Wondering if digital marketing is worth the cost? Well, in today’s fast-paced digital world, small businesses are constantly looking for ways to reach their target audience and boost sales. One of the most debated topics in this realm is the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of digital marketing. Is it really worth the investment, or are traditional marketing methods sufficient? This blog post aims to shed light on this subject by examining the pros and cons of digital marketing and its ROI (Return on Investment).

What is Traditional Marketing?

Traditional marketing methods refer to the various ways businesses have promoted their products or services before the rise of digital media. These methods have been used for decades and are often considered the foundation of advertising and marketing. Here are some of the most common traditional marketing methods:

• TV Advertising
• Radio Advertising
• Print (newspapers, magazines, brochures, flyers)
• Billboards and Outdoor Advertising
• Direct Mail
• Telemarketing
• Tradeshows and Events
• Networking

The Digital Marketing Landscape

Digital marketing encompasses a wide range of activities, including SEO (Search Engine Optimization), social media advertising, email marketing, content marketing, and PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns. Each of these channels has its own cost structure, reach, and effectiveness, making it crucial for businesses to choose wisely.

Pros of Digital Marketing

1. Targeted Reach

Precision Targeting

2. Measurable Results

Real-Time Analytics

Unlike traditional marketing methods, where measuring the impact can be ambiguous, digital marketing offers real-time analytics. Platforms like Google Analytics provide in-depth data on user behavior, conversion rates, and much more. This enables businesses to make data-driven decisions.

A/B Testing

The digital landscape allows for A/B testing, where you can run two different versions of a campaign to see which performs better. This is invaluable for optimizing your marketing strategies and maximizing ROI.

3. Global Reach

Borderless Marketing

The internet has effectively erased geographical boundaries. With digital marketing, you can reach a global audience without the exorbitant costs associated with international advertising in traditional media.

Localized Campaigns

Even though the reach is global, digital marketing tools allow for localized campaigns. This means you can tailor your marketing efforts to suit local cultures, languages, and consumer behaviors, making your campaigns more effective.

4. Flexibility

Quick Adaptation

The digital world is ever-changing, and consumer trends can shift overnight. Digital marketing offers the flexibility to adapt your campaigns in real-time. If something isn’t working, you can pause or adjust it immediately, saving both time and money.

Multi-Channel Approach

Digital marketing isn’t confined to just one platform or medium. You can integrate various channels like social media, email, SEO, and PPC to create a cohesive and flexible marketing strategy. This multi-channel approach ensures that you can reach your audience wherever they are.

Cons of Digital Marketing

1. High Competition

Market Saturation

The digital space is incredibly crowded, with millions of businesses vying for consumer attention. This saturation makes it challenging for brands, especially smaller ones, to stand out. The competition is not just local but global, adding another layer of complexity to digital marketing efforts.

Cost of Visibility

Due to the high competition, the cost of visibility can be significant. For instance, bidding for popular keywords in PPC campaigns can be expensive. Brands often find themselves in a bidding war, driving up costs and potentially reducing ROI.

2. Skill Requirement

Need for Expertise

Effective digital marketing is not just about posting ads online; it requires a deep understanding of various platforms, consumer psychology, and data analytics. This often necessitates hiring experts or agencies, which can be costly for small businesses.

Constantly Evolving Landscape

The digital marketing landscape is continually evolving, with new tools, algorithms, and platforms emerging regularly. Keeping up with these changes requires ongoing education and adaptation, which can be both time-consuming and expensive.

3. Ad Fatigue

Consumer Desensitization

With the constant bombardment of ads, consumers are becoming increasingly desensitized to digital marketing efforts. This phenomenon, known as “ad fatigue,” can lead to lower engagement rates and, ultimately, wasted ad spend.

Ad Blockers

The rise of ad blockers is another testament to growing consumer annoyance with online ads. According to a report by the Global Web Index, 47% of consumers use an ad blocker today. This makes it even more challenging for businesses to reach their target audience.

Digital Marketing: Cost Analysis

The cost of digital marketing can vary widely depending on the channels used, the target audience, and the scale of the campaign. However, it’s essential to consider the long-term benefits:

1. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Long-Term Benefits

One of the most critical metrics to consider when evaluating the cost of digital marketing is Customer Lifetime Value. CLV measures the total revenue a business expects to earn from a customer throughout their entire relationship. A well-executed digital marketing campaign can attract loyal customers, significantly increasing CLV.

