SMarT Marketing - Internet Marketing Blog

Google's First Page is a Myth. Here's What You Should Focus on Instead.

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:00:00 EST

For a long time, the main goal in SEO was to get your website on the first page of Google for your main keyword. Many businesses have spent a lot of time and money trying to reach that top spot, believing it would bring them more visitors, leads, and sales. But the reality is that focusing only on this goal is now outdated, and it can actually slow your business down. Search engines and user habits have changed. The old idea of 'page one or nothing' no longer matches how people look for and choose...

The Hidden Costs of a "Cheap" Website (And How to Invest Wisely)

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:00:00 EST

These days, having a strong online presence is a must. When budgets are tight, it can be tempting to choose the fastest and cheapest website option. This might mean using a DIY builder or hiring a developer at a very low price. At first, this choice might seem like a smart way to save money. But in reality, saving money now can end up costing you much more down the line. The True Cost of Cutting Corners Your website isn’t just a digital placeholder. It’s your brand’s first impression, your sales engine, your marketing...

How to Turn Your WordPress Theme into a Custom Lead-Generation Machine

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:00:00 EST

Do you feel like your WordPress site looks just like everyone else’s? You’re not the only one. Many businesses buy premium themes hoping for a polished, high-performing site, but often end up with something that looks good but doesn’t turn visitors into leads. The truth is, a good-looking website isn’t enough. If your site isn’t set up to guide visitors to take action, it’s not doing its job. Your website should be your most reliable salesperson, always working to attract, engage, and convert visitors. The good news is you don’t have to start over. With...

Your Shopify Store Looks Great, But Why Isn’t It Selling?

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 12:00:00 EST

Few things are more frustrating in e-commerce than building a beautiful Shopify store, investing in professional product photos, getting your branding right, and creating a modern design, only to see that sales still aren’t coming in. You’re not alone. Many online entrepreneurs think that having a visually appealing website is enough to get sales. The reality is, a great-looking store doesn’t always mean it will be profitable. If your visitors aren’t buying, the problem probably isn’t your store’s appearance, but how well it works. The Real Problem: A Gap Between Design and Conversion A polished...

Your Shopify Cart Is Full, But Your Bank Account Is Empty. Why?

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:00:00 EST

You’ve done the hard work. You’ve driven traffic to your Shopify store, your product pages are converting visitors into interested shoppers, and customers are adding items to their carts. You’re expecting the satisfying cha-ching of a new order notification. But instead, nothing happens. Your analytics show full carts, but no purchases. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many e-commerce store owners deal with the same frustrating problem: cart abandonment. It is one of the biggest revenue leaks in online retail and can quietly cost your business thousands of dollars in lost sales. ...

The 3 Funnels Every Service Business Needs to Automate Lead Generation

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 12:00:00 EST

If you run a service-based business, you might know the struggle of always searching for new clients. Some months, your schedule is full, but other times, you’re left wondering where your next lead will come from. This up-and-down cycle is common for businesses that depend on referrals, networking, or manual outreach to find clients. The good news is there’s a better way to find and win clients. With automated sales funnels, you can set up a steady flow of qualified leads without always having to chase them. When set up well, funnels quietly attract new clients, build relationships, and help...

Beyond the Template: How a Custom-Built Funnel Can Double Your Conversions

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:00:00 EST

You followed all the steps: chose a proven layout, added your copy, set up your emails, and launched. Maybe you’re even using a top p latform like ClickFunnels. But instead of lots of leads and sales, the results are just okay. Here’s the hard truth: templates are just a starting point, not a complete strategy. Today’s online audience has seen it all: the same headlines, countdown timers, stock photos, and familiar page layouts. If your funnel looks like everyone else’s, it doesn’t matter how “proven” the template is. It just blends in, and that means you lose conversions. ...

The #1 Reason High-Ticket Funnels Fail (It’s Not the Price)

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:00:00 EST

We’ve seen it happen many times. A business puts in a lot of time, money, and effort to build a high-ticket sales funnel. Everything looks great. The messaging is clear, and the offer is strong. But when the funnel launches, results fall short. Leads stop coming in, sales don’t happen, and people quickly assume, “The price must be too high.” But most of the time, price isn’t actually the problem. What we’ve found is that high-ticket funnels usually fail for a more basic reason: people don’t trust the offer or see enough value...

Is Your Website a Funnel? A Diamond Certified ClickFunnels Builder Explains the Difference

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:00:00 EST

Does your website look great but fail to consistently generate leads or sales? You’re not alone. Many businesses invest thousands of dollars into a beautiful website, expecting it to function as a 24/7 salesperson. Instead, it ends up acting more like an electronic business card: informative, polished, and professional, but not actually generating measurable revenue. The issue isn’t your design but your strategy. At Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT), a Diamond Certified ClickFunnels builder, we see this confusion all the time. Business owners assume that a website and a...

Why Your ClickFunnels Funnel is Leaking Money (And How to Fix It)

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:00:00 EST

You’re driving traffic. You’re generating leads. You’re investing in ads. So why isn’t your ClickFunnels funnel producing the revenue you expected? As a ClickFunnels Diamond Certified agency, we know that most underperforming funnels aren’t failing because of bad offers. They’re leaking money in small, invisible ways that compound over time. And those leaks quietly drain your return on ad spend. The frustrating part? You often can’t see the problem. The Hidden Leaks Costing You Sales Many businesses assume that once a funnel is “live,” it’s optimized. But even minor issues can destroy conversions. ...

Marketing Resolutions That Actually Stick Past February

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:00:00 EST

Each January, marketing teams set big goals: more leads, better conversions, cleaner data, and closer alignment with sales. But by mid-February, most of these resolutions have faded away. The issue isn’t a lack of motivation. Most marketing resolutions focus on results instead of the systems behind them. Goals like “increase traffic by 30%” sound good, but without changing daily marketing habits, they rarely work. To make your resolutions last, focus less on the end goals and more on how your marketing actually works day to day. 1. Automate the Follow-Ups You’re Already...

Why Live Shopping Is a Competitive Advantage for 2026

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 12:00:00 EST

Not long ago, live shopping conjured a very specific image: bright studio lights, enthusiastic hosts, toll-free numbers scrolling across the bottom of the screen. QVC, HSN, and other televised shopping networks owned the format, and for years, it felt out of reach for everyone else. That perception no longer holds. Live shopping has quietly become one of the most underutilized growth opportunities for small and mid-sized businesses. And by 2026, it may be one of the clearest differentiators between brands that feel accessible and those that feel invisible. The Shift: From Passive Browsing to...

Digital Housekeeping: The Year-End Marketing Cleanup Every Business Should Do Before January 1

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 12:00:00 EST

As the year comes to a close, many businesses are busy closing deals, meeting revenue goals, and preparing for the first quarter. However, digital housekeeping is a key task that often gets missed. Taking time to tidy up your marketing now, much like clearing your inbox or organizing your desk, helps set you up for better results next year. Before January 1 arrives, here are four essential areas every business should review to start the new year with even more clarity, efficiency, and momentum. 1. Website Audits: Is Your Site Still Working for You? Your...

End-of-Year Offers That Don’t Scream ‘Discount’: How to Sell Without Devaluing Your Brand

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:00:00 EST

Once Black Friday and Cyber Monday pass, many brands feel boxed into one strategy: keep discounting or risk losing sales. But while deep discounts may drive short-term volume, they can quietly erode brand value, attract price-only buyers, and train customers to wait for the next markdown. The good news? You don’t have to slash prices to succeed at the end of the year. With the right strategy, you can continue selling strongly through experience-based and bundle-driven promotions that protect both your margins and your brand. Why Constant Discounting Hurts More Than...

Why the Last Two Weeks of December Are a Hidden Marketing Goldmine

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 12:00:00 EST

When most businesses think about holiday marketing, their focus ends once Christmas approaches. Budgets are spent, teams wind down, and many brands go quiet until the new year. But this pause in activity creates one of the most overlooked opportunities in digital marketing: the last two weeks of December. While competitors go dark, ad inventory becomes cheaper, attention becomes easier to capture, and the brands that stay visible often see stronger results for less money. If you’re looking for a way to stretch your budget and finish the year strong, this short window may be your most profitable...

Black Friday Is Over. Now It’s Time to Create a Standout Holiday Offer

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 12:00:00 EST

Black Friday may be the biggest shopping day of the year, but it’s far from the finish line. In fact, for many brands, the real opportunity begins after the Black Friday rush. Shoppers are still actively buying well into December, searching for last-minute gifts, exclusive deals, and stress-free purchasing options. If your brand went quiet after Black Friday, you could be leaving significant revenue on the table. The solution? Launch a strong, clearly positioned post-Black Friday holiday offer that keeps momentum going and captures shoppers who are still in buying mode. ...

How Businesses Can Win the Holiday Season With Hyper-Local Promotions on Nextdoor

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 12:00:00 EST

The holiday rush brings a massive opportunity for local businesses...that's if customers can actually find you. While social platforms like Facebook and Instagram help with general visibility, they often lack the neighborhood-level precision needed to drive real foot traffic and community engagement. That’s where Nextdoor shines. With its community-first approach and hyper-local targeting, Nextdoor has become one of the most powerful tools for small and mid-sized businesses looking to connect directly with nearby shoppers during the busiest season of the year. If your business wants to boost visibility, increase seasonal sales, and strengthen ties...

Your 2026 Marketing Starts Now: Year-End Planning Tips for Smarter Growth

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 12:00:00 EST

As the year winds down and the holiday rush sets in, many businesses hit pause on their marketing efforts. But if you want to start 2026 ahead of the curve, now is the time to plan. An end-of-the-year recap is great for wrapping up, but also as your launchpad for what’s next. Strategic preparation in Q4 can mean smoother campaigns, stronger performance, and a faster start when the calendar flips to January. Here’s how to use the last stretch of the year to set up your brand for smarter, more sustainable growth in 2026. ...

Automate Your Way Through the Holidays: How to Keep Sales Running While You’re Offline

Tue, 11 Nov 2025 12:00:00 EST

The holiday season is a double-edged sword for businesses. On one hand, it’s peak shopping time, the period when consumers are most ready to buy. On the other, your team is likely taking time off, offices are quieter, and manual marketing efforts slow down. The question becomes: how do you keep sales running when your business isn’t? The answer lies in automation. By setting up smart, well-timed marketing automations from funnels to remarketing ads, your business can continue to convert leads and close sales while you’re away from your desk. ...

Black Friday 2024 Data Shows It’s Time to Rethink Your 2025 Marketing Strategy

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 12:00:00 EST

If there’s one thing the 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Week data makes clear, it’s this: the way people shop is changing, and changing fast. Brands that cling to last year’s playbook are leaving serious money on the table. Let’s break down what the numbers are really telling us, and how to use them to pivot your digital marketing strategy before the next big shopping season. Omnichannel is No Longer Optional More than 197 million Americans made a purchase during Cyber Week 2024 (which is nearly 59% of the entire...

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): How to Future-Proof Your Blog for AI Search

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 12:00:00 EST

Search is changing fast, especially now with AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Google’s SGE (Search Generative Experience), and Perplexity reshaping how people discover information. Brands can no longer rely solely on traditional SEO tactics to rank. Enter Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): the next evolution of search strategy. What Is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)? Generative Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing your content so it’s easily understood, summarized, and surfaced by AI-powered search engines and chatbots. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking higher on static search...

It Isn’t Too Late for Black Friday (But You Better Hurry)

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:00:00 EST

Black Friday might be right around the corner, but that doesn’t mean you’ve missed your shot. You’re still in time to capture attention and start generating sales, whether you’re a product-based business, a service-based company, or B2B. Most brands think about this well in advance, but you don’t need that much runway. You just need the right focus: clear messaging, smart targeting, and a plan that turns urgency into opportunity. Here’s how to make the most of the time you have left. Simplify Your Offer If you’re short on time, keep your offer...

Leaders Are Readers: How To Become The Best Version Of Yourself

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:00:00 EST

It has been said, "Leaders are readers." I can't imagine leading a company without reading personal development books. Just reading them is good. However, what you really want is to take action on the ideas. Here’s how. The author of the classic book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill, saw this implementation problem. Along with his billionaire friend, W. Clement Stone, they solved this challenge. Together, they developed a system to help leaders in their companies apply what they are reading. This system is called the 1357. The Secrets of Success folks got the rights to republish the 1357...

How to Increase Your Average Sale Without Inventing New Products

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:00:00 EST

When most business owners think about growth, their first instinct is to create something new, like a fresh product, a new course, or another service to add to their lineup. But creating new offers takes time, money, and energy. What if you could grow your revenue without inventing anything new? That’s where OfferLab comes in. This platform was designed to help business owners maximize what they already have by giving them tools to package, position, and promote their existing offers in smarter ways. Instead of burning out by creating more, you learn to make the...

How To Sell Your Offers Without Running Ads

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:00:00 EST

If you’ve ever tried to scale your course, product, or service, then you're likely already aware how expensive digital ads have become. Costs rise every year, platforms are unpredictable, and even well-run campaigns can eat up your profits. That’s why more and more creators are turning to a different approach: building an affiliate sales force. Imagine an army of commission-only salespeople promoting your offer without you spending a dime on ads. That’s exactly what OfferLab makes possible. Instead of pouring money into platforms you don’t control, you can empower affiliates who are excited to ...

5 Marketing Mistakes That Are Killing Your ROI (And How to Fix Them)

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 12:00:00 EST

Every brand wants to get the most out of its marketing dollars. But the reality is, many companies unintentionally waste budget, time, and energy on strategies that don’t deliver results. The good news? These mistakes are common and fixable. By identifying and correcting them, you can stop draining your ROI and start scaling smarter. Mistake 1: Chasing Vanity Metrics Instead of Revenue It feels great to see your engagement metrics, such as likes, followers, and clicks, increase. But if those numbers don’t translate into paying customers, they’re empty wins. Too often, brands measure success by surface-level metrics...

7 Website Sins That Are Costing You Customers Every Day

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:00:00 EST

Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. If it feels outdated, confusing, or untrustworthy, you could be sending people straight into the arms of your competitors. The truth is, many businesses unknowingly commit common “website sins” that drive visitors away instead of converting them into paying customers. Here are seven mistakes to watch for and how to fix them. 1. Slow Load Times Attention spans are now shorter than ever, and for many, waiting more than a few seconds for a page to load is unbearable. Studies show that even a...

The Hidden Website Elements That Boost Trust and Credibility

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 12:00:00 EST

Businesses often focus on flashy design, compelling copy, or eye-catching visuals to grab attention in their digital marketing. But while aesthetics matter, what truly keeps visitors on your site (and convinces them to take action) is trust. And trust is often built through subtle, behind-the-scenes elements many brands overlook. Here are some of the hidden website features that make a big difference in boosting credibility with your audience. 1. A Secure Connection (HTTPS) It might seem like a small detail, but the little padlock in a browser’s address bar speaks...

Paid Ads Are Getting Smarter...So Should Your Strategy

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 12:00:00 EST

In the early days of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, success often came down to who could master bid adjustments, keyword lists, and manual optimization. Fast forward to today, and the landscape has changed dramatically. Platforms like Google Ads, Meta, and LinkedIn have integrated AI-powered tools and automation that can manage bids, audiences, and placements faster (and often more effectively) than human hands alone. But here’s the catch: while paid ads are getting smarter, the brands that win are the ones evolving their strategy alongside the technology. Automation Is Now the Baseline, Not the...

Topical Authority Is the New Keyword Stuffing: How to Build It

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 12:00:00 EST

There was a time in SEO when the more times you crammed a keyword onto a page, the better your rankings. But that era is long gone. Today, Google is much smarter, and it’s looking for substance, not spam. If you're still focused on hitting a target keyword 10 times per blog post, it’s time to pivot. The future of search visibility is all about topical authority, so let’s take a closer look at what this means for your business. What Is Topical Authority? Topical authority is your site’s perceived expertise in a specific subject area. Rather...

Marketing for Service-Based Businesses: Why Your Website Still Matters More Than Instagram

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:00:00 EST

With social media likes, follows, and trending audio reigning supreme, it’s easy for service-based businesses to believe that Instagram is their most important marketing tool. And while platforms like Instagram are powerful for visibility and engagement, your website remains the most critical asset in your digital marketing ecosystem (and it’s not even close). Here’s why your website should still be at the center of your strategy, and how to make it do the heavy lifting for your business. Your Website = Your Digital Home Social media is borrowed...

The Anatomy of a Successful Funnel Launch Using the Linchpin System

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 12:00:00 EST

If you’re an expert, creator, or business owner looking to scale your offers, you’ve probably heard about funnels. But not all funnels are created equal, and not all launches lead to long-term success. That’s where the Linchpin System comes in. More than just a string of landing pages or email automations, the Linchpin is a fully integrated, strategic funnel model that’s built to convert cold traffic into loyal, paying customers, and do it again and again. If you're ready to launch your first Linchpin funnel (or optimize one that underperformed), here's a breakdown of the key phases...

The Linchpin Model - Your Key To Recurring Revenue

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 12:00:00 EST

Entrepreneurs, coaches, and creators are constantly looking for ways to build smarter (not just busier) businesses. They want freedom, impact, and income that doesn’t depend on showing up live every day. That’s where The Linchpin Model comes in, a proven system designed to turn your knowledge, offers, or expertise into a scalable, automated revenue engine. If you’ve been spinning your wheels trying to piece together courses, email lists, and social content without a real strategy behind it all, the Linchpin may be exactly what you’ve been missing. What Is the Linchpin...

Automation, Not Autopilot: How to Keep the Human Touch in Your Marketing

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 12:00:00 EST

For many growing (and even some established) businesses, automation is a game-changer. It saves time, scales outreach, and helps companies to respond to leads faster than ever. From scheduled emails to intelligent workflows and lead scoring, automation has become a standard expectation and is no longer just optional. But here’s the catch: when automation replaces authenticity, brands risk sounding robotic, impersonal, and out of touch. The goal isn’t to automate everything but to automate the right things while keeping your brand’s voice human. Why Automation Isn’t the Enemy To be...

Instagram Marketing in 2025: 13 Tips to Grow Your Audience and ROI

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 12:00:00 EST

Instagram remains a powerhouse in the social media marketing world, boasting over 2.5 billion monthly active users as of 2025. With such a massive, engaged audience, businesses that tap into Instagram marketing can increase brand awareness, drive traffic, boost conversions, and build lasting customer relationships. But it’s no longer enough to just have an Instagram business profile. To compete on the platform in 2025, your profile needs to be optimized and backed by a data-driven, creative strategy. Here are the latest Instagram marketing tips to help your business succeed. 1...

Customer Service Touchpoints That Can Boost Loyalty (and Referrals)

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:00:00 EST

Customer loyalty can start with a single transaction, but usually, it’s earned over time through thoughtful, consistent interactions that show customers they matter. Businesses that invest in strong customer service touchpoints after the sale are more likely to build lasting relationships, encourage repeat business, and spark valuable word-of-mouth referrals, especially against competitors. Let's take a look at how well-timed, strategic customer service touchpoints (like post-purchase emails, satisfaction check-ins, and follow-up messages) can turn your one-time buyers into lifelong brand advocates. Post-Purchase Emails: The First Step Toward Trust The customer experience doesn’t...

Stop Losing Leads: How Automation Can Save Time and Increase Conversions

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 12:00:00 EST

You've worked hard to attract traffic to your website, create a compelling offer, and capture leads. But then what? For many businesses, this is where leads go cold. Not because the offer wasn’t good or the product didn’t fit, but because there was no follow-up. No reminder. No next step. That’s where marketing automation comes in, and it could be the difference between a missed opportunity and a new customer. Manual Follow-Ups Are Inconsistent and Costly Every potential lead has a limited window of attention. If customers don’t hear from you quickly, they forget...

Why Authenticity Beats Perfection in Content Marketing

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 12:00:00 EST

Marketing messages are everywhere: popped into inboxes, splashed across social feeds, and baked into almost every web experience, and audiences have become experts at filtering out anything that feels fake. They’ve seen enough airbrushed ads and corporate jargon to know when something's trying too hard. That’s why authenticity has become one of the most powerful tools in modern content marketing. Perfectly polished content might look impressive, but it can feel cold, distant, or even unrelatable. Authentic content, on the other hand, connects. It shows there are real people behind the brand who make mistakes, tell real stories, and...

Why Customer Reviews Are Your Secret Marketing Weapon

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:00:00 EST

When it comes to building trust and influencing purchase decisions, few things are more powerful than the voice of your customer. With a constant barrage of ads, pop-ups, and polished branding, consumers crave authenticity, and that’s exactly what customer reviews deliver. If you're not actively collecting and leveraging reviews in your marketing strategy, you might be leaving serious trust and revenue on the table. Why Reviews Matter More Than Ever Today’s customers are savvy. Before buying anything, they Google, browse, and compare. One glowing review...

How to Know If Your Business Needs a Digital Marketing Agency

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 12:00:00 EST

Business owners often have to wear multiple hats, from managing operations, sales, customer service, and everything in between. But when it comes to digital marketing, it’s not always clear when to do it yourself and when to bring in expert help. If you're wondering whether it's time to hire a digital marketing agency, here are a few signs to help you decide. You're Not Getting Consistent Website Traffic If your website isn't attracting the visitors you hoped for, it’s more than a visibility problem; it’s a growth problem. Low traffic is often the result of poor search...

The Power of Follow-Up: How Reliable Service Builds Lasting Customer Relationships

Tue, 27 May 2025 12:00:00 EST

When marketing yourself against competitors, providing a great product or service isn’t always enough. What truly sets successful businesses apart is their commitment to follow-up and ongoing customer care. It’s not just about closing a sale but about building relationships, earning trust, and creating an experience that customers want to return to. Follow-up is more than a courtesy; it’s a strategic business practice that drives loyalty, referrals, and even long-term success. Why Follow-Up Matters Customers remember how you made them feel. A well-timed follow-up (like a thank-you note, a satisfaction survey, or a quick call to ensure...

Stop Selling Features. Start Speaking To Pain, Urgency, And Desire.

Tue, 20 May 2025 12:00:00 EST

Consumers are often overwhelmed with options, and focusing solely on product features is a losing game. Businesses that truly stand out are those that speak directly to the emotions of their audience, tapping into pain, urgency, and desire. This shift from feature-driven copy to emotion-driven messaging can be the difference between a struggling brand and a thriving one. Let's take a look at what you can do as a business to market yourself more effectively. Understanding the Problem: Why Features Fail Imagine you're shopping for a new phone. One brand highlights its "12GB RAM, 108MP camera, and 5000mAh...

How to Shift from Product-Focused to Market-Focused Messaging

Tue, 13 May 2025 12:00:00 EST

In a crowded marketplace, businesses often struggle to stand out. A common problem? They focus too much on product features instead of what truly matters: customer needs. If your marketing message sounds like a technical manual or a list of specifications, it’s time for a shift. Let's look at how you can transform your messaging from product-focused to market-focused, helping you better connect with your audience. Why Market-Focused Messaging Matters When a product becomes the focal point, you risk falling into the trap of comparison. Suddenly, you find yourself as just another option, competing alongside rivals that seem similar...

What Happens When Your Marketing Message Is Built for 'Everyone'

Tue, 06 May 2025 12:00:00 EST

When trying to grow rapidly, many businesses fall into a tempting trap: creating a marketing message that appeals to everyone. On the surface, this approach seems logical. Broaden your reach, attract more people, and increase sales. But in reality, this strategy often backfires, leading to low engagement, weak conversion rates, and rising ad costs. Let’s take a look at how not focusing on your target demographic can hurt your brand. Why Broad Messaging Fails When you try to market to everyone, you end up connecting with no one. Broad messaging is often generic, lacking the emotional depth...

7 Tips on How to Increase Conversions Without Discounts

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 12:00:00 EST

When businesses think about boosting conversions, offering discounts often seems like the quickest fix. While discounts can drive short-term spikes in sales, they can also devalue your brand and train customers to wait for lower prices. Fortunately, there are effective strategies you can use to increase conversions without cutting into your margins. Here’s how to drive more conversions without relying on discounts. 1. Highlight Unique Value Propositions Instead of offering a lower price, focus on communicating what makes your product or service uniquely valuable. Customers need a compelling reason to choose you over competitors, and it’s...

8 Tips on How to Optimize Product Pages for More Sales

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:00:00 EST

Your product pages are the digital equivalent of a showroom. They’re where customers make the all-important decision to buy... or to bounce. No matter how great your product is, you'll likely lose sales if your pages are confusing, cluttered, or lacking key information. The good news? You can turn your product pages into high-converting machines with a few strategic adjustments. Here's how to optimize them for more sales. 1. Use High-Quality Product Images and Videos Visuals are everything in e-commerce. Customers can't physically touch or try your product, so detailed, high-resolution images are a must. Include multiple...

The Best Retargeting Strategies to Re-Engage Lost Customers

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 12:00:00 EST

Losing a potential customer doesn’t always mean they’re gone for good. Many visitors abandon carts or bounce from websites simply because they’re not ready to commit just yet. That’s where retargeting comes into play. A well-executed retargeting strategy can bring those lost leads back into the fold, boost conversions, and increase your ROI. Here are some of the best retargeting strategies to re-engage customers who slipped through the cracks. Segment Your Audience Not all lost customers are the same. Some may have browsed your site briefly, while others may have even added items to their cart. Segment...

The Future of Long-Form Content in a Short-Attention-Span World

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:00:00 EST

In an age where Reels, tweets, and short-form videos dominate, many marketers question whether long-form content still has a place. With attention spans seemingly shrinking, is there room for blog posts, white papers, and in-depth articles? The answer is a resounding yes, but only if brands evolve their approach. Let's explore how to utilize this to your advantage while grabbing your audience's attention more quickly. The Myth of the Short Attention Span While it’s true that people scroll quickly through social media feeds, studies show that audiences will engage with longer content (if it’s valuable). According...

Crafting Compelling CTAs: Enticing Customers to Take the Next Step

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:00:00 EST

A well-crafted call-to-action (CTA) is the key to guiding potential customers on their journey to making a purchase. Whether you’re encouraging a newsletter signup, a product purchase, or a consultation request, an effective CTA can make all the difference between getting their attention and losing them. CTAs act as signposts that keep prospects moving toward conversion, helping to avoid distractions and missed chances. Let's take a look at some strong CTA examples and how you can integrate them into your marketing. The Benefits of a Strong CTA The power of a well-placed and well-worded CTA is...

How to (Better) Understand Your Social Media Audience

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:00:00 EST

Understanding your social media audience is crucial for developing an effective strategy that connects with your followers. And these days, leveraging advanced tools while staying attuned to evolving consumer behaviors can significantly boost this understanding. Here are some key considerations when adapting your social media strategy to your audience's wants and needs. Utilize Advanced Social Media Analytics Tools Today's social media analytics platforms offer in-depth insights that let you go beyond basic demographics. Now, you can better analyze engagement metrics, content preferences, and browsing habits. AI-powered analytics tools can help you track these and predict trends, allowing you to...

How to Get More Leads from Your Landing Pages: A Proven Framework for Success

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 12:00:00 EST

Are you pouring money into driving traffic to your landing pages but not seeing the conversion rates you expect? You're not alone in this. While many businesses invest heavily in traffic generation, the key to success lies in optimizing your landing pages into lead-generating assets. Let's look at the four game-changing elements that can revolutionize your landing page performance. Hook, Story, Offer: The Formula for Higher Conversions A successful landing page follows a simple yet powerful structure: Hook, Story, Offer. First, grab attention with a compelling hook. This could be a curiosity-driven headline, a...

The Role of Trust Signals: How Reviews, Testimonials & Guarantees Increase Conversions

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:00:00 EST

With the variety of products and services offered online, it feels as though consumers have endless choices. Whether shopping for a product or selecting a service, customers often rely on one important factor before making a purchase: trust. Businesses that fail to establish credibility may risk losing potential customers to competitors who do. This is where trust signals, such as reviews, testimonials, and guarantees, play a crucial role in influencing conversions. What Are Trust Signals? If you're unfamiliar with trust signals, they are indicators that reassure potential customers about a business's credibility and reliability. They serve as proof that...

A/B Testing 101: How to Find What Works for Your Audience

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 12:00:00 EST

Did you know that a better understanding of what resonates with your audience can improve your website’s performance, increasing conversions and maximizing engagement? That's where A/B testing, or split testing, comes in. It's a data-driven process to figure out which elements of your site or marketing campaigns are the most effective. By comparing two versions of marketing copy (for example, a webpage, email, or ad), you can see what works best for your audience and make informed decisions to optimize your strategy. A/B Testing Explained Think of A/B testing almost like a scientific experiment. This process involves...

How to Use Google Analytics to Identify and Fix Traffic Leaks

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:00:00 EST

While driving traffic to your website is essential, there may be an issue if visitors aren't sticking around or converting. This can be caused by a traffic leak, which means users are dropping off at certain points on your site. Whether that means they aren't making a purchase, signing up for email lists, or engaging with content, a traffic leak can be a big hurdle. Thankfully, Google Analytics makes it easy to identify and fix these leaks with their tools. Here's how you can retain more visitors and improve your conversion rates. Identify Drop-Off Points with Behavior Flow Google...

Boost Your Sales: How to Improve Your Business’ Offers and Convert More Customers

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:00:00 EST

The ultimate goal of any business is to attract and convert customers. The right compelling offer can make all the difference in turning prospects into paying customers. If your conversion rates aren’t where you want them to be, it might be time to reassess your approach. Here are some strategies to consider so you can improve your offers and boost your business’s conversion rates. Understand Your Customer’s Needs The phrase "the customer is always right" comes to mind, especially when trying to craft an irresistible new offer. Tailoring your offers to your audience's specific needs shows you're listening, but...

Proven Strategies to Convert More Website Visitors into Customers

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 12:00:00 EST

Leading visitors to your website is only half the battle; the real challenge is turning those visitors into paying customers. Whether you run an e-commerce store, a service-based business, or a B2B company, optimizing your conversion strategy is a must for increasing your revenue and maximizing marketing efforts. But where to begin? Here are some key strategies to help convert more of your site visitors into customers. Optimize Your Website for User Experience (UX) A seamless, user-friendly website draws customers in. This can help retain visitors and guide them toward a purchase. Ensure your site is fast and responsive...

Boost Your Business: Proven Strategies to Add Recurring Revenue

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 12:00:00 EST

Recurring revenue is the holy grail for many businesses. It provides stability, predictable income, and the ability to plan for future growth. Instead of just relying on one-time sales, incorporating recurring revenue into your business model can create long-term financial health. Here are some ideas you should consider implementing to help increase your revenue. Offer Subscription-Based Services One of the most effective ways to generate recurring revenue is by offering subscription-based services. Whether you sell tangible products or online services, there are plenty of chances to start a subscription model. ...

Leveraging Video Content Outside of TikTok for Brand Growth

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 12:00:00 EST

With TikTok's future in the air, it's important to consider how you can continue making video content that not only resonates with your audience but reaches them where they migrate as well. This platform may have dominated short-form video content in recent years, but you can craft the right video marketing strategy on other social media sites to enhance your reach, visibility, and conversions. Let's look at what to consider while pivoting away from TikTok. Why Video Content Matters Video content is an effective visual tool for capturing your audience's attention and communicating a message quickly...

Creative Marketing Campaigns to Inspire Your 2025 Strategy

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 12:00:00 EST

2024 was a groundbreaking year for many brands and their innovative marketing campaigns. The execution of these effective marketing campaigns captured public attention and drove engagement while sparking conversation. So, how can your own business benefit from tactics like these? Let’s dive into some of the most notable campaigns from last year to help the ideas flow for your brand. 1. HBO's Succession Social Media Takeover In anticipation of HBO’s final season of Succession, this brand merged real life and fiction to immerse its audience into the world of the Roy family. HBO posted “updates” in real-time across...

Why Outsourcing to a Marketing Agency is a Smart Move for Growing Businesses

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 12:00:00 EST

Hiring in-house marketing can be beneficial for many brands, but there are pitfalls to be aware of when you choose not to outsource. Marketing, especially, can be a tricky beast, which is why it’s a must to ensure you’re staying competitive and top of mind for your audience. Let’s look at how outsourcing your marketing with an agency can boost your business more than having your own department or solo hire. Automated Processes Save Time Time is money, after all, and ensuring your online marketing works for you is all about streamlining processes. Automation for a variety of...

The State of Paid Social Media Advertising in 2025

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 12:00:00 EST

In 2025, paid social media advertising continues to be a cornerstone of digital marketing strategies, with businesses tapping into new platforms to connect with audiences, drive sales, and boost their brand visibility. This year’s trends reveal not only a reshaped digital landscape but also innovative approaches to optimizing ad spend and achieving measurable results. Let's explore how you can capitalize on these platforms in your paid advertising in the new year. Budget Allocation Shifts Marketers in 2025 are pouring more money into social media ads, with budgets shifting to align with platform-specific dynamics and audience preferences. Facebook...

Why a Long-Term Marketing Strategy Is More Important Than Quick Wins

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 12:00:00 EST

With the fast pace of businesses these days, it can be enticing to focus on quick marketing wins from viral social media posts, flash sales, or one-off campaigns. These may deliver a boost in visibility or revenue in the short term, but relying on these tactics is unlikely to support sustained growth. Let's take a look at how planning a long-term marketing strategy can help establish resilience and enduring success for your business. The Pitfalls of Quick Wins Quick wins in marketing are often more reactive than proactive. They might jump on trending hashtags, temporary market gaps, or...

How to Evolve Your Marketing Strategy in Changing Market Conditions

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:00:00 EST

Market conditions are constantly shifting these days due to technological advancements, economic changes, consumer preferences, and global events. Businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to meet these evolving demands and to stay competitive. Here are some tips for creating a flexible and effective marketing approach to thrive in any environment. Understand Your Market Knowing what’s happening in your market is essential to improving your marketing strategy. Habitually do some market research so you can keep up with trends, understand how customers behave, and spot new competitors. Tools like Google Trends, social media stats, and industry reports can give you...

How to Use Data to Predict What Your Customers Want Next

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 12:00:00 EST

Staying ahead of consumer expectations is not only a competitive advantage, it's also a necessity in this fast-paced business environment. When you harness the power of data to predict customer wants and needs, you're creating a personalized experience that can boost sales and business loyalty. Let's look at how you can use data to your advantage and anticipate your audience’s next moves. Leverage Historical Data If you want to gain insight into customer behavior, take a look at their historical data. You can track patterns and trends by examining past purchases, service usage, and website interactions. For example...

10 Reasons Your Holiday Ads Might Not Be Converting and What To Do About It

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 12:00:00 EST

The holiday season is a prime time for businesses to shine, yet many need help to convert their holiday ad campaigns into tangible sales. If your holiday ads aren’t delivering the desired results, it’s time to assess the roadblocks while the holidays are still in full swing. Here are some common reasons your holiday ads might not be converting—and how to fix them. 1. Unclear Target Audience Though you may be casting a wider net to try and reach audiences, chances are this means your ads aren't resonating with anyone. By narrowing down your audience using demographic, behavioral...

How to Perform a Year-End Digital Marketing Audit

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 12:00:00 EST

Now that the year is winding down, it's the perfect time to review your 2024 digital marketing efforts. A year-end audit helps you examine what worked, what didn't, and even how to improve your strategy for 2025. This helps to ensure your marketing efforts are aligned with your business goals, all while making your campaigns more effective and on budget. Here's a step-by-step guide to performing a comprehensive digital marketing audit for the year. Review Your Marketing Goals Revisiting the marketing goals you set at the start of the year will help you evaluate if they were realistic...

2024 End-of-Year Digital Marketing Trends: What Worked and What Didn’t

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 12:00:00 EST

Another year draws to a close, meaning it's time to reflect on how digital marketing trends shaped the industry over 2024. What worked, and more importantly, what didn't? Looking back at these strategies can help us prepare for the coming year and brace your business to adapt to even more new technologies and changing consumer behaviors. Here's a breakdown of the past year's digital marketing trends and their effectiveness. What Worked in 2024 1. Short-Form Video Content Platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts dominated this year, satiating audiences' cravings for bite-sized video content ...

Preparing Your 2025 Digital Marketing Budget: Where to Allocate Resources

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 12:00:00 EST

With a new year right around the corner, crafting your digital marketing budget for 2025 is more critical than ever. Many digital tools, platforms, and even a change in consumer behavior have created new hurdles, and it's time to evolve to compete with other businesses and their strategies. Allocating resources to the right areas can make or break a business in the coming year, so let's take a look at ways you can prioritize your marketing budget for 2025. Invest in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data analytics powered by AI will see an increase in 2025...

The Power of Retargeting Campaigns: Converting Holiday Shoppers

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 12:00:00 EST

The holiday season is a big boom for many retailers, and competition between brands becomes even more fierce as they vie for the attention of seasonal shoppers. Attracting new customers is crucial during this season, and research shows that utilizing retargeting campaigns can help drive conversions from already interested visitors. This marketing strategy can boost sales, capture lost opportunities, and even build stronger relationships with existing customers. Let's take a look at how retargeting works and why you should add it to your holiday marketing campaign. Retargeting Explained: Why is it So Effective? What exactly is...

Holiday Campaign Prep: Best Marketing Strategies for Q4

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 12:00:00 EST

The holiday season is inching closer, and it's crucial to start prepping a marketing campaign to take advantage of these key dates. Many businesses see a boost in revenue, customer engagement, and even brand loyalty around the holidays, thanks to sales and seasonal exclusives. Consumer spending is at a high, so make the most of the holiday rush by planning a marketing strategy for this year's final quarter. Let's take a closer look at the things you can do from Halloween to New Year's to drive business to your brand. Start Early and Build Momentum Starting early is a great...

4 Online Marketing Techniques Your Business Should Be Using

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 12:00:00 EST

Even in just the past decade, the digital landscape has evolved dramatically, meaning businesses have to keep up with emerging trends and the latest marketing practices. A customer-centric approach is crucial for companies looking to stay ahead of competitors. And with AI, data, and personalization causing such significant shifts in the industry, having the right marketing strategies is a must. Let's take a look at the four online strategies to help boost your marketing and drive growth in this new year. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with a Focus on User Intent SEO remains a cornerstone of digital marketing, but today’s...

What Google's Reversal on Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Means for Privacy and Digital Advertising

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:00:00 EST

You may have heard that Google initially planned to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome. Now, the brand is reversing its original plans and will introduce a new approach that centers user choices so that individuals can better control their privacy settings. This was announced just this summer, and we will dive into how this affects key functionality and more for digital advertising. A Major Policy Reversal: What Happened? For years, Google has been working to eliminate third-party cookies, which many digital advertising brands have used to track users across websites. These cookies have made personalizing ads and measuring campaigns...

How to Optimize Your E-Commerce Website for Holiday Traffic

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 12:00:00 EST

For many e-commerce businesses, the holiday season is a prime time to entice new customers to buy gifts and take advantage of seasonal deals. However, this surge in traffic can cause its own issues, and if your site isn't prepared to handle this sudden influx of visitors, then you may lose out on sales. Optimizing your e-commerce site for the holidays is crucial to drawing in more customers, so here are some ways you can ensure your website is at its best during this busy season. Enhance Website Speed and Performance Studies...

