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	<title>Marketing Automation Blog / News Archives - CueCamp</title>
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	<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/category/marketing-automation/</link>
	<description>CueCamp - Social Media Marketing and Web Design in Chicago</description>
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	<title>Marketing Automation Blog / News Archives - CueCamp</title>
	<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/category/marketing-automation/</link>
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		<title>6 Easy Steps That Will Make Your Website a Lead Generation Machine</title>
		<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/6-easy-steps-that-will-make-your-website-a-lead-generation-machine/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/6-easy-steps-that-will-make-your-website-a-lead-generation-machine/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dr. Sharritt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Nov 2021 15:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[User Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Communication]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credibility]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Information Architecture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keyword Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Landing Page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personalization]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization (SEO)]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cuecamp.com/?p=15124</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>How can you use digital marketing for lead generation to attract new customers? To build interest, high-quality and useful information should be front-and-center. In this article, we present six (6) steps to perfect your website for lead generation, resulting in more paying clients for your business.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/6-easy-steps-that-will-make-your-website-a-lead-generation-machine/">6 Easy Steps That Will Make Your Website a Lead Generation Machine</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>How can you use digital marketing for lead generation and attract new customers? The design of your website directly affects how well you connect with potential customers and convert them into sales. Clean, well-organized content is critical; along with a compelling call-to-action that begins the connection process. According to Salesforce, it takes an average of 6-8 marketing touch points to generate a sales lead. To build interest, high-quality and useful information should be front-and-center. In this article, we present six (6) steps to perfect your website for lead generation, resulting in more paying clients for your business.</p>



<span id="more-15124"></span>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">1. Find Your Best-Selling Products</h2>



<p>First, conduct a bit of research on your business to find out what sells the best. You may already know this intuitively, but research into actual sales figures and profit margins will be of use. In certain cases, great-selling products or services may not generate income for your business due to slim profit margins. Alternatively, you may wish to prioritize other products / services with less traffic, but higher margins.</p>



<p>Additionally, consult your website and social media analytics to see what actually interests your audience. Particular landing pages or social media posts may receive more traffic than you realize, which is worth noting. You might start by examining a subset of products or services, focusing efforts to generate powerful landing pages that convert. Certain businesses (such as an e-commerce clothing store) may have hundreds of products with a different type of sales cycle. Understanding how and why your customers buy from you will help in the design of good landing pages. For example, an online clothing store with $20 items will have a shorter sales cycle than stores selling $1000+ items.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience.jpg" alt="lead generation for your target audience" class="wp-image-15145" width="927" height="618" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience.jpg 1854w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience-480x320.jpg 480w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/audience-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 927px) 100vw, 927px" /><figcaption>Keep your target audience in mind when performing an audit on your best-selling products or services.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>Finally, to help refine your list, a business SWOT analysis can highlight both successful and problematic areas to change. A SWOT analysis looks at <strong>S</strong>trengths, <strong>W</strong>eaknesses, <strong>O</strong>pportunities, and <strong>T</strong>hreats: serving as a lens to examine your business. A brief analysis of these four categories reveals products or services that need attention and a marketing redesign. In addition, opportunities for growth are typically revealed that can help improve your digital marketing efforts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">2. Design Attention-Grabbing Landing Pages</h2>



<p>Following the analysis done in step 1, you can focus on designing landing pages that grab the attention of your customers. The SWOT analysis (from step 1) will clarify the unique value proposition of your business. Leveraging what sets you apart from your competitors will dramatically improve your marketing. Drawing the attention of your clients to these unique properties will show why they should buy your product or service. Focusing on what it can do for clients (from their perspective) supplies a compelling reason to make a purchase. Be sure to present a powerful, unique value proposition.</p>



<p>For example, when Apple, Inc. releases a new product, they market it clearly with their users in mind. Rather than listing out technical specs first, Apple makes use of vibrant imagery from actual product usage, showing us what the product can do. For instance, iPhone marketing will headline how it is capable of low-light photography, and show crisp images taken in low-light. These may include someone blowing out birthday candles in the dark or sitting around a campfire at night. These contextual examples help people imagine what owning the new product might be like. Concrete examples show users what they can do themselves with the product.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img decoding="async" width="1854" height="1968" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone.jpg" alt="iPhone digital marketing" class="wp-image-15132" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone.jpg 1854w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone-283x300.jpg 283w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone-965x1024.jpg 965w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone-768x815.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/iphone-1447x1536.jpg 1447w" sizes="(max-width: 1854px) 100vw, 1854px" /><figcaption>Screenshot from Apple, Inc. showing the low-light photography capabilities of the new iPhone</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>Other phone manufacturers may try to tout superior hardware in their product (such as the camera&#8217;s F-stop or shutter speed; or more powerful hardware specifications). However, Apple creates a compelling reason to buy through examples of use, using storytelling and vibrant imagery. Finally, a clear call-to-action is presented: a button to &#8216;buy&#8217; the product. This enables users to enjoy the described benefits of ownership, as conveyed by their marketing and storytelling. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">3. Create a Powerful Call-to-Action for Lead Generation</h2>



<p>A good strategy for designing landing pages is to place yourself in the shoes of a typical customer. Make sure that marketing content speaks to your customer&#8217;s goals and desires. Do not communicate from your own perspective. Tell a story or show an example of a client using the product or service to communicate from <strong>their</strong> perspective. Rather than starting with what you offer, addresses how you meet their wants and needs first. This helps prospective clients imagine themselves using your product or service while raising social capital.</p>



