by John Heida | Apr 26, 2022 | SEO
SEO, which means Search Engine Optimization, has been one of the long-standing digital marketing strategies ever known. Although it is highly dynamic, because sticking to one strategy doesn’t last long, a number of factors matter in its success. It is important to regularly check and update which ones are working and which ones are not. To help you out with this, we thought it would be useful to put together an article discussing how you can tell that your SEO strategy needs to be changed up. If this is something that you’re interested in learning more about, read on for four signs that you need to reevaluate your SEO strategy.
Decreased Revenue
While a drop in organic traffic is an indicator that you’re failing to optimize your SEO, a drop in the number of customers you attract from organic traffic is something you need to pay attention to. When evaluating an SEO strategy, track your most important metric, which is the number of leads that turn into paying customers. The number of leads that turn into customers is a sign that you are attracting the right type of visitors to your website. A decrease in revenue-generating customers from organic traffic is a sign that your SEO is not attracting the right type of visitor that turns into paying customers. Track which leads turn into paying customers so you can attribute your best customers to the source.
Drop in Web Traffic
There are other ways to drive traffic to your site besides organic promotions and emails, such as partnerships and RSS feeds. However, when SEO traffic goes down, it’s time to reevaluate. This can be caused by a drop in keyword rankings, seasonality in search volumes, and a new SEO/SEM entrant who is taking most of the clicks.
Lowered Rankings for Primary Keywords
Are your primary keywords still ranking for top spots in the SERPs? If not, you can track how your keywords are doing by running AdWords SEM marketing programs for them. Keep an eye on the keywords that generate visits and leads, so you can focus on them. However, keep in mind that bottleneck keywords are hard to rank for because you’re competing with other sites.
Use Google Web Toolkit (GWT) to review your top keywords and know how much traffic they generate. The GWT Dashboard shows a quick overview of your keywords and how much traffic each one is generating. This tool also suggests related keywords for your website.
Lowered Conversion Rates
If you find that your conversion rate is stagnant for some keywords or that it’s declining, you are probably attracting the wrong type of audience. Take note, though, that blog traffic is an entirely different thing, and do not let an increase in it distract you from noticing a drop in revenue-generating keywords. The people who come to your blog are still at the top of the funnel, and you can convert them into leads by getting their contact information, using retargeting and remarketing strategies, and pushing them further down the sales funnel.
Conclusion
We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to helping you determine when your SEO strategy needs fine-tuning. As you can see, it can be rather easy to tell as long as you know what you’re looking for. Be sure to keep everything you’ve learned here in mind so that you can make the most informed decision for your SEO campaigns.
Are you looking for a digital marketing agency in Boise to help you with your SEO strategy? Turn to Silo Hill Media. We develop an affordable and effective strategy suited to your marketing needs. Schedule a call today!
by John Heida | Dec 21, 2021 | SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is helpful for businesses trying to grow their audience and get more conversions. Of course, marketing efforts cost money, and extensive campaigns may not always be financially feasible for small businesses.
Thankfully, there are solid SEO tactics with significant results that are not too expensive. Local SEO for small businesses can be affordable and effective, with a promising return on investment. It all comes down to the execution.
On-Page Optimization
This refers to improving how your website runs, particularly with how it creates a positive user experience and how it responds to search engine crawls.
First, in your layout, you want to make sure that it’s as minimal as possible while highlighting what you want. This avoids a messy interface that is hard to navigate for visitors. Plus, it avoids any unwanted detours for search engine bots that are trying to index your site.
You should also make sure that your website doesn’t take more than a couple of seconds to load. This ensures your bounce rate stays low and that you can rank higher on search results.
Building Links
You want to make sure your content and website become a reliable source of information and resources. You can’t just spam your website with random links for the sake of it. At the same time, you can’t make it barren and devoid of any links whatsoever.
Make sure you have solid backlinking with relevant insights that are connected to the content and services that you are providing. This ensures that the traffic you are driving is actually relevant and may lead to conversions.
