Are you ready to get a little bit technical? Let's talk about website SEO.
If you’re a normal person and not a marketing weirdo like me, you might not use terms like SEO, domain authority, content marketing, Google ranking, etc., on a regular basis! But, if you’re a business owner or leader, then these might be terms you hear thrown around from time to time and you just want to understand what it all means and how it works.
In this blog– which summarizes a recent conversation we had in our SquadTalk video series – I’ll be breaking down the basics of how to increase your domain authority and how content goes hand in hand with SEO. Lost? Don’t worry – I’ll explain!
When I’m talking about the slow burn, what I’m really talking about is Search Engine Optimization... or SEO. Website SEO is how we, as marketing experts, build the online authority of your online presence. It’s what we do when we optimize your site’s information in order to build your credibility or authority with search engines like Google.
When you’re thinking about SEO, you should really be thinking about the words that are on your website, specifically your keywords.
A keyword is a word that you use on your site or page that you want Google to recognize as something you are an authority on. For instance – if you are a bicycle shop in Asheville, North Carolina, you might want use keywords like "Asheville cycling" or "bicycle repair". Someone might not specifically search online for "Bicycle shop Asheville, NC", but they MIGHT search for "bicycle repair near me" or "top Asheville cycling".
In the past, many people simply filled their pages with the words they wanted to be recognized by Google for. This is often called "keyword stuffing" or using a keyword so frequently (on your homepage or on a site page) that the overall copy no longer makes sense.
These days, Google looks at more than just words on a page - they’re looking at how people respond to the information that you’re giving them. What Google looks at to determine your authority on the topic is content marketing in all of its facets: from the webpage, to the blogging, to the content offers that you provide to people! It goes beyond blogging and content calendars – though these are a part of it all.
Your domain as a whole creates an authority, but that authority is measured across your entire site – including your blog pages.
When you’re thinking about using SEO to increase your domain authority, one of the first things that you want to do is research.
Determine what you want to be seen as an authority about – typically that is the service you’re providing, the product you’re providing, or a topic you are an expert on.
Once you identify that topic, it’s time to do your research. When you develop a website SEO strategy, you’ll want to create a list of keywords and key phrases that all build up to give you authority on a topic. Then, the main thing to do is implement these words and phrases in a smart way in your content marketing on your site.
You want to make sure that you’re not just focused on getting words on a page (none of that keyword stuffing), but creating an experience that make people want to stay on your page a while.
These days Google isn’t just looking at the amount of words on the page. Google is getting very smart! "Dwell time" or how long someone spends on your page, matters. So, you don’t just want to have relevant information that answers their question quickly and lets them know that your content is valuable (though this is important), you also want to have a lot of content on your page because the more content you provide to them, the more time they will spend on your site! This leads to Google identifying your site as an authority on a subject and then serving your site as the answer to someone’s search.
Your Google ranking matters because you don’t just want to be an answer to a search, you want to be the FIRST or at least one of the TOP answers to a search.
Getting a ranking on page one of Google is critical if you want your site to be found organically. But it’s not enough to be found simply by the name of your business.
I’ll use the bicycle shop example again. Let’s say your bike shop is called Asheville Wheelin’ & Dealin’ (yes, I made this up). It’s unlikely that new visitors are going to find your shop online by typing in that exact name into the search query.
That’s why it’s helpful to use keywords like "Asheville cycling" on your website even if that's not your name. Your target audience is much more likely to search this term or "bicycle repair near me" than they are to type your business name. That said, if your business is not one of the first answers to this search, it’s likely this person will find a different answer and visit another bike shop website instead of yours.
IF you are able to build your domain authority by using SEO to rank for specific keywords and phrases, then you can increase the chances that Google will choose your site as the answer to a search from your potential customers.
Audio files and video are newer tools that can be used to increase the value of your domain authority – especially on YouTube.
Each day, more and more people are turning to YouTube for answers to their questions just as they search in Google's search bar.
Simply by taking the services or products you provide and the questions you get from customers, you can make videos that answer those questions and talk about those topics that increase your online authority.
When you take these videos and put them on YouTube, you have a lot of power with your titles, descriptions, links, and tags to promote the content that is in the videos. As a result, videos are turning up as answers to search queries more and more. This even works on Facebook as their search engine will pull from the videos you post there.
Don’t let the idea of making videos intimidate you. We always talk about going one of two ways with videos – very professional, polished videos or something more relaxed and raw. Just pick which style it is and own it.
The pro to doing the more professional video is obvious! The pro to doing the raw video is that this can be a selfie or something shot on your phone that can be uploaded immediately! It can give a personable to your viewer. Start by talking about topics that you hear other people talk about in your industry and share your own knowledge on camera – then post it to LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
With digital advertising, or, as we call it, "The Fast Burn", you can pay to become the answer to a search right away. As you increase your advertising spend, you’ll gain a greater audience and get a greater number of clicks.
However, this might plateau eventually and, once you stop spending money, it will drop off entirely. Digital advertising is like renting space.
The slow burn, however, works because you get to have a space that you own by building your place online over time. This value that you’ve added (through content marketing, SEO, keyword research, YouTube videos, and more) to your digital space isn’t going away like it does when you turn off an ad.
You should continue to add to it, update it, and refresh it, but the organic space you take up online doesn’t go away. The slow burn is worth it because you’re going to see that value grow exponentially overtime. It might start off slow and you might need 3-6 months to really see a huge increase in traffic, but, once you see that, your content will keep working for you month after month after month.
We work with businesses that want to grow, that want to find marketing tactics that aren’t going to waste a bunch of money without delivering the audience and leads that they want. That’s why we always talk about this slow burn with our clients!
