GET NOTICED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
The world of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is full of opportunities, but to benefit
you’ll first need to master research tools and keyword selection. From there, you
can improve and optimise your search campaigns to ensure you get maximum
value for what you spend.
1. Achieve relevance with good structure
Key Learnings
To succeed as an advertiser, you need to create adverts that help searchers find
what they’re looking for – and when you do, search engines may reward you. In
this video, you’ll learn: * how SEM campaigns are structured * how to use that
structure to achieve relevance * the benefits you’ll get by focusing on relevance.
Transcript
Hi there. In this video, you’ll learn why relevance is so important for SEM
campaigns. We’re also going to look at the structure of SEM campaigns, and show
you how to build your campaigns in a way that helps you achieve that relevance.
Ready to be one step closer to SEM success? Alright, let’s get started.
‘Relevance’ sounds like a tricksy sort of word, but it’s easy to understand if you
think about it as someone who uses search engines. For example, let’s do a
search for 'wedding photographer', and take a look at some of the adverts that
appear.
Here we have three.
The first headline says Wedding Photographer, followed by information about
pricing and selection. This ad is extremely relevant, because the headline matches
our search, plus it has plenty of useful information.
The second headline says Candid Wedding Photoshoot. It includes some
information about the types of wedding photo packages this business offers. This
ad is fairly relevant, but less than the first because the headline doesn’t precisely
reflect the search. As a whole, search engines might consider this advert less
relevant.
The third headline says Wedding Photograph, but appears to be an ad for a site
that sells posters. That’s not relevant to what we were searching for.
When it comes to relevance, search engines also consider the first web page
people see after they click on an ad. This is called the landing page. So what does
this mean for you? Well, just as your advert should be relevant to the words a
person just searched for, your landing page should be relevant to the advert a
person clicks on.
Makes sense, right? Great, let’s move on.
Relevance is important to search engines - After all, it’s their job to find relevant
results for searches, and this includes finding relevant adverts. Relevance is also
really important to businesses who advertise on search engines.
For starters, search engines reward relevant adverts with higher positions on the
search results page.
What’s more, if your adverts are more relevant than your competitors’, you might
be able to get the same amount of traffic for a lower price.
So it makes a lot of sense to pay attention to relevance.
Now let’s look at ways you can structure your SEM campaigns to achieve greater
relevance.
Think of your SEM plan as an upside-down tree. At the top is your account, which
you create with Google Ads, Bing Ads, or another search engine.
Within the account are campaigns. Each campaign controls important decisions,
like the daily budget, the areas or countries where ads can appear, and the
advertising networks you want to use.
Within each campaign, you can create multiple ad groups. These are collections of
keywords and the ads that go with them.
Structuring your account in this organised way helps ensure you show the most
relevant ads.
Let’s go through another example with the photographer to bring this to life.
Imagine you’re the photographer, and you specialise in various types of
photography. Let’s say weddings, baby photos and family portraits. Each of these
specialities contain different products, so you decide to split them into separate
campaigns.
Within each campaign, your next move is to create ad groups for each type of
product. For example, within your wedding photographer campaign, you might
create ad groups for engagement photos, bridal portraits, candid wedding photos,
and more.
Within your baby photos ad group, you add keywords that someone would search
for. For example, keywords like baby photography or newborn photos. Now you
can write an ad that corresponds to the keywords, like:
Baby Photography
We Take Beautiful Newborn Photos
Affordable Rates, Book Now!
If someone searched for your keyword baby photography, this would be a relevant
ad!
To sum up: No matter what type of business you have, your SEM campaigns
should have a solid, well-thought-out structure.
By dividing your products or services into separate campaigns and ad groups, you
can show ads that help customers find exactly what they’re searching for— which
is win-win for everyone.
2. Get the most from your keywords
Key Learnings
Search engines, like Google and Bing, offer tools that take the guesswork out of
choosing the right keywords, and can help potential customers find you online.
We'll talk about: * research tools * related searches * negative keywords.
Video Transcript
Hello! By now you should have a pretty good idea of how people use lots of
keywords to search for your products or services. Now let’s talk about making your
keywords as effective as possible.
In this video, we’ll be looking at research tools, like the ones provided by search
engines like Google and Bing. We’ll see how using these tools can take some of
the guesswork out of choosing keywords, and help more potential customers find
you online.
Let’s put this into practice. Imagine you already have one SEM campaign
promoting your wedding photography business. The clients are coming in, but now
let’s say you want to build a new campaign advertising your pet portraits.
A tool like Google’s Keyword Planner or Bing’s Keyword Research Tool can help
you find out which keywords are most relevant and will work best for your new
campaign.
For example, if you type in “pet portraits,” the tool will show you other related
searches.
Let’s look at which of these keywords might also be a good fit for your new
campaign.
We can see that people search for terms like [pictures of dogs], [animal artists],
and [dog portraits].
The results also show how many searches each term tends to get. And other
useful information, like suggested “bid prices” and “competition levels.”
Knowing this, you can create several groups, called ad groups. One for terms
related to pet portraits, one for [pictures of dogs], one for [dog portraits] and one
for [animal artists].
By organising these terms into ad groups, you can write relevant ads for each
group of keywords.
That takes care of the relevant keywords, but what about the ones that didn’t seem
so relevant?
For example, we can see lots of people are also searching for [pet portraits pencil],
which suggests they’re looking for something else.
There are also many who are searching for watercolour pet portraits, and horse
portraits, neither of which you offer.
In situations like these, you should use “negative keywords” to prevent your ads
from appearing when people search for things that aren’t relevant to your
business. For example, [-pencil], [-pastel] and [-horse].
These negative keywords will block your ads any time a search contains one or all
of them.
This is useful, because preventing adverts from appearing for irrelevant searches,
is going to save you money, and make sure that only your ideal customer sees
your ads.
So, to recap, keyword research tools can help you find keywords that attract
customers… but they also help you discover keywords to avoid. It’s also a good
idea to try and revisit these tools regularly. People’s search behavior tends to
change over time, and if you let your campaigns sit untouched for too long, their
performance could start to dip.
