Month: April 2023

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The 5 Developmental Stages of a Google Ads Account 

Diane Lovine

by Diane Lovine

The account managers at 99 Calls understand the importance of taking the time to work through each stage on their Google Ads accounts. The team has identified five unique stages that we guide accounts through as we strive to optimize results. Understanding customer goals and targets sets the course. Continually working to improve Ad performance yields high lead volumes and lower cost per lead.

All accounts start at ground zero and progress through these five developmental stages:   

Data Stage

Once you decide to work with 99 Calls for your PPC lead generation, we will work together to define and understand your business goals and budget. We want to understand what types of leads you want most. You will be asked to provide information about your business and what makes it unique. We’ll ask for photos of your work and utilize some of your positive online reviews. We will then take that information and build your Ads campaigns and the associated landing pages.

Learning Stage

When you create or change a campaign, Google needs time to learn how to serve the bidding strategy. During the first two to four weeks after your ads go live, your specialist will work tirelessly on your campaign to monitor results. We do not expect conversions overnight, but it can happen! It generally takes time to gain traction. We make daily adjustments to the keywords and your Ads to boost the performance.

Knowledge Assimilation Stage

At this point the campaign will have started to collect a more meaningful pool of data for us to evaluate. Our goal here is to weed out poor-quality clicks and keywords and teach Google’s algorithm what a good lead looks like for you. Remember Google Ads is a tool that targets people searching for specific services. We want to target popular services in your area, while also providing the leads that matter most for your industry.

Growth Stage

Together we will work to optimize your campaign and boost performance. When we see that certain keywords work better than others, we will consolidate more resources and efforts into them. We may suggest adding new keywords and/or changing your targeted locations. In order for our team to reach our mutually shared goals, you may need to be flexible in the areas targeted and variations of the services you offer. Our goal is always to get the best result possible for your budget! We’ll refine your ad text, and bidding strategies to help you capture more high-quality conversions.

Mature Stage

The campaign is now performing near maximum efficiency, based on the added enhancements and landing page quality. That doesn’t mean we stop working on your account. Your leads and keywords will be monitored daily. We will also start to look into different marketing campaigns and opportunities that may benefit your business and generate more revenue. We’ll communicate with you as we work to achieve your business goals. 

The Takeaway

When beginning a new PPC campaign, whether you have hired an online marketing or lead generation company or you’re going it alone, patience is important. Lots of business owners assume that because PPC results occur much more quickly than with SEO or LSA/Google Guaranteed, that they should be instantaneous. Rushed campaigns lead to wasted budgets, and lower ROI. The conversion rates are much lower when people don’t take the time to feed the data back regularly to train Google to cut through the noise and show your business for only the most relevant searches. Working through each stage diligently leads to the most robust results. 99 Calls’ talented team yields an average conversion rate of 20% for our Ads businesses (more than 3x the national average). Want to find out how we can help your business? Schedule a free consultation.

Carpet Cleaning Lead Generation
Appliance Repair Leads, Business Website, digital marketing, Google Ads, How much is online marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Generation for Contractors, Lead Management, Nurturing, Online Appointment Booking, online marketing, online marketing costs, Pay Per Click Advertising, PPC, SEM, SEO, service contractor leads

2023 Digital Marketing Trends

Diane Lovine

Newest Practices that Accelerate Business Growth

by Devon Osborne

Adopting digital marketing trends has become increasingly critical as consumers utilize the internet more and more. Digital marketing encompasses many different strategies for lead generation from SEO and PPC to content marketing and email marketing campaigns. Utilizing different aspects of digital marketing together allows you to connect and communicate with your potential clients throughout all stages of the sales funnel. In 2023, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing (SMM), video content, lead nurturing, pay-per-click (PPC) and pay-per-lead (PPL) are all fundamental pieces of digital marketing.

SEO Is Still At the Core

The aspects of digital marketing intertwine and work with each other. Take SEO as an example. Gone are the days when you could create a website and listings with minimal content and start seeing results in a matter of weeks. Now, in order to see your website ranking organically, creating quality content is crucial. 

Social Media Marketing Builds Brands

Social media marketing is often used to build brands and does generate leads for businesses with a strong visual aspect or a longer sales cycle. Over 80% of adults use social media in one capacity or another which makes social selling another excellent way to connect with prospective customers. Social media is prime real estate for building brand awareness. You can connect with more potential leads just by keeping your business’s social media updated.

If Pictures Say 1000 Words, Videos Speak Volumes!

One of the most effective and popular methods of digital marketing is videos. Why say everything you want to in text form when there are so many more effective options? Videos are an excellent way to connect with your potential customers and inform them about your business and the services you provide. Some of the most popular video types include explainer videos, video testimonials, and “behind-the-scenes” videos. Each of these videos has its way of engaging potential customers and showing off more of your company for a more personalized feel.

