Author: southernviewmedia

Google Ads is a terrific – to some, an essential – tool for a business’s marketing strategy. In theory, it’s as simple as picking keywords that match your users’ searches to your services and writing some basic text that encourages them to click. 

But Google Ads is deceptively complicated, and people wouldn’t hire us if it wasn’t, right?

Google Ads is filled to the brim with nuance, and looking deeper at how Google Ads works is important. While researching, you may also find some examples of Google Ads failing a business’s budget, which often were simple mistakes causing a big impact. To save you some trouble, we are listing 5 simple, but big, mistakes that people make when setting up Google Ads for their businesses.

1. Confusing Impressions for Results

This is the case with all online marketing, but it’s an important principle to keep in mind when using Google Ads. Impressions are not results. Impressions are views, and nothing more. Impressions increase when your ad merely appears in someone’s search results. Many see this number and stop looking, and continually add keywords without considering a campaign’s results. How much money are you making back from your Google Ads? That’s the question to ask because remember, a single sale is a single sale, whether you got 1 impression or 10,000,000.

2. Not Thinking Like Your Customers

As business owners, we tend to have a single-minded view of what our keywords should be. Those keywords are often offerings, services and product names. Those things should be keywords, but they are not enough. Those are the ideal searches, but often, it means you are not reaching the people who truly need you without knowing to look for you. Tons of people search Google, not looking for one thing directly, but looking for Google to provide a series of solutions. So the next time you update your keywords, always ask yourself: “What do my clients search for?”

3. Your Keywords are Too Broad

Broad keywords are keywords with no “quotation marks” or [brackets], meaning Google will do its best to make assumptions about those keywords. Google will automatically match your keyword with similar keywords in an attempt to catch more attention for words you don’t explicitly write down. This is a great tool – sometimes. It is easy to assume that every keyword should be broad, but doing so can cost you money down the road, not to mention having the potential of false leads. We usually recommend your keywords be “phrase matched” (within quotation marks). It’s a balance between broad and exact matching. This strategy tends to have good results without placing you at risk for showing up for keywords that you shouldn’t be. When in doubt, targeting a more narrow set of keywords is more recommended than the alternative.

4. Not Using Negative Keywords

Negative keywords are the opposite of keywords. They are words you do not want your ad to show up for, and it is common for new users of Google Ads to ignore them. But they are just as useful as keywords! We are always optimizing our campaigns, which means we are often adding negative keywords. Every negative keyword you add saves you money on a result or click that you do not want to pay for. We highly recommend that anyone using Google Ads utilize them as often as possible.

5. Having a Poor Post-Click Experience

Even if your Google Ads are the best in the world, the most important thing to remember is where you want those searchers to go: your website. That click should point them to what they wanted to see, ideally a landing page on your website that gives them the answer they wanted immediately. Your landing page should be fast, reliable and easy to use, with clearly displayed contact information and calls to action. (If you need help building one, or optimizing yours, feel free to reach out!)

Google Ads are complicated for all of those reasons and more. That is why many businesses opt to hire a marketing agency with experience. At Southern View Media, we have made Google work for hundreds of clients across hundreds of industries. If you are interested, call us today!

Articles about building your brand with the help of a marketing strategy are all over the internet. As a beginner, you will slowly notice that a business will thrive off the story behind the brand. The core steps that get you there are not only important but will determine your brand’s purpose and the overall areas of success. To help you fill in the blanks, we’re highlighting a few key points that we think are worth noting.

Define Your Brand.

Ask yourself this: “What am I offering, and why is it important?” Customers will want to invest their time in a product or service just as much as you do if they know what your brand provides and stands for. By creating this safe space for core values, interested consumers will easily become attracted both online and off. 

Target Audience Reach

Being naive and thinking that “the public” will have an interest in your brand tends to make you stray away from your overall focus. You must therefore define your target audience and reach with the mindset of looking at plausible influences. Who are the interested age groups? What do they bring to the table as far as sharing the same interests, and are they capable of reaching a tangible product or service with their personal earnings? Also consider ways that you can reach them, whether it be through a first-time user sign-up email newsletter or through an ad. 

Center Your Brand Story

This is the time where you want your brand to shine and tell its story. How you want to present this story is up to you. Most marketing strategies will consist of building a website and getting the about page and mission statement up and running. 

Create It. 

The way you present your brand’s look will help visually attract what you want to project. All aspects matter here, from the colors you choose to the way your product is packaged. The marketplace competition should be a reason your brand’s look stands out as you acquire it to fit and convey your brand’s value. 

