What The Heck is SEO?

With staggering numbers of people worldwide using the internet, it is now estimated that there are roughly 5.5 billion searches performed on Google per day. For businesses and individuals working toward establishing and sustaining a solid online presence, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has undoubtedly become a necessity. By definition, SEO is the process of organically maximizing the number of visitors to a website because the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.

However, as with many factors within constructing a powerful website, one must have a well-informed approach to performing SEO or risk spending time and money without reaping the benefits in terms of the desired high rankings and high visibility. The first step to website ranking success is knowing what SEO is, how it is used by Google, and why your website needs it. The second step is knowing the right way to perform SEO versus undesirable SEO practices.

Here, we will break the SEO process down in a way that is easy to understand, so that your organization or business can start to see great results in website rankings!

Where It Came From

OK, super quick history lesson. In the 90s, search engines like Yahoo, Dogpile, and AltaVista were on the rise. In an effort to generate as much traffic to their site as possible, website owners realized they could force higher rankings in search results by adding unrelated keywords, “stuffing” keywords, and incorporating hidden text and hidden links. This became known as “Black Hat SEO,” the bending and breaking of rules just to get more website traffic. Users were excited that finding information on the web came with greater ease, but there was a problem with quality and accuracy of the results .

Hence, in 1998, SEO was introduced. Google was created and stepped in with a technology that ranked search results based on the quality of a website as a whole, not just the quantity of keywords stuffed on a page. They established criteria to ensure genuine and accurate results for their users. Therefore, in order for a website to be at the top of search results, it had to meet verifiable criteria. Google’s original goal was, and still is, to “reward high-quality sites, and to keep search results authentic,” also known as “White Hat SEO.”.

Why Being on the First Page of Search Engine Results is Key

The competition is high—data has shown that the first five Google results get 67% of all clicks. The goal of best-practice SEO is to get your website to the top of a search engine results list, without any “Black Hat” factors.  

Crucial Criteria for Optimal “White Hat” SEO

Let’s face it, not many of us go further than the first page of Google results, which is why SEO is crucial for your website’s visibility. There is no way to absolutely guarantee that you’ll be the top result, but Google uses an algorithm to rank your website, so taking these steps is your best chance to get your website to appear on the first page—or better yet—in that number one results spot in Google, there are some essential elements that must be incorporated into your website.

  • Domain age and registration length
  • Keywords appearing in domain, tags, titles, throughout pages
  • Meta descriptions
  • Content length
  • Speed
  • User, and mobile-friendly layouts
  • Links to and from other sites to enhance your site reputation (backlinks)
  • Updating your website frequently (by adding new content, blogs are great)

Since websites will only rank at the top if they abide by Google’s search engine guidelines, it is imperative that your website be set up to meet all the criteria set by Google for optimal SEO. Remember, SEO is about your online presence as a whole. Using paid ads alone won’t get you to the top, since only 15% of traffic comes from paid ads.  

It has been said that “if your blog post, article, or product is on any page of the Google search results other than the first, it’s the equivalent of it not ranking at all.” At Brockett Creative Group, our Google Certified experts certified in optimal, White Hat SEO have been getting our clients on the top of the results list for almost two decades. Let our team take your website to the next level, contact us today for more information.

Oh Snap! Your Business Needs to Take Snapchat Seriously

Think Snapchat is just a digital playground for kids? Think again! Once used exclusively by the younger generation, Snapchat is quickly gaining momentum as the next biggest thing for businesses in terms of serving as an incredibly effective marketing tool. Just have a look at the numbers. It is estimated that over 7 billion photos and videos, or “snaps,” are shared on Snapchat every day. Roughly 8,796 snaps are sent per second. And with over 166 million users, businesses can no longer overlook Snapchat as a great potential to grow and strengthen their brand.  In fact, recent trends show that the popular video and photo-sharing app is quickly becoming the latest marketing platform used among both large and small companies.

According to its founders, Snapchat was intentionally designed to be a conversational tool with which users could share stories—rather than content—with their audience. These stories, in the form of “snaps,” could be viewed and would then automatically disappear, mimicking the ebb and flow of real moments in our lives. Because of this unique feature, combined with its casual, upbeat vibe, it became wildly popular with the younger generation. However, it is also because of this feature that it naturally lends itself to being a great marketing tool for businesses.

If you are thinking about marketing on Snapchat, some considerations to take a look into are your target audience demographics, the objectives of your marketing program, your budget, and how your brand is performing on other social media platforms.

Want to get in on the trend while it’s still cutting-edge? Here are some great ways to utilize Snapchat to effectively market your business.

  1. Fully embrace the photo/video feature.

    Snapchat’s unique platform allows users to weave photos with video, and customize them by employing fonts, digital crayons, and filters. This results in extremely vivid, media-rich content that tends to stick with the viewer much more than standard photos or text. Start your business’s “story” to give your audience an in-depth look at who you are, what you do, and why they should become invested in your brand.