SEO Analysis
In order to actually have impactful results, you need to have an in-depth analysis of your current or existing SEO standing and practices. This can help you root out what your strengths and weaknesses are so that you can employ the right tactics. By doing so, you no longer have to spend on executions that aren’t actually providing a good return on investment.
Scanning the Competitive Landscape
Your business can greatly benefit from learning from the movements of your competitors, especially those that are at the top of the game. Learning about their strategies can also guide you in narrowing down the best keywords that can highlight your services and aren’t as saturated. Despite wanting to use popular search queries, you also have to be careful about using keywords that are already overly used.
Cleaning Up Content
Make sure your content is always updated. If you have any obsolete information, old links, or dead links, your rankings will suffer. Search engine AI won’t deem your site as relevant and users will click on newer resources, especially if they’re higher up on the results page.
Conclusion
With the right tactics, you don’t need to go all out with your budget just to get decent results. Your SEO rankings can slowly but surely build up and improve your conversions. On top of that, you can also get better lead generation and get profits.
Looking for an all-around digital marketing agency in Boise? Silo Hill Media provides affordable and effective strategies to help small businesses grow. Contact us for a free quote.
by John Heida | Dec 7, 2021 | SEO
Buying online has quickly become the most popular way of purchasing products, given the convenience of browsing hundreds of stores’ catalogs from the comfort of your home. However, the major downside of online shopping is that you can’t inspect the product or service in person, which means consumers have turned to online reviews for more guidance.
Online reviews have thus become a fundamental part of a business marketing strategy. Review websites have sprung left and right to quench consumers’ thirst for more information about a business to know if it is reliable or not, helping them decide which company to engage with. For these reasons, online reviews can significantly impact your local SEO efforts, so it’s crucial to factor them into your strategy.
What is Local SEO?
Local search engine optimization is a strategy that increases your business’s visibility on local Google search engine results. This strategy works best for local businesses like restaurants, shops, or agencies catering to the local audience. Prioritizing local SEO makes it easier for your audience to find you, whether online or offline.
General SEO differs slightly from local SEO, as local SEO falls under the former. General SEO is more focused on boosting website rankings without making any local considerations, while local SEO improves your ranking for a particular area, like a city or a town. Ranking better for local Google searches means doing more than optimizing your website; you’ll have to create and fill your Google My Business account will all the relevant details.
Ways Online Reviews Impact Local SEO
Online reviews signal other customers that a particular business is worthy of their trust and hard-earned money. It shows that many consumers have tried the product and service and liked it enough to leave some feedback. For this reason, accumulating reviews on various platforms while having glowing testimonials that include keywords, products, and services is crucial to boosting your online visibility.
For instance, reviews provide search engines like Google with the information they need to recognize and crawl your website. This quality vastly increases the chances of the search engine displaying your business to online searchers. Additionally, if you have an immaculate online reputation, you’ll be earning new reviews regularly, and fresh content is the core of SEO.
Reviews are also helpful for building customer trust, as the goal of SEO is to make search engines believe you are credible. Remember that Google trusts customers more than marketers and is dedicated to providing the most relevant, helpful content to users. Having abundant online reviews tells Google that you have enough social proof to earn a top spot on the results page.
Responding to Negative Reviews
However great positive reviews are, it’s impossible not to receive any negative ones. You can’t please everyone due to factors entirely out of your control, but what you can do is take each negative review and turn it into an opportunity. Your goal is to make peace and win a customer over, so instead of ignoring a negative review—which is the worst thing you can do—reach out to the customer directly to discuss their complaint and how you can settle the issue. Be professional and calm, as lashing out and being angry will be unprofessional, making things even worse.
Customers tend to change tune once a business had demonstrated a sincere interest in turning things around for them, which means you’ll have earned another customer even when they had left a negative review. Even when other people chance upon the negative review, they’ll see that you were proactive in satisfying the customer, making them feel like they’ll be in good hands when engaging with your business.
Conclusion
Managing your reviews is a vital part of your local SEO strategy. Your online reviews can make a significant impact on your reputation and your search engine rankings, encouraging more of your target audience to visit your website and think of engaging with you. By prioritizing online reviews, you’ll get one step closer to success.
