While digital marketing is here to stay, there’s nothing wrong with using some more traditional marketing tactics to complement your digital strategy. Going back to basics can help you reach customers that may have been overlooked and allow you to engage with your audience in new ways.

Best of all, many traditional marketing strategies are cheap, meaning they don’t need to compete for space in your budget. Simply by investing your time and energy, you can up your marketing efforts and increase awareness of your brand within your local community.

Not sure where to start? Take a look at some of our favorite strategies below.

1. Promote your business with a new mascot.

If your brand doesn’t already have a mascot, now is the time to create one and introduce it to the world. If you’re under the impression mascots should only be reserved for more youth-centric brands, think about the Geico lizard or the Michelin man.

Mascots are effective marketing tools for audiences of all ages because they allow customers to put a face to the entity they’re building a relationship with. In other words, a mascot can help you avoid becoming just another faceless business. 

2. Design a company blog that’s worth a read. 

Even as platforms like Twitter promote short form content, blogs are still a useful tool for businesses. Posting on a company blog gives you the chance to connect with customers, both existing and potential, without feeling hampered by a character limit. You can delve into topics that require a bit more explanation and provide the useful information your audience is looking for–information that can’t be found in tweets and captions. 

Blogs are also great because you can use them to boost the SEO of your website. Posting consistently and including keywords that are frequently searched for will signal to search engines that your website is reputable. As a result, you’ll improve your chances of cutting through the noise of the internet.

Then you can link to those blogs through your social media accounts. This gives you double exposure as your blogs potentially rank in the search engine results pages and as your followers on social media see them.

3. Present interesting data in an easy-to-digest format.

You may not realize it, but the data behind your business tells an interesting story. Run the numbers to see what details come through–perhaps you’re about to reach your 1,000th client, 500th review, or another important milestone. 

Don’t hesitate to share these numbers with your customers, whether by putting out a physical sign or posting online. To go one step further, plug these numbers into an infographic that is both eye-catching and informative. 

4. Host a workshop or other event.

One way to draw in new customers is to provide them with a free opportunity to learn more about your industry. By hosting a workshop, class, or similar event, you can bring individuals who are interested in what you offer right to your door. 

A successful event can also instill customers with confidence in your professionalism and trust in your knowledge as an industry authority. Moreover, it will show you appreciate not only paying customers, but also those who value what your industry is doing.

Once again, this type of promotion can reap additional benefits as you promote it through social media, in-store signage, and through other media avenues.

5. Collaborate with a complementary business or charity.

Have you been struggling to reach a certain target audience? Gain access to a new customer base by partnering with a business that offers products or services complementary to yours, or even a charity that works in a similar field. 

There are a few ways to go about this, such as jointly hosting an event, promotion, or giveaway. Depending on your goals and the organization you team up with, this partnership could be temporary or long-term. 

6. Put your values on display. 

While it’s ideal to avoid controversy, there are some things worth taking a stand for. Taking a stance on an issue that is important to your business and your customer base is one method for getting noticed while holding true to your values. It’s possible you’ll lose a customer or two who disagree, but you’ll also strengthen bonds with those who are more likely to want to support your business. 

Beyond issuing press releases, writing blog posts, and volunteering with charities related to the cause, you can also register on the platform called Help a Reporter Out (HARO). You’ll respond to reporters’ questions on specific topics, and could get your business’s name in the news as a result. 

With these simple ideas, you can be on your way to a more robust marketing strategy. By going beyond clicks and stats with your marketing efforts, you can show a different side of your business to both potential and existing customers. 

The post Inexpensive Marketing Ideas To Help You Boost Brand Awareness appeared first on Qiigo.

With nearly half of all small businesses relying on PPC as part of their digital marketing strategy, it’s important to explore this option for your own business. Failure to embrace PPC may mean your local franchise business is losing out on the opportunity to make a solid impact at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).

What Is PPC?

PPC is a type of paid advertising in the search engine marketing category. When consumers search for certain words on Google or Bing, some of the first results they see are PPC ads with products and services relevant to the search term. With this model, advertisers only pay when consumers actually click on the ads they are shown. 

Wondering how you can ensure your PPC ads appear instead of your competitors’ when a consumer searches for a specific keyword? That’s where cost-per-click (CPC) comes in. 