  2. Put your lenses on.

    Snapchat’s “lenses” are digital enhancements that the user can overlay onto a snap, thereby enhancing the image in a fun, whimsical way. This feature can bring big results to companies looking to increase brand awareness. For a fee, businesses can sponsor lenses advertising their product. This lens will be available to users to fully engage with the brand (and subsequently broaden its reach) as they employ it on their snaps.

  3. Establish Geofilters.

    Geofilters are a great way for businesses or organizations to advertise local events or promote certain causes. Using a location-based filter, users can employ specific graphics pertaining to their location on their snaps. This is a great way for your business to drive a campaign on either a national or a more location-specific level.

  4.  Create Snap Ads.

    With its ability to catch and hold the attention of nearly double the number of viewers as compared to Facebook ads, a Snapchat ad offers 10 full seconds of video with optional audio, to which advertisers can add interactive attachments for users to engage with while within the app. This highly interactive advertising option allows users to fully engage with your brand, allowing businesses to enjoy a great ROI.

  5.  Get creative.

    Here is where Snapchat pulls to the forefront in terms of its creativity and versatility as a great marketing tool. Capitalizing on its fun, spontaneous, and easygoing vibe, Snapchat offers a great platform for marketers to get really creative with campaigns. One such tactic that has produced great results for larger corporations is Snapchat “takeovers.” This involves companies handing over their Snapchat accounts for the day to an employee, intern or other influencer. Obviously not done without some basic prearranged ground rules, this tactic allows the target audience to see authentic promotion of your brand while also keeping the material fresh, unique, and engaging.  In this way, companies can also offer promo codes, run special promotions, or offer their target audience sneak previews or a look behind the scenes.

If you are looking for the next greatest thing in marketing, Snapchat may be your answer! This immersive video and image advertising experience is truly what affords Snapchat a leg up on its competition and inherently allows those who advertise through this medium a significantly more powerful, and thusly effective, marketing campaign. Before you get started, remember that the nature of Snapchat is light and fun, but highly engaging. Try to keep your material within these parameters organically. Additionally, don’t overwhelm your audience with material- try to post 3-4 times per day, about 3-4 hours apart. The best part is that you shouldn’t take posting too seriously! If you are enjoying the process and letting your creative juices flow, your audience will too. And that can only mean great things for marketing your business.


Brockett Creative Group has been delivering best-in-class website, marketing, and branding services to our clients for over 15 years. For more information about our services, or to get started with a Snapchat marketing campaign for your business, contact us today!

3 Reasons Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Google Grant

Are you a nonprofit working to generate more traffic and interest in your organization? Do you want to raise more money for your cause? Would you like to accomplish all of this, and receive up to $10,000 per MONTH in free advertising? We thought so! Here are three reasons why your nonprofit organization needs to apply for a Google Ads grant.

No Cost to You

We’ll start here: it’s free.  The Google Ad Grant program is a donation-based program designed to provide free, in-kind advertising to approved 501(c)(3) nonprofits as a way to help them reach a more global audience, translating into more awareness and therefore more donations. Basically, it allows you to promote your organization on the internet via text-ads. With over 40,000 Google searches per second (yes, per SECOND) and over 3.5 billion searches per day, Google has become the number-one tool through which to reach your donors, volunteers, and consumers. With no cost to you and up to $10,000 in free advertising per month, you can use your financial resources for what matters the most- your cause.

Raise more awareness for your cause through highly specialized ads

With a Google Grant, Google’s advertising and marketing team will work for you, by creating unique and specialized ads that market your nonprofit to the right audience, increasing your brand visibility where it matters most and resulting in high-conversion traffic to your site. Additionally, when a viewer clicks your ad, they will be sent to the strongest page of your website (the page that leads to the most action), instead of just being sent to the home page. There, they will at once be met with information about who you are, a call to action that will encourage them to donate, join your mailing list, become a member, etc, thus translating into more support for your cause.

Promote your nonprofit with a Google Ads Campaign

With advertising dollars you receive from a Google Grant, you will be able to bid on keywords so that your ad will display above or alongside a competitor’s ad. Bidding on Keywords will help bring your ads to the top, and if they’re not, Google Grant’s team will help you figure out why, and fix it. In this way, your nonprofit can expand its reach by utilizing certain keywords to make sure that your ads are seen by the right people. If your site also provides strong, relatable content, your viewers will want to stay, and keep coming back, which can only benefit your organization to help you succeed in achieving your goals for success.


At Brockett Creative Group, we specialize in applying for, setting up, managing, optimizing, and maintaining Google Grants on your nonprofit’s behalf. If you are interested in receiving up to $10,000 a month in free advertising, contact us today to set up your free consultation.

