That’s why you hardly ever see your local hardware store running Super Bowl ads or hiring celebrity endorsers.

In the world of search engine marketing, however, smaller companies don’t just compete, but can often run more efficient and profitable campaigns.

To see how, here are five industrial-strength PPC advertising tips for small businesses you can use right away:

1. Focus your ads carefully.

You don’t want anyone and everyone to see your ads, much less click on them. So, think carefully about the demographic you want to reach, and then tailor your search and social ads to appeal only to your best potential customers. You can find out more about developing your buyer personas here.

2. Bid for exposure, not position.

Why pay for the top search ad position when the next few results often get just as many clicks? If you can generate the same amount of conversions for a lower price, you’re working smarter instead of harder.

3. Split test your landing pages.

Too many search advertisers ignore the effects of a good landing page. Make sure customers see something that makes them want to take action when they click on your ads; otherwise, the price you paid to attract them was wasted.

4. Use lots of negative keywords.

The focus for pay-per-click advertising should never be on more, but always on better. If you can exclude poor prospects from your ad campaigns, your click-through rates will increase. (What the heck are “negative keywords?”)

5. Check your advertising regularly.

Never let more than a few days go by without checking in on your advertising campaigns. You’ll spot trends faster that way, and will be less apt to waste money.

Used correctly, pay-per-click ads can give your small business an advantage that no other company can take away, not even your biggest competitor.

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Specifically, they want to know how you identify your best buyers and prospects, and then what you do once you have the insight you need.

Let’s take a look at these two important topics…

How You Identify Marketing Personas

For a lot of established businesses, building an initial group of marketing personas is fairly easy – you may even be able to get a good start from memory just by thinking about the commonalities that your most important buyers share. Performing an interview with your current customers is the ideal way to develop good buyer personas.

Keys to your buyer personas:

• What does a day in their life look like?
• What are their pain points or challenges they face?
• How did they find you?
• How do you solve their problems?

In addition to a review of your favorite customers, you could also follow a logical approach and think about what sorts of people really want or need your products or services. Or you can look back and see where most of your orders and accounts have come from in the past.

If that fails to yield enough personas, you can always study your competitors or the industry at large. Just knowing who’s likely to have a need for what you’re offering is a good first step, and as your business grows, your personas can always be refined.

What You Can Do With Strong Marketing Personas

The purpose of a detailed marketing persona is clear: to give you a good idea of who you really want to find your website and what their needs are like once they get there.

With strong personas in place you can develop content, targeted offers, and even entire marketing campaigns. Each of these will be more effective than they’ve been in the past simply because they are designed to speak to one specific person (that person being a proxy for a bigger group of buyers). In that way, they can serve as a creative roadmap and a tool for improving conversions on your website.

It’s incredibly difficult to build a successful inbound lead generation campaign without detailed marketing personas in place. Once you have them, though, you have the framework for the kinds of content and ideas that will keep them coming back to your business time and time again.

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Unfortunately, that’s not the way most websites are put together.

That’s because a lot of business owners (and more than a few marketing professionals) don’t really understand the recipe for online lead generation.

So what makes a good lead generating website?

A User-friendly Web Design

While we all like to believe a book isn’t judged by its cover, that simply isn’t the case. The same is true for websites. A professionally designed website builds credibility and leads prospects naturally from one area to another on a path you’d like them to take.

SEO and Social Media

Successful search engine optimization and social media marketing attract targeted buyers on an ongoing basis. Figure out who your audience is, where they’re listening and what they want to hear — then say it! Speak to your audience and they’ll come to you.

Fantastic Content and Special Offers

This goes hand-in-hand with #2. Once you attract your prospect to your site, it’s good to have some sort of conversion mechanism that convinces visitors to take the next step and keep coming back for more. Consider adding a targeted report, a free sample of your product, or a discount promotion code to each of your landing pages.

Without these main ingredients in place, you are left with a business website that isn’t really serving its purpose. It either can’t attract prospects, doesn’t impress them, or won’t convince them to begin a business relationship with you. In those circumstances, generating leads is impossible.

The post 3 Main Ingredients For a Lead Generating Website appeared first on Cedar Creek Web Design.

In other words, they don’t have a strategy so much as they have a to-do list.

That’s not a bad starting point, but it’s never going to help you dominate your competitors online. To really make the most of all the opportunities that exist over the Internet, you actually need to work on developing an internet marketing strategy that takes you from wherever you are now to the place you’d like to be later.

Here are a few elements that are usually required as part of that strategy:

A comprehensive audit of your existing efforts and results.

You can’t get to where you’re going until you know where you are and what you have. Too many businesses try to jump in headfirst without properly evaluating their current position. Look at who you’re targeting and why, and then evaluate how it’s going and what you could change to reach your new destination.

A philosophy that takes into account demographics and motivations.

Without a firm sense of who your buyers are and what you want to convey to them, it’s difficult to form a meaningful plan of attack. Figure out who you’re trying to reach and what you’re trying to tell them and then use your company’s personality to send your message always keeping your end goal in sight.