CPC allows you to bid in an auction for where your ads will be displayed on SERPs. A higher bid will land you a better placement. Of course, this bidding process is done automatically in fractions of a second. The only role you’ll play here is to choose your keywords in advance and set your maximum bid, the highest price you are willing to pay per click on your ads. 

What are the Benefits of PPC for Local Franchise Businesses?

Why should you consider PPC as a part of your marketing strategy? Let’s look at four key benefits:

1. Targeting Consumers by Geography and Interest

One of the biggest advantages of PPC is that you can target your ads to specific market segments based not only on the keywords of your choosing, but also on the target customer’s geographical location and interests. With this capability, local businesses can more easily reach consumers in their area who may not yet be familiar with their brand.

Obviously, Google and other PPC platforms have a huge user base. Tapping into a relevant, geographically specific segment of this widespread audience is made possible through the use of PPC ads.

2. Spreading Brand Awareness in a Cost-Effective Manner

PPC is also cost-effective, as advertisers are only charged per click–not per impression. This means, in many cases, you’ll get eyeballs on your ads, improving awareness of your brand, without paying a cent. Additionally, as you can maintain control over how much you spend on these ads, you can easily ensure they fit into your overall marketing budget while still experiencing great results.

3. Opportunity to Bid Against Competitors

Unlike with SEO, PPC offers a level ground for small businesses who may have a tough time outranking their well-established competitors on SERPs. Utilizing SEO to earn your way to the top could take months if not years. With PPC, you can truncate this time by bidding against your competitors in a relatively small-stakes battle. 

4. Potential for Retargeting Leads

Another benefit of PPC is that you can use retargeting to continue marketing to consumers who click on your ads. This technique offers tons of potential for re-engaging with consumers who have already shown concrete interest in your business. Through retargeting, you can display ads for these customers well after they’ve clicked away from your site to keep your brand top of mind and encourage an eventual conversion.

Watch Out for These PPC Challenges 

While most platforms make it easy to take advantage of all PPC ads have to offer, there are certainly some common challenges to watch out for. Below are some of the obstacles digital marketers new to the world of PPC often encounter. 

Tendency to “Set It and Forget It”

Running ads can be time consuming, and you’ve got an entire company to look after. When it comes down to the decision between manually managing a PPC campaign and automating it, busy brands will almost always choose automation. 

Automation can be great, but it also promotes a “set it and forget it” mindset. When you forget to check analytics, quality scores, and performance metrics regularly, you may find you’re not seeing the results you’d initially hoped for. 

Knowing What Copy & Creative to Use

You may have a general idea of what keywords suit your products and services, but not enough time or bandwidth to really hone in on doing keyword research. Without the knowledge to know what keywords are worth bidding on or what maximum price is going to give you the best results, getting your PPC strategy just right can be difficult. 

Additionally, you need to consider how you will write copy for this format that is both succinct and compelling? All too often, brands leave these important considerations as an afterthought, which can be detrimental to the ultimate conversion rates of their ads.

Frequently Running Tests & Understanding What Works

Finally, you may find that once you do have success, it’s hard to repeat. Maintaining the right strategy for your PPC campaign requires frequent tweaking through running ongoing tests, following trends, and having the experience to know what works. While it is all worth it in the end, jumping right into this more technical side of the process can be a bit overwhelming for most.

How to Use PPC in Your Marketing Strategy

Qiigo’s team of professional account managers works hard to get to know your company before creating a customized campaign that meets your specific needs.

We get started by developing and setting up a locally focused campaign that’s based on a full competitive analysis. Each location participating in the PPC program receives a tracking phone number and a complete dashboard to view individual results. It’s everything you need for PPC success. 

The post 4 Ways You Can Use PPC to Increase Lead Generation appeared first on Qiigo.

While brand consistency is important for all types of businesses, it is especially crucial for franchises. A franchise’s brand is one of its most significant business assets, and taking action to promote brand consistency helps protect that asset while also leveraging it to its full potential. 

Understanding the Dangers of Inconsistency for Franchise Brands

Having a strong brand is an indicator of a franchise’s strength and success. However, encouraging brand consistency across geographically dispersed locations can be incredibly challenging. Many franchisees don’t realize that while they may have chosen to invest in a certain brand because of its strength, their actions can have a weakening effect on both their own business and the image of the franchise brand as a whole.

In the following, we’ve highlighted three negative effects that a lack of brand consistency could have on your franchise business.

