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When clients share clear and concise requests with agencies, why are agencies so often unable to respond in a timely and professional manner? When a client’s needs are ignored for so long, they finally erupt in a banging cloud of disappointment and frustration, and ultimately the client leaves the agency. Sometimes it appears as if the basic human emotion of empathy has disappeared, but where has it gone?

Seeing the world from someone else’s perspective has become a lost art. When agencies fail to connect with the clients they are meant to serve, ego clashes inevitably occur.

It is our responsibility as agencies to control our own egos so that we can fully absorb clients. In fact, it is our job to remove our egos from the equation because removing them is an essential part of the job. How else can we agencies provide them with the service their business truly needs if we don’t put ourselves in their shoes and adopt their ego, perspective, and business needs?

Our ability to truly understand our clients’ needs is directly related to the empathy we apply to their situations. What do they need, how do they want it delivered, and how much do they want to pay? Why would we deviate from any of these and provide them with something that is outside of their expectations or budget? We would only set ourselves up for failure by going down this route.

Some agencies out there will say that it is the client’s responsibility to tell us if they are not interested in the service they are being offered – this is absolute garbage. The world is still full of manners, and a client would rather smile and email you later saying you are fired instead of telling you face-to-face that your offering isn’t for them.

To provide the best service to our clients, we must be connected on this level. In our experience, we have managed some of the most high-end clients you could ever imagine. We have delivered on all counts, including people who understand what service means. You can see how satisfied and appreciated a smaller or medium-sized client feels when we provide them with that same level of service. They watch their certainty and confidence in choosing us grow, time and time again, by good decisions that keep happening.

The level of customer service we provide is simple. The success of our clients directly affects our own. There is both a technical side of the business and a service side, and the latter is usually ignored until a client can no longer take it. Our clients are impressed with our vision to provide the best service possible, and their trust in us only grows as a result.

We want to help you scale your business using digital marketing strategies. You don’t have to worry about any of the technical stuff – just let our experts handle it!

Your information will be managed by David, who has years of experience and is always excited for new opportunities to work with exciting organisations like yours. This consultation comes at no cost, so there’s nothing holding back from getting started today!

Enquire today to book your free consultation and experience the ClickSquad difference.

The post What happened to agency customer service? appeared first on Click Squad.

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The domestic eCommerce market in Australia expanded by more than 11% in 2020. So if you run an eCommerce business, your competition is fierce. This means that you need to stand out from the crowd.

Fortunately, there are plenty of customers to go around. In fact, more than 80% of people in Australia buy from online retailers. Promoting your business online will help you tap into this wealth of retail potential, and this is where boosting SEO for eCommerce can help.

Working on your SEO helps to bring traffic to your company’s website and boost sales. This is why it is an essential part of any eCommerce strategy.

So what exactly is SEO, and how does boosting it for your eCommerce store work? Read on to find out our top SEO tips that will drive sales for your business.

What Is SEO for eCommerce, and Why Is It Important?

91% of people around the world use search engines, such as Google, to find businesses and information online. So these websites play a vital role in the success of your business.

Because of this, SEO (or search engine optimization) is an important strategy for any online business. This seeks to improve your visibility on search engine results pages (also known as SERPs.)

Search engines rank websites based on how well they match the search criteria provided by the searcher. This makes it easier for people to find a specific website or piece of information online.

However, as a business, it can also help bring more customers to your website. The higher up your page features in the search engine ranking, the more people will see it. A number of things can impact this, including:

• The content included on your website
• How well the language on your website matches a search
• How long visitors stay on your website for
• How well connected your website is

Appearing high up on a SERP can seriously increase the amount of traffic being brought to your website, and this directly impacts your sales. So how can you improve your SEO for eCommerce strategy?

Well, this mainly centers around improving your company’s eCommerce website. Let’s take a closer look at our tips for improving the SEO content of your online store.

Promote Keywords in Your Website Copy

Keywords are an essential part of any SEO strategy. These are words or phrases that match searches your potential customers might make.

For example, let’s say your company sells cosmetic products. Then relevant keywords for you might include:

• Cosmetic beauty
• Make-up
• Skincare routine
• Brands or products that you sell (such as nude lipstick or SPF 15 foundation)

Including these throughout your site will increase your chances of matching a customer’s search. As a result, your website will appear higher up on a SERP.

The more pages and products your website has, the easier this is. However, most search engines will penalize websites that overuse keywords. So it is important to strike a good balance in your website’s copy.

Using a variety of keywords and secondary keywords can help you boost your SEO without you being penalized.

Work on Your Product Pages

Your product pages do not just provide information for your customers. They can also help to draw new customers to your website if you use them properly.

Because of this, you should always make sure that you:

• Include plenty of information about each product
• Highlight its key features
• Use brand names as well as generic descriptions
• Provide photos or videos of your products in action
• Link to other similar products at the bottom of the page

This will help you create informative and helpful product pages that drive sales.

On top of this, it will keep customers on your website for as long as possible. Search engines interpret this as your website being a relevant search result. So it can boost your ranking in future searches.

