Google Introduces Country-Specific Fees

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Google Country Specific Fees

Last week, Google announced that it is introducing extra charges, also known as country-specific fees, for advertisers in the UK, Turkey and Austria. These charges are effective from the 1st of November 2020.

But why? And what does this mean for advertisers in these countries? We’ve delved into it for you, so read on and learn what these fees could mean for your business or your clients.

How much are the country-specific fees?

Google has said it will introduce the following:

• Ads served in Turkey: a 5% Regulatory Operating Cost added to your invoice or statement
• Ads served in Austria: a 5% Austria Digital Services Tax Fee added to your invoice or statement
• Ads served in the United Kingdom: a 2% UK Digital Services Tax Fee added to your invoice or statement

Why are these being introduced?

In Turkey, the Government have introduced tighter controls around data processing, permission and international data transfers since 2016, similar to the EU’s GDPR ruling. However, since 2016, these regulations have become increasingly difficult to comply with, and as a result, Google has announced it will be opening a Turkish office.

In the UK and Austria, the introduction of the Digital Services Tax means that advertisers will be charged an extra 2% and 5% respectively on their invoices.

The UK’s DST has been in the works for a couple of years and was announced in March. The tax is aimed at collecting revenues from digital companies with at least £500 million in global revenue and £25 million in U.K. revenue, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook. Unfortunately, it is the advertisers who will feel the pinch.

How will the Google country-specific fees affect advertisers?

These additional costs will not affect the CPC advertisers pay or anything related to any bids in the Google Ads auction. The extra charge will be listed on each invoice.

For example, if you are a UK advertiser who spent £1,000 on clicks for the month, your DST fee from Google would be 2% of that, which is £20. That would make your final invoice (exclusive of VAT) £1,020.

What is the best way to handle this moving forward?

Factoring this into your advertising budget will be crucial, so make sure you make the adjustment in time for the November launch. As this is a percentage charge, it is wise to make the estimate based on the upper range of your monthly account spend.

To create or edit a budget, you will need an Admin, Standard, or billing-only access to the paying manager account and the manager account needs to be linked to the payments profile.

Again, all charges will be listed on your monthly invoice, so make sure to check in on your billing documents to ensure the spend is within your allocated budget.

If you are a company based in or partly-based in the above countries and have questions relating to Google’s country-specific fees, feel free to contact us here at WebResults via email or contact form to discuss this further.

Enterprise Ireland Online Retail Scheme

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Enterprise Ireland Online Retail Scheme

What is the Enterprise Ireland Online Retail Scheme?

The Enterprise Ireland Online Retail Scheme is a grant to businesses that meet the specified criteria to help them develop or enhance their online trading capabilities.

The grant covers 80% of the costs of the proposed activity. So for example, if your proposed activities are quoted as costing €12,500, Enterprise Ireland will cover €10,000 (which is the minimum cost and grant allowed. The maximum grant is €40,000).

So what does this mean for your business?

It means that, from as little as €2,500 investment, your business can enter into the world of eCommerce and online marketing. Activities carried out by WebResults that would be covered by the grant include:

Research:

This includes analysing your current and potential online presence and opportunities. We will explore your market and learn about your brand, target audience, products or services and more. We will also present you with options in terms of the tools, applications and platforms you can use to drive your business forward. This will help you make informed decision in regards to how you want to proceed.

Strategy development:

  • Development of a written digital strategy and a roadmap for implementation including resource and business process considerations
  • Identifying how the company’s value proposition should be demonstrated online, what aspects should be emphasised and how best to present this
  • Ensuring that your business’ online presence is being fully utilised / optimised to fulfil its overall potential, supporting the overall business strategy
  • Consideration of omni-channel offering (including marketplaces and social media)

Implementation:

  • Optimising the company’s online presence to ensure domestic and international visibility (e.g. web enhancement and localisation, associated business process enhancements, search engine optimisation etc.)
  • Enhancing related “back end” systems (e.g. product presentation, supply chain management, systems integration to improve consumer experience etc.)

How can WebResults help you?

We have been involved in the world of digital marketing for over 20 years. In that time, we have learned what methods, tools and channels work and more importantly, what does not. Put our expertise to work for your business. If you want to survive and thrive during this COVID-19 crisis, talk to us today about your application. Call us or fill out our callback form and we will reach out to you.

What does a PPC agency do? – Here are 5 things a PPC agency should do for your business.

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A PPC agency is there to take all the weight of Pay Per Click ads off your shoulders, and this is not just exclusively setting up a Google Ads campaign for you. It should include all of the ad strategies, design, SEO and the constant analysis of how your ads are performing.  Agencies will do this by taking care of the following tasks on your behalf:

 

  • Keyword Research

Understanding how people are searching for products or services is essential when it comes to PPC. An agency will keep up to date on these ever-changing trends to make sure potential customers will see your ads when they search for a product or service you provide. 