Opening the Door to Misattribution

It’s not uncommon for franchisees to attempt to take shortcuts to make their marketing efforts either cheaper or easier to implement. However, when franchisees throw together their own promotion flyer or post self-made graphics on social media, chances are they will introduce visual inconsistencies along the way. 

These inconsistencies can lead ads or promotions to be misattributed by the audience, especially if the brand is not instantly identifiable. Because of the nature of social media, users tend to scroll through posts quite quickly, meaning any visuals that aren’t immediately recognizable as belonging to a certain brand simply won’t register in the user’s mind.

Diminishing the Synergy of a Strategic Campaign

The customer journey is rarely straightforward. Typically, people must receive communications across several touchpoints and through various channels before they ever decide to take action. These touchpoints could include digital ads on social media and SERPs, physical mailers, TV and radio commercials, or email advertising. It is through this cumulative effect of branded communications that a company makes itself known to consumers and establishes their presence and reliability.

However, inconsistent branding can throw off an entire marketing campaign and undermine all the hard work that has gone into this strategic plan. Instead of reminding customers about the brand’s presence, franchisees who conduct their own marketing at the expense of brand consistency could actually be shooting themselves in the foot and diminishing the impact of an otherwise well-organized and effective campaign.

Sending the Wrong Message 

It’s one thing to render a marketing campaign ineffective because of brand inconsistency. However, this isn’t even the worst case scenario. If a franchisee’s marketing efforts look anything less than professional, it can negatively affect how consumers perceive the entire brand.

Brand damage is serious for franchises, yet few imagine that something as simple as a font style that’s a bit off or a wonky spatial layout could cause such damage. Taken together, these little details devalue the hard work and consistency that has gone into building the brand. Not only does this send the wrong message to current and potential customers, but it can also turn off potential franchisees, negatively influencing the brand’s ability to expand in the future.

Promote Brand Consistency with an Experienced Marketing Partner

It’s clear that developing a durable franchise brand with lasting success is not a simple feat. Because of the way franchises are structured, it can be difficult to control many aspects of business operations and maintain ongoing communication among franchisees. 

Fortunately, when it comes to marketing, franchise brands don’t have to be at the mercy of their individual franchisees’ decisions. Opting to hire a marketing partner that has plenty of experience working with franchise brands can help you gain control of your brand’s image and prevent damage related to inconsistency. 

Be sure to select a marketing partner with a strong record of success in the franchise industry, especially with franchise brands in your sector. Finding a company with a solid team of digital and traditional marketing professionals will allow you to maintain the brand image you’ve worked so hard to achieve while also enabling you to experience the benefits of expanding your franchise network.

The post The Real Dangers of Franchise Brand Inconsistencies appeared first on Qiigo.

At this point in your journey of business ownership, you’ve likely encountered the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You may have even attempted to put some SEO strategies into play to promote website traffic. However, if you’ve noticed your competitors are ranking higher than you, or you are dealing with a high acquisition cost per customer, you may need to strengthen your SEO.

There are a number of ways to improve the SEO value of your website and bring it closer to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the mountain of information on SEO and don’t know where to start, we can help. 

Below, we’ve listed five ways you can use SEO to improve SERP rankings. While SEO shouldn’t be viewed as a lead generation tool, improved rankings can help to bring in more customers overtime with minimal impact to your marketing spend.

It’s important to note that implementing these steps takes time, and it takes even more time to notice their effects. An effective SEO strategy can’t be completed overnight, so plan on moving through your digital marketing plan in a consistent, methodical fashion, and be patient. The results will be well worth your efforts!

1. Start by doing keyword research.

To find the right keywords for your business, you’ll first need to understand your target audience. Think about the biggest obstacles they face when buying your product, the type of information they may find valuable, and their parallel interests. Then, make a list of keywords they may search for. As you do so, keep the following in mind:

• Buying intent. This is the easiest place to start. What would someone who wants to buy your product or service search for? For example, if you wanted to find a commercial cleaning service in Miami, “cleaning service in Miami” or “commercial cleaning Miami” would be two keywords to consider.
• Learning intent. What would someone who is interested in your product or service but not necessarily ready to buy search for? Providing the answers they’re looking for offers an excellent opportunity to pull them into your funnel. Using the example above, someone who is interested in learning more about commercial cleaning services in Miami might search for “best commercial cleaning services in Miami” or “what to expect from a commercial cleaning service in Miami.”
• Competition. Take a moment to understand the competition’s keyword plan. Are there different keywords you can go after? Some basic keywords and phrases may be very hard to rank for because there is already so much competition. While you don’t want to ignore these keywords, you shouldn’t stop building your list after them either. Be creative and see if you can come up with keywords the competition doesn’t already have a monopoly on.

