Competitions are great ways to boost your visibility and give SEO a helping hand.

In the past, retail business, and hospitality businesses have been the sectors of industry most likely to take advantage of competitions as a way of promoting and marketing a brand. However, recently the trend has grown and increasing numbers of companies from a hugely diverse range of industries are running competitions.

Here are some of the reasons competitions are increasingly popular as a marketing tactic.

Competitions are effective ways to create a ‘call to action’ which encourages the entrants to do a number of things:

1. Visit the website – more hits and the chance to engage a new customer.
2. Register their email address – opens up another way to communicate with them and give them information about products or services.
3. Allows a company to show off a very specific product or service that they want to promote – these are usually the prizes, or make up part of the competition questions and answers.
4. Increase following on social media – likes and following and sharing can all be part of the competition rules.

All this activity will have a positive effect on your SEO. It is also a great way to get people talking about your business in a positive way. People love getting something for nothing and competitions that are free to enter have always been a popular way to attract the interest of the public.

What not to do

:

• Make your competition too complicated.
• Make the closing deadline to far away or too soon. It’s better to give it a week or two for social media, a month for a website competition. You’ll need longer if you are asking entrants to get creative like writing, photography or cookery.
• Be cheap or stingy with the prize. The most successful competitions give prizes that provide the chance for someone to have something they would love, or desire and that is of value to them. This can be something of high monetary value or it can be a once in a lifetime experiences or access to a special event. Use your imagination. Don’t just pull some old stock off the shelves of your business.

Competitions are not just for retailers. Any type of business will be able to attract people by offering a desirable prize. And the costs of a prize do not need to be expensive. The key is to use it as a way of creating activity around your website and social media. Remember, a competition does not necessarily create sales, but it will create promotional activity.