crosbydigitalmarketing

What is your content marketing strategy?

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 16:17:41 GMT

Where's the strategy?

Content marketing only works with a strategy built around organization and consistency.

Without a content marketing strategy in place, you'll never be consistent, and without consistency, your content will never reach a level of quality to make your efforts worthwhile.

The first step to getting organized is to write down a plan.

Be consistent. Write down your plan!

Creating your first content marketing strategy should only take about 15 minutes but will take care of your content for the next 3 months. Don't wait any longer. Do the following steps right now.

Step 1: Open a new Google Doc and write down the next 3 months. For this example, we'll use September, October, and November.

Step 2: Next to September, write "September blog topic."

Step 3: Come up with a topic. Think of your topics as ways to solve your ideal customers problems. What do typical customers ask you about the most? What are their problems? Why do they need you?

It may be something you think is simple, but others can’t or don’t have the time or ability to do. Maybe it's teaching someone how to change air filters if you own an HVAC company. Or perhaps you work for a landscaping company and can educate people on what type of grass to plant at a new home to minimize erosion. As easy as these tasks seem to you , there is a group of people who have no clue they need to change their air filters regularly. And there's a new home buyer who just paid a lot of money to have someone spread the wrong grass seed on their yard.

Step 4: Put writing this blog on your schedule. Make it a priority like any other administrative task like paying bills or renewing licenses.

Step 5: Stay consistent and do this in September and October (and onward!).

Step 6: Pick a date in each month (go with the 15th so it's easy to remember) and make that the due date for each of your blog posts.

Step 7: Where will you post your blogs? Write down where you plan on posting your blogs once you've written them.

That’s it!

Here is what your Google Doc should look like:

September Blog Topic - How to change air filters is a Rheem HVAC unit - Due September 15, 2022.
Post to my website. Share the blog link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
October Blog Topic - How often should I get my A/C unit serviced? - Due October 15, 2022.
Post to my website. Share the blog link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
November Blog Topic - How to get started with a content marketing strategy - Due November 15, 2022.
Post to my website. Share the blog link on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Print this out or add it to your calendar. If you don’t see it, you won’t do it.

P.S. We have a content calendar template that you can use here.

Don't worry about SEO or keywords at this point. Just spend 15 or 20 minutes creating topics you can discuss or write about in your sleep. This exercise will get you in the habit of writing down your content ideas and scheduling them. If you don't write it down, it won't happen.

Congratulations! You just created your first content calendar. This is the first step toward building a solid content marketing strategy that will lead to more website traffic and potential leads.

What is a marketing case study? [And how to create compelling ones]

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 12:01:51 GMT

Are your sales calls falling flat? Back up your claims with an effective case study. We'll walk you through the reasons to invest in high-quality case studies for your business, the case study structure, and how to write one.

Once you’re armed with a case study, your sales calls will have more direction and substance. Get started today.

What is a marketing case study?

A marketing case study explains how you solved a problem for a client or customer using customer testimonials, statistics, and strategy to illustrate your approach.

Why do you need a case study for sales?

Typically you use a marketing case study as a tool for your sales strategy. We’ll break down this process below.

Social proof

Your case study shows that your company is successfully working with clients. You show that by seamlessly incorporating customer testimonials and measures of success.

It should simultaneously illustrate how you solve your client’s unique problem but also be universal enough to connect with other similar potential customers. (These are opposing messages, but they are not impossible.)

Grab your lead's attention

Lead with a universal fact that grabs your potential customer’s attention. Often with case studies, they lead with an especially appealing stat. Here are some examples:

How we tripled sales for a B2B SaaS company
We increased website traffic to 50,000 a month using this strategy
How to decrease ad spend by $X and improve conversions by Y%

These headlines grab attention because they speak to your typical sales leads’ problems. They should want to accomplish the same things that you already are doing for your current customers.

Frame your sales pitch around your customer while teaching about your business

Do you ever get on a sales call and try to pitch an idea, and it feels like it falls on deaf ears? Here are some examples we see when we talk to customers about marketing their business.

Us: To rank higher on Google, you must put money and time into a content marketing strategy. Customer: Ok, but can’t you just add SEO phrases to my site?
Us: To run effective Google Ads, you need to optimize your website and track conversions. Customer: I don’t have access to my site’s code, but we’ll just make a note anytime someone calls.
Us: Do you really want to create 72 blog posts monthly for your company blog? It might be better to map out a focused approach that positions you as a comprehensive industry leader. Customer: Let’s make it 75 blog posts!

A case study is a great way to grab your customer’s attention. Instead of your sales conversations going like the examples above, you’re taking hold of the narrative. You can say simply that we’ve solved your problem before. You can dive into the case study together and talk about your approach.

Address objections and reservations

Sometimes your sales prospects are reluctant to spend money. After all, it’s a risk to spend money on your business. What if it doesn’t pay off?

Worse, your sales lead often wants to go towards a lower-risk option that won’t produce results. Then when they don’t see the right results, they give up on a strategy or product altogether.

When you address objections, reservations, and concerns with social proof and stats, you give your leads the ability to make more informed decisions. This builds confidence.

Builds confidence and relationships

First impressions are everything. It is hard to immediately establish trust with someone who is a cold prospect. Giving a sales lead a case study helps them see your business clearer, positions you as a professional, and builds confidence.

Marketing case study structure

The first step to writing a case study is to understand the structure. Some case studies are just a few pages, and others read like books. But they all follow this basic structure. Here’s how to get started.

Come up with a result-oriented title

Create a working title for your case study. (You can rename or edit it later.) Your title is essential because it has to grab attention, but it’s also the main point of your case study. Here’s how to get it right.

Your title is the solution to your problem. First, write down the exact problem that you solved. It needs to be a measurable problem with an equally measurable solution. Here’s an example to get you started. Company X helped Company Y increase sales turnaround time by z with a streamlined process. So the title could be something like “Improve onboarding efficiency by 40% with video tutorials.”

As you’re writing, you may come across a more compelling statistic or fact to use as your title. Take note of it, and use it. But start your case study with a title. Your title announces the ending, and in this case, that’s helpful to you and the reader. The outcome convinces your reader to look through the case study, and you will also know where your writing needs to go if you know the outcome you are explaining.

Introduce the customer

You need to give some background information on the customer. This is the customer that is the subject of the case study.

Start general with your customer introduction. You want the reader to connect with the subject so they can relate to the customer and their problem. Then move into more specific information so you can explain how you saved the day.

Explain the customer’s problem

From there, state the customer’s problem. You or your product must fix, change, or create a solution. Describe how to measure their problem because later, you will want to talk about the corresponding measured success.

Describe your strategy for solving their problem

Your customer’s problem now becomes your goal. You are addressing their pain point with your solution. You need to break your solution down into actionable steps. Explain the strategy and action behind how you solve their problem.

Give results with visuals and stats

From there, explain what worked with your strategy. Results should always be measurable. And with digital marketing analytics, there are infinite ways to measure success. Don’t overwhelm with too many numbers, but show the most compelling numbers. Take the time to design visuals that display your data best.

It’s also an excellent place to use customer testimonials. You want to appeal to both sides of the brain. Show the numbers, and also give the anecdotal experience of what the experience was like for your customer.

Conclusion with a CTA

Your conclusion should summarize your case study. It should also give the reader the next steps for solving their problem. You could ask them to schedule a consultation, buy a product, or give you a call.

Marketing case study template

Not sure where to start? Grab our case study infographic to get started:

How do you write a case study?

It can be hard to know where to start with writing case studies. Case studies appear simple; many can be as short as 500 words. But it takes a lot of work and editing to writing concisely. You have a short time to prove your case and convince your reader that the results worked.

Follow the case study structure

We outline this above (and provided a handy infographic as well). This is the best way to get started. Use our structure to begin your outline. Fill in the gaps.

Define a problem that your typical or ideal customer has

The most important part of your case study is a well-defined problem. You can't fix a vague problem and definitely can’t measure success. So don’t start with a problem that isn’t specific.

You also don’t want to take the time to write a case study that won’t appeal to your typical customer. So think about what your prospects typically contact you about, and write a case study that addresses these needs.

Provide measurable solutions

Just like your problem, your solution needs to be measurable. Your solution should be simple to explain. Here’s an example:

The client struggled with bookkeeping and invoicing. After establishing a system with our strategies and software, the client decreased accounting time by 6 hours a month and collected 40% more money on time.

In the scenario above, you should explain your system and strategies in your case study. Nothing should ever be secret to potential customers. You must demonstrate competence, knowledge, honesty, and straightforwardness with your case study.

Gather testimonials that address each section of the case study

Client testimonials speak to potential customers. You’re building trust with client testimonials. Be sure to gather the right quotes from your customers by asking the right questions. A good rule of thumb is to ask questions that go with each section of your testimonial. This way, you have a variety of quotes that all sound different. It’s key to ask the right questions and not overwhelm your interview subjects with too many questions.

Illustrate your case study with data

Prove your claim with data. Data drives your point home. Don’t overwhelm your case study with too much data. Instead, choose the data points that prove that you accomplished your goal. Take the data and make it visual so that it's easier to understand and the reader can clearly see it. Explain how the data points demonstrate that you accomplished your goal.

Make sure your case study tells a story

Edit your case study carefully so that it tells a straightforward story. It isn’t always about explaining every detail. But instead, take your reader on a journey of how you solved a problem for your client or customer. It’s often recommended that you position yourself as a hero. You need to create a story that places you as a hero so that others seek out your services or products.

Use case studies to convert leads into customers

We write case studies. A professional content marketer can help with:

Case study copy : We can tell your story right and show your potential clients the relevant details about your business.
Case study interviews : We know how to ask the right questions to get the right quotes and testimonials.
Analysis : We can make sense of your stats and connect them to your story.
Design : The finished product needs to look its best. We can create attention-grabbing case studies to include in your future sales meetings.

5 Ways to Organize Your Marketing and Advertising Efforts

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Fri, 13 May 2022 20:47:20 GMT

How do you organize your marketing and advertising efforts? Do you have a plan, or are you just flying by the seat of your pants? If you're like most business owners, you probably don't have a solid marketing strategy in place. Lacking a plan can lead to a lot of wasted time and energy. This post will discuss five ways to organize and maximize your marketing and advertising efforts. Implementing these tips will help you achieve greater focus and success with your online marketing campaigns.

Step 1: Assess Your Current Marketing and Advertising Campaigns

The first step is to look at your current marketing and advertising campaigns. Make a list of everything you're currently doing related to marketing or advertising, including posting content to your website, email marketing, running Google Ads, posting to social media, or any money you're spending.

Ask yourself these questions:

What is working? Where do you see results? Maybe your customers respond to your monthly email. Or perhaps you get decent traffic to your website from your Facebook posts.
What isn't working? Where are you not seeing results? For example, you're spending $3,000/month on Google Ads but not getting quality conversions.
Where is my money going? If you're spending 90% of your budget on billboards, which I hope you're not, make sure you review the effectiveness of your billboard strategy. Are you getting new customers from your billboards, or is it just something your company has always purchased?
Where is my time going? If you're spending 5 hours each week creating beautiful social media posts, but you only have eight followers, then you might need to rethink your strategy. Focus your time on efforts that get results.

Answering these questions will help you determine where you should focus your efforts.

Think of this as spring cleaning. If you find something in your attic that you haven't used in 5 years, you can probably throw it away or take it to Goodwill. The same goes for marketing. If you're not seeing results with a specific campaign, if something has been on autopilot for months or years, or if you're not happy with a vendor, it's probably time to hit the pause button and try something new.

Step 2: Find a Focus with Niche Marketing

Now that you've taken a hard look at your current marketing efforts, it's time to focus on your marketing strategy. One way to do this is to focus on niche marketing.

Niche marketing is targeting a specific market segment with a tailored marketing message.

You want to grow your business, and most people think targeting everyone is the best strategy. I made this mistake when I started my marketing business. I just wanted more clients, and I didn't care who it was.

I quickly learned that it's much better to focus on a specific market segment or industry and craft a marketing message that resonates with them. You will be more successful in attracting new customers, and you won't be wasting your time and resources marketing to people who will never buy from you.

To get started with niche marketing, you need to identify your target market. Ask yourself these questions:

Who is my ideal customer?
What are their needs and wants?
What are their pain points?
How can I help them solve their problems?

Once you've answered these questions, you'll have a better idea of whom you should target with your focused marketing strategy.

Step 3: Create a Content Calendar

Before getting into the content calendar, let me define "content." Content is anything you create to market your business. Here are a few examples:

Blog Posts
YouTube Videos
Social Media Posts
Podcast Episodes
Email Marketing Campaigns
Direct Mail Campaigns

One of the best ways to get organized with your marketing is to create a content calendar. A content calendar is simply a way to plan your content marketing efforts.

Creating and following a content calendar will help you stay on track with your marketing goals and ensure that you're consistently creating new content. It will also help you avoid the last-minute scramble to come up with something to post.

There are a few different ways you can create a content calendar. You can use a Google Calendar, Excel spreadsheet, or a good old-fashioned paper calendar. Whichever method you choose, make sure it's something you'll use and update regularly. Check out our free content calendar template.

Create content for your niche

Create content specifically for your niche. Once you've chosen a format for your content calendar, start by brainstorming ideas for new content. Keep in mind step 2, where we defined a niche audience.

If you're stuck, think about topics that would be helpful to your target market or popular trends in your industry. Or go and see what your competitors are doing to give you a starting point. Then, start filling in your calendar with specific dates and deadlines for each piece of content.

Give yourself plenty of time to hit your deadlines, and try not to overload yourself with too much work at once. You'll get frustrated and go back to the old way of doing things.

A content calendar aims to get your content marketing organized and help you focus on creating content for your niche audience.

Step 4: Set Up a System to Track Your Results

You've taken a hard look at your marketing strategy, defined a focused niche for your efforts, and created a content calendar to keep you on track. Now it's time to set up a system to track your results.

This step is crucial because it will help you see what's working and what's not to allow you to adjust your strategy accordingly.

Whichever method you choose, make sure you're consistently tracking your results and checking in regularly.

Track content marketing results

If you're a content creator, you'll want to track views and interactions to know what kind of content your audience interacts with the most.

For bloggers , I recommend setting up Google Analytics. You can track how long someone stayed on your site and how many people viewed each of your posts.

I also recommend setting up Google Search Console for your website so you can track organic keywords leading to your website. Google Search Console will give you data on how people search for your company online and find you. You can even link Google Search Console to your Google Analytics account, so you only have to deal with one program. Here's a support document on how to link these accounts .

You can also go deeper by tracking keywords with a paid program like ahrefs or SEMRush. SEMRush will tell you how your content ranks organically on Google and ideas on new content to help you rank for more keywords.

For social media posters , most of the top platforms will give you some data related to your posts. You can see which type of posts yield the most views and likes and, ultimately, which ones lead to the most interaction with your followers.

Remember that our goal is to help you stay organized and on track. Keep tracking simple, but make sure you know how your efforts are performing so you can stop wasting time creating content that isn't driving results and double down on anything that is getting you business.

Track conversions for ad campaigns

One of the most important things you can do to track your advertising efforts is to set up conversion tracking for your ad campaigns. Conversion tracking will help you see how many leads or sales you're generating from each campaign to determine which ones are worth your time and money. Here's a post on setting up conversions in Google Ads .

Stay focused on the campaigns that are working and reallocate your budget from underperforming campaigns to those driving leads.

Step 5: Create a Lead Tracking System

If you're in the business of selling services, then you'll want to set up a lead tracking system. Tracking and prioritizing your leads will help you keep track of your sales pipeline and see which marketing efforts are generating the most leads.

Here are a couple of ways to set up a lead tracking system for free.

Set up a spreadsheet to track your leads.
Sign up for a free Trello account and create a lead process (recommended).

Track your leads through the sales process

Here is how I've set up my process in Trello. Each of these items is a column (aka Trello list) on a board in Trello.

Once you get a new lead, move it to the appropriate column as the sales process progresses:

New Lead . Add all lead information, such as company name, contact name, contact information, and any notes. Consolidating lead information will help you keep everything in one place so you're not constantly going back to look at emails.
Contact Made . Once you've reached out to the lead, make any notes about your initial call or email.
Need Defined . Once you've spoken or emailed the customer and defined their needs, you're ready to write the proposal.
Proposal Made . Once you've sent the proposal, note the date and any follow-up information. Add a due date when you will follow up with the prospective client.
Need to Follow Up . If you've reached out but haven't heard back from the lead within a given timeframe, add a date that you will follow up with the customer.
Won . Move the lead to the "won" column if you got the business. Make sure you've included how the customer reached out to you so you can know how your customer found you.
Lost . If you didn't close the deal, add the customer to the "lost" column. Make a note of why the prospective client decided not to work with you. You can review this later to see if there is a trend of why you're not converting leads.

Now that your tracking system is in place, you can add your leads into the system and tag them with relevant information like which marketing campaign they came from, where they are in the sales cycle, and when you need to follow up next.

Don't overcomplicate this process. Just get a system in place so you can stay organized. Don't lose a lead because you lack organization. Set a strategy today.

Today is the Day to Get Organized

Here is a quick summary to jumpstart your marketing Spring cleaning:

Assess your current efforts and see what's working and what's not working. Stop wasting time or energy on things that don't work.
Choose a niche to target . Choosing a niche will help you to focus your messaging.
Create a content calendar to get your content organized and create an effective marketing plan for your niche market.
With all of your new efforts in progress, create a system to review your results . Don't fall back into old habits of working hard without knowing if your efforts are working.
Finally, create a follow-up plan so you can track your incoming leads. Don't create a focused marketing plan without first organizing your lead nurturing strategy.

Do you need help getting organized with your marketing strategy? Contact Crosby Digital Marketing for a free marketing and advertising consultation. We help companies reach their marketing and advertising goals.

Why You Need to Track Conversions in Google Ads

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Thu, 05 May 2022 16:20:07 GMT

Track ROAS or ROI for your Google Ads Campaigns.

If you're running Google Ads , it's critical to track your conversions. Why? Because if you're not tracking conversions, you're not measuring the success of your campaign. And if you're not measuring the success of your campaign, you can't improve it. In this blog post, we'll discuss why conversion tracking is important to your ROI (return on investment) and how to set it up in Google Ads.

What is a Conversion?

A conversion is a goal that you've defined as valuable to your business. It could be a purchase, a sign-up, a contact form submission, a phone call, or anything else that you want people to do on your website. By tracking conversions, you can see how many people are completing your desired goal and how much potential profit your campaigns are bringing in. This is your ROI.

What are ROI and ROAS?

ROI (return on investment) or ROAS (return on ad spend) is a measure of how much you're getting back for every dollar you spend on your advertising campaign. In other words, it's a way to measure the profitability of your campaign. If your ROI or ROAS is positive, that means your campaign is profitable. If it's negative, that means you're losing money on your campaign.

There are two key components to calculating ROI in your Google Ads campaign:

The conversion rate: This is the percentage of people who complete your desired goal.
The cost per conversion: This is the amount of money you're spending on your campaign divided by the number of conversions.

To calculate ROAS, simply take the cost per conversion and divide it by the conversion rate.

Check this Google Ads column: If you've set up your conversions correctly and included accurate conversion values for each, you can simply look at the " conversion value/cost" column in Google Ads to see what your potential return is.

What are Google Ads Conversions?

There are two types of conversions that you can track in Google Ads: website events and phone calls. Website conversions are tracked by installing a Google Ads conversion code on your website or by using Google Analytics Events and syncing your Google Analytics and Google Ads accounts. Phone conversions can be tracked as an on-site event or by using a Google Ads call tracking number.

How to Set Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads?

Method 1: Using Google Ads Conversion Codes

Conversion tracking is easy to set up. Just follow these steps:

Log in to your Google Ads account.
Click on the Tools tab.
Under 'Measurement,' select 'Conversions.'
Click '+ Conversion.'
Select 'Website' or 'Phone' as your conversion type. (If you're tracking in-app conversions, you can also select that category.)
Give your conversion a name and click 'Save and Continue.'

You'll need to install the Google Ads conversion code on your website directly, or by using Google Tag Manager.

Method 2: Using Google Analytics Events

You can also set up events in your Google Analytics account and then sync those with your Google Ads account. GA4 now allows you to create events and set them up as conversions.

How Do I Test Google Ads Conversions?

Google Ads conversions are easy to create, but making sure they're working correctly on your site can be frustrating.

My preferred method is to install conversion tags and triggers using Google Tag Manager. Once everything is set up, you can review that your conversions are set up in the Tag Manager system. If you've set up your conversions via the Google Ads conversion code, you can go to Google Ads to see if your conversions are "not verified" or if they have begun recording. You can assess their active status or if they've been set up correctly by checking the Google Ads help page regarding conversion status .

How to Assign a Value to Your Google Ads Conversions

As you set up your conversions in Google Ads, and as you get in the mindset of tracking ROAS, you will need to assign values to each of your conversions. There are a lot of factors when thinking through conversion values, so there's not a simple number I can give you. But for e-commerce campaigns you can use the cost of the product minus any overhead cost, you can use the value of the service you're advertising, or you can use the lifetime value (LTV) of a client if the product or service is an ongoing subscription or if it will lead to multiple visits or product purchases.

Assign the conversion value when setting up each of your conversions. You can select to use a single price per conversion, or Google will allow you to set different values for each conversion.

Conclusion

If you're running Google Ads, you should be tracking ROAS to know how your campaigns are running. Set up conversions so that you can track phone calls, form fills, or any action that is valuable to your company.

If you need help setting up conversions or setting up and running Google Ads campaigns, contact Crosby Digital Marketing today .

5 SEO Tips for Doctors Opening a New Medical Practice: Grow your practice in 2022

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 15:30:06 GMT

When someone types in “medical practices near me,” do you show up? That’s the end goal of SEO (search engine optimization) for your medical practice.

Search engine marketing should be a part of your new clinic marketing strategy because it is how your most likely customers will find you. Your customers go to Google when they are ready to select a medical provider, read reviews, and look at locations. Your competitors are showing up on Google, are you?

How far in advance should I build SEO before starting my medical practice?

The answer to this question can vary for different medical specialties and cities. We recommend implementing your SEO strategy six months before opening your new medical practice.

We help medical practices with their SEO and digital marketing.

SEO Tips and Strategies for Doctors with a New Medical Practice

Here are five things you should do to build or update your online profile and SEO before you launch your practice:

Don’t let someone else own your profiles

We see this happen all the time. If you’re part of a large practice, be sure to own your profiles in places like Google Business Profile, Healthgrades, and Best Doctors. These are attached to you and your reputation. They are also separate entities from your current medical practice.