2. Choose which keywords to focus on. 

Did you know Google Ads has a Keyword Planner tool you can use? Simply go into your account and select “discover new keywords.” 

With this tool, you can filter out keywords that are searched for fewer than 10 times per month as well as overly competitive keywords. Then, plug the remaining keywords into Google Trends. This will reveal which keywords have experienced increasing search rates over time. Prioritize those that are experiencing upward trends. 

3. Create content that includes your best keyword opportunities. 

Once you have a list of the right keywords for your business, you’re ready to start creating content. There are multiple areas where you can post content so it has an impact on your rankings. The top two you should focus on initially are web pages and blogs.

Web Pages

Aim to include pages on your website that individually address each keyword on your list, and be sure to place these in the navigation of your site. You can also add a Frequently Added Questions page that highlights and answers the questions and keywords your audience may be searching for. 

Blogs 

Starting a company blog is an excellent way to bring keyword topics onto your webpage in an organic and informative manner. Blog posts can provide essential information for potential customers while also improving your rank on SERPs. As a rule, it’s best to cover a broad range of topics to cast a wide net while also targeting your posts towards readers who are most likely to convert. 

4. Develop your social media presence. 

Did you know social media can boost your SEO? While it does not directly factor into your rankings, the data you share on these platforms as well as the way your audience engages with your profiles can increase organic traffic to your website and promote your rankings. 

You can also use social media to share the original content you’ve developed on your company blog, which will encourage links and attract even more visitors. Most importantly, be sure to link back to your website on each social media profile and check that all other contact information is up to date and accurate.

5. Avoid harmful practices. 

This step may seem obvious, but the truth is there is a ton of information out there about SEO that is false, outdated, or gimmicky. Some of it can actually get you in trouble with Google. Rather than trying to game the system, aim to use your SEO strategies to add value for your potential customers and showcase your brand as an expert in your field. 

Specific practices that should always be avoided include:

• Buying backlinks
• Keyword stuffing
• Cloaking text
• Posting low-quality content

Remember, when it comes to SEO, slow and steady wins the race. Give these five steps a try, and you can significantly improve your website’s SEO and draw in more customers who are just waiting to find your company! 

The post 5 Ways You Can Use SEO to Increase Rankings appeared first on Qiigo.

One of the most attractive qualities of the franchise industry is that it is resilient. The year 2020 brought about unfathomable changes for many aspects of life, but this is one area the pandemic did not change. As many other business models struggled with the effects of lockdowns and the resulting economic slowdown, many franchise businesses were able to adapt and even thrive.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2021, it’s clear more uncertainty awaits in much of the business world. Yet many factors will remain the same in the realm of franchise development, including digital marketing best practices. 

Below, we’ve listed five ways you can promote the development of your franchise during these unpredictable times and ensure you’re attracting qualified leads to help grow your company and reach new levels of success.

1.       Go where potential franchisees are looking.

These days, many soon-to-be business owners are millennials, and the most successful franchises are targeting this age group to find their future franchisees. To attract the attention of these younger entrepreneurs, it’s important that your business can be found where they are: on social media. 

Building out your social media presence and investing in paid advertising on these platforms will reap major benefits for your franchise. Focus on sites like YouTube and Facebook where you can easily enhance your message with engaging videos and connect with the right demographics for your brand.

2.       Create a more targeted approach for franchise development.

You probably know by now that bringing qualified leads to your brand is easier said than done. Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits all solution to this problem. Every brand is different and demands different levels of experience and engagement from its franchisees. 

Try working backwards to attract the right candidates for your business. Create a tailored approach for franchise development by identifying which qualities your most successful franchisees share. Use these qualities to target future owners. This strategy will give you confidence your marketing dollars are being invested in the appropriate areas.

3.       Don’t underestimate the power of a franchise recruitment website.

Have you been putting off building a website dedicated to franchise recruitment? If so, you may be losing out on valuable SEO opportunities, as well as the chance to present specific aspects of your brand to potential franchisees. 

