Blogs Archives

SEO and PPC Timeline: How Long Does It Take to See Results?

Contributed by Laura Jo Sharpe

Search engine optimization and pay-per-click ads are two of the top strategies for getting your content in front of the right audience. They aren’t competing strategies but complementary solutions depending on your marketing goals and needs.

SEO is a long-term and cost-efficient strategy for overall growth, whereas PPC offers quick, short-term solutions for messages you want to spread immediately or strategically.

Explore these two strategies in more detail and how long you can expect before you see results to help you decide which solution is best for reaching your audience on your schedule.

SEO Timeline: Long-Term and Cost Efficient

SEO is the best source of high-quality leads, according to 60% of marketers. It’s an organic process of finding readers by ranking in search queries. Since 68% of online experiences start with a search engine, platforms like Google and Bing are powerful tools for reaching your audience.

Unfortunately, SEO isn’t a simple solution that yields immediate results. Instead, it takes careful planning and patience, but the long-term results are worth the wait.

How Long Does SEO Optimization Take?

On average, you can expect results from SEO after four to six months. After that, you will continue to see your traffic grow for months and years to come.

SEO is more cost-efficient than most other strategies. You will initially invest money to hire content creators and the tools for researching and publishing content. Then after you post the content, you have very few additional costs except for refreshing the piece to keep it relevant and well-ranking and the cost of new content creation.

SEO Timeline Template

Here is an average six-month SEO timeline:

TIMELINE

Month 1

Planning Your SEO

Research high-traffic, low-competition keywords for your industry
Brainstorm content ideas
Review content that is currently ranking well in your industry
Examine the content on your website for pages and pieces you might optimize

Month 2

Prepare Your Website

Create a content calendar of your keywords and topics
Begin optimizing your website to help it rank well and be recognized as an authority

Month 3

Create Content

Start creating content for your website
Continue keyword research for future content
Gather data as you see results

Month 4

Start Seeing Results

Optimize your website and content from the reports you collect
Continue creating new content
Link to your past content and website pages to improve your ranking

Month 5

Expand Your SEO

Start expanding your SEO strategy to other channels like forums, social media, and industry websites.
Continue creating new content and using internal linking

Month 6

Analyze Your Results

Take time to analyze your results and adjust your strategy if necessary
Continue researching and creating new content

Year 1

Refresh Your Content

Analyze your SEO results and readjust if necessary
Update and refresh old content to keep it ranking high

How to Speed Up the Process

There are several factors influencing your timeline that can either speed it up or make it take longer, including:

How much content you already have online
What other channels you are using (social media, guest posting)
How much traffic and competition your keywords have
How high is the quality of your internal and external links are
The quality of your content

For example, if you create quality content for a keyword with high traffic but very little competition, you might immediately see a boost in traffic. However, if you are in a highly competitive industry, you would wait several months to build your online authority and grow your ranking before seeing a return from your strategy.

Websites that already have online authority will also see results faster than new websites with little or no online content, traffic, and authority.

PPC Timeline: Short-term and Targeted

PPC ads require a higher investment, but you can see results almost immediately. Even though PPC costs more, many businesses see a $2 return for every dollar they spend on Google Ads. Two of the most popular platforms for PPC are Google and Facebook, accounting for over 60% of ad spend.

How Long Does PPC Take to Work?

To maximize your return, you should plan for a three-month timeline for your PPC content. Giving time for research before posting your ads will increase the effectiveness and return of your ads.

PPC Timeline Template

Consider the following three-month timeline for your PPC strategy:

TIMELINE

Month 1

Research Your Audience

Gather data insights about your market and audience
If you don’t have data, consider running a broad campaign for data collection purposes
Create an ideal customer profile
Find the best channels for reaching your audience

Month 2

Prepare Your Ads

Research keywords with high impressions and low competition
Create optimized ads that target your audience based on the data you gathered
Start bidding on your platforms of choice based on cost-per-click and keywords

Month 3

Publish Your Ads

Start publishing your ads and seeing results
Begin with a broad audience, then optimize your future ads as you see results
Gather data for future ad campaigns

How to Improve Your PPC Results

If you want to maximize your PPC results, you must take the time to research and understand your audience. Just because you are paying for an ad doesn’t guarantee results or that you will reach the right audience.