Watch the full episode from our SquadTalks Over Coffee series below to hear us go more in-depth on how the Slow Burn can work for your business.
If you need help with content strategy, SEO, or any part of the "The Slow Burn", our team of specialists would be happy to support you. Let us know what you need.
If you’re in the world of marketing, you might be reading this blog because you’re a little confused by the title... Let’s be honest, digital advertising, paid search, and the fast burn are all (pretty much) the same thing.
If you’re not in the world of marketing, you may have heard these terms and other similar ones thrown at you from time to time by "the experts."
We’re not in the business of confusion, so let me explain.
These terms can mean the same thing, but they all have their own definition. Paid search is a form of digital advertising and the fast burn (here at The Squad) simply means "to use digital marketing to capture leads or increase traffic quickly."
If you joined us for our previous Squad Talks: Why Blogging Matters in 2020 or read about it on our blog, then you already have a little insight into what I'll refer to as the "slow burn." We use this terminology to help explain the difference between organic content for organic traffic versus paid marketing efforts for increasing the impressions, clicks, and leads gained from your marketing initiatives.
Ideally, a business uses both methods to capture their audience where they’re at – whether they’re earlier in their decision-making journey or further along.
Organic traffic and views are free and can come from channels like Facebook and Twitter, from your website, email marketing or via Google. We love free and always recommend companies take the steps they need to gain more and more of this free advertising.
But it’s not always that easy. If you’re a newer company or you haven’t had a strong online presence, you’re branching into a new industry, or adding a new product line, attaining the authority and presence you need to drive organic traffic online takes time – it’s a slow burn.
That’s why we recommend digital advertising, such as paid search. It’s a fast burn!
Paid search is what happens when you pay to appear in a Google (or other search engine) results.
Let’s say you recently bought a home and you’re planning to do some much needed renovations... or maybe you’ve been dreaming of renovating your current home and you want to get started.
You might first go to Google and search "home renovations near me"
The ad you see above is what happens when you choose to utilize paid search. Organically, P.L. Lyons may not always appear as the first result on page 1 of this search because their competitors are vying for this coveted position too. But P.L. Lyons can still be the go-to for these online search-ers.
Studies have shown that 75% of people will not see an organic listing if it’s not on the first page! That's why it's a goal for these homebuilders. Thanks to a well-placed paid search ad, PL Lyons is easily the first option you see on the page because they've paid for that virtual "real estate."
By paying to appear for specific key words like "home renovation" and "Louisville," PL Lyons is ensuring that they are the first option that you will see. This is paid search!
Paid search is a part of the fast burn, or what I like to call "spike marketing."
After having surgery, your doctor might recommend two different types of pain medication – a base, long-term pain killer that you might take every 24 hours and a "spike" pain killer that you can take more frequently to help supplement the medication you’re already on. If you’ve had surgery and been in significant pain, then you know that spike medication can be a real lifesaver. Trust me - you don’t want to rely on that base medication in critical times.
That’s how I like to explain organic traffic versus the traffic you gain from a paid search advertising campaign.
Your base marketing is your organic presence. You should always be working to improve your organic reach over time. This is done through a strong website, blogging, search engine optimization, and a strong social media presence.
Then, your spike marketing is what you pay for! You don’t have to wait for the marketing to kick in over time. You can pay for it to work right now and deliver the results you need in the short term.
You still need the base marketing (it’s the cheapest and best way to grow your brand awareness), but the spike marketing helps supplement your base marketing until your base marketing is strong enough to hold its own.
Even then, you might choose to continue with your spike marketing to prevent other companies from paying to appear above your organic listing!
Consider paid search as an investment. The first thing you try might not knock it out of the park, but, over time, you’ll see faster, better results than if you stuck to a base marketing or organic approach alone.
There are a lot of different variables at play, but the goal is to continually improve your campaign for the best results possible. Paid search can be expensive, depending on the keywords you seek to use, but if you know what you’re doing, you can find keywords that are inexpensive and provide a value without breaking the bank.
If you have a larger budget or maybe even no budget in mind, paid search is a consistent approach for driving traffic – whether you have a strong organic reach or not!
We’ll often recommend a few other channels for your ads (like Facebook or display), but Google Ads (Google’s paid search option) is a great place to start.
Here’s what we would recommend right now for our B2B clients. Attack paid search. Stop looking for clicks or impressions and starting looking at the cost per lead. This is much more predictable with paid search. Google search is a place where people are showing an intent to find what you’re offering and we can generate more profitable leads through this type of campaign!
For our B2C clients, we see a stronger deliverable through Facebook and Instagram advertising (which work together) or Google Shopping, though, if your budget allows, we would still recommend paid search. These campaigns can be very targeted and testing allows us to get better results, more consistently. We always want to see a profit on this and that’s what testing helps to accomplish.
If you have to choose just one approach, we will always recommend organic marketing because it’s free and it will do the job over time. It’s a slow burn, but it burns none the less.
That said, to anyone asking what we recommend and what is the best approach for your business, paid search can mean the difference between being seen by your target audience and never showing up in the first place. It could certainly be the solution to your goal for revenue growth this year.
If you want to increase your brand awareness, gain more qualified leads, capture your target audience, and/or increase sales – and you need to do it quickly – paid search is what you need. It’s a fast burn!
The thing is, when someone is searching in their browser, they’re showing intent. They need information and you have the answer. The question is, will you show up, or simply ignore their request?
To learn even more about this type of marketing, make sure you've watched Squad Talks Episode 2 | The Fast Burn: Google Ads. On this episode, digital marketing strategist Brayden Ware and The Marketing Squad CEO Bryce talk paid search, display ads, and more!
If you need help with your base or spike marketing, our team of marketing experts are here to help as your outsourced team. Let us know what you need!
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