You probably get hundreds of emails every day. And there are some that simply go unread – that’s perfectly normal, we’ve all been there. But how about a text message?

You’d be surprised to learn that about 20 percent of emails are regularly opened, while text messages are opened up almost 98 percent of the time. The data was gathered by Gartner and it’s shocking, especially for digital marketers. It’s also important for entrepreneurs and managers – it shows that customers, contractors, and other people regularly open text messages, but rarely open emails. It shows that using a good SMS marketing tool can be a hugely beneficial marketing strategy.

Luckily, there are many text message marketing apps to choose from. They are designed to send SMS messages to customers without having to do any manual work. You can send thousands of messages directly from your web app, use complex scheduling features, as well as booking systems with reminders and receipts. SMS marketing apps also let you create complete marketing campaigns that can help you automate SMS outreach.

But which SMS app is the best one for your company? There are hundreds of options available online, and we’ve chosen the best ones for you. Here are the six best SMS marketing apps you have to use:

What makes an excellent SMS app?

As mentioned above, there are dozens upon dozens of SMS marketing apps and tools to choose from. Some are general and some are designed for a specific industry. Others are designed for small businesses, while others are aimed at large organizations. No matter what type of SMS service you choose, here are the four important things you need to pay attention to:

• Are they easy to use?
• Are they capable of direct two-way communication?
• Are they easily integrated with other services and apps?
• Are they affordable? Are the prices flexible and scalable, as your business grows?

Many SMS apps and services are capable of direct two-way communication, they can be integrated with other apps and are fairly flexible when it comes to pricing. However, many lack the “ease of use” criterion. A lot of SMS apps are very difficult to integrate with other apps, have complex communication features, and are pretty difficult to use by the average user. A regular person would find using even the basic features overwhelming. In practice, however, these apps do what they say – they help you send and receive text messages quickly and with minimal effort. In other words, they are simple to use, but only for basic tasks.

Similarly, powerful SMS apps do exist – they are capable of sending 100,000 text messages with the click of a button. They are designed for large organizations, that have thousands of clients. Obviously, if your business is large, and you have the resources for this type of service, the app will work wonders. However, for small businesses, mass marketing often seems unnecessary and can become very costly. In some cases, it can be seen negatively and many clients will consider your messages as unwanted spam.

This guide focuses primarily on apps designed for small to medium-sized businesses, who want primarily a way to communicate with their clients and partners. This makes two-way communication very important for these apps. The obvious advantage is enormous – your clients can text back to your messages and can reply directly to your offers. These apps can also work automatically, making them powerful data collection tools for your company. For instance, gathering survey data becomes much easier, and you can communicate much quicker with your existing and prospective clients.

Good SMS services also offer booking and appointment features. On the other hand, simpler SMS services only let you send or receive text messages. In our list, we included only the apps that can be easily integrated with other apps, thus offering full functionality.

This can be done either via Outlook or Google Calendar or by using Zapier. All the SMS services that are present in this list can be directly connected to other important marketing apps, and also use Zapier to handle every other functionality.

Finally, we looked at costs, as SMS services have to be affordable, especially for smaller businesses. Also, the pricing has to be scalable, as the business grows. We are not comfortable with recommending overpriced services, especially the ones that require high monthly fees. Accordingly, our lists only include apps that are either pay-as-you-go, have low volumes, or have low monthly fee plans that can be fully customized depending on your needs. This is a major advantage, especially for smaller companies and startups – you can start using the service even though you only have a handful of clients. As time goes, and your business expands, you can expand the service as well. Simply put, you won’t have to worry about changing SMS services once your business is growing.

We’ve done our testing, and have the full results. Here are the best SMS apps to use:

• TextMagic – ideal for small companies who want to get started quickly
• SimpleTexting – great for easy-to-run marketing campaigns
• ClickSend – excellent tool for integrating with other marketing channels
• Salesmsg – amazing for small, local companies
• Heymarket – the perfect tool for teams
• Twilio – ideal tool if you want top-notch customization options

Let’s go over each app see what makes it special:

TextMagic – The best SMS app for companies looking to get started ASAP

TextMagic is amazingly quick – just after signing up, you can already send a text message to any cell phone. The app has a powerful and very intuitive Setup Wizard, plus a friendly interface that makes the entire process very simple, even for complete beginners. All you have to do is enter a valid phone number, type the message you want, hit Send, and… BAM, the message is delivered!

Sure TextMagic is super easy to use and quite straightforward, but that doesn’t mean it’s not powerful. You can do a lot more than sending simple SMS messages: you can send messages to the API, web app, email or directly to and from your phone. It can easily be connected with other apps and works great with Zapier. This means you can use any scheduling or organizational software you want. Contact lists can be imported from Excel as spreadsheets or CSV files, but you can also manually enter new contacts. Similarly, you can use the “Click to Text” tool directly from your form on your website.

