Friday, June 28, 2013

SEO - Top 7 Rookie Keywording Fails to Avoid


Keyword research is a big skill.  Sure, there are tools on the market that do an OK job helping you out but there is no replacement for the human brain (and eye).  Doing manual keyword research, using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool will help you to understand your market, understand your industry and understand you SEO goals far better than any $99 tool.  So what NOOB mistakes should you avoid?

  1. Too Big

Especially with new sites, pursuing MASSIVELY big keywords is a recipe for SEO failure.  Firstly, the fabled Google Sandbox is said to be for new sites that have no chance for ranking for their keywords and simply clog up searches.  More importantly though, going after big keywords that are "owned" by major brands with hundreds of thousands of links to their credit will land you firmly on page….127 or some other undesirable spot where you'll never be heard from again.  Remember 100% of a small  number is still bigger than 0% of infinity!

  1. Too Small

Let's break it down.  Say you've found a very specific keyword with few searches but that describes EXACTLY what you do, so it will likely have a great conversion rate.  You decide to put your SEO budget into getting it to slot one – no doubt, you'll succeed, and also fail.  Here's why.

Lets say the keyword has 260 exact match searches per month.  Getting it to number one means you'll likely get around 200 visitors per month from that keyword.  Of those, only 10% - 30% will be ready to buy and not just researching.  Let's assume your keyword is a converter and we'll opt for the 30%.  So now you have best case scenario, 66 visitors per month that are actually looking to buy.  Now it's time to look at your conversion rate.  The keyword was hand chosen for high conversion….but online, high conversion can be surprisingly low.  Let's say your product is the quality, price and exact one they're looking for, that your copy writing speaks to them well and your website gives them the right "impression of your business"  to go ahead.  Let's say you've got one of the greatest conversion rates of all time.  Let's say you convert 50%!

That's 33 sales per month.  One-ish per day.  What is your mark up?  It would want to be high….  This keyword is a good one, a keeper, one to add to the site – but not one to build towards and spend every penny on.  It's one to add to the backlink list but not to be the whole backlink list.

  1. Off Topic

So you found a "kinda relevant" but BRILLIANT keyword.  Tons of searches, nobody competing for it, great right?  Nope, total fail.  Sure, you'll get to number one for it, but you may as well be at number one for "Monkey Tuesday Speaker Fan"  for the number of sales conversions you'll get.


  1. Too Weird or Wrong

If you need to mention your suburb or city a lot, or the keyword contains poor grammar, spelling or other "weirdness' it's going to be hard to include it in your copy writing without looking like you might be a bit daft.  Try to stick to quality spelling and grammar – leave the bad stuff to the backlinks.

  1. Brand name

Nope.  Unless your brand name is "Buy Online" you're going to rank for it anyway.  Optimize your contact page for your brand name and you're set.  Your brand name is not a keyword unless you own Coke.  If you own Coke, this is not the article you should be reading!

  1. Broad Match and Competition Scores

The "Broad Match" setting in Google Adwords is an overview of how many searches there are for the keyword you're researching AND all the related keywords in the industry.  It will tell you if your industry is getting a lot of searches but besides that, it is not the number to look for.  Be sure you're looking at the "exact match"  number. 

The competition score on here indicates how many people in your industry are using Adwords to target that keyword.  This is a vaguely rough guide to how good a keyword is (high comp = good keyword) but you should check each keyword out yourself.  SEO Moz offers great tools for this.

If you can't find a good keyword, try adding the phrase setting and unchecking the box regarding related terms.  That will give you a much broader list of keyword ideas.

  1. Personalised Search

Helpful Google personalizes search to help you see relevant content.  For an SEO there is no greater pain in the…..SERP.  You will suddenly see that you're in slot one for every word that appears on your website, and yet, you've not had a single buyer….  To avoid seeing this, use incognito mode in Google Chrome.  To see where you're really ranking for people searching nearby, use this code: https://www.google.com/search?q=YOUR KEYWORD&gl=au&pws=0

This strips away personalised search and makes it relevant to search in your country.  In this example, au&pws=0 refers to Australia.  Ask Google for your own country code.

Keywording is one of the most important things you'll do for your website.  It's also one of the most complicated.  It pays to call in the experts and spend a little to get this part right.

About the Author:  Dana Flannery is a Small Business SEO consultant and specialist SEO Copywriter for Talk About Creative, Brisbane, Australia.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Local SEO - Three Secrets to SEO Success


Local SEO is SEO for a business that can only service a particular geographical area. This means that there is no point in targeting a huge keyword, or even a city wide keyword, in many cases, local or very small business SEO is about targeting a few very small keywords, very very well.

