Top 5 Ways You Can Improve Website Performances

In this article we’ll talk about how these methods will improve your website’s performance:

Your website is one of the most vital aspects of your business. It provides a digital presence for your company that is available 24 hours a day and helps give your business credibility, raise brand awareness, and generate leads.

One of the main goals of any website is to achieve conversions. So, when your website isn’t performing as you expect, you could miss out on a potential customer due to poor user experience, and they may even look to your competitors as an alternative solution.

Don’t panic! There are simple fixes you can make to your website that will help improve its performance, provide a better experience for your audience, and increase your conversions.

1 – ENSURE YOUR CONTENT IS READABLE

When it comes to web content, the objective is to deliver your message and encourage people to engage with your website.

A common mistake is to be overly thorough in your content. Readers often have a short attention span and can be put off by walls of text, which can also act as a barrier to people with learning disabilities or visual impairment.

By utilising white space or imagery to break up content and making your content scannable with bullet points and headings can make a huge difference. Breaking up text will also help stop the excess text from being a stumbling block for your visitors and helps guide them on their journey across your site.

Google launched an update to their algorithm in 2022 which rewards content that satisfies the user experience and lowers the performance of content that fails to do this. Click here to find out more about the Helpful Content Update.

2 – HAVE A CLEAR AND EFFECTIVE CALL TO ACTION

A call to action (CTA) is a marketing term that guides the user to the next steps that you want them to take. It could be anything from submitting a form to purchasing a product, clicking on a link, or subscribing to a blog mailing list.

The most effective CTAs will provide a clear idea of what you want your audience to do next, create urgency, and make it easy for them to convert.

They are also a great way to guide people through their journey on your website to a conversion, which is why they are often found in prominent positions on your website or landing page.

CTAs provide a great opportunity to gather user data through data capture which can provide further marketing opportunities, such as gathering email addresses to use for email marketing.

Learn more about conversion funnels and how you can nurture your audience towards a conversion.

3 – MAKE YOUR WEBSITE MOBILE FRIENDLY

Having a mobile-friendly website is vital for any business or organisation.

Mobile-friendly websites need to be fast to load and easy to navigate and convert.

It is estimated that around 86% of the world’s population owns a smartphone, so if your website’s performance and layout aren’t suitable for mobile then people are not going to engage, and you could miss out on conversions.

Following a responsive design will ensure that no matter how big a screen is, a website will fit properly and display information correctly regardless of if that device is a mobile phone, tablet or desktop.

You can discover if your website is mobile-friendly using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.

4 – OPTIMISE YOUR VISUAL ELEMENTS

Page speed is a big contributor to a successful website. When someone visits your website, they want everything to load quickly and to be able to move around your site efficiently.

One of the best ways to improve your page speed is by having well-optimised images and videos. You can do this by ensuring your images are in the correct format, dimension, size, and resolution while keeping to the smallest possible file size.

By doing this, your website visitors will have a more positive experience and be freely able to load everything on your website quickly, rather than looking for an alternative source of information such as a competitor.

5 – CONSIDER THE USER’S JOURNEY THROUGHOUT THE WEBSITE

Good user experiences help to get your visitors to the content they are looking for without having to venture around the whole website.

A general rule to follow with your website is that a user should be able to find any information on your site with no more than three mouse clicks. So, be sure to review your site and check they key pages and information are easy for your users to access.

Following this guidance helps maintain a positive experience for the user and keeps them on your website, where they can be nurtured towards a conversion through your content and calls to action.

HOW EDGE CREATIVE CAN HELP IMPROVE YOUR WEBSITE

Our digital marketing agency in Birmingham has a team of experts, from CRO and SEO specialists to web developers and designers – and we are perfectly placed to help businesses and organisations improve the performance of their websites and in turn, increase the number of online conversions.

Take the first step towards a more effective website with our free SEO and web audit, where our experts will highlight what is working well on your website and the areas of improvement in a comprehensive report.

Alternatively, you can speak to one of our specialists by calling 0121 355 8092 or by emailing info@edge-creative.com.

Conversion Funnels: Understanding the Stages of Conversion for Your Customers

In this post, we’ll cover the following:

Every business that sells products or services online will have a conversion funnel. However, not everyone will understand the concept or benefits of them.

In this article, the conversion rate optimisation (CRO) experts at our digital marketing agency in the West Midlands will explain what conversion funnels are, how they impact your customer journey, and how businesses can use them to make informed strategic decisions.

WHAT ARE CONVERSION FUNNELS?

A conversion funnel is a term used to describe the strategic journeys potential customers go through before becoming a conversion I.e. a prospect or customer

The aim is to attract and engage a potential customer through your funnel towards completing the intended action, be it a purchase or the inputting of data, using a variety of content and marketing strategies.

