width of a user’s device, meaning your message won’t be lost for mobile users. With almost 80% of Australians using their mobile phones for product research, you can give your brand the best chance at convincing your prospect. 
• Google uses an algorithm to determine which of your headlines and descriptions are the most likely to meet a user’s needs. This means you’ll be able to better target your audience without creating lots of ads. 
• You’ll get a better ROI for your ad spend – according to Google, businesses may see 5–15% higher CTR compared to standard search ads.

How to create a responsive search ad that converts

Want to create a tremendous responsive search ad for your business? Here’s how to get started.

1. Create a new responsive search ad

You can do this by clicking Ads & Extensions, the plus button, and selecting Responsive search ad. 

2. Decide on your ​​final URL and display path text

This will be the URL of your landing page. Display path text shows the user where they will land in terms of the structure of your website, as shown by this example from Google:

At this point, you should see a preview of your ad, but keep in mind that the combinations of headlines and descriptions you’ll add will be just a few of the possibilities users may see. 

3. Create your headlines

This is the most essential part of your ad – the first thing users will see. 

Each headline can have up to 30 characters. With responsive ads, you can create up to 15 headlines, but only the three most relevant will be displayed. 

If there’s a specific headline you always want a user to see – say, the one that includes your business name – you can pin it in a specific position. However, this will limit your number of ad combinations. 

Some other things to remember:

• You’ll want to include your keywords in at least 2 of your headlines, but don’t overstuff.
• Aim to have at least 3 headlines without keywords highlighting your business’ value proposition. 
• Avoid the same call to action or language in each headline – otherwise, things will get repetitive. 
• Try different angles and offers – this is a great chance to test your audience’s response. 

4. Create your descriptions

Each description can have up to 90 characters. You can create four descriptions for your ads, though only two will be displayed. Again, you can pin descriptions that you want the user to always see – a disclaimer, for example.

Remember:

• Ensure your descriptions include a call to action – what you want the user to do next.  
• You don’t have to fill up the 90 characters. It can be helpful to experiment with different description lengths. 
• Each description should make sense in isolation. You don’t know which order it will appear in. 

Important considerations when creating your responsive ad

Use the right keywords

Like everything else in the digital marketing sphere, a good, responsive ad relies on the keywords you use. No matter how good your copy is, it won’t work if you’re not targeting the right searchers. 

Start with a keyword research tool like Google Keyword Planner and find out which keywords you want to target based on volume, competition, and cost-per-click (CPC). 

You can also use Dynamic Keyword Insertion, which allows you to insert a keyword that matches a user’s search terms. 

Nail your landing page.

Don’t just send all your traffic to your home page. By designing a landing page that reflects your ad’s language, offer, and call to action, you match your audience’s expectations and have a greater chance of keeping them around long enough to convert. 

Increase your ad strength.

As you create your ad, you’ll see your Ad Strength and some recommendations. Keep these in mind and try to improve accordingly.

More is better

Google gives you the option to test 15 different headlines and 4 different descriptions – use it! By having more options, Google will be able to create more variations that will appeal to users. 

Iterate

Responsive text ads are an excellent opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t. Review your ads regularly and see which headlines and descriptions are resonating with your audience. 

Need some help with your responsive search ads? Talk to our Google Ads specialists today and find out how you can create a winning campaign. As a Google Premier Partner, we can create ads tailored to the platform in accordance with all guidelines and best practices.

By now, you probably know how beneficial Google ads can be for your business. But which ones should you focus on?

For beginners, it can be hard to navigate the world of Google ads, and there are many easy mistakes you can make along the way. Today, we’re going to explore the different types of Google ads you can use, what each can do for your business, and exactly how you can get started. 

What is a Google ad campaign?

Google ads are a type of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. That is, you only pay when a user clicks on your ad. These can be broken up into a few different types of ads: Search, Shopping, Display, and YouTube. 

01. Google Search

Google Search ads are text ads that appear on a results page when a user searches for a particular query. This means your business will appear before other organic results, allowing you to secure that top spot. 

Why choose Google Search ads?

• Support your organic traffic.
• Easy to set up 
• No extra assets are needed (photos, videos, etc.)

02. Google Shopping 

Google Shopping ads are the perfect way to advertise your online eCommerce offerings. When users search for a specific product or type, yours will be front and center. 

Note: there is a difference between Shopping and Smart Shopping ads. Check out our Google Shopping guide for a more in-depth breakdown of each type. 

Why choose Google Shopping ads?

• Place pictures of your products at the top of the results page
• Target users at the right stage of their customer journey
• Allow customers to compare your products easily 

03. Google Display

The Google Display Network is a massive collection of over 2 million websites, reaching 90% of the world’s internet users. When you create a Google Display ad, your brand can appear in social media newsfeeds, banners, and email inboxes.