TextMagic lets you schedule your messages efficiently, via its powerful Schedule tab. For instance, you can schedule messages, special offers, and all your communication with clients or partners. The app also has a very detailed Templates tab which makes sending recurring messages easier. Appointment confirmations, special offers, and automated responses have never been easier to manage. What’s more, you can quickly send out text messages from iOS, Android, or web apps directly to your customers.

Simply put, TextMagic offers basically every feature you can possibly want from a good SMS service. It’s easy to use, has many features, and is fairly affordable. You can get dedicated virtual numbers from $4.00 per month and texts from $0.04, all with no contract.

Price – pay-as-you-go, with a starting price of $0.04 per text.

SimpleTexting – ideal for easy-to-run marketing campaigns

This SMS app is probably your best option if you want to start your campaigns as quickly as possible. Similar to TextMagic, SimpleTexting has an intuitive interface, complete with every tool you need. You don’t even have to go through an introductory tutorial to understand its features and how they work. Everything is where you want it and you can learn in a few minutes the basic tools.

When compared to other SMS apps, SimpleTexting is more focused on direct-to-customer marketing. You can contact and interact with them directly, but also run marketing campaigns and sending out preset messages. Just hit the Campaigns tab, where you can find the New Campaign button, and you’re almost ready to start interacting with your customers.

You can get new prospects immediately by setting up various keywords in the Keywords tab. For instance, clients that text SUSHI to 555-999 will be put on your sushi deals list. After they join the list, an autoresponder immediately responds with an automated discount code, asking if they want more information about the offer. If the customers want more information, the autoresponder can send another preset text message. More technical marketing efforts can also be done with SimpleTexting, through its excellent Apps tab, where you can create surveys, sweepstakes, and polls.

SimpleTexting comes with amazing analytics. Here, you can get detailed information on your subscribers, the keywords they use to join, the autoresponders that were triggered, and how many people unsubscribed from your list.

Price – SimpleTexting starts from as low as $25 per month, with 500 credits (500 texts); each new credit will cost you $0.045 on the entry plan; there are larger plans where credits are cheaper.

ClickSend – the best app if you want excellent integration with other marketing channels.

Larger marketing campaigns are often run through multiple, different channels at the same time. ClickSend is the ideal option if you want to combine multiple marketing channels, like email, phone, mail, or even fax. For instance, the app lets you send a short text message as well as an email at the same time, with similar information. The app lets you automate messages, the responders, and lets you schedule everything according to your marketing plan.

ClickSend comes with a major advantage when compared to other SMS apps – each channel can be controlled separately. If you want to start a text message campaign, simply select SMS, then SMS Campaigns; if you want to send emails, pick Email Campaigns from the Email Marketing tab. Social media platforms will be added to future versions of the app, like Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, and many others. This makes ClickSend probably one of the most efficient app to make direct outreach to your customers. Obviously, the results will vary depending on the quality of the prospects on your list. You have to provide an email and a phone number for each contact in order to use the app to its full power. If not, you are getting only half of your marketing effort back.

Because ClickSend provides so much functionality, it may seem a little harder to understand some tools. The sidebar, however, is fairly intuitive but has many tools that you need to get comfortable with. There are many menus and submenus for a plethora of tools – automation, integrations, SMS, email marketing, voice marketing, letters, postcards, transactional emails, and fax. They are fairly logical, but there will be a learning curve when working with this app. Simply put, if you just want to send SMS messages to your clients, you won’t need 99 percent of these tools.

Price – The price for SMS starts at just $0.0093 per message for your first 2,000 messages; the prices go down after reaching this threshold; a dedicated number starts from just $3.59 per month.

Salesmsg – the best SMS app for small, local companies.

This app is an amazing option for the United States and Canada-based small companies. Unfortunately, the app is not currently available in other markets.

Salesmsg is the most simple and basic web app on our list. The main panel has only four tabs, making it extremely easy to use – Contacts, Conversations, Broadcasts, and Triggers. Salesmsg’s power comes from the integration capabilities with other apps and software.

Immediately after signing up for Salesmsg, you are asked to create a local number. This will be the number that all your text will appear to come from. You can assign separate numbers for each team member, as well. Call forwarding can also be enabled, so when a customer calls your number, he or she will be directed to your personal or business phone.

Salesmsg has excellent integration with Outlook and Google Calendar, making it excellent for handling and managing appointments. For instance, if a customer makes an appointment by text, you can immediately add the appointment to the calendar. The app also integrates CRM software, which lets you handle text messaging even better. Salesmsg’s Triggers help you create a webhook, sending various kinds of messages, like reminders, directly to your clients. Zapier can be used to connect to any service you want.