Funnels should be tailored towards how your customer buys, rather than how you sell your products or services, with a focus on providing a great experience throughout the user journey and convincing your audience to convert.

THE 3 STAGES OF MAKING FUNNELS

1) AWARENESS

The top of the funnel is the first stage of the process, where potential customers become aware of your brand and engage with it for the first time through your website, marketing campaigns and / or consumer research.

Individuals are looking for purchases, resources, education, and insights that help them address specific needs and may not know much about your services at this stage, so the focus is on promoting brand awareness and expertise.

Blogs, infographics, Q&As and social media posts are good examples of top-of-the-funnel content as they are looking to direct your audience towards contacting you, I.e. visiting your website and learning more about you.

2) CONSIDERATION

The middle stage of the conversion funnel is all about building trust with your audience and helping individuals evaluate the benefits of what you have to offer over your competitors.

At this stage, the potential customer is aware of your brand and is now looking to find out more about how you can help satisfy their requirements and explore the product or service more thoroughly.

They could sign up to your email newsletter, follow you on social media, or download guides and other resources from your website.

3) CONVERSION

The final stage of the conversion funnel is about converting your audience into customers.

At this stage, you have got their attention, built trust, and developed a relationship with them. The focus is now on providing specific reasons for them to choose your brand over competitors.

A lot of the focus here is on your call-to-action, detailing what you want them to do. Depending on the product or services you offer it could be anything from making a purchase to an email signup, form submission or button click.

You can also utilise techniques to make it easy to convert here, such as offering a consultation, trial, estimate, or sending a discount to anyone showing hesitation at the final stage before conversion.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONVERSION RATE OF OPTIMISTATION

Conversion rate optimisation is the process of increasing the percentage of visitors who complete an intended website’s goal. When it comes to helping nurture your audience through the funnel, CRO is an invaluable way to assess how visitors interact with your website. You have so much data at your fingertips that you need to review on a regular basis to ensure the funnels are aligned.

Every aspect of your conversion funnel can be optimised to increase the number of successful conversions. This involves understanding what motivates and persuades people so that you can give them the best possible experience, as well as discovering the reasons why part of your audience is failing to convert.

Metrics such as cost per acquisition, bounce rate, customer lifetime value, conversion rate and conversion rate per channel can help measure your marketing funnel’s success and effectiveness.

HOW CAN EDGE HELP AS A DEDICATED WEB AGENCY?

As a leading web and SEO agency based in Sutton Coldfield, we have over 15 years of experience creating digital campaigns that actively increase conversions.

Our expert team are pioneers in using remarketing to boost conversion rates while raising your business’s reputation, visibility and bottom line. As a business, we aim to make every interaction with your audience a meaningful one.

Learn more about our approach to conversion rate optimisation and remarketing at CRO and Remarketing | EDGE Creative (edge-creative.com)

What Does Google’s ‘Helpful Content’ Update Mean for Website Content?

As a specialist digital marketing agency, here’s what we’ve discovered:

 

Google is constantly looking at new ways to ensure all web pages that appear and rank in its search engine are as helpful and relevant as possible for the user.

At the end of August 2022, the company announced its Helpful Content update, an alteration to how its search engine algorithm ranks website content.

As a specialist digital marketing agency in Sutton Coldfield, it is our nature to keep up to date with all the latest news and updates that affect online content and SEO (search engine optimisation).

Read on to see our content marketing experts explain the latest Google update in more detail, focusing on how it should change your approach to writing website content.

WHAT IS THE GOOGLE HELPFUL CONTENT UPDATE?

The update was introduced on August 25th 2022 and took around two weeks to fully roll out to all worldwide searches in the English language.

It is not a core update to the search algorithm. Instead, it is a new signal that aims to reward content that satisfies the user experience and lowers the performance of content that fails to meet a visitor’s expectations.

Google introduced it as a weighted site-wide algorithm. This means that if the AI determines a high amount of unhelpful content on a website, it could get flagged with a label that can impact the visibility of the entire site on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

All this could sound quite daunting, but don’t worry, the content specialists at our SEO agency in the West Midlands are here to make life easier for you. Reach out to a member of the team for more information.

HOW DO WE RECOMMEND YOU APPROACH WEB CONTENT AFTER THE NEW UPDATE?

You are probably wondering what you need to consider when trying to produce content that the Google update will respond positively to.

In short, the emphasis should be on creating web content that satisfies the user intent and provides additional value using SEO best practices, without it feeling like it has been made with a focus on search engines.

The most successful content will focus on the intended audience of your website and the information they want from you. Ultimately, avoid trying to be everything for everyone.

Websites will be rewarded for clearly demonstrating first-hand expertise and depth of knowledge in a particular area or field.

Using elements like original photos or insights are an effective way to highlight the experience you have with the topic you are writing about. These visual demonstrations can enhance the experience.