Data collection from past PPC ads will speed up future PPC timelines. For example, some businesses running their first PPC campaigns didn’t see results until after six months because they had very little data to use when creating their ads. However, you can see results in three or fewer months with the proper research and data.

Running more complex campaigns can also increase your timeline. For instance, how long does Google ads take to review? On average, they approve ads within one business day, but larger campaigns will take longer to create and get approval for.

PPC and SEO Working Together

PPC and SEO differences help them work together better. Your SEO strategy is an ongoing process on your website to continue attracting visitors. The longer you use SEO, the greater results you will see. Over time, you might see results within just a few days of publishing new content if you already spent the time and effort on previous content that helped your website rank well.

PPC campaigns work well for short-term goals or when you have SEO downtime. For instance, around holidays or special promotions, you can use a PPC campaign to attract a new wave of visitors. This new traffic will in return help boost your SEO rankings.

How Long Should You Run a PPC Campaign?

You will want to run your PPC campaigns for three to twelve months. This schedule gives your ad time to generate traffic and yield enough data to improve future ad campaigns. It also provides time for you to generate enough impressions for Google, Facebook, and other ad providers to rank your ad quality higher, improving your ad auction performance.

Improve the Performance of Your SEO and PPC Campaigns

Are your SEO and PPC timelines not meeting your expectations?

Finding the right balance between SEO and PPC for your marketing strategies takes time as you test and analyze the results of past campaigns and adjust your processes. Getting the right tools is essential for staying on top of search trends and maximizing the return from your SEO and PPC campaigns.

Contact us to learn about our SEO and PPC solutions to improve the performance of your marketing campaigns.

A Beginner’s Guide to Local Digital Advertising

Contributed by Cailey Kidman

Even if you aren’t trying to reach a global audience, your online presence is vital for generating leads and attracting new customers. However, a local digital advertising strategy will differ from other digital marketing strategies because you have a narrower audience and target specific channels.

Explore how local digital advertising can help your business and learn six local advertising ideas to get you started.

What Is Local Digital Advertising?

Local digital advertising is an online marketing strategy that targets local customers through paid content. It works well for small businesses or those with local services who don’t need to reach customers on the national or international level.

Paying for a general ad that will appear in someone’s search query on the other side of the country wastes time and resources. Instead, you can target those within your community through digital local advertising efforts that combine knowledge of local searches with popular channels in your community. This maximizes your returns by reaching quality leads most likely to purchase from you.

The Importance of Having a Local Online Presence

Your online presence is essential for providing information, attracting leads, and communicating with customers. About 85% of consumers perform online research before making a purchase. If your business doesn’t appear in those searches, you will miss out on potential new customers. You don’t need to have a broad audience group for digital advertising to be effective. Even small businesses or those with a niche audience can benefit from local digital ads.

Digital advertising is one way to spread brand awareness and guarantee you show up in more searches. It works best alongside other advertising methods. Direct mail is the most effective form of local advertising, making up 22.7% of ad revenue. Online local advertising comes in second at 17% of revenue but continues to grow in popularity.

6 Ways to Get Started with Local Digital Advertising

Use these six local advertising examples to start your business’s local area digital marketing efforts:

PPC Using Local Search Keywords

Over 76% of customers who search for a local business will visit that business within 24 hours. Tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush will give local keyword that your potential customers often use. Google is on your side and will often prioritize local results in search queries but targeting your location through keywords will increase your rankings further.

Your location-specific keyword should include industry terms and synonyms, like your products or services. You can create a long-tail keyword with less competition by adding popular modifiers, like the terms “best,” “one-day delivery,” or a specific occasion. To make the search local, add a location to your keyword.