Price – Salesmsg starts from $35 per month for 750 text messages and a phone number; each additional message will cost $0.025, while additional numbers will cost you $10 per month. Custom solutions are offered for larger companies as well.

Heymarket – the best SMS app for teams

This app is a tad different from other similar services and it definitely stands apart on our list. It’s mainly designed for teams working together and is an excellent tool for providing customer support.

For instance, if a customer sends a text asking if a certain product is in stock, you get a simple notification. When you text the client back and say that you’ll look into it, you can send the same text to one of your team members. This is done by simply typing @\[theirname] and explain what the client wants. The team members get the notification and can get back to the customer immediately. Heymarket can be used to connect with customers on major social media platforms, like Facebook or Twitter.

Heymarket also has simple, easy to use web and mobile apps. They only feature seven tabs – Chats, Contacts, Lists, Templates, Campaigns, Automations, and Reports – and they do exactly what they say. The team features are fairly straightforward and you don’t need a lot of practice to understand how they work. Heymarket is noted for its excellent support, done via its own platform.

Price – Heymarket is one of the pricier options on the market – the cheapest option costs $29 per month, when billed annually, for 500 texts and unlimited users. The app is very powerful if you want to use its team functionality. If not, there are cheaper options to choose from.

Twilio – ideal SMS app if you want customization

You probably heard about Twilio before – it’s the biggest brand in the SMS services industry. Initially designed primarily for developers, the app has evolved tremendously. It’s easy to use, it’s great for beginners and it does what it says.

Twilio can be described as a blank canvas. You can use its powerful API feature to build various SMS tools into any app and create whatever campaign or service you want. You can integrate Twilio with Zapier, Zoho, and HubSpot very easily, expanding the functionality of the app. For instance, if you connect the Twillio account to the Zapier account, you can easily send and receive text messages using your email account. You can then collect texts from clients via Google Sheets or Slack, depending on your needs.

Twilio comes with Studio, a powerful drag-and-drop builder that lets you create SMS autoresponders and surveys. You just start with a trigger, like a calendar event or an incoming message. Then, you can create various reply criteria based on your marketing plan. The whole process is very intuitive, the built-in tutorials are very helpful and the project templates are very efficient. You can start in a matter of minutes and create a great SMS marketing plan.

Twilio is very easy to use, even if you are not a developer. However, the app asks you before signing up whether you are one. If you are, the interface is a bit more complex. No matter what option you choose, there are endless customization options, so you can create your personal work environment easily. Because of the complex customization options, Twilio can turn out as cheaper than other services, especially if you are prepared to do the work and get it running.

Price – Twilio is basically a complex platform, not just an app, so the pricing is different when compared to other apps in this list. Text messages start from $0.0075 per message, with an additional $0.005 per message for carrier fees. Every dedicated phone number will cost you $1 per month. Detailed price plans are available for larger companies.

Conclusion – which SMS app should you choose?

The app you choose depends entirely on your goals and what you want to do. Looking for a simple, easy to use service that can be started quickly? – choose Salesmsg or TextMagic. Are you looking for a tool that is focused more on marketing? – go for ClickSend or SimpleTexting. If you are looking for team functionality and powerful tools for your team members, choose Heymarket’s SMS app. Twilio is for the professional who wants to customize the whole process and manages larger text message campaigns. No matter what you choose, keep in mind that all of them have free or $1 trials, so you can give them a try before making the final decision.

Google took everyone by surprise in the middle of the corona-virus pandemic – the online giant launched a new controversial update. What’s more, it happened on International Star Wars Day…

The update came as a shock for many, but Google updates are nothing new. They are launched regularly, at least several times a year. They are designed to improve Google’s search engine and, obviously, they can be launched even during the pandemic.

For instance, last year’s major update happened in June and was commonly known as the “Diversity Update”. The update was appreciated by the industry – mainly because it prevented the same domain appearing multiple times at the top of the results page. Simply put, it’s time to relax, as not all updates are designed to wreak havoc in the online world. Some of them fix issues that annoy us constantly, we just don’t realize it until they’re gone.

So what’s this new update all about? Let’s take a closer look at the most important aspects:

Core updates – what are they?

Google has released core updates regularly for the last few years. According to their official blog:

“Several times a year, we make significant, broad changes to our search algorithms and systems. We refer to these as “core updates.” They’re designed to ensure that overall, we’re delivering on our mission to present relevant and authoritative content to searchers.” Google

So what is the new update all about?

As you probably already know, Google announced the new update on May 4, 2020. The new algorithm is simply called “May 2020 Core Update”. The message from Google reads:

“Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the May 2020 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before.” Google

What are the effects of the update?

Early observers of the update noticed that the update increased the SERP volatility when compared to previous versions of the algorithm. According to RankRanger, the impact of the new update is greater than the previous one, released in January.