Repeat Business

Digital marketing not only helps in acquiring new customers but also in retaining existing ones. Email marketing campaigns, loyalty programs, and personalized offers are effective ways to keep customers engaged, thereby increasing their lifetime value.

2. Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA)

Lower Costs

Digital marketing often boasts a lower CPA compared to traditional marketing methods. This is because digital platforms allow for precise targeting, reducing the amount of wasted ad spend on audiences that are unlikely to convert.

Budget Allocation

Understanding CPA is crucial for budget allocation. By knowing how much it costs to acquire a customer through different digital channels, businesses can allocate their budgets more effectively, focusing on channels that offer the best ROI.

3. Scalability

Incremental Growth

One of the beauties of digital marketing is its scalability. As your business grows, your digital marketing efforts can scale alongside it. You can start small, test different strategies, and then invest more in the ones that work.

Cost-Efficiency

The scalability of digital marketing is often cost-efficient. For example, content created for a blog can be repurposed for social media, email newsletters, and other platforms. This multi-use approach can significantly reduce overall marketing costs.

4. Hidden Costs

Time Investment

While digital marketing can be more cost-effective, it’s essential to consider the time investment. Whether it’s the time spent on content creation, campaign management, or data analysis, these hours can add up and should be factored into the overall cost.

Tool Subscriptions

Many digital marketing activities require specialized software for analytics, automation, and campaign management. These subscriptions can be a hidden cost that businesses often overlook.

5. Return on Investment (ROI)

Measurable Outcomes

Digital marketing offers the advantage of measurable outcomes, making it easier to calculate ROI. By tracking metrics like traffic, conversions, and sales, businesses can quickly assess the effectiveness of their digital marketing spend.

Long-Term ROI

It’s also important to consider the long-term ROI, not just immediate results. SEO, for example, may take time to show results, but it provides long-lasting benefits that can offer an excellent ROI in the long run.

By understanding these various facets of cost, businesses can make more informed decisions about their digital marketing investments. While the initial outlay may seem high, the potential for excellent ROI, targeted reach, and scalability often makes digital marketing a worthwhile endeavor.

So, Is Digital Marketing Worth The Cost?

While digital marketing does require an initial investment, the potential for high ROI, targeted reach, and scalability makes it a worthwhile endeavor for most businesses. However, it’s crucial to approach it strategically, keeping in mind your business goals, target audience, and budget constraints.

So, is digital marketing worth the cost? The answer is a resounding yes, provided it’s done right.

Longevity Graphics: Your Digital Marketing Partner

Choosing a digital marketing agency is a significant decision that can shape the future of your business. With Longevity Graphics, you’re not just hiring a service provider; you’re partnering with a team that shares your vision and works tirelessly to make it a reality.

From experience and customization to local insights and comprehensive services, Longevity Graphics offers a unique blend of qualities that make them an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes.

To contact Longevity Graphics, simply visit our website at www.longevitygraphics.com or feel free to call us directly at 604-942-8486.

If you’re looking to elevate your digital marketing efforts and drive real results, consider Longevity Graphics as your trusted partner. Their dedication to your success is not just a promise; it’s a commitment they live by.

In today’s digital landscape, businesses strive to make their online presence count. Google Ads has emerged as a powerful tool that enables companies to reach their target audience effectively. However, merely running ads is not enough. To maximize the return on investment (ROI) and drive tangible results, businesses must master the art of conversion optimization. In this blog post, we will explore the symbiotic relationship between Google Ads and conversion optimization, uncovering strategies to optimize campaigns and boost conversion rates.

Understanding Google Ads:

Google Ads is an online advertising platform that allows businesses to create and display ads on Google’s search engine and partner websites. With its vast reach and targeting capabilities, Google Ads has become a go-to channel for local businesses seeking to attract potential customers.

What is Conversion Optimization?

Conversion optimization is the process of refining and improving the user experience to increase the likelihood of desired actions, such as leads, sales, sign-ups, or inquiries. It involves analyzing user behavior, testing different elements, and making data-driven decisions to enhance conversion rates.

The Synergy between Google Ads and Conversion Optimization:

Google Ads provides a valuable opportunity to generate traffic and leads. However, without effective conversion optimization, businesses may struggle to capitalize on the influx of visitors. By integrating conversion optimization techniques into Google Ads campaigns, companies can maximize the potential of each click and turn visitors into customers.

