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In this article:\n9 local events that Houston small businesses should take advantage of this year\nAttending events, business conferences, and expos is a great way to take your business to the next level. You can gain new skills for you and your employees, and grow your network. Community-based events can help increase your local brand awareness, gain new customers, and even sell products and services. \nNot sure where to start? These Houston, TX area events are the perfect opportunities to add to your business calendar. \nPLEASE NOTE: We have made every attempt to be accurate in our information but as you things may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Please consult the websites for the individual events and confirm the status of the events you wish to attend.\nHouston Crawfish Festival in the Heights\nWhen: March 5, 2022\nThe Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce Crawfish Festival is Saturday, March 5th. Come out and support your community and shop local. Vendor booths, Kids World, live music by Lucid Illusions, Idol of the Heights contest, cold beer and the best Crawfish in the Heights! To become a vendor please email Donna at crawfishvendor@gmail.com. To become a sponsor please email Liz at elizabeth.perez@caliberhomeloans.com. Tickets and more info \nhere\n. \nFOCUS Business Conference\nWhen: March 12, 2022\nAt this conference, business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors gather together to discuss the best ways to increase revenue and grow your company. The events of this conference are focused for the modern entrepreneur. \nThroughout the day you’ll hear insightful TED Talks, participate in workshops, attend panels, and enjoy the fun of cocktails, food, and booths in between sessions. \nSign up now at \nfocusbusinessconference.com\n.\nEnergy Marketing Conference Houston\nWhen: March 28-29, 2022\nEnergy Marketing Conferences EMC brings together over 600+ industry professionals from energy companies, utilities, marketers, vendors and suppliers in the retail energy industry to network and learn. EMC is the largest gathering of retail energy executives in North America. Info \nhere\n.\nDigiMarCon South\nWhen: May 26-27, 2022\nDigiMarCon is one of the largest digital marketing conferences that you won’t want to miss. From improving lead generation and sales to increasing customer loyalty, the agenda at DigiMarCon will help you enhance your marketing efforts. \nSome featured topics at the conference:\nWeb experience management\nUsability and design\nVideo marketing\nSocial media marketing\nEmail marketing\nGeo-targeting\nConversion rate optimization\nGrowth hacking\nSEO \nPaid search marketing\nAnd more!\nBuy tickets for this conference at \ndigimarconsouth.com\n.\nFreedom Over Texas\nWhen: July 4, 2021\nFreedom Over Texas is Houston’s annual Independence Day celebration. Music and fireworks take place at Buffalo Bayou with famous country artists as the headliners for the shows. \nYour business can take part in the festivities by sponsoring the events, setting up a vendor booth, or taking your team to enjoy the fun! Throughout the week leading up to the festival, create 4th of July themed discounts and offerings that will get your customers excited. \nContact the City of Houston to learn more about becoming a sponsor or vendor. Or check here for updates: \nhttps://www.houstontx.gov/july4/\n. \nhouston fireworks freedom events \n\nHouston Home and Garden Show\nWhen: September 16-18, 2022\nThe all-new Houston Home and Garden Show is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with homeowners. Share your services and products that consumers can use to help their home. \nPast exhibitors have found this show to be one of the best advertising opportunities they engage in. The best part is you get to benefit from all of the marketing efforts of this large event. All you need to do is sign your business up for the show and attend. \nWant to learn more about attending or becoming an exhibitor? Visit \nhttps://www.houstonfallhomeandgardenshow.com/\n\nOktoberfest Houston\nWhen: TBD (September or October 2022)\nDon’t miss out on Houston’s annual Oktoberfest. Get the best of German and Texan culture throughout the festivities. Dress up in your finest Lederhosen and enjoy the polka music as festival-goers try the best craft beer Houston has to offer. \nHouston Oktoberfest small business events\nYour business can get involved by becoming a vendor or sponsor at the festival or by creating Oktoberfest-themed offerings throughout the festival. \nLearn more about how to get involved and confirm the 2022 dates at \noktoberfesthouston.com\n.\nTexas Renaissance Festival\nWhen: October 8-November 28, 2022 (ending date TBD)\nThe Texas Renaissance Festival takes place over the weekends throughout October and November as the nation’s largest one of its kind. Each weekend has a fun theme to keep the events exciting and unique. The themes include:\nOktoberfest\n1001 Dreams\nRoman Bacchanal\nPirate Adventure\nAll Hallows Eve\nHeroes and Villains\nBarbarian Invasion\nHighland Fling\nCeltic Christmas\nThere is tons of fun to be had as festival-goers explore the cobblestone paths of the recreated 16th-century village. \nYour business can become a vendor for the festival or take part in the fun by coordinating your offers with the different themes each week. \nLearn more at \ntexrenfest.com\n.