• the volatility for the top 3 results went up from 35 percent to 38 percent;
• the volatility for the top 5 results went up from 55 to 63 percent;
• for the top 10 results it went up from 88 to 93 percent.

What’s more, certain niches experienced even higher volatility:

• travel niche – volatility varied from 31 percent (top 3 results), to 56 percent (top 5 results), to 91 percent (top 10 results)
• retail niche – volatility varied from 37 percent (top 3 results), to 61 percent (top 5 results), to 88 percent (top 10 results)
• finance niche – volatility varied from 47 percent (top 3 results), to 72 percent (top 5 results), to 97 percent (top 10 results)
• health niche – volatility varied from 38 percent (top 3 results), to 63 percent (top 5 results), to 94 percent (top 10 results)
• other niches have shown high volatility, such as real estate, pets & animals, and people & society
• the average volatility for both retail and travel increased from 1.9 points in April to more than 9.3 on May 6, just after the update’s launch

Unfortunately, the reason behind the increased volatility is unclear, as Google provides limited information. Some experts suggest that the volatility may be caused by the shift in consumer interest during the quarantine. These industries are also some of the hardest hit during the pandemic, so this theory seems reasonable.

The winners of the SERP battle after the update

SEMRush has provided information on the winners of the SERP battle during the pandemic and after the update. For instance, news websites and aggregators have seen better SERP positions, followed closely by online communities and business & industrial websites.

So, your website was hit – what should you do?

If your website was hit by the update, don’t panic! According to Google, the updates are not designed to penalize websites or webmasters. They are designed to fix flaws and improve user experience.

Essentially, there’s nothing wrong if pages perform worse after the core update. They definitely didn’t violate webmaster guidelines and have not been manually reviewed by Google’s team, as it usually happens to the pages that violate the guidelines. What’s more, core updates don’t target specific websites or inner pages. They are designed to improve how Google assesses content as a whole. The changes may cause some websites to do better.

What should do you if there is nothing to fix?

There are multiple answers to this question. In some cases, getting less traffic isn’t quite a bad thing. The most obvious reason is a user’s “search intent”.

Let’s say you are getting a lot of traffic – a lot of people who search for various phrases which are not related to your website or your keywords. Yes, you get that traffic, and it looks good on paper, but there’s a catch. These people are not interested in your website, they accidentally landed on your website, and they bounce off your website quickly.

In this particular case, you must get the right traffic, not a lot of traffic. It’s about quality, not quantity.

So what’s Google’s advice when it comes to the recent core update?

Google is notoriously vague about their updates, no matter their impact. The team has a social media presence, but communication is poor. For instance, they direct all Twitter questions to a blog post from August 2019, “What webmasters should know about Google’s core updates”.

Google always reminds webmasters about the importance of high-quality content. Simply put, they confirm that quality is the most important measure for content. Google also provides a set of questions that you should ask yourself when it comes to content. Here are a few of them:

• Is my content substantial and original?
• Is my content trustworthy and well-researched?
• Does my content provide good analysis, preferably beyond what’s expected?
• Is the content referenced by authority websites?
• Is the content free of errors, clear and well-produced?
• Is the content interesting for readers? Does it provide value for readers?

Google suggests asking colleagues, friends, or anyone with some experience to review the website’s content. Also, you should pay attention to Google’s E-A-T standards (an acronym for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness)

Content is king. At least that’s been the mantra of marketers for several years.

Is this really so? The answer is mixed. Because content is only “king” if it is created right. It must be “picked up” by search engines when consumers conduct generic searches for information related to the topics content writers offer. 

The problem is this: many content writers, especially those who are relatively new to the “business,” do not understand all of the facets of SEO. And they make mistakes that send their pieces out into the content “ocean,” never to be found and read. 

Here are the common mistakes that new content authors tend to make.

• Not Understanding Current Seo Algorithms
• Making Mistakes With Keyword Use
• Writing Like An Academic
• Not Maintaining A Production Schedule
• Not Knowing Your Audience
• Focusing On Product And Services Rather Than Customers And Value
• Not Using Images And Media
• Not Actively Seeking Back-links
• Not Including Social Proof

 

1. Not Understanding Current SEO Algorithms

These are not published for everyone to see. And they have evolved over time. These evolutions are the result of a couple of things. Google wants to make sure that the content it ranks well is actually providing what searchers want. And technology has developed that makes it easier to comb through content and decide if it is valuable.

What content authors should know is this: Google wants to see high-quality content that provides real value. And its criteria for real value include meeting needs and addressing the pain points of readers along with popularity and relevance of the content topic. While a content author may not know all of the ranking details, these criteria should drive all that he writes.