3 Tips for Improving Bounce Rate and Conversions

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:00:00 EST

Tracking a website's performance is a must for any business, and knowing your "bounce rate" is also key for gauging interactions on your site. This metric tracks the percentage of visitors who come to your page and leave without any further interaction, which can hurt your rankings and reduce conversions. A high bounce rate can be a sign that you need to improve user engagement or the quality of your content. In 2024, with higher user expectations and evolving SEO metrics, improving your bounce rate has never been more essential. Here are three updated tips for reducing...

Google’s Ranking Philosophy

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 12:00:00 EST

Google’s Three Core Ranking Philosophies: A 2024 Update Back in 2008, Amit Singhal, a Google Fellow in charge of the ranking team at Google, wrote about the company’s three core ranking philosophies. However, technology has advanced quite a bit in the past 16 years, so there are new things to take into account when considering this advice. Google has always emphasized delivering the most relevant information to searchers, yet these core philosophies have remained the same: Best Locally Relevant Results Served Globally Keep It Simple ...

Video Content Trends Shaping the Future of Social Media

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 12:00:00 EST

In 2024, video content continues to dominate social media, evolving in ways that offer new opportunities for creators and brands alike. Understanding what types of video content users are gravitating towards is crucial for staying relevant and engaging audiences. Social Media Today recently highlighted key video trends from Tubular Labs' The State of Social: H2 2024 report that brands and content creators should explore. Let's take a closer look at how these trends are shaping the future of video content across major platforms so you can refresh and optimize your strategies. ...

How to Create an E-commerce Site That Sells

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:00:00 EST

A well-designed site can be the difference between high conversion rates and abandoned shopping carts for e-commerce businesses. Whether you're launching a new endeavor or looking to optimize an existing site, understanding web development principles tailored for e-commerce can significantly boost your sales. Implement these essential strategies to create a website that attracts visitors and, most importantly, converts them into loyal customers. 1. User-Friendly Navigation A frictionless user experience (UX) is vital to keeping customers on your site. Make sure your navigation is straightforward, with clearly defined categories and a prominent search bar...

LinkedIn Ads Guide: Matching Your Goal to the Right Ad Format

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:00:00 EST

LinkedIn is more than a professional networking platform — it's a goldmine for businesses looking to reach professionals with targeted ads. But with so many ad types available, how do you know which one is best for your goals? This guide will walk you through the various LinkedIn ad formats, helping you align your business objectives with the most effective ad type to achieve the best results for your campaigns. Sponsored Content: Boosting Brand Awareness and Engagement Sponsored content is perfect for reaching a highly engaged audience right in the LinkedIn news feed. Whether you're...

Google Business Profile Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 12:00:00 EST

A Google Business Profile can significantly elevate your local SEO efforts and online visibility, yet many businesses fail to maximize their profile's potential. Whether you're just setting up your profile or looking to optimize it, see how to avoid common mistakes so your business can stand out in local search results. 1. Incomplete or Inaccurate Business Information One of the top mistakes businesses make is failing to provide complete or accurate information on their Google Business Profile. This includes name, address, phone number (often referred to as NAP), and operating hours. How to Fix It:...

The Power of Diversified Content Distribution

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 12:00:00 EST

Distributing your content is vital for maximizing the reach and impact of your marketing efforts. That's where leveraging multiple channels comes into play. Using a range of platforms not only broadens your content's reach but also allows you to tailor your message to different audience segments. Here's how you can harness the power of diversified channels to boost your content marketing efforts. Social Media Platforms With billions of active users, it's crucial to leverage social media to promote your content. However, it's not a one-size-fits-all scenario. Certain platforms may be a...

Tools of the Trade — What the Top Sales Professionals Use

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:00:00 EST

Whether you’re a business owner aiming to increase sales or a sales professional seeking ways to boost productivity and improve your numbers, using the right tools can have a major impact on your success. While there are numerous tools that fall under each of the categories we'll discuss in this article, this will give you a solid starting point to find what works best for you. 1. CRM Software Customer relationship management (CRM) software remains essential for sales reps. Platforms like HubSpot CRM and Salesforce continue to dominate the industry, offering advanced features that help ensure...

Google Drops Third-Party Cookies Phaseout: Emphasizes User Control

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 12:00:00 EST

In a major policy shift, Google has announced it will no longer phase out third-party cookies in its Chrome browser. Instead, the company is focusing on enhancing user choice and control over web browsing privacy. Here's an overview of this recent development and how it may affect users and advertisers so your business can better prepare its digital marketing for the changes. A Change in Strategy Google has been working towards eliminating third-party cookies for years, but various challenges have led to repeated delays. Rather than deprecating these cookies, Google will launch a...

Proven Tactics to Generate More Local Leads

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 12:00:00 EST

As our world becomes increasingly digital, local businesses must adapt to new strategies to attract high-quality leads. Real estate agents, law offices, home services, and other businesses that rely on local customers often find lead generation challenging. However, with evolving digital tools and marketing techniques, there are now more effective ways than ever to connect with potential customers right in your community. Let's review proven tactics and strategies to help your business generate more local leads, ensuring sustained growth and success. Create Multiple Lead Magnets Prospects won’t offer their contact information without a compelling reason, which...

Turning Your Book Into Clients with a Book Funnel

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 12:00:00 EST

You don't have to be a New York Times bestseller to benefit from publishing a book. For business owners and thought leaders, a book can help them establish authority, share valuable insights, and ultimately attract new clients. However, you need a strategic approach to turn readers into clients. Enter the book funnel. Discover what a book funnel is, how it can attract leads and clients, and the essential components you need to create an effective one. Book Funnel Overview A book funnel is a sales funnel strategy that uses your...

The Ultimate Guide for Enhancing Your Local SEO

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:00:00 EST

Local SEO is a mighty tool for smaller-sized businesses that want to attract high-intent qualified leads, especially if they need to target people in their city, state, or region. The goal of local SEO is to increase a local business’s ranking positions in search results for a particular location. To simplify it, think of it like a laser beam focusing on a specific area rather than a flashlight spreading over a wide area. Like anything else related to SEO, it’s not an exact science since technology and user behavior evolve, but there are strategies that improve local SEO. ...

Unique Tactics to Optimize Your PPC Campaigns

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 12:00:00 EST

Like other facets of digital marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has grown increasingly competitive as consumer attention becomes more scarce. Creative thinking and innovative strategies are crucial to ensuring your campaigns drive traffic, generate leads, and increase sales. Shake up your PPC campaigns with these unique tactics to improve performance and maximize your return on investment (ROI). 1. Leverage Audience Exclusions While targeting the right audience is essential, excluding certain segments can be equally important. By creating audience exclusions, you can avoid showing your PPC ads to users who are...

6 Metrics to Improve to Increase Visitor Time on Your Website

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 12:00:00 EST

The goal of most websites is to capture and retain a visitor's attention. The longer a visitor stays, the higher the likelihood of conversion, whether that means making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading a resource. To optimize the time visitors spend on your site, it's crucial to monitor and understand specific metrics. Here are the key metrics you should focus on and tips to improve them: 1. Bounce Rate Bounce rate is a vital metric that measures the percentage of visitors who clicked away from your site right after they landed...

Leveraging Webinar Funnels for Lead Generation and Sales

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:00:00 EST

Webinar funnels are a highly engaging marketing strategy that can generate leads, drive sales, and build brand authority. Central to their success is the registration page. In this post, we'll discuss the benefits of webinar funnels and tips for creating a "perfect" registration page that fills up your webinar with quality leads. What is a Webinar Funnel? A webinar funnel is a marketing automation strategy that guides potential customers from awareness to conversion using webinars as the primary engagement tool. This type of funnel typically consists of several stages. First, businesses can use inbound and...

Best Design Practices of Contact Pages

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 12:00:00 EST

When visitors come to your website, there are a handful of reasons as to why they may be there. Perhaps your business is the answer to a need, or word-of-mouth sent them there to see what all the buzz is about. A contact page gives your audience somewhere to turn when they’re searching for answers, someone to speak to, or give them a better customer experience on your site. It encompasses many useful tools for users, so ensuring that it has what your audience needs is crucial for an effective page. Incorporate...

How to Build Your List Using the Challenge Funnel

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:00:00 EST

In digital marketing, building an active email list is akin to striking gold. Your list is a direct line to potential customers who have shown interest in your brand, making it a valuable asset for your marketing efforts. But how can you grow this list in an effective and efficient way? Enter the challenge funnel, a powerful marketing automation strategy that expands your list and meaningfully engages your audience. What is a Challenge Funnel? A challenge funnel is a type of sales funnel that involves issuing a time-bound challenge...

Gain More Customers By Creating Content For Each Buying Stage

Tue, 28 May 2024 12:00:00 EST

Creating content for each buying stage offers several benefits, such as gaining more customers, generating leads, building authority, and improving your website’s rankings in Google search results. By using the buyer’s journey to guide your strategy, your content will actually speak to what your audience needs or wants rather than just guessing. Here are the most effective ways to create content for each buying stage so you can gain a greater return on your investment. Why Buying Stages Matter In general, the buyer’s journey has four stages: awareness, interest, consideration, and decision. Keep in mind that this isn’t...

Google Search Updates Tackling Spam and Low-Quality Content

Tue, 21 May 2024 12:00:00 EST

Keeping up with search updates is crucial for maintaining and enhancing your online presence. Google's announcement of new measures to tackle spammy, low-quality content is a significant step towards ensuring that its search results are more helpful and relevant for users. Here’s a breakdown of what these changes mean and what steps you can take to maintain and improve your rankings. Fine-Tuning Ranking to Prioritize Helpful Content Google's latest algorithmic enhancements aim to improve the quality of content surfaced by its search engine. This update builds on efforts started in...

Social Media Engagement KPIs You Should Be Tracking

Tue, 14 May 2024 12:00:00 EST

You can't improve what you don't track. With ‘key performance indicators’ (KPIs), you can get a 360-degree view of your social media marketing and identify opportunities to reach, engage, and convert your target audience. Here are 15 engagement KPIs you should be tracking, from basic to higher level, to help you assess the impact of your brand’s presence on social platforms: 1. Reach and Impressions Reach refers to how many unique users have seen your content, while impressions are the total number of times your content has been displayed. Tracking reach and impressions can help you...

Creating Recurring Revenue with the Membership Funnel

Tue, 07 May 2024 12:00:00 EST

Finding ways to generate consistent revenue is crucial for growing your business. One effective type of sales funnel that has gained traction in recent years is the membership funnel. By leveraging the membership funnel model, companies can cultivate a loyal customer base while securing predictable, recurring revenue streams. See how to create a membership funnel that drives ongoing success! What is a Membership Funnel? A membership funnel is a sales funnel strategy that's designed to attract prospects, convert them into paying members, and retain them over time through a series of targeted...

PPC Marketing Tactics to Increase B2B Conversions

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 12:00:00 EST

Pay-per-click (PPC) marketing is an ever-changing field with increasing competition and evolving consumer behavior. It’s important to stay ahead of the trends and predict what may be coming next, which can sometimes seem impossible. So, how do you manage to do all of this while also increasing conversions for your B2B company? We’re going to discuss a myriad of ways to do this so you can manage your PPC campaigns more easily while improving performance. Fine-Tuned Audience Targeting They say, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” When you rely strictly on keywords for your targeting...

Ignite Lead Generation Using the Squeeze Page Funnel

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 12:00:00 EST

The squeeze page funnel is a digital lead generation tactic that can attract leads to your business like a magnet and drive conversions. But what exactly is it? Find out how squeeze page funnels work and the benefits it offers for your digital marketing strategy. What is a Squeeze Page Funnel? A squeeze page funnel is a type of sales funnel used to generate leads and grow an email list online. It's specifically designed to capture visitors' attention and "squeeze" them into providing their contact information through incentives and other psychological tactics, such as...

A/B Testing Ideas for Email Marketing

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 12:00:00 EST

Email remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels for engaging customers and driving conversions. However, with inboxes flooded with promotional content, your emails must stand out and connect with your audience. This is where A/B testing comes into play, offering a methodical approach to refining your email marketing strategies. Explore A/B testing and what variables you can experiment with to elevate your email marketing! What is A/B Testing? A/B testing, also known as split testing, involves comparing two or more variations of an email campaign element to determine which performs better. By systematically testing different...

How Do Sales Funnels Differ From Websites?

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:00:00 EST

A robust online presence is crucial for businesses to attract customers and build a loyal customer base, but it requires a diverse marketing toolkit. Two fundamental elements in any digital marketing strategy are sales funnels and websites. While both are integral, they serve distinct purposes and have unique purposes. In this article, we'll explain how sales funnels differ from websites and their respective roles in your business's online success. Websites: Your Digital Storefront Your website is where potential customers land when they search for your brand or products/services online. A website...

Best Practices to Collect Online Reviews

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:00:00 EST

Online reviews wield significant influence over consumers' purchasing decisions. Whether it's choosing a restaurant for dinner or selecting a doctor's office, people often turn to online reviews to gauge the quality and credibility of businesses. For businesses, collecting online reviews isn't just about reputation management; it's a crucial aspect of their digital marketing strategy. Positive reviews can build trust, improve search engine rankings, and ultimately drive more sales. However, acquiring these reviews requires a strategic approach. Here are some best practices for collecting online reviews ethically: 1. Provide a Great Experience The...

What is a Sales Funnel? Types of Sales Funnels Proven to Work

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 12:00:00 EST

A sales funnel is pivotal for guiding potential customers from the initial awareness stage to the ultimate goal of purchasing. A critical component of sales and marketing automation, it encapsulates the journey that prospects take as they interact with a brand, product, or service. Discover what exactly a sales funnel is and what types are effective for growing your business. Understanding Sales Funnels Think of a sales funnel as a roadmap for converting prospects into customers. It has distinct buying stages through which potential customers progress, with their level of interest...

Spring Clean Your Website

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:00:00 EST

Today is officially the first day of spring! As the days grow longer and flowers bloom, now is the perfect time to revitalize your online presence with a digital spring cleaning. While many focus on decluttering their physical spaces, don't neglect the virtual space representing your business — your website. Here are essential tips to ensure your website is in tip-top shape: 1. Create a Comprehensive Update Checklist Start by creating a thorough checklist of all elements on your website that may need updating. Review the copyright date and ensure all contact information is current...

How to Elevate Your Thought Leadership Content

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 12:00:00 EST

Thought leadership isn't just about sharing knowledge — it's about shaping perspectives, driving conversations, and inspiring change. However, with the abundance of online content, it can be challenging to set yourself apart. So, how can you elevate your thought leadership content to truly make a difference? Let's dive in! Define Your Unique Perspective Thought leadership begins with a unique perspective or insight that distinguishes you from others in your field. Identify what makes your perspective different and valuable to your audience. Whether it's a deep understanding of industry trends, unique experiences, or innovative ideas, leverage your...

Tips to Keep Visitors on Your Website for Longer

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:00:00 EST

Getting visitors to your website is only half the battle — you need them to stick around to boost conversion rates and achieve your business goals. Here are some tactics to increase the time visitors spend on your website, ensuring they're more likely to convert into leads and customers. 1. Provide Quality, Scannable Content Top-notch content is vital to any successful website. Whether it's landing pages, blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, or podcasts, ensure that your content is informative, entertaining, and valuable to your audience. Furthermore, break down your content into digestible chunks with descriptive...

Video SEO 101: A Beginner's Guide to Optimizing Video Content

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 12:00:00 EST

Video is a powerful medium for engagement, information dissemination, and entertainment. With platforms like YouTube boasting billions of users, it's no surprise that businesses and creators are increasingly incorporating video into their content strategy to reach their target audiences. However, you can't simply hit publish and expect success. Videos require optimization to stand out amidst a sea of content — this is where video SEO ( search engine optimization ) comes into play. What is Video SEO? Video SEO involves implementing strategies to enhance the visibility and discoverability of your videos in search engine results...

How to Accurately Measure Social Media Engagement

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 12:00:00 EST

Monitoring social media engagement is crucial for determining whether your message or content resonates with your audience. Not only does tracking gauge effectiveness, but it also informs strategic decisions for future campaigns. Additionally, engagement affects how many people will even see your post because social networks like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) see engagement as a sign of quality and popularity. See how to accurately measure social media engagement so you can get a clear picture of your efforts and make improvements to reach and attract your target audience...

Creative Lead Generation Ideas to Get More High-Quality Leads

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 12:00:00 EST

In today's hyper-competitive landscape, standing out from the crowd is essential for businesses looking to generate leads and drive conversions. Traditional lead generation tactics are no longer enough to capture consumers' attention inundated with marketing messages. To break through the clutter and capture high-quality leads, businesses must embrace creativity and innovation in their lead generation strategies. Here are some creative lead generation ideas from Unbounce and Outgrow to help you stand out and drive meaningful results: 1. Interactive Content Interactive content (such as quizzes, polls, assessments, calculators, and tools)...

A Website Checklist to Increase Conversion Rates

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 12:00:00 EST

Websites play a crucial role across industries because they're often one of the first introductions prospects will have with your business and determine whether your products and/or services are right for them. However, simply having a website isn't enough; it must be strategically designed and optimized to drive conversions. Here's a checklist of essential strategies to enhance your website performance and boost conversion rates. 1. User Experience Enhancement In an era of shortened attention spans, prioritize a seamless user experience (UX). Fix any broken links, missing images, or any other...

Navigating PPC Marketing in the Era of Google's Search Generative Experience

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 12:00:00 EST

The unveiling of Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) in 2023 has sparked discussions among industry experts about its potential impact on pay-per-click (PPC) marketing. According to Search Engine Land, a roundtable discussion at SMX Next revealed key insights from experts, shedding light on how SGE could reshape the PPC landscape and what marketers need to do to adapt. Understanding Search Engine Experience SGE marks a departure from traditional search results, where users would click on links to access information. With SGE, users receive direct answers in the search results, eliminating the need to click...

Grow Your Business with an Online Education Center

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 12:00:00 EST

Did you know that 77% of companies use eLearning to enhance workflows and employee skills? According to G2, a software review platform, businesses with online learning tools and strategies saw income and retention rates increase by 42% and 25-60%, respectively. See how an online education center can effectively grow your business and boost employee engagement! The Power of eLearning Employee training and development are essential for the success of any organization. Not only does it improve the skills and knowledge of your workforce, but it also enhances their job satisfaction and commitment to the...

New Google and Yahoo Email Requirements Coming February 2024

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 12:00:00 EST

We’re only a few weeks into 2024 and already seeing significant changes to email marketing ! Google and Yahoo are implementing authentication requirements and spam prevention updates, which will take effect in February 2024. As a business, it’s crucial to keep up with the latest standards and ensure seamless communication with your audience. Let's delve into the key insights and recommendations for navigating these changes successfully. Google's Email Requirements Google announced in October 2023 that it's spearheading efforts to enhance email security and user experience with the following requirements: Email Authentication Mandate ...

Lead Intakes: The Critical Link to Tracking Your Marketing

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 12:00:00 EST

Capturing leads efficiently and adapting to the changing dynamics of consumer interactions has become even more crucial for effective digital marketing. See why a robust lead intake strategy is indispensable for your company's success and how to streamline your intake process so you don't lose money and leads. Analyze Your Lead Channels In the current digital era, businesses use a multitude of marketing channels to reach their target audience. From social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok to emerging trends in influencer marketing, documenting the performance of each channel is vital for optimizing your marketing budget effectively. ...

Digital Marketing Resolutions to Thrive in the New Year

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 12:00:00 EST

As we usher in a new year, it's the perfect time to reflect on the past and set our sights on the future. For businesses, this means crafting a set of goals that will not only shape the year's success but also pave the way for long-term growth and prosperity. In the spirit of new beginnings, here are some powerful digital marketing resolutions to help your business set the tone for an exceptional year. Embrace Adaptability In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, adaptability is the key to survival. Resolve to stay ahead of the...

The State of Email Marketing and Trends to Expect in 2024

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 12:00:00 EST

As 2023 comes to a close, the digital marketing landscape has witnessed significant shifts, with email marketing standing out as a particularly dynamic arena. In this article, we'll delve into the insights gathered from Litmus' 2023 State of Email Design Report, covering key trends and revelations around email workflows, design, and the pivotal role of Email Service Providers (ESPs). Email Workflows Litmus' survey of approximately 440 email marketing professionals sheds light on the intricacies of email workflows. With nearly 30% of marketers concurrently handling three to five emails, along with two to three versions of each email...

Proven Strategies to Increase Social Media Reach and Engagement

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 12:00:00 EST

In the fast-paced world of social media marketing, businesses are always trying to figure out how to increase reach and engagement. Creating a dynamic and effective social media plan that accomplishes these goals requires research and careful consideration. Here are proven strategies that can accelerate your social media reach and grow an engaged following! Define Your Target Audience It's crucial to first identify and understand your target audience. In addition to basic demographics, delve into their values, interests, and behaviors. Utilize advanced analytics tools to track online behavior and preferences, allowing for a more nuanced approach...

Year-End Marketing Review: Setting the Stage for a Successful New Year

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 12:00:00 EST

As we bid farewell to another year, now is the perfect time to reflect on the marketing triumphs and lessons learned over the past twelve months. In July, we shared mid-year marketing review tips to help you navigate the marketing landscape. Let's wrap up the year by exploring the essential components of a year-end marketing review to help set the stage for a successful new year. Celebrate Your Wins First and foremost, take a moment to celebrate your successes. Whether it's achieving record-breaking sales, launching a groundbreaking campaign, or simply hitting a social media milestone, recognizing...

How Much Should I Budget for Marketing?

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:00:00 EST

How much a marketing budget should be is always a tough question to answer. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish and by when. Setting a firm objective helps provide clarity on the budget you need, for example, generating 500 leads per quarter or increasing organic traffic by 20% from the previous year. Determining how much and where to spend your marketing budget is crucial to achieving your objectives. As your business gears up for 2024, it's essential to approach budgeting with a strategic mindset. Today's Marketing Landscape: Investment is a Necessity We’ve all heard the...

Why Your Organic Traffic is Down and Strategies to Fix It

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:00:00 EST

In today's digitally-driven world, web traffic is the lifeblood of any successful online business or website. The more visitors you have, the more opportunities you have to convert them into customers or subscribers. While paid advertising can be an effective and fast way to drive traffic, organic web traffic is the holy grail of digital marketing because users are coming to your website naturally. Organic traffic is crucial to any online business as it can generate leads, increase brand visibility, and drive conversions. However, there may be instances when organic traffic...

Effective B2B Email List Building Strategies

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 12:00:00 EST

Email list building is an effective digital marketing tool for driving traffic to your B2B website and increasing conversions, such as purchases, demos, quote requests, and more. It can also help your business retain more customers, which saves money while boosting revenue. According to HubSpot, not only is retaining customers less expensive than acquiring new ones, but improving retention by just 5% can increase profits by over 25%. With a quality email list, B2B businesses can grow their sales without pouring massive resources into customer acquisition efforts. Learn the best practices for...

Using Psychology to Make Content Marketing More Effective

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 12:00:00 EST

Your content needs more than compelling copy and visuals to be effective — it should speak to your audience on a deeper level. That’s where using psychology can help. In this article, we’ll explain influential psychology theories you can use to enhance your content's reach and impact. Scarcity/FOMO The scarcity principle suggests that people value things more when perceived as scarce. When people worry that they'll be unable to have or do something because of limited quantity and time, they'll want it more and have a 'fear of missing out' (FOMO). Use limited-time offers, exclusive deals, or low-stock notifications to create a...

Outside-the-Box Tips to Optimize Your Holiday Digital Marketing

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:00:00 EST

As the holidays get closer, businesses are busy preparing for the festive rush and trying to make the most of their digital marketing efforts. Standing out in the sea of promotions and ads is a challenge, but with some creativity and planning, your business can achieve merry sales numbers. Here are some outside-the-box tips to optimize your holiday digital marketing and make your brand sparkle during this celebratory season: 1. Interactive Festive Experiences Create interactive and immersive experiences for your audience. Consider developing holiday-themed games, quizzes, or interactive content that engages...

The Secrets of Successful Brand Storytelling

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 12:00:00 EST

Crafting a compelling brand story is essential for establishing a deeper connection with your audience. However, brand storytelling goes beyond mere product promotion — it evokes emotions, builds trust, resonates with your customers, and ultimately drives sales. According to Search Engine Watch, storytelling can increase conversion rates by 30%, making it a powerful marketing tool. But what does it take to achieve successful brand storytelling? Let's dive in and find out! Understand Your Audience Before you start telling your brand story, it's crucial to understand who your target audience is. What are their needs, goals, and pain...

Writing Great PPC Ad Copy That Drives Clicks

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 12:00:00 EST

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful digital marketing strategy for driving leads and customers to your business fast, but a big chunk of its success depends on the quality of your ads. To attract as many clicks as possible, you need great ad copy. Follow these copywriting tips to get more clicks and conversions! Know Your Target Audience First, it's vital to understand your audience by stepping into their shoes. Think about the problem they’re facing and the solution they’re searching for. Writing PPC ads from only your brand's viewpoint won’t win you many customers. Instead, find...

How to Create a Seamless Customer Experience That Builds Brand Loyalty

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:00:00 EST

In an era where customers have endless options and high expectations, businesses need to go above and beyond to meet their needs. A seamless customer experience (CX) is crucial for ensuring that every touchpoint, from the initial interaction to post-purchase support, is smooth and hassle-free. Whether you're a small business or a global enterprise, a fine-tuned CX requires a strategic approach and careful attention to detail. By understanding your customers and implementing effective strategies, you can enhance customer satisfaction, increase loyalty, and gain a competitive edge. Discover the essential steps to create...

Create B2B Buyer Personas for a Stronger Marketing Strategy

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 12:00:00 EST

Buyer personas are crucial for building a B2B marketing strategy because they allow you to understand, reach, and engage your target audience. Personas can help your business in various ways, from developing content that resonates with your ideal buyer to setting up targeted pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns. Here’s what you need to know about buyer personas and important elements to include in yours to provide the most benefit to your B2B marketing strategy. What is a Buyer Persona? A ‘buyer persona’ is a semi-fictional character that represents your ideal buyer's most common characteristics...

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Marketing Ideas

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 12:00:00 EST

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping events of the year, making them great opportunities for brands to boost their sales and attract new customers. However, a lot of other businesses are also vying for attention. It’s crucial to prepare your digital marketing strategy ahead of time so your products and services can stand out from the digital clutter. Check out this list of creative Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing ideas that can help you drive more sales and make these shopping days a huge success for your business! Sneak Peeks...

Landing Page Tweaks to Increase Conversions

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:00:00 EST

While there are many different types of landing pages, they all share the same objective: generate conversions. A conversion happens when a website visitor completes a desired goal, such as making a purchase, filling out a contact form, registering for an event, etc. Whether creating or updating landing pages, making these tweaks can increase your landing page's conversions. 1. Clear Headline The headline is where visitors’ attention first goes, so it’s important to make the most of it. Make sure that your headline is direct and explains what you’re offering. There are...

Must-Have Content Marketing Tools

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing has become a cornerstone of successful online businesses and brands in today's digital landscape. It's no secret that valuable and engaging content can drive traffic, increase brand awareness, and ultimately lead to conversions. To excel in content marketing, it's essential to have the right tools at your disposal. Let's look at the must-have content tools to supercharge your strategy and help you achieve your marketing goals. Importance of Using Tools in Content Marketing Before diving in, let's explore why these tools are crucial for your marketing efforts. Content marketing is multifaceted, and it involves various...

Google Analytics 4: Updated Data Metrics

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:00:00 EST

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, it's crucial to keep up with the latest tools and technologies that help us measure the success of our online presence. If you've been using Google Universal Analytics (UA) to track your website's performance, it's time to transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 brings an updated set of metrics and insights to the table, but it's important to note that comparing GA4 metrics with UA metrics is like comparing apples to oranges – they serve different purposes and provide distinct insights. The Transition from UA to GA4: A Mix of Sentiments Before delving...

Voice Search Trends: What You Need to Know for Successful Optimization

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 12:00:00 EST

The way we search for information on the internet is constantly evolving, and one of the most significant changes in recent years has been the rise of voice search. With the increasing popularity of voice-activated virtual assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa, more and more people are using their voices to search for answers to their questions. This shift in search behavior has important implications for businesses and search engine optimization (SEO). Discover the latest voice search trends and get valuable insights on optimizing your content for voice search successfully. The Rise of Voice...

Email Marketing Best Practices for Great Campaigns

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 12:00:00 EST

Email marketing offers numerous benefits — such as lead nurturing, sales, and customer retention. However, with so many emails arriving in people’s mailboxes, you must use best practices to break through the clutter. Fortunately, email platforms make it easy to measure your return on investment (ROI) and metrics like click-through rates (CTR), open rates, bounce rates, and conversions. This wealth of data allows you to optimize your campaigns for success. Check out these email marketing best practices to boost your results for a better ROI. 12 Email Marketing Tips for Successful Campaigns Email is...

How to Create Engaging Social Media Content

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 12:00:00 EST

With nearly five billion social media users worldwide, it’s important to focus your marketing efforts where they’ll not only be seen but also be advantageous. But creating the right social media content is more important than churning out just anything. You want to utilize this tool to connect with your audience, build your brand’s presence, and drive traffic to your business. Here are some ways to generate engagement with your content and boost your social media presence. Know Your Audience The first step toward creating content that resonates is to thoroughly understand your target...

Web Development Tips for a Successful Website Launch or Redesign

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 12:00:00 EST

Successfully launching a new website or redesign requires a solid web development foundation, from research and planning to coding and design. However, it can be easy to overlook details when a project deadline is fast approaching and things need to get done now. Here are the most important web development tips your team should follow for any major website project to ensure stellar results. 14 Web Development Tips for a Great Launch Proper web development is crucial for any business to establish an online presence and attract customers. It's not just about creating a visually...

Essential Features to Look for in Your Sales Automation Platform

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 12:00:00 EST

As the sales landscape becomes increasingly competitive and complex, sales automation platforms have become powerful tools for businesses to streamline their processes and maximize efficiency. These platforms offer a range of features that can greatly enhance sales efforts, from lead generation to closing deals. To help you get started with sales automation, we've compiled the essential features to look for in a sales automation platform that can help your sales team achieve their goals and drive revenue growth. Let's dive in! Integration with Existing CRM and Marketing Systems Before investing in a...

Ways to Increase the Perceived Value of Your Brand

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 12:00:00 EST

Creating ‘perceived value’ for your brand is essential to its success, however, that’s easier said than done. Perceived value isn’t just about the price — it’s your brand’s ability to satisfy customers’ needs. You can do this by demonstrating to customers the most valuable, tangible benefits your brand offers and highlight those benefits in your sales and marketing. Explore the different ways you can increase the perceived value of you brand to generate more leads and customers for your business. Unique Selling Proposition A unique selling proposition...

What Should Your Marketing Tech Stack Include?

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 12:00:00 EST

With so many tools and technologies available, it's important for your business to have the right marketing technology (also known as 'MarTech') to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and drive better results. But what exactly should your marketing tech stack include? If you're unfamiliar with this term, it simply refers to the collection of software and tools that marketers use to execute and manage their marketing strategies. A marketing tech stack can include everything from email marketing software to customer relationship management (CRM) systems to analytics platforms. However, with the ever-growing number of tools and technologies...

PPC Strategies to Supercharge Lead Generation

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 12:00:00 EST

In the digital age, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising has become a popular and effective way to drive traffic and generate leads. However, simply running ads and hoping for the best won't cut it anymore. To truly improve your lead generation efforts, you need the right PPC strategies. It's not just about spending money on ads; it's about understanding your target audience, optimizing your campaigns, and constantly testing and refining your approach. Check out the top PPC strategies that can help supercharge your lead generation and achieve the results you desire. PPC Strategy Tips to Boost Lead Generation Unlike...

How to Get Case Studies for Your Business

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 12:00:00 EST

Are you looking to showcase your business's success and attract new clients? One effective way to do that is by utilizing case studies. Case studies are persuasive pieces of content because they provide real-life examples of how your products or services have helped clients achieve their goals. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of getting case studies for your business, as well as ways to leverage it in your marketing. Let's get started! 1. Identify Your Ideal Client Before you can start creating case studies, it's important to identify your ideal client...

Mid-Year Marketing Review: Tips for a Successful Audit

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:00:00 EST

With half of the year behind us, now is the perfect time to take a step back and evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. Are you on track to reach your marketing goals? Or do you need to make some adjustments to ensure a successful second half of the year? A marketing audit allows you to analyze your strategies, measure your success, identify areas of improvement, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns. Follow these tips for conducting a mid-year marketing review so your business can end the year strong! Lay Some Groundwork Planning is key...

Referral Marketing Program Beginner's Guide

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 12:00:00 EST

Sitting around hoping that customers will refer your business to their family, friends, and online network isn’t an effective digital marketing strategy — but setting up a referral marketing program is! When you have a product or service that impresses customers, they’re willing to spread the word (especially when given the right motivation). Jump into our beginner's guide for starting a referral marketing program to increase brand awareness and grow your business. How to Set Up a Referral Marketing Program Referral marketing is a cost-effective way to acquire new customers, as your existing customers are doing the...

What is E-E-A-T and Why It Matters for SEO

Tue, 20 Jun 2023 12:00:00 EST

At first glance, E-E-A-T might look like a new diet or fitness trend, but it's a rather important concept in the world of SEO (search engine optimization). In recent years, search engines like Google have become more focused on providing users with high-quality, trustworthy content. If you want your website to rank well in search results, your strategy must consider E-E-A-T. In this article, we'll explore what E-E-A-T is, why it's essential for SEO, and how you can improve your website's content to help boost rankings. Overview of Google's E-E-A-T Principles The acronym stands for...

11 Summer Marketing Ideas to Generate More Business

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 12:00:00 EST

Summer is here, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to heat up your marketing strategies. Are you looking for ways to attract more customers and boost your sales during the summer months? Look no further, as we've got you covered with some creative summer marketing ideas to help you make the most of the season! Whether you're a small business owner or a marketing professional, it's important to keep your marketing strategies fresh and up-to-date. In this article, we'll share some marketing tips that are sure to help you stand out from the competition and generate more...

Powerful Benefits of Updating Old Content

Tue, 30 May 2023 12:00:00 EST

Have you ever created an amazing piece of content, only to have it lose its relevance and engagement over time? In today's fast-paced digital world, content can become outdated in a matter of months, even weeks. Fortunately, updating your old content is a cost-effective way to improve your digital marketing. 'Historical optimization' is the process of keeping content fresh and up-to-date, which can have a significant impact on your website's traffic, engagement, and SEO (search engine optimization). Check out the powerful benefits of updating old content and why you should incorporate it into...

How to Build a Customer Review Strategy

Tue, 23 May 2023 12:00:00 EST

Customer reviews are a vital component of any digital marketing strategy. Positive reviews can increase sales and brand awareness, while negative reviews can harm your reputation. Plus, they're an important SEO ranking factor. The power of customer reviews can't be underestimated, and it’s essential to have a solid strategy in place to leverage them. In this article, we'll discuss how to build a customer review strategy that will help you generate more positive reviews and use them to your advantage. From identifying the right platforms to encouraging customers to leave reviews, we’ll...

Proven Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses

Tue, 16 May 2023 12:00:00 EST

Having a strong online presence is crucial for any business, but it's especially important for small businesses that need to make every marketing dollar count. However, with the vast array of digital marketing tools and techniques available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Digital marketing isn't just about creating a website or social media pages; it's about crafting a comprehensive strategy that aligns with your business goals and objectives. In this article, we'll dive into proven digital marketing strategies that can help small businesses boost their online presence, attract more customers, and increase their...

Use Business Process Automation to Resolve Bottlenecks

Tue, 09 May 2023 12:00:00 EST

As your business grows, it's common for bottlenecks to arise. That’s why ‘business process automation’ is crucial for removing or minimizing bottlenecks to help your business and employees flourish. By implementing automation technology, your company can better serve customers, improve employee output, and boost profits. See how automation can resolve common bottlenecks for more efficient and effective operations. What is Business Process Automation? Business process automation (BPA) is the use of technology to perform recurring tasks or processes in a business to replace manual effort. Essentially, it reduces or removes small but time-consuming tasks that are required...

13 Most Common UX Design Mistakes

Tue, 02 May 2023 12:00:00 EST

It's crucial that your web design delivers a seamless and enjoyable user experience to generate leads and sales. But with so many elements to consider, it's easy to make mistakes. User experience (UX) design is an essential aspect of creating websites, apps, and other digital products that meet users' needs and expectations. It involves designing interfaces that are intuitive, user-friendly, and visually appealing. That's why it's important to be aware of the most common UX design mistakes and take steps to avoid them. These fumbles can range from poor navigation to cluttered interfaces, and they...

Local Search Marketing Tactics to Boost Your Online Presence

Tue, 25 Apr 2023 12:00:00 EST

When people search for a product or service online, they often use their city or zip code as part of the query. Local search marketing is a powerful digital marketing strategy that allows you to increase visibility in search engine results and attract more customers to your business. There are various ways you can improve your local search marketing and boost your online presence. From optimizing your website for local keywords to using social media to connect with potential customers, here are proven tactics that can make your local search marketing more effective:...

How to Measure the Success of Your PPC Campaigns

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 12:00:00 EST

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a popular digital marketing strategy that can drive traffic to your website and generate business. However, it's vital to measure the success of your PPC campaigns to ensure that you're getting a return on your investment. Take a look at which essential metrics to track and how to measure your campaign's performance so you may better optimize its ROI. Key PPC Metrics to Measure Success When measuring the success of a PPC campaign, there are various metrics that you should be tracking. These metrics will give you an insight into...

Key Strategies For Creating Persuasive Content

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:00:00 EST

Capturing your target audience’s attention, let alone convincing them to take action, is a challenge that every brand faces. It’s not enough to simply create content — you must consider how to make the content most effective with your audience. Check out these key strategies for creating persuasive content that attracts customers, strengthens your SEO strategy, grows your email list, and more! Know Your Audience Before creating any content, it's important to know who your target audience is. What are their needs, desires, and pain points? Understanding your audience will allow you to tailor...

Anatomy of a High-Converting Landing Page

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 12:00:00 EST

Landing pages play an important role in any digital marketing campaign as they're designed to convert visitors into leads or customers. But what makes a landing page truly effective? In this article, we'll break down the anatomy of a high-converting landing page and give you tips on how to create one for your business. 1. Headline The headline is the first thing visitors see when they land on your page. It should be clear, concise, and attention-grabbing while aligning with the ad or email that brought the visitor to your page. A good headline should communicate the value proposition of...