Having a website oriented towards attracting franchisees will make it much easier for the right individuals to get the information they need to put your brand on their list of possible business endeavors. Building a separate website for this purpose also offers a simple way to present what franchise ownership with your brands look like. It allows prospective franchisees to quickly learn what they can expect when they purchase one of your franchise locations.

4.       Take the time to crunch the numbers.

Nowadays, analytics play a huge role in the decision-making process for companies, especially franchise companies. With more data available than ever, it’s easy to utilize numbers to understand how to recruit leads that will ultimately translate into sales. 

One of the best ways to take advantage of all analytics have to offer is to partner with a franchise development company. The right company will work with the cutting-edge systems and algorithms to provide your development team with answers and strategies for future success.

5.       Turn to experts for your marketing campaign.

The landscape of digital marketing is constantly in flux, and keeping up with all these changes is no easy feat. In this case, it’s almost always best to rely on experts to help you get the results you’re looking for. 

Marketing that produces measurable results requires a carefully calculated balance of SEO, content development, social media engagement, email blasts, and video content. With the perfect campaign in place designed by an expert marketing team, you’ll be much more likely to find yourself with the right franchisees to grow your franchise. 

The post 5 Ways To Nail Your Franchise Development Strategy appeared first on Qiigo.

The Facebook Analytics tools have long been used by businesses to gain insights into their potential audiences on Facebook and Instagram. These tools collected and showcased data relevant to business’s Facebook and Instagram pages that could be leveraged for marketing and other purposes. 

From highlighting the most engaging posts to providing traffic information and statistics related to views and conversions, these tools have been essential in helping businesses understand what types of content work best for their target audience. As a result, Facebook Analytics have enabled many businesses to run successful marketing campaigns on Facebook and Instagram for many years.

However, as of July 1, 2021, the Facebook Analytics tools will no longer be available for use. Facebook has recently announced the retirement of Facebook Analytics as “an initiative to consolidate business tools.” Thus, it can be assumed the end of Facebook Analytics will open the door to a more streamlined approach for understanding the impact of a business’s Facebook and Instagram pages. 

Facebook has promised they will “continue to invest in measurement products that provide insights and data analysis capabilities.” Additionally, they have noted this change will not affect the Insights sections that can be found on both Facebook pages and Instagram Profiles.

Steps to Take Before Facebook Analytics is Sunset

Until July 1, 2021, businesses will still have access to all of their Facebook Analytics data, including reports, charts, tables, and other insights. This data can be exported from Facebook Analytics to a secure location for future use. Taking steps to back up this data will ensure businesses don’t lose it forever when the tools are sunset.

If Facebook Analytics has played an important role in your digital marketing campaign, you may want to begin considering tools you can use to gain insights into your business’s presence on both Facebook and Instagram in the absence of Facebook Analytics. 

Facebook has made three recommendations in this regard:

• Ads Manager. With Ads Manager, you can easily view your Facebook campaign and its results as well as make changes to ad sets and ads.
• Events Manager. Utilize this platform to set up and manage Facebook pixel, the Conversions API, and other Facebook Business Tools. You can also use the Events Manager to access reports of actions taken outside of your Facebook or Instagram page, such as on your brand’s website, app, or in your brick-and-mortar storefront. 
• Facebook Business Suite. This tool can be used to manage business accounts on Facebook and Instagram. It showcases detailed information about your audience, engagement with your content, and noteworthy trends. However, it is not available to all users at the moment.

Who Will Be Affected When Facebook Analytics Goes Away?

While many businesses have gotten in the habit of using Facebook Analytics to aggregate and analyze data, others have long relied on alternative tools. For example, Qiigo does not use Facebook Analytics, and therefore Qiigo clients will not be affected when these tools are retired. If you have any questions about your account in the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out to your Qiigo Account Manager.

The post The End of Facebook Analytics? appeared first on Qiigo.

For many digital marketers, pay-per-click (PPC) is a concept they understand the basics of, but often aren’t sure how to properly utilize. The potential for quickly and inexpensively bringing more eyeballs to a brand has made PPC a tool all digital marketers should consider using to their advantage. 

With nearly half of all small businesses relying on PPC as part of their digital marketing strategy, it’s important to explore this option for your own business. Failure to embrace PPC may mean your local franchise business is losing out on the opportunity to make a solid impact at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs).

What Is PPC?