Keep reading to find out how to reclaim your profiles below.

Claim and Update Your Online Listings

Online listings are the new Yellow Pages, and aside from the other referral sources listed above, local online searches can lead to a steady supply of new patients.

Google Business Profile, Healthgrades, and Best Doctors are some of the top online profiles dedicated to healthcare professionals. You will generally find these on page one of Google search when searching for doctor information. So what happens if your information is incorrect or outdated? People won’t be able to schedule an appointment with you, and you will lose out on new patients and revenue that should be yours.

Start working on your medical practice SEO strategy today.

Go and Google yourself. What shows up on page one of the Google search? Is it accurate, or are there pieces of information that are outdated? Click through all of the search results and see if anything is incorrect. Your online profiles probably won't exist yet if you're just getting started and opening your new practice. This is good news because you get to start from scratch. There’s a bit of work involved in setting up and claiming these profiles, but you will have peace of mind that your online information is correct because you will be the one setting it up.

Here are some of the top profiles to set up as soon as you can:

Google Business Profile : This is a free service that Google offers and will help you show up on Google Maps and Google search results.
Healthgrades : Though Healthgrades is not the top place people will find you, it generally shows up on the first page of Google when people search your name. Make sure you set up a Healthgrades profile if you don’t have one yet.
Best Doctors : Like Healthgrades, this isn’t the primary place patients will find you, but it will generally show up on page one of Google when someone searches for your specialties.
Yelp : Yelp might seem like a place dedicated to restaurant reviews, but it’s also important for your online profile. Did you know that the Microsoft Bing search engine pulls local business information from Yelp? By setting up a Yelp account, you’re not only setting up a profile on the Yelp platform but also helping to update your information on Bing. (Don’t sleep on Bing, it’s the default search engine on computers that use Microsoft products.)

Once you get these accounts set up, you can rest easy so that your information is accurate.

If you Google yourself and see that your information is outdated, then you have some work ahead of you. There are companies devoted to updating online listings, so you can imagine the amount of work that could be ahead of you.

Start by making a list of the incorrect listings. Follow these steps to attempt to update your information:

Look for a button that says “Edit business information” or any sign that you can suggest an edit. This might allow you to suggest quick edits. Some of these features can take a few days to update, so keep that in mind.
Try to claim the incorrect listing. This is one of the hardest parts of listings management, especially if someone else has already claimed the listing. If your listing is already claimed, the best-case scenario is that you know who owns it (probably the marketing department at an old company you worked for). You can simply request access or have them add you as the account owner. Worst case scenario is that you don’t know who has claimed the account, or it’s claimed under an old email (again, probably someone who used to do marketing at your old business who is no longer there). This can feel hopeless. But keep in mind that most online listings will give you the option to verify that you are the rightful owner of the listing if the current owner is unresponsive for a specified period of time. To create an account, try to claim the profile, then contact customer support if you don’t hear back after a week.
In the worst-case scenario, when you’re unable to claim an old listing, you might just have to create a new listing. This is not ideal because the old listing will still be live and show incorrect information. But with a new listing, you’ll at least have the ability to show up for specific searches and keep your information updated.

Keep your information updated

Whether you get a new phone system or update your business hours, make sure your information is updated in as many places as you can. Update your website, update your online listings, and even update any advertising campaigns you’re running if relevant. The last thing you want to do is have incorrect information floating around the internet. You’ve probably heard the internet called the web. That name makes perfect sense when you realize how much information is shared online across countless websites and data aggregators. If one piece of information is incorrect, it could be updated on numerous sites.

Plan ahead

The earlier you can start building up your clinic’s SEO, the better. Trying to do anything last minute with SEO is pretty useless because SEO takes time to build up. When you build your website, make sure it’s indexed on Google and Bing. You can use Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to do this for free. Even if you don’t have much content on your website, there is still a benefit to letting Google know who you are by indexing your site.

Feel confident in your SEO strategy as you open your new medical practice.

We have over a decade of experience in the Medical SEO and digital marketing space. We have experience in SEO strategy for single provider practices to national multi-location providers.

What is a Value Proposition and How Do I Create One?

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 17:23:01 GMT

Create a value proposition to focus your marketing strategy

One of the best things you can do for your business is to create a marketing strategy. You’ll be able to focus your marketing efforts on a clear goal and measure the effectiveness of your work easier.

The first step in creating a marketing strategy is to come up with a clear value proposition. With a solid value proposition, your marketing strategy and business strategy will have a clear and defined set of goals you can follow.

What is a value proposition?

A value proposition statement lets you communicate how your services will satisfy your customers’ needs over your competitors.

Value propositions help you to differentiate your business in the marketplace. They help customers identify with your business and determine if it is worth their time, effort, and money to work with you.

Why is a value proposition important to your marketing strategy?

A value proposition statement will define the parameters of your entire marketing plan. You will be able to focus all of your energy on your ideal customers and on the products you offer. This will help keep you focused and align all parts of your marketing efforts.

How do I start writing a value proposition?

Answer these 3 questions to start creating a good value proposition:

Who is your target customer?
What problem is the customer currently having?
How will you solve the problem?

Once you’ve answered the 3 questions above, you should have a foundation to start writing your value proposition. Let’s do an example:

Value proposition example

You’re a bookkeeper in Tennessee looking to get more leads through your website. Let’s answer the questions:

Who is your target customer? Landscaping companies in Tennessee.
What problem is your customer having ? They’re too busy managing estimates and jobs to stay on top of their customer invoicing and monthly bookkeeping. They’re losing money by wasting time on their books and not spending more time working with their customers.
How will you solve the problem? You offer monthly bookkeeping plans, payroll services, and customer invoicing for landscapers. You have 3 package levels so that any landscaper can afford your services. You will save them time and money, and help track and manage any previously unsent or outstanding invoices. You’ll also offer monthly statements so they can watch their profits increase and their outstanding invoices decrease.

Once you’ve answered the questions as we’ve done above, you can start creating specific services to help your audience. And once you have these services clearly defined, you can add them to your website and start advertising and promoting them to your target audience. This is a much better way to grow your business than trying to solve everyone’s bookkeeping needs.

Conclusion

By creating a clear value proposition, you’ve essentially created a basic marketing strategy, defined your audience, and created a custom list of niche services to sell to your audience.

If you need help writing your value proposition, give us a call. We can work with you to set up a solid marketing strategy to help you grow your business.

How to attract leads to your medical practice

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 20:05:33 GMT

Your practice will only survive with one thing: a steady flow of new patients.

Here are a few ways that patients will find you:

Provider referrals - Go and sell your practice to other local providers. You’ll not only create good relationships with local doctors, but you’ll build a solid local network of potential referral sources.
Patient referrals - By simply providing good care and having a likable personality, your best patients will refer you to their friends and family.
Insurance referrals - Your in-network insurance companies will showcase your information on their provider lists, and you will hopefully get new patients directly from your insurances. Make sure your practice is listed and your information is updated.
Internet search - This is our focus today. I promise that new patients will find you on the internet. I’m going to show you a few ways to make sure you're making it easy for potential patients to find you and schedule an appointment. Don’t miss the inbound opportunities that are already in knocking at your door.

Acquiring New Patients Online

As a medical provider, you need to take control of your online brand by using proper online marketing and SEO tactics . To simplify an online marketing and SEO plan, let’s break it into 3 sections:

Website
Education through Content Marketing
Email Marketing

Website

Your website is your marketing and information hub. It’s one of the best places to educate and acquire new patients. Don’t overcomplicate your site. Make it easy for someone to learn what you do and how to contact you. Include information about you and your company, the services you offer, and a place for patients to schedule an appointment. It’s really that simple.

I like to give patients the option of how they’d like to schedule an appointment, so set up a self-service online appointment system if you have the ability. A HIPAA-compliant contact form is better than nothing (Check out Jotform - It's only $100/month and is 100% HIPAA compliant. One new patient will offset the cost!). And of course, include your phone number and hours of operation. Make sure your phone number is clickable on your mobile site.

Making it easy for patients to schedule an appointment is the best way to turn your website into a 24/7 lead-generating machine.

Educate Your Patients Through Content Marketing

As a medical provider, you are also an educator. You educate your patients at every appointment by offering expert advice on living a healthier life, information on proper medication usage, or by offering tips on reducing pain after surgery. You are a wealth of knowledge, so make sure your website reflects this as well. As more and more of your patients go to the internet to self-diagnose their aches and pains, make sure you're also educating on your website and sharing this knowledge with your patients.

As you add educational content to your website, it will gain authority as you build out a content library of information around your services and specialties. One way to stay in front of your customers is to build a blog on your website. Whenever you answer a common question in your clinic, create a blog post and answer the question in writing. It's that simple to create content for your site. If you don't have time to do this, make a voice memo on your phone and send them to a copywriter . They'll be able to transcribe and write up a fantastic blog post based on a 30-second voice memo you make.

I promise that answering questions in writing and putting them on your website will bring new patients to your website in the next 6 months. Google's algorithm is based on answering questions, so why not get ahead of the game and put the answers out there. Answer questions and make it easy for them to schedule an appointment. It's that easy.

Email Campaign

Have you ever received an email newsletter from a doctor? If it had a "Meet the Staff" section and a blurb about what awareness month it is, you probably deleted it immediately. I admit I used to send these out all the time when I worked for a medical practice. But times have changed, and people get too many emails each day to even open something that's not interesting or relevant. If you've ever received an email that you actually signed up for, it probably included a headline or an article that caught your attention...BECAUSE IT'S RELEVANT TO YOU! General newsletters sent to all of your patients are probably annoying to the majority of your email list, and most just end up in the junk folder anyway.

Send relevant articles to your patients. Provide education that gets people excited to open your next email. Emails don't have to be templated and boring. They can be simple check-ins to say "hey, check this out" or "Here are our thoughts on XYZ." Keep it relevant and interesting, and remember that most people don't have 10 minutes to read a lengthy email, so just keep it short and sweet.

With an effective content marketing strategy and an easy-to-use educational website, you're already well ahead of 90% of your competitors.

"But I Don't Have Time...I Need Help"

We help medical practices create everything mentioned above. We create simple and effective websites and can create educational content marketing and email campaigns that will educate your current patients and bring new patients to your website.

Even if you already have an in-house marketing team, we can provide support to them by setting up new patient lead funnels based on the educational content we'll help you create.

Reach out to schedule a call and let us help grow your patient volume this year.

16 Steps for Marketing Your Accounting and Bookkeeping Business

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 14:45:00 GMT

Online Marketing Guide for Accountants and Bookkeepers

Have you used up all your leads using referrals and local networking? It happens. Referrals and local networking are great ways to find new clients, but they are not the only things you can do. Creating an online presence through online digital marketing can generate organic leads for your accounting, bookkeeping, or financial planning business. People are looking online for your services. Show up where they are looking for your business.

Crosby Digital Marketing helps financial service businesses establish their online marketing. Here are 16 steps to getting started with digital marketing for your accounting and bookkeeping business . Contact us today to get a marketing strategy started for your business.

1. Create a Google My Business account.

Google has recently renamed this to Google Business Profile . This should be number one for any small business. It is not time-consuming, but it is essential. Google has said this is essential for being found in searches. Google Business Profiles are based mainly on the location-based identifiers involved with GMB. A business owner simply puts their address and phone number into their Google My Business account, and then suddenly can be found in search results for “CPAs near me.” It is not enough to just list your city and state on your website. Mobile technology has become very exact, and Google is trying to produce the most accurate search results for their customers. Your GMB listing should include the services that you offer. Be specific because, again, this helps people find your business when they are searching. This listing will also be how people find your website and one of the most important ways that you can start to do review collecting (#8) and monitoring (#9).

2. Create content that is informative to your ideal customer.

You are an expert in your field. Demonstrate that to your potential customers. There are a few principles that you should think about before getting started with content marketing. Content should be useful and add value. You are playing a long game with this, and you want people to follow your business organically. It builds trust with your brand. They are more likely to follow you on social media if they feel like you are producing things they do not want to miss. You do not always need to be aggressive with your sales message here. The 80/20 rule is a great rule to follow for social media. This means that 80% of your content should be informative, while only 20% is directly related to sales. This way, you will develop an organic following that will come to value your content and then convert to customers over time.

3. Decide the content topics that you want to create.

There are many methods for keyword research, but you are looking for quick and free. Go to Youtube.com and begin typing in a topic that you are considering creating content. Do not push enter, but rather let Youtube show you their suggestions. You can do this on Google as well, but Youtube is where people are going to learn. This process will give you a pretty good idea about what people are searching for when trying to learn about things like “small business taxes.” Video may not be your medium, and this ok. Pick a medium that works for you. If you are a writer, crank out a blog or article on the topic. If you can’t get enough of podcasts , those are awesome too. Search engines are amazing, and they can search through many types of media. You must find something that works for you, your business, and your audience.

4. Put your content where your ideal customer is paying attention to it.

Do you want to work with business owners? Check out LinkedIn. Do you want to work with individuals who are planning for retirement? Facebook might be your place since so many people over the age of 35 prefer it . Are you interested in financial coaching and want to build up a following for videos that you are producing? You should add Instagram and Youtube to your list as well. Put your content where you find your audience.

5. LinkedIn Marketing is important for accounting and bookkeeping marketing.

LinkedIn deserves its own section. People are using LinkedIn for self-promotion, finding employment, finding employees, networking, and learning more about topics that relate to their business. Be there. Be there to show your network that you know about accounting and you are willing to work with them.

6. Create and optimize a website that gets the right people to contact you for your services.

It’s no longer enough just to have a website. If you just want a website , don’t pay for one. Create a free Google Business page. This is probably fine if you have a steady flow of customers, and you don’t need people to find you online.

However, if you want people to find you online, you will need to think about the mechanics of your website. This is where knowledge of SEO comes into play (see number #13). Optimize your website for mobile. In fact, by 2025 72% of people will only use smartphones to surf the web.

7. Put your services on your website.

It is not enough to simply say that you do “accounting” or “bookkeeping.” Think about each skill that you have and turn them into products. Break your skills down into pieces that you can sell. It could mean Quickbooks training, budgeting, forecasting, consulting, taxes, tax planning, audits, payroll, advising, or even a retainer fee. It will help potential clients understand what you specialize in and do, but this also helps search engines find you easier. You are creating more possible search terms for your website, which will help your SEO in the long run.

8. Start collecting reviews.

If you are following these steps, then you have created infrastructure to build an online reputation. So now it is time to start collecting reviews. These are so important if you hope to gain customers that are not referred to you. Your Google My Business page is the number one place you should direct people to leave reviews. Google Search is where potential customers are going when they are actively ready to buy. This is the place in the customer journey where reviews are the most important. Social media reviews are good too, but often only get discovered by your network. LinkedIn is also suitable for reviews because you are marketing yourself and your services. Facebook is good if you are marketing your services to individuals and small businesses. Encourage your customers to leave reviews. People understand how critical reviews are for small businesses and are usually happy to do so. Showcase these reviews on your new website and social channels. Be proud of these because you’ve earned them!

9. Don’t forget to monitor reviews.

Review monitoring is simply responding to reviews. Respond to good reviews and bad reviews. Show you are paying attention. This will also allow you to clarify issues that come up in bad reviews.

10. Start email marketing.

Most business owners regret starting email marketing too late. Start list-building early-- start collecting emails now. We have a guide that goes more in-depth into this process. Showcase the informative and valuable content that you have been producing. This is a great way to stay connected to past, present, and future clients.

11. Promote specials.

Tell people about specials and promotions that you have going on. Many accounting professionals want to fill their schedules before tax season gets too crazy. Others might want to stir up more business in a slow month. Promote your specials. At this point, you have ways to do this. Create a page on your website describing the promotion, special, or package. Then post about it on your social media channels and newsletters.

12. Invest in paid ads.

We recommend Google Search Ads here. Check out our reasons why here . Google PPC ads are great because you are showing up exactly when and where people are searching for your services. Facebook ads are also suitable if you are on a tighter budget, but these are more effective for branding and name recognition. So you might not see a high measurable return.

13. Keep working on SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

You might not have realized that you were working on SEO yet, but you have been. The second you launched your website, Google started keeping tabs on your website. Every time you update your website with relevant information you are gaining ground with your SEO. Your SEO improves when traffic comes to your website and spends time reading and using your content. You will not notice changes overnight. It is a long game. But a few months later, you might see that your business is ranking higher and higher for your desired keywords. There is no quick and easy way to improve SEO, and it is hard work. But it is an investment that will hopefully allow your business to get organic traffic. It’s just as important to keep building relevant content and consistently updating your website, so search engines like Google and Bing decide it is a good and relevant website.

14. Consider creating a FAQ page.

Voice search is on the rise, which means that people are phrasing their searches as questions rather than topics. Start planning for this. It is also an excellent way to build authority.

15. Create a lead magnet.

People are much more comfortable participating in video conferencing than ever before. This is a great way to talk to a group of people at once and show off what you know. It allows you to teach about a topic and integrate some information about specific services that you can provide. A great time to try this out is before tax season because people have accounting and bookkeeping most on their minds.

16. Host a webinar.

People are much more comfortable to participate in video conferencing than ever before. This is a great way to talk to a group of people at once and show off what you know. It allows you to teach about a topic and integrate some information about specific services that you can provide. A great time to try this out is before tax season because that is when people have accounting and bookkeeping most on their mind.

We help financial service providers with their marketing and advertising.

We hope this guide will help you build an accounting empire using digital marketing tactics. We know you are busy with your clients, so consider Crosby Digital Marketing if you need help setting up and running an advertising and marketing plan for your accounting business. Contact us today to learn more about our services .

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On-Page SEO Checklist
Content Marketing Worksheet
Pick a Niche Worksheet
6 Months of Social Media Post Ideas
Google Ads Search Term Starter Kit for Bookkeepers

Make a content marketing plan for 2022!

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Fri, 21 Jan 2022 13:04:17 GMT

2022 is quickly flying by, but it’s not too late to plan your marketing and advertising strategy. Without a strategy, you will be rudderless and unable to track any of your efforts. Get organized and get started today by creating a content marketing plan.

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is the process of creating valuable and relevant content for your target audience and then distributing this content to them. Content marketing should help your ideal customer, and they should engage with the content because it is the right information at the right time.

How can content marketing help your business?

There’s a lot of noise out there. A solid content marketing strategy gets attention because it is practical, relevant, and helpful for your audience. Content marketing can also be distributed in a variety of modes making it flexible for all businesses:

Social media
SEO
Ads
Print
Newsletters
Articles
…and more!

Content marketing reaches customers at all stages of the buyer’s journey.

Awareness Stage

Your customers need to know that they do not need to live with their pain points. Create content that targets these issues and questions.

Consideration Stage

Once your customers know their problem and potential solutions, educate them on the best plan of action. This could be an article for your general contracting business like “8 things to avoid when remodeling your kitchen.”

Closing Stage

You need to demonstrate why you’re the best for the job at the closing stage. Demonstrate your expertise, knowledge, and experience in the industry.

3 Quick Steps to Create a Content Marketing Plan for 2022

If your budget is small, then simply planning out your content marketing strategy and sticking to the plan is a great option to get started. And it’s free!. Here are three quick steps to creating a content marketing plan for 2022.

Step 1: Set a goal for your strategy.

Ask yourself these questions:

How much time can you spend creating content? Do you have time to post weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly? Remember to factor in time for editing and posting.
Where are you going to publish your content? Will it live on your website, are you posting to social media, or are you publishing to third-party sites?
What are your content goals for 2022? Are you trying to get more business, sell products, grow a following, or just make content for fun? Set a goal so your content plan will have a focus.
Who is your audience? Define your audience so you know precisely who you are writing for when you create content.
What type of information does your audience want? This is an extension of #4, but define what your audience’s pain points are and consider what type of information is helpful.
Who will execute the different parts of your content marketing plan? Divide and conquer, and make sure you know who is doing what before starting. If you're a solopreneur, this step is easy; you own every step.

This process is helpful because it helps you to prioritize your goals. It is worthwhile to include the people involved with the process while you set your priorities and expectations.

Step 2: Write down your plan.

If you don’t write down your plan, you probably won't get started. By writing down a solid plan of action, you are far more likely to follow through and achieve your goals.

Maybe you have time to post twice a month. That’s great! There’s no right or wrong way to do this. This is the content plan you are creating around your schedule.

Here's how to make a plan. Open up a Google Doc and type out “January,” “February,” and “March.” We’re only going to focus on the first three months of 2022 for now. Working too far ahead can lead to burnout, so start small. If three months sounds too intense, just start with January. Since you’ll be doing two pieces of content for January, you need to develop two topics for this month. Take some time and think about the topic. Once you’ve selected your two topics, write them down under January. Now do the same for February and March. At this point, you should have six topics listed on the Google Doc.

Step 3: Schedule your writing and posting.

Now that you have your topics ready, schedule due dates for each post. Since you’re posting two blogs in January, schedule the first post to go live on Monday, January 17th, and the second to go live on Monday, January 31st. I generally try to post on the same day of the week but feel free to find a schedule that works for you. Now work backward from each due date to see when to start writing each post. Always account for research, outlining, edits, and rewrites. This might take some trial and error if you're just getting started, but you'll quickly realize how long it takes to create and publish your content. Finally, schedule when and how you will post your work. Will you schedule your posts earlier in the month or post them manually on the due date?

Now that you have a plan in place, 2022 will become the starting point for your content marketing journey. By this time next year, you'll probably see a nice boost in traffic to your website.

If you are blogging for your business, remember to add Google Analytics tracking to your site. You can review the traffic coming to your new posts and track your progress throughout the year.

Get started content marketing with an experienced agency.

A lot of time and energy goes into creating content, but planning will make the process easier. Remember to set a goal, write down your plan, then schedule your content marketing plan.

Content marketing doesn’t just end at posting to your blog. It’s where content creation becomes content marketing. We can get your business’s message to more people.

If you are looking for a trusted content marketing company, Crosby Digital Marketing can help develop a solid content marketing strategy for your business. Contact us today.

SEO for Medical Practices: How to show up for your patients on Google

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 12:37:10 GMT

Stop relying solely on referrals. 63% of your potential customers will choose a provider because of a strong online presence . There are strategies to rise to the top of Google search results in your service area. We’ll walk you through the steps of Medical SEO below so that you can capture better traffic and gain more patients in 2022.

What is Medical SEO or Dental SEO?

Medical SEO (search engine optimization) is the set of strategies that marketers employ to rank higher on search engines. Medical and Dental SEO revolves around strategies unique to healthcare providers.

Why should your medical practice invest in Medical SEO?