Start Nurturing From The Moment of Contact

Missed calls will hurt you. If you’re not answering your phone when it rings, your potential customers will move on to the next business on the page. With advances in digital marketing, you can engage those customers instantly. Some businesses are sending instant texts when they miss a call. Some send an audio message to their callers. From here, businesses can craft a nurturing campaign to keep potentials engaged and stay on their minds. You’ll want to be careful to find a “just right” frequency of contact. If you’re annoying, customers will opt out.

Nurturing Builds Relationships

Email nurturing is one of the biggest trends in marketing. Meeting potential customers where they are in the buying stage and keeping up with them along their journey is an economical and productive way to grow a business. You want to keep your business at the forefront of potential buyers’ minds. This is accomplished through short-term nurturing. The prospect may already know what they need or they may still be weighing their options. Either way, sending them informative, targeted emails will help guide them further in the process. Sometimes it takes longer than a few weeks for they’re ready to take action and commit which is why having a long-term nurture sequence is also essential. Long-term nurturing allows you to keep in contact with potential customers and to continue building relationships with them. 

PPC/PPL Has Become Essential

With SEO competition higher than ever, securing a spot on the first page of search results is difficult for even the most experienced marketers. You know the saying “Don’t keep all of your eggs in one basket”? This applies to online marketing as well. SEO alone is no longer the most substantial option for generating a steady flow of leads each month. The organic real estate on the first page of Google has shrunk over the last several years making pay-per-click and/or pay-per-lead marketing a much-needed, additional method for lead generation. 

How Will You Utilize Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing has become an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy in 2023. By utilizing SEO, SMM, video content, lead nurturing, PPC, and PPL, businesses can effectively reach their target audience and build relationships with potential customers. The future of digital marketing is bright and businesses should strive to stay ahead of the curve by utilizing the latest trends. Not sure where to begin? Call the lead gen pros at 99Calls!

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Optimizing Websites for Voice Search

Diane Lovine

by Diane Lovine

How to Rank on “Alexa” and “Hey, Google” Searches

We’re all looking for an advantage, a way to stand out, get noticed and get more leads. You may be surprised to know that the best practices for ranking on a desktop search are the very same that will get you ranked for voice search. This is the newest angle that telemarketers are using to convince businesses that if they don’t suddenly hire them to optimize their website for voice search, they will be left behind. 

Here’s the thing. We have been writing about voice search since 2019 and the strategies have not changed, but have become more understood. What’s more, if you are using best practices for ranking a website on the first page of Google, you are already optimized for voice search. Why? Because typing a query on your phone, iPad or computer is almost the SAME THING as speaking your query to Alexa, Google, or Siri. 

Example: You are having a dinner party this weekend and you just spilled red wine on your dining room carpet. What is your first action? Try to clean it up yourself. If that fails, you’ll go to your device and type or speak “Carpet cleaner near me” or “Carpet cleaning company in (your town)” or “spot removal contractor”. A well-positioned carpet cleaning company is going to come up in a search, regardless of whether you typed or spoke the keywords. And your query is the keywords. 

Companies try to make this concept sound complicated, but it really isn’t. I’ll do this experiment now, live and share my results: 

First, I’ll engage Siri. Speaking, “Carpet cleaner near me”, prompts Siri to produce the following suggestions on Apple Maps:

I personally prefer to use Chrome, even on my mobile phone. When I open the Chrome browser on my iPhone speak, “Carpet cleaner near me”. Here are Siri’s suggestions: 

From the suggestions offered on my iPhone above, I will click the top entry, “carpet cleaner near me”. Here is what comes up. I have placed the long thread side by side below: 

With the long screenshot placed side by side, you can see the way the page rolls. Above the images, I was first shown images of carpet cleaning machines. But Google recognized my intent (finding a contractor to remove the wine stain from my carpet) and made suggestions.

Looking at the results, you will first notice the two Google Guaranteed paid search results. Also known as LSA (Local Search Ads), Google Guaranteed services are offered by 99 Calls and are probably the most cost-effective paid ads available, as long as a business can pass the rigorous verification process.

Next, you’ll see the maps section, including a sponsored map placement in the top spot. Next on the page are the organic results (this is the section that requires great SEO practices to be found).  There are a couple of local carpet cleaning businesses found in this section as well as some directory entries like Angie’s and Yelp.

Now what if my search was done on my phone without asking Siri? What if I simply type the same keywords into my Chrome browser? Here are the results that come up:

Look familiar? It should! Yes, try this at home. You will find that voice search and typing your search into a browser will yield the same results. Paid ads will be found the same, whether the business is using Google Guaranteed or Google Ads.

Now I’ll conduct the same search on my desktop computer. 

Of course, the larger desktop monitor provides greater depth because of the larger screen. Still, the same companies are coming up on the first page of the search. 

Here’s the Question Businesses Should be Asking:

“So if the same practices for producing great SEO will yield results for voice search as they do with typing in questions and keywords, what are these practices and how can I rank my business when customers are searching for my services?”

