February Editorial from Kow Abundant 

Love is in the air as February rolls in and you will start seeing new promotions all over the place to celebrate love and each other. Kow Abundant works with a variety of businesses to this effect so we have to think extra hard about it!

Google has seen lots of updates in January to their ranking algorithm, some that have affected search traffic for small businesses around 1/22. We are monitoring this and other updates to Google’s network and how it affects local web traffic. In general, web traffic has decreased from highs in December as it cools off before ramping up through February and into March 2022. Many businesses slowed down their ad runs in January and will be looking to increase again in February and March. Usually, we see Valentine’s day as the start of businesses getting back into more ad spend. Obviously, that varies per industry but that is also when consumers start thing about going out more and is a great time to remind people of the great things your business does.

This month, Kow Abundant will be testing out a new chat network for customers on our website. The chat network will feature 24/7 operation. If this test is successful, we look forward to rolling this out to our customers to offer similar live chat experiences. The best part of this is that it isn’t dependent on you or your staff but through a dedicated team using a custom script that you create who then forwards leads to you. More to come on this.

Kow Abundant just won a major award for 2022. SocialAppsHQ named us a Top 3 Facebook Marketing agency in Columbus!

As a top Social Media Marketing Company in Columbus, we work hard to achieve lasting results for our clients using proven Facebook marketing techniques that deliver better results. We have shown that our work results in a 4x greater ROI vs doing it yourself and in many cases even better than that!

It is wonderful to be honored in this way. Read the full article and release here.

“Affordable ad solutions and social media marketing is at the heart of this accomplishment and what we strive to provide to our excellent clients”

 

Top Client Questions Of The Month:

Thanks to all the clients and newcomers for these great questions. Watch the Video Newsletter Here for more details.

1. What is the best marketing platform in 2022?
– The best platform is the one that works best for you and your business so it wont be the same for everyone. Analytics is your friend here and so is trying out marketing campaigns and posts on different platforms. The top platforms we see our clients use are: Youtube, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram.

2. I have multiple locations across the state or states, how should my website handle this for best Google SEO?
– Google’s chief strategist John Mueller tells some best practices for this here. Search Engine Journal: Google’s Advice For Targeting Multiple Locations With One Website. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/googles-advice-for-targeting-multiple-locations-with-one-website/433846/
– The idea is that it is best to dynamically show relevant info on the homepage based on where the user is. Showing them unique content to them if say their IP is from Ohio, show them the nearest address info and info about that business location.

3. I have a site that I used as a landing page previously, I now have that content on my main website. I still want the links and to keep that landing page site online but I want Google to focus on my main site. Should I No-Index my landing page or what do I do?
– what you might want in this case is rel Canonical as this hints to Google to use the main site instead without losing the links from that site. Google’s SEO pro in chief recently answered this question. When To Use Rel Canonical Or Noindex …Or Both. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/when-to-use-rel-canonical-or-noindex-or-both/427522/

4. The Google Postcard to verify my business still has not arrived, what has happened and what can be done?
– Google PIN codes are sent via USPS mail to verify a local business address. Unfortunately, mixups happen with mail deliveries and sometimes they get lost in the mail. If you have not received your code with the suggested 5 business days the best thing you can do is to resubmit and have Google send you a new code in the mail. You also have the option for manual review which will require proof you are in the building you say you are in such as images of your signage, images of the building, and other supporting documents like a w9.

5. What is the ideal Youtube description length? What is the ideal Youtube description for SEO?
– Youtube descriptions can be up to 1000 characters long. There is a lot that can go into the SEO for Youtube. For descriptions on Youtube, you want to provide a quick and clear description of the video as well as relevant links. Don’t be afraid to use emojis here as well. Also, be sure to ask your viewers to like and subscribe at the bottom. Finally, you can add chapters or focus points to your video by putting short text descriptions and a timestamp such as:
0:00 Beginning of my video
1:25 A cool part my video
2:46 Another cool part of my video

6. Is .ORG better than .COM?
– Actually No. Nowadays it is actually better to get the best domain possible that fits your business objectives and sometimes that means getting a domain that isn’t .COM. Google has stated that it doesnt matter if you use .COM or .NET or .ORG or others as long as you have a domain that makes sense to your business. If your domain is easy to say and share it will be shared more so that helps you more overall than if you have to settle for a longer domain that might end in .COM.

