<![CDATA[MACH - BLOG]]>

<![CDATA[MACH - BLOG]]>Tue, 26 May 2026 19:29:20 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Creating Cancer-Supportive Workplaces]]>Fri, 18 Oct 2024 13:10:15 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/creatingcancersupportiveworkplacesReal (Local) Cancer Stories & Practical Tips

Let’s be honest: no one plans for cancer. When it strikes, it ripples through every part of life, including work, family, health, and even workplace dynamics. The impacts are not just physical, but emotional, social, and financial.

Whether you’re a colleague or a manager, navigating cancer in the workplace can be tricky, but there are many ways you can create a supportive environment to help people recover, return and thrive.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can foster a cancer-supportive workplace, drawing on industry best practices and insights from those with lived experience in Gibraltar.

Let’s step up and make a real difference—because for many, this isn’t just important; it’s life-changing.

Why Should You Care?

1 in 2 people will experience cancer in their lifetime.
Think about that for a second — that’s half of us! Even if cancer hasn’t touched your life yet, chances are it will, either through a colleague, friend, or family member.

Can you imagine battling cancer or caring for a loved one, all while juggling financial stress and a demanding job?
It’s not just about having the right policies in place, but about actively showing up for people when they need it most.

I love my job and I’m loyal, but right now, my partner is my priority. I’m stressed about losing him and my job, which supports us financially. It’s overwhelming! I’m resilient, but I’m not a robot. I am human after all." ~ Carer

Supporting your employees matters because work isn’t just work—it’s where we spend most of our waking hours. It should be a place where everyone feels safe, valued, and supported. Plus, when employees feel cared for, they’re happier, more productive, and loyal. It’s a win-win for everyone. Let’s shift from just ‘surviving’, to thriving at work.

To support employees through Cancer is not just the decent, humane, and empathetic response, it is also good for business and staff morale generally. People are individuals and what they require will differ from person to person. Listen to people’s needs and be equitable in your support. Education, a flexible approach and reasonable adjustments are key to an inclusive workplace."

~Hon Minister Santos GMD MP, Minister for Equality, Employment, Culture and Tourism.

The Numbers!
Let’s break down some of the stats:

55%: Workers who kept their illness quiet because they feared judgement.
71% HR Teams Unprepared: to help staff impacted by cancer.
15 weeks: That’s the average time an employee takes off during their cancer journey.
68%: Employees who felt unsupported when returning to work after cancer.
11% Talent Loss: Talent loss due to poor support during the cancer journey.

Source: The Employee Experience Report ‘Living and Working with Cancer’, 2024, Reframe.

These numbers aren’t just stats; they represent real people navigating the toll of cancer. A simple shift in how we approach these situations can change lives, for the better.

10 Tips to Make Your Workplace Cancer-Supportive
While cancer might seem overwhelming, small, compassionate actions can make a huge difference.

What would you hope for if you were in their shoes?

I went from being an active young guy to feeling like a vegetable (after testicular cancer surgery), unable to even lift a cup of coffee! I was terrified, isolated, and unsure of my future. It felt like a part of me died, and I became a charity case— a useless vagabond." ~Cancer Patient

Create a supportive, flexible work environment where people feel valued. It helps those affected and builds a more engaged, loyal, and happy workforce.

Here are some practical tips inspired by real experiences:

Ask, Don’t Assume: Always ask what support someone needs, and listen carefully. A simple, ‘How can I support you?’ or ‘Would you like company?’ goes a long way.
Educate Yourself and the Team: Organise training to address both the emotional and physical challenges of cancer, ensuring everyone knows how to offer the right support.
Flexible Working Arrangements: Provide flexible schedules or remote work to reduce pressure. Be creative — solutions aren’t always in the HR manual!
Respect Privacy and Confidentiality: Handle employees' personal information with care and respect.
Foster Psychological Safety and Empathy: Create a culture where employees feel safe to express their needs. Offer multiple feedback options: verbal, written, or anonymous.
Lead by Example: Demonstrate compassion and inclusivity through your actions. Admit when you don’t have all the answers and show you’re willing to learn.
Open Communication and Regular Check-ins: Stay in touch with employees without overwhelming them. Saying 'Let me know if you need anything,' can make a big difference. But remember, sometimes not talking about cancer is exactly what someone needs.
Celebrate Strengths: Focus on employees’ resilience and contributions, rather than their illness. Use empowering language.
Start Now: Build a culture of support before a crisis hits. Be proactive.
Provide Access to Support Services: Advise employees about counselling, peer support, and wellness services, and ensure they are easily accessible.

My advice to workplaces is to show understanding and compassion, offering support throughout, even after someone returns to work. Every situation is unique and needs a personal approach. This journey is tough for anyone!" ~Cancer Carer

"There’s so much misinformation out there. I felt blind and left in the dark. Education is key! Also, let’s remove barriers so people can focus on fighting cancer, not the system." ~ Cancer Patient

Support is Available
For over 40 years, Cancer Relief Gibraltar has been a lifeline for people impacted by cancer, offering everything from nursing care to complementary therapies, financial assistance and emotional support—all free of charge. Their work makes a real difference, and they need our help to keep it going. Whether you donate, volunteer, or simply spread the word, every bit of support allows them to reach more people when it matters most.

Cancer affects so many people each year and we recognise the importance of raising awareness while helping local businesses foster cancer-supportive workplaces. In collaboration with Christina Giuffré (MACH Coaching & Consulting), we’ve developed training to equip managers and staff with strategies to support their teams and help them thrive, not just survive." ~ Gráinne McKenna, Cancer Relief CEO

Training Highlight:
Creating Cancer-Supportive Workplaces: Learn how to support employees affected by cancer and boost workplace well-being, while also contributing to a great cause. Your training fees contribute to funding essential services.

LEARN MORE

Cancer Relief was a vital part of my copying strategy and the support they provided such as massage, physio, and check-ins, meant the world. What a team!" ~Cancer Patient

Conclusion: Build a Compassionate Workplace Today!
So, what will you do to make your workplace a little more supportive for those impacted by cancer? It isn’t about grand gestures. Start with small, consistent acts of kindness and understanding that can have a meaningful impact on improving the work experience for both those facing cancer and their carers.

Don’t be put off by not knowing exactly what to do, just take some form of action in the right direction.

Supporting employees affected by cancer isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a smart business move. By creating a compassionate and flexible environment, you show that your organisation values its people, no matter what they are going through and that creates a loyal and thriving culture.

With your support, employees won’t face their challenges alone, and what you do today can make a life-changing difference tomorrow.

By Christina Marie Giuffré | Director MACH Coaching & Consulting

Author Bio: Christina is an authentic and adaptable strategic leader, passionate about DEI&B, with 20 years’ experience in coaching and consulting in marketing, communications, product and leadership and is working closely with Cancer Relief Gibraltar to deliver this training.

]]><![CDATA[Build Your Own Website (without tech skills) That Google Loves]]>Thu, 02 May 2024 13:17:35 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/build-your-own-website-without-tech-skills-that-google-loves

Did you know that you can build a website that Google loves, without the need for coding skills? We'll explore the rise of effortless website builders such as Weebly and highlight pros and cons through our own case study. Find out how you can create a beautiful and functional website quickly and easily, while considering important SEO strategies, so your site is visible to your target audience...

Building a great website is easier than ever! It used to be expensive and time consuming to custom-build websites. Then came Wordpress, which made it quicker/cheaper, however it still required web development support, sites got hacked and there were sometimes the issues of failing plug-ins. Now we have website builders like Weebly that make it easy for anyone to build a beautiful looking website, without the need for technical web development skills! Learn more about the wonders of website builders and how to build a website that Google (and other search engines) love, so your business is visible!

