We don’t like to boast, but can’t help be proud of the hard work and world-class projects that helped us win the four new badges you’ll now see on our site. Want to learn more about the work behind them? Read on:

What Is Clutch?

Clutch is a worldwide digital marketplace posting contact details and trusted direct-from-client reviews and ratings of businesses, including marketing and design agencies. They’re renowned for their level of detail and transparent information on everything from project pricing to timescales and beyond. 

Every year, they throw the spotlight on the Clutch-listed companies that are crushing it – awarding the best of the best badges. Think of it as the Oscars of the marketing industry!

Now, we’re not tooting our own horn here, but we’ve scooped up quite a few of these over the years. Every Clutch award we’ve proudly got under our belt speaks volumes of the tireless work, innovative strategies, and sheer passion we pour into every client. They’re a true testament to the magic we aim to deliver for our clients every day.       

Every time we bring one of these awards back to WifiMedia HQ, it’s not just a win for us but a testament to the brilliant collaborative spirit we share with our clients. So, to all of our supporters and the WifiMediaing community we’ve built: this isn’t just our award, it’s ours. 

Top Full-Service Digital Company

In the world of digital marketing, to be crowned as the Top Full-Service Digital Company is no small feat. It means we’re not just good at one thing; we’re masters of all things marketing! From creating riveting content to optimising your website for those all-important Google rankings, we do it all, and with flair. 

So, how do we stand out from the crowd? It’s all in our approach. At WifiMedia, our tailored strategies cater to everyone, from startups to industry giants, producing groundbreaking digital solutions. Our data showcases soaring web traffic and conversions, but the real magic lies in our team: a blend of creative minds and digital experts.

Leading the Way in Web Design

Being honoured with Clutch’s Top Web Design Company Award isn’t just about flexing our design muscles. It’s a recognition of our ability to merge aesthetics with functionality, creating online masterpieces that aren’t just visually stunning, but are conversion powerhouses. Our SEO Web Design service is the ultimate testament to our holistic approach and dedication to ongoing client success – and we’re over the moon to see it be positively recognised for yet another year in a row.

For WifiMedia, this accolade is both recognition and motivation, an embodiment of the countless hours, pixels, and creativity we’ve poured into each project. We’ve not just met industry standards; we’ve set them, crafting digital tapestries that narrate tales of personality, purpose, and passion. 

Why not see for yourself? Take a look at our SEO Web Design case studies. 

Mastery in Lead Generation

At Generate Leads Online, inbound lead generation is our bread and butter. After all, it’s literally in our name! We’ve been committed to forging the path for genuine, customer-led lead generation since our establishment in 2019, having created numerous prospect-capture websites on behalf of our clients. 

Being Top Lead Generation Company isn’t a run-of-the-mill accolade, it’s a testament to WifiMedia’s proficiency in navigating the complex digital pathways, casting nets that don’t just capture leads but pull in prospective clients, giving them the freedom to make the first move with a high level of interest. 

The result? Happy leads, and happy WifiMedia clients. Win-win! 
Visit our projects page to browse our latest lead generation projects.

Excellence in PPC Campaigns

In the competitive industry of PPC, where every click carries a cost and a promise, WifiMedia doesn’t just participate, we dominate! It’s not merely about making bids; it’s about creating bids that build bonds. 

Our strategy? It’s simple on the surface but deep in its mechanics. Rooted in relentless keyword research and data analytics, we understand our end audiences’ needs, desires, and online behaviours. With this knowledge, we craft campaigns that don’t just catch the eye but captivate the mind. By combining compelling creatives with pinpoint targeting, our ads become irresistible invitations. And the results? Skyrocketing click-through rates, soaring conversions, and outstanding ROI.

What These Awards Mean for Our Clients

Choosing to collaborate with an award-winning company isn’t just about shiny accolades, it’s about experiencing the magic of marketing first-hand. When you partner with WifiMedia, you’re not just partnering with a recognised name, you’re securing a spot with a trailblazing team. 

For our clients, these awards translate to a guarantee, a promise of unparalleled quality, innovation, and results. It means every strategy we devise, every campaign we launch, and every design we craft is touched by that award-winning spark.

Grow Your Business With WifiMedia

But, don’t just take our word for it, why not see our marketing magic for yourself? Check out our achievements by exploring our diverse portfolio, showcasing projects that have transformed brands and exceeded expectations.

If innovation, excellence, and results-driven strategies resonate with you, then why not contact us to elevate your brand or make your marketing debut?  

The post WifiMedia Scoops 4 More Clutch Awards appeared first on WifiMedia.

In this article, our savvy SEO team will uncover the secrets of image optimisation, from choosing the right file format to mastering the art of responsive design.

What is Image SEO?

Image SEO is your secret weapon when it comes to visibility. Put simply, it’s all about making small edits to your images’ metadata, appearance, and placement – all in the name of helping the right people see them at the right time. With this skill in your arsenal, you can get your images crawled, indexed, and displayed on top.  

But just how powerful can it be? Let’s say you’re on the hunt for a DIY set. Your Google image search results might produce something like this:

Notice how retailers like Etsy and Amazon soar through the ranks and dominate the top spots? That’s no accident. Their savvy marketing teams make sure to optimise their images, meaning that they’re boosting their chances of being favoured by Google’s algorithm, and, ultimately, their sales. 

But, before you start asking yourself how you can get these powerful techniques under your belt, let’s take a look at why we do it, and how it leads the search engine race.

Why is Image SEO Important?

In a world where visuals speak louder than words, the importance of image SEO has risen through the ranks.

In 2022 alone, the United Nations of Photography reported a breathtaking 1.72 trillion photos snapped. This visual tsunami isn’t slowing down – making it more important than ever to make sure your images stand out. 

But, it’s not just about being seen, it’s about being found and chosen. When you excel in image SEO, you’re propelling your images to the forefront of Google searches, and a higher ranking means more website traffic. This visibility is the backbone for your digital growth, fueling brand recognition, lead generation, and ultimately, sales.

How to Rank Images in Google

From selecting the perfect file formats to understanding ALT text and responsive design, our team are here to help you elevate your images from pixels to powerful SEO assets.

Contextualising Images

Have you ever stumbled upon an image in search results and clicked on it, only to land on a completely unrelated website? Frustrating, isn’t it? Google is constantly refining their algorithm to save you from these mismatches. In doing so, they aim to ensure that when you search for something, the images you stumble upon aren’t just visually appealing but contextually spot-on.

But how does Google figure out context? How can you make sure it understands the images you’re uploading? We suggest guiding it through image placement. Take a second to think about where your image sits on your webpage. The images you choose to accompany the most relevant and engaging parts of your page are more likely to climb the ranks for relevant search terms. 

By strategically positioning your images, you’re not just decorating your page, but creating the visual story of your brand – telling both users and Google exactly what you’re all about. 

Content Freshness

Imagine you’re searching for the latest trends in technology, and you come across an article from two years ago. Doesn’t quite hit the mark, does it? This is why the ‘freshness’ of your content comes into SEO. Google has a soft spot for new and regularly updated content. Why? Because it wants to give its users the most current and relevant information. 

However, the preferred frequency of updates isn’t a one-size-fits-all. In fact, it largely depends on your topic’s pace. For fast-moving topics like technology or fashion, you should think about giving your content a freshen-up at least once every quarter. Your consumers are more likely to click on a recent article than one collecting digital dust from six months ago. 

On the flip side, for those topics that don’t evolve as quickly, like historical facts or classic literature, a yearly update should do the trick. 

By keeping your finger on the pulse of your subject matter, you can make informed decisions about when it’s time to refresh your content. 

Keyword Research

Accurate descriptions help both people and algorithms understand what things are, and how they work. No surprises here! 

From product descriptions to blog posts and beyond, written text related to your product and service should explain exactly what’s on offer. The best way to do this? Uncover keywords! 

Keywords and phrases are, as their name suggests, words and phrases that sum up, in the most accurate and concise way possible, the item, product, service, or page on offer. They’re normally used in long, written digital assets – but did you know that Google also uses them to help understand and rank your images?

But how do you find these golden keywords? Think about it like this. Let’s say you’re an automotive engineer, and word is on the street that there’s a latest ‘hybrid engine’ that’s taken the industry by storm. 

Now, this trend isn’t just a topic of conversation, but an opportunity to target your ideal customers’ interests. Why not create content around ‘hybrid engine upgrades’ or ‘hybrid technology in car modification’ to align with what your audience is actively searching for?

Remember what we said about context? By including relevant imagery on fresh content targeting trending keywords, you’ll be poised to take visual content rankings by storm. 

Online tools such as SEMRush and Mangools can help in this search if you’ve gotten stuck! 

