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Digital marketing can be overwhelming, especially for newcomers. There’s a bajillion new terms and acronyms, and it's easy to feel lost. So let me break down some of the most common digital marketing jargon, so it’s a little easier for you to navigate the digital world.

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However, those old methods can’t compete with the precision and flexibility of digital marketing. It can transform how businesses connect with customers by using data to create highly personalised campaigns.

So picture this: reaching potential customers with tailored ads while they’re scrolling through social media or searching online. Digital marketing does just that, using the internet to create engaging, instant, and measurable connections with the right people, your ideal customers. So, buckle up and read on for everything digital marketing explained.

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BUT if you're spending all of your budget on clicks that get you nowhere, your ads aren't working. And figuring that out isn't easy. There's a lot of noise on the platform, and a massive table of stats that's just painful to look at sometimes. 

If you're drowning in CPCs, CPMs and CTRs, it gets really hard to measure whether your campaigns are performing. Which metrics really matter? Which aren't worth your time? Focus on the wrong metrics, and you'll make some pretty poor business decisions. Nobody wants that. 

That’s what we’re going to help you get your head around today. Let's dive in!

What are Google Ads metrics?

Most of us know how popular and powerful Google is. I mean, just considering that every second there are about 2.3 million searches is a mind-blower. 

Part of that incredible power is the sheer amount of data Google Ads provides, also known as marketing metrics. These are the statistics around your campaign performance, offered right down to the granular level of each and every keyword. The right metrics should be used as indicators of performance to help optimise your campaigns. 

Why only look at the most important Google Ads metrics? Isn't more data better?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of vanity metrics on Google Ads campaigns that can often lead you down the wrong path. 

For example, impressions is a metric that tells you how many times your ad has been seen. i.e. if there are 100,000 impressions for your "dentist in perth" campaign, the ads in that campaign have been seen 100,000 times. And you might think the point of a search campaign is to be seen. 

How do you get seen more often? One easy way is spending more money.

Here's the thing, and why this vanity metric is dangerous—you don't need to be seen all the time. It all depends on your current performance and goals, and spending more just to be seen means you could be aggressively spending on moments where you won't convert. You'll end up spending more on a click, and by extension, a conversion. 

Do you want to have more impressions? Of course - no impressions at all means no clicks. But it's not a key indicator of current performance.

Okay, so what are the most important Google Ads metrics?

Let's dig into the metrics that matter, and more importantly, how they relate to each other. It's important to view some of these numbers together because it's their relationship that actually paints an accurate picture of performance.

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But, much like the latest smartphone or popular streaming show, the digital landscape is constantly evolving. Website designs come in and out of fashion constantly. One minute, flat, minimalist sites are all the rage and the next, it’s bold colours, video backgrounds and 3D animation.

So, how do you figure out what's sticking around and how to stay ahead? We've got your back! We've analysed the hottest design techniques that are serving looks in 2024 and compiled this list of 20 top trends to get you inspired.

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Well, if you just throw cash at it, and hope the unbeatable, all-knowing King of the Internet will sell for you, then no. But, with the right strategy and tools, this can be a fantastic opportunity for businesses of all sizes. And we're going to show you how.

Are Google Ads worth it for small business?

We get it. Big businesses can afford to throw money at paid ads over and over until something sticks. But small businesses don't have that luxury. So, why take the risk? 

We can't just say yes, so let us show you instead. 

Imagine you're a local tour company. You sell small tour packages at an average sale value of $300. It's a highly competitive industry and the clicks are a little costly.

• You spend $1.50 on every click (on average)
• Get 1200 clicks
• That's $1800 to get 1200 people to your site

eCommerce websites have an average conversion rate of 2.7%. So, that's: 

• 32 sales at $300
• $9720 in sales value
• a return on ad spend of over 7X!

That's $7 made for every $1 you spend. Sounds pretty good right? But let's say you've done a bang-up job on your site and it's converting at a casual 7.5%. Now you've got: 

• 92 sales, for a sales value of $27,000

A ROAS of over 20X? Yes please! Is that realistic, you ask? Absolutely! We know because that's our tour client, based right here in WA, smashing their goals with a well-designed PPC strategy. Ready for your own incredible results? Let's talk about what makes Google Ads such a good opportunity. 

Total control

If you like to get your hands dirty, Google ads management is for you. You can enjoy control over everything, from the amount you bid on every single keyword to what position your ad headlines show up in. You can also use negative keywords to decide when your ads shouldn't show, determine what placements Google Display ads show up on, and so much more. The perfect platform for maximising your budget. 

Cost-effective investment

Talking about spend and getting more out of your Google Ads costs, it's also just price-efficient. As a pay-per-click advertising platform, you don't pay till someone clicks, and you can control the average CPC (a little marketing acronym that means cost-per-click) with bidding and cost caps. If you're looking for ROI and not too concerned about search volume, there's a lot you can do to control your costs. 

Hitting your target market when they're ready to buy

It's an unbelievably powerful thing to be there just when someone needs you. And that's what Google ads offers. When someone is searching for exactly what you sell, with a very relevant keyword, you can put a really solid ad in front of them and convince them to take action. Talk about right place, right time! 

Localised targeting

Not only can business owners target people based on where they are, but also on areas of interest and areas they've been - whatever makes sense for your business. Local businesses can also tap into Google Business Profile and Google Maps ads to create a holistic experience around that target location and make it easier for potential customers to visit the physical store. 

