Category: Lead Generation

Increase sales by understanding the difference between Google Business Profile Manager and Google Ads and connecting the two.

As a small business owner, making the most of your online presence is essential to drive online and offline traffic to your business. Two critical tools offered by Google can help you achieve this: Google Business Profile Manager (formerly known as Google My Business) and Google Ads. These platforms seem similar initially, but they serve different purposes and offer unique benefits. 

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the differences between these tools and explain how to integrate both to maximize your online visibility and reach.

What is Google Business Profile Manager?

Google Business Profile Manager is a free, easy-to-use tool that helps small businesses create and manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. With a Google Business Profile, you can provide essential information about your business, such as its name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and more. This information helps potential customers find your business and learn about what you offer.

Some key features of Google Business Profile Manager

1. Local search visibility: Claiming your business and verifying its information improves your chances of appearing in local search results and Google Maps. Doing so will help drive foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar location.
2. Customer reviews and ratings: Google Business Profile allows customers to leave reviews and ratings for your business, which can help you build trust with potential customers and improve your online reputation.
3. Photos and videos: You can upload photos and videos to showcase your products or services, giving potential customers a better idea of what to expect when they visit your business.
4. Insights and analytics: The platform provides insights and analytics to help you understand how customers interact with your Business Profile and identify areas for improvement.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is a paid advertising platform that allows businesses to create and run targeted online ads across the Google network, including Search, Display, YouTube, and more. With Google Ads, you can reach potential customers when they’re actively searching for products or services like yours, driving more qualified leads and sales.

Some key features of Google Ads include

1. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising: You only pay when someone clicks on your ad, making Google Ads a cost-effective way to drive paid traffic to your website or store.
2. Keyword targeting: You can target specific keywords relevant to your business, ensuring that your ads appear when potential customers search for products or services like yours.
3. Ad formats and placements: Google Ads offers various ad formats (text, image, video) and placements (search results, websites, apps) to help you reach your target audience effectively.
4. Conversion tracking: Google Ads allows you to track conversions, such as website visits, phone calls, or online sales, enabling you to optimize your campaigns for better results.

Integration of Google Business Profile Manager and Google Ads

Integrating Google Business Profile Manager and Google Ads can help you maximize your online visibility, drive more foot traffic to your physical location, and increase the effectiveness of your ad campaigns. 

Here are some ways to integrate these two platforms

1. Location extensions: Link your Google Business Profile to your Google Ads account and enable location extensions for your ads. With location extensions, your business address, phone number, and directions are displayed alongside your ad, making it easier for potential customers to find and visit your store. Doing so can also help improve your ad’s click-through rate (CTR) and drive more foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar location.
2. Local search ads: Use Google Ads to create local search ads that target specific geographic areas where your potential customers are. By combining this targeted advertising approach with the information from your Google Business Profile, you can ensure that your ads appear to users within your target market, resulting in more relevant leads and increased foot traffic.
3. Call extensions: You can enable call extensions by integrating your Google Business Profile phone number with your Google Ads. These extensions display your phone number alongside your ad, allowing potential customers to call your business directly from the search results. Often, this approach leads to increased phone inquiries and conversions.
4. Local inventory ads: If you have a retail store and use Google Merchant Center, you can integrate your local inventory information with your Google Ads. Local inventory ads allow you to show potential customers the products you have available in-store, driving more foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar location.
5. Conversion tracking: Use Google Ads conversion tracking in conjunction with your Google Business Profile to measure the effectiveness of your ad campaigns. You can optimize your campaigns and allocate your ad budget by tracking actions like phone calls, store visits, and online sales.

Understanding the Difference Between Google Business Profile Manager and Google Ads

By integrating Google Business Profile Manager and Google Ads in these ways, you can create more effective and targeted marketing campaigns that help drive foot traffic to your physical location, increase online visibility, and ultimately grow your business.

When attracting traffic to your business’ website, some search traffic holds more value than others. There’s a big difference between search-based traffic and intent-based traffic. Knowing the difference and how to attract one over the other will help you generate more substantial leads. Let’s get into it!

What’s the difference between intent-based traffic and search-based traffic?

Intent-based traffic

Search-based and intent-based searches will bring two completely different types of traffic to your website. When drawing traffic to your website, you want to focus on bringing in intent-based traffic. Intent-based traffic is full of solid leads – a.k.a. people ready to make a purchase. Essentially, this kind of traffic has the buyer’s intent.

To better understand intent-based traffic, let’s use shoes as an example. When someone searches “shoe stores near me,” – there’s an excellent chance they want to shop for shoes. So, when they find a shoe store’s listing, they’ll head to the shop to get shoes! It’s a quick process that could result in an instant purchase.

