Bay of Plenty Business News September/October 2017

28 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS September/October 2017
Be seen by consumers
when they search online
TELLING YOUR STORY
> BY JAMES HEFFIELD
Director of Bay of Plenty communications consultancy Last Word
Writing Services. To find out more visit lastwordwriting.co.nz or
email james@lastwordwriting.co.nz.
Back in the 1990s and early 2000s business success often
relied on having a swanky shop in the heart of the CBD.
Shopping was done in person and people had to leave the
comfort of their own homes.
How things have changed.
These days more than
half of New Zealanders’
shop online each year, and it’s
a company’s website that provides
its window to the world.
But having a nice storefront
isn’t enough. You also need to
be easy to find.
In an online context, a critical
aspect of being ‘findable’ is
appearing in the first few pages
of search results when people
use an online search engine to
look for the kinds of products
and services you offer.
In New Zealand, Google is
used for around 95 per cent of
searches, Bing is used for 3 per
cent of searches, and Yahoo is
used for about 1 per cent.
While search engines can
automatically discover your
website once it’s created, there
are no guarantees your site
will appear on the first page of
people’s search results when
they are looking online.
Studies have found that less
than 10 per cent of people
look beyond the first page of
Google, so if your site isn’t on
the first page, most people will
not see it.
So, what can you do to give
your website the best chance
of making it onto that first
page?
One of the best things you
can do is to regularly add
quality content. Make sure it
relates to what you do, and
includes some of the search
terms people are likely to use
when looking for the kinds
of products and services you
offer.
Search engines scan the text
content on each page of your
website to determine what it
is about and whether it relates
to the search term used by the
person searching.
When doing this, they
pay particular attention to the
words in your headings and
subheadings, so it’s useful to
make sure these include terms
people are likely to search for.
This should never be done
at the expense of readable
content.
Keywords should be woven
in organically, as many search
engines – Google included –
penalise your website if they
pick up that you are clearly
trying to game the system.
The number and authori-
Studies have
found that less
than 10 per cent
of people look
beyond the first
page of Google,
so if your site isn’t
on the first page,
most people will
not see it.
ty of other websites providing
hyperlinks to your site is also a
factor in how your site ranks in
the search results.
Links to your website from
sites interpreted as popular
and trusted by search engine
algorithms will boost your
ranking.
A link from an online directory
is unlikely to make much
difference, whereas a link from
a major news website will have
a larger impact.
Algorithms used by search
engines also take into account
other factors influencing the
user experience when deciding
how to rank search results.
For example, Google’s
search algorithm considers
how fast your site loads, how
well it performs on mobile
devices, and whether it has
basic security technology enabled
to protect users.
Make sure the file sizes of
images used on your website
aren’t too large, ensure your
website works well on different
screen sizes, and ask your
IT team to enable SSL encryption
to help protect users.
Of course, tweaking your
website isn’t the only way to
improve its search ranking. If
you are willing to spend some
money then you can always
pay to ensure your site makes
it onto the first page of the
search results.
Google AdWords, Bing
Ads and Yahoo Gemini let you
bid on specific keywords (e.g.
“life insurance”, or “florist
Tauranga”), to ensure your site
appears closer to the top of
the search results when people
search online.
Keep in mind that websites
appearing in people’s search
results due to paid advertising
are clearly marked as ads, and
some people prefer to ignore
them to browse results that
appear for more organic reasons.
Boosting your search rankings
can add real value, but
it should never be done at
the expense of the usability of
your website.
After all, if your website
doesn’t provide a pleasant
experience, it’s unlikely to
convert all those extra visits
to sales.
Increase your social media success
Social media is a must for
all businesses. Research
has shown businesses
that spend six hours a week on
social media, drive leads and
increase sales.
Regardless of what industry
you’re in, social media is
a cost-effective way to share
information and reach large
audiences.
GROWING YOUR BUSINESS
> BY DARREN MCGARVIE
Darren McGarvie is co-founder and Chief Coach of the
Firestation, the Bay’s only business growth centre. To find out
more go to www.thefirestation.nz or email grow@thefirestation.nz
This can increase brand
awareness, reach and lead generation,
as well as improve
website traffic and internet
search ranking. But the most
important reason to use social
media is that your potential
customers expect you to.
More than 90 percent of
people research online before
making a purchase.
They trust peer reviews and
social media comments more
than website content or traditional
advertising. Businesses
not on social media are missing
out on opportunities.
There are a myriad of social
media platforms to choose
from. To reach New Zealand
audiences, the main options
are Facebook, Instagram,
Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat,
You Tube, Google+ and
LinkedIn. To be honest, there
are just too many to be on them
all, so be selective on which
ones you actively use.
It is much better to concentrate
on one of two social
media accounts and do them
well. To decide what platform
is best, find out what your customers
are using.
In New Zealand, Facebook
and YouTube have the biggest
number of regular daily users
followed by Instagram.
As a guide we recommend
our clients be on Facebook
and have a LinkedIn profile.
Other platforms can then be
added, based on the target market
preferences.
For example, if your product
or service is visual then
Instagram can be a good
choice. If your product or
service is DIY based, arts or
cooking then Pinterest should
also be considered.
And you need to be aware
that successful business social
media isn’t free. It’s a payto-
play platform for business.
With social media, you have
two types of reach.
With “organic” people see
your posts as they (or someone
they follow) likes your page.
“Paid” reach means businesses
pay for advertising to increase
the number of people who see
their posts or pages.
Yes, you can get high
organic reach, especially if you
go viral.
The more people who interact
with your posts the more
your audience will grow. But
the majority of the time you
will need to pay.
As a general rule of thumb,
Facebook will only show your
posts to five-to-10 percent of
your fan base, and Instagram
accounts are experiencing similar
numbers.
The good news is that
social media advertising is not
expensive and you can determine
how much you spend.
You also get real time results
on progress and can see if your
adverts are providing results.
If not, you can continually
tweak them until they perform
better.
Here are five tips to increase
your social media success:
1) Create quality content
You need to post content that’s
unique, tailored for your audience
and, most importantly,
positions you as a thought
leader in your industry. And
don’t forget to include video.
2) Tailored content
Content must be tailored for
each platform. Simply replicating
posts across different
channels isn’t enough.
3) Have a plan
Create a social media calendar
and set out what content you
will share and the images you
will use. Having a planned
approach will save you a lot
of time.
4) Have guidelines
It is incredibly important to be
clear on what is appropriate to
post for your accounts, especially
if you have staff doing
this for you.
5) Don’t give up
Building your social media
accounts take time. If it is
really not your forte consider
outsourcing its management to
get running successfully.