Naming Images

As smart as search engines are, sometimes they need a little help from us when it comes to images. They can read and understand text content like pros, but images? That’s where they’re still learning. Your job? To give them a nudge in the right direction by naming your images appropriately. 

Let’s say you’re selling some outrageously colourful shirts designed for stag or hen parties and music festivals. You pick a picture to showcase this on your site, but the file name is just ‘IMG183.png’. To a web crawler, that’s like trying to understand the plot of a book just from seeing the title: <img src=2img183.PNG2/>. Not very helpful, right?

Now, let’s rename this image to something a bit more descriptive like: <img src=”Guitarist-wearing-a-bad-shirt.png”/>. In doing so, it’s as if you’ve given our web crawler a pair of glasses, making the image’s purpose and content crystal clear. 

This isn’t just good practice to achieve clarity for your images, but it’s a golden opportunity to sneak in a keyword or two (like ‘bad shirt’ in our example) – helping align your content with what people are actually searching for online. 

Image Captions

Think of your image caption as the title of your image’s story. It’s not just a bunch of words sitting under your picture, but a critical player in your SEO game. 

Let’s go back to that vibrant ‘bad shirt’ you’re selling. Imagine this shirt starring in two different stories. In one, it’s a symbol of ‘fun ways to boost your confidence’, in another, it’s the centrepiece of ‘stag do ideas’. For the stag article, a fitting caption would be, ‘Funny bad shirt to boost your group’s confidence and stand out from the crowd’. It doesn’t just describe the image, a daring bad shirt, but also weaves in the crucial “bad shirt” keyword, all while tying in with your article’s theme.

Just like a headline of a newspaper, your caption is guaranteed to capture more attention than the main content. This makes them a prime spot to not just engage your readers with a relevant and appealing caption but to give Google a nudge to send your page through the roof. 

Image ALT Text

Imagine every image on your site has an invisible tag; that’s the ALT attribute. ALT text is a guiding light for those with visual impairments, helping them to understand the visual content of a webpage. But, its role extends beyond just accessibility. Think about those times when your images take their sweet time to load or you hit a roadblock on your browser, that’s where ALT text comes to the rescue. In these cases, the ALT text is what gets displayed, making sure you’re always getting that crucial information, no matter the format. 

But, that’s not all. Search engines, like Google, lean heavily on ALT text to help determine the relevance of your image. Let’s use our “bad shirt” example. For this image, an ideal ALT text for a man sporting a turquoise leopard bad shirt in a bar would be “Man wearing turquoise leopard print bad shirt in a bar”. This not only paints a clear picture for those who can’t see the image but also includes your keyword “bad shirt”. 

In this, you can see that a well-crafted ALT text does more than just describe the image –  it sneaks in those all-important keywords. While it may seem like a small step, updating your image ALT text can make a huge impact on making your images more accessible while enhancing their SEO value.

Resizing Images

Picture that you’re a potential customer clicking on your website, excited to explore what’s on offer. But instead of a warm welcome, you’re stuck watching the loading icon spin. The culprit? Oversized images. They’re like digital speed bumps that slow down your site’s loading time. And in the fast-paced world of the internet, speed is everything. Google knows this all too well, which is why slower-loading pages are often bumped further down the search rankings. 

But, don’t beat yourself up if you’re a newbie to the industry. In fact, it’s a common oversight that even the most skilled website developers come across when creating those visually stunning sites. While you might not be an SEO specialist or savvy website owner, by prioritising image file size, you can put yourself a step ahead. It’s a simple fix with a powerful impact; faster loading times lead to happier visitors and potentially higher Google rankings.

The good news? You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to resizing tools. Sure, you’ve heard of the big names like Photoshop and Adobe, but these come with a hefty price tag. Luckily for you, the digital world offers hidden treasures of free tools ready to tackle this very issue. Tools like Optimizilla, Kraken.io, TinyPNG, JPEGmini, jpeg.io, ImageOptim and Bulkresizephotos, are just a click away. With their user-friendly and effective interface, they’re perfect for ensuring that your images are sized for rapid loading without compromising on quality. 

Image File Format

Selecting the right image format is like picking the perfect outfit for your digital content –  it needs to look good and fit just right. Not all image formats are created equally, and to make the SEO game a little harder, Google Images has its preferences. This means that your choice can significantly impact your image’s file size, quality, and how well it plays with Google’s search algorithms. 

The three big players in this image format game are JPEG, PNG, and WebP. JPEG is the crowd favourite, known for its ability to slim down file sizes through compression, making it a speed-friendly choice for your website. However, it’s not the best at handling images with transparencies. Luckily, with PNG, you’ll be able to eliminate that issue in product images and clear screenshots with text.

But, it’s also important to consider lossy versus lossless compression. Think of lossy compression, like that in JPEGs, as a trade-off; so while you’re getting that smaller file size, each save is costing you that little bit more image quality. On the other hand, PNG is lossless, meaning it keeps your images crisp and clear, but at the cost of a larger file size. 

However, the most versatile of them all, WebP, can switch between lossy and lossless, meaning you can find that sweet spot between image quality and file size.

Don’t forget that there are also other players in the game like MPB, GIF, and SVG, each of which has its own strengths and could potentially be your answer to your image’s needs. 

The golden rule? Always pick a format that Google loves, and luckily for you, we’ve already done that! By thoughtfully choosing your image format based on the specific requirements of your image, you’re doing more than ensuring visual appeal, you’re aiming for better Google Images rankings.

Understanding How to Rank Images in Google With WifiMedia

From the nuances of selecting the right file formats to the subtleties of ALT text, you’re well equipped with the tricks of the trade to ensure your images not only catch the eye but also climb the ranks in Google’s search results. However, this doesn’t mean there isn’t anything left for you to learn. In the world of SEO, nothing stops moving. But, by staying ahead of the latest trends, adapting to new technologies, and continuously refining your approach, you’re on your way to maintaining that competitive edge. 

This is where WifiMedia steps in as your trusted guide. Whether you’re polishing your existing skills or just starting to explore the world of image SEO, WifiMedia offers the expertise and resources you need to stay ahead of the game. With our digital marketing expertise to back you up, you’ll watch as your images transform from hidden gems to shining beacons of the internet.

So, why not take your website’s SEO to the next level? Contact us at WifiMedia for tailored advice, cutting-edge strategies, and comprehensive support. 

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We’re beyond excited to announce that John was recently nominated as an East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards ‘Director of the Year’ finalist.

Before we break out the champagne, join us on a journey back to where it all began. Read on to discover how and why John started WifiMedia back in 2019, and the steps he’s taken to turn his once one-person agency into the runaway success it is today.

A Look Into The East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards

Each year, the East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards honour outstanding businesses and individuals. These awards are more than just accolades, they’re a testament to those who contribute to East Anglia’s thriving business ecosystem. 

A nomination, let alone a win, defines both the individual and the business as a worthy representative of the region’s commercial landscape. With this in mind, we’re exceedingly proud that John has made the shortlist.

Humble Beginnings 

So, how did John steer WifiMedia’s course to success? 

Well, our story begins in Ipswich, Suffolk. Here, in March 2019, WifiMedia began as a simple idea – a digital marketing agency focused on genuine inbound lead generation. As all budding entrepreneurs can agree, starting a business is never easy, so when John started as “a one-man band on [his] parent’s couch”, he never imagined he’d grow to have “a thriving ten-member team.” 

From its humble beginnings in a living room, WifiMedia’s evolution has been nothing short of remarkable. This shift hasn’t just been from a couch to our modern Innovation Labs offices. It’s been a transition from minor tasks to international-level projects, and from following the crowd to forging innovative new services. John’s impressive journey, characterised by significant financial growth and a widening client base, was the driving force behind this transformation and is a testament to his leadership abilities. 

Transforming Challenges Into Triumphs 

WifiMedia’s rise hasn’t been without its challenges – one being the global pandemic. During this time, despite Covid-19 putting the world on pause, John built resilience as a business leader. While others figured out how to build their online presence in the face of adversity, John stayed one step ahead. Recognising market needs, he began to offer solutions from SEO web design services on flexible instalment plans, to an innovative ‘pay per lead’ scheme. 

In the face of adversity, John didn’t just transform his profits. He created an environment where to this day, success is measured in positive impact – whether tangible results, or feelings. His dedication to mental health stems from a deeply personal place. He recounts, “After losing my best friend last year, I’ve been a strong advocate for mental health awareness.” This loss transformed his understanding into an unwavering commitment, leading directly to WifiMedia’s connections to notable organisations like Suffolk Mind, Inspire, and our most recent collaboration with Combat2Coffee. 