Provide Detailed Product Category Descriptions

Product pages aren’t the only way to keep customers on your website and promote your keywords.

A lot of eCommerce websites overlook the potential of category descriptions. This is the copy featured at the top of your product category web pages.

Your category descriptions are great places to provide keywords and internal links for your other web pages. For example, if you sell clothing, your “Women’s Trousers” category description could include links to:

• A jeans webpage
• A leisurewear webpage
• An officewear webpage
• A formalwear webpage
• A cargo pants webpage

Doing this makes it easier for your customers to navigate your website. It also offers them more shopping options. So they are likely to spend longer opening webpages and exploring your website.

Start Using Product Snippets

A product snippet essentially feeds more product-related data to search engines. This involves using a structured data type that will display product-rich results.

You can include specific information using product snippets. This might include your product name, its image, descriptions, and reviews.

This helps searchers find specific products that are relevant to their search quickly. As a result, you increase your chances of converting website traffic into sales.

It is important to follow search engine markup guidelines when creating snippets to avoid being penalized.

Include Internal Links Throughout Your Site

As we have already mentioned, the longer people spend on your website, the better your search ranking. Because of this, it is important to create a website that is easy to navigate and encourages visiting searchers to explore it further.

Some simple ways to do this include:

• Providing similar, recommended products at the bottom of your product pages
• Having an easy-to-spot search box at the top of your website
• Promoting offers and discounts in the banner of your webpage or on your product pages
• Inviting visiting searchers to subscribe for information on further deals

Internal links are another great way to keep people on your website. These link to other web pages throughout your site.

For example, let’s say you run a homeware eCommerce site. In that case, a product description for a kitchen table could include links to other kitchen products or category pages.

This increases your traffic to multiple web pages from a single search.

Create Blog Content to Promote Keywords

Some search engine users will go online looking for specific products. However, a huge number of them go online to look for information or advice.

Providing informative blog content can help to draw these searches onto your eCommerce website. This content should relate to the type of products you sell. For example, you could share:

• “How to” articles
• Blogs providing tips, advice, and inspiration
• Product reviews
• Listicles about your top five products

Blog content is a great place to promote your website’s keywords. You can also include internal links to products and other blog content.

Even if a searcher doesn’t go on to buy something from your website, the time they spend reading will boost your search engine ranking.

However, it is important that you provide interesting, informative, and well-written content on your blog. Searchers will quickly click away from articles that aren’t useful or are presented poorly. Because of this, it can help to get support from experts in SEO writing.

You should publish new content as regularly as possible and promote your blog content throughout your website. You can also promote this on your company’s social media platforms, so it gets more attention. The more hits this gets, the better your search engine ranking will be.

Add Alt-Text to Your Images

The words on your website are not the only things that can improve your search engine ranking. In fact, the images on your site can make a huge difference.

This is because search engines rank the images on your website as well as the text. They do this using the image title and its alt-text.

Alt-text is the description that you provide for each image when you upload it to your website. This should describe the content of each image concisely.

Providing more detail in your alt-text can help boost SEO. For example, if you sell clothing you could upload an image with the alt-text “green dress.” However, changing this alt-text to “women’s green midi dress sizes XS-XXL” provides more information.

This means that your image is more likely to match searches. This also improves your website accessibility for people with vision impairments. So these customers will feel more comfortable exploring your website.

Get an SEO Audit of Your Website

If you aren’t sure where to start with boosting your SEO, it can help to get an SEO audit. This involves an SEO expert looking through your website, from its content to its overall design.

They will then provide an assessment of what is working and what needs improving. This can help you use your SEO budget and strategy wisely.

Get Support Improving Your Site’s SEO

As you can see, SEO for eCommerce can have a huge impact on your business’s success. So it is worth investing time and money into improving your website.

If you would like to improve your eCommerce company’s SEO, help is at hand. Schedule a free strategy call with the Click Squad today to start your business on the road to success today.

The post SEO for eCommerce: Strategies to Drive More Online Store Sales appeared first on Click Squad.

In a recent study, it was found that 73% of companies spent nearly three-quarters of their total marketing budget on their content marketing strategy. Of that number, nearly 80% believe that the strategy they implemented was very successful. 

With statistics like that, it would be naive to ignore what the current trends are in SEO. Although various SEO tactics like backlinking have a track record of success, topic clusters are a more recent addition. 

The Google algorithm is constantly changing, and if you’re not getting the results you want from your current marketing strategy, it could be that you’re missing out on something that Google is now basing SERPs on, and in turn, not getting seen by potential customers. 

If you’re looking to boost your SEO strategy or are not sure what topic clusters are and how they can help, then this article is for you. Read on to find out everything you need to know about cluster content and how it needs to be part of your strategy. 

What Are Topic Clusters?

Topic clusters are a group of articles, posts, or online content that revolves around a single topic. Internal linking should be an essential part of your on-site SEO strategy. 

At the center of your cluster is what’s called a pillar page or pillar content. This is the content that everything stems off and links back to. The goal is to try and answer every question possible from your reader and to keep them on your site for longer. To summarize, these are what should make up your cluster content strategy.