3. Fine-tune with keyword match types
Key Learnings
Search engine marketing (SEM) is great for letting you choose specific searches to
trigger your ads. But search engines often show your ads for keywords that are
slightly different from the ones you’re targeting. The solution: keyword match
types. This video explains: * what match types are and why they’re useful * the
different kinds of match types * how to control which searches may trigger ads.
Transcript
Hi! Want to make your search engine marketing efforts even more successful? Of
course you do!
In this video, we’ll be exploring a feature called keyword match types. And learning
about how using different match types can increase your control over which
searches trigger your ads.
Did you know that search engines might also show your ads when people search
for other terms—terms you didn’t specifically choose?
That’s because search engines can show your ads when people search for
variations of your keywords. This is called broad matching.
Most of the time, broad match is useful. It means that you don’t have to add every
variation of the keyword you’d like to target, like singulars, plurals and
misspellings.
But this flexibility also means that sometimes, search engines show your ads for
keywords that aren’t relevant to your business. Using keyword match types can
help.
Let’s say you’re a portrait photographer. As you brainstorm keywords for your ad
campaign, you might consider "London photographer".
If you include this keyword, a search for “London photographer” could trigger one
of your ads even though the person making the search might not be looking for
exactly what you’re offering.
What if they’re actually looking to buy prints of photographs of the city of London?
Or someone to photograph an event in London? Or do a commercial magazine
shoot? Any of these searches could potentially trigger your ad, but the searchers
are not likely customers.
One way to prevent ads from appearing on these searches is to choose more
specific keywords, since your target customer is probably searching for things like
“London portrait photographer” or “London family portraits.”
On top of that, you can add match type to further refine the results. How do you do
that? Let’s take a look.
Keywords are broad match by default. Aside from broad match, the other primary
match types are phrase match and exact match. To change broad match to
phrase, simply place quotations around the keyword. So, the keyword London
portrait photographer becomes “London portrait photographer.”
Phrase match tells Google Ads or Bing Ads that adverts can’t be displayed unless
the search includes the entire phrase. So if someone searches for “London portrait
photographer” that’s great-your ads can show up! Minor variations, like plurals, are
included. This means that a search for “London portrait photographers” can also
trigger your ad.
But, if someone searches for the more generic London photographer, your ad
won’t show up, because the word portrait is missing.
With phrase match, the searcher can include words before and after the phrase, so
“East London portrait photographer” could also trigger an ad.
To get even more specific, exact match keywords are distinguished by enclosing
the word or phrase in square brackets. So, the keyword London portrait
photographer becomes [London portrait photographer].
Now, if someone searches for portrait photographer, your ad can’t appear because
it doesn’t match the keyword exactly. Along the same lines, a search for London
photographer also won’t trigger your ad.
Unlike phrase match, the ad can’t display if the searcher includes additional words.
But minor variations, like plurals, can still trigger the ad.
As you change keywords from broad match, to phrase, to exact, it restricts the
opportunities for ads to display. Your best bet is to try to find a match type
balance, allowing ads to show to likely prospects, but blocking ads when you think
success is unlikely.
As you add restrictive match types for keywords, you’ll probably notice that your
traffic quantity goes down... but traffic quality should improve. And that’s what
matters here.
4. How to know what’s working and what isn’t
Key Learnings
One of the best ways to measure how well your search engine marketing is
working is by tracking conversions, or actions you’d like website visitors to take. In
this video, we’ll cover: * what conversions are * how to choose the ones you want
to measure * what tools you can use to track them.
Transcript
Hi there! So you’ve got some online advertising campaigns up and running and you
want to find out how they’re doing?
In this video, we’ll explain how to do just that by tracking conversions. We’ll cover
what they are, how to choose the ones you want to measure and what technology
to use to track them.
One of the best things about SEM is that you can measure the value you’re getting
from your campaigns. To do this, you track conversions - the key actions you want
website visitors to take—using tools that search engines like Google or Bing
provide. We’ll get to those in just a minute.
Let’s start with how you choose which conversions to track.
Say you’re a nature photographer who sells prints online. What kinds of actions
might count as “conversions” on your website?
Obviously, placing an order is an important one. But what else might you want
people to do?
Well, your website should have a Contact form so potential customers can ask you
questions like what other prints you have for sale, or if you’re available to
photograph special events. When someone submits an inquiry through this form,
that’s a conversion, too.
What if you don’t sell prints online? Instead, you’re a wedding photographer and
the bulk of your site is a portfolio of your work. You might have references in
downloadable PDF form, so when people download it you can track that as a
conversion.
You could also have a link people can click to receive your rates via email. That’s
another way potential customers can become paying customers, so you should
track that as a conversion as well.
In these two examples, we’ve mentioned a handful of different conversions:
successful transactions, contact form submissions, and downloads. And there are
plenty of other possibilities. Can you think of what conversions you’d want to track
for your own business?
So how can you actually track these conversions? Well, you can use tools provided
by search engines. These allow you, or whoever is managing your website for you,
to place a small piece of code on certain pages of your website. That sounds
complicated, especially if you don’t have any technical support, but don’t worry,
we’ll walk you through it.
Let’s go back to the nature photography business. You want to track a completed
order, so you need to figure out the proper place for the conversion tracking code.
You wouldn’t want to put the code on your homepage—if you do that, you’ll be
counting conversions every time someone visits your site.
Instead, you would install the conversion tracking code on the order confirmation
page. That’s the page customers see after they complete an order. That way, you
know a conversion happened.
Next, you decide to track online inquiries. Just like the previous example, you need
to install the conversion tracking code on a page the visitor sees only after they
submit an inquiry. For example, on the page that thanks the customer after they’ve
placed an order.
Make sense? In order to properly track conversions, you need to attach the code to
pages someone will only see after they’ve taken the action you want.
Once you install the code, you’ll start getting reports that tell you how many
conversions you got. That’s valuable information in figuring out if your online ad
campaigns are working.
To sum up: By using online tools from search engines like Bing or Google, you can
measure online conversions and set yourself up for success.