Silo Hill Media is a digital marketing agency in Boise offering local SEO services to boost your visibility. We also specialize in web development, reputation management, social media marketing, and many more. Contact us today to find out more about what we can do for you!
by John Heida | Nov 2, 2021 | SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a mainstay for any marketing strategy. Businesses looking to expand their reach and make themselves known to potential customers can largely benefit from tapping into local SEO. Using these tactics, your visibility increases tenfold and makes you more relevant to the eyes that matter.
What are the main benefits of making use of local SEO?
You Get to Streamline Your Focus
SEO in itself exposes you on a global scale. Of course, any language you use will also make it a more relevant result in the country you serve. Through local SEO, you can streamline your exposure into a more specific location. Instead of going up against search results from competitors throughout the country, you can rank up higher for searches that are actually coming from your area.
Basically, instead of getting a bunch of hits from all over the place that won’t always result in conversions, you can home in on a select market first.
You’ll Create a Better Impression on Your Audience
One great thing about SEO is how effectively it creates brand awareness and recall. The whole idea is to get customers to find out about your services using their own search queries. It’s like getting in the yellow pages and then highlighting your listing.
Proper execution of SEO will result in you showing up in search results higher up and having related content to convince your audience to click.
You Will Stand Out Locally
When you cater to your local market, this makes your services seem more tailor-made for consumers in that area. There will be an immediate impression that your business is an authority when it comes to the specific needs of that community.
It’s best to stand out to consumers that can actually reach you. Local SEO makes sure your content reaches your target audience and that they get relevant information that leads them to become a customer.
You Can Increase Your Brand Reputation
These days, almost everybody does research online before making a purchase. Online users trust that Google results will lead them to the most relevant information and that the companies that get listed are trustworthy. Research even shows that 82 percent of smartphone users will conduct an online search before buying something in-store.
If you want to establish your credibility as a brand, local SEO will be a major factor.
You Will Have a Better Google My Business Listing
Google My business is a service hosted by Google that lets companies and businesses list themselves on Google Maps and the Google engine itself. Here, businesses can post all the important information that consumers need—address, operating hours, pictures of the place and services, and contact information.
Local SEO and Google My Business work hand in hand, as your SEO content will be able to complement your listing as long as the information is accurate.
Conclusion
Local SEO services can have a massive impact on small businesses looking to establish themselves in their location. Being able to hone in on your local market while still increasing visibility is what makes local SEO so useful. It’s a good idea for any business to tap into this marketing strategy and start geotagging their content plan.
If you’re looking for an SEO agency that can tailor your online presence to hit your audience, Silo Hill Media creates effective strategies in an affordable way. Contact us to get the right solutions for your business.
by John Heida | Oct 18, 2021 | SEO, Social Media
Online marketing campaigns have become more effective in driving engagement, conversions, traffic, and revenue to businesses. Companies can acquire more internet users to either support or spread the word about their brand.
Now, digital marketing continues to be a more popular approach to promote brands, products, and services. However, there are various factors that businesses should consider to ensure that their online campaigns end up victorious.
1. Website Responsiveness
Last year, it was reported that there were 4.28 billion unique mobile internet users, indicating that over 90 percent of the world’s population uses a mobile device to go online. The statistics suggest that you must implement effective website responsiveness for your business’ platform to ensure a successful online marketing campaign.
It is essential to consider a website design that automatically adjusts to a user’s screen ratio. For example, people shopping online through their mobile devices should still see the products they’re buying without having to change, zoom in, or double-tap their screens. Web designers must consider optimizing your website into a platform pushing for a mobile-friendly approach.
2. Content Effectiveness
People go online for a primary reason: to look for information. Therefore, content effectiveness should be on everyone’s priority list to ensure an online campaign ends up victorious. As content has the power to make people interested, blog writing has to be one of the most effective ways to lock in people’s attention online.
Although users appreciate the content, it’s worth noting that they also value their time on the internet. It’s better to keep articles concise yet informative to ensure that no one has to spend too much time reading information they don’t need. Try to master producing articles with relevant details, turning your web visitors into potential leads and buyers.