<p>Once you&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/landing-page-guide-for-websites/">created compelling landing pages</a> for your top products or services, what can you do to raise conversion rates? Analyzing your marketing for clear calls to action will shed light on whether you are compelling your audience to take further action. Frequently, we want customers to make a purchase. However, most business models and sales cycles are not this straightforward. Often, businesses want their prospects to &#8216;take the next step&#8217; and reach out. This may be requesting users to send a message or call the business. If this is the case, the call-to-action should be as straightforward and simple as possible.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page.jpg" alt="landing page lead generation" class="wp-image-15144" width="1146" height="763" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page.jpg 2291w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-480x320.jpg 480w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/optimization-landing-page-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1146px) 100vw, 1146px" /><figcaption>When analyzing your landing page design, examine the overall user experience (UX) and the clarity of the call-to-action.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What is the End Goal for Lead Generation?</h4>



<p>For each landing page, decide on the best &#8216;next step&#8217; for your sales cycle and for lead generation. Then, focus on making that process as simple as possible. In other words, analyze the landing page at a macro and micro level to be sure the process is easy. Want users to reach out? If so, a short form at the bottom of the page may be best for lead generation. Asking users to fill out a long form will probably cause many of them to fall off the bandwagon. Too many form fields can cause users to question why so much of their personal information is needed. Or it may simply annoy them by having to spend too much time filling out the form.</p>



<p>To conclude, this step should focus on compelling your prospects to act and making that action as easy as possible. Analyzing the <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/market-research-strategy/">user experience (UX) of the landing page</a> is an excellent way to see what needs improvement. Streamlining your landing page UX and fixing issues will result in better lead generation. Business processes might be considered as well, including how transactions are managed. If users fill out a form, who gets it? Integrating forms with a CRM tool (software for customer-relationship management) could be a smart decision. A good place to start might be with a <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/free-website-user-experience-analysis/">free UX audit from CueCamp</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. Analyze &amp; Create Resources of Interest</h2>



<p>Take a multi-pronged approach to your digital marketing and create interest by offering resources to potential customers. Using the list generated in step 1, think about any resources that might help your customers engage with your business. For instance, a marketing company might realize that their audience often wants to learn about email marketing basics. In this example, creating a short guide as a downloadable PDF will capture prospects. Asking users to fill out a short form (name, company, email address) will capture leads for future prospecting.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources.jpg" alt="lead generation with free resources" class="wp-image-15139" width="1119" height="746" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources.jpg 2238w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-480x320.jpg 480w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/marketing-resources-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1119px) 100vw, 1119px" /><figcaption>A branded guide, e-book, or downloadable resource can help generate prospects while gathering their information for future marketing efforts.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>Downloadable guides, e-books, blog posts, interactive workshops, and how-to videos are a handful of resources that you can use to generate interest. These efforts support a digital marketing strategy that makes an effective use of your website as a lead generation machine.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. Newsletters and Social Media Posts</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email.jpg" alt="email marketing automation" class="wp-image-15143" width="1089" height="726" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email.jpg 2177w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-480x320.jpg 480w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/personalized-email-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1089px) 100vw, 1089px" /><figcaption>Designing automated emails triggered by users abandoning a purchase are a way to use personalized emails to recapture interest and raise conversion rates.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>A monthly newsletter with valuable information or discounts may be a way to stay connected with customers, without overwhelming them with too many messages. A proper balance of touchpoints, with high quality information, is key. Email newsletters can offer resources of interest, upcoming sales, or industry news. In cases, segmenting your email marketing list will allow more personalized, customized email marketing to your audience. For instance, if you own an online clothing store, emails might be personalized based on gender, shopping habits, or other interests. As shown above, emails can be sent to customers that did not complete their purchase with an incentive to do so. An analysis of your <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/market-research-strategy/">marketing strategy and business objectives</a> will clarify the type of resources you can offer for the highest impact.</p>



<p>Similarly, social media can be an effective way to draw people to engage with your brand. Like newsletters, a suitable amount of content for your business will help generate quality conversions. Posting low-quality content daily can overwhelm those following your brand, causing users to unfollow you on social media. Alternatively, posting too infrequently can cause a loss of interest. Analyzing your business objectives and <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/social-media-marketing-techniques-to-differentiate-your-brand/">designing a social media strategy</a> to create a buzz for your business will draw prospective clients to your website. Additionally, <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/how-to-create-engaging-social-media-marketing-content-using-instagram-hashtag-research/">hashtag research</a> can separate your audience by interest, demographics, and location: enabling you to deliver personalized content to their social media feed.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/email-frequency.jpg" alt="email lead generation" class="wp-image-15141" width="863" height="648" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/email-frequency.jpg 1726w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/email-frequency-300x225.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/email-frequency-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/email-frequency-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/email-frequency-1536x1152.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 863px) 100vw, 863px" /><figcaption>When sending newsletters or email marketing campaigns, a balance must be struck to support engagement without overwhelming your subscribers.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">6. Use Paid Ads &amp; SEO for Lead Generation</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/search-engine-marketing-seo/">Search Engine Optimization</a>, or SEO, is concerned with optimizing landing pages (and websites) to rank highly on Google search. According to Google, the first five organic search results capture over 67% of all clicks. If your website ranks below the first page or search results, SEO can help improve your search rank to capture more traffic, which leads to more sales. Further, SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media,&nbsp;<a href="https://videos.brightedge.com/research-report/BrightEdge_ChannelReport2019_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to BrightEdge</a>. Optimizing your website for keywords of high relevancy has a drastic impact on the traffic driven to your business website from search engines like Google.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1620" height="1080" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads.jpg" alt="Facebook ads" class="wp-image-15140" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads.jpg 1620w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads-480x320.jpg 480w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/facebook-ads-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px" /><figcaption>Facebook Ads can insert paid ads into the feeds of users that you choose, based upon their demographics and interests.</figcaption></figure>
</div>


