In this article, we will discuss the difference between Google Ads and Facebook Ads (yes there is a difference). You will discover the 2 critical factors you should consider before choosing which platform is right for you. And finally, we will show you the most common mistake most businesses make when it comes to Facebook Ads.

Pay Per Click Advertising

Before we get into the differences between these platforms and how to choose which one is right for you, let’s talk about their similarities.

Google Ads and Facebook Ads are both forms of Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. This is where companies can create an advert but only pay when someone clicks on the advert. The amount you pay per click is determined by an algorithm unique to each platform. This means that you can control exactly how much you are willing to spend on PPC advertising.

The attractive thing about PPC advertising is that you can track exactly how many people saw and clicked on your advert. Both Google Ads and Facebook Ads, when done correctly, will provide you with measurable ROI. Therefore they are very popular with small to medium size businesses on a budget!

But that is where the similarities stop.

The Only Difference, That Makes a Difference

Google Ads and Facebook Ads are vastly different in how they operate and who they are intended for. I am not going to dissect each platform, but rather I will give you the defining factor that separates them:

• Google helps customers find businesses.
• Facebook helps businesses find customers.

It’s that simple. Let’s elaborate.

Google helps customers find businesses.

Google’s objective is to help people find exactly what they are looking for in as few clicks as possible.

There are over 2.3 million searches happening on Google every minute. Using Google Ads you can target certain keywords and create an advert to appear when a search contains those keywords.

Almost instantly you can get potential customers clicking through to your website.

So if you are a plumber in Pretoria, for example, you want to be on Google Ads since there are about 1600 searches for “plumber Pretoria” a month on Google. That’s a lot of business.

Facebook helps businesses find customers.

Facebook knows you better than you know yourself. It knows everything from your age to what sports team you support. It collects behavioural data from customers and basically sells it to businesses.

Using Facebook Ads, a Business can target a specific “audience” based on their likes and behaviours.

So, for example, if you own a Mobile Dog Grooming truck in Sandton, you can create an advert that targets people on Facebook that match the following criteria:

• Behaviour: Pet Owners
• Location: Bryanston
• Age: 24 – 44
• Likes: Dogs

Yes, Facebook actually knows whether you own a pet or not. The legality of how it knows that is up for debate but it does, and you can be targeted by a business.

We use more complex targeting strategies than that, but the fact is that you can target almost anyone on Facebook.

So as you can see, Facebook and Google serve two very different purposes – do you want to target people looking for your service, or do you want to create a demand for your service? This brings me to our final point.

Two Factors to Consider When Choosing Between Google or Facebook Ads.

As with any successful marketing strategy you have to know what your objectives are and who you are marketing too. It’s no different when it comes to choosing between Facebook Ads and Google Ads.

Who is your target audience?

There is no point in spending time and money setting up Facebook Ads when your target audience is high-level executives who prefer to mountain bike while their wives use Facebook.

And there is no point in spending time and money setting up Google Ads if your target audience is 50-year-old farmers from Springbok who prefer to do business in person at trade shows.

So, really the first thing you need to do is identify who it is you are targeting, where are they spending time online, and how are they looking for services.

What is your objective?

The next thing you need to consider is what your digital marketing objectives are? Do you want instant sales? Or do you want to fill your pipeline with leads?

If your objective is direct sales, then Google Ads is your guy. In other words, if you have a product or service that people know and look for online then you can target them with Google Ads to generate almost instant sales (depending on how good your advert and landing page is).

By comparison, if your objective is to create brand awareness, by getting your service in front of a specific group of people, then Facebook Ads is your guy. Facebook is a great way to generate leads for your business which down the line might become customers.

For example, let’s say you own roofing business. You can create a Facebook advert offering a “Free Leak Inspection” before the rainy season and target-rich suburbs like Hyde Park and Bryanston. You will get a ton of sign-ups – filling your pipeline with leads, i.e. prospective customers.

Avoid This Mistake.