Why choose Google Display ads?

• Display your brand across the internet to interested users
• Reach a wider audience
• Great for longer sales cycles

04. YouTube ads

You can use both video and non-video ads on YouTube. The latter are the same as Google display ads.

Video ads come in three different types: skippable ads in front of videos, non-skippable ads in front of videos, and video discovery ads (promoted videos on YouTube’s search page or recommended videos.

Why choose YouTube ads?

• Advanced targeting of specific demographics, interests and markets
• More engaged viewers
• Show off your product, service, or selling point

Creating a Google Ad campaign

Before we do anything, make sure you have a Google Ads account set up. You’ll also need a website, as this is where your ad will send customers, and Google will need to verify you as a real business. Once this is done, you’re ready to set up your first campaign!

01. Create a new campaign.

02. Select a goal from the list supplied.

03. Select a campaign type.

From here, the process will differ depending on what ads you choose. We’ve explored each one in a bit more detail below. We’ll avoid looking at brilliant campaigns today, as these are best used once you’ve developed some data from previous campaigns. 

How to set up a Google Search campaign

01. Choose which networks you want to target (for beginners, we suggest only targeting the Search Network).

02. Set the location and language. You can target people searching for your location and physically located there.  

03. Choose your audience. You can use a number of factors: interests, demographics, recent purchase intent, and whether or not they have previously interacted with your business. 

04. Choose your daily budget. This is how much you will spend on average on a given day.

05. Choose a bidding strategy. Depending on your campaign goal, you may want to maximize clicks, gain more impressions, or prioritize conversion. 

06. Create an ad group. This is one or more ads that share the same aim. You’ll want to pay special attention to keyword types to ensure your ads only show up for relevant searches. 

07. Create your search ad. You’ll need a final URL (landing page), the URL displayed to the user, a few headlines, and descriptions up to 90 characters. 

Based on their components, Google will indicate how well your ads are likely to perform. This may give you ideas on how to improve. You may also want to go with a PPC expert. 

08. Click ‘Save and Finish,’ and all left is for Google to approve and publish your ad, a process that usually takes 1–2 days.

How to set up a Google Shopping campaign

01. Make sure you have a Google Merchant account. This is where Google will pull product data from. 

02. Select the country(ies) where you sell and ship your products. 

03. (Optional) Apply the inventory filter to limit products you don’t want to advertise. Google will allow you to set specific criteria; only products that meet them will be shown.

04. (Optional) You may want to turn on local inventory ads if you have a physical store. This includes items you sell in-store.

05. Determine your bidding strategy and daily budget. 

06. Set a schedule for your campaign, and remember to include an end date. 

07. Create ad groups. For Shopping ads, you can create Product ads promoting a single product or Showcase ads that display a number of selected products. If you choose Product ads, you can break these down into smaller groups for each category in your online store. As a beginner, we suggest starting with Product ads for now.

08. Enter your ad group name and your bid. 

09. Click ‘Save.’ Once Google has reviewed your ad, you’ll be all good to go!

How to set up a Google Display campaign

01. Choose a campaign subtype. For beginners, we suggest starting with a standard display campaign. 

02. Choose your location and language.

03. Choose your bidding strategy and daily budget. 

04. Adjust your campaign settings. This includes your campaign start and end dates, what times of day your ads will be displayed, what devices your ads will appear on,  what ads you expect will perform the best, and a few other things. 

05. Create and name your ad group. 

06. Decide who you want to see your ads based on interests, demographics, recent purchase intent, life events, and whether or not they have previously interacted with your business. 

07. Decide where your ads will appear on the Google Display Network. You can go broad and choose general topics related to your brand, choose which keywords you want to target or select specific websites, videos, or apps where you want to place your ads. 

08. (Optional) You can allow Google to use your target customer to find others interested in your offerings. This may not be suitable for beginners or small businesses, as this can increase your budget. 

09. Create your display ads. You can create your ads and upload them or your assets and let Google create responsive ad combinations suitable for various platforms across the Display Network. Unless you have an in-house expert or seek the advice of a Google ad specialist, we suggest going with responsive ads to make sure they meet Google’s specifications. 

For the best results, Google suggests submitting the following:

• 5 or more images
• 2 or more logos
• 5 headlines
• 5 descriptions
• A video

10. Review your campaign. Once you’re happy, click ‘Publish Campaign’. Google will then assess and approve your ad.

How to set up a YouTube ad campaign

01. Select the type of video ad from the options shown below. You’ll probably want to start with a Video Reach campaign as a beginner.

02. Choose your bidding strategy and daily spending. 

03. Select which dates your ad will run. 

04. Choose where you want your ads to show up – in the search results only, all across YouTube, or all across the YouTube Display Network with Google video partners. 

