You are able to show your expertise
Be aware that the world wide web is extremely broad. Consumers are able to access all kinds of information in no time at all. As a result, it also takes a lot longer to make a final choice. People don't just listen to advertisements anymore, but go out and do their own research to compare products and services with each other. Therefore, it is important that you distinguish yourself in this area and are able to show your expertise.
It is therefore important to consider for whom exactly you create content and products. Entrepreneurs often forget this when they try to fool Google's algorithms. Because of this, they are so busy being found by Google, that they also forget that there are people who get to see all this. They are the ones you need to convince. Not the robots of Google. Search engine optimisation is therefore essentially about improving the website, so that you really deserve to end up higher in the search results. When you build up your authority, this will be rewarded with a higher position within Google and will also lead to more prestige within your branch.
Targeting the target group more effectively
A big disadvantage of offline marketing is that it is often impossible to really target your audience. When you place an ad in a local newspaper or digital magazine, there is a big chance that many people outside your target group will also see it. In this case, the advertisement is seen, but hardly acted upon. A shame, because this way you don't reach the right people to get leads. That is why search engine marketing is a lot nicer to use. With it, you are able to target your audience more precisely.
Draw up a search engine marketing plan, determine your target group and examine how you can best reach this target group and via which channels. A good example is the use of paid advertisements through Google. With Google ads, you are able to reach your target group by using relevant keywords. Think for example of 'bakker Utrecht' for a bakery in the middle of the Netherlands. When people are looking for a good bakery in Utrecht, they will quickly end up at your bakery. This also means that you do not score directly on the word 'bakery', but only when Utrecht is mentioned. This prevents people from all over the Netherlands from ending up at your bakery. And someone who lives in Limburg will, of course, have little use for it. By targeting your audience in a more targeted way, you get many more leads. Something that is virtually impossible with offline marketing.
Strengthening the bond of trust with the consumer
In recent years, there has been a clear increase in the use of social media marketing. Especially since the corona crisis. As a result, more people entered the world of social media. More companies were also making use of it. Now - almost two years later - this is no different. This is not only because of the corona crisis. Even before that time, it was more important to be closer to the consumer on a social level. There are several reasons for this.
First of all, the fact that passive consumers hardly exist any more. Consumers today are able to access an enormous amount of information in no time at all. They can follow the competition, find reviews and assess your overall internet presence. This has both advantages and disadvantages for entrepreneurs. After all, everything they do is scrutinised and negative reviews can have a negative impact on the business. However, it does give you the opportunity to enter into dialogue with consumers. Be open to feedback and actually respond to it. Show that you really care what the consumer thinks of your company and that you do something with the (negative and positive!) feedback.
Social media can play an interesting role in this. For example, regularly post peeks into the company, ask questions about the consumer's day or ask what they would like to see in your product range or which services they would like to use.
You can use social media not only to strengthen the bond of trust with the consumer, but also to gain more brand awareness. After all, more than 70 percent of the Dutch use social media. If you are active on social media and, for example, share messages that are subsequently shared by your target group, this will ultimately also lead to brand awareness. And in the current times, we see that consumers mainly choose companies that ring a bell. They are more likely to choose a company they have seen before than a company that is still relatively unknown.
Search engine marketing is not bound by location
Offline marketing can sometimes be quite difficult. Especially when you have a company that is active throughout the Netherlands. It is almost impossible to reach the whole of the Netherlands with a single advertisement. Nor can you divide yourself into twelve parts in order to tell something in every province of the country. Think for example of motivational speakers who visit certain places to promote their products and services. That is nice when you are only active in one place, but impossible when you have a very broad target group. In that case, search engine marketing is often a better solution.
After all, search engine marketing is anything but location-specific. When you publish a blog today, it can be read all over the Netherlands. Everyone can benefit from your expertise and unique perspective on things within your sector. This requires no physical challenge. To meet potential customers, you only need to increase the online findability of your website. Everything happens almost online these days. You can talk to potential customers by e-mail or over the phone and use your blog and website to inform them about your expertise.
Moreover, this way you do not force the consumer to make an immediate choice. In fact, research has shown that consumers often need to come into contact with a company several times before they actually make use of it. By regularly appearing in the search results or through advertisements on social media, you make the target group interested and enthusiastic about your work. That way, they know where to find you when they actually want to use you.
Search engine marketing is much cheaper
Older companies probably know only too well how marketing has changed over the years. Where offline forms of marketing still played a major role in the past, they are hardly used nowadays. Search engine marketing is used massively. That is not surprising. Certainly not when you look at the prices. In general, online marketing is much cheaper and also provides more leads, because you know how to target your audience much better.
But why this big difference in costs? First of all, because there are no travel costs. People don't have to travel to all kinds of places within the Netherlands to speak to consumers. This can easily be done online. In addition, confidence in the digital world has increased greatly in recent years. It is therefore not surprising that more leads are coming from here nowadays. You also don't have to invest extra in distributing materials.
Search engine marketing is not only much cheaper, but also much more effective. Search engine marketing is also much more flexible. If you have made an agreement with the owner of a newspaper that you will place an advertisement for ten weeks in a row, you cannot simply change this or discontinue it (free of charge) if the campaign is unsuccessful. With search engine marketing, the results are measurable and you can - if the campaign is not successful - adjust it. This way, you never pay unnecessary money for campaigns that do not produce much. Just count your profit.
Internet traffic continues to grow
We can no longer escape the fact that the digital world plays an increasingly important role in our lives. Internet traffic continues to grow constantly. It is virtually impossible to ignore this target group. After all, 3 out of 4 consumers are online. This means that you miss a large part of your target group when you are less visible online. Then there are target groups where this percentage is even higher. Think about young people. They are much more likely to look for services or products online than seniors. Simply because they have grown up with it and have greater confidence in the Internet.
Think about how often you enter an online search query. You might even do it on a daily basis. For example, to gather information or to look up certain products or services. Your target group probably does this too. It is much less common to search newspapers or articles to view products. In most cases you can reach more people by simply improving your online findability.
You are where the customer is
Search engine marketing has made it a lot easier to be in constant contact with the customer. When potential customers are looking for important names in the industry, they will find your company more easily by simply looking for the corresponding website. Also when there is word-of-mouth advertising. If your company name is mentioned, it is important that the consumer can easily do research by performing a search. If you are visible online, you are also always present where the customer is. This not only offers a lot of extra possibilities, but also makes it easier for people to reach you. This way, you will not miss out on any customers.
Reaching the right target groups
Some entrepreneurs do not know immediately what their target group looks like, because it is simply very broad. Then there are also people who belong to your target group, which you might never have thought of yourself. Thanks to search engine marketing, you are able to reach even those people you did not know about. Simply by using the right keywords and creating interesting content for your industry. In this way, potential customers come into contact with your company, because it appears higher in the search results.
More sales
And last but not least... a good position in the search engines ultimately leads to more leads and therefore more turnover. The success of your business stands or falls with the way in which you apply search engine marketing. Several studies have now shown that companies that are active in the digital world are more successful than companies that are less visible online. Therefore, it certainly pays to spend more marketing budget on this.