2. Making Mistakes With Keyword Use

In times past, the more keywords an author could get into a piece of content, the better. Google is much smarter than that now. It actually punishes content that is stuffed with keywords. And, because searchers are now using search phrases rather than just single words, algorithms have changed to meet those behaviors. With this in mind, authors must do the following:

• Research the most popular and relevant keyword phrases that searchers are using. There are plenty of tools out there like SEM Rush and Moz Keyword Explorer for this purpose.
• Pick just a couple that is the most popular. Use them in the title, the meta description and, depending on the length of the piece, intersperse them naturally within the content. 
• Don’t force a keyword phrase into content if it doesn’t just fall naturally within the context. 

3. Writing Like An Academic

In college, you wrote essays and papers. You had to use very formal and scholarly English. Now you are in the business of writing content for the normal and average readers. They don’t want lofty composition. They want creative, nuts and bolts English that they do not have to work to understand. 

• Dump the complex sentence structures. Simple sentences do best.
• Dump the “high-end” vocabulary. Use simple vocabulary that a 7^th grader could understand.
• Write your content as if you were writing a letter to a best friend. This is the style and tone you should use in your content.

If you are struggling to simplify your content, then use some resources to help you edit your content. Many writing services have copywriting experts to do this. Check out Grab My Essay or Studicus for starters. And use a tool like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor that will give you a reading level and suggest how to simplify your writing. 

4. Not Maintaining A Production Schedule

Readers who access your content want to see new stuff on a regular basis. If they don’t, they won’t come back. And traffic will suffer. Setting up a calendar is critical, along with topics to be addressed within that schedule.

Productivity can be an issue here, so use some of the great tools out there to keep you focused, on task, and meeting those deadlines. 

5. Not Knowing Your Audience

Smart marketers have developed personas of their ideal customers, and these should be used when writing content. When writers do not have an intimate understanding of their audiences, they will not produce content that will engage, educate, and even inspire them. When readers land on content that does not honor their preferences, they will bounce. Google does not like this. It means that traffic flow is not good. Good traffic means that visitors come and actually stay a while. 

Consider the difference in writing style and tone for millennials as opposed to senior citizens. The vocabulary and tone will be vastly different. Likewise, a piece of content for Red Bull will be totally different from one written for Rolex Watches.

6. Focusing On Product And Services Rather Than Customers And Value

It’s easy to fall into the habit of showcasing products or services, in order to get those conversions/sales you want. But today’s consumer is turned off by hard selling techniques. And Google is not excited about this type of content.

Instead, focus on consumer needs, pain points, and the solutions they want. What solutions does your product or service provide?

One of the best examples of this is Dollar Shave Club. They identified a problem – men using disposable razors and yet running out of them, forgetting to stop at the store to buy them, and then being forced to use an old dirty one. It set up a subscription service that would deliver razors to the door. Problem solved. It’s content, including an amazing initial explainer video, went viral. This is the kind of thing Google loves. 

Jim Jenkins, Content Manager for Trust My Paper, puts it this way: “We are in the business of providing writing products and services to our clients. We don’t ‘sell’ our products. We focus on what the client will get as a result of using our services – better grades in school, for instance. When we can solve their problems, we get their business and their recommendations.” 

7. Not Using Images And Media

One of the things we know about consumers today is that they want what they want quickly and easily. They don’t want to read walls of text. Anytime content can be delivered via photos, videos, and even some of the newer technologies of AR and VR, it will be a winner. There will plenty of shares, and traffic will increase. Google likes lots of traffic. It says that your content is popular and relevant.

8. Not Actively Seeking Back-links

Backlinks come from places outside of your site or blog. They come from related niches that have found your content to be valuable. Getting quality backlinks takes time but the more you get the better for your SEO rankings.

Courting reputable related businesses, publishing on their blogs, and getting them to put links to you in their content is important. A word of caution: Do not solicit backlinks from unrelated or questionable sources. You will be punished for this.

9. Not Including Social Proof

Consumers rely on other consumers for recommendations more than ever before. If you are not including comments, photos, and even videos of happy customers, then you are missing out on lots of traffic and, of course, sales. And that traffic translates to higher SEO rankings.

Don’t Panic

If you are new to this “world” of content, there is no reason to panic and think you cannot do it right. You can. And the more experience you have with content creation the better you will become. Take these 8 common mistakes to heart and make a commitment to avoid them.

Author Bio: Erica Sunarjo is a content writer and blogger for several venues, including the writing services Best Essay Education and Wow Grade. As an experienced content creator, she is a contributor to LiveInspiredMagazine. 

Remember Panda and Penguin? Back in 2011 and 2012, Google launched these two major updates that took the online world by storm. SEO was never the same again. Webmasters and website owners had to redesign their SEO strategies, work harder and pay attention to each new update rolled out by Google’s engineers.

