Optimize your website in 5 steps

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Digital technologies never cease to evolve at a rapid pace. How can you ensure that your website is still a competitor in the race? By making 5 key changes for the benefit of your visitors, your brand image, and your business goals. Here are the steps to consider:

  1. Secure your website

It is now essential that the URL address of your website starts with “https”. Google algorithms take that into account and if you do not make this update, your website is running the risk of not ranking highly on search engines. Also consider the loading speed of your website. It shouldn’t take more than 2 seconds.

  1. Play the proximity card

Customers love to do business with local companies. Clearly indicate your address or the name of the city where your company is located. You can also create a company page with the Google My Business free geo-tracking service, used often by smartphones. Remember, make sure you can always be easily reached by telephone or email.

  1. Offer a one-of-a-kind service

You are only one click away from your competition. Today, you have 2 to 3 seconds to entice the Internet users and 8 seconds to convince them to stay on your website. Offer a one-of-a-kind service and the benefits of it. You can mention your experience, certifications and showcase your customer testimonials.

  1. Provide clear information and a variety of content

People consume content differently depending on the time of day or their needs. Think of offering clear information in a variety of formats, including texts, photos, or short videos (not more than 1 minute each). Display very clearly call-to-action buttons to avoid user impatience.

  1. Improve your SEO

To generate organic, or natural, search results of a website, Google uses more than 200 criteria. To keep your website high in the rankings takes some expertise, and you need to pay attention to your SEO strategy. Well-managed Google Ads campaigns improve your SEO knowing that 90% of Internet users searches are done on this search engine.

Wanting to know more? Get in touch with us to discuss this further.

 

 

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Amauta Marketing gets 3 Google Ads certifications

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Again, this year, Google Partners has recognized the expertise of Amauta Marketing by announcing that two members of the Amauta team, Hernan Cespedes and Erik Barboza, have passed and obtained Google Ads Certifications in the following categories:

  • Search Engine Advertising Certification
    • Display Advertising Certification
    • Video Advertising Certification

In the web marketing world, technologies evolve rapidly. That’s why Amauta Marketing insists that its teams be aware of the latest changes and trends to better serve its clients’ needs. These certifications confirm our seriousness as your web marketing supplier.

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Monetize your advertising investment with call tracking

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To know if your Google Ads campaigns are efficient, you should be able to measure the conversion rate. That means you should be able to verify if your ad campaign leads to a conversion action, either filling out an information request form, or giving you a telephone call.

Offering just a phone number is not enough…

If customer phone calls are important to your sales, it would be an advantage to track exactly how an Internet user finds your number and makes the call. They can find you either through a Google search, or perhaps having seen one of your online ads. But how effectively is your advertising generating phone calls? You can track whether a customer has performed a keyword Google search, and called the phone number listed on your website, or you can track whether a call-only ad has generated a phone call.

But what if a potential customer calls you three weeks after having jotted down your number on a piece of paper? How do you determine that the conversion is a result of your Google Ads campaign?

… you need to trace the calls

Today, Google Ads has a solution: a JavaScript snippet to be installed on your website. This free feature identifies the calls made from the call number on your website following a Google Ad search. Every time an Internet user dials your number, the call is being automatically transferred to a Google generated number. One call, one unique number.

You can then know the origin of each call, link it to an ad campaign, and measure the conversion rate. You can easily evaluate the return on your investment (ROI) by comparing the number of potential clients reached and the cost of your ad campaigns. You can also have access to a monthly historical log to help you evaluate your web marketing strategies.

This call tracing formula is not often proposed when discussing advertising investment. Even though it is extremely efficient. Talk to us, as we know all there is to know about it.

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6 ideas to improve the conversions of your PPC campaigns

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The optimization of your PPC strategy is essential to maintain or improve your ad campaign’s performance on search engines. Knowing what steps to take or where to start can be confusing, so here are some tips on how to optimize your PPC campaign:

 

  1. Keywords

In a PPC campaign, keyword selection is paramount. To choose your keywords, focus on those that appear in the largest volume of search. It is best to limit yourself to 15-20 keywords per ad group. Poorly chosen keywords can cost you money, so it is a good idea to have a web marketing expert to help you. To learn more, read our blog posting on keywords.

