Category "SEO"

Useful Search Queries Enhanced By Google My Business

SEO

For years business’ going online have come to realise the ever increasing importance and advantage of getting their business (retail and franchises) listed on Google My Business. As more and more people use mobile for their shopping journey, whether it starts at home through online browsing, an app or while out and about, being perfectly placed within distance has proven extremely resourceful in drawing foot traffic into stores. But that is not all. Over the years ‘Google My Business’ has further improved functionality, usability and created more innovative ways for business to track as well as promote their business on Google Maps.

Here we will list common features and some advanced features you may not be aware of that will come quite handy in making your business stand out from the rest and compliment your AdWords (if you already are running ads).

1. Operating Times

When a user searches for your operating hours in Google they are now presented with a bolded and prominent operating time for the day in the search results and daily operating hours for the rest of the week in the business listing on the right.

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2. Business Address

Users can now also search a business address directly from their browser and be presented with Google My Business results prominently in the search results and further information in the google My Business pop up as well in seconds

Casson Media

3. Contact Details For Mobile

Google My Business has not only made it easy for users to contact your business telephonically from the map results now users in your vicinity or shopping from home can call directly from search results as well.

4. Directions

This feature was once limited to Google Maps on desktop and on the mobile app, now users can get directions to your location as well as the estimated time to get there directly from Search Results on the go.

5. Google Map Posts

One of our favorite and exciting features recently added to Google my business is the improved ‘Google Posts’. This feature allow you to post articles, images and pretty much any promotional material and news about your business on your Google My Business at absolutely no charge. We’ve seen this work well across the board of clients and generate its own awareness and traffic to users actively looking for the business at that moment.

Almost unlimited in its functionality you may add as many as you require and users will be able to scroll through each post. You may also assign what type of post with a link to your landing page whether it be for: Signups, Buy, Learn More, etc. Email updates on how your posts are doing are sent to you occasionally as well.

 

Additionally you can see how many views a post receives and also able to set ‘from’ and ‘to’ dates on a promotion from the back end of Google My Business

5. Insights

This incredible feature is a great tool for seeing and analysing overviews on how searches are performing from direct web traffic, search listings, Map listings to even searches attributed to calls.

There is so much more to be explored within Google My business, while it continually improves but what we have given you so far are some of the best features you can use to get the most out of your business and maps listing this year. But don’t take our word for it, try them out and see what it can do for you today.

DATE: Feb 28, 2018
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za

3 Google Changes We are Looking Forward to Seeing in 2018

Adwords, SEO

As we kick off yet another year in Digital Marketing, the updates that roll out throughout the year are hard to miss. From better performance enhancements to sales and everything else in between, here are three things we are eagerly waiting to see their influence as the year progresses.READ MORE

DATE: Jan 29, 2018
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za

What Are Google Adwords Expanded Text Ads?

Adwords, PPC, SEO

Google is known for always coming up with all kinds of updates to their products for all kind of reasons including to better enhance the experience of the end users, expanded text ads are one such change coming after Google got rid of the right side desktop ads.

Here are things that we at Casson Media think advertisers need to know about expanded text ads. Google is calling this a major change since the launch of Adwords by actually increasing their ad text limits by two times more.

So Why The Major Update?

Well simply put, new ads are designed to maximize presence and performance on mobile search results because of the bigger headline and a longer description, the other good thing about the change is that the ads will automatically resize based on the size of the device they appear on so you can say goodbye to creating separate ads for both mobile and desktop. Below is a preview of the difference between standard text ads and the new expanded text ads.

 

What does this mean for advertisers?

With the introduction of expanded text ads, advertisers now have more to say in their ads, meaning more visibility and higher CTR. With more room for relevant descriptions and more space to get your message across, this is in our opinion, one of the reasons expanded text ads are a welcomed update to Adwords.

Here is a preview of what kind of text optimization options you have in the back end while writing or migrating your old ads to the new format.

The new “path” option will help with siloing and help users better understand the structure of your website, which may lead to higher click through ratios.