7. Can I change my domain can I keep my Google Analytics?
– Technically you can keep your same Google Analytics ID and transfer it to the new domain. To do so you will need to update your Google Analytics code by adding it as indicated in Admin -> Tracking Info -> Tracking Code
– You should also annotate in Google analytics when you made the changes in Personal Tools & Assets -> Annotations
– From here, the new code is on your new website and will track things moving forward on the same analytics account.
– Note that you might have to create some 301 redirects if old site pages were removed. Also, prior goals may no longer work. https://www.opentracker.net/article/updating-redesigning-or-migrating-your-website-without-losing-analytics/

8. Will blogging help my Google Ads quality score?
– The best way to improve Quality score is to serve relevant ads to the best landing page possible. This means to integrate the whole ad experience for the user to the best ad from their keyword search to the best landing page that answers what they wanted and then for them to enjoy and use your website and to then click to book your service.
– The short answer is no, blogging does not improve quality score. Your landing page and the ad you serve them are what dictates quality score.
– https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6167130?hl=en

9. How long after I enter my GMB pin code will my business show up and be verified?
– Do not enter the code yourself as this can take 2 weeks to update. It is advised that you have Kow Abundant or our listing reps enter your PIN code for you since our accounts will be in higher standing. https://support.google.com/business/thread/1878152/how-long-after-verification-will-my-business-show-on-google-map?hl=en

10. Can you do before after as ad on Facebook?
– No, as per Facebook policy for business accounts you are not allowed to do before and after images for health services. Sometimes these can be approved when boosted on a page but for the business manager ad side they are against Facebook’s ad policy. https://www.facebook.com/business/help/2489235377779939?id=689788528177451

11. What is the difference between a display ad and a search ad?
– Display ads are visual ads that show on popular websites like ESPN, MSNBC, FOX news, and many many more. They allow for advanced ad targeting like interests and sometimes ages and incomes. You can also retarget users who have been to your website or even visited competitors or other sites or searched certain keywords.
– Search ads are text ads that show on Google search for keywords you pick. Things like “best place to buy a wool sweater” would show search results with possible ads at the top. Search ads are deeper in the sales funnel because people are actively looking for something and more likely to make a purchase then.
– Display ads vs search ads is a numbers game. You can get lower cpc (cost per click) with display ads and more web traffic but that doesn’t always mean your cost per conversion will be less. Since search ads are deeper in the funnel they often result in a lower cost per conversion overall. If you care about numbers and web traffic then you want display ads. If your only interested in the bottom line search ads might be a better fit but often they are more costly to start. Read this if you dont know which is best for you Google Ads or SEO, Which is better?
– Best tips: I often recommend that my clients start off small with display ads to gather info about their site visitors and build up a bigger audience. Then it often results in better search ads with better conversions when they are ready to increase budgets in search advertising.
– How much should I expect to spend on display ads?
– Display ads are a more affordable way to get into Google advertising. With display ads I often say a starting budget of $5 per day is good and plan to grow from there once you find the best conversions and what works for you. The beauty of display ads is that you can even have lower budgets than that and often get traffic to your website!
– Search ad costs vary depending on your industry and can have a wide range of prices. For your best fit pricing, contact Kow Abundant. That being said, I often tell my clients to expect to have a starting budget of $300 per month or more when running search ads. You can do less but that is a comfortable ad spend that gets you more data to get better reliable results.
– How Long does it take?
– The process cycle is typically 3 months. Where month 1 is information gathering.
– At month 2 we are starting to get some good data and more conversion info and we begin to understand what is and isn’t working for your ad campaigns.
– By month 3 we are starting to hid our stride. Some campaigns take longer than others but this is a decent guide of what to expect. From here we tweak and refine conversion tracking and work to lower your overall cost and cost per click or cost per lead based on your goals.

Watch the SEO Video For more detailed answers

GOOGLE ADS NEWS

FLoC introduces Topics for testing new way to segment audiences and users. Google appears to be searching here for something that will work with Privacy sandbox. They are basically asking, “is this okay?”. Watch Google introduce Topics

Google Ads expands New audience targets including cancer and other industries for display ads. Quite interesting now they give that option where before many of those sites would just be blocked from targeting. Now Google is saying just use these targets instead so at least they give you some options now for targeted display ads.

SEO NEWS

Unconfirmed Google search update 1/22/22. See if spike or decrease in traffic.

Namecheap has top domains for 2021. No surprise it is still .com
https://my.visme.co/view/kkykzw8x-namecheap-2021-domain-insights-and-trends-report#s1

Google rolls out core update 1/11/2022 and in January

A recent Poll of SEOs asked what do you think would happen if Google just gave 100% transparency of its ranking algorithm public, 80% of SEOs said searches would be worse off due to SEOs abusing the system.

Businesses are naming themselves “‘Business name’ Near Me” as a ranking strategy.

Google will deprecate Google My Business APIs in April this year, so if you have maps function on your website be away if that stops working to get that fixed in April with the newest version.

PRO-TIP

Get Cozy with Social Media. Find something you love and do it. If you are willing to chat then record some audio and share it, if you love to write then blog about a favorite or popular business topic. Try video, you might be surprised how much you like it and the fun you have.

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This month’s charity is
Support the Animals – Betty White Challenge / Local Animal Shelters

Each month we support a charity and donate to it. This month we encourage you to Franklin Co Animal Shelter,

Columbus Humane Society,

Cat Welfare.

 

This Month in Memes

Lawyers marketing something

Inspiring Words.

Thanks for reading! Please comment below with any questions.

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