1. Mobile Local Services – The Kings and Queens of Local SEO

The biggest player in the Local SEO scene is the local tradesman.  Builders, plumbers, roofers, handymen, electricians…also beauticians, hairdressers, cake decorators, accountants and mower men… mobile local service people. Local services generally have a preferred area that they work in.  This area gives them the greatest profit for the smallest travel times.  If you're a local service owner and have been working in your local area for any period of time, you'll know just how far you need to travel to find enough clients to grow your business. 

This is your geographical target.

2. Main Page Keyword Selection

Unlike most businesses, your keyword research is going to be simple.  If you're a builder in the city of Wagga Wagga, Australia, then your keywords are going to be Builder Wagga Wagga, Builders Wagga Wagga, Wagga Wagga builders, Wagga Wagga builder – and maybe a few variations with office building, home building and the like.  Fine, go ahead and optimize your money making pages for those keywords. Chances are you'll get somewhere on page one for those.

3. Micro SEO

Now your main pages are all about Wagga Wagga builders, it's time to get a bit tricky.  Make a list of all the suburbs in your geographical target area.  Add any nearby population hubs, shopping centres, well known commercial or industrial estates – anywhere that your potential customers may "guess" you could be located.  From your home page (or site map) create a page of links.  Create a list of links using  your main keyword and the suburb name.  So for example:

Builders East Wagga Wagga
Builders Smith Town
Builders Jones Industrial Estate
Builders Main Road
Builders South Wagga Wagga


These links will all follow to a child page optimized for those terms and filled with an urgent call to action, booking information and some unique content about your services in that area.  In each of these child pages, cross link back to your money pages and to other nearby geographical locations.  Be sure to optimize the meta tag data too.

Once finished, simply resubmit your site map or request a crawl from your links page here: https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url

These low search, no competition keywords will have a small but steady steam of leads pouring in.  Meanwhile, your money pages will grow to bring in bigger jobs.  All of which makes for a solid growth strategy for your local business SEO.

About The Author

Dana Flannery is a small and regional business SEO consultant at Talk About Creative, Brisbane, Australia. She specializes in SEO strategies with no monthly fees.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Top 3 Social Media Tools For Your Business Needs

If the innovation of search engines is hailed as the skeletal framework of the internet, then social media is surely the intelligence that brought life to it and connected us closer than ever. Social networking is not just limited to connecting with a few long lost high school friends anymore. It has transcended into something much greater and can now make a serious impact on the success of your business with the help of social media-savvy marketing campaigns.

But as the number of social networking tools keeps increasing, it is also getting harder and harder to discern which services can truly add value to your business. Luckily, you don’t need the educational qualifications of CERN scientists or Harrisburg lawyers to understand how to apply these tools in order to grow your business.
A well-strategized marketing campaign must be supported by social media tools that can maximize your reach and track the entire life cycle of user engagements with utmost efficacy. Here are 3 of the best social media tools you can implement that will vastly enhance the success of your business endeavors.
TweetReach
If you’re looking for one great all-purpose Twitter tool to lock on to,
TweetReach should definitely be at the top of your priority list. It is ideally suited to any social media manager who wants to see how broad that reach goes.

TweetReach will help you gain proper insights on the number of people who were able to view your messages, the number of retweets and replies to each of them. These detailed metrics will let you evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing plan and point out where your reach is strong and where it is weak.

HootSuite
I’ve
mentioned it before, but HootSuite is a social media tool that has taken the smartphone and tablet user base completely by storm. Using this tool you can track all your social media streams from one slickly designed platform without the need for continually hopping and skipping between different accounts.

You can use HootSuite to schedule all your marketing-related announcements and updates, which can save you considerable time. You can also check the click-through rates for each of your posts and shorten URLs for conveniently fitting them in your tweets and Facebook messages.

Traackr
Traackr is one of the most popular social media tools used by advertising agencies that tracks the entire development of your business marketing plans. It gathers valuable social intelligence that will help you design campaigns aptly designed for your target audience. Traackr also lets you identify the most influential social media personalities in your niche who can give further exposure to your business.

A single endorsement of your product from someone like Walt Mossberg or Guy Kawasaki can help you rope in thousands of potential customers. Simply tracking the activities of these social media leaders will provide you a significant learning experience in building a brilliant engagement strategy.