<p>The steps outlined above support an overall <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/content-marketing-strategy-tools-to-rank-higher-on-google-search/">content marketing strategy</a>, which aims to drive quality traffic to your website and drive business growth. Besides organic search rank, you can place ads on Google to get to the top of search results. Likewise, social media ads on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn will generate prospects and drive traffic to your website. Enabling retargeting / remarketing on your paid ads will push ads to users that previously interacted with your brand. Retargeting users is based on their analytics data. These users are more likely to convert based on their earlier interest in your brand.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Summary</h2>



<p>Digital marketing efforts are driven by both quantity and quality. Focusing on both the quality (your website / landing page user-experience) and quantity of leads (your inbound marketing efforts) will generate success. To make your website a lead generation machine, the six steps described in this article will help you reach that goal.</p>



<p>Incorporating a multi-pronged marketing approach across social media, search engines, and paid ads will drive new prospects to your website. What happens once they reach your landing page is up to you, and the user experience provided on your website. For a user experience analysis of your website, you can <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/free-website-user-experience-analysis/">request a free audit from CueCamp</a>.</p>



<p>Depending on your business, a range of marketing touch points are needed before a prospect becomes a qualified sales lead. When possible, personalized content of high relevancy is more likely to convert a prospect. High-quality content, delivered on a regular cadence, results in a website that will engage your prospects. Crafting a <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/market-research-strategy/">content marketing strategy</a> to achieve this goal will turn your website into a lead generation machine.</p>



<p>Written by: <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/about/">Matt Sharritt, Ph.D.</a>, Founder, <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/">CueCamp</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/6-easy-steps-that-will-make-your-website-a-lead-generation-machine/">6 Easy Steps That Will Make Your Website a Lead Generation Machine</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/6-easy-steps-that-will-make-your-website-a-lead-generation-machine/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
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			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Content Marketing Strategy: Tools to Rank Higher on Google Search</title>
		<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/content-marketing-strategy-tools-to-rank-higher-on-google-search/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/content-marketing-strategy-tools-to-rank-higher-on-google-search/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dr. Sharritt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Oct 2021 17:43:07 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Competitor Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Content Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google Ads]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google My Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Influencer Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Keyword Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Search Engine Optimization (SEO)]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cuecamp.com/?p=15084</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>When your clients look for you on Google, on what page do you rank? Research shows that businesses that rank below the first page of results on Google only receive 0.78% of the clicks. In this article, you'll learn how to use keyword research to analyze competitors on Google and create a content marketing strategy.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/content-marketing-strategy-tools-to-rank-higher-on-google-search/">Content Marketing Strategy: Tools to Rank Higher on Google Search</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>When your clients look for you on Google, on what page do you rank? Does your business rank highly for the keywords that matter for your business, and your industry? Research shows that businesses that rank below the first page of results on Google only receive 0.78% of the clicks. In fact, the first five organic search results account for over 67% of all clicks. In this article, we&#8217;ll present ways to use keyword research and analyze competitors on Google, informing your content marketing strategy.</p>



<span id="more-15084"></span>



<p>Marketers must use discretion and choose to create the most relevant content for their brand and business. This requires research into the popularity of keywords to determine which are too competitive, and which present opportunities. Often, ranking higher for niche keywords that are more pertinent to your business can yield impressive results. </p>



<p>How does this affect your content marketing strategy? Content marketing is concerned with creating fresh, attractive, and useful content for your target audience. This content draws potential clients to your website or social media channels to engage with your brand. This in turn drives brand awareness, engages you with your target market, and drives revenue.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Content Marketing Stats to Know</h2>



<p>As previously mentioned, content marketing drives business results, and supports the attraction of new customers. According to HubSpot, <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics?hubs_post=blog.hubspot.com%2Fmarketing%2Fstate-of-content-marketing-infographic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">47% of buyers will look at three to five pieces of content</a> before reaching out to a sales representative. In addition, 82% of marketers report actively using content marketing this year, compared to 70% last year. Content can take the form of blog articles, social media marketing, videos, webinars, and emails. Higher quality content, along with pertinent information for your audience, will result in higher quality leads. With that in mind, how can you find content that matters to your audience?</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Content Marketing Tools to Find Topics that Matter</h2>



<p>Following are three of the best tools to find topics for content marketing, which all make use of Google search. Research on your competitors will help identify what your industry peers are doing. Google&#8217;s Keyword Planner can show the popularity of keywords and view their bid range, which helps determine competitiveness. Finally, industry influencers (those of prominence in your industry) can be great sources of trending topics. You can research trends on Google search, and social media platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter).</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Competitor Research</h3>