05. Select the countries where you’d like to display the ad and the language. You can target worldwide (suitable for eCommerce and other more prominent brands) or focus solely on Australia. 

06. Determine your brand safety guidelines. This will affect which videos your ads appear next to or play on. 

07. Finetune your audience. You can specify which demographics (age, gender, income, location, parental status, life stage, etc.) you’d like to target, specific interests, and whether they’ve interacted with your brand. 

08. Ads that play before or during a video will have to be uploaded as a YouTube video. In general, you’ll want to keep videos under 3 minutes (15 seconds for non-skippable ads and 60 seconds for skippable ads on YouTube Kids). 

09. Enter your ad link and the final URL (landing page), your headline, and your call to action. 

10. Hit that ‘Create Campaign’ button, and you’re good to go! Once Google approves your ad, your business will be out there for the world to see. 

Need help with setting up and/or managing your ads? Our Google ad experts are at your disposal! We can help with all elements of your campaign, including keyword research, copy, asset creation (images and videos), bidding, audience segmentation, and more.

Want to start 2022 off on the right foot? Why not strengthen your online presence and give your business that well-deserved boost?

While SEO is a gradual process and the algorithm is constantly changing, there are some easy fixes that can have a significant impact on your ranking. To help get you started, we’ve assembled a list of 15 ways you can start improving your SEO Melbourne today and see results before the end of 2021. 

01. Market analysis and planning

Before you start with any good SEO strategy, you need to understand how users search for your content. You also need to see what keywords your competitors are targeting and whether there are any opportunities you can take advantage of. 

Keywords are crucial to any and all SEO you’ll do, so it’s important to get this step right.

Keyword Planner

This free tool from Google uses your main keywords to find all the relevant keywords in your niche. Keyword Planner will give you a range of keywords you can choose from and their monthly search volume. 

SEMrush

If you’d like to try a more advanced tool, SEMrush is an excellent place to start. By putting in your website URL, SEMrush will quickly scan Google and see which keywords your site is already ranking for. Using this, you can identify the keywords you have the best chance of ranking highly for and tailor your pages accordingly. 

SEMrush has both a paid and free option. The free version (currently) allows you to:

• Research up to 10 keywords a day, seeing 10 competitor results
• Create and manage 1 project (audit 100 pages and track 10 different keywords)

Other keyword research tools

Other tools you can use include:

• Google Search Console (more on that below)
• Soovle
• Jaaxy
• Ahrefs Keyword Explorer
• KeywordTool.io

There are a lot of keyword research tools out there, so feel free to explore and discover which works best for you. 

02. Keyword mapping

You’ve got a list of relevant keywords, but what to do with them? The next thing you need to do is map each of your keywords to the most appropriate page on your site. 

Say you’re a plumber. You’ll want to group all your keywords regarding drain unblocking and use these on the corresponding page. The same goes for blocked toilets, burst pipes, leaky taps, hot water systems, emergency plumbing services, gas fitting, and other service pages.

You can do all your keyword mapping in a simple Excel sheet or on Google Sheets. 

03. Meta titles and description

Your meta title and description are the information in the search results, meaning this is your chance to convince users to click. You’ll want to include your main keyword for the page in both, but avoid adding too many and ensure it reads naturally. 

To ensure that your content displays appropriately, keep titles under 60 characters and descriptions under 155–165 characters. 

04. Title tags

The tags on your web page are vital for organizing information. They are one of the most important ranking factors, second only to content. There are many title tags: H1, H2, H3, H4, and so on. 

Google suggests using the same meta title and H1 title, so make sure that your H1 matches the meta titles you wrote in the previous step. For your H2 and H3 tags, you’ll want to assess how many subheadings your competitors use and aim for a similar amount. While you should aim to put your secondary keywords in these headings, you’ll want to make sure that you avoid stuffing.

05. Content optimization

You’ve likely heard the expression that content is king – this is undoubtedly the case when it comes to SEO. Google is more likely to rank unique, relevant, and high-quality content, so this is where you’ll want to focus quite a bit of your time. 

While it is essential to include all the right keywords, you also want to ensure the content is optimized for human readers. All the SEO won’t help you if you bring people to your site and they can’t understand (or don’t care about) what you’re saying!

And finally, make sure you do a final edit for spelling and grammar. Nothing makes your site look more unprofessional or puts customers off quicker. 

06. Image alt text

Google isn’t quite as good with pictures as words, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make your images work for you. Adding alt text simplifies the process and shows the engine exactly what your image is about. 

By including alt text, you’ll be able to implement some valuable keywords and ensure that all users are able to access your site. Visually impaired browsers will be able to use their screen readers to understand precisely what the page is showing, meaning that they will be able to understand it far better. 