Adrienne Erin is a social media and internet marketer who loves sharing the tips she’s picked up over years spent growing with the industry. She’s always on the lookout for new tools to try out and build into her promotions.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

LED Bulb Infographic

Products that can help property owners save money during these difficult economic times and help promote environmentally-friendly installations are both in high demand at the moment. Products such as LED bulbs however, that do both, are in incredibly high demand. It is estimated that LED lighting will account for as much as 80% of the lighting industry by 2020. Astute Lighting have compounded these estimations by producing this infographic that depicts some of the lesser-known reasons why switching to LED bulbs is an intelligent idea.

Friday, June 14, 2013

How To Get Maximum SEO Value From Your Google Plus Account

Google Plus not only offers a selection of innovative features unmatched by Facebook or Twitter but it also has the advantage of being a Google product.  So, SEO value, Social Algorithm value, all those things that Facebook fails on, Google Plus features!
Here's the top five ways to get the most from your Google Plus Social Media Marketing!  
  1. Set Up
Set your page up with a keyword rich title.  This is vital for all social media pages, not just Google Plus.  The Tagline Box is where your website's meta description would go, and will appear in search results – so make it a concise little ad for your business. 

  1. Circle like a shark
As far as the Google Social Algorithm goes, it's all about social interaction on your page.  Since Google Plus hasn't exactly excelled in the popularity stakes, working up a decent conversation can be tough.  Circle leaders in your industry, comment and interact with their followers.  Give considered opinions and show yourself to be an expert in your field.  This is the best way to attract the right kind of likers to your business page.

  1. Post long and often
Unlike Twitters micro-blog system, Google likes nice long, detailed statuses with plenty of relevant keywords and related (LSI) keywords.  If you're posting a link to your most recent article, give it a good meaty introduction.  Post regularly, every 24 hours is ideal and best practice is no longer than 72 hours between posts.
  1. Link Paradise
No other social medium comes close to the amazing power of Google Plus Backlinking (Pinterest maybe but jeez it's a lot of work!)  Both your personal page and business page has places to not only add multiple, powerful, deep links to your website, but also anchor text – that is the keywords you're targeting. 
In your introduction section, write about yourself using keywords for your business, highlight these, turn them into links to your most valuable pages – why?  Because this introduction section gets carried with "shares" so wherever your page goes on Google Plus, those links go too!
In the recommended links and contributions sections you can add multiple pages of your own site adding the keywords as you go, or, trade with network partners to link to their sites too. 
Verify your authorship through Webmaster Tools and your posts, blogs and online content will carry a "special seal of authority" that will give you priority in search results over others.
Link from your Google Plus page to new (watermarked) photos and blogs to see your content jump the Google indexing queue. 
  1. SEO Jackpot
It's the ultimate goal….The "People and Page on Google + Box" that is being rolled out in search results now.  This box is a feature at the top of search results – your content, up in glorious lights, ready for all those additional clicks that it attracts!  Unfortunately, the only way to do it is to grow your page organically, get plenty of shares and plus 1s, build a huge community to circle your brand and become an authentic influencer.  It can happen.  Those big brands online now, were little brands like yours not so long ago.

Google Plus is handing out SEO value like candy.  It can't last forever and right now, the low uptake on Google Plus means that every link is worth its weight in gold.  Grab hold now and reap the rewards, before everybody finds out!
About the Author:  Dana Flannery is a Web Marketing Consultant for Inbound Marketing firm Talk About Creative in Brisbane, Australia.  Dana specialises in Small Business SEO without monthly fees and helping local business to take on the big guys through clever SEO strategies.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Blogger vs. WordPress Infographic

Friday, June 7, 2013

Top 5 ways to harness the SEO power of your business blog


So, you've got a <a href="http://www.talkaboutcreative.com.au/blog-entries">Business Blog</a>, now what?  Not sure what to write?  Not sure why your should be writing?  Your business blog is one of the most powerful tools you have to promote your business online, but only if you do it right.  Here's five tips to get more out of it.


  1. Write For The Audience

Find out WHY they come to your site, what they like and how they talk.  Chances are that will lead you back to the right keywords and topics to write about.  Use social media or your blog to just ask what they'd like more information about.  Check out what your competitors write about and what gets the best response.  Check what gets Googled most (use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool) in your industry and write about that.  Create a place that your tribe wants to hang out in.