• Pillar content which is on a broader topic and may give a general overview of it
  
• More in-depth articles stemming from the main pillar page that answer a specific question

How Has SEO Evolved?

SEO is constantly evolving, and things that worked in the past are no longer relevant. 

Back in the 1990s, it was enough to rank on Google by creating an article with a relevant keyword and linked words, which often lead to the now frowned-on practice of keyword stuffing to try to trick the algorithm. Although keywords are still vital, Google now encourages us to use them slightly differently. 

SEO evolved to be impacted both on-page and off-page, and the relevance of linking came into play. External linking was seen as a thumbs up from other sites that your site is worth attention.

To trick the algorithm, people moved on to the tactic of buying links to give their sites a boost. Like with keyword stuffing, this is now a dated practice that’s disfavored and can harm your site.

More recently, Google has stated that internal linking is a big contender in getting your site seen, as well as the introductions of EAT. 

What Is EAT?

EAT is an acronym for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness and was brought in as a ranking factor in August 2018. It’s based on the quality of a webpage, to improve user experience. 

The purpose of this was to only let the best content appear at the top of search results, and give less attention to thin or spammy-looking sites. Part of EAT includes cluster content and becoming an authority on a topic by writing in-depth articles surrounding a single topic.

The Benefits of Topic Clusters

There are numerous benefits to using blog topic clusters to enhance your SEO strategy. Below, we’ve listed the four main reasons why you should start implementing it. 

More Organized Content

Having pillar pages allows you to define what your site is about as well as to organize your content logically. The pillar pages are designed to be centric on your other articles.

Visitors to your page want to be able to find the answer to their questions quickly. Having content that’s logical to find improves the user’s experience.

Improved SEO

A solid cluster content strategy will help to improve your overall site SEO. This is because of Google now basing search results on EAT that we mentioned. Having lots of content on your site all linked to a single topic helps to consolidate your authority on a topic.

Increased Content Production Speed

Rather than constantly having to think of new topics from scratch to write about, having a cluster content strategy will speed up this process. A big chunk of the work will have been done with your research and writing of your pillar page. The sub-topics that stem from this page are quicker to create as you’ve already partially done the research. 

More Comprehensive Content 

It helps you to avoid gaps in your blog’s content. Part of the user experience is that they should not need to click away from your site to find more information; it should be available somewhere on your site.

How to Create a Topic Cluster

Using a content strategy based on the cluster model works for every industry, regardless of the niche. It can take a bit of upfront planning, but in the long run, you will be able to produce content quicker, as you will have already researched the topic thoroughly to create your pillar content. 

Step 1: Choose Your Core Topic

This is the most important step, as it will be used to create your pillar page. Start to brainstorm ideas that you want to write about and that link to your business. Try to look for common themes and group things together.

Once you have several general topic ideas, break them down further and think of every possible angle. 

For example, if your site focuses on the food niche, one of your pillar content ideas could be “quick and easy meals for busy people”. This is quite a broad topic, so break it down further into sub-topics. These could be ‘kid-friendly meals for busy parents’, ‘time-saving kitchen gadgets, or ‘how to batch cook homemade ready meals.” 

As you can see, these sub-topics can all link back to the main pillar piece. These subtopics all form your cluster content.   

Step 2: Do Keyword Research On Your Core Topic

When you have chosen your core topics, then the next step is to do keyword research to see if people are searching for these topics and how difficult the topic will be to rank.  

Use a keyword research tool to analyze the potential keywords that you can use. Once you have found some relevant keywords or phrases to rank for, do further competitor research. 

Step 3: Outline Your Topic Cluster Structure and Plan Articles

While you’re researching keywords, make a note of any additional linked topics that there may have low difficulty with decent traffic. This can also be added to your cluster content. 

Plan your main pillar page based on your keyword research, remembering that this page should attempt to cover a broad range of topics. Then plan what your cluster articles are going to be, again using any relevant keywords you found.

Your outlines should include any relevant headings and subheadings, as well as a targeted word count. Include an outline of any keywords that need to be used, this should be a mix of primary, secondary, and related phrases.

Step 4: Produce Your Content

After you’ve planned the topic content structure and planned your articles, it’s time to start writing your content. 

Remember that your content needs to be good quality, and engaging. It should also answer everything a reader might be looking for. 

Avoid simply copying competitors’ work, as this will flag up as plagiarized content and get you penalized by Google.  When you’re writing your content, here are some tips you should follow.

• Avoid keyword stuffing; be sure not to use the same keyword too many times, as it should read naturally
• Make use of related keywords that are all linked to your primary keywords
• Add any alt attributes to any images; if possible use a keyword in these to help contribute to your site’s SEO
• Check readability and make sure your content is readable and scannable by keeping sentences short, using headings and bullet points

Step 5: Publish Your Content and Add Internal Links

After publishing your content, make sure you’re internally linking it to any relevant articles to support your cluster content. You should be linking up and down between the pillar content and sub-articles, as well as in a linear way (linking between sub-articles).

