Generating new sales leads was a business challenge that existed long before COVID-19. But when lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders went into effect last year, the day-to-day of every small business drastically changed overnight.
One year later, as the world begins to open again, non-essential businesses have slowly gained momentum; however, many companies are struggling to grow and generate the revenue they had pre-pandemic.
As we all continue to navigate the New Normal, what are some of the best digital marketing strategies you can practice to generate more sales leads for your small business?
In this article, CGI Communications and NEXT! Ad Agency explores how analytics and Google Ads are two digital marketing miracles that can help your sales pipeline experience new growth in the months ahead! Let’s get started.
Miracle #1: Analytics
How well do you know your customers in the New Normal?
We’re not talking about knowing your customers on a first-name basis. We’re talking about your ideal customer, the prospective ones who have yet to discover your business.
Because consumer habits have changed over the past year, now is the time to get reacquainted with your target audience and understand their digital habits and how they shop online.
How to Analyze & Understand Your Target Audience
First, pinpoint how web users are finding your website by placing analytics evaluations and custom avatars on your websites. Then, track your target consumer’s behavior with Google Analytics.
Google Analytics can show you how potential and returning customers are interacting with your website. You can discover where your customers are located, which devices they’re using, and other websites they’ve visited, as well as:
- The age, gender, and interests of your users.
- Which types of content your users engage with the most.
- How users came across your site.
- Which pages have a high bounce rate.
- Which social platforms you’re users engage with the most.
When states lifted lockdown restrictions last summer, consumers continued to shop online for service-based businesses. This will continue to be the trend in the weeks, months ‒ and potentially years ‒ ahead. By tracking your audience’s digital habits, you can pivot your advertising to better target them.
Need help tracking and analyzing your audience? Contact us today and let us strategize a marketing plan that targets your audience and drives the results you seek for your business.
Miracle #2: Google Ads
Your website can experience high traffic and still not convert to quality sales leads. With that said, you may not be attracting consumers who are searching for a business ‒ right now ‒ to call, schedule an estimate, or place an order.
That’s where Google Ads comes in.
What an In-House Expert Has to Say
When we sat down with NEXT! Ad Agency’s Ryan Corcoran to discuss Google Ads and the New Normal, he joined us on a video call with his 7-month-old son in his lap. Upon asking him what the New Normal looked like, he responded, “You’re looking right at it,” as he held up his son to the camera. He had this to say:
“We can’t ignore the New Normal. For most service-based businesses, Google Ads is the best way to gain visibility and generate leads.”
Understandably, you don’t want to waste your advertising dollars on ads that don’t convert. What are ways you can successfully use Google Ads without burning your budget?
(Are you unfamiliar with Google Ads? Read this beginner’s guide for the basics!)
Take Advantage of Smart Bidding
Pay close attention to buyer intent signals. You can do this with Google’s Smart Bidding.
Smart Bidding is a subset of automated bid strategies that analyze contextual data, like devices used by users, peak times of day they’re most likely to search for your business, keywords they’ll search for, etc. Once Smart Bidding has this data, it can automate a bid and optimize its performance without the account owner having to spend more time or money in the process.
Smart Bidding is just one of many best practices you can use for your Google Ads campaign. There are many other strategies when it comes to Google Ads, and if you’d like to discuss which ones would be best for your business, reach out to us today.
Make These Digital Marketing Miracles Work for Your Business!
Here at CGI Communications and NEXT! Ad Agency, we’re celebrating Miracle March and all the ways we can lift small businesses during tough times. Analytics and Google Ads are just the starting point ‒ there’s no shortage of digital marketing miracles that can help your business thrive in 2021.
Stay tuned to our blog for more digital marketing miracles ahead. And if you’d like assistance exploring all the ways analytics and Google Ads can help your business, get in touch with us today!