For example, a small bakery in Virginia could use the keyword “best cupcakes in Arlington” in their advertising to get their content in front of their community.

Once you find your keywords, you have several options for how you use these phrases. You can get free local advertising by using those keywords throughout your online content. Otherwise, you can invest in Google ads or other PPC options where you bid on keywords for your ads. When you set up your PPC ad on Google or other search engine, be sure to include location settings that focus on a specific zip code or region.

Google My Business Listing

About 46% of Google searches are looking for local results. Google pulls search results from online content and its own database called Google My Business. This is a collection of business listings that help consumers find information, including:

Hours of operation
Contact information
Reviews
Products
Special accommodations
Directions
Images

Your business profile is a way to update customers in real-time and connect with potential customers. You can also communicate directly with customers through your profile.

Local Directory Listings

While Google My Business is one of the most popular online business directories, it isn’t your only option. There are several other directory sites to consider for increasing your visibility. Nearly 88% of consumers shop locally once a week, and 90% of purchases occur within 15 miles from a consumer’s home or office.

The number of directories you are part of increases your chances of appearing in searches.

Improve your local advertising by claiming and promoting your listings on sites like:

Yelp
Apple Maps
LinkedIn Company Directory
Bing
HubSpot
Yellowbook
Moz
Angi
Foursquare
Yahoo
MapQuest
Better Business Bureau
Thumbtack
Nextdoor

Pay careful attention to all your business profile options and take advantage of every profile area. Anything you enter in your profile can be a local keyword search term and improves your rankings and relevance for users.

Local Influencer Advertising

The

Social Media Ads

Over 4.48 billion people use social media. That is over half of the world’s population. Facebook is the most popular social media platform, with over 2.9 million users, followed by YouTube with 2.5 million users.

About 62% of businesses use Facebook for their marketing, with some reporting conversion rates of 9.2%. One of the reasons it is so successful for advertising is that about 15% of consumers use the platform for finding and purchasing products. Additionally, Instagram is also a popular channel for advertising as 70% of shoppers use it to discover new products.

If you advertise through a social media platform, use settings to target a specific location. Since users often enter an address when creating their profile, you have greater control over who sees your ad because of more available consumer data for targeted ad placement

Local Advertising Sites

What other digital platforms and local advertising apps are available in your community? Explore what your neighbors watch, listen to, and read to discover new places where you can purchase an advertising spot.

For example, podcasts offer opportunities to reach new audiences with little competition. One news report showed that only 15% of advertisers use streaming audio ads. However, this low number isn’t because it isn’t effective, but because most don’t understand how to purchase spots on channels like local podcasts.

Local podcasts offer more control than other audio advertisements, which can help with targeting local audiences. Because of the low awareness about this channel, you also have less competition.

Create a Local Advertising Strategy That Converts

Knowing where you will advertise is only half of the process. The next step is to create content that resonates with your audience and leads to conversions.

Contact our content specialists to create effective local advertisements for your business.

What are the Best Marketplaces to Sell Online? 10 Marketplaces Your Business Should Consider

Contributed by Cailey Kidman

Selling online is a great way to increase your sales. It’s flexible, can be done from anywhere, and you don’t have to worry about significant investments. To make the most of your online sales, you need to find the best marketplace to sell online that fits your business and meets your needs.

But first – what exactly is an online marketplace, and how do you know if it’s the right option for your business?

What is an Online Marketplace?

To put it simply, an online marketplace is an online platform that helps to connect buyers and sellers of a particular product or service. Users can browse through different products and services through the marketplace and then communicate with the seller to arrange a deal and make a purchase.

Marketplaces range from large-scale operations with thousands of sellers to small niche websites with a handful of vendors, though most marketplaces are a blend of the two.

How Do You Choose Where to Sell?

As you’re weighing your options for where to sell online, it’s essential to consider several factors.
First, you’ll want to determine which marketplace will work best for your business. There are several different options to choose from, so it’s essential to do your research and find the right fit.