\n\nSmall Business Expo\nWhen: November 15, 2022\nThe Small Business Expo is Houston’s largest networking and education event for business professionals. Learn how to increase your company’s revenue and grow your business with the various workshops, presentations, and breakout sessions. \nYou can get inspired by other local entrepreneurs and small business owners, connect with mentors in the business world, and even spread awareness for your own business by becoming an exhibitor at the event. \nAttend the event for free by registering at \nthesmallbusinessexpo.com\n.\nEnhance your marketing strategy with review management\nAs you get involved in various events throughout the year, be sure to include a strategy that helps you maximize the benefits of your new customers. New customers bring new opportunities to leave your business online reviews, which in turn helps bring even more customers—and the cycle continues. 


9 events that every Houston, TX area small business should know about in 2022

If your restaurant is doing well, it is easy to overlook the need for a small business marketing plan and a dedicated marketing budget. Traditional thinking leads a lot of local restaurant owners to believe that serving good food is all it takes to succeed.\nThat may have worked in years past, but in today’s volatile marketplace, restaurants need to do more than provide a quality product and write something clever on the sandwich board out front.\nWhen today’s customers talk about where they should eat, overwhelmingly that conversation takes place online. 97% of people read online reviews for local businesses, and most consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family. \nWhat’s more, the power of online word of mouth can work against you. One bad review can cost you 30 new customers, and a one-star drop in your online rating may result in a nearly 20% drop in revenue. Ouch.\nThe good news is, the right marketing strategy can help your restaurant bring in more customers, save you time, increase loyalty, and help you weather the storms that come with changing consumer trends, internet whims, or other unpredictable factors that influence your restaurant’s bottom line. \nTo maximize the effectiveness of your restaurant’s marketing budget, we recommend you follow the following steps in order, and don’t skip steps:\nTake control of your “online presence”\nEngage your existing customers online and get involved locally to build loyalty\nSpend appropriately for targeted advertising in relevant media\nSave time and do more with small business marketing software\nLet’s go over these four steps in a little more detail.\nFirst: Take control of your restaurant’s online presence\nYour online footprint matters… almost more than your food.\nData shows a half-star boost in your Yelp rating makes it 30 to 49 percent more likely that you will fill every seat during your busiest hours. It’s vital that you show up in local search results, and show up well.\nAs the first step in your marketing plan, you need to make sure you’ve taken control of your online presence because 1) it’s the way most customers will find your restaurant, and 2) it boosts the effectiveness of all your other marketing efforts.\nHere are the most important elements of getting control of your online presence:\nClaim your restaurant’s business listing on all the major online review sites (click the links for helpful how-to articles on how to claim your profile on \nYelp\n, \nGoogle\n, and \nTripAdvisor\n. You should also claim/monitor Facebook, Foursquare, OpenTable, Zagat (if applicable to your area), Gayot, and GrubHub—even if you don’t intend to formally interact with one or more of these sites (or if, like Gayot, they don’t allow restaurant owners’ direct involvement)\nEnsure your restaurant’s profile (including hours of operation, location, contact info, etc.) is accurate on these review sites, fill in as much information as possible, and review your pages regularly \nRead all your reviews and implement a strategy to get more reviews \nYou might also like: \n3 easy ways to get customer feedback for your restaurant\nSecond, build loyalty by engaging your existing customers and getting involved locally\nOnline reviews matter. Take them seriously\nOnce you’ve claimed your pages, it’s very important to read and respond courteously to every customer review (yes, even the negative ones… and you will get them). \nWhen you show appreciation for positive reviews and genuine concern and commitment to fix any problems reported, it shows you take your customers and quality control seriously. \nThis alone will start attracting more customers to your restaurant and building a strong online reputation. (For our tips on \nhow to respond to negative reviews\n, click the link.)\nGet involved in your community and capitalize on the “eat local” movement\nSmall, local restaurants are gaining traction, and not just with trendy food bloggers. The biggest advantages you have over cookie-cutter, industrial cuisine is you can provide the unique ambiance, positive customer experience, and personal attention to detail that big corporate restaurants can’t hope to match.