The ultimate goal for any business is to win more customers and find sustainable growth. A common misconception is that this can only be achieved by investing large amounts of money into marketing budgets – more specifically, into paid advertising. Paid advertising can be hugely beneficial to businesses, especially those in the E-commerce and professional services industries where discoverability of their brands across search engines and social media is critical to their success. But it’s not always as valuable to other businesses, nor is it as feasible to do, particularly in businesses with smaller budgets or those that generate most new business through word of mouth marketing. Businesses that assume growth can only be achieved through paid advertising risk becoming reliant on Google and social media ads, making it difficult to generate sustainable traffic without ongoing investment. Here are 4 ways to get more customers without ads.
Search engine optimisation focuses on organic marketing techniques that aim to improve a website’s discoverability on Google’s search engine results pages (SERP’s). For example, if you’re looking for personalised gifts online and search ‘personalised keyrings’ into Google, after the sponsored results, the first site you see will be Snapfish UK. This is ranked as one of the highest by Google’s EEAT framework. SEO techniques are specifically tailored to this framework to help competitors rank higher on SERP’s without paying for the top position. Which SEO tactics you choose will depend on your business and its marketing goals, but it’s recommended for any business to prioritise certain SEO techniques, such as optimising website functionality (speed and loading), as well as setting up a Google My Business page so that your business can be discoverable by location. Here are two SEO tactics that can over time help businesses attract more customers:
An element in Google’s EEAT framework is Trustworthiness. Some marketing professionals suggest that this is the strongest determinant of how Google ranks your business site, and customer reviews can be a great way to win Google’s trust. Both the number and the star rating of your business’s customer reviews affect how much Google trusts your website. Having more positive reviews signals to Google that your business is credible with real customers, which in turn will help it rank higher on SERPs. It’s important for businesses to collect reviews across a range of trusted platforms, including Yelp and Trustpilot, to strengthen credibility and build customer and Google’s trust. Some businesses struggle to encourage customers to leave reviews, and this is usually because they make the process too long or complex to complete. You can simply set up an automated email that sends customers a link, which you can even personalise to improve the chances of them accepting the request.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence, and how it’s transformed what Google chooses to show its audiences online, has meant that businesses should focus on natural and long-tail keywords in keyword optimisation. An example of a conversational and long-tail keyword could be ‘Where can I find the best law firm in London’. Answering these search queries and including the specific search terms across your website content will indicate to Google that your content is both relevant to what users are looking for. At the same time, it will highlight your experience in that area if you answer a commonly asked question.
Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable and relevant content across a number of different online and offline channels. Content marketing can be in written form, as well as video, audio and visual formats too. Successful content marketing focuses on providing audiences with educational or insightful information, intentionally aimed at addressing a customer problem. Many businesses use written content marketing across their websites as it allows them to keep their websites fresh and updated, as well as rank on search engine result pages if the blogs are effectively SEO optimised. As well as blogs, other written formats of content marketing include e-books and newsletters which customers can sign up to.
Many mistake content marketing as a tactic that’s predominantly for professional websites, but in fact, it can be used across social media and email marketing too. Think about your favourite podcast or YouTube series that you religiously watch – they’re both forms of content marketing. They’re providing entertaining or valuable content to you, which in turn, makes you subscribe or watch more videos from those accounts in the future.
A time-efficient and affordable way to reach more customers is to partner with businesses who share a similar audience as your business but aren’t a direct competitor. For example, an Ice cream parlour could approach a local petting zoo, as they both share an audience that’s young children but aren’t selling the same products or services. Strategic business partnerships work because both parties benefit from the collaboration. You can agree to leave posters or business cards where their business is run, and you can do the same for them. You may want to take it one step further and agree to advertise a discount for customers who use both businesses. This can be extremely beneficial as it’s both more convenient and affordable for customers.
Customers who have previously bought or worked with your business are valuable assets to attract new business. Business teams can encourage existing customers, as well as friends and colleagues, to refer you to their contacts that could be interested. Even if you’re given a list of individuals who are marginally interested, they’re still potential leads that you can further qualify with targeted marketing and personalised follow-ups. To see the most success with encouraging business referrals, offer an incentive to customers or employees who introduce you to a new customer. Many businesses offer discounts on future purchases or one-off services that are free of charge. Prospects referred to your business by satisfied customers are more likely to trust the quality of your products or services, as the recommendation comes from an impartial source with first-hand experience.
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