For further reading: click here

In closing this major Adwords update should bring about an upgrade to the performance of search ads in general and we as Casson Media will continue to experiment with the new ads format to better fine tune our theories and facts, and given that as of January 31st 2016 you will no longer be able to create or edit standard text ads within Adwords the sooner you get used to the new expanded ads and navigate your way around the better.

DATE: Nov 11, 2016
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za

What is Google Data Studio?

SEO

Data Studio is Google’s latest reporting tool that integrates with Google’s products like Google AdWords, Google Analytics, Google Sheets and YouTube to create visually stunning reports to share with clients.
READ MORE

DATE: Oct 17, 2016
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za
Comments: 2

SEO is Mostly About Quality Copywriting And Keyword Research

SEO

If you would like to have the competitive edge over your competition, it might be a good idea to know why they are so successful and which tools they are using that is getting them there.

Key words are everywhere for everyone to see on the web, therefore using the keywords that your competitors are successfully making use of are no secret, and “borrowing” them is not dishonest or sneaky but a really clever way of strategically making use of something your competitors have paid an untold fortune for, helping them to rank way up on the Google ladder and keeping them ahead of the game, and even ranking number one!

By making use of SEO and strategically placed keywords, the idea is to rank high on Google, and by doing so, you have to be on top of your game all the time. Marketing online is certainly one of the most successful ways to advertise in this age of technology, but having a terrific website that knocks the socks off is one thing, yet managing it correctly and using SEO in an accurate manner is entirely another issue altogether.

If you are not on the first page of Google but somewhere in the nether pages where no-one can see your efforts and stunning ideas, what services you offer and what it is that you sell, there is little if any point at all in the exercise. After all you did not fork out copious amounts of money and put together an incredible site to be tucked away where no-one can find you.

First things first – you ought to find an SEO specialist who could help you to improve your rankings and to build a niche through spot-on differentiation. Think ahead and use influential SEO with the assistance of your SEO specialist.

Quality copy will also ensure that you rank. There is nothing quite as off-putting reading through reams of poorly written content that does not grab the attention of the visitor, and information that is neither informative nor pertinent to the subject at hand.

Ensure that your website makes a difference and that your SEO specialist improves your visibility in order to drive more traffic to your site.

DATE: Nov 4, 2015
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za

Identify a Professional SEO Company

SEO

At Casson Media we have come across too many clients that have been scarred badly by SEO companies that have taken them for a ride when it comes to the professional SEO services that they provide. When asking clients why they decided on the SEO company they simply said that they did not know any better.

By taking this quick SEO company quiz we will be able to give you an idea if the SEO company that you are using is professional or if the company is doing more damage than good.

Please note: Your email address is used strictly for sending the results of the test to you. We will not use your email address to send you specials, emails or any other form of unsolicited communication. We value privacy and do nothing with your email address.

At the end of the quiz you will be sent an email telling you the results of your SEO companies credibility. If you would like to skip to the answers then please click here.

DATE: Nov 4, 2015
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za

Skilled Interns Move South Africa Forward in Digital

SEO

Casson Media as a full service digital marketing agency that designs and develops websites with SEO in mind and also offers Google Adwords account management and consultation, have leveled up by acquiring one of the Digify graduates (Solomon Nakana). Digify is a digital bootcamp backed by Google SA and IABSA for young South Africans looking to find careers in the digital space.

Casson Media has ensured a high level of growth by getting one of their own interns from the first ever group of youth who have been given hands on digital skills training by Google and other top digital agencies in South Africa. This is very much to the industry need as these interns come fully trained with some new, fresh ideas that help to move South Africa forward in the digital space.

Casson Media CEO Bryan Casson played a key role in training up the interns on behalf of Google South Africa as one of the Google Partner Academy trainers for the youth, training them in Google AdWords management as well as other Google products like Google Analytics and YouTube.

So if your looking to move your business to the next level, think Casson Media because not only do we have the experience and high level of expertise, but we are also keeping up with the trends by getting new digital talent on our side.

DATE: Nov 4, 2015
AUTHOR: wordpress@casson.co.za