This article will explain the following:

• What is this new BERT update for Google’s search algorithm?
• What does this new update mean for your SEO campaigns?
• Your traffic is dropping – what should you do?

 

Google launches new updates to its search algorithm almost every month, but the major ones are only popping up every few years. BERT, the new major update for the search engine was announced on October 24^th, 2019, and became active in the following days. According to the company, the update, nicknamed BERT, will affect about 10 percent of the queries, making it one of the most important updates in the last 5 years. But will it be as significant as the old Penguin or Panda? There is a lot of anxiety in the online world and everyone is waiting to see its effects. Let’s go over the specifics and see what BERT is all about…

BERT is an acronym and is short for “Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers”. This already complex phrase is explained by an even more baffling one: according to the company, it is a “neural network-based technique for natural language processing (NLP) pre-training…” and it goes on and on…

Sounds a bit confusing, right?

Well, don’t worry about the technical wording – we’ll try to break it down and explain it in simple English in this article!

What is this new BERT update for Google’s search algorithm?

In short, the new update is designed to help Google better detect the intent of search engine queries. It’s focused on interpreting phrases instead of simple words. When a search consists of a phrase, Google will try to see it as a phrase and return the results based on how the phrase is created and sounds. This is because even the simplest phrases can have an entirely different meaning when compared to singular or random words.

Here are some examples provided by Google to showcase this common issue

In this example, the difference between searching for information about traveling from the United States vs. to the United States is shown and interpreted by the search engine:

In another example, Google has previously misidentified the word “stand” as “stand-alone”, which is the wrong version for the search query. In this case, the searcher was looking for information about the physical demands of the job. With the BERT update, Google will better interpret similar queries, returning more accurate results.

As you can see, the results are better and the search engine detected what the person searched for and what type of results he or she wanted to get.

So, what does this new update mean for your SEO campaigns?

The first thing you’ll need to do after the release is to check whether there are any changes in the traffic to your web properties. Check if there is more or less traffic, particularly in the next few days, as the algorithm goes into full action. The major positive aspect of this update is that it won’t affect certain websites, as were the Penguin and Panda updates just a few years ago. It is designed to just make the search engine better understand the search query and the user’s intent.

The best way to take advantage of this new update is to have the right answers for the right questions on your website. So, if a person looks for specific information, he or she will find the right information. Essentially, this can be expanded into the old internet saying – content is king. It means you must have better content which actually provides good information to your readers. We believe that well-written, long-form, in-depth content will be the major winners of the BERT update. In fact, some websites are already noticing a change in their traffic, particularly for long-tail keywords (phrases with 3 or more words).

Your traffic is dropping – what should you do?

Ooops, you checked the traffic statistics after the update and… it’s bad news! It’s dropping. Okay, stay calm… But what should you do?

The first thing – don’t do anything, just stay calm until the dust settles. Every update works like a shock and will have some immediate effects which can change over time. This happens because Google launches the update and then will continuously work on it. Tweaking, reversing and slight modifications are very common for several weeks following an update, so the search results and traffic will vary a lot.

If your website is still dropping in traffic and there is no sign of stopping after several weeks, you can try doing this:

Detect the queries or keywords that might cause a sudden drop

Head over to the search console (Google Search Console – install it if you don’t have it) and run a comparison report. Select the time period which shows the amplest decrease in traffic. Next, click on queries and look where and for which keyword you lost the traffic. This page will show you the traffic coming in for each keyword and the stats for each one. If you want an additional tool to investigate, try using the ahrefs tool (ahrefs traffic change report).

Check what is ranking now

Look at the queries and determine which keywords and the type of content that still ranks:

• is this content different when compared to the other types of content on your website?
• Is it written differently? Does it bring up a new angle? Is it worded differently? – pay attention to any major difference
• is it answering a user’s questions differently? If yes, how?
  
  

Tweak or change the content

This is the time to take action. If the tactics mentioned above don’t work, it’s time to change, modify and adapt the content on your website. Create new content, expand it, make it more diverse and see what Google actually wants. This tactic will be more laborious and will be long term, but hopefully, you will see positive results.

Conclusion

BERT seems to be the most important update for Google’s search algorithm in the past 5 years. Its effects on SEO are not yet fully understood, but it seems it is not focused on any sort of penalization. It is designed to understand users’ search intent better. It’s designed to create a better experience for the user.

The real professionals know that you can’t be an expert in everything. That’s why the best brands outsource their digital marketing to the real experts. A good SEM agency will plan and implement your digital marketing strategy from the ground up and will transform your brand’s online presence. But what about the costs? What are the usual SEM agency fees and how much should you expect to pay?