Think about your experience using Google. You’re more than likely only clicking on the first three results that come up, and you rarely go to the second page of search results. This is typical behavior, which is why websites that rank higher receive more traffic (and appointments). SEO is worth the investment because of:

Increased organic traffic on your website
Increased number of patients
More phone calls
More appointments each month
Less reliance on paid ads
Increase in reviews

Should I use SEO or PPC Google Ads for my medical practice?

It depends. PPC ads will give you an instant position high up on Google search rankings, but these ad clicks can add up depending on your specialty and location.

A well-implemented SEO strategy does not happen overnight like setting up a Google Ad campaign, but the results can be more worthwhile. Over time, you can climb the rankings with the right strategy without paying for your position like a Google Ad.

Typically, we recommend both to our clients because Google Ads are fast, but SEO’s organic results are more worthwhile.

How do you get to the top of Google for Nashville, TN, using Medical SEO?

Google’s algorithm evaluates hundreds of attributes when ranking websites. Websites that rank higher are typically doing a combination of the strategies below.

Build a fast, secure, and mobile-friendly website

Google wants to keep its customers happy. So make sure your site satisfies all three of their needs. Besides, this is a sign of reliability and security that all medical providers need to maintain their reputation.

Optimize your website for SEO with title tags and meta descriptions

This one might require further reading. Read more from us here .

Connect your businesses to a Google Business (GMB) profile

When a potential patient is looking for a healthcare provider, they may type in the [healthcare need] near me. For example, this may mean “internist near me.” Google’s My Business listings will connect the closest providers to the customer’s location. So you must be set up to start getting these searches. It’s also the place where you will collect Google Reviews.

Get more reviews

Reviews give you legitimacy, and potential patients researching you online read reviews. In fact, 60% of people who take to Google cite reviews as the main thing they examined before choosing a medical provider. Think about the search engine journey here. First, Google users type in something like “shoulder surgery near me.” Typically the map results will show first. Then the users can quickly visually filter the different medical providers by star amounts. You must show up, but your reviews also lead to clicks and calls. There are a few strategies that increase reviews:

Review requests
Review monitoring
Negative review disputes and response

Create quality content that targets keywords that your customers use

We think you should write for people over search engines . So create content that helps out your potential customers. We have over a decade of experience helping medical practices with their keyword strategy. We then take these keywords and implement them into a content marketing strategy.

For targeting local searches, you should also be breaking down the services you provide into separate pages. This will reach more qualified leads. Because your most interested and likely patients are searching for specific services.

Include images, video, and even podcasts optimized for SEO

People are searching for you through traditional means and looking through multimedia. One effective method for content creation is picking a medium that can be multi purposed. Podcast s are perfect for this. You can turn podcasts into articles, audio clips for social media, and even Youtube videos. This variety of content on your site provides tremendous SEO value. You may find a different medium that helps you produce more consistent and high-quality content.

Develop a linking strategy that gives your business offsite authority

A linking strategy can set you apart from your competition, and this process is known as obtaining backlinks. Backlinks tell Google that other sites find your content useful. This boosts your search rankings. Read more about how to get more backlinks to build offsite authority .

Choose a medical SEO marketing specialist that can create and implement a strategy that works.

Stop spending time working on your SEO, and leave it to the experts. Crosby Digital Marketing has over a decade of medical SEO experience. Contact us today to see how we can get your medical practice to rank higher on Google

Benefits of hiring a Google Ads Manager in 2022

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 20:16:42 GMT

Is this post for me?

Do you have an active Google ads account, or are you looking to start running Google ads?
Do you regularly manage, optimize, and review your google ads data?

If you answered yes to question #1 and no to question #2, then you should consider hiring a Google ads manager. This could be a freelancer or an advertising firm that specializes in Google ads.

To effectively run a Google ads account, you or your Google ads manager should regularly review results and optimize your campaigns. This includes updating and testing new ad copy, adding new keywords, adding new negative keywords, reviewing search terms, and about 100 other items that lead to a successful Google ads campaign.

When should I consider hiring a Google Ads manager?

If you are a DIY marketer/business owner, your day is probably full of running your business, trying to sell your services, setting up new marketing activities, and doing 1,000 other things to manage your business. People lose hundreds and thousands of dollars a year by not properly managing a Google ads campaign because ongoing optimization is required for a successful campaign. Here are 2 reasons to consider working with a Google Ads manager:

You Don’t Have Time: When time is scarce, especially for small businesses owners and DIYers, marketing activities are often put on the back burner until they become absolutely necessary. When hiring an ads manager, you are paying for someone to actively work on your campaigns to bring in new leads and save you money by preventing expensive and wasted clicks that may be draining your budget.
Your Skills are Maxed Out: Skill set is another thing to consider when talking about hiring a Google ads manager. You may have hit a plateau as a DIY Google ads manager, which can be frustrating to see your performance stall. By getting an experienced Google ads manager on your team, they will offer a new perspective on your account as well as provide additional skills, and tricks to help you save money in your account and help drive new leads to your business.

How do I pick the right Google Ads manager?

There are a number of things to consider when choosing a Google ads manager. Here are three questions you can ask your potential Google ads managers to see if they are the right fit for your job.

How much do you cost and how do you bill for your services? Some managers bill a percentage of ad budget while others bill a monthly fee.
How often will you review and optimize my campaign? Ongoing optimization is key, so make sure they will be checking in on your account and optimizing regularly.
How often and in what format will you present reports to me? A good manager will offer full access to your account, so dropping in to take a look at your campaigns shouldn’t be an issue. But receiving a regular report of work being done and account data is a must have so that you will have a good idea of how your account is performing.
Do you specialize in my industry or a similar industry? A good Google Ads manager is an incredibly smart person who can figure things out quickly. But it’s a good idea to see if the manager has experience in your industry, or at least working with clients similar to your industry.

These simple questions will give you a base knowledge of the Google ads manager to see if they are the right fit for your job. There are obviously a lot more questions you can ask, but these should be at the top of the list.

What are some red flags to look for in a Google Ads manager?

Similar to hiring anyone to work on a project, there are some red flags to look for.

Does the manager give you full access to your campaign, or do you only get to see some of the data on your monthly reports? If the Google ads manager does not give you full access to your campaign, this is a red flag. You are paying for a service, so demand full access to your account data. One way to keep everyone on the same page is to give the manager access to your account. That way you have control over who has access to the account, and you have the ability to see all of the data as needed.
Are they spending your full budget each month, or are they coming up short? This goes hand-in-hand with the previous question. With full access to your account, you will be able to see exactly how much money the whole campaign is spending on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Without full access to the account, and only seeing a monthly report, you would have no idea how much the manager is actually charging you for their services versus how much they are spending on the account.
Do they place vanity metrics such as clicks and impressions on a pedestal, or are they focused on lead generation? Managers who focus on vanity metrics such as clicks and impressions do not have your best interest in mind. If they are not focused heavily on lead generation, calls, contact form submissions, and anything that will make you money, this is a red flag. Make sure that you make your intentions known when speaking with the Google Ads manager, and make your goals known up front.
Do they charge a massive set up fee and a low monthly fee? Google ads campaigns can provide quick results, but successful Google ads campaigns require ongoing time and attention. If the prospective Google ads manager is charging a high upfront cost and a low monthly fee, then they will probably not give your account the ongoing attention it deserves. Many companies simply dump a huge list of keywords into your ad groups, setup a few ads, and then move on. This is not always the case, but make sure that you are clear with the Google ads manager that you expect ongoing attention to your account and campaigns. Any person with base knowledge of Google ads can get you clicks and impressions in a very short amount of time, but only quality Google ads managers will be able to build you a solid campaign that will drive quality leads to your business. As with most things in life, you pay for what you get.

Should I hire a large advertising firm or a freelancer/small ad firm?

There are a lot of good Google Ads managers in the world. Some work for large advertising firms and others for small firms or freelancers. I generally say it’s a personal choice as to who you work with, but hopefully this section will give you an idea of how different companies operate.

As someone who has worked for both firms and as a freelancer, I obviously have an opinion on this matter, but I will do my best to offer facts and not opinion.

Larger Firms

Number of people working on your account:

If you like the idea of having a team working on your account, then a larger firm could be for you. But keep in mind that larger firms often have a higher turnover of both employees and clients. Larger firms often hire entry level employees and do on-the-job training. That means your campaign could be a test run for their new staff hires.

Number of clients:

Larger firms generally work with more clients, meaning the faster they setup and get your campaign running, the faster they can get to the next client.

Cost:

There is often higher overhead involved with a larger firm because of the team aspect of sales reps making commission and account managers working on your account.

Freelancers and Smaller Firms

Number of people working on your account:

The freelancer or your ad contact is often the person doing the actual work in your account on a regular basis. They can give you a lot of information about ways to improve and optimize your account moving forward. Freelancers are often in the weeds of the campaign and may not have as quick a response time as companies with dedicated account managers.

Number of clients:

Freelancers and small firms often work with a smaller number of clients and provide more white glove services. This could include personal reporting and more time for calls and questions about the account.

Cost:

Freelancers and small firms have the ability to keep management costs and overhead low because they are the ones doing the work as well as communicating with you.

Are you ready to hire a Google Ads manager? Or maybe you’d just like to discuss how to optimize your campaign? If you’re ready to take the next step into the Google Ads world, please consider Crosby Digital Marketing. Crosby Digital Marketing has 6 years of experience managing Google Ads campaigns across multiple industries, such as healthcare, attorneys, realtors, and service industries such as painters, roofers, and moving companies.

We would love to speak to you more about your campaign and your overall advertising goals to see how we can help grow your business and increase your revenue. We take great pride in the work we do and always strive to help increase our clients’ revenue. Please reach out to learn more about our services or visit our Google Ads service page to learn more about pricing.

Facebook Ads Guide for Financial Services Companies

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 19:40:40 GMT

Are you looking for new ways to promote your business online as we head into 2022? If you’ve never used Facebook to promote your financial services business , you’re in for a treat. Facebook is the most popular social network with close to 2 billion daily active users. So if you’re looking for new customers, Facebook is the place to be. By running a quality Facebook Ads campaign, you can promote your business where potential customers are spending their time.

Crosby Digital Marketing helps financial service businesses build and manage Facebook Ads campaigns that put your business in front of more prospective customers.

Facebook Ads is a Tool for Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Financial Planning Businesses

The best part about Facebook Ads is that small financial firms can compete with national companies. This is a game-changer for local companies who previously didn’t have the budget or reach to compete.

Facebook Ads works for small and large businesses alike and allows small businesses a seat at the table.

Below is a list of 10 tactics you can use to set up and manage a competitive Facebook Ads account.

1. Define a Goal for Your Facebook Ads Campaign

The first step in starting any advertising campaign is to define your goals. Start by asking yourself these questions:

What service are you trying to sell?
Who is your customer? (i.e. Who is your target audience?)
How much money do you have to spend each month?
How much is a new lead worth to you?
What has worked in the past? What hasn’t worked?
Do you have business operations in place to manage the new business? (i.e. Will someone answer the phone when the leads start to roll in?)

Any Facebook advertising manager should be asking these questions before launching a new campaign. You have to know what you’re selling, how much you can spend, and how you will handle new leads or your campaign will lack focus and execution.

2. Create Quality Ads

Facebook is a visual place. People love pictures and videos. Therefore your Facebook ad campaign should include visually-appealing ads. If you have a high-quality business video, that’s a great place to start when running Facebook Ads because you can simply upload the video to see if it fits into Facebook’s parameters. You can view Facebook’s advertising guidelines here .

If you don’t have a video, high-quality and relevant images are also a great way to get noticed. I’m sure most people who surf the Facebook feed regularly can pick out ads from organic content easily. That’s because most ads are boring and basic. Make sure you use high-quality images with colors or imagery that will stand out on the page.

You will also need to come up with headlines and descriptions for each of your ads. Facebook surfers will notice the image first and then the headline second, so make sure the headline is relevant, catchy, and describes exactly what you’re trying to accomplish. Don’t assume people know what your goal is; tell them quickly. Facebook also lets you put text on your images, so creating a quality ad design can increase your chances of being noticed by searchers.

3. Create a Relevant Webpage or Landing Page

Once someone clicks on your ad, you want to take them to a relevant landing page on your website or a standalone landing page. No matter where you send someone once they’ve clicked your ad, the landing page should be hyper-relevant to the ad they’ve clicked. If your ad was for small business monthly bookkeeping services, don’t push them to your website’s homepage or to a general services page. Create a page that focuses specifically on your small business monthly bookkeeping services. Include details about this service, pricing, list of services offered, testimonials, FAQs, and relevant calls to action.

Just make sure that the landing page is relevant to whatever the ad is promoting. We’ve all clicked an ad or a link online that has directed us to a broken page or a page that isn’t relevant. It’s frustrating. Don’t do that to your customers. Give them as much information as you can on the landing page to help answer their questions and to communicate how you can help them.

4. Set up Calls to Action on your Website

As I mentioned above, calls to action are important with any advertising campaign. In the financial services industry, you’re probably focused on getting calls, so make sure your phone number is prominent and clickable. Another call to action is contact form submissions. You can set up a contact form on your landing page that people can fill out to schedule a call or to request additional information about a service you offer. You can also set up calls to action around marketing tactics, such as signing up for a free webinar or local in-person event you’re hosting.

As I mentioned above, make sure your landing page content and your calls to action are relevant to your goals and to your ad copy. If your goal is to get people to sign up for a webinar, only having a phone number is not ideal. You need a form that says “Sign up for our free webinar.”

No matter what your goals are, remember to create relevant calls to action on your site that prompt people to take action.

5. Set up Your Pixel and Conversion Events

Since we already talked about setting up calls-to-action, it’s likely you will want to track incoming conversions. A conversion is an action someone takes on your website. This can be a phone call or a contact form fill. To track conversions from Facebook, you’ll need to add a Facebook Pixel to your website. A Pixel is a small piece of code you will need to place on your website. When you set up a Facebook business account, you will have access to setting up and installing a pixel on your website. Here is a how-to from Facebook on installing a Facebook Pixel .

Once your Pixel is installed on your website, you can start tracking conversion events on your site, such as a contact form submission. You can do this by tracking whenever someone clicks on the “Send” button or you can set up a thank you page that opens once someone has submitted the contact form. You can simply track how many times someone lands on the thank you page. You can also track phone number clicks on the website. So whenever someone lands on your landing page after clicking your ad, the Facebook Pixel will track whenever someone clicks on the phone number to call you. There is also different call tracking software, such as CallRail, that you can use to record and track calls from different ad campaigns such as your Facebook Ad campaign.

If you will be tracking the return on investment (ROI) of your campaign, which I highly recommend you do, it’s important to set up your Facebook Pixel and start tracking Conversion Events on your site. Tracking your ROI will help you determine if your ad campaign is working or if you need to move your ad budget elsewhere.

6. Use Facebook for Retargeting

Have you ever visited a website and then started seeing ads for that company across the web? That’s called retargeting or remarketing. Facebook Ads allows you to show ads to people on the Facebook platforms who have visited your website or specific pages on your website.

Using retargeting ads allows you to remind people about your services and to consistently put your brand in front of your potential customers.

One of the major benefits of retargeting ads is that you can create campaigns to target customers who have visited specific pages on your website. For example, you can show Quickbooks training Ads to people who have visited your Quickbooks training landing page. We assume someone is interested in a specific service you offer if they’ve visited that page on your website, so we want to get back in front of them with retargeting ads before they forget about you and move to another company.

7. Target Specific Groups of People or a Niche Audience with Facebook Ads

Facebook’s benefit to advertisers is the amount of data they provide for ad targeting. Setting up a broad campaign with broad audience criteria is a way to reach a lot of people, but chances are you have a specific type of customer in mind when you think about your different services. Facebook Ads lets you target small segments of people based on age, gender, and interests. This makes targeting specific groups of people incredibly easy.

There are an infinite number of audience combinations you can use to target a range of audience types.

We help financial service providers with Facebook Ads.

Facebook Ads is a powerful tool when used correctly. The Facebook Ads platform can also be confusing and difficult to navigate if you’ve never used it before. Crosby Digital Marketing works with financial services companies to create effective Facebook Advertising strategies that will help drive new customers to your business online.

$50.00

Purchase the Bookkeeping Marketing Bundle

Comprehensive marketing guide created specifically for bookkeepers, plus 5 tools to help you grow your bookkeeping business.

On-Page SEO Checklist
Content Marketing Worksheet
Pick a Niche Worksheet
6 Months of Social Media Post Ideas
Google Ads Search Term Starter Kit for Bookkeepers

What makes a website HIPAA compliant?

Fri, 17 Dec 2021 16:28:17 GMT

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. With regard to your website, it is vital that all patient information, also knowns as protected health information or PHI, be protected. HIPAA regulations apply to anyone providing treatment, managing payments, working in operations, business associates and subcontractors who have access to PHI. This means your website (and your website provider) should be HIPAA compliant.

What is considered PHI (protected health information)?

Many forms of personal information can fall into this category. Some of these things are medical-related. But many things are not and are often overlooked by those building websites. These things can include:

Name
Address
Birthdate
Email
SSN
Account number
IP Addresses
And many other identifiers

Do I need a HIPAA-compliant website?

You need a HIPAA-compliant website if you deal with PHI (protected health information). This could be direct or indirect contact. HIPAA regulation falls on those that provide treatment, receive payment, work in operations, are business associates, and subcontractors.

Sometimes you might not expect a customer to send this type of information through a website form, but they often do. Once this happens, your company is now responsible for this personal information.

Typical Vulnerable Areas on a Website

First ask yourself, am I receiving or storing PHI? If the answer is “yes.” These are the places that are most vulnerable on your website:

Contact forms that ask about symptoms, medical services, medications or other health-related information
Online patient forms
Live chat
Patient Portals
Patient reviews or testimonials
Any other information-collecting tools on your website

If your business employs these strategies. It is important that you consider HIPAA compliance. Do not overlook this.

Steps to Make Your Website HIPAA Compliant

Purchase and implement an SSL certificate for your website.
Ensure all web forms on your site are encrypted and secure. Jotform has a HIPAA-secure feature that is easy to use and affordable.
Only send emails containing PHI through encrypted email servers.
Partner with web hosting companies that are HIPAA compliant and have processes for protecting PHI.
Sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with third parties that have access to patient PHI.
Ensure that PHI is only accessible to authorized individuals.
Establish processes to delete, backup, and restore PHI as needed.

As a business owner, it is important to align yourself with a digital marketing agency that is knowledgeable in HIPAA compliance. Contact Crosby Digital Marketing today to find out how to make your website HIPAA compliant.

Google Ads Guide for Financial Services Companies

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 13:23:23 GMT

Are you looking for proven ways to find new business online as we head into 2022? If you’ve never used Google Ads to promote your business, you’re in for a treat. People are looking online for your services, and most searches take place on Google. By running a quality Google Ads campaign, you can promote your business where potential customers are looking for your services.

Crosby Digital Marketing helps financial service businesses build and manage Google Ads campaigns that drive high-quality traffic and leads to your website.

Google Ads is a Tool for Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Financial Planning Businesses

The best part about Google Ads is that small financial firms can compete with national companies in the Google search results. This is a game-changer for local companies who previously didn’t have the budget or reach to compete.

I’ve managed accounts for companies spending $20k/month on Google Ads and accounts for companies spending $300/month. They both work when set up and managed properly. Google Ads works for small and large businesses alike and allows small businesses a seat at the table.

Below is a list of 10 tactics you can use to set up and manage a competitive Google Ads account to drive qualified traffic to your website.

1. Define a Goal for Your Google Ads Campaign

Step 1 in starting any marketing or advertising campaign is to define the goals and strategic parameters of your upcoming campaign. Ask yourself these questions:

What service are you trying to sell?
Who is your customer? (i.e., Who is your target audience?)
How much money do you have to spend each month?
How much is a new lead worth to you?
Do you have business operations in place to manage new business? (i.e., Will someone answer the phone when the leads start to roll in?)

Any Google Ads Manager should be asking these questions before launching a new campaign. You have to know what you’re selling, how much you can spend, and how you will handle new leads, or your campaign will lack focus and execution.

2. Define a Campaign Structure and Keyword List for Google Ads

Once you’ve defined your campaign goals, it’s time to build out a campaign structure. I do this by mapping out my ad groups. Within a campaign, ad groups serve as segments of the campaign. You can base segments on different products or services, different audiences, or just groupings of similar keywords and ads.

For example, an accountant may have several services that they can divide into different ad groups: Billing and Accounts Payable, Financial Statements, and Audit Preparation. Break down service lines into ad groups under a broad “accounting services” campaign. I find it easiest to create a spreadsheet with a column for each ad group. Under the accounts payable column, start listing out broad terms that are related to accounts payable, such as “accounts payable,” “accounts payable services,” and “accounts payable company.” Then move on and do the same for the other ad groups. Next, go to Google and search for some of these phrases. Scroll down to the very bottom of the search page, and you’ll see similar searches listed.. These are valuable keywords that people search. Add any relevant terms that stand out to your keyword spreadsheet.

Once you have 5 to 10 keywords for each ad group, you’re ready to add them to your ad groups in the Google Ads system.

When building a keyword list another thing to keep in mind is search intent. Would someone searching for these keywords be looking for your services and ready to pay money for your professional help? It may seem obvious, but don’t add search terms related to DIY or “how to.” The people searching for these aren’t ready to pay for your services yet, so you don’t want to waste your budget on these searches and clicks.

3. Write Quality Ads

Ads are the first thing you see on Google because they’re at the top of the page, and your ads are potentially the first thing your client will notice about your company. Make sure they’re good! Ads should be straightforward. You’ll learn quickly that you only have a small amount of space to sell your services in a Google Ad, and most people only read the main headline before they choose to click or move on. Tell what you offer and how you do it better than your competitors.

Google Ads is moving towards AI-driven campaigns every day. They’re getting rid of standard ads in mid-2022 and moving towards Responsive Search Ads as the primary text ad for search campaigns. You input 15 headlines and four descriptions, and Google Ads pick the best options to show the searchers. Write a good mix of quality headlines to allow Google plenty of variations to display.

4. Update Website and Landing Page Content

Your web page or landing page needs to provide relevant information to the searcher. Google uses your landing page content as a ranking factor for the quality score of your ads. If the page content isn’t relevant to your ads, your quality score will be low, and you’ll pay more than you need to for clicks. Also, if someone lands on your website after clicking on an ad and the landing page isn’t relevant to the ad, they will click the back button and head back to find another company. (This wastes money!) So make sure that your landing page only shows relevant content to what you’re trying to sell and what is relevant to the ads.

