Month: January 2020

It’s tipped as one of the marketing hacks to watch in 2020 with digital marketers and SEO specialists vying to get their businesses and clients featured ‘on-SERP’. Now don’t be alarmed if you’re unsure what this means or why it’s important because we’ve got the lowdown on what you need to know.

Wait a minute – what on Earth is on-SERP?!

Yes, the jargon can be confusing when marketing isn’t your bread and butter!

We can now find the answer to any query by typing a few keywords into a search engine. The battle to have a top spot on the first page for your search is a competitive one, especially now with organic search results being pushed further down the paid, preceded by paid Ads and what’s known as on-SERP.

On-SERP is what Google chooses to display to try to answer your query with tailored, intuitive and succinct information. On-SERP, especially the featured snippet that appears at the top of the page (also known as ‘position zero’), is incredibly valuable space. Think of it like a blazing billboard appearing in the middle of the road while you’re driving! It’s going to get noticed.

And if a user gets all the information they need from a featured snippet, then they don’t need to click on any of the other results.

How you can use on-SERP to help your business get noticed

Look we’re not going to pretend high performing on-SERP is easy, after all trying to work out Google’s ever-changing search algorithms is a specialist field. But there are some ways you can best position your business for on-SERP results.

1. Make sure your website is optimised for Google Sitelinks

Sitelinks are subheadings that appear under a search result showing the key pages of your website. Here’s an example showing the Google Sitelinks when you search for us here at Sketch Corp

Your website needs a very clear navigational structure to boost the chances of your sitelinks being displayed in a Google search. Strong internal links to core pages, such as ‘Services’, ‘About’ and ‘Contact’, will optimise your website for Google sitelinks.

2. Make ‘Google My Business’ your business!

Google My Business is what appears when people Google you, displaying details like your map location, reviews, services, contact numbers and business hours. Keeping this information current, relevant and refreshed is a great way to attract traffic for local branded searches. And the best part is that Google My Business is free! At Sketch Corp, we wrote this blog about why this easy-to-use tool is a must.

3. Consider running a Branded Pay-Per-Click Ad campaign

If someone searches the internet for your brand name, then that should be a fantastic – not to mention super easy – opportunity to convert that search into a click to your website. They’ve already heard of you and now they’re trying to find out more so don’t lose that query to another business that also appears on the search results page. Running ads that showcase your brand name can be achieved through a basic Google Ads brand campaign. If you’re not experienced using those tools then it’s best to speak to a Google Ads specialist (we’d be happy to help!).

4. Video

Video marketing is a very powerful tool to boost your brand. Cisco forecasts internet video will grow to more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2020. Google knows this and they’ll show video snippets among the list of organic search results. Featured Video will also appear at the top of the SERP. If you haven’t already, then it’s time to consider video for your website and make sure you link it to video sharing services like YouTube and Vimeo.

5. Connect your Social Media Channels

Google’s knowledge panels appear on a search results page to show a quick snapshot of information about your business in a box. You can link your social media channels to your website and verify them with Google so that they’re automatically included in your knowledge box.

6. Use Twitter to help boost your on-SERP presence

On the first Search Engine Results Page, Google shows the most relevant branded tweets.  Actively tweeting relevant and engaging content and interacting with Twitter users will also help boost your presence on-SERP.

7. A picture is worth a thousand words (or clicks!)

Use images to boost your brand’s presence on Search Engine Results Pages especially in ‘position zero’ or the Featured Snippet. More than 12% of SERPs will display images so it’s an important hack. You should give images a descriptive title and also try to reduce the file size without sacrificing quality.

Want to boost your brand’s presence on-SERP in 2020?

If you’re keen to learn more about on-SERP and how to make your brand more visible in online searches, get in touch with us at Sketch Corp.

It’s part of a powerhouse social network, its audience has twice the buying power of other social media channels and it’s gaining momentum every single day. Impressive, we know – and these are just three of the reasons we’re predicting LinkedIn advertising in 2020 could mean majorly big business for your company.

