Last updated 7 months ago
We work with small business owners every day, so we know just how much they value their time. That’s why we want to help make staying up-to-date with their online marketing should quick and simple. So today, we are launching the official ReachLocal App to do just that, putting powerful online marketing insights and leads into the palms of our clients’ hands.
With the ReachLocal App, our clients will have the ability to track the performance of their online marketing campaigns no matter where they are. But more importantly, the ReachLocal App delivers real-time notifications of new leads, giving small business owners the chance to respond to them as they receive them.
Features of the ReachLocal App:
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Instant alerts about new calls, emails, Web forms, and chats from online marketing campaigns
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Playback of recorded calls with the option to rate and respond directly from the app
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Detailed reports listing campaign metrics like budget spend, visits, and impressions
Plus, the ReachLocal App is simple to navigate and presents the information in a clear and easy-to-read format. Check out a preview of the ReachLocal App and all its features in this infographic.
To learn more, visit the ReachLocal App page on our website. And, if you are a ReachLocal client, download it for free today.
Download the ReachLocal App for Android
Download the ReachLocal App for Apple
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Last updated 8 months ago
Have a blog for your business but don’t know what to write about? Or thinking about starting one and aren’t sure what to post? Creating fresh, dynamic content for your local business blog is an important part of optimizing your business Web presence and helping you get found in organic search. But it’s not always easy to come up with blog topic ideas to fuel your Web presence.
So, we’ve created a quick and easy guide with 35 headline formulas you can use immediately to jumpstart your content creation and spark your creativity.
Download the Free Guide Now: 35 Business Blog Post Headlines That Work
In this guide, you’ll find ideas for creating seven different types of blog post headlines, including:
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Posts that showcase your expertise and help build trust with consumers
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How-to and product information articles that educate and inform your readers
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Customer testimonials that illustrate and promote how your business helps its customers
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Promotional and editorial content that can help persuade your audience to take an action, like calling or emailing you
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Articles that showcase the life of your business or your community involvement
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Timely and seasonal articles that can play off of a popular or important trend
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Articles that use sensational or controversial writing conventions to grab the attention of readers
By using a mix of these different types of articles, you can build a fresh, relevant stream of content for your blog that keeps readers informed, interested, and engaged with your business.
Get the guide now! 35 Business Blog Post Headlines That Work
Have you tried any of these article types for your blog posts? What’s your favorite type of blog post to write? Share your thoughts in a comment!
Last updated 8 months ago
Now you know some text ad writing basics for your small business, but how can you take your ads to the next level to increase clicks from people searching online? In addition to writing compelling text ad copy, there are a few advanced tactics you can try to optimize your text ads. Here are a few tips to drive more clicks on your text ads from consumers searching for your products or services.
1. Research Your Competitors’ Text Ads
One of the most common requests we hear from our clients is to make their text ads stand out from their competitors’. One way to do this is to research your competitors’ text ads. You can conduct a search for your top keywords and geographic location to see the sponsored ads that are already showing up for that search. First, you need to know what your competitors are advertising, such as a seasonal offer or a special promotion of a product or service. It’s also important to take note of the content and keywords they are including in their ad copy. Then, write ad copy that clearly differentiates your ad from what’s already showing up in the sponsored results for your target keywords and area. And, make sure that if you choose to include an offer or promotion that it’s also present on your landing page, or it could negatively impact your quality score or cost per click.
2.Try Dynamic Keywords
Dynamic keyword insertion is an advanced tactic that can help you increase the clickthrough rate of your text ad. This technique dynamically inserts the specific keyword a consumer searched for into the copy of your ad. And since the consumer is searching for that specific term, they may be more likely to click on your ad if it displays an exact keyword match. If you do use dynamic keywords, ensure that all the keywords you are bidding on make sense when used in your text ad. It’s also important to make sure that all of the possible keywords are relevant to your landing page and destination URL to improve both your quality score and the customer experience when someone clicks on your ad.
3. Create Ad Groups
Creating multiple ad groups enables you to create different text ads for the various types of keywords you are bidding on. Ad groups allow you to be more specific with your text ads to entice more clicks from people searching for the different types of products or services you offer. For instance, a dentist could create one ad group for teeth whitening and another ad group for dental implants. When someone searches for those specific products or services, the text ads that are relevant to those keywords are displayed, helping to increase the chances of a click.
4. Consider Ad Extensions
Available with Google AdWords, ad extensions enable you to include additional information with your text ad that is outside of the word count and text ad format. This not only provides additional space for your text ad copy, but including ad extensions can help improve your clickthrough rate and quality score while providing additional conversion paths for your prospects. There are several types of ad extensions you can take advantage of, including extensions for your location, click-to-call number, site links, and products. For instance, the location extensions will display the physical location, and if your ad appears within the first three positions, your ad will also include a drop-down link to Google Maps. When using ad extensions, it’s also important to select the correct business icons and categories for those extensions that require them.
5. Test Different Text Ads
It’s important to test multiple ads with different products or services, promotions, and keywords in your text ad copy to see what combination works best for your search campaign. You can also test whether dynamic text ads and ad extensions increase the number of clicks you get from your ads. For instance, you could test one ad that’s enabled for dynamic keyword insertion and one that’s not. After testing different text ads for a couple of months, you’ll have a better idea of what factors have the biggest impact on the performance of your search advertising campaign.
Which of these text ad strategies have you tried? What other tactics do you recommend for optimizing your text ads for clicks?
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About the Authors
Tamara Weintraub helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media, and content marketing as a writer for the ReachLocal blog.
Melanie Medders is a Sr. Campaign Professional who helps local Philadelphia Internet Marketing Consultants manage campaign performance for their Premium service advertisers.