The Rise of Effortless Website Builders

This is a topic that regularly has debate among web developers and marketeers over the pros and cons of a free or paid website builder versus a custom-built website or somewhere inbetween.

As recently as a few years back, this debate was much easier to win. But these days, online website builders such as Weebly are more advanced than ever. Even if going with the argument that 'some website is better than no website' - using one of these online builders is often far preferable over paying a freelancer to create a (potential) mess of HTML that could break with the next browser update or get hacked.

Google also agrees that 'you don't need to know how to code to build a great website'. See Google Business

Options, Options, Options!

Here are some popular no-code website builders:

Weebly: easy to use, offers free and low-cost plans. (our personal fave)
Hostinger: cheap plans and variety
Wix: Ideal for beginners.
Webflow: Great for designers.
Squarespace: Known for high-quality designs.
Pixpa: Excellent for stunning photography portfolios.
Nexcess: for WooCommerce (e-commerce).
Shopify: Top choice and industry favourite for e-commerce websites.
WordPress: Scalable and versatile, more flexibility for customisation by developers.
GoDaddy: Fastest way to start and access to domains.

It's worth considering the type of site that you need and finding the best fit. For a simple content website we love Weebly as it's beautiful, easy to drag and drop and you'll be up and running in no time. We'll use Weebly as the example in this article to speak directly from experience.

How To: Get Your Weebly Site Visible in Google

Weebly automatically designs websites with SEO in mind, featuring elements like sitemaps, SEO-friendly HTML formatting, meta descriptions, and responsive design, so you're already on the right track.

Apart from some SEO basics (and this article is NOT) an SEO guide, here are some Weebly-specific tips we came across:

Firstly as a minimum - you must upgrade from Weebly's free website builder to the paid version in order to “get search indexing". If you plan to go anywhere with SEO in Weebly, this is a critical step.

Weebly also provide some pretty useful SEO tips and suggestions in their Help Center, complete with advice on:

On-page SEO
Meta data optimization
Google Search Console (Google Webmaster Tools) help
Link building tactics
On-page hierarchy
Off-site SEO
Citation building
And more

Highlighted Tips:

Getting Started: focus on the basics. Ensure that your site has all the essential elements. Use the provided SEO checklist to make sure your site is built in an SEO-friendly way.
Keyword Research: Strategically choose relevant keywords for your site. These keywords should align with your content and target audience. Incorporate these keywords into various elements of your website, such as titles, headings, and meta descriptions.
Growth Strategies: As your website matures, implement more advanced growth strategies. Continue to optimize your SEO efforts to drive traffic and rank for additional terms. Apply the foundational knowledge from the “Getting Started” and “Keyword Research” sections to these growth initiatives.
Tracking Success: Often overlooked but crucial, tracking your SEO efforts is essential. Monitor real traffic and business metrics to evaluate your success. Use this data to refine and optimize your SEO programs over time.

Remember that SEO is an ongoing process, and staying informed about best practices is key to improving your website’s visibility online.

Also keep in mind that optimised websites have a higher chance of appearing prominently in search results based on relevant keywords, benefiting both search engines and visitors.

READ MORE: To understand the importance of SEO see: 'Why SEO is (still) Important for Businesses in 2024...'

Case Study: Why We Chose Weebly Vs a Custom Website Build

We have web development skills but still chose to build our consultancy website through Weebly, starting with a site for the Australian market and more recently a site for the UK market.

The Benefits:

1. It's Fast to Set Up
Once we'd decided on the site structure and content, setting up the 6 page Weebly site took less than a day to get up and running (and a fair chunk of this time was spent on custom icons/images and SEO housekeeping).

2. It Just Works
Even the excellent Wordpress is far from 'plug-and-play' and requires some developer knowledge to really get the best out of it. If you're only customising one of the base themes in Weebly, it really is difficult to break it. Also massive time savings on cross browser testing and mobile testing here.

3. Security
We're targeting Wordpress* here (perhaps unfairly), since it is often the subject of hack attempts. With builders like Weebly, the security is taken care of since the entire solution is hosted.
* It should be noted that there are secure hosted solutions available for Wordpress such as WPEngine that are an option.

And the down side...

It's not all roses though. There are definitely limitations to using a website builder like Weebly which can be frustrating. Moving the site to another provider isn't particularly easy either if you decide to go elsewhere later, so do consider all options before making a final decision.

Website Builders & SEO

The Positives for SEO
It used to be that custom websites ranked a lot better than templated sites but things have changed. We can't speak on behalf of all website builders but we've used Weebly and have had great success with visibility of our site in Google search.

Weebly & SEO
Here are a few of the highlights and tips:

1. Easy to access 'SEO' areas for pages and posts in Weebly allow you to add meta descriptions, SEO page titles, alt tags for images and permalinks. It's also quite simple to drop in header code for Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager (GTM) to start monitoring or tagging your site.

2. URL formatting is mostly quite SEO friendly out of the box and doesn't need much work. As mentioned above you can also tweak the permalinks for internal pages quite easily via the side panel.

3. Weebly automatically adds Facebook Opengraph (OG) code by default - making it more user friendly to share articles on Facebook (though Twitter cards are not automatically added)

4. Load times / performance grade are reasonable with a bit of basic image optimisation. Be sure to double check your site in Google's Page Speed Insights' Tool here.

The Negatives for SEO

Here are some of the areas we found that Weebly fell short:

Lack of really good plugins for SEO such as Yoast for Wordpress. Although Weebly's built-in features are optimised for search engines.
No easy way to add structured data via the CMS (see Weebly workaround for adding structured data here).
Blog options are limited. Weebly does allow you a 'read more' option on your main blog page to show an exerpt so this should help reduce issues of duplicate content. However there's a lack of flexible repeaters or good 'previous/next' article add-ins to encourage deeper engagement with the blog.
Javascript and CSS is not well optimised out of the box. This seemed to get worse once we added some basic plugins to the home page (such as a blog slider). A bit surprising since there does seem to be some level of moderation over the plugins library. We later removed the plugins to improve site speed.
Performance/ Site Speed Issues: you need to keep an eye on this as you add more content. A few non-optimised images and you could dramatically impact your site's performance. Be sure to check Google's tool above.

Our Experience & Results

So what was the end result after the first 6 months? Below we'll share some results for our agency site that was launched in Australia (our UK site is in the early stages)...

Please Note: Technical challenges and lack of perfect PageSpeed score aside... not many sites make it to page one in Google within the first 6 or even 12 months.

Results:
In our first six months of launching an Australian website we saw impressions for around 100+ non-branded phrases on page one and this improved steadily. One of the most competitive terms the site ranked for was 'digital marketing help'.

Is this thanks to Weebly? Or is it due to some solid SEO principles and good quality content applied to a site?

From our experience, we'd have to suggest the latter.

The Weebly Review: Final Verdict

Weebly sites are simple, beautiful and accessible for anyone without the need for coding skills. However, they come with some limitations and are not a magic bullet for SEO. However, if good SEO practices are applied to a Weebly site, along with an understanding of how the website builder works - SEO success is certainly achievable.

Coupled with security and time-saving benefits, Weebly and other website builders are a viable option for those looking to get a decent quality website up and running quickly. We give Weebly the thumbs up!

]]><![CDATA[Ethical Leadership: DEI&B for People, Product & Profit]]>Wed, 24 Apr 2024 15:29:38 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/ethical-leadership-deib-for-people-product-profit

As humans we’re constantly growing and evolving, so it doesn’t make sense to remain stagnant when it comes to the way we lead and manage. Ethical leadership is part of this evolution, as a north star that guides your organisation toward integrity, fairness, empathy, and positive impact. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEI&B) are not just buzzwords – they work in harmony to create stronger, happier and more collaborative workplaces, where people thrive.