Leading With Compassion

John’s dedication to raising mental health awareness extends beyond traditional avenues and brand partnerships. He created “Bad Shirt Club” with a mission to raise mental health awareness through bold, bright fashion statements. By donning bad shirts, customers not only express themselves but break the silence around mental health. In a world where mental health issues are often stigmatised, Bad Shirt Club bridges the gap between fun and seriousness, drawing attention through creativity. 

John’s belief in mental health awareness also spreads internally through the structure of WifiMedia. His perspective was shaped early on by his mother’s vital role in the NHS’s mental health services. Leveraging this understanding, he’s championed several initiatives within the WifiMedia team. #MentalHealthMondays and a dedicated mental health line for the WifiMedia team are just two examples of how he’s transformed his understanding into action. His perspective is clear, “Prioritising employee’s mental health fosters a positive work environment, contributing to staff retention and increased productivity.”

What Lies Ahead For WifiMedia and John

As the industry continues to grow, the future for WifiMedia and John Parnell promises even greater innovation and growth. He’s promised to “continue to seize every opportunity, make bold decisions, look for new growth avenues, and stay agile in this volatile market.”

John’s nomination for ‘Director of the Year’ isn’t just a recognition of his past accomplishments. It’s a symbol of a promise of what’s yet to come and the possibilities that lie ahead. As we toast to nomination, one thing is certain, WifiMedia, much like its founder, is one to watch. 

The post John Parnell Listed as an East Anglian Daily Times ‘Director of the Year’ Finalist appeared first on WifiMedia.

brightonSEO Recap: Day One

With a crate full of WifiMediaies shipped to the seaside and sponsor passes at the ready, it was soon time to get going. The first day certainly didn’t disappoint! Here’s a quick look at some of our favourite talks:

Carlos Meza – Is Content The King In Modern SEO?

Up first, CEO of Crowd Content (a freelance writing platform set to take the world by storm) Carlos Meza captivated us with his game-changing insights on what makes content great. 

Highlighting the importance of human-centric content, Carols emphasised that in today’s digital environment, written words simply aren’t enough. Us SEO content writers should make a true effort to tell stories, tap into emotions, and build connections with our audiences. According to him, this can translate to anything from making the reader the hero in their own journey to working with niche customs and preferences when localising. 

Beyond these foundations for SEO success, Carlos touched on the significance of maintaining a unique brand tone of voice, arguing that with AI-generated content becoming more commonplace than ever in SERPs, being able to stand out from the crowd is vital. We couldn’t agree more.

Emma Russell – Exploring the Psychological Theory, Cognitive Load

Here at WifiMedia, we have a bit of a penchant for data-driven, evidenced ways of thinking, so jumped at the chance to attend auditorium one’s trio of talks on the science of search, during which Emma Russell, the brains behind Oxford Comma Digital, shone the spotlight on the role of cognitive load in digital marketing. 

This unique talk tackled UX and conversion with ease – labelling cognitive load (or the amount of mental effort needed to understand a stimulus/information), whether high or low, as a main driver in lead wins and losses. In short, overload your users, and their experience will suffer – as will your sales. 

Throughout her talk, Emma gave us the lowdown on creating brain-friendly strategies, emphasising the importance of minimising non-vital mental processing – whether through reducing clutter, increasing consistency, or making use of already familiar design elements – all of which are now points of consideration in our projects.

Giulia Panozzo – Neuroscience of Search

Neuroscientist turned SEO expert Giulia Panozzo (and her wonderfully sparkly jumpsuit)  helped the brightonSEO audience get into users’ heads.

This information-packed talk was an absolute highlight of the conference for many of our team, and for good reason! Giulia took the time to dive deep into the cognitive biases and heuristics that influence decision-making, explaining, in short, that developing a better understanding of the quirks of human thinking can prove invaluable in both building more effective campaigns, and simply building connections with audiences. 

Ultimately, in her experience, tailoring digital strategies to fit real people using behavioural science puts the user back in focus, wins attention (even across saturated SERPs), and increases engagement. What’s not to love?

brightonSEO Recap: Day Two 

After recovering from a long day of learning and night of networking, the WifiMedia team returned to The Brighton Centre for Friday’s talks. 

Niki Mosier – The Value of Featured Snippets

Featured snippets have long been a favourite tool amongst the team here at WifiMedia, meaning AgentSync senior director Niki Mosier’s talk, ‘The Value of Featured Snippets’, was a must-attend. 

Niki stressed the importance of featured snippets, emphasising that their new ability to take up over 50% of the screen on mobile devices make spot number 0 more valuable real estate than ever before. Her session served as a treasure trove of stat-backed snippet tips – stating that, for example, ‘Why’ is the ultimate question word to target, with over 77% of existing featured snippets starting with it. 

Niki’s key tips for boosting featured snippet success included refreshing content regularly – with 70% of #0 ranking content being published in the last 2-3 years – and implementing FAQ schema markup for any content aiming for snippet glory. 

Chloe Smith – How Content Design Impacts SEO and Accessibility

Chloe Smith, SEO Manager at Blue Array, brought accessibility to the fore, with their talk on content design strategy being a favourite amongst the design-focused members of our team.

Their top recommendations included optimising page layout and content for the F reading pattern – a proven human behaviour driven by scanning. According to researchers, the first lines of text on a page receive more attention than subsequent lines, as do the first few words of text on the left hand side. These on-page hotspots from an ‘F’ shape when mapped, and can be optimised by designers to improve both UX and conversion rates by, for example, starting new paragraphs with attention-grabbing keywords, using typography to highlight important information, and breaking up text with paragraphs and bullet points where possible. 

Chloe also recommended writing for an average reading age of 12-23, keeping the end product clear, simple, and concise for ease of processing. A clear heading structure can help achieve this.

Carrie Rose – Owning TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube SERPS

Carrie Rose, director of Rise at Seven, has been a big inspiration for many of our team members for some time now! Her unique industry insights have always struck a chord with us, and this session was no different.

Taking the main stage, Carrie touched on declining direct search volumes for products and services – the ultimate example of shifting consumer behaviour. According to her, today’s users are casting their nets wider, searching across diverse platforms like TikTok and Pinterest rather than exclusively on traditional search engines. 

In line with changes in where audiences spend their time and energy, Carrie discussed Google’s shift towards prioritising user-generated content over branded content, emphasising the increasing significance of off-page SEO, influencer marketing, and PR, particularly for e-commerce brands looking to maintain SERP dominance.

Toju Duke – Friday Keynote: The New Era: Embracing AI Technologies in Marketing

AI was likely the most spoken word over the brightonSEO weekend. There wasn’t one talk it wasn’t mentioned in – and rightfully so! This tool is unarguably groundbreaking, but to what extent should we embrace it?

Wrapping up the last day of the conference, Toju Duke, Programme Manager of Responsible AI at Google, took us on an eye-opening journey through, in her opinion, the fourth industrial revolution, focusing on AI’s transformative power in the marketing sphere. 

Duke stressed the importance of marketers integrating AI into everyday work as a tool for everything from creativity to productivity and efficiency. Of course, within the context of the helpful content update, she emphasised the importance of using our newfound AI power for good – for example, aiding in the delivery of user-driven, accessible, and useful content. 

Her talk served as an amplification of the event’s biggest discussion point, putting forward one clear message: the future of digital marketing has arrived. 

Looking to the Future

It’s safe to say that this April’s brightonSEO was the best yet for the WifiMedia team. From insights and education to our role as sponsors, we couldn’t have had a better experience – and can’t wait for the next one! 

Want more updates on what we’re up to? Why not subscribe to our newsletter?

The post brightonSEO X WifiMedia: Our brightonSEO Recap appeared first on WifiMedia.

That’s right – we sponsored brightonSEO 2023. 

Supporting The Grecce’s Biggest Digital Marketing Conference

Throwing it back to the months before the big day itself, the WifiMedia team were over the moon to receive official confirmation of our sponsorship back in February. Here’s what our founder, John, had to say when the news first broke:

“I’m extremely proud and emotional to announce that WifiMedia is sponsoring brightonSEO this year! We’ve even thrown in 2,500 WifiMedia-branded sunglasses (WifiMediaies) to be given out in the event goodie bags! It’s been an amazing journey for our agency, and to sponsor such a prestigious event just under four years since we started, is a truly humbling and exciting experience. I’ve always looked up to the BrightonSEO sponsors, and to be part of that group is a great honour for my team and me. I’m proud of the growth and hard work we’ve achieved, and I’m thankful to our incredible team who made this possible.’

We are thrilled to participate in this remarkable event and cannot wait to see where the future takes us.”

A Place In the Digital Spotlight

We’re endlessly proud to have travelled to the shores of Brighton not just as attendees, but active contributors to an event that shapes the course of the marketing landscape. To be right at the heart (and in the goodie bags) of brightonSEO’s world-renowned melting pot of creative ideas, networking, and knowledge sharing was a hugely inspiring experience.