If you have chosen Facebook Ads as your medium, the single biggest mistake you can make is trying to use Facebook to generate direct sales. Why? Because people on Facebook are not there with the intention of spending money.

The ability to be able to pinpoint a specific audience tempts businesses into creating sales-based ads. But they are wasting their time and money on people looking for updates from their friends and cute cat pictures to post on WhatsApp groups.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it is impossible to sell on Facebook – you just have to go about it differently. We use Facebook to generate sales in two ways:

• Retargeting – Facebook Retargeting Ads are perfect for reaching your website visitors on Facebook. If someone viewed your products or services but did not convert on your website, then your can use Facebook Retargeting Ads to give that person a discount or perhaps some additional info to help them make the purchase.
• Brand Awareness – If you are an unknown brand, you can use Facebook Ads to promote your content (blogs, videos etc.) in order to build credibility with an audience. This strategy is not meant to generate out-and-out sales, but rather website traffic and brand awareness. (Which you can retarget with an offer later on Facebook)

If You Just Skipped To The End of The Article

To give you the answer you would expect from a digital marketing company- it shouldn’t be a question of either or – both Facebook Ads and Google Ads should form a part of your digital marketing strategy.

Google helps customers find businesses. Facebook helps businesses find customers.

Google Ads allow you to generate almost instant leads and sales from people already looking for your service. Facebook Ads allow you to market your products and services to new audiences and build brand awareness.

Bonus tip: You should never use Facebook Ads for direct selling – instead use Facebook Ads to promote your content, in order to get your services in front of new audiences.

We can all agree that there is nothing worse than coming across a website with a bunch of outdated information on it. Not only is it inconvenient for your potential client, but it shows a general lack of website maintenance. Finding a company that provides website maintenance services will ensure your website is kept safe, secure and will prevent you from ever having to suffer the embarrassment of having outdated information on your website again.

LaunchWeb has created a list of the top 7 reasons why you need website maintenance services:

SEO:

Google penalizes websites that aren’t regularly maintained by pushing them down in rankings. Having a meticulously optimised website that’s always kept up-to-date means better rankings. And better rankings on Search Engines means more business for you!

Security:

Time and time again we come across WordPress websites that haven’t been regularly updated and have fallen victim to hacking. Google takes note when a website gets hacked and places a disclaimer next to your site, warning visitors that your site is insecure which is a sure way to lose business. Having your website hacked is not a fun experience and can result in irreparable damage to your brand.

Your Copyright:

We can see it hasn’t been updated in ages. Too often we come across websites that have a “Copyright 2012” in their footer. It would make for a pretty awkward conversation if one of your prospective clients had to point it out.

Latest News:

It’s a few years late. The last post on your “Latest News” feed was from your Christmas party 3 years ago. Ensuring your existing clients and prospectives are kept up to date with your latest goings-on will keep them connected to your brand.

About Page:

If your “About Page” still displays photos of people who haven’t been a part of your team for the last 2 years then you most definitely need to update that. Don’t have the time? Then employing a company that provides website maintenance services is exactly what you need!

Products:

Your website displays products that you no longer sell. Having to explain to a prospective client why you still have products on your website that no longer exist would not only be embarrassing for you but would create a sense of distrust in your brand.

Contact Details:

Your contact details are no longer valid and your prospective clients can’t get in touch with you. There’s no quicker way to direct them straight to your competition. Not only will they lose confidence in your brand, but you’ll lose business too!

Employing an agency that provides website maintenance services will not only ensure your website stays up to date, safe & secure, but will maintain customer confidence in your brand and keep you ranking well too. LaunchWeb offers a variety of website maintenance packages, tailored to your needs and of course, your budget!

Get in touch with us today to enquire about our WordPress website maintenance packages that will save you time, money and a whole lot of stress!

Getting more website traffic for free is easier than you think. In this article we will show you how you can increase your website hits. However, it is a long-term strategy that will take time to bear fruit. So if you are looking for a quick-fix to increase website visitors, then this article is not for you.