\nYou can develop passionate fans who will be your strongest online advocates (and do a huge portion of your marketing for free), if they feel a personal connection with you and your food. \nSo, get involved in your community. Host local events. Participate in local pub crawls, wine walks, tastes of the city, street eats, food festivals—whatever is available in your area (63% of customers say they want invitations to more local events, but only 12% get them). \nIf there are no programs like this in your area, start one! \nVolunteer for or sponsor the local symphony, or the baseball, football, bowling, or underwater basketweaving team—whatever your customers are proud of and support. Build a creative float for the local parade. Think outside the box.\nThe main point is your restaurant should be inseparably linked with your town, and local customers should feel a personal connection with you. Small efforts in this area can have a huge impact.\nThird, spend appropriately for targeted advertising in relevant media\nNow you’re finally ready to start spending some money. But what should your marketing budget look like? \nWe recommend that local restaurants dedicate approximately 7-8% of gross revenue toward marketing, and the U.S. Small Business Administration agrees. \nYou can dump money into a local ad agency to manage your campaigns for you, but the cost/benefit ratio for these efforts is almost always unimpressive.\nFor small businesses, email marketing is hands-down the most powerful, efficient, and effective marketing tool, with an unsurpassed ROI (return on investment) of up to 44 to 1. (Read more in our detailed \nemail marketing\n article.)\n86% of your customers actually want promotional emails from businesses they like. A simple email receipt with a “thanks for your visit,” happy birthday wishes, or promotional offers delivered to their inbox can go a long way.\nConsider Instagram\nYou might look into spending some of your budget on an advertising plan with Instagram, targeting IG users in your specific area and desired demographic. \nYou can also offer specials for people who post on their IG accounts and tag your restaurant. If you can beg or borrow a food stylist/photog to shoot nice photos for you to post regularly, it can go a long way toward spreading “online word-of-mouth.”\nFourth, save time and maximize your efforts with small business marketing software\nRestaurant owners are among the world’s busiest people, so if the above seems a little overwhelming, the right software can really be a lifesaver.\nDedicated loyalty program software can help, but be careful with this one: restaurants often gravitate to the “punch card” model, but this may not be the most effective place to spend your time and money. Studies show the average U.S. household is enrolled in 29 loyalty programs but only uses 12. Focus on building the relationship first, or your loyalty efforts will go unnoticed.\nSources:\n
\nhttps://zuberance.com/zuberrants/blog/one-negative-review-can-cost-you-30-customers\n
\nhttps://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/strategy/brand-purpose\n
\nhttps://searchengineland.com/88-consumers-trust-online-reviews-much-personal-recommendations-195803\n
\nhttps://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/\n

Small business marketing: 4 key elements of an effective strategy for your restaurant

In this article:\n5 2022 events in Orlando, FL that your business needs to know about\nWhich events may be moved online or canceled \nAttending local events can have a significant impact on your business, from increasing brand awareness in your community, to networking with other business owners and leaders, to improving sales. Business events and fun community events alike have the capacity to further your growth. \nCheck out these Orlando area events that your small business should to add to your calendar. \nPLEASE NOTE: We have made every attempt to be accurate in our information but as you can imagine during the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, everything may still be in flux. Please consult the websites for the individual events and confirm the status of the events you wish to attend.\nAnnual Central Florida Fair\nWhen: March 3-13, 2022\nAttend the Annual Central Florida Fair with your team to help increase brand awareness in your community. Set a date in your calendar to start looking into becoming a vendor for next year’s fair. \nBoth product- and service-based businesses alike can benefit from becoming exhibitors at the fair. Sell your goods or bring awareness to your services as fair-goers cool off in the exhibition halls. \nLearn more about becoming a vendor at \ncentralfloridafair.com\n.\nFlorida fairgoers for small business events\nSmall Business Expo\nWhen: March 16, 2022\nThe Small Business Expo is one of the nation’s largest business conferences. This conference is held in several major cities across the U.S. for business owners and entrepreneurs to connect with one another and learn from the keynote speakers. \nIndustry experts will guide you and your team through workshops, you’ll have the opportunity to see what other local businesses can offer, and you can market your own business. \nThis event is free to attend or you can pay to sign up as an exhibitor at the conference. Learn more at \nthesmallbusinessexpo.com\n.\nBlack Business Summit and Expo\nApril 2, 2022\nThe Black Business Summit & Expo is the greatest annual gathering of black business owners, black professionals, and supporters of black business in the Orlando area.