Search-based traffic

On the other hand, we have search-based traffic, which is interest-based. 

Let’s use shoes as an example again. Someone that loves shoes will likely search for shoe and fashion content. A savvy shoe store marketer can use this information to create ads that’ll entice this person to order shoes from them. 

While this kind of traffic holds some value – it doesn’t provide that instant conversion that intent-based traffic does. Because while the search-based people may take notice of your shoe content, they might not need shoes right that second. Whereas intent-based traffic probably needs shoes at that very moment, you’re more likely to convert this kind of traffic.

Understanding this key traffic difference will allow you to leverage your business listing better. Having a listing strategy that attracts those high–intent people will help you convert those searches into purchases – and grow your business much faster.

Attracting the correct traffic with an intent-based strategy

So, how do you attract traffic that’s ready to buy over traffic that’s simply interested? The magic is in the keywords. Keyword intent is critical in differentiating people searching just to search from people searching to buy.

When it comes to keyword intent, there are high-intent and low-intent keywords. Low-intent keywords are going to bring in that search-based, interest-only traffic. These keywords are usually informational or navigational. They often help people get answers to specific information or help them find a particular site. Low-intent keywords could include “how, why, or what” and are often a part of a long-tail informational search phrase. While these low-intent keywords can bring traffic to your website, it’s probably not traffic that’s ready to convert.

What you want are high-intent keywords. These keywords are commercial or transactional—for example, people who are getting ready to buy or are ready to buy use high-intent keywords.

The two main types of high-intent keywords are “buy now” keywords and “product” keywords. Some “buy now” keywords are:

• “Buy”
• “Discount”
• “Coupon”
• “Deals”
• “Free Shipping.”

“Product” keywords are also extremely valuable. Here are a few examples:

• Brand-names
• Specific Produce
• Product Categories (women’s sneakers, winter jackets, touch-screen laptops)
• “Cheap”
• “Top”
• “Best”

For local traffic, high-intent keywords may consist of:

• “Near me”
• Name of town, city, area

Be sure to keep these keywords in mind when you’re coming up with an SEO keyword strategy. Learning to incorporate high-intent keywords into your business listing will help you bring in traffic that is ready to convert!

Bring in intent-based traffic

Targeting intent-based web traffic is a marketing strategy that’ll help you bring in more solid, sustainable leads. Feel free to reach out if you need extra help drawing in the right traffic. Our team of experienced digital marketers specializes in bringing in traffic with buyers’ intent. So if you’re ready to grow your business, contact us today for a free consultation!

Paid search isn’t just for driving web traffic to online businesses. Paid search is a successful marketing strategy for getting more foot traffic into your physical retail location.

Paid Search is successful because it creates a highly targeted audience and measurable results. For example, if you sell women’s footwear, people who have previously searched for women’s footwear will see your ads. It’s almost foolproof, but you have to do a bit of work to discover appropriate keywords and properly set up your ads. 

Drive Foot Traffic to Your Retail Location

Despite the increase in online shopping, in-store shopping still owns the majority of retail sales for several reasons, including:

• Ability to try on clothing or shoes before purchasing
• Save on shipping costs
• The instant gratification of being able to walk out with the items
• Easier returns
• Avoids having to enter personal information online

But this doesn’t mean consumers aren’t doing their research online. So how do you get consumers to go from researching online to travelling to your store and making the purchase?

Use these paid search tips to increase foot traffic to your business:

• Include your business address in your ads using the Location Ad Extension.
• Promote sales in your ads
• Offer an instant-messaging option so consumers can ask questions or book appointments (you can do this using the Message Extension)
• Run your ads during business hours
• Use geofencing to target mobile users within a certain proximity to your business (or near your competitors)
• Use the Google Storefront and Inventory Ads to let consumers know what you have in stock.

Drive Web Traffic To Your E-Commerce Shop

If you have an online shop, you also want to get sales from your website. The key to growing sales through your e-commerce shop isn’t just to get website traffic. It’s to get targeted traffic. That’s why paid search ads are so important. When set up correctly, ads can target people already determined to buy. 

Doing proper keyword research and understanding your audience’s search habits is essential. You can learn more about keywords here.

But there are a few other things you can do to ensure your paid ads convert for you, too:

• Use Ad Extensions to improve your ads and get more detailed
• Give consumers a reason to act quickly – i.e., sale ends today!
• Offer returns and refunds to make decision-making easier
• Ensure your ad copy (the words in your ad) speaks to your ideal consumer
• Set up multiple ads for different products and audiences
• Set up retargeting ads to reach those who have already visited your website (not only are these cheaper, they convert at a higher rate, too!)
• Optimize your website for mobile and tablet use

What about the Funnel?