Automating Your Lead Intake: A Step-by-Step Guide

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 12:00:00 EST

As a business owner or marketer, you know that leads are essential to the growth and success of your company. However, manually processing and following up with leads can be time-consuming and inefficient. That's where lead intake automation comes in. Benefits of Lead Intake Automation Automation provides a number of benefits that help businesses simplify the process of collecting leads and manage them more effectively. Take a closer look at the top advantages of lead intake automation: Save time and increase efficiency Ensure accurate and consistent data...

12 Ways to Maximize Social Media Engagement

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 12:00:00 EST

Getting better engagement on your social media posts plays an important role in building a successful online presence that drives business growth. But it takes more than setting up your profile and posting every now and then to stand out from the crowd. You need a well-rounded strategy to increase engagement and see a real impact from your efforts. Explore these tips and best practices that can help you maximize your reach and engagement on social networks, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok. 1. Post Regularly This might seem obvious, but it's worth...

How to Find Out What Your Customers Really Think

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 12:00:00 EST

Understanding what your customers think — and how they feel — is one of the most important steps to any thriving business. It informs product development, marketing campaigns, and customer service initiatives. But how do you find out what your customers really think? Here's a guide to getting started: 1. Take Surveys and Polls Surveys and polls are one of the best ways to understand what your customers really think about you or specific topics related to it. There are a variety of ways to conduct surveys and polls: website, email, social media, phone, and...

Signs Your Marketing System Needs a Tune-Up

Tue, 07 Mar 2023 12:00:00 EST

A marketing system is a crucial component of any successful business, as it drives sales and revenue growth. However, even the most effective systems can sometimes lose their luster over time. Explore the signs that your marketing system needs a tune-up and ways to move it in the right direction. Decreased Sales and Revenue If your sales are consistently lower than expected or you're not seeing the revenue growth you projected, it's time to assess your current marketing strategies. A decline in sales or revenue could indicate that your message isn't resonating with your target audience, or that your methods may...

6 Spring Ideas to Inspire Your Marketing

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:00:00 EST

Audiences (and Google) love fresh, relevant content, which is why now is a great time to get your digital marketing ready for spring. No matter what your business is, there are ways you can incorporate the reinvigorating energy of spring into your marketing to spark engagement and conversions. Check out these spring content ideas to breathe new life into your website, blog, and social media ! Spring-Inspired Ideas to Drive Engagement Before we jump in, a quick reminder — it’s important that you create content that’s relevant to your brand...

Why Your Content Marketing Isn't Working

Tue, 21 Feb 2023 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing is an important digital marketing tool for businesses these days, as more and more companies are utilizing content as a way to attract and engage customers. However, simply creating content doesn't necessarily guarantee success. If your content marketing isn't working as you had hoped, there could be some underlying issues causing this problem. Let's discuss the potential reasons why your content marketing is struggling and what steps you can take to turn the ship around. 1. Insufficient Research One of the biggest mistakes in content marketing is not doing enough research on the target audience...

8 Low-Cost Ways to Promote Your Business Online

Tue, 14 Feb 2023 12:00:00 EST

You don’t need to drop a fortune to promote your business online, but you do need to be strategic. There are a variety of free and low-cost options to get your company noticed on the internet by potential customers and attract repeat business. Let’s get started! 1. Be a Podcast Guest Generate exposure and visibility for your business by appearing as a guest on a podcast. Additionally, it builds credibility and authority in your niche because it shows that people value your opinion enough to interview you. Plus, being on podcasts helps build relationships with influencers and other experts...

PPC Mistakes to Avoid in 2023

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 12:00:00 EST

PPC advertising is a great way to get your products or services in front of potential customers. But, if done incorrectly, it can lead to subpar results or even costly mistakes. Now is the perfect time to review your PPC advertising and make sure your tactics are up-to-date. To help you get the best possible results from your campaigns, here are the top PPC mistakes you should avoid in 2023: Keyword Stuffing Landing Pages An outdated tactic that continues to prevail is over-stuffing a landing page with keywords in an attempt to draw attention...

1-Minute Landing Page Checklist

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 12:00:00 EST

Crafting a captivating and convincing landing page isn’t as easy as throwing an offer up and driving traffic to it. There are several different factors that go into creating a page that speaks to your audience and motivates them to take action. And while there's an incredible amount of variation among audience, purpose, intent, product, angle, focus, industry, niche, perception, buy-in, cost, messaging, value proposition, testimonial approach, shipping method, and a host of other factors, the components that make up a successful landing page are often the same. Here are the essentials for a landing page that converts: □ Killer Headline A headline...

Sales Automation: How to Get Started

Tue, 24 Jan 2023 12:00:00 EST

Are you looking for a way to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales operations? Sales automation can help you do that! By eliminating manual tasks with automation tools, businesses can streamline processes, improve customer service, and generate more sales. So if your company is seeking to increase profits without increasing headcount, you should consider sales automation. Here are the steps to get started: 1. Establish Your Goals Before you start automating your sales process, it's important to know what you're trying to achieve with it. Think about what success looks like for your sales...

What Does an SEO Audit Involve?

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 12:00:00 EST

Achieving top rankings in Google's organic search results for your business requires maintenance and improvements, which is why regular SEO audits are essential. An audit allows you to better understand what's going on with your website and how to make it more search engine-friendly. But what does an SEO audit involve, exactly? In this article, you’ll learn about the audit process to see how it can help you grow organic traffic in 2023 and beyond. How Long Do SEO Audits Take? The time it takes to perform an SEO audit depends on the size and number of...

TikTok Marketing Tactics to Consider (Even If You're Not on There)

Tue, 10 Jan 2023 12:00:00 EST

Are you looking to build an audience on TikTok? With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms. To tap into this huge user base, marketers need to understand the platform and its unique features. TikTok is a video-sharing social media platform that has gained tremendous traction with teens and young adults around the world. The platform offers creative opportunities for marketers to reach audiences in new and exciting ways. It also allows creators to produce high-quality content that can be shared across other digital channels. ...

8 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch in 2023

Tue, 03 Jan 2023 12:00:00 EST

Recent advances in digital marketing have changed the way businesses market their products and services. From artificial intelligence to voice search, technologies are evolving how we connect with customers. It's essential for businesses to stay abreast of these trends if they want to remain competitive. Let's discuss some of the digital marketing trends that you should expect to see in 2023 and beyond. 1. AI-Driven Marketing AI-driven marketing is quickly becoming one of the most important digital marketing trends to watch in 2023. AI technology can be used to generate accurate insights about customer behavior...

How a Website Redesign Helps SEO

Tue, 27 Dec 2022 12:00:00 EST

A website redesign does more than breathe new life into your brand's online presence — it's also beneficial for search engine optimization (SEO). From a better user experience to technical upgrades, a redesign can improve your search rankings, allowing more customers to find your business. If your website has remained the same for the last several years, here are some reasons why you should consider a redesign. SEO Benefits of a Website Redesign A website refresh can enhance your SEO and conversion rates by increasing traffic, fixing technical issues, and improving usability. By...

Types of Automated Emails to Keep More Customers

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 12:00:00 EST

Automated emails can effectively build relationships with leads/customers and drive more conversions, growing your business faster. According to Harvard Business Review, studies reveal that investing in new customers is between 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. Below are six types of automated emails that can help your business attract and keep more customers. “Thank You” Send a “thank you” email to new customers, subscribers, event attendees, etc., to build goodwill. It’s also a great opportunity to offer resources like FAQs, guides, or video tutorials that give the recipient what they need to...

Ways to Use AI in Your Marketing

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 12:00:00 EST

When you hear the words 'artificial intelligence,' does marketing immediately come to mind? Probably not. However, AI technology is found in many marketing tools, such as analytics and CRMs, because it's great for automating certain tasks and helping you to focus on more pressing matters in your marketing. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and uses of AI for marketing to help improve your competitive edge. Customer Service Chatbots When it comes to AI, your first thought might be about chatbots. This AI service has been around for quite some time, and...

How to Build a Blog That Gets Traffic

Tue, 29 Nov 2022 12:00:00 EST

If you want to drive more traffic to your website, building a blog that brings in and engages your target audience is a powerful strategy (when done right). Many people turn to blog content for answers or insights, so why not use this to your advantage? Here is what you can do with your blog to increase site traffic. Cross Post Content Repurposing your content for your other channels is key. Take important takeaways and post them to your social media channels with a link to read the full post. This gets your audience interested...

The Top 5 Reasons Your Facebook Ad Didn’t Work

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 12:00:00 EST

We’ve worked with many clients in the past who have told us that Facebook ads didn’t work for them. The explanations why they didn’t range from "our audience isn’t on Facebook" to "we don’t have enough likes." These explanations may sound logical, however, they're probably not the real reasons. The truth about Facebook ads is you need a strategy in order for them to be effective. Creating generic ads for untargeted audiences won't produce results. Facebook is a great platform for reaching all types of people. According to Hootsuite, 36.8% of the world’s population uses Facebook monthly. That equals 2.91 billion users! With that big...

Black Friday Digital Marketing Ideas to Boost Sales

Tue, 08 Nov 2022 12:00:00 EST

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the biggest shopping days of the year. But if you're not prepared, you could miss out on sales opportunities. That's why we've put together some digital marketing ideas to help you get ahead of the game this holiday season. Email Marketing Email marketing has been around since the early 1990s, but it wasn't until the 2000s that email marketing became mainstream. Today, many companies use email marketing to send newsletters, promotions, offers, and even transactional emails. But before you start sending mass emails, there are...

7 Tips for Creating Sign-Up Forms that Convert

Tue, 01 Nov 2022 12:00:00 EST

What does your business website need to increase leads and conversions? A way to sign up or purchase! Sign-up forms not only increase leads but also help businesses grow their mailing lists and learn more about the people interested in their company. And while they only take a few minutes to set up, they could actually have a much larger role in how well your pages perform. By the end of this article, you will know how to create an impactful sign-up form and what to include to achieve the greatest results. How to Create a High-Converting Sign-Up Form...

How to Choose Marketing Automation Software

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 12:00:00 EST

Marketing automation software is a powerful tool for marketers looking to automate various tasks related to running a successful organization. Automating certain aspects of the marketing process frees up your time so you can focus on high-value activities like strategy development, content creation, lead generation, etc. However, choosing the right software can be difficult, especially when there are so many options out there. Here are some tips to help make the decision easier. Understand What You Need Before starting the process of selecting marketing automation software, it’s important to understand exactly what you need. These can include...

10 Email Marketing Tactics That Increase ROI

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:00:00 EST

Email marketing can be used for a variety of objectives like promoting an offer, cultivating relationships, sharing company updates, and more. In addition to its versatility, email software makes it easy to measure your ROI by tracking performance metrics, such as click-through rates (CTR), open rates, bounce rates, and conversions. Check out these 10 tactics to ensure your email marketing campaigns are following best practices to enable higher returns. 1. Don’t Buy Contact Lists Not only does buying contact lists go against the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires businesses to receive European...

What Every Business Website Needs to Drive Conversions

Tue, 11 Oct 2022 12:00:00 EST

From small startups to global enterprises, all businesses require a website to attract customers. While the design will certainly vary from one to the next, every business website needs several things to drive conversions (e.g. purchases, form submissions, and signups). Here are seven must-haves your business website needs to improve your online presence and convert visitors into customers : 1. Clear Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons One of the first things people notice about any website is its CTA button, such as "Shop Now" or Learn More." If the CTA isn't crystal clear...

Holiday PPC Advertising: 6 Tips to Optimize Your Campaign

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 12:00:00 EST

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful tool for businesses looking to reach customers during the holiday season. However, there are a lot of other businesses vying for holiday shoppers' attention. That's why it's vital to make sure that your campaign is set up to get the best return on investment possible. Here's a checklist of things you should look out for when optimizing your holiday PPC advertising: 1. Use Holiday Keywords Before you dive into creating your campaign, it's helpful to understand what type of holiday-related keywords will perform well for your business. There are some great...

Everything You Need to Know About Keywords

Tue, 27 Sep 2022 12:00:00 EST

Keywords are an essential part of digital marketing but there's often confusion about what they are and how to use them. While the practice of "keyword stuffing" used to be common in the early days of search engine optimization (SEO), it can now get your website in trouble. This is because search engines have evolved, becoming much smarter and more efficient. Whether you’re new to digital marketing or a savvy professional, we’ll break down everything you need to know about keywords so you can squeeze the most benefits out of them. What Are Keywords? A...

Top Branding Essentials for Marketing Success

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 12:00:00 EST

In order to build a marketing system that attracts and retains customers, you have to start with a strong brand foundation. After all, branding can be the deciding factor in whether customers choose to do business with you. So how can you use branding to your advantage? We’ll discuss how a clear brand identity can benefit your business and what to do to implement it in your marketing. Why Consistent Branding is Key When you think of popular brands like McDonald’s, Apple, or Nike, what comes to mind? For us, it’s their consistent branding. Here are...

Using Content Marketing to Grow Your Email List

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 12:00:00 EST

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. So, how do you take someone from reading content to making the leap to give you their email address? Here are some tips for growing your email list using content marketing… Create Great Content We realize this sounds like a no-brainer. It isn’t. Creating great content can be a time-consuming, challenging endeavor. You have to work hard to make your content entertaining and valuable...

7 Fall Social Media Marketing Tactics

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 12:00:00 EST

The days will soon be getting shorter and cooler, meaning autumn will be in full swing. Planning for this new season is important since there are many marketing opportunities at your fingertips. How can you speak to your audience during this time of year and build your brand? Let’s look at these seven social media marketing tactics for fall, and what you can do with them. 1. Start of a New School Year With school starting for children and adults alike, incorporating back-to-school language and offers in your campaigns can bring a lot more eyes to them...

How to Leverage “Near Me” Searches for Your Business

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:00:00 EST

Many people use the search phrase “near me” when looking for restaurants, gas stations, apparel, and more in their area. This is because smartphone users are dropping location qualifiers (e.g. ZIP codes and neighborhoods) since they expect the results will be automatically relevant to their location due to GPS. See how to optimize for near me searches to increase your presence in local search results! 1. Optimize Google Business Profile For your business to appear properly in the local search results, you’ll need to have a Google Business Profile. After setting up your profile, it’s essential that...

About Page Writing Guidelines to Engage Readers

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 12:00:00 EST

Your About page is usually where people go to learn more. It’s essential that this page explains who you are, what your business is about, and everything else customers may need to know. Some companies even take this opportunity to inject some personality into their website to capture their brand. Here are some guidelines for writing your “About Us” page, and how it can engage your readers. How to Craft an Engaging About Page Having a strong “About Us” page is important for quite a few reasons. Not only does it help your business...

Signs Your Business Needs Marketing Automation

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 12:00:00 EST

Marketing automation software allows companies to simplify their workflows and make data accessible anywhere, making it easier to track customer interactions, automate repetitive tasks, and send personalized messages across channels. In addition to helping businesses streamline their workflow, marketing automation software enables companies to gain insights into consumer behavior. With this information, businesses can better understand how to market products and services to consumers. Here are seven signs your business should consider implementing marketing automation software: 1. Leads fall through the cracks When a new lead comes into contact with...

Fine-Tune Your Google Ads Campaign for Better Results

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 12:00:00 EST

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising isn’t something you “set and forget” — it requires monitoring, testing, and optimizing to improve your ROI. By following these settings and PPC strategy tips, you'll be able to fine-tune your Google Ads to generate better results and help grow your business. 1. Verify Proper Conversion Tracking When conversions aren’t being tracked properly, you’ll be left in the dark on the true effectiveness of your Google Ads campaign. Verify that the code is implemented correctly and that your conversion tracking is running as it should. 2. Review Campaign Settings Targeting is one of the most powerful...

Back-to-School Digital Marketing Ideas

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 12:00:00 EST

Summer’s drawing to a close, which means back-to-school season is nearby. For many businesses, this is a prime time to market their products or services, especially with deals for parents and students. No matter your brand, you can use this retail holiday to draw in customers. Here are some back-to-school digital marketing ideas for your business. Market the Right Merchandise Before getting started on your back-to-school campaign, decide which of your products (or even services) will be most needed during this time of year. If your business offers sports gear, think of the afterschool activities and gym classes. For example, hair...

How to Craft the Perfect Voicemail Script to Get More Callbacks

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 12:00:00 EST

According to RingLead, 80% of sales calls go to voicemail, and 90% of first-time voicemails are never returned. Furthermore, an Invesp infographic noted that 80% of sales require five follow-up calls. Although voicemail has a lower response rate than other types of communication, such as email, what you lose in quantity, you gain in quality. That’s because voicemails are generally more personable and demonstrate a greater level of interest. Without a carefully planned, thoughtful, and rehearsed voicemail, you won’t get any responses at all. Here are some effective voicemail script bullet points that can be used to stay on...

3 Offline Strategies That Drive Online Success

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 12:00:00 EST

Digital marketing is essential to making your business successful in this digital age, but that doesn’t mean that offline marketing can’t still have an impact. Whether you consider yourself more of a "people person" or simply want to expand your marketing, here are some of the offline marketing strategies you can leverage to boost your offline and online success. 1. Speak at Events Don't underestimate the power of public speaking. Sharing your expertise with your target audience is one of the best ways to build trust. And from a digital perspective, often event attendees take photos, share social media posts, and can even post...

Evergreen Content Marketing Ideas

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 12:00:00 EST

Evergreen content is a type of content that doesn't lose its value over time. Plus, it encourages sharing because the content is always useful and relevant. Evergreen content marketing is particularly valuable for businesses with limited resources because they don’t have to worry about keeping their content fresh. Here are some evergreen content ideas to inspire your strategy: Founder's Story A founder's story is an essential part of any company's history. It helps people understand how the company came into existence and what its founders were trying to achieve when they started their business. Founders' stories also help explain the company's...

Essential Elements of Start Here Page

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 12:00:00 EST

Not every visitor that comes to your website will enter through the home page — they may first land on a product page, blog post, case study, etc. That’s why having a Start Here page provides immense value because it gives a clear, central location that directs visitors to where they want to go instead of them bouncing from your site. See how a Start Here page can benefit your site and the seven essential elements to drive more engagement and conversions! The Difference Between Start Here and About Pages Often confused with the...

7 Ways to Boost Instagram Engagement

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 12:00:00 EST

Social media marketing can be a tricky game, especially on Instagram. The algorithm seems to change at a whim, and what once brought in the clicks, likes, and comments may now be getting crickets. So how can you turn the tide in your favor? Here are some simple but effective ways to boost your engagement on Instagram. Consistently Post The last thing you want is for your brand to be “out of sight, out of mind.” Consistent posting is vital since it secures your reliability and relevance. One to two posts per day is what you should aim for, along...

Create a Link Building Strategy in 6 Steps

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 12:00:00 EST

Backlinks are an important factor in search engine optimization (SEO ) because it shows Google that your website is trustworthy. In addition to helping your business website rank higher in organic search results, backlinks drive 'referral' traffic. Generally speaking, when you increase site traffic, conversions go up. Below are six steps to creating a link building strategy to drive more traffic and attract customers. 1. Research Your Audience For your link building strategy to be effective, it’s crucial that you research your target audience. Find out what’s important to them and what they want by checking out online forums...

11 Ways To Improve Your Business with Sales Automation

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 12:00:00 EST

Not long ago, sales teams had to spend more than half of their time on tedious tasks like taking notes, logging calls, and prioritizing leads. Sales automation technology now allows salespeople to spend more time actually selling. There are a variety of sales processes you can automate to increase sales productivity. Your business doesn’t need to automate everything, but strategically implementing automation can open more sales opportunities for your business. See how! 1. Improve Email Communication Sales automation solutions have customizable email templates and funnels that can save hours writing individual emails. Using email automation tools not...

5 Tips to Boost Landing Page Conversion Rates

Tue, 31 May 2022 12:00:00 EST

Driving customers to your site is only half the battle. Once they’re there, you want to convert these visitors into leads. How can this be done? Thankfully, we have a few tricks up our sleeves that will help you to boost your landing page conversion rates and get those leads you’ve been hoping for. Add Compelling CTAs Having the right call-to-action (CTA) is key for your landing pages. You want to ensure you have enough without being overwhelming, and also make them relevant to where you place them. Most websites have contact forms, buttons to subscribe to their email...

5 Tips to Get the Most From Your Facebook Business Page

Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 EST

More than 58% of online users are active on Facebook every month. With all of those active users, you would probably assume there are many, many Facebook business pages — and you’d be correct. As of 2021, there are more than 200 million businesses, mostly small businesses, around the world using Facebook's free tools. As a business owner, that's a lot of noise to compete with on Facebook, in addition to the posts from friends and family that dominate your audience's organic newsfeed. Here are five tips to help your business stand out and to make the most of your Facebook business page: ...

How to Grow Your Email List Faster

Tue, 17 May 2022 12:00:00 EST

Building out your email list may have you scratching your head for ideas. How can your brand do it both quickly and effectively? And what exactly are the advantages of an email list for your business? Let’s dive into how to grow your email list faster and how you can benefit from strengthening this component of your marketing system. Benefits of Email Lists Though there are now many digital marketing channels, such as search engines, website, and social media, email is still a big player in the game. Growing your list can help to boost your audience and in...

Strategies to Avoid Summer Sales Slump

Tue, 10 May 2022 12:00:00 EST

With school out and people going on vacation, many businesses experience a summer sales slump, but there are ways to avoid the slowdown. Preparing your pipeline in advance and continuing sales-generating activities throughout the summer months are vital. Here are eight sales strategies to beat the dreaded summer slump: 1. Review and Adjust KPIs Sales managers should plan ahead for the summer quarter by adjusting key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the number of referrals, the number of first base meetings with potential customers, and the total number of sales calls made. This preparation allows sales reps to know what needs...

5 Ways to Know You Need a CRM

Tue, 03 May 2022 12:00:00 EST

No matter how proficient you are at keeping notes, setting reminders, or checking your calendar, almost everyone has at least one memory of not doing any of that. It can even go so far as forgetting to call a potential customer, missing a meeting, or not remembering past conversations with someone. Your customer is the most important stakeholder in your business, which makes managing your relationship with them the most critical thing you can do. And the old ways of doing this just aren’t effective. You need a customer relationship management (CRM) tool. Signs You Need CRM Software CRMs are a type of software...

6 Types of Local SEO Content to Boost Rankings

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 12:00:00 EST

While SEO can help boost your organic search rankings on a wider scale, it’s also important to factor in local search marketing. Local-specific content is vital for increasing traffic to businesses with one or many locations. Driving traffic to these pages, in turn, can lift your ranking positions on search results pages. At Sales & Marketing Technologies, we understand what creating local SEO content can do for generating leads and sales, so let’s discuss how to get your business discovered by customers on search engines. Local SEO Content Defined To start, let’s...

13 Simple Tips for Improving Your Email Open and Clickthrough Rates

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 12:00:00 EST

Even with the best email list, it’s easy for your communications to get lost in your customer’s inbox — or worse, in spam. Not to mention that getting your emails opened is only half the battle. Then you have to get them to click through... This article will run down 13 of the best and simplest ways to improve your emails' open rates, clickthrough rates, and conversion potential. Best Practices of Email Marketing Many businesses use email marketing to promote their products or services, but their ROI varies greatly depending on the quality of the emails. Use these simple but effective best practices so...

Post-Pandemic Marketing Trends to Watch

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 12:00:00 EST

Many businesses have had to transform their marketing strategies to align with the current times. Some have used this as an opportunity for growth and advancement, while others have simply honed in on their niche and found ways to adapt. Neither is wrong, of course. But it's important to take a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted gears, and what to watch out for in the future. Here are some post-pandemic marketing trends to be aware of. Increasing Online Presence With so many people either working from home or finding remote options for their...

How to Use Scarcity and Urgency to Increase Sales

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 12:00:00 EST

Scarcity and urgency are valuable concepts in business, and how you incorporate them into your campaigns could be the difference between success and failure. Scarcity is the understanding that a product or service is in short supply or that it will become unavailable to purchase in the near future. This often encourages action. For example, when there's a hot, new toy out on the market, parents race out to ensure they get one for their child. Urgency is the understanding that a sale or offer will expire. It's more about the amount of time someone has to complete something. Think about it for a...

5 Ideas to Upgrade Your About Page

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 12:00:00 EST

If there’s something you may be overlooking on your website, it’s probably your “About Us” page. When you’re running a business, it's easy to focus more on your customers rather than yourself. However, many potential customers could be going to your company's about page to get a better understanding of who you are. Is that page helping you put your best foot forward currently? Here are some ideas to upgrade your about page so that appeals to your target audience, driving more leads and sales. Make It Easy to Find Be sure you aren’t frustrating your clientele...

Why You Should Include Social Proof in Your Marketing

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 12:00:00 EST

Looking for ways to boost your credibility online or capitalize on positive mentions of your company? In this article, we break down why and how to incorporate social proof into your digital marketing to build trust in your brand and gain more loyal customers. What is Social Proof? The term social proof was coined by prominent psychologist and author Robert Cialdini. He described it as a psychological and social phenomenon that leads people to mimic the actions of others in a given situation. Essentially, when people are unsure of how to react or respond to a situation...

4 Types of Offers to Attract Customers Like a Magnet

Tue, 01 Mar 2022 12:00:00 EST

Turning your business into a sales machine requires a healthy marketing system, a key component of which is your offers. To pull customers in like bees to nectar, you need to craft offers that provide value to potential customers. Here are four types of offers to consider for your marketing system to lift sales: 1. Lead Magnets Lead magnets are a popular offer and are typically used as the first step in the lead generation process. They’re often free and require prospects to submit information, like name and email, to receive the offer. There’s a wide variety of...

Social Media Tools to Improve Your Results

Tue, 22 Feb 2022 12:00:00 EST

The growth of social media over the years has involved a lot of new tools and platforms cropping up as well. For each new social network, it feels like there are a dozen or more sites and apps that are meant to help in some way. This can both be exciting, and a little bit daunting. We wanted to share some social media tools that can help improve your results, from scheduling content to analyzing metrics and everything in-between. Sprout Social There are quite a few social media scheduling tools out there, but where ...

Quick Tips for Better Email Subject Lines

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 12:00:00 EST

Email marketing is a huge opportunity for your business. From brand building to nurturing leads to making sales, email marketing is crucial for a fine-tuned marketing system. According to Constant Contact, 60% of consumers reported making a purchase as the result of a marketing email they received. However, sending out enticing offers means nothing if your recipients don't open your emails. That’s why crafting a compelling subject line is so important, and why we’re going to give you five easy tips to help jazz up your subject lines and boost your open rates, resulting in more conversions. 1. Contain at least...

5 Reasons You Should Use Pay-Per-Click to Drive Website Visitor Traffic

Tue, 01 Feb 2022 12:00:00 EST

As competition for organic search results continues to grow fiercer, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a way for you to ensure search visibility in Google, Facebook, etc. Used alongside search engine optimization (SEO), PPC can expand your real estate in search engine results — and if you’re not there, your competition certainly will be. Here are some reasons why PPC advertising is worth the investment: 1. You control the costs. Determining a PPC budget isn’t always easy to master, but thankfully it's easy to adjust your ad spend. You can...

Why Your Marketing Needs Consistent Content

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 12:00:00 EST

Ever heard the phrase “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to marketing? One of the most important aspects of content marketing is consistency, whether that’s in your social media post schedule, email blasts, blog, or overall design and messaging. This reinforces your brand's reliability and trustworthiness, something valued by every consumer. So, precisely what can you accomplish with consistency in your content? Let’s find out. SEO Improvement When crafting your content, it’s vital to ensure quality, not just quantity. One way this helps your brand is...

The Customer Value Journey Part 2

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 12:00:00 EST

In Part 1, we covered the first four stages of 'The Customer Value Journey' (the eight-stage process coined by DigitalMarketer ), which every new prospect goes through in order to become a customer, and eventually, a raving fan. If you didn’t get a chance to read that article, definitely go back and read up on the stages that kick off this process — Aware, Engage, Subscribe, and Convert. Below, we'll go over the last four stages of the Customer Value Journey so you can see how it all comes together: 5. Excite Stage 6. Ascend Stage 7. Advocate Stage 8. Promote...

B2B Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2022

Mon, 03 Jan 2022 12:00:00 EST

With so many B2B marketing brands fighting to attract the right attention and clientele, it’s easy to succumb to certain mistakes and errors in the process. Going into a new year can be seen as a fresh start, so with 2022 in full swing, here are some things to consider for your marketing and what things to avoid so your brand stays on top of its game. Forgetting Social Media One thing you especially don’t want to do is to forget how crucial social media marketing is. Keeping interactions genuine will help you connect with potential customers, and consistent...

Post-Holiday Marketing Tips to Spike Your Sales

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 12:00:00 EST

The post-holiday season offers many opportunities to spike sales as many people during this time of year are looking to spend their gift cards, get ready for the new year, or simply treat themselves for making it through the holidays. How can your business capitalize during the after-Christmas boom? Take a look at what you can offer, for starters, especially if it’s something not limited by the time of year. Here are a few marketing ideas! Offer New Year’s Deals Though one holiday may be over, New Year’s Day should absolutely be on...

Predictions for CRM Software in 2022

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 12:00:00 EST

Businesses benefit from customer relationship management (CRM) software in a variety of ways, from sales reps saving time searching for customer details to marketers effectively communicating with leads. Yet, CRM software is constantly evolving to keep up with emerging technologies and rising customer expectations. If you’re not aware of new developments, then you won’t be able to take full advantage of your software. Find out what the future of CRM will look like in 2022 so you’ll be able to use your tools more productively in the new year. 6 CRM Trends to...

Social Commerce: Boosting Sales on Social Platforms

Tue, 14 Dec 2021 12:00:00 EST

Customers have more ways to buy products than ever before, and one of the newest channels is social commerce. Before, social media’s role in the buying process was to direct users to websites to complete the purchase. Now, brands can leverage social commerce to capture sales seamlessly. Learn more about social commerce and the benefits it offers so you can supercharge your online sales! Social Commerce Definition Social commerce is the process of selling products directly through social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. So instead of customers going to an external website to...

The Customer Value Journey Part 1

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 12:00:00 EST

The Customer Value Journey is an eight-stage process, coined by DigitalMarketer, that every new prospect goes through in order to become a customer, and eventually, a raving fan. This process is the foundation of successful marketing, creating a roadmap that moves prospects predictably from stranger to customer and beyond. In this article, we’ll touch on the first four stages in the Customer Value Journey: Aware Stage Engage Stage Subscribe Stage Convert Stage 1. Aware Stage...

Digital Marketing Trends to Watch in 2022

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 12:00:00 EST

Digital marketing is always evolving because of new technology, consumer changes, or even a global pandemic. A strategy that worked a year or just six months ago may not be serving your business anymore, which is why it’s imperative that marketers keep an eye on where the industry is moving in order to adapt and stay competitive. As we head into 2022, let’s take a look at some of the biggest digital marketing trends affecting brands so you can develop a winning strategy for the new year. Trends to Inform Your Digital Marketing Strategy Before we jump in...

4 Ways to Motivate Sales Reps to Use CRM

Tue, 23 Nov 2021 12:00:00 EST

Customer relationship management (CRM) software is a popular type of automation that has many advantages for generating sales and retaining customers. When you’re focused on digital marketing and sales, you want to ensure that you’re using every possible tool at your disposal. For sales reps especially, CRM software is advantageous for various reasons. However, they may take a look at a new tool and either feel it’s too overwhelming to learn or not worth the trouble. Because of how efficient and user-friendly many CRMs can be, it really swings in...

Repurposing Content Ideas to Boost ROI

Tue, 16 Nov 2021 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing is essential for online success as it allows your business to rank higher in search results, generate audience engagement, and convert prospects into customers. Since creating and sharing content requires resources, the best approach to maximize your ROI is to repurpose content. Get more out of your investment by repurposing content in multiple ways so you work smarter, not harder! Ways to Repurpose Content A common misconception when it comes to repurposing content is that it’ll bore your audience. Sure, if you’re copying and pasting the same exact content across all of your channels, then...

How to Build a Healthy Marketing System

Tue, 09 Nov 2021 12:00:00 EST

A marketing system is essential for growth, but many businesses don’t take full advantage of its potential. That’s why having a healthy marketing system is one of the most effective things you can do to differentiate your brand, acquire and retain more customers, and increase customer lifetime value. See how to build a marketing system that will break through stagnation and propel your business to the next level! Marketing System Overview A marketing system is a repeatable process that cultivates customer relationships to generate business and maximize lifetime value. The system can be measured and tracked, which...

10 Facts You Need to Know About Online Reviews

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 12:00:00 EST

Online reviews play a huge part in the perception of your business, as well as your organic search rankings. In order to make informed decisions about online reviews, don’t let your emotions get the best of you. It’s important to understand how consumers interact with reviews and the increasingly large role they play in the customer’s journey. Here's what you need to know about online reviews to better understand how they fit in a successful digital marketing strategy: 1. Even bad reviews can help. Ok, we’re not saying that having terrible reviews overall is a good thing...

Holiday Digital Marketing Tips to Generate Sales

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 12:00:00 EST

Holiday digital marketing is unique from your year-round marketing activities because of the spike in online and traditional shopping, along with more brands competing for shoppers’ attention. If you want a bigger piece of the action, there are a variety of digital marketing tactics you can use to build a sales-generating holiday campaign. Let’s review some of the most effective ways to use digital marketing during the holidays for higher sales and profitability. 8 Tactics to Boost Holiday Sales According to a forecast from Deloitte, U.S. consumers will spend up to 9% more ...

Ways to Turn Prospects into Loyal Customers

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 12:00:00 EST

Guiding prospects into becoming loyal customers is vital for sustainable growth, but you can’t rely on chance for this to happen — you need a strategy. While it’s unlikely that every prospect will become a customer, it’s crucial to find ways to increase your conversion and retention rates. Let’s take a look at steps you can take to turn prospects into customers, as well as build customer loyalty for more repeat business. Understand Your Prospects If you don’t understand your prospects, you won’t be able to connect with them in a meaningful way. Research your target...

New TikTok Ad Features Encourage Interaction

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 12:00:00 EST

TikTok advertising is a newcomer in social media marketing, but the video-based app is giving other networks a run for their money by launching several interactive ad formats to attract advertisers. Combined with relatively low competition and a young user demographic, TikTok’s new ad products are sure to bring in brands that are curious to test the interactive features. Learn more about the ad formats to see how your business can leverage TikTok advertising! New TikTok Products for Advertisers Social media marketing is constantly evolving and the way that users engage with brands has changed as well. Users...

Impact of Apple’s iOS 15 Update on Google Analytics

Tue, 05 Oct 2021 12:00:00 EST

Apple’s iOS 15 is the latest operating system update that includes more privacy features, which will impact Google Analytics and marketers in some notable ways. These changes are part of Apple’s ongoing commitment to data privacy. Here’s what you need to know to help your business adjust its digital marketing to iOS 15. Mail Privacy Protection The iOS 15 update further enhances user privacy, particularly when it comes to email marketing. Mail Tracking Protection is now enabled by default for Apple Mail users. It provides several protections that change analytics tracking for email. ...

5 Things to Measure on Your Website

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 12:00:00 EST

Don’t let the analytics of your website scare you! Though these metrics may mean nothing to you now, they should mean everything to you if you want to start tracking the success of your website. Thankfully, you don’t need expensive software to do this; you just need to know what to look for in your Google Analytics. So let’s dive into these analytics to pull out some of the most important metrics: 1. Sessions A session is defined as a group of interactions one user takes within a given time frame on your website. The default time frame for Google Analytics is 30 minutes. So this...

7 Direct Response Strategies That Will Increase Engagement and Sales

Tue, 14 Sep 2021 12:00:00 EST

Direct response marketing is designed to evoke an immediate response and encourage potential customers to take a specific action, such as joining your email list, going to a landing page, submitting a form, or making a purchase. This type of marketing is highly trackable, uses compelling headlines and copy, targets a specific audience, makes a specific offer, and asks for a response. See how to generate more conversions by leveraging direct response strategies! Boost Conversions with Direct Response Marketing The key to using direct response marketing is to not get hung up on the initial interaction. Focus on following up...

5 Key SEO Principles

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 12:00:00 EST

Search engines, such as Google and Bing, are constantly changing and growing. They regularly release algorithm updates and new ranking signals to help users find the most relevant and quality websites. While it's important to stay up-to-date on new developments, you should never forget these five search engine optimization (SEO) basic principles. Timeless SEO Principles to Remember SEO has evolved a lot over the past couple of decades, but certain principles will always remain the same. Regardless of trends, you should build an SEO strategy that's based on quality and relevance to not only drive traffic, but...

How to Determine Your PPC Budget

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 12:00:00 EST

A common question that digital marketers hear a lot is, “How much should I spend for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising ?” The answer is: it depends. There are many factors that come into play when determining the size that your PPC budget should be. All you need is a bit of research to get a good estimate. 4 Factors to Consider When Setting Your PPC Budget PPC advertising allows you to funnel traffic into your marketing systems fast, but your costs can quickly balloon if you're not careful. Here are four factors to consider for setting a PPC budget that drives...

Top 5 Places to Get Reviews Other Than Google and Yelp

Tue, 17 Aug 2021 12:00:00 EST

It’s no secret that online reviews are important for any business, and acquiring reviews and incorporating them into your overall digital marketing plan is essential. According to Brightlocal's 2020 Local Consumer Review Survey : 93% of consumers use the internet to find a local business 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses Only 48% of consumers would consider using a business with fewer than 4 stars ...

7 Things to Start (or Stop) Doing with Your Email Marketing

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 12:00:00 EST

Email marketing is a powerful tool for engaging and nurturing your audience, which helps your marketing system get maximum results. With over 1.8 billion users worldwide on Gmail alone, email marketing isn't going anywhere. Learn our top seven strategies you should start doing, or avoid doing, to make email marketing work for your business. Email Tips to Improve Performance Build relationships and drive conversions by leveraging email to its full potential. By applying the tips below, you'll be able to get a higher ROI on your email marketing! 1. Have a goal for your email. Each...

Best Types of TikTok Content for Brands

Tue, 03 Aug 2021 12:00:00 EST

TikTok's short-form, engaging video format offers unique opportunities for businesses to reach and connect with their audience while showcasing their products, services, and brand personality. If you’re considering adding TikTok marketing to your social media strategy, it’s important to understand the types of content that perform best on the platform. Learn more about TikTok and content ideas to see successful results! What is TikTok? TikTok is a video-based social media app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos. Users have access to a wide selection of audio, special effects, and filters as well as an...

Marketing Systems: The Key to Scaling Your Business

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 12:00:00 EST

Marketing doesn’t need to be complicated to work — in fact, it generates the best results when simplified and systematized. Many businesses have a strategy, but they often lack or underuse marketing systems to turn those ideas into results. Understanding and improving your marketing systems is the key to scaling your business, especially when faced with massive changes in consumer buying behavior, technology, and competitive threats. Additionally, it’s crucial that you integrate all of these moving parts into one cohesive system. Even one weak link in the chain can hold your company back from reaching its goals...