This helps Google to crawl your site and establish your EAT on a topic. 

Ready to up Your SEO Game?

If you need help planning an effective Topic Cluster strategy, then speak to the team at ClickSquad today. We’re a performance-based digital marketing company that covers everything from search engine optimization to social media, and online marketing intending to get your business seen.

Arrange your free strategy call with our knowledgeable team today to find out what we can do for you.

The post What Are Topic Clusters and How Do They Enhance Your SEO Strategy? appeared first on Click Squad.

You don’t have to look far to find great statistics about the effectiveness of Google Ads and other forms of PPC marketing. For example, did you know that these types of paid ads have a 200% ROI? Furthermore, they generate twice the views that organic SEO does.

We could go on and on but the point is that Google Ads work. However, they only work if you know how to write great Google Ads copy. While this includes learning how to write short, straight-to-the-point copy and call-to-actions, there’s a lot more to it than just that.

Are you looking to drive conversions with Google Ads? In this article, we’ll share tips on how to write effective Google Ads copy that will help you achieve your goals. 

What Are Google Ad Specifications?

Google Ad specifications refer to the standards that all ads must meet in order to be approved and run on the Google ad network.

These standards cover everything from the size and format of the ad, to the content that can be included. 

Google Ad specifications are constantly being updated, so it’s important for advertisers to stay up-to-date on the latest requirements. Here’s what to know so that you can create ads that will get approved!

Length of Google Ads Headlines

The headlines of your Google Ads are important for catching the attention of your potential customers. You want your headlines to be clear and concise, while also being interesting enough to make people want to click on your ad. 

However, you may be wondering how long your headlines should be. The short answer is that your headlines can be up to 30 characters long. However, you should aim for shorter headlines if possible, as they are more likely to be read in full than longer ones. 

Keep in mind that people will only see the first two or three words of your headline when they are scrolling through a web page, so make sure that these words are catchy and likely to grab attention.

Finally, remember that you can always experiment with different headline lengths to see what works best for your business. A/B testing is an important component of any digital marketing strategy.

Length of Google Ads Descriptions

The length of Google Ads descriptions is 90 characters. This gives you enough room to include your main keyword, a call to action, and additional information about your product or services.

You should focus on making your descriptions concise and to the point. In addition, you should also make sure that your descriptions are relevant to the keywords that you are targeting.

Irrelevant descriptions will not only be less effective, but they can also result in lower click-through rates.

Understanding the PAS Framework

Now that you know how long your ads can be, it’s time to think about how to write Google Ads copy that converts. For this, you’ll want to understand PAS.

PAS is an acronym that stands for “problem, agitation, and solution.” It’s a copywriting framework that helps businesses articulate the problems their products or services solve in a way that resonates with potential customers. 

This copywriting technique begins by clearly articulating the problem your product or service solves. This is important because it allows you to tap into your potential customer’s pain points and show them that you understand their struggles. 

Once you’ve articulated the problem, you can then agitate it by amplifying the effects of the problem and highlighting how it impacts your potential customer’s life. 

Finally, you’ll provide a solution (which would be your product or service) that will help to ease the pain points you’ve uncovered and address the problem head-on. 

Utilizing the PAS framework is a great way to craft persuasive and effective marketing copy that will resonate with your target audience and drive conversions. However, it’s especially helpful when writing compelling Google Ads copy.

4 Tips for Writing Great Google Ads Copy

Aside from using PAS when writing Google ads copy, what else can you do to ensure your ads convert?

Here are some tips for writing great Google Ads copy that will help get you started. 

Hook Them With a Promise

When crafting effective Google Ads copy, hook your reader with a promise.

Your ad should make a clear and specific promise of what the reader will get by clicking on it. This could be a discount, a free shipping offer, or something else that will entice them to click. 

Once you have their attention, you need to deliver on that promise with a well-written and relevant ad. In addition, your ad should be clear and concise, with a strong call to action.

For example, if you’re creating ads for a public speaking course, a great Google Ads hook might look like “7 secrets of public speaking…” Who doesn’t want free secrets?

Tell Them How You’ll Solve Their Problem

When writing your Google Ads, it’s important to focus on the benefit to the customer. What problem are you solving for them? How will they be better off after using your product or service? 

Tell them explicitly how you’ll solve their problem and they’ll be more likely to click on your ad. Keep your language simple and straightforward so that anyone can understand what you’re offering. 

Using the example above, this might look like a “free guide about how to overcome public speaking anxiety.” 

Try the Scarcity Angle

Any good copywriter knows that one of the most effective ways to get someone’s attention is by creating a sense of urgency or scarcity.

This is because humans are hardwired to respond to threats of loss, and so when we see something that’s in limited supply, we’re more likely to take action. 

You can use this same principle when writing your Google Ads by incorporating phrases like “limited time only” or “while supplies last.” Doing so will help to grab attention and increase click-through rates.

Just make sure that your landing pages feature the same language so as not to confuse your users. Whatever angle you go with for your ad needs to be present on the landing page, too!