Each local black business owners come together to network, educate, advocate, and advance through culture and creativity. Join hundreds of others for a weekend that will upgrade your business in key areas! More info and tickets at \ntheblackbizsummit.com\n.\nSpooktacular\nWhen: Halloween weekend, 2022\nAttend Spooktacular the weekend of Halloween. People come from all over Orlando to attend this spooky night of fun at Downtown Avalon Park. \nAttractions include live performances, food trucks, bounce houses, vendors, and more. People of all ages can enjoy the event. \nBecome a vendor or sponsor of the event to increase your company’s awareness in the community or simply take the night off and attend it with your team to boost morale and foster team bonding.  \nContact info@avalonparkgroup.com or visit the \nSpooktacular’s Facebook page\n or \navalonparkorlando.com\n to learn more about how your business can get involved. \nElectronic Daisy Carnival (EDC)\nWhen: November 11-13, 2022\nEDC at Tinker Field is an annual music festival that brings thousands of people from all over. This 3-day event incorporates music, travel, acrobatics, pyrotechnics, and more to create an experience you’ll never forget. \nBecome a sponsor or vendor at the event to get more awareness for your brand. Can’t attend? Then take advantage of the thousands of people new customers that will be flooding central Florida for three days. Offer deals for carnival attendees or themed discounts surrounding the event to draw people in. \nLearn more about the carnival at \nelectricdaisycarnival.com\n.

5 Orlando area events in 2022 your small business should take advantage of

Summary:\nPotential customers look for businesses with lots of reviews\nRecent reviews are key; old reviews don’t count in consumers’ minds\nTo get more reviews, just ask… but do it the right way\nOnline reputation management is not a one-and-done exercise. It requires ongoing attention because your online presence is always changing as customers post new reviews about your business.\nThe good news is your efforts won’t go unrewarded. Online reputation management is the most important investment a local business can make to get more customers. And, the most important aspect of online reputation management is getting a steady flow of reviews coming in. We’ll explain how to do that, and why it matters, in this 7-minute read.\nWhy do you need to get more reviews?\nEvery single day, people search online for local businesses when they’re looking to spend money. In fact, 20% of Google searches are related to location. The results that Google and other search engines pull up in consumers’ internet searches determines where shoppers’ dollars go. Online reviews make up at least 10% of Google’s search criteria, so you won’t get found if you don’t have reviews.\nPut another way, online reputation management is the most effective marketing you can do because people are already looking for businesses like yours. You just need to show up—and show well—in online searches. It’s impossible to check those boxes if you don’t consistently get more reviews.\nConsider these facts:\n98% of consumers read reviews for local businesses\n90% say their buying decisions are influenced by reviews\n94% will use a business with a rating of at least 4 stars\nIf you get and maintain a 4-star rating on key review sites, you’ll get more customers without even trying. The best way to make that happen is to get more reviews, but how you get those reviews is important. We’ll cover those ground rules in the last section. \nHow many reviews do you need?\nThere’s no standard answer, but in general potential customers will be use a business with 300 reviews over one with 30. More reviews sends a signal that the business is popular, and right or wrong, consumers put their trust in the masses. \nYou need reviews on every relevant site, not just one. About \n3 in 5 people\n will research multiple review sites before forming an opinion about a business. If you have a good showing on Google but not on Yelp, for example, you run the risk of losing customers whose shopping journey begins elsewhere. Beef up your online presence by getting more reviews on all the major sites.\nWhat if you have a high star rating but not many reviews? Is it worth getting more reviews? The answer is a resounding “yes.”\nDo old reviews count?\nSort of. Any review you receive increases your total review count and impacts your star rating, which are important parts of the equation. But, consumers probably won’t actually read your older reviews. In fact, \nstudies show\n that customers read fewer than 10 reviews before forming an opinion, and they think reviews older than 90 days are no longer relevant. That’s why recent reviews matter. \nIt makes sense if you think about it. If it’s December and your last review was in April, people researching your business might wonder if you’re not that popular or if you’re even still in business. That’s especially true if a similar business has more reviews and more recent reviews. Sometimes, that comparison is the only thing that matters to a potential customer choosing between two places to spend money. \nCan I buy reviews?