Powered by data

Google Ads itself offers some really juicy insights, and it's heavily centred around precision. You can even get an idea of exactly how much your ads contributed to a sale or lead in the overall buyer journey with position-based attribution. Plus it integrates with Google Analytics to allow you to import goals over, create audiences based on your website traffic, understand page engagement on the landing pages from your ads and so much more.

Sure, but are Google Ads going to work for MY business?

The opportunity in Google Ads for small business is a no-brainer. But does it really work for all small businesses? 

There are three things you have to ask yourself, as advised by Google themselves. 

1. What are you trying to achieve with your marketing campaign? Is that something that could be solved by running Google Ads (which is likely, given its wealth of ad formats, goals and bidding strategies) or would say social media marketing work better? Are your ideal customers even searching on Google, or do they need to be educated about your product first?
2. What is your marketing budget? Just because you can control the average CPC and bring down your Google Ads cost doesn't mean it's an efficient use of your spend. If you're working with a tight budget, and having to put too many controls over it, you may not convert as well– in the long run, you're not actually saving much. 
3. How will you know your ads are working? Are you prepared to break down the right metrics? Do you understand the data you're looking at? Have you put the right conversion tracking in place to know how your ads influence your business results? Running blind on any advertising platform is never a good idea, so make sure you're comfortable with the numbers before starting. 

Optimising your Google Ads marketing campaign

Of course, if it was as easy as setting up some ads and hitting go, everyone would be doing it. We won't lie to you, there's a lot you have to do to actually run things properly, and get the most out of Google Ads. Small businesses especially don't have money to waste, so here are 10 things you should do to give your PPC campaign its best chance.

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Google Shopping and Facebook Ads (now Meta Ads) are undeniably the biggest players in the space - both offering very unique shopping experiences to their users. Is one ad platform better than the other? It's a big question - so let's break it down.

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Whether you’re an SEO newbie or a tried and true marketer, one thing is clear. The digital space is fast-paced and ever-changing, and reading the best SEO blogs is crucial to your business success. Advances in technology, updates to search engines' algorithms, improvements in AI, evolving consumer behaviour– all of it impacts the way we do marketing as businesses.

It’s not easy, this constant change. To survive, your SEO strategy needs to be both proactive and adaptive to such changes. Businesses that can embrace change and creatively respond to it are more robust by light years.

Knowing that you need to stay on top of your SEO game is one thing, but putting it into action is another. You have to go beyond keeping up with industry trends... you have to stay ahead of them. And what better way to do that than reading & following some of the best SEO blogs written by the top dogs in the SEO game? 

To help achieve our goal of being the go-to people for SEO in Perth, we appreciate the many blogs that we currently rely on for the digital down low. Over the years we’ve filtered through the many (and we mean many!) SEO blogs on the web. 

So if you want some good reading material to follow, but don’t know where to start, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled a list of our personal top 30 SEO blogs that we reckon are some of the best SEO blogs out there. 

But first– let’s officially kick this blog off with a few FAQs we get about learning SEO…

Where can I learn SEO for free?

We get it. The term 'Search Engine Optimisation' alone can sound a bit intimidating to most newbies (and sometimes even veterans) in the digital space. This really doesn’t have to be the case. There are so many great and informative blogs out there today, making it fairly easy to get your hands on decent content. Well, at least a tonne easier than it was a decade ago! Websites such as Moz and Builtvisible, are even generous enough to share a bunch of tutorials catering for a range of different SEO skill levels. If you want to dive into self-directed SEO learning, we recommend starting with the best SEO blogs listed below!

How long does it take to learn SEO?

Like with most skills, before you see a great result you need to invest in the learning process. No one's born knowing how to ride a bike and the same goes for SEO. Learning SEO is different for everyone, but it does come down to one major thing: practice! The more time you spend practising riding your bike, the sooner you’ll be competing in the Tour de France. 

While practice is vital to your growth in the SEO atmosphere, ongoing learning is equally important. If you're looking to conquer the search engines in 2024, you have to be eager learners ready to adapt and thrive. 

In summary: you never really stop learning SEO. But to get to a solid working knowledge that you can start applying to your website– it’s largely dependent on YOU. Your dedication. Your commitment. And your hunger to launch your website to the top of the SEO atmosphere. It’s in your hands.

What makes for good SEO blog content? 

Good question. There's a lot of content out there on the internet and it's hard to know who is giving you the right advice. When we're looking for new quality content and doing our own research, we're picking blogs that offer:

• Easily understood breakdowns on search engine algorithm updates
• Actionable insights on every aspect of SEO from website optimisation to content creation
• Consistent updates on changes to best practice
• Personal experiences, learning and case studies
• In-depth how-to guides

And more! All of which can be found in our cherry-picked list below. 

The best SEO blogs to follow & read in 2024

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Efforts towards better SEO will benefit your website, even if you don’t see results with your ranking straight away. Improvements in user experience, speeding up your website and making high quality content are smart moves regardless of ranking and good for any brand. 

However, getting true and lasting results with SEO is a big process, requiring a high time commitment. You see, SEO is a long term marketing strategy that requires nurturing to grow into something fruitful. The good news is, when you put in the time and effort, you’ll get a bountiful harvest that keeps nourishing the growth of your brand long into the future.

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We know what you're thinking: PR and SEO are like two separate worlds, right? When these two forces join hands, magic happens: you can boost your business’s online visibility, your brand reputation skyrockets, and organic traffic starts to pour into your website. Sounds like a dream, doesn't it? So, let's dive headfirst into:

• How traditional PR outreach can become your secret weapon, strengthening your online presence and brand awareness like never before
• 4 ways you can implement traditional PR in your SEO strategy
• And 5 tips on finding SEO-friendly PR opportunities

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