How Site Structure Affects SEO (and Ways to Improve It)

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 12:00:00 EST

A well-organized site structure is essential for a successful website because it makes it easier to understand and navigate your website. Since websites often have multiple pages, it’s vital that the content is organized in a way that makes sense. If your site structure is confusing, then it’ll hinder your SEO (search engine optimization) and frustrate users. Learn about the importance of site structure for SEO and ways to improve your website’s organization for higher search rankings and a better user experience. Why Site Structure Matters How your website’s content is organized is a crucial...

9 Sign-Up Form Design Tips to Increase Conversions

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 12:00:00 EST

Sign-up forms are a simple yet effective way to increase conversions, grow mailing lists, and learn more about leads, but they must be designed with intention to be successful. Before adding one to your website, make sure your sign-up form follows best practices so it works like a charm rather than a dud. Let’s take a closer look at what your sign-up form should have! Design Essentials for Sign-Up Forms Thanks to website plugins and online tools, it can take just minutes to create a sign-up form. However, it’s vital that you carefully consider your form’s design to yield the greatest results...

Content Marketing Ideas for the Summer

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 12:00:00 EST

The weather is hot. Kids are out of school. And everyone is ready for a chance to sit by the pool and relax. Does that mean it’s time to ease up on your content marketing ? Not at all. In fact, there are many opportunities to use the season for your digital marketing campaigns. Be sure to recognize which would be most relevant for your brand, and which would be better to tweak accordingly. Here are just a few ideas how: Summer Fun If you’re wanting to showcase some of the lighter aspects of your brand, this is the time...

Improve Local Search Marketing with Online Citations

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 12:00:00 EST

Local search marketing often focuses on optimizing the website, but an area that’s often neglected is online citations. Citations are a critical ranking factor for local SEO because it helps search engines verify that your business is popular with local consumers. Getting more citations from trustworthy platforms, along with your other optimization efforts, will boost your local search rankings. Learn more about online citations and how to build them to improve your local search marketing, which will drive more local customers to your business! What Are Online Citations? Online citations are mentions of your business on other...

Why Your Digital Marketing Strategy Needs a Refresh

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 12:00:00 EST

You shouldn’t “set and forget” a digital marketing strategy — it requires refreshing from time to time in order to provide value for your business. What worked before in your strategy doesn’t mean it’ll keep working forever. That’s why updating your digital marketing is essential to remain competitive online. Since we’re halfway through the year, now is a great time to check in with your strategy to see what is and isn’t driving results. This is particularly important if you didn’t create a new strategy at the beginning of the year! Fortunately, it’s never too late to refresh your...

Make More Sales By Improving Your Website's Internal Search

Tue, 25 May 2021 12:00:00 EST

Improving your website’s internal search function not only enhances user experience, but also helps your business make more sales. Many e-commerce and B2B companies, however, overlook their internal search in their digital marketing strategy, resulting in missed conversions. See why internal search is essential for any business and ways to turn it into a sales generator. Why Internal Search is Important Few things are more frustrating for users than a website’s internal search that doesn’t work. A key element of keeping visitors on your website longer is providing a good experience. If you don’t, then your bounce...

Clubhouse Launches New Android App

Tue, 18 May 2021 12:00:00 EST

Back in February, we explained the new social media app, Clubhouse, that’s available only on iOS devices — until now! That’s right, Android users around the world will be able to join the conversation. Here’s what you need to know about Clubhouse and what to expect with the Android app so you can take advantage of its networking possibilities. How the Clubhouse App Works Clubhouse is an audio-based social media app where users can chat in real-time with each other by joining a virtual chat room and using their voice. Users are able to join different rooms where...

How to Start a Customer Referral Program for More Sales

Tue, 27 Apr 2021 12:00:00 EST

When customers are happy with your product or service, they’re more likely to share it with others, which is why setting up a customer referral program is a great way to increase retention and boost sales. Additionally, having one will help you spend less time searching for leads and focus more on nurturing high-quality prospects. Give customers a nudge to spread the word about your business by starting a referral program ASAP. Building a Customer Referral Program A referral program is more than about rewarding people for referrals — it should also be about...

Using Google's New Core Web Vitals to Improve SEO

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 12:00:00 EST

Google is all about helping users find the most relevant and quality websites, which is why in 2020 it announced new ranking signals for Google Search — ‘page experience.’ The page experience ranking signals will be gradually rolled out starting in mid-June 2021 (originally set for May 2021), but Google says there’s no immediate need to take action. Now is a great time to prepare and learn more about Google Search Console’s new Core Web Vitals report. By understanding the report’s page experience metrics, you’ll be able to make appropriate website changes and improve search...

Best KPIs to Measure Content Marketing Effectiveness

Tue, 13 Apr 2021 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing offers many benefits like building trust with customers, establishing authority, and increasing organic website traffic. That’s why it’s essential to track the proper key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your content marketing's effectiveness so you’re not falling short on your goals. Check out the 10 KPIs you should be tracking to determine if your content marketing strategy is working — or needs adjustment. Where to Find KPI Data? Analytics is crucial for being able to track content marketing KPIs. Google Analytics is the most popular since it’s free, provides a wealth of data, and easy to...

Enhancing Customer Service with Marketing Automation

Tue, 30 Mar 2021 12:00:00 EST

Digital marketing is crucial for staying competitive online, but what makes customers loyal to your business is exceptional customer service. If most of your attention is on gaining new customers, then you can end up losing the customers that you already have — and spending more money unnecessarily. According to Harvard Business Review, acquiring new customers can cost between five and 25 times more than keeping existing ones! Instead, work smarter by providing a great experience and leveraging time-saving tools like marketing automation to enhance your customer service. Let’s take a closer look at how you can...

What is Web Accessibility? 4 Principles of Accessibility

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 12:00:00 EST

At its core, web accessibility is the practice of making sites usable by as many people as possible. This includes people with disabilities as well as other groups like mobile device users, people with slow network speed, etc. Accessibility is the ethical thing to do when developing and designing your site. Additionally, it’s part of the law in some countries so it might be unavoidable for you. Here are the most important things you should know about web accessibility to help you have a site that can be used by more people. Benefits of Web Accessibility Before...

Digital Marketing Trends That Aren't Going Anywhere

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 12:00:00 EST

Internet technology is constantly evolving which is why it’s crucial for businesses to keep an eye on digital marketing trends to gain a competitive edge. Digital marketing includes a wide range of strategies such as web design, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, social media, and content. With so many strategies, it can be hard to know which trends are the most relevant for your business. We’ve compiled the top digital marketing trends your business should know to help keep it ahead of the curve. 5 Digital Marketing Trends to Know Regardless of...

Google Will Offer Free Hotel Booking Links

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 12:00:00 EST

Google has recently announced that hotel booking links, previously provided through Google Hotel Ads, will be free for hotels and travel companies starting this week on google.com/travel. The free booking links will appear beneath hotel ads, generating a free source of traffic for companies even if they’re not a Google Hotel Ads partner. Here’s what you need to know about Google’s free booking links that will soon be released. Reasoning Behind the Free Hotel Booking Links In Google's announcement, the company states that this move is to “ensure people have access to all offers available to them by providing...

Local Link Building Tactics to Boost Local SEO

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 12:00:00 EST

Local link building is essential for local search engine optimization (SEO) because it shows Google that your website is trustworthy and relevant to location-based searches. Local SEO is a powerful digital marketing strategy for businesses that want to attract and retain more local customers. When customers see your business on the first page of Google search results for geo-targeted keywords, they’re more likely to visit your site, contact your business, and purchase your product or service. Learn more about local link building to boost your local SEO and drive more business! What is Local Link...

Why Your Web Design Directly Affects SEO

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 12:00:00 EST

Your web design is more than a branding asset or sales channel - it strongly influences search engine optimization (SEO) which is one of the most powerful strategies for reaching new prospects and driving free organic traffic to your business. Web design affects SEO in several important ways since they’re linked closely together. See how web design impacts search rankings and why investing in a quality website is worth it to increase sales or leads. 5 Ways Web Design Impacts Search Rankings Before ramping up your SEO efforts or redesigning the website, it’s important to take a...

Google Responsive Display Ads: Pros and Cons of Using Them

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 12:00:00 EST

Google responsive display ads are a great way to reach people while they’re browsing websites, watching a YouTube video, checking their Gmail, or using mobile devices and apps. They appear as “native” ads, blending into the publisher’s site to drive more traffic to your site or app. Get a better understanding of the default ad type for the Google Display Network to see if it’s right for your display campaign. What Are Google Responsive Display Ads? Responsive display ads first debuted in 2016 and became the default ad type for display advertisers in 2018. They can be used in both standard...

Meet Clubhouse, The New Audio-Based Social Media App

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 12:00:00 EST

You’ve probably heard of Clubhouse by now, but what is the new social media app really about? Whether you’re a digital marketer or entrepreneur, Clubhouse can offer several benefits for networking and learning, that is...if you’re able to join. There are several things that make the Clubhouse app different from other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Let’s take a closer look! Everything to Know About the Clubhouse App It seems like every day there’s a new social media platform popping up which is why we’ve compiled everything you should know about Clubhouse to make it easier...

SEO Tactics to Drive More Growth in 2021

Tue, 26 Jan 2021 12:00:00 EST

Search engine optimization (SEO) is no longer optional for most businesses these days which is why using up-to-date SEO tactics is crucial for driving growth in 2021. As data privacy changes roll out, more companies will need to ramp up their SEO efforts to compensate for reduced traffic from other digital marketing strategies. Furthermore, having top rankings in organic search results increases trust in your brand and builds credibility. Find out which SEO tactics you should use in 2021 to help scale your business. 5 Tactics to Leverage in Your SEO Strategy From B2B corporations to non-profits, SEO...

Landing Pages: Funnel More Leads into Your Marketing Automation

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 12:00:00 EST

Landing pages can be a powerful tool for funneling leads into your marketing automation campaign, but they’re only effective when done properly. Marketing automation offers a variety of benefits like maximizing marketing efficiency, acquiring more leads, qualifying leads for the sales team, and retaining customers post-purchase. However, hastily putting up a landing page on your website probably won’t deliver the kind of results you want. Get more out of your investment by making better landing pages - here are some tips for how to do that. Landing Page Tips to Grow Your Marketing Automation A ‘landing page’ is a...

How Apple's Privacy Changes Will Impact Facebook Ads

Tue, 05 Jan 2021 12:00:00 EST

In June 2020, Apple announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) privacy changes that will impact data sharing across iOS. Apple has stated it believes that privacy is a fundamental human right which is the reason behind the privacy changes. Here’s what you need to know about Apple’s new privacy policies and how it will impact Facebook Ads. What Are Apple’s New Privacy Changes? The first privacy change will require App Store product pages to feature a new privacy details section to help users understand an app’s privacy practices. Developers will need to submit their information via App Store Connect...

Increasing Employee Involvement in Social Media Marketing

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:00:00 EST

Many businesses these days understand the value of social media marketing, but one area that they often don’t take advantage of enough is employee advocacy. Getting employees more involved in social media marketing offers a lot of value like increasing brand engagement, winning new customers, and recruiting talent. However, your employees first have to understand social media, why it’s useful, and how they can help so your business may benefit from their involvement. 7 Tips to Inspire Employees to Participate in Social Media Marketing Giving employees free-reign without any training, supervision, and guidelines for social media can at best be ineffective, and...

How to Improve Content Marketing in 2021

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing in 2021 will continue to be crucial for an effective digital marketing strategy, whether it’s improving your website’s SEO or increasing conversions like purchases and form submissions. However, if you’re not actively improving your content, then you may not be reaping all of its benefits. That’s why Sales & Marketing Technologies has compiled seven tips to help make your content marketing more successful in 2021. Let’s get started! 7 Tips for Successful Content Marketing Refine your content creation and strategy to enhance your digital marketing’s effectiveness. By applying these tactics, your content marketing will be more engaging...

Leverage Social Proof to Power Up Your Digital Marketing

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 12:00:00 EST

Using social proof in digital marketing is effective for inspiring confidence in your business, product, or service. Not only does it boost your credibility online, but it can also convert apprehensive prospects into customers. According to a Bizrate Insights survey, 92% of potential shoppers read at least one review prior to making a purchase. See how you can leverage social proof to power up your digital marketing! What is Social Proof? Coined by psychologist and author Robert Cialdini, ‘social proof’ is a psychological and social phenomenon that leads people to copy the actions of others in a certain situation. When...

Building Your Email List with Lead Magnets

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 12:00:00 EST

There are a variety of ways you can build your email list like website popups, discount codes, contests, and of course, lead magnets. Creating enticing lead magnets are an effective way to generate more leads and build your email list, which you can in turn leverage to drive more conversions like purchases, consultations, demos, and more. Learn more about lead magnets and the benefits of email list building for customer acquisition and retention. Lead Magnet Definition A lead magnet is an offer that gives a solution to prospects in exchange for their contact information. Often, it simply asks for a name and email...

Facebook Ads: Defining Your Target Audience

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 12:00:00 EST

You can have amazing ad copy and imagery, but if you haven’t properly defined your target audience, then your Facebook ads won’t deliver the kind of results you want. Before launching a campaign, make sure to understand Facebook audiences and targeting so you’ll be able to define the right target audience for an effective campaign. Learn about Facebook audiences and targeting to see how you can optimize your campaign! Facebook Ads Audiences Defining your target audience is essential for helping your Facebook ads show to the people you care about. There are various targeting options available to build...

Digital Marketing Tactics for the Holidays

Tue, 03 Nov 2020 12:00:00 EST

Is your digital marketing ready for holiday shopping? Now is a perfect time to start implementing holiday digital marketing tactics that will help boost your sales. According to an October 2020 holiday consumer survey, “Consumers plan to spend $998 on average on items such as gifts, food, decorations and other holiday-related purchases for themselves and their families.” (Source: National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics) Don’t wait until the last minute to start planning. See how you can drive more business this holiday season through digital marketing! 7 Holiday Digital Marketing Tactics ...

What is a Backlink Profile?

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 12:00:00 EST

Backlinks are crucial for getting your site to rank higher in Google search results, so it’s important to understand how many backlinks your site has and their quality. With the information in your backlink profile, you’ll be able to develop a link building strategy that will increase search ranking positions and conversions. Learn more about backlinks below! Backlink Profile Definition A backlink profile is the collection of links that direct visitors to your site. In addition to the number of backlinks, a backlink profile also details other link characteristics such as: Types of links Anchor...

Advantages of Outsourcing Your SEO

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 12:00:00 EST

Getting your website to show up in search engine results for keywords that are relevant to your product or service is crucial for many businesses, but choosing between outsourcing SEO (search engine optimization) or hiring an in-house employee is less clear cut. In this article, we’ll explain what you need to consider when looking for SEO support and the five advantages of outsourcing SEO to an agency. Factors to Consider As you decide between an SEO agency or an in-house employee, it’s important to consider several factors to ensure you select the right option for your business. Cost...

What Does a Business Website Absolutely Need?

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 12:00:00 EST

There’s a lot to think about when creating or updating a website, but there are certain things a business website absolutely needs to be effective and worth the investment. While web design is important, a successful website will have solid web development too. It’s imperative that your business website is built in a way that will enhance your brand’s image and move prospects through your sales funnel. Discover the must-have elements that every business website needs to generate sales or leads. 9 Elements Every Business Website Should Have Before hiring web development services, it’s helpful...

Google Ads Bidding Guide Part Two: Automated Bidding

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 12:00:00 EST

For advertisers that want a bid strategy that’s less “hands-on” than manual bidding, Google Ads offers automated bidding. As a quick reminder, a bid strategy controls how you pay for users to interact with your ads and your bid limit is the most you’ll pay per click for ads in an ad group. It’s essential to select a bid strategy that best matches your campaign’s goal to avoid wasting money and time. While manual CPC bidding offers the most control, it does require more time and attention since you’re responsible for monitoring and adjusting bids. Automated...

Google Ads Bidding Guide Part One: Manual CPC Bidding

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 12:00:00 EST

There are many types of Google Ads bidding to choose from so you're better able to achieve your campaign’s goal. However, given the variety of bidding options, it can be overwhelming for Google Ads beginners to know which one to select. That’s why Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT) has created a two-part guide on Google Ads bidding to help you set up your campaign with confidence. In "Part One," we’ll answer: What is a bid strategy? Why do you need to determine your campaign’s goals? What...

Why CRM Software is Crucial For B2B Sales

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 12:00:00 EST

“Customer relationship management” (CRM) software offers many benefits for B2B sales like being able to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, improve customer relationships, and retain customers. All of which, of course, drive sales growth. Check out the five signs that your B2B sales team needs CRM software! Top 5 Signs You Need CRM Software By automating certain processes with CRM software, businesses can increase productivity while providing actual value to customers. Here are five situations that indicate it’s time to implement CRM software into your business. 1...

Which SEO Metrics Should You Track?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 12:00:00 EST

Without tracking SEO metrics, you won’t be able to tell if your strategy is working or not and what steps should be taken to get better results. Not only is it important to track SEO metrics, but your data should be accurate to ensure you’re making better-informed decisions. Find out which SEO metrics you should track to improve the efficacy of your strategy. Where to Find SEO Metrics Implementing analytics for your website is essential for tracking SEO metrics. Google Analytics is the most popular since it’s free and provides a wealth of data. If you're...

20 Questions to Ask Before Hiring Web Design Services

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 12:00:00 EST

Practically every business owner knows the importance of having a quality website, but hiring web design services isn’t as straightforward. It’s essential that you select a web design company or an independent contractor who understands how to create an attractive, user-friendly website that can generate more sales or leads. Before signing a contract, here are 20 questions you should ask before hiring web design services to ensure you get a website that’ll be a true asset for your business. Question Checklist for Web Design Services Like any other major business decision, finding the...

New LinkedIn Features Promote Community Support

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 12:00:00 EST

With networking moving more online than ever before, LinkedIn is an effective social media platform for providing and finding professional support. On June 30, 2020, LinkedIn Official Blog announced new features to make it easier to give and get help. Wherever you’re at in your career or business, the new LinkedIn features have something for everyone. Let’s take a closer look! Finding New Opportunities If you’re searching for a new opportunity, LinkedIn allows you to privately signal recruiters that you’re open to work. You can specify the types of jobs you’re interested in and...

How to Create a Great Company Culture

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:00:00 EST

Regardless of your industry or business size, having a great company culture is crucial for attracting and retaining talent as well as making your brand more attractive to customers, clients, investors, etc. Company culture is an intangible asset that many of the biggest brands accredit to their success. “Why is culture so important to a business? Here is a simple way to frame it. The stronger the culture, the less corporate process a company needs. When the culture is strong, you can trust everyone to do the right thing.” ...

Why Your Business Website Needs Video Content

Tue, 07 Jul 2020 12:00:00 EST

We all know that having a great web design is crucial for keeping visitors from bouncing and attracting customers, but it’s not as obvious how video can be used to create a better website experience, enhance branding, and increase conversions. In a 2019 Google report, watch time for shopping-related YouTube videos grew in the United States by more than 5x over the past 2 years. Although video content has become increasingly popular, many businesses don’t incorporate this engaging medium on their website which creates missed sales opportunities. See the different...

5 Local SEO Tips to Increase Customer Traffic

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 12:00:00 EST

Local search marketing is a subset of search engine optimization (SEO) that’s ideal for businesses that need to attract more customers in their city, state, or region. This is done by optimizing the business’s online presence to push their website to the top positions in Google search results for relevant geo-targeted keywords. When local customers see your business on the first page of Google search results, especially in the ‘local pack’ section, you’re much more likely to increase customer traffic than if your website is on the second, third, or fourth page. Check out our...

Cybersecurity: Protecting Your Website from Hacks

Tue, 26 May 2020 12:00:00 EST

Websites have become essential for business but being online-based places them at a higher risk of a cyber attack. A hacked website can lead to financial fraud, data breaches, or downtime which is why taking cybersecurity measures is crucial for website protection. Check out Sales & Marketing Technologies’ cybersecurity tips for websites so you can better protect your customers, employees, and business operations from hackers. Hacking Statistics Having an unprotected website is one of the riskiest things a business can gamble on because data is a valuable commodity. Here are some eye-opening hacking statistics from DataProt...

Google May 2020 Core Update: Key Takeaways to Know

Tue, 19 May 2020 12:00:00 EST

Google is constantly refining its search algorithm, culminating into larger “core updates” - the most recent one happening in May 2020. According to Google’s official blog : Several times a year, we make significant, broad changes to our search algorithms and systems. We refer to these as “core updates.” They’re designed to ensure that overall, we’re delivering on our mission to present relevant and authoritative content to searchers. Google's May 2020 core update started rolling out on May 4 and finished on May 18 which were announced by the ...

The Biggest Advantages of Marketing Automation

Tue, 12 May 2020 12:00:00 EST

While there are certain marketing tasks that require a human touch, many processes can benefit from marketing automation which can lift sales and lower customer acquisition costs. By using marketing automation software, your business can streamline, automate, and measure your marketing tasks and workflows to increase their effectiveness and grow revenue faster. See the advantages of marketing automation below to get an idea of how your business can communicate more effectively with leads and nurture them to become customers. 1. Maximize marketing efficiency. Automatically send messages to leads and current customers through email, website...

How to Improve Website Usability

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 12:00:00 EST

Website usability is key to keeping visitors on the page so they’re more likely to take further action, but there are many different factors that can increase bounce rates like a busy design and slow loading speeds. Here are six considerations that can improve your website usability to make it easier to achieve your digital marketing goals. 1. Navigation Multi-level dropdown menus and sidebars can make it difficult for visitors to navigate the website, especially on mobile since there’s more limited space. Information should be accessible so visitors don’t get frustrated by poor navigation functionality and leave the website. One way to do...

Google Launches Free Tool to Create Short Promo Videos

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 12:00:00 EST

On April 14, 2020, the Google Ads Blog announced the launch of a free beta tool for businesses to create short promo videos for YouTube. According to the announcement, “Given the current environment, many businesses are shifting how they're communicating and interacting with their customers and are turning to videos to make and maintain connections.” Learn more about the ‘Video Builder’ tool and how it’s helping businesses create short videos to effectively promote their products or services. What is Video Builder? In-person video shoots pose time and resource challenges, especially given the current...

Online Shopping Trends of U.S. Consumers

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 12:00:00 EST

A recent Google study on global shoppers found that 81% shopped in the past week in an average of seven categories. The study focused on four international markets - the United States, Great Britain, Brazil, and India. In this article, we’ll examine the study’s insights on U.S. online shopping trends to see what motivates shoppers in our home country and what e-commerce sites can do to attract them. Mature E-Commerce Model Google states, “American consumers represent one of the largest and most developed e‑commerce markets, and their values may be a reflection of a saturated marketplace with many trusted options.” A...

6 Crucial Elements of a Content Strategy

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 12:00:00 EST

Regardless if you’ve never created content before or have been doing content marketing for years, a content strategy will help you achieve marketing and sales goals more easily. An effective content strategy is clear, up to date, and original. It should also include the management of all your content while communicating your brand and expertise. Ideally, there is content created for each stage of the buyer’s journey - awareness, evaluation, and decision - to move potential customers toward a desired action like a purchase or lead form submission. (The buyer’s journey for your business may have more stages, but...

Lead Magnets: Turning Your Website Into a Lead Generation Machine

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 12:00:00 EST

Right now, your prospects are out there searching for a solution to a problem, which is why your website needs a ‘lead magnet’ that helps them while also generating leads for your business. When you’re able to offer them that first step to a solution, they’re more likely to become a customer. In this article, we’ll explore this powerful digital marketing tactic so you can turn your website into a lead generation machine. What Is a Lead Magnet? A lead magnet is an offer that your business promotes to prospects in exchange for their contact information, like a name and email...

Crisis Communication Checklist for Businesses

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 12:00:00 EST

“Plan for the worse and hope for the best” - but are you leaving out the planning part? Your business is too important not to be prepared for the worst like a natural disaster, financial turmoil, or more recently, “coronavirus disease 2019” (aka “COVID-19”). Here is a checklist for a crisis communication plan to protect your business or minimize damage from unforeseeable crises. 1. Assess Before you can create a crisis communication plan, you’ll need to conduct a business analysis and risk assessment. Assessing your business will provide deeper insights and better documentation which will strengthen your crisis communication response. ...

Why Your PPC and SEO Should Work Together

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 12:00:00 EST

While pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is effective for driving website traffic, leaving out search engine optimization (SEO) can end up hurting your campaign’s performance and increasing ad costs. Paid and organic search have many differences, but a big thing they have in common is that they’re both a type of search engine marketing which means they can influence each other - for better or worse. Read on to see why PPC and SEO should work together to achieve better digital marketing results. Greater visibility in search results. Having both PPC ads and top organic search positions will increase your...

Sales Automation Tips for Successful Trade Shows

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 12:00:00 EST

Trade shows are an effective promotional tactic to gain more quality leads and generate new business, especially when sales automation is used. B2B brands, in particular, can benefit from trade show marketing as it allows them to have valuable face-to-face time with prospects to explain their products and services in a more personal manner which they don’t often get to do. Trade show costs, however, like the booth rental, travel costs, and displays can quickly climb which is why it’s crucial that the time and resources your business puts into them will produce tangible results. See how to use sales automation at trade...

6 Signs You Need a Website Redesign

Tue, 18 Feb 2020 12:00:00 EST

When people visit your website and their needs aren’t met, they’re going to leave right after arriving (aka ‘bounce’). That’s why a website redesign can be crucial for keeping them on the website and increasing the conversions that matter to your business like a purchase, email signup, form submission, etc. Here are the six biggest signs it’s time to redesign your website. 1. Pages load slowly. People won’t stick around if your website takes too long to load. According to Think with Google, over half of mobile visitors leave a page that takes longer than just three seconds. Not only does a...

How to Generate Content Ideas that Will Attract and Engage Visitors

Tue, 31 Dec 2019 12:00:00 EST

As you probably know by now if you’ve been an SMT blog or podcast subscriber, content marketing is beneficial for a variety of reasons like improving search engine optimization (SEO), building an audience, and converting website visitors, but generating content ideas that will help you achieve those goals is a little more tricky. Whether you’re putting together your first content strategy or you want to ramp up your current efforts, we’ll show you several ways to generate content ideas that will attract and engage visitors. 1. Find out what content your customers like. Learn more about your customers’ reading...

8 Tactics to Boost Your Mobile Marketing in 2020

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:00:00 EST

With 40 percent of online transactions happening on mobile and the rise of voice search, your digital marketing strategy must include mobile marketing to be competitive in today’s marketplace. By targeting prospective customers through their mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, you can connect with them at any stage in the buyer’s journey: awareness → consideration → decision. Check out these eight mobile marketing tactics to boost conversions and generate sales. 1. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly Before you implement any mobile marketing tactics, it’s imperative that you start with how your site looks and functions on mobile devices. If your site is...

5 Tips to Optimize Content for Voice Search

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 12:00:00 EST

Voice search, which allows users to use a voice command to search the internet, a website, or an app, is gaining in popularity and if you’re not optimizing your content for voice search, you could miss out on a lot of users. According to a report from Voicebot.ai and Voicify, 66.4 million people in the United States - 26.2% of the adult population - own a smart speaker (e.g. Google Home, Alexa Echo, Apple Home Pod). Furthermore, Google has reported that 20% of searches are now by voice, particularly local-specific content like “near me” searches. ...

How to Increase Customer Loyalty Through Consistency

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 12:00:00 EST

Although inbound digital marketing helps attract customers, what makes customers loyal to a business is exceptional customer service. Some businesses get so caught up in trying to acquire new customers that they lose focus on the customers they already have, which can end up costing them. According to Harvard Business Review, investing in new customers is between 5 and 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones. So, what can a business do to make customers happy and stick around? Ultimately, it boils down to consistency in three main areas. Let’s explore the value of consistency and how to implement it across your business...

3 Practices to Improve Google Ads Performance

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 12:00:00 EST

Google Ads is a powerful platform for pay-per-click (PPC) advertising but its many capabilities can often be overlooked. After all, Google rolls out new targeting features on a regular basis which can be hard to keep track of. Whether you’re new to Google Ads or have been using it for years, here are three practices that can improve your campaigns’ performance and increase your return on investment (ROI). 1. Combine Branded Keywords with Modified Broad Keywords Branded keywords are exactly what they sound like - terms that include your brand’s name or variations of it. When you use branded keywords in...

Pinterest Reveals Top Holiday Search Trends for 2019

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 12:00:00 EST

As the leading social network for saving and discovery information through images, GIFs, and videos, Pinterest is a hot online destination for holiday inspiration. According to Pinterest’s 2019 holiday report, users started searching for holiday inspiration as early as June for things like decor, recipes, outfits, gift ideas, and more. Pinterest also reports that searches for "Christmas inspiration" are up 220% globally! See what’s trending on Pinterest this holiday season to see how you can boost the visibility of your own content by targeting appropriate keywords. Pinterest Holiday Trends to Watch For Pinterest found several key themes when examining holiday search trends...

6 Tactics to Balance Data-Driven Marketing and User Privacy

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 12:00:00 EST

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe has raised concerns all over the globe about the changes happening in digital marketing and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. While businesses understand the importance of obtaining consent before collecting and using people's data, they also worry about navigating new and evolving regulations since one misstep can hurt their business. All is not doom and gloom, however, there are ways businesses can balance data-driven marketing and user privacy so everyone benefits. 1. Collect data responsibly. Ask for consent directly from your users to collect and use their data. Also, avoid any practices that...

Is It Possible to Get LinkedIn Leads Without Advertising?

Tue, 01 Oct 2019 12:00:00 EST

Paid advertising is an effective way to get LinkedIn leads but if you don’t have the budget or a boss who sees that value in it yet, you can still identify and nurture leads organically on LinkedIn by getting a little creative and making a plan. See how LinkedIn can act as a sales funnel and several steps you can take to develop and nurture leads through LinkedIn, all without paying for ads. How LinkedIn Can Fit Into Your Sales Funnel LinkedIn has the potential to be a lead generating machine but it’s an underutilized platform for sales people and marketers. Here...

7 Best Web Development Practices to Prevent Project Setbacks

Tue, 24 Sep 2019 12:00:00 EST

In a perfect world, every new web development project would progress without a glitch but in real life, things happen and plans get derailed. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take from the start of your project and all through the development process to help avoid setbacks. By following these seven best web development practices, your project will move forward more smoothly. 1. Determine your objective. Eager developers can jump into writing code but without a plan and clear objective, they can end up wasting time writing code over and over again. It’s essential to determine what is the...

6 Content Marketing Mistakes To Avoid

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing can help you reach new audiences, engage your current audience, and generate leads or conversions. However, breaking through the digital noise is getting increasingly harder as more and more content is being produced. By avoiding these six common mistakes, your content marketing strategy will perform better thereby increasing your return on investment (ROI). 1. Too focused on quantity. Instead of churning out content non-stop, take the time to develop thoughtful, well-rounded content that’ll be useful and engaging to your target audience. Although focusing on quality means you’ll probably produce less content, you’re more likely to see overall engagement go up. ...

5 Tips to Improve Your PPC Campaign’s Performance

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 12:00:00 EST

It’s not enough to set up your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaign, you’ll need to monitor and optimize it on an ongoing basis if you want to improve its performance. Fortunately, there are steps you can take with your PPC campaign to achieve a higher return on investment (ROI). Check out our five tips to see how you can enhance your PPC campaign’s performance. 1. Use “negative keywords.” Negative keywords are words or phrases that you DO NOT want your ads to show up for. By using negative keywords, you’re telling the ad platform to avoid placing your ads on results pages that...

When Does Google Update Its Algorithm?

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 12:00:00 EST

An important activity of search engine optimization (SEO) is keeping track of Google’s algorithm updates because minor changes today can become major changes tomorrow. That’s not to say that you must change and optimize your website every time Google updates its algorithm but it’s helpful to be aware of what’s going on to ensure your website doesn’t disappear from search engine result pages (SERPs). Not every algorithm update will affect your website but a big part of SEO is trying to stay ahead of the game. Continue reading to better understand Google algorithm updates and how they can affect your website and business. Google...

4 Social Media Stats You Should not Ignore

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 12:00:00 EST

When you create and share content on social media, it should align and support your marketing goals, however, misinformation and unrealistic expectations often undermine efforts to achieve those goals. The good news is that like other types of internet marketing, businesses have access to a wealth of social media data that they can use to reassess their strategy and make necessary changes. Check out these four social media stats from a recent study by The Sprout Social you shouldn’t ignore when evaluating your strategy. 1. 77% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand they follow on social media over...

How to Collect More Reviews for Search Engine Optimization

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:00:00 EST

Reviews play an important role in search engine optimization (SEO) and attracting more customers. Not all reviews, however, are given equal weight by Google because depending on how the review was collected, where it came from, and who wrote it, your business can suffer negative consequences. There are good and bad practices for collecting more reviews. In this article, we’ll show you which practices you should avoid and the steps you can take to get more reviews for your business. Harmful Practices for Collecting Reviews Getting customers to leave a review can be challenging, but it’s important to...

How to Maintain a Quality and Trusted Google Business Listing

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 12:00:00 EST

It’s not enough to simply set up a Google My Business listing; you also need to maintain your profile’s quality to build trust with customers. Problems often arise when businesses “set it and forget it.” However, if you don’t regularly maintain your Google business listing, you’re opening up your business to issues like incorrect information, hacking, false reviews, and more. Not only can your Google business listing build (or break) trust with customers, but it’s also a key component of local SEO. If you’re unfamiliar with local SEO, check out “ The Ultimate Guide for Enhancing Your Local SEO ” to...

5 Essential Building Blocks for Online Marketing Success

Tue, 25 Jun 2019 12:00:00 EST

Creating a marketing plan for your products and services is one of the most important things you can do for your business. Finding ways to boost your brand awareness, connect with customers, and reinforce current relationships should constantly be on your mind. But with so many ways out there to market your business online, it’s hard to narrow down the basics building blocks to a successful internet marketing campaign. The five essential building blocks for internet marketing success include: Web Design Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ...

A Quick Guide to Search Intent and Optimizing Your Website For It

Tue, 18 Jun 2019 12:00:00 EST

When it comes to the customer journey online, there are a few different stages that they go through before making a purchase. Here are the buying stages: Awareness: The customer becomes aware of a problem or need Interest: They seek out information to find a solution Consideration: ...

How to Build a Solid B2B Digital Marketing Strategy

Mon, 03 Jun 2019 12:00:00 EST

Updated: June 3, 2019 One of the toughest challenges in building a successful B2B internet marketing strategy is figuring out where to start. This can be especially challenging for B2B companies, because the marketplace is mostly geared towards promoting B2C products and services. Building a solid B2B digital marketing strategy is vital to a company’s overall marketing plan. Over the years, we have uncovered some key areas to help B2B businesses improve their online presence, while increasing leads. Here are some tips to get you started on your B2B internet marketing plan: 1. Establish Trust Establishing...

How ‘Position Zero’ in Google Search Impacts Your Website’s Traffic

Tue, 21 May 2019 12:00:00 EST

Is your drop in traffic a true indicator of less visibility in search results? Or is it merely because you’re showing up more prominently? In the past, we’ve talked about Google’s search interface changes and how they impact the overall search results - like our article breaking down how to get in Google’s Answer Box (also known as a Featured Snippet or 'Position Zero'). How to Get A Featured Snippet in Google's Answer Box While getting featured can lead to more click-throughs to your website to learn more about the subject, it can also lead to people feeling like their question is...

Is Facebook the New Local Search Engine?

Tue, 14 May 2019 12:00:00 EST

Facebook started allowing Business Pages on their social media platform back in 2007, but it didn’t necessarily help with the discoverability of your business at that time. It wasn’t until 2014 that they launched their new and improved version of the Places directory and local business search became a focal point for Facebook as a way to compete with Foursquare and Yelp - which kicked off a new way to search for businesses on the platform. Are you utilizing your Facebook Business Page as a local search marketing tool? Keep reading to learn why you should… Why Facebook Search is...

3 Types of Promotions That Help Grow Your Business

Tue, 07 May 2019 12:00:00 EST

There are an infinite number of ways to promote your products and services, which can make planning your promotions a bit overwhelming. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to pick the right type of promotion for your business. The key to running a good promotion for your business is to choose exactly what you want your audience to do, and then design your promotion to encourage that behavior. There are three key promotional categories: Acquisition Monetization Activation Learn more about these types of promotions and how you can leverage them in your marketing! ...

Why Page Speed Matters for Search Engine Optimization

Tue, 23 Apr 2019 12:00:00 EST

The web is moving faster than ever – literally, according to Google. Google announced that it would be releasing its official Google Speed Update back in July 2018, and since then they’ve seen some drastic changes. After Google gave site owners notice of the update in January of 2018, Google saw that that the slowest one-third of traffic had performance metrics improve by 15% to 20% in 2018. In contrast, it saw zero improvements in 2017. That’s a pretty vast improvement for a lot of low preforming websites. But why does it matter? What is Page Speed? Page speed is a measurement of how fast...

Top 5 Web Design Metrics to Consider

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 12:00:00 EST

Updated 4/16/19 In the world of web design there are a lot of trends and fads that come and go, but some aspects of web design remain relevant and critical to any project. While staying up-to-date is important for aesthetic reasons, these metrics are the basics for user-experience (UX). 1. Compatibility There are a few types of compatibility to take into account when analyzing this web metric. First of all, there is the obvious lesson that Internet Explorer has taught us, not all browsers behave the same. Ensuring your website is viewed...

10 Amazing FAQ Page Examples and Why You Need One

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:00:00 EST

Frequently asked question (FAQ) pages not only serve as a way for your audience to quickly find answers to the questions that they many have about your business or industry, but they also serve another important purpose – they can help your search engine optimization efforts. FAQ pages have been gaining traction as a marketing tool again with the growth in voice search, mobile search and personal/home assistants and speakers. That’s because these types of search results usually rely on Google Answers and Featured snippets, which give succinct and informative results. An effective FAQ page: ...

Facebook to Add New Relevancy Metrics for Ads – How This Helps Your Campaigns

Tue, 02 Apr 2019 12:00:00 EST

A few years ago, Facebook introduced the Relevance Score as an attempt to ‘grade’ your ads on how relevant they are to your target audience. Unfortunately, it was not always clear exactly how this scoring system worked and it left many users confused on how to improve their scores, which was a pretty big deal considering these scores seemed to have some impact on the performance of your Facebook ads. Now Facebook is rolling out a new system to show advertisers how their ads are performing in terms of relevance to your audience. Instead of the Relevance Score, you will now see three new metrics that combine to determine relevance...

5 Ways to Simplify Your Complex Content

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:00:00 EST

The goal is simple: sell more of your products or services. However, sometimes your product or service isn’t exactly the easiest thing to explain. If you have a complicated subject matter to cover, it can be tricky to find the ideal balance of explaining things in the simplest terms and not bore readers right off your website. So how do you make complex content or boring subjects easy to understand and exciting for your target audience? 1. Avoid Jargon/Complex Words Might seem like a no-brainer not to use jargon, but you’d be surprised how often industry professionals forget that the day-to-day terms they use are...