PPC is a type of paid advertising in the search engine marketing category. When consumers search for certain words on Google or Bing, some of the first results they see are PPC ads with products and services relevant to the search term. With this model, advertisers only pay when consumers actually click on the ads they are shown. 

Wondering how you can ensure your PPC ads appear instead of your competitors’ when a consumer searches for a specific keyword? That’s where cost-per-click (CPC) comes in. 

CPC allows you to bid in an auction for where your ads will be displayed on SERPs. A higher bid will land you a better placement. Of course, this bidding process is done automatically in fractions of a second. The only role you’ll play here is to choose your keywords in advance and set your maximum bid, the highest price you are willing to pay per click on your ads.

What are the Benefits of PPC for Local Franchise Businesses?

Why should you consider PPC as a part of your marketing strategy? Let’s look at four key benefits:

#1 Targeting Consumers by Geography and Interest

One of the biggest advantages of PPC is that you can target your ads to specific market segments based not only on the keywords of your choosing, but also on the target customer’s geographical location and interests. With this capability, local businesses can more easily reach consumers in their area who may not yet be familiar with their brand.

Obviously, Google and other PPC platforms have a huge user base. Tapping into a relevant, geographically specific segment of this widespread audience is made possible through the use of PPC ads.

#2 Spreading Brand Awareness in a Cost-Effective Manner

PPC is also cost-effective, as advertisers are only charged per click–not per impression. This means, in many cases, you’ll get eyeballs on your ads, improving awareness of your brand, without paying a cent. Additionally, as you can maintain control over how much you spend on these ads, you can easily ensure they fit into your overall marketing budget while still experiencing great results

#3 Opportunity to Bid Against Competitors

Unlike with SEO, PPC offers a level ground for small businesses who may have a tough time outranking their well-established competitors on SERPs. Utilizing SEO to earn your way to the top could take months if not years. With PPC, you can truncate this time by bidding against your competitors in a relatively small-stakes battle. 

#4 Potential for Retargeting Leads

Another benefit of PPC is that you can use retargeting to continue marketing to consumers who click on your ads. This technique offers tons of potential for re-engaging with consumers who have already shown concrete interest in your business. Through retargeting, you can display ads for these customers well after they’ve clicked away from your site to keep your brand top of mind and encourage an eventual conversion.

Watch Out for These PPC Challenges 

While most platforms make it easy to take advantage of all PPC ads have to offer, there are certainly some common challenges to watch out for. Below are some of the obstacles digital marketers new to the world of PPC often encounter. 

Tendency to “Set It and Forget It”

Running ads can be time consuming, and you’ve got an entire company to look after. When it comes down to the decision between manually managing a PPC campaign and automating it, busy brands will almost always choose automation. 

Automation can be great, but it also promotes a “set it and forget it” mindset. When you forget to check analytics, quality scores, and performance metrics regularly, you may find you’re not seeing the results you’d initially hoped for. 

Knowing What Copy & Creative to Use

You may have a general idea of what keywords suit your products and services, but not enough time or bandwidth to really hone in on doing keyword research. Without the knowledge to know what keywords are worth bidding on or what maximum price is going to give you the best results, getting your PPC strategy just right can be difficult. 

Additionally, you need to consider how you will write copy for this format that is both succinct and compelling? All too often, brands leave these important considerations as an afterthought, which can be detrimental to the ultimate conversion rates of their ads.

Frequently Running Tests & Understanding What Works

Finally, you may find that once you do have success, it’s hard to repeat. Maintaining the right strategy for your PPC campaign requires frequent tweaking through running ongoing tests, following trends, and having the experience to know what works. While it is all worth it in the end, jumping right into this more technical side of the process can be a bit overwhelming for most.

How to Use PPC in Your Marketing Strategy

Qiigo’s team of professional account managers works hard to get to know your company before creating a customized campaign that meets your specific needs.

We get started by developing and setting up a locally focused campaign that’s based on a full competitive analysis. Each location participating in the PPC program receives a tracking phone number and a complete dashboard to view individual results. It’s everything you need for PPC success.

The post 4 Benefits of Using PPC to Advertise Your Local Franchise Business appeared first on Qiigo.

Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. If you’ve ever gone to a company’s website and bounced away after a few fruitless moments, you know how frustrating it can be when a site is not properly optimized.