 

  1. Search words vs. negative keywords

It is important to regularly review your list of search words and the keywords being used by Internet users. You could be surprised by what you find.

You want to be vigilant about what search words you DO NOT want to be targeting in order to optimize your ROI. This is called negative keywords, which lets you exclude search terms from your campaign in order to only target the right customers and increase clickthrough. This list of negative keywords can be shared among all your Google Ads campaigns.

We recommend that you list all the negative keywords you want: such as products or services close to yours but you don’t offer, words linked to job postings, names of your competitors, scandals or sensitive subjects you don’t want to associate your company with.

 

  1. Ad Testing

In all marketing initiatives, testing is recommended to maintain effectiveness. Web advertising allows testing opportunities like no other medium. You can create 3-4 banner ads (with different visual and copy elements) for the same keyword groups and then see how their clickthrough performance compares. You can then get a better return on investment. Repeat this process as often as needed, and remember, Google Ads uses an ad rotation system that shows the ads that are performing best throughout your campaign.

 

  1. Geotargeting

This may seem logical, but do not forget to indicate the geographical area in which you wish to have your ads shown. If you only provide services to the Montreal area, it doesn’t make sense to target the whole planet. If you analyze the Geographical Report and conclude that some Internet users are coming from locations that you do not want to target, you can exclude those locations (city, region, country etc.) the same way you do for negative keywords. This avoids wasting your advertising budget.

 

  1. Conversions

Conversions are considered customer actions that your company believes are valuable. They can include purchases, signups, downloads, web page visits or lead generation. To optimize your tracking of conversion actions, consider the following questions:

  • Does your conversion follow-up work?
  • Does the conversion action align with your company’s most important KPI (Key Performance Indicator)?
  • Is the conversion tag on the correct page of your web site or is the Google Analytics corresponding to the correct page and action?
  • Are you tracking too many conversions?

Web marketing experts recommend you follow no more than two conversion actions on Google Ads. For example, for an e-commerce website, it could be sales (a primary KPI) and shopping cart add-ons (a secondary KPI).

In contrast, with Google Analytics, you can follow secondary conversion actions like newsletter signups, downloads of a catalogue or activity on a chat.

The problem with following too many conversions is that each one has a different value; therefore, the overall picture can give a distorted perspective on your actual return on investment of your advertising dollars.

  1. Budgets

A PPC budget requires monitoring and regular adjustments which means you should allocate your budget according to the ad campaign or keywords performance. Keep in mind, often the name of your company or your brand has a high conversion rate, but this doesn’t mean you should invest more on these keywords. The more targeted for conversion, the better.

Bonus Tip: Bing Ads now offers a tool to estimate conversions based on your budget to make it easier and quicker to optimize your budget.

 

Final Advice

Improving and optimizing your PPC campaign is an on-going process based on Internet users behavior and search trends over time. The more you carefully target your keywords and ads, the more you improve your campaign’s performance and optimize your budget.

If you don’t have the time, patience, or knowledge to manage your Google Ads campaign, Amauta Marketing is here to ensure the best possible return on your investment based on your budget.

 

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Main factors in search rankings for 2017

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This year, local search results appear more often in the first page of search results.

In fact, Google considers the proximity between the search location (even more if it is specified in the request i.e. Restaurant in Montreal) and the store address. Geotargeting has become dominant (especially with smartphones), so it is very important to properly complete your Google My Business account by including a precise business address (avoid PO Box). Tip: Integrate a keyword as well in your company name and your search results will be 1.5 time higher!

 

Important semantic elements for your ranking:

 

  1. Content is king

It cannot be stressed enough, one must keep on producing quality optimized content, in a variety of formats, for the best natural search results. Now’s the time to optimize your existing web pages, to feed your blog, to organize webinars helping you to become an opinion leader for your target audience while adding inspiring content on a regular basis.

  1. Keywords: Optimized writing for the web

 

Once you have determined the keywords that do convert, you need to put it on your web pages:

  • Title tags: page title (h1) and h2, h3, h4, h5, h6. These title markers allow you to organize the hierarchy of the information in the web page html code.

