The Local Enterprise Office has set up a scheme to help small businesses trade online, which is so important in this current climate.

The Trading Online Voucher Scheme offers financial assistance of 90% up to €2500, alongside training and advice to help your business grow and trade online. The training and assistance they provide will help you get your site, eCommerce platform or marketing strategy up and running, and send you on your way to selling and advertising online.

The financial support can be used for new payment systems, booking systems, developing an app, or anything you need to begin your online sales journey. If you have already applied and received a Trading Online Voucher, don’t worry! You can now apply for a second one to help with any upgrades you need.

To be eligible to apply, you must attend the online workshop ‘Trading Online Grant Information Session’ on the LEO website. If you have missed your local workshop, you can attend another workshop in a different region. If you would like to attend one of these workshops, click your local office below for information, (please look for the Trading Online Grant Information Session)

Dublin City Council

South Dublin County Council

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council

Final County Council

Wicklow County Council

Meath County Council

Kildare County Council

Louth County Council

Click here to search for your local LEO

 

If you would like some more info on this scheme, please see the Local Enterprise Office website here.

Call or email us today for your free consultation and find out how you can use this voucher to boost your online presence and sales.

webresults digital mentor programme

Over the last 15+ years, we have designed and redesigned our Digital Mentor Programme to meet the ever-changing needs of businesses. 

The Digital Mentor Programme is plan of action that consists of four pillars:

  • Support
  • Structure
  • Accountability
  • Results 

WebResults works with your business to devise a relevant digital marketing strategy based on your business objectives and market. We then identify KPIs that are aligned with the results you want to see from your business’ marketing activities. We work with staff within your business to execute the digital marketing tasks, with agreed timelines and build the roadmap to achieve success.

webresults online coaching

 

How long does the Digital Mentor Programme last?

The Digital Mentor Programme runs for a minimum of 6 months, though many of our clients are still with us after several years. You stay as long as you are getting results and learning.  It involves setting out clear daily/weekly tasks and having phone or email support as you work through these tasks. We then schedule regular calls to track progress, monitor performance, set out tasks and next steps ensuring progression for the individual and growth for the organisation.

How does it work?

The programme commences with a fact-finding session over the phone where we set out to understand your business objectives and your team’s goals. We look at your existing profile on the web, establish what needs to be done in order to achieve your objectives and set out an action plan and roadmap to ensure we see success within the given time frame. We then go through this with you in detail and agree realistic timelines with you.

 

Our programme management system ensures you have full visibility on all tasks and time spent by both us at WebResults and your team, and it is always clear what tasks remain outstanding and what is completed, including the time each task took. It ensures that the time is being best spent on where you can get the best results. The latest versions of all shared files and information are also stored in this same system, providing easy access to all materials all the time.  

What areas will I focus on?

The programme focuses mainly on SEO, social media marketing and analytics, but is adapted to use the activities that are most relevant and important to achieve your digital marketing business objectives and your market. Google Ads is not included as part of the programme, ask us about our Google Ads Management services if you would like more info.

Digital Mentor Programme

This structured, measurable and transparent programme brings the digital marketing skills and expertise your business needs, in-house, to deliver ROI and the best results in your marketplace.

 

The Covid-19 pandemic presents huge challenges for many businesses, not just to drive revenue but also to manage teams remotely. The digital mentor programme is adapted to enable your business to build your profile, drive new leads or sales where your best revenue potential exists, using a proven structure. We have over 20 years business experience and digital marketing experience and will help you rethink your digital marketing strategy and put the most effective measures in place for your business to survive and thrive. Talk to us today and give your business a kick start through our Digital Mentor Programme.

 

Web Analytics can be defined as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimising Web usage. In essence, it is all the information gathered from your website, to be used as a basis for future optimisation. 

Web analytics tracks so many different types of website data and analysing these will help you to make informed decisions on website design and optimization, and ultimately maximises your return on investment (ROI). 

Some of these are:

Page Views: Called ‘hits’ or impressions a lot of the time. This metric will show you the amount of times your site has been viewed within a certain timeframe.

Entry and Exit Page: This will show you what page a visitor landed on and what page they left your site from. It is a good metric to look at as it may help you understand why people are leaving your site.