  1. Blog SEO

Here are the golden rules for Blog SEO:

·         Target one low volume, low competition exact match keyword in each blog entry
·         Interlink blog entries to keep them indexed
·         Link to them from static pages and even from external pages to keep them indexed and growing
·         Always link to the corresponding static money page from each blog entry with a simple call to action. 
·         Use a highly appealing, eye catching photograph that has keyword rich alt text embedded
·         Use on page elements such as H tags, page titles and meta descriptions


  1. Keep an Eye on Search Trends

Use Google Insights For Search to keep an eye on industry trends by region and time.  Use Google Adwords Keyword Tool to analyse by season and volume.  Look for spikes in interest on specific keywords and create content around them.  Make your content interesting or controversial in some way to get the most interaction and links.  Going against the common grain is a great way to get activity on your blog, but is also a fast way to annoy people – so tread carefully.



  1.  Create Article Series

Write a series of articles and schedule them to release weekly.  This will help draw users into your site and kept them coming back (this is known as<a href="http://www.talkaboutcreative.com.au">Content Marketing</a>)   You can create a kind of "course" this way and have your audience join you weekly or simply go back through your blog to follow it.  If you're using social media, do it on your busiest social media day (use Facebook Insights to figure out when this is) and then run promotions for each new article.  You may spend eight weeks showing them step by step how to redesign a living space or organise their finances – whatever will get potential customers into your blog is great.  Use a branded photograph to promote it so they get used to seeing your brand name.


  1. Be a Commentator

When something big happens in your industry (or just in general) be the first to break it down into its issues and to give insightful background on the main players.  This will allow others to quote you and will help you build links.  If you're good with Photoshop, whip up some infographics that people can share (that contain your link or web address) and position yourself as an expert.  Create press releases about your brand and why you are an expert on certain facets of your industry, when news breaks, add your commentary and send them out fast to media outlets and online press release distributors.  This will, at worst, get you a few links, at best, get you valuable press exposure.  Eventually, people will look to your site first when news breaks and that's when the links come pouring in.

Dana Flannery is the Creative Director at Website Marketing firm www.talkaboutcreative.com.au

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Make the Most of SEO on Mobile Phones

What many companies who employ search engine optimization don't know is that more and more potential consumers are performing their searches via their mobile phones. In fact, non-computer internet browsing has risen sharply in the past several years. Nearly two thirds of the social media site users access these sites from their phones. And search engines are trying to keep up with demand to provide results for those seeking information on the go.

As businesses try and adjust their SEO marketing to follow suit, there are a few things to consider when it comes to mobile phone users and their searches.

Location is the Key
Because mobile phone users are usually in motion when surfing the web, it should come as no surprise that much of their search concerns relate to local businesses. Often, the use of search engines serves the purpose of finding a service that is nearby. Whether it's a small-town mom looking for a sale or a big-city celebrity considering top rated rehabs, location is key no matter what the need.

Since search engines are starting to make note of the location of mobile phone users, it would help to gear optimization towards those who are near your business. This is especially true for smaller companies that aren't yet capable of serving customers outside their region at the rate they could reach local potential customers.

Using the Right Words and Methods
It's also important to note that the browsing habits of mobile phone internet users is different than that of their desktop counterparts. For instance, traditional SEO tends to focus more so on keywords. Because there are various search methods available for mobile phone users, traditional keyword usage may be overlooked.

This is especially more problematic since the top searches on a phone take up more space than they do on a computer. What this means is that what's near the top of a result will stand out and since mobile phone users are less inclined to scroll through pages and pages, lower results will be ignored.

It's important that companies using SEO and keywords employ alternate methods when targeting mobile phone users. Treating mobile phone searches differently from desktop searches and marketing accordingly can help maximize the pool of potential consumers.

Staying With the Trends
It's important to remember and acknowledge the paradigm shift occurring. Individuals are using phones and tablets increasingly more so than desktops and laptops to surf the web. Having an app and website accessible from multiple devices seems to be fast becoming conventional wisdom.

As for application of SEO, when it comes to mobile phones, the smartest bet is to keep an eye on the latest app and phone trends. By keeping abreast of changing trends, attentive companies see how search engine optimization can best be applied. Because this is how many people are starting to access the internet and perform searches, it only makes sense to begin to navigate from traditional SEO methods.

To make the most of SEO, companies must consider using methods that target potential customers across multiple platforms. Those businesses that pay attention to the changing trends are the ones most likely to find success.