You need to provide information about your services, your financial team, showcase reviews, and offer easy ways for potential customers to learn more about you and your firm. There are probably a dozen competitors who provide the same services in your area, so showcase what makes you different.

5. Set up Calls to Action on your Website

Your landing page needs a call to action. If someone lands on your site but doesn’t know how to get more information or can’t find your phone number, you’re wasting money. Depending on your goals (i.e., get more phone calls or get people to fill out a “get a quote” form), you need to set up appropriate calls-to-action. Add a clickable phone number to the page. Add a contact form that allows people to request more information, request a quote, or schedule an appointment. Setting up calls-to-action is the only way you’re going to be able to track conversions once your campaign is up and running. You won’t know if your Google Ads campaign is working without specific calls to action.

6. Set up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads

If your goal is to generate leads, setting up conversion tracking around your call-to-action is necessary. If you don’t know how many conversions are coming from your campaign, you can’t track ROI.

There are hundreds of how-to documents online about setting up conversion tracking around specific goals. My top priorities are around tracking phone calls from ads, phone calls from the website, and on-site form submissions. I use Google Tag Manager to set up conversion tracking, but you can also set up direct tracking using Google Ads conversion tracking code or setting up events in Google Analytics. These options will give you similar data as long as you set them up correctly. I see a lot of confusion around setting up conversions, so please feel free to reach out if you need help integrating a conversion tracking plan for your website. It’s better to set it up correctly on the front end, so you don’t miss any data. Google Ads will also optimize your campaigns according to the type and amount of conversions you receive, so the more data you can pull into the system, the better your campaign quality.

7. Manage the Google Ads Keyword List with Search Terms and Negative Keywords

Once your campaign is up and running, you should start to see data pretty quickly. You’ll see impressions, clicks, and hopefully conversions. But managing your campaign begins with managing what you’re spending on your keywords. Start by going to the keywords tab in Google Ads and sort by cost with the highest cost keywords at the top. You can easily see where your money is going. Now you want to view the search terms for any high-spend keywords. Are the search terms relevant? Are a bunch of competitor names showing up? You can start blocking these low-quality search terms by adding them as negative keywords. This will ensure that you don’t spend money on them in the future.

8. Determine and Set Location Targeting

Setting appropriate location targeting for your Google Ads campaign is essential to 1) align with your campaign goals and 2) track spending across various locations so as not to overspend or underspend. For example, by running ads in a 50-mile radius of a location, you would generally view data within that area. By targeting all of the zip codes within the same 50-mile radius, you would have more granular visibility into each zip code. This includes where most people are converting, where you are spending the most but seeing the least return, and where you can increase or decrease spending to increase the conversion rate.

For more national or global campaigns, you can target states or entire countries while also honing specific areas of interest that you’d like to track more closely, such as large DMAs.

9. Target Specific Groups of People with the Observation Setting

Google Ads offers audience targeting based on a lot of factors. You can target gender, age, household income, or parental status ads. You can also directly target granular audience segments based on interests and habits, what they are actively searching or planning for, or how they’ve interacted with your business in the past.

When starting a new campaign, I recommend setting up specific audience targeting under the “observation” setting. This allows you to see data around specific audience criteria, but this doesn’t limit your reach to only that specific target. You’re looking at the data of the types of people who are interacting with your ads without minimizing your reach to only a select audience. Once you gain more data, you can start using a more active approach by targeting specific audiences who interact with your ads and have a high conversion rate.

This tactic is not for everyone, but it can at least give you an idea of the type of people interacting with your ads and your business. Knowing your audience better is always a goal of marketing and advertising, and using the observation feature is an excellent tool for this.

10. Be Patient with Your Google Ads Campaign

Don’t make rash decisions. Google Ads is a long game. The longer you run your campaign, the better it will get. You can see results really fast with Google Ads, but it can also take time. I’ve had conversions rolling in on the first day of the campaign in some cases. But it’s important to know that Google can take a while to understand your goals before you start seeing conversions roll in. Like I mentioned before, the more data Google has, the more the system will optimize your campaigns to align with your goals.

Keep calm if you don’t see the traffic or conversions you’re hoping for in the first few days or weeks. Hiring a good Google Ads manager can help speed up this process, but there’s generally a bit of time to get your campaign up to speed and running like a well-oiled machine.

We help financial service providers with their Google Ads.

We hope this guide will help you build a financial empire using Google Ads. We know you are busy with your clients, so consider Crosby Digital Marketing if you need help setting up and running an advertising and marketing plan for your financial services business. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

$50.00

Purchase the Bookkeeping Marketing Bundle

Comprehensive marketing guide created specifically for bookkeepers, plus 5 tools to help you grow your bookkeeping business.

On-Page SEO Checklist
Content Marketing Worksheet
Pick a Niche Worksheet
6 Months of Social Media Post Ideas
Google Ads Search Term Starter Kit for Bookkeepers

SEO for Financial Services

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 20:06:45 GMT

Get your Accounting, CPA, or Wealth Management Firm to Rank Higher on Google

You already know that your industry is competitive. You may have recently Googled your industry and location and found that you aren’t ranking on the first page. Don’t get discouraged, and don’t think that ranking first on Google is impossible. It’s possible, and we can help .

What is SEO for financial services?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is the set of practices and techniques that get a page to rank higher on Google. Organic traffic leads to consistent and steady traffic to your website. If you’re targeting the right keywords, you can get qualified leads to your site. Speak directly to your customers without having to use paid ads with a comprehensive SEO strategy.

There’s a lot that goes into a robust SEO strategy. But at the end of the day, it comes down to having a website that is easy to navigate and has content that is useful to your audience. Google’s algorithm aims to give its users the best results.

Why is SEO so important for Accounting and CPA Firms?

Do you show up when someone Googles “accounting near [your location]”? SEO can fix this. Accounting and CPA firms excel when they target specific types of customers, and you can target your ideal client using SEO. Do you help small businesses, self-employed individuals, non-profits, or large organizations? SEO can help you zero in on your niche.

SEO also helps diversify your marketing effort. Financial professionals often rely on referrals. Referrals are great, but you’re missing out on individuals who aren’t connected to you. They are looking for you on Google.

Why does SEO matter for Financial Planners and Wealth Management Firms?

Financial planners and wealth management firms need to build trust before converting a lead into a customer. There are a few ways you can do this online. You need to show your website visitors that you are trustworthy, have a good reputation, and are knowledgeable. SEO can do all three:

Be trustworthy : Showing up in search rankings shows your potential clients that you’re a legitimate business.
Show off your reputation : Reviews show people that others trust you. They also boost your position in local search.
Demonstrate knowledge : Content helps you target more keywords that will lead you to show up on more searches. This is not only great for SEO, but you can also send content to existing clients for education.

Why do you need an SEO specialist for your website?

Your time is valuable, and your expertise matters. Spend time running your business, and stop trying to demystify SEO. We can help.

We have experience helping financial professionals with SEO, website development, marketing, and advertising for financial service providers. Contact us to get started today .

What are the types of SEO that work for financial services?

Before hiring an SEO expert, make sure you get the correct type of SEO for your business. Here’s a breakdown of the different kinds of SEO.

Local SEO

Choose local SEO if your clients choose you based on your location. Local SEO uses tactics that target local keywords alongside industry keywords. An example of this would be “CPA firm in Nashville, TN” or “retirement planner in Brentwood, TN.”

National SEO

A national SEO campaign focuses on a more specific customer at a national level. Keywords can be competitive at this level. With the right strategy and focus, you can see substantial organic traffic in this realm.

B2B and Enterpise SEO

There’s a lot of nuance with B2B marketing and SEO. Make sure you’re targeting the right businesses with your SEO strategy because traffic is typically smaller. We can help you zero in on decision-makers in your preferred industry.

Strategies and Tips for Accountants, Bookkeepers, and Financial Planning SEO

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you get started with SEO for your accounting, bookkeeping, or financial planning business.

Create a Google Business Profile

Formally known as Google My Business (GMB), this lets Google know that you want your site indexed. It’s also a great way to index in things like Google Maps and Reviews for local SEO. This is such a fast and straightforward step, so we always recommend this first.

Add service pages to your website

You probably have a list of services that you offer on your site. But this list needs to be broken down into separate pages. Does this seem redundant and tedious to do? Absolutely. But here’s the thing, your potential customers with the highest intention to buy are searching specific keywords. They want a financial planner specializing in female retirement, accountants who understand freelancers, and bookkeepers who work with non-profits. Get granular and specific.

Explain exactly what you do

This goes with the last tip, but explain exactly what you do in your industry. Not only is it a great opportunity to build trust and credibility, but it leads to the inclusion of more keywords.

Analyze your competitors

Search terms that you want to rank for and see what your competitors are doing. Analyze their website. Why do you think they are ranking high on Google? What are some lessons you can bring to your website?

Use Google Search to begin finding keywords

There are three things you can do right now (for FREE!) that can help you come up with relevant keywords for your website. First type in a broad keyword, like “tax accounting.” Then let the Google Search bar suggest other keywords.

Then click search. You should see a “People also ask” section near the middle of the search page. These are great examples of content you can address on your website. At the bottom of the page, you should also see related searches. These are also examples of similar and relevant keywords that you can include on your site.

Contact Crosby Digital Marketing to get an SEO consult

These strategies are just surface techniques for a more extensive SEO and content marketing strategy. We would love to dive into some of how we can help your financial company with its digital marketing and SEO. Contact us to get a free SEO consult .

$50.00

Purchase the Bookkeeping Marketing Bundle

Comprehensive marketing guide created specifically for bookkeepers, plus 5 tools to help you grow your bookkeeping business.

On-Page SEO Checklist
Content Marketing Worksheet
Pick a Niche Worksheet
6 Months of Social Media Post Ideas
Google Ads Search Term Starter Kit for Bookkeepers

What are local SEO tactics for small businesses in Nashville, TN?

Sun, 05 Dec 2021 13:07:08 GMT

Putting time into local SEO leads to ranking on Google and gaining organic traffic of interested customers. That can mean everything for a local business. But where do you start? We’ll walk you through strategies that will help you do local SEO, and we even threw in some tactics relevant to Nashville, TN.

In Tennessee, 99.4% of businesses are considered small businesses . It can be daunting to stand out in such a crowded field, but we think that local SEO allows you to do just that. Climb the rankings on Google, and capture more attention from people that are looking for you. We can help you today.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO involves tactics that cause local businesses to rank higher for their service area. Not only are companies practicing sound SEO strategies, but they are emphasizing their geographic location to capture search terms that relate to a local community.

Which local SEO strategies should I start with for my small and medium-sized business?

Every industry and niche is different, but we put together a list that we think works for most companies. We know that any marketing effort can feel like a risk because you invest time and money into something new. So start with strategies at the top of the list, and work your way down.

Start with Google My Business

Google rewards its platform first, and GMB offers a lot of features. Google My Business signals to Google that you’re a business and even maps your location (or general area). This helps with searches that include phrases like “near me” and allows you to rank in the map portion of a Google search.

Google My Business also allows you to define your services and products to show up for more search terms. This is a technique you should build into your website, but you can start with this when you fill out your GMB profile.

Encourage customer reviews

Always encourage customer reviews, but especially encourage Google Reviews. Reviews give you credibility to people browsing businesses, but it also causes Google to rank you higher. Google wants to provide reliable search results to its customers, and reviews are a big part of its algorithm.

Make sure your information is accurate in online directories

Information like phone numbers, addresses, and hours should be consistent across the web. Not only is it for your potential customer trying to reach out, but Google will rank you lower for being inconsistent. So do a quick search, and make sure your listings are up to date. Are you listed in so many places that it can feel overwhelming to get the information updated? We can help.

Add service or product pages

We see small businesses miss out on this opportunity all the time. Do you have a single-page website? We love a simple website too, but you may be missing out on a critical keyword strategy. Create separate service or product pages for each service you do. It may feel tedious to break down your website like this, but you will catch more keywords this way. Here’s a good explanation of how to write service pages .

Utilize local community outreach in Nashville, TN

Digital marketers might tell you that local marketing is dead, and the internet is everything. But what if you could do both? Find ways in your local community to advertise online so that you can reach your local audience and get a link to your website. Links to your website from other websites cause Google to rank your site higher because it reads that as a credibility factor.

But how do you do this in Nashville? People often start with the Chamber of Commerce, like Williamson Inc. or the Nashville Chamber . But you could also sponsor a local event and get a link on a website. Edu domain websites can boost your online credibility. So this technique can work great for schools.

Use social media actively

An active social media account can promote your website on active local channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Google also sees the activity and uses it as a sign that local people support your business, which helps your online credibility.

Conduct an on-page SEO audit

An on-page SEO audit looks at the mechanics of your website to closely examine the mechanics of your site. It looks at errors such as broken links, missing pages, meta description/ header mistakes, and more. An on-page SEO audit also examines how smoothly your website runs on mobile or just general page speed. Once you have an on-page SEO audit completed, you have an idea of what to fix on your company’s site. This might be out of your wheelhouse, but we’d love to conduct an on-page SEO audit for your business.

Competitor analysis

Once you complete an on-page SEO audit, it’s a good time to look at what your competitors are doing. Take an inventory of which pages are ranking high for the keywords you’re most interested in winning. What makes these pages successful? Can you create content or web copy that is better than this?

Create useful content with a local focus

Create content that demonstrates your knowledge as a professional and works in your understanding of the local area. This will do a few things for your site:

Build trust with those that read and engage with your content
You will organically target keywords that your local business needs to mention on your website
Signal to Google that your website is updated regularly

The most important thing to do while writing is to write to your customers, not Google. We dive into our philosophy about human-centered content here .

Optimize URLs, Titles, Headers, and Meta Descriptions for SEO

Then make sure your content is optimized for SEO and pay attention to the headers you include. In your content management system, don’t overlook meta descriptions, title tags, and alt image tags. These are key for keeping your on-page SEO healthy.

Update posts and maintain internal linking

As you start to create more and more content, don’t forget to go back and update previous content pieces. Updating articles on your website can breathe new light into them, and you can add new keywords. This is also a great time to link to more recent pieces of content that you have created. Internal linking helps Google crawl your website more effectively and ultimately ranks pages higher.

Add location pages

It may feel unnatural to list off every service in your business. (Honestly, we’re not big fans of keyword stuffing.) But there are some ways around this. You can create pages that summarize your services for the different service areas of your business. This is a great way to get locational keywords on your site.

Create a backlink strategy

A backlink strategy is a method your company has to get links to your website. An ongoing backlink strategy can greatly affect your search engine ranking, and we’d love to talk more about how we help businesses with this.

How can Crosby Digital Marketing help with your local SEO?

We help businesses get found online through Google. We can combine our experience with website development, search engine marketing, and local SEO to help your business get found by more people in Nashville, Franklin, and Brentwood. Contact us today to get started .

Google Ads for Healthcare Providers: Differentiate Your Practice from Your Competitors

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 12:36:13 GMT

If your practice is not on Google these days, you’re probably missing out on a lot of new patients. People love Google because it works. It gives the best results for whatever you’re looking for and has gotten so smart that it now knows a searcher’s intent. Is the searcher looking for a new doctor or just looking for a diy at-home remedy? Based on someone’s search history, Google knows if they’re ready to become your patient. Why is this important? Because with Google Ads, you can show ads to the people who are ready to become a new patient and avoid those looking for DIY and OTC remedies.

Google Ads is a Tool for All Practices

The best part about Google Ads is that single clinic offices can compete with regional or national healthcare organizations in the Google search results by running ads. This is a game changer for local providers.

I’ve been fortunate to work with single-provider clinics spending $300/mo all the way up to national companies with budgets that would make your head spin. And the funny thing is that I’ve seen good results on both ends of the spectrum. Google Ads works for small and large businesses when managed effectively. How do you rise above your competitors on Google Ads? Here are a few tips to compete on any budget.

Differentiate your practice from your competitors on Google Ads

As a healthcare provider, you know that good communication is at the core of a good doctor/patient relationship. This goes for Google Ads and your digital marketing campaign as well. If your ads and website content (i.e. landing pages) can communicate your services and provide an easy way for patients to schedule an appointment, you’ll be well on your way to getting new patients with Google Ads.

Don’t sell. Educate. Quality landing page content is key to a good Google Ads campaign. We’ve all had really bad experiences when clicking on an ad. You might click on an ad for a local business and realize that it’s just a squeeze page, or a basic landing page with a paragraph of text, a contact form, and really nothing else. This might work for ecommerce or trying to get people to sign up for a webinar, but not for health care services. You need to provide information about your services, about specific treatment options, about the provider, showcase reviews, and offer easy ways for potential patients to learn more about you and your practice. There are probably a dozen providers who offer your services in your area, so showcase what makes you different. Educate your patients on what they can expect.

Easy appointment scheduling. Make it easy for your patients to schedule an appointment once they’ve clicked the ad. You would be shocked at how many websites force patients to search for a phone number or for an appointment request form. Don’t make it hard on your patients; make it as easy as possible to schedule an appointment. This will also allow you to more easily track on-site conversion in Google Ads. Setup multiple avenues for patients to schedule an appointment.

Place your phone number prominently on your website, and in multiple locations.
Add an appointment request form to every page, or at least put a visible link to the appointment request page on every page.
Answer the phone. I’ve had clients who run ad campaigns but don’t answer the phone when someone calls. If you don’t answer immediately, or if you make patients go through ridiculous call trees, they’ll simply jump back on Google and go to the next provider.
Respond to requests fast. People use online appointment scheduling because it’s fast and easy…and people hate talking on the phone. Make sure you’re responding to these requests within a reasonable timeframe. Same-day works great; next-day is okay. But the faster you can respond, the less likely a patient will just go find another doctor who responds immediately.

Be patient. Don’t make rash decisions. Google Ads is a long game. You can see results really fast with Google Ads, but it can also take time. I’ve had conversions rolling in on the first day of the campaign in some cases. But it’s important to know that Google can take a while to understand what your goals are before you start seeing conversions roll in. Just keep calm if you don’t see the traffic or conversions you’re hoping for in the first few days or weeks. Hiring a good Google Ads manager can help speed up this process, but there’s generally a bit of time required to get your campaign up to speed and running like a well-oiled machine.

You’d be surprised at how good some practices are at providing healthcare services and how bad those same clinics are at offering a decent patient experience outside of the exam room. A huge percentage of bad reviews in healthcare are related to something other than the actual time spent with the doctor. The same goes for advertising. Most people can set up a general Google Ads campaign, but if the online experience is bad once the ad has been clicked, the searcher will simply click the back button and move on to the next provider in the list.

Hire a Google Ads Manager for Your Practice

I can help create a fantastic Google Ads campaign for your practice, but I can also offer insight into your online experience so that potential patients will want to stay on your site and make an appointment after they’ve clicked your ad.

Schedule a call so we can discuss your practice goals and build you an amazing Google Ads and digital marketing experience that will lead to new patients.

Why is SEO important for small businesses in Nashville, TN?

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 11:54:31 GMT

Have you googled your business lately? How about your competitors’ business? How are you stacking up on the Google search result page? It can be hard to compete in Nashville with so many companies ranking on Google. But it’s not too late. Your business can compete with larger, more established businesses on Google with the right SEO strategy. We’ll break down how we work with our clients to achieve their SEO goals .

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a broad discipline, but the goal of SEO is to improve your website so that it ranks higher on Google. This leads to more people clicking and buying your product or hiring your business.

SEO deals with improving the user experience of your website, content, and even with promoting your website to other parts of the web. There are a lot of tactics that go into good SEO, but the bottom line for a business-- more qualified traffic leads to more sales.

Why do search engines like Google matter for my business?

Because for most businesses, people go to Google when they are ready to purchase from a local business. Think about it, when you were an interested customer, you didn’t browse Facebook. You went straight to Google and searched through local businesses and reviews. You came to Google to make a buying decision, and we see that with search intent data.

What is search intent?

Search intent is the purpose a user has when they search. Some searches are done to gather information like, “What’s the most comfortable running shoe?” But others show that a web user is ready to purchase something, like, “What stores near me carry X running shoe?” As a business, you want to be the first website a potential customer clicks when they search with this intent.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO involves optimizing your website for a particular local region. Local SEO is the path that small and medium-sized businesses should take when creating a website strategy. If your business benefits from “your service/ business near me” searches, then there is a good chance local SEO will help your business.

Why is local SEO good for my small business in Nashville, TN?

When you google your primary service and add the term “near me,” are you ranking well? How are your competitors ranking? If you’re not ranking, you’re missing out on the clicks that your competitors are getting instead. This means you are less likely to get conversions and sales.

Local SEO is an excellent investment for small businesses in Nashville because your customers are online and looking for you. Also, SEO builds over time. This means that if done consistently, you will have a continuous stream of organic traffic that will drive leads to your business.

What matters most for SEO for small businesses?

We cover SEO tactics for small businesses here , but here are a few areas you need to look at to have a well-rounded SEO strategy for small businesses in the Nashville area. All of these SEO areas work together to form a well-rounded SEO strategy.

Website

Your website is the biggest closer in your business. Make sure your website has the right messaging to convert visitors into customers and shows up on search engine result pages (SERPs). We design websites with strategies that will make them rank on Google for the Nashville area (and beyond!).

Content

Content that informs and builds trust with your potential customers is essential for building up your ranking on Google. We write content that ranks on Google , but humans also find it useful and enjoyable to read . (Because both matter!) Find out how we can help with your content strategy .

On-page SEO

On-page SEO tactics mean that you are optimizing each page for Google. We bring our knowledge of SEO to your website development. This includes strategy, development, and ongoing content marketing development . It also helps to organize your website using a service page strategy. Read more about service pages here .

Local SEO

Do you want to rank for your products and services in Nashville? You need to build credibility through things like Google My Business. Review websites in your niche and other major reviews like Google Reviews, Facebook, and Yelp also help boost your local SEO positioning. On-page tactics that are geared towards service areas also contribute to local SEO.

Backlinks

Finally, links on other websites that link to your site are beneficial. These are called backlinks. They signal to Google that other websites trust you and find you credible. Read more about how we can help you with an SEO backlink strategy .

Is SEO or online ads like Google PPC or Facebook Ads better?

It depends on a few different factors, and we’d like to talk more before giving your a definitive answer. But let’s break it down for general small businesses.

SEO will get you organic traffic, but it takes time. Organic traffic is significant because people are coming to your site using an organic search and, depending on their search intent, they need your business. But you need business while you implement and build this organic SEO strategy.

It’s good for businesses to have a strategy that can work relatively fast, like paid ads , and then build up an SEO strategy over time. Put your paid ad dollars into the places where your customers spend the most time. We help businesses with online marketing and ads , too.