DEEP DIVE INTO SOCIAL MEDIA
An organised social media plan and strategy will go a long way in saving you time
and energy. Become familiar with what social content works best, why advertising
on social can be a powerful addition to your strategy, and how to measure
success so that you can optimise future social content.
1. Your long-term social media plan
Key Learnings
Once you start engaging with social media, you’ll realise pretty quickly: it helps to
get organised. Putting together a serious plan for how you want to invest in social
media will really help. In this video, we’ll cover: * the benefits of creating a plan for
social media * what a social media plan might look like * tools to help you put your
plan into action.
Transcript
Hey! Getting serious with social media means a lot of work, and you can find
yourself lost pretty quickly if you don’t have a plan. This video will give you all the
details you need to put a plan on paper, and show you some tools that can help
you put it into action.
Let’s jump straight in. If you’ve already started to dabble in social media, you’ve
probably noticed how much work it takes to do things well.
It’s not easy to keep everything up to date, reply and interact with all your
connections, or come up with a steady stream of ideas for unique, interesting
things to be posting all the time across a number of different networks. Don’t
worry.
The key is to sit down and sketch out a formal plan for what you want to post,
when you want to post it, where it makes sense to post, and even who at your
business should be posting.
Why is that so helpful?
Well, if you just assume that you’ll have enough free time to come up with creative,
compelling posts “on the spot,” the odds are that you’ll end up disappointed. Life
gets in the way, other things take priority and, without a plan, your social pages
might end up being silent for too long, or your posts might be lower quality,
because you’re feeling pinched for time.
It’s understandable. This stuff is challenging and you’ve got a lot going on. But the
truth is, a good social media strategy deserves just as much careful thought and
planning as any other type of marketing.
Alright, so what should a social media plan look like? Consider the next 6 to 12
months, and start creating a calendar. Sketch out details like what topics it makes
sense for you to post about? What’s your audience interested in?
Then take it a step further. When does it make sense to post about those topics?
If we go back to our vintage clothing shop, think about when there might be major
fashion shows, special shopping seasons like back to school or the holidays, or
other timely events that you can “piggy-back” on. Whether you post daily, hourly, or
weekly, laying out your calendar will help make sure you’re consistent in your
sharing.
What and when is a great start, but you also have to consider where you should be
posting. For example, if you’re sharing some awesome pictures of the new line of
dresses that just came into the shop, that might be a great update to share on
social sites like Instagram or Pinterest. On the other hand, if you want to share a
special offer for your biggest fans, you might share that with your connections on
Facebook or Google+ instead.
Next, don’t forget to think about who’s going to be doing all of this posting and
sharing. Are you going to do it all yourself or are you going to share the work?
Writing down who’s responsible for what in your plan will help make sure you can
follow through.
And finally, don’t forget about the why. Why are you posting all of these updates?
Which business goals are these posts meant to support? If social media is all
about raising awareness for you, make sure your posts are designed to do that. On
the other hand, if social media is more of a way for you to deepen relationships
with your existing fans and customers, your posts are going to look quite different.
There’s no right or wrong approach, but again: make sure you know why you’re
sharing what you’re sharing.
So that’s a social media plan. Once you’ve got all these tasks spread out across a
calendar for the next several months, all of a sudden, it’s much easier to see how
you’re going to tackle the brave new world of social media.
You might be thinking “wow, that’s a lot of work! How am I going to actually do it?”
Well, wouldn’t it be great if you could block out a day in your calendar, write up all
the things you’d like to post for the next six months, and then queue them up so
they automatically get shared when you’re ready?
The good news is there are tools out there that can help you do that and more.
With social media management tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Everypost, you
can create the things you want to post and share in advance. You can decide
which networks you want to share them on, and you can collaborate with your
co-workers to let them help you along the road to social media success.
On top of that, you can use tools like these to listen to what people are saying back
to you on social media. You didn’t forget, did you? Social media is a two-way
conversation, not just a megaphone for you to use to broadcast your message.
So what have we learned? Social media takes some work and dedication if you
want to have real success. Putting together a detailed plan will help you take your
efforts to the next level, and there are lots of tools available to help you. Now
you’re well on your way to conquering social media!
2. Advertising on social media
Key Learnings
If you want to reach specific audiences online, advertising on social media sites is
a great option. In this video we'll talk about: * how to get your message in front of
specific audiences * how advertising on social networks can complement your
other social efforts.
Transcript
Hey! Wondering if there’s anything more you can be doing now you have your
social media plan up and running? Well, the answer is often yes, and many social
networks offer paid advertising opportunities that can give you access to very
specific audiences and get your message out there.
Let’s jump into it. We’ll use the vintage clothing store as our example. Perhaps
you’ve noticed that your best customers seem to come from certain
demographics… let’s say women, aged about 20 to 35. Wouldn’t it be great if you
could focus your advertising on people who fit this profile and are more likely to
become your customer?
Well, social media sites can help you do this and more. That’s because social
media sites often know a lot about their users. Think about your Facebook or
Google+ page, for example. Have you included your age or gender on your
personal social media pages? Many people do, and that’s why social media sites
are able to offer businesses the ability to reach such specific groups.
Sounds pretty good so far, right? Well, it gets better. Not all women aged 20-35 are
going to be interested in vintage clothing. So if we can avoid spending money
advertising to people who aren’t interested in vintage clothing, that’s a win.
Luckily, social media sites can help you narrow down your audience even more.
For example, you could target women aged 20-35 who are interested in a certain
fashion designer. Or who have posted about vintage fashion in the past. That
would be a great way to focus your advertising only on the people who are most
likely to be interested in your shop.
And we can take that even further. Like other online advertising channels, you can
also target your ads to a specific geographic area. That means, you could use
social networks to advertise to women, aged 20-35, within 25 miles of your shop,
who are interested a specific fashion designer that you care about. Pretty cool,
right?
Social media sites provide great options for targeting ads or content to very
specific audiences, and that’s a great way to make sure we’re investing our
marketing budget wisely. Now, let’s talk about how paying to promote your
messages to social network users can complement your other efforts on social.