Think About Keyword Intent

When creating your ad copy, it’s important to think about the intent behind the keywords that you’re targeting. If you’re targeting a keyword like “cheap TVs,” for example, you’ll want to focus on creating an ad that convinces the searcher to buy from you because you offer the best prices. 

On the other hand, if you’re targeting a keyword like “smart TV reviews,” your ad should focus on convincing the searcher that you offer the most comprehensive and trustworthy reviews.

By understanding the intent behind your keywords, you can create ads that are more likely to resonate with your target audience.

Focus on Clarity When Creating Google Ads

By now, you’ve hopefully tried your hand at some Google Ads copy. Great! What’s left? Look them over and ensure you’re focusing on creating clear, concise ads.

It should be easy for potential customers to understand what you are offering. To do this, you will need to use keyword research to find the right keywords to target.

You should also make sure that your ad is relevant to your products or services. Aside from that, simply follow the tips mentioned above.

Create a short, attention-grabbing headline that includes the main benefit of your offer. In the body of your ad, focus on what makes your product or service unique and why it’s the best choice for the customer.

Finally, include a call-to-action that urges the reader to take the next step. Not sure how to write a great call-to-action? Keep scrolling.

Optimize Your CTA

Your CTA is what tells your potential customers what you want them to do next, whether it’s visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or making a purchase. 

Without a strong CTA, your Google Ads campaign is likely to fall flat. So how can you make sure your CTA is effective?

First of all, keep it simple. Your CTA should be easy to understand and free of jargon.

Then, make it specific. Be clear about what you want your customers to do. “Click here” or “learn more” are not effective CTAs. “Download our free guide” or “schedule your strategy call” are better examples of specific CTAs.

Where it makes sense, it can help to also create a sense of urgency. Don’t give your customers too much time to think about whether or not they want to take action. If you want them to act now, make sure your CTA reflects that.

And finally, test your CTAs! Don’t be afraid to experiment with different CTAs to see what works best for your business. Try different versions of your CTA and see which one gets the most clicks. 

Schedule a Google Ads Consultation

Now that you understand the importance of using Google Ads to reach your target audience, it’s time to take the next step and schedule a consultation with our team of Google Ads experts. 

We can help you create a campaign that reaches your customers without you having to spend hours of your precious time crafting Google Ads copy.

Don’t wait any longer. Contact us today for your free strategy call.

The post How to Write Google Ads Copy That Gets Results: 4 Tips and Examples appeared first on Click Squad.

Developing effective link building practices should be an important part of any website’s overall marketing strategy. Essentially, backlinks indicate to search engines, like Google, which websites contain high-quality content that others want to mention. While links have different weightings when it comes to SEO, in general, the more backlinks a website has, the better its web authority. Therefore, link building can have a direct impact on a website’s ranking. This is important as the higher the ranking, the more visible a site is. And, the more visible a site is, the greater the traffic, with larger visitor numbers typically leading to more conversions. In short, link building is a vital tactic for most successful websites.

What Is Link Building?

A link, short for hyperlink, connects two webpages, either on the same website or on two different sites, for convenient cross-page navigation. Link building refers to the methods used to gain more links to a website’s pages and enhancing the quality of links. Backlinks from popular reputable websites with good web authority are typically more useful than links from newer sites with low visitor numbers, little content and low domain authority.    

Why Is Link Building Important?

While Google’s algorithm is constantly evolving, thus forcing markets and website owners to continually re-think their SEO strategies, backlinks have consistently remained important.

Websites that are successful with SEO typically have robust link-building practices. Links, or the lack of, can have a huge impact on a website’s rankings. This means links have the potential to help a website feature on the first page of a search engine. Similarly, links can be the reason a site remains invisible in obscurity.

The vast majority of internet inquiries begin with a search engine. People typically look at the top few returned results; it’s rare for searchers to scroll through pages and pages of results.

Furthermore, link building helps search engines to actually find new websites. It’s never to early, therefore, to start focusing on link-building efforts.

As well as being a key part of SEO success, building links is also important for other reasons:

Relationships

Building good relationships is a key tactic for obtaining backlinks. Similarly, good link-building strategies can help to foster good working relationships with others in your niche or industry.

Online communications, and therefore also backlinks, can take place in various forms. Mutually beneficial partnerships and respect can go a long way when it comes to online success. In essence, a mention from another person, especially somebody trusted and popular in their field, is like a referral.

Nurturing relationships can become beneficial in a host of ways beyond exchanging links. For example, good relationships can help you grow your social media following or provide a valuable resource for guidance and advice.         

Referral Traffic

Backlinks can help increase the number of visitors to your website, some of which may lead to conversions, either now or in the future. Websites with a large amount of traffic themselves are ideal targets if you wish you obtain good-quality links; after all, the more visitors they have, the more people will be exposed to the link to your site and thus there are more people likely to click and visit your website.