Continue To Show up.

After you have presented your brand, you will need to continue to show up. Social media platforms are a great way to show off your skills by creating and uploading content. Engagement will also take part in your brand marketing strategy as customers want to feel included in what you bring to the table with comments and questions. New product launches, innovative features and limited-time offers are great ways to keep the momentum going.

Contact us to find out how we can help with your business’s digital presence. For a free consultation to formulate a strategic and affordable plan, call us today at 251-583-2605 or visit www.southernviewmedia.com. We are a Google Trusted Agency and will be happy to answer your questions.

THE CLIENT

Advanced Management Operations Platform (AMOP) is a connectivity platform created to assist both carriers and enterprise customers to manage their processes. When you work with AMOP, you can also work with Altaworx, a successful telecommunications company based in Fairhope, AL.

The client asked for a sleek and modern look that would complement the design of the preexisting Altaworx site and brand. We more than delivered.

THE WEBSITE

A Southern View Media designer created mockups of the homepage and secondary page. Upon approval from the client, one of our expert developers brought the designs to life within WordPress by utilizing Elementor. With its design and features, the website is simple and accessible while maintaining a modern appearance.

Our developer used CSS throughout the AMOP website. The site consists of seven individual pages. Six of those web pages highlight different aspects of AMOP. The seventh page, “Contact Us”, utilizes custom CSS within the unique honeycomb shape. It also takes advantage of Gravity Forms. 

THE RESULTS

The final product is a website designed to promote AMOP and its services, as well as earn leads for both AMOP and Altaworx. You can visit the final site at www.getamop.com.

Running Facebook Ads to benefit your business comes with many key components you should familiarize yourself with prior to promoting any content. You can use ads to launch exciting campaigns and get your creative juices flowing. However, it is important to note that not all campaigns are guaranteed to give you the results you crave. It takes time and effort to see what works and what does not. In the midst of Facebook ad competition, one thing is for certain, people want originality. Giving them deliverable organic insight into your business works like gold. 

Find your niche

If you are a start up business, you may want to consider your niche audience while utilizing a Facebook Ad. You will need to focus on creating an ad that is not only appealing to the eye, but that sends out a straightforward message. Potential customers do not yet know who you are, and even if they do, you need to sell them on why you are better than the competitors. Keywords like “free shipping world-wide”, “new” or “limited time offers” are some the few ways to get people to click. 

Choose a schedule for posting

After you have created your ad, you might become excited and want to instantly post. Is everyone on their timelines ready to make a purchase with their wallets at hand at four in the morning? Most likely the answer is no. People have busy schedules just like you. Try to strategize a schedule for posting on specific days and times where you find your audience the most active. Once you analyze, track and get an idea of when and how many people show interest, your algorithm should steadily begin to align. 

Keep ROI goals in mind 

Running ads can be costly depending on your set budget and whether or not your ads are a hit. Which is why it is important you make a return on investment (ROI) plan. Are you getting enough ad impressions? Are you making your landing page a one-stop fits all? Are you taking your ad reports seriously? Facebook ads run so diverse when it comes to the direction that you initiate on taking. You must therefore not be afraid to change as you go. Essentially, you would want to create a financial plan that makes your ROI worthwhile. Consider using integrated Facebook tools to help you stay on top of your ads as well as other helpful apps outside of Facebook that focus on other benefits such as analyzing adwords. Optimization is now made easier with marketing companies that specialize in Facebook ads and know what your business thrives off. 

Contact the team at Southern View Media to find out how we can help with your business’s digital presence. For a free consultation to formulate a strategic and affordable plan, call us today at 251-583-2605 or visit www.southernviewmedia.com. We are a Google Trusted Agency and will be happy to answer your questions.

As technology has continued to evolve, businesses have had to adapt along with it in order to stay relevant to customers, especially businesses that work in retail. Catching the attention of a consumer has become considerably more difficult for brick-and-mortar stores, because now they must compete with other physical stores as well as online stores. In order for a business to continue to grow, it must maintain its current clientele and bring in new potential customers. For many stores with only a physical location, these two goals have become more and more difficult to reach.

If you are a retail business planning the next step for your company, we recommend investing in an e-commerce website. Adding an e-commerce website to a business revolutionizes both marketing and connecting with customers. Here are three ways your retail business can benefit from an e-commerce website.