Put yourself in the shoes of the user. Imagine the questions they are likely to want answering in your content and at speed. Make sure you are accurate with your answers because Google will caution websites that are making false claims and not giving the user what they want.

HOW CAN A SEO AGENCY LIKE EDGE CREATIVE HELP YOUR BUSINESS?

As a fully integrated marketing agency in the West Midlands, we have dedicated SEO and content teams who specialise in creating high-quality web content that ranks highly on search engines and implementing effective SEO strategies.

We focus on identifying the needs of your audience and satisfying those requirements through accurate and engaging content that demonstrates your expertise and depth of knowledge.

If you want to take your website content to the next level, contact us today by calling 0121 355 8092 or emailing info@edge-creative.com.

Web 3.0 – What Can We Expect From the Next Generation of the Internet?

What topics we’ll be covering with Web 3.0:

An advancement in how computers understand the meaning behind the information is likely to be at the heart of it, allowing them to learn more about topics you are interested in and helping to find the information you want faster.

In this article, the digital marketing team from our expert digital marketing agency in Birmingham will focus on what we hope to see from the emergence of Web 3.0.

WHAT IS LIKELY TO CHANGE FROM WEB 2.0?

The second generation of the World-Wide-Web handed the capacity for interaction between users and sites. It was driven by the emergence of social networks, mobile and cloud technology.

In Web 3.0, the idea is to enhance the user experience further, through a more human-like communication that will see artificial intelligence look at the meaning behind words and understand relationships between things, leading to better connections and more relevant information.

It is also believed that there will be a change in power regarding data, with the user expected to be able to take back control, giving greater privacy, transparency, and ownership over their information thanks to blockchain technology.

The aim is the introduction of a web that does not require personal information to be provided to large tech companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to use their services.

WHAT FEATURES OF WEB 3.0 ARE WE LIKELY SEE?

Whilst much of Web 3.0 is still at the theoretical stage, details are starting to emerge about many of the key features that will play a part in taking the internet into the next generation.

These include some of the following:

SEMANTIC WEB 

This will help improve the search process to generate and share content using methods that understand the meaning of words rather than keywords or numbers.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Computers will take a more human-like approach to provide faster and more relevant results, helping to improve the way they satisfy user intent.

3D GRAPHICS 

The frequency of 3D design on websites and services such as guides, computer games, eCommerce and geographical contexts should increase rapidly with Web 3.0.

CONNECTIVITY

Information will be more connected because of semantic metadata that will help progress the user experience to new levels.

DEVICES

As technology develops, new methods of gaining access to internet content and services will emerge, rather than exclusively through computers and smartphones.

BLOCKCHAIN

This technology leaves user data protected and encrypted. It will serve to stop large companies from controlling and/or using users’ data for their gain.

DATA OWNERSHIP

Data will be stored within a peer-to-peer connection, meaning users keep ownership of their data and digital assets, and can log in securely online without being tracked.

EDGE COMPUTING

Web3 relies on the advancement of edge computing in which apps and data are processed at the network edge on mobile phones, laptops, appliances, and smart devices.

HOW CAN EDGE HELP?

EDGE Creative is a digital marketing agency with content specialists and website developers in Birmingham who pride themselves on keeping up to date with the latest technological changes and developments.

As a result, we are perfectly placed to help our clients get the most out of their online presence and maximise the ways they interact digitally.

So, if you are ready to take your business to the next level, please get in touch with us today by calling 0121 355 8092 or emailing info@edge-creative.com.

Why Do Businesses Need to Segment Data to Accurately Report and Direct Marketing Efforts?

When learning about data segmentation it’s important to know the following:

In any business in any sector, data is important. Data comes in many forms, whether it’s the personal information of you and your employees, the contact details of your customers, or the profit margins and outgoings of your business.

Data is what businesses need to operate, and one of the most efficient ways to organise and store this data is through segmentation.

But what is data segmentation, what is it useful for, and why might you want to utilise it? Read on for the answers to these questions and more!

THE ESSENTIALS: DATA, SEGMENTATION, AND SECURITY

Data is at the core of any business, especially in the era of the internet. As a leading digital marketing agency in Birmingham, data plays a huge role in what we do by informing us of who to contact in a variety of situations.

It also helps us see how our clients are performing in their various industries, too. From marketing to HR, payroll, and IT, data is what informs every department of every business what it is they should be working on.

Data should be the driving force behind business decisions. Data helps you to respond to market trends, identify patterns in customer behaviour, and reduce expenditure, all of which should culminate in an increase in revenue if you respond accordingly.

But with data comes complications. For one, there are security concerns, usually regarding how long data can be stored for and the ways in which it is used. For example, personal data must be collected willingly, legally, and with good reason, all of which should be outlined in your company’s privacy policy.