This articles will help you learn the following:

• What are the Standard SEM Services Pricing Models?
• How much does it cost to hire an SEM Manager?
• How much to invest in an SEM Professional?
• Monthly cost of an SEM Provider Company

 

What are the Standard SEM Services Pricing Models?

There are many players in the digital marketing industry: full digital marketing agencies, SEO agencies, SEM agencies, social media agencies and many other types of service providers (including freelancers and independent contractors). Also, in larger companies, SEM services are often done in-house. 

Many independent providers have different pricing models and service fees, as well as monthly or yearly subscription plans. Also, some agencies prefer to work project-based, while others work on retainers. 

The pricing models can be confusing, especially if you are new to the digital marketing world. While most clients prefer a transparent pricing model, there are several industry-specific details you should understand. What’s more, knowing how SEM services are billed will help you better determine your digital marketing budget and how they can grow in the future. 

These are some of the questions that often pop up when talking with new clients: 

How much do digital marketing and SEM services really cost?

How do I know how much should I pay?

What payment plan is the best for my business? Can I change it in the future?

There are four main pricing models in the SEM industry. Hopefully, these will help you answer the questions mentioned above.

• percent of revenue – the client pays a percentage of the resulting revenue; because the client pays from the revenue generated, there is one major disadvantage: the client doesn’t have the economy of scale: if the revenue doubles, the SEM costs double as well; in the long run, this strategy is not feasible and needs constant readjustments;

• percent of ad spend – this model is similar to the previous model – some SEM agencies bill the clients as percentage of their ad spend; rates start from 5 and go up to 20 percent; some clients avoid this pricing model because the ROI is not obvious, and there is no economy of scale (your costs grow together with your spending);

• flat monthly fee – this is the simplest payment model; it provides the client economies of scale and it’s adaptable; an SEM or paid search agency will use this pricing model to better control costs for your business; most service providers use this pricing model and most offers will be based on this model; you can opt either for a subscription-based model, where you pay a monthly fee for a set period of time (6 or 12 months) or as needed (adapted to your specific needs)

• flat project-based fees – these pricing models are adapted to your specific one-time needs; usually, flat project-based pricing models are used by freelancers and independent contractors; small projects, like updating a part of your website, fixing links or doing basic keyword research should be billed independently;

 

How much does it cost to hire an SEM Manager?

Larger companies may want to hire their in-house SEM manager to plan and implement their digital marketing campaigns. Usually, SEM managers will work in the marketing department of larger companies and will manage a team of SEO, e-commerce and SEM analysts. The costs of having an in-house SEM team are higher than outsourcing to digital marketing agencies, but it’s financially viable for large companies.

Salaries for SEM analysts start from $47,000 and can go up to $96,000 per year, while salaries for SEM managers can start at $58,000 and reach $116,000 per year. Salaries are similar for SEO analysts, SEO managers, and e-commerce specialists. A full team of digital marketing specialists (5 to 12 employees) can cost you about $300,000 to $600,000 per year.

 

How much to invest in an SEM Professional?

According to a study done in 2016, the average business spends about $35,000 per year on search engine marketing services. Including social media, email marketing, mobile and display advertising, the figure goes to $80,000 per year.* That’s a lot of money, and everyone expects to see these figures go even higher in the future. So how much should you pay?

Generally, companies spend 10 to 12 percent* of their revenue on marketing. The average company is expected to pay 45 percent of their marketing budget to online marketing. This figure is expected to grow, as well. For instance, a company has a revenue of $1,5 million, will spend approximately $74,500 for digital marketing every year. SEM services are roughly 50 percent of your overall digital marketing, so in this example, you should expect to pay $38,000 for SEM services every year.

 

Monthly cost of an SEM Provider Company

Most SEM agencies use a flat fee pricing model. Here are the median prices for SEM services, as a flat monthly fee:

• basic SEM services – $499 to $999 per month – the most basic package includes simple set-up services, content and social media services
• locally focused SEM services – $2,000 to $4,999 per month – the ideal service to get found online, especially for local markets and businesses; with this plan, you’ll get advanced social media campaigns, PPC campaigns and sales funnel creation and implementation;
• multi-location SEM services – $5,000 to $19,999 per month – ideal for targeting larger markets and multiple locations; you’ll get multiple-targeted social media campaigns and advanced PPC campaigns;

• high-level SEM services – more than $20,000 per month – this is ideal if you are active in a competitive industry; you’ll get a complete digital marketing plan, full SEO services, social media, and PPC campaigns.

Is SEO important? – You’ve probably heard this question before… This vital digital marketing tool is one of the core components of a full digital marketing strategy for virtually every business.

In this post, you will learn the following:

• How to determine good SEO services?
• Why do you need to hire an SEO Specialist?
• What are the SEO Best Practices?
• Why it’s good to do SEO in Business Website?