Types of Google Ads

Each business, organization, and non-profit organization has a different approach to successfully marketing itself and gaining customers.  Fortunately, there are different Google Ads options to help everyone achieve their goals in a way that best suits them. No matter which kind of business is yours, you are sure to find the right kinds of Ads that will generate traffic and profit by reaching the right people at the right time- specifically, those who are most likely interested in the product or service that you offer to get you a great ROI.

It all starts with a campaign, a budget, and relevant keywords- and you’re ready to advertise through Google Ads!  At BCG, we specialize in helping our clients choose and launch the campaign that produces the best results for them. Here is a great guide to help you get started.

Search Network

One of the easiest ways to reach potential customers is to show your ads to those who are already searching for your specific product or service.  A Search Network Campaign only shows your text ads when someone searches for terms that include or are relevant to your ad’s keywords.  For example, if you own a window replacement business, your ads would appear when a search is done for “home improvement.” Your ads will appear near Google search results, thereby advertising your organization to high-potential customers.

Display Network

Unlike the Search Network, the Display Network allows you to advertise more broadly, and to people who are not necessarily searching just for your specific keywords or product.  As part of a campaign designed to pull in new customers as well as re-market your product to those who may have shown previous interest, the Display Network employs engaging, appealing ad formats to catch the attention of potential customers.  Here, Google also uses automated targeting by strategically using your existing audiences and landing pages, leading to more conversions.

Shopping

A shopping ad is designed to promote local or online inventory by boosting traffic to your website or store.  Through photos, title, price, and location of the product, these ads give users a sense of what you’re selling before they even click the ad.  Shopping ads don’t use keywords- instead, they use your product data to determine where to show your ads.

Video

Any business can benefit from creating a video- whether it’s simply to promote your product or service for the first time, or to keep your audience engaged with fun updates and new content.  This type of campaign show video ads across the Google Display Network or within other platforms like YouTube.

Universal App

This ad platform is fit for those who have an application to promote across Google, Google Play, and Youtube.  Through adding a few lines of text and a bid, Google Ads will help lead to more app installs, and in-app action.  Google’s systems test which ads are performing the best and generating the most value, and will show them to audiences more often.

Here to Help

Now that the Internet has become the primary way to promote products and services, it is fundamental to have a strong online influence in the midst of the growing competitive market.


As a Google Partner, Brockett Creative Group is certified by Google to create and manage your company’s Google Ads so that you can reach your goals in the way that best fits you. Contact us today to get started on your Google Ads Campaign!

There is No Denying It, Google Ads Work!

Online advertising is the most highly recognized way to market a business or organization, and it’s essential that your business is noticed online and by the right audience. Google Ads, formerly Google Adwords, is one of the most effective paid online advertising systems used by thousands of different organizations. It’s super flexible to fit the exact needs and wants of your business. Here are just some of the ways Google Ads can amplify your business:

Exact-Audience Targeting

Creating an Ad with Google is special because it lets you target exactly who would want what you have to offer. By properly setting up and modifying your campaigns, Google makes your ads visible only to people who are likely to become your customer, opt-in to your email list, or positively respond to your call to action.

Refine Your Strategies For the Best Results

Google Ads provides you with fast, transparent results based on how your ads perform, to help you make adjustments accordingly and continually track your campaigns- making them the best they can be. It’s of great value to see details like which keywords consumers use to find your website, their location, the devices they use, and the days and times at which they search.

No Money Wasted

Once your Google Ads campaign is up and running and you’ve caught on to customer habits, you can have such a distinct audience that you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ad. With the information and analytics Google uses, your ads will probably only show to the exact people you want to target, making every dollar count.


Google Ads is becoming a “must” to grow and sustain your business within the heated online competitive market. As a Google Partner, Brockett Creative Group is certified by Google to create and manage your company’s Google Ads campaign.

What’s Up with Website Apps?

At their most basic, website applications (apps) help users interact with your website, adding value to their experience.

Web applications are what allow us to have the interactive experience with websites that we enjoy today, unlike the static websites of the past. Any time you fill out an information form, login, use a shopping cart, check webmail (e.g. Gmail), use a map, or manage your website with a Content Management System, you are using a website application. They are also what allow websites to store information that you provide so that you don’t have to re-enter it with every interaction (think credit cards on your go-to shopping sites).

Web applications are also built to be compatible with any number of browsers and operating systems, so someone using an iPhone during the day and a PC at night will have a consistent experience.

Proper coding of web applications is essential, as weak coding can lead to security vulnerability. Considering the information gathered and stored by these apps, any security weakness has the potential for devastating consequences.

Among the web applications built by Brockett Creative Group are:

  • MyPath, an app that allows site users to create and organize destination itineraries
  • Job and Internship Placement that connects job seekers with employers and offers job search tips and information

If you’d like to learn more about how BCG can help you with applications for your website, email us or call us at 315-797-5088.