Page title gives a specific and concise page content description. It should be chosen carefully as it is essential for user experience and for page referencing on search engines.

Here are the best practices for the creation of your (h) markers:

  • Title length should measure between 65 and 75 characters, a longer title won’t completely show in search results, it will end with “… “
  • Important keywords should always be positioned at beginning of title
  • Your company name should be integrated at the end of the title

Example from Amauta Marketing’s page

  • The titles of your web pages should be pertinent and readable for Internet users
  • In the description (meta-description)

The marker’s description is a brief description of the page content.

Search engines will not really consider keywords or expressions in this marker when ranking your web page.

However, it is a piece of short advertising copy which reads as an extract to entice the Internet user to visit your web page. So it is extremely important in the overall marketing search even though its length shouldn’t be longer than 160 characters.

  • In the image ALT and in all your downloadable documents (such as PDF).

It’s a word or small group of words describing the image or document content inserted in the html code page in which it is featured. It allows the Internet user to know the image or document content when it cannot be uploaded or showcased. Furthermore, it allows the referencing of the image by search engines and to be found in Google images.

  • In the URL.

The URL is the web link allowing your web page to be identified in your browser and determine its content. It is important that your URL be as short as possible: it shouldn’t be more than 2,048 characters.

First and foremost, for the Internet user, the URL allows the information to be precise and pertinent while being searched. It also facilitates link sharing. Then, for search engines to be able to index efficiently and position it correctly in search results.

It is important to personalize each URL of each page or your website. It is advisable to use keywords (linked with page content) and avoid numbers and symbols. If you use many words, it is suggested to separate it with hyphens.

Finally, you shouldn’t modify your URL later in time, otherwise you will lose your SEO history or you will have to think about doing a 301 redirection it you don’t want to lose your indexation (the page will be permanently moved to another page).

Important technical elements for positioning:

  • Provide a responsive website to users, which means it has been adapted for mobile (see our blog article on this subject)
  • Optimize your page downloading speed, notably for the mobile version with Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Page)
  • Check for internal and external broken links on your website, any links leading toward 404 pages, and non-existent pages and be sure to update your site map and txt robot.
  • Perform your 301 redirections (permanent) or 302 (temporary) in a meticulous and rigorous fashion (while doing an annual update of your website for example) to avoid 404 pages with code errors.

Without paying attention, all these mistakes can send the wrong signals to Google and are a problem for your natural search results rankings.

Know that Google takes in consideration the quality of dofollow or backlinks links: if an important website, like a media site, links your website, it will be considered a pertinent a reliable link.

Google will also look into the authority of these domains, the website awareness, and ranking.

The fact that your brand or company is named as a reference by other websites will send positive signals to Google which will influence the positioning of your website.

It’s the same principle as word of mouth. If other satisfied clients refer your services or promote your products, they become your best ambassadors!

In conclusion, think about permanently maintaining or optimizing your website to improve or maintain your positioning on search engines. Improving natural search results is a process but it’s the tactic that offers the best conversation rate for the cheapest acquisition cost!

Need an SEO Audit or a SEO marketing strategy to ensure your website is on the first page of Google search results? Discover our SEO services today!

 

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How to define conversion keywords?

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It all starts with a keyword, a sentence, or a typed question in a search engine, like the popular Google. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or natural referencing of your website is crucial for it to obtain the best visibility on the web. The aim is not to attract every Internet user to your website, but to attract your specific audience or targeted clientele. Keywords search has become an important step, especially for e-commerce sites because not only will you discover the most researched words or phrases by Internet users in your category, you’ll learn even more about your clients or prospects.

What special tools do you need to choose your keywords?

Google offers numerous tools to determine your keywords. In Google Ads, you will find the Keywords Generator which will help you find new variations on keywords and the search trends for each of these words. Go to Google Trends to learn about the general public interests and get content ideas connected with those interests. You will notice however that the majority of expressions are in English, which is not always pertinent for the French market. As well, Google Webmaster Tools will show you the most frequent requests related to your company and those which directed Internet users to check out your website. We suggest you also consult statistics related to your website on Google Analytics, these will allow you to know which keywords have been searched by Internet users and directed them to your website. To measure the quality of a keyword and to know if it converts, you will only have to compare time spent on the page and rebound rate. Even Bing, which is not the number 1 search engine, offers Bing Ads Intelligence, a free tool for keywords search which allows you to establish your own list of keywords on Excel.