A day-to-day (or week-to-week) plan that is realistic and executable.

Using a calendar or spreadsheet, create a list of how you’re going to reach your buyers. Is it through Social Media? Who will be in charge of that element? Will you be making blog posts? Who will develop the content? Your “calendar checklist” should only come into play once you have the other elements in place. Even then, it’s important to know who is responsible for which parts of the plan, and when they’re going to happen.

A set of measurable yardsticks that you can use to guide your plan along the way.

Do you have a plan in place to track your efforts? Your strategy is a playbook that can be amended once you’ve seen how the market responds. To determine when it’s time to make a move, you have to have measurable goals and milestones in place.

Shampoo. Rinse and repeat.

Analyze past accomplishments and otherwise, set new or modified goals based on that analysis and do so on a monthly basis to stay on top of your game.

Need help developing your Internet marketing strategy? Use the link below to fill out our questionnaire and we’ll:

• Research your most profitable keywords
• See what your competitors are doing and analyze their SEO strategies
• Look at consumer behavior
• Get in touch with how we can help

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While it’s true that a lot of web analytics can be filled with obscure terms and jargon, the reality is you can get quite a bit from them if you just take a little bit of time and know what you’re looking for.

Here are a few pointers on getting the most from your website analytics:

Pay close attention to visits and traffic sources.

It’s a good idea to know, in a general sense, both where your web traffic is coming from and whether it’s increasing or decreasing. These details can help you tailor your campaigns more effectively in the future.

Look for pieces of content that attract attention.

As any veteran marketer can tell you, some pieces of content just “pull” attention much better than others (and they’re rarely the ones you expect). By studying what works, though, you can get better at anticipating trends and interest.

Try to amend pages with high bounce rates.

High bounce rates simply mean that lots of people are leaving your site from a specific page or point. That’s usually a sign that you need a stronger call to action or a more user-friendly navigation menu.

Study the flow of web traffic on your website.

Seeing which topics people explore first, and where they go from those initial inquiries, is important to understanding where the strengths and weaknesses of your business website lie.

Remember, web analytics are just like bank statements or sports statistics – a way to make sense of individual activities and trends. Make friends with them and they’ll tell you exactly what’s going on with your website and Internet marketing plan.

The post What to Do with Website Analytics appeared first on Cedar Creek Web Design.

If they are particularly experienced and savvy, they may even take a close look at the details of the corresponding Internet marketing plan to ensure that potential customers will be able to find their way to the new site.

One part of a new website that typically doesn’t get the attention it should, however, is user experience.

That is, clients don’t always think about how buyers actually interact with their website. That’s too bad because user experience has a big effect on the return on investment you get from your web presence.

Keep these in mind when it comes to optimizing user experience on your business website:

Pay attention to the navigation and scan for obvious problems in layout.

Sometimes the layout of a website just makes it look hard to use, navigate, or understand. If something seems confusing, trust your instincts and look for ways to resolve the problem. A site visitor will look for your navigation either horizontally across the top of the page or down the left side in a vertical format. Keep the navigation of your site visible and accessible at all times. As a good rule of thumb, it should never take more than two or three clicks to get from one part of your website to any other page.

Think about smartphone and tablet users.

Sites that look best on big desktop computers aren’t always as user-friendly on smaller screens. You want a business website that works well for everyone. Keep in mind image file sizes as well as available PDFs for download to keep site loading time to a minimum. Sites that load slowly, especially for your wireless audience on smartphones and tablets, will cause frustration in your visitor and may push folks away from you inadvertently.

Add content that is useful to your audience.

While appearance is oftentimes the first impression, if your site content doesn’t provide helpful information to your visitor, you won’t hold their attention. Provide information about your business and your services so prospective buyers walk away with the tools to make a buying decision. Trying to promote a particular service? Rather than relying on navigation as the only way to get around your website, why not provide links within site copy to get visitors there more quickly?

Remember, no matter how your website looks, if customers don’t think it is easy to use, they’ll look around for another resource that is. Do everything you can to keep them on your pages by putting site visitors ahead of website aesthetics.

The post User Experience Should Outweigh Visual Appearance appeared first on Cedar Creek Web Design.

It seems that a lot of business owners and executives are asking themselves that very question lately, as they pour more and more time into sites like Twitter and Facebook, without having any real idea of what they’re getting back in return.

If you’re worried that you might be wasting the effort you put into social media, here are three ways to be smarter about it in the coming year:

1. look to see when your audience interacts in social media

Most social media platforms have data available that you can view so you know when your customers are interacting in that social media platform. Take a look and see the best days, times, etc. for you to send out your messaging.

2. Spend less time on social media sites.

In truth, it usually doesn’t take very long to post updates or respond to questions, especially if you use tools that let you manage all your social accounts from one place (as you should consider doing). Anything more than 10 or 15 minutes a couple of times per day, and you’re probably wasting time with friends or colleagues.