Why is SEO so expensive?

Large agencies charge a lot for SEO because they often package their services. The services they offer are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Large agencies will charge more because they employ many different people in their SEO process.

Smaller firms, like Crosby Digital Marketing , offer more agile services. We personalize SEO services to fit your budget. We also have a more hands-on approach because fewer people work with your business. So don’t settle for large agency price tags, and talk to us about how we can help .

How much is just SEO in Nashville, TN?

We offer SEO for businesses that start at $1,000 per month. We’d love to talk to you about how your business can rank higher in Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, and beyond. Check out our local SEO pricing and information.

The Ultimate Website Checklist

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 15:28:26 GMT

If you treat your website like a business card, that’s the wrong approach. Websites should do so much more than give your contact information. Don’t just check off your website as another task, but incorporate it into your customer acquisition process.

We've created a checklist to update your website and to use it as a tool aligned with your marketing strategy.

1. Define your brand and ideal customer

Your website should match your brand and speak to your ideal customer. Are you targeting female entrepreneurs? Make sure your copy speaks to them. Are you looking for more healthcare clients? A more professional look and tone are essential. Define your ideal customer before creating a new website and cater to this audience.

2. Focus on the basics

Before you dwell on the details, get the basics right. Define your service area so you can start building momentum for local SEO. Review your site for any broken images, 404 errors, visual issues on your mobile site, old information, and anything that sticks out to you as out of date or incorrect. And make sure every piece of text is well written.

3. Attract other people besides customers

Your website should work hard for your business. Attracting customers is most business owner’s priority, but your website can also speak to others. As your business grows, you will want to attract the best talent to work for your business, and a website is the first thing prospective recruits will look at. Additionally, there are many networking opportunities that your website can provide with similar or adjacent business owners in your community.

4. Make content that is useful for your audience

Your audience will stay on your website longer and convert into a customer if you create content that is useful to them. We go to Google to learn and find businesses. When your business shows up in the right place and your website visitors stay a while, you are more likely to get a call or email. You’re building trust before the conversation even begins.

5. Say something different

You may be tempted to sound like every other site you see online. Don’t do it. Say something different to your audience. This mindset will attract your ideal client if you have defined this person well. Speak to this preferred group of people with your content, website copy, and even your website’s style.

6. Write your content in easy-to-understand language

Write your content so that people understand it. There are a few reasons for this. First, people need to know what you do and what kind of business you have. They want to hire a friendly expert who will educate them over time. Show them that you can do this on your website.

Second, we think you should always make your content for people, not for search engines . But we would love to help you blend SEO strategy with your knowledge of the financial industry. SEO strategy and human-forward content are not mutually exclusive.

7. Include testimonials

Testimonials build social proof. They show that other people trust you, and then they explain why. Put your testimonials on your home page. Encourage your current customers to leave Google Reviews.

8. Make sure your website is mobile responsive

By 2025, 72% of internet users will only be using their phones to surf the web. It’s a no-brainer. Your website has to be formatted for cellphones.

9. Contacting you should be easy

This also means your phone number needs to be formatted so that a user can click on it and call it. Otherwise, a website visitor will leave your site and find a website that is mobile responsive. It’s also essential to give your website visitors several different ways to contact you. Some people prefer email over the phone, so include a working form on your site.

10. Always have a call to action

Tell your website visitors what to do when they come to your page. If you want them to call you, then tell them that. If you try to get them to fill out an interest form, make sure your website is set up to get the user to this form.

11. Display your expertise

People are hiring you for your experience. Display your expertise and how you will help them solve their problems. You need to be a friendly expert, so show people you are both here.

12. Productize your services

If you notice that your customers keep asking for the same services, productize them. This way, you can make separate pages describing a specific service or package. This also helps customers who are making precise searches on Google. (By the way, these are the most interested customers and likely to buy. We call these high-intent customers.)

13. Make your website easy to find

Make sure people can find your website easily. Add it to Google My Business (GMB). Create listings on high-profile online listings like Google Business Profile, Yelp, and YP.com.

14. Promote your website on social media

Use your network to promote your website. You should be linking to your website on every social media channel you have.

15. Update your website

Here’s where it gets tricky. You have to update your website regularly if you want to grow its search ranking. High-quality content matters, and you have to put in the work. Create a schedule of blogs or articles that would interest your customers, and make the time to do this. YouTube is an excellent medium if you want to make videos. Your content doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to educate and engage your ideal customer.

Landing pages vs. homepages: What’s the difference between a landing page and a homepage?

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:41:11 GMT

There’s been a ton of research and A/B testing put into the effectiveness of landing pages. Even the smallest details, such as button colors , have been thought about when constructing landing pages. We help companies navigate website development , content strategy , Google ads , and landing pages.

What is a landing page?

A landing page is meant to drive a specific action that relates to a lead. Often they are set up to sell a specific product, collect contact information, or target a specific type of customer. Landing pages have one goal, while a homepage typically has many goals.

When do you use a landing page?

There are instances when you want your website visitors to perform a certain action. An example of this is a targeted Google Ads campaign for plumbers. If plumbers click your ad, then you want their website experience to be as personalized as possible. This will lead to higher conversions because your audience will get the exact product or information they searched.

Why do you use a landing page?

Landing pages have a place in your online presence. We’ll walk you through the reasons to use landing pages over just any webpage.

Landing pages have a different goal.

Landing pages have a singular goal. This is different than your homepage. Your homepage is meant to be explored. You are asking your visitors to look around and stay awhile. You’re inviting them to read multiple pages like your about page, service(s) page, and your testimonials. You want people to get to know your brand on the homepage.

Landing pages are not trying to tackle all of these things. But instead, landing pages attack one goal. Landing pages have one call-to-action (CTA) placed in several, convenient places on the page. Landing pages are typically focused on a singular product and even a singular customer type.

Landing pages have different audiences.

Landing pages have a more focused audience. While your homepage caters to many different people visiting your site, your landing page is where targeted leads land. Often a click from social media or an online advertisement leads them to a landing page. You can (and should) be more specific in your messaging.

Landing pages have different navigation.

Your home page will have straightforward navigation because you want your website visitors to explore your full website. This is not the case with landing pages. Landing pages have various buttons, links, and forms. But they all have the purpose: to get a lead through a targeted campaign. Often, your website’s navigation won’t even be present on the landing page.

Homepage vs Landing Page

Homepages do a lot because they encourage your website visitors to get to know you. Your homepage is the first view that website visitors see of your company. They give the essential information: what you do, who you are, and how to contact you. Homepages do all of this while demonstrating your brand. Your homepage is your first impression, and that’s invaluable.

Landing pages are highly targeted to achieve a goal. There are many opportunities to do a singular call to action. A landing page’s minimal distractions lead them to be effective.

Use landing pages when doing targeted Google Ads campaigns.

If your Google Ads aren’t effective, it could be your landing page. We can help.

Are you having trouble distinguishing the difference between landing pages and your home page? At Crosby Digital Marketing, we get companies noticed online. We help create funnels, starting with an optimized Google Ads campaign on a landing page and website that will convert. Contact us today to get started.

This book helped with freelance writing for SaaS companies.

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 01:53:27 GMT

Recently, I read the book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinser. It gives excellent no-nonsense advice about writing non-fiction. Even though the book is from 1976, the book’s core lessons relate well to writing online content.

I want to walk through a few of the lessons I learned from the book and how you can apply the lessons to writing for SaaS businesses.

Write for your audience in a simple to understand way.

“Don’t dialogue with someone you can talk to.”

A big theme in the book is to write simply. Don’t try to overcomplicate your language. This is a good lesson when writing for all types of businesses, but I feel strongly about this in the SaaS field. SaaS companies need to make their software feel effortless to their potential customers. So the best way to do this is to produce web copy and content that feels effortless. Explain the technology, but make sure your customer understands it. Lead them to believe it will make their life easier. As Zinser says, “Don’t dialogue with someone you can talk to.” He means, using the word “talk” is perfectly acceptable. Keep it simple.

Less is more.

“Most first drafts can be cut by 60 percent without losing any information or losing the author’s voice.”

You can remove more than you think, and you don’t have to achieve some magical word count. As online writers, we can get caught up in trying to fulfill a magic formula for SEO. But in reality, Google rewards content that is the most useful. So take out what isn’t necessary, and it will strengthen your message.

Use first-person to demonstrate the humanity in your writing.

“Writing is an intimate transaction between two people, conducted on paper, and it will go well to the extent that it retains its humanity.”

Zinser made it a point to emphasize the first person. He says his students were terrified to use the first person. This goes back to how students can be programmed to write in specific ways. A writer needs to use the right tools for the job. Sometimes it is acceptable to write in the first, second, or third person. But you need to understand your audience.

You need to form a connection with your reader. If you’re acting as a problem solver in the SaaS world, then first-person can help develop a connection with your customer. Zinser explains, “You can take much of the mystery out of science writing by helping the reader to identify with the scientific work being done.” Explain your “why,” and make it personal.

Don’t use jargon.

“Of the 701 words in Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, a marvel of economy in itself, 505 are words of one syllable and 122 are words of two syllables.”

No one wants you to talk over their head. Connect with your audience by reaching them at their level. Zinser hates words like “impact” and “prioritize.” In today’s world, tech companies use a lot of acronyms. Stop. Don’t assume your audience knows, and don’t exclude people by using jargon. You can demonstrate your authority without jargon.

Write short paragraphs to give your readers a break.

“Short paragraphs put air around what you write and make it look inviting, whereas a long chunk of type can discourage a reader from even starting to read.”

William Zinser understood the internet before the internet was even around. If your writing is clutter-free and every word on the page matters, give it some space. White space can be refreshing for your readers. It allows them to feel like they can read a page of text.

It also gives your mind a break to let critical points sink in.

See what I did there?

Don’t worry about the final product, but instead worry about good organization.

“Figure out what you want to do and how you want to do it, and work your way with humanity and integrity to the completed article.”

This can come up a lot when you write for other people. The finished product becomes your central goal. Obviously, a client is paying you for a product. But often, the finished product can change if the concept is ill-conceived.

Instead, work on constructing an outline that provides integrity to the content that you are producing. A well-organized piece of content will be more valuable than a keyword-stuffed article that doesn’t help out the audience.

Write for yourself to develop a style, and the audience will come.

I found this assertion by Zinsser to be more of a hot take in the freelance world. But I agree with it. You need to develop your style to bring additional value to your customers. This comes from writing content that you would actually want to read. Don’t write what you think your client wants, but rather trust that your client hired you because they trust your expertise and voice.

Are you still struggling with developing a style? I can help. I help companies produce engaging content that their audience wants to read. Check out more about the content writing services I offer.

Here's a checklist for accounting and bookkeeping websites

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 12:16:50 GMT

Accountants and bookkeepers treat their websites like business cards. That’s the wrong approach. Websites should do so much more than give your contact information. Don’t just check off your website as another task, but incorporate it into your customer acquisition process.

We help bookkeepers, accountants, and financial planners in Franklin, TN, and nationwide, develop websites that convert prospects into customers. Contact us today to get started.

1. Define your brand and ideal customer

2. Focus on the basics

Before you dwell on the details, get the basics right. Define your service area so you can start building momentum for local SEO. Because actual customers are readers, make sure every piece of text is well written. While you’re at it, fix all broken links.

3. Attract other people besides customers

4. Make content that is useful for your audience

Your audience will stay on your website longer and convert into a customer if they consume content that is useful to them. We go to Google to learn and find businesses. When your business shows up in the right place and your website visitors stay a while, you are more likely to get a call or email. You’re building trust before the conversation even begins.

5. Say something different

You may be tempted to sound like every financial professional that you see online. Don’t do it. Say something different to your audience. This mindset will attract your ideal client if you have defined this person well. Speak to this preferred group of people with your content, website copy, and even your website’s style.

6. Write your content in easy-to-understand language

Write your content so that people understand it. There are a few reasons for this. First, people need to know how you are handling their money. So they want to hire a friendly expert who will educate them over time. Show them that you can do this on your website.

7. Include testimonials

Testimonials build social proof. They show that other people trust you, and then they explain why. Put your testimonials on your home page. Encourage your current customers to leave Google Reviews.

8. Make sure your website is mobile responsive

By 2025, 72% of internet users will only be using their phones to surf the web. It’s a no-brainer. Your website has to be formatted for cellphones.

9. Contacting you should be easy

10. Always have a call to action

11. Display your expertise

People are hiring you for your experience. Display your expertise on an “about me” page. Financial professionals need to be friendly experts, so show people you are both here.

12. Productize your services

13. Make your website easy to find

Make sure people can find your website easily. Add it to Google My Business (GMB). Submit it to local groups. If you put work into your site, show it off.

14. Promote your website on social media

Use your network to promote your website. You should be linking to your website on every social media channel you have. But you should definitely be on LinkedIn and Facebook as a local CPA, bookkeeper, or financial planner.

15. Update your website

Here’s where it gets tricky. You have to update your website regularly if you want to grow its search ranking. High-quality content matters, and you have to put in the work. Create a schedule of blogs or articles that would interest your customers and make the time to do this. YouTube is an excellent medium if you want to make videos. Your content doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to speak to your ideal customer.

We can help with your CPA, bookkeeping, or financial planner website

We help financial professionals with their website, web copy, content, and SEO every day. We can’t wait to work with you. Contact us to get started.

$50.00

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Comprehensive marketing guide created specifically for bookkeepers, plus 5 tools to help you grow your bookkeeping business.

On-Page SEO Checklist
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6 Months of Social Media Post Ideas
Google Ads Search Term Starter Kit for Bookkeepers

SEO Keyword Strategy for SaaS Websites

Fri, 30 Jul 2021 11:41:35 GMT

Ever wonder why certain SaaS (Software as a Service) companies are everywhere on Google? It seems like they have a piece of content for everything. What these companies are doing is trying to reach a particular customer in a variety of ways. They know how to reach marketing managers, accountants, realtors, or any other professional they're trying to target.

A good SEO strategy provides value to its potential companies. That shouldn’t be hard for a SaaS company to accomplish. SaaS companies make money by being continuously helpful. So why not develop an SEO strategy that reinforces that ideal?

Crosby Digital Marketing helps SaaS companies grow their online presence with SEO . Contact us today to get started .

What is SaaS SEO?

SaaS companies desire to increase traffic organically by ranking on searches their customers are performing.

What makes SEO for SaaS companies different is that often your customers do not know you exist yet. Often you need to target keywords that are solution-oriented.

Why do you need an SEO strategy for your SaaS company?

An SEO strategy brings potential customers to your site organically. These leads are looking for solutions to their problems, and with the proper strategy, your company can offer the answers they need higher up on Google’s search results page (SERP).

SEO for SaaS is about solving problems

When formulating a strategy for your SaaS website, most people do not know you exist. They are probably not searching for your company directly. That’s ok. They can still find you.

People are turning to Google for questions that improve their life, work, and business. Your software does amazing things for the right people. You just need to target the keywords that help solve people’s problems.

Perform keyword research that fits into your funnel

Marketers love to talk about funnels. But keyword research and SEO are successful when used with a funnel strategy. Your prospects come to your site at different stages of the buyer’s journey.

We’ll walk you through each part of the funnel and then break down how you should think about keywords at each stage.

Top of the funnel keywords for SaaS websites

At the top of the funnel, you will have a lot of people searching for broad knowledge. They may be searching for general how-tos in their industry. The key at this level is to get people’s attention in your market, so they pursue more information.

For example, JotForm is a company that specializes in website forms. They can capture people at the top of the funnel by writing content about what it requires to have a HIPPA compliant website. This would be one of the first things a person putting together a healthcare website would search if they have limited knowledge.

People at the top of the funnel don’t yet know about your company. They are just beginning to discover that they have a problem that needs a solution. You will see a high volume of searches and traffic but a lower conversion rate. This is because you are working on awareness at this stage.

Your most qualified leads will keep digging deeper in their Google searches, and with the right strategy, you should be guiding them through your funnel.

Middle of the funnel keywords for SaaS websites

In the middle of your funnel, you will find people who are aware of their own problems and are now researching solutions.

So, if we go back to the JotForm example, you may get people who know their website forms are not HIPAA compliant at this level of the funnel. They are now conducting searches like, “How do I make my website forms HIPAA compliant?” They have identified their problem and are now seeking a solution.

You are now targeting people who have the intent to purchase your software. So you need to be targeting keywords that relate to your features and the solutions your technology offers.

Bottom of the funnel keywords for SaaS Websites

You have now found the most focused prospects at the bottom of your funnel. There will be even fewer of these people conducting searches for keywords at the bottom of your funnel, but they are the most likely to buy. Your conversion rate will be the highest at this level.

This is the place where people are searching for things like:

What’s the price of XYZ?
Is premium XYZ worth it?
XYZ vs. ABC software

Show up for these searches when people are researching your SaaS company. These are the people who are most likely going to purchase your product.

Edit your keyword lists for intent to refine your strategy

There are a lot of different types of SEO software that can help you create keyword lists. But they are only as good as the professional that is operating it. An SEO expert will refine keyword lists based on customer intent and categorize the keyword’s place in the funnel.

Once the software creates a keyword list, it’s essential to look closely at the list. Do people who search each keyword intend to buy your product, or at least one day can be convinced to buy your product? If not, you should drop the keyword.

There also has to be some categorization for each keyword that you decide to target to write content that converts .

Crosby Digital Marketing helps SaaS companies with SEO for their websites

We help companies define their SEO strategy and develop content that ranks. We’d love to help you with your SEO strategy today. We’re located in Franklin, TN. We help companies in Nashville and throughout the country with their SEO needs.

How Do You Write a Service Page for Your Small Business?

Mon, 26 Jul 2021 11:39:54 GMT

We walked you through the reasons to have a service page , and now you’re ready to get started. Great! There are a few components to make sure you include. Think of this as your checklist. Service pages will vary across industries, but make sure you put the most critical parts first. This would be the information you want your future customers to see. (Often, we pay less attention as we scroll down a page.)

Crosby Digital Marketing is a advertising and marketing company based in Nashville, TN. We specialize in content marketing and advertising. We make sure your message is on point, and then we get your message to the right people. We can help with your website , SEO , and content writing .

11 steps to a service page that converts

Let’s walk through the steps on how to write service pages, so they build trust and convert.

1. Put all of your services on different pages

It helps with SEO. People are often searching for services separately.

2. Pick the right title

I did a deep dive into optimizing titles and headers , so I will expand a little about service page titles. Keep your titles simple, but include the keyword(s) you are targeting for the particular service.

There is room in places like your blog or social media to get creative, but the service pages on your website should be upfront. You want people to know exactly what you do on this page. Be clear and concise.

3. Have SEO in mind when you research keywords

Often people find service pages from searching phrases like “tax accountant near me.” As a result, your service page will often get clicked on before your homepage. At this stage, people are just scanning one service page to determine if you are the right fit for them.

4. Write for your ideal customer

As you get to know your business, there should be an ideal customer that comes to mind when you write your website copy. Write for them. Keep this in mind as you complete the steps below.

5. Provide visuals when appropriate

Authentic images mean more. Don’t be embarrassed by your photography skills. I want to see what your actual gym looks like before I work out there. The stock image does not make me feel more comfortable. Instead, include images that show your business and help you tell a story.

Don’t have an appropriate image to include? That’s ok. No photos on a page will make it load faster.

6. Talk about your process

How you do it is what makes your service offerings unique. So explain your process. You can even describe your qualifications (it is how you formed your approach). You are trying to sell yourself here.

7. Focus on benefits

But don’t make it all about you. Instead, keep your customer as the focus. Make sure you focus on the benefits they receive when they hire you.

8. Be up-front about prices

This can be hard because, as service professionals, a lot of what we do is custom. But if you can, post your prices. It helps to encourage qualified leads to contact you faster.

9. Include testimonials

Social proof is everything. You are trying to establish trust. Put reviews and testimonials near the bottom before a call to action.

10. Link to other relevant pages

Keep people on your site longer and help build trust. If you’re making relevant content, link to it. If there’s an applicable service, link to it. Keep people on your site longer so they reach out to you. It also shows off your knowledge and expertise.

Linking to other pages can also help with SEO . The easier it is for bots (and humans) to navigate through your site, the more likely you are to rank higher.

11. Include a compelling call to action (CTA)

Most pages need several CTAs, but make sure you have a clear and central CTA. What do you want a website visitor to do once they visited your website? Write the directions: Call us today. Fill out the form for a quote. Email us.

Keep it simple, and give your customers options. Include a CTA near the top and bottom of your service page.

Don’t know where to start? Crosby Digital Marketing can help.

Are you stumped on your service pages? Maybe you’re just short on time. We can help. Crosby Digital Marketing helps businesses articulate their message, and we create content that promotes your marketing goals. Contact us today .

What is a service page, and how does it affect SEO?

Fri, 09 Jul 2021 03:46:26 GMT

Are you writing separate service or product pages for your website? Often we don’t see businesses doing this, but instead, they list out their products or services on their home page or some type of services page. I’m going to walk you through why this isn’t helping your site or your SEO.

At Crosby Digital Marketing, we help businesses in Franklin, TN, develop a content strategy. Companies of all sizes can benefit from taking a good look at their websites to determine how customers find them and enhance these features. Contact us today about websites , content writing , and SEO . We’d love to chat.

What is a service or product page?

In most industries, you should be able to divide up your offerings into different services or products. Each service or product should have its own page. Service pages should define what services you offer, and they should explain why your business should be the one to perform the service. What your business is and does should never be a mystery.

What makes a service page different from a product page?

Business owners include service and product pages on their websites for similar reasons, but how you write them will be different. What's the most significant difference between a product and service? You can’t return a service.

So this means there is more hesitancy from potential customers. You must build trust with your audience. There is a more significant impact on your customer if things don’t go well, and they are going to be more reluctant to hire anyone to perform a service.

Why do you need service pages on your website?

You need separate service pages on your website because people are searching for your services, and very rarely are they searching for your company specifically. You need to be where your customers are when they are searching for you. That is the whole point of SEO .

Customers searching for your business on search engines like Google are very likely to buy from you. 88% of local searches for business results in a call or a visit to a business within 24 hours. Make sure you’re in that search.

Why can’t you just list your services on your homepage?

We see this one a lot. It has to do with how search engines crawl your site. Sites like Google are looking at your site’s structure. This includes links, menus, and headers. It helps search engines know what’s on your site and helps get the right people to your site. By making different service or product pages, you are telling search engines all of the significant components of your site. Besides, many of your customers will find individual service pages before they see your homepage.

How do service pages help with SEO?