These include:

Open Marketplaces: Open marketplaces are the most common marketplace, featuring a large network of buyers and sellers worldwide. They’re great for those who want to increase their sales volume and reach, but don’t have the time or resources to manage a more complex marketplace. Open marketplaces also make up the vast majority of marketplaces today.
Private Marketplaces: Private marketplaces are similar to open marketplaces, but feature a smaller network of buyers and sellers. They’re an excellent option for those who want to focus on sales but don’t want to be overwhelmed with the additional volume from an open marketplace.
Hybrid Marketplaces: A blend of open and private marketplaces, hybrid marketplaces are an excellent middle ground between the two. They feature an extensive network of buyers and sellers, but are still relatively easy to manage.

Once you’ve decided on the marketplace that best fits your business, the next step is to narrow your options even further by looking at specific features and benefits offered by different marketplaces.

For example, some marketplaces offer additional services like shipping, payment processing, and advertising. Others focus on a specific industry, making it easier for sellers in that industry to connect. It all depends on your needs as a seller and where you see your business going in the future.

10 Best Marketplaces to Sell Online

Selling online can be a challenge, but these top eCommerce marketplaces can help you reach a larger audience. Below, in no particular order, are 10 of the best marketplaces to sell online:

Etsy is an online marketplace for handcrafted, vintage, and unique goods. It’s an excellent option for those who want to sell small-batch and handmade items or vintage finds. The large community of sellers on Etsy makes it a great platform to grow your brand – and the vast selection of customers makes it a great place to find new buyers.
Amazon is an online marketplace that sells a vast assortment of products. With more than 100 million products to choose from, it’s a great place to build your brand and reach a broad audience. The Amazon community is engaged and loyal, making it a great place to build a profitable business.
Walmart: The retail giant, Walmart, has its own online marketplace! The Walmart Marketplace features a large selection of products, which can be sold and fulfilled by Walmart. This makes it a great option for those looking to increase their sales volume while also having many
Hudson’s Bay is a Canadian online marketplace featuring a large selection of high-quality products at great prices. It’s considered a more private marketplace and currently hosts roughly 500 third-party sellers with a wide selection of fashion, gadgets, and home goods.
eBay is a global platform that connects buyers and sellers of everything, from antiques to apparel. It’s a great option for sellers who want to expand their reach, as the eBay community is passionate and engaged. The eBay platform is also one of the most trusted, making it a great place to build your brand and reach new customers.
Facebook Marketplace is a section of Facebook that enables users to buy and sell locally. The Marketplace features a wide range of products for sale, which can be set as private or public. It’s an excellent option for those looking to build a community of loyal buyers and sellers while focusing their attention on the local market.
Handshake is considered a wholesale marketplace that helps bring together brands and sellers to fulfill orders. The platform is still in its early stages and is only available in the U.S. market. The team at Handshake handpicks each brand that sells on the platform to ensure quality products and service.
Swappa is an online marketplace for used smartphones, tablets, and other tech devices. The Marketplace features a wide selection of pre-owned devices, which can be sold and shipped directly from the Swappa platform.
Rakuten is a Japanese online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of products, services, and digital items. It’s an excellent option for those looking to reach a new audience, as the Rakuten marketplace reaches approximately 87% of the country’s population. The large selection of products, which can be found on the marketplace, and the large selection of sellers, make it a great place to build your brand and reach a large audience.
Wish is a marketplace that sells a wide selection of products at affordable prices. The platform is known for its wide selection of products, offering everything from apparel to home goods. The Wish Marketplace is also an excellent place for new sellers, as the platform offers tools and resources to help sellers grow their business.

Choose the Marketplace that’s Right for You

While there are a variety of marketplaces that can be used to sell products online, it’s important to choose the right one that will work best for your business. By researching marketplaces and learning how they work, you can find the right platform to help you reach your sales goals.

Finding the right marketplace that works best for your business may take time, but the effort will be worth it in the end. By choosing the right marketplace, you can increase your sales volume, build a loyal customer base, and expand your reach.