The Differences Between LinkedIn and Facebook for Business

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 12:00:00 EST

Updated: 3/12/19 One of the first questions you should ask yourself when planning any marketing campaign is, “Where does my target audience congregate?” The answer to this question will usually help determine which platform you should use for marketing (whether that’s a social media platform or not). Unfortunately, there are times when it is not 100% clear which platform is the best to use for marketing. For those times, a basic understanding of the available options can help. In this article, we’ll go over some of the basics between marketing your business on Facebook and LinkedIn. What...

How Combining Content Can Help Your Website’s Search Ranking

Wed, 06 Mar 2019 12:00:00 EST

In a recent Webmaster Hangout, Google’s Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst, John Mueller answered questions about when combining pages makes sense and when it doesn’t make sense, as well as some reasons why you should or shouldn’t do it. The basic breakdown from Mueller was this: Yes, merging weaker pages into a single page may result in a strong and more relevant web page in the eyes of Google. However, there are still certain rules to be followed, such as those pages must be complementary and address a single topic better as a combined page than as several weaker pages. Combining Relevance Signals The...

Google Plus is Going Away – But What Does That Mean?

Mon, 18 Feb 2019 12:00:00 EST

It was announced towards the end of 2018 that Google would be shutting down their attempt at a social media network, Google Plus. Google Plus was a place where you could share status updates, photos, links, etc. – similarly to Facebook. Unfortunately for Google, it did not catch on as they’d hoped. Google Plus does not refer to your Gmail account, your Google Drive, YouTube, Google Analytics or any other Google service. It’s just referring to the social network. Everything else will remain the same. Why is Google Plus being shut down? It all started with a security glitch that possibly exposed up...

How to Choose the Right Offer for the Different Types of Traffic

Mon, 11 Feb 2019 12:00:00 EST

A lot of planning goes into running paid advertising — "Where should I run my ads?," "What audience should my business target?," and more. But perhaps the biggest question you’ll need to ask yourself is, “What is my offer?” Your campaign's objective and the relationship you’ve formed with your audience play a huge part in deciding what type of offer to make. Every campaign you run should have a specific objective, whether it is to: Introduce your business to an audience who has never heard of you ...

Facebook Describes How Its Search Results Work

Tue, 05 Feb 2019 12:00:00 EST

Google has long provided some insights into how their search rankings are determined, but Facebook has been another story. Now with the company taking steps to be more transparent, they’ve released a short explainer video with new details about how their search results work. Within the less than 2-minute long video, they crammed in a lot of information. Here’s what it revealed. How Does Facebook Search Work? Rather than based on various performance and quality efforts like Google, Facebook’s search is primarily influenced by people’s activity on Facebook. What people do off Facebook has no impact on its internal...

Google Ads Introduces New Responsive Search Ads

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 12:00:00 EST

Recently, Google has pushed to increase the use of automation in ads. Some of the initiatives they developed include: dynamic search ads, automated ad suggestions (formerly known as Ads Added by Google) and Google’s efforts over the past year to get advertisers to give up manual A/B testing and add at least three ads per ad group. Now, they have released a new responsive search ad option. With this, Google is working to push their automated efforts even further by using dynamic optimization to find out the ad that works the best. How this works is that you set up one ad...

5 SEO Essentials for 2019

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 12:00:00 EST

It’s the beginning of another year, which means it’s time to look at your marketing and see what’s working and what needs to change. You should ideally evaluate your website and marketing efforts (including SEO) at least once a year, so you can stay on top of any changes in your business or in the search engines. Here are five search engine optimization (SEO) essentials you’ll need according to today’s top SEO professionals. 1. Understand Your Audience There are multiple ways that knowing your audience and their intent helps with your search marketing. First, if your website is optimized for your audience...

How to Double Your Sales This Year

Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:00:00 EST

Doubling your sales in a year can seem like a daunting task: especially, in the beginning of the year, if you look at the whole year’s goal. Your brain naturally locks up at the enormous task lying before it. For this reason, we recommend you don’t do that. Instead, we recommend you take two pieces of advice from two great marketers, Jay Abraham and Darren Hardy. Advice from Jay Abraham… He said, there are only 3 ways to grow your business: 1. Find more customers 2. Get your customers to buy more from you 3. Get customers to buy more often ...

Why Your Local Business Needs Social Media Marketing

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 12:00:00 EST

Social media is huge . Statista reports that the number of Facebook users in the U.S. (as of October 2018) had reached a whopping 204 million users. However, many local business owners are still on the fence on joining Facebook (and other relevant social media platforms). Some think that these platforms are just for peer-to-peer socializing; and while that does occur the majority of the time, there and some very good reasons to engage with social media as a business. There are many ways that your business can benefit from being present on social media. If you do it right...

A Year in Search: Google Search Trends from 2018

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 12:00:00 EST

2018 has come to a close and Google has released their most popular search trends for the year. This list is a great way to see how search has changed in Google over time – now that the search engine has turned 20 years old. The annual Year in Search is a good reflection on the changing search trends, the latest cultural moments or events that shaped the most popular searches, but also what we can learn from all of these. Here are the most popular search trends of 2018: 1. People searched for answers It should come as no surprise that people asked Google...

Top Social Media Marketing Trends for 2019

Tue, 18 Dec 2018 12:00:00 EST

Social media marketing often needs to adapt frequently in order to keep up with the latest trends in the social media landscape – but this article is not just fleeting information. Even with all of the changes that this year brought to the social media; it also brought us some great insights that we can take with us into 2019, regardless of the platform. Here’s a closer look at the key trends of the year and how they will affect your 2019 social media marketing tactics… Messaging will keep growing Messaging apps have already passed social media apps in usage and it seems...

5 Last-Minute Holiday Marketing Ideas

Mon, 10 Dec 2018 12:00:00 EST

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Is your business ready for holiday shopping? If not, it’s not too late to get in some last minute holiday promotions. A recent Gallup report shows that the average American will spend approximately $885 on holiday gifts in 2018, and 33 percent of Americans plan to spend at least $1,000 this holiday season. Meaning there is plenty of sales to be had during this time of year. Here are five holiday digital marketing tactics to use, even now: 1. Deck Your Website With Boughs of Holly If you haven’t already...

Google Reveals 3 Ways YouTube Habits (and Ads) Have Changed

Mon, 03 Dec 2018 12:00:00 EST

Video continues to dominate when it comes to social media. In fact, more than 500 million hours of videos are watched on YouTube alone each day . That’s not even factoring in all of the time spent watching videos on the other major social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Recently, Google (who owns YouTube) released a statement about the three main ways they’ve seen video viewing habits evolve – and how they in turn have adjusted their advertising for the platform. Here’s an overview of those changes in viewing habits and advertising models… Longer Viewing Sessions...

Now You Can Join Facebook Groups as Your Business Page

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 12:00:00 EST

We’ve previously talked about how beneficial a Facebook Group can be in building a community around your brand and interacting with your target audience – not only by joining them but owning your own. Well an exciting new feature has recently been introduced to Facebook Groups – the ability to participate in these communities as your business ! This new development is great news for businesses that want to participate in community building, but don’t have a singular “public face” of the company. Prior to this, only personal profiles could join groups, even if you created it for your business. “We've heard...

How to Use Instagram Hashtags to Increase Visibility for Your Business

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 12:00:00 EST

There are countless hashtags that your business could use on Instagram, so how do you know which ones to use to get the best results? In this article, you’ll learn how to use hashtags in order to gain visibility and get the best results from your Instagram posts. Building an Effective Hashtag Strategy The basic idea of any social media platform is to connect with your audience. With Instagram in particular, one way to connect with a larger audience than just your followers is through the use of hashtags. Finding the right hashtags can take some time...

A Technical SEO Breakdown for Business Owners

Tue, 23 Oct 2018 12:00:00 EST

There is a deeper, more technical side to search engine optimization (SEO) on your website that is just as crucial, if not more, than quality content and strong backlinks. Even if you’re not the one implementing this technical SEO foundation, it’s still good to have some idea of what is going on in order to ensure you are getting quality work done on your website. 1. Robots.txt File If you work with a developer, you may have heard this term before. The robots.txt file provides a directive to search engines and every website needs one in the root directory (i.e., example.com/robots.txt)...

LinkedIn Revamps Their Group Experience to Compete with Facebook

Mon, 15 Oct 2018 12:00:00 EST

LinkedIn has been a powerhouse for professional development and B2B communication for years, but they’ve never been able to fully master how to connect people within Groups. In 2015, the company split off an updated version of Groups into its own standalone app – a move that caused the Groups platform to turn into somewhat of a ghost town. Even though LinkedIn as a whole continued to grow and gain new features, the Groups app seemingly got left behind. In February of this year LinkedIn quietly pulled the standalone app as it announced plans to integrate the feature. New Features for LinkedIn Groups LinkedIn...

Google Releases Shoppable Image Ads

Mon, 08 Oct 2018 12:00:00 EST

According to Google, a third of holiday shoppers search for images before going out to shop. “One-third of holiday shoppers said they searched for images before they went in store to shop. The growth of “street style” and online influencers all show the movement towards looking at lifestyle images for visual inspiration.” For businesses, this makes displaying your product images on your website a crucial part of your marketing strategy. Now, Google is making it easier for consumers to make the jump from looking at the images to making a purchase with a new type of ad. ...

10 Marketing Tactics for a Successful Black Friday

Mon, 01 Oct 2018 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Oct. 1, 2018 Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday are the busiest shopping days of the year. And though they may seem far away, if you haven’t started planning your strategy for the holiday shopping weekend - now’s the time. The key to a successful holiday sales season is early planning and consistent marketing, especially as a small business competing against retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Here are 10 marketing tactics to get your business ready for Black Friday promotions: 1. Revisit Past Data Repeat successes, not failures. Find out which keywords, content...

How to Optimize a Google My Business Listing for Local Search

Tue, 25 Sep 2018 12:00:00 EST

Not only does your Google My Business (GMB) listing increase your chances of showing up in the Google Local 3-pack, but when your business is searched for by name, Google often shows a Knowledge Panel that displays detailed information about your company. These details are pulled directly from your GMB listing, as well as from information Google finds from other online sources and user-generated content (like third-party reviews, Q&As, user-suggested information, etc.). But how can you optimize your listing to help you in local search? Set Up & Basics Before we get too far, it’s worth discussing the basics. Some of these...

The Basics of Influencer Disclosure Guidelines

Tue, 11 Sep 2018 12:00:00 EST

Influencer marketing is a hybrid of old and new marketing tools. Essentially it takes the idea of a celebrity endorsement and merges it into a new, modern social media space. But it’s not only celebrities who are influencers these days. In fact, they can be almost anyone because it’s not how well known they are to the general public that matters, it’s how influential they are within your audience. An influencer can be a popular fashion photographer on Instagram, or a well-read cybersecurity blogger, or a respected marketing executive on LinkedIn. Within any industry, there are influential people – you just have to find them and find...

3 PPC Mistakes That Are Easy to Avoid

Tue, 04 Sep 2018 12:00:00 EST

When it comes to pay-per-click (PPC) management, a simple mistake can easily throw off your budget and affect your bottom line. Even PPC professionals have made at least one of these mistakes at some point, but as long as they’re not repeated, they can be a good learning opportunity. Here are the most common mistakes you can make when it comes to PPC management and how to avoid them: 1. Using the Wrong Targeting One of the most crucial parts of a successful PPC campaign is the targeting. Just because you had success with a certain target audience for...

How to Get More Referrals: Setting Up a Referral Program

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 12:00:00 EST

Before we delve into the logistics of setting up a referral program, take a second to think about the first place you turn to when you’re looking to purchase a new product or service. Usually you turn to a friend or family for a recommendation. In fact, a study by Nielsen showed that people are 4 times more likely to buy when referred by a friend . Another study done by the Wharton School of Business discovered that the average lifetime value for a new referral client is 16% higher than non-referrals. So how do...

Facebook Ad Targeting Removes Third Party Data Options

Tue, 21 Aug 2018 12:00:00 EST

Back in 2013, Facebook launched partnerships with major data providers including Datalogix, Epsilon, Acxiom, and BlueKai. This allowed advertisers to target existing and potential customers using detailed third party data. This type of targeting included everything from someone being a homeowner to being a soda drinker. However, things have changed… In July, Facebook announced the removal of Partners categories from its advertising interface; setting an end date of August 15, 2018 for digital marketers to utilize those targeting options – approximately half of their 1,200 targeting criteria. Why the Change? This decision mainly comes from the Cambridge Analytica fiasco...

21 Easy Ways to Build Your Email List

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 12:00:00 EST

Did you know that 98% of new traffic leaves your website without converting? They might be interested in your product or service but are just not in the buying stage yet. They could still be researching. However, you have zero chance of selling anything if you don’t have the ability to communicate with someone This is the #1 reason you should be capturing email addresses and building a list. No matter what types of marketing you’re interested in - from direct marketing to email marketing to Facebook ads - building a strong list of past, current, and potential customers is a great way...

Mobile Transactions Continue to Grow... Are You Prepared?

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 12:00:00 EST

With over 40 percent of online transactions happening on mobile, it’s becoming clear that now more than ever, mobile is truly taking over. Even when the transactions don’t occur on a smartphone, it’s likely that the customer did some initial research using a mobile device. Whether they are searching for information, discovering new solutions for their problems, or reading reviews, customers are using mobile more and more in their customer journey. Even if you already have a mobile responsive website design , you might not be doing enough when it comes to understanding the preferences, expectations and intent that mobile customers have when utilizing your business’ website...

Video Marketing: What Does the Future Hold?

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:00:00 EST

It is predicted that in 2019, 80% of all internet traffic will come from videos. That might seem like a big leap, but video content is already proving it can grab and hold audiences’ attention as well as create meaningful engagement. In fact, one third of all time spent online is already accounted for by watching videos. With the number of people consuming videos growing, there is another correlation happening – videos are taking over search engine rankings. Forrester estimates that the chances of getting a page one spot on Google increases by 53 times with video. Video has also been seen to boost traffic from organic listings by...

How Does Voice Search Affect Local Businesses?

Mon, 23 Jul 2018 12:00:00 EST

The current search engine optimization (SEO) landscape is already tricky for local business. Google Maps trimmed its business listings down from seven to three listings in search, plus with new features that display information directly in search, people no longer need to visit your website to get the information they need – resulting in fewer clicks to your site. Then add in voice search. 2018 has already been a big year for voice search and virtual assistants, with Alexa making its way into hotel rooms and Google Home racing ahead in sales. Soon, local businesses will be facing challenges and opportunities...

Has Ad Transparency Gone Too Far? Facebook Starts Showing All Ads That Businesses Are Running

Mon, 09 Jul 2018 12:00:00 EST

You may have noticed a new section to Facebook pages recently – “Info & Ads”. This new section added by Facebook is another addition to continuing its transparency efforts regarding Pages and ads. In this new section, you’ll be able to find all the ads that a Page has run across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, as well as Facebook’s partner networks. This means that anyone can go to your Page and see all of the ads you’ve run, whether or not they are part of the original target audience for the ads. There will also be an option to flag an ad if it’s suspicious by clicking...

Meet the New Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform, and Google Ad Manager

Tue, 03 Jul 2018 12:00:00 EST

Google recently announced a new rebranding and restructuring of their popular advertising programs – AdWords and DoubleClick. These flagship advertising products that were established 18 and 22 years ago are getting new names and reorganizing to better reflect their current capabilities and also where the company sees their potential growth. With the rebranding, Google is also introducing some new solutions that help to simplify their advertising offering. The three new primary brands will be: Google Ads – formerly Google AdWords ...

Vital Facts Every Business Owner Needs to Know About Digital Marketing

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 12:00:00 EST

Try to think of the last time you used the yellow pages. Now think of the last time you looked up something on your phone. We’re living in a digital world and if your business is not living in it too, it will surely struggle. That is why you need to know these things about digital marketing… Digital Marketing Doesn’t Stand Still Talk to any digital marketer and they will tell you that the industry and their jobs change every year and are very different than five years ago. Google is constantly making updates to their algorithm...

Google is Requiring Websites to Switch to HTTPS or Show Up as Non-Secure

Mon, 18 Jun 2018 12:00:00 EST

If your website collects sensitive visitor information such as passwords, credit card information, or other personal data – be warned. Earlier this year, Google made changes that started to mark websites without HTTPS as non-secure on Google Chrome, Google’s own web browser that has 59.38% of the browser market share. That’s way above the second highest used browser, Safari, with only 14.88% market share. If you haven’t already made the switch to HTTPS and purchased an SSL certificate to protect visitors and your site, now is the time. That's because Google has finally put a deadline on this - July 2018. ...

Why Technical SEO is More Important Than Ever

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 12:00:00 EST

If you’re familiar with the term search engine optimization (SEO), you may know about how titles, meta descriptions and alt tags are a crucial part in getting you more traffic from search engines such as Google. But what you might not know about SEO is that there is another, more technical side that can affect your website. While search engines are getting better at crawling, indexing and understanding information, they’re not perfect. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter how much good content you have on your website if no one can find it or see it. That’s why having a strong, technical SEO foundation...

How Landing Page Optimization Leads to PPC Campaign Success

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 12:00:00 EST

Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns require a lot of work and coordination in order for them to perform properly – bringing your business more traffic and new leads. Part of this work includes the landing pages that you are sending the traffic to. If you want to convert the traffic landing on these pages, you’ll need to optimize them. You could have the best ads and be targeting the correct keywords, but if you are sending traffic to a landing page that isn’t optimized for conversions you’re not going to be very successful in capturing those new leads. Here are the top...

An Intro Into Display Advertising

Tue, 29 May 2018 12:00:00 EST

Have you ever been on a website and seen those banner ads along the top or sides of the website for services or products? What you are seeing are called display advertisements. Display advertising is a blanket term for a few different types of visual advertisements on a website. This broad category can be broken down into a few main types: Site placement advertising: This is when a marketer/advertiser chooses the site they would like to advertise on. Contextual advertising: This is when you advertise your product or service on a website with similar content – such...

LinkedIn Introduces Video Advertising

Wed, 23 May 2018 12:00:00 EST

Video continues to be on the rise – both in usage and as a marketing tool. In fact, according to Tubular Insights, “The number of people watching videos online only continues to grow, with video predicted to make up to 80% of all global traffic by 2019.” LinkedIn has decided to join the other social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat in the video advertising space. Their new video sponsored content option are placed in the LinkedIn news feed as a standalone post. These posts feature a prominent call-to-action button – giving you the opportunity to capture leads at any point throughout the video. ...

How to Enhance Your Website’s User Experience to Get More Leads

Tue, 01 May 2018 12:00:00 EST

There are many ways that websites unintentionally make things difficult for visitors – poor navigation, pop-ups, no clear calls-to-action, and cumbersome checkout processes. A website is meant to inform, entertain, and provide a product or service. In order to do those things, you have to provide a good user experience (UX). Bad UX causes visitors to bounce directly off your website, which negatively impacts your search engine results. In addition, you can forget return visitors or positive reviews if visitors have negative experiences with your website. Here are a few simple ways that you can improve your website’s user experience : Check the usability...

The Mobile Marketing Optimization Checklist

Mon, 23 Apr 2018 12:00:00 EST

No matter how hard you try, it’s nearly impossible to stay away from mobile marketing. With roughly 77% of Americans owning a smartphone (according to PEW Research Center), people are bound to visit your website or search for your business using their mobile device at some point. And if you’re thinking, “Just because people are using them doesn’t mean they’re buying things on them.” – You’d be wrong. In fact, 62% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last 6 months. This is why having a mobile marketing plan and an optimized website is so crucial, especially in 2018...

How to Create Evergreen Content for Your Website

Tue, 17 Apr 2018 12:00:00 EST

Content marketing is an essential piece of the digital marketing puzzle. Without it, search engines like Google have a harder time deciphering what your business does and how it should be ranked or displayed. Additionally, your customers may leave feeling unfulfilled in their quest for information about you or your products / services. Not all content is equal, however. Evergreen content provides your website with long-lasting results (traffic, leads, social shares) that don’t depend on the timeliness of the topic. This type of content is relevant for weeks, month, and potentially years. It often takes more time and effort, but if done well, can really pay off...

How to Build Your Online Citations and Why It Matters

Tue, 10 Apr 2018 12:00:00 EST

Online citations are defined as “ mentions of your business’s name, address and phone number on other websites ” such as YP, Yelp, and many other directories. A citation does not need to include a link to your website to be a key component of the ranking algorithms on search engines like Google and Bing. If everything else is equal, a business with a greater number of citations will have better search engine optimization and will most likely rank above a business with fewer citations. Citations from well-established sites, such as Superpages.com or Manta.com, help increase the certainty that search engines have about your business’s contact information and category...

5 SEO Essentials for Boosting Your Ecommerce Website’s Organic Traffic

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:00:00 EST

When it comes to websites and search engine optimization (SEO), ecommerce websites are almost considered a different animal. While many of the fundamentals remain the same, ecommerce websites tend to run into certain issues that traditional websites don’t experience – or at least not as often. Here are five things that are essential to the success of an ecommerce website that is optimizing for search: 1. No Duplicate Content Duplicate content is often an immediate trouble area for ecommerce – especially if you’re on a marketplace model where other similar or identical products are sold. Large marketplaces generally use generic product descriptions...

How to Legally Use Images for Social Media Marketing

Tue, 27 Mar 2018 12:00:00 EST

Before we start getting into the nitty gritty of this article, we’ll start by saying that Sales & Marketing Technologies is not a law office and can’t give you legal advice. However, here a few things you might want to know to keep yourself out of hot water. Many businesses these days are taking up social media marketing on their own. While it’s very important to have your business on the social channels that make sense for your industry and particular business, it’s also important to make sure you’re doing it correctly. If you’re sharing images that you did not create on social media, it...

Can You Get Rid of Fake Negative Reviews on Google?

Mon, 19 Mar 2018 12:00:00 EST

Fake reviews are an annoying problem to have. We work hard to build good, ethical businesses and fake negative reviews can tarnish an otherwise glowing profile. This is extremely upsetting. In an online world, it’s very easy to create an account to leave a positive or negative review – whether or not you’ve ever worked with the company before. So how can you stop fake reviews? Google’s Policies Regarding Fake Reviews Google has a lot of policies for users that leave reviews. But realistically, they’re not always the best at automatically catching violations of these policies. The good news is that...

How to Use Facebook Groups to Help Market Your Business

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 12:00:00 EST

There are hundreds of millions of Facebook groups. From car enthusiast groups like Miata Club ( 27,964 members ) to entrepreneurial support groups like Women Helping Women Entrepreneurs ( 37,406 members ) to buy and sell groups like Orlando Online Yard Sale ( 53, 184 members ), Facebook groups are used for many different purposes, but they all have the ability to create a community around their topics. These groups are a new frontier for business owners looking to build and manage a community around their brand. They can help you position yourself as an industry expert, find new customers, and more. In this article, you’ll ...

How Quizzes Can Boost Your Traffic and Leads

Tue, 06 Mar 2018 12:00:00 EST

You may have noticed a trend in your Facebook feed lately. Quizzes. Major companies have started to utilize this trend to engage with their audience (and add a retargeting pixel if they’re smart). Everyone from viral Internet video company, BuzzFeed, to brands such as Disney and Airbnb has started utilizing this type of content in their marketing strategies. Quizzes are more than just fun, little games to play. They’ve become one of the most shared posts across social media - some receiving hundreds of thousands, if not millions of shares. How Quizzes Engage Communities Quizzes are often presented as a...

How to Use Instagram to Sell Services

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 12:00:00 EST

Selling products on Instagram tends to come more naturally for business owners. You can take photos or videos of your products and there is a more direct correlation to sales. When it comes to selling services using Instagram, business owners often need a little help getting on the right track. Instagram is a very powerful social media network, and can be a great addition to your marketing strategy if it makes sense for your target market and if it’s done well. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to structure a plan for selling your services with Instagram. Pick a Signature Style Just...

5 Tips for Using Instagram to Sell Products

Tue, 06 Feb 2018 12:00:00 EST

Instagram has positioned itself as one of the top photo and video sharing networks since it launched in 2010. Once Facebook acquired it in 2012, it became even more accessible for business owners and marketers to utilize the platform for promoting their products. If you’re wondering how to effectively market your products on Instagram, this article will give you a few tips for making the most of your Instagram images and descriptions in order to sell more. Here are five tips for selling products on Instagram: 1. Pick a Signature Style Before you start posting, take a while to think about your business’ branding and style. Having a...

How to Create a Marketing Calendar

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 12:00:00 EST

As a business owner, you might not have a lot of time to be in marketing mode. You have other pressing tasks, but at the end of the day, you know marketing is absolutely essential in order for your business to grow and thrive. One of the best tools for organizing your marketing efforts and strategically timing your marketing campaigns is a marketing calendar. Here are a few steps for creating a basic marketing calendar: Review Your Target Customer Knowing your target customer is the first and most important step to creating a marketing calendar. By knowing who they are, you can figure out...

Why You Should (Still) Be Blogging in 2018

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 12:00:00 EST

Every year for the past 4 years, Orbit Media Studios surveys 1000+ business bloggers and publishes a research report on blogging statistics and trends. While there are some subtle changes throughout the years, one thing is clear - "Bloggers are reporting stronger results from content marketing," says Orbit Media’s co-founder, Andy Crestodina. In fact, almost 30% of respondents reported ‘strong results’ as the effectiveness of their blogging strategy. Many businesses had seen the rewards of blogging and how their strategies helped to meet their goals, whatever they may be. In 2017, 85% of those surveyed claimed their blog delivered strong results or some results. The number...

Facebook to Start Demoting Posts That Use “Engagement Bait”

Tue, 26 Dec 2017 12:00:00 EST

Facebook is switching up its algorithm once again, and this time it’s going to start lowering the reach for posts that use “engagement bait.” According to Facebook, “Engagement bait is a tactic to create Facebook posts that goad people into interacting, through likes, shares, comments, and other actions, in order to artificially boost engagement and get greater reach on News Feed.” Here are a few examples of engagement bait… React Baiting Facebook's example of react baiting is a post that says, "LIKE this if you're an Aries or LOVE this...

New Year's Resolutions: 5 Digital Marketing Upgrades for 2018

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 12:00:00 EST

Digital marketing is an ever-changing landscape, and what worked a year ago or even a week ago might not work as well today. Many businesses still use outdated and/or ineffective marketing methods. As you are gearing up for the start of 2018, consider throwing out some of those under-performing marketing methods to make room for new strategies that will bring your business more qualified leads and increase sales. Here are some easy, New Year's resolution upgrades to make to your marketing in 2018: 1. Focus on Quality over Quantity for Content There is content on the internet for just about everything these days. ...

Is Your Website ADA Compliant? Why You Need to Know

Tue, 28 Nov 2017 12:00:00 EST

Please note: We are digital marketers, not attorneys. Therefore, this article is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should speak with a lawyer. More and more, we’ve been hearing about businesses that have been threatened with a lawsuit for having a website that was allegedly not ADA compliant. In some cases, these lawsuits are nothing more than a shakedown for cash. They allege that the website is not fully accessible to disabled users and that they’d be willing to settle for a small fee. This is because the way the current ADA laws are, it would be difficult to win...

Facebook Introduces a Website Chat Plugin for Businesses

Tue, 21 Nov 2017 12:00:00 EST

In a news release made on November 7, 2017, Facebook announced that its newest Messenger Platform 2.2 would offer new and exciting features that work to build engagement with customers. Facebook Customer Chat Plugin Release One of the most exciting features released in this update is the ability to extend your Facebook Messenger experience to your business’ website. “With customer chat plugin, people can chat with businesses on their websites and in Messenger (across web, mobile or tablet) and transition back and forth seamlessly without losing the conversation’s history and context. This makes it easier for customers to continue the conversation with a business whenever and wherever...

5 Types of Content That Can Grow Your Company

Tue, 14 Nov 2017 12:00:00 EST

High-quality, relevant content truly is the key to success for reaching new audiences, engaging your current audience, and creating new business opportunities. But where do you start if you’ve never created content for your company before? What types of content can really help you move the needle? Here are five types of content that will give you maximum impact and return on investment for your business: 1. Dedicated Pages Your website is not only your portfolio and information hub for your customers, but it also gives search engines insight into your products, services and business as a whole. If you have multiple...

5 Reasons Why Content Is So Important

Mon, 06 Nov 2017 12:00:00 EST

Updated 11/6/17 Most business owners understand the importance of their website design, their branded social media pages, and even the idea of search engine optimization, but when it comes to content marketing or blogging, they can’t seem to pinpoint why it’s so important. In this article, we’ll hit on the top five reasons you should be creating content for your business. Whether that is through adding content to your existing web pages or starting up a “news” or “blogging” section of your website. #1 Content Helps You Rank Better in Search Engines In the past few years, Google has decided that...

3 Different Facebook Advertising Options for Different Budgets

Tue, 31 Oct 2017 12:00:00 EST

If you’ve never tried Facebook advertising for your business, you’re not alone. There are plenty of business owners who are worried about making the leap into social media advertising. However, Facebook advertising is one of the easiest ways to jumpstart your paid advertising strategy. With nearly 79% of Americans who use the internet engaging with Facebook in some capacity, it’s a great platform to utilize for advertising. Thankfully, Facebook has many different ad types to match the needs of almost any business. Here are three different ad types that you can try with any size budget. #1 Facebook Boosted Posts Probably the simplest ad type...

Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch for in 2018

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 12:00:00 EST

As we enter into the fourth quarter of 2017, many businesses are already looking forward to 2018 and what they can expect to plan for in their marketing strategy. While some of these trends have emerged in 2017, or even the year before, you can expect to see them become more prominent in 2018. Here are five things that you should consider adding into your marketing strategy next year in order to stay ahead of the competition online. #1 Mobile-First Indexing Optimizing for mobile has been important for businesses for a few years now, but this could be even more of a game changer if...

Do I Need a Website Redesign?

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 12:00:00 EST

What parts of your website really matter to customers? Can I make do with what I have? Is it worth investing in a new website design? Is my website really affecting sales that much ? There are certain aspects of your web design that visitors absolutely care about and if they don’t get their needs met, they’re going to leave… almost immediately. There is no point in spending good marketing dollars driving people to your site if they are simply going to hit the back button right after arriving. The goal of driving traffic to your site is to increase...

LinkedIn's New Targeting Options Help You Zero in on Audiences

Tue, 03 Oct 2017 12:00:00 EST

Earlier this year, LinkedIn announced a new feature being launched, called Matched Audiences, that would help business owners narrow down their targeting immensely. Matched Audiences began rolling out new categories for targeting including: Website Retargeting Account Targeting Contact Targeting Senior product manager Eva Chau said that Matched Audiences is now available for all LinkedIn advertising products including Sponsored Content, Sponsored InMail and other native ad formats. With the addition of these powerful retargeting options, LinkedIn stepped up their advertising game to play alongside one of their competitors, Facebook. So what exactly do these new retargeting options mean? ...

There Is No Free Lunch (The Real Cost of Open Source Software)

Tue, 19 Sep 2017 12:00:00 EST

If you have WordPress, you better keep reading… Equifax Inc. just had their second massive security breach in four years, and according to the Apache Foundation it all stems from one main issue… …Open source software. Well, to be exact, it was the consumer credit reporting agency’s failure to install patches to Apache Struts – an open source framework used to build Java web applications. In a statement released Thursday (Sept. 14), the foundation said a vulnerability was announced and patched on March 7, 2017. Six months later, Atlanta-based Equifax announced a data breach affecting an estimated 143 million consumers. "The Equifax data compromise was...

Which Should You Use: Google or Facebook for Retargeting?

Tue, 22 Aug 2017 12:00:00 EST

Have you ever visited a website and then suddenly you start seeing ads for that company all across the web? This phenomenon is called retargeting or remarketing. Your customers don’t always buy something the first time they visit your website or click on your ad. Depending on their stage in the buying process, they could continue to do research or think over the idea before making a purchase. However, you can assume they’re somewhat interested if they visited your website. There are two major players in the retargeting arena, Google and Facebook. How do you decide which is right for...

How to Boost Sales with Facebook Messenger & Chatbots

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 12:00:00 EST

Marketing has changed a lot since its infancy. It used to be one message for the masses. Nowadays, people are looking for more of a personalized experience. So how do you individually market to people on a mass scale? Before we dive into the answer, we wanted to highlight two tools people are using and then we’ll give you an example. One tool businesses have started using to talk directly with the people they are marketing to is Facebook Messenger. The reason this is working so well is because Facebook Messenger allows you to get that...

How to Design Campaigns for the Non-Buyers with Retargeting

Tue, 08 Aug 2017 12:00:00 EST

Of course we’d love to believe that every person who comes in contact with our business follows a specific and direct path to purchase. They visit our website, read our content or download a helpful guide, and immediately decide to hand over their credit card to purchase our product or service. But that’s not always the reality… The customer journey is often much more complex. Most studies say that anywhere from 95-99% of your website traffic clicks away before ever completing an action such as signing up for your mailing list or downloading free content. Even the most engaging of content with a clear call to action is subject to what’s...

How Video Testimonials Can Establish Authority

Mon, 31 Jul 2017 12:00:00 EST

Video marketing has become one of the biggest digital marketing opportunities – and for good reason. Almost 50% of Internet users look for videos related to a product or service before visiting a store - ThinkWithGoogle People spend, on average, 2.6x more time on pages with videos than without - Wistia Online shoppers who view demo videos are 1.81x more likely to purchase than non-viewers - DMB Adobe With video marketing becoming such a valuable tool for businesses and consumers, it should be no surprise that video testimonials can powerfully boost a brand’s...

How to Get A Featured Snippet in Google's Answer Box

Tue, 25 Jul 2017 12:00:00 EST

Google has long been a place people turn to find a solution to their problem or an answer to their question. So it makes sense that the search engine giant took another step out of the equation and created a feature that helps users get their answer even faster. Back in 2015, Google started testing what we now know as the Google Answer Box, which is a featured snippet embedded into the search results. However, it wasn’t until recently that brands have started to utilizing this feature to bring in new website traffic. Google is known for constantly testing features and making algorithmic updates, but as far as anyone can...

What Are Google Verified Customer Reviews and How Do You Get Them?

Tue, 18 Jul 2017 12:00:00 EST

The new Google Verified Customer Reviews not only boost your business’ reputation, but can also boost your visibility and authority online. But what is a Google Verified Customer Review? And how do you get them? What is a Google Verified Customer Review? A verified customer review is a review a customer can leave after making a purchase from a company’s website. Seller ratings appear on Search Ads, in Google Shopping, and on an optional badge that can be displayed on your site. This type of review differs from a typical Google review in that in...

Voice Search - What It Means for Local Businesses

Mon, 10 Jul 2017 12:00:00 EST

The rise of virtual assistants such as Siri, Cortana and Alexa is changing the game when it comes to local search engine optimization with one little thing… your voice. If your business relies on local search traffic, this will definitely impact your strategy. What is Voice Search? Voice search is a growing trend that has really started to take off with widespread adoption of virtual assistants like Siri, Cortana, Google Assistant – all of whom perform web searches automatically if they’re unable to provide an answer natively. In 2016, conversational AI company MindMeld surveyed smartphone users in the US, finding that ...

Top 10 Recent Social Media Updates You Need to Know (Especially #3 and #8)

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 12:00:00 EST

If you’re operating or marketing a business, whether it’s B2C or B2B, in 2017, you probably utilize at least one social media platform for your business. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn are just a few of the social platforms you could be utilizing – and honestly, it is difficult to stay ahead of the changes that occur within these platforms as they update and add new features. That’s why we’ve rounded up 10 of the most important updates you should know about that have happened recently... So let’s jump into it. #1 Facebook Allows Multiple Dates/Times for Recurring...

One Simple Way to Grow Your Email List and Drive Traffic to Your Website

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 12:00:00 EST

Using a marketing tactic called a “dedicated email drop,” has the potential to send a huge amount of traffic to your website or lead magnet offer using someone else’s email list. But how do you get access to someone else’s list? Keep reading to find out… Dedicated Email Drops: What Are They and How Do They Work? The key to understanding a dedicated email drop is to understand that you’re not being sold someone’s list, you’re being sold access to someone’s list, and often you're also being sold that business' endorsement. Your message will come from that business as a sponsor...

5 Ways to Grow Your Business Past the $1 Million Mark

Tue, 13 Jun 2017 12:00:00 EST

It is a happy day when you cross over the $1,000,000 mark. If you haven’t yet reached that milestone in your business you might be wondering what it will take to hit the mark. The reality is at each stage of business growth you need to prepare for the next stage. Here are 5 things you would be wise to do today to get past the $1,000,000 mark... 1. Set aside a consistent marketing budget We’ve all heard the expression – “It takes money to make money.” While marketing may seem like a scary jump into the unknown, with a trusted partner and an adequate budget, great...

3 Top Factors That Affect Bounce Rate on Your Website

Tue, 06 Jun 2017 12:00:00 EST

Most business owners or marketers that track their website’s success have probably heard of a term called ‘bounce rate’. Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who clicked away from your website (back to search or to another website) right after they first landed on your website. When you have a high bounce rate and customers ‘click and go’, search engines begin to look at your content’s quality as questionable and your rankings can suffer. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the top three factors that affect bounce rate on your website… 1. Slow Page Load Time Sites that load...

3 Ways to Tell If Your CRM Is Working Optimally

Tue, 30 May 2017 12:00:00 EST

Whether you are a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) newbie or veteran, a CRM is one tool that can really change the way you do business. What is a CRM? According to TechTarget, a CRM tool is “technology” that companies use to manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, with the goal of improving business relationships, assisting in retention, and driving sales growth.” The benefits of a CRM include: Organization - Consolidating customer and prospect data and touch points in one place. Lets everyone across the organization...

3 Hidden Factors That Might Be Affecting Your SEO

Tue, 16 May 2017 12:00:00 EST

If you’ve decided to read this article, you probably already have some idea of how important search engine optimization (SEO) is for your website and your business. Despite a huge growth in social media, a ton of people still use search to find solutions to their problems. In fact, the powerhouse that is Google continues to get over 100 billion searches every month . That’s a lot of searching. This drives home the point that although other avenues of driving traffic are becoming increasingly important, continuing to perform SEO tactics on your website is still a huge part of a successful business, online and off. ...

3 Things Marketers Do That Seem Crazy

Tue, 09 May 2017 12:00:00 EST

Why would a marketer do that? Ever see an ad and wonder, “What were they thinking?” I know I have. Well, not everything in marketing makes sense until you know the wisdom behind it. Here are three marketing moves that don't appear to make sense... until they do. Why would a marketer spend more on the advertising than they will make on the sale? The reason you would do this is because it isn’t all about the first sale. The number you should focus on instead is...

One Easy Way to Increase the Value of Your Offer

Tue, 02 May 2017 12:00:00 EST

If you have read some of our Tips & Trends articles in the past, you may have seen us refer to Lead Magnets, Tripwires, or Profit Maximizer Offers. These are industry terms for different types of offers that can come from your business. Here is the breakdown of those terms and how they take your customers through your sales funnel. Lead Magnets Lead Magnets are usually the first step in the process to draw in new leads. They are usually free and can include informational or helpful materials that relate to your business, such as: ...