 

 

 

  • Landing Page Design 

 

A landing page is the first page a potential customer sees when they click an ad. These pages are the most important part of a website as they are the deciding factor on whether the consumer stays (and potentially converts) or leaves the site as quickly as they’ve arrived. Designing these pages is an art which PPC agencies should have mastered. A strong landing page will increase your sales and therefore your ROI.

 

  • Targeting Channels

 

Deciding where you want to advertise can be extremely important depending on your product or service, whether this is Google Ads, Display Ads or Social Media. A PPC agency will be able to decide what channel is the best fit for you. 

 

  • Competition Analysis

A PPC agency should always be looking at what your competitors are doing, whether this is the type of ads they are running, the keywords that is giving them the best results or where they are advertising. Keeping on top of the competition is essential in discovering any potential gaps and how to optimise them to increase your ROI.

 

  • Campaign Optimisation

 

Constant monitoring of your campaign structure and optimising based in your top performing keywords is a must. Think of it this way, if 15% of your keywords are bringing in 90% of your business then you would want to focus most of your budget on them to maximise your ROi

 

The overall main goal of a PPC agency is to get your ads to where your customers will see them, which should then increase your sales and therefore overall profits. 

If you are interested in talking to WebResults about your Google Ads or Social Media Ads call or email us today for a free account review and find out what we can do for you.  

PPC trends – 4 things to expect in 2020

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As you are probably aware, Google love to keep us on our toes! It is important to keep on top of these changes in order to make sure you are getting maximum from Google. Here are 4 trends that we believe will become more prominent in 2020.

 

  1. Much more Automation in Google Ads

Having computers do the work for you sounds great, doesn’t it? While this may be true to some degree, PPC advertisers need to be careful about how far they go with this. This will be the year that we need to meet AI head on and use it to drive ourselves forward. If not, your business could fall behind and end up playing catch-up.

 

Google Ads has been encouraging advertisers to let them take the reigns on their campaigns. This is helpful to a certain degree. What you have to remember is that Google want as many clicks as possible, because at the end of the day, it’s how they make their money. So, what we advise is to not give them complete control. Create your own Google Ads custom rules to optimise bids, budgets, marketing lists, etc. and that way, you can use automation to ensure you get the best value for money.

 

  1. Optimisation score now includes Display campaigns

Starting in December of last year, Google Ads have expanded their optimisation score to include Display campaigns, as well as Search and Shopping campaigns. It works in the exact same way as previously with scores ranging from 0% to 100%. An optimisation score of 100% means your campaign is running to its full potential.

This change ties into the increased volume automation in Google Ads and, as said before, it can be incredibly helpful for advertisers but only when used correctly. Don’t get sucked into thinking everything Google recommends is for your benefit. Remember, Google wants to make money too.

  1. Improved Audience Targeting/Segmentation

Audience targeting or segmenting refers to the ability to choose who exactly sees your ads depending on their location, age, sex, buying habits, clicking habits and a whole range of other factors. With the help of ever-improving AI, Google Ads is making this a lot more efficient and therefore, they have made it a lot easier for PPC advertisers to target exactly who they want.

In 2020, Google Ads will continue to grow their machine learning which will help us create highly personalised ad campaigns and improve your target market strategies.

 

  1. Rising CPCs (Cost-Per-Click)

One negative trend that we expect to see for 2020 is an increase in CPC.  Google has 5.6 billion searches per day, and this number is only growing. Thus, using Google Ads as your main marketing tool is essential. SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) are becoming more competitive and organic searches becoming harder to find. This means that big corporations will simply increase their spending on keywords and therefore, drive up the average CPC for everyone else.

 

Google’s forever changing trends can be a bit daunting to get your head around. If you find yourself stuck, confused or overwhelemd, maybe it’s time to think about outsourcing to an agency. If you choose the right one, we guarantee you will see an increase in productivity and ultimately an increase in ROI.

If you are interested in talking to WebResults about your Google Ads account, call or email us today for a free account review and find out what we can do for you.

All getting a bit too much? Here are 3 reasons why you should consider outsourcing your Google Ads management.

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Managing your Google Ads takes time and dedication. As you grow, this workload is only going to get bigger and bigger. So, maybe it’s time to outsource it to a dedicated Google Ads company such as WebResults. Here are some things to keep an eye on if you want to maximise your ROI. 