Secondly, data needs to be stored effectively for it to be useful, especially when you’re dealing with large databases of potential leads or existing customers. This is where audience data segmentation comes into effect.

DATA SEGMENTATION AND HOW BUSINESSES UTILISE IT

Segmentation is the process of separating and organising a database into sections based on shared factors. We’ll explain the concept through an example:

Imagine you own a national business, and therefore cater to clients from the Scottish Highlands to the sunny south coast. In this example, you might have a database of 6,000 leads.

Let’s say you had prepared a marketing campaign tailored towards potential clients specifically in Northumberland. Combing through a database of 6,000 leads, each from different parts of the country, to identify which people you should contact would take an incredibly long time.

By segmenting your data by location and storing them in separate locations, you will be able to select the “Northumberland” database and immediately send across your materials to just those people. With a full database that large, the Northumberland area might include upwards of 750 potential clients.

By doing so manually, or even using filtering tools, you could miss some of those potential leads, or send irrelevant information to a client in Sussex by accident. Plus, it could take hours of administration work, whereas a segmented database could be contacted with a single click. This is why data segmentation is so important.

Since we are a digital marketing company in Birmingham, we’ve used a marketing example, but this kind of data usage can be important for any aspect of a business.

SEGMENTED DATABASES ARE CRUCIAL FOR YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS

To effectively maintain and grow your client base, and therefore your revenue, a segmented and accurate database is key.

The beauty of a segmented database is that your data can be organised according to any number of specific factors, provided you have access to the required data.

That means you could have a database for existing clients in the automobile industry, or you might want to have a database for companies in the UK with a director whose surname is “Adams”, for whatever reason.

This helps you not only target potential leads with correct and relevant information, but also to send communications and offers to existing customers to help retain them.

If all your content is ending up the correct inboxes, your emails will be opened, and you will generate leads. Plus, if you have the right data, you could use business addresses to even send something physical to really stand out from the crowd.  

GET IN TOUCH

Want to get the best out of your existing database, or looking to start fresh and kickstart a new, targeted marketing campaign? We can help. As a specialist digital agency, our email and content marketing is tailored to the needs of your business and your clients.

We can even help across other forms of marketing too, from building a brand-new website to developing your brand, our goal is seeing you succeed.

To find out what we could do for you, drop an email to info@edge-creative.com or call the office on 0121 355 8092.

Five Ways to Optimise Your Website for Voice Search in 2022

When optimising for voice search it’s important to know:

Alexa, Siri, Bixby, Cortana.

Though it might sound like the line-up of the next group to win the X-Factor, most people will recognise at least one of these names as virtual assistants. Common among modern UK households, virtual assistants have several purposes.

From setting timers and reminders to controlling the lights in your house and playing your favourite album on demand, virtual assistants are convenient and functional. One of the main features of virtual assistants is being able to ask quick questions, which are then answered following a quick scan of the internet.  

You could be missing out on a key portion of your audience by not tailoring your SEO approach to accommodate voice searches, but don’t worry; read on to find out exactly how you can appeal to your target audience through voice search optimisation.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VOICE SEARCHES AND REGULAR SEARCHES?

The way we choose to communicate and interact with those around us differs from person to person. For example, in most cases, you wouldn’t talk to your friend in the same way you talk to your boss. The same can be said for technology: do you type in the same way you speak?

There are several differences in the norms of text and voice conversations, and it’s the same for text and voice searches. If you wanted to know about the best marketing options in your local area, you might type something simple, like:

‘Marketing agency Birmingham‘

If you were to do the same by voice, you might ask something like:

“What’s the highest-rated digital marketing agency in Birmingham?“

This difference in search terms and specificity could mean that a usually effective SEO strategy doesn’t work its magic on the more than one billion voice searches made every week. In fact, with some sources claiming that voice searches are now more common day-to-day than text-based searches, it might be more important than ever to target this audience.

Here are five steps you can take to do so.

1) REVIEW YOUR KEYWORDS

Due to the short, succinct nature of text searches, a traditional SEO strategy is likely to target single words or short phrases specific to your industry to drive search traffic to your website.

With voice searches changing the way people phrase their queries, the keywords and phrases you need to target are likely to be different.

Since voice searches are more conversational and grammatically correct than the text-based equivalent, it makes sense to target these with your content. Instead of appealing to “voice search SEO”, for example, you may want to target “how to improve voice search ranking” or “what’s the best way to improve voice search SEO.”

This change of approach might seem strange, but if someone were to ask the same question using exactly the same wording as you have on your website, then you will rank higher on the results.

2) PRODUCE CONVERSATIONAL CONTENT

If voice searches are being utilised in a conversational tone, then you need to produce conversational content. The content you produce should match what people are searching.

There are several ways to approach this, so you need to pick the one that best suits your existing tone and content. Perhaps you could produce question and answer content to appeal to the longer keywords while also reducing the formality of your communication.