A few tips to help you select your keywords:

  • Use words that are related i.e. synonyms
  • Think about a specific vocabulary for the experts of your field and another more general one for curious beginners of your content
  • Vary keywords, don’t overdo it with only one keyword i.e. the number of times it shows in a page.

 

How do you judge keyword pertinence?

Even if Google Analytics tell us which keyword our website visitors have used, it is sometimes difficult to know exactly the conversion return from each keyword. To know more, you need to understand how your website works. In web marketing, we work from a hypothesis, which we test and measure until we find the winning formula. For starters, competitive intelligence should be established to verify which keywords are referenced by your main competitors, but also, to identify all their ads, such as Sponsored Search Ads and Display Ads. This will indicate that these keywords have strong dollar value. A keyword can help to determine market trends, what are the most requested products or services, and content that is of interest to your clientele at this moment. It is important to understand the Long Tail Principle, which corresponds to infrequently searched keywords, which, when regrouped, create a large volume of visitors to your website. In other words, the more specific a keyword i.e. created from a group of words (more than 3 words), the more chances you have that your product or service will be exactly what the user is looking for and they become a customer.

In conclusion, even if Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is constantly evolving and developing more refined search engine algorithms, you shouldn’t start creating content just for search engines. In fact, your website should answer your users’ needs and generate your prospects’ interests first and foremost. Your web marketing specialist should make sure it is referenced the best possible way on search engines. You should avoid integrating too many pointless keywords into the content, in particular if they do not make sense in the context of the web page. Even if misspelled keywords are used in Google Ads campaigns, it is better to prioritize qualitative and pertinent keywords and content which will be logical for the users. Do not forget that referencing is not just about optimization and strategic use of keywords in your web pages, but the overall user experience on your website.

With its Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Department, Amauta Marketing can position your website in the top search engines results with the right keywords to convert your prospects into clients.

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Web design trends for 2017

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The Web is evolving at a rapid pace and it is important to be on top of trends in web design, particularly if you plan on redesigning your website in 2017.

How will new websites look this year?

  1. Mobile adaptation :

We cannot stress it enough, if your website is not responsive, it is time to get on board. This year Google is launching Mobile-first indexing which will index the content of mobile websites and rank them accordingly. Don’t be left behind.

  1. Content will always be king this year:

Did you know web attention span is around 8 seconds so think about condensing your information to increase speed and ease of reading.

  1. Design inspirations:

Flat Design is a recent type of website design with pastel colours and minimalist icons with no symbolic reference to the real world. Internet users got bored of this trend to the benefit of Material Design which fundamentally is the same as Flat Design but with the addition of perspective, geometric shapes, shadows and movement. Benefit: This type of design is very legible, simplifies the content and reduces website downloading time.

Remember that loading speed is now part of the primary criteria to get better referencing on Google. As for Almost Flat, it proposes a variation using shadows and depth and movement effects. Benefit: A more realistic design for users, while staying light and simple. The minimalist trend called typo first proposes XXL typefaces, extravagant sometimes with numerous dynamic texts and layer images which will work together with website’s parallax scrolling. With the Edgy trend, colours, shapes and visuals become more and more extravagant. This latest trend comes from the Edgy Art movement and it’s all about using strong, even provocative, images. It uses Pop Art codes but without the shocking intent. Keep in mind that these web design styles do not work for all types of companies or brand images. Focus on Skeuomorphism, this trend, launched by Apple, is about imitating real objects shapes to represent digital apps with the same feature.

  1. New colours:

2017 will be a year for boldness, contrasts, with a mix of relaxation, vitality, vibrant colours and being close to nature. It is the end of pastels and cold colours.

Sources: pantone.com and engelvoelkers.com

  1. Animations, micro-interactions, scrollingfor more engagement:

We’ve noticed a strong come-back of GIF images bringing interactivity to push your promotion further, your blog posts and newsletters (to be use with care). Parallax is also a new trend in 2017.