Go Beyond Diversity!
Go beyond simply having a diverse workforce, to create an inclusive environment where employees feel valued, respected, empowered and that they can bring their authentic selves to work and truly ‘belong’. Consider that people have multiple and intersecting identities (intersectionality), which is crucial for creating truly inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces.

Don’t Forget Psychological Safety
To unlock the collective intelligence of teams and ensure better decision making and performance, we need to create psychological safety, which builds trust and encourages open dialogue. Psychological safety means that people feel they can be themselves, without fear of negative consequences, such as ridicule or punishment.

Why Does Psychological Safety Matter?

Authentic Voice and Risk-Taking: employees are more likely to speak up, share different perspectives, and take calculated risks. This openness fuels innovation and creativity.
Builds Trust and Collaboration: among team members, enabling greater collaboration, effective teamwork and problem-solving.
Drives Performance and Well-Being: when individuals feel safe, valued and respected they thrive both personally and professionally.

It’s not just an ‘HR Thing’.
By infusing DEI&B principles into the core of our organisations, we can unlock the true potential of our people, enhance our products and services, and ultimately drive innovation, growth and sustained profitability.

Only a handful of companies understand that all successful business operations come down to three basic principles: PEOPLE, PRODUCT, PROFIT.” ~Malcolm Forbes

1. PEOPLE: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion are Key to High-Performance

Ethical leaders value their people and understand that they are key to the success of the organisation. Inclusion isn’t just a word—it’s a commitment to valuing everyone’s unique contributions.

People Come First. It’s Not Just Fluff & Rainbows!
Having a nice culture doesn’t mean that no one works hard, in fact, creating a psychologically safe and inclusive environment, is the key ingredient in building high-performance. Happy people enjoy what they do, work harder, and deliver better outcomes!

Psychological safety is the foundation for building high-performing teams that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive" ~ Timothy R. Clark

What Does Good Look Like?

Lead by Example: demonstrate honesty, transparency, and accountability and be an ally and voice for under-represented groups.
Promote an Inclusive Environment: create a workplace where everyone feels welcome, regardless of their background; considering neurodiversity, physical abilities, cultural differences, gender identities, and LGBTQ+ perspectives.
United Equity Approach: understand the nuances of intersectionality and continuously address unconscious bias in all policies, approaches and processes.

By prioritising DEI&B, we not only tap into a broader talent pool but also cultivate a workplace where employees feel valued, engaged, and motivated to contribute their best. This, in turn, translates into improved productivity, reduced attrition, and a stronger employer brand – all of which directly impact our bottom line.

2. PRODUCT: Unleash the Power of Diverse Perspectives for Innovation

DEI&B has a profound impact on our ability to innovate and create products and services that resonate with diverse customer segments, ultimately driving customer satisfaction, loyalty and even growth in new areas.

Diverse Teams Drive Product Success
Research consistently shows that diverse teams outperform others. Here’s why:

Fresh Thinking: when people from different backgrounds collaborate, they bring fresh thinking and perspectives leading to innovative solutions and better decision-making.
Creativity and Problem-Solving: a mix of skillsets, experiences, and cultural insights sparks creativity, resulting in ground-breaking products and services.
Customer Satisfaction: diverse teams better understand different customer needs so that products and services resonate with a wide range of customers.
New Customers & Market Opportunities: new potential customer segments and market opportunities are uncovered, to help new growth.

Inclusive companies are 1.7 times more likely to be innovation leaders."~ (Deloitte)

A Cheat Code to Build Products that Resonate.
Companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, and Procter & Gamble have demonstrated the power of incorporating DEI&B principles into their product development processes.

The result? Increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and market success. It's like they've unlocked a cheat code for creating products that genuinely connect with people.

3. Profit: The Undeniable Business Case for DEI&B

Ethical leaders understand that financial gain isn’t the sole goal—it’s a means to an end. However, it has been proven that DEI&B significantly impacts the bottom line. People, product and profit go hand-in-hand in successful businesses.

The Business Case:

Attract Top Talent & Emerging Generations: the millennial workforce is projected to be 75% of the global workforce by 2025, so fostering an inclusive culture is no longer optional – it's a business imperative, as research shows millennials expect diverse and inclusive cultures.
Reduce Costs with Retention: retain employees who feel valued and save on rehiring and salary costs when people stay longer, and for more than just the money.
Stay Competitive: diverse customer bases demand diverse products and services, so the organisations that reflect their customers’ needs, stay relevant and competitive.
Innovation & Creativity: diverse teams are proven to be 87% better at making decisions and 20% more likely to make a bold decision. And that’s 2X faster and with 1/2 the meetings! (Cloverpop)
New Opportunities: new thinking opens new customer segments, market opportunities and products.

The Numbers Don’t Lie!
Highly Diverse Companies are:

1.4 times more revenue and have higher EBIT margins than industry medians. (BCG, 2022)
19% higher innovation revenues (BCG, 2018)

Gender diverse companies:

15% more likely to outperform respective national industry medians. (McKinsey, 2020).

Culturally Diverse Exec Teams:

33% more likely to have industry-leading profitability. (McKinsey, 2018)

Culturally Diverse Boards:

43% more likely to experience higher profits. (McKinsey, 2018)

Warning…There’s a Penalty for Opting out.

Research shows that companies in the bottom quartile for both gender and ethnic/ cultural diversity were 29% less likely to achieve above-average profitability than were all other companies. In short, not only were they not leading, but they were also lagging! (McKinsey 2018)

Conclusion: DEI&B is a Must!

Ethical leadership, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion aren’t a choice—but a responsibility. Organisations that prioritise these, create positive cultures, drive innovation, and achieve financial success.

As we move forward, let’s remember that ethical decisions aren’t black and white; they’re reflective choices that shape our collective future. The more we’re open to learning and growing, the better we do.

Although the statistics are compelling, the true impact of DEI&B extends far beyond numbers...

People: creating a workplace where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique talents and perspectives.
Product: developing products and services that truly meet the needs of diverse customer groups.
Profit: building organisations that are not only successful but also ethical, equitable, and socially responsible.

Calling All Ethical Leaders
As leaders, it’s our mission to champion and fuel diversity and inclusion. Let’s ensure we instil and reinforce inclusive practices throughout the organisation (not only in hiring), address unconscious biases, and foster a culture of empathy, compassion, and accountability.

Quick Tips:
Here are some things that can help:

Don’t Assume, Ask: if you’re not sure what matters to your people, ask them. Move past the quantitative insights to understand the ‘why’.
Tailor Your Approach: some people like to be put on the spot, but others may find that incredibly nerve-wracking. Offer a chance to give feedback verbally, written and even anonymously.
Be Vulnerable: you don’t have to have all the answers. Admit when you don’t know. Share your fears, motivations and intentions. Open the dialogue and show that it’s safe to be yourself.
Learn & Educate Yourself: on correct terminology, what you don’t know you don’t know and seek to uncover unconscious bias.
Know Your Customer & Non-Customer: understand your customers and what makes them tick BUT also those that are NOT buying and find out why.
Open to Different Perspectives: have an idea on who and how your product should be used? Put that aside to find out how other customer personas think about your product. Are there any hidden or unintended uses that could be worth exploring?
Create Space for Creativity: give your team the time to think creatively, pose questions and goals rather than directions.

In summary, be curious and open to learning and listening and give space and trust for magic to happen.

Now is the time for us to create a ripple effect, that extends far beyond our lifetime; positively impacting communities, industries, and society for years to come.