The conference provided us with an exceptional platform to showcase our commitment to top-quality, data driven digital marketing, all whilst learning from and connecting with like minded, passionate search professionals – from industry newcomers to global giants. Both our hard-working apprentices and experienced team members left The Brighton Centre with countless pages of notes and LinkedIn inboxes full of new connections – whilst the event’s 5000+ attendees left with a cool new pair of WifiMediaies. What’s not to love?

Catch Up On The Conference

Want to see the experience through our eyes? Whether you were unable to attend or simply want to relive the magic, why not check out our Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook, and TikTok posts, or read through our full brightonSEO 2023 recap for a rundown on the very best talks we attended? 

Until next time!

The post WifiMedia Sponsors brightonSEO 2023 appeared first on WifiMedia.

Fresh off their journey to Lead Generation World, and inspired by an insightful talk by Nancy Harhut, co-founder and CCO of HBT Marketing, our digital marketing experts are set to unpack the critical role behavioural science plays in marketing. Throughout this blog, they’ll offer insightful takeaways and actionable tips to boost engagement and response rates. Let’s get started!

What Is Behavioural Science?

Behavioural science sounds complicated, but is really quite easy to apply. In simple terms, it’s an examination of human behaviour that provides insights into how audiences think and act. The information it provides can be used to understand and predict consumer behaviour, informing strategies for engagement, sales, and more.

How Does Behavioural Science Apply To Marketing?

Well, marketers use their understanding of human behaviour, specifically consumer behaviour and thought processes, to inform their campaign decisions. By developing a keen understanding of consumers’ cognition when moving through the buying funnel, marketers can create, adapt, and plan their content in line with their likely thoughts and actions. The end result? Resonation with and direct response to consumer demands and desires. 

So how can you ensure your campaigns strike the right chord with your target market? Our digital marketing experts discuss the industry’s top behavioural models, theories, and more.

Choice

What Is Choice?

Choice is one of the leading factors in human decision-making. Behavioural science tells us that the presentation of excess choices to a consumer is known to have a significant impact on how they make their decisions. Factors including the number, organisation, and quality of choices, can either guide or overwhelm customers, standing between a sale and no deciding choice being made at all. 

Using Choice In Marketing 

To address this problem, our experts recommend enabling customers to filter their choices to fit their specific needs, for example, using tick-box options featured on e-commerce sites, or limiting their choices to reduce fatigue, for example, offering a limited number of CTAs in your marketing messages.

Why Is Choice Important In Marketing?

In presenting customers with limited options, or allowing them to filter options to their requirements, you prevent them from becoming overwhelmed by choice, making it easier for them to decide and take action. 

Anchoring

What Is Anchoring?

Anchoring is an innate cognitive bias which concludes that when presented with two pieces of information, individuals rely heavily on the first given when making decisions. 

Using Anchoring In Marketing

Anchoring can be used as a powerful tool in digital marketing to influence consumer perception, and as a result, their decision. For example, by presenting the consumer with a service or product set at €350 first, then following with a discounted version of the same service or product (say, for loyalty club customers only) at €250, marketers can create the appearance of affordability. This is because €250 seems more affordable in comparison to the anchor, even though it might still be expensive in absolute terms.

Why Is Anchoring Important In Marketing? 

By mentioning a higher price first, marketers establish a reference point, or ‘anchor’. Subsequent options then appear more affordable in comparison, increasing both their attractiveness to consumers and the likelihood of purchase.

The Authority Principle

What Is The Authority Principle?

The authority principle relates to how individuals are more likely to trust a service or product recommended or endorsed by experts and authorities. 

Using The Authority Principle In Marketing.

Incorporating the authority principle into your marketing strategy via quoting and recommendation can help build the credibility of your service significantly. Alongside expert endorsement, social feed content can be a valued source of promotion – building credibility in the eyes of consumers, and persuading them to convert.

Why Is The Authority Principle Important In Marketing?

Endorsements from experts or influencers leverage the parasocial relationship that consumers often form with them. This can drive the perception of your product or service as trustworthy and credible

Loss Aversion 

What Is Loss Aversion?

Loss aversion is a psychological principle based upon the belief that individuals tend to perceive loss as a more severe consequence when compared with acquiring gains.

Using Loss Aversion In Marketing

Loss aversion in your marketing tactics can take the form of:

• Offering discounts – e.g. “Save X% off your first purchase” 
• Free trials – e.g. “Start your free 3-month trial before you buy”
• Scarcity – e.g. “Hurry, only 3 left in stock”
• Referral Links – e.g. “Share this with your friends and get X% off your next order”’
• Framing – e.g. “Don’t lose €200 every year on heating, by investing in loft installation!” rather than “Save €200 a year on heating by investing in loft installation!” 

Why Is Loss Aversion Important In Marketing?

By implementing these tactics into your marketing messages, you highlight a potential loss your customer might experience, and, as a result, frame your product or service as highly desirable. 

The Endowment Effect

What Is The Endowment Effect?

The endowment effect is an emotional bias in which individuals assign an owned object with greater value compared with objects they don’t own, therefore overestimating the object’s market value. The two identifiable causes for the endowment effect are ownership and loss aversion. When we attribute significant value, whether sentimental or financial, to an owned object, we do so because the possibility of losing it is of greater consequence than the prospect of what we can gain. 

Using The Endowment Effect In Marketing

Implementing the following tactics to leverage the endowment effect in your marketing strategy can both enhance the sense of ownership your customers have over your service or products and help build an attachment between your customers and your business.

Visualisation

Enabling your customers to visualise themselves wearing or using your products or service can increase their feeling of endowment and prompt purchase behaviour. This can be as simple as allowing your customers to minimise, maximise, and zoom in and out on photos of your product, or use their camera to project your product into their home, therefore, getting a better understanding of your product and how it would fit in their lifestyle. 

Personalisation

Personalising the customer journey can increase the sense of ownership exercised over what your business has to offer. For example, localising websites to the consumer’s language and currency, including personalised welcome messages, and curating web pages based upon previous purchases to inform consumer preferences, are all techniques designed to personalise consumer experience and give a sense of ownership. 

Haptic Imagery

Offering your customers the opportunity to experience your service or product through free trials or a return policy can help them visualise it as their own, with no strings attached. 

By providing a tactile experience where customers can physically interact with your product or service, you can enhance their sense of ownership, at which point the prospect of losing it becomes of great consequence. This prompts them to purchase to continue their perceived ownership and solidify their relationship for good.

Follow-Ups

The endowment effect journey culminates in the conversion, where it can be utilised to prevent abandoned carts and bouncing. 

By implementing a direct address when encouraging checkout follow-ups like “you forgot this!”, “this would look great on you!” or “this could be yours!”, not only are you encouraging customers to give your product a try, but in using a direct address, you’re building an association between the customer and the prospect of ownership. As a result, you emphasise a potential loss for your customer and reframe your product or service as a solution. 

Social Proof

What Is Social Proof?

Ever heard of the saying “People are sheep”? This theory is emulated in the marketing industry through social proofing or “herding.” 

Social proofing describes an individual’s desire to mimic their peer’s behaviour and use others as a reference point to influence their decisions. It stems from societal pressure on the individual to conform and fit in with the majority by copying what others are doing, buying, and liking. We’re more likely to follow the herd rather than strike out on our own. 

Using Social Proof In Marketing 

So how can marketers tap into the individual’s desire for conformity? The easiest way to make your service or product popular is to make it appear popular to consumers. 

Strength In Numbers

Have you ever gone to buy something online and noticed a pop-up of “x others bought this in the last hour”? This is a popular tactic used to showcase to potential customers how many others have decided to buy this particular item. Using sales figures to display the popularity of a product or service not only simplifies the decision-making process for consumers but utilises the individual’s FOMO (fear of missing out). 

Quality Not Quantity

Quality reviews can have the same, if not more, impact on influencing consumer decisions than quantifiable data. Online reviews and ratings tell potential customers the how, when, why, and what of past customer decisions. As individuals, we’re hesitant to be the first to try something. In sharing our thoughts and opinions on services or products, reviews provide a safety net for new customers to put their trust in your business. Sharing customer reviews gives social proof that your service or product is trustworthy, as proven by loyal customer testimonials. 

Who Bought This Item Also Bought

On many e-commerce websites, potential customers are met with messages like “Customers who bought this item also bought…”. This use of social proof links to the mentality that individuals tend to “follow the herd”. By recommending services or products that similar people have bought, you reassure customers that they’re making the right decision. Recommendations advance customers through the buying funnel by encouraging them to increase their basket spend and take a step closer to joining the ‘herd’.