Depending on how much time you’ve spent researching marketing for your retail business, you may have come across “The Funnel.” The Funnel is a term that typically refers to the steps a consumer takes before purchasing your business.

It begins with Awareness, moves to Desire, then Interest, and ends with Action or a Purchase.

During the Awareness phase, consumers are typically busy doing research, reading free content like blogs, and educating themselves about the products they are looking to buy. Next, in the Desire and Interest phases, consumers move to targeted engagements with the brand by either reading reviews, engaging on social media, or seeking referrals from friends and family. Finally, when consumers are in the Action phase, Paid Search Ads can attract them to your business when they are ready to purchase.

There are several stages that consumers go through when they are interested in purchasing a product or service, and Paid Search is critical to closing the funnel and converting – whether the goal is an online sale or foot traffic to your local store.

Analyzing Results of Your Paid Search Campaign

No advertising campaign can be deemed successful without examining the results. There are three key metrics to track:

• Impressions (how many times people see your ad)
• Clicks (the number of people who clicked on your ad after viewing it)
• Conversions (the number of people who followed through with an action, i.e. a purchase)

If your ad is not as successful as you had hoped, these metrics can tell you where you need to make adjustments. You can evaluate the ads themselves, the landing pages or even your checkout process. Someone along the way, you’ll learn why your campaign is successful or not. 

For example, if you have a good number of impressions but low clicks, you need to revisit your keywords and ad targeting to ensure the right people see your ad. You may also want to have a copywriter review the ad copy to ensure your message gets across.

If you have a high click-through rate but low conversions, the issue likely lies with your landing page – optimizing your landing pages and checkout pages may be in order and, again, review your copy.

If you’re struggling to set up a successful paid search campaign or Google Ads and Ad Extensions just have you feeling more overwhelmed than excited, book a free consultation and let’s see if we can help you increase your traffic and sales.

How do you prevent lead generation mistakes from turning your marketing campaigns into failures? First, it’s important to understand what you are trying to accomplish.

Generating leads play a vital role in creating sales for your business. Leads are the potential customers who’ve expressed an interest in your business. These leads are the key to converting your business’ marketing into sales.

But what happens when your business’ leads aren’t responding to your marketing campaigns in the way you would like?

Being aware of common lead generation mistakes will allow you to create new leads better and convert those leads into sales. Here are four lead generation mistakes that every marketing manager or business owner should avoid:

Failure to Test Campaigns 

You probably wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it first, right? The same should go for your campaigns.

Whether it’s search engine marketing, social media marketing, or email marketing, testing your marketing campaign before running it is essential to ensure it will be effective. 

When testing your campaigns, don’t make the mistake of testing to confirm that it’s a solid campaign. Instead, it would be best to see how to improve the campaign. There’s always room for growth.

There are several ways you can test the potential success of your campaign. You can test the campaign’s content or the platform where you want to run it. For example, one campaign might be more successful on social media than it would through email. Either way, testing these things will help you optimize the campaign to generate more clicks and sales. 

Landing Page Issues

Having a solid landing page for your business’ website is necessary to attract leads and make sure those leads stay on the website.

A few of the common mistakes that businesses make with their landing page include slow load time, lack of SEO content, poor formatting and a difficult to navigate landing page.

Optimizing your landing page to make it more accessible and user-friendly is the key to successful lead generation.

Bad Forms

To generate quality leads, you need a quality lead capture form. But how does a good lead form look?

A good lead form is all about balance. If the form is too short, you’re generating many leads that may not have an interest. On the other hand, if the form is too long, you could miss out on many potential leads due to a lack of convenience.

Your lead capture form should capture just enough information that allows you to reach out to your lead and potentially personalize the marketing. In addition, the form should capture the necessary information from the lead without appearing intimidating. 

Not Giving Prospects a Good Reason to Click

Why aren’t your leads clicking on your lead generation campaigns? It might sound like the obvious answer, but are you giving them a good reason to click?

The content of the marketing campaign needs to be attention-grabbing. Keep the content fresh, exciting and engaging. If the potential lead is engaged and eager for more, there’s a higher chance you’ll get that click.

Think about what makes your leads want to click on the content. Is it a promotion, an exclusive offer, personalized content, a new and exciting product? Knowing what your leads want will help you to generate higher-quality leads.

Need More Assistance Generating Quality Leads?

No worries, we’re here if you need us. At 10|20 Marketing, we apply our extensive experience to help companies generate quality leads. We utilize digital marketing strategies such as paid advertising, lead conversion, social media, geofencing and directory marketing. Our low-cost services are available to both big and small businesses.

Want to book a free marketing consultation? Contact us!

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