Building up your presence on social networks is usually a gradual process. Over
time, you post interesting, unique content, and gain more and more visibility. But
what if you want to accelerate that process? That’s another great reason to try
paid advertising on social networks.
Say you’ve got a Twitter page with a few hundreds of “followers” so far. What if
you wanted to reach a lot more people - people who aren’t necessarily following
you yet? You could try a “Promoted Tweet.” This is a way for you to get your shop
in front of potential customers - fast! For example, your Promoted Tweet could be
shown to people who have “tweeted” about vintage fashion in the past, or people
who follow an influential designer. All of a sudden, you’re potentially reaching a lot
more than your 200 followers, and hopefully growing your network with even more
followers as a result.
So that’s advertising with social media sites. You get the ability to do some really
fancy targeting. And on top of that, you can ramp up your visibility on social
networks very quickly… as long as you’re willing to pay for it, of course.
3. Measuring success in social media
Key Learnings
Knowing how effective your social media efforts are is invaluable to your business.
Here we'll explore how to: * collect data from the networks themselves * make the
most of social management and monitoring tools * see what social visitors are
doing on your website.
Transcript
Tracking the impact of a social media campaign is really important, but it can get
complicated. That’s when analytics and tools can help.
In this video we’ll cover how analytics and different tools can help you track the
impact of your social media efforts and understand your customers a bit better.
Let’s assume our vintage clothing business has established accounts on a few
social networks - Facebook, Twitter, and maybe even some smaller,
fashion-related social networks.
First, it’s important to take a look at the social networks themselves. When you log
in, many provide data about what’s happening on those networks. For example,
you might be able to get reports about how many people you’re connected with
and how that’s been trending over time, which of your posts are getting shared or
interacted with the most, or even who your biggest fans might be.
By looking at the data and reports available in many social networks, you can learn
a lot about who your connections are, how they behave, and how they consume or
interact with the content you’re providing.
But logging into every single network and looking at the data and reports in each
one separately can be time-consuming and tricky. Remember those tools that can
help you schedule your posts and consolidate all of your logging in to just one
place? Well, many of those tools can also track and provide data that can compare
the different networks against each other, and give you all that reporting in one
place.
Tools like these are really helpful, and you can investigate them by searching for
'social media management tools'. There’s also another kind of tool that might help
you: social media monitoring. There are lots of them out there and a wide range of
features and pricing, but basically, these tools will scour all the social networks out
there looking for mentions of you, your competitors, or even certain themes being
talked about. These can help you identify new social networks you might want to
participate in, and let you join conversations about your business or your industry.
But these reports and tools typically only measure what’s happening on the social
networks themselves. So if you want to know what’s happening after someone
decides to click on a link you shared, or a piece of content you posted and ends up
on your website?
For this, you’ll need a separate tool dedicated to tracking what’s happening on
websites, like Google Analytics.
Web analytics tools will generally pick up the trail as soon as someone hits your
website, and many of them will automatically track when visitors are coming from
social media sites. That means that if you’re tracking what people are doing on
your website, you can see how many visitors from Facebook or Twitter are not just
arriving on your website, but also submitting your contact form, buying items from
your online store, or downloading your monthly PDF newsletter.
Now you’ll really be able to see how your social media efforts are paying off!
Lots of web analytics tools also let you track not just what network visitors are
coming from, but even the specific posts or pieces of content that got them to visit
your website.
Each web analytics tool does this differently, but the end result is pretty cool: You’ll
be able to look at different reports and see things like which kinds of content from
which networks tend to get people to visit your website, engage further with your
pages, and eventually convert on your business goals!
So that covers how to measure the success of your social media efforts. Using the
data and tools available from the social networks themselves, using social media
management and monitoring tools, and using web analytics to see what social
visitors are doing on your website will help you understand exactly how and where
your efforts are paying off. That way you can keep improving your social media
strategy.
4. Avoiding social media pitfalls
Key Learnings
Social media can be a powerful tool, but it’s also been known to cause some
issues for businesses. We’ll show you what not to do, like: * bore people to tears *
put your posts on autopilot * spread yourself too thin.
Transcript
Hey! Feel like you’re getting the hang of social media? Now that you’re up and
running, this video will cover some of the pitfalls that could end up hurting your
efforts and maybe even your business. Stuff like boring, repetitive sales messages,
posting once every three months, or, the opposite, spreading yourself too thin with
far too many posts.
Ready to look at some no-nos?
The first rule of social media: It’s not all about you.
People go online to share news, how-to tips and funny cat videos. They’re not there
to hear your sales pitch—and brands that have nothing else to say tend to get
boring and ignored fast.
If you’re a business, remember that anyone who follows you on social media is
already interested in you. There’s no need to aggressively sell. Just focus on
providing a good experience and keeping their attention.
So if you own that vintage clothing shop we’ve been talking about, let your
followers know what’s new, what’s coming soon and how you do what you do. You
don’t have to recreate your product pages and try to push them down people’s
throats.
Building on that, people don’t want one-way pushes crowding up their feeds. They
want to be on a two-way street. They want to know that you’re listening.
Make sure you ‘man the phones’ online to monitor when people are responding to
you, and have a plan for answering comments.
Be understanding, be considerate, but most of all be consistent. Follow up on
complaints, and give people the information they ask for. Negative feedback
doesn’t necessarily have to end in disaster. It can be an opportunity to show your
customers - and everyone else who might be watching - that you truly want to help
them.
The next pitfall: Don’t spread yourself too thin on social media. With all the
networks out there, there are almost unlimited opportunities to talk to customers,
but those conversations take time.
If you’re not careful, you’ll get overwhelmed trying to juggle too many sites. Focus
on the ones that matter most and branch out as it makes sense and as you can
handle it.
Have you ever checked out the social media page for a brand or product you’re
interested in, only to find nothing’s been updated for months? Another big mistake.
It might make people wonder if anything’s stirring over there or if you’re even in
business anymore. Growing, innovative, exciting businesses have a lot to say.
Stodgey, slow-moving ones might not say much.
Which would you rather be?