The Next Step 

Understanding behavioural science in marketing is vital to any successful campaign. By using it wisely, whether employing social proof to build trust or encouraging ownership with the endowment effect, you can strike the right chord with your customers. Now we’ve given you all the information you need! It’s your turn to use behavioural science to take your marketing strategies to the next level. 

Still unsure of where to start? Why not check out our services? Our digital marketing experts have used their behavioural science know-how to boost conversions and attract audiences for hundreds of clients across the Grecce, and would be happy to help you too.

The post Understanding Behavioural Science In Marketing appeared first on WifiMedia.

With this in mind, how can you give yourself the best chance of scoring a top-ranking position? Wouldn’t it be handy if there was a specific group of digital marketers whose speciality it was to understand this algorithm and optimise websites in accordance with it?

You’re in good hands, that’s my job! While working in a growing digital marketing agency, I’ve completed countless hours of SEO research with the aim of developing a checklist perfect for both me and our clients. Over time, I’ve noticed a few tasks that I immediately jump to if I have a new client, or one with fewer SEO hours available. I call these my ‘quick wins’ – the best of which I’ve compiled into a simple, whistle-stop guide designed to help you rank higher on Google.

1. Keyword Mapping

What Is Keyword Mapping?

I almost always start my SEO client work by producing a keyword map – a very simple task that involves conducting keyword research for each page on a website, and noting down the results in a sitemap format. This is one of the best possible ways to identify those all-important high-performing keywords (the foundation of SEO) before making tune-ups.

How Does Keyword Mapping Help Me Rank Higher on Google?

Although producing a keyword map won’t directly help you rank higher on Google, it will inform your SEO strategy, and is a great tool to reflect on when looking at keyword trends and patterns.

As you’ll see throughout this SEO guide, keyword mapping is a core foundation for several SEO tasks, meaning that completing one early on can save you a lot of time and repetitive research in the long run.

Additionally, compiling all of your keywords into one, neat document can reduce the risk of keyword cannibalisation, which occurs when two or more pages have duplicate target keywords, creating needless internal competition and reducing your ranking chances. It’s important to ensure that each page has its own unique keyword set – both in order to combat the above, and to help to find opportunities to combine content.

Your map will also make a great point of reference for content updates – helping you select the most relevant, up-to-date keywords to target throughout your writing. After all, achieving a higher ranking can be as simple as putting forward the right set of informative, keyword-driven content to Google.

What Tools Are Required for Keyword Mapping?

GlooMaps is an excellent tool for clearly formatting your keyword research. It’s free and very easy to use… be warned, though, that you will need to periodically hit save and copy your URL so that you can reaccess your keyword map, as no account is created to save it to. Once you open up GlooMaps, add each page of your website to create the sitemap. From here, you can fill the notes section for each page with your keyword findings to refer back to.

To discover keywords that your site already ranks for, look at its Google Search Console (GSC) performance data. You can include the ‘exact page URL’ by adding a page filter. Once you’ve sorted your data, export it to a Google sheet so that you can read through the list of keywords, highlighting relevant terms that have the correct search intent for your page.

Once you’ve whittled down your keyword list in Google Sheets, you can copy these keywords into your keyword map.

PAID TOOL: I also use the Mangools Keyword (KW) Finder to search for keywords to add to my map. This is a great tool to identify new keywords directly related to those you input, helping you find new opportunities in your industry. I enter my best Google Search Console keyword from each page into the KW Finder tool, and copy over high-performing, associated keywords into my GlooMaps document. This is a paid tool, so is not a required step, but you can sign up for a 10-day free trial to gain access to the numerous Mangools SEO tools, which I would strongly recommend (we like free things here!).

Although this may be quite a long process if you have a big website, make sure to map every page (excluding ‘thank you’ pages after form submissions, and other pages you don’t want to index and rank for), as this will help you with your other SEO tasks. If you are limited in time, focus on key landing pages, such as the homepage and any service pages.

2. Metadata Optimisation

What Is Metadata?

Metadata is the little snippet of text that you see on Google when you search. The heading of the snippet is called the ‘meta title’, and the description is very aptly named the ‘meta description’. Together, these two components make up ‘metadata’.

How Does Metadata Optimisation Help Me Rank Higher on Google?

Metadata is often the first impression a user will get of your website and the information on it, so it needs to be engaging, descriptive, and informative in order to boost click-through rates. As such, many businesses choose to include a call to action (CTA) here if the character limit allows, such as a phone number.

You’ve probably noticed websites that have unoptimised metadata scattered throughout SERPs. In these cases, the meta title and description are pulled from the site content automatically. The meta description is often long, and trails off the end of the screen before it even tells you what the website is about. This isn’t the best first impression, and won’t encourage users to click on your website, which is why it’s important to manually optimise your metadata yourself, rather than leaving it to Google.

Metadata optimisation involves creating relevant and engaging titles, descriptions, and URLs within Google’s character limits. Most importantly, you need to include relevant keywords in your metadata. This is where your keyword map comes in handy. Not only does this show Google that what is on that page is relevant, but it also tells the user that you have exactly what they are looking for.

Additionally, compiling all of your keywords into one, neat document can reduce the risk of keyword cannibalisation, which occurs when two or more pages have duplicate target keywords, creating needless internal competition and reducing your ranking chances.

What Tools Are Required for Metadata Optimisation?

It’s worth noting that I have experience in performing SEO tasks on WordPress, and therefore the advice I offer regarding metadata optimisation is based on WordPress websites.

The Yoast SEO WordPress plugin is by far my favourite SEO tool. It’s very easy to install from the WordPress plugin menu, and the free version covers a lot of bases for quick SEO wins. Integrated into the Yoast SEO plugin menu is a metadata optimisation feature. Here, you can easily write and preview your meta title. To find the YoastSEO feature once installed, go to the backend of WordPress on your website and click on the ‘Pages’ tab, select the page you want to optimise metadata for, and scroll down to the YoastSEO page section.

PAID TOOL: Another tool that I find beneficial is Mangools SERP Simulator. It gives you tips on how long to make your metadata, and previews it alongside where you are writing. While I do find that SERP Simulator is a great place to draft and perfect your meta title and description before you copy it into WordPress, I wouldn’t purchase Mangools specifically for the use of this tool – as it is not much different from the metadata features of the YoastSEO WordPress Plugin.

3. Image Optimisation

What Is Image Optimisation?

Image optimisation involves both compressing the quality of the images on your website to enhance the load speed, and improving your UX. There are two easy and quick ways to do this: optimising your image sizes and manually inputting image alt text.

Image Size Optimisation

One aspect of image optimisation is image size optimisation. This is a great way to quickly increase your website speed. Having huge image files dotted throughout the site will drastically slow it down, and image optimisation is the process of making sure that images used on the site (such as photos or downloaded images) aren’t too large. It’s a very quick win!

Image Alt Text Optimisation

Another aspect of image SEO is optimising alt text. Adding alternative text to images on your site is a principle of web accessibility, as it ensures that all users and bots can understand your website content. Alt text also appears in place of an image if the image fails to load.

This tool works to boost rankings as the text added describes the contents of images to Google bots, helping them index and rank them properly in image search. In order to benefit from these rankings, it’s very important to optimise your alt text, ensuring that Google understands your images’ place in search.

Where possible, make sure to include keywords in your alt text. However, don’t do so at the expense of the alt text making sense or being accurate.

How Does Image Optimisation Help Me Rank Higher on Google?

A recent survey undertaken earlier this year (2022) by digital.com revealed that 1 in 2 visitors will abandon a website that takes longer than 6 seconds to load. The desired load time is supposedly even shorter for e-commerce sites, as approximately 50% of users expect an online shop to load in less than 3 seconds! So, in order to prevent potential customers from leaving your site before they’ve even seen your brilliant, keyword-filled content, it’s important that your pages load as quickly as possible. Reducing your image size is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do this.

Post image size optimisation, Google should pick up on lowered bounce rates (fewer people clicking off of your site immediately) and improved loading times – both of which give the algorithm all the more reason to move your site up the rankings.

To further this, optimising your image alt text will help Google to see that your images (and in turn, your landing pages) are relevant to the searched term (keyword), whilst helping all users understand what the image, even if it fails to load – improving UX and accessibility.

What Tools Are Required for Image Optimisation?

Bulk Resize Photos is an excellent free online tool that allows you to customise the size, dimensions, and export quality of your images. It’s very simple to use and gives you complete control over quality! Just drag and drop your image into the box when prompted, optimise it to be below 200kB and at least 95% of the original quality, and save the end result as a JPEG. From here, you can replace your old, slow-loading images with shiny new ones at a fraction of the size and speed. TOP TIP – Ensure the new filename is descriptive, include applicable keywords, and use hyphens instead of spaces to separate words.