Micro-interactions

  • Social Network toolbar to encourage visitors to share your content.
  • Animations on your call to action buttons such as a mouse over change of colours to increase the urge to click and increase conversion. Do not over do it.
  • Vertical scrolling is still in the game.

We also see being added a column with a grid structure with boxes or screens in multiple images to cut through and lighten content. In a nutshell, we’ve noticed the addition of animations and dynamic effects as well as progressive reduction of graphic elements known as statics.

Final advice

  • Personalize your logo or brand on Google Maps: it is a good way to distinguish yourself from your competition in particular in large cities such as Montreal.
  • Consider adding a completely autonomous conversation platform with chatbots or a simple chat/SMS system with representatives behind the screen to answer your clients in real time.

If you are planning the design or the redesign of your website in 2017, get in touch with us. We’ll tell you about our complete WordPress website design service.

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Google launches large format text ads: 10 features to discover

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Large format text ads are showing up on Google Ads. Are you enthusiastic? But, more importantly, are you ready? Large format text ads are one of the more important big changes from Google Ads. Imagine that Google will soon double the size of the text of its ads. What’s the big change? Here are 10 features marketing professionals should look for:

  1. What’s a large format text ad?

Large format text ads will be twice as long than regular ads. This new advertising format is designed to maximize your presence and performance in mobile search results with a larger headline and descriptions that are 80 characters longer. It is mobile adapted advertising which will work on both mobile devices and desktops as well.

Large format text ads can adapt to both mobile and desktop devices and their format adapts directly to their screen sizes. Google has started to test these new ads in the second trimester of 2016.

  1. Why did Google make this change?

Google announced this new format as one of the more important changes in text ads since the launch of the Adwords platform 15 years ago. A few months ago, Google started thinking about what Adwords advertising would look like if it was created for the mobile world of today. Today more than half of the billion annual searches on Google come from a mobile device.

Google made a giant leap by creating a unified experience for the different devices in February when it stopped advertising on the right side of the computer screens. Following all restrictions generated by the end of advertising in the right column, this addition seems to be a natural progression following large format headlines introduced in 2011.

  1. What is the size of these large format text ads?

These large format ads are twice as long (precisely 47% longer) as standard advertising. Actually, you have a total of 140 characters and an advertising space to use, marking the end of 25-35-25 limits. Twitter has made no comment regarding the 140 characters adopted by Google.

Make sure to put each added character to use. Create attractive and relevant ads which Internet users won’t be able to resist clicking.

  1. How do large format text ads look?

Here’s how large format text ads look like in Google Ads interface:

  1. What is the new headline length?

You have the ability of posting 2 x 30 characters headlines with large format text ads. Don’t forget that your ad headline is the element users are most inclined to notice. When it shows on search result pages, your ad title fields are combined and separated by a hyphen. Previously, headlines were limited to 25 characters, which means a 140% increase.

  1. How much have descriptions grown?

You now have an 80 characters description line versus 35 characters previously, which is an increase of 14%.

  1. What are the changes with advertising links?

Google Ads will automatically extract the domain of the final URL. You will be able to add 2 paths to multiply advertising links (up to 15 characters). It is suggested to use this path field to help users see your ads and be able to have a more precise idea of the page of your website they will access. Text that you use should not necessarily contain your website URL, but it should be linked to the content of your landing page.

  1. Does it improve conversion rates?

Of course, more text brings more ad visibility. The first reports show that large format text ads provide a click rate of up to 20%. Click rate is even more important when we add to the ads an advertisement and an extension with a telephone number.

  1. When will these new ads be available?

As of now, large format text ads are available for advertising professionals. Google has announced that it will remove standard text ads as of January 31, 2017. You should therefore transform your standard advertisement into large format text ads by this date.

  1. What should be expected from large format text ads?

You will increase your quality score immediately. Quality score is already an important measure in a Google Ads account, but it will become even more important.