 

  • Time

 

 

 

As I just said managing your Google Ads takes up a lot of time and effort. As your business grows you may be finding yourself dedicating too much time to your Google Ads management. Advertising online is essential but running a business involves so much more than just that. Outsourcing the maintenance and management of your PPC management could free up essential time you could be dedicating to getting new clients and therefore growing your business.

 

 

  • Cost

 

 

While you may think the resolution to your problem is just hiring a new in-house marketing manager, it might not be the right fit. Sit back and evaluate it. You hire one new marketing manager, pay them a salary, benefits etc. You may have to train them in on your systems and they may have to get up-to-date with Google Ads. If you outsource this to an agency, they will have multiple people working on your account, they already know their systems and they are already Google Ads experts. This is something you will have to take some time to calculate but more often than not it can work out costing the same amount and again it will free up your precious time.

 

 

  • Falling Behind

 

 

In reality most SMEs are outsourcing their digital marketing management. Keeping on top of all the constantly changing trends and strategies is what will keep you ahead of the competition. Specialised agencies will always be on top of these ever-changing trends and therefore should keep you competitive. At the end of the day, they are experts.

 

So, whether you’re finding yourself using up too much precious time, spending too much or falling behind your competitors, you really need to take a step back and think “should I just get an agency?”  If you choose the right one,we guarantee you will see an increase in productivity and ultimately an increase in ROI.

If you are interested in talking to us about your Google Ads account, call or email us today for a free account review and find out what we can do for you.

How Do SEO And SEM Work Together?

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SEO SEM Searches

We are often asked by clients, “If I am already paying for ads, why should I bother with SEO?”. It’s a fair question, as is the reverse; If you are ranking very strongly in organic search results, is it really worth paying for Ads?

However, investing in both SEO and PPC advertising (also known as SEM) simultaneously can dramatically increase your business’ revenue, traffic and conversions.

First of all, it is important to highlight the differences between organic search (SEO) and paid search (SEM/PPC).

Google Ads and SEO services

SEO/Organic Search:

Search Engine Optimisation is all about the long-term health of your digital presence and strategy. If you follow SEO best practices, your site is more likely to appear in organic (unpaid) searches.

SEO is the foundation of good SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and when you have them harmonising perfectly, you will drive high-quality traffic and leads as well as improve your site’s conversion rates. SEO incorporates everything from using keywords throughout your site to the User Experience and performance of your site on mobile.

Once you have an SEO-friendly site and sponsored ads that are using the right keywords, you have a better chance of showing up at the top of paid searches. But you need to have your SEO in place in order for Google to see you as a credible website.

SEM/Paid Search:

One of the biggest strengths of SEM is that it can deliver success and growth quickly. If your website/business is reasonably new, you can prioritise your paid search efforts first, as it can take a while for SEO rankings to become established. However, do not ignore your SEO during this process. Think of SEM as a platform to launch your search efforts, and SEO as a way of maintaining a strong and healthy digital presence.

It is important to note that having PPC ads running does not do anything for your site’s SEO. However, by improving your SEO, you can make your PPC costs more efficient.

How Do SEO And SEM Work Together?

In very simple terms, if your organic rankings are strong and your paid efforts are optimised, you will dominate Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

For example, if your business sells hammers as its main product, prioritise hammers (and associated terms such as “claw hammers”, “mallets” etc.) in your keyword strategy, both in an organic and paid context. What that means is, make sure your site pages are built with your priority keywords in mind. This includes everything from your page content to your alt, image and meta tags, captions, URLs, etc. This will improve your organic search results.

But what’s the point in appearing twice on a search engine page?

Paid search ads help you recover any missed opportunities. A study by Google found that when search ads for a keyword were paused, approximately 89% of traffic generated by these ads were not replaced by the organic rankings. That means that, even if your site is ticking all of the SEO boxes in terms of keywords, it’s very possible that you will be missing valuable traffic and thus, potential customers.

By relying on PPC, you’re recovering clicks and interest from searchers that you might have otherwise missed. Even if you aren’t ranking #1 naturally, PPC can help you draw in traffic from those looking for your products or services, often at a small cost.

Remember, by the time a person is conducting a search on a product, they have more than likely reached the “intent” stage and are asking to be converted. That is why search marketing is so important and so valuable.

Conclusion

While SEM can help deliver fast results, SEO is imperative to building and maintaining a successful digital marketing strategy for your business.

By following SEO best practices, you will not only enhance your chances of ranking organically in search engine results (thus driving free clicks to your site), but it will also lend your site credibility in the eyes of Google (which is the primary search engine used by approximately 81% of the entire web population). This means you will see higher levels of valuable traffic on your site and thus, bring your business to the next level.

Are you interested in Google Ads, SEM or SEO services? Contact us today at info@webresults.ie and talk to our team.

Make Your Website GDPR Compliant

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