Adrienne Erin is a social media and internet marketer who loves to share the tips she’s picked up over years spent growing with the industry.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Amazon Expansion is Impressive

AmINmarketplace 1 Amazon Marketplace quietly launches in India, initially only selling books and DVDs

Tech Changes in Small Business Marketing

While Keith Pabley was working with a wellness physician to improve the doctor’s practice, he discovered the shocking truth about the healthy bars the doctor was selling: They tasted awful! So he decided to develop his own bar that people would actually want to eat. Once he created Good Greens -- a gluten free, dairy free, natural bar available in a variety of flavors -- he stumbled across another challenge: How does a small business garner interest in a new product without a large marketing budget?

Pabley used social media and reached out to bloggers to increase search ranking through product reviews. Through this route he found that it doesn’t take a Clif Bar budget to make his product successful. The result? Sales grew 50 percent in four months, three of Good Greens’ flavors became the top selling bars in Cleveland and his product is now in 1,200 stores.

Today it is easier and more affordable than ever for small businesses to compete with big players for consumers' time and attention. This is where tech changes in marketing have helped the little guys thrive. Below are a few additional examples of how technology has helped small businesses.
Digital Signs
Digital kiosks and digital menu boards have helped businesses big and small attract customers through the catchy displays and ease of use. There is an initial equipment investment, as well as an ongoing need for content that can be created by a graphic designer, a professional sign expert or yourself. This content can be changed frequently, helping businesses deliver the messages needed to achieve their goals. They are versatile enough for a variety of venues including conferences and retailers.
Digital menu boards are also popular for in-location marketing. Restaurants can display daily specials or retailers can showcase sales. Companies are also placing digital kiosks in public spaces such as malls or hotels for users to easily browse information.
Video

YouTube and Vine make it easy for businesses to create and distribute videos with a smartphone or tablet in a short time frame. Traditional video advertising still works, although marketers with a smaller budget may want to look past television and focus their efforts online.
Comedian Michael Dublin and businessman Mark Levine partnered up to create DollarShaveClub.com in 2011. The company, which competes against Schick and Gillette, sells unbranded razors online for as little as $1 a month. So how did they achieve 12,000 new customers in only two days? By spending $4,500 on a comedic video that garnered them 9.5 million views, 76,000 Facebook fans and 23,000 followers on Twitter. 

QR Codes

Clothing line Diesel recently used quick response, or QR, codes to promote sales and launch a “free” social ad campaign. Shoppers scanned a code from a store display to “like” a product on Facebook in exchange for a discount.
Car dealers are also rapidly adopting the use of QR codes for window displays. The Scan and Drive technology allows the dealership to stay virtually open 24/7. The information provided through the QR code not only allows users to gain access to auto information, but it also shares the top scans, promoting car models and dealerships with one click.
Customers like QR codes because of the ability to share items; businesses love “social shopping” because it can lead to an increase in sales and because generating codes is inexpensive or even free.

As you can see, there are many ways that technology can help your small business. Whether you decide to promote your company onsite with digital display boards or online through social media marketing, take a chance, have some fun with it and you just might see some new customers roll your way.  
Tech Changes in Small Business Marketing
- Carrie Cousins 
Designer. Writer. Copy editor.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Benefits of IT Equipment Rental

About IT Equipments:
In the modern age, the need for information and technology has become dire. It is next to impossible to visualize and let alone live a smooth lifestyle without IT and the pertinent equipment it has to offer. These not only expedite activities like business processes, etc. but it also adds on a great deal to the accuracy, perfection and aesthetics of just about any process. The equipment offered by IT are manifold namely laptops, desktops, projectors, servers, UPSs, and many more which serve different purposes as applied by the user. But purchase and installation of such IT equipment may not always be the right choice.

The need for rental services:
As mentioned earlier purchase of IT equipment may not be viable. This actually has led to the advent and prominence of IT equipment rental. The very obvious reasons behind the rendering of such services are cost and convenience which affect customers and users to a great extent. Imagine that a game buff is going to participate in a gaming competition to be held miles away from his place of residence and he plays first person shooter games on his ‘alienware’ which, needless to say, is huge and cumbersome and takes a lot of space, time and effort to be installed.

So it is ridiculous that he or she would have his equipment shipped to another destination just for participating in a competition. In that case organizers arrange for IT equipment rental which proves to be beneficial for both the user as well the hirer since the participant has to pay a minimal registration fee and the organizing authorities also have to pay a nominal rent for all the equipment they are hiring thus reducing the mutual cost burdens. To add on it also becomes convenient for the customer to install the equipment on rent and generate income from the same.