I will show you a simple 3 step process to creating a Content Marketing Strategy, that if followed correctly will undoubtedly boost your website traffic. If you are willing to invest some time and implement the strategy properly and consistently, then you can say goodbye to paid advertising!

How to get more website traffic

There are no complicated methods or intricate strategies involved in this process. Everything I discuss can be easily implemented by yourself. Are you ready for the 3 simple steps to getting more website visitors for free? Here they are:

1. Set up a blog
2. Create content
3. Share content

That’s it. I apologise if you were looking for something a bit more exciting or elaborate than that. But the truth is, that this is all you need. And if you implement those 3 steps, as I am about to demonstrate, then you can create a predictable traffic generating machine!

1. Set up a Blog

Before we dive into the “How To” part, let’s talk about why a Blog is so important.

Let me ask you this – if you have a problem, where do you go for answers? Probably Google, or other search engines like Bing. You type a query or problem into Google, and within seconds you are provided with a million potential answers. Magic!

Those answers come in the form of blog articles and content, not created by Google, but by millions of people like you. Google only has to decide which articles are most relevant to your search query (which is a conversation for another time).

People read blog articles and content to educate themselves on a certain topic, service or even company. Who better to educate potential customers on your services than you? Or would you rather let them read about it on a competitors website?

In summary, a blog will help you to do 3 things:

1. Establish yourself as an authority in the field (which means more people will want to read & share your articles)
2. Build trust with your readers (making it easier for you to convert them into leads & sales)
3. Boost your search engine rankings (badda bing, badda boom, more website traffic)

Here is a great article on setting up a blog using WordPress.

2. Create Content

This is categorically where 99% of businesses go wrong when they want to get more website traffic.

Chances are that you already have a blog, but you are posting infrequently and even then you aren’t sure what you should be posting. The problem is not the “doing” but the “strategy”. The trick with creating good content is knowing where to start.

You should start with a content strategy. Here is our 5-minute content strategy:

1. Create a buyer persona – who are they, what are their hobbies, where do they spend time online?
2. Write down their pain points – what are the problems you solve? I.e. what would cause someone to look for your services.
3. Brainstorm some articles & content ideas – come up with content ideas for each pain point.

Following this strategy for each of your services and buyer personas will give you a solid content strategy, with a ton of content ideas. The best part is that you will no longer be thumb sucking your content – each article you write will be relevant to a particular type of customer and the problems they have.

TIP: What type of content is best for website traffic? It’s important to understand that content comes in many different forms (see here) and that your buyer persona will determine which form of content is most effective for them.

But, if you fail to plan then you plan to fail. So, the next step would be to create a Content Calendar. Schedule 1 article or content piece per week, until you have used up all of the ideas from your brainstorming session. Set reminders in your Outlook, Apple or Gmail calendars and stick to the damn schedule!

The last thing to remember when creating content is to create valuable, share-worthy content! Do not just write articles for the sake of writing articles – this leads to poor content that no one will want to read or share. Put some effort in, do research, draw diagrams – remember you aren’t just creating content, you are creating value!

In summary, the 3 golden rules for creating content are:

1. Relevancy – using this content strategy will allow you to create content that is relevant to your customers.
2. Consistency – stick to your schedule! Google loves blogs that are constantly being updated.
3. Quality – when you write an article ask yourself a) Would my customers find this article useful b) would they share it with their friends.

3. Share Content

It’s going to take a while before these articles start generating more website traffic by themselves. And speeding up this process is a catch-22 situation to be honest – because you need traffic to get traffic. I know… but bear with me.

Using blog articles as an example; it can take months before Google starts ranking your articles. And even then, Google’s algorithm will determine how well the article will rank (i.e. whether it’s page 1 material, or page 592). So to get Google to index your article more quickly, you have to generate some traffic yourself.