Increased Conversions

Whether you’re selling a product or service, whether your website focuses on affiliate marketing or advertising, whether you run an official website geared toward providing information or whether you have a different conversion goal, link building can increase your conversions. As previously mentioned, the greater the number of people who visit your site, the greater the number of people who will take the action you wish them to.  

Brand Building

Link building can help to create greater awareness of your brand. Even if people don’t follow links the first time they see them, after repeat exposure they will likely remember your brand. Especially if links are for relevant related content and on trusted websites, internet users may start directly visiting your site for convenience and dependability.

In brief, quality backlinks can ultimately over time increase your branded traffic as well as visits from un-branded traffic that has simply clicked on a hyperlink.

How Are Links Interpreted by Search Engines?

Search engines follow links to find content on websites. If a particular page has lots of good-quality links, it indicates to the search engine that the page offers good-value content. They subsequently use this information to rank the content in search results. For Google, a bot named Googlebot crawls websites, following all the links.  

While Google considers both internal and inbound links, external links have much more weighting than those within your site.   

Other factors that influence the value Google gives to links include:

• The anchor text, or phrase that is linked
• The placement of the link on the page
• The type of link
• The link’s relevance
• Whether links are labelled dofollow or nofollow
• The website, or domain, authority
• The PageRank
• The TrustRank
• The relationship between link sources and targets
• Whether links from various sources
• The region a link comes from
• Other links on the same source page
• Age and timing of links

Additionally, organic links attract greater value while artificial links can adversely affect a page’s ranking.   

How Do Links Contribute to Page Authority?

Different to domain authority (DA), page authority (PA) shows where a certain webpage will rank on search engine listings. Calculated using a 100-point scale, the higher the Page Authority, the easier it is for a page to rank and the higher a page will typically rank.

Page authority has three facets:

• Page trust, with good quality content and organization
• Time between last page update and present day
• Contribution made by links

Part of good link-building exercises should be assessing how links contribute to page authority. This involves reviewing all backlinks, taking into account the number and quality, and checking internal links.

Internal links should be relevant and provide value to the reader; it’s not valuable to stuff a page with unrelated links.

Links automatically have a certain value of authority, which can impact the overall page authority. While good-quality links can increase page authority, poor-quality links often have little effect. Links that are spammy, on the other hand, can directly harm the page authority.  

The Best Ways to Build Links

Approaches to link building have changed greatly over the years. Good practices several years ago may be outdated today. It’s also important that link builders are aware of good practices when it comes to building links to avoid having any unwanted negative impacts on a website. For example, using black hat SEO practices, such as paying for links or obtaining links through manipulation or coercion, are detrimental to a site. Top ways to build high-quality links include:

Quality Content

Useful, interesting, unique and readable content remains a major way of obtaining links naturally. Essentially, you should create content that others want to link to. New research is particularly attractive when it comes to link building. Infographics are also popular, as are exclusive videos, images and interviews.   

Content Promotion

People need to find your content to link to it. Actively promote your content using various methods, for example through several social media channels, to your email list and via professional networks.

Via Connections

Leverage relevant connections to obtain links back to your content. As previously mentioned, the value of relationships can’t be underestimated. Engaging with others in your niche, or related fields, can encourage them to link back to your content. Flattery and recognition can often go a long way when it comes to productive link building.

Outreach

Outreach is where you essentially contact a website owner, manager or similar and simply ask for a backlink. Sometimes, targeted requests will be successful. However, having some previous contact often helps, connecting back to the importance of building relationships.

Offer Free Tools or Templates

Providing useful tools or templates for free can encourage users to provide a recommendation through a backlink. You can also ask people directly to link back to your product if they are satisfied with it.

Analyze Existing Links

Links that no longer work correctly provide no value to your site. Although the process can be tedious, checking for broken links and having them fixed, providing sites with updated links and similar means of fixing problematic links can restore connections between your site and another.

Find Opportunities

There are plenty of places you can obtain backlinks with relatively little effort, although you’ll need to put in the time for research. Find, for example, industry magazines, association websites, directories and similar where you can build a link. Relevant comments on blog posts, videos and articles can also be useful if you’re trying to increase your backlinks.

Link Building Services

As shown above, link building is important for building web and page authority, rankings and the overall success of a website. Building quality links can, however, be challenging. It can certainly be a drain on your time and energy, too.

Click Squad can help your business to grow. Contact them today to discuss your link-building needs.

The post Link Building: The Newest Tactics That Bring the Best Results appeared first on Click Squad.

While many companies and businesses focus on social media engagements, there is still a handful that utilizes SEO. Despite the popularity of these social platforms, ranking your website on search engines is still one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website and increase your sales. That’s why plenty of businesses rely on their SEO partners to improve their content and optimize their websites.

At Click Squad, we make sure that our clients are receiving the best and latest services, solutions, and strategies to help them reach their goals. For those that don’t know, we are a  performance-based marketing agency that aims to create growth for our clients through the use of digital services, such as PPC, SEO, social media, content, email, and search engine marketing.

Today, we are very proud to be named as one of the game changers in Australia’s SEO space according to Clutch. It is a huge honor for us to be on this list to be appreciated for the amount of work and perseverance that we put into our craft.