Maybe some of your webpages could work better as lists or graphs rather than long, drawn out explanations, or perhaps you need to rework your titles to be more appealing to a wider audience.

3) MAINTAIN A FOCUS ON THE USER EXPERIENCE

Targeting users when they may not physically enter your website might seem strange, but it has its SEO benefits. For one, the load speed of your website is considered when the search engine decides where to rank you in the search results. The higher up you rank, the more likely you are to be picked by the voice search.

Additionally, your website needs to be easy to use and navigate for users so that the search engine can access the necessary information easily. If the website is logical and laid our intuitively, then the search engine will be able to find the search query as easily as a user.

4) DON’T DISREGARD YOUR REGULAR SEO STRATEGY

Appealing to voice search doesn’t mean you should suddenly ditch your attempts to target text search traffic, too. To attract the highest possible amount of web traffic, it will pay to target both voice search and regular search audiences.

This means that you might need to operate two separate SEO strategies or combine them into one unified method. Juggling two different methods of search engine usage is complex, especially when you’re trying to appeal to two different sets of similar keywords.

5) CONTACT AN SEO AND MARKETING SPECIALIST

What’s the best way to guarantee SEO results? Reach out to the experts. We can handle all the complex SEO research and produce an effective strategy from the findings. We can then also produce the content you need to seamlessly incorporate this strategy into your website.

We believe in transparency, so our team will walk you through the steps we take to help drive traffic to your website and send you the quantitative results of our efforts. You will be able to see exactly how our services have helped you and what might need tweaking.

For more information on how our SEO team could help you generate leads and increase revenue, email info@edge-creative.com or call the office on 0121 355 8092. 

The Power of Sound: How Sonic Branding Can Help Grow Your Company’s Reach

In this post, we’ll cover the following:

If you asked a room full of people “what do you consider as effective business marketing?”, you will probably end up with a wide range of answers. From social media management to celebrity endorsements and a positive brand image, there are several valid answers that all contribute towards successful marketing campaigns.

However, very few will answer “sonic branding”. For most, the term is probably entirely unfamiliar, and yet they would still be able to identify sonic assets when exposed to them.

So, what is sonic branding, and if very few people know what sonic assets are, is it worth investing in it?

Absolutely, and here’s why.

SONIC BRANDING FOCUSES ON A LESSER-USED SENSE WHEN IT COMES TO ADVERTISING

As a society, we are incredibly focused on visuals. So much of what we do orientates itself around our sense of sight, from choosing which clothes to wear each day to the car we drive (or want to drive) and the media we consume. 

TikTok and YouTube are two of the most influential social media platforms currently on the internet. Some of our most common pastimes, like watching the television or playing video games, are inherently sight-based too. In fact, the only one of your five senses you are using to read this blog is sight as well.

That’s because sight is unrestrictive. Taste and smell are unlikely to be used outside of the food and cosmetic industries, and touch is tough to utilise outside of the clothing industry.

That leaves hearing: the sense which sonic branding appeals to, and the sense that is drastically under-utilised. Unlike taste, smell, and touch, there are very few barriers when it comes to sonic assets, and unlike sight, hearing doesn’t require your full attention.

This is why sonic branding is so effective. It appeals to an underutilised sense in terms of advertisement, and it doesn’t require someone’s full attention to be successful. In fact, a successful sonic asset will often stick in your memory even without you trying to remember it. 

AUDIO BRANDS ARE OFTEN SUBCONSCIOUSLY RECOGNIZABLE

“Did somebody say Just Eat?” If you read that sentence and didn’t hear Just Eat’s jingle in your head at the same time, you are certainly in the minority. The instant recognisability of a phrase or song such as this means that sonic assets work similarly to a logo in many ways.

No matter whether you’re at home or out and about, something as iconic as the McDonalds logo, for example, will immediately catch your attention. The same can be said about sonic branding, meaning that if you hear a certain tune or note, you may immediately associate it with a specific company.

This is incredibly powerful method of marketing. If your brand is easily recalled on the spot and associated with a particular sound, your customers may be thinking about you constantly. Every time they something vaguely similar to your sonic asset, your customers will be thinking of your business.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT SONIC ASSET?

From our perspective as a leading creative agency in Birmingham, a great sonic asset needs to be effective at three main things:

  1. APPEAL
  2. PERSONALITY
  3. MEMORABILITY

APPEAL

Simply put, a sonic asset must appeal to the audience. Dismissing a few notable outliers, sonic assets need to be liked by those who will hear them to be successful. This means they should either sound professionally made, give off positive connotations, or both.

Some examples of this include Moonpig, Checkatrade, and Just Eat. The beats and jingles in these examples are generally uplifting and enjoyable to listen to and might even make you sing along.