Finally, it can’t be emphasised enough that you’ll want to measure what your
efforts are actually doing for you. Using social media and analytics tools, you can
see firsthand how your social media efforts are contributing to your bottom line,
and learn which are more valuable than others.
It’s easy to sidestep a social media disaster.
Stay true to yourself, respond to comments, focus on the sites that make sense,
be consistent and measure your results. Do all this and your social media efforts
can thrive.
DISCOVER THE POSSIBILITIES OF MOBILE
Web browsing on-the-go is very much a part of everyday life - which is why a
mobile presence is important for businesses to embrace. Learn about mobile SEO.
the differences between mobile sites and mobile apps, and which type of mobile
marketing is right for your goals.
1. The evolution of mobile devices
Key Learnings
Today, people have so many different ways to access the Internet. We use
computers, smartphones, tablets and now even smartwatches. Mobile marketing
is constantly evolving; embrace it and your business will stay well ahead of the
curve. In this lesson, you’ll learn: * how mobile usage has changed in the last four
decades * what features are available on today’s mobile devices * what the
explosive growth of mobile use means for you.
Transcript
Hey there!
Mobiles have radically changed the world we live in. And, it seems like mobile
devices continue to evolve at lightning speed.
Let’s talk about: How mobile usage has changed in the last four decades. The
features now available on mobile devices. And, how the rapid growth of mobile is
changing how you can market your business online.
Did you know that the first ever mobile phone call happened way back in 1973? It
took another 11 years before the world’s first truly portable commercial mobile
phone went on sale in 1984. A Motorola, that cost a whopping 2,500 GBP!
Since then, mobile phones have evolved dramatically, shrinking in size while
expanding in features. Now they’re an essential part of our everyday lives.
No longer just a way to make phone calls, mobiles have become powerful
multimedia devices. We can browse the Internet, check email, take pictures,
navigate with GPS, post on social media, and much, much more.
Mobiles have changed so much in the last few decades, it seems that anything is
possible in the future.
This year, adults in the U.K. will spend an average of 2 hours and 26 minutes a day
on their mobile devices. That means, for the first time ever, we’re now using these
devices even more than our computers and laptops.
Today’s mobile users tend to have their phones in one hand while they watch TV.
And, they’re more active than ever on social media.
What does all this mean for your business? Well, your marketing needs to reach
customers where they are. And these days, that means on mobile.
So whether you want to increase brand awareness. Encourage customer loyalty.
Or grow your revenues. Mobile devices can offer your business numerous
opportunities to reach the right customers, in the right place, at the right time.
The place to start? A website that works well on mobiles.
Let’s just imagine for a second that you’re a local plumber who wants to increase
your customer base. How might you use mobile to get new customers? Well…
You might run an ad in the local papers that directs viewers to your website.
Your mobile-optimised site could have a promo button on the homepage, that
offers new customers 20% off their first service.
The phone number near the top of your page, when viewed on mobile, can be
clicked to start a phone call.
Links can be shortened, so they can be easily shared on social media.
And that’s just a few examples of the many, many ways your business can use
mobile to grow.
Coming up, we’ll cover how to have a great mobile website, discuss whether
mobile apps are right for your business, and chat about mobile advertising. Stay
tuned!
2. Understanding mobile web and mobile apps
Key Learnings
When people search for businesses, they are quite likely to be searching on a
mobile device. Search engines are adapting to this new approach, and businesses
need to adapt as well. In this video, you'll learn about: * search engines and the
mobile searcher * ways to make your website mobile-friendly * what you should
consider for mobile SEO.
Transcript
Hi!
In today’s business world, it’s no longer enough just to have a website. People
today access the Internet on mobiles more often than computers. Bottom line:
Your business website needs to be mobile-friendly. That is, it needs to work well
on smaller screens.
In this video, we’ll talk about how search engines have adapted to the way we now
use mobiles. How to make your website mobile-friendly; and, some important
things you should know about mobile SEO.
Ok. Imagine you’re just heading out of the flat, when you suddenly notice the
kitchen sink is blocked. Not good. You’ve got friends coming round later and so
you need a plumber to come sort this out today. But you’ve got a taxi waiting
outside to take you to the train station, and you need to go now.
So, you grab your mobile, jump in the cab, and search for 'plumber near me'. The
search results show a few options, including several businesses just a few streets
from your flat.
One of the options has a clickable phone number. You’ll be at the station soon, so
you click to make the call. And the plumber agrees to meet you at your flat by 5.
Thank you, mobile!
This scenario is a perfect example of how many of your potential customers are
using mobiles. They’re often on the go, pressed for time, and using search engines
to look for quick answers.
Search engines offer people results that match their search terms, and location.
They can also tell if a site is mobile-friendly. So what does mobile-friendly mean,
exactly?
Let’s start with the technology used to build your site. There are many options
available, but most search engines prefer something called “responsive design.”
A responsive website adapts itself depending on the size of a viewer's screen.
When you have a responsive site, you don’t have to create separate sites for
computers and mobiles. So you save yourself a lot of effort.
A well-designed mobile site is usable on the smallest mobile screen.
Fonts and buttons should be easy to read and click on. And the navigation should
be clear and simple to use. Visitors should immediately understand their next
possible steps, and how to take action. For example, in our plumber scenario, there
was a clickable phone number.
Despite the smaller screen size, website visitors should be able to complete
common, important tasks.
Once you’ve created a mobile-friendly site, you’ll want to help search engines find
it, understand it, and hopefully show it in the results. That’s search engine
optimisation, with a focus on mobile.
Mobile SEO includes the same factors you’d consider for standard websites, like
relevant content. But what’s crucial for mobile site optimisation, is performance
and usability.
Performance is how quickly a site loads, and this can be impacted by many thing,
such as overly large images and file sizes.
Usability refers to a visitor’s experience using your site. Generally speaking, if your
site has a good mobile user experience, it will be more likely to appear in mobile
search results.
Here’s an example. Some video and content formats can’t be viewed on mobiles.
So, if that’s how your site is built, it won’t offer a great user experience, right?