Let’s build a world where everyone belongs and thrives!

]]><![CDATA[The Ultimate Digital Marketing Checklist]]>Wed, 03 Apr 2024 14:00:00 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/the-ultimate-digital-marketing-checklist

We're sharing the 'Ultimate Digital Marketing Checklist', to help you take charge of your digital marketing and ensure your business is visible to your target audience. This isn't another washed-out guide spouting trends like 'but real, step-by-step digital marketing checklist, based on over 15 years' working with hundreds of clients digital-agency-side...

How do I use it?

This is your foundation to get started in planning effective digital marketing. It will help you ask the right questions and develop (or update) a customer-focused, multi-channel digital strategy for your business today and beyond
Or you may use this to prepare for engaging with (or changing) a digital agency partner

Most importantly, we want to help you answer this question:

"For [target customer], [your brand] provides [product category] that [solves their need]. Unlike [competitor/s], our product [has these unique features].”

And then, this is the basis for your message and digital marketing approach.

A) To Start... Housekeeping & Prep

Whether engaging with a digital agency for the first time or changing agencies (or even if you aren't), it's always good to have your house in order.

1. Get prepared. It will save time and effort later.

For example, a digital agency will often need access to:

Login details (passwords) or permissions granted to analytics accounts, social media accounts, email campaign managers etc.
Previous reports, research and data if available
Website CMS access or direct FTP access to the website if no 'content management system'

Core Brand and Creative assets: high resolution images and logos, corporate style guides etc.
Digital copies of current promotional material if any
Case studies and testimonials (if you don't have these yet, start getting some)

This might seem basic at first. But, if we had a dollar for every hour spent chasing down login details over the years... well, you know how it goes...

Also give some thought to:

2. Nominating one key stakeholder
This is a primary contact to act as a liaison between your business and the agency. That person should be a filter for any internal conflict and only relay the final decision and comments to the agency as well as acting as a conduit with other service providers to keep information flowing.

B) Your Current Marketing Strategy
Take stock of your current strategy:

3. Which providers do you already work with and how will they work together moving forward? (will there be any conflict of services?)

4. What other domain names / apps / online assets do you own and how are these related to each other?

5. If considering SEO... Has any previous SEO work been done on the website(s)?
Is there any risk that dodgy techniques were used or could your website be penalised?

6. What is your current marketing mix and spend? What's working and what isn't? How are things connected? Radio, TV, Print, Directory, Website, Adwords, SEO, Social Media, Direct Mail, Other?

Take stock of your current resources & situation

C) Be Clear on Your Goals
Before you get to the 'marketing' part, it's essential to be clear on the basics.

7. List 3-5 primary goals of your digital marketing efforts.
Be specific. Don't just list 'more sales'. They should also be measurable, agreed upon and achievable (especially if working with a digital agency), realistic, relevant and time-based where possible (SMART).

8. Define what success looks like - what metrics do you plan to track and use to gauge success?

9. In what time frame do you hope to see these results?

10. Which conversion goals do you want people to take?

11. How much is a good conversion worth to you? Consider one-off sales and also the lifetime value 'LTV' of a customer.

Some example goals:

Increased sales of product A by 10% or from X to Y
% More online quote enquiries
Improved referral ratio 2:1
% Increased repeat website visitors or purchases
% Increase in mobile app installs

% Increase in newsletter subscriptions
% Improved conversion rate from paid search
% Improved engagement on social media
% More downloads of your catalogue PDF
% More organic traffic to your website

D) Your Company
Be consistent in how your company is represented online:

12. Ensure your NAP ('Name', 'Address', 'Phone') and Industry details are consistently formatted, complete and clear on all online portals. *This not only helps people find you online, but it's a local SEO tip too.

13. What's your grand vision / story / purpose? Why does your organisation exist?
Don't underestimate the importance of starting with the 'WHY' of your organisation.

Start with the 'WHY' ~Simon Sinek

14. What are your Unique Value Propositions (or 'Unique Selling Propositions')?
What are the main benefits of your products or services that are unique to your business?

List at least 2-3 and be as specific as possible - not just 'great quality'.

15. Is your business (or products) seasonal?
Are sales heavily influenced by the time/season of year or during specific holidays?

16. What is your main business model? How does you business work?
For example: online / offline sales? Retail or wholesale?

17. How many staff do you have?
What skills or qualifications do they have that are worth highlighting?

18. What memberships or associations is your business part of?
Give thought to what logos etc. you need to display and also how you can connect with these groups online.

19. Opening Hours
As with point 12 - be clear and consistent with these, including your holiday opening hours.

A small mistake on your Google My Business page could be telling potential customers you are closed at the wrong times!

E) Your Products & Services
Understand your highest value products and services:

20. Is your website up to date with your current products/services?
Are any of the products listed no longer available?

21. What are your 'hero' products (your most profitable products or services to promote)?

22. How many of these products/services do you sell in a year?
How many would you like to sell?

23. What (according to your customers) makes them choose your products or services?

24. Why do clients come back to you/repeat purchase?

F) Your Audience
Get to know your audience.

25. In which geographic areas do you operate and where could you expand to?

26. Are your current customers your ideal customers?
Why (or why not)?

27. Who do you most want to reach?

28. 'Personas' - What do your most valuable customers look like?
Personas are semi fictional representations of real customers.

** Repeat points 28 a-t for at least 2-3 'ideal customers':

28a. Age? (10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50+)
28b. Income? (Low, Medium, High, Other)
28c. Occupation/s?
28d. Gender?
28e. Where are they located?
28f. What's their status? (Married, Single, Family, Other)
28g. What are their hobbies and interests?
28h. What do they value? (Lifestyle, Organic, Cost-Savings etc.)
28i. Which of their problems can be solved by your business' products or services?
28j. How will they benefit?
28k. What would they value most in your products or services?
28l. How do they buy? (Online, In store)
28m. What channels do they use during a purchase decision? (Social Media, Review sites etc.)
28n. Which devices are they on the most? (Mobile, Tablet, Desktop etc.)
28o. When do they buy? (Time of day/week, seasonally, certain life events)
28p. Are they loyal/repeat or once-off customers?
28q. Do they buy based on cost or other motivators?
28r. How often do they purchase? (Daily, weekly, every 4 years etc.
28s. What else are they looking for when they come to your website?
How else can you provide value? Blog articles, whitepapers, how-to videos, vendor comparisons etc.
28t. What should be avoided when communicating with these customers?

Digital Marketing opens up many opportunities to identify and target your customers. Take advantage of this: understand your customers, go where they are and make your marketing investment count."

G) Your Competitors & Industry
We're not suggesting you 'copy' your competitors, but you should understand what they are doing and how your audience is used to receiving information in your industry

29. Who are your 3 biggest direct competitors?

30. Which channels do competitors typically use to compete online in your industry? (Video, SEM, SEO, Social Media, other)

31. What's the size of your industry and your current Vs desired market share?

32. Is your industry price-sensitive? Are there any other specific ways competitors compete in your industry? Seasonal discounting, value-add products, free quotes etc.

33. How are you currently positioned in your industry?
Are there any opportunities or threats?

34. Are there specific words or phrases (or 'industry jargon') people might search for ONLY in your industry?

35. Are there specific promotions you would normally run?
When and how could you run these on digital/online channels? Who would you target and why?

Putting It Into Action - AKA 'The Marketing Part'
Now, what do you do with this information?

Hopefully you've already had a few light bulbs turn on during this process and some ideas are flowing.

If not, then engaging with a digital marketing consultant or digital agency can certainly help you kick start things, avoid any costly mistakes and set you in the right direction.