PERSONALITY

A sonic asset must also be reflective of your brand for people to think of your company when they hear it. Certain ideals of your business need to be expressed through the sound – for example, a mechanic may want to have more metallic sounds take centre stage in their sonic asset. In some cases, you may also want to include the name of your brand in your jingle.

MEMORABILITY

Lastly, a sonic asset needs to be remembered to be effective. There is no point in including sound in your marketing if no one can recall your brand after hearing it, or if the tune doesn’t flow logically.

Most sonic assets work because people sing or hum along to it subconsciously. If your sonic asset is too long, doesn’t follow a tune, or is simply produced poorly, no one will care to remember it.

CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFOMATION

If you’d like a deeper look into sonic branding and what it could do for your business, get in touch. As marketing experts, we know how to amplify your brand both on and off the internet and can help plan a comprehensive marketing strategy for your business. For more information on how we could help your business grow, email info@edge-creative.com or call the office on 0121 355 8092.

Are You Ready for This Major Google Analytics Update?

In this post, we’ll cover the following:

Could you imagine suddenly losing all the data your business has been collecting via Google Analytics? It’s a scary thought – and we’d do anything to avoid that happening.

While this sounds like a nightmare for any data junkie, it may become a reality if you’re not prepared for this major GA update.

WHAT IS THIS MAJOR UPDATE ALL ABOUT?

Google has recently announced that their current platform Universal Analytics (UA), which has been running since 2012/2013, will be superseded by Google Analytics 4 (GA4) permanently from July 1st, 2023.

WHAT DOES THIS CHANGE MEAN TO YOU?

When GA4 becomes the main platform on 1st July 2023, your Universal Analytics property will stop tracking your website data and only historic reports will be available to view. At the end of 2023, you will lose access to Universal Analytics data completely.

It’s worth highlighting that the data from Universal Analytics (that will be collected until 30th June 2023) will not be passed through to GA4.

In a nutshell: If you don’t act now, you’ll have less time to gather website data once the change becomes permanent.

By creating a GA4 property now, you’ll be able to build up 1 whole years’ worth of Analytics reporting and ensure you don’t miss out on valuable insights.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UNIVERSAL ANALYTICS AND GA4?

GA4 has an updated measurement module that will allow you to produce more accurate reporting, based on events and parameters such as campaign, source, medium, term, and content.

Right, but what exactly is the difference?

CAPTURE EVENTS INSTEAD OF HITS

To start with, any interaction that’s captured is considered an event, therefore the previously known “hits” on Universal Analytics such as page view or social will now translate to “events”.

The events are now organised in four categories: Automatically collected, enhanced measurement, recommended and custom.

Let’s explain each category a bit further:

AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTED

These events are exactly how the name indicates – you don’t have to activate the events manually or write any code as it’s all automatic. These events can be the exact time someone visited the website or even the first visit to the website or app.

ENHANCED MEASUREMENT

This is an option that GA4 gives you to switch on that/which will provide an extra set of events that will be collected automatically. The good part? You don’t have to code these events and they’re quite useful – having enhanced measurement will allow you to collect events such as a click on a file download button on the website, the first time someone scrolls all the way down in the page, or a click in a link to drives traffic to another website.

RECOMMENDED EVENTS

These are the events that aren’t part of GA4, which means you can’t collect these automatically even if the enhanced measurement option is on. If the events are not in the automatically collected or enhanced measurement, you’ll have to check the recommended events, where you can find them and follow a guide to create the event and make it compatible with future GA4 releases.

CUSTOM EVENTS

We’d call these the “outsiders” –  the events that don’t fall in the other three categories, and you’ll need to configure these events yourself. For instance, you can create a custom event to track menu clicks as this isn’t available in the other categories. Bear it in mind – Google doesn’t guarantee that these codes will be supported in the future! They recommend that you create a custom event only if you don’t see it in the first three categories.

HELLO DATA STREAMS

We’ll also say goodbye to “Views” as they become “Data Streams”. According to Google, “Data Streams” are:

“A flow of data from your website or app to Analytics. There are 3 types of data stream: Web (for websites), iOS (for iOS apps) and Android (for Android apps).”

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a GA4 data stream is equivalent to a Universal Analytics view – the data streams are not a replacement for these. GA4 lets you connect your website’s URL to a data stream instead of connecting it to a view as it happened in Universal Analytics.

Also, differently to Universal Analytics, you can’t create a filter in a GA4 data stream. However, you’re able to set up a list of domains for cross-domain tracking, make a list of domains that you wish to exclude from tracking, and a set of rules for defining internal traffic.

NEW METRICS REPLACING OLD ONES

What about the metrics? We’re glad you’ve asked. Some of the metrics that you are already familiar with have been replaced with new ones. To name just a few:

  • “Bounce Rate” now becomes “Engagement Rate”, which measures a session that spent 10 seconds or more on the website/app, viewed two or more pages or had a conversion event.
  • Conversions will be measured differently – instead of being measured based on the configured goals for each view, with the new update the goals are based on the events that you send to the property.