In terms of alternatives, there are several WordPress plugins that can optimise your images – automatically compressing them and using the smaller sized version on your website. This can save you a lot of time, but gives you less control over final image quality. The most popular image compression WordPress plugins include; ShortPixel, Imagify and Smush.

Your final image- related step, alt text optimisation, is straightforward to complete. The only required tool is WordPress itself! To get started, navigate to the media gallery in the WordPress left-hand menu. From here, you can see all of the images that are used on your site. Clicking on an image will allow you to edit the alt text. Select alt text that is descriptive, while also including a keyword where possible.

Include FAQs

What Are FAQS?

FAQs are great additions to any website. They’re used to answer the most commonly asked questions from users – but can also drive huge amounts of relevant traffic. It may surprise you to learn that including frequently asked questions on your website is one of the simplest ways to improve its SEO.

How Do FAQs Help Me Rank Higher on Google?

Adding FAQs to your key landing pages (such as your homepage and service pages) gives you the opportunity to answer common questions asked by your target audience – drawing them into your site and service. In providing high-quality answers to relevant questions, you can establish your website as a trusted industry source in the eyes of both users and Google, boosting your SEO and sales.

FAQs are also an easy way to include keywords on your website in a natural format. Think about it – focal questions around a certain topic are going to be relevant to the webpage itself, and provide ample opportunities to slip in some high-performing keywords.

If this wasn’t enough to get you frantically researching some of your frequently asked questions, note that writing a short and snappy response to your FAQs (approximately 100-200 words) could also get you featured as an answer to a question on Google’s equivalent of the FAQ section – people also ask! For example, when you search ‘How To Do My Own SEO’ on Google, this appears:

If you can write an informative response to a commonly asked question, there’s a chance that Google may even use your answer as a featured snippet, which will result in a lot more traffic being driven to your website! As shown in the image below, rich results also take up more space in the search results and include eye-catching features such as an image or FAQ list. This will draw attention to your listing, and increase the number of visitors to your landing page.

What Tools Are Required for FAQ Writing?

Sourcing FAQs is much like keyword research. In order to find the most relevant, hard data is required.

One effective free tool you can use to discover the most searched FAQs is Answer The Public. Using your keyword map, input your top keyword pick into the search bar. From here, an array of FAQs related to your keyword will appear. You can export the questions to an Excel spreadsheet by clicking on the export icon on the right, which will bring up a lot more results. Make sure that you choose your keywords wisely though, as you only have 1 search per day!

Another free tool I find beneficial is Google Search Console. This will allow you to find FAQs that are relevant to your website, not just your business sector. To find FAQs on Google Search Console, click the ‘Performance’ tab, ensure that the data range is set to the longest possible time frame to get the most data, and add a new query. Input a key question word (‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’, ‘why’ or ‘how’) and search.

The simplest way to upload the FAQs to your WordPress site is to use a plugin. I use ‘FAQ Schema For Pages And Posts’, which can be found in the WordPress plugin menu. Simply download the plugin, and input each of your FAQs into the applicable boxes. The joy of this option is that it automatically formats the FAQs on page for you.

Add Listings to Local Business Directories

What Are Local Business Directories?

Local business directories are effectively the online version of the yellow pages. Many people turn to online directories to find local businesses. Some well-known business directories include Yelp, TrustATrader, Bing Places and many more.

How Do Local Business Directories Help Me Rank Higher on Google?

Uploading your business to directories has a number of benefits. Particularly for small, local businesses, having company listings on numerous local directories will help to improve rankings in Google’s local search results.

In adding a variety of business details to directory listings, you’ll inform both customers and the Google algorithm of your contact information, products, and services, improving your likelihood of appearing in search results for relevant locations and purposes.

When you list your business on local directories, you also have the opportunity to add your website address to your listing. This will count as a backlink to your website. Google views backlinks from high domain authority websites as a sign of quality content and trustworthiness – meaning the more high-quality backlinks you can get through domain listings, the better your chances of moving up through the SERP ranks.

What Tools Are Required for Business Directory Optimisation?

Truthfully, you don’t need a fancy, paid tool to list your business directories online. If you have a system or tool with this functionality (such as the SEMrush Listing Management Tool), then certainly use it, however, the only thing you really need to list your business on local directories is Google itself! Plan out your business description, prepare your featured images and write down all of your business’ contact details beforehand in a document. When it comes to finding where to list your business online, get stuck into all of the reputable articles, blog posts and websites you can find, there are hundreds telling you all of the best free online directories.

Many business directory websites also offer free listings, so you can gain lots of visibility without paying a penny!

What Have You Learned?

To summarise, If you take just one thing away from this article, remember that you don’t have to be an expert with a vast knowledge of the Google algorithm to get some quick SEO wins on your website, and therefore rank higher on Google. Small and simple tasks often produce the biggest results, particularly at the start – when your website hasn’t been consciously optimised.

However, I’m hoping you take more than one thing away today! So, to recap…

Keywords are key! Google is a bot, not a real person. The algorithm uses keywords to identify good content. Use them whenever you can, but don’t cram them into every sentence, you still need to sound natural!

Optimise your metadata yourself, don’t leave it up to Google. You know your business best, which puts you in the best position to write this important descriptor.

Make sure your images are a reasonable size. You don’t want users clicking away from your website before it has even loaded!

Inform your customers. Conduct research to get to know the questions your target customers are asking, and show them that you know your stuff!

Get your brand name out there! List your business on reputable directories to generate high-authority backlinks.

Most importantly, it’s OK to ask for help! If you have actioned these basic changes and want to take your SEO to the next level, or need some extra help and advice regarding your Search Engine Optimisation strategy, contact a knowledgeable SEO specialist for support (such as me!).

The post SEO Basics: Rank Higher On Google For FREE! appeared first on WifiMedia.

The internet has given rise to many groundbreaking mediums of communication which can be used for storytelling and marketing, including video, streaming, podcasts, and many more. Increasingly, readers and viewers want content that speaks to them in an informative yet concise, down-to-earth manner.

While studying for my degree, I found a niche in creative writing. Now, as a qualified graduate working in the marketing sector, I like to explore how the principles of good storytelling can be applied to the field of writing digital marketing copy.

Basic Narrative Techniques in Digital Marketing

Don’t Be Afraid of Conflict

Most narratives, fictional or otherwise, hinge on a basic three-act structure: a beginning, a middle and an end. Experimental avant-garde stuff notwithstanding, these rules are so universal that we take them for granted.

Some writers like to rigidly stick to tried-and-true formulas – some may even take inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, or other theoretical frameworks. Personally, I do not consciously think about all that when writing for webpages or campaigns. As many marketing experts will happily tell you, nobody innovates by completely playing by the rules.

Establishing key ideas, concepts and conflicts early in a text before delivering a satisfying payoff is critical for both conventional stories and marketing copy. Conflict in particular is often called the heart of drama.

How Do I Work Conflict Into My Webpage Copy?

When we talk about conflict, we do not necessarily mean it in the violent sense of someone to defeat – but any kind of problem or obstacle that needs to be overcome. This includes internal conflict within characters. Trying to write a whole coherent novel without any trace of conflict would be near impossible.

Many examples of marketing copy begin by presenting a problem that needs to be resolved – one that cannot be amended without help from the service being offered. This initial conflict sets the stage for the eventual resolution that will be provided by the service you are marketing for. Sometimes, conflicts can appear without any conscious intention.

Sources of conflict that can appear in your copy:

Narrative in Content Writing: Conflict in Action

Internal WifiMedia Case Study: B. A. Boyle & Son — Electrician Service Page

In this electrician service page I wrote for B. A. Boyle & Son, an “enemy” is constructed out of the electrical problems that the customers may be facing – faulty installations, degraded wiring, and so on. In the first headers, these issues are characterised as an annoying nuisance, making the reader think that they need to be dealt with quickly. Then, we transition into positive, eye-catching headings presenting the solutions to these problems offered by the company.

InterExternal Case Study: Hovis — “Go on Lad”

For a full marketing campaign that contains a strong balance of positivity and negativity, look no further than Hovis’s highly successful and influential 2007 ‘Go On Lad’, which shows a boy travelling through British history, from the origins of Hovis Bakery to the present day, to deliver a loaf of bread to his family.

What stands out about this campaign is its unflinching depiction of both the prosperous and troubled periods of our recent past. We see the Suffragettes’ march for votes in the early 1900s, the aftermath of the Blitz in World War II, and even a clash between riot police and flying pickets during the 1980s Miners Strikes, yet there’s always a bright optimism that the next corner he turns will be a better future.

Can I Write Marketing Copy Without Conflict?