3. Emphasize customer service.

One great way to make the most of your social profiles is to engage customers and answer FAQ-type inquiries publicly. That lets you interact with your most important buyers personally, spread more info about your products and services, and show that you are open and accessible.

4. Track the effectiveness of your social media marketing.

Pay attention to the analytics on your website to see whether you’re getting visits, purchases, etc. from your social media profiles. If one or more channels aren’t working particularly well, try to devote more of your time and resources elsewhere rather than forcing the effort.

The post Using Social Media Effectively appeared first on Cedar Creek Web Design.

You haven’t taken the time to unsubscribe from them yet, but you find them to be an annoying distraction rather than a helpful resource.

That’s bad news for the companies in question, and you certainly don’t want to join them by annoying your customers.

Here are a handful of tips to make sure you keep your email newsletter interesting, relevant, and must-read material:

Timing Your Email is Everything

Most companies don’t need to contact customers more than once a week, and even that might be too often for a lot of businesses. Sometimes, you can get a much bigger response by sending less than you can buy inundating customers with more.

Segment Your List

Divide your email list into groups organized by topic then only send email to people on your list interested in those certain topics. For example, if you’re an accountant, don’t send real estate tax code updates to your restaurant clients.

Use Headlines that Sell

In this case, “selling” doesn’t refer to products or services, but attention. In other words, you really have to do everything you can to convince subscribers to open your message rather than ignore it. Some services, such as Campaign Monitor and MailChimp offer A/B Testing so you can choose the most successful subject for your campaign.

Balance Articles with Sales Pitches

While your email newsletter will undoubtedly contain marketing messages, don’t lead with those. Instead, open with informative articles that your readers will look forward to. Also consider leaving your promotional material on the landing page of the website as opposed to the email message.

Give Subscribers Something for Reading

One of the best ways to hold on to your email contacts is by offering something in your email newsletter that they can’t get elsewhere, like a special promotion code or a first look at new products and discounts.

The post Successful Email Marketing Tips appeared first on Cedar Creek Web Design.

Content marketing uses content generation and promotion, and search engine optimization to bring in new visitors and communicate with your customers on a different level.

The Basics of Inbound Marketing

1. By optimizing your Web site, selecting the proper keywords and creating relevant content on multiple outlets (blogs, social media channels, YouTube videos, etc.), you generate traffic to your Web site.

2. Once there, you ask your site visitors to take some sort of step, whether it be signing up for a promotion, making a purchase, or subscribing to your newsletter.

3. Track habits and stay in touch with visitors that come to your site, targeting those that are most ready to take the next step and sign up for your services.

4. Don’t forget the relationship part of your business relationships. People who visit your site, or communicate with you through electronic means are people. They like to know they’re appreciated. Keep the communication lines open and continue to wow them with relevant content and special promotions just for them via email and social media.

The post Get Your Web site to DO MORE for Your Business appeared first on Cedar Creek Web Design.

This isn’t necessarily because CMS sites are easier to build, but because companies get more long-term value from an online presence that they can update on their own.

That way the site can constantly be expanded, new products and ideas can be added, and so on, all without dozens of phone calls to the development team, for lots of small hourly invoices.

But, while the spread of CMS-based websites has given companies a lot more options and capabilities, it has also created a few challenges, as well. To understand why, and make the most of the content management system on your business website, follow these four pieces of solid advice:

1. Use your CMS to grow your website.

For some companies, a content management system is like an old exercise bike shoved into the corner of the basement – a tool that could be used to reach longer-term goals, but instead sits idle. If you want to attract visitors from search engines, social media sites, and elsewhere, it’s important to add high-quality content from time to time.

2. Review your content on a continual basis.

Just as important as adding new material is reviewing what’s already there. Are facts, statistics, and product details or prices still up to date? Make sure to review your site on a regular basis just to be sure, or outdated material could hurt your sales and credibility.

3. Get fresh outside perspective once in a while.

As any experienced creative professional could tell you, there comes a point where you can keep looking at something, but stop seeing it for what it is. If you always have the same person, or group of people, reviewing your website, they could miss important typos and details. So, call your creative team (or some other outsider) once in a while for fresh perspective.

4. Consult your creative team before you make any really big changes.

Just because you can make big changes to your website on a moment’s notice doesn’t mean you necessarily should. When you start adding or removing lots of different pages at once, you risk messy navigation, broken links, and other tiny problems that hurt your site.

5. Analyze your site visitor data and act accordingly.

Have Google Analytics installed on your website and subscribe to a good SEO reporting software. By watching visitor habits and paying attention to feedback on social media sites, you can generate content that consumers will find pleasing, thus attracting industry site leaders, more site visitors and increasing the possibility of gaining new customers.

In a lot of ways, content management systems have been one of the best things to happen to business websites in a long time. But, to make the most of yours – and maximize the value of your site – you have to use them. Plain and simple.

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