<p>Researching your competitors can show you what your industry peers are doing with their marketing efforts. This presents opportunities to see industry trends, and spot gaps in content that your business might use to its advantage.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/seo-google-local.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15101" width="530" height="714" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/seo-google-local.jpg 1059w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/seo-google-local-223x300.jpg 223w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/seo-google-local-760x1024.jpg 760w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/seo-google-local-768x1035.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px" /><figcaption>Searching for &#8216;seo companies near me&#8217; will result in a list of local competitors on Google search, which can be used to gauge competitors and their search rank</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>As shown in the above example, searching Google for local businesses (e.g., &#8220;seo companies near me&#8221;) results in a list of local businesses to inform your business. Use of the &#8220;near me&#8221; in the search query will yield local results on Google. Typically, ads will appear first (not in the screenshot), followed by organic search results (in the above screenshot). Clicking through the list will help you discover both companies and indexes related to your search. In the above example, many of the results are landing pages that rank SEO companies, rather than actual SEO companies. These indexing websites (such as Yelp) create an opportunity for businesses to build citations that link back to their business. This can increase exposure by being added to the list, as well as raise ranks by creating additional backlinks to your website (a factor in Google search rank).</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/related-seo-content.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15102" width="531" height="329" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/related-seo-content.jpg 1061w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/related-seo-content-300x186.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/related-seo-content-1024x634.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/related-seo-content-768x476.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px" /><figcaption>Related ideas: Google&#8217;s &#8216;people also ask&#8217; section shows questions related to the previous search query of &#8216;seo companies near me&#8217; and can inform a content marketing strategy</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>As shown above, Google attempts to interpret a search by offering related questions to the search query. In the above &#8220;people also ask&#8221; section, a user can click the questions for quick answers. These answers are in the form of a snippet of an article that Google ranks highly on the topic. They also present an additional strategy to rank on Google for content marketers. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Google Keyword Planner</h3>



<p>As shown below, Google offers a powerful content marketing tool to help content strategists find interesting topics for their industry. In the example below, simply starting with a search for &#8216;pizza oven&#8217; and &#8216;bbq&#8217; yields many related keywords. Some of these results can then inform a content marketing strategy.</p>



<p>Google&#8217;s Keyword Planner, a tool from Google Ads, shows search data for keywords of interest. Content marketers can research a keyword&#8217;s search popularity (average monthly searches, and change over time), current competition, and bid range. This information can be especially useful to examine to inform a content marketing strategy. This data can help explain what your competitors are doing, and the difficulty to rank for those keywords. Keywords with high competition are often more difficult to rank high, while less-competitive keywords may present an opportunity. Less-competitive keywords, of high relevancy to your business, may present an opportunity to rank highly.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/keyword-planner.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15100" width="812" height="664" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/keyword-planner.jpg 1624w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/keyword-planner-300x245.jpg 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/keyword-planner-1024x837.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/keyword-planner-768x628.jpg 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/keyword-planner-1536x1256.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px" /><figcaption>Google&#8217;s Keyword Planner can help identify keywords, phrases, and their related search data to determine popularity and competitiveness: informing your content marketing strategy.</figcaption></figure></div>



<p><strong>Long-tail keywords</strong>, or those that are usually longer phrases than commonly used keywords, can be powerful components of your content marketing strategy. These types of keywords are more specific, and typically have a lower volume, but can be of higher relevancy. This results in higher conversion rates, as they are more specific and relevant to your potential clients.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Industry Trends and Influencers</h3>



<p>Popular marketers, individuals, and brands can start trends in your industry. It is important to keep informed of industry news and events to stay current and build your content marketing strategy. Social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are great places to follow industry leaders and topics (<a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/how-to-create-engaging-social-media-marketing-content-using-instagram-hashtag-research/">such as Instagram hashtags</a>). Searching a trending topic, news, or upcoming event are great ways to generate ideas for your marketing strategy. If a topic is relevant to your industry, it&#8217;s important to partake so you present yourself as an industry leader. Industry trends can be formal or informal, such as a meme on social media. Participate early, as to not appear &#8216;late to the party&#8217; or out of touch with your industry.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Google Search Rank</h2>



<p>According to <a href="https://videos.brightedge.com/research-report/BrightEdge_ChannelReport2019_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BrightEdge</a>, 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine. <a href="https://sparktoro.com/blog/2018-search-market-share-myths-vs-realities-of-google-bing-amazon-facebook-duckduckgo-more/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sparktoro</a> reports that 92.96% of global traffic coming from Google Search, Google Images, and Google Maps. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Ranking Content</h3>



<p>Ranking your content as high as possible is very important for your business. In fact, the first five organic search results account for over 67% of all clicks. Likewise, only 0.78% of Google searchers&nbsp;click on results from the 2nd page, according to <a href="https://backlinko.com/google-ctr-stats" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Backlinko</a>. The generation of content that ranks high is of critical importance for all businesses. However, some keywords and content are very difficult to rank highly, as the space is very competitive.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15105" width="521" height="671" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google.jpg 1042w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-233x300.jpg 233w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-795x1024.jpg 795w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-768x989.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 521px) 100vw, 521px" /><figcaption>Google interprets a &#8216;restaurants&#8217; search by adding in location information and presenting top restaurants in the local area</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>For instance, searching Google for &#8216;restaurants&#8217; is very competitive, as there are many restaurants. This makes it difficult to rank very high for this term, although paid ads may help (discussed below). Attempting to rank for generic search queries may not be in the best interest of the business.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Google My Business / Local Businesses</h3>



<p>Detailed search queries are typically more useful to a user than searching for something generic like &#8216;restaurants&#8217; in Google. In fact, 69.7% of search queries contain four words or more, according to <a href="https://ahrefs.com/blog/long-tail-keywords/">Ahrefs</a>. In the following example, a user looking for &#8216;pizza delivery Naperville&#8217; receives results highly relevant to their search location.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/naperville-google-search.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15095" width="521" height="745" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/naperville-google-search.jpg 1041w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/naperville-google-search-210x300.jpg 210w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/naperville-google-search-716x1024.jpg 716w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/naperville-google-search-768x1099.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 521px) 100vw, 521px" /><figcaption>A more focused search on pizza delivery restaurants in Naperville will produce more relevant results, and is done more frequently in Google search</figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Searching for something like &#8216;pizza delivery Naperville&#8217; instead of &#8216;restaurants&#8217; produces a list of local pizza delivery restaurants. In this case, a user was probably looking for a pizza place that delivers near their location (Naperville, Illinois). This produces more relevant results for the users. Based upon the search query, Google will look for local businesses ranked by popularity and quality.</p>



