I’m writing this blog to help people know (especially those over the age of 40) that we are now living in a DIGITAL FIRST WORLD. Traditional marketing is going by the wayside. A company that does SEO services or PPC Google Ads management needs to be part of your marketing budget.
The other day I was watching the Minnesota Vikings Football game here in Minneapolis and saw a commercial for a tire company. I was in the market for new winter tires and it dawned on me how our business in Minneapolis could be around as long as the Yellow Pages that started in 1886. The Yellow Pages were the staple of marketing for over 100 years. Now Google (search) is king and makes even local companies national or even global.
Let your fingers do the walking has a whole new meaning now, wouldn’t you agree?
1920 to 2000 - Let’s look at a simple example that we may all relate to. If your car needs new tires you used to go the local tire place to get a quote, or drive to Sears, or Firestone to just have them done and the price and choices were limited to those places locally.
If you don’t agree please go get your Yellow Pages the next time you have a flat…..ok kidding.
2000 to current day – You go online simply put the size tire you need into Google and get thousands of listings from around the world. You can shop by brand if you’re loyal, warranty if you want a tire to last a long time or just buying to sell a used car, price if you are on a budget, or location based on need.
There are even companies like TireRack, which the whole company’s business model is based around the algorithms of Google and using Google Ads as its world wide billboard. The first thing you may see is FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $50.
They also advertise on television with the goal not to come to the nearest location, rather while you’re sitting on your couch go to our website. You will learn they actually have locations and can pick up your tires, or have a local company who work with them and put your tires on for you once they are delivered. This is not an advertisement for TireRack, but rather a very clear observation that the TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
In other words, people go to the internet to ask questions, buy products, get their news, and successful companies are redirecting the majority of their advertising online versus the traditional marketing of radio, newspaper, TV, magazines and trade shows. The smarter companies will focus on SEO services known as search engine optimization, SEM (search engine marketing), SMO (social media optimization), and build a firm foundation for a great user experience on their website.
Whether you have a new business you’re starting today or a business that has been around online since the first domain was purchased in 1985, you need to understand that local business is done online. 97% of consumers go online to find local goods and services after all and 93% of all online interactions start with a search engine like Google. If you’re living in MN, Minneapolis SEO services can help your business be successful online.
I remember a conversation with one of my older clients Kim the GM that has worked with me since 2014 in Milwaukee. The company has been around for over 90 years, and is a multimillion dollar a year company. The owners believed in change but were skeptical. I was told that they were paying for Yellow Pages online, and using our SEO services from our Minneapolis based team at the same time. The contract with the Yellow Pages (YP.com) was coming up and she asked “should I renew the contract?” While I knew the answer was “no way”, we at Agency Jet never tell a client what to do, but rather give them the information needed to make an informed decision. I have been working with her for almost a year at the time of the Yellow Pages conversation and wanted to establish trust. We used the data from Google Analytics to show how effective the YP.com investment was versus SEO services.
The data was overwhelming that Search Engine Optimization was a key to the traffic that they’d gotten from the previous year, and YP.com traffic stayed constant. Note a Google organic increase of 62%, Bing 34%, and Yahoo 8% totaling 18,848 visits and for the same investment 752 visits from YP.com. As I recall, they were spending over $1500 a month with YP and the SEO services from us were less than that per month at the time.
How can hiring a digital marketing agency help your business?
Choosing the right digital marketing team will be imperative to your bottom line. The wrong one can quickly drain your budget, while negatively impacting the branding of your company.
You need to set the blueprint for your success, as you want your needs and goals met in the end. Think about how people would search online. The better you can describe the business goals of your website, search engine optimization (SEO), advertising and social media, the better your interview will be with digital agencies that provide these services.
Every company has a budget. It’s important in this day and age to include SEO services as part of that budget. There is no set investment as it varies based on your needs...you’re not buying new tires for your car after all. A good marketer should be able to work with any reasonable budget and set your expectations accordingly.
Understanding your needs, expectations, and budget is the first step in choosing the right digital marketing agency. Never interview an agency and make a decision on the price, always look at results in your industry or interview current clients.
What should I expect when buying Minneapolis SEO services?
Digital marketing focuses solely on digital media and the tactics to accomplish its goals on each campaign. Digital is more efficient and more prevalent than traditional media, but the insights learned can be easily collected and translated, which creates what actions are needed to be done and acted upon.
Some of the projects a digital marketing agency may be involved with include:
- Developing a search engine optimized website that will perform
- Creating a strategy that helps funnel visitors into loyal customers
- Ranking higher on a search engine like Google for greater awareness and traffic as you move to the top pages
- Writing blog posts and press releases for organic search visibility
- Help suggest the proper use of PPC and online advertising to target the ideal customer once the previous items are dialed in
- Teach you Google Analytics to show how you can analyze the behavior of the visitors that land on the website
- Identifying the topics and content that resonate with the potential customer
These are just a few examples of what an agency does. In reality, the scope of work can vary between clients and industries.
Insightful Reports
All great agencies that use transparency offer complete access to digital marketing tools that would be far too expensive for a single business. They should give you the tools while educating you how important it is to understand the information the tools generate.
A good SEO services company will give you weekly and monthly Google Analytics and activity reports, but a great SEO services company will teach you how to understand and analyze the report(s). They will convert it into business action.
Time and Cost Saver
Minneapolis SEO demands time for its tasks, from keyword research to content creation and development, to link building. Some initiatives, such as link building and citation building, can take months. Even then, search engine algorithms are complex and constantly changing, which is why anyone involved in SEO must be able to adapt quickly.
The items and activities listed above are the main reasons why companies often outsource SEO, SEM, and SMO services or hire staff. An SEO agency will have a dedicated staff to work on these tasks, 24/7 that you hold accountable as they are results based services. They should offer a month to month plan until you have built trust and know they are the right company.
Ongoing Consultancy
SEO agencies specialize in strategy and maintain discussion, not just data, to help you understand how the campaign is going. All SEM or SEO service agencies will know how to activate projects that best benefit your company. They will give you a clear roadmap to success while avoiding any busy work that will waste time and effort by both parties.
What do I need to know about SEO services to be successful?
SEO services also known as search engine optimization is extremely complex and ever-changing. You will want to learn Google Analytics as it’s free and understanding it will help identify the areas you need to improve. If you can’t do it you then hire the right SEO service company. The same goes for search engine marketing (SEM) also known as pay per click (PPC).
You can easily understand the basics and even understanding a small amount of SEO or SEM knowledge can make a big difference. Free SEO education is also widely available on the web, including blogs like this one that you have read today.
In summary Bob Dylan said it best, “The Times They are a Changing” and this statement will be true every year. So, I leave you with this question: what have you done to improve your online presence?
Author
Darrin Gerr
Founder | Owner of Agency Jet
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