CAN I SAVE MY DATA?

Good news: You can save your data, so no worries!

DON’T PANIC, WE’RE HERE TO HELP YOU TRANSITION!

We recommend that you begin this transition as soon as possible to get familiar with the new interface, but also to collect one year’s worth of data!

Does this all sound overwhelming to you?

Don’t worry, we’ll work with you to get ready for this change and help you understand how Google Analytics works. We can also run an audit on your website and set up an effective SEO strategy, taking into consideration the new benefits of Google Analytics.

Call us on 0121 355 8092 today or email info@edge-creative.com to find out more.

PS: Why don’t you pay a visit to our TikTok page and watch our informative (short but sweet) videos on this change?

Can I Use Competitor Brand Names as Keywords in My Google Ads?

In this post, we’ll cover the following:

Do you remember the keyword controversy between Interflora Flowers and Marks and Spencer? The scandal began in 2008 and lasted five whole years, disrupting both companies and the reputations of marketing agencies as they appeared in the public eye.

The dispute began when Interflora brought its infringement claim against M&S, objecting to them paying Google to use the keyword “interflora” as a search term in their adverts. Interflora stated that consumers searching for “interflora” were being led to the M&S website, and landing on a page promoting M&S’s own flower delivery service.

Interflora believed M&S were infringing on their trademark and driving traffic to their competing service. Even worse still, Interflora was spending lots of money in order to outbid M&S for the right to use their own name as a keyword.   

Regardless as to whether you agree or not, some businesses will deliberately use their competitors’ trademarks as keywords in Google Ads as part of their digital marketing strategies. This isn’t likely to stop any time soon either, as following the dispute between Interflora and Marks & Spencer, a EU court decided that this wasn’t and didn’t classify as a trade mark infringement.

The ideology behind this is that if someone is searching for Brand A, but sees an advert that is clearly for Brand B, it is clear that they are two different brands. Although in many cases it’s not necessarily as easy as this, this approach has been widely adopted as a general rule. 

DOES THAT MEAN I CAN BID ON MY COMPETITOR’S BRANDED KEYWORDS?

In short, yes – but there are also a few different rules you need to follow in order to ensure this approach stays legal. 

DON’T INCLUDE YOUR COMPETITOR’S NAME IN YOUR ADVERT

It’s important that you avoid using your competitor’s name within your adverts. If you were to do so, this could be perceived as manipulative marketing, as it can seem like you’re trying to trick any search users into thinking that your website is your competitor’s website. This is against the law in many countries.

 DON‘T USE DYNAMIC KEYWORD INSERTION

Dynamic Keyword Insertion is the process of taking any of your keywords matching the search query to fit the 25-character limit of the headline in your advert. It is designed to make adverts seem more relevant to the search engine user, by replacing part of the original copy with the user’s search team.

If you are using this method, the headline of your adverts could end up showing your competitors brand names, which could cause a potential legal problem. 

HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF SOMEONE IS BIDDING ON MY BRAND NAME?

As a business or brand owner, you can easily find out if someone is bidding on your brand name as a keyword – just search for your brand.

If your competitor’s website comes up and your brand name is in the copy, you should contact your lawyers about a trademark infringement.

HOW CAN I AVOID THIS HAPPENING?

By making sure you and any agency you work with understand the risks before setting your keywords and keyword insertion strategy, you can avoid any legal trouble.

Better still, by partnering with a marketing agency that takes guidance and works in collaboration with solicitors, you can rest assured knowing you are getting correct and up-to-date legal information.  

Find out more by emailing info@edge-creative.com.

How Can PR & SEO Help You Grow Your Business?

PR and SEO are essential elements to maximising your business growth, read below to find what you need to know:

When it comes to marketing your business, PR and SEO campaigns are powerful stand-alone tools. Both can help build high-quality brand awareness and increased visibility, as well as validate the reputability of your business. However, as the landscape becomes increasingly digital, using these together as part of your wider strategy can offer an innovative way to achieve organic growth.

PR and SEO are marketing strategies to help protect, enhance and increase the reputation of your business. Both approaches do this by increasing visibility, trustworthiness and building quality brand awareness. However, when the two strategies work together, it can help your business gain lots of high-quality publicity, as well as contribute towards achieving your overall business goals.

WHAT IS PR?

Public relations (PR) is the way your business communicates and promotes its organisation to the media and public, and with this becoming more digitalised, it can be tied into your company’s wider strategy.

WHAT IS SEO?

PR differs from search engine optimisation (SEO), which involves enhancing your company website to ensure it ranks highly in a search engine result for a certain keyword. When a brand ranks highly, it demonstrates its reliability to the user and suggests that it contains valuable content.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ALLIES?