In conclusion, large format text ads offer you:

  • 2 headline fields (up to 30 characters each)
  • A larger description field (up to 80 characters)
  • A URL to be displayed including the domain of your final URL
  • 2 optional field paths used in the URL to be displayed in the ad (up to 15 characters)

You will have to make sure that your text ads have been rewritten to benefit from this new format.

Google offers you twice as much space with these new large format text ads so be ready to optimize it to your benefit.

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9 most frequent mistakes in a PPC campaign

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PPC advertising is an online marketing technique for search engines. Companies using this technique pay each time an Internet user clicks on their ad to visit their website. Its biggest advantage is that visitors are brought to their website immediately. However, there are many traps to avoid. Here are 9 of the most common mistakes preventing companies from getting maximum benefit out of their PPC campaigns.

 

Mistake #1: Not targeting by geographical zone

Whether you’re a local or international company, geotargeting your audience is extremely important. Avoid unnecessary expenses and only target regions that offer a maximum return on your investment. For small companies, a maximum return can only happen in a 30-kilometer radius on average. Furthermore, companies selling high-end services can benefit from a return on their investment by targeting high-end regions. Finally, big companies benefit by adapting their campaigns by country. A wide range of factors should be considered and can play a direct role in the campaign performance: such as available revenue, needs, spending habits, currency value, etc.

Mistake #2: Forgetting to remove undesirable websites

The excluding option allows you to remove partner sites with low yields originating from Display Search Network. Avoid losing thousands of dollars by removing websites or pages that are not a direct link with your target audience. To do so, select Networks tab then select Show All Details link beside Automatic Placements and remove all underperforming or undesirable websites.

Mistake #3 : Ignoring keywords corresponding options

Often times, PPC newcomers do not know the existence of the four corresponding keywords types. These options allow control over which searches will trigger the ad display and maximize client’s campaigns and budgets.

Here is an example with “Red Kite” as keywords:

  • Exact keywords: This type of search allows you to precisely target a particular group of potential clients. All searches with the exact expression « Red Kite » will trigger the ad display.
  • Exact expression: Searches containing one of the exact keywords, an expression or a variation will trigger the ad display. For example: “Red Kite” or “Miami Red Kite”
  • Large request: This type of search allows you to display your ad to a very large audience. Searches containing typos and synonyms, associated searches and other pertinent variations will trigger the ad display. For example: “Kite” or “Ki-te”.
  • Large request modifying: Searches containing modified expression (or close variations but no synonyms) will trigger an ad display regardless of the order in which expressions are captured. For example +Ki+te.

There are many ways to create keywords. Keep in mind that a large keywords search is often less expensive than an exact keywords search and that it can be relatively well controlled with the exclusion of negative keywords. You can therefore do a larger search with lower offers while diminishing the search volume and doing another search with higher offers while using exact keywords. The trick is to simply keep those that work best in the campaign and put on pause those that perform less.

Mistake #4: Not using negative keywords 

Negative keywords are your filters. The addition of negative keywords is simple, it will make your life easier and will diminish search volume. You can find a long list through Google keywords tool in the tab “Keywords” and selecting “See all search expressions”.

Mistake #5: Not separating the two types of campaigns

Here we can only blame Google. Google strongly suggests to new Google Ads campaign creators to choose a Search Campaign. Google is of the opinion that a Display Campaign would be too complicated to manage for a newcomer. It is incredibly wise for companies to have segmented campaigns in relation to a Search Campaign. The reason is simple: in all likelihood, the performance will be definitely better in the search network with Selective Display. The separation of these campaigns offers maximum control on budget allocation, which allows you to harvest a higher return on investment in the first steps of the campaign. After maxing out your investment budget, it is logical to start developing the display network. A quick solution is to copy your campaign in Google Ads Editor, to rename your campaigns based on the network and to adjust the selected networks in the parameters tab.

Mistake #6: Selecting keywords with weak targeting

Lots of companies make the mistake of choosing too vague and too large keywords. Word relevance is paramount in PPC advertising if one wants to have a good return on investment. For example, a company selling cheese has “appetizer” as a keyword. Even though cheese could be considered an appetizer, the word appetizer is too large and too many elements can be included in that category: canapés, shrimp bites, macaroons, deviled eggs, etc. It is way more efficient to choose keywords that communicate not only the product or service (cheddar cheese, goat cheese) but also the intention (in this case “online fine cheese”). These better targeted keywords will bring back a higher yield.