<p>Many factors are factored into Google search results for local businesses. <a href="https://www.google.com/business/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google My Business</a> is a way for businesses to manage their local profile on Google, with details like hours, location, and service area. Businesses with higher numbers of good reviews rank higher in local search, as shown in the above example. Google will rank based on location, reviews (quantity and quality), as well as other review websites (Yelp, etc.). </p>



<p>According to <a href="https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumer-insights/mobile-search-trends-consumers-to-stores/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Think With Google</a>, 30% of all mobile searches are related to location. Likewise, 76% of people who search on their smartphones for something nearby visit a business within a day. Of searches done for something nearby, 28% result in a purchase. Both Search engine optimization (SEO), and local SEO (as described above), are of critical importance for businesses to attract customers.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Search Engine Optimization (SEO)</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/search-engine-marketing-seo/">Search engine optimization</a>, or SEO, drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media <a href="https://videos.brightedge.com/research-report/BrightEdge_ChannelReport2019_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to BrightEdge</a>. Many factors relate to the overall rank of your content. To optimize your content, many factors should be considered. For instance, a blog article  should aim for quality content that mentions keywords throughout the article content, including headings and image alt-tags.</p>



<p>As Google algorithms change, so do suggestions for ranking high on Google. Over the years, ranking strategies have changed due to relevancy, and Google continually improves ranking algorithms to read content like a human. As an example, some marketers have used black-hat SEO techniques, which attempt to cheat the system to rank. Websites used to list every nearby city in their page footers, attempting to rank high in all those locations. As Google learned from these tactics, the algorithm changed to penalize black-hat techniques. Priority was given to rank content or businesses actually in a particular service area, <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/boost-store-profits-e-commerce-experience-optimization/">with a good user experience (UX)</a>.</p>



<p>Other techniques, such as overloading content with keywords, sacrificed readability and usability in an attempt to out-rank competitors. Google algorithms have changed to prioritize content that is more useful to actual users: with current algorithms supporting content of higher relevancy and quality. Accordingly, websites with a better user-experience (speed, <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/big-list-seo-tips-tricks-using-https-website/">security / HTTPS</a>) and more backlinks (others linking to the content) are prioritized in search rankings.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Pay-Per-Click / Google Ads</h3>



<p>Using Google Ads, marketers can place ads for their products or services based on a set of keywords or phrases. These ads will appear above Google search results when appropriate, and rank based upon several quality factors and a CPC (cost-per-click) bid. For example, when searching for a &#8216;pizza oven&#8217; (a product), ads will appear above the organic search results to help businesses sell the product.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cuecamp.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-search2.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-15098" width="522" height="721" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-search2.jpg 1043w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-search2-217x300.jpg 217w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-search2-741x1024.jpg 741w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/content-marketing-google-search2-768x1062.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 522px) 100vw, 522px" /><figcaption> Google will place ads first in a search for a product. In the above screenshot, several products are offered, followed by two ads in the search results, followed by organic search results. </figcaption></figure></div>



<p>Google Ads will rank (against other ads) based upon a variety of factors, including:</p>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>cost-per-click bid (price paid to rank for a keyword or phrase)</li><li>expected click-through rate (how often users are anticipated to click the ad)</li><li>ad relevance (how closely the ad matches the search query), including previous search queries (as shown above)</li><li>landing page experience (how well the destination page promotes quality content, security, loads quickly, and provides a good experience for users)</li></ul>



<p>With ads showing above organic search results, they can serve as a shortcut to get content or products at the top of search results. Often, considerable time is needed to get content to rank higher. If organic search ranks are low, Google ads can help get content to page one of the search results.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Summary</h2>



<p>This article introduces some of the basic principles of content marketing, and why it matters for your business. Your content marketing strategy determines how your business ranks on Google, and how well it can attract new customers. </p>



<p>A great content marketing strategy begins with some research. Investigating what your competitors are doing, especially successful competitors, can help your business generate ideas for growth. Finding areas that your competitors missed allows your business to carve out a niche to attract new customers as well. </p>



<p>Google provides many tools to help you in these efforts, including their keyword research tool (Google Keyword Planner). Performing a search on Google to look at page rank is useful as well. Google Ads can show the competitiveness of keywords and the cost of running ad campaigns for those keywords. According to <a href="https://www.internetlivestats.com/google-search-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Internet Live Stats</a>, around 3.5 billion searches are performed daily on Google, and ranking high for relevant content will drive business growth.</p>



<p>Your content marketing strategy should be at the core of your overall business strategy. In short, your content strategy will determine how well your overall marketing efforts work. Do you have any content marketing stories or examples you can share? We would love to hear from you in the comments below. As always, please <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/contact/">reach out to CueCamp</a> if you&#8217;d like to chat about Google search or your content marketing strategy.</p>