The inherent benefits:
Apart from cost and convenience there are a lot of other inherent benefits of IT equipment rental which add value to the service accessed and expected by the customer or user. In the first place, support is a very important allied and ancillary benefit. Whenever IT equipment are hired on rent, certain service providers provide the support staff along with the equipment let out on rent. This offers the benefit of giving technical support to the customer especially on case of any glitches. The support staffs are expert and experienced technicians with the exact product knowledge and can actually help customers in problematic situations like the malfunction of the IT equipment hired on rent.

IT equipment rental also has a huge benefit to new businesses in need of installing the latest technologies. The owners and users might not be sanguine about the applicability, suitability or compatibility of a particular technology or IT equipment. In that case, the customer can go for hiring the equipment on rent so as to check for compatibility issues and thus avoid the initial costs of installation of the same equipment, which is considerably very high.

Author Bio:
I (Gautam Singh) am full time content writer & love to write on different topics which is really challenging job. It equipment rental services is very cost effective and convenient to access given the provisions of support technicians. Click here to know more benefits on renting IT & office equipment   

Monday, June 3, 2013

New Tech Advancements to Boost Marketing Power

With the advent of cloud-based business solutions and social media, businesses have found it easier than ever to reach new and existing customers with marketing messages that target specific groups, make the business more accessible, and convert everyday visitors into paying customers on a regular basis. From search engine optimization and social media to cloud-based phone systems, business owners have a wealth of innovative resources at their fingertips that make it easier than ever to grow, expand, and enjoy greater success.

Social Media Turns Businesses into Personalities

It was once quite hard for businesses to step out from behind their phone systems, slick marketing slogans, and large corporate offices, in order to reach their customers on a more personal level. That has all changed, though, with the advent of services like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and the latest social craze, Vine. In a matter of moments, business owners can create a page that shares company stories, product successes, and other anecdotes with consumers. Their target audience will feel connected to the brand more than ever before, all while learning more about how the company is working to improve their lives and offer them a superior product than the competition.

Targeted Advertising Makes it Possible to Reach Specific Customers

If a company wishes to target female shoppers no older than 45 years of age, they can do that with new ad targeting tools that use social media habits and other online account information to make precision advertising a reality. It's never been easier to craft specific marketing messages that reach varying demographics, letting customers know that a company understands exactly what they’re thinking, how they're feeling, and the products they're looking for as a result. With precision marketing messages, outreach and customer conversion has never been easier or more powerful for today's businesses of all sizes.

Cloud-Based Phone Systems Make Constant Contact a Reality

An office phone system used to be a clunky series of landline phones that never left the office and couldn't even forward calls to other numbers or other lines. Luckily, those days have come to a very welcome end. With today's
small business phone systems, companies can take their calling to the cloud and answer calls wherever they happen to be. Providers like Broadview Networks allow their business clients to answer calls when they're at work or when they're on the road, using a series of smartphone apps, call forwarding features, and digital voicemail inboxes that transcend traditional landline installations.

Search Engine Optimization Puts a Company On Top

One of the quirks that has come along with
Google’s system of ranking websites based on their authority is that consumers increasingly associate a company's position in search results with its overall reputation in its industry. The company that ranks at the top of a search is perceived to be the best authority or store online. As it gets lower on the page, its status is viewed more skeptically. Companies can now take advantage of this by targeting keywords and service pages to specific searches, specific demographics, and varying types of customers. They'll be able to land themselves, their reputation, and their marketing message at the top of search results and consumers' minds in a way that wasn't even possible ten years ago. Should you target navigational, transactional, or informational keywords? Answering questions like these can help you boost traffic and conversions.

Robust Marketing Emails Make a Message Easier to Communicate to Interested Consumers

In the early days of email marketing, businesses had to do their best work without the aid of images, HTML designs, or other visual elements that serve to drive a point home much more effectively than mere text. Today, though, emails are more interactive and exciting than ever. It's possible to embed custom designs, images, and even videos right into the body of an email so that it becomes an on-demand advertisement for the company's products, marketing approaches, and well-reasoned copy. These emails have helped defy the larger trend away from inboxes and toward text messaging, giving companies almost complete ownership of the average consumer's email communications space.

Marketing is Now More Powerful Than Ever for Businesses of All Sizes

It was once feared that marketing would suffer because of increased technological tools, but recent developments have reinforced that the profession actually stands to flourish because of new services. Whether it's the real-time communication found on social media sites, or the cloud-based calling features that are taking over the office phones, marketing is getting easier and more effective seemingly by the day. For the astute, forward-minded business, the possibilities that come along with these recent developments are virtually unlimited.