In case you are hearing Clutch for the first time, they are an established platform in the heart of Washington, DC, committed to helping small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses identify and connect with the service providers they need to achieve their goals.

There are probably hundreds and thousands of firms on Clutch, and to be singled out for our performance this year is truly a huge accomplishment for us. Our team works day in and day out just to make sure that our clients are receiving the latest and greatest solutions to help

Going back to Clutch, here is one of our favorite reviews on their platform:

“We managed to generate leads on our landing pages and after few months we managed to reduced our cost per conversion vastly as well. Our company was impressed with Click Suqad’s timely updates and eye for the details. Also, they really dig deep to make sure our ads run effectively.” Owner & Head of Growth of an IT Company.

We are very passionate about our services and we are very happy to be acknowledged for our hard work. Be it from our clients and partners to the award-giving bodies in the industry.

Got question? We’re here to help you out if you’re experiencing any issues or if you’re just curious about things. Get in touch with us today and we will get back to you ASAP.

The post Click Squad is a Game Changer in Australia’s SEO Space appeared first on Click Squad.

It’s no secret that safety measures for COVID-19 have sent the business world into a tailspin of trying to figure out what works best for them on an individual basis. Lockdown measures have significantly affected foot traffic for many local businesses for over a year now, and it’s crucial for said businesses to amp up the number of customers that can now walk through the door without putting them at risk or violating community COVID laws.

Now, local search engine optimisation is fantastic for bringing clientele through the front doors of your business, but at the same time, you’ve got to ensure that bringing more people into your brick and mortar location doesn’t violate social distancing measures, which will put your business at risk as a whole.

We’ve all seen what happens to businesses that don’t follow COVID-19 protocol, including facing fines and closure without limited available hours as an option. So, how can you safely up your local SEO game without falling victim to facing violations and putting your customers at risk by allowing them to congregate? At Click Squad, we’ve got a few ways to shift the winds of change in your favour.

The Lowdown on Local SEO

Many business owners that choose to work without the help of a professional digital marketing team completely miss out on a really important aspect of their strategy…local search engine optimisation. Local SEO is vital if you have a location that draws foot traffic. In fact, it’s typically much easier to rank your website on Google at a local level than it is national, so if you have that space for those in your community to come to see you, you’ve got to play that up within your SEO.

Local SEO is a little different from national or even worldwide focused SEO because it heavily depends on reaching those that live near you. Local SEO is popular with businesses such as medspas and physicians’ offices but can be successfully utilized by any small business looking to gain traction locally.

In a time of retail giants dominating the online market, the call for local SEO has become more important than ever. Online shopping is huge and has only proceeded to explode since the onset of the pandemic. When local businesses invest in local SEO, they’re essentially investing in reaching local consumers that are ready and willing to invest in their businesses right now.

Don’t be mistaken, Google fully understands the importance of local business, and will reward businesses that comply with local SEO guidelines and implement the best practices. Local SEO is never a waste of time unless of course, you employ it incorrectly.

The Benefits of Local SEO

We’ve made our case of local SEO and the fact that it’s beyond beneficial for local businesses that want to increase their presence online and in the surrounding community. However, there are many perks to local SEO that may come unexpectedly once you launch your strategy.

Incredible Web Presence in Your Local Niche

A good rule for every business is to pick a very targeted niche to begin, and then branch out as you gain traction and develop a marketing strategy that will appeal to a wide range of consumers. A local SEO plan that targets your local niche will help you shoot to the top of Google page one. When this happens, anyone that uses your keywords to search locally will be presented with your website and information on the first page of Google. If you’re running a paid ad, you’ll likely find yourself in the top spot.

Drum Up More Calls

A great local SEO strategy will drum up plenty of phone calls from local leads. Getting a potential customer on the phone is a fantastic way to begin a relationship with them, and you’ll find that local SEO is more than capable of making this happen, especially ensuring that your business is listed correctly on business directories such as Google Business and Yelp.

Increased Sales Revenue

As a whole, proper SEO means an uptick in sales revenue. If it didn’t increase sales, it’s unlikely that business owners would bother and marketing companies that specialize in SEO would cease to exist. General SEO gains sales (period) and local SEO gains local sales. When using local SEO as a means to increase business, 72% of consumers that did a local search visited a store presented to them that was within 5 miles of their home. Without question, local SEO works.

Effective Marketing Campaigns

Local SEP allows for specifically targeted marketing campaigns that shine a light on your business to your local audience that tells them exactly how you can solve their problems. Since 18% of smartphone purchases lead to a sale within 24 hours, whether it be online or in-store, an effective local SEO marketing campaign is essential to have!

More Business Does NOT Mean More COVID

It has been ingrained in our brains over the last year that more people in one place means a very high probability of contracted the virus that causes COVID-19. While this is true, more foot traffic for your business does not have to mean a higher risk of COVID, both for you and your employees.

You can step up your foot traffic, no pun intended, without raising the risk of spreading COVID-19 by following all state guidelines when it comes to controlling the virus. Sticking to regulations and understanding them as they change, is crucial to maintaining a local business amid the pandemic.