Having service pages on your website ensures that you have better placement when a customer does a local search for the services you offer. You want to start building up your website’s ranking ability today. One of the best ways to do that is to create separate service pages.

We can help with your content strategy, and we can start today.

Let’s face it. Most business owners wish they had started their content marketing strategy earlier. Don’t be in that boat. We can work on your website’s content and create a strategy to help your rise in the search rankings. Contact us today .

Small Business SEO: Your Day 1 Guide to local SEO for your website

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 10:30:02 GMT

There’s so much to think about when you are first starting your business. Most business owners know they need a website, but how do you get traffic to that site?

We’ll walk you through some of the strategies you can do to build SEO momentum with your website. This SEO guide is definitely not exhaustive, but it gives you an idea of where to start.

SEO is worth investing in, and we think you should start working on your search engine ranking today. Crosby Digital Marketing helps small businesses rank higher with Google using an approach that relies on content strategy and quality web design. Contact us today so we can take your local SEO to the next level.

Why local SEO matters for your small business

There’s a lot of noise in the digital marketing space. Everyone thinks their tool is the best, and it can be very confusing as a consumer. Where do you start if you are limited in resources and time as a small business owner?

The truth is, priorities are based on opinions. To form priorities in your business, you have to understand your options.

SEO can help your business, and we think it is a great strategy. But you won’t see results overnight. Don’t be fooled by the noise out there saying otherwise.

It takes time to build SEO. In our experience, we see the most success balancing paid ads with SEO. Initially, you will invest more in PPC and social media ads while your SEO gains traction. Paid ads will get people to your site while this is happening.

Once you start gaining traction with your SEO efforts, you can spend less on paid ads. The reason for this is your website will rank higher on Google, and you will get more organic traffic.

Difference between on-page SEO and off-page SEO

On-page SEO is all of the strategies that you can employ on your site to help it climb search result lists. This could be the words on the page or the technology you use to build your website. You’re trying to convey to Google that your website is high-quality, relevant, and up-to-date.

Off-page SEO has to do with factors that are off your page that help it rank higher on search engines. Off-page SEO helps search engines understand how relevant you are to humans based on the connections your website has to others.

On-page SEO tactics for the small business owner

If you’re here reading about SEO, then you most likely have run into how technical and confusing it can be. But there are things that you can do with little technical experience. It will help you get started before your reach out to a professional for more help.

Write unique and high-quality content

We think content is king, and so does Google . They want to give you the most valuable and relevant results on their SERP, so you keep using their service. Google is constantly improving its technology and algorithm to accomplish this goal.

What does that mean for you? Write content that your customers want to read. Don’t worry about Google. If it’s unique and high-quality content, then Google will rank it higher over time. Their technology is that good.

Create service pages

Where do you start when you write content? My first advice is always to look at the products and services you offer. Make a list. Break each product and service down into smaller pieces. Write a service or product page for each thing you do as a local business.

There are so many businesses with one-page websites, but this is not good for your overall SEO strategy. Google likes to see separate pages that are named accurately for the content that they provide.

On each service page, explain what the service is and how you perform the service. It may feel redundant, but you are building out keywords for people searching for these services nearby. Also, be sure to include location words on these service pages to help with searches like “realtors in Franklin, TN.”

Create content like blogs and video too

Have a plan to create a steady flow of content for your website. Set a monthly plan to create a certain amount each month. Steady content signals to Google that you have a relevant website and it is current.

Blogs are great because they help you reinforce keywords that you are trying to rank for on Google. But also consider video. People love to see authentic views of your business, and they keep people on your site longer, which also factors into you ranking higher on SERP.

Then you can post all of this fresh content on your social channels. (We’ll talk about this a little more below.)

Contact page

You can optimized contact pages for SEO. If you’re working on a typical website builder, tell the website builder to make sure you label a specific page as a “contact page.” This sets your schema to “Contact Page” and communicates it to Google.

Then do the other most important thing. Repeat after me: Make sure my company’s contact page works on mobile. Say it again and again.

Your customers and Google care about website experience. Make sure your contact page has all relevant information, and things like phone numbers can be clicked.

Headers and Page Titles

First, do your homework with keyword research . Then make sure you are going after the right keywords for your business.

When making a new content page, build the page titles and headers ( or H1 tags ) first. Focus on the keywords and build out the skeleton of your content this way. You not only have an outline for your new content, but you will be able to look more critically at your keyword strategy.

Off-page SEO tactics for the small business owner

Here are few things that you can do off of your website that can benefit SEO. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a way to jumpstart SEO if you’ve been trying to do it yourself. If you feel like you need help beyond this strategy, contact us . We can help.

Connect your business to Google My Business (GMB) and Yelp

These two services tend to be essential for small businesses in a variety of industries.

Google My Business (GMB) is so essential because it is integrated into so many ways your customers use the internet. Are they searching for a service nearby on Google or in Google Maps? Your information is coming from GMB in these instances. Are they trying to leave you a review on Google? GMB collects these. Are they trying to contact you? They will probably contact you through GMB rather than your contact page. It’s just easier for them.

Yelp is becoming equally important. Yelp helps your customers find you and also reviews your business. Reviews on both Yelp and GMB can factor into your page ranking.

Databases like GMB and Yelp give an easy way for search engines to understand how you fit into the world, which is the essence of off-page SEO. Before you go through the tough process of getting quality backlinks, do some easier tactics first. You will be surprised about the effects of this easy task.

Create social media accounts with website links

Sign-up for social media accounts for your business on platforms that are relevant to your business and customers.

Then link back to your website in your profile and your post. This simple action continues the theme of showing Google how your website fits into the internet. It helps explain what types of connections and relationships it has to other sites.

Sign up for professional databases too

Are there online databases that are specific to your industry? In healthcare, an example of this would be Healthgrades . This can be an additional simple step to connect your website to other places on the web.

It’s never too early or late to think about your website’s SEO

Even if you are in the beginning stages of your business, you can be making gains with your SEO each month with a thoughtful strategy. SEO and content strategy takes time. You will be happy that you started today.

It’s also not too late if you have been neglecting content strategy and SEO for your website. We’d love to talk with you about taking your existing website to the next level.

SEO Discussion: Should I write content for search engines?

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 18:13:34 GMT

I recently had a discussion with a client about the best strategy to use for their software company’s features pages. Should they be concise with their messaging or should they be as long as possible for SEO value? Here’s what I wrote to them via email.

An SEO content writer’s perspective on writing for Google

I prefer to write for people first and algorithms second. Some SEO people might switch these priorities. Neither is wrong and it really just has to do with what you are trying to accomplish. Writing for Google algorithms can have success in raising your search engine rankings. So if your sole goal is to boost your search engine rankings, this might be the route you should go. You're going to check some best practices boxes. But Google's algorithms are getting better every day to simulate what humans want to read.

And here's the biggest thing to consider: if the customers you are trying to convert find your message confusing, will they convert?

Writing for people before algorithms means getting the information they want and need when someone gets to your site. In the SaaS niche, this is vital because often, it is hard to articulate what software does and how it can be useful. People want to feel assured the software is simple to use and isn't overly complicated. So for the features pages, I used a formula. I start with a concise statement of what the feature does, an overview of using the product, benefit-focused statements, testimonials, and a final call to action.

You'll start to notice this general format on other SaaS features pages. I like both of these:

You will definitely see a lot of debate about the length requirement all over the web. I like the discussion here: https://moz.com/community/q/topic/65756/how-long-should-my-website-content-be-max-and-min-number-of-words

I think more content is usually better and tends to be true for many situations. You want to demonstrate that you are providing the best answer. But just like I explained above, there's nuance. The best and most informative answer is not always the longest one.

What are some guidelines for writing high-quality content for my website?

Ok, so you’re here to get some tips. So instead of me just saying write high-quality content for Google. I’ll define what that means.

Define a purpose

People and search engines both want to know the topic of your content. Don’t bury the lead.

Make it useful and informative

People are going to Google to ask questions. They want to learn from your website. So your content needs to be valuable and informative. You need to fine-tune your content for your audience. It can’t be too complicated, and it needs to reach your audience.

Research

Make sure you infuse some research into your content. It will help build credibility to your point.

Cite and link sources

Citing and linking sources will help build credibility. It will also provide additional SEO benefits because you should be linking to high-quality and high-authority websites.

Write well

Write well for your audience. They deserve it. Run spell-check. Don’t overcomplicate your message and write with clarity.

Edit

Edit for content and grammar. Go back and edit your work again every few months. Things change and evolve, and you need to update your website to reflect these changes.

Claim your work

Create a byline with your content. Own your work, and have pride in your work. Also, Google wants to know who made your content. It will also help you build an online reputation.

If you're looking for help with your business's content strategy or if you need a high-level copywriter, we can help. Send us an email or schedule a call to learn more about our content writing services .

The Welcome Email Sequence: A Definitive Guide for A Small Business

Mon, 03 May 2021 12:01:31 GMT

Are you sending the right email to the right person at the right time? This is the core question that email marketing experts ask about any campaign.

The easiest way to get started with an email marketing campaign is with a welcome email sequence. This is the sequence of emails sent after a website visitor signs up for your email list.

Subscribers who first sign-up for email lists are the group most likely to convert to a customer, and you have a short amount of time to capitalize on this opportunity.

If done right, the welcome email sequence can be a successful inbound marketing tool.

I’ll walk you through when to send the welcome email, what to put in each email, and how to connect with your customers based on where they are in their customer journey.

Your welcome email should start with a goal.

Every new marketing initiative for your small business needs to start with a goal. This will keep things focused. Here are some ideas for goals for your first welcome email sequence:

First-time buyers of a product or service you offer
Upsells
Phone calls and emails
More information
Onboarding
Members to a community
Testimonials and review
Feedback that can improve your business
Website traffic
Show off your best content to grow an audience

Pick a goal that is specific and focused. It’s the only way to know if you’re successful.

How often should I send the emails in my welcome email sequence?

There are so many differing opinions on this. I think that’s valid because there are so many differences between groups of customers and preferences. So you have to really think about your unique customer group.

If you have no idea, send one email a day until your sequence is finished.

This might sound like too much, too fast. But hear me out.

In your first welcome email (I’ll discuss this one below), you will explain expectations to your customers. You will explain how many emails they will receive so they know it is temporary and predictable.

You will also stay on their minds during the most critical moments of customer acquisition-- the beginning.

How many emails should be a part of my welcome sequence?

This can be a range from 4-6. I will give you an outline for 5.

I also think that the 5 Stages of Customer Awareness fit nicely into each email. So it’s something we should review before we outline the five emails.

Consider the 5 Stages of Customer Awareness in your product and service, and then plug this into your emails.

Before we can outline each email to send, I think we need to talk about customer awareness. This is good to think about for all of your marketing ventures. But it can help you frame out an email marketing strategy.

Your customer starts completely unaware. They don’t know about your product, and aren’t aware that they have a problem or that it could be fixed. This is where you write about stories of people like them that are experiencing similar difficulties. Let them in on some secrets about these problems.
Your customer is aware of a problem. At this stage, your customer is aware of a problem. But they aren’t yet aware of a solution. This is your time to address anxieties and write about the benefits of solving the problem.
Your customer is aware of solutions for their problem. Your customer is aware that a solution exists, but not sure what product will provide the answer. This is the perfect time to write about claims and proof.
Your customer is aware of the product. Your prospect knows what services or products you provide, but they aren’t sure it’s for them. Sweeten the deal with discounts and sales.
Finally, they are at the stage of complete awareness. The customers know your service, and they just need to know to get on the path to purchase.

Ok, let’s not drag this out anymore.

Here’s how to frame each email in the welcome email sequence.

The 1st Email

This is the email that your potential customer is the most engaged with, so don’t mess it up. They have just handed over their email address, and they are fully engaged with your message.

They want to know that you will deliver, and they also want to know your company better.

Say welcome, and do it in a way that shows off your brand’s voice.
Show them why they can trust you.
Give them your story and demonstrate your experience.
Consider your customer “unaware” on the Customer Awareness Scale (#1) I talked about above.

Then tell them what’s to come. No one likes surprises. If you plan to send four more emails, tell them. And tell them what to expect next while building anticipation. Make this an upbeat tone, and get them excited for what’s to come.

Finally, edit this down. No one will read an email that is too long. Try to accomplish these goals in a small space. You do have four more emails to win them over.

The 2nd Email

Ok, here’s where you want to get your customer to the place that they are aware of the problem. It’s also the perfect time to drum up some engagement.

The 2nd email should also be the shortest email to write.

Ask them a question about their problem. And then, as a small business owner, promise to answer and respond to it.

What problem does your reader need to be solved? What do you need to do to solve it? What do they think is standing in their way? This email should summarize the purpose of the product or service you are selling.

The 3rd Email

Now that your customer is aware of a problem, it’s time to teach them about a solution. This is where you demonstrate knowledge.

Link this email together. You should be sending them within a day apart, after all.

Drop your most helpful piece of knowledge or insight about their problem into this email.

This will get them hooked and wanting more. It also builds trust. They came to you for information, you understand their problem, and you know how to fix it.

The 4th Email

This is another email where you send valuable information. But this information should weave in the benefits of your product or service.

This is because you’re now taking your customer to a place where they are ready to decide on the exact product or service that will solve their problem. This solution should come from your company.

You need to describe short and long-term benefits. Start with short-term benefits, and work your way to long-term benefits. Paint them a picture in your email.

Why both? Think about it, you never believe that something that is described as life-changing will actually change your life. But if you start with how a service can free up a couple of hours a week, and then explain what can be gained by having a couple of extra hours a week multiplied by 52 weeks a year. Then they can really see the long-term, life-changing benefits of a product or service.

The 5th Email

You’ve got them where you want them. Now what?

This is your time to make a hard sale. Give a sense of urgency in this email. Offer an deal or coupon that expires.

Future Emails

You set expectations in your first email, so don’t break that trust if you decide to continue email marketing after your welcome email. Give a feedback email.

In this feedback email, ask your receiver what type of emails that they want to receive in the future. This will create the perfect opportunity to make a segmentation list for your email marketing strategy.

That’s it, you have completed set up on a welcome email sequence—time to sit back and watch your new sales and leads come in.

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, we can help. Crosby Digital Marketing offers copywriting, email marketing, and other digital marketing and advertising strategies to get your business going. Contact Jessica Crosby to learn more

Must Try SEO Tips: Your Blog With Thank You

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 02:47:47 GMT

If you’re not first, you’re last. This saying speaks to many people’s thoughts on search engine ranking. There are so many companies producing content regularly. But are your efforts going to waste? I’ve compiled a list of strategies that you should be doing with your blogs each time you post content to get the most SEO advantages out of your content.

Crosby Digital Marketing helps businesses establish a content marketing and SEO strategy. We would love to talk more with you about developing a plan to attract the right traffic to your website that results in more interested buyers.

Do keyword research.

Last month, I discussed the first steps in creating a blog to accomplish SEO goals on your website. This included doing keyword research and creating headers for your blog . But in case you missed it, here’s a rundown on keyword research.

There are so many tools out there for keyword research. But your best bet is to start with Google. It is where you want people to find you, after all.

Pick a keyword that you want to rank for, search for it, and then look at related searches at the end of the page. Form a list based on what you see.

Put your most important keywords in your headers.

Headers help Google find your content and site. Google scans your headings first, so put your best foot forward.

Think of your blog like an outline before you start writing. Your H1 header will be your main topic. Your H2 headers will be your subtopics, and your H3 might have a subheading below that.

Your blog should be about a primary keyword that you are targeting. This should be in your H1 or H2. This will allow people to see it easier and Google to find it faster.

Write for humans first.

This is where SEO experts might diverge on their opinions. It is part of my philosophy as an SEO professional to write for humans first.

Yes, writing for Google algorithms can help you rank higher.

But, your goal in bringing someone to your site is to make a conversion. You want emails, phone calls, and purchases. Write for a person in mind. Imagine a buyer’s persona of a typical customer and pretend this person is reading your content.

Your writing has to cater to the human on your site that will ultimately make a purchase. Compelling and quality writing will build trust with your audience.

Don’t keyword stuff.

Part of what makes something nice to read is how the piece flows. If you are trying to target too many keywords, your writing won’t flow.

As a reader, you have experienced keyword stuffing. It feels like there is a clunky list of words in every sentence. It’s no fun to read, and you probably left the website to find answers elsewhere.

Pick 1-2 keywords. From there, try to place these keywords in your writing naturally. Find different ways to phrase them.

After all, your writing should help you create a relationship with your future customer. People don’t want gimmicks. They want value. Write useful content.

Create unique and high-quality content.

This seems common sense, but many people are not doing this in the content marketing world. Google is the world’s best plagiarism checker, so create unique, high-quality content. You will rank higher in search engine searches.

Why does Google care if your content is unique? Google wants to be the first and only search engine you use. To do this, they have to provide the most relevant and valuable results consistently. So they rank websites higher if they are providing the most valuable and authoritative information.

This information should be high-quality. Take pride in your business and expertise. Write content that shows off your knowledge. This will produce quality content.

If you don’t know where to start or are just pressed for time, we can help.

An additional benefit of unique and high-quality content is that others will begin to link back to it. This is one of the best things for SEO, and it is best to do organically.

Write longer blogs that are easier to scan.

This goes along with the idea of writing for humans. People are coming to Google Search for answers, but they want those answers to be easy. So they scan websites very quickly.

Here are a few things to keep in mind to make blogs easier to read:

Make sure the blog has white space. People might not even read if it looks too visually overwhelming.
Keep paragraphs or blocks of text at 3 sentences each. Most web browsers are on smartphones, and this means text can appear much longer.
Break up text with descriptive headers.
Keep it organized and predictable.
Use visuals and links.

Write at an 8th grade reading level. (No, really!)

People like an easy read. For most industries, an 8th grade level is just right-- not too easy, not too hard. It’s all our attention span can handle in the age of distractions.

A great free tool to test your writing is the Hemmingway App . Paste your blog into this tool to see which parts need to be reworked.

At the same time, you need to build authority with your audience. So make sure your writing is free of grammar and spelling mistakes. Writing more simply does not mean you can have room for errors.

Aim for featured snippets.

When you search for information on Google like this:

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.

Often you see featured snippets like this:

Featured snippets are great for your website. A reader’s eye goes straight to this information and will most likely choose to go to your website to read more. Content marketers should aim to develop content that is likely to be turned into featured snippets.

How do you create content for featured snippets?

A featured snippet should answer questions fully but also be succinct. The question should be included in the header, and the content should have the longtail keyword you are targeting. Write in the active voice with verbs in your answer. Google is looking for the easiest and best information.

Put keywords in meta descriptions and alt text.

This is the place where many bloggers neglect SEO best practices. Meta descriptions and alt text can usually be found on your blogging platform’s settings button for each post. Meta descriptions are shown under your blog’s title on a Google search. Alt text is what is associated with images on your blog. Both meta descriptions and alt text allow Google to learn more about your content to rank the pages higher on Google.

Link to other relevant content on your site.

A blog aims to get people to your site via Google search and keep them on your site longer. So make sure all of your content is weaved seamlessly into your site via links. Linked content allows people to get more engrossed with what you have to say.

On the Google side of things, search engines can understand how your site is laid out. Internal links help search engines create site maps that can show up in Google searches.

But one word of warning, don’t make your links too spammy. Readers will be turned off, and the goal is to get humans to read and convert. So keep links natural, and don’t overdo it.

Link to quality websites.

If people are linking to your content, Google will rank you higher. Start networking your content by linking to quality websites.

There’s many viewpoints here, but often people in SEO try to make quick gains with SEO. One of the strategies is link buying. A person pays to have a link to their site on another site.

This can work, but here’s where it can go wrong. If a site is selling links, then there is a little filter on quality. The site’s domain authority can decrease, and you can lose those quick gains you made in SEO.

It’s hard work to research information for blogs, but it will help your domain authority to link to high-quality domains and data. And who knows, maybe you will get a link back in return.

It can be hard to produce relevant, engaging, and informative blogs. Let us know if we can help you create a strategy or support bringing your plan to life. Crosby Digital Marketing specializes in small business content marketing and writing services.

5 Things to Consider When Running a Low Google Ads Budget

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 02:14:31 GMT

Google Ads can be an excellent way to get more business, especially if you have a decent budget and the know-how to manage your campaign. By advertising on Google search, you can show your ads to people who are already looking for your services by bidding on relevant keywords.

For instance, an optometrist in Nashville should bid on keywords such as “optometrist in Nashville” and “optometrist near me.” These are popular searches that the optometrist would want to bid on so that their ads would show up at the top of the Google search whenever someone types these keywords into the search bar. These keywords average about $7 to $8/click in my area, so anytime someone searches these terms and clicks on your ad, you can expect to pay up to $8-ish dollars.

Since I work primarily with small businesses on their advertising and marketing campaigns, I often manage campaigns with relatively low budgets. And the budget is usually the first thing that comes up when speaking with a client. “How much should we spend?” Some industries like attorneys, insurance, and mortgages have extremely expensive cost-per-clicks (CPC), or the amount you pay when someone clicks on your ad. These industries can have CPCs of $50+. Other industries, such as our example above, have much lower CPCs ranging from $3 to $5.

It’s 100% dependent on the industry when we talk about a Google Ads campaign budget. Some businesses can get away with $500/month. Others need $10,000/month to show their ads on page one of the Google search. The geographic area is also a factor to consider when it comes to budgeting for Google Ads. Pell City, Alabama, will have a much lower CPC than Orlando, Florida.

If you are running a low budget in your Google Ads campaign, consider these 5 items to increase your chances of a successful campaign.

1. Use negative keywords:

As your campaign begins getting search term data (the searches people actually type into the search bar on Google), make sure you stay on top of your negative keywords. When your campaign is just getting started, you’ll probably see some search terms that you know won’t lead to relevant conversions, such as competitor names or searches related to people looking for jobs or training in your industry.

2. Limit days and/or times you run ads:

Once you have some data in your campaign, you can begin limiting the days and times that your campaign is running. If you have a $500/month budget, your daily budget would be around $17 if you run ads every day. By pausing your ads 2 days a week, you could increase your daily budget 32% on the days your campaign is running, thereby allowing for more clicks and keeping your campaign from running out of budget before the end of the day. This also works with the time of day. You can use campaign data to run ads during specific times of the day and shut them off when you know that the number of clicks and conversions drops considerably.

3. Control your keywords:

You have to run a tight keyword list if you are running a low-budget campaign. Any clicks that your campaign gets take a giant bite out of your available daily ad spend. Instead of running broad keywords that could drive non-relevant searches, tighten your keywords to exact match and extremely relevant phrase match to ensure you are receiving relevant searches and not wasting budget. Your volume of clicks will go down, but your relevancy will increase significantly.

