Looking Ahead: Big Changes Coming to Small Business

The world of technology is bringing change to pretty much every aspect of our lives - from how we interact with one another; to how and where we shop, eat, or catch a cab; to how businesses compete for market share. Small businesses, particularly, are constantly faced with the growing challenge of making a name for themselves in the digital space. So how do you deal with it?

At RV Trader, we have the pleasure of working with thousands of dealers all over the country. While business goals or obstacles may vary, among our dealers, the underlying concern we hear remains consistent - how can I stay in front of my audience and truly compete in the marketplace? What will really make an impact and help drive the exposure, conversion, and ultimately revenue to make it all worth it? Keeping up with trends, having a high rank with various search engines, and having a social media presence doesn’t even scratch the surface, making this whole digital marketing thing a pretty big undertaking.

According to Google, Forbes Business, and other industry leaders, these are the top digital tools, techniques, and trends that have been and are going to help small businesses grow their presence well into the future:

• Think Mobile First: Savvy consumers have been spoiled by quick, easy, and informative web experiences in the palm of their hand - and the RV industry is no exception. According to socPub, 57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly-designed mobile site, so between the rise in millennial buyers and the tech takeover, having a responsive site a must have for any business to thrive. In fact, according to a survey of over 350 small businesses conducted by The Manifest, one in five small businesses have identified updating and upgrading their users’ experience as a top priority in 2018. We imagine these numbers will continue to grow as the way we send and receive information continues to evolve into more digital platforms.

• Video Engagement Drives Results: That very same survey by The Manifest, also determined that video content is becoming a large part of their overall business strategy. Cisco even predicts that video traffic will account for 82% of all internet traffic in just four years. By now we understand that the amount of research buyers conduct before a purchase (and even before contacting a dealer) is vast, and consumers love to view videos as a part of that research. Video has the ability to greatly increase the likelihood of conversion just by adding that personal touch. Many dealers are already using video through YouTube, Facebook, and on their own sites to engage and inform their visitors, convey transparency, and establish validity all while greatly improving search rankings. Check out our recent blog on how to use video for your business.

• Content is King: Not unlike video, consumers and search engines really love content. In fact, 22% of the 350+ businesses surveyed by The Manifest said they were expanding their content strategy in 2018. Content not only gives a large boost to a site’s SEO, but it goes even further by informing and even persuading consumers to engage - whether it’s buying, clicking on a link, sharing, and more. Hootsuite identified that small businesses are leveraging video, blogs, infographics, and more to reach their buyers and have them coming back for more. So what is the key to good content? Keep it concise, relevant, localized, and conversational.

• Security and HTTPS: It’s no surprise, but with the increase in overall internet traffic and the ability to send/share sensitive information, consumers and businesses are more focused on security than ever before. Not having an secure website will not only impact SEO (Google announced in 2016 that sites lacking HTTPS certificates will be flagged as untrustworthy), but could damage a business’ reputation, raise concerns that consumer information may be compromised, and more.

While these ideas might sound simple, few small/independent businesses are actively working towards them. If you want to grow your marketshare and secure the sustainability of your business, it is crucial to stay up on the latest trends in the digital marketing world to see which tools might work best for your business.

A Deeper Dive Into Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Have you read the Search Engine Marketing (SEM) 101 article and still want to know more? Well, no worries, RV Trader is here to help. Since you’ve gotten the SEM basics down, we thought we’d dive a little deeper and give you more insight into how the search engines work and how ad placement is decided. We’ll also explore a few other campaign types and opportunities that you may be eager to take advantage of.

Remember the PPC or Pay-Per-Click campaigns? They allow advertisers to create and manage the text ads that show up at the top and bottom of the Google search results pages. Here’s an example. Say I’m looking for a new vehicle and have decided that I’d like to test drive a SUV; I will likely search something like “new SUV for sale near me”. There are multiple ads that show up for that query, so how is the placement determined if many businesses would like to show up for that search?

 Google treats this situation like an auction – each advertiser sets a bid amount on that keyword. The highest bidder definitely gets a boost, but there is another part to this equation, the quality score. Having a good quality campaign and a great website that delivers the expected experience to the searcher makes a difference.

What other things go into creating a good quality PPC campaign? Ad extensions, for one. In our car shopping example, you might notice that some of the ads include locations with map links, model lists, other clickable links, etc. Ad extensions beef up the core content of the PPC ads and allow advertisers to share more information about their businesses that will benefit searchers.

We’ve covered the Pay-Per-Click campaigns, but what else can we do to improve our online presence? Google offers a variety of other campaigns designed to promote businesses via ads in Gmail and YouTube. For instance, once you’ve logged in to check your email, Gmail ads display on the Promotions tab. A Gmail ad opens like an e-mail message and allows the user to click over to the business’ website. 

Also - YouTube ads traditionally play prior to viewing your selected video and were previously referred to as “pre-roll” ads. Google now offers multiple other ways to promote your videos including ads within the YouTube search results or alongside related videos.  And there are various other opportunities to reach potential buyers through ads on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but we’ll be exploring those in a separate article coming next month.

The world wide web is wide indeed, but that’s why we’re here to help you! As new advertising methods pop up, the RV Trader search team investigates it all. We’re asking all of the right questions - what are your customers searching for and what information can we present in our ads that will pique their interest? This is where our expertise in optimizing PPC campaigns comes in. Plus, our website is designed to offer a great experience to anyone who clicks on one of our search ads. We’re always looking for new ways to grow our audience as well, which means testing different ad platforms and types that appeal to an RV buyer at all points on their path to purchase, even when they are performing day-to-day online activities like checking social media or watching videos on YouTube. All of this to get more eyes on your listings and connect you with an eager RV buyer!