Bounce Rates: This is the percentage of ‘single-page’ sessions, which refers to the amount of people that visited your site but left without interacting with it.

Locations: This shows where the users are viewing your site from. It can be very useful for marketing and strategic purposes.

Device usage: This shows whether a user is viewing your site on a desktop or mobile device. Again, this can be very useful for marketing purposes, and can also indicate whether your site is mobile friendly, which is critical to modern-day internet businesses and websites.

Organic vs. Paid Sessions: This metric will show you how users got to your site, whether they clicked one of your ads or just simply found you through the Google search. This is important in terms of developing your channels and identifying where you are getting the most return.

Search Queries: This shows what people are words people are searching that bring them to your site, it is very useful when adding keywords or negative keywords. 

Users by gender or age: These metrics are both very useful for marketing as it will help you design your ads appropriately.

 

Web analytics takes out any guessing you may have done in the past and shows you exactly who is visiting your site, what they do when they are there and how they ultimately got there. Keeping track of your web analytic is so important to stay relevant and on top of your respected sector. 

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.  

 

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.

 

 

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.

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.

Here are some of the basic elements required to turn your website traffic into paying customers. Read more

Following on from our last article ‘How to Increase Website Traffic’ we will Website Conversionsexplore some of the basic elements required to turn this traffic into paying customers.

The primary goal for any website is to convert visitors into customers, it is also essential to raise brand awareness, improve your search rankings and drive traffic to your website through your social media channels.

However, once on your site you have a short timeframe to capture the user’s interest and make the conversion. Follow our five step formula to increase your websites conversions.

  1. Know Your Target Audience

Research is the key to any successful online venture and this is required to build a clear understanding of your target audience. Through your research it is very beneficial to develop a profile of your target customer and include their demographics such as age, gender, marital status, income and location. Now the focus shifts to their underlying motivations; what is the major problem they are experiencing and how does your website solve this. It is essential for you to understand how you can solve their problems and highlight this on your website.

  1. Make Your Website User Friendly

Internet users generally have a short time frame to conduct their search. They also have a short attention span, therefore if you have managed to get them to click onto your website it is imperative that your site is clear and they can navigate to the page they want with ease.

Some basic features that should be on your website include a logical menu, clean design, clear calls to action and simple functionality e.g. add to cart features, request a call-back etc. The primary goal is to make your site so user friendly that your users become customers in the shortest space of time. It is also worth researching why your customers are visiting your site and in turn giving them what they want in a clearly designed format.

  1. Focus On Your Customers’ Pain Points.

Back to research, through effective research you will understand your target audience’s pain points. You must then use your website to present the ideal solution to their problem. Using this approach can help direct your overall marketing strategy and keep you focused on the needs of your visitor knowing that when they land on your site, they feel like they must take action and have your product or service to resolve their issue. By understanding your customers pain points and integrating this into your marketing strategy your website will attract customers and answer their most urgent needs.

  1. Use Clear Language.

Regularly assess your marketing campaigns, look out for poof talk or buzzwords in your ad copy or technical lingo on your landing pages. If this is the case it’s time to rework your marketing strategy. The best advertisements and landing pages present a clear, concise message about your products that encourage customers to click through.

A simple question to ask at the beginning of any marketing campaign is “what does your product do, and for whom?” then provide a simple call to action.

  1. Make Sure Your Products or Services Are Competitively Priced.

Where you are selling products online clearly communicate your unique selling points. This brings you back to research, make sure that your products or services are competitively priced. The chances are that visitors coming onto your website will be comparing you directly to your competitors. Ensure your website clearly communicates why your products or services are better than your competitors. This will help you convert visitors to customers.

Driving traffic to your site is the first step towards converting them into customers. Don’t lose them at this point, follow the steps above to improve your conversion rates. Is your website driving conversions? If not, contact us now at WebResults on 01-2071872 or visit our website and fill out a contact form to get more information or a FREE WEBSITE REVIEW at www.webresults.ie.

Filed under: Ecommerce, Website Conversions, Website Usability Tagged: advice, Converting Site Traffic, digital marketing, internet marketing, Online Marketing, online web presence, web marketing, Website Conversions