4. Setup conversion tracking:

If you are running a campaign to get more business or leads, set up conversion tracking. There’s no way to know if your ad campaign is effective if you’re unable to see which keywords and ads are driving new business. With a small budget, every click and every conversion counts, so make sure you have proof that your campaign is performing well by tracking conversions.

5. Review and tighten your location targeting:

If you are running targeting in multiple zip codes or cities, review your location targeting to see which areas produce the best results. Since we’re talking about low-budget campaigns, we have to do everything in our power to drive campaign performance without waste, and that may mean removing certain areas that are underperforming. By tightening our target areas, we have more budget to put towards areas already performing well.

A Google Ads Manager can help maximize your budget

If you are running a Google Ads campaign and are on a tight budget, consider the items above when optimizing your campaign. There’s a lot of data to look through to determine the right path to take, but these can at least steer you in the right direction.

If you’re fed up with underperforming Google Ads campaigns or simply don’t have time to build and manage your campaign, I can help. I work with small businesses to set up and manage Google Ads campaigns. If you’re not sure how much to put towards your campaign, I can offer insight into effective ways to spend your money that will produce the best return on ad spend (ROAS). I can help set up and track conversions, so you know where your money is going. I can offer insight into webpage optimization that will increase your ad campaign effectiveness and drive more customers to buy your services.

Contact Joe at 615-249-8488 to learn more.

Optimize Your Blog Titles for SEO: 14 Tips for more Traffic

Sat, 13 Feb 2021 21:06:35 GMT

A guide to picking a topic and using SEO strategies.

Is coming up with topics for your blog stumping you? Have you been putting off creating content because you don’t know how to get started? This is a relatable problem for content marketers. We are expected to be creative 24/7 for generating content. But ideas do not have to come from a creative place. This is good news if you are feeling tapped out. Creating content ideas should be more systematic and data-driven, and from there you should infuse your creativity into the finished product.

There are two parts to this: Generating a topic to write about and titling your blog or article. I see content creators think of them as the same action, but they should be viewed as different actions.

Crosby Digital Marketing helps businesses establish a content marketing and SEO strategy. We would love to talk more with you about how to come up with a plan to attract the right traffic to your website that results in more interested buyers.

How do I come up with a topic for my blog or article?

Have a goal in mind.

Pick out keywords that you want to rank for on Google. There should be a long-term goal in mind. You will need to blog on multiple topics that relate to that keyword over time. This is where having a long-term SEO strategy begins.

Consider the buyer's persona.

A buyer’s persona is simply a fictionalized person that you will be marketing to. So for example, this blog post is intended primarily for small business owners interested in marketing. We will call this buyer person Small Biz Bill. This article is also intended for content marketers. We’ll call this buyer persona Content Courtney. There’s no secret that I am trying to show off what our agency knows, and attract certain people to our website. I think it’s important to make useful content. So important questions need to be asked. Who is reading this? What are they interested in? How can I create content that is valuable to them?

Use your Google Analytics to look at how people are finding you.

The search query tab is great for this. It shows how people are searching and finding you on Google. It’s a good idea to develop content on these topics to climb search rankings.

Do keyword research.

There are infinite ways to do keyword research. Just a simple Google search will produce a huge amount of techniques. Small Biz Bill is looking for something free, simple, and effective. Aren’t we all? So for the short answer, use Google to do keyword research. So let’s get meta with this. I searched for this blog topic on Google.

I browsed some of the titles on the first page, but what I can use is at the end of the page. These are related searches to “blog title help.”

Use long-tail keywords for keyword research.

“Long-tail keyword” sounds like marketing jargon. So don’t get too turned off. These are just keywords that are longer than a word. Typically very interested buyers use long-tail keywords. Think about buying a car. If you are just interested in cars you might google “sports cars.” If you are actually in the market to buy a car you might google, “safest midsize SUVs” or “best truck gas mileage.” This is proof that you are considering cars at a deeper level. Often interested buyers are forming these long-tail keywords into questions. So to spell it all out, if you want to attract interested buyers to your blog use long-tail keywords in your blog titles posed as a question.

How do you optimize these topics into titles?

Create a working title when you begin writing.

Your title can be changed and it is not set in stone. Your title is not the same as your topic, but rather it is related.

Come up with at least 5 titles.

This might seem excessive, but it will help you see which ones are the best when they are viewed together. It’s also a lot easier to ask someone, “Which do you like better?” Asking someone if one title looks ‘ok’ will elicit a response like, “yep, looks great.”

The title should be specific and demonstrate value.

That’s how you get people to read.

Consider the length of the title.

Hubspot has great insight on this topic. Typically Google only shows the first 60 characters of a post title, so make sure your relevant keywords are there. Titles that are between 8- 12 words performed best on Twitter, but titles that were 12- 14 words did well on Facebook. Don’t think that your title has to be super short either. Hubspot also found that placing [bracketed] text at the end of your title giving additional clarification caused people to click on the article 38% more often. ( Hubspot )

So there are some conflicting points here. Be short and concise, but give a lot of detail. There’s not always a science to determining how people make decisions. But in general, people skim to get to the point. But people want to know they are getting what they were promised, so the title does need to deliver.

Be clever.

It will help you stand out. This is a great place to concentrate your creativity.

Use the second person.

Good content always puts the reader at the center of the story.

Numbers and data attract the eye.

We often click and look at “listicles.” Ever get completely sucked into Buzzfeed for hours at a time?

Tell people they will learn something.

“7 Lessons I Learned from Starting a Business” promises to teach me seven things about starting a business. This has my attention.

Convey a sense of urgency.

A good example of this is a title that begins with: “3 Mistakes You are Making Today….” The idea that these mistakes are happening for your reader right now can appeal to emotion.

2021 is a great year to begin writing content for your business or to update your content marketing strategy. Let us know if we can help you create a strategy or if you need support bringing your strategy to life. Crosby Digital Marketing specializes in small business content marketing and writing services.

Online Marketing for Healthcare Providers

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 17:48:56 GMT

Where to start in 2021 if you're marketing doctors

People are searching for healthcare online more than ever before. Are you set up to be found? Crosby Digital Marketing is a marketing and advertising agency in Franklin, TN that helps healthcare companies develop and manage their digital marketing and advertising efforts. Here are 13 steps to get started with marketing for your healthcare practice.

Establish a Google My Business (GMB) page.

This is key for getting others to find you online. This allows you to input your phone number, business hours, website URL, health services, and has a place to start collecting reviews. Setting up a Google My Business listing is an incredibly important and easy step. This is also step number one for making progress on SEO. Because of Google’s integration with Google Maps, a GMB listing allows you to be found in searches like “Physical Therapists near me.”

Create a website.

This should come fairly soon in the process for a medical practice. In our opinion, this helps to create legitimization. Your website should be fully optimized using SEO best practices . Your website needs to be mobile friendly as well. Mobile is the most popular way to surf the web, so this needs to be considered when designing your site.

Make sure your website is HIPAA compliant.

HIPAA compliance issues can cost you, but it can also cost your reputation with patients. Make sure you are constructing a website that keeps your patients secure. From HIPAA-compliant contact forms to on-site data tracking, read more about how we handle HIPAA compliance.

Your website needs to have appointment request functionality.

There has to be a way for your patients to contact you for an appointment in addition to calling you. This functionality can be as simple as a HIPAA-compliant form or integration directly into your EMR system if you have that functionality. This form needs to be checked frequently as well to assure you are receiving the requests.

Have a plan for telehealth.

Telehealth is here to stay. This is likely going to be a major change in the time of COVID-19, and after the pandemic is over. There will be a bigger push for this. People want to be able to attend doctor’s appointments from home. There are many ways that you can reach patients virtually. Keep in mind that telehealth services must be HIPAA-compliant just like all other patient communication systems.

Collect reviews on Google and social media.

This is key for generating more business. A good way to do this is to do review-boosting with emails that go out after appointments. Direct your patients to leave reviews in the places that you need them most. Google reviews should be your practice’s biggest priority.

Don’t forget to monitor all your reviews.

Respond to your reviews just like you would respond to any customer feedback. Show up for your patients online. Respond to both positive and negative reviews.

Use Google for paid ads (PPC).

These ads have the best return on investment (ROI) when managed properly. As long as you can calculate the value of a patient, you can guarantee a strong return on investment because you can cap bids on ad spend in Google Ads. This means you won’t spend more than a patient is worth, and you can justify costs over time. You can also track calls that come in from Google Ads, so you know which patients are coming from this source. It is the most effective way to spend your advertising dollars in the healthcare industry.

Create content that is informative and adds value.

Doctors are natural teachers. For example, Physical Therapists are constantly teaching their patients how to regain movement through methods like stretches and exercise. This is perfect for online content. It may feel like simple knowledge to a professional, but many people don’t know how to alleviate back pain from sitting every day. They don’t know how to perform appropriate shoulder stretches. These are simple pieces of content that can be produced that have a lot of value to your social media followers. It can be in the form of a video or blog post. Podcasts can also be great for this type of information if you are targeting a specific group, like runners. Creating content also helps your current and potential patients get to know you better. This helps with doctor/patient relationships and is great for retention.

Broadcast your content on social media where people will pay attention to it.

Your patients are more likely to follow you on social media if they feel like you are providing value to their feeds. The more followers that you have, the more you can reach people organically.

Talk about safety measures for COVID- 19.

This is big in healthcare right now. People want to know that they will be safe if they visit your office. Don’t just tell them, show them on social media with pictures.

Promote specials and packages.

At this point, you should have some great places to promote specials and packages. Post these on your website and social media.

Establish an email marketing newsletter.

Because healthcare is so involved with patient education, it is a perfect fit for an email marketing newsletter. Make a monthly newsletter where you touch base with past, present, and future patients.

If you are interested in setting up a marketing or advertising plan for your healthcare business, you don’t have to do it alone. Crosby Digital Marketing has 10 years of experience working with healthcare companies to increase patient numbers, create educational content, and showcase your services to your ideal patients. We would love to help you grow your business. Contact us to learn more. Call us at 615-249-8488 or email us at joe@crosbydigitalmarketing.com .

17 Steps to Get Your Landing Page Ready for Google Ads in 2021

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 19:11:29 GMT

Create Landing Pages that Convert to Customers

Are you ready to run Google Ads, but aren’t sure where to direct those ads? A landing page for PPC ads is essential. There is a lot that goes into such a seemingly simple landing page. It isn’t just about having a form on a page-- I’ve put together a checklist for creating a landing page for Google PPC ads.

Where should you start? In a broader sense, it’s important to think about the goals you are trying to accomplish. Landing pages go hand-in-hand with ad campaigns. What service or product do you plan to run ads for? This type of goal planning needs to come before the landing page construction. It’s important to think about the big picture and the final destination before you get started. If you are interested in talking more about online advertising , Google Ads , landing pages, or website design feel free to email me today. Crosby Digital Marketing is an advertising and marketing firm located in Franklin, TN that is committed to helping small businesses grow.

Once you have a goal for your ad campaign in mind…

Decide if you plan to have your landing page integrated into your website. Do you want to adapt a service page into a landing page or create a page that will only be accessible by clicking on the ad? There are some pros and cons of this. Using our Google Ads page as an example, you can see that there is a lot of information on this page besides the contact form. This helps with SEO for when people are organically searching for these services. The pros of a non integrated landing page would be a stronger call to action (CTA). The entire page would be focused on collecting a lead from your ad. Both methods have pros and cons, so it really is specific to the situation.
Make it relevant. When a landing page isn’t relevant it can cause users to leave very quickly. This is called a bounce. Google is more likely to rank your page and ad higher if your bounce rate is low. They want to provide your users with the most relevant information possible. Also, you want to make sure qualified people are clicking on your ppc ads. Each click costs you money, so you only want the most relevant customers to do so.
Have a clear call to action (CTA). This means you need to tell the customer exactly what you want them to do. “Fill out this form for a quote,” is a very clear CTA. It needs to be easy to find positioned near the top of the page with clear wording. Using color and font size to your advantage to help it stand out will benefit your landing page.
Limit the number of calls to action. This goes with my previous point. But limit choices on the page. If you want your visitors to do something specific give them those choices. Keep it simple.
Your form should be simple . There should be some sort of form to collect leads. Get the minimum amount of information you need. It should not feel intimidating for someone who is on your website the first time. For most instances name, email, and phone number are perfect. When a form asks for too much on the initial lead it can feel overwhelming and this can cause a user to move on to another company.
The form should go to a thank you page. Once a user submits a form there should be confirmation that the action has been completed. It can be really frustrating for a potential customer to not know if their form submission worked. It is also essential for tracking the connection between the ad and the lead.
There should be other ways to get a lead besides a form. As a customer, I always look for an email address. It’s just my preferred way to contact a business. There are plenty of people who prefer phone calls since they like to talk to a real person. Make sure people have at least two options for contact.
Make your phone number accessible. We see so many businesses with their phone numbers at the bottom of their website in a footer in tiny print. Don’t do this. If your goal is phone calls, put it prominently on your site. Make sure your phone number is clickable and trackable to your Google Ad.
Consider length. This can be tough. Keep your landing page short enough to keep it focused on getting a lead, but long enough to build trust. There is no hard and fast rule. The more you are asking for, the longer your page will have to be to build trust. Give enough, but don’t overcomplicate.
Social proof is one of the most helpful things you can add to a landing page to persuade. Seriously, reviews make a potential customer trust your company faster. If you have reviews, include them on your landing page.
Address objections. While we’re on the subject of trust, figure out where people are forming objections to contacting you. For example, is your landing page asking for payment? Make sure people know their credit card information will be safe. Getting a Verisign designation can be helpful for that. Just simply knowing that their email address won’t be spammed can go very far as well.
Post links to relevant content that exists on your site. Your primary goal is to get a lead via form fill or phone call. But your secondary goal should be to keep users on the website until this happens. Content builds authority and trust with someone considering your business.
Add graphics that have a purpose. Do not add images just to make a page look nice. It will slow down the page (which can cause a user to bounce) and will contribute nothing. The most compelling thing that you can offer are authentic images of your business. Business owners do not always like this in practice, but trust us. For example, contractors try to use stock images of a kitchen rather than actual images of their work. Sure, the stock image kitchen is professionally shot. But it isn’t their work. The consumer knows this, and would much rather see the authentic image even if it is lower quality. Another example, I recently looked through a list of preschools for my child that I compiled from neighbor recommendations. I looked through reviews, and then I browsed websites. When I compared two schools side-by-side, I decided to take a tour at the one that had photos of the actual classrooms on the website as opposed to the stock images of children on the other. It wasn’t the “nicer” image, but it was the most useful one to me.
Make sure your landing page is fast-loading and mobile-friendly. As web users, we are so impatient. We will immediately hit the back button if a page does not load in just a few seconds. If you are struggling with a high bounce rate consider your page speed. You can also try a page speed test.
Sell only one thing on your landing page. Break up your services or products into separate landing pages. This will allow you to target more precisely in Google Ads.
Use directional cues to get people to where you want them to go. This could be visual like an arrow, bolded text, or even a photo of a person looking at your form. It can also be as simple as a “click here” written in your copy.
Experiment and critique. Keep looking critically at all active landing pages. Tweak things when they are not working. Your landing page is not set in stone, and it can always be improved upon.

Running a successful ad campaign is beneficial to your bottom line, and it doesn’t have to be complicated with the right team on your side. We would love to talk more about your advertising, website, and landing pages. Crosby Digital Marketing in Franklin, TN loves to help businesses grow their presence online. Contact us today .

Email Marketing for Small Businesses

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 03:16:08 GMT

Email marketing is a great marketing strategy for all businesses. Many small business owners feel as if it is only suitable for larger businesses, but they are mistaken. Email marketing campaigns have a great return on investment, can build credibility, and you do not have to battle social media algorithms in order for your message to be seen. If done right, email marketing delivers consistent useful information to your past, present, and future customers.

Crosby Digital Marketing is an agency in Franklin, TN that helps small businesses with their email marketing strategy. I have compiled a list of steps that will be helpful for starting an email marketing strategy. Be sure to download our FREE Mailchimp template .

1. Start building your email marketing list today

Many businesses regret not doing this sooner. List building is it’s own topic altogether, but I will give a rundown of some tactics that work well. You must create a practical way that people knowingly sign up for email marketing. The most practical way is through a form on your website. This form needs to be prominent, and again people need to know that they are signing up for an email newsletter. Building your email list can be accomplished through a lead-generating form, landing pages, or social media.

A note about getting newsletter sign-ups: If too many newsletter recipients mark your newsletter as spam, there is a chance that all newsletters for all recipients will end up in spam folders. So your list needs to be filled with people who signed up on their own volition.

How do you not get marked as spam over time? Craft messages that are informative and useful to your audience. Create content that people don’t want to miss. A good tactic is to share your expertise. This builds trust with your audience, and will help bring customers back over time. In a similar fashion, a free download can also be used. Events or specials where your audience can benefit can also be beneficial. Try promoting a sale, coupon, or contest in your newsletter. This will encourage people to want to stay in the loop.

2. Decide what type of emails you want to send.

The best place to start is with a monthly or weekly newsletter. The frequency really depends on your industry. A monthly newsletter is a great way to stay on the radar of your current, future, and past customers. This is not your only option, however. You could choose to do email marketing for promotions or a loyalty program . This is a great tactic because your customer will look forward to emails, and this will result in a lot of clicks. Transactional emails are also an option, and are often underutilized for email marketing purposes. Transactional emails occur after a transaction like a sale. Most online customers look forward to receiving receipts and shipping confirmation emails. This means you have your customer’s attention. This is a great opportunity to promote content somewhere on your site. Finally, another tactic is the lifecycle email . This includes welcome emails, 2nd order emails, and win- back emails. These also tend to have high open rates as well.

3. Create your email designs and content.

Many small business owners get overwhelmed when they login to a program like MailChimp. There are so many templates to choose from, but keep it simple . You want your emails to be fast loading and you want to highlight the important and informative content that you are producing. Are you stuck on the design step? CLICK HERE FOR OUR FREE MAIL CHIMP DOWNLOAD .

Keep content strong, and the action for the customer clear. Lead with your best content. Make it worth your customer’s time to come to your website. There also needs to be a call- to- action (CTA). Many small business owners forget this when they are generating content in email marketing and social media. It is ok to ask your customers to do something after you produce something of value. Did you produce a video about smart home technology? Don’t forget to tell your customers to call you for a quote. Are you promoting your leadership coaching class? Don’t forget to put a link to your webinar under your most recent blog post. People know you’re doing business. It’s ok to clearly direct them to the type of business you want to do. You should be extremely clear with your call- to- action, and only have one CTA.

Finally, differentiate your content. One message does not always fit all audiences. This is where list segmentation comes into play. Segmenting your email marketing list means that you are creating customer groups and then tailoring messages to better reach these groups. Segmentation can occur among demographics, purchase behavior, or email engagement level. This way you are delivering more relevant information which translates to more customer attention.

4. Analyze results and tweak.
You’ve set up your email marketing campaign and sent your first email. The work is not over yet. This is the opportunity to look at what works, and what doesn’t.

List size and growth

Is your list growing? Do you have a plan for growth? If email marketing is a priority, then your email marketing list needs to come first. This means a major call- to- action for collecting emails. So if your list isn’t growing, then you should look at tactics like lead- generating forms.

Open and click- through rates

Most email marketing software shows you the open and click- through rates for your email marketing campaigns. But what do these statistics mean? What is a good benchmark? Open rate is the percent of email that was opened. A good percentage to shoot for is 20%. Click- through rate tells you how many successfully delivered emails in a campaign were clicked. A good number to strive for here is 5%. If these numbers are skewed, it is important to look at some factors. If your open rate is disportionately low, how’s your subject line? Is your email list “healthy”? (I will discuss this more in detail below.) If your click- through- rate is disproportionately low, look closely at your content. Is it informative, useful, and do your customers feel like they must see it?

Deliverability and list health

Deliverability means that your emails are reaching their intended audience, and are not being returned to sender. If many emails are getting returned, this could trigger email client spam filters. There are other factors that trigger spam filters as well. If an email receiver reports one email as spam, then this can compromise your entire list as being labeled as spam. So, always provide unsubscribe capabilities. You do not want one email compromising your whole marketing list. Finally, your message and tone can also be labeled as spam if it is considered by email algorithms and filters to be too “salesy.” So use your authentic voice. (Your customers will respond better anyway.)

A/B Testing

If you have a hunch something is wrong, try A/B testing. Do you think your customers respond better to a video message over a written message? Send a video to half your list and an article to the other half. Do you think your call- to- action is ineffective? Send two versions and see which group’s response is better. Our agency constantly sees small businesses who do not use A/B testing in their marketing. It’s one of the biggest mistakes we see with DIY marketing. How do you know if you are using the best possible tactics?

Crosby Digital Marketing helps small businesses with their email marketing. We would love to talk more about how to incorporate this tactic into your overall marketing plan. Reach out at jessica@crosbydigitalmarketing.com to learn more.

Small Business Guide to Online Advertising

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Mon, 02 Nov 2020 02:33:44 GMT

Where Should I Spend My Ad Budget?

If you are a small business owner, you have probably asked yourself these questions when it comes to online advertising:

Should I run online ads to promote my business?
Where should I run ads?
How much should I spend?

These 3 questions will almost always prompt the same answer: It depends . As frustrating as this is to hear, creating a successful advertising campaign will always depend on determining a few high-level factors to answer the questions above. Here are a few items you can expect to answer when determining what type of advertising plan, if any, is right for your small business:

How much budget do you have allocated for advertising?
What is your expected return on investment (ROI) from advertising?
What is your industry? Are you B2B or B2C?
How much competition do you have in your service area?

By first answering these questions, you will be one step closer to determining an appropriate mix of advertising for your business.

Now let’s dive into the 3 questions you’ve been asking yourself.

Should I run online ads to promote my small business?

To put it simply, if you have potential customers who are searching for your services online, then you should absolutely be advertising online. I guarantee that someone is researching your products or services right now. If you don’t have at least a minimal ad presence online, then your competition will win every single time.

So how do you know if people are looking for your services? Just go to Google and search for your services. See what type of ads are popping up. Go to Facebook and see what your competitors are posting. You can even see what ads they are running by going to the Facebook Ad Library . Go to YouTube and see what type of videos people are posting in your industry and how many views and likes they’re getting. By looking at interaction rates and getting a general idea of what your competitors are doing, you will have a better idea of the need for advertising in your industry.

That leads us to our second question.