• Set Clear Goals: Before launching a Google Ads campaign, it’s crucial to define specific goals. Whether it’s generating leads or sales, increasing newsletter sign-ups, or driving website traffic, setting clear objectives allows for focused optimization efforts.
• Target the Right Keywords: Keyword research plays a pivotal role in Google Ads success. By understanding the search intent of your target audience, you can create highly relevant ads that align with their needs. Ensure your keywords are aligned with your landing page content to improve ad quality scores.
• Craft Compelling Ad Copy: Captivating ad copy is key to enticing users to click on your ads. Incorporate persuasive language, unique selling propositions, and strong calls to action (CTAs). Regularly test different ad variations to identify the most effective messaging.
• Create Relevant Landing Pages: A seamless user experience from ad to landing page is vital for conversion optimization. Ensure that your landing pages are tailored to match the ad’s message and offer relevant information and a clear path to conversion. Optimize landing page load times and design for mobile devices.
• Implement Conversion Tracking: Tracking conversions is crucial for understanding the performance of your campaigns. Utilize Google Ads conversion tracking or integrate third-party tools to gain insights into which keywords, ads, and landing pages are driving the most conversions.
• A/B Testing: Experimentation is key to continuous improvement. Conduct A/B tests on various elements, such as headlines, CTAs, colors, and layouts, to identify high-performing combinations. Use statistical significance to determine the winning variations.
• Retargeting/Remarketing: Not all users convert on their first visit. Implementing retargeting campaigns allows you to reach out to users who have previously shown interest in your products or services. Tailor retargeting ads to remind and incentivize them to return and complete the desired action.
• Monitor, Analyze, and Optimize: Regularly monitor the performance of your Google Ads campaigns. Leverage analytics tools to gain valuable insights into user behavior, engagement, and conversion rates. Continuously optimize your campaigns based on the data, making data-driven decisions to enhance results.

Conclusion:

Google Ads is a powerful advertising platform that, when combined with effective conversion optimization strategies, can propel your business to new heights. By aligning ad content, landing pages, and user experience, you can enhance conversion rates, boost ROI, and drive sustainable growth.

PPC Marketing Coquitlam

The online marketing world has changed dramatically in recent years. Google AdWords is one of the platforms creating this change. Google AdWords is a paid advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) service offered by Google. It is one of the most effective methods of paid advertising online.

Google AdWords is used by organizations of all sizes. These organizations all have one thing in common. They want to reach a large number of people who search for information, products, and services online.

What is PPC Marketing Coquitlam?

PPC stands for pay-per-click. It is a type of internet marketing in which the advertiser pays a fee each time their ad is clicked. When clicked, the ad directs the searcher to a landing page. The goal of the advertiser is to get the searcher to perform a predetermined task. Generally, this task is to purchase a product or service. Essentially, PPC is a way to buy visits to your website, rather than obtaining the visits through organic methods.

How Does PPC Marketing Coquitlam Work?

Let’s take a look at the image above. In this example, I searched for Website Design Coquitlam in Google. As you can see, a PPC ad for Longevity Graphics appeared at the top of the page above the organic results. This ad includes the same information as the typical Google search results. Additionally, it includes:

• Address
• Phone Number
• Hours of Operation
• Highlighted Services

PPC Marketing is Good for Everyone

Searchers – Research indicates that searchers click on paid search ads more than any other form of digital marketing. This means that people don’t mind being advertised to through this medium, as long as the products and services that appear actually fit their needs.

Advertisers – Through their search query, searchers reveal their intent to purchase. Using the results from Google AdWords and Google Analytics, advertisers are able to measure the quality of traffic that results from PPC clicks. They can then refine their ads to achieve different results.

Search engines – PPC Marketing allows search engines to cater to searchers and advertisers simultaneously. As long as search engines continue to display relevant ads to searchers and provide measurable information to advertisers, then both parties will remain happy.

PPC Keyword Research

Conducting keyword research can be a very time-consuming task. However, it is incredibly important as your entire PPC campaigns are built around the keywords you choose. An effective PPC keyword list should be:

• Relevant
• Exhaustive
• Expansive

If Google AdWords and PPC Keyword Research are tasks you would rather leave up to the professionals, then get in contact with Longevity Graphics for your PPC Marketing Coquitlam services, today! We provide a FREE 1-Hour Consultation so you can learn about the services we offer.