If you still want to give it a try yourself first, here are a few tips:

The general rule of thumb is to aim where your audience is.
Test. Learn quickly. Repeat what works.
Consider the whole purchase funnel (awareness, consideration, decision, post-purchase, retention & advocacy) and how you can engage with your current customers and future customers to offer value.

What works for your business and customers will not be the same as someone else, even if they are in the same location and industry.

The diagram below gives an example of what you could focus on at various stages of the customer journey, and which channels may be effective. But this is only a guide; always start with your business goals first.

Consider the entire customer journey in your marketing efforts and provide value when it counts. Source: crownpeak.com

A few thoughts and ideas:

a) If you need more awareness or are looking to influence buyers during the consideration stage you could:

Run a social media ad campaign or focus on boosting your social media presence and engagement
Run a Google Adwords display campaign to show banners across Google's display network (for example - you can place banner ads on relevant blogs or similar websites with 'targeted placements').
For a longer term strategy you could engage with an SEO professional to optimise your site and attempt to show up higher in organic listings (though do keep in mind that SEO may not always be the best solution for small businesses on a tight budget).

b) If your goal is more activations or purchases, perhaps:

Consider an Adwords search campaign focusing on keywords and copy targeted to people closer to the end of the purchase funnel with higher purchase intent.
You could pair this with a remarketing campaign to place banner ads and target people who have already visited your site to try and entice them back to complete a purchase.

c) Or are your customers likely to make repeat purchases or refer friends?

If so, perhaps a well planned Email Campaign offering a promotional voucher for referrals or repeat purchase might work well.

And don't forget...

d) In all of this, it's important to make sure your website:

Is generally working well and free from errors
Loads quickly (ideally no more than 2-3 seconds)
Is mobile friendly
Is easy for people to make a purchase or booking (reduce friction in purchase funnels)

You don't want to be 'pouring water into a leaky bucket'!

DOWNLOAD FREE RESOURCES

]]><![CDATA[10 Must-Try Free Courses to Boost your Digital Marketing Skills]]>Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:38:41 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/10-free-online-digital-courses

It's no secret - Digital Marketing moves fast. Keeping up to date can be challenging. Read about some of the best free online courses that can help you stay relevant...

Upskill Your Digital Marketing Knowledge

Thankfully, there are a number of well respected and (mostly) free digital marketing courses and training resources available online which are both easily accessible and contain highly current and relevant information...

In many places, offline digital marketing courses and official training events can be scarce or out of date, making the option of online training not only quite attractive, but a must-do in order to keep ahead of current trends in the industry.

Whether you are considering upskilling your existing marketing staff or looking into a digital marketing course yourself, we've compiled a clear and easy to reference list of 10 of the best online training resources to check out...

10 Free Online Courses

1. Hubspot Academy
Hubspot continues to be a powerhouse of content production, as well as providing excellent free training resources through their Hubspot Academy. Still some of the most up-to-date training material available online today, with certificates of completion to be renewed every 1-2 years.

Provider: Hubspot
Free/Paid? Free

Certification
Yes, including certificate of completion.
Content / Level
Hours of detailed, high quality video resources covering trending industry topics such as Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, Growth Driven Design ('GDD') and more.

Visit HubSpot Academy

2. Hootsuite Academy
With Hootsuite you can earn industry recognised social media credentials and stand out from the crowd. Hootsuite remains a trusted source for social media specialists - with platform training as well as an assortment of both free and paid social media specialisations, there is something here for everyone.

Provider: Hootsuite
Free/Paid? Free content. Certifications from $199
Certification: Yes, including certificate of completion.

Content / Level
Social Media Marketing on a basic and advanced level, Hootsuite platform training
(Hootsuite is a platform for scheduling and managing social media accounts)

Visit Hootsuite Academy

3. Google Skillshop
Once called Google Partners, then Academy for Ads, it's now called Skillshop and offers skills you can apply right away with e-learning courses designed by Google product experts. Identity crisis aside, after several rebrands and a huge overhaul of the UI, Google Skillshop remains the best place to get free Adwords certification with certificate of completion renewed every 12 months.

Start with Adwords Fundamentals then move into one of the areas of specialisation such as display, search, mobile, shopping or video. Where else to get it but the source?

Provider: Google
Free/Paid? Yes, most are free including certificate of completion.

Content / Level
Fundamentals through to advanced certifications for Google Adwords and Analytics as well as short form training resources via their LMS.

Visit Google Skillshop

4. Google Cloud (by Google)
Google offers cloud computing, ready for business so you can run and build your apps, anywhere. Here you can learn how to do a lot of things on your own and access Google resources for a cheaper option than paying for your own set-up.

Provider: Google
Free/Paid? Yes, free Certification

Content / Level
Free entry-level courses on everything from machine learning, artificial intelligence and how to use the Google Cloud Tools, to help you grow your business or career.

Hands-on course content aimed at those starting out and wanting to either broaden their skills or strengthen technical skills.

Visit Google Cloud Training

5. Wordstream's PPC University
Everything PPC from the basics to more advanced topics that you won't cover in Google's Adwords training. Wordstream also provide a ton of info in the form of case studies and whitepapers to back up their advice.

Provider: Wordstream
Free/Paid? Yes free

Content / Level
Everything you could possibly need to know about creating PPC / Adwords ads - beginner to advanced level.

Visit WordStream's University

6. Coursera
Coursera helps students build skills and earn a credentials from a leading organisations with access to professional-level classes, courses and specialisations.

Provider: Various including well-known universities such as Stanford.
Free/Paid? Varies (some are free). Coursera offers a subscription model, if you learn quickly within the 7 day trial period you can get your certification for free!
Certification: Varies, some including certificate of completion.

Content / Level
An online education hub with courses on pretty much anything including digital marketing, product, UX, management, AI, machine learning, communication and many more.

Visit Coursera

7. Udemy
Udemy is undeniably a massive online resource of training and course content. Check the individual courses and do your research on whoever is providing the course content. Some of these can be less 'official' than other trusted sources such as Google and certifications not as valuable or well recognised.

Provider: Various
Free/Paid? Varies (some are free)
Certification: Varies, some including certificate of completion.

Content / Level
An online education hub with courses on pretty much anything. Over 45000 courses and 15 million students.

Visit Udemy

8. Moz
Moz are one of the few independent trusted authorities on SEO outside of Google themselves.
Check out their SEO learning centre or their SEO certification.

Provider: Moz
Free/Paid? Free
Certification: Yes

Content / Level
Moz a consistently great source of digital marketing (primarily SEO and content marketing) info, broken into beginner and advanced sections. Their blog and 'whiteboard Fridays' have become legendary.

Visit Moz

9. Meta Blueprint
As you would expect, the authoritative source for all things Facebook and Instagram. Discover online learning courses, training programmes and certification that can help you get the most out of Meta technologies.

Provider: Meta
Free/Paid? Free content. Certifications from $400.
Certification: Yes, including certificate of completion.

Content / Level
The official resource for Facebook and Instagram advertising. Content via LMS, extensive video resources and practice exams are free.

Visit Meta Blueprint

10. LinkedIN Learning
LinkedIN's learning centre has helpful training and tips for marketing, product, business, social media and many other areas. The benefit is that once you've finished the training it is easy to update and share via LinkedIN.

Provider: LinkedIN via thousands of different course creators.
Free/Paid? Free content with a certificate at the end.

Content / Level
Thousands of short courses and video content.

Visit LinkedIn Learning

Every effort is taken to ensure this list remains up to date and current. Information is provided on behalf of third party providers and are not affiliates of MACH Digital. Logos used are property copyright of their respective companies.

If you notice anything above has changed, is incorrect, or would like to suggest/add, please let us know.

Interested in personalised, on-demand training?