You can do a quick mobile check-up of your site by visiting Google’s Mobile
Friendly Test.
So let’s recap.
It’s important to make sure your business’s website works well on mobiles.
A mobile-friendly site can bring you more site visitors, give them a better
experience, and bring in more business.
3. Understanding mobile apps
Key Learnings
People interact with businesses through both mobile websites and mobile apps.
Mobile-friendly websites are now a necessity, and many businesses can also
benefit from a mobile app. In this lesson, you'll learn: * the difference between
mobile websites and mobile apps * the benefits unique to mobile apps * how to
determine whether an app is right for you.
Transcript
Hi there!
An effective mobile marketing approach includes more than just optimising your
website to work well on mobile devices. More and more businesses are also
investing in mobile apps to engage with customers on the go.
But what purposes do mobile apps serve? And how do you know if creating one
can benefit your business?
We’ll discuss what makes a mobile app different from a mobile website, the
benefits of mobile apps, and how to determine whether a mobile app is right for
you.
Your mobile website is pretty much a simpler version of your main site.
Mobile-friendly sites offer most of the same things as your main site, but are just
built to work well on smaller screens. Visitors access a mobile site on a mobile
web browser, just as they would on a full-size computer browser.
Mobile apps, on the other hand, are applications that can be downloaded and
installed onto a mobile.
The apps typically provide a specific function that’s not as easily accomplished on
a web browser. They are often integrated with common smartphone features, like
the camera or GPS.
There are so many ways that apps can directly benefit your business. Let’s look at
some examples.
Ok. Imagine you own an independent movie theatre. And you’ve decided to create
an app to help drive ticket sales.
One of the main benefits of apps is that they can send messages to a person’s
mobile, even when they’re not using the app. These are called “push notifications”.
You could use them to send your customers reminders when the latest films are
released, or announce special discounted showtimes.
Your app could also power a new loyalty program. Your customers could use the
app to earn points for every movie they see in your theatre, and for popcorn
purchased at the concession stand.
Simplified checkout on your app could allow customers to purchase movie tickets
in just a few clicks. And then, your app can use their mobile’s GPS to share
directions to the theatre.
With so many possibilities for your business, you may decide to develop your own
app.
So, how do you start? It helps to think about your business goals, and what you
would like visitors to accomplish on a mobile. Perhaps you can achieve all these
things on your mobile website. But, you might identify a specific business goal that
would be better served by an app. This might be your next step towards online
success.
So let’s sum up. A mobile app can complement your mobile website, helping your
customers accomplish specific, useful goals.
An app for your business can help increase customer loyalty. You can actively
communicate with customers and help them make purchases easily on their
mobile devices.
Can’t wait to get started? Well, you’ve got a couple of options. You can find a
professional app developer to work with. Or, check out one of the self-service tools
out there, such as Appy Pie, Build Fire or Como.
MAKE MOBILE WORK FOR YOU
With mobile video consumption on the rise, it makes sense to include mobile in
your advertising strategy. Understanding the options and tools available and how
to choose the right keywords and ad formats will set you up to succeed in your
first mobile marketing campaign.
1. Introduction for advertising on mobile
Key Learnings
As people spend more and more time on their mobiles, businesses are increasing
their mobile advertising in order to reach new customers. In this video, you'll learn
about: * benefits of mobile-specific marketing * mobile opportunities available to
advertisers * challenges to effective mobile advertising.
Transcript
Hi there!
These days, people spend more time looking at their smartphones than they do
computers. Mobile devices allow people to stay constantly connected. And are
helping them become smarter, savvier shoppers.
Smart businesses are catching on and putting more effort into reaching these
potential customers through mobile advertising.
In this video, we’ll talk about the benefits of mobile-specific marketing, and its
many opportunities. We’ll also cover a few things you should consider when taking
this approach to advertising.
Advertising to users on mobile devices can help you achieve a lot of different
things. For example, mobile advertising can help you get more phone calls and
inquiries. Or drive more people into your shop or website. It can also get more
people to download your mobile app.
But here’s where it really gets interesting. Mobile advertising gives you a lot of
unique opportunities to connect with people, while they’re using their mobiles. For
instance, you can target potential customers based on their location. Or offer them
useful tools like “click-to-call” ads.
Your business’ approach to mobile advertising will depend a lot on your specific
audience, and your overall business goals. Let’s look at a few places where you
can target your mobile audience.
First, your website can show up in search results. And you can also run ads that
appear when people search key terms related to your business, or industry.
Say you’re a plumber and you want to target homeowners who might need your
services. Your search ads might appear when people search terms like: plumbers
near me or kitchen sink clogged.
Try to focus on shorter keywords and phrases mobile users might search.
Remember, many people are all thumbs when it comes to typing on their phone!
They’re not searching the same way they do on a computer. They’re much less
likely to search for detailed, long phrases.
You can also use display ads to target people who are browsing mobile sites. The
ads can appear in text, image or video form, on those websites.
Since mobile ads are naturally small, they should present a strong, concise
message with a clear call to action.
You can even advertise to people while they are using mobile apps. For example, if
you wanted more people in your local area to know about your plumbing services,
you could post ads inside apps like Yelp or Which? where customers leave
reviews.
While there are many opportunities within mobile advertising, there’s also a few
important things you should consider before investing money.
Running brilliant ads is only half the battle. It’s equally important to have a
mobile-friendly website, or your impressive ads on Google or Facebook could still
fall flat. Because your mobile ads will send people to a site that hasn’t been
optimised for their device. Leaving them with a less-than-stellar customer
experience.
Also, remember that not all mobile devices are the same. So another useful trick is
customising ads. That way, they’ll work well across a variety of screens.
One way to do this is to use short, clear text in your ads. You can also use what are
called “ad extensions”. These are special features that will help people call you, or
get directions to your shop’s address. These features will automatically resize
themselves to best fit any device.
So that’s mobile advertising.
Just remember: these days, people are using their mobiles more than ever. So it’s
important to think about how you can reach them while they’re using those
devices. You can advertise on search results, other websites, social networks, or
even within apps.