A crucial part of improving conversion rates on your website is giving your target audience the experience they’re looking for.  However, these needs aren’t always at the forefront of business owners’ minds when they design their websites. 

Website Optimization Basics

To help you avoid these pitfalls, we’ve curated a list of 7 things you can quickly and easily do to boost user experience on your website and thereby increase conversion rates.

1. Streamline Navigation

Your website should be easy for all visitors to use, no matter their comfort level with technology. This requires some careful layout design and strategic placement of significant details. It’s also important to remember that you may not be the best indicator of how user-friendly your website is. Reaching out for help in this area can make a real difference in your understanding of how users interact with your site.

2. Keep a Mobile-First Mindset

Smartphones are the primary vehicle consumers use for just about everything, including browsing business websites. If your site isn’t set up to be easily navigable on mobile, this could make or break the user experience and hinder SEO.

3. Understand the Consequences of Loading Time

If your page takes longer than 5 seconds to load on any device, users simply aren’t going to wait around. Instead, they’ll click away from the page, and your bounce rate will skyrocket as a result. 

Page speed is an often overlooked element of CRO and UE, but it shouldn’t be. Whether unnecessary pop-ups, bloated images, or videos are slowing down page load speeds, you’re losing out on conversions for as long as the problem goes unresolved.

4. Acquire Honest Feedback

As surveys can be filled out anonymously, they’re an excellent way to gather usable feedback from your customers about the user experience. Feedback in the form of reviews and testimonials is also helpful, as these can be displayed to build trust.

5. Conduct Page Optimization

Optimizing website content makes it easier for current and potential customers to find your business, boosting both UE and CRO. Page optimization includes reviewing each page’s title tag and meta description, as well as ensuring your content is readable, engaging, and unique.

6. Find What Users are Searching For

Do you wish you could know exactly what visitors are looking for when they visit your site? Google Search Console makes this possible. This reliable online tool enables you to discover the terms people search for on Google. For additional data you can use to boost CRO, UE, and even SEO, check out Google Analytics and Google Service Provider.

7. Adjust Your CTA Strategy

The call to action (CTA) is an important part of your website and should follow a specific set of guidelines. First, avoid sounding too generic by making your CTA personal. Next, keep it above the fold. 

The CTA should be easy to recognize rather than being blended into the rest of the content on a page. Finally, avoid scattering CTAs across every page. Instead, use these strategically to boost your conversion rate and support a positive UX.

With these tips, you can ensure user experience, conversion rate optimization, and SEO go hand-in-hand, creating a site that gives customers precisely what they want while also increasing the effectiveness of your message as a brand.

The post 7 Quick and Easy Ways to Optimize Your Website appeared first on Qiigo.

As a consumer, you know how much of a headache this situation can be. For your business, however, it can spell the difference between profits and losses. Having accurate online local listings for your business is no longer a luxury. In this day and age, it’s a must.

How Local Listing Management Works

Local listing management helps ensure all local or directory listings are accurate. In basic terms, local listing management consists of keeping a business’s location data and contact information up to date and in line with brand standards across a range of online directories and platforms. 

Local listings should contain three crucial components – the name, address, and phone number of the business, collectively known as “NAP” – as well as other key details customers may look for, such as hours of operation and service offerings.

The Internet contains thousands of review sites, networking platforms, and local business directories. Ensuring your business is listed in the right directories and is represented by the right information will help customers find you more easily. It also increases your reach without making a major marketing investment. 

Additionally, businesses with NAPs that are accurate and consistent from listing to listing will be ranked more highly on search engine results pages than those whose listings are inconsistent or unclaimed.

Challenges of Local Listing Management

Monitoring your business’s profiles and directory information on multiple websites may sound easy, but in practice this task can be tough to juggle while you’re running a business full time. Several obstacles await, from lost passwords and orphaned listings to duplicate listings and brand inconsistencies. Once you try to tackle these problems on your own, you may feel local listing management is a full-time job in and of itself. 

The Solution to Effective Local Listing Management

Fortunately, you don’t have to become an expert in every business directory and online listing site on the web to make certain potential customers can quickly and efficiently find your business’s information. Partnering with a reliable local listing management service provider is a simple way to boost your visibility online and eliminate confusing or false listings that could lead to a loss of business.

Look for a service provider that offers integrated and measurable solutions for businesses with a focus on producing local results. You’ll also want them to be able to assist you with your business’s online reputation and social media management so you can create a cohesive virtual presence.