3. SEO Management
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a vital part of online marketing campaigns. Leading search engines would need to rank web pages based on their content and use of keywords, producing a list of the best websites to click on a search result. The goal is simple: the higher the rank, the more users click on the website, resulting in better chances for an online business platform to succeed.
Several SEO practices make up a successful internet marketing campaign. One is good content. Another is a user-friendly website, and lastly is the proper use of keywords. Search engines like Google have disqualified some websites for overusing or overstuffing some keywords to get ahead of the competition. SEO always encourages businesses to play fair, which then leads to good results in the end.
4. Social Media Management
Social media is now part of producing a successful business campaign online. As there are more people on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, it has become ideal for businesses to cross-post between their website and social media accounts.
Keeping in mind that there are four billion users online on social media, the platform does give your brand a significant boost. It also allows a creative approach for taking advantage of the internet to drive a more successful campaign.
Conclusion
Online marketing is a relatively new approach to promoting business. However, a study in 2019 suggests that search traffic generates at least 65 percent of the total eCommerce sessions, where 33 percent of those were organic, and the remaining 32 percent were paid searches. Therefore, digital marketing may be the future of online business platforms, securing a better way to engage, convert, and produce revenue for companies of all sizes.
Silo Hill Media is a digital marketing agency near Boise City, offering tailored solutions and local SEO services for business owners. Our mission is to work with our clients, structure a solution for their problems, and implement it to achieve their objectives. Schedule an appointment with us today, and let us know how we can help!
by John Heida | Aug 5, 2021 | Reputation Management, SEO, Social Media
It doesn’t matter what your business does. The entire foundation of a company revolves around how happy your customers are with your product. Keeping them happy is important but not more than making sure customers aren’t unhappy. An unhappy client goes on to Twitter, Yelp, Google My Business, and literally every other platform they can find to bash your company endlessly. Such incidents are bad for your company’s image and require some reputation management. If you’re wondering how you can counter such negative reviews and get out of the situation without looking like a bad guy, you’re at just the right place. Here are three ways to respond to negative feedback.
Start Your Investigations Immediately
One of the worst things you can do to an angry customer is making them wait. So, when you notice that a customer left a negative comment anywhere, start off by replying to them. You don’t need to provide any details. You just need to tell them that you are looking into it. A simple message saying, “We’re sorry. We’re currently looking into your issue and will notify you as soon as we have some news,” goes a long way. Not only does it calm down the frustrated customer, but it also tells your audience that you’re quick at responding to problems whenever they come up.
Admit Your Mistakes
Let’s be honest; mistakes happen. Cyberpunk 2077 is a brilliant example of an amazing company making mistakes. They released an unfinished product with tons of bugs that rendered the video game unplayable. What did the developers do? Well, they started off by releasing a 10-minute apology video explaining that they made a mistake and are currently doing what they can to fix them. It was shallow, and no one really believed it, but it was an apology, nonetheless. If you know someone from your company made a mistake, own up to it. No one likes petty excuses and arguments coming from an organization. If you don’t admit your mistakes thinking that it’s bad PR, the one negative comment is going to turn into a dozen.
Offer Refunds, Exchanges, and Gift Coupons
So, the deed is done. You made a mistake, and you owed up to it. That’s progress, but the customer is still unhappy. They spent money to purchase your product/service and didn’t get their money’s worth. Well, in such a situation, you need to offer refunds, exchanges (where applicable), and gift coupons. These may seem like a waste of company resources, which they somewhat are. However, such measures ensure customer retention and are one of the best reputation management strategies in the market. Tons of fortune 500 companies, especially fast-food chains like McDonald’s, are using this trick to ensure customers keep coming back.
Closing Thoughts
A lot of companies think reputation management is a waste of time. We’re here to tell you it isn’t. Having a bad reputation on the internet is enough to kill your entire business. People go online and research before buying a product. That’s basic consumer behavior. If all they see are angry customers, the probability of them still purchasing from you drops down to zero.