GET IN TOUCH

]]><![CDATA[Insanely Improve Your Google Ads: The HAMMER Method [Case Study]]]>Thu, 28 Mar 2024 08:13:56 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/insanely-improve-your-google-ads-the-hammer-method-case-study

If you've been running Google Ads (Adwords) for months, but the performance has been... underwhelming or you've tried variations of ad copy and you're getting clicks, but none of these seem to be turning into conversions, then read on for some tips...

Optimising Your Google Ads

What's next?
How do you improve the performance and turn clicks into conversions?
How can you optimise and not just 'spend more money' or 'add more keywords'?

This article sets out a planned approach to answer all of the above and help you do your own Adwords audit.

So, pick up your hammer and keep reading.

** This guide is intermediate level so some basic concepts are not covered

What is the HAMMER Method?

The HAMMER method is a sustainable long term Adwords strategy that focuses on improving the overall health and quality of Google Adwords account structure and campaign(s) performance to lower costs and increase conversions.

This is achieved by targeting better quality leads (and audiences) with ads and driving these down the path to conversion.

The HAMMER Method:

High-level account housekeeping
Analytics - connect and ensure conversion tracking is working
Macro account factors
Micro account factors
Evaluate after 14 days
Repeat steps 3 - 5 (also Report)

The incorrect Hammer method!

The Problem

A client approached us with a common problem; their Adwords campaigns were getting a lot of ad clicks but not many of these clicks were converting into leads on their website.

Going under the hood, we found a mix of campaign types, mismatched targeting, lack of negative keywords, an inconsistent landing page experience and many more areas that could be improved for better Adwords performance.

Applying the HAMMER Method

1. High-level account housekeeping
Some of this might seem like common sense, but:

Clean up / remove any old campaigns, ads or ad groups. Delete duplicates, if any.
Organise your account based on common themes and a logical structure
Usually the easiest way is to follow the structure of your website and structure the account Campaign > Ad Group > Ads (*see below image, or this video from Google)
Check your account access and make sure any old access is removed
Confirm billing and business information is up to date
Pause any bad campaigns for now if you are worried about bleeding budget
If you are managing multiple accounts, ideally do this through a Manager or 'MCC' account

E.g. Adwords Account structure: www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/03/06/adwords-account-structure)

2. Analytics - connect and ensure conversion tracking is working

Link your Adwords account with your Google Analytics account to gain additional visibility both ways. Most importantly, get access to your conversion goals from Google Analytics to track them in Adwords, enable target CPA bidding and other useful features.

If you haven't set up conversion goals in Google Analytics yet, this is an important first step!

Tip: Google Tag Assistant is a simple Chrome extension that can help you see what code is/isn't working.

3. Macro account factors
Start by looking for LARGE problems that have the greatest bearing on your campaigns overall.
Or, think 'things that can destroy an entire Adwords campaign performance if they are not right'.

Some examples of Adwords 'macro factors':

Bid type: Decide between manual or automated bid types and understand the difference
Budget: Check in on this and ensure you're spending within your means
Ad scheduling: Are you serving ads at 2am on Tuesdays? Tighten your ad scheduling to the days that matter to your business. Ideally, look for clues in the ad schedule report data to see which times are most effective and double down on those with a bid adjustment.

Likewise, do the opposite for days and times that convert poorly and either use a negative bid adjustment or turn ads off during those times.
Location targeting: Are you targeting too wide an area? If so, tighten your targeting.

Also, try segmenting your target area to give you more data about how different audiences perform and give you more options to change later (E.g. If you're targeting the entire country, try segmenting by state to see which performs better)
Devices: Look for clues here and set bid adjustments accordingly. Also try to think in your customers' shoes - what are they likely to be doing when searching for your product? Sitting on the couch at home (mobile/tablet), at their desk at work (desktop) or on their way to work (mobile)?

Landing pages: Nothing is worse than getting that all-important click only to send that person to a broken, poorly-designed or mismatched landing page that doesn't meet the expectations of the ad that they've just clicked on... "I thought I was getting free tickets... why am I at some weird home page?"

Ensure the experience is consistent (which should also help your Adwords quality score), keep the page simple and optimised - make it easy for the user to complete the intended conversion action when they get there, not difficult. And don't forget mobile!

https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33927/11-simple-but-critical-tips-for-creating-better-landing-pages.aspx

4. Micro account factors
Once the big stuff is taken care of, then it's time to dig deeper into the detail and check on the SMALL things and bring it home.

Some examples of Adwords 'micro factors':

Keywords: Of course keywords are important. There are many great guides written on keyword research so we won't go into detail, but in general - choose a smaller number of keywords that are specific and relevant to your business rather than going for too much of a scattershot approach. Avoid single word phrases.

Pay attention to branded Vs non-branded keywords and even split these into separate campaigns or ad groups since branded keywords can often skew reports (if someone is searching for your brand, are they more likely to click on your ad?)

Keyword match types: Consider splitting your campaigns into a combo of exact match ('EM') and broad match modified ('BMM') with the EM negatives added to the BMM ad groups. This doubles down on your EM keywords and is great when you have a good keyword list that's likely to convert. Adding these as EM negatives to the BMM campaign reduces cannibalisation between ad groups and ensures only one ad competes and fires for that keyword when searched.

The 'Search Terms' report: Check this regularly to see what keywords are actually triggering your ads. Great as both a source of more keywords to add to your list OR to see bad keywords and variants that you want to add as negatives.
Negative keywords: Update and maintain regularly. This can also be a 'macro' factor if done as a list through the shared library, which is a good best practice as it allows you to share the negative keyword list between accounts.
Demographics: Drill down here and see which age groups are converting or giving better value. If there's a particular standout age group, consider segmenting it into a separate ad group with more personalised ad copy and/or creative that will appeal to that audience. Consider pausing age groups that are under-performing.

The Demographics Report

It's best to target a smaller group of quality, relevant keywords and do it really well than to target a large group of keywords and do it badly "

Audiences: Look for any audiences that represent your brand/product well. If you're unsure, set these audiences to 'observation' initially to see if they perform any better than than the control group - once you have more data you can set them to 'target' if the results are positive.

Consider building similar audiences from visitors who have taken a particular action on your website. Again, you can set these to 'observe' initially and gauge the results (note: Adwords will automatically start a similar audience from any audience that you create).

AdWords Audiences

Also try custom audiences if you have a large pool of customer data that you can upload directly into Adwords and build similar audiences from.

Look for clues in Google Analytics on affinity or in-market audiences and see how these perform - look for any outliers and even consider custom ad copy / creative if any of them really stand out (e.g. 'Pet Lovers').

Also check out life event audiences such as 'moving house' which may be relevant to your brand or product.

Tip: As well as targeting audiences, also think about excluding them when appropriate.
E.g. People who have just submitted an enquiry form on your website.

AdWords Affinity Audiences

Ad copy and creative: This is a topic all by itself. In general, try at least 3-5 different variations of each ad, experiment with compelling ad copy and make it relevant to the offer you are presenting. Include keywords to boost ad rank. Keep within the Google guidelines.
** Check out this Wordstream article for more tips on writing effective headlines.

Also try Dynamic Keyword Insertion, but in small doses and NOT with a competitor brand targeted ad group - you don't want the competitor's name to be inserted!

Test with Responsive Ads for both Display and Search. Enter multiple headlines and descriptions (for search), or upload a number of different assets (for display) and over time, Google Ads will automatically test and learn which combinations perform best (as well as resizing the creative to fit any display size).

Or, if you are running a e-commerce site, upload your product feed in Google Merchant Center and experiment with Dynamic Display Ads
Placements and Themes (for display ads): Check these reports and look for clues. Modify, double-down or exclude where its appropriate.