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to write short narratives without any real conflict, though to do so would go against many core conventions and can be difficult to pull off well. For example, the Japanese genre iyashikei, which translates to “healing”, is all about fluffy slice-of-life tales where the main characters have nothing significant to overcome.

Some marketing campaigns exist in a similar conflict-free garden of paradise, but while that may sound nice, it’s not always the best route to take.

External Case Study: The Downfall of Corporate Memphis

In the late 2010s, many Big Tech corporations began using the “Corporate Memphis” style, which would be instantly recognisable for any regular internet user across Facebook, LinkedIn, Airbnb, Hinge, and many more. The style is defined by flat, garish colours and a geometric, minimalist aesthetic. Any text that appears has a bland, neutral tone.

The oddly-proportioned characters in these adverts are always depicted as living in utopian harmony with their surroundings. Since this doesn’t reflect reality at all, the style has been widely mocked and criticised within the industry. There’s no authentic human element to get attached to. I see it as a good case study for how hyper-positivity and aversion to depicting conflict can damage brand image.

Tailoring the Story for Your Audience

To reach the widest audience possible, it is recommended that copywriters produce content for webpages at a 12th grade reading level. As much as we may try to make the text simple, helpful and digestible, it can be hard to strike a tonal balance between accessibility and condescension. When you’re trying to sell a product or service, nailing a compelling tone of voice is especially important, as is writing something substantive that people will actually want to read.

Conducting research into target audiences, search intent and high-ranking keywords can be extremely valuable in helping you understand the kind of person who is most likely to read your content, giving you the chance to tailor the story to them.

Tone as a Differentiator

Internal WifiMedia Case Study: RJ Insulation/Top up Loft Insulation

Recently, I worked on two very similar projects for the same insulation installation client – RJ Insulation and Top Up Loft Insulation. The only tangible difference between them was the exact products they sold (the latter sold cheap, conventional fibreglass insulation while the former offered more expensive, eco-friendly materials).

However, the real difference between them lies in their disparate tones. The client wanted RJ, the environmentally-oriented company to have a professional, “premium” tone, whereas the “cheap n’ cheerful” company Top Up was to have a more informal vibe catered to people working on tighter budgets. Separating the tone of these two companies was a fun and rewarding writing challenge.

The Top Up Storyline

For Top Up Loft Insulation, the client and I worked together to brainstorm a rough storyline that would be reflected in the webpage content. The idea would be to convey the sense that a potential customer has randomly bumped into the owner of Top Up in a bar, and the owner is pitching them all the benefits of cheap fibreglass insulation in very simple, informal terms, constantly emphasising the low cost of the material and no-frills service that they provide. The content flows from an attention-grabbing intro to a nicely flowing series of USPs, processes and contact options.

To some extent, the site is meant to appeal to people who may not have the time to research the ins-and-outs of eco-friendly loft insulation – they just need some easily understandable explanations before getting it installed at low costs.

Tone as a Vessel for Accessibility

External Case Study: NHS Website

A classic example of universal accessibility in webpage copy can be found in the NHS website, which keeps flowery language and medical jargon to an absolute minimum. There is no creative flair to be found there, but writing in such a restricted way is a challenge in itself! Anyone who is concerned about symptoms or diseases will be able to understand the pages. In this case, plainly conveying information to the widest audience in the simplest, most straightforward way possible is the goal, so it can easily be forgiven.

Nevertheless, these NHS advice pages all follow a concise narrative structure that flows from point A to B – they introduce the disease or ailment in question, the symptoms of it, and explanations for why it happens, before providing a resolution in the form of treatment options that the NHS recommend.

Final Takeaways on Narrative in Content Writing

So, in this blog post, we have taken a look at some very interesting case studies on narrative techniques used in various areas of digital marketing, from advertising to webpage copy. We have covered issues of conflict and resolution, which should hopefully give you some inspiration on how to structure your content in the future!

Let Us Quickly Recap Some Top Tips for Applying Narrative in Content Writing

• Present problems first before providing solutions
• Keep the content flowing organically, in such a way that would be most pleasing to the reader
• Tackling challenging topics is good!
• Maintain an appropriate tone for your target audience
• Always take notes from other websites, marketing campaigns and alternative media to get the most valuable inspiration

For a content marketing strategy, using a solid structure and narrative in content writing while taking your target audience into account can be one of the main tickets to success. Stories unite people across all nations, cultures and age groups – tap into the power of storytelling to bring customers to your business!

Book a Consultation

We hope you enjoyed our blog focusing on using clear narrative in content writing to boost your copy’s overall performance and engagement.

Want a hand with writing your own content? WifiMedia are here to help local businesses understand how they can improve their online presence and generate leads online. We’re a young but informed, results-driven agency who practice what we preach. So for free advice and support, including monthly website analytics reporting on the house, schedule a free consultation. We can’t wait to meet you!

The post The Art of Storytelling – Narrative in Content Writing appeared first on WifiMedia.

We had the pleasure of attending The Bridge Marketing and County Wire’s very first ‘Wired for Success’ event at Trinity Park – with our very own Head of Content, Beth Craig, delivering her SEO Copywriting Checklist workshop amongst a whole host of expert speakers including Martin Shave (Global Sales Director at Microsoft), Hana Dickinson (Director of The Bridge Marketing), and business coach Jann Richardson. The event was a roaring success – and we couldn’t stand the thought of anyone unable to attend the event missing out on some of the brilliant content delivered throughout the day.

That’s why we’ve put together this blog post – including our very own basic SEO copywriting checklist for business owners. Whether you couldn’t make it to our workshop, want to add to your notes, or are simply in need of a refresher, we’ve got you covered.

Watch Our SEO Copywriting Checklist on Demand

We’d hate for anyone to have missed out on Beth’s immersive, hour-long workshop in optimised copywriting. Though things aren’t quite the same through a screen, she’s done her very best to recreate an interactive workshop atmosphere in this recreational recording – taking viewers through the seven simple steps needed to take a webpage from the bottom of the pile to the very top of SERPs. You may even get a chance to practice your own copywriting skills throughout – so get your pens and paper (or keyboards) out!

SEO Copywriting Checklist

1. Establishing Your Intended Audience and Brand Voice

The first step in taking a page from the bottom of the pile to first in search involves conducting the research necessary to ensure your final content stays on brand and appeals to the correct audience.

Start your process by completing a generic user persona questionnaire. By filling in this form with the details of your most desired or most common customer, you’ll get to glean some definite information on who you’re targeting with content and why.

To further this, dive into your brand guidelines and any documentation you have surrounding them – particularly where tone is concerned. Consider your brand and its values.

Using the knowledge extracted from the above, you should be able to create a brilliant tone to match your ideal client and keep them engaged – getting all the right points across, whilst staying on-brand and in character.

2. General Research

To get to the top of the SERP, your page needs to be the expert source in the eyes of Google, so research thoroughly. Consolidate and expand your own knowledge on your business, product, or service by reading through your own website and document – but don’t neglect competitor research.

I recommend reading the web pages ranking at the top of the search results pages for similar search terms to what you’d like to achieve.

You should also search general terms related to your industry, product, or service – bolstering your knowledge in every relevant manner.

3. Open Keyword Research Tools

I’m going to introduce you to two key tools for keyword research that will make your life just that little bit easier- Google Search Console and Mangools.

Google Search Console or ‘GSC’ is an online tool that allows users to discover and export data relating to organic search queries tied to a website/page. In simple terms, it helps people with existing websites discover keywords that they’re already ranking for – making it a good place to start. When re-writing content for an existing site, GSC should be your primary source of information. It’s completely free.

Mangools KWFinder is a keyword research tool in which you can find hundreds of keywords with low SEO difficulty. It’s one of the best ways to discover lists of new keywords related to those you’re already aware of. This tool isn’t free – but has a handy 10-day free trial – which provides more than enough time to get your keyword research done!

4. Find and Note Keywords You’re Already Ranking for With GSC

Begin your keyword research process by opening your GSC tab. Search for your website by clicking the three bars in the top left corner of the homepage, followed by search properties. Locate and click on it.

Once you’ve gained access to your site’s overview, click the performance button in the left-hand column. This is where you’ll be able to view all the data you’ll need. As you’ll be completing keyword research and site content on a page-by-page basis, you’ll want to narrow your results down to your chosen page. Do this by clicking ‘new’ and ‘page’ then paste the website page URL within the pop-up field. Ensure the date is set to ‘past 16 months’ to view the most data available.

This process will narrow down the data to show everything collected specifically for that page. Scroll down to ‘queries’ and sort by highest clicks first (if not clicks then search by highest impressions first) – this will reveal the strongest potential keywords.

Note down the most relevant keywords with the highest number of clicks in a notepad or online document. You’ll use them as the foundation of your research.