  • Large request: This type of search allows you to display your ad to a very large audience. Searches containing typos and synonyms, associated searches and other pertinent variations will trigger the ad display. For example: “Kite” or “Ki-te”.
  • Large request modifying: Searches containing modified expression (or close variations but no synonyms) will trigger an ad display regardless of the order in which expressions are captured. For example +Ki+te.

There are many ways to create keywords. Keep in mind that a large keywords search is often less expensive than an exact keywords search and that it can be relatively well controlled with the exclusion of negative keywords. You can therefore do a larger search with lower offers while diminishing the search volume and doing another search with higher offers while using exact keywords. The trick is to simply keep those that work best in the campaign and put on pause those that perform less.

Mistake #4: Not using negative keywords 

Negative keywords are your filters. The addition of negative keywords is simple, it will make your life easier and will diminish search volume. You can find a long list through Google keywords tool in the tab “Keywords” and selecting “See all search expressions”.

Mistake #5: Not separating the two types of campaigns

Here we can only blame Google. Google strongly suggests to new Google Ads campaign creators to choose a Search Campaign. Google is of the opinion that a Display Campaign would be too complicated to manage for a newcomer. It is incredibly wise for companies to have segmented campaigns in relation to a Search Campaign. The reason is simple: in all likelihood, the performance will be definitely better in the search network with Selective Display. The separation of these campaigns offers maximum control on budget allocation, which allows you to harvest a higher return on investment in the first steps of the campaign. After maxing out your investment budget, it is logical to start developing the display network. A quick solution is to copy your campaign in Google Ads Editor, to rename your campaigns based on the network and to adjust the selected networks in the parameters tab.

Mistake #6: Selecting keywords with weak targeting

Lots of companies make the mistake of choosing too vague and too large keywords. Word relevance is paramount in PPC advertising if one wants to have a good return on investment. For example, a company selling cheese has “appetizer” as a keyword. Even though cheese could be considered an appetizer, the word appetizer is too large and too many elements can be included in that category: canapés, shrimp bites, macaroons, deviled eggs, etc. It is way more efficient to choose keywords that communicate not only the product or service (cheddar cheese, goat cheese) but also the intention (in this case “online fine cheese”). These better targeted keywords will bring back a higher yield.

Mistake #7: Not testing your ads

Testing ads is part of a PPC campaign development process. This step is indispensable to determine which words, sentences, and final offers to call out to your target audience. It allows you to improve and optimize campaign performances. For starter, try to test 3 ads per ad group. Test first 3 different ad models. Once you have 300 clicks sampling per ad, you should be able to start determining keywords performance and underperformance. Make sure to not only evaluate click rates. A high click rate can indeed affect a campaign even though it doesn’t generate conversions. For the second phase of testing, experiment by refining your keywords to generate more conversions. You should notice that by using strong adjectives such as “powerful” or “free”, your ad generates more positive results. Once again, keep your first winning ad as a model.

Mistake #8: Sending Internet users to the home page

The PPC golden rule is to control the user experience as much as possible. Use research, tests and analysis to discover exactly what makes them tick. Provide an attractive visual experience in response to their needs. If you send a user to the home page, you will see your budget quickly fly away when they click on your “Mission Statement” or “Site Plan” before leaving the page. Instead, use a landing page as close as possible to their search intentions. This should include heads, content, copy, images, and call to action buttons.

Mistake #9: Not following up on conversion

What abruptly ends a PPC campaign is the absence of conversion follow up. Conversion data is important because it allows users to quickly understand the campaign, ad groups and keyword’s financial return. This data affects all aspects of ad campaign optimizing from performance tests to landing pages up to bidding adjustments.

 

 

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10 reasons why you should have a responsive website to grow your business

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Today, more than 50% of consumers use mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to search for information on the web, visit a website or make a purchase. People are increasingly abandoning their desktops and laptops since they have their mobile devices with them all the time. This is why your website design should adapt to smaller mobile devices. In fact, your design should adapt to all devices i.e. desktop, laptop, tablet and smartphone. What you want is to create a unique and optimized experience for users independent of the device being used. A traditional website with fixed width doesn’t do it anymore. Unfortunately, there are still many companies with non-responsive websites. If you have competition in your market or your company needs to be online to generate revenues, here are 10 reasons why you need a responsive website sooner than later.