Click Squad Can Help

Click Squad has been in the business of helping local entrepreneurs and family-owned businesses get a hold of local foot traffic long before the pandemic began, and we’ll be here to help long after. We specialize in local SEO, and we are waiting to help you create and launch your strategy today.

It’s been a long year, and you deserve all of the online and local presence in the world. Call us today

The post How to Drive More Foot Traffic with Local SEO (While Respecting Social Distancing Measures) appeared first on Click Squad.

Landing pages are worth their weight in gold, primarily when they’re constructed and written correctly. Marketing teams are typically quite skilled at creating landing pages for clients, and if you find yourself with a tight budget, there are templates available that will assist you in building the perfect landing page. If you’re wondering what a landing page is and why they’re so critical to your advertising campaign, let us elaborate.

The Importance of Landing Pages

Landing pages are a dedicated page that you build on your website that highlights specific services or products you’re offering. Landing pages are rarely available in the navigation section of a website, as the information they hold is often reserved for click funnels and ad campaigns.

The idea behind a landing page is that the potential customer takes notice of your paid ad, whether it be on a search engine or social media platform, and they click on it. Whatever you’re advertising in the ad can be found on a landing page built specifically for that ad, and that’s where the user will land once they’ve clicked. Hence the term “landing page”.

When the consumer arrives at your landing page, it’s time to convince them to finish the sales process by adding your product to their cart and checking out. A fantastic, eye-catching, well-built landing page with a stellar call to action will absolutely fuel your sales and encourage your target audience to follow through and make a final decision.

Landing pages are part of a solid marketing strategy. They require a specific thought process and plenty of market research and design talent to create. At Click Squad, we have years of experience in building landing pages, and we’re more than happy to help you propel your business to the next level by utilising them.

Creating the Perfect Landing Page

Because landing pages are a huge part of your buyer’s journey, you want to ensure that they cater to your audience and aid in helping them down your sales funnel. If a potential client finds themselves on your landing page, it’s likely because they a super interested in what you have to offer if they haven’t decided to purchase it already.

Your landing page should tell them exactly what they’re getting and how to finish their purchase. The design should be clean, simple, and on-brand, and the language encouraging yet straightforward. Here, we’ll discuss a few significant aspects of a really incredible, sales friendly landing page.

Map Out Your Design

Whether you use a template or a professional marketing team (we suggest the latter), you should have a good idea of what you want your page to look like design-wise and what you want it to say from a copywriting perspective. Your content should be original and remain on the subject with the advertising campaign that leads to your landing page.

Ensure that you’re not throwing a curveball at your clients. What they see in the ad, they should see on the landing page.

Know Your Goals

Before you head into any marketing campaign, you should know what you want to get out of it. Whether or not you’ve met your goals will be presented in your analytics, so make sure that you have everything in place to measure that data. When setting up your landing page with your marketing team, make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Share your goals and set an idea of what you’d like the landing page to accomplish. Are you looking for a spike in sales or more leads? Whatever your goals, they should be clearly reflected on your landing page.

Fantastic Copywriting

Each piece of content on your website needs a fantastic copywriter, and your landing pages are no exception. If your copy isn’t eye-catching and to the point, you run the risk of boring your reader. If your copy is unclear, you might find that they become confused and leave your website.

Excellent copywriting is meant to inform, sell, and create emotion. Readers rarely want to gain new knowledge and insight from your landing page. They are there to read about what YOUR product and services can do for THEM. Hire a copywriter who understands that and can write in the brand voice of your preference.

Visuals

Many landing pages these days have visuals that don’t make sense. They might be fashionable and stand out, but they don’t match the brand, or they don’t fit well on the page or with the copy. Visuals are essential in constructing a landing page because the internet is all about simple, aesthetically pleasing designs.

Your page has to have the perfect visual to text ratio, or you’re going to lose clients. Your visuals need to make sense, match your brand, and represent your product and services in the best light possible.

Your Call to Action

Landing pages are notorious for unique calls to action. This is your chance to get creative, but don’t mess around too much because your CTA is crucial. You’re essentially convincing your client to buy, and it’s not likely that you’ll get more than once chance. Make it snappy, and make it near impossible for them to say no.

Optimising Your Landing Pages

Your marketing team will take the reins to optimise your landing pages to coincide with your advertising campaign. Here are a few examples of effective landing pages:

·   Direct Appliance Rentals

·   Lyft

·   Codeacademy

If you’re lost on how to get started on building your landing page, these companies are a great place to draw inspiration from.

Let Click Squad Design Your Landing Page Today

Landing pages can make or break a business. They provide consumers with the guidance necessary to make their final purchase and feel confident in doing so. Click Squad has helped our clients build relevant, user-friendly landing pages since we began our marketing journey.

If you’re interested in talking to us regarding your website or advertising campaign, reach out today. We look forward to working with you!

The post How to Create a Landing Page in 3 Simple Steps appeared first on Click Squad.