<p>Written by: <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/about/">Matthew Sharritt, Ph.D.</a> (Founder, CueCamp)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/content-marketing-strategy-tools-to-rank-higher-on-google-search/">Content Marketing Strategy: Tools to Rank Higher on Google Search</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
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		<title>Website Trends: Marketing Opportunities to Maximize Growth</title>
		<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/2020-website-trends-marketing-opportunities-to-maximize-growth/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/2020-website-trends-marketing-opportunities-to-maximize-growth/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dr. Sharritt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Feb 2020 19:47:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Web Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Aesthetics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Google]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mobile Devices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Usability]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[User-Centered Design]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.cuecamp.com/?p=7539</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>How can you check if your website is up to par? In this article, several trends in website design and digital marketing will be discussed to help you gauge whether your website is giving your business the return it should. Besides design trends, advice on web performance metrics and trends in search engines (like Google)...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/2020-website-trends-marketing-opportunities-to-maximize-growth/">Website Trends: Marketing Opportunities to Maximize Growth</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>How can you check if your website is up to par? In this article, several trends in website design and digital marketing will be discussed to help you gauge whether your website is giving your business the return it should. Besides design trends, advice on web performance metrics and trends in search engines (like Google) are offered. <span id="more-7539"></span></p>
<h3>Visual / Content Trends</h3>
<p>Clean-lines and simple designs are still being used across several industries, but the use of shapes in web designs will be used more in the future. From a design perspective, this will help draw a consumer’s attention, as it is unexpected and differentiates the brand, given typical design aesthetics we are used to seeing. In the coming year, a rise in animated content, bold colors and fonts, and video will dominate website marketing trends.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7541" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/website-3374825_960_720.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640" /></p>
<h4>Bold Colors &amp; Serif Fonts</h4>
<p>Bold colors are on the palette: offering marketers a way to brand their company in a way that sticks out to consumers.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7542" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Serif-Sans-Comparison.png" alt="" width="332" height="186" /></p>
<p>Large, chunky fonts seen in decades past are resurfacing, providing a way for marketers to differentiate themselves and their brand. Serifs, or decorative stroke that finishes off a letter, are trending upwards in web marketing. As screen resolutions rise across mobile devices and desktop screens, serif fonts are becoming more popular. Sans-serif (no serifs) fonts were the trend of years past when screen resolutions were not as high, and these fonts looked better on lower-resolution displays (making them cleaner and easier to read).</p>
<h4>Animation / 3D View</h4>
<p>Animations on your homepage create visual interest that can attract and engage consumers. Besides the resurgence of animated gifs, micro-animations will continue to grow in importance: especially for e-commerce websites and the fashion and décor industries. For example, consumers may want to see a 360 degree view of clothing, jewelry, or home décor. Consumers want to see the entire look of a piece they are buying. Augmented reality apps are on the rise, allowing users to visually see paint colors, furniture or other items placed in their home by overlaying the product using a smartphone and its camera.</p>
<h4>Raising Engagement with Video</h4>
<p>We know that everyone’s attention span is directed towards animated visuals and video, as animation is a great way to capture attention. Videos provide a source of information and guidance that lead to higher conversion when done appropriately. Video content needs to be part of your marketing strategy in order to capture consumer’s attention, while providing rich, engaging content. Typically, less than one-minute videos are recommended across both website and social channels to get a message across efficiently.</p>
<h3>Security and Performance Metrics</h3>
<h4>Data Security</h4>
<p>Google Chrome, the most-used browser, will notify users when a website is not secured with an SSL certificate. These requirements will continue to tighten, notifying users when they visit a website that is not fully secured. Just having an SSL certificate is no longer enough – all resources on a web page (images, form data, etc.) need to be transmitted securely in order to pass muster. Fully encrypting data using SSL will provide users the best, most secure experience: ensuring that sensitive data is transmitted securely between the browser and web server.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7543" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/13792583873_2682af02b5_b.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" /></p>
<p>If you have a website or plan to launch one soon, be sure that every page on your website is secured using SSL. Not securing your website will not only negatively impact the user experience, but will also lower search rankings for the website. In this day and age, consumers are concerned about privacy issues. Maintaining a secure site is important so that consumers feel that they can browse and purchase items from your site without compromising their privacy. According to CA Technologies, 86% of those surveyed value security over convenience when purchasing a product. 78% of those interviewed felt that high security of their personal information was of primary concern. Privacy is a requirement for customer loyalty: making security of critical importance.</p>
<h4>Mobile-First Design</h4>
<p>Mobile visitors have already surpassed desktop visitors across the web, making it even more important for your website to be responsive: available to users on both platforms. Responsive design allows content to scale and lay-out differently based upon the size of the screen in which the content is being viewed. This trend towards mobile will continue , making a <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/web-design-development/">mobile-optimized website</a> a necessity.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7544" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Responsive_Web_Design_for_Desktop_Notebook_Tablet_and_Mobile_Phone.png" alt="" width="1200" height="510" /></p>
<h4>Website Performance / Speed</h4>
<p>These two items are the most important when it <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/search-engine-marketing-seo/">comes to SEO</a>, page ranking and usability. Research provided by Google earlier this year outlined that sites that appear on page one of Google display their primary content in 1.19 seconds on average, while those on page two display primary content in 1.29 seconds.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7545" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/grader.jpg" alt="" width="1726" height="1356" /></p>
<p>Some tools that can help you gauge your website speed are <a href="https://website.grader.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Website Grader</a> by HubSpot (shown above), <a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Google PageSpeed Insights</a>, and <a href="https://tools.pingdom.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pingdom Website Speed Test</a>.</p>
<h3>Search Trends</h3>
<p>As previously mentioned, website speed is important not only for the user experience, but also for search rankings. Besides page speed, voice search, and a trend towards user-friendly content, will be seen as search algorithms are better able to process human language.</p>
<h4>Voice Search</h4>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright wp-image-7546" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Google_mic.svg_.png" alt="" width="269" height="384" />Voice Search will see an increased share of search queries on search engines such as Google. With the increased usage of bots and intelligent devices in the home, people will use technologies like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant to look up information. This preference will raise the rates of search queries using more natural language, as opposed to keywords. For example, a traditional search for “Chicago weather” might be replaced with “What is the current weather in Chicago?”, and could yield different search results depending on the algorithm and <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/search-engine-marketing-seo/">website SEO</a>.</p>
<p>ComScore put out a study in 2019 that half of all online searches will be voice-based by 2020. Anticipate that Google will be changing with the times and changing their search algorithms, which will impact your search campaign strategies that you go to market with today.</p>
<h4>Search Algorithm Changes</h4>