To get the most out of your ads, you’ll want to have a well-considered overall
approach to marketing on mobile devices. If you stick with us, we’ll cover the world
of mobile advertising in much more detail.
2. Search campaigns for mobile
Key Learnings
By running mobile search ads, you can get your business in front of potential
customers right when they are looking for products or services you offer. This
video will cover: * the importance of having a mobile-friendly site * getting your
keywords and ads right * special features for mobile search campaigns.
Transcript
Hey there! Let’s talk about search ads on mobile devices.
If you’re interested in how search ads can help you reach people on their mobiles,
you probably already know a bit about how search ads work. In this video, we’ll
show how this applies to mobile, and focus on some useful strategies and tips to
help you along the way.
Right then - let’s jump into it. Running search ads on mobile devices can help your
business with many goals. Perhaps you want to get more leads, phone calls, or
purchases? But before you get started, it’s really important that your website is
mobile-friendly. So, what exactly does that mean?
First, your loading speeds should be super fast. Nobody likes to wait for a website
to load. Especially people using mobile devices.
Next, make sure your website looks and works the way it should on all types of
mobiles.
Last, your site should be really easy to use for people on mobiles. That means nice
big buttons that are easy to see and click, minimizing typing, and clear navigation
options.
If your website doesn’t tick all these boxes, that’s where you’ll want to start.
Because if you don’t address these issues now, you’ll be spending money to send
people to a poor website experience. Which isn’t great for anyone. Fortunately,
there are lots of tools to help you make your website more mobile-friendly.
OK, so let’s assume your site is mobile-friendly and ready to get more traffic. Just
as with any search campaign, you’ll need to pick out which keywords you want
your ads to appear on. You could use the same keywords you’re using in a regular
search campaign. But, remember: users on mobiles don’t always search the same
way that they do on laptops, or desktops. They are more likely to type shorter,
simpler terms.
Let’s say you’re a plumber in North London. People on their laptops might search
for terms like 'plumbers in Kentish Town'. But the same people might search for
things like leaky tap or clogged sink when they’re using their mobiles.
So how can you figure out which search terms are common on mobile devices?
There are great tools for this to help you. Such as Google’s Keyword Planner or
Bing’s Keyword Research Tool. They can help you research a search term you’re
interested in, and tell you what percentage of those searches come from mobile
devices. Spend some time researching here and you’ll find the best keywords to
use for mobile. Ones that are relevant to your business, and also commonly
searched by mobile users.
Next, let’s think about your actual ads. People who search on mobiles are often
very focused on completing a specific task. A person searching for plumbing
services on their mobile is probably not casually browsing. They need help, fast!
So, make sure that your ad is laser-focused to the specific task your customer is
trying to accomplish. If someone searches leaking bathtub, don’t show them an ad
that says you can fix all kinds of plumbing issues. Instead, show them an ad that
says if you can fix any bathtub problem fast. They’ll see it and know you’re right for
the job!
So far, we’ve covered mobile-friendly landing pages, researching keywords, and
focusing your ads. Now, let’s talk about a couple more tips and tricks you should
know.
The first tip might seem obvious, but here it goes. If you’ve created search ads
targeted to people on mobile devices, make sure people on mobile devices will see
them. If you don’t want your ads to also appear to people searching on computers,
they don’t have to.
Search engines like Google and Bing will allow you to specify certain ads as
“mobile preferred.” Which means that users on desktops won’t see your mobile
ads. And vice versa. That’s a nice, quick way to make sure the work you’ve done on
those mobile ads really pays off.
Here’s one last tip. People on mobiles behave differently to people on computers,
and how much you choose to pay for your ads can reflect this. Let’s say you’ve
been running a successful search advertising campaign. But you check your
analytics and notice that people on mobiles are 10% less likely to fill out your
contact form. Well, if that’s the case, you can use something called a “bid
adjustment” to bid a 10% lower price when your ads are appearing on mobile.
Using bid adjustments can help you make sure you’re spending your money wisely,
and getting the best bang for your buck.
Alright, we’ve covered a lot of techniques for making your search ads work well on
mobiles. Remember, having a mobile-friendly site is crucial. Research the types of
keywords your customers tend to search for when they’re on their mobiles. Keep
your ads laser focused. And make sure you take advantage of special features for
your ad campaigns.
Get all of those things sorted and you’ll be well on your way to success.
3. Display campaigns for mobile
Key Learnings
Whether you’re focused on driving sales or building a brand, mobile is more
important than ever. That’s why a display ad approach that doesn’t include mobile
is incomplete. This video will cover: * the importance of trying different ad formats
* tools to help you quickly develop ads * targeting apps.
Transcript
Hello! Let’s talk about display ads on mobile devices.
People spend a lot of time on their mobiles these days. So, it’s important to think
through how your display ads work on their devices.
Display advertising can help you achieve a lot of different goals. Like finding new
customers, or building a brand name. No matter what you’re trying to do, mobile is
going to be a really important part of your display advertising approach.
Display advertisements are all about capturing the attention of people browsing
content online. That holds true in the mobile world as well. But there are few
important differences to consider.
Let’s start with size. Think about all of the different types of mobile devices out
there. You’ve got smartphones large and small, tablets, phablets and
smartwatches. And who knows what new devices will be popular in a year or two?
With so many different devices being used, it’s safe to say that a “one size fits all”
approach to display ads isn’t going to work. Just think about it. You might have an
ad that is super engaging on a tablet, but is oversized, or awkward on a smaller
mobile. Or an ad that’s perfect for a mobile, but doesn’t capture the attention of a
tablet user.
So, if you want your display ads to be successful on mobile, you’re going to need
to experiment a bit.
Try to find the right combination of ad formats to fit the devices your audience are
using. This will give you a really good opportunity to dramatically increase the
reach of your display campaigns.
And here’s some great news. If you’re using the Google Ads platform to run your
ads, you can use the free Google Ad Gallery to quickly create professional-looking
display ads, in all shapes and sizes.