\nThere are lots of shady companies promising to sell you positive reviews. Don’t do it. These tactics are bad for business and could hurt your reputation. Also, most review sites have strict rules and penalties to prevent it, and the FTC even has guidelines against it. You should only get reviews from your actual customers.\nDon’t ever buy reviews. It might seem like a harmless way to give your online business reputation a boost, but it’s bound to backfire. There are better ways!\nGo deeper: \nShould you pay for positive online reviews\n?\nSo, how can I get more reviews?\nThis is actually more simple than it seems. Just ask! \nResearch shows that 7 in 10 customers will leave a review if you ask them to. There are several ways to do this:\nPut up signage, including official stickers from sites like Yelp, encouraging customers to leave a review\nMake a verbal request while the customer is at your place of business\nEmail your customers a link to review your business after they leave\nYou’ll get better results if you have a plan. If you have customer email addresses, for example, if makes sense to send electronic review requests. If not, you should consider finding a method to collect customer contact information. \nNo matter how you approach it, there are some things you should never do or you could hurt your brand and get in trouble with review sites. Don’t:\nTrade positive reviews for discounts or gifts\nAsk customers to leave you a 5-star review\nThreaten unhappy customers who might leave a bad review\nThe most important thing you can do to attract more customers is to get and maintain a 4-star rating on key review sites.

How to get more reviews

In this article:\nBenefits of using general forums to spread awareness of your small business\nThe do’s of participating in general internet forums\nThe don’ts of using general forums for your business\nOnline forums can be a great way to improve brand awareness and help set yourself up as a thought leader in your business category. Find the forums that have discussions you can contribute value to and get involved in the conversation. \nEven general internet forums like Quora, Reddit, and NextDoor offer some unique opportunities for your business to contribute to industry-related discussions. \nLet’s go through some best practices of using these general forums as a way to improve online visibility and attract customers to your business. \nBenefits of using general internet forums\nThere are tons of ways small businesses can benefit from participation in \nindustry-specific forums\n, but you can find some great benefits from using general forums for your business too. \nGeneral forums typically have more total traffic and a greater number of active users than industry-specific forums\nPeople may trust general forums more because they are more widely known and recognized across industries\nThrough relevant “sub-forums” on larger sites, you can set yourself up as a thought-leader and/or stand out in your industry\nIf you’re not sure where to get started, try looking to Quora, Reddit, or NextDoor and see what discussions already exist around your area of expertise. You might be surprised how specific the subcategories can be. \nThe do’s of using general forums to spread awareness of your business\nAs with most things, there are right and wrong ways for your business to engage with general forums. Here are some of the best practices that you should be using as you start getting involved. \nDo be up-front about your business identity\nYou’ll gain much greater credibility (and attract less wrath from forum admin and members) if you are completely forthcoming about your identity and your links to your business.\nYou may choose to either create an “avatar” (online persona) that has the name of your business, or (more preferably), use a variation your own name or something else that doesn’t necessarily mention or call attention to your business association, but that also doesn’t make you seem like you’re hiding that fact either.\nimage of torn paper promoting honesty for forums\n\nIn your forum profile and other visible details, you should be very clear that you represent a business. This is the primary way forum members will begin associating you and your comments/answers with your business, and can proactively search for your business when they want services like yours.\nYou will be much more likely to be accepted and recommended by long-time forum members if you are up-front about your business purposes rather than get exposed as a “company shill.”