Where should I run ads?

Where you decide to run ads depends on those high level factors you answered above. If you have a small budget, Facebook Ads only require you to spend $1/day. The Facebook advertising platform offers a huge potential reach and highly-focused audience targeting.

Google Ads , also known as pay-per-click ads, allow you to bid on keywords and run ads to people at the top of Google Search, on YouTube, and across the Google ad network. Depending on your industry, Google Ads can be expensive for highly-competitive industries like attorneys, but may only cost you a couple of dollars per click depending on your location and what keywords you’re looking to bid on. You can easily look up the cost of specific keywords in the Google Ads Keyword Planner in your Google Ads account.

LinkedIn Ads are great for B2B advertising. They allow for audience targeting related to skills, industry, job-titles, and a lot more. They do require a minimum of $10/day ad spend, so LinkedIn is a bit pricier than the others.

Just remember to look around at what your competitors are doing. You might not have the same budget as your top competitors, but closely following the competition will help you keep an eye on their tactics.

Our final question is often the hardest to answer.

How much should I spend on online advertising?

If you’re just getting started with ads with no idea where to start, I will almost always recommend you start with a small budget on Facebook and Google. This will allow you to learn the basics of the ad software without too much risk of blowing a huge amount of money on unproductive ads. You will also be able to test different ads and audiences to see which ones are most effective. Finally, there is a huge audience on the Facebook and Instagram platforms, and the potential to reach this audience size has never been easier or cheaper.

Once you’ve gotten your feet wet, there are some good tools that will help you refine your budget and targeting. You have the option to review the available traffic for specific keywords on Google, and you can plug in your ideal audience segment and location targeting to determine the amount of traffic and potential clicks or leads on Facebook’s ad platform. As a side note, ad platforms will always highly recommend you raise your budget, but just use all available data to determine the budget you’re comfortable with. Just because they say you should spend more doesn’t mean you have to.

Getting started with ad spend: When in doubt, start small and increase your spend over time. On Facebook, start with a dollar a day. Create a campaign and test your ads. Find which ones work the best, and then increase the budget to $3 to $5/day. Continuously test your ads and audience by changing out your creative and narrowing or expanding your audience. Just remember to make small tweaks so you can know which changes helped or hurt the campaign.

Follow the same principles on Google. Their platform will give you estimates on how much you could be spending on ads, but start small with a few dollars, refine your ads, build out your keyword list, optimize your ad groups, and adjust your ad delivery. Setting up a highly optimized campaign before you bump up your budget to max will help you avoid wasting your budget on clicks that won’t result in more business.

I hope this small business advertising guide helps you make the decision on where to run ads and how much to start with. There are so many options to consider that it’s hard to know where to spend your money most effectively. Working in the advertising and marketing industry for a decade has allowed our team to help small businesses hit the ground running with online advertising. We would love to help you setup an advertising campaign for your company, no matter how much budget you have to work with.

Let us know if we can answer any questions or if you are ready to take the leap into online advertising. We would love to speak with you more. Give us a call at 615-249-8488 or shoot us an email at crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com.

6 Steps to Creating a Content Calendar for Small Businesses

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 01:28:07 GMT

A Guide to Organizing a Social Media Calendar

Chances are if you are reading this, you do the social media for your company. Professional social media accounts are different from personal ones. I have no problem putting content on my personal account. Cute kid? Check! Dog selfie? Check! Local restaurant recommendation? Posted! But the process can feel more daunting when I sit down and post consistently for my business. In some ways that’s completely appropriate. I have much bigger goals for my professional social media channels. I want to maintain the attention of current and potential clients. I don’t want to post too much, but if I don’t post enough I could fall off their radar. What posts will work? What posts will flop? What do I want to accomplish? Are my posts helpful? The questions just keep coming.

Why should a small business have a social media content calendar?

A content calendar takes a lot of the guesswork out of social media posting.

Helps focus on goals and helps spot gaps

Your social media posting should have a goal in mind . If you are posting just to post, then you will never know if your social media is working. I will use Crosby Digital Marketing (this company!) as an example. Our goal in formulating a content calendar is to drive traffic to this website and to generate leads. If I have a purpose in mind before I sit down to plan out content, then my content is going to be more clear and will accomplish my goal. I can also look over my editorial calendar over the next few weeks and spot gaps. If I notice potential clients are asking about a service more than others, I need to include content that includes this service. If I am crafting social media posts everyday I can’t see the strategy. It really helps to see your content all together in one place.

Social media content calendars save time for small businesses

Content calendars might seem like a great idea, but maybe you think you don’t have time for this as a business owner. I would argue that they are actually less time- consuming than posting individual social posts every day. If you were to sit down and do this for a few hours, you would get into a rhythm. A lot of social media work can be batched. You would feel so much more organized, and you could actually focus on your social media strategy. Social media for your company won’t feel so haphazard. When you work more efficiently as a business owner, you are freeing up your most important asset-- time.

Higher quality posts

Ever feel rushed? On the surface, social media can feel very simple. A lot of times business owners put it last. If you are creating a content calendar, you are prioritizing your marketing and social media strategy. This will result in higher quality posts.

Planning helps you see big things ahead

Recently we helped an accounting firm with their content calendar. Their industry has a natural ebb and flow due to things like tax season. A content calendar can help you see the big things ahead, and help you plan for quality posts that capture your customer’s attention when they are looking for you.

Reduces mistakes

Finally, a content calendar is going to reduce huge mistakes that can come from doing social media at the last minute. You will be able to spot issues because you will actually have time to look over your content. It is also much easier to tweak and adjust to changes that come to your business. It can also become more collaborative because it is organized enough to be delegated.

Ok. So now that you have been persuaded, let’s get to work...

Here are the 6 Steps Small Business Owners Should Take to Create a Social Media Calendar.

1.Audit social media.

Do an inventory on your social media. What are you doing right? Can you define your audience? Is it the audience that you want? What was your most successful post? What was your least successful post? Why do you think that is? Which social channels are working for you? Do you think you should be on others as well?

2. Develop a content strategy that includes a content ratio

You need to develop a content strategy. This is a little different from establishing social media goals, but they are connected. For example, if your social media strategy is to generate leads that translate into customers, what type of content will lead to this? A ratio often helps people get started with this. An example of one might be 80% informative to the viewer, and 20% that are going towards leads- generating.

Let’s talk about how this looks. Recently, we talked with a contractor. He was posting amazing content on social media by showing his followers his process of remodeling houses. His content is 100% useful to those that follow him. But he often lacked a call to action. This is where he will generate leads. If 100% of his posts are lead- generating, then his organic followers will become annoyed and unfollow him. But because his content is useful and interesting, people are organically following his business. If he retargets his messaging a small percentage of the time to include types of projects he would like to perform for potential clients, his organic followers and those seeing him via ads will feel more inclined to reach out.

If you have a content calendar that includes 20 scheduled posts a month, it is easier to stick to an established ratio like the 80/20 rule. That would mean you are posting 16 informative posts and 4 that are more upfront about lead- generating with a call-to- action.

3. Create a system

Usually this looks like a spreadsheet or a calendar at first. We have taken a lot of the guesswork out of this for you by making one. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR TEMPLATE

A calendar might work well if you are starting simple, but a spreadsheet is really where I would recommend starting. There are also programs out there that you can subscribe to, but as a small business owner I think it is good to start free and upgrade in places that are truly worth it.

Google Doc Content Calendars are great because they can be completely customized to fit what you need. Here are some examples of content components to include in your excel sheet:

Date, time, and time zone
Platform and any relevant platform format info
Copy or text
Visuals
Relevant links
Is it part of a larger campaign? (great place for color- coding)
Geo- tagging
Paid or organic?
If this is a team effort, has it been approved?
Has it been posted?
Analytics

4.Get organized (include a place to put ideas as they come in)

It is hard to create something from nothing. There has to be a place that you can quickly dump ideas. For me, I have a folder in my Google Drive. I have Google Drive easily accessible on my phone. If I see something, anything, I put it in the folder. This could be something online or just an idea to jot down. When I sit down to plan, I have something to look through as I draw a blank. Never think that an idea can’t be done, it just might not be the right time for the idea.

5.Set Amounts

At this point, it is important to decide the amount of content you need to generate. What is the best amount for your industry? What is the best amount for the platforms that you are posting from? What is the best time of day for success? Then consult your ratio and divvy up posts under this guiding principle.

6.Craft Posts

Now it’s time to create posts. Hopefully it feels less overwhelming. You have spaces to fill in instead of a blank slate. Don’t forget to use what you already have. Did you write an informative email to a customer recently? Use it as content! Do you have a picture from something you constructed? Use it as content! Is there a question that people keep asking you? Use it as content! The process of creating and organizing content will cause you to always see content in all that you do as a professional.

It’s never too late to focus on an effective digital marking strategy for your business.

Your customers are online. Will they find you? There is a lot that goes into a robust digital marketing strategy for small businesses . Crosby Digital Marketing helps businesses with SEO , website strategy , search engine marketing (SEM), Google Ads , and content strategy . Let’s get started today to get your business discovered where your customers are looking for you.

Download a Copy of Our Free Social Media Content Calendar for Small Businesses

Niche Podcasting Strategy

crosbydigitalmarketing@gmail.com (Joe Crosby) — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 18:45:07 GMT

There aren’t too many podcasts with the reach of Joe Rogan, This American Life, Planet Money or Stuff You Should Know. Not only have most of these shows been posting content for years, but they started before podcasting was cool.

I get the idea that a lot of people are hoping to reach Serial status within a few episodes and start making money off of their podcast quickly. But look at the production value and depth of research of Serial , one of the top shows on iTunes for several years now, and you’ll see something extremely special and hard to achieve, and a group of people dedicating years to one specific story. Talk about patience!

Unless you have a million dollar idea, an existing massive following or celebrity status, you’re probably not going to reach thousands or even hundreds of listeners immediately, if ever. It’s going to take time and a lot of good content to build up your listener base.

Find a Niche and then Be Patient

In lieu of trying to reach the masses, which most people are guilty of, myself included, find a niche and a specific listener or demographic and create content for that person or select group of people. Create a show for people who love Spider Man and grilled cheese, not just another Marvel podcast. Or do interviews with people from your hometown about your community and how it’s changed through the years. Focus your podcast marketing efforts on people in your hometown or community and then build from there. Your family will definitely listen, so you already have your first subscribers. Then hit up your old neighbors and friends from high school. Not only will you slowly gain a following but you’ll have an endless number of interviews to do and content to create.

Just remember to stay focused on your niche and create content that they will love to listen to. And remember that it doesn’t matter if you have 10 or 10,000 followers as long as you love what you’re doing.

Just go create something because there’s someone out there waiting to hear your voice.

Happy recording!

Let me know if you need help getting started, whether you need equipment advice or someone to record and edit your shows from start to finish . I’d love to talk more about your ideas and help you bring them to life.

How Can Podcast Content Help with Traditional SEO?

Mon, 21 Oct 2019 14:50:19 GMT

Podcasting is here to stay and will only grow as audio and voice continue to spread in our society. In a world of vanity metrics (impressions, clicks and downloads), starting a podcast will feel like starting from square one, which you basically are. And like search engine optimization (SEO), building up a podcast audience will take time, so patience and persistence will be the key as you embark on this journey.

As you work to record great content and build up an audience, there are some tactics you can use to help with your traditional SEO.

Transcribe your podcast audio. When you launch an episode, create a post or a page on your website by including a media player of your podcast (most podcast hosting services have something you can use) as well as the transcription of your audio. Why should you do this? By including the full transcription, you are offering a huge asset to your audience and the search engines. You are building a massive page of content for search engines to crawl that will inevitably lead to keyword growth for whatever your episode topic was. Transcribing your audio will also make it easier to pull high-quality quotes to share on social media. Temi is a good transcription service and only costs $0.10/minute. It takes a bit of editing based on the quality of your recording, but I usually get approximately 95% accuracy even with low quality recording. And Temi will automatically remove ums, ahs and other filler words
Rewrite your transcription into a Q&A page or a topical blog post. Now let’s take transcription a step further. If you are a copy editor, you’re going to love this part! If your podcast is more of a Q&A-style recording, then this will be easy. Just rewrite the spoken word transcription into a more formal-style writing. Cut down any extended questions and answers into their basic form to allow readers to easily get answers to top questions in your industry. PRO TIP: Add schema markup to your Q&As in hopes that Google will feature your content as the rich result. You can also add “ speakable ” schema markup to content that is especially appropriate for text-to-speech. *Remember. Voice search will only continue to grow, so get ahead of the game now by marking up your website for voice search.
Pull audio and text quotes from your podcast and share on social media. Social signals still play a role in SEO ranking, so utilize your podcast content on social media platforms to drive users back to your website. This can push users to 1) listen to your full podcast or 2) read your podcast-based blog post or Q&A page. I’ve recently been using the Wavve program to share snippets of audio in a visual format on social media. The metrics of these rich content posts have increased both social engagement as well as traffic back to the website over standard text links or image formats that I was previously using.

There is obviously a lot more you can do to increase traditional SEO rankings with your podcast content, but these 3 tasks are fast, fairly inexpensive and have shown great results for me so far.

Let me know if you have other ideas on how to increase your SEO ranking with podcast content.

Learn about our podcast production, recording and editing service options.

How To Determine a Healthcare Marketing Strategy

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:00:27 GMT

PPC, SEO, Mobile, Social, Influencer, Blog, Podcast, Video. These terms describe the current state of the digital marketing industry. Everywhere you turn, someone is telling you to write blogs or start a podcast, while also running numerous ad campaigns, posting and responding on social media, and producing videos to sell your services. Oh yea, you'll also need to stick to a tight budget while also providing data on how your campaigns are performing.

With that being said, it is incredibly hard to balance all of the things listed above. But keep in mind that your job boils down to one thing: get new patients! And how do you get new patients? First, you have to get their attention. To get their attention, you have to know where they're looking. And how do you know where they're looking? Start by using the data at your disposal to see where current patients are coming from.

Step 1: Review your website traffic

How are your patients finding you? The easiest way to see how people are currently finding you is to use Google Analytics (or your favorite software) to review your Acquisitions. Are they coming from Organic Search or are they coming from Referrals, such as Yelp or YP.com. If you're running ad campaigns, which ones are leading to the most conversions or clicks?

What pages are they landing on? Your homepage is likely your most visited page, but look down the list and see where people are landing when they arrive at your site. What is different about that page and why would people be finding it over other pages? Are your keywords incredibly focused? Maybe your meta titles and descriptions are extremely clear and relevant.

Who is finding you? Demographics can help lead you in the right direction on where to focus your efforts. If you're seeing a high volume of middle-aged men, then your strategy should be different than a bulk of your traffic coming from college-aged women. Defining who you're reaching can help you decide on your strategy (should I build content for LinkedIn or Snapchat? Should I run ads on Google, Facebook, or Instagram?).

Step 2: Define your target audience and set your strategy

After you determine who is already finding you online, you can begin to set your sights on increasing your marketing efforts to target similar audiences. If you're seeing a lot of 50+ aged visitors on your site, you might want to look into running some Facebook ads since that population is huge on Facebook. You should also design content around that age group, utilizing images of grandparents or cool seniors riding in a convertible (yea, it's corny but it works).

It's also a good time to define your ideal target audience(s). You may have a new service for young children, so targeting young moms and dads on Instagram and on Google would be a solid route. Just remember to use imagery and content that is relevant to your target audience.

Step 3: Finalize your marketing strategy, set your budget and build your creative

Once you've narrowed your target audience and set your strategy, make sure you have an appropriate budget in place to build out enough content and to run enough ads to get the job done. When building out your content, utilize appropriate channels (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogging, Podcasting) to reach your target audience(s) in as many places as possible. Some people love reading blogs on LinkedIn while others love listening to podcasts on their way into work. Others simply like to browse social media, while those who are actively searching for your services are probably on Google Search typing in keywords to find the best option closest to their location.

Just remember to create content regularly and present it on numerous channels to gain as much attention as possible.

Step 4: Test and Refine

You're running ads, your SEO work is in full swing, you're posting to social, and you even had some time to get a weekly podcast in the works. Look at you go! Now it's time to start looking at that data again to see what is working and to make sure every dollar you're spending is driving traffic and conversions. Look again at who is coming to your site and see how they're getting there. Is your Facebook Advertising campaign crushing it, but your Google Search Ad Campaign a bit of a mess? Start testing and retesting new ads, new creative, new keywords, and new audience parameters to refine your campaigns and determine what is working and what is not.

Just remember, your goal is to get new patients to use your services. If you're putting effort into something that is not helping with that goal, it's not worth your time. Only put money and effort into things that are bringing in new business. It doesn't matter how many 'Likes' you got on a Facebook post if it doesn't have the potential to lead to new patients.

I would love to hear from you about any issues you're having with your healthcare practice in regard to marketing. Feel free to reach out to talk about any ideas you have or anything that doesn't seem to be working for you. 615.249.8488

Does Your Website Match Your Brand?

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 00:36:22 GMT

Does your site match your brand?

Does the look and feel of your website match the work you do or the products you sell? Does it match your energy and the passion you bring to the table?

Websites don’t always need a full rebuild. They may just need some fresh content, new images or an updated staff page. BUT if your site gives you the same awkward feeling as looking at your fashion choices in your high school yearbook, it may be time for a full site refresh.

Here’s the good news: This isn’t 1995, so you don’t have to spend $5,000 to $10,000 for a custom website anymore. Websites have gotten cheaper to build and easy and faster to consistently update, so rebuilding your website on a new platform may actually save you money, especially if your site is over 5 years old.

Is My Content Up to Snuff?

Here is a quick test you can do to see if your content holds up:

Would a first-time visitor be able to determine what you do within 10 seconds of landing on your homepage?
Are all your services and/or products showcased on your website? Do all your services and/or products have in-depth descriptions?
Does your website include all relevant contact information (i.e. phone number, address, hours of operation, contact form, etc.)?
Are your images high quality? Is your logo high quality?
If you have a blog, when did you last post?

These 5 questions should give you an idea of your site’s content quality.

What are the new website trends?

Mobile optimization is at the top of the list. If your website doesn’t look good or load fast on a phone, your site is already missing the mark. Mobile usage exceeded desktop usage over a year ago, so I can guarantee that you are missing out on online business if your website is not mobile responsive.
Simplicity has become a trend over the past couple of years. You may have noticed more websites that are extremely clean and have minimal text and ample white space . This design method allows you to lead customers through your site without distraction. Busy websites can pull their attention away from your calls to action.
Minimal navigation is another theme that has emerged in the past couple of years. Minimal navigation goes hand in hand with simplicity. I’m sure you’ve seen the 3 horizontal line icon (AKA the Hamburger menu ) on mobile websites. This style has also become common on desktop sites to help minimize excessive header elements on the page. If you're not into minimized navigation, at least reduce your menu to your 4 or 5 most important pages.
Personalized images will help your site stand out and will help sell your brand more than stock images. I use stock images on a daily basis, but I also utilize custom images on my website to showcase my brand. Personalized images can help draw attention to your office, your staff, an event, a product or anything that makes your business stand out.
Videos have been a go-to element on websites for years. The ever-increasing quality of today’s smart phones and the ease of uploading to YouTube and Vimeo has led to a massive movement to incorporate more video into marketing efforts across the board. Websites are no exception. The more quality videos you can add to your website, the more engagement you will get from your site visitors.

When was the last time you made an update to your website? Was it last week? Or last month? Maybe even last year? If your website needs a refresh or if your content or design doesn't match your brand, Crosby Digital Marketing is here to help.

I would love to speak with you about your website or digital marketing needs. We offer high-quality and affordable digital marketing services. Call today or send us a message to learn how we can help grow your business.

crosbydigitalmarketing

What is your content marketing strategy?

Where's the strategy?

Be consistent. Write down your plan!

What is a marketing case study? [And how to create compelling ones]

What is a marketing case study?

Why do you need a case study for sales?

Social proof

Grab your lead's attention

Frame your sales pitch around your customer while teaching about your business

Address objections and reservations

Builds confidence and relationships

Marketing case study structure

Come up with a result-oriented title

Introduce the customer

Explain the customer’s problem

Describe your strategy for solving their problem

Give results with visuals and stats

Conclusion with a CTA

Marketing case study template

How do you write a case study?

Follow the case study structure

Define a problem that your typical or ideal customer has

Provide measurable solutions

Gather testimonials that address each section of the case study

Illustrate your case study with data

Make sure your case study tells a story

Use case studies to convert leads into customers

​​5 Ways to Organize Your Marketing and Advertising Efforts

Step 1: Assess Your Current Marketing and Advertising Campaigns

Step 2: Find a Focus with Niche Marketing

Step 3: Create a Content Calendar

Create content for your niche

Step 4: Set Up a System to Track Your Results

Track content marketing results

Track conversions for ad campaigns

Step 5: Create a Lead Tracking System

Track your leads through the sales process

Today is the Day to Get Organized

Why You Need to Track Conversions in Google Ads

Track ROAS or ROI for your Google Ads Campaigns.

What is a Conversion?

What are ROI and ROAS?

What are Google Ads Conversions?

How to Set Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads?

How Do I Test Google Ads Conversions?

How to Assign a Value to Your Google Ads Conversions

5 SEO Tips for Doctors Opening a New Medical Practice: Grow your practice in 2022

How far in advance should I build SEO before starting my medical practice?

SEO Tips and Strategies for Doctors with a New Medical Practice

Don’t let someone else own your profiles

Claim and Update Your Online Listings

Start working on your medical practice SEO strategy today.

Keep your information updated

Plan ahead

Feel confident in your SEO strategy as you open your new medical practice.

What is a Value Proposition and How Do I Create One?

Create a value proposition to focus your marketing strategy

What is a value proposition?

Why is a value proposition important to your marketing strategy?

How do I start writing a value proposition?

Value proposition example

Conclusion

How to attract leads to your medical practice

Acquiring New Patients Online

Website

Educate Your Patients Through Content Marketing

Email Campaign

"But I Don't Have Time...I Need Help"

16 Steps for Marketing Your Accounting and Bookkeeping Business

Online Marketing Guide for Accountants and Bookkeepers

1. Create a Google My Business account.

2. Create content that is informative to your ideal customer.

3. Decide the content topics that you want to create.

4. Put your content where your ideal customer is paying attention to it.

5. LinkedIn Marketing is important for accounting and bookkeeping marketing.

6. Create and optimize a website that gets the right people to contact you for your services.

7. Put your services on your website.

8. Start collecting reviews.

9. Don’t forget to monitor reviews.

5 Ways to Organize Your Marketing and Advertising Efforts