Just like normal display ad campaigns, mobile display campaigns can be targeted
to the audience you’re trying to reach, based on their interests. That’s true whether
you’re using Google Ads or other mobile advertising networks like InMobi. For
example, if you’re a plumber, you might target people who are looking at websites
that review plumbing services.
What’s unique about the mobile world, is you aren’t limited to showing your ads on
websites. You can go a step further, and show your ads on mobile apps as well.
Apps have become a huge part of how people spend time on their mobiles. So it’s
more important than ever to include mobile apps in your display ad approach.
If this seems complicated, don’t worry. We’re going to take you through it now.
Remember our plumbing example? We showed how your mobile display ads might
target websites that offer reviews, right? Well, it’s quite similar with apps. You can
target specific apps that are relevant to your plumbing business. Perhaps ones
that provide reviews, how-to information, or DIY content.
So, when people are using those kinds of apps, your ads can appear. By including
apps in your mobile display approach, you can reach even more potential
customers.
Let’s do a bit of a recap.
Display ads on mobile are evolving rapidly, as new technologies reshape the
landscape. There are multiple mobile ad networks that you can use, such as
Google Ads or InMobi.
A display strategy that doesn’t include mobile is incomplete, because mobile is
such a huge part of people’s lives.
And a mobile display strategy that doesn’t include apps is also incomplete, for the
exact same reason.
Fortunately, it’s easy to experiment with different ad formats and targeting options
so that you can find out what works best for you.
4. Social media campaigns for mobile
Key Learnings
As a business owner, you want to make your brand visible to people who use
social media on their mobile devices. This video will cover: * how to create a
mobile social media campaign * targeting options available on social networks *
guidelines for creating mobile social ads.
Transcript
Hey!
Social media marketing is a great way to promote your business and achieve a
variety of goals —everything from building a dedicated following to driving sales
on your website. It can also provide valuable insights into your customers’ social
activity. And it can play a vital role in growing your business.
Now, let’s talk about: How to create a mobile social media campaign. Which
targeting options are available on social networks, and a few guidelines on
creating mobile social ads.
There are three key steps to mobile social media advertising.
First, determine which social media sites you want to use. Social networks serve
different purposes, like growing personal relationships, content sharing—some
focused on particular types of content, like images or videos— and professional
networking. Once you understand the objectives of a network, and the people who
participate there, you can choose the places most relevant to your business.
Then, take advantage of audience targeting features. Social media advertising
solutions like Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook offer various targeting options to
help you get your ads in front of the right people.
Finally, create ads with mobile in mind. People are more likely to visit social media
sites on mobile devices. So your messages have to be optimised for viewing on
small screens.
Let’s say you own a plumbing company in London. You want to raise awareness of
your business to people living in your area, by using targeted advertising on social
media.
You decide to run mobile ads on Facebook to drive more traffic to your site. And
you set your campaign to target people in London.
You also decide to target male homeowners. Because you know they make up the
majority of your customers.
You also have the option to target people based on their interests, activities, and
the pages they have liked on Facebook. So you refine your group to include men
who have shown an interest in home improvement and plumbing problems.
Social media sites have lots of information about their users. Which allows you to
target your audience in more meaningful ways. In our example, Facebook targeting
has allowed your plumbing business to reach a very specific group of people, in a
very specific area.
Your next step is to create eye-catching ads aimed at mobile Facebook users.
Since mobile screens are much smaller than desktops, it’s best to keep your
messages short and simple. Or you might choose to make your ads image-based,
rather than text-based. For example, a carousel ad to showcase your newest line
of drains and pipes. People can scroll to see all of your products. And click on an
image to be taken directly to your website.
So let’s recap. First, choose the right social media sites for your advertising. Then,
target your ads for your intended audience. And finally, create impactful ads made
for mobile devices.
As more people move towards using social media on their mobiles, a well-oiled
social mobile marketing campaign could really help boost your advertising efforts.
5. Video for mobile
Key Learnings
Mobile video consumption is on the rise, which means businesses should be
following the trend towards advertising with video. In this video, we'll review: * the
growth of mobile video * how to create mobile video ads * targeting mobile video
ads to related content.
Transcript
Hi there!
Video advertising on mobile devices presents a valuable marketing opportunity for
businesses. Video ads can be more engaging, and provide more information than
traditional ad formats.
So, let’s discuss the growth of mobile video, how to create mobile video ads, and
targeting mobile video ads to related content.
Let’s say you own a plumbing business in Glasgow. You’ve got a number of
plumbers who work all over the city. Now, you’re looking to grow your business
even further, by running video advertisements.
So let’s take a look at ways you can create effective video advertising campaigns.
The first thing you’d want to do is create the actual videos you’ll use. You don’t
have to have a huge budget to produce video anymore. In fact, many great
high-quality videos can be recorded on a mobile.
When thinking about what video content to create, you should keep a few key
things in mind.
First, make it relevant. You’ll want to create content that your audience will be
interested in.
Next, keep it short. Attention spans are limited, so you want to time your ads
appropriately.
Finally, have a clear call to action in your video. Be sure to tell the audience what
they should do next so they stay engaged.
So let’s say you decide to create a short video showing one of your best-rated
plumbers laying pipe in a new construction.
From start to finish, the video demonstrates the skill and expertise of her plumbing
crews.
The next step is to upload your video ad, and target it to your mobile audience.
When targeting video ads, consider the location of your audience. Think about the
time of day they watch mobile videos, and what types of videos they watch.
Say you want to show your video to people within a 30-mile radius of Glasgow.
Keeping the targeted area fairly small makes sense, because you know most
people need plumbers who can reach their homes quickly.
She also wants to target her ad to run on home improvement videos. That way she
can reach people who are more likely or want, or need, her services.
With video ads, you can choose keywords to target your ads to related content.
You can even choose specific videos and websites where you want your ads to
show.
If you know about a popular YouTube channel that shows videos of renovation
projects on rundown homes, that could be a great channel to target. Now, people
watching videos of plumbing disasters will see that your business offers solutions
to any plumbing problem.
So now you see how mobile video advertising can help you interact with people in
meaningful ways.
The more targeted and relevant your video ads are, the more engaged your
customers will be.
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