\nDo contribute to industry-related discussions\nWhen posting as your business, keep your comments related to your industry. Contribute to hot topics and high-traffic conversations that you know a lot about. As you get more involved in these discussions and people recognize your business as a contributor, awareness of your business on that platform will expand and people will look to you for more answers. \nDo follow relevant topics\nAs you are using a general forum like Quora or NextDoor, you can follow specific topics to get notified when new discussions and comments are posted. Follow topics that are relevant to your business and industry so you can quickly get involved and ideally be the first person that responds to a new, intriguing question. \nDo respond and give updates\nPay attention to the responses people post on your comments. Did you answer their questions? Did they have any followup questions? Provide timely updates and make sure you read all of the responses on your answers. Respond to users as they engage with your posts and stay involved in the conversation. \nonline forum speech bubbles for small business marketing\n\nDo make your questions and answers easy to read and skim\nJust like any other content online, your posts on general forums should be easy to read and skim through. Huge walls of text are going to deter users from reading your comments, leading them to skip yours and read the next one down the line. \nBreak up your posts with headers, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make them easy to read. \nDo check your analytics\nAs you are getting more involved on a forum and posting frequently, start checking the analytics that platform provides. Which of your questions or answers seem to be performing the best? How are people engaging with your comments and posts?\nEven if all the forum software provides is a simple view counter, that can tell you a lot about which of your posts and responses are getting the most attention.\nLearn from these insights and use them to help guide your participation on the forum. \nThe don’ts of using general forums to spread awareness of your business\nYou’ve got several things that you should be doing as you participate in general forums. Now let’s go over some things that you should avoid doing as you get more involved. \nDon’t just lurk\nA common thing that people do on forums (usually as individual users) is sign up for an account just so they can read the discussions and comments, and see full content. \nSome forums only allow registered members to view uploaded pics and other content, for example. So people register and go through the member approval process, but then they never post anything, and thus are defined as a “lurker.”\nAs a business, you should be getting involved in the conversation, not just lurking. Sure, in the beginning, reading the comments and threads and becoming familiar with the platform before posting is a good idea. \nBut at some point you need to start posting questions, answers, and comments—otherwise you won’t see any benefit from being there in the first place. \nDon’t use the wrong subcategories\nPay attention to the categories/subforums that you are posting in. Don’t post your questions in irrelevant forums or you won’t get any traffic or responses on those questions. \nLearn how to use the forum that you are involved with and use the correct subcategories to get the most out of your experience. \nDon’t derail conversations\nPeople who derail conversations and start new topics within a specific conversation or “thread” are the worst kind of people on a forum. Don’t be that guy/gal. \nyoung woman annoyed by forum spammer\n\nKeep your comments and answers relevant to the conversation so the followers of that post find value in your contributions and actually engage with your responses. \nDon’t spam or over-promote yourself\nForums are not the place to blatantly advertise your business (unless you are a paid advertiser with the authorization of the forum administrators). \nForums are a place for sharing valuable insights and helping people find answers to their questions. \nDo not spam or aggressively promote your business within your comments and responses. People are likely to blow past your comments when you do this and you aren’t going to see any benefit from the forum—quite the contrary. You will likely be shunned and possibly banned from the forum. \nNo one likes to be spammed, whether in emails, texts, phone calls, or on forums. Don’t do it, even if you think you’ll see significant gains. \nno spam sign\n\nThat doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t ever mention your solutions in a relevant response to someone’s question.\nWhen you have valuable information or resources that are applicable to the discussion, then by all means, post away.\nJust be conservative about the number of links and self-aggrandizing posts you make, and don’t just provide the same canned answer to every query. \nDon’t link back to your website in comments\nSimilar to not aggressively promoting your business, you shouldn’t post links to your website within your comments. This is seen as a spammy practice and the forums and their users can see right through it. \nIf you want to link to your website, most forums provide a place for this within your business’s profile. If anyone wants to learn more about your business, they can easily access your profile from your comments and find your website from there. \nSomething like “if you’re interested in learning more about X, a link to my website is in my profile” is usually fine—just don’t overdo it.\nGetting involved in online forums can be an effective way to enhance your marketing efforts and spread awareness of your brand. 