Connect and Build a Consumer Base

During the checkout process at a physical store, many customers do not want to stop and give contact information to the clerk. Even more often, the clerk does not have time to stop with every client. This does not even include potential customers who leave the store without buying anything. When transactions are completed online, a business can capture certain points of contact such as an email address, phone number and physical address, which can be used in future marketing methods. 

The shopping life of a consumer has changed drastically within the past ten years. Gone are the days of advertising by hanging a sale sign in the window. Now, consumers are bombarded with advertisements on phones, televisions, magazines and billboards, so it is important to utilize emails and texts sent to customers. Keep in mind the number of advertisements and marketing consumers receive on a day-to-day basis. An email once a week and a text during a big sale is a great example of a good marketing strategy that leaves the customer connected and excited, without feeling overwhelmed or pressured. 

Bring Your Business to You

By utilizing e-commerce marketing tools and building a consumer base, a retail business can expand its clientele to the outside of the physical area of the store. Shoppers from all over the country can become customers. Having more customers also means more consumers wearing and showing off a retailer’s product, which is free advertising for a company.

Establish a Well-Recognizable Brand

Expanding a company to an online platform allows the brand to develop further. A website can be customized to a specific color scheme and font. Consumers visiting a website with a consistent theme will associate the brand with those colors. Consistent brand colors, a logo and more will establish a brand identity. By shipping products, retailers can display their company’s logo and colors on the box and packing materials.

These are just a few ways having an e-commerce website can help your retail business. E-commerce is the next step for any business looking to develop their clientele, grow their reach to customers and establish their company’s brand identity.

Southern View Media is a digital marketing agency that was created to help local businesses understand the complex digital world and make educated decisions regarding their marketing. We are a balance of talent, intuition, business sense, media solutions and metrics to be a creative problem-solving machine that is fueled by client needs and driven by results and we are ready to provide businesses with marketing and advertising services at any level. From standing out to breaking into a market we help people find you, trust you and share you. Contact us to find out how we can help with your business’s digital presence. For a free consultation to formulate a strategic and affordable plan, call us today at 251-517-9425, email us or fill out the contact form here

Are you trying to market your small business but feel it is nearly impossible because larger firms have an advantage? The good news is that you can now generate marketing strategies at the same rate as a larger business, and still gain the necessary tools to promote your business without breaking the bank. Save time from searching and learn five ways to market your small business today. 

1. Produce Compelling Content

Like any start-up business, building a website alone is never enough. Many entrepreneurs quickly realize the need for engagement. So how do you create compelling content? It’s simple. You give clients something they can value. By creating blogs and integrating SEO practice to your website, your clients can easily locate more information on topics that matter with a few clicks away. The uploaded content should correlate with the theme of your business so that you better define your niche and create a space where back and forth commentary is invited. 

2. Get Your Social Media On 

Nothing says marketing more than social media. There are many ways to reach audiences by simply sharing content and any updates across all social platforms. Remember to always aim to remain consistent with uploads so that your followers acknowledge your presence as an overall brand. Keep new, upcoming product releases interesting by showing sneak peeks to keep the momentum going. Also, use alluring images and infographics for even more eye-catching content. 

3. Email Market Your Way to Sales 

Every morning we wake up and check our emails. It has pretty much become human nature at this point. Which is why email marketing is one of the easiest ways to ease your way into potentially creating a sale. Consider adding a newsletter feature to  your webpage so interested or existing customers can get the latest updates. Use opt-in features and give an overview of what you will send out. This strategy is basic but effective if done the right way as it can help build trusting relationships between you and the client as well as add long-term assets towards your business. 

4. In-List on Business Directories

In-listing your business on business directories sites such as TripAdvisor or Yelp, is a perfect tool to request, especially if you are in the hospitality industry. Not only get noticed but also become more susceptible for a booking compared to a business that is not listed on a business directory. 

5. Run Facebook Ads

Running Facebook Ads is a budget friendly way to get started on driving traffic towards your target audience. Many small business owners use it as an opportunity to gain awareness on new campaigns and target nearby users using geographic settings. 

Contact us to find out how we can help with your business’s digital presence. For a free consultation to formulate a strategic and affordable plan, call us today at 251-583-2605 or visit www.southernviewmedia.com. We are a Google Partner Agency and will be happy to answer your questions.

What may seem like a race to the finish line for reaching higher traffic with the help of search engine optimization, may also be the answer your business has been looking for. We are referring to the benefits of investing in SEO and why you should consider this clever marketing strategy. We know how much your business means to you and what it is worth, so invest in making it worthwhile

Your Brand and Rank Will Stand Out.