Digital PR, combined with SEO, makes a marketing power couple for developing your business’s online presence, building up high-quality publicity, and achieving the best results for your brand. Therefore, writing your PR content should be done with your SEO strategy in mind – but why?

Building backlinks to domains with high authority is a key off-page SEO tactic. Promoting your brand in an online publication can help cultivate credibility, helping Google to recognise your website as a trustworthy and relevant source to your target audience. 

If a news piece or press release linking to your site comes from a website with strong domain authority, it will from a high-quality link. This will have a direct impact on your website’s search engine visibility and ranking – as well as providing a door, through which people can easily visit your website!

WHAT IS THE DOMAIN AUTHORITY?

Domain authority refers to the strength of a domain, scoring a website from 1-100 on how trustworthy it is. A trusted website is more likely to be ranked by search engines and understanding this allows you to target your PR at pages with a high score for domain authority.

Remember: when it comes to SEO, choosing the best channels can ensure that you are establishing quality links to directly impact the outcome of a campaign. No-follow or low-quality links would have none to little impact on your SEO, and by avoiding these you can massively impact the visibility of your business.

EDGE CREATIVE

As an integrated marketing agency, we provide unified and innovative solutions by combining our specialist services to deliver campaigns with maximum impact, including PR and SEO.  Want to maximise the growth of your business? Speak to our expert team today on 0121 355 8092 or email info@edge-creative.com.

Why Are Google Reviews Important?

When researching Google Reviews, it’s important to be aware of:

Google reviews may be the first piece of information a potential client reads when deciding whether to enquire about your services. They can also help improve local SEO. This means it’s important that your reviews show your business in the positive light it deserves.

If you own a small business, you’ll know how important word-of-mouth recommendations are to attracting a chain of new clients. Reviews can showcase these recommendations to a much wider audience.

WHERE CAN I FIND MY GOOGLE REVIEWS?

Your Google Reviews section will appear as part of your Google My Business listing. This can be displayed on the right-hand side of a Google search results page for your business. They also appear in Google Maps.

WHY DO GOOGLE REVIEWS MATTER?

More and more consumers turn to online search when making purchasing decisions. By having high quality and positive reviews, potential customers can get a glimpse into what it’s like to deal with your business. Think: would you purchase something you saw online without reading the reviews first?

Glowing feedback from satisfied customers that highlight your reliability, quality and level of customer service will help generate a sense of trust and familiarity between you and potential customers.

Not only do Google Reviews act as an advocate for your business, but they can also have a positive impact on local SEO. This is because according to Google, “high-quality, positive reviews from your customers will improve your business’s visibility and increase the likelihood that a potential customer will visit your location.”.

HOW DO GOOGLE REVIEWS HELP RANKINGS?

Google Reviews signal that your business is real, functioning and, if they’re positive, trustworthy. This can help influence your ranking by showing to Google that other people are interacting with your business.

When more people interact with your business and click on your website, it signals to Google that you are relevant to the customers who see you in search. This can help increase your rankings – so the better your reviews, the more people are likely to click through to your website.

Reviews also help rankings by providing Google with more content to analyse. For example, if your business offers a particular service that you’re trying to rank in search for, positive reviews that mention that service can make a positive impact on your ranking.

HOW CAN I GET GOOGLE REVIEWS FOR MY BUSINESS?

The answer to this question is simple – just ask for them directly. Get in touch with a customer who has recently dealt with your business and politely ask for them to leave their feedback on Google.

There are no quick fixes to increasing your reviews or star rating. This is because they need to be as authentic and as trustworthy as possible, and by taking the time to reach out to satisfied customers individually, you’ll get better results that will boost your online reputation.

Don’t be tempted to leave fake reviews on your Google My Business profile or pay for positive reviews. Google can spot patterns in fake reviews and can swiftly remove ones they deem to be untrustworthy. This can have a negative impact on your search engine optimisation (SEO).

Remember – when it comes to your SEO process, authenticity is key. The more detail a review is able to give about the customers’ experience, the better.

HOW CAN EDGE CREATIVE HELP?

As a Google Partner, we’ve supported clients across a wide range of business sectors with the management of their reviews. This involves formulating a strategy to assist with driving positive reviews, and responding swiftly to reviews when they come in.

For example, we’ve helped Finance Brokerage Finance 4 Business and Estate Agents Taylor Cole to contact satisfied customers, advising on wording and strategy. This has helped rapidly increase their reviews.

Our work on proactively increasing Google Reviews has also meant that we are now one of the top agencies in Sutton Coldfield for Google Reviews. Just look us up!

If you’d like support with your business’s online review management, whether on Facebook, Trustpilot, Google or Feefo – contact us. Call 0121 355 8092 or email info@edge-creative.com to talk to a member of the team.