Some best practices include:

• Use a maximum of 125 characters
• Be as descriptive as possible to give the user an idea of what is happening in the image
• Make sure the description (and the image) relates to the content on the page
• Include natural keywords, but don’t overstuff

07. Internal linking

While it may be hard and time-consuming to earn valuable backlinks, internal linking is a way you can boost the authority of specific pages. By adding internal links – links that take you to other pages on your site – to higher-ranking pages, you can pass some of that ‘link juice’ on to pages you wish to optimize. 

This is also helpful from a user standpoint, guiding your customers through your site logically, and allowing them to find the information they need. 

08. Sitemap

Submitting your sitemap is a simple way to help Google better navigate your website. Many website-creating platforms will automatically submit your sitemap for you, but you can also generate a free sitemap using XML-Sitemaps or submit a sitemap directly to Google. 

09. Competing pages

You’ve optimized all your web pages, and they still aren’t performing as you’d like. So what’s the problem?

This is referred to as keyword cannibalism – you have several pages optimized for the same keyword, stealing valuable clicks from each other. To fix this, you’ll need to carefully review each page on your site and ensure no overlap. While this may be time-consuming, this can have a pretty powerful impact on your ranking.

10. Page speed 

Page speed refers to how fast a website can load and can be measured by page load time (the amount of time it takes for a page to load fully) or time to first byte (the amount of time it takes for the browser to receive the first byte from the server). 

How fast your page loads significantly impact your business; by improving your load time by just 0.1 seconds, you can boost conversion rates by 8%. To do this, you may want to consult with a professional web developer or reconsider your hosting. 

You can check your current page speed by using Google’s PageSpeed Insights. 

11. Blogging

Publishing regular, relevant content to your site is crucial for attracting organic traffic and establishing yourself as an authority in your niche. What is the best way to do that? Blogging. 

Starting (and maintaining) a blog for your business allows you to target customers at different stages of their purchasing journey, answering their questions and demonstrating the benefit of your offerings. And best of all? With a large backlog of blogs that gain authority and backlinks over time, you’ll still be seeing the benefits of your blogs down the line. 

12. Clear call to action

Your call to action guides users to the next step, whether to ‘Call now,’ ‘Get a free quote’, download one of your lead magnets, or sign up to your mailing list. You’ll want to include one on each page to ensure that wherever users end up on your site, they always know what to do next.

For services, you’ll want to make sure your phone number is visible on every page and clickable to make it as simple as possible for clients to get in touch. To do this, use the following tag:

<a href=”tel:123456789″>123 456 789</a>

13. Social sharing

Social media is a powerful tool in your digital marketing arsenal – make sure you use it. First, ensure you have social sharing widgets on your webpage, especially on your blog. This will make it easier for users to share your content with others in their network and further their reach. 

If you’re looking to double down on your socials, make sure you check out our post on Social Media and SEO. 

14. Google Search Console

Google Search Console (formerly Google Webmaster) tells you what keywords users are searching for to find your content, which web pages they’re finding, and where those web pages are ranking. You’ll also be able to see:

• What countries are your users from
• What devices do they use
• Click-through rate
• Impressions

15. Google Analytics

If you haven’t already, ensure you have Google Analytics set up. This allows you to monitor several critical metrics for your site, including:

• Bounce rate
• Exit rate 
• Average session duration
• Pages per session
• Average time on page
• Organic traffic
• Organic impressions
• Keyword conversion rate

From this information, you can see how users are interacting with your site and how you can improve it. 

It is a good idea to sync your Google Analytics with your Google Search Console, as this will give you a complete picture of the user experience and how to target your audience better. 

Want to dominate your competitors in 2023? Book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our SEO specialists, and we’ll show you how to get there!

As the old saying goes, you need to spend money to make money, which certainly applies to Google Ads. With pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, you only get as much as you put in. 

That said, spending more money doesn’t always translate into better performance. According to the quarterly Next&Co Digital Media Wastage Report released last month, brands waste an average of 37% of their digital ad spend. And while this is certainly damaging for larger companies, it can be catastrophic for smaller businesses. 

Want to stop wasting all that ad spend and see some better ROI? We’ve compiled a beginner’s guide to Google Ads featuring some of the most common mistakes we see from clients to help you get started. 

Make sure you use the right keyword types

When it comes to Google Ads, there are three keyword types:

• Broad match – Your ad appears on searches related to your keywords.
• Phrase match – Your ad shows up on searches that include a specific phrase. This is more specific than broach match but less refined than exact, as it can incorporate words before and after the phrase. 
• Exact match – Your ad only shows up when the user searches for your keywords or the exact search intent.