Last updated 8 months ago
Retargeting is a valuable type of display advertising that can help a business build brand awareness with people who are looking for their products and services. This form of display advertising identifies consumers who have performed a specific, desired activity online, such as searching for a term or visiting a business’ website. Then, based on that activity, the retargeting technology shows them a targeted display ad when they visit a website.
What do you need to know about retargeting for your business?. We sat down with Brian Kim, Director of Display Advertising at ReachLocal, to ask him about ReachRetargeting, our new retargeting offering. Check out this interview to you’ll learn the answers to questions like:
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How can retargeting advertising help local businesses reach more prospects?
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What’s the difference between search retargeting and site retargeting?
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How do these technologies work together to improve ROI?
Watch the video:
Last updated 8 months ago
Creating effective text ads for your search engine advertising campaign is not always as simple as it seems. It’s important to understand all the parts of a search ad so that you can write enticing copy while meeting all the publisher guidelines. Here are a few dos and don’ts you should follow to write text ads that will show up when someone searches for your keywords.
Do: Know the Text Ad Format
The top three search engines, Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, have slightly different guidelines for the text ads they display on the search engine results page, so if you’re running ads on all three platforms, make sure you know the ad format and word count, so you can tailor your ads to meet their individual requirements.
If you choose to run the same ad across all three publishers, you can use this formula:
It’s important to note that ads can be placed above and to the side of the organic results. If your ads run above the organic results, the search engines may combine your headline and first line of text, so make sure that they make sense if run together.
Do: Optimize Your Display URL
The search engines will automatically feature a display URL above your headline that is not included in the character count. You may be able to customize a vanity URL that, while itself may not be real, links to your website home page or the landing page you are sending search traffic to. Ensure the URL you are displaying with your text ad is relevant to the destination URL of the landing page, or your text ad may fail the publishers’ text ad requirements.
Do: Include Target Keywords
To get the most out of your text ad, we recommend using the text ad’s headline and Line 1 for keyword-rich content. Although the keywords you use in your text ads don’t have to exactly match the keywords you are bidding on, they should closely relate to them, as well as to the keywords on your landing page. For example, if you’re an attorney, you may be bidding on several keyword variations, like “attorney,” “attorneys,” “lawyer,” and “lawyers.” However, you may want to limit your text ad to include only one or two of the keywords that you think consumers will typically search for. You can use tools like the Google AdWords Keyword tool to help find keywords related to your business with a higher search volume. Keep in mind that the relevance of the keywords in your text ad to those you are bidding on and to the keywords that appear on your landing page can impact your quality score, clickthrough rate, and cost per click.
Do: Write a Strong Call to Action
We recommend reserving Line 2 for a compelling call to action, such as “Call Today” or “Sign up Online.” You can also use this line to include a promotion or free offer in your text ad, like “Free Consultation.” Make sure that if you do include an offer that information about that offer is also present on your landing page, or the search engines may flag your text ad.
Do: Use a Call Tracking Number
Only Google allows the use of phone numbers in a text ad, but using a phone number in your search ad could potentially work against you if your goal is to get clicks from people searching for you rather than to generate phone calls. So, before you choose to include a phone number, determine what the goal of your text ad is and how people will be using it. If you do choose to include a phone number, it’s in your best interest to use a call tracking number so you can see if any calls came as a result of your search advertising, even if the consumer did not click your ad. Remember that numbers take up valuable space in text ads, so you can also consider using Google’s ad extensions if you want to include a phone number.
Don’t: Include Your Business Name
While it’s perfectly acceptable to bid on your business name keywords, don’t eat up your text ad word count with your business name. Unless your business is a well-known and recognizable brand, it probably won’t increase clicks on your site. Instead, focus your text ad copy on your benefits and competitive differentiators that will entice searchers to click on your ad.
Do: Capitalize Every Word
When writing text ads, it’s a best practice to use title case, also known as camel-capping, which means capitalizing the first letter of every major word in the ad, excluding short words like “a,” “the,” and “in.” However, you want to avoid using all caps or excessive capitalization, which can cause your text ad to fail publishers’ guidelines.
Do: Include the Right Punctuation
It’s mandatory to include punctuation—most typically a period-- at the end of Line 2 of your text ad. You should also consider using punctuation throughout your text ad, as it gives you the flexibility to ask questions or end an idea in the middle of a line. It’s also important to include punctuation after line one if your ad is placed in the position above the organic listings.
Don’t: Use Trademarked Terms
It’s important to note that all search publishers prohibit the use of trademarked terms like “Botox” or “Lasik” in the copy of text ads, unless you own the trademark on that term. However, you can still bid on these keywords so that your ads have an opportunity to appear to consumers who search those trademarked terms. Instead of including trademarked terms in your copy, use a general phrase like “laser eye surgery” to ensure publisher approval.
Don’t: Use Unknown Abbreviations
Many businesses want to include abbreviations in their text ad copy to stay under the required character count. If you decide to include abbreviations, only use those that are common and easily recognizable, like “Appt” for appointment or “Apt” for apartment. Don’t use any potentially confusing, made-up, or uncommon abbreviations like “Tdy” if you mean “Today.”
Now that you know some of the basics of how to write a text ad, stay tuned for some best practices for optimizing your text ads to get more clicks from people searching for you in part two of our series on text ad best practices.
What other dos and don’ts do you follow when writing search ads? Share your text ad writing tips and best practices in the comments.
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About the Authors
Tamara Weintraub helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media, and content marketing as a writer for the ReachLocal blog.
Melanie Medders is a Sr. Campaign Professional who helps local Philadelphia Internet Marketing Consultants manage campaign performance for their Premium service advertisers.