It’s one of the main ways of getting your website in front of your potential customers. And this means more traffic, more opportunities to convert your prospects into new customers, a better reputation for your company and increased brand awareness.

So the answer is simple: YES… SEO is important, but there’s more to it. Here’s what you’ll need to know:

How to determine good SEO services?

A good SEO agency will guide you through all the main concepts of SEO and will work out a strategy for your business. Here’s what you’ll need to focus on to get the best service:

• define your goals – which areas of your online presence do you want to improve? Is your website new or does it need just a slight redesign? Do you need a completely new website or just a simple SEO campaign for an already established website? Think about all these questions and try to find the right answers. If you are not sure about your goals, you can get a digital marketing analysis done. This will tell you what your priorities should be.
• data tracking – good SEO agencies will always use some kind of data tracking for their campaigns. Tracking is one of the most important aspects of a successful SEO campaign – you can’t plan or schedule your strategy without knowing the data behind it – it’s as simple as that. It involves measuring site visits, click through rates, contact forms, phone calls, keywords, SERP rankings, backlinks, and many other factors. Good SEO is always based on precise data and numbers, not on gut instincts.
• reviews, testimonials, case studies – reviews say a lot about companies, and the same goes for SEO agencies. Try to look for unbiased reviews or testimonials online, either on their website or on 3^rd party websites like Google, Glassdoor or Yelp. Also, a good idea is to use the contact form on the agency’s website. See what their response is and how they handle your request.

• schedule a consultation – see how well you connect with the agency and discuss your project. A good agency will love to talk about the importance of SEO in digital marketing, how your company can benefit from it, as well as their previous work, their strategy and how they can handle your project.
  
  

Why do you need to hire an SEO Specialist?

Most website owners know and understand the basics of SEO, but that’s not enough in the highly competitive online world. Basic SEO will simply not get you too far in terms of organic traffic, visibility and overall results.

The same goes for do-it-yourself SEO campaigns: they might work in very specific cases, but not in the long term. The competition is fierce, and without a professional, you won’t enjoy the full benefits of SEO.

So how do you know you need a professional? Here are some of the reasons:

• limited SEO knowledge or experience – let’s face it – you have to focus on your business and your specific field of work. It’s virtually impossible to master both your industry and SEO. A professional SEO agency will know how to handle your project, create a plan and implement it. You won’t have to learn and experiment with SEO.
• not enough time – SEO is not a “one and done” marketing strategy. It doesn’t work as a billboard on a busy highway. SEO is an on-going strategy that should be nurtured over time, adapted and constantly tracked. The online world is an ever-changing system, and this why SEO matters so much; it helps your website adapt in the hectic online environment;
• great website but no traffic – if you already have a website that you are proud of, it’s time to get traffic to it. You worked a lot on your website, it works great, it has all the information people look for, but there’s no traffic. It deserves to be noticed and SEO is a great way to get visitors, new leads and new customers.

What are the SEO Best Practices?

To have a successful SEO strategy, you should try to implement as many best practices for SEO as possible. Here are the best ones to focus on:

Keywords:

• have one primary keyword per page on your website
• don’t use the same primary keyword for multiple pages
• use the primary keyword in the title, the first paragraph, the meta title, and the description
• focus on a keyword density of 2 percent
• use secondary or related keywords for each page at least once

On-site content:

• don’t publish poor content; write high-quality content and publish it periodically; use good photos and videos; outsource content creation if possible
• don’t publish duplicate content
• use brief image file names

Links:

• Include links on each page
• use internal links; use the page’s target keyword as the anchor text
• fix broken links
• attract links from good websites, blogs or other high-quality online sources

Local SEO:

• create a Google business page
• add your website to directories and other online platforms
• link your website with social media profiles
• make sure your name, address, and phone are correctly written in your contact us area

Technical aspects:

• add an SSL certificate to your website
• Increase the speed of your website
• use a responsive, mobile-friendly design
• track analytics and monitor your website’s activity and performance

Why it’s good to do SEO in Business Website?

Search engine optimization is one of the best ways to increase traffic and get more clients for your business. Here’s why SEO is important for your online success:

• SEO leads convert better – a study* has shown that SEO leads result in a close rate of 14.6 percent, compared to just 1.7 percent for outbound leads
• good SEO optimization means better user experience – your visitors want to experience a mobile-friendly design, good photo and video integration and excellent written content
• ranking in local search gets better leads – local leads are the best: more than 50 percent of consumers who did a local search visited a store on the same day. Also, 20 percent of local mobile searches led to a sale within a day
• SEO makes your business more credible – the importance of SEO extends far beyond getting organic traffic. Ranking higher in the SERPs signals that you are a leader in your industry. It shows your business is trustworthy, professional and an authority in its area.