The do’s and don’ts of business participation in general forums like Quora

In this article:\nWhat is remarketing?\nWhat to do before you start\nComplete how-to guide for setting up your Google Ads remarketing campaign\nIf you’re looking for a way to enhance your digital advertising playbook, you need to hear about remarketing. It’s the perfect way to target people who have visited your website and are already showing interest in your services. \nWhat is remarketing on Google Ads?\nRemarketing is a way that you can set up your Google Ads to target customers who have already visited your website. This is a great way to capture leads that didn’t quite make it all the way through the sales funnel to make their purchase or that didn’t pick up the phone to call you. \nYou can target specific pages on your website, like for a specific product you are pushing or a free trial you want customers to sign up for. Set up your remarketing tag on the page you want to see more business from and create your ads around that. More on how to do this soon.\nWhat to do before you set up your Google Ads remarketing campaign?\nThere are a couple of important steps you should take before diving into and creating your remarketing campaign. \nWhat page(s) are you going to track? You need to determine your goals for the campaign and determine whether there’s a specific page that you want to target visitors from or if you want to target your entire site\nIf you are going to run a display remarketing campaign (which we highly recommend that you do), then you’re doing to needs image assets to upload to your campaign. In the image below you can find Google Ad’s supported sizes and formats. We recommend creating at least one in each style: Square and rectangle, Leaderboard, Skyscraper and Mobile. \n(Image)\nHow to set up a Google Ads remarketing campaign\nLet’s dive in. \nStep 1: Sign into your Google Ads account\nGo to ads.google.com and click “Start now” or “Sign in.” If you have a Google account for your business, we recommend using that to sign in here. \n(Image)\nStep 2: Create a remarketing audience\nBefore you get into the creation of your ads and campaign, you’ll want to set up your audience for the campaign. \nTo do this, go to “Tools & Settings” in the top menu bar and click on “Audience manager” under “Shared Library.”\n(Image)\nClick the blue plus icon on the left to create a new audience.  \n(Image)\nTo set up a remarketing audience from your website, click “Website visitors.”\n(Image)\nName your audience something that indicates what this audience is for: remarketing audience, “product name” remarketing audience,” website visitors, etc. \n(Image)\nUnder “List members,” you can show how you want to target your website visitors. The options here are:\nVisitors of a page (this works for your entire website too)\nVisitors of a page who also visited another page\nVisitors of a page who did not visit another page\nVisitors of a page during specific dates (great during holiday specials)\nVisitors of a page with specific tags\nTo keep your first remarketing campaign simple and learn how it works, we recommend starting with “Visitors of a page.” This will allow you to target a specific page or multiple pages on your website. \n(Image)\nNext, set the rules for your visited page. This is where you can specify the URL that you want to track. If you want to target your entire website, you could enter your home page URL into the blank field, like https://solo.co or even just your domain.\nTo target specific pages, enter the URLS for each of those pages. If you are entering multiple pages, make sure to click “OR” and not “AND” or Google will only target those visitors who visited all of the pages you entered. \n(Image)\nOnce you do this, you may see this notice: “Your audience doesn’t have any members. Try adjusting your rules and check the ‘Audience list size’ panel.” \nThat is fine because you are creating a new audience. You’ll have to build up this audience from your website before your ads can start showing. Generally, an audience needs 100 members within the last 30 days before display ads will start showing and 1,000 members within the last 30 days before search ads will start showing. \n(Image)\nFinish up your audience by filling out the last three options. \nUnder “Pre-fill options” you can choose to start from an empty list or start grabbing people who have visited your website in the last 30 days. If there’s still a cookie on their browser, the tag you add to your website can track them. We recommend the latter because it helps you grow your audience and deliver your ads quicker. \nUnder “Membership duration” you can choose how long you want to display your ads to any given audience member–how long they’ll stay in the audience group. The maximum duration is 540 days, but