Traditional marketing platforms such as TV ads, roadside billboards and printed advertisements have provided a way for businesses to advertise and sell their products to consumers for decades, and will continue to do so. However, as consumers are turning to Google and other search engines more and more before making purchasing decisions, there has been a huge shift from traditional marketing to search marketing.
Unfortunately, with traditional marketing, small business owners have always had the disadvantage of smaller marketing budgets which equates to smaller reach. Consumers were much more likely to buy from bigger brands with well-known reputations.
But now, in the new era of search marketing, 90% of smartphone users say they aren’t sure of specific brands they want to buy when they begin shopping.¹ Combined with the fact that 49% of Australians have discovered and bought new brands they had little knowledge of prior to smartphone search², it’s fair to say that there is a huge opportunity for large and small businesses alike to skyrocket their sales by showing up in the search engine results.
So how can you get your business to show up in the search engine results? The short answer is search marketing.
What Is Search Marketing?
Search marketing refers to both paid and unpaid search engine marketing. Encompassing both search engine optimisation (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, search marketing is the process of promoting a website to increase online visibility, traffic, leads, and even sales.
What Makes Search Marketing Awesome?
Over 3.5 Billion Google Searches Are Performed Every Day
Over 3.5 billion Google searches are performed every day. That’s over 63,000 searches per second, and over 1.2 trillion searches per year! That’s more than double the number of Google searches performed 10 years ago (2008).
The astounding increase in searches performed on Google and other search engines has caused a global shift from traditional marketing towards search marketing. In fact, a recent survey showed that 99% of businesses plan to increase their investment in digital marketing in the next year, with social media and website as their top priority.³
But, how does the astronomical number of Google searches performed each day translate to new business opportunities?
71% of Consumers Begin The Purchasing Process Using A Search Engine
Recent studies have shown that approximately 71% of consumers begin the purchasing process by using a search engine to discover new products and services.⁴ This means that the majority of people will turn to search engines first when choosing a product or service to purchase.
In fact, the growth of consumers turning to search engines when making purchasing decisions can be seen across a huge range of industries such as:
- Home Goods & Furnishing
82% of people use their smartphones at home to search online when buying home goods furnishings.⁵
- Home Services
67% of smartphone users have used their phone to locate a home services business.⁶
- Professional Services
76% of Australians who used professional services in the past 6 months used a smartphone to find these services.⁷
- Health Services
77% of smartphone owners in Australia have used their smartphones to find local health services in the past 6 months.⁸
- Clothing & Accessories
88% of smartphone users in Australia turn to their smartphones at home to search online when buying clothing or accessories.⁹
Additionally, 76% of people who conduct local searches on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours of the search, and 28% of those searches results in a purchase.¹⁰
Not only has this created a new platform for businesses to increase brand awareness by getting their brand in front of a huge audience. Unlike traditional marketing platforms such as TV ads and billboards, search marketing provides an opportunity for businesses to get their brand in front of people who are already looking for their products or services, in other words, qualified leads.
The potential for gaining qualified leads through search marketing means that, when successfully executed, search engine marketing can lead to a much higher return on investment in terms of dollars spent vs. revenue gained when compared to traditional marketing.
Search Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing: Lower Cost – Less Risk
One huge benefit of search marketing over traditional marketing is that all businesses, small and large, can leverage the search marketing platform due to the significantly lower entry price of search marketing.
For example, in Australia a smaller sized billboard ad (6x3m) would usually cost somewhere between $1900 to $3600 per month, not including additional costs of ad printing and installation which can add another $1000+ to the total cost. Of that potential $4600 spend, there is no way to measure your return on investment short of asking each new customer why they choose to shop with you.
Conversely, when beginning search marketing with a pay per click (PPC) campaign such as Google Ads, you can set your own budget depending on your business’s available cash flow. However, it is recommended to start with a budget of at least $1000 per month.
As one of the best ways to immediately increase website traffic and sales, once you have begun to make money with your Google Ads campaign, you can use that money to invest in additional search marketing platforms. This means that even small businesses with limited cash flow can invest in a successful search marketing campaign as opposed to traditional marketing which is generally only viable for moderate to large businesses.
Businesses Make An Average Of $2 Revenue For Every $1 Spent On Google Ads
Not only does the reduced entry cost of search marketing mean less risk, search marketing has been proven to provide a high return on investment in terms of dollars spent vs. revenue earned. In fact, businesses make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on Google Ads.¹¹ Similarly, a recent study found that content marketing (a form of search marketing) costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates approximately 3 times the number of leads.¹²
Additionally, there are a number of online tools available, such as Google Analytics, that allow you to track exactly how many new site visitors and new leads are generated through your search marketing efforts. This means that, unlike with traditional marketing, you can keep track of exactly how successful your marketing campaign is with real data.
How Can Search Marketing Help You?
If you’re a small business owner looking for a way to get your brand in front of more people and skyrocket your sales, consider investing in search marketing. Click Street can design a search marketing campaign that is customised to meet your business goals. Call us today on 07 3063 0260 to discuss how we can skyrocket your sales with search marketing!
References:
³ https://themanifest.com/digital-marketing/how-businesses-invest-digital-marketing
⁴ https://searchengineland.com/value-search-across-modern-consumer-decision-journey-270021
¹⁰ https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-resources/micro-moments/purchase-decision-mobile-growth/
¹¹ https://economicimpact.google.com/methodology/
¹² https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/10/stats-invest-content-marketing/