The same advice that was given back in 2019 in this blog is still relevant today. I’ll add a couple more that are also important. Below are the best practices for getting found in any type of online search:

  • Format your content to be featured in snippets (use headers, lists, and short paragraphs)
  • Create content based on commonly asked questions in a conversational tone
  • Get more 5-star reviews! If you don’t have many dozens, make this your top priority
  • Make sure your site is designed for mobile-first indexing (they all should be by now)
  • Include relevant local information to show your viewers (and Google) that you’re local
  • Keep content simple and clean
  • Get built for speed. Landing pages should load within two seconds.

I’d like to add, “It’s that simple”, but the reality is, ranking in any form on searches is tough stuff. As you can see from the examples above, there are many more paid positions on the first page of search results. Google Guaranteed and Google Ads PPC are taking the most coveted positions. This is true no matter how you search. The truth is, trying SEO practices, even mastering them all, will not yield the same results (and by results, if you’re a contractor, I mean leads) as they did in recent years. In order to get found and get called with enough frequency to stay afloat, businesses need to utilize other strategies and a lot more of their marketing budget to paid ads. For more information on how the first page of Google has (evolved or devolved – you decide) over time, see this article, entitled The Incredible Shrinking First Page of Google. 

For more information on SEO, ranking with keywords and voice searches, and pay-per-click or pay-per-lead marketing, call the experts at 99 Calls!

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Why Are You Called 99 Calls?

Diane Lovine

As we reach the one-year anniversary of producing a monthly newsletter, our team thought it would be fun to reflect on a question that is commonly asked. 

“Why did you name your business 99 Calls? Is that how many calls you’ll generate?” Our lead specialists are asked this a lot! 

When the idea for launching an affordable lead generation company for small businesses was launched back in 2009, Fred and Diane struggled to come up with a name that resonated. In fact, the ideas for building the platform, developing service offerings were solidified and processes were in place and we were still stuck on the name!

We wanted something simple, catchy, and all-encompassing. “99 Calls” was tossed around as an idea, and nothing came along that we liked better. So, like naming a puppy, that’s the one that stuck.

Now 14 years later, 99 Calls has grown from a vision to a full-service business solutions hub with offerings like website building, SEO, Google Ads PPC, and LSA pay-per-lead services. Clients can also benefit from associated services such as GBP management, reputation management, building listings, appointment setting, database reactivation, and even lead nurturing. 

99 Calls has become a name people associate with quality, affordability, and results. People remember it. When searching Google recently for the significance of the number 99, here’s what came up:

“The number 99 is said to be a powerful symbol of destiny, completion, and perfection. It is often associated with the achievement of goals. If you keep seeing 99, it may be a sign that you are about to reach a significant milestone in your life.”

No, we aren’t big into the parasciences, but this sounds pretty good to us, and it does represent what we strive to do for our customers. Our mission is to produce as many high-quality exclusive leads for our customers at the lowest price possible. You may have 99 problems, but if you’re using 99 Calls for lead generation, we hope leads ain’t one!

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Jumpstart Your Lead Generation This Spring

Diane Lovine

If you’re looking for new ways to generate more high-quality leads for your business, you’ve come to the right place! Don’t limit your marketing to organic lead generation alone. Businesses that are also taking advantage of Google Guaranteed (Google Local Service Ads), Google Ads PPC, or database reactivation to promote Spring services are seeing remarkable results.

Google Guaranteed (LSA)

It’s that time of year again when people are looking to thoroughly clean their home and freshen it up after being closed up during the winter months. Local Services Ads can be very beneficial for house cleaners during this “Spring Cleaning” time of year by appearing at the top of the search results and showcasing their business during this busy season. For instance, take a look at the leads generated via LSA for one of our clients for their house cleaning business, Dynamic Duo Cleaning.

Google Pay Per Click Ads

Superhero Pools Corp in Woodland Hills, CA hired 99 Calls to beef up their lead generation efforts in November of last year. Naturally, the new site isn’t yielding many calls via SEO just yet. However, they are utilizing the change in seasons to generate lots of pool opening and pool cleaning leads by having us manage their Google Ads PPC campaigns. They have generated over 30 pool service leads in the past month.

Another pool cleaning company that is benefitting from seasonal lead generation services is Tacti-Clean Pools in Phoenix, AZ. They signed up with 99 Calls to generate pool service leads last December. Although they have just received three organic leads thus far, which is typical of SEO sites, they also signed on for Google Ads PPC. Over their first three months of running Ads, they have received 57 qualified and exclusive leads via PPC

Database Reactivation

Grasshopper Irrigation, Inc in Tewksbury, MA has been utilizing 99 Calls’ lead generation services since 2017. Their website has always generated a steady stream of organic leads. To jump-start their leads this Spring, they decided to give database reactivation a try. 

An email campaign was created and sent to 1250 previous contacts to see if they were interested in getting on Grasshopper’s irrigation turn-on list. In a matter of only 15 days, they received 124 positive responses. Thanks to a recent promotion, Grasshopper Irrigation, Inc only paid $300 for their reactivation campaign. This comes out to only $2.02 per lead!

If you’re looking to boost your business with inbound leads, schedule an appointment to speak with a lead specialist today!