There are benefits to each: broad keywords will reach the widest audience, including those who may not necessarily be interested in your offerings, while the exact match is much more narrow but produces more qualified leads. The type you choose will depend on the type of business, how competitive your niche is, what your business goals are, and your audience. 

In other words, there is no single right keyword type—if you select the same default setting for all of your campaigns, you’re burning some money somewhere. 

Filter for keywords with zero conversion.

Targeting the wrong keywords is one of the most common mistakes businesses make; 12.5% of paid search budgets are spent on irrelevant search terms or ones that fail to convert. 

Doesn’t it sound that big? Put it this way: if your Google Ad budget is $1000, you’ve just wasted $125 on nothing of value to your business. If your budget is $5000, that’s $625 gone. And so forth. Over time, this can add up. 

This is why it is so important to regularly review your keywords and see whether there are any you may want to prune. 

Negative keywords

If you aren’t using negative keywords by now, you are wasting some good money on clicks that will do nothing for your business. As important as getting the right clicks are, it is just as vital to avoid the wrong ones. 

There are three different types of negative keywords you can use:

• Broad match negative – Exclude any search terms that contain irrelevant words. 
• Phrase match negative – Exclude specific phrases. Words must be in the same order but can have words before and after. 
• Exact match negative – Only exclude the exact irrelevant term.

Use bid modifiers

There are a few ways you can tailor your bids to improve relevancy to users and increase your ROI. Below are three of the most useful.

Device modifiers

You may find that most of your customers are looking up your business while out and about via their mobile phones, meaning it may be more beneficial to focus more of your ad spend on mobile. For example, a business that offers emergency mechanic or tow truck services may want to prioritize mobile devices.

Consider your audience and when, where, and how they are searching for your offerings. This will allow you to allocate your budget better. 

Geotargeting

Google allows you to specify both the location of the user and any locations of interest (e.g., someone searching for ‘best electrician Carlton’). 

If you’re a small local business with a physical store or a narrow service area, there’s no use in targeting ads statewide, nationally, or even internationally. On the other hand, if you ship Australia-wide, targeting across Australia makes sense. 

Scheduling

Say you’re only open on weekdays. You don’t want to waste valuable ad dollars targeting people on weekends. Google allows you to plan your ads to display during dates and times (say, 9 am to 5 pm) so that you can optimize your spending. 

Don’t aim for a 100% Google Ad Optimisation Score.

This may seem counterintuitive—after all, shouldn’t Google know best? But surprisingly, all the suggestions the search engine makes to improve your campaigns may not be suitable for your business. 

As with many things in digital marketing, a human touch can make a difference, critically assessing the strategies Google proposes and testing them to see their effect. 

Experts have found that while your ad optimization score can guide you in the right direction and provide some avenues you may not have considered, aiming for a 100% can cost you more in the long run. A score of around 80% is usually sufficient to see your business thriving. 

Integrate PPC with SEO

While Google Ads can deliver powerful short-term results and drastically boost your growth, they should never be the sole foundation of your digital marketing strategy. 

SEO Adelaide is about bringing in organic traffic (far more sustainable than paid) and creating the best website experience for users. When used in tandem with PPC, it can reduce your ad spend by:

• Helping you identify converting keywords
• Improving the quality score of your campaign
• Optimizing landing pages to convert
• Providing valuable data and insights into what drives your customers to buy

Monitor your campaign

It seems simple, right? Unfortunately, the biggest mistake beginners—and even more experienced PPC users—make is taking their hands off the wheel of their campaign. As we’ve said before, this can lead to wasted spending, but it can also lead to missed opportunities.

Regular audits and fine-tuning of your Google Ad campaigns allow you to see what works well for your business and lean into it. The more data you get, the more you know what your customers respond to and how to incorporate it into your ads. 

PPC shouldn’t be a one-and-done type of deal—it should be a continuous and evolving project that complements your business needs and goals. 

Want a Google Premier Partner to take care of your ads for you? Our team can help you make the most of your budget and ensure you get the best results. Get in touch now for a free consultation!

E-commerce in Australia is taking off: in 2020, 82% of households made an online purchase, with 1.3 million households doing so for the first time. This is only set to continue, with 5 million households buying online each month in 2021. 

If you’re selling any product, you can’t afford to take advantage of eCommerce. 

Unfortunately, with the increase in demand comes the influx of businesses trying to cash in – including your competitors. So how can you ensure that your online store stands out and secures those sales?

While most standard SEO best practices are applicable here, there are some things you’ll want to pay extra attention to when it comes to eCommerce SEO agency. Below, we’ve compiled a list of what you need to consider when devising a winning SEO strategy. 

