Many website masters may have noticed lately that their ranking is gradually diluting, and that their website traffic decreases despite their SEO compliance. Some of them are probably thinking that there is something wrong with their SEO activities, but some had a hint that Google may have released an algorithm update somewhere in the first quarter of the year.
What really happened is that most sites saw 50 percent to 90 percent traffic declines from Google organic search. This was a massive organic ranking drop for these sites. It is somewhat believed that the update was released last March 08, when there has been as a sudden drop in the traffic and even rankings.
And according to some SEO thought-leaders, FRED (which they named the update) targets websites that are low in quality content but heavy on the ads. Other than confirming that it was targeting ad-heavy sites, Google hasn’t said much more about Fred. Since there are no other details about the update, it probably would help most webmasters to focus on their links, including the method of acquiring those links.
Link building is always about quality over quantity. A few links from embedded within websites with outstanding domain authority are always better than a bucket of weak and spam-y links.
Since Fred has been making a shake-up in the SEO world, one thing appears to be a definite course-of-action for SEO experts and webmasters – to continue creating quality content and earn quality links.
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And in terms of on-page SEO, iManila’s digital marketing team is capable of helping small businesses to start their online presence through Google search engine’s results page. Visit our digital marketing page to know more about the services that we offer. For inquiries, please call (02) 565-4064 or send us an email at [email protected]
There will come a day when all businesses in the Philippines will shift online. And as of today, there’s a big chance that a sales executive will knock on your door and tell you, “Ma’am/Sir you need to advertise your business online, it’s the best way for you to get noticed without a big budget.”
What comes after are the feelings of amazement and confusion. Questions like, “Does it really work? Will it really work for my business? Do I need to allot more budget? How will I know if I am getting more from it?”
I am pretty sure that these are the things that you have in mind and you’re probably seeking for someone to guide you in making a decision whether to go or not.
At iManila, we encourage you to go for it. However, we first make sure that our prospective clients know the following things before we actually proceed to do the Google Search Ads for them.
First Mandatory: Website
One of the primary goals of a Google Ad is to bring web traffic through web clicks. The ads serve as a portal to bring them to a website of the client. If the client doesn’t have a website, we advise them to consider having one before we proceed with the ads.
The website is mandatory but that doesn’t mean that having one is the end of it all. A website should be regularly updated. It should be well-designed and easy to navigate; otherwise, visitors will just bounce off.
The experience visitors have with a website is what matters to Google. If visitors are having a hard finding what they need to see on your website, then that means that the website is not well-made or it lacks content and substance. In return, Google will remove you from ranking high in the Google Search Engine Results Page, and it can also affect your ad rank in Google ads.
Second Mandatory: Research
We ask our clients if they have an accurate knowledge and sharp business intelligence about their competitors and their industry. This is for them to brief us about their positioning, prices and same with their competitors. If they don’t have one, we do some research to better understand their business and the competition within the industry.
What do we mean by competition?
We do not limit our research to offline must-knows such as location, prices, and their offerings. We also try running some keywords about the business and see if they are doing Google Ads as well. This will help us determine how tight it will get for our prospective clients should they push through with the service. And that’s how we adjust in terms of budget suggestion, keywords and even the landing pages of their ads.
Third Mandatory: Landing Page
A landing page is a specific page in the website that serves as a catch basin of incoming traffic from the Google Ads. It is the first page that they will see, hence the importance of having a well-designed and well-written one.
A landing page should be well-made and simple to understand. Moreover, it needs to have one explicit and achievable goal. Goals could be sign-ups, purchases or downloads. These landing pages offer valuable materials that are needed to be a downloaded from a portal going to an e-commerce page to convert them into a client.
What we always tell our clients is: Landing pages should contain a relevant and easy to understand core message. It either instructs to download, persuades to buy or begs for sign-ups.
Fourth Mandatory: Budget
Launching an ad means you are willing to pay a certain amount to post the ad. The same goes with Google Ad. It is universal for all ad platforms (both online and traditional) that an ad budget is required.
The difference between Google and other online platforms is that you have the power to dictate what budget works for you, unlike the traditional ones.
Fifth Mandatory: Understanding the Idea of the Bidding Scheme and PPC
Google Ads are created to operate on a specific model which is the pay-per-click type. Pay-per-click or PPC means that the advertiser gets charged for every click. If there are fewer clicks, there will be fewer charges as well. However, if there are a greater number of clicks, the higher is the possibility of spending your maximum allocated budget.
The bidding scheme, on the other hand, pertains to who gets the top spot in the allocated areas on the first page of Google based on the willingness to spend greater amount. However, Google rationalizes their bidding rules by incorporation of a quality score. Those advertisers whose ads obtain a high-quality score gets the spots.
How to Achieve Better Quality Score?
Quality scores of Google ads are computed using the following elements:
Bid – refers to the amount the advertiser is willing to spend
Ad Relevance – The resonance of the ad message to the online researchers. It is sometimes evaluated by Click-through rate. Click-through rate is the number of clicks your ad gets over the number of times it was shown by Google.
Landing Page experience – The behavior of the visitors as they land on your page. The higher the bounce (quick and unexpected movement of visitors out of the website) rate is considered as bad landing page experience.
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As mentioned from the items above, clients need to make sure that they have everything in their arsenal before actually going for a Google ad – and one of those is having a well-made website with compelling landing pages.
Taking into considerations the ‘mandatories’ above will result in a higher success rate when doing the Google ad.
For further questions and inquiries about the Google Ad or with Website Development and revamp. Contact us at (02) 490-0000 or send us an email at [email protected].