5. Discover New Keywords With Mangools

You’re now going to take the initial keywords you’ve found through GSC and discover new, related, and potentially higher-performing keywords using Mangools or any other keyword research tool.

Open up the Mangools KW Finder website and ensure you’re on the ‘search by keyword’ tab of the search tool. Here, you’ll be able to insert the keywords you shortlisted in the GSC step, or, if you don’t have any, choose a keyword related to your page that you think would suit it best, for example, if your page is about coffee machines, so you can start with the keyword: coffee machine.

Simply type your keyword into the search form, select the location, and click on the green button “Find keywords”. If you’re a local business or targeting a specific geo region, make sure to specify the location and language. Different locations lead to different results.

Your search will bring up a list of related keywords ranked by relevancy – some of which could trump those on your existing list. Add them to the notes document you started with your GSC results, writing down impression numbers in order to give you a reminder of how each keyword performs.

6. Choose Primary Keyword

You’ll now want to select a primary keyword from your shortlist of Mangools/KW research tool and GSC options – one which best describes your business, product, or service whilst being relevant, and ideally, having a high number of clicks/impressions. Some in your list should jump out to you immediately.

Keep in mind that although the short, impactful keywords here may be appealing with their high impression numbers – that you may be able to combine keywords/terms to create a long-tail keyword.

A long-tail keyword is a phrase typically made from three to five words. Since these keywords are more specific than generic terms, they allow you to target niche demographics. These keywords are also less competitive than generic keywords because they are designed to better reflect how people make queries. With long-tail keywords, you are able to attract more high-quality traffic to your website which is more likely to lead to conversions. Creating a long tail keyword may be as simple as transforming ‘Wedding Flowers’ to ‘Wedding Flowers Suffolk’, or taking ‘Healthcare Recruitment’ to ‘Participant Recruitment for Healthcare Research’. In creating the right long-tail keyword, you’re much more likely to put your website in front of all the right people.

Note down your primary keyword, and perhaps two two three secondary keywords to be sprinkled throughout your content.

7. Heading Hierarchy Research

Headings help users and search engines to read and understand text. They act as signposts for the readers and make it easier for them to figure out what a post or page is about. Headings also define which parts of your content are important, and show how they’re interconnected.

You’re limited to using one H1 heading on each page. This heading should be the name/title of the page or post and include the focus keyword/phrase. After writing your H1 header/title, you can go on to use H2 and H3 subheadings to introduce different sections.

Think of H2 subheadings like the chapters of a book. Within these chapters, you may want to list more specific subsets of information using lesser headers (H3 tags, then H4 tags, etc.) descending in chronological order. It’s rare for most content to get ‘deep’ enough to need to use H4 tags and beyond unless you’re writing really long, or really technical content.

Before writing your heading hierarchy, you’re going to do some competitor research in order to get to grips with what you’re up against and inspire your own heading order. Input the primary keyword you chose in the last step into Mangools SERP checker (with the correct location field selected).

By searching, you’ll discover a list of the top sites ranking for your chosen term – aka your best competitors. We’re going to uncover their strategies – but first, you’ll need to download the Mangools plugin. After you’ve got that sorted, you’re going to select the 3-5 top ranking, relevant URLs and make sure that they align with the end user’s search intent by opening them and skim reading (irrelevant results including eBay, Amazon etc should typically be ignored).

With one of the competitor URLs open and a notepad or google document ready, open the Mangools Chrome extension tool – click ‘on-page SEO’ – ‘Headings’. Copy/paste the site’s headings into your document or write them down. Repeat this process 3-5 times for various competitor websites.

You may also take note of any particularly valuable, informative, or well-written copy found under each of these headings – all of which can be copied into your template doc and used as content inspiration during the body content writing phase if relevant.

8. Writing a Heading Hierarchy

Look through your list of competitor sites and heading hierarchies. Do you notice similarities between headings? What headings are repeated? What ones provide value?

Use the above information to pick and choose the best individual headings for your new page.

And if you’re in doubt, don’t worry. A generic formula along these lines customised to match your business and keyword should work:
H1 – Service/Product (including the focus keyphrase)
H2 – Include more detail of the H1 heading (specialists/locations)
H2 – What is the service//product?
H2 – Benefits of the service/product
H2 – Who may require this product/service
H2 – Process (If applicable)
H2 – Why choose the company
H2 – Customer reviews/
H2 – Contact Form (If applicable)
H2 – FAQs

Look over the headings you’ve selected and continue to work on building and refining a chronological, effective order that will be easy for users to navigate, and allow for good web design where relevant. For example, in most circumstances, it would make no sense to add additional info before discussing the product/service/business itself. Refer to the competitor research for guidance/inspiration.

9. Writing Your Page Content

You’re finally ready to start writing your body content! Use your knowledge from research and competitor sites to put together the best, most informative and action-inspiring webpage possible in line with any brand guidelines received.

Word Count

Aim for at least 600 words excluding FAQs – but keep your audience at the forefront of your mind. If your reader would appreciate or be reassured by a significant amount of information, create a page in this format. On the other hand, if your reader is likely to want to make an immediate decision, keep your copy more concise with plenty of CTAs inserted nearer the top of the page.

Keyword Density

Help search engines recognize the main theme of your content by using the primary keyword throughout the copy. As a best practice, use the term two to three times per 100 words to create a 2-3% keyword density. Try to avoid going over this limit to avoid keyword stuffing issues.

Show search engines that the page is closely related to the topic by bookending your copy with a mention of the primary keyword. Try to use the target keyword near the beginning of your first paragraph and within your final paragraph to reinforce what your content is about. This will help make it clear to search engines why your content is relevant.

Phrasing

Writing high-quality content doesn’t always mean producing a super complex webpage.
In fact, it means the opposite. Write your content for an eighth-grade reading level on the Flesch Reading Scale. That means using common terminology (not complex industry jargon) and writing short sentences and paragraphs. Use active voice primarily, and make sure writing is structured with appropriate paragraph breaks (every time the focus of discussion changes within the context of the heading you are working underneath), syntax and punctuation.

Linking Opportunities

Links help search engines connect and understand online content. Add relevant internal links to other pages on your site, and when possible, use the linked page’s target keyword as the anchor text for the link.

Originality

Craft original, valuable content. Don’t copy content that is already published on your site or published on any other sites. Search engines may penalize your site or not rank your page if it has content that is copied or duplicated from other sites.

10. Boost Rankings With Optimised FAQs

Time to round off your document with a set of between 5 and 10 FAQs. FAQs are a great SEO tool – giving you an opportunity to add a huge amount of highly relevant content to your page. They’re a great way to draw in users highly interested in your product or service who aren’t necessarily aware of your business. For example, imagine your car is making a strange rattling noise. Your first port of call is to google ‘Why is my car making a rattling sound?’. The first result is a google snippet explaining that it might be your air conditioning. You click on the link and are taken through to a comprehensive answer from a local garage with a CTA to book an air-con check-up at the end. Sold!

To find commonly searched questions and answers for your page, you can:

(If applicable) open Google Search Console and select the domain you’re working on. Click performance. Ensure your date is set to ‘16 months’ to gain as much data and insight as possible. Click new – query – and add a question word such as ‘why’ ‘how’ ‘what’ and ‘when’ to bring up potential FAQs.

Search some of your keywords on Answer the Public to view FAQs in a mindmap format.

Search your keywords within KWFinder and sort by ‘questions’ in the results section.

Search any of the questions you’ve sourced above in Google, and note any relevant ones appearing in the ‘people also ask’ section in the SERP

Use the knowledge you’ve built during this process to answer these FAQs with between 100 and 200 words of valuable, informative, and original content. Remember, FAQs are SEO tools and should appear in featured snippets – meaning they shouldn’t be blatantly biased towards your business. They should instead aim to effectively answer the user’s query.

Your FAQs will always be placed under an FAQ H2 Header at the very bottom of the page and should be included wherever possible – e.g. service pages and homepages. They’re not typically included on the content not set to rank – e.g. contact us, case studies or meet the team pages.

11. Review

What webpage would be complete without a review? A fantastic way to self-reflect on the work you’ve produced is to read it back to yourself out loud. Do you run out of breath before a sentence finishes? Does what you’ve written really make sense grammatically? Does the tone sound appropriate for webpage, brand, and industry? Would you want to read it?

After you’re happy with the page, you’re ready to upload, sit back, and benefit from the brilliant effects of SEO copywriting! Enjoy!

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WifiMedia are here to help local businesses understand how they can improve their online presence and generate leads online. We’re a young but informed, results-driven agency who practice what we preach. If you loved our SEO Copywriting Checklist and want more free advice and support, including monthly website analytics reporting on the house, schedule a free consultation. We can’t wait to meet you!

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