How to Capture More Leads with Facebook’s Lead Generation Ads

Tue, 25 Apr 2017 12:00:00 EST

(Updated 4/25/17) These days, people expect to be able to do almost anything and everything from their phones. Historically, mobile phones were great for discovering new things or doing research on a business, but it was difficult to capture leads via mobile. Facebook’s lead generation ads or lead ads were Facebook’s solution to that problem. For the user, Facebook’s lead generation ads are a quick and privacy-safe way to sign up to receive information from businesses, like newsletters, quotes and offers. For the business owner, this reduces the friction involved for potential customers to fill out sign-up forms, making it easier to capture more leads. ...

Want More Leads? Try Strengthening Your Magnet

Tue, 11 Apr 2017 12:00:00 EST

Before we show you how to get more leads for your business, let’s take a moment to think about why people would want to give you their information. It’s all about your offer. Why You Need to Think About Your Offer No matter what type of industry you’re in, your customers are searching for a solution to a problem they're facing. And if your business can offer them that first step to a solution, they’re more likely to purchase more from you or purchase a higher dollar offer. Testing Different Lead Magnet Offers During the customer journey, they...

The #1 Tip For Selling More Products Online

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 12:00:00 EST

At Sales & Marketing Technologies, we are all about innovation and discovering new digital technologies that can help grow your business. But there’s one simple aspect of marketing that is essential when selling products online – quality product photos. Did you know that 90 percent of all information our brains process is visual? Our brains process visual information no less than 60,000 times faster than text, which is a major reason we tend to remember 80 percent of what we see, but only 20 percent of what we read. These stats are very important to keep in mind when you think about trying to sell a product. Even...

ClickFunnels vs LeadPages – Which Landing Page Tool to Use for Your Business

Tue, 28 Mar 2017 12:00:00 EST

Building beautiful, functional and engaging landing pages is one of the most important parts of a successful online marketing campaign. Any savvy marketer knows that once you've done all that hard work to get visitors to your website, the next big step is to convert them into leads for your business. You can’t do that without an optimized landing page. So what exactly is a landing page? A landing page is a web page that allows you to capture a visitor's information through a lead-capture form. There are a few different purposes for landing pages. DigitalMarketer describes three main types: ...

Top 5 Things to Look for When Gathering Customer Intelligence

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 12:00:00 EST

When was the last time you talked to one of your customers? Asking and listening to what your customers say can give you invaluable insights into their pain points, needs, and the exact language they use to discuss your product or service. Once you gain their feedback, you can use it to market your business better by utilizing copy that makes it feel like you’re reading their minds. But at the end of the day, all these tactics revolve around one thing: giving your customers a better experience. Here’s what five marketing experts had to say about gathering customer intelligence: 1. “Understand the friction.”...

7 Ways To Get Your Business Growing Again

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 12:00:00 EST

Looking for some ways to get your company growing again? Here are the 7 simple ways to get your business back on the growth curve... 1. Talk to Your Customers Talk to your customers. Just making contact can bring you top of mind and cause sales. Ask what they think you do great? (Use this in your marketing) and anything that could use improvement? (Fix it). Ask if they have someone they...

Industry Specialization vs. Broad Experience: Which is Better for Digital Marketing?

Tue, 07 Feb 2017 12:00:00 EST

When it comes to choosing a digital marketing company to help you create your company’s digital strategy, you may be tempted to choose a company that specializes in your industry. While this may sound good on the surface, we’d submit to you that too much specialization can actually cost you. Many times industry “experts” can get tunnel vision. They are so focused on what they already know that they sometimes do not see what is going on around them. Every year, Russell Reynolds Associates surveys more than 2,000 C-level executives on the impact, structure, barriers, and enablers of digital technologies across 15 industries...

A/B Testing: What Is It & Why Do You Need It?

Tue, 31 Jan 2017 12:00:00 EST

How do you know that a piece of your marketing campaign is performing at its best? The truth is that until you start testing various elements of your marketing campaigns – from ads to landing pages to email subject lines – you’ll never know what resonates with your audience the most. A well-planned and executed A/B testing can take your marketing pieces and make them exponentially more profitable. Read on to learn more… Planning an A/B Test Before you start testing, it’s important to choose an area to focus on. Taking A/B testing slowly will ensure you’re not changing...

15 Social Media Usage Stats That Will Blow Your Mind

Tue, 24 Jan 2017 12:00:00 EST

If you don’t think your customers are reachable via social media, think again. These social media usage stats will blow your mind. If you can’t see opportunity in these numbers, you need to call Sales & Marketing Technologies immediately so we can show you. You can’t afford to be left behind. 1. 22% of the world’s total population uses Facebook. 2. Facebook continues to be the most widely used social media platform, with 79% of American Internet users. 3. Instagram comes in second with 32% of users, Pinterest in a close third with 31%, and LinkedIn and Twitter at...

How to Succeed at Digital Marketing

Tue, 17 Jan 2017 12:00:00 EST

Are you responsible for marketing in your business? Are you looking to ways for your marketing team to be even more successful? If so, we've found the fastest way to be more successful is to make sure your marketing team is well trained. People can only do what they know how to do. If you are looking for an affordable way to ensure your team is well trained for today’s digital marketing environment, check out eight marketing courses included in Digital Marketer HQ. Whether your team members have marketing knowledge, or are just getting started, these courses provide easy to understand, step-by-step training on the 8...

Escape from WordPress

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 12:00:00 EST

WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) for building websites out there today. But this doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. For that reason, we wanted to share some of the best alternatives for building your website. Keep in mind that each of these alternatives comes with its own set of pros and cons, and some may suit a particular type of website more than others. Wix Similar to SquareSpace, Wix is advertised as a simple solution to creating a website, and it is. They also offer a selection...

Launching Something New in 2017? Tips for SEO-Friendly URL Structure

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 12:00:00 EST

A lot of companies will be launching new initiatives in 2017. Those initiatives may require a new website, or new additions to an existing website. If so, here are some things you should consider when picking a new web address (URL) or when adding new pages to your website. 1. Keep things simple This is Google’s number one most important advice – “a site’s URL structure should be as simple as possible.” For your main website URL that means it should be short, memorable and as unambiguous as possible, especially if you’ll be sending people to your URL from offline. When...

Put Your Offer Directly in Your Competitors’ Customers' and Prospects' Inbox

Tue, 27 Dec 2016 12:00:00 EST

Imagine one of your competitors’ hot prospects opening their Gmail to check their inbox. Right there amongst their emails is an email from your company. It has a subject line with a compelling offer. They can’t resist - they click on it. Instead of a regular email opening, a beautiful ad from your company is displayed. You don’t have to imagine any more. You can do it with Gmail Ads. With more than one billion active Gmail users worldwide, it’s no surprise that Google saw the opportunity to show ads to them. And you can target any of those Gmail users based on the domain of emails...

3 Proven List Building Strategies to Start in 2017

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 12:00:00 EST

No matter what types of marketing you’re looking to explore in 2017 - from direct marketing to email marketing to Facebook ads - building a strong list of potential customers is a great way to get a customized message out that motivates people to buy. But where do you begin if you don’t have a list or if your list is too small? Here are three proven list building strategies that you can start in 2017 to build your list so you can start using it to get more sales. Offer Subscriber Incentives You could offer a coupon, a discount, a...

5 Fast Small Business Marketing Tips for 2017

Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:00:00 EST

The end of 2016 is within sight, which means you’re probably starting to plan out your digital marketing strategy for 2017. We’ve learned plenty of lessons this year and as we know, the digital landscape is always evolving. So here are some quick marketing tips that can jumpstart your success in 2017. #1 Using Texts to Follow Up An Unlikely Experiment That’s Working Really Well! – Frank Kern In this awesome, informative video by Frank Kern, he shows you how you can use inbound texting (which basically means, “Let people text you if they want or need something.”) to increase engagement and drastically boost...

How To Pick A Winning Web Design Template

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 12:00:00 EST

When it comes to picking a winning web design, there’s no one perfect template that will work for every business. But there are certain aspects of a web design that are essential in order for your business to succeed where it matters the most – conversions. Design features will change depending on whether you are working on a website or a landing page. Today, we are discussing websites. So, for a winning website design, consider the following: 1. Choose a Design that Speaks to Your Audience You communicate through your website, with text and...

Top 5 Digital Marketing Trends for 2017 to Get Ready For Now

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 12:00:00 EST

We’ve seen a lot of advances in the digital marketing industry in 2016, and though the year is not quite over, it’s time to start thinking about how your business will need to shift in 2017 to stay ahead of your competition online. Online marketing requires the foresight to plan ahead, anticipate changes, and jump on trends before your competitors do, so while you don’t need to use all of these trends it’s always good to be aware of their existence. #1 Expansion of Live Video Streaming Between video advertising and live video capabilities such as Facebook Live, video is officially taking over. Though...

5 Ways to Optimize Your Site Navigation for Better Conversions

Tue, 15 Nov 2016 12:00:00 EST

You may not realize it, but your website navigation plays a huge role in the success of your website in converting visitors. And this doesn’t just apply to the navigation on your homepage. Nearly 50% of visitors who arrive at an internal page of your site use the navigation menu to adjust themselves. Your website navigation should give your visitors enough options to find what they’re looking for, but not too many that they get lost or overwhelmed. In this article, we will look at five ways to make your navigation more user-friendly and ultimately increasing your conversions. 1. Utilize keyword research to choose relevant menu items...

How to Create a Killer Sales Dashboard

Mon, 24 Oct 2016 12:00:00 EST

Business owners know it is critically important to keep up with what is going on in the sales department of your company. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. Some companies do their best to keep up using reports, spreadsheets and emails. Tracking sales like this can be a time consuming mess. What is worse, you could wind up looking at outdated information that could be weeks old. Now there is a better way. Live Data Sales Dashboards Live Data Sales Dashboards are so useful because they provide real time data-driven answers to specific questions with the click of a button. You can answer questions such...

How Anyone Can Use Live Video Broadcasting for Their Business

Tue, 18 Oct 2016 12:00:00 EST

It’s true that a picture is worth a thousand words, so how many words is a video worth? Answer: Nearly two million per one minute of video. While creating videos for your business is still a huge part of marketing your business, there is a newer, even more engaging type of video content that is taking over – live video broadcasting. Using Live Video for Webinars While not all webinars are filmed in front of a live audience, many webinars create better traction and better engagement when performed live. With live webinars you’re able to interact with your audience in real-time and...

Cleaning up at Trade Shows

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 12:00:00 EST

With the display, booth costs, travel, hotel, etc., trade shows can be a relatively expensive way to meet prospects. With this in mind, leads can be like gold. It is critical to capture every lead you can in order to make your trade show worth the investment. Before you go to the show you want to decide: A. Are you going for volume? The most leads. A great way to build up your mailing list. Or... B. Are you going to focus on capturing just the “right” prospects? Spending quality time. This is a great way to build relationships...

Responsive Web Design vs. Mobile Apps – Which Is Right for Your Business?

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 12:00:00 EST

You might have heard the phrase “mobile first” recently in regards to optimizing your business’ online presence. The idea behind this is that with people using their smartphones more and more, and sitting down at their computers less often, it is important that you think about how your business is seen on those mobile devices. Essentially, your mobile experience is one of the most important aspects of your digital marketing. However, even if you know that your business needs to adapt to mobile, you might not know the best way to make this happen. Responsive Web Design We’ve talked about ...

3 Critical Steps for Optimizing Your Responsive Website

Tue, 13 Sep 2016 12:00:00 EST

Responsive design has come a long way since it started being implemented as a popular form of web design to merge desktop and mobile versions of a website into one, easily maintained design. And thanks to Google’s mobile-friendly updates over the past year, it became more important than ever to figure it out. But while responsive design is the one of the best ways to create a cohesive design across a myriad of devices, it also requires skillful optimization in order to be effective. Care must be taken to design a site that is friendly to both the desktop AND mobile users. Here are three ways that Sales...

Hitting A Moving Target with Text Communication

Tue, 06 Sep 2016 12:00:00 EST

Texting – it is not a new technology, yet when many business owners are asked if they utilize text message marketing, many will laugh at the premise. Why? With people relying more and more on their mobile phones, doesn’t texting them seem like the ideal way to get their attention and deliver a powerful message in a world where advertising saturates our environment? In some examples, “95 out of 100 customers who have opted in to a text messaging program OPEN and READ mobile messages within 3 minutes.” Forbes Text message mobile marketing is not complicated but it is highly...

3 Reasons to Hire a Professional Video Production Team

Tue, 23 Aug 2016 12:00:00 EST

If you’ve been thinking about shooting a video for your business, whether it is an ad, introduction video, or a related video for social media, there are many reasons hiring a professional video crew is in your best interest. Here are three of the reasons you should hire a professional video production company to help with your next video project: Save Yourself Time One of the biggest advantages of having a professional team handle your video production is saving yourself time, because your time is pretty darn valuable. Even a short video can end up taking hours upon hours of your time between planning, setting up...

Our #1 Tip For Getting the Most from Your Video Shoots

Tue, 16 Aug 2016 12:00:00 EST

As a marketing-savvy business owner, you know that video marketing is no longer just a passing phase. Videos are being used to boost sales on landing pages, engage audiences on social media, and even educate buyers on your products or services. With video becoming so valuable to your business, it really is worth taking a look at how a video shoot could fit into your marketing budget. Whether it is a smaller shoot that will be used for a quick product demonstration or social media post, or a larger shoot where you’ll film enough footage for multiple videos, here is the number one tip for making the most of...

The Importance of Copywriting

Mon, 08 Aug 2016 12:00:00 EST

Sales Managers know this fact: The best 20% of salespeople generate 80% of the sales. The same fact holds true for your marketing materials, which should be looked at as salesmanship in print and/or digital form. Great copy can increase your response many times over. This isn’t so easy in this era when business decision makers and consumers are bombarded by non-stop advertising from every direction. Your copy has to grab attention, bypass filters, keep it lively and persuade your customer to buy or take action. And It has to engage them emotionally, because the moment...

5 Basics to Shooting Great Video for Your Business

Tue, 02 Aug 2016 12:00:00 EST

Videos are taking over. Videos are now in everything from emails, to landing pages, to social media channels, and even product descriptions on websites. These videos preset a unique way for businesses to stand out from the crowd and attract new customers. But how do you get started shooting video without making something that looks like a high school film project? Here are five basic tips for businesses looking to create and share profession-quality video: 1. Know What You’re Making Different businesses have different uses for videos. While a florist might make a short video showing how to...

3 Tips for Getting More Online Reviews

Mon, 25 Jul 2016 12:00:00 EST

Whether it is a physical product, digital product or service, there are places on the Internet to review it. Those reviews can mean a lot for the companies selling those products and services. - 92% of consumers now read online reviews vs. 88% in 2014. That means that what people say about your product or service is having a bigger impact than ever before, and if you have little to no reviews, it’s very likely that you’re losing customers. - 44% of consumers say a review must be written within one month to be relevant. Which means even if you have a few...

How to Respond to a Bad Online Review

Tue, 19 Jul 2016 12:00:00 EST

Haters gunna hate… or at least that’s what they say. But when they start leaving negative reviews or comments on sites such as Facebook, Google, Twitter or Yelp, how do you respond? Stay Positive Even if you feel that the negative feedback is unwarranted, replying in a caring, thoughtful and constructive way can turn that negative into a positive experience and show that you’re a genuine business. People look for humanity in businesses, and responding to a negative review can be a great opportunity to be more transparent, which can have a good impact on all your customers. Most customers won’t write your business off...

Facebook’s Big Algorithm Update and How It Affects Your Company

Mon, 11 Jul 2016 12:00:00 EST

We knew it was bound to happen again… Facebook has made yet another change to their algorithm that will severely impact the way your posts will appear in your fans’ Newsfeeds. Facebook made an announcement on June 29, 2016 that the platform will limit the posts in News Feeds from other Facebook pages and instead prioritize posts from users’ families and friends. So what does this mean for businesses using the social media giant as a way to get extra reach and referral traffic? Engagement is Everything The specific impact this change will have on your page depends on how your audience interacts with you...

How Offline Marketing Strategy Can Influence Your Social Media

Tue, 28 Jun 2016 12:00:00 EST

Did you know that having employees volunteer hours at a local fundraiser could elevate your search rankings and generate 5-star reviews of your business? Did you know that attending trade shows and conferences could create brand authority online? If you ask any savvy marketer, they'll tell you that your company’s offline activities can have a positive effect on your social media and web presence in general. Community Involvement and Social Media Doing good in your community or outside of it isn’t just good for your conscience. It is a powerful way to create business value and increase your bottom line in a way that is organic...

Make the Most of Trade Shows with Sales Automation

Mon, 20 Jun 2016 12:00:00 EST

There are many benefits to exhibiting at trade shows, including getting quality face-to-face time with your potential customers, a desirable advantage in today’s market. Being physically present gives B2B companies an opportunity to build relationships with clients and prospects. It also offers the chance to compare how well your business stacks up against other players on the showroom floor. Trade shows and events can get expensive though, with booth and travel costs, per diems, displays and more. Therefore, it’s critical to make sure the time and resources you're investing generate leads and a real return on investment (ROI). So what is the best solution to enhance your efforts? Sales...

How to Use Postcards to Market Your Business

Tue, 07 Jun 2016 12:00:00 EST

We talk a lot about digital marketing trends and tips in this blog, but some offline methods of marketing are still effective, even if they don’t get the lion's share of media attention these days. One of these methods is utilizing postcards. Postcards are a simple and effective direct marketing tool that can be a charming and inventive way to market your business. Here are a few ways how to and why you could use postcards in your next direct marketing campaign. Why Use Postcards to Market Your Business Lower cost way to reach large number of prospects Bold design...

Looking Back at 25 Years of Digital Change

Tue, 03 May 2016 12:00:00 EST

Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT) is proud to be celebrating our 25 th anniversary this year and in celebration, wanted to look back at all that has changed in the digital world since we started SMT in 1991. The Beginnings December 20, 1990, Tim Berners-Lee launched the world’s first website, which is still live today. In the following years, many more websites emerged offering users information with bare-bones usability and optimization. As the Internet began to grow with more and more websites, search engines filled a need for structure and accessibility. In 1993, Excite revolutionized how information was cataloged, sorting results based on keywords found within...

5 Tips for Growing Your Retargeting List with PPC

Tue, 19 Apr 2016 12:00:00 EST

Whether you are looking to expand your list for email marketing, Facebook retargeting, or even for pay-per-click (PPC) remarketing, growing your list via paid channels gives you the opportunity to quickly and effectively add more leads into your funnel. In order to get these leads, your PPC campaigns will need to be on point. Keywords will need to be meticulously chosen, ad copy will need to be cleverly written, and budgets and other settings will need to be carefully adjusted. And even when you have a system that is pulling in good results, continual tweaks are needed to maintain campaign success. So here are our 5 tips for enhancing...

5 Ways to Boost Facebook Engagement

Tue, 29 Mar 2016 12:00:00 EST

For a long time, brands and businesses were able to post to Facebook and easily reach their target audience and fans organically (without using paid ads). That all changed in 2013 when Facebook’s algorithm changed to feature business pages’ posts significantly less organically. With this shift, Facebook went from a huge traffic generator and branding tool, to a pay-to-play model platform. Battling Against Lower Organic Reach Despite the algorithm change that dictated what is shown in a user’s Facebook News Feed, there are still some ways to help your posts get some organic reach. One of these factors is the amount of engagement...

Google Set to Increase Mobile-Friendly Ranking Signals Again

Tue, 22 Mar 2016 12:00:00 EST

For those of you who heeded our warning about getting a responsive website back in April 2015, you don’t need to fear. However, if you are still operating with a website that is not mobile-friendly, Google has announced it will be making another shift to strengthen their mobile-friendly ranking signals again; which means your website could drop farther down the mobile search results than ever before solely based on this ranking factor. While the initial data after what most marketers were referring to as “Mobilegeddon,” which took place on April 22, 2015, wasn’t as strong of a change as initially expected, things are about to heat up according to Google. According...

5 Secrets to Keep Your Customers Coming Back for More

Tue, 15 Mar 2016 12:00:00 EST

Acquiring new customers is a time and resource intensive process – advertising to them, learning what they’re interested in, and enticing them to purchase. In fact, it takes on average 5 times as much to get a new customer in the door than to get an existing customer to purchase from you again. So how can you keep your current customers coming back for more? Using Marketing Automation to Build Relationships Marketing automation offers you powerful insights into what your existing customers want and how you can continue to nurture your relationship with them. By using marketing automation software, such as Infusionsoft, you can implement the tips...

Remarketing Facebook Ads – Targeting Interested Audiences

Mon, 07 Mar 2016 12:00:00 EST

In the past, we’ve talked about how the power of Facebook’s advertising capabilities can successfully bring in new leads to your business. [ Click here: How Ultra-Targeted Facebook Ads Bring You New Leads ] In addition to the extensive targeting options available through the advertising channel, Facebook also has the ability to reach people who have already visited your website or landing pages. You do this by installing the Facebook pixel (found in your Ads Manager on Facebook) onto your website, which captures all your website traffic. From there, you can run ads to reach those website visitors on Facebook and continue their experience with your business; whether that includes a special offer to...

Google's New Ad Structure... Will You Pay More?

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 12:00:00 EST

A major shift in the way Google displays its advertising took place this past week. Google began phasing out the right hand or sidebar ads and instead are now featuring 1-4 ads at the top of the page, placing three more at the bottom of the results page. Google has confirmed that the change is now rolling out to all searches, in all languages, worldwide. Ads will not appear on the right side of desktop search results, with two exceptions: Product Listing Ad (PLA) boxes, which show either above or to the right of search results. (see image below) ...

Running Facebook Flash Sales to Boost Customer Acquisition

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 12:00:00 EST

Facebook Flash Sales are an excellent tactic when you’re looking to acquire new customers at break even or better. It is important to remember that these types of sales aren’t necessarily meant to make a huge profit; it is about acquiring new customers. Think of it as a Groupon offer or a Black Friday sale. You create an offer at such a discount that it’s nearly impossible for customers to say no. Don’t run these sales every week. This would start to train your customers to ONLY buy at those low price points. Flash sales work because they are an urgent (available for 24 to 48 hours), limited offers that are...

Trouble Hitting Your Sales Goals? Maybe You Are Using The Wrong Number

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 12:00:00 EST

Lots of companies give salespeople dollar goals to hit. While that is certainly one way to do it, in some cases it can be counter productive. After years of trying different sales goals, we finally found an approach that got better results across the board. Here is what we did... 1. We separated marketing goals from sales goals. We gave each team their own goals where they are totally accountable. 2. We gave our marketing team a goal of X number of...

How to Build a Community Around Your Business

Tue, 26 Jan 2016 12:00:00 EST

Building a community around your business can be challenging, but the payoffs can be astounding. Research has shown that customers in communities spend 19% more than customers who aren’t in communities. That’s a big jump. One of the most challenging parts of building a community is getting people to notice, and then actually participate in what you do there. There is a lot of effort that goes into building a community around your brand. It’s creating content, being present on social media, and going out into your community. And if you do it just because everyone else is, you’ll fall flat. When you’re serious about...

Is Email Marketing Dead?

Mon, 18 Jan 2016 12:00:00 EST

Far from it! Email marketing is alive and well. Here are some stats from MailChimp (just one email service provider) for 2015. In 2015, MailChimp handled 62,310,854 email campaigns. They sent 204,383,657,109 emails. Of those, 42,164,247,301 were opened and 3,527,638,012 resulted in clicks. 3.5 billion clicks doesn’t sound dead to me. Here are a couple tips to make sure that you are doing your emails correctly: Be Mobile-Friendly More and more, email is being read on mobile devices. You want to make sure your email is responsive and shows up correctly on mobile devices. If your email service provider doesn’t have the option for you to...

Don't Leave Money on the Table – Website Conversion Tactics Post-Sale

Tue, 05 Jan 2016 12:00:00 EST

Many businesses spend a lot of time, hard work and money in order to attract new visitors to their websites. Of those new visitors, some decide to leave the website while others take an action or "convert" into a lead by filling out the contact form, making a purchase or placing a phone call to inquire about more information or to engage your services. In a typical sales scenario, you answer your prospect’s questions, make the sale and that would be the end of the customer purchase cycle; then it’s back to attracting the next potential customer. Often, we forget just how valuable the...

How Ultra-Targeted Facebook Ads Bring You New Leads

Mon, 28 Dec 2015 12:00:00 EST

With the expansive targeting options now offered by Facebook, it is nearly impossible not to find your perfect target market using Facebook advertising. Are you a dentist? Wedding planner? Auto dealer? Fitness guru? Florist? Your ideal audience is waiting on Facebook. Need more convincing? Check out these targeting examples. Want to attract people who are looking to plan a wedding? Show your wedding planning services to the people most likely searching for your business, newly engaged women. Looking to sell flowers? Why not target one of your biggest clientele online? Audience targeting on Facebook is...

The Biggest Difference Between Email Marketing and Marketing Automation

Tue, 15 Dec 2015 12:00:00 EST

MailChimp takes on Infusionsoft It is the difference between a bicycle and a Ferrari… it is the difference between communication and money… it is the difference between a shore wave and a swell… but enough of the analogies... Yes, both Infusionsoft and MailChimp (and similar systems like Constant Contact), have some basic similar features when it comes to email marketing, and that’s about where it stops. Even most smart marketers don’t yet realize there are major differences between a marketing automation software system such as Infusionsoft, and an email marketing application such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. Watch out smart marketers and pay close attention to this trend, otherwise...

What Is Marketing Automation? Is It for You and Your Business?

Tue, 08 Dec 2015 12:00:00 EST

Marketing Automation Sure, you’ve heard the term, but it’s likely you don’t exactly know what this trend is and what it means for you and your business. In this article, we will educate you on what “exactly” marketing automation is and how it will affect your business. If you want to skip to the end, here’s what you’ll learn… marketing automation saves you time and makes you money. Keep reading if you want to know how. Marketing Automation Defined In short, marketing automation is software. We’re not talking your ordinary software here – we are talking about a system that, when properly set up and implemented, is designed to capture...

Keeping the Peace: Integrating Sales and Marketing Systems

Tue, 01 Dec 2015 12:00:00 EST

For many years, businesses have been trying to get marketing and sales to work together. Like oil and water they didn’t mix. It was marketing’s job to bring in the prospects and sales' job to close them. Unfortunately, sales complained about the "low quality" leads marketing was delivering and marketing complained about the sales team’s inability to close business. Good news! Thanks to things like social media marketing and the latest advances in marketing and sales automation, we are finally starting to get marketing and sales on the same team. Here is how we did it… 1. Set up a system for...

Learning to Use CSS Attribute Selectors

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 12:00:00 EST

CSS Attribute Selectors have been around since CSS2 and expanded as part of CSS3, compatible in all browsers (excluding IE6). Even though they are not new, they continue to be overlooked and under used. Using CSS Attribute Selectors is good practice because you can: Target and style specific attributes / values without adding additional code to markup Maintain more semantic code Update style without ...

Does Your Website Have a Responsive Web Design?

Mon, 16 Nov 2015 12:00:00 EST

Have you ever visited a website and noticed that the site content was poorly formatted or off the page? You tried to make the best of it… by scrolling left to right, top to bottom – but the site is just aggravating. Even worse, on mobile devices or a tablet, such as a smartphone or iPad, the site doesn’t show at all. This is very bad for your customers, as they are most likely going to find another business to service them. But how can we guarantee an exceptional web experience on all electronic devices? The Solution: Responsive Web Design There’s a solution to this problem...

Implementing the Security Best Practices of 2015 on Your Website

Tue, 10 Nov 2015 12:00:00 EST

Website security is an ongoing concern for businesses. Compromised security communications have resulted in large amounts of revenue loss and damaged reputations of small and large companies. While extremely important, because of its technical complexities, many companies running websites ignore or fail to keep themselves informed about the latest developments and the practical ways to protect their websites and their customers’ information. In this article we will provide you with some information about how to ensure your sites remain secure for you and your customers. High-Profile Security Vulnerabilities High-profile vulnerabilities of the last 18 months include Beast, Poodle, Freak and Heartbleed, all of which enable attackers in...

SEO Starter Kit for New Business Owners

Tue, 03 Nov 2015 12:00:00 EST

As a new business owner, you may already have your business plan, products and services ready to be released to the world, but you may not have a customer base yet. If you are a business with a physical storefront, your physical location may be your first priority, as it should be. However, after that or perhaps if your business operates solely online, you will need a website in order to drive traffic and attract new customers. Having an aesthetically pleasing website is important, but almost equally as important to the appearance of your site is being able to get good rankings in search engines. This is where your website...

Do You Have a Strong Web Development Team?

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:00:00 EST

In today’s competitive web market, all companies strive to get a “leg-up” on the others to win over potential clients. There are many types of web clients; some wanting to be “hands-off “and allowing the web development professionals to do the work, while other businesses need to manage their sites completely and are simply seeking marketing strategies along the way. One thing is for sure; time has proven that if you want to keep your clients happy or obtain new web development clients, you must give the customer what they want, when they want it, and at a competitive price. How a Strong Web Development...

What is Periscope and How Are Businesses Using It?

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 12:00:00 EST

Periscope is a live steaming video app that came out earlier this year with the support of its parent company, Twitter. Plenty of people took notice of the new app; some called it yet another flavor of the month social app. But others of us dove in and discovered what marketers could use the new technology for. Periscope boasts over 10,000,000 users, more than that many individual posts, and impressions of well over 100 billion (as of August 19, 2015) according to Salesforce. It’s been a few months since Periscope’s debut so here are some of the brands that are using the new app to its full potential and...

Personal Branding: Facebook Profile or Page…. or Both?

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 12:00:00 EST

Deciding to market yourself on Facebook is a pretty big commitment. It will require page upkeep, regular posting and in some cases, the ability to navigate Facebook advertising. Thankfully, the advantages of using Facebook to market yourself are just as high. But once you’ve decided that Facebook is right for you, you need to determine whether to move forward using a Facebook Profile, which most people on Facebook operate under, or a Facebook Page. This article isn’t whether to have one or the other (as Facebook requires you to have a Profile), but instead whether or not it is beneficial to have BOTH. What’s the Difference Between a...

3 Common Facebook for Business Mistakes

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:00:00 EST

If you haven’t realized the power of social media in scaling your business, you are missing out on incredible potential for company growth. In the last year, there was almost $15 billion spent on Facebook ads, 30 million business pages, and 1.49 billion monthly active users. Facebook has one of the highest influences on the social marketing space currently, and by ignoring its possibilities, you are limiting the amount of success your online marketing can have. The critical thing to remember is that in order to be successful, your Facebook marketing needs to be done right. There are many pitfalls when using Facebook for business that can...

What Are Dark Facebook Posts and How Can You Use Them?

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 12:00:00 EST

Do you have several different audience segments that you’d like to target on Facebook? Then dark Facebook posts might be your solution. “Dark” posts, also known as unpublished posts, are a great way to tailor different messages to various audiences that don’t have much in common without posting multiple messages to your page timeline. Dark Posts vs. Targeted Posts Dark posts are not the same as targeted posts, though they have a lot in common. They both allow you to promote posts to specific fans of your page. However, there are two main differences. First, targeted posts allow you to target an audience based on...

A Brief Look Into Local Search

Tue, 18 Aug 2015 12:00:00 EST

While the algorithms and strategies behind local search can easily get complicated and messy, today will only be a brief look at local search and ways that we can use simple tactics to better our placement in Google’s Local Pack. As you may have recently seen, Google changed their Local Pack feature to now only include three instead of seven local results on a search page. For this reason, it is even more important to take a look at what you can do to improve your local search rankings. Ranking for Local Similar to Google’s organic search...

How Email Can Drive SEO Results for Your Business

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:00:00 EST

While the connection between email and SEO isn’t as cut and dry as some of the other methods of search engine optimization, it can be a very useful tool to keep your audience engaged and directing traffic in a way with which other marketing channels just can’t compete. Google doesn’t crawl your individual emails, nor does the amount of subscribers equate to higher rankings, but here are some ways that email can impact your SEO efforts. 1. Audience Engagement Through Email The amount of keywords included in your emails will never have an effect on your search rankings. However...

Should I Rebrand My Website?

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 12:00:00 EST

There is a lot to consider when deciding if rebranding your website is the right move. Some businesses bought exact match or partial match domains in the past, such as FlowersAndVases.com, and they are starting to rethink those choices in favor for more “brandable” website URLs to better match their social media and content marketing efforts. The website FlowersAndVases.com doesn’t stand out at all; it could be any flower shop. Whereas a URL that corresponds with a more definitive business name, such as BlueBirdFloral.com not only ties together your branding, but it also distinguishes you for word of mouth and other types of advertising. So...

Historical Blog Optimization: Reviving Your Blog

Tue, 23 Jun 2015 12:00:00 EST

Blogging has been an integral part of some businesses like ours for many years now. But with the purpose of blogging and Google algorithms changing over that time, it leaves your blog looking very bleak and not bringing you much new traffic or leads. That’s why at Sales & Marketing Technologies, we have started implementing “historical optimization” by updating old blog content to meet the current standards. What is Historical Blog Optimization? In its simplest form, historical blog optimization is when you optimize your "old" blog content so it's fresh, up-to-date, and has the ability to generate even more traffic and...

4 Easy Steps for Local Search Optimization

Tue, 16 Jun 2015 12:00:00 EST

According to Google, an estimated 73 percent of all online activity is related to local searches. Very often, customers turn to the Internet to learn more about local businesses and evaluate what companies they’d like to patronize. For local businesses, this information is key when they are thinking about their overall marketing plan. One way to begin to take advantage of these opportunities is by optimizing your Google local listing. These listings are featured prominently in local SERPs on the popular search engine and are perfect for attracting attention and bringing in new customers. Step 1: Fill...

What’s Trending in SEO: Long-tail Keyword Optimization

Tue, 09 Jun 2015 12:00:00 EST

In the early days of search engine optimization (SEO) people relied on using short phrases or words to find what they were looking for. As the Internet has evolved and websites offer more and more, people and search engines have changed and are relying on longer search queries to find what they’re looking for. For instance, ‘red dress’ might become ‘red strapless cocktail dress’. This change in search habits changes the way that Internet marketers implement SEO on a website. Why Search Queries Are Longer Beyond the consumer trying to find a particular item in a sea...

How Content Marketing Helps Local Businesses

Tue, 12 May 2015 12:00:00 EST

In the competitive landscape of online marketing, your local business can still stand out and attract new customers with the use of creative, high-quality content. Having quality content has always been important for converting sales, but Google has become even more sophisticated over the years and now rewards content that is of real interest and value to customers. Creating good content, and sometimes forking out the cash to get it in front of your audience, can be extremely helpful for small or local businesses. Here are the basics for starting a content marketing strategy for your business: 1. Give the...

How NOT to Use Videos on Your Website

Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:00:00 EST

Using videos in your content marketing strategy is becoming even more important in 2015. With social media sites, such as Facebook, pushing video content to the forefront, it is a great way to gather customer attention and provide additional information. The same is true for your website. Video content can help reduce your bounce rate while increasing time spent on your website, which in turn helps your search engine rankings. However, if this is not implemented properly, it can have negative effects on your user experience and search engine optimization (SEO). Here are some things to avoid when adding video...

Is Your PPC Campaign Ready for Mobile?

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 12:00:00 EST

According to a report from eMarketer, U.S. mobile search ad spending was projected to have grown by 83 percent in 2014. We’ve talked before about how Google’s algorithm is soon to be taking a switch to rewarding mobile-friendly websites in their search rankings, but is your Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign ready for the mobile shift as well? With more and more competition getting into the mobile advertising game and cost-per-acquisition continuing to rise, the best way to combat this trend is to fully optimize for conversions. Here are three ways to prepare your PPC campaign for...

Local Centroids: How They Affect Local SEO

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 12:00:00 EST

In the past, centroids, or central points of relevance, were determined by a specific location in a city, such as the town hall. Based on this type of city centroid, many local search-ranking variations could be explained by the distance from the centroid in certain searches. Businesses that were closer to the central hub appeared to experience a ranking advantage. In 2013, local search expert, Mike Blumenthal, updated his view of the centroid with his definition of “industry centroids.” "If you read their (Google’s) patents, they actually deal with the center of the industries …...

What Healthcare Providers Need to Know About Content Marketing

Tue, 31 Mar 2015 12:00:00 EST

Healthcare marketing success isn’t something that happens overnight, but it is becoming easier than ever to reach your audience online. According to Pew Research, about 72 percent of Internet users search for health information within the past year; making healthcare the second most-searched service online. With so many people searching for expert healthcare information, having a platform to share high-quality, valuable information will keep patients coming back to your website more and encourage new visitors. In order to be successful in healthcare marketing there are some things you need to know: 1...

Switch to Responsive Design or Risk Google Search Rankings

Thu, 05 Mar 2015 12:00:00 EST

You may have heard a lot about mobile-friendly or responsive design in the past year or so, but how important is it for Google and search rankings? Well, Google’s recent announcement on Webmaster Central has finally confirmed what we’ve been preparing for. What Google Has to Say The announcement from Google has confirmed what we’ve already been saying; that having a mobile-friendly website is essential to a successful SEO strategy. Google’s exact quote was, “ Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in...

How to Update Your Website Without Devastating Your SEO

Tue, 03 Mar 2015 12:00:00 EST

Whenever one of our clients is going through a website redesign, we have to pay special attention to ensuring that our search engine optimization (SEO) efforts don’t get thrown to the wayside. This is much easier if our web development team is handling the redesign, as we can work closely with them to ensure everything transfers smoothly. However, that’s not always the case. In the event that another company is handling your redesign, you want to make sure that they can handle the SEO aspect of the website transfer as it can have a great impact on your website’s performance. ...

Advertising on Twitter: What You Need to Know

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 12:00:00 EST

Twitter has come a long way in the past few years in terms of their advertising options. Although it’s still not as detailed as Facebook or LinkedIn advertising, it is able to create an impact for businesses that utilize their ads. Promoted Tweets Promoted tweets are one of the options that Twitter created for their advertising. This tactic is used to gain visibility for specific tweets that you send out. When using this type of promotion, people who are searching for keywords associated with your...

How to Plan Your Website Architecture

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 12:00:00 EST

Planning your website architecture is like laying the foundation of a house. Taking the time to plan it properly will save you time and money in the long run. A well-planned site is not only beautiful and functional, but will also convert better and allow your visitors to interact with your content in the most intuitive way. What is Site Architecture? Website architecture is the approach to the design and planning of websites that require particular attention to the business plan, usability, web content, interaction design, information architecture and web design. While you may not know what...