01. Find keywords for your category and product descriptions

Like other types of SEO, a successful strategy starts with the right keywords. Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Moz can help you identify the average monthly search volume, CTR, and how many people are targeting each keyword. 

You’ll want to focus on high-intent keywords – that is, keywords that will translate into purchases – that are not overly competitive. Longer-tail keywords can be your secret weapon here: although more specific, this means that the user likely already has an idea of what they want and are further along in their purchasing journey.

02. Use HTTPS

This is simple, but you would be surprised how many online vendors haven’t gotten on board. As you might expect from the name, eCommerce sites are all about transactions. This means users will be on guard, protecting their details and payment information. 

Using HTTPS lets users know their information is secure, meaning they’ll be more likely to purchase. It also directly helps to boost your SEO efforts, as search engines like Google use HTTPS as a ranking signal.

HTTPS can be used with most major eCommerce platforms, including Shopify and BigCommerce. 

03. Make mobile your priority

Again, this might seem obvious in 2021, but many businesses, including your competitors, make this easy mistake. And, considering how many online purchases are made via mobile, this is one area you don’t want to neglect. 

Most digital marketing agencies and web developers will take a mobile-first approach, but if you choose to set up an online store yourself, focus on responsive mobile design, navigation – and, most importantly, the checkout. 

04. Simplify your site architecture

If you want your products to be easily searchable, design your pages as logically as possible. 

SEO experts and web designers debate the perfect site architecture. Although the famous ‘3 Clicks Rule’ – that is, that information shouldn’t be more than three clicks away, or else you risk your users abandoning the site – has been disproven, the principle behind it is solid. 

In general, you’ll want a relatively flat architecture starting with your home page, category pages, sub-category pages, and product pages. Of course, this will ultimately depend on your industry and the variety of products you sell. 

Breadcrumbs can be a helpful way to navigate the different levels of your store. Below is an example from eBay, Australia’s most popular eCommerce site:

This allows users to see where they’ve come from – and, more importantly, find their way back if this product isn’t exactly what they’re looking for. 

05. Write unique category and product descriptions

Don’t just copy and paste product descriptions from manufacturers. Your product page is the perfect opportunity to communicate directly with your potential buyer and tell them why they should buy from you.

It’s also an excellent opportunity to tell Google exactly what your category/ product is about and target those valuable long-tail keywords. 

Your content should be short, sweet, and easily scannable – most of your buyers won’t take the time to read it thoroughly. You may want to list key selling features in a bullet list or answer some FAQs. 

06. Avoid keyword cannibalization

Chances are that some of your product pages are similar, offering variations in design, color, or specs. Say you sell shoes, phone accessories, or doormats – some of your products will likely overlap. 

Keyword cannibalization is when more than one page targets the same keyword. This means that your pages are now in direct competition with each other, which often results in both performing poorly than they would otherwise. 

It can help list your product pages and the keywords you are targeting for each in a spreadsheet. This will allow you to quickly identify duplicates and ensure your content is as impactful as possible. You can also use a canonical URL element to tell search engines what pages they should focus on.

07. Take care of any broken links

As your eCommerce site grows, chances are that some of your links won’t work like they should. Not only is this frustrating for visitors, but it can impact your page ranking. 

There are lots of tools out there (Moz, Screaming Frog) that can help you quickly identify any broken links on your website.

08. Publish regularly

While creating content for your blog can be a time-consuming effort, it’s certainly a worthwhile one. Not only does it provide regular updates and position your website as a relevant source of information, but it also gives you a greater chance to rank for various queries your customers may have. Targeting every keyword with a single product page is impossible, but you can do valuable keyword optimization and internal linking with a blog. 

Those still in the research phase will be looking for information to help them decide. Answer their questions and get to them before your competitors; you might just win them over. 

09. Leverage customer reviews

With 91% of people reading reviews before making a purchase decision and 84% trusting these reviews as much as a personal recommendation, you can’t afford to take advantage. 

You can include these directly on your product page, allowing potential customers to gain an insight into the quality. This can improve your conversion rate by 14–76%.

Reviews can also directly help your local SEO efforts, as Google uses reviews (and your responses) to determine your ranking. 

10. Constantly adapt your SEO strategy

With search engines like Google constantly changing their algorithm, you must routinely review and adjust your eCommerce SEO strategy. 

That being said, many of the tactics we’ve listed here are resistant to algorithm changes and will serve you well in the years to come. Above all, ensure you’re producing quality content your buyers want, and you can’t go wrong!

Want to learn more about how to make your online store into a selling powerhouse? Get in touch with our specialist eCommerce team now!

When it comes to getting your products out there, you want to give your business the best chance. But what’s the best way to capture the attention of customers?

