Growing a business is every entrepreneurs dream and challenge. Most people have tight budgets, big ideas and very little time. They need some way to take all these disparate elements, put them together, say in a hat and pull out a rabbit.
What is growth-hacking?
Although the terms ‘growth hacking’ and even ‘search engine optimisation (SEO)’ sound magical they are actually both very practical techniques that simply leverage smart thinking to save money and time.
There are three ways to make a business successful according to theory and none of them involve rabbits. To increase profit, you need to either grow the number of customers, raise the average transaction value per customer or maximise the number of transactions per customer. So you really need to change one, some, or all of these three factors to truly growth-hack a company.
Common sense says the best way to develop a successful business is to expand your customer base. If you grow your customer base first, then any adjustments to the transaction value or frequency will increase returns exponentially. So how do you grow your customer base without massive investment you ask?
Why search engine optimisation is a natural growth hacking tactic
The internet is the ideal tool for cash-strapped start-ups. A website is more cost-effective than a store front and can reach a larger audience. A virtual store or website is cheaper and gives you more flexibility than a physical location. In the virtual world, you can restructure nearby roads and footpaths, and drive customers right up to your door.
Search engine optimisation works by putting your product, service or brand right in front of the people looking for it. Search engine optimisation experts can figuratively divert traffic from all around the world toward your website with some savvy search engine optimisation techniques.
This ability to influence visitor numbers and traffic is why search engine optimisation and growth hacking are a match made in heaven. By optimising your website for search, you are positioning your business on the high street in the digital marketplace with a huge flashing sign and arrows pointing to it- you are making that customer growth possible. The best part is that search engine optimisation is affordable for all businesses, small and large and you can measure your results.
Optimising for search, growth and budget
Traffic on the internet is focussed around ‘keywords’ or the terms people use to search for different products or services. Experts can improve how high up on Google a website appears on search results. The higher the results or ranking the more likely you are to get visitors clicking through and customers to buy your goods or services.
You don’t need a massive budget to do this but you do need a little time for search engine optimisation to work. You can get quicker wins for a higher cost by using search engine marketing but an expert will be able to tell you which mix of tactics will work best for your business and budget. The best part is, if you set your account up correctly, you can measure your success and see your return on investment.
This might sound like ‘great theory’ that ‘works on paper’ to some, but Pure SEO is proof that SEO is a great way to grow a business. Pure SEO was started in 2009, with $200 by Richard Conway and thanks to some clever growth-hacking, the award-winning business now has more than 30 full-time employees.
Growth hacking is all about taking advantage of the best opportunities for growth and using brains rather than cash to leverage them. A great example of this ‘growth hack’ thinking is identifying an area of growth and piggybacking on existing success. Tauranga is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regions. In the next five decades the population is projected to more than double to 250,000, there is a growing skilled workforce and the tertiary education sector is being fostered by the new university campus. These factors make Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty an ideal location for Pure SEO’s second New Zealand office.
Paul Easton loves a challenge so he has moved from the Auckland office to head the new office as a Managing Director. Paul has a background in search engine optimisation, online sales and digital marketing, as well as experience in military training. He’s a seasoned growth hacker and is eager to start making Bay of Plenty businesses more competitive online.
“I’m committed to self-improvement and finding the best way to do things,” says Paul. “That’s what growth hacking is when you get down to it; finding the most cost-effective, efficient and productive way to do something. In my personal life, I’m always looking for new motivational tools, ways to improve fitness or fresh ideas to challenge my thinking. These lessons in life can so often be applied to business and that is what we do at Pure SEO we find inventive and productive ways to ensure your website appeals to both Google and customers.”
Search engine optimisation and growth hacking are like strawberries and cream, one compliments the other perfectly. So talk to the experts at Pure SEO to find the best SEO growth hacking strategies for your marketing and business development plan.
Some basic tenants of growth hacking
1. Social media and online marketing are great relatively cheap marketing tools: make the most of online communities
2. Search engine optimisation can increase your audience and conversion rate optimisation can increase your customer base – do them right to increase profitability
3. Don’t be wasteful, make the most of all your resources and strengths. Apply the lessons you learn in life to business and if you have a website optimise it and make it easier to find! Just like fishing, improve your odds by increasing the number of rods you have out.
4. Create great content. If you are going to create content to communicate with your audience make sure it is targeted, relevant, in-depth, useful and regular to get the best return
5. Develop a memorable visual brand. People connect with colours and imagery before they start reading. Make sure the images and graphics on your website grab people’s attention in those first few seconds and inspire them to read on or click through.