A hugely popular platform still in its growth phase, there’s just something about LinkedIn. As an agency that specialises in working with B2B business, we received a huge number of LinkedIn-related enquiries from our clients last year – all of whom wanted to know how they can best utilise LinkedIn’s remarkably effective lead generation with their own LinkedIn advertising in 2020. On the off-chance you’re not familiar with the stats surrounding this ongoing ­­success story, they’re pretty impressive:

• In 2018, LinkedIn reached 10 million registered Australian members – and with 42% of those using the platform multiple times every day or week, it’s the primary networking space for­­ Australian professionals and businesses.
• When it comes to lead generation, LinkedIn’s where it’s at. When surveyed, a whopping 59% of respondents reported it delivered leads, compared to 28% for Twitter and 24% for Facebook.
• Four out of five LinkedIn members are the people in their team tasked with making business decisions.
• LinkedIn is the ultimate B2B marketer social media channel, with 92% of B2B marketers using LinkedIn over all other social media platforms.

So what do we think is so exciting about LinkedIn advertising in 2020? Well, it’s where you’ll find your people – it’s used by more businesses and business owners than any comparable platform. This is because the way it’s used is more aligned with the needs and mentality of its users – whilst networking is at its core, it’s a different, less fluffy type of social interaction than that offered by other well-established platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

How to make the most of LinkedIn advertising in 2020 

If you decide to add LinkedIn to your marketing mix this year, you’ll want to think carefully about your content and advertising strategies. With that in mind, here are some quick tips for producing great content that’ll knock the socks off your competitors…

• As with every time you hit ‘post’ on your socials, make sure your content is timely, relevant and compelling. Quality always trumps quantity – everything you publish should be a must-read for your audience.
• If your business has a wider marketing strategy in place, make sure all your LinkedIn content aligns with this. Consistency is key – and this applies to the frequency, as well as the content, of your posts.
• Ever heard the saying ‘No one likes a show-off’? Well, that doesn’t apply here – this is your chance to really show your expertise to the wider business world. Don’t be afraid of using your post’s 1300 character limit to its full potential – people have reported 10 x more visibility on their long-form articles than their short-and-snappy ones.
• Get tag-happy – tag any people or audiences you reference, and make sure you use the hashtag function to its full potential. (Here’s a great guide to using LinkedIn’s unique hashtag system.)

In terms of advertising, LinkedIn spent 2019 investing serious time and money on ensuring its advertising platform, Campaign Manager, lets users achieve the kind of results that align with their company marketing objectives. What does that mean for you and your business? Well, your LinkedIn advertising in 2020 could take advantage of some of these super-straightforward, highly effective features.

• LinkedIn’s switch to objective-based advertising means you can run your campaigns around clearly-defined goals including brand awareness, lead generation and engagement.
• When it comes to brand awareness, you can now boost the share-of-voice for your product or services through top-of-funnel campaigns that charge by impressions, e.g. cost per thousand (also known as CPM).
• A simple conversion tracking tool means you can create campaigns that are optimised for actions on your website, including purchases, downloads and event registrations.
• If you’re a LinkedIn Talent Solutions customer trying to drive applications on LinkedIn or your own site, you can now create ads using Campaign Manager.

If you’re not already across Linkedin advertising, another key advantage is the ability for advertisers to specify the industry, company size and job title of people they want to see their ads. This feature is hugely beneficial for a BD team with a detailed potential customer hitlist – basically, you can put your ad right in front of the people you most want to see it.

For smaller B2B companies with limited budgets, you’ll have to think carefully about whether or not to invest in LinkedIn advertising in 2020. With LinkedIn clicks working out to be more costly than those on other platforms, you’ll have to weigh the value of your conversion against what you spend on your ad. Generally speaking, LinkedIn advertising isn’t a cost-effective option for those with a limited budget  –  $100 per month, for example, sadly won’t cut it.

If, however, you are a B2B company considering utilising LinkedIn advertising in 2020 (and we highly recommend you do), it’s important you get the right person or organisation to take charge of the implementation. When people find themselves declaring “It doesn’t work!”, it’s usually because the strategy hasn’t been rolled out properly – if there even was one to begin with. To avoid issues like ads being shown at the wrong time or with sub-par content, unrealistic and uninformed expectations or a team member gone rogue (think those mid roll-out, personal, non-aligned posts…), make sure you speak to an expert before you get started. And that’s where we come in…