<p>Google search algorithm changes can have a major impact on the SEO of websites, and the ranking achieved on Google. In the past, websites would focus on adding as many keywords as possible (for example, listing towns in a page footer) to attract as much traffic as possible. However, Google search algorithms are getting better and better at ‘reading’ content in a fashion similar to users, and interpreting what your content actually says. This reinforces good copywriting practices, and creates a better user experience (UX) for your users.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>With a new decade upon us, we will see the rise of new technologies and a continuation of some existing trends within digital marketing. Unfortunately, the days are gone where a sole webmaster can handle the wide variety of expertise involved in creating a well-designed website. A combination of overlapping skills is required: in addition to programming, graphic design, SEO, security, social media marketing, content writing and user-experience expertise is needed.</p>
<p>To gauge how your website currently measures up, a great way to measure its effectiveness is to <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/free-website-user-experience-analysis/">request a free usability analysis from CueCamp</a>. This report is in video form, generated by CueCamp’s team of experts to show the user-friendliness and marketing effectiveness of your website. Start out on the right foot, and <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/contact/">reach out today</a>.</p>
<p>Authors: Shannon Olear and Matt Sharritt, Ph.D. (<a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/#who-we-are">CueCamp</a>)</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/2020-website-trends-marketing-opportunities-to-maximize-growth/">Website Trends: Marketing Opportunities to Maximize Growth</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
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		<title>How to Use Social Media to Know What Customers Want</title>
		<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/use-social-media-know-customers-want-market-research/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/use-social-media-know-customers-want-market-research/#comments</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dr. Sharritt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Dec 2017 14:50:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Customer Experience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LinkedIn]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.cuecamp.com/?p=6873</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Social media can be a goldmine when it comes to market and audience research. There are millions or even billions of consumers all engaging online and expressing their thoughts, sharing with their networks, and making purchasing decisions. Whereas older methods of researching a target audience were time-consuming and expensive, social media market research can be...</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/use-social-media-know-customers-want-market-research/">How to Use Social Media to Know What Customers Want</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p dir="ltr">Social media can be a goldmine when it comes to market and audience research. There are millions or even billions of consumers all engaging online and expressing their thoughts, sharing with their networks, and making purchasing decisions. Whereas older methods of researching a target audience were time-consuming and expensive, social media market research can be performed in much less time and for less money.&nbsp;<span id="more-6873"></span></p>
<p dir="ltr">With the right tools, and an intelligent strategy, any business can develop market research from the information found across social media sites. Continue reading to learn about using social media as a tool for getting to know customers to a whole new extent.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Define the Marketing Goals</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The first step for any type of market research is to determine exactly what is trying to be learned. That could mean looking for insights into things like consumer behavior, marketplace sentiment, product research, brand awareness, and more.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A brand also has to determine whether to go looking for information that is qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative research is essentially the hard numbers: The number of followers on a specific platform or social media mentions. Qualitative research is more associated with feelings: whether people have positive or negative feelings about something.</p>
<p dir="ltr">As an example, a business might find that it has 500 mentions on a specific platform. That would be quantitative information. With a deeper look at the numbers, it may be found that 91 percent of those mentions rate as positive. That would be qualitative information. They can decide which will be the focus of a research strategy in order to gain the specific customer insights.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Choose a Platform</h2>
<p dir="ltr">Once a goal has been defined and the type of information determined as to what’s being sought after, a marketer can select a social media platform to mine for information. Depending on the goals or the group of consumers that they are trying to learn more about, some social networks might hold more research value.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Due to the ubiquitous nature of Facebook, it is the social network that offers value for the broadest range of goals, but other social media sites might be able to offer unique insights for specific groups. As an example, Snapchat advertising offers the greatest access to the millenial demographic, and is noteworthy for its high engagement levels.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Use the Right Tools</h2>
<p dir="ltr">When it comes to extracting data from social media, digital marketers have an array of different tools at their disposal. These analytics platforms mine information like mentions, likes, and shares to provide businesses with insights into the behaviors and feelings of social media users.</p>
<p dir="ltr">When a brand is looking for an analytics platform, they want to find one that has the ability to extract the information that is relevant to their consumer insight research. They must consider the type of information that the service provides, and look at the different ways that it allows them to collect, manage, and clean data.</p>
<h2 dir="ltr">Using the Data</h2>
<p dir="ltr">The point of market research is to obtain information that a business can turn into action. They might be able to use it for marketing, product development, customer service or any number of other business goals. Marketers shouldn’t just gather this information and sit on it – they should take action and make decisions that can refine the brand and maximize their ROI.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A company that offers a software-as-a-service product might find that customers are unsatisfied with a specific feature, or they might find that a competitor offers a feature that is particularly popular with consumers. This information can then be used to refine the product going forward.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Things like surveys and focus groups still have their place in market research, but social media can provide customer insights that are not available through traditional methods. Marketers can get information from a much larger group, and research can be performed much more quickly and for a lower cost. That means it offers a better return on investment, and the immediacy of the information makes it more useful and more actionable.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Written by: Rae Steinbach,&nbsp;<a href="https://taktical.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Taktical Digital</a>&nbsp;(via Website Magazine)<br />
Posted by: <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/use-social-media-know-customers-want-market-research/">How to Use Social Media to Know What Customers Want</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
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		<title>Turning Social Media Fans into Paying Clients</title>
		<link>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/how-to-turn-social-media-fans-into-paying-clients/</link>
					<comments>https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/how-to-turn-social-media-fans-into-paying-clients/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Dr. Sharritt]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2017 20:33:46 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Content Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Digital Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing Automation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Social Media]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Facebook]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.cuecamp.com/?p=6779</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>In today&#8217;s world social media is everywhere. Anyone can post an opinion or comment about a business online on their social media fan page. We follow our friend&#8217;s and see what businesses they frequent, and why. When we see a bad review or comment, we stop and question if we should continue using that business....</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/how-to-turn-social-media-fans-into-paying-clients/">Turning Social Media Fans into Paying Clients</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>In today&#8217;s world social media is everywhere. Anyone can post an opinion or comment about a business online on their social media fan page. We follow our friend&#8217;s and see what businesses they frequent, and why. When we see a bad review or comment, we stop and question if we should continue using that business. </p>