Luckily, today it is very easy to get your content in front of people. Here’s some tactics you can use:

1. Email – every time we write a new article, we send an email out to our database with a link. This gets us a few hundred hits on an article almost instantly.
2. Facebook – Facebook is the king of content – people are reading and sharing images, videos and articles all the time. So share your content on your company page, groups and your own personal page. Encourage people to like and share.
3. Twitter – every day there are trending tags (topics) on Twitter, if you have a piece of content that can leverage off a trending tag, then post a link and hashtag it! This does involve checking Twitter every day, but the results are worth the effort.
4. Linkedin – if you’re a B2B company, then LinkedIn is the place to be. Post your articles on your feed, company feed and on any groups, you follow. A popular form of content on LinkedIn is SlideShare – which is essentially a PowerPoint presentation.

However you choose to share your content, just make sure that you do! The goal, of course, is to get people to share your content for you. And how do you do that? By creating content that is worth sharing!

Bonus: Not-so-free website traffic

If you are like me, then you want results now. And there is nothing wrong with that, but it’s worth realising that some things just take time and there is nothing we can do about it. However, if you are desperate for website traffic then you can always throw some money at it ?

1. Facebook ads – when you write a new article, post it to your company page and boost the post for a few hundred Rand. This will show your post to thousands of people within a few hours. Facebook also allows you to really pinpoint specific target audiences.
2. Google ads – drive traffic directly to landing pages on your website. A landing page is like a sales page for a specific product or service. Don’t just send people to your home page – create ads for each of your services, and link those ads to the service pages on your site.

Bonus Bonus: Paid Traffic vs Organic Traffic

Paid traffic should definitely be a part of your online marketing strategy, but it should not be the entire strategy. To produce a consistent amount of website traffic that provides consistent leads, you need a paid traffic strategy and a content marketing (free traffic) strategy. It’s important you know the benefits of both methods:

The biggest takeaway should be that a Content Marketing strategy (free traffic) will yield better, more consistent results in the long run. All the content you create (articles, infographics, videos, eBooks) will not only boost your website rankings, but it will build trust with your audience making it more likely that they will do business with you.

Here’s the scenario: Month-end is creeping closer and you realise that your leads have dried up. So in a panic, you fire an email to your “web guy” asking him to pull a report on your website stats. He volleys back an email with the report attached, accompanied by a casual “Hi, Here you go”. Ignoring his nonchalance you anxiously you open the report, but to your dismay, you are only getting 37 visitors a month. Doing some Grade 7 maths you realise that’s only 3 visitors a day! Slumping back in your chair you ask yourself “Why is no one coming to my website?”?

The answer is fairly simple:

1. People can’t find your website or,
2. You aren’t promoting your website… which means, yup you guessed it, people can’t find your website!

For the purpose of this article, we are going to assume that your website is live and working, but it is just not getting website traffic.

“None shall pass!” The Black Knight Scene, Monthy Python

1. People Can’t Find Your Website

Before we address why people can’t find your site, let’s first talk about how they find websites. And the answer is “Search Engines”. A recent report by Smart Insights shows that there are over 6.5 billion searches made every day! It is safe to say that no one uses a phone book anymore. So if people can’t find you, it is because your website is not ranking high enough on search engines for people to find it.

This is because of that dreaded SEO you hear about. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase website traffic by obtaining a high-ranking placement on search engines like Google and Bing. So without further adieu let’s dive into some rudimentary SEO in order for you to increase website traffic:

1.1 You are not allowing Google to index/crawl your site.

Before we get into the spiel about off-page and on-page SEO, let’s start with the basics. First, check that your website is allowing itself to be shown on search engines. If you have a WordPress website check that the “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” box unchecked in the Settings >> Reading >> Search Engine Visibility tab. 

The next thing you would have to check is that your robots.txt file is not disallowing search engines to crawl your site.  (Robots.txt is a text file webmasters create to instruct web robots (typically search engine robots) how to crawl pages on their website).  Here is a guide from Google on how to Test your robots.txt.

OK, so we have established that your website is not blocking search engines.