Other aspects of high-quality local listing management solutions include:

• Single point of access for profiles on all directories
• Notifications for reviews and testimonials
• Monitoring of competitors in the area
• Oversight of changes to listings
• Comprehensive ranking reports

Benefits of Local Listing Management

Local listing management goes beyond enforcing the consistency and accuracy of your business’s contact information. For example, this process can help you dominate the first page of results when consumers in your local area search for industry-related terms. A centralized approach can also promote consistency in brand messaging, projecting a professional image for your business that will attract and instill trust in potential clients.

Perhaps most importantly, choosing the right solution for managing your local listings can save on your bottom line. In the business world, time is money; a professional local listing management service with proven solutions can cut down on inefficiency while helping you build a listing strategy for your brand that reaps long-term rewards.  

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During the week of April 26, 2021, Apple released the new iOS 14.5 software, making the update available to all iOS users. As a result, apps within the App Store are now required to acquire permission to track users’ data across third-party websites and applications. This App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature gives users the option to consent to or opt out of the collection of their data for advertising or analysis purposes.

Facebook has followed suit with the rollout of new advertiser experiences and requirements known as Aggregated Event Measurement (AEM) for mobile web campaigns. Advertisers on Facebook will notice changes to their marketing campaigns, including targeting and reporting tools, that will affect the kinds of data they are able to collect. Staying up to date with these new developments is key if Facebook ads are a part of your business’s digital marketing strategy.

What to Expect with the Release of iOS 14.5

While the release of iOS 14.5 signifies quite a big shift for a huge audience, it’s important to note that many changes may not be immediately apparent. There will likely be a steady adoption of the new software over many weeks as users update their devices rather than a tsunami of iOS 14.5 users to contend with all at once. Therefore, the influence of this ATT enforcement on iOS event reporting probably won’t be noticeable right off the bat.

That being said, when a user does make the change to iOS 14.5, their device will be opted-out of tracking by default. Upon opening Facebook or Instagram, the apps will detect the update and automatically opt that device out of tracking, which will have a significant impact on marketers.

What to Expect from Facebook’s New Advertiser Experience

The changes to Facebook’s advertising campaign options will be rolled out alongside the iOS 14.5 release and will be noticeable to advertisers right away. Immediate changes include the inability to create Mobile App Install campaigns if your business tool integration does not support Apple’s SKAdNetwork API. 

SKAdNetwork helps measure app install campaigns’ conversion rates without divulging the identities of users, which is why it is so important to the enforcement of ATT. There will also be a 72-hour reset period for all active iOS 14 App Event Optimization and Value Optimization campaigns. This is necessary to reduce occurrences of incorrect attribution.

Other immediate changes to both app and web reporting include the following:

• Modeling of 1-day click-through opt-out data
• Elimination of opted-out events from 7-day click-through and 1-day view-through attribution settings
• End of support for action and demographic breakdowns for offsite events
• Change of attribution setting default to 7-day click-through for the creation of new ad sets and web event campaigns
• Shift from Impression Time to Conversion Time for attribution methodology

Campaigns using web events may experience a more gradual rollout. While Facebook’s AEM can be expected to be fully implemented over the span of two weeks, unexpected issues may certainly arise that could extend this introductory period.

Looking Ahead as a Digital Marketer

As an advertiser who relies on Facebook marketing, you can expect to experience fluctuations in the performance of your campaigns and increased CPAs. Advertisers will likely observe these variations. While the impact on delivery and reporting will occur as the adoption of iOS 14.5 becomes more widespread. 

The end result, and something we should all be planning for, is that audience sizes could decrease. Opted-out iOS 14.5 users will be automatically excluded from certain target audiences, and adjustments will need to be made to the way you target as a result.

Other things to look out for with Facebooks’ new AEM experience include:

• Limit of 8 events per domain
• Pausing of ad sets that are optimized for events not configured for AEM
• Pausing of ads that have failed to select a domain for tracking
• 72-hour pause following the modification of web event configurations

This new advertising ecosystem is sure to bring about other unforeseen changes, and many of them will have positive ramifications. Thanks to these changes, organizations and Internet users can move forward in building trust-filled relationships that promote a sustainable online environment in which both businesses and individuals feel secure.

The post Apple Releases iOS 14.5: What You Need To Know appeared first on Qiigo.