a good rule of thumb is 30-60 days. You don’t want to annoy your potential customers with the same ads over and over again for months on end. \nYou can also add a description to your audience if desired. This is helpful if you have multiple people working in the same Google Ads account so they know what that audience entails. \n(Image)\nClick “Create Audience.” \nStep 3: Add the tag for your audience to your website\nYour audience won’t start to build until you add a tag for audiences on your website. To grab this tag, go to your Audience Manager and click “Audience sources” on the left. \n(Image)\nClick “Set Up Tag” under Google Ads tag. \n(Image)\nOn the next page, check “Only collect general website visit data to show ads to your website visitors.” This is good for a basic website visit remarketing campaign. \nYou might also check to “Exclude California users from remarketing lists,” especially if you don’t have customers in California. This is to avoid violating the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). \nLearn more about why in our article about the CCPA here: \nCCPA compliance: 8 things every small business should know\n \n(Image)\nClick “Save and continue.”\nNext, choose how you will install the tag on your website. You can install the tag yourself, email it to your web developer, or use Google Tag Manager. Click “Continue.”\n(Image)\nOnce the tag is installed, your audience will start building and you can start showing your ads. \nStep 4: Create your remarketing campaign\nNow go back to the main dashboard for your Google Ads account and create your campaign. Select “Campaigns” in the left menu and then click the blue plus icon. \n(Image)\nSelect “New campaign.”\n(Image)\nNext you’ll have to select a goal. For a display campaign, you can select sales, leads, website traffic, product and brand consideration, brand awareness and reach, or to create a campaign without a goal’s guidance. \nWe’re going to select “Brand awareness and reach” for this guide. \n(Image)\nOnce you’ve selected your goal, select the type of campaign you want to create. Again, we will be creating a display campaign. \n(Image)\nEnter your website into the field that appears. Be sure to include the https:// before it. Click “Continue.”\n(Image)\nNow, fill out the settings for your campaign on this next page. \nName your campaign.\n(Image)\nSelect your location. To target at a local level, click enter another location and enter what areas you want to target.\nAlso, be sure to check the location options. Make sure that you select “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations” to ensure that your audience is relevant to your business. \n(Image)\nYou can leave bidding as “Viewable impressions” for remarketing display campaigns. Conversions is another option if you are trying to track specific actions that your customers take. But this guide shows instructions for “Viewable impressions.”\n(Image)\nEnter the average that you want to spend each day. You may just have to experiment with this amount based on the results that you see from your ads. Take your monthly budget for this campaign and divide it by 30.4 to get your daily amount. \n(Image)\nLeave the “Ad rotation” as “Optimize: Prefer best performing ads.”\n(Image)\nIf you only want your ads to run during specific times, you can set a schedule for them. For a display campaign that brings customers back to your website, we recommend leaving this open 24/7. \n(Image)\nSelect the dates that you want your ads to start and end, or leave it open to run indefinitely. \n(Image)\nCreate your ad group by giving it a name. \n(Image)\nNext, add your audience that you created earlier. Click “Browse.” \n(Image)\nThen click “How they have interacted with your business.”\n(Image)\nClick “Website visitors” and then find and select the audience that you created. Ours is titled “Website Visitors.”\n(Image)\nYou can also add any additional demographics as you see fit for your target audience. \n(Image)\nNow you can upload your image ads that you created by clicking + New Ad. \n(Image)\nClick “Upload display ads” to add your images. You can also select “Responsive display ad” if you want the ability to enter additional copy for your ad. \n(Image)\nUpload your files and click “Add To Ad Group.” Repeat this for as many ads as you’d like to create. \n(Image)\nOnce you’ve finished uploading your ads, click “Create Campaign” and watch as your audience grows and your ads start running. \nMaintain customer relationships with email marketing\nAs your ads start to see results and you get new customers, get an email campaign in place to help maintain your relationships with these new customers. Send them fun deals, reminders about upcoming announcements, and more. 

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