You know that Google is probably the way to go, seeing as it is the most used search engine with over 90% of the market in Australia, not to mention the fact that Aussies are shopping more online now than ever: a recent PWC report found that more than half of Aussie consumers have increased their online shopping habits across a number of product categories. But what type of campaign will get you the most value?

Today, we’re demystifying the difference between Google Shopping Ads and Smart Shopping, helping you decide which is best for your business goals.

What are Google Shopping Ads?

If you’re poking around the digital marketing realm, chances are you already know what standard Google Shopping Ads are. For those who need a little refresher, these visual ads use your Google Merchant Center product data rather than keywords to determine their placement.

Say you’re looking to buy a new set of headphones. Most consumers will research a little product before deciding on one they like. And where else to start but Google?

When customers search for ‘headphones,’ Google will give them a few product images from different eCommerce sites. This includes information like the price, the seller, and reviews. Customers can click on the ‘Shopping’ tab if they want to browse the different offerings.

These ads are far more effective than text ads, as customers searching for your product can look at the image and decide if it matches their requirements. This results in more qualified leads ready to spend, maximizing your return.

Shopping Ad campaigns are manually run and boast a number of features, including:

• Search term reports (what search terms led to the products being shown)
• Product ad groups and tiers
• A number of bidding strategies
• Scheduling
• Location and audience targeting

What is Google Smart Shopping?

Google Smart Shopping was first introduced in 2018 as an alternative to Google Shopping Ads. Google describes Smart Shopping as a “campaign subtype [which] combines standard Shopping and display remarketing campaigns and uses automated bidding and ad placement to promote your products and business across networks.”

In other words? Google automates your Shopping Ad campaign according to a few specifications and attempts to maximize return while working within your budget. All you have to do is nominate the following:

• The products you want to include in your campaign
• The country you wish to target (Australia, etc.)
• The budget and target ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend)

Once you’ve done this, Google will get to work and show your ads to the most relevant users. It does this by utilizing “a wide range of auction-time signals including device, location, time of day, remarketing list, language, and operating system to capture the unique context of every search.”

What’s the difference between Smart Shopping and Shopping Ads?

You might be thinking, ‘Smart Shopping must be better. Surely Google’s algorithm knows how to display my ads best?” And while Smart Shopping is a fantastic solution for many businesses, it is not the end-all you might expect.

We’ve compiled a quick guide to both Shopping Ads and Smart Shopping below so that you can see the benefits and drawbacks for yourself.

Google Shopping Ad

With Shopping Ads, you get complete control over your ads and can tailor your campaign to meet your business goals. However, for beginners and business owners who are managing their ads in-house, it can be tough to manage.

Google Smart Shopping

Google Smart Shopping is the most convenient method of implementing ad campaigns. It is beginner-friendly and can provide quick results. However, you will sacrifice the control you get with Google Shopping Ads, which can frustrate some business owners.

So which is better: Smart Shopping or Shopping Ads?

Both have their uses, and depending on your campaign, either can be helpful. At the end of the day, it comes down to two primary factors: time and control. If you want to run ads but don’t have the time to manage your campaign, Smart Shopping can be a lifesaver. This is great for those newer to digital marketing and small businesses.

On the other hand, if you want to take complete control of your ad campaign, determine your cost per click, and target specific audiences or locations, traditional Shopping Ads are probably more your style. You’ll need the knowledge and experience to manage your campaign – or find someone who does it manually.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be an either-or situation. You might want to incorporate both into your strategy. High-priority or time-sensitive ad campaigns may benefit from a little extra attention. In contrast, automating the process and leveraging Google’s network for other products might be a good idea. You could also start with a manual campaign and later transition to an automated one once you’ve optimized it and worked out all the kinks.

It is important to note that Smart Shopping campaigns will override Shopping Ad campaigns for the same product or product group. Plan and test your campaigns carefully to ensure you aren’t doubling up and wasting your ad spend.

If you want full control of your Google Shopping Ads but don’t have the time or expertise, hiring an expert digital marketer can be a good solution. The team at Search Marketing Group® regularly works with businesses across Australia to maximize their ROAS and achieve their business goals.

Got questions about Shopping Ads or Smart Shopping that aren’t answered here? Make sure to leave a comment below!

Today, it’s a lot easier to create an eCommerce website. If you take advantage of a ready eCommerce platform, you’ll be able to save your costs and get a website developed quickly. Nowadays, you can build your eCommerce website on a variety of platforms including BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, and others.

However, it’s not enough to create an eCommerce website to start selling products online. Obviously, you need to do more. You have to attract the target audience to your eCommerce website. And of course, search engine optimization has to be a key part of your online promotion strategy.

Once your eCommerce website is ready, you need to advertise it in search engines such as Google, Bing, and others. In other words, you should aim to get your eCommerce website on top of the search engines for target keywords. Now, we’ll describe the steps you have to take to do SEO for an e-commerce site in the best possible way.

