Special Feature
more traditional marketing methods, you’re likely
leaving money on the table.
ONE EXAMPLE OF EFFECTIVE
“TRADITIONAL” MARKETING: RADIO
As we move forward to 2020, there is a renewed
focus on marketing tactics and budgets. For many
businesses, this is the time of year that they start to
plan their budgets for the upcoming year.
Specific metrics, such as the number of pages that a
user visits when they come to your site, or how long
they spend there, are important quality signals to
Google.
What does branded search traffic do? Why, it
provides plenty of strong engagement signals to
Google of course! This matters because…
If you’re reassessing your marketing, it would be
wise to consider some traditional marketing tactics
that can run alongside your digital efforts. With the
right strategy, the return on investment (ROI) can
be both significant and surprising.
BRAND BUILDING
A strong brand pays dividends in the long-term, but
it also can have an influence on your near-term as
well. As a search engine optimization specialist, I
view branding from a different lens: I can see and
measure its impacts on your Google rankings.
Here’s one such example of how a branding
campaign (radio) can influence your SEO.
… the number of clicks from Google organic (via
SEO) going to the website, as well as the number
of impressions, increase alongside the number of
branded search impressions.
In other words, the more people go to Google looking
for you specifically, the more Google views you
as a quality result and so it ranks your site better
holistically as a result.
RADIO IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE
The above example of how radio can impact SEO is
not isolated. Branding efforts holistically, from TV
and radio to things like billboards and direct mail,
can increase consumer interest in your brand and
Google’s interest in your brand as well.
The above image shows the number of times users
searched for this company’s brand name in Google.
Notice the increasing trend that begins in February
(and gains momentum in May). That is because a
comprehensive radio campaign began at that time.
That radio campaign sent more people to Google
looking for that practice specifically.
Why is that a good thing? It’s because Google uses
machine learning (called “RankBrain”) to analyze
how its users interact with both its search results
and the websites it sends users to.
When you are looking at your marketing mix for
2020, don’t neglect the often-forgotten basics like
radio and direct mail. You may find that they uplift
your marketing as or even more effectively than
social media. OP
Cameron Martel is an experienced digital marketer,
managing SEO and content campaigns since 2005.
He currently works with dozens of eye care practices
through his work with Marketing4ECPs. He’s
colourblind, but don’t remind him or he’ll be seeing
red (or so he thinks). Cam can be reached at www.
marketing4ecps.com or [email protected].
Optical Prism | October 2019 39