Mobile Web: Search and Social Still Conquer Apps

Tue, 03 Feb 2015 12:00:00 EST

With the introduction of even bigger and smarter phones, how are the trends changing in relation to the time being spent on them? The interesting thing is; it’s not. While more and more apps are introduced into the marketplace every day, the majority of time being spent on the mobile web is through search and social media channels. A report released by IAB shows that search and social media are the primary ways that mobile users discover new content on their smartphones. So what does this mean for web masters and marketers? Mobile Websites Are Key As an Orlando...

How to Optimize for Mobile Marketing

Tue, 20 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST

Mobile marketing goes beyond having your landing pages the correct size for mobile or tablets. Consumers' behaviors and goals vary depending on which device a person is using at the time. Building a strategy specifically for mobile will help you get the most out of your mobile audience and bring you more leads. Here are some things to note when building a mobile marketing strategy: Mobile users are typically in research mode. Studies have found that mobile audiences are generally in a research phase. Understanding their goals and what...

Local SEO: Tips for Getting Found

Tue, 13 Jan 2015 12:00:00 EST

A few weeks ago, we posted an infographic about local SEO and how it can help get you better placement in search results, including Google’s local search results pack. In this article, we will share some tips on why and how to set your website and marketing plan up to dominate local SEO. Google+ Local Setting up your Google+ Local page is one of the most important citations your business can have in order to appear in Google results. Be sure to use the NAP (Name/Address/Phone) information that matches your website. This will ensure that the information...

5 Marketing Elements Every Business Needs

Mon, 29 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST

Every business, big or small, needs the same basic marketing elements to survive past year one. Beyond that, if these businesses are looking to grow, there are going to be even more steps in the marketing process. For now, we’re going to focus on the five basic marketing needs for any business. #1 A Marketing Plan Even small businesses can benefit from a solid marketing plan. From social media and content calendars to places they are going to be advertising offline, these actions and decisions should be planned ahead of time to make sure enough...

Building a Website Worth Visiting

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST

While surfing the web you may have come across websites that were unattractive or uninformative and they left a bad taste in your mouth as you click the back button to find another site. As a brand, your website is not only often your first impression but it is also an important way to build a relationship with these potential or current customers. Your website needs to attract customers visually and the content on your site needs to speak to your customers and encourage them to choose your business. Whether your website is for a large corporation or a small bakery, there are important factors that you need to...

Finding New Customers With Local SEO

Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST

Local businesses, or businesses that have a physical storefront, require a special emphasis on local SEO in order to be found online. Unlike their ecommerce counterparts, these local businesses such as dentists, mechanics, flower shops, etc., can use their locations to their advantage in search engines like Google. By following our guide to local SEO your business can have its own Knowledge Panel, Google Map Pin, and get placed in the local pack results for search. Here’s an example using the search term Orlando mechanic: At Sales & Marketing Technologies we do work for a...

3 Tips for Your Small Business to Rule Facebook

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST

You may by worried that your small business cannot compete with the big brands on Facebook, but there are plenty of reasons you should still be part of the Facebook community. With over 1.3 billion active users, Facebook should not be ignored. Here are our three tips for making the most out of it for your small business: 1. Let Your Fans Inspire You Thinking of running a new special? Wondering if people wish you were...

The Top Predicted Trends for Digital Marketing in 2015

Tue, 02 Dec 2014 12:00:00 EST

2015 Online Marketing Trends 2014 has been a wild ride with Google updates, the realization you now have to “pay to play” for Facebook reach, and content creation becoming more important than ever. As we approach the end of 2014, let's take a look at what has gone on this year and what we can expect moving into 2015. Mobile-Optimization Importance Continues In 2014, responsive design became a priority for businesses as mobile traffic continued to steadily increase with the introduction of larger screened devices such as tablets or...

Facebook Like-Gating Ends: What That Means For You

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:00:00 EST

The plug has been pulled on Facebook’s policy for Like-gating campaigns. Started on November 5, 2014 Facebook no longer allows company or brand pages to offer rewards, gated apps, or app content based on whether that person has Liked their page or not. The reasoning behind this change was to encourage people to Like pages based on whether they were truly interested in the company offering the rewards and not solely Liking the page to gain access to the content or prices. Some people claim this is yet another push for Facebook to force companies to use Facebook Ads, however with the elimination of Like-gating, it will...

3 Tips to Make Your Blog Posts More SEO-Friendly

Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:00:00 EST

Writing an SEO-friendly blog post starts with the ability to write for your audience. Creating an easy to read and digest blog post will improve important factors that help with your SEO efforts for your website, such as Session Duration and your site’s Bounce Rate. It is also much more likely that your content will be shared if people actually read it and enjoy it, which helps increase your website’s reach. Creating fresh, quality content for your website is becoming increasingly important for SEO with the recent Google algorithm changes. One of the best ways to do this is through blogging, so...

How to Use Your SEO Content to Create a Content Marketing Strategy

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 12:00:00 EST

Does your company have a SEO strategy? Then you should already be creating excellent content that adds value for your customers. But did you know that you could take this existing content and gain even further reach and help with your sales conversion beyond your website by using a content marketing strategy? As we have expressed in our previous article on how SEO has changed, SEO now requires fresh, high quality content to be successful thanks to the Google algorithm Panda update. What this does is not only drives traffic to your site from Google and other search engines, but also promotes user...

Choosing the Right Orlando SEO Company for You

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 12:00:00 EST

Whether you’re the CEO of your company, or you’ve been tasked with finding the right Digital marketing company for the company you work for, it can be a daunting task to sift through the pages and pages of SEO firms in your area. As an Digital marketing company ourselves, we hear too many horror stories from people walking through our door about bad service and unfulfilled promises. That’s why we made this list of some good and bad things to watch for when searching for an SEO firm. First of all, we’ll clear up some common misconceptions. • SEO firms that rank...

How SEO has Changed… and Continues to Change

Wed, 15 Oct 2014 12:00:00 EST

The Internet has evolved in many ways over the past few years. As Google’s algorithm sophistication has increased, so have the tactics used for SEO, probably for the best. Search engine optimization used to be considered a unique knowledge of how to manipulate Google’s search rankings with secret, sly tricks that only a select few possessed. Since then, the SEO industry has evolved. It is now a multifaceted online marketing discipline that no longer relies on these sneaky tricks and instead focuses on the bigger goals, making it essential for every Internet marketer to understand. Google is more than just a search engine While Google is a...

Does Social Media Marketing Really Work?

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 12:00:00 EST

Brands and marketers alike have constantly questioned the effectiveness of social media marketing in their overall marketing strategies. While a Gallup poll report states, “A clear majority of Americans say social media have no effect at all on their purchasing decisions,” there are a few factors that discredit this statement and prove that social media marketing can, in fact, have a positive outcome in your marketing strategy. Here are a few factors to remember: 1. Perspective The Gallup poll shows that 35% of Americans say that social media actually does have some influence on their purchasing decisions. However, Americans generally claim...

Say Goodbye to the Yahoo Directory

Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:00:00 EST

Its time has come. Once a staple of the Internet, the Google of its time, the Yahoo Directory is coming to a close. Yahoo announced the news today that they will be closing the Yahoo Directory after a 20-year stint. The directory, which before the dawn of Google was a hand-compiled list of websites organized into topics, is being sent off with a meager goodbye. Yahoo’s post says this: Yahoo was started nearly 20 years ago as a directory of websites that helped users explore the Internet. While we are still committed to connecting users with the information they’re passionate about, our business has evolved and at the...

Google Introduces Structured Snippets as Part of Search Results

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 12:00:00 EST

Earlier this month it was discovered that Google had begun testing a form of knowledge graph data in the search result snippets. Google is now referring to this added information as Structured Snippets . These structured snippets have been released under many different types of searches. Everything from comic book heroes, popular events, company profiles, and product specifics can have snippet information added through the collaboration between Google Research and the Web Search team. Here are some examples of the structured snippets: ...

How to Boost Your SEO Tactics for Free

Tue, 23 Sep 2014 12:00:00 EST

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doesn’t require a huge budget for small businesses and startups but it does require a major time investment. With Google algorithm updates like Panda, Penguin and others, you need to constantly be on the look out for what will throw off your organic rankings next. If done well, DIY SEO tactics can still have great results. Here are some things that you can do to better your SEO for free: 1. Consistently Maintain a Blog Maintaining an active blog filled with...

5 Tips for Choosing Your Domain Name

Tue, 09 Sep 2014 12:00:00 EST

You’re ready to take your business online. You’ve got your business plan, mission statement, your logo, etc. when you run into your first roadblock, choosing your domain name. Your domain will be your website’s identity and should be associated with your actual business. This will determine how easily your website will be found on the internet. Here are some tips to keep in mind when selecting your domain name: 1. Keep it Simple Along with most things, the simpler something is, the easier it will be to remember. Using commonly known words that are easy to spell...

Designing Your Brand’s Logo

Tue, 02 Sep 2014 12:00:00 EST

They’re the ultimate symbol for your brand and they’re anything but simple to design. Logos are often your first impression, and can ultimately lead to the decision to purchase from you. In a world full of logos, how do you make yours stand out? Know your brand When creating your logo, the most important aspect is ensuring it speaks to what your brand is about. Creating a list of words that embody your brand is a good place to start. Taking that a step further...

Mobile Websites are Becoming Crucial to Every Business

Tue, 26 Aug 2014 12:00:00 EST

By the end of 2013, over a third of Internet usage came from smartphones and tablets, according to Walker Sands Communications’ Quarterly Mobile Traffic Report. This statistic alone is enough to make it crucial to have your website display correctly on a mobile phone. 4 out of 5 smartphone users say they do some online shopping on their phones. This means if your website is hard to read on a mobile phone, you are losing customers! One way to convert mobile users is to keep the most important information easily readable at the top . Responsive Design ...

What is Facebook Paper?

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:00:00 EST

In an age of technology and ever changing social media platforms, there’s one that seems to keep leading the pack. Facebook has been on the cutting edge of social media since it’s creation and it keeps pushing forward in hopes to make things easier for the users. The problem is that with all the updates, new users, ads and everything else that rolls into our daily interface, things can get a little cluttered. This is where Facebook Paper comes into play. Straying away from the normal newsfeed layout, Paper was created to be an easier way to read through...

Large Increases in Facebook Mobile Users

Tue, 05 Aug 2014 12:00:00 EST

As of a couple of weeks ago, Facebook released their 2014 Financial Summary for the second quarter. Mark Zuckerberg starts out the release with, “We had a good second quarter. Our community has continued to grow, and we see a lot of opportunity ahead as we connect the rest of the world”. Statistics are showing plenty of great increases across the fo r Facebook. When comparing 2013 to 2014, there is a 19% increase in the daily active users, which brings the total count to a whopping 829 million users. When...

What Is Panda 4.0? What You Should Know.

Tue, 29 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST

Since we specialize in digital marketing and SEO, hearing that Google is releasing a new update is something we don’t take lightly. Whenever Google makes changes, they shape our marketing strategies and what we do for our clients. Recently, Google updated their well-known Panda update which was known around the world as “Panda 4.0”. As of today, Panda 4.0 is the largest algorithm update in 2014 and we’re here to tell you all about it. Panda 4.0 began rolling out on May 20 th. ...

Google Analytics iPhone app. What's in it for you?

Fri, 18 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST

It’s official. Google Analytics has released an easy way to keep track of all your important statistics on the go. The Analytics app lets you check out all of your favorite features, including real time statistics, from the comfort of your Smartphone. In addition, this app can be used to see user behaviors, acquisitions, conversions and more. For years, I’ve relied on third party apps which have always been clunky, slow and generally not a pleasure to navigate through. Being in the digital marketing industry, it's important to stay on top of clients' statistics often to see what kind of trends are...

Network Better with LinkedIn’s New App ‘Connected’

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST

Professional social network, LinkedIn, announced an overhaul of one of their stand-alone apps, Contacts, on Thursday. The new and improved app, named "Connected" includes a slew of features you may not have known were available before. The original app, Contacts, was more than just that. The app also included a “to Do” tab and a News-Feed stream of alerts, such as birthdays, work anniversaries, or new job notifications. In the updated Connected app, these alerts are now brought straight to your attention to keep you updated on your connections' life events. “This app helps you invest in your relationships today, so...

Pay-Per-Click Advertising Provides Instant Exposure

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST

Over the years, Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC) had developed a negative reputation. People claim it is too expensive, or generates little results. However, if used correctly, PPC advertising is a way for your company to get instant exposure to new clients and revenue opportunities. I have found it’s the mismanagement of the PPC campaign, rather than the product itself, that has led to poor reviews. When used properly, PPC advertising is a way to get your businesses name on the front of the search engines for the terms you want. It is much more reliable...

When to Stop Fighting: How to Have a Great Company Culture

Thu, 03 Jul 2014 12:00:00 EST

Having a truly open company culture can be very challenging these days. It seems like the more "social networked" we become the more employees are aware of what is going on inside the company they work for. You can't stop the spread of technology. With that increased knowledge comes the desire to participate in decisions made within the company. Like all companies, with serious decisions comes serious debate. Sometimes, there may be heated, passionate debates about what action should be taken. Recently at a company meeting we had one of those debates take place. An issue was brought up. Several...

Which Social Media Platform Should I Use?

Tue, 24 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

With all the hype around social media and people tweeting, liking, snapping and commenting, it might be a little difficult to figure out which platform or platforms you should setup your business on. Depending on your industry, the answer might be some or it might be all but that's what we're here to help you with. When trying to decide which social media platform your business should be on, take a look at the following stats: 8 out of 10 internet users are reached by blogs and social media sites. Marketers saw a...

Five Tips to Assess Your Website's Ability to Convert Visitors

Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

When people visit your website, they are seeking information. In this day of instant information, a consumer is going to quickly scan your website to determine if your products and/or services are right for them. Spend a moment to take a step back and evaluate: Does your website convey a professional image of your company? If your website doesn't convey what your business does, then your website isn't doing its job. Having a professional website design and layout is essential to the success of your website as a whole, even if it's...

10 Reasons Your Company Should Blog More

Tue, 10 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

There is a clear “knowing / doing” gap when it comes to blogging. Companies know they should be blogging, but they are not doing it. The gap of people actually blogging and those who know they should continues to expand. As we work with clients, we educate them on the value of blogging. We have found companies are more likely to blog if they can see a correlation between posting blogs and increasing revenue. So we've compiled a list of the 10 beneficial reasons your company should blog more... or start to: ...

3 Things to Consider When Developing Your First Website

Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:00:00 EST

What is the objective of your website? Before you start building your website, it’s advisable to sit down and write out a business plan. How does your website fit into the plan? Is it going to be used as a resource to inform a buyer before contacting you? Is it going to be used as a point of transaction? If so, it may make sense to incorporate a software solution designed for e-commerce. Your business plan should dictate the type of website you are planning to create based on the functionality you anticipate needing. What is your identity? As...

Does Experience Matter for Digital Marketing in Orlando?

Tue, 27 May 2014 12:00:00 EST

Imagine a scenario in which you, or a loved one required heart surgery. After hearing the diagnosis, would you solicit two or three additional medical consultations? Once you elected to move forward with the surgery, how much time would you spend finding the right heart surgeon? I am sure you would evaluate how long the surgeon has been practicing medicine as well as look at his/her track record. In this scenario, experience matters. You want someone conducting the surgery who will put you in the best position for a successful surgery and recovery to proper health. Your website...

Why Do People Share Online?

Thu, 15 May 2014 12:00:00 EST

A recent study was done by the New York Times’ Consumer Insight Group looked at the psychology behind sharing on social media platforms. It asked three main questions: what motivates consumers to share content, are there distinct personalities with different motivators, and how can this information help advertisers. The study combined in-person interviews in major cities, a sharing panel, and a quantitative study of 2,500 online sharers in order to develop a comprehensive view to answer the questions. What did they find? First, sharing is nothing new - but instead of people telling just a few friends about...

Time to Transition your Yellow Page Ads to Digital Marketing

Tue, 13 May 2014 12:00:00 EST

Two weeks ago, a package of eight Yellow Page directories, bound together, appeared lying next to our mailboxes. I opened the package and took out one of the Yellow Pages. It was notably lighter than years past, a sign advertisers had begun to pull their ads. I wanted to conduct a social experiment, so I left the seven remaining Yellow Page directories by the mailboxes. Two weeks had passed and the seven Yellow Page directories remain slightly bound in plastic. The Yellow Page books, once staples of local marketing have quickly become obsolete due to the rise of:...

Using Social Media for B2B Marketing

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST

Often times, companies within the business to business (B2B) realm are at a loss when it comes to social media marketing. If you are a B2B company and are trying to utilize social media networks, such as Facebook, for marketing purposes, you should start by: Understanding your audience : Knowing what is important to your audience on the platform is important. For example, you may update your Facebook fan page with information about your company’s cookoff to help humanize the company. This may not be the same sort of update you would include on LinkedIn. ...

Expand the Reach of your Dental Promotions through Facebook

Wed, 23 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST

In conversations with dentists, I am always asked of ways to increase their “likes” on Facebook. There is a definite value of getting a “like" to your business page. It is a way to quickly distribute a message from your office to members of your Internet community. For example, when you post a promotion on your Facebook business page, it automatically appears on the newsfeed of everyone who “likes” your dental office. Imagine if you acquired 800 likes. When you post a promotion for a teeth whitening at only $399 for the month of May, many of them will see the promotion the next...

Why Are Google Reviews Important for Orlando Law Offices?

Thu, 10 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST

It was reported in 2012 that nearly two-thirds of the people looking to hire an attorney used the Internet as part of their search. As a result, it makes sense to put your law office in the best position to attract these potential clients to your website. There are many ways to enhance your visibility online but one of the biggest determining factors when searching for any product or service is word of mouth and personal reviews. Google reviews are an important component of a strong legal web presence. By the time a potential client has reached the point when they...

For Orlando Lawyers, Are Facebook Ads Worth It?

Fri, 04 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST

Are Facebook Ads Worth It? Absolutely! Depending on your practice area, Facebook ads can be extremely useful in reaching potential customers. Facebook allows for advertisers to narrow down where their ads will appear within their targeted Internet community. In November of 2013, I met with a personal injury attorney who was interested in boosting his practice’s new clients for motorcycle accident related injury. In the past he had tried billboard and Yellow Page ads. However, he noted both the call volume and web traffic had sharply decreased from both of these marketing tactics in 2013. After...

How the Latest Technology Changes are Affecting our Web Surfing Habits

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:00:00 EST

Every article on device sales shows mobile device sales going through the roof and PC sales declining. Does that mean that people have stopped buying computers? Not from what we've seen. Gartner estimates say there were about 325 million (PC and Macs) sold in 2013. That is more than one computer for each person in the U.S. The mobile device that seems to be affecting the PC sales the most is the tablet. Not everyone has a tablet... yet! According to Pew Research, as of September 2013... 42% of adults have a tablet device vs. 76% of adults that own or...

What Happens When You Combine A CRM, Video, SMT, And A Group of Prospects?

Fri, 14 Mar 2014 12:00:00 EST

Answer: You get an advanced form of Video Sales & Marketing Technology SMT is always looking for unique ways to reach and create a significant and lasting impression on target prospects. The latest product we have developed is a video marketing system (VMS). The VMS was developed to send out targeted video emails to anyone in a Customer/Prospect database. That doesn't sound that complicated, however, there is more to it. What makes our system unique is that you can send a series of videos to individuals or groups at pre-programmed intervals. Everyone is on their own schedule...

Is YouTube a Good Idea for an Attorney?

Tue, 04 Mar 2014 12:00:00 EST

YouTube has grown leaps and bounds beyond the days of piano playing cats and singing dogs. More than 1 billion unique visitors go to YouTube each month. In fact, over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube. The number of people subscribing daily is up more than 3x since last year. What can this mean for an attorney? People are going to YouTube everyday to learn and educate themselves on a multitude of topics. Whether it’s researching the pros/cons of filing bankruptcy, determining if they are a victim of a product liability, or understanding their...

How to Build Business Relationships with Social Media This Valentine's Day

Wed, 12 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. At Sales & Marketing Technologies, we’re taking this holiday as a cue to examine relationships – specifically, how we can help our clients build meaningful relationships with their audiences. Creating a meaningful online relationship can often lead to increased business. It can also help create branding your audience can trust. So, how do you create such a relationship? 1. Spend time listening to your audience. Relationships are all about give and take. Take time to focus on your audience’s conversations – not only what they are saying about your...

Tips for Local Marketing

Thu, 06 Feb 2014 12:00:00 EST

For many businesses, local marketing can be the key difference between success and failure. Many people are turning to search engines to look in their local market - with Google research showing that approximately 20% of queries from desktop computers have local intent, as well as half of local queries. How can you utilize local marketing to grow your business? Three simple tips to get started are: Make sure that your profile is completely filled out with Google+. You should verify your page, and make sure all of the information on...

Creating a Successful Mobile Experience

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST

In the year 2013, the traffic of mobile websites almost doubled. Almost everyone now owns smart phones instead of regular cell phones - in fact, the second quarter of 2013 was the first quarter in which smart phones surpassed other phones sales. Because of this, more people are turning to their smart phones to make mobile purchases, or to visit websites and gather information. What do you need to create a better mobile experience for your users? First and foremost...

Will Link Building Remain Important in 2014?

Tue, 07 Jan 2014 12:00:00 EST

In a recent article from Search Engine Land, speculation was given about the importance of links in 2014. With updates from Google like Hummingbird, many companies are concentrating on social platforms instead of on links and other “typical” Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. While it is true that links may, in the future, be unimportant in Google’s algorithms, it is important not to forgo links entirely. Link building can be used to build relationships with other quality websites. By building relationships with other influencers in the industry, your website and brand can gain valuable mentions, links and positive...

Are You Integrating Social Media with your SEO?

Tue, 17 Dec 2013 12:00:00 EST

According to a study from Ascend2, 50% of companies that are struggling with their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are not properly integrating social media marketing into their Digital marketing strategies. How can you help boost your social media and SEO integration? H ere are a few easy steps: Make tagging and bookmarking easy for your users Include a social media bar to allow your users to share your site or articles on...

Why Do You Need Unique Meta Descriptions?

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 12:00:00 EST

Google’s own Matt Cutts posted a video yesterday discussing the importance of unique meta descriptions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with meta descriptions, these are HTML attributes that provide concise explanations of the content on pages. Think of a recent Google search you have done. Underneath the web link on each result is a sentence or two, giving you a taste of what you will find on the website. These sentences are the meta description. IMAGE: Google Meta descriptions can either be written by hand or automatically created by Google...

Want to Drive Traffic to Your Site? Consider Using These Blog Topics.

Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:00:00 EST

In October, we told you about the Hummingbird update from Google. While it has not had a large effect on SEO, it does provide an opportunity to help your website’s rankings via blogging. Sometimes, though, you don’t know where to start. What do people want to read in blogs? Here are some topics to get you started on having a relevant and useful blog for your website: 1. Answer Questions. The Hummingbird update focuses largely on how people are asking Google questions. They are looking for...

Facebook Graph Search Updates

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:00:00 EST

Facebook recently announced that it will be allowing users to search posts and status updates within its graph search. What does this mean for your search? Now, you will be able to ask questions like: • Posts I have commented on • My posts from the last year • Posts by my friends this month • Posts from my friends about [a television show, movie, event, etc.] And receive detailed results, including both posts and status updates from you and your friends. So...

Hummingbird Update: What it means for your SEO

Wed, 09 Oct 2013 12:00:00 EST

Last month, Google announced its “largest upgrade to its search algorithm since 2001”, which has been dubbed Hummingbird. As you might guess, many businesses were concerned about this update, wondering how it would affect their current SEO efforts, and what they would need to change in order to stay relevant in Google search results. What is Hummingbird? Google says that the Hummingbird update will not have an effect on current SEO efforts. Original, high quality content is still king, and relevant links are still important. The Hummingbird change adds new dimensions to the algorithm, concentrating on what Google refers to...

How the Recent Crackdown on Fake Reviews Affects You

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 12:00:00 EST

The New York Attorney General’s office is cracking down on fake reviews in an investigation nicknamed “Operation Clean Turf”. Nineteen companies have agreed to stop writing fake reviews, and are now also responsible for paying a total of $350,000 in fines, with each companies’ fine ranging from $2,500 to almost $100,000. To learn more about the specifics behind this case, visit the New York Attorney General’s website. How can you get real reviews for your business? There are some easy tips to follow when trying to solicit customer reviews: ...

Facebook Punishes Pages Without Engaging Content

Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:00:00 EST

Just last month, we posted about the Facebook algorithm used on newsfeeds, and how it affects the content that you see. Already, there are new changes to your newsfeed. Now, Facebook is punishing pages that constantly post memes instead of new and engaging content. This update aims to drive more traffic to reputable Pages and deter spammers, giving more visibility to content that is timely, relevant and sharable. Facebook has previously made similar algorithm changes, causing much speculation that they were trying to extort Pages into purchasing more paid advertisements and sponsored posts. This time, however, they are being transparent...

Top SEO Mistakes

Tue, 20 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST

Recently, Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cuts, published a video discussing the top five SEO mistakes that people make. Some are simple and easy enough to fix, while others are more complicated. They include: 1. Not having a website, or having a website that is not crawlable by search engines. It seems easy enough to realize that, in order to rank in Google results, you need to have a website. But many people want to go with the glamor and creativity of a Flash website, or a website that is filled with images...

Other Google Updates to Be Aware Of

Wed, 14 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST

When everyone thinks of Google updates and how they will affect SEO efforts, they usually only think of the many different Panda and Penguin updates. But in 2009, another update was made to Google’s algorithms that can have a big effect on business: The Vince Update. Because of the Vince update, many big businesses seem to be taking over the front page of Google. This is because they have built a “trusted” brand - they are well know, through not only back links but also video, public relations efforts, content that has gone viral, and even simple mentions of their...

Algorithm Updates on Facebook Newsfeed

Thu, 01 Aug 2013 12:00:00 EST

Facebook is at it again - a recent update has been made to Facebook’s Newsfeed algorithm, making it more difficult for your business to reach its fan base. According to Facebook, the goal of users’ Newsfeeds is to deliver the right content at the right time, so that they see the stories that are the most important to them. Based on their research, there are upwards of 1,500 potential stories a person could see every time they log on Facebook - from people they are friends with, people they follow and pages that they’ve liked. This can be everything from an acquaintance...

Facebook Launches New Hashtags

Thu, 27 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST

You’ve seen people use hashtags on your Facebook newsfeed before, but did you know that they will now be functional? This week, Facebook introduced clickable hashtags to its site platform. These hashtags will function similarly to other social networks’ hashtags, including Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest or Instagram. According to Facebook’s Newsroom , the introduction of clickable hashtags on Facebook will allow users to “add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion”. People already use Facebook to give their opinions on a variety of subjects – for example, the recent Game of Thrones...

Could Your Company Benefit from Video Marketing?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST

Have you considered implementing video marketing for your company? Putting together videos is a great way to show your audience what your company is really about. Here are some quick tips on how to put together great videos to help market your business: • Don’t be afraid – one of the biggest hurdles to creating video marketing is fear – fear your audience won’t like it, or fear that you won’t like how you come across on camera. But you won’t know until you try! • Publish regularly – don’t just publish...

Improving Website Functionality

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST

When building a website , many people do not take the time to stop and take a step back to check its functionality. However, website functionality can be a make or break feature when it comes to users interacting with your site. When considering how your website functions, you should look at it from the user’s perspective. Think about how your users interact with the site, in other words, how they navigate it, how they fill out forms, view pictures, and more. Navigation One of the biggest problems users...

Considering Writing a Newsletter for Your Company?

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 12:00:00 EST

Have you ever sent out a newsletter for your company? A newsletter is an excellent way to get in contact with your past and present clients, and possibly up-sell products or services. But how do you write a newsletter that they will find interesting? Here are some things to check for in your next newsletter: • A Good Subject Line - if you do not include a good subject line, no one will want to open your newsletter. • Personality - it is important to show that your company is made up of real...

Best Practices While Updating Your LinkedIn Business Page

Tue, 28 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

Article Updated: Feb. 2015 Having a LinkedIn page for your business may seem like a superfluous social media gimmick but there are many reasons why having a page is essential for your business. There are over 3 million companies on LinkedIn in 148 different industries. Not only do they spread brand visibility, but they also build and sustain a community around your products and services. According to an article from Hootsuite , LinkedIn users are 8x more likely to engage with your brand, 3x more likely to...

How to Create an Infographic

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

You’ve heard it before - infographics are a great way to engage readers. They help make content more interesting, and they are easily used across your marketing platforms - not only on your website but also in social media marketing. How do you create an infographic? 1. Have a Goal First and foremost, you need to have a goal in mind for the infographic. That way, you will be more focused when deciding what information to include within it. You should also make sure that you know your target...

Writing Engaging Web Content

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

One of the most important parts of getting customers to your website is providing relevant and engaging web content. This might seem like a daunting task to some, but writing web content is fairly easy, as long as you remember some simple points. It is important to understand your audience before you start writing web content. Your audience is two-fold: you are writing for both your “real” audience and for search engines. This means that you need to not only include key words to help with your SEO so that you rank for on Google, but also make sure...

What are People Searching for on their Mobile Phones?

Tue, 07 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

These days, almost everyone owns a smart phone, and they are using them to do more than make phone calls. They are also using their phones to look up the answers to questions, the addresses to businesses, and everything in between. This is why it is so important to have a mobile site or a site with a responsive design that adapts to mobile devices, and to have it optimized for mobile search engines. Mobile search criteria are slightly different than the average web based searches. One of the major differences is the emphasis on local search. ...

Top Tips for Local SEO

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:00:00 EST

If you’re a company that caters to a local clientele - whether it be a doctors’ office, a clothing store, or a restaurant - you want to make sure that people can quickly and easily find you online. To do this, your website will need a local SEO strategy to properly position you on search engines and direct the right traffic to your website. Some of the most important things you need to consider when optimizing your website for local search include: Keyword Research - first and foremost, you need to figure out what people...

Facebook Introduces Graph Search

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:00:00 EST

Facebook is continuing to stay on top of innovations, recently rolling out a test of its new “Graph Search” capability. Graph search will be an excellent tool for many businesses that utilize Facebook, as it allows your company to analyze and act on new information about your customers that you previously did not have access to. First and foremost, you’ll want to turn on Facebook Graph Search – you can do so by signing up here: https://www.facebook.com/about/graphsearch Once you have signed up, it may take a few days for Graph Search to turn on, as it is still in the beginning testing...

Facebook Offers Gifting Opportunities

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST

Facebook has been rolling out a lot of new updates recently, such as Graph Search. Facebook has also been eying your status updates for gifting opportunities. What does this mean? Facebook has already been offering the “Give a Gift” option for people’s birthdays, where you have the option of purchasing your friends a real life gift on their birthday – for example, if you are wishing a friend that has “Liked” Starbucks on Facebook a happy birthday, Facebook might suggest you purchase them a Starbucks gift card to go along with the post. But now...

Optimizing Your Facebook Fan Pages

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST

The optimization of Facebook fan pages has been a point of great debate on many SEO and social media blogs, as different experts argue the best ways to get your fan page noticed. Despite the conflicting ideas, there are some basic ways that you can optimize your Facebook fan pages SEO. Name Your Business Page First and foremost, you need to pick the best name for your Facebook fan page. Google puts the most importance or weight on the first word of your fan page title, so you want to make sure to pick something descriptive...

Why Should You Use Content Marketing?

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST

More and more, Google is concentrating on content as a factor in how high your website will be ranked. Now, it is more important to focus on the quality of content over quantity – that is, it is better to have a few high-quality pages with relevant information for your users than many low-quality pages. Blogging also remains an important way to increase rankings, as it allows you to post fresh, quality content on a regular basis. How do you write new and improved content? First, you want to make sure that it is focused on the...

Three Things Marketers can Learn from Media

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:00:00 EST

A recent article in Mashable reviewed some tips and tricks of the trade that those in the media have learned this year that can easily be applied to marketing efforts as well. Here are three of the take-aways: Integration is the way of the future. In applications for a company’s marketing efforts, this means making sure that the marketing plan offers real time branding of your company’s message, and involves many different aspects of marketing – events, advertising, social media, and public relations should all integrate to send out an overall message. This...

New Communities on Google+

Sun, 16 Dec 2012 12:00:00 EST

A recent addition to the Google+ platform is Communities. This latest feature integrates with other features such as Google+ Hangouts to allow you to gather members in either public or private communities to hold discussions. Google’s official blog touts the new Google+ Communities as a great opportunity for its users to reconnect with loved ones during the holiday season. Google+ aims to make these new communities as accessible for sharing as communities in real life are, allowing people of all interests to get together and discuss the things they are passionate about. Communities will allow users to not only participate in...

Growing Your Email List with Twitter

Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST

Email marketing, when done correctly, can be beneficial to your business. Whether it is a monthly newsletter that you send out on a regular basis, or the occasional coupon, unless you have many people opting in to the email list, it will not be very beneficial. One way you can grow your email list is by turning to social media. Some easy ways you can use Twitter to help grow you email marketing lists include: Linking Your Twitter Bio to an Opt-In Page Most Twitter users realize they should include their website in their...

Are You Properly Using Pinterest for your Business?

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST

We’ve told you before that Pinterest can be a great marketing tool for your company. But are you using it properly? There are a few ways that you can use Pinterest in order to attract customers to your site and make conversions. Think About Your Ideal Client Think about what kind of visual content would attract them - would it be a photo of a beautiful beach for a timeshare company, or an infographic about the current job market for a job placement company? The photo attached to your pin is the hook - but it’s...

Panda Update 21 Released

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST

It was expected - on November 5th, Google added its latest Panda Update to its search engine algorithms. This led to a slight shaking up of the Google results, as there was a worldwide impact on about 0.4% of inquiries, and 1.1% of those inquiries in the United States in the English language. As the 21st Panda Update, it fell into Google’s usual trend of releasing an update every four to six weeks. The 0.04% impact is lower than many other updates - the first Panda Update in February of 2011 saw an almost 11% impact on searches, and was rolled out...

Instagram Launches Web Profiles

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST

We already know that Instagram was bought out months ago for a high price by the people at Facebook. Up until this week, Instagram remained a mobile-device based application. But now, Instagram is slowly rolling out web profiles to its users. These profiles look shockingly like the Timeline we are already familiar with on Facebook profiles. With a “cover photo” of rotating photos from the users Instagram feed, it is slightly different than the static “cover photo” offered on Facebook currently. These profiles then show the user’s profile photo (in the same location Facebook’s profile photos appear) and include the...

Yelp Cracks Down on Fake Reviews

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST

At Sales & Marketing Technologies, we understand the importance of review websites, and making sure your company is portrayed properly. We already work with many different organizations on their reputation management. One of the biggest parts of reputation management is monitoring what users are saying about your products and services online at review sites, such as Yelp.com. Recently, Yelp announced that it will be increasing its efforts in making sure that consumer reviews are all accurate, and from real customers. In the past, some disgruntled customers have overused Yelp, writing multiple negative reviews based on the same experience. On the...

Online Social Media Security Tips

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:00:00 EST

One of the biggest things people worry about is their online security. It can be scary – with the amount of personal information we are putting on the internet through social media sites, we often wonder who is able to access everything. Some people’s minds have been eased, as according to Mashable, Facebook recently announced that deleted photos will now also be removed from their servers (previously, even after the photo had been deleted, they could be accessed by entering the photo’s URL) permanently within a few days of the deletion. What other steps can you take to...

The Cost of Cheap SEO & Social Media Labor

Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST

Like almost everything else in the world, you really get what you pay for when it comes to SEO and social media marketing. You might want to try to save money, scrimping and cutting corners as it can be costly to launch, maintain, and grow an internet presence for your business. But think of this internet presence much like the physical building your company is located in – you wouldn't hire a too-cheap or inexperienced contractor to build the building, or look for the cheapest materials possible to construct it with. Much the same, you wouldn't want to buy the...

How to Utilize Facebook Lists

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST

Facebook lists aren’t new, but many people do not realize the many ways they can utilize them. Normally, if people utilize Facebook lists, they are using them to manage their privacy settings – making lists to decide who can see what items on your page. But now that Facebook has launched the “subscribe” feature, lists can be used for a variety of different social media marketing and social networking purposes to help separate out business, entertainment, and friends feeds from one another. This makes Facebook lists important for your business – even though they are used on personal profiles, they...

How Can You Increase Your Engagement on Facebook?

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST

So, you created a Facebook page, got some fans…now what? There are some simple tactics you can use to keep up your engagement on Facebook. By using calls to actions, you are able to create an incentive for fans to interact with you on Facebook. Tailor your status updates to ask your fans a question. Whether it be their opinion, a call for stories, or even for advice. The more comments a status update receives, the higher it will be placed in news feeds by Facebook’s EdgeRank algorithm. Make sure...

Google Results: From 10 to 7 Links?

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST

It appears that Google is testing a new way to show its search results, with only 7 results instead of 10 on the first page. It also seems that it is easier for one site to dominate these results. Together, these two things could change the face of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as sites have to fight even harder to get onto the front page. An article at Search Engine Land shows examples of the new search results, depicting how the top Google result now not only features the main page of the website, but links...

Google Places Taken Over by Google Plus Local

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:00:00 EST

Over recent months, Google has changed Google Places for Business into Google+ Local. These pages serve as a directory listing for your business that can place prominently in Google search results. They allow you to display photos, videos, reviews, and other essential facts about your business like your address, phone number, and hours. You can also utilize your Google+ Local page to offer your customers real time updates about your business as well as offers they can take advantage of. There are many advantages that Google+ Local can offer. The biggest is its...

Instagram Management Added to Hootsuite

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:00:00 EST

Are you using Instagram to reach your customers? Instagram is one of the latest crazes in social sharing, allowing users to share photos with friends and family, adding filters to transform their look and feel, and share to other social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr. It also allows its users to “tag” their photos, and search hashtags so those with similar interests can find you. If you are using Instagram, or are thinking of adding it to your dossier of social networks, HootSuite is making it a little easier to manage. Since November, HootSuite...

SEO Challenges Will Continue To Rise

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 12:00:00 EST

The world of SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is getting more challenging to navigate. Updates to the Google search algorithms, Panda and Penguin, have sent those companies who rely on search engines to lead their customers to their business into a panic. SEO companies are scrambling after spending thousands of hours learning about, applying, and perfecting SEO practices to websites, only to find that Google is changing the game once again, making it difficult for companies to regain rankings that they have lost, or to compete for a decent new spot in the search engines. As SEO companies...

Getting Your Company Behind Your Social Media Strategy

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:00 EST

One of the biggest roadblocks to utilizing social media for your company is the company itself. You have to make sure everyone supports the process, and understands why social media is so important. To have a successful social media campaign within your company, your employees have to understand not only what social media does, but why it is useful and how they can play a role in its success. Social media is a team process. It is important to realize that the entire staff has to buy into its uses, not just the marketing department. ...

How Will Google's Social Search Affect Your SEO?