Competition within brand markets is at an all-time high in today’s digital world. Which brand will give the consumer the experience they are looking for to make them want to come back? Surprisingly, it won’t just work with the customer remembering logos and graphics, it begins with how easily they can type what they want to find. Type in a few keywords and they’ve found gold (a.k.a your website). SEO will be your best friend as it will rely on algorithms to help get your brand to a higher rank. And, if you’re worried about standing out against big boxed brands, the local SEO market works to display local searches so your small or midsize business won’t go unnoticed.  

Helps Analyze Performance

If you’re investing in SEO, shouldn’t you receive feedback to know if it’s working? Luckily, it is all included. With Google Analytics, everything is tracked and recorded for your reference. From knowing how many clicks you received on your website to how much time someone spends on it. These features are great resources to evaluate how well your business is doing or how it can improve. For example, if you find a pattern with repetitive bounce rates, you might consider adding more simple headlines/titles or making the website easily accessible with an emphasis on white space design. Any form of unimpressive old or new content can easily hinder clients to exit out and choose another site. 

The Payoff is Worth It 

You heard it here first. The payoff is worth the while when purchasing SEO at a low cost. This form of revenue can easily grow throughout time because it drives traffic and most importantly, it brings in new and long-term customers who will become your main focus as your target audience. The type of user experience your audience will receive through organic traffic will prevail amongst other forms of self-promotion and ads that otherwise can cause your business to spiral into a hole of aggressive selling. After all, what you give is what you will ultimately attract. 

Contact us to find out how we can help with your business’s digital presence. For a free consultation to formulate a strategic and affordable plan, call us today at 251-583-2605 or visit www.southernviewmedia.com. We are a Google Trusted Agency and will be happy to answer your questions.

Choosing a method of advertising can quickly become an overwhelming decision. In the current world of ever-changing technology, there is a constant stream of media content that is difficult for consumers to sort through. How can businesses differentiate themselves in the market and attract new customers? We believe one of the best ways to catch the eyes of potential clients is through video marketing. If you’re looking to take the next step to grow your business, read below to understand how video marketing can help you.

Easy to Process

While video marketing may be more work for the company to create, it makes up for it with how easy it is for consumers to find and process. A video can portray information in less time than reading and researching websites. Consumers also prefer video because it is more entertaining and easier to understand.

Search Engine Optimization

The more clicks, views and screen time a business website earns, the higher Google, Bing and other search engines will rank the website on their results page. For example, there are many coffee shops in New York City. If a tourist searches “coffee shops near me” the websites that appear on the search engine results are websites who have regular, heavy traffic from customers. Websites with low traffic, no reviews and no videos are filtered out and ranked lower in search results. Adding videos to websites and social media increases the number of visitors to a website and engagement on your social posts.

Connection

Everyone knows that first impressions can be difficult to master. In the technology-heavy world we all live in today, it is hard for businesses to connect with their consumers and keep them coming back. While the written word is powerful, it can be time-consuming for a customer to process. Video marketing portrays more of a business than just words and creates a connection between the customer and the company. A customer can see the employees and hear the description of a business directly from a manager or supervisor and put a face with the name. Videos are also easier to share on social media platforms, so the first impressions through video can expand tenfold and expand the customer base.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is a unique brand image that is portrayed through the use of logos, brand colors, packaging, website, typography, etc. When a customer enters the store or website, what are they interpreting? Video marketing establishes the brand identity by inculcating all attributes of the brand in a video. By combining all parts of a company’s brand into the video, customers are able to view and understand who a company is as a whole. 

Marketing has evolved over the past twenty years. The world of newspaper ads and television spots has morphed into Instagram advertising and Facebook videos. Identifying target audiences and navigating how to best reach them in a digital setting can seem intimidating and daunting. Let us help you identify your marketing goals and expand your consumer base without the stress.

Southern View Media is a full-service digital marketing agency that was created to help local businesses understand the complex digital world and make educated decisions regarding their marketing. We are a balance of talent, intuition, business sense, media solutions and metrics to be a creative problem-solving machine. We emphasize our clients’ needs and are driven by results. We are ready to provide businesses with marketing and advertising services at any level!

Contact us to find out how we can help with your business’s digital presence. For a free consultation to formulate a strategic and affordable plan, call us today at 251-517-9425!