FREE 1-Hour Consultation!

Looking to drive more traffic to your website? We all are, aren’t we? Ever hear of Google Adwords? Most business owners have either heard of it or have even tried it out themselves. Google offers a free $100 coupon for first time business owners and even offers to help you setup the account. Sounds good, right? Business owners beware!

I have been setting up Google Adwords accounts for business owners for over 10 years and have learned from experience the best ways to optimize your Google Adwords account to get the most return on your ad spend. I charge all of my clients a fee to setup their Google Adwords accounts up because it’s takes time to setup the campaign correctly the first time. This saves our clients money in management fees in the long run. Management time is much easier and time effective.

Frequently clients hear about the Free $100 coupon for Google Adwords which includes a  Google specialist assisting them on setting up their accounts for free. They often ask why I charge a setup fee when they can get Google to do it for them. Here is a little case study that we recently did to test Google’s free account setup.

CASE STUDY

A local Ranch in BC providing horseback trail rides to BC residents approached us to setup their Google Adwords account up. We contacted Google Adwords free account services to help with the setup. The Google specialist was very pleasant to deal with and set the whole campaign up for us in about 20 minutes. After the campaign was setup, this is what we found.

1. The campaign was setup to geographically target all of the United States (not BC)
2. There was only one ad group setup
3. All of the keywords were included in the one ad group (this will lower the quality score)
4. The keywords selected included horseback vacations (which the client does not provide)
5. The ad copy was again promoting horseback riding vacations
6. The ads were being pointed to a generic landing page instead of the landing page specific to horseback trail rides

If we were to let the campaign go live the way that it had been setup by the Google Adwords specialist, my client would have been wasting their money, and the end result in their mind would be that, “Google Adwords does not work“.

WHAT WE DID

We modified the campaign to target local searchers using keywords that described the service being offered. We created multiple ad groups of unique keyword phrases so that we could target the ad copy to the search query. We sent traffic to the landing page describing the horseback trail rides. Within the first 2 days of the campaign that WE created going live, our client is already receiving requests for their services.

We are a fully certified Google Adwords agency and take the time to get to know our clients, the services that they provide, their target audience and their competition. We take pride in helping our clients grow their businesses and are only happy when our clients are happy.

If you are considering implementing a Google Adwords campaign, please contact us first for a free consultation so that we can help you save money in the long run and build your business with strategic internet advertising planning.

Lindsay Viscount, Owner / Creative Director
[email protected]

Longevity Graphics has been building websites and implementing internet marketing strategies since 2002. Our competitive advantage is the experience that we bring to the table, the extensive knowledge of Google Webmaster standards, ranking factors, conversion optimization, and the personalized customer service that we provide to all of our clients; big and small.

When working with our clients on an internet marketing campaign, we utilize many different platforms to get the best results for the unique needs of the client. 3 platforms that we almost always recommend include:

• Google Adwords
• Google Places
• Google+

Google Adwords is a pay-per-click option that allows our clients to drive immediate targeted traffic to their websites. We can control the placement of the ads (whether you come up first, second, third or on the side), the cost of the clicks and the daily/monthly budget and target the ads geographically. This is a great platform to start receiving great results when implemented correctly. If you have tried implementing a Google Adwords campaign and failed to see results that were bringing you a return on your investment, it is worth speaking to an expert who knows how to optimize your campaign.

Google Places is a great way to target geographical search queries interested in working with a business with a specific geographical region. The benefit to Google Places is it’s FREE, the listings out rank organic results and your customers can add reviews to your listing which can help to promote the benefits of dealing with your company.

In the example below, you can see that The Last Door is coming up for the search querie “Recovery Centre For Men New Westminster” within the Google Places section of the search results page which is out ranking the organic search results.

Google+ is an interesting new platform that we are urging our clients to take advantage of. Google is starting to display Google + profiles within the search results pages (seen below). Not a lot of companies have started using this platform for marketing and you can really get a jump up on your competitors by utilizing this platform.

In conclusion, when developing an internet marketing strategy don’t forget to utilize these great Google platforms to help boost your exposure. Gaining targeted traffic in all areas of the internet will help to develop your brand, increase your leads and at the end of the day you will see an increase in your return on investment

Pay-Per-Click/Google Adwords Landing Page Recommendations

When designing the landing pages for the pay-per-campaigns like Google Adwords or a Yahoo/Bing campaign it is good idea to start by designing 2 completely different designs (1 short page, 1 long page). You provide all of the most important information above the fold. (The fold is everything that is on screen without having to scroll.)

