Big companies invest so much money into all different avenues of marketing that it’s not uncommon for little guys like us to think there’s no point in trying to compete. But, as this blog article will prove, search marketing is one of the only aspects of marketing that the little guys can actually win at!
Search marketing is one of the cheapest marketing strategies around if you can do it right. Yes, money can be ploughed into it but, with SEO, money doesn’t always equal results. For example, 70-80% of users ignore the paid ads [on Google], focusing on the organic results.
SEO is often difficult to digest. That’s why in this blog article, we’re going to talk you through it in simple terms, and offer up five ways that the little guys can still win with search marketing!
WIN with Adaptability!
Large companies, with thousands of employees, take long amounts of time to change even the smallest aspects of their search marketing because they have so many people involved in the decision-making process. It could take weeks for them to agree on changing one keyword for their blog.
The little guys have the advantage here because with small companies, the same change could be implemented within minutes. A quick email sent around your five desk office, a few nods of approval, and there you have it — keyword changed! This kind of adaptability is crucial for helping the little guys save money and stay in the game.
WIN by being Niche!
Larger companies have to appeal to everyone, otherwise they simply will not reach their ROI, but smaller companies can become as niche as possible in order to gain more customers. When your company is niche you know that the visitors to your site haven’t just stumbled upon you by accident, they are there because they want whatever it is you’re selling.
So, say a large company sells Christmas decorations, their keyword would have to be exactly that, and they will be competing with thousands of other companies that have the same keyword. So, let’s say you sell Christmas decorations too, but your decorations are home-made and personalised — you already have the search marketing advantage. You could possibly go even more niche than that:
- Home-made, personalised teddy-bear Christmas decorations.
- Home-made, personalised teddy-bear Christmas decorations in Manchester.
These are called long-tail keywords and they are perfect for the little guys, but more on those later.
WIN with Fresh and Shareable Content!
Google’s algorithms love fresh and relevant content because it shows that you are useful to visitors of your site, and therefore Google are useful for sending people to you. A great way to update your site with regular and fresh content is to get a blog. If you already have a blog but you’re still struggling to get visitors then you need to find a way to fix that. The best way to improve your SEO with a blog is to post, regular, original, relevant (of course!), text-heavy articles. Studies have found that if a post is greater than 1500 words, on average it receives 68.1% more tweets and 22.6% more Facebook likes than a post that is under 1500 words.
Bringing us on to our next point, winning with shareable content! The more organic shares your content receives (especially through Google+!), the more your search marketing will improve. If your content is shareable then people will link to it, there’s no snobbery involved in which people will only link to established brands, it’s as simple as good content = shareable content.
WIN by being Local!
Another way the little guys can beat big companies with search marketing is by appealing to their local area, something most large companies can’t really do. Did you know that 50% of all mobile searches are conducted in hopes of finding local results, and 61% of those searches result in a purchase? So where large companies are missing out, the little guys can prevail!
The first step towards appealing to people in your local area through search marketing is to set up a business page on Google+. Google are really great when it comes to helping local businesses find customers. Google shopping now tells people which stores have specific items in stock and which of these stores are the closest to the consumer. And with the Christmas rush fast approaching there’s no better time for little guys to take advantage of this!
WIN with Long-tail Keywords!
As touched upon above, long-tail keywords give smaller companies the opportunity to rise above larger companies in search engines. They are a great tool because they’re easier to rank for and people who search for long-tail keywords are more likely to commit to buy because they are actively looking for something specific.
Keyword research is possibly one of the most invaluable tools when it comes to search marketing, in fact, it’s probably the most important factor because your keywords have to match what people are searching for in order for them to find you.
We hope this blog has empowered you to believe that you can still win with search marketing! If you want anymore advice on SEO or any of the terms used in this blog then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. And, if you know any other little guys that would benefit from reading this blog then please feel free to pass it on! 