Remarketing: Don't use the same generic ads for remarketing. Think that these people have already been to your website - make the offer more pointed or add some urgency (just don't be creepy... "we see you've been to our website...")

If you have remarketing campaigns mixed in with your others, keep in mind that remarketing tends to convert at a higher % and could skew results if you're looking at a combined dashboard.

5. Evaluate after 14 days
Armed with all of these tips, you've gone and made some changes. Now, it's best to wait at least 7-14 days to see the results of any changes to your campaigns (or even a little longer if you can afford the time).

Additionally - it might be tempting to keep making bulk changes. But once you've hit a good baseline, it's best to keep changes to one at a time so you can objectively see the results and effect without overlap and cross-contamination of your results.

6. Repeat steps 3 - 5 (also Report)
Keep working through steps 3 - 5 and as above, limit changes to one, or a few, at a time.

Finally the all-important bit comes... Report on your amazing results!

Our Results

This article was originally titled '10X your Adwords CTR...' but we decided that was a little too click-batey...

As for the results we achieved with the HAMMER method... it was actually closer to an 11.5X improvement for one client, so 10X is still being conservative :)

Lead quality also improved, reducing Adwords spend, increasing conversion rate by 58% on lead forms and overall, improving Google Adwords campaign ROI for the client.

But "clicks were down!" we hear some of you say. And yes, clicks did reduce - but this was a good thing.

In Adwords (as with most PPC), clicks are what you pay for, so you want them to count.

Prior to the Adwords performance improvements we made, many of these clicks weren't converting into leads or enquiries and the client was simply blowing budget on vanity metrics that seemed impressive.

What's Next?

After the campaigns were optimised with the HAMMER method, this gave the client a solid base to work from. They could now either expand the existing campaigns, add new campaigns or increase budget with the extra available headroom they now had.

Or, they could sit back and enjoy the financial savings and spend less, of course... :)

The HAMMER method creates a custom, scalable solution that maximises the value of clicks to ensure that budget isn't wasted now or moving forward.

Final Thoughts and Tips

It might seem daunting at first, but if you take the time, there are almost always better ways to improve Google Adwords performance than spending more money or adding more keywords.

Take care dealing with Google support calls or suggestions from within the Adwords interface. Whilst these may seem helpful, Google is still a money-making business. The easiest 'solution' will often be to increase budget.

Similarly, the list of keywords you could potentially add is almost endless. But this isn't Pokemon and you don't need to add them all.

Keywords with higher search volume might seem better at face value, but ultimately you should focus on the keywords that are most relevant and specific to your business.

Have any of your own tips to add, or feedback on how some of these techniques worked for you? We'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Still stuck? Get a Professional Adwords Audit

Still want to run some things past a certified Adwords professional? We're happy to help.

GET IN TOUCH

]]><![CDATA[Why SEO is (still) Important for Businesses in 2024...]]>Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:12:52 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/why-seo-is-still-important-for-businesses-in-2024-big-or-small

Whether you have a small or large business, it is more important than ever to ensure your site is visible in search engines using Search Engine Optimisation or SEO... If you're not visible, you're not attracting potential customers.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can be all too easily dismissed by smaller businesses as 'something the big guys do'.

We're amongst the first to agree that SEO may not be the best solution in all cases (a lot of which comes down to budget, goals and your starting point) but even so, SEO undeniably has a place.

Even in 2024 amidst cries from some that "SEO is dead", the fundamentals of SEO in some ways hold truer than ever. Turning a blind eye and thinking that SEO doesn't matter or that it doesn't apply to me could end in disaster for your business.

What is SEO in 2024? (the short version)

It's not black magic or a secret science, but... what on Earth is SEO these days?

Is it...

Market research? Keyword research?
Technical optimisation work behind the scenes?
Is it copy writing and great content?
Building links and authority?
Website usability and great user experience that is mobile friendly?
Presenting a highly positive and credible image to potential customers?

The answer is a resounding 'YES' to all of the above.

Why is SEO Important to My Local Business?

1. Customers are mobile and looking for your business

It's no secret these days that almost everyone is online and mobile.

With approximately 93% of Europeans and 96% of UK residents using Google for searches, optimising for mobile users is key for businesses to reach their target audience.

Is your business visible in Google for those people searching?

2. Local users expect local results
Personalised local search results are increasingly important for European and UK consumers. Optimising for local search helps businesses meet customer expectations and drive foot traffic to physical locations.

In a recent Google survey:

85% of smartphone users have searched for local info
81% have taken action as a result
40% visited the store in person
35% called a business after searching

Is your business locally optimised for local users?

3. It's happening around you anyway

Even if you are not actively 'doing SEO', people are talking about your business, leaving reviews etc.

How would it affect your business if the first thing users saw when searching for your business by name was a series of terrible reviews and a blog post discussing how bad your products are?

Wouldn't you want to show up in Google ABOVE those negative things?

4. Online Reputation Management

Maintaining a positive online presence through SEO is crucial in Europe and the UK, where online conversations significantly impact a business's reputation.

How do you want your business to be perceived online?

"Looks like your car needs a-servicin'"

Meet Bob the Mechanic (may not be his real name)

A brief (and completely fictitious) example to explain SEO...

Case 1: Bob opens an auto repair business

But, he does it in the middle of the desert…
His shop is quite nice and he has some of the latest tools
But nobody is connected to him and nobody can find him

Case 2: Bob opens his workshop on a busy street corner filled with cars...

Bob is seen by many people passing by
Bob puts up a big sign to promote his 24 hour emergency service
Bob gets referrals from other local businesses and happy customers

Which situation would you prefer for your business?

But, Is SEO Right for My Business?

There are a lot of considerations...

At any level, it's important to give thought to:

Your budget
Your goals
Timeframe in which you need to see results (4-12 months+)
Competition from ads
Big competitors
Your starting position (do you already have a well established website, or are you starting from zero?)
Choosing the right SEO partner

Still not sure where to start? Perhaps consider seeking some unbiased, independent advice.

Using SEO to Grow Your (Small) Business

Check out our presentation on Slideshare for even more info relevant to businesses big and small along with a completely free download:

]]><![CDATA[[Comic] If Plumbers Had to Work Like Digital Marketers]]>Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:03:16 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/comic-if-plumbers-had-to-work-like-digital-marketers

Join us for a light-hearted comic that explains what it might be like if plumbers had to work like digital marketers... We also hope that it gives digital marketers out there a bit of a laugh (you are not alone!).

Working in an industry like digital marketing, where the products are intangible and there's a knowledge gap so wide you could drive a bus through certainly has it's share of challenges.

These comics are a light-hearted look at what it might be like if Plumbers had to work like Digital Marketers.

Client: Can you also fix my light switches while you're here?
Plumber: No, sorry. You need an Electrician for that, not a Plumber.
Client: Aren't they the same thing?

Client: Can you meet me for a coffee?

I want to pick your brain about plumbing for an hour. I'm not ready to pay you for your services, but hopefully the $4 coffee will serve as adequate compensation for your time.

Client: A stranger rang me out of the blue and said they can do my plumbing work for cheaper.

I appreciate your services for the last 4 years, but I'm thinking of going with them, even though I've never met them, don't really know who they are and have no evidence of the quality of their work.

I don't even know if they are a real plumber (or a real person), but they sounded good on the phone.

Client: Thank you for your advice about plumbing, but I think I'll ignore it.

I know you apprenticed for 4 years and have been working as a professional licensed plumber for 15 years, but I fixed a tap once back in 1996 and read a couple of articles online, so I feel that I have a complete grasp of all aspects of plumbing and can make a better call myself.