Important elements include:

Above the Fold:

1. Heading – Repeat the Ad Copy Title and Search Query (Needs to be attention grabbing)
2. Relatable Image (Unique to the target audience) or video
3. Feature a incentive or offer (Fill out this form to download a brochure)
4. Limit the amount of navigation (To prevent the PPC campaign from being penalized in quality score, Google likes the user to be able to navigate other aspects of the website; however, we want the user to do one thing, sign-up for a membership. Limiting the amount of navigation will prevent the user from losing focus on the page goal)
5. Dominant Call-to-Action (Get Brochure Now)
6. Credibility (Affiliation, association and accreditation logos.)
7. Security Logo for the form or call-to-action button
8. Key Benefits in list format 5-7 (Keep it simple)
9. Client testimonials highlighting the benefits (include pictures to add credibility)

Below the Fold:

1. Additional call-to-action buttons throughout the landing page
2. Features
3. Repeat benefits throughout the page
4. As much information as the user needs to decide to contact you

Landing Page Testing

Once you have launched a pay-per-click campaign, it is a good idea to test certain aspects of the page to identify what your audience will respond best to in order to achieve the best conversion results. You can easily test different aspects of your landing page by implementing Google Website Optimizer. Here is what I recommend testing:

1. Short Page vs Long Page
2. Heading Content and Placement
3. Main image size, content and placement
4. Promotion
5. Call-to-action placement, wording, size and color

Building websites and landing pages for conversion optimization is something that I love to do and have developed skills in for many years. If you are creating a landing page and would like a second opinion on what you have developed, I am always happy to give you my opinion, so send me an email. [email protected]

Google Adwords audits are something that we do quite frequently. I run into tons of small businesses that setup their Google Adwords accounts on their own hoping to gain new business leads. The thing that I find most often, is that businesses that setup their own accounts usually make some common mistakes that can cost them big. Their budgets get eaten up and the leads that they receive are not very relevant. Something that I often hear is “Google Adwords doesn’t work!”

Well if you setup your account to target relevant traffic, Google Adwords can be a very cost effect way to increase your business leads and your ROAS (return on as spend). Here are some tips that will help you to improve your campaign.

 Tip #1 – Campaign Setup

When setting up your campaigns, it is a good idea to break the campaigns up by geographical region and by the network that you choose to market your ads on. This will help you in the future to allocate more budget to the campaigns that are performing at a higher level, converting, and bringing you more of a return on your ad spend.

Tip #2 – Ad Group Setup

When setting up your ad groups, it is a good practice to setup many ad groups that will incorporate unique targeted keywords. This will allow you to develop targeted keyword rich ad content to display to your audience that is relevant to the search query. Implementing this strategy will increase your chances of a higher click-through-rate which will in turn increase your quality score giving you a better cost-per-click and higher placement than your competitors based on a usability experience.

Tip #3 – Keywords – Broad or Match

When selecting keyword match types for a PPC campaign, it is important to take into consideration many factors; fist and for most, conversion rate, cost-per-click, conversion rate and quality score. Adding broad matches will get you more volume but will cost you more per click. The quality score on the broad match keyword should be lower than an exact match on and hence cost-per-clicks should be higher. You can run a low cost-per-click, high click-through-rate campaign on exacts but your ads will only reach a small audience.

Recommendations for setting up the pay-per-click campaign are to use broad match for longtail keywords and test broad and match types for higher traffic keywords. Since longtail keywords are already very targeted they will receive less traffic and convert at a higher level. However, the higher traffic keywords need to be tested to determine which convert better and have a higher return on ad spend. Once return-on-ad-spend has been determined, we will select the best method for specific keywords.

Tip #4 – Longtail Keyword Strategy

Within the pay-per-click channel, best practice strategies indicate that using more descriptive longer search phrases (longtail) convert at a much higher rate and cost a lot less than broader terms. Using geographical terms matched with broader terms is a great way to create longtail keywords. This is a strategy that we will implement.

Tip #5 – Hire A Professional

If all of this sounds foreign to you, hire a professional to setup your account for you. We setup accounts for clients all the time, and once your account is setup right from the beginning, it’s takes very little time to manage it. If you have already setup your Google Adwords account, we can audit it for you as well.