Reason #1: Google recommends it

Google now sees responsive websites as the best practice to follow to optimize mobile users online experience and reach this targeted audience. Google will show preference for responsive websites on its search engine if the search is made from a mobile device. This is particularly true for local search. When we remember that Google owns 90% of the market, it is essential to fully understand the reach and scope of a responsive website on your business growth.

Reason #2: One website, many devices

Providing a positive user experience through multiple platforms and screen sizes is the most critical aspect of designing a responsive website for today’s mobile world. For example, if you’re at work looking for a birthday gift on your smartphone, and then you go home and keep searching on your desktop, if the website is responsive, you won’t have to redo all the search steps to find the product. A responsive website really simplifies your life and your clients will be grateful.

Reason #3: Easier to manage

Owning a traditional website as well a responsive website means two Google Ads campaigns, two SEO campaigns and separate Google Analytics reports which could be complicated to manage. Managing one website is easier.

Reason #4 : Positive user experience

When mobile users land on a non-responsive website, they have a tendency to leave right away, and in result, a business opportunity is missed. In fact, if a user lands on your website and becomes frustrated because it is tough to navigate, according to Google Think Insights on Mobile, there’s a 61% chance that they will leave to go to another website. On the other hand, data shows that a positive experience on a responsive website make the user 67% more likely to buy a product or service. It is imperative to update your website, so it adapts to mobile devices.

Reason #5: The importance of your web presence
If you have incorporated a business blog and a social networks strategy in your web marketing campaign, you have probably noticed a significative increase in your mobile traffic. A recent ComScore study shows that 55% of social network consumption (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram) happens on a mobile device. By being active on social networks, and by adding links to your responsive website, you will notice an increase in activity of users and visitors. And If your links are shared, your website will get a higher ranking on search engines.

Reason #6: Better for your SEO

As a general rule, responsive websites adapted to mobile devices work better and are easier to maintain. If you decide to create a separate responsive website, remember that you will have to build this website domain authority and reputation from scratch. Who needs that much trouble? It is much easier and more profitable to update your existing platform and make your website responsive to mobile devices. You will then keep your existing traffic and the domain name you already have.

Reason #7: Friendliness is a must for small business

The majority of people uses their smartphone many times a day to go on the web. This routine inevitably brings a reduction in web surfing on desktops. More than 90% of mobile users search for local business on their smartphones. These mobile users invariably contact the business within 24 hours. Consequently, the more your company is friendly i.e. responsive, the more you will increase your sales.

Reason #8: S for speed 

Content for each page on a mobile device or tablet should load within 1 or 2 seconds as per Google Page Speed Developers. Your visitors are busy people and if the website takes too long to load, they won’t wait. They will click away from your website and visit one of your competitor’s instead.

Reason #9:  First E-commerce, now M-Commerce

Over the last five years, the most important e-commerce growth sector is m-commerce. In other word, using mobile devices to make online purchases. It accounts for 74% of e-commerce growth. Professionals believe in mobility so this will continue to grow e-commerce in the coming years. This spectacular expansion has incited small business to reorganize their business websites. You can also benefit from this m-commerce growth and convert mobiles users into faithful clients.

Reason #10: Simple and not costly

To put a responsive website in place, one that is adapted to mobile devices for your business, doesn’t have to be expensive. As is typical with new technology, prices are much lower now. You can get a dynamic and fluid web destination without having to dig a big hole in your budget. In many cases, you won’t even have to build your website from scratch. Your developer is more than qualified to explain the best possible options for you.

The future is mobile!

As you’ve noticed, having a mobile-friendly website is an indispensable tool for your web marketing campaign. Since mobile devices will become more popular than office desktops over the coming years, your company shouldn’t miss the opportunity to generate additional sales. At Amauta, we are responsive website production specialists. Get in touch with us today to better understand how we can help you.

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