1.2 Your website does not have on-page SEO

On-page SEO is the practice of optimising elements ON your website in order to rank higher in search engines. Back in the day, it was all about on-page SEO and keywords! The more your site had of a certain keyword the better it would rank. Naturally, people abused this technique (and others) by ‘stuffing’ their website with keywords and as a result, Google had to change the way it ranks websites. Today it’s about a lot more than just keywords, here are some of the more important on-page SEO techniques you can implement:

• Page Titles – Page titles are the most important, as these describe to Google what the page or article is about.
• Meta Descriptions – The description is just as important as this can contain keywords relevant to your content.
• URL Structure – Google likes simple and concise URL structures. Think of your URL’s like a map, the simpler they are, the easier bots can crawl them.
• Body Tags (H1, H2, H3, H4, etc.) – Using these tags to break-up content on your website makes reading easier – for bots and visitors.
• Keyword Density – Spamming your page with keywords won’t improve your ranking – the quality of content does! So use them sparingly.
• Image SEO – Using images in your content is very important. Be sure to add “Alt Tags” to your images so as to tell Google what the image is and how it is relevant to your content.
• Internal Linking – Linking pages within your website is a very powerful SEO tool as people could potentially spend more time on your site bouncing between content.

2. You Aren’t Promoting Your increase Website

The better your on-page SEO is, the easier it is for Google to rank your website, but it does not mean your website will rank high. This is where “off-page SEO” plays a very important role.

1.3 You are not implementing off-page SEO

Off-page SEO is defined as a set of practices and techniques implemented off-page (i.e. not on your website) to improve your ranking on search engines. The two main building blocks of off-page SEO is “link building” and exposure of your brand/products/services to relevant audiences.

Link building is about creating quality links (also known as backlinks), on relevant websites that point back to your page. Some of these off-page SEO link building techniques include:

• Social Bookmarking
• Forum Submissions
• Guest Blogging
• Business Directory Listings

I mentioned earlier that Google had to change the way it ranks websites because people were finding ways to exploit on-page SEO techniques. Well, people would exploit off-page SEO techniques just as much. They would create thousands of backlinks on any website they could find. So once again Google had to change they it ranks websites and in 2003 the algorithm was updated to give more weight to links from reputable sites. And this is where the second building block of off-page SEO comes in.

Exposure to relevant audiences is about making sure you are creating those links in the right places; on websites that are relevant and popular in your industry. Knowing where your target audience spends most of their time online is very valuable.

In the end, it all comes down to the quality and relevance of your content. If you create high-quality, shareable content (articles, how-to’s, videos, infographics etc.) that is relevant to your industry then people will share it and link to it. Boom! Links and exposure!

BONUS: End the drought!

If you implement a sound SEO strategy you will be promoting your website, but SEO is a long-term game and you need something to fix the traffic-drought now and to increase website traffic! The answer is “Paid Advertising”. Our preferred form of paid advertising is a combination of Facebook Ads and Google Adwords. Why both? Because each of those mediums caters for Demand Generation & Demand Fulfilment respectively.

Demand Generation

This means creating a demand where there was none before. Traditional marketing and advertising have done this for over 100 years – TV, Radio and billboard ads make people buy things they didn’t know they needed. Facebook Ads (and other Social media advertising) is the best medium for creating a demand for your service or product. It gives you the opportunity to get your business in front of millions of people.

Demand Fulfilment

This means satisfying a demand that is already there. As we saw earlier there are over 6 billion searches made every day – hundreds, if not thousands, of people searching for your product or service! Google Adwords is the epitome of demand fulfilment because it puts your business in front of the people that are looking for the service you offer.

So how do you Increase Website Traffic?

The real answer to “Why is no one visiting my website?” is “Because you aren’t trying!”. Ok, maybe that is a bit harsh but the reality is that most people think just having a website is good enough. Yes, having a great website is necessary but it is only the first step, after that you need to “get it out there” through advertising and/or SEO. The ideal situation is to have a balance between people finding you organically (search engines, social media, blogs etc.) and people finding you through advertising. We have found that leads who found us organically convert (into clients) more often than those who found us through advertising. Just something to think about 🙂