SEO Competitor Analysis for Ecommerce Sites

Image source: https://www.cloudways.com/blog/ecommerce-seo/

When doing an SEO competitor analysis for eCommerce sites you should try to get as much information about your competitors’ SEO strategies as possible. What keywords do your competitors try to rank for? How do your competitors do on-page optimization for their websites? Where do your competitors get backlinks for their sites? It’s crucial for you to get the answers to all of these questions.

Ecommerce SEO Audit

An E-commerce SEO audit is about identifying and fixing different types of SEO errors on a website.

When doing an SEO audit for an eCommerce site you should look for pages with duplicate content, slow-loading pages, broken links, web pages without meta titles and meta descriptions, and other types of SEO errors. Plus, you should aim to check a website for usability issues. Make sure that site’s pages look great in all major browsers and on all types of mobile devices.

All of these SEO issues will have a negative impact on your site’s rankings. And of course, they have to be fixed as soon as possible.

Keyword Research for E-commerce Sites

Image source: https://neilpatel.com/blog/seo-for-ecommerce-websites/

While doing keyword research for an e-commerce site, you should aim to find the best key phrases for the homepage and internal web pages (category pages and product pages).

The keyword list for an eCommerce site has to contain general keywords, long-tail keywords, local keywords, brand keywords as well as product-based keywords.

When analyzing keywords for an e-commerce site, you should pay close attention to such factors as the relevancy of keywords, search traffic of keywords, and competition of keywords. Clearly, you should aim to pick the best keywords in terms of search traffic and competition.

Make sure that the keywords that you are going to target will drive targeted traffic to your e-commerce site. On the other hand, you may find it difficult to optimize site’s web pages for keywords of high competition.

On-page Optimisation of E-commerce Sites

When the list of keywords is ready, now it’s time to get started with on-page optimization.

First, you need to spread the keywords among the eCommerce site’s pages. It would be better to optimize the homepage for keywords that can drive high amounts of search traffic to your site. Product pages have to be optimized for product-based keywords. Plus, you can create new pages on a website and optimize its content on local keywords and long-tail keywords.

Content on your e-commerce website has to be structured properly. It’s a great idea to provide links to top-rated products, recently viewed products, popular products in a particular category, and related products on the site’s homepage.

Internal linking plays an important role in an e-commerce site’s SEO. Make sure that all of the internal links on your eCommerce site look natural. Visitors should make no more than 2 clicks to get to any of the internal pages within your e-commerce website from the homepage.

Texts on eCommerce site’s pages have to be optimized for target keywords in the right way. Keywords should be included in the page’s title, description, headers, sub-headers, image file names, image alt tags, and URLs. Target keywords always have to be inserted into the site’s content naturally. Keyword stuffing should be avoided at any cost.

Adding a Blog to an Ecommerce Website

The reality is, each of the site’s pages can be optimized for several keywords. If you would like to rank high for many keywords, you may need to create additional pages on your eCommerce site.

It makes a lot of sense to add a blog to an eCommerce website. After that, you need to update it with fresh content and optimize each of the site’s blog posts for the keywords that you target.

The site’s blog can be used for link-building as well. If you provide valuable content on your e-commerce website’s blog, other sites may decide to republish your article and give you a link back. As a result, you’ll get lots of backlinks from relevant online resources.

Ecommerce Link Building

Image source: https://longtailpro.com/ecommerce-link-building/

It’s incredibly important to attract high-quality links to an eCommerce site. You should try to earn links from relevant sites of high authority. Plus, you should aim to get backlinks in a natural way.

It’s worth noting that high-quality links will generate targeted traffic to your site and positively affect your search engine rankings.

On the other hand, links from low-quality resources negatively affect a site’s SEO and often result in Google’s penalties. That’s why links from low-authority sites should be avoided.

Ecommerce Conversion Optimisation

In the last stage, you have to optimize your eCommerce site’s pages for better conversion and try to increase your sales.

Use PPC advertising to test keywords before getting started with search engine optimization. Clearly, you should optimize your eCommerce site for high-converting keywords.

Pay close attention to customer reviews. Clearly, you should try to get positive feedback and build a solid reputation for your business on Google.

Make experiments with Meta titles and Meta descriptions. Sooner or later, you’ll be able to pick the titles and descriptions that convert well.

Take advantage of the A/B test to increase your eCommerce site’s conversion and boost your sales.

Final Thoughts

If done right, search engine optimization can increase traffic to your e-commerce website significantly and boost your business success. Use the power of SEO to increase sales and take your business to the next level!

Contact us today to get cost-effective SEO solutions for any of your e-commerce business needs