If you want to advertise your business to the largest possible audience, the world's most visited website is an obvious place to start.

The vast majority of web searches are carried out on Google, and the good news is you don't even have to pay Google to get your business seen in their search results. If you're looking to start advertising on Google, Google Ads can be a great way to capture more traffic, but there are also ways to advertise on Google without spending a penny. In this blog post, we'll look at the paid AND organic methods to start advertising on Google - you'll need to know about both if you want to maximise your website's SERP visibility.

Here's our tips on how to start advertising on Google:

1. Appear in the organic results
2. Appear in the local map results
3. Create Google Ads
4. Make the most of Google Shopping
5. Start ranking for image and video searches

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We can't believe that it's almost the end of September! To mark the end of another busy month, here are our takes on a few news stories in our wonderful industry. Grab a cuppa and take 5 - who knows, you may learn something new...

1. Approximately 65% of consumers with a disability have abandoned a purchase due to poor accessibility 

According to The Drum, brands and businesses are now so focused on 'designing websites that look beautiful from a brand perspective' to the point where it is impacting accessibility for certain users. Ecommerce is such a successful industry because it removes the barriers of a physical shopping experience. For those who are disabled, this is an extremely useful and integral tool of everyday life. 

But, unfortunately, not all businesses are doing it well. Here's what you can do as an ecommerce business owner to improve the accessibility of your business's customer experience:

• Implement new options: is there an easier way for your customers to shop with their accessibility in mind?

• Create an accessibility guide: ecommerce sites can provide an accessibility guide for their users to provide them with information on how they can navigate and purchase from your website

• See more tips by reading this article

2. How long should a blog post actually be?

According to a 2021 HubSpot study, the ideal blog post length for SEO purposes should be 2,100-2,400 words. Now, this seems like a lot. So, where do these numbers come from?

• Backlinko analysed 11.8 million Google search results, and the average first page result contains 1,447 words
• Hubspot found that articles of around 2,250 words had the most organic traffic and attracted the most backlinks 

But, do not fear - Google says something different. Google has often stated that word count is not a ranking factor. You may find yourself asking: what is the right answer? Martin Splitt, a developer advocate at Google, says:

'The focus should be on satisfying the query intention of the user, whether that requires 40 words, or 2000!'

So, don't stress if your article is just shy of 500 words. That may be all you need to get your blog ranking, as long as you're nailing the query intention!

3. Relationship marketing...it's a thing!

It turns out that greater personalisation in your marketing strategy contributes to a huge growth in return-on-investment and sustainable consumer loyalty. 

This comes from the 2022 Cheetah Digital study, looking into consumer attitudes and loyalty. Their VP of Content and Data, Tim Glomb, states that:

'You can have a great marketing team and many smart people in a room, but if you aren't truly listening to the audience and getting their sentiment and attitudes, then you're going to miss the mark.'

Here are some things you can do to personalise your marketing strategy:

1. Keep your consumer at the heart of everything you do - what do they want? What do they need? How can you give it to them? What sets you apart from competitors?
2. Build a relationship with your consumers - create a forum and champion your business's community and make your consumers feel individually special
3. Be honest with yourself - are you building true relationships with your consumers or are you simply meeting your own goals?

Looking ahead...

Thanks for taking a look at our top stories for September. What does the next month have in store for us? Come back next month for October's news - who knows what will have changed by then!

Personal branding is no new fad or trend - it has become an essential part of building a foundation for your business, especially for marketing and network purposes. In fact, personal branding is only going to increase in popularity and importance over the next few years. You may be wondering: is personal branding important? Well, here's your answer...

What is Personal Branding?

Personal branding is a tool that entrepreneurs use to cultivate trust and respect within their chosen field.

It's all about creating a brand identity for yourself, as a business owner or entrepreneur. This is a way to show your target audience who you are, what your values are, and how your USPs differ from your competitors. 

What Can Personal Branding Do for My Business?

Personal branding is quite a bit different to business marketing. Instead of having a marketing team on hand, you, as the business owner, will be at the forefront of your personal brand. 

It's all about showing off what you know to be influential within your industry and community - not to be cocky, but to have a positive effect on your target audience. 

By doing so, you will easily be able to establish a respected personal brand that will gain the confidence and trust of your peers and customers. 

Why is Personal Branding Important?

Truthfully, it is hard to engage people in the 21st century. With an endless stream of short-form content such as Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, it can often be hard to make a lasting impression on anyone over social media. 

Nevertheless, it is still incredibly important. More important than ever before, in fact. 

If you manage to get your brand identity to stick in the mind of your target audience, your brand identity will become solid and memorable to them, putting you ahead of your competitors. 

5 Reasons to Trust Personal Branding for Your Business

1. It's an opportunity to set your business apart from the crowd

2. It will open business and networking opportunities

3. You will gain your target audience's trust and respect

4. You control your own narrative as the business owner 

5. You can give yourself the credit you deserve as a business owner, whilst educating others! 

Our Favourite Examples of Personal Branding: 

• Charlie Marie: Designer, Writer and Content Creator

• Gary Vaynerchuk: E-commerce Giant

• Roberto Blake: Creative Entrepreneur
  

Give it a Go...

If you don’t feel confident enough to start your personal branding journey just yet, or need some advice and guidance, get in touch to see how we can help you make your online presence more prominent with personal branding for business.

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