<span id="more-6779"></span>



<p>With so much happening on social media platforms, businesses would be out of touch if they didn&#8217;t pay attention to what people were saying about them online. Accordingly, learning to turn those social media fans into paying clients (and keep them engaged) is extremely important.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Social Media Fan Pages</h2>



<p>The first step though is to make sure that your business has a good online presence through social media and your company website. All social media fan pages and platforms that your business uses need to have compelling and useful information to gain social media fans and followers.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="791" height="748" src="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel.png" alt="" class="wp-image-6218" srcset="https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel.png 791w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel-300x284.png 300w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel-768x726.png 768w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel-380x359.png 380w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel-24x24.png 24w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel-36x34.png 36w, https://cdn.cuecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/funnel-48x45.png 48w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 791px) 100vw, 791px" /></figure></div>



<p>At CueCamp, we teach our clients to learn how the sales funnel works. We take our clients through each step of the sales funnel starting with inbound marketing and work our way down to a sale.</p>



<p>Inbound marketing begins with establishing social media profiles on platforms that will work for your type of business in order to start engagement with potential customers. Most businesses make the mistake of thinking that they have to be on every popular platform. They believe the more platforms they are on the more people they will reach. This could not be further from the truth.</p>



<p>We guide our clients and show them how to conduct market research for their industry to figure out what platforms would be beneficial for their business. Some businesses would do well&nbsp;on Instagram, where it would not make sense for another type of business.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Social Media Fan Pages / Platforms</h3>



<p>After we help our clients to figure out what <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/social-media-marketing/">social platforms to utilize</a>,&nbsp;we then collaborate&nbsp;to create strong profiles and content to post on those platforms. We look at what the competition is posting, what people are talking about online, and what is trending in your industry. Our marketing team then creates content (videos, blog posts, posts, etc.) to then be posted on these chosen platforms.</p>



<p>The next step in the sales funnel is your <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/web-design-development/">company website</a>. All of the traffic that you drum up from your social media platforms will then be taken to your company website. This is where they will learn more about your company, offerings, and services. The best way to get people to your website is through landing pages and blog posts.</p>



<p>Once you have established traffic to your site you can then start making direct contact with your potential customers and finally create a sale.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Where to Start</h2>



<p>The best way to start the sales funnel is to figure out which social media fan pages or platforms will work for your type of business. As a general guideline for our clients, we start with a Facebook company social media fan page. Facebook is the ultimate tool to increase visibility in your target market and engage in a relationship with your customers. With over 1.23 billion active users, Facebook is a great place to start.</p>



<p>There are many ways to start engaging potential customers on Facebook. Our team helps businesses figure out what to post and when to post to attract new customers and social media fans. Every business is different, which is why we tailor every <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/social-media-marketing/">marketing plan</a> to fit our clients specific needs. But the only way to get started is to have a solid Facebook company fan page.</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Free Fan Page</h4>



<p>CueCamp offers free custom Facebook fan pages for new clients. Our marketing team will help generate more potential customers talking about your business with a custom designed and professionally marketed Facebook page. Our social media experts do it all for you! They create a page that is all about you and your business, and then help to build your social media fan base to get the conversation going.</p>



<p>If you don’t have a Facebook fan page or are not happy with what you have now, our team will build a page that gets you a following. Next, we will professionally market your new Facebook page to get you likes, <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/use-social-media-know-customers-want-market-research/">targeting people who will be interested</a> in your business. Finally, we keep these new social media fans interested and talking about your business by frequently updating your content and creating new marketing campaigns.</p>



<p>If you are interested in a Free custom Facebook fan page then contact us today on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/contact/">www.cuecamp.com</a>. Next, we will continue the conversation and talk about the following step in the sales funnel, <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/web-design-development/">your website</a>. How can you <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/marketing-automation/">build traffic</a> and turn those visitors into paying customers? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.</p>



<p>Written by: <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/about/">Michel Ann Sharritt, CueCamp</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com/blog/how-to-turn-social-media-fans-into-paying-clients/">Turning Social Media Fans into Paying Clients</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.cuecamp.com">CueCamp</a>.</p>
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