Briefly, a CTA (call-to-action) is a link or button often seen on websites, newsletters, blogs, emails, or any kind of content that persuades readers. The very reason why CTAs are created is to drive prospects into leads and to make those leads become conversions. But, how can you convert if your CTAs are not optimized enough, right? Through this blog, you can learn the little ways on how you can improve your CTAs to help you generate enough clicks that convert.
Make it aesthetically pleasing
CTAs are designed to catch some eyes. The proper use of colors, fonts, and even the size of the button itself are relevant. Try practicing the 80/20 rule in design: 80% white space, 20% text. Strain from putting up a text-heavy CTA because it will just sore the eyes of your readers, and your desired magical click will just go away. These simple factors must all jive with one another to produce a CTA that stands out from the rest of the page.
Hook people with compelling copy
The best companion of a well-designed CTA is an irresistible copy. Give people reason why they should hit that button. One of the best ways to do that is through your simple yet compelling CTA text. Why not put some sense of urgency or tickle people’s curiosity? Be it in a soft or aggressive way, it should all be brief but action-oriented.
Simplicity is the key
Though we have mentioned earlier that CTAs should look attractive, that does not mean you will over-decorate it. Just keep it simple, smooth looking, and readable enough to be noticed. You do not want to overwhelm your readers with different vibrant font types and too upbeat colors. Just one simple design will do – a design that will work as your universal CTA to be placed in the right positions where your readers will take necessary actions.
Following these tips gives you a chance to improve your CTAs, which is a big game-changer in this competitive digital world. Some of these may not work so well for you, yet some may provide considerable results like high conversion rates, for instance. Just remember to keep on experimenting and try out new practices such as this list. There’s no wrong in doing so. As long as it will lead you to your end goal, we suppose it’s all good.
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Got some CTA questions stuck in your head? Hand it all over to us and let’s see what solutions we can impart to you. Reach us now and send us your queries through [email protected]. Game? Game!
Having a physical store or an office is not enough these days as businesses move online at a faster rate. This prevailing business diaspora has made the website an in-demand business tool for most businesses who can afford to have one. But the usual pitfall of businesses wanting to have a website is that most business owners think that having one is just like setting up a social media page. Little do they know that a website is entirely a different story.
Like any other projects, doing a website isn’t just about telling your business objectives and showing your peg design, then that’s it. Many project owners, who are usually also the business owners, think that a little chit-chat with the provider is enough to keep the ball rolling. This is the most common misconception that brings a lot of confusion and finger-pointing between providers and project owners.
Now, the truth about having a website is, starting one needs a lot of preparations on the project owner’s side. And preparation usually includes extensive consolidation and finalization of the content that you need. The content should be aligned with your business objectives. Now, to give you an idea on what to do, what follows are things you should consolidate and finalize before sending out a project brief (or Terms of Reference)
Relax
Do not overwhelm yourselves with the ‘what ifs’. Focus on the important things that you think the website should address. Is your website merely informative and will serve as a bulletin about your company’s progress and new offerings? Or do you envisioned it to be more than that? Think clear about that kind of things – BUT, do not overthink.
Overthinking is like a last-minute packing of your suitcase. Believe me, you’ll end up having excess baggage which you won’t like.
Clearly define your objectives
All projects begin with series of objectives; otherwise, what’s the point of doing so, right? On a website context, the business objectives always serve as the cornerstone of your website. The design, the content choices, the content architecture, and functionalities are all anchored to your objectives.
Keep the non-negotiables and weed out the wish lists.
Drafting the scope and the brief for your website project is like making a list of the things you need to buy for your new house. Certainly, not all of things you want can be bought all at the same time. You can proceed with the essentials first, then buy the other stuff when the time is right.
The same thing goes for the website. You should always begin with the aspects that matter most to your websites like products and services page, and the compelling story about your company.
Fancying some cool transitions and functionalities? Or maybe drooling over the e-commerce module? Stop right there! Think again. Is this something that you really need to up on your website? If YES, then write it down and explain briefly the rationale of this element in your website.
When you’re done, go through it again. Does including it make any sense to your business and urgency? If it doesn’t, then weed it out.
Coordinate with other stakeholders or business unit people
The scope of your project should include all-encompassing business objectives from various business units. It shouldn’t just include yours as the project proponent, but also the other project owners. Get their feedback and seek what they intend to include or remove from the initial scope. Set up a meeting or a brainstorming session if you need to. That will be helpful in trimming down the scope to the most important ones and to keep the objectivity in the brief.
Make it official
Brainstorming is not the end of the line for the brief. Make sure all key people involved in the planning – even those who will benefit from it – are acknowledged with all indicated items.
This will also help the project proponent avoid blaming and finger-pointing internally.
Oops, make sure you are ready with the materials.
This is what most project owners and proponents tend to overlook – securing materials to be uploaded such as service/product specs sheets, images, and articles. They think that all of these should be under the website developer and provider. In most cases, it isn’t. Clients provide content and other materials necessary for the success of the website.
As a matter of fact, 75% of website project delay is attributed to insufficient materials for uploading or the lack thereof.
Nothing beats a well-written website brief. It is helpful for both the developer and the project owner to track the progress of the development. Also, it will serve as a binding document to check if everything in the website is well-delivered. After all, a happy developer has an equally fulfilled client (project owner).
Thinking of putting up a website? Or perhaps a revamp? Leave it to us! We’ll make sure you’ll get the website that you want. Just shoot us an email containing your project scope at [email protected] or call us at (02) 565-4064 to schedule a face-to-face meeting.