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

We’ve told you about Google’s shift to including Google+ results in its searches, and also the controversy that has come from it as other social media outlets fight back. What will it mean for your company’s website, and your SEO? Already, sources are speculating that this social switch to search results could have a bigger impact on Google than even the infamous Panda update, which aimed to remove lower-quality content from search results. This is because not only will Google now require your content to be of high quality, but it will also be looking...

Google Intergrates Google+ into Google Search

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST

In their ongoing climb up the proverbial “social ladder” Google has now merged Google+ into its search results. What this means, moving forward any Google + member who is signed in will be able to search the entire web as well as their own Google+ circles. This includes photos and content posts from the Google+ circles of that user. Google is calling this search update “ Search, plus your World ”. Their goal here is to try to transform Google into a search engine that not only understands content, but people and relationships as well. This all began with...

Google + Expands to Include Business Pages

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

Just when you thought you were getting a handle on Social Media and managing your online reputation, Google has gone and changed the playing field again! Earlier this year Google decided to try again at creating a social network and launched Google+. They set this “project” up so you could sign in and then invite your friends and family to your “circle” in order to share with them things you like or found interesting. Unlike Facebook, Google+ was built from the ground up around the idea of being able to share information or products with a...

Twitter Follows Suit with New Functionality

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EST

With Facebook’s recent changes to its personal page design, Twitter couldn’t be left behind in updates. Therefore, Twitter recently implemented significant redesign changes, with new tabs for browsing, embeddable tweets, and even new brand or business pages. Twitter’s new “Discover” tab runs an algorithm which finds relevant tweets to your interests from people that you do not follow. Otherwise, the new tabs are basically features that have been available on Twitter before, but have been repackaged. The embeddable Tweets feature a line of code that can be added to your website, allowing “live” Tweets to be fed into the site, which...

What is Local Digital Marketing?

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST

When you do a search on a search engine and the results come up - what is the map and the little red balloons with letters in them? That is what is referred to as “ local listings ”. And it should become a bigger and bigger part of your online marketing strategy, especially if your business relies on your neighbors buying your products or paying for your services to stay afloat. Claiming your listings or profiles (depending on what you want to call them) and optimizing them to help get you to the top of the list can be critical...

Google Infinite Scroll, Better Exposure?

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EST

Google is starting to test out a new feature – “infinite scroll”. Already implemented in its Images search section, infinite scroll would allow readers to click to view more results on the same page instead of continuing through pages 2, 3, or 4 when performing a search engine query. In essence, this feature would allow everyone to rank for “page 1” on the Google search results. What sort of impact this will have on your company’s SEO? For starters, there will now be multiple chances to “rank number one” as people click to show more results, making rankings 11, 21...

How Google+ is Shaping the Future of Search

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EST

Google’s latest attempt to build and grow a social network is called Google+ (spoken as “Google Plus”). Because most people are sharing links, articles and ideas outside of the Google network (mostly via Facebook and Twitter), the search giant has found itself at a disadvantage. Google has undoubtedly noticed that people are consuming massive amounts of content based on the recommendations of friends within their social networks. Because of this rate of consumption, Google has taken interest in the relationship of the content being consumed to the interests of the user. This relationship can be described as “relevancy”, which is one...

Is Tweeting the New Link Building?

Tue, 31 May 2011 12:00:00 EST

Article Updated: Feb. 2015 A study conducted at MOZ is helping us understand how tweets influence search rankings. The study has shown that a bit.ly link tweeted by an influential user group has the ability to rank keywords quickly, without followed links and without anchor text. As time continues, the issue of social signals and how Google factors them in to its search results is beginning to take shape. While Google has been somewhat forthcoming on the key ingredients of search, they’re not ready to reveal all their secrets just yet. ...

How do you know if you’ve been Panda-slapped?

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

On February 24th of this year, Google rolled out it’s (now infamous) Panda update . Throughout the year, Google updates it’s method of ranking and displaying search engine results for all queries. The goal of these updates is always to increase the relevancy of the search results as they relate to the search query. The latest update, dubbed “Panda”, has adversely affected an estimated 12% of US-based websites. 1. Login to Google Analytics. Need help? Contact us 2. On your Dashboard, click Traffic Sources > Search Engines > Show non-paid...

What Are QR Codes?

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

QR Codes are two-dimensional barcodes. QR stands for Quick Response and were developed to contain more data and character types then current barcodes. QR Codes can contain up to 7,089 characters versus the 20 characters for traditional barcodes. The mobile adoption rate has fueled the use of QR Codes in recent years through the use if QR Code Readers. QR Codes are currently being used to connect to a web address, compose a text message, dial a telephone number, or prompt your email client with a sender address. QR Codes are popping up every where. We are seeing them in billboards, newspapers, magazines, catalogs...

How To Edit Your Company Profile on LinkedIn

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

At the beginning of November, LinkedIn released some new features for their Company Profile section. LinkedIn now allows businesses to add services and products to their company profiles, solicit customer endorsements for company products and services, as well as the ability to "follow" companies. Follow Company There is now a "Follow Company" button displayed on the company profile page. Selecting to "follow" a company allows you to keep up to date on when employees of this company leave, join, or get promoted. You can also get updated on new job opportunities from the particular company, as well as receive the...

Get Social With Ecommerce Receipts

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST

The integration between social networks and search engines is going to start to impact traditional search engine optimization techniques. There has been more and more social influence being built into the search algorithms in order to present better search results to the end user. Just take a look at Bing's Instant Personalization program. Businesses of all sizes need to become aware of these impacts and understand how being a part of social networks can help their business succeed online. Beside maintaining an active social network account, businesses need to look at new strategies and techniques to encourage visitors/buyers to become brand evangelists...

Google Maps Adds Hotel Comparison Shopping

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST

Noticing that Google Maps has added some additional functionality for hotel searches. I noticed at the top of the Google Maps search results a "Check In" and "Check Out" search feature. Also, beside each hotel listing there is a lowest price drop down. Clicking on the lowest price displays a list of Sponsored results with pricing information on the specific hotel. The drop down list looks to have four paid listings and the last one is the official hotel link. Here is a screen shot. This was first noted in Google's Lat Long Blog but looks to be expanding to more users with...

Social Search Results - Facebook Friends Bing

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST

Facebook recently announced a new partnership with Bing. Bing will now pull in Facebook "Like" information into their search result pages creating "social search". Social search will take the personal link recommendations from your group of Facebook friends and include those links within a special section of the search engine results page. In the future Bing will look to add your friend's "Likes" next to the individual search engine result listings. Bing will also be providing a "Friend Finder" that will display people that you should friend based on your Facebook social network of friends. Here is a screenshot from Bing ...

IP Address Influencing Search Engine Rankings

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST

Google has been using the user's IP address to serve up local results for the Google Local 7-pack for awhile now. Then back in February they added a search "Nearby" feature that would allow you to refine your organic search results as well as the Google Local 7-pack for a city. On top of this Google is now using your IP address to influence search engine rankings for broad terms. What does this mean? It means that a user in one location will be served up one set of results while a user in another location will be served...

Click Through Rate Can Affect Your Bing Rankings

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST

From the recent SMX East conference Barry Schwartz, contributor at Search Engine Land, confirmed with Steve Tullis, Sr Program Manager Lead at Bing/Microsoft, that Bing does indeed use click through rate (CTR) as one of the many factors in their Bing ranking algorithm. Steve Tullis made the comment that if a search result does not get clicked on Bing will likely lower the site's ranking. What can influence a user to click on your listing within the search engine result pages (SERPs)? One of the big influencer is the actual snippet being displayed. If the snippet matches the user's expectation...

How To Handle Secure Files Being Indexed

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EST

At SMT we typically do a website audit for new clients. During these website audits we see a lot of the same mistakes from web developers and web designers that do not fully understand search engine optimization best practices. One of the issues we come across is the client's site starts to get indexed under the HTTPS version of their site. HTTPS is typically used to protect sensitive information such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or personal information that is submitted from a form on the website. Google provides an useful tool called site: command. The site: command enables you...

Survey Finds Social Media Impacts Search Engine Rankings

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST

A recent study, The Impact of Social Media on Search, by BtoB and Business.com took a look at how business-to-business (B2B) marketers are integrating social media with search engine marketing (SEM). The study polled 464 B2B marketers to see how they are using social media to improve their search engine rankings. Did social media have an impact on their search engine performance? 44% stated it had a positive impact 28% stated neutral 27% stated they did not know 1% stated it had a negative impact ...

Using Infographics to Build Links

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST

Infographics, or Information graphics, are visual representations of complex data or knowledge that is presented in an easy to understand graphic. While infographics have been around for a long time, Internet marketers have turned to using infographics as a link building tactic. As you can see from the Google Trends graph, infographics started to really pick up at the beginning of 2010. So, the start of 2010 has been the year of the infographic. Producing an attention grabbing and timely infographic can generate a large number of backlinks to your own site. If the...

The Forgotten Power of Internal Linking

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

Did you know that Google says there are hundreds of factors that go into getting your site to rank for targeted keywords? It can be overwhelming to think about. That’s why many of our clients come to us in the first place. It can be intimidating to figure out everything you site needs in order to be successful online. There have been many instances where a client would search "SEO" or "Rank #1 on Google" and come back to us saying, “Build me links so I can rank for keyword !” We hear that all the time, but like stated above, there...

Few People Using Location-Based Social Networks

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

Forrester Research recently released a report, Location-Based Social Networks: A Hint Of Mobile Engagement Emerges, that noted there were only a few million consumers using geolocation apps on a monthly basis. Location-based Social Networks include such sites like Foursquare, Gowalla, BrightKite, and Dopplr. The report states that only 4% of adults have used a location-based social network and only 1% have used it more then once. The profile of a location-based social network users: Male 19-35 years of age College educated $105,000 household income ...

Digital Marketing: A Road Map of the Basics

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST

Survival of the fittest To this day, the Internet is the fastest changing industry which adapts many changes throughout every month, even on a daily basis! With the Google algorithms always increasing in complexity, it becomes harder to be able to generate organic results for any given website. If you just now want to start with Digital marketing campaigns for your business, you must start with a very well defined niche which is in demand, yet is still not saturated with competitors. On top of that your Digital marketing campaign should use a combination of strategies, keep consistency and intensity while maintaining a perfect balance to avoid being penalized as...

Tips If Your Domain Name Is Too Long For Google PPC

Fri, 21 May 2010 12:00:00 EST

Recently, we had a client that was very interested in launching an aggressive PPC campaign. Everything started out perfect. During our collaboration to form a strategy, we found out the domain name for this project has 36 characters. This is not including the www. (ExampleOfA36CharacterDomain123.com) For those of you who don't know, Google's Adwords policy states that the display URL has a character max of 35 characters. Since this site is a newly acquired site, it normally wouldn't have been an issue because we can easily buy a new domain & point the website to the new domain. ...

Digital Marketing: Investing Wisely in your Business

Thu, 20 May 2010 12:00:00 EST

If you have a website, you need traffic. Unfortunately many people know this and also come to realize their lack of knowledge on how “Internet traffic” really works. There are lots of “opportunities” out there offering you thousands of “targeted visitors” to your website for just a few bucks, or a directory promoting your website on Google on your behalf. If you do not advertise your business, your incoming flow of customers will be low. Nowadays simple word-of-mouth and referrals are not sufficient to sustain a business. Today, the average consumer is more informed before purchasing anything, once they see your advertising in...

Reduce SPAM without CAPTCHA using a CustomValidator

Tue, 18 May 2010 12:00:00 EST

There are plenty of resources and methods out there you can use to reduce the amount of submissions to a form on your website by non-humans. Some website administrators get hundreds or thousands of submissions from bogus people. They are often automated bots searching for open holes your website to infuse content for whatever their purpose is. Many times it is to promote their own website, content, or services. Sometimes they are attempts to cause the website or webserver to crash, inject viruses or spread maliciousness to anyone using the internet. Often there is intent to spread porn traffic. One...

Optimizing Search Engine PageRanking by Using Dynamic 301 Redirects

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST

How to Optimize your Page Rank Those SEO-savvy web programmers and search engine optimization specialists are familiar with the problem caused by changing a previously ranked URL to a new URL. For example, an old page that a search engine has ranked on page 1 may be www.domainname.com/about/default.aspx. For a variety of reasons, it may be necessary to change the URL to www.domainname.com/about-us/. The new URL will be identified by search engines as a new page, even though it is the same page. The PageRanking will be lower for the new "about-us" URL and the "/about/default.aspx"...

Tips on Choosing a Good Domain Name

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST

Choosing a domain name is probably the most important step in getting your business online. When choosing a domain name for your business there are several factors to consider before you make that final purchase. .COM – The.com domain extension is probably the most recognized and trusted domain extension. Now if you are a non-profit or healthcare organization you may want to consider the.org domain extension. And whatever you do stay away from the.info. The.info domain extension has been over used by spammers due to their cheap “throw away” prices. Comprehendability – A domain name that...

Bing - Ask your friends to recommend

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST

Bing is now giving you the option to send local search results to your Facebook and Twitter friends along with the option to email them the results in order to ask them if they agree with the results or have a better option. This is a direct way to see what your friends, coworkers, or mentors have to say about a particular location. As a consumer this gives you a quick way to find out if a restaurant is any good, etc. But as a business, you need to be aware that your listings are being published in this sense. Keeping reviews positive and...

Search Engine Optimization in 2010

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Search engines are always changing their algorithms, sometimes as often as twice per day, but lately there have been some major changes that will affect the way search engines produce results. Recently, major engines like Google and Yahoo introduced a real-time search feature that scrolls recent Tweets from Twitter containing the searched keyword. With Twitter's explosive growth this year, this change now exposes the millions of conversations happening on Twitter, especially when it comes to a brand. Facebook is now getting indexed more than ever, and we've been hearing for months about a major deal between search engine...

Can Your Marketing Survive On PPC Alone?

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

There has been a lot of debate on whether a business can survive and thrive using pay per click (PPC) marketing alone. While PPC marketing can be very effective, using it without an organic search plan can be costly. There are several reasons PPC marketing needs to be coupled with organic search strategies. 1) Your Google Adwords bids can cost you more if your campaigns and landing pages are improperly optimized. Google states "Include specific keywords that directly relate to the specific theme of your ad group and landing page". A poorly optimized landing page can give mixed signals...

What Google Real-Time Search Means to Your Business

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Real-time search makes social media (more) important On Monday, Google made a giant leap to the front of the real-time search game by adding "Latest Results", a real-time search result box, to the first page of search results. The "Latest Results" feed pulls results from major news sources, blog posts and social networks including Twitter and FriendFeed. Here's an example from Google: Try it out for yourself: Google real-time search for 'Pearltrees', a French social network. The "Latest Results" box gives you the option...

Why Online Marketing Should Be In Your 2010 Marketing Budget

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

If it’s not too late, I wanted to go over your 2010 marketing budget. No, I physically can’t look over it, but what I can do is list off reasons why you should invest in an online marketing strategy. It’s a tough advertising world out there with all of the advertising options you have (especially when they ALL say they deliver a good ROI). I’m not here to pick on the other guys today, I’m just here to tell you what online marketing can do for your business. The Numbers According to a recent report from eMarketer, US online...

Google Implements Personalized Search Based on Browser Cookie

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Google announced an extension to personalized search on Friday. Google noted that they will now provide customized search results based on past search activity for users not logged into their Google account. Google will set an anonymous cookie in your browser that will store up to 180 days of "signed-out" search activity, including search queries and results you click. How will you notice the change? Google has been nice enough to place a "View Customization" link on the search results page. Clicking on this link will allow you to see how Google has customized the...

How To Create An iPhone Favicon For Your Website

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST

Favicons are very important for branding your website and your services. As you might already know, the favicon.ico shows up in several places. The greater exposure to of your brand, the better effect it will have on your visitors. Does your site have an iPhone favicon? If not, don’t worry. I’ll tell you exactly how to get one. But first, let’s look at what I mean. Load up your website in your iPhone or iPod Touch. Once it has been completely loaded, click on the ‘+’ at the bottom of the screen, then...

Tips To Prepare Your eCommerce Site Tis' Holiday Season

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

It’s coming. The wonderful time of year when houses and stores are being decorated with lights and trees, the time when the weather is cold enough to drink hot chocolate, and the time when you start hearing Christmas music while you shop. The 2009 Holiday Season is right around the corner and you need to make sure your eCommerce site is prepared for it! Do not fret. This blog post focuses on some basic tips to make sure your eCommerce site is prepared this holiday season. Add some holiday cheer to your homepage Set the mood for your...

Twitter Adds Retweet Button

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

and then takes it away Twitter recently made changes to the way people retweet in a limited beta release of their retweet button. Usually, retweets are done by appending 'RT' to someone else's tweet. Example Tweet: JonNegrini I'm blogging about Twitter Example Retweet: JoeSchmoe RT @JonNegrini I'm blogging about Twitter In this example I made the original tweet and Joe Schmoe retweeted my tweet. Something to remember in this method is that tweeters need to leave room in the...

Google Webmaster Tools Keyword Significance

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

Google has now started showing what it believes are the most significant for you website. Here's what Google believes are the most important keywords for SMTUSA.com In a Webmaster Central Help Page updated 11/12/09 Google explains: "The Keywords page lists the most significant keywords Google found when crawling your site. The significance of each keyword reflects how often it's found on your site's pages. Click each keyword to see a sampling of pages on which it appears."...

Effective Call To Actions Help Increase Conversions

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST

There are so many different aspects and fundamental elements that need to be in place for a website to be prosperous. With so many different, yet important elements that make up a successful website, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about Call To Actions (CTA). While an intriguing design, a lot of relevant and up-to-date content, visibility, a user friendly layout, and accessibility are all very important, I wanted to share the magnitude of creative and captivating call to actions. Call to actions come in many different forms, shapes, sizes, and categories. Depending on the...

Popular Email Newsletter Services

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Recently I have been doing some work and research with email newsletter services. While there are so many great companies out there that offer superb services and competitive prices, I wanted to blog my favorite 4! Mail Chimp Talk about user friendly! Mail Chimp helps you build and manage your email list, create HTML email campaigns, and track and analyze your email campaigns. Mail Chimp also offers very competitive pricing. Have less than 500 subscribers and need to send out less than 3,000 emails per month? Well Mail Chimp will let you...

What Google Social Search Means For Companies

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Google has just launched Google Social Search . Google Social Search is a new feature that will pull in relevant information from people within your online "social circle". Google is going to display this information within the organic search results under a new section called "Results from people in your social circle." For this to work the user needs to be logged into their Google account. Google will then use the Gmail address book, articles from your Google Reader subscriptions, data from Google Profiles, Twitter, FriendFeed, Picasa, Blogger, and public information to create the search results for Social Search...

What Balloon Boy Can Teach Us About Social Media

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Still not convinced social media is a good way to spread the word? Let's take a look at this past Thursday (10/15/09) and the five hours that 'balloon boy' captivated the world. Balloon boy is a 6 year old from Colorado that was, at the time, believed to be trapped in a homemade hot air balloon floating out of control. Local authorities and the National Guard reacted quickly to the situation ( read balloon boy story here ), but the world saw an even faster response from the Internet through social networks like Twitter. Within minutes of the...

How To Make a CSS Sprite Rollover List Part 2

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

I know there have been many people anxiously waiting for Part 2 of How To Make a CSS Sprite Rollover List. Didn't read part 1 yet? Well before you learn how to make a CSS Sprite, why don't you head over to part 1 and learn Why Use CSS Sprites. View the working DEMO Now let's get to work. Follow these easy three instructions on producing a cross browser compatible list with a CSS sprite and rollover functionality! 1) Create your image First thing is first...

Using Landing Pages to Maximize PPC Results

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:00:00 EST

Linking your Google Adwords Pay Per Click ads to an effective landing page can help increase your ad rankings, increase traffic to your site and increase conversions on your site, but choosing the wrong landing page can cost you both rankings and money. Here are a few tips that will help keep your Adwords ROI high: Choose a Relevant Page Pay Per Click advertisements are ranked by a combination of their Google Adwords quality score and their bid price. Having a higher quality score will allow your ad to rank higher without spending more...

Google Sidewiki - Steps To Claim Your Site

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST

Google recently launched a new product called SideWiki. Google's Sidewiki is a browser sidebar that allows users to add comments and information about a particular site. There has been some controversy about this new service already. Some of the issues brought up: The Sidewiki content is hosted on Google Taking comments /content from site owners and centralizing it Lack of comment filtering, open up for spam Some equate it to bathroom wall graffiti With that we want to talk about getting a "Page Owner" citation listed in...

New Google Keyword Tool

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST

If you haven't seen or heard about it, Google has a BETA version of the new Keyword Tool out. It still contains its fundamental functionality, but added some new features, made some tweaks, and changed the layout a bit. Here is a brief list of the new features and changes I noticed right away. If you know of any other neat features with the new Keyword Tool, we'd love to hear about them. My personal favorite, the Google Keyword Tool now lets you download a selected keyword list. Before you would have to download the entire list...

Is Your Site Search Costing You Sales?

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST

Recently we were attempting to establish why there were a proportionally large number of visitors leaving a site from the site search results page. In other words, a customer would search for a product and then leave without clicking on any of the products. We decided to install a “sniffer” to watch what keywords users were using when they performed a search. We not only wanted to find failed searches we also wanted some more in-depth intelligence on the customers and their intentions when they performed a search. Almost instantly our preconceived notions on how a visitor interacted...

Why Use CSS Sprites Part 1

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST

You’ve heard the term bouncing around the Internet, but still not sure what, why, or how to use CSS Sprites. I’m here to enlighten you on this neat little feature that is sure to help speed up your site. This is part 1 of a 2 part series blog. Part 2 will entail “How To Use CSS Sprites”. Why would I want to use a CSS sprite? CSS sprites reduce the total number of http requests, can reduce the total size of the images, and increase your pages load time. For...

Understanding Google Adwords Quality Score

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

We get questions all the time on how to improve Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns. One issue that comes up a lot is related to how Google ranks Adwords ads. What we find is that small businesses as well as large businesses do not understand that Google Adwords has it's own algorithm that is entirely separate from their organic search algorithm. It used to be that which ever advertiser bid the most on a keyword would have their ad show up the highest. This is no longer the case. Google has now gone to a Quality Score to rank your Adwords ads. ...

What ICANN's New gTLDs Mean for Search Engine Rankings

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

For the past several months there has been a lot of talk and speculation as to whether or not ICANN will be opening up their gTLD-global top-level domain(extension)-registration in late 2010. ICANN stands for 'Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' and is essentially the Internet's governing body, focusing specifically on domain registration. If ICANN's new gTLD program launches as planned, in late 2010 corporations, interest groups, cities and anyone else who has the financial means can apply to have a custom domain extension created. This doesn't come easily, however. ICANN's gTLD application fee is set at $186,000, not including the...

Nested GridViews in C#.NET: How to display relational data together

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:00:00 EST

First, you must understand the purpose of a GridView in the.NET framework. A GridView control displays rows of data in a table like structure. It displays one record from the table per grid row. This article explains how you can extend the functionality of this powerful control so that relational tables can be displayed together. This article shows you how to accomplish such a task. One reason to nest GridViews in.NET would be to display data in a one-to-many relationship. In some cases there is detail data that has a parent-child relationship to other data in the...

Display Google Base Products in Google Adwords

Tue, 05 May 2009 12:00:00 EST

Google introduced a new feature for Google Adwords advertisers this past week. The new feature allows advertisers to integrate their existing Google Base products into their current Adwords campaigns. By integrating your Google Base products into your Adwords account you will be able to gain additional exposure for your product listings. Once integrated you will see a expandable "Show products from COMPANY NAME" link right under the Adwords ad. Clicking this link displays three products with product title, price, product image, and a short description. I have seen these "Show products from..." links being displayed in the top three Adwords groups as well...

Google Penalty – How to Properly Request Reconsideration

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST

Today Google released a video from two leaders of the Google Search Quality Web Spam Group, Racheal Searles and Brian White, giving their recommendations for creating a good reconsideration request. Their Tips Include: Admit any mistakes you’ve made and let Google know what you have done to fix them. They want you to realize there is actual people who read the re-inclusion request. If you don’t know what your site did to get the penalty the suggest going back and rereading the Google Guidelines which you can see here: Direct Link in Video :...

Parsing data in C#

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST

Parsing data in C# is a simple process, and can be done using some basic language syntax. Sub Strings provide this functionality, and when used properly can make data collection, or simple parsing operations a much easier task. First when parsing data from sources such as a web page, it is important to first remove all data at the beginning of the document which is unnecessary, in order to prevent the parsing utility from finding the wrong information. website design search results http://randomexamplesiteurl.com/ en Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:31:33...

System Integration: With or Without a Website

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST

Wikipedia defines system integration as 'the bringing together of component subsystems into one system and ensuring that the subsystems function together as a system." It is also about "value-adding to the system, capabilities that are possible because of interactions between subsystems." In the application development world, "subsystems" may include a mixture of hardware (web servers, database servers, networks and firewalls) and software (SQL Server,.NET, html, php, classic ASP, etc). A classic example of an integrated system is a dynamically driven website. This is a combination of subsystems such as a web server, Internet Information...

Dual Authority – Dual Inline Site Links

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:00:00 EST

UPDATE: Sitelinks have evolved since this post was published. To learn more about what sitelinks are, how they can help your site, and how to implement changes to your website's code to help Google recognize these links, watch this informative video from Matt Cutts. Sales & Marketing Technologies strives to keep you updated on the changes online that could affect your Digital marketing efforts. As Central Florida's most established Digital marketing and web development company, we take it upon ourselves to show clients what is best for their websites and SEO efforts. This helps us to unlock your potential to thrive...

Top 5 Reasons Your Business Should Be Blogging

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 Blogging, or content writing in general, has become an essential part of your business' search engine optimization efforts. Not only does it bring fresh, quality content to your website, but it also allows search engines to better understand what your business is about. Here are five reasons why your business should be blogging right now: #5 – Control What is Said About Your Business Blogging allows your business the chance to inform customers, both existing and potential, of upcoming product launches, special discounts, conferences and the inner working...

City Centroid - Local Search Ranking Factor

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

There has been a shift from Yellow Pages to Search Engines to find local companies and products. According to a TMP Directional Marketing study, the Internet has become the primary source for local research. The study found that 31% of respondents to the study used Search Engines to find local products and services first, with Yellow Pages or White Pages at 30%, Internet Yellow Pages at 19% and Local Search Sites at 11%. The importance of showing up in Google's Onebox Local Search result is becoming more important for businesses. We are finding more and more large and small businesses wanting to show up in...

Automated Spanish Translation System for Websites

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

Miami Children’s Hospital (MCH) recently requested the assistance of Sales & Marketing Technologies to provide an effective solution to dynamically translate their English content from their web site to Spanish using the third party vendor, Translations.com. SMT’s in-house Programming team worked closely with Translations.com to perform the initial Spanish translation by building the necessary XML file needed for input into their system. Once the translation was complete, the initial file was imported into a staging environment and sent to the client for review. Once approved, the newly translated Spanish content was published to the live MCH site...

Implementing 301 Redirects on Legacy URLs

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:00:00 EST

The implementation of 301 redirects for legacy URLs is a crucial step in website redevelopment and URL optimization projects. It seems that web development companies that are not strong in Digital Marketing often make the mistake, out of ignorance more than anything, of not properly taking care of legacy URLs, that is of URLs that used to rank on the previous website version but whose content has been assigned a new URL. For example if the details page of a product is now on http://www.domain.com/Products/CategoryX/ProductY.html the legacy URL prior to the website redevelopment or URL optimization could have been http://www.domain.com/product.asp?productCategory=CategoryX&productName=ProductY...

How Twitter Contributes to Globalization

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST

Article Updated: Feb. 2015 In the context of this article, globalization is the integration of views to all parts of the world. Globalization has been, and most likely will always be, an ongoing process that eliminates borders between nations and allows interconnectedness between nations. For example, 20 years ago it would have been very difficult for to speak with someone from across the nation. Now with the Internet, we are able to speak instantly with others not only from across the U.S. but around the globe. There are many factors that contribute to globalization, some more than others. ...

How Small Businesses Are Leveraging Twitter into Sales

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST

The explosive growth of Twitter has made Twitter a mainstream micro-blogging platform. With the estimated 6 million users, businesses find that there are true opportunities to connect with customers and drive sales from their Twitter accounts. Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real time. Twitter is considered a micro-blogging platform where you only have 140 characters for your message. An estimated 5-10 thousand new users are signing up daily on Twitter. Traffic to the site has grown by 600% over the last 12 months with 20% of Twitter users joining in the last 60 days. ...

Three reasons why Long Tail Keyword searches are so important?

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:00:00 EST

Long tail keyword searches are the secret to tremendous website traffic. Why are they so important and how do they work? Here are three reasons why long tail keyword searches are so important. After studying the traffic to a popular website whose domain name is the same as its primary keyword, we found that during a thirty day period the website received 500k visitors but only 12k of them were for the primary keyword. The other 488k visitors found the site using long tail keyword searches, keyword searches with additional discriminators like the location of...

Google Leading Mobile Web

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Surprised? Yeah, me neither. According to Nielsen Mobile, surprisingly (sarcasm) Google is the leading force in mobile search in the US. With iPhones, Google Androids, Blackberry Storms, and other internet capable phones, the mobile web is on the fast track for either booming success or failure due to overload. What I mean by failure to overload is this… We all know that mobile browsing is going to be huge! But when it does, will the mobile web have the capabilities, functionality, speed, and content to feed the eagerly needy consumer market? An article from Mobile Marketing Watch states an interesting statistic...

5 Great Google Adwords Tips for Saving Money

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Running Google Adwords on a budget? We work with many small and local businesses that are battling the same issues as you. Therefore we've come up with some tips to lower your costs. Here are five Adwords tips to help you get more bang for your buck with Google Adwords. 1. Put your phone number in the Google ad, because some people are likely to call instead of clicking through. Having a strong call to action in your ads, such as 'call us now', will let customers know what to do next with your...

Best Reputation Management Tips and Tools

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 When it comes to your image, or the image of your brand, reputation management is a phrase you need to know. The Internet is a very powerful and quick force. Negative comments on a blog, social media, or a forum can literally spread across the Internet in minutes and can result in a loss of business and profit. That’s where reputation management comes in. Monitoring what is said about you on the Internet and responding quickly, and with the right message, can reduce the spread of negative comments. The real damage is done when the negative comments gravitate...

Hackers Can Steal Your PageRank

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Recently John Mueller, a Webmaster Trends Analyst for Google, reported on his personal blog that hackers have been stealing PageRank from websites. He writes: In this particular case, a "massive amount" of sites were hacked and likely redirected through suomi.co.in. The Hackers were able to 301 redirect pages for search engine spiders only so the webmaster and site visitors never saw a change on the site. By redirecting the Spiders this way the Google believed the site had moved and began giving PageRank and inbound link credit to Suomi.co.in site. Thereby stealing the work of the...

Google Releases Guidelines for Bloggers

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST

Earlier this week Google released a new set of Blogging Best Practices in their Creating a Google-friendly site section of Webmaster help. The document starts out with Google reiterating their pro-blog feelings: If you have a website but don’t have a blog, consider creating one: A blog is a great way to connect with people who share your interests, or to publicize your site or product. Blogs are easy to create and update, and rich, useful, and original blog content will encourage readers to come back to your site. Here are some tips for making the most of your blog...

How do I increase traffic & sales on my website?

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

I hear this question “How do I increase traffic & sales on my website?” all the time, and the funny thing is most of the time its from clients who’s sales have doubled and even tripled over the past year. The answer to this question is simple but applying the principles is not quite as simple because it usually requires some work. To increase traffic & sales on websites, I like to use what I call the “CLUB” method which is: C = Content (Content needs to be...

How To Launch A New Site

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

Shhh… Do you hear that? Yeah, me neither. If you want to avoid launch failure and the crickets, follow these easy steps to create a buzz about your newly launched site. 1) Check, Check, and Check Again I can’t tell you how many internet users shy away from websites because of failed image loads, broken links, and/or internet browsers displaying the content wrong. It is so important to do a thorough check of your site to assure the functionality and display (check in multiple browsers) is working correctly. These are such simple and...

When Great Google Rankings Hurt Your Business

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

Never would we have ever thought that great Google rankings could hurt your business, but its true. So many businesses are focused on Google rankings that the most important thing is usually over looked. Conversions, whether your conversion is a sale or just supplying important information about your company, that should be the focus of your Digital marketing. So how do great rankings hurt your business? Its when you rank great for irrelevant terms, terms with little or no search demand, or terms that aren’t geared towards your product. Over the years we have had clients say I...

Google Adwords Smart Positioning Beta

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

Today I noticed a new option in one of our clients Adwords accounts, Smart Positioning Beta. Google describes Smart Positioning as: Smart Positioning (beta) is a bidding feature based on an auction model that differs from the regular AdWords auction model. Here are a few benefits of using Smart Positioning: * It’s designed to get you more clicks for the same total cost. * It aims to place your ad in the most cost-effective position each time it’s displayed on Google and the search network. (Learn how Smart Positioning works...

Think SEO Before a Website Redesign

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

We always hear the question “We are thinking about redesigning our website. When should we think about search engine optimization?”. The simple answer is at the beginning. When considering redesigning you website, ensure that you consult with a search engine optimization company at the beginning, not at the end. Here are some examples of issues that can arise when your web developer is not well versed in search engine optimization: Removing a page from the site that was driving traffic You need to be careful on eliminating content from the site. We always recommend to 301 redirect the...

Google is 10 and We get the Gifts

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST

Currently Google is the largest search engine in world and one of the most visited sites on the Internet, its stock is currently trading at $400.52 (Sept 30th 2008) and it’s name has become synonymous for a web search (Google it) but it hasn't always been that way. In celebration of its 10th anniversary Google opened up its archives to the world. I'm not sure if this is something they plan on keeping up or if it's something their going to take down after the celebration. So take a look at the Google History Timeline and relive some past searches with a...

Effectively Using Google Webmaster Tools

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

Google Webmaster Tools is a free service from Google that provides webmasters with tools and data about their site. I want to touch on some of the benefits of authenticating your site through this service. The first step is to have a Google account (set it up here). Diagnostic Tools The Diagnostic Tools section provides information on any crawling issues that Google may be having with your website. This section will provide a list of problematic URLs with a short description of the problem. You can use this data to further investigate the individual pages on your site that may be...

Why and How To Add Breadcrumbs To Your Wordpress Blog

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

As a long-time internet user, I have seen breadcrumbs really take off around the internet and recently with many of the major Wordpress websites using them. You may be asking, “Why should I use them on my blog?” Well, breadcrumbs are excellent for improving user navigation and helping the search engines establish your website's structure, otherwise known as SEO purposes. Unfortunately, Wordpress hasn't inherited the use of breadcrumbs, which is a grave disappointment in my opinion. However, there is hope. Wordpress plugin developers have created various breadcrumb plugins that enable us to enhance the functionality and...

Microsoft's Vista armor starting to fade

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

HP recently ran an article which hinted that it was developing a software package that had the ability to bypass a portion of the Windows Vista Security. HP might not be the first, but should be noted as a major player in the game. How does this affect your experience? First it shows that it is possible to circumvent the all powerful security features Microsoft is so proud of. If hackers have not already found a way, HP’s tremendous resources will surely be reverse engineered and used for evil. It was inevitable that it would happen, and although Vista was touted as the most secure...

Effectively Leveraging Videos for Universal Search

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

Universal Search, also known as Blended Search, blends listings from local, images, video, news, and blogs. Universal Search was introduced first by Google in May 2007. MSN and Yahoo quickly followed in July and October respectively. Universal search has had a big impact ever since on how people search. We find that many companies do not have an online strategy when it comes to videos. Videos are becoming an important part of the marketing mix. Let me provide you with some background information concerning video search. As of March 2008, online video search accounted for 1.09% of all...

Protect your website from SQL Injection Attacks

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

Is your website vulnerable? Very possible. You could do a few quick checks, but explaining how to write SQL Injection code is out of the scope of this blog. Websites written using Classic ASP language, PHP, AJAX, and other website languages are vulnerable, but that doesn't leave.NET websites in the clear. Any website that gives full access to the SQL database is vulnerable. That gives the hacker full range at manipulating the information in your database. So, what are some ways to protect against SQL Injection? Below are some recommendations on how to protect your database...

What’s the hype about SQL Injection?

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:00:00 EST

You may have heard of the term “SQL Injection” often or never before. So, what the heck is it? And, why should I worry about it? Below I try to put in lamen's terms what it is and why it is a bad thing. In basic terms, it is a way to hack into a database and a website. First, I will explain a little bit about what SQL means. What is SQL? Is it an acronym for something? Yes. It stands for Structure Query Language. It is not only an abbreviation and a programming “language”, is also...

Reputation Management - Protect Your Company Online

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:00:00 EST

It's time to consider online reputation management into your monthly marketing budget. If you have never thought about reputation management for your business according to Wikipedia it's "the process of tracking an entity’s actions and other entities’ opinions about those actions; reporting on those actions and opinions; and reacting to that report". With more and more user generated content online your company's reputation is under constant threat of attack be it from bloggers, review sites or even your direct competitors. A well planned marketing strategy can be completely taken down by a few well placed bad remarks. ...

NoFollow - What is it?

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:09:00 EST

The nofollow is a HTML attribute for links. The nofollow attribute supposedly excludes links from search engine ranking calculations. This attribute was first introduced by Google’s Matt Cutts and Blogger.com’s Jason Shellen. Example: Ancor Text It has been found that Google still follows these links, but if the page was not in the index previously they will not index the page, will not show the link as a back link, and will not associate any keyword relevancy from the anchor text of the link. Yahoo will follow the link and...

High Bounce Rates Mean It's Time To Revise Your Website Content

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 A bounce rate is the percentage of single page visits to your website where the visitor left from the same page that they entered. A bounce rate for a website can indicate many factors. It can be an indication of user experience and satisfaction, as a high bounce rate could mean that the reader didn't find the information valuable or what they were searching for at all. It can also be a sign that your landing pages or content aren't enticing enough to keep potential customers interested. During the past year, Google has started to take bounce rates into...

Pubcon 2007 Take Aways - Buying Links, Video, Buzz

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:00:00 EST

I finally found a few minutes to blog after returning from Pubcon to an over-flowing inbox, voice messages, and rescheduled meetings. It was a great time, as always, with lots of knowledgeable speakers. Here are 3 points that seemed to be stressed by multiple speakers and attendees alike: 1) Buying links is not a good long-term strategy. Google (and the other major search engines according to Matt Cutts ) are cracking down on sites who buy and/or sell links. Will buying 1 link get you black-listed from Google? Probably not. However, they have already cut the legs out from...

5 Keys to Planning Your 2008 Digital Marketing Strategy

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:00:00 EST

As 2007 comes to an end and 2008 is just around the corner, now is the time to review just how far you and your business has come. Did you improve your website, adjust content, include conversion, develop tools that benefit your audience; are you getting more out of this 24 workhorse than you did a year ago? If the answer is no, you need to start looking making