Client: Hey, I just saw a 3 hour online course on plumbing basics for $19.

Do you think that I can take the course, then start my own plumbing business full time?

Client: So, tell me... How does it all work?
Plumber: How does what work?
Client: This 'plumbing' thing... I've got a few minutes, can you explain it to me?

Client (calling in the middle of the night): The pipe under my sink has burst! water is everywhere!
It's 3am but I need you to fix this right now.

I'm not willing to pay you any extra and feel like this should be included as part of the job you did unblocking my toilet a year ago.

Client: I decided I don't need you to fix that broken shower tap after all.
I went out and bought a Jacuzzi. I think it solved the problem.
Actually... I'm not even sure if I need water really...

Job ad: "Plumber wanted. Must have 4+ years experience and also have a relevant degree as well as be a qualified electrician, carpenter, auto-mechanic, an accredited architect and have experience with bookkeeping. Dental experience would be a plus. Salary: AUD$40-49k depending on experience."

Disclaimer: This is intended as a humorous account of semi-fictional 'experiences' only. Any similarity with clients past or present is not intended and purely coincidental. 'Plumbing' was chosen as a random industry for illustrative purposes only. Some credit also due for the article we read many years ago that inspired this post.

]]><![CDATA[[Webinar Series] Tech Talk: Sharpen Your Social Media!]]>Thu, 11 Jun 2020 07:33:02 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/webinar-series-tech-talk-sharpen-your-social-media

This webinar discusses key tips for Social Media and was in collaboration with Girls in Tech Gibraltar. Although delivered in 2020, many of the tips are still relevant...

“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it?” Erik Qualman

Event Details

For those people that wanted to sharpen their skills and boost confidence in #SocialMedia, this FREE Tech Talk was a must attend. Whether a small to medium business owner, traditional or digital marketing manager or someone with an interest in social media, this session was designed to ensure everyone could walk away with something valuable.

Themes
This power session was designed to give insider insights and handy hints to succeed in Social Media:

Work it: Understand the core areas of social media and how to make them work for you!
Powerful Planning: Focus your energy by aligning your business objectives or personal goals.
Handy hacks: Optimise your time and maximise return on effort through cool tools and tips.

Agenda

Get Social! Why Your Organisation Needs It?
Objectives, Goal Setting & Measuring Success
How to Create Great Content
Content Planning & Social Media Management
Paid Social Media Advertising
Q&A session

Helpful Resources - A Sneak Peek

If you’re looking for tools to help make your life easier; we also gave viewers a sneak peek of our soon-to-be-launched marketing tools website.

Check out the ultimate, list of software & tools in one convenient place at marketingtools.machdigital.co.uk.

Watch the full webinar recording here:

]]><![CDATA[Webinar Series: Smart (and Free) Ways To Market Your Business]]>Mon, 20 Apr 2020 13:30:56 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/webinar-smart-free-ways-to-market-your-business

In this webinar you can learn smart (and free) ways to market your business. This webinar was delivered live in collaboration with One Media Events and Regus Gibraltar and you can access the recording below...

Opportunity is everywhere, except most of us have our eyes closed” – Neville Christie

Recent world events have created many challenges for businesses, both big and small.

Smart managers and business owners are seeing opportunities. As well as adapting and using different ways to keep customers informed, they are continuing to earn income and offer valuable services during the disruptions.

Marketing, free digital tools and a bit of creative thinking can help save the day.

Event details

Date: Monday 4 May 10:30am – 11:30am (1 hour)
Cost: Free
Agenda:

Intro (10min)
Presentation ‘8 Smart Ways to Market Your Business’ (30min)
Q&A Discussion (20min)

Registrations closed.

Watch the recording:

]]><![CDATA[8 Smart Ways to Market Your Business During Holidays]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2020 15:01:07 GMThttps://www.mach.global/blog/8-smart-ways-to-market-your-business-in-coronavirus-lockdown

Smart business owners are adapting and using different ways to keep customers informed of changing hours. That way they continue to earn income and offer valuable services during disruptions. Keep reading below to see clever tips and suggestions...

Marketing, free digital tools and a bit of creative thinking can help save the day.

Marketing is defined as the business process of identifying, anticipating and satisfying customers' needs and wants. During holidays or major events, people still have needs and wants which will be additionally challenged and impeded by the situation causing business closures. There are several things you can do as a business owner to help your customers...

1. Stay Active on Social Media

These days, if people can't get in touch with a business the usual way, they go to social media

So, keep the conversation going.

Respond to customer service queries and above all, don't go silent - otherwise some of those people's comments could turn nasty - venting, or negative comments aimed at your business.

2. Update Your Google My Business Page

Local information becomes critical at times like this

Google has published guidelines showing businesses how to update their hours on Google My Business ('GMB'), change their listing, update their phone number or even create a post which appears directly on Google search results to communicate any changes or disruptions. View it here.

Google also makes it possible for businesses to easily mark themselves as “temporarily closed” using Google My Business."

You can check out this comprehensive guide from Google that covers all of the GMB updates in detail.

Updating hours in your Google My Business listing

3. Communicate Changes With Customers

Let customers know what's happening, as best as you can

Use:

Common social media channels (Facebook, Twitter...)
Your website
Google My Business (as above point 2)
Even at a basic level, signage at your shop (yes, you'd be surprised...)

4. Make Use of Free Communication Tools

... and video where appropriate

People can feel isolated during holidays or times of change. Video and face time is a great way to keep people feeling connected.

Why not experiment with more video as a communication tool or even for some of your services?

WhatsApp , Google hangouts and Facebook Messenger are commonly used these days and 100% free.

Or, for a virtual meeting room, free for up to 4 participants try Whereby (formerly appear.in)

Get your appointments automated and in order with a tool like Calendly

5. Offer Your Services Digitally, If You Can

Education and consulting businesses could make use of the free tools mentioned above, or package parts of their content and make it available online to customers

Articles, guides and video (free to upload and share with YouTube) are all easily uploaded and shared online with today's digital tools.

Or, if your business fits, try running a webinar with paid platforms like Zoom, Demio or Gotowebinar

A Demio webinar in action

6. Collaborate With Other Businesses

This one might seem obvious, but don't forget - others are going through the same thing now

You could work with other businesses and:

Share the cost of digital / software subscriptions
Start LinkedIn or Facebook groups and share updates
Or, just reach out - social makes it easy to find any business and start a chat

Perhaps you can come up with ways to collaborate that neither of you had thought of, like using the delivery service of the business next door, or who knows what?

7. Modify Your Existing Services

I hesitate to cite the overly-used term 'digital transformation'... but perhaps this is the perfect time to look at your business and think about ways you can go more digital?

Is it time to:

Update your invoicing from paper or Excel to a more flexible software product?
Check out tried-and tested tools such as Paypal or up-and-coming apps like Revolut or Pleo which also allow you to accept payments and, in some cases, connect to you accounting systems.
Move some of your manual processes to digital platforms?
Update your website (or create a website if you don't already have one)?
Get started on social media?
Eliminate some of your old manual processes?
Update your out-of-date systems?

8. Make It Clear: How Can Customers Contact You?

Whichever channels you decide to use, make it clear to customers - how can they get in touch with you to ask questions? Don't expect them to guess!

This could be as simple as a big message on your website, a pinned post on your Facebook page, or an update on any one of the channels we've already mentioned.

Final Thoughts

Here in Gibraltar, we see the effects that holidays or challenges such as Covid had on businesses. We hope this article helps small business owners in the UK and around the world amidst all of these events.

Feel free to message us on our Facebook page for more advice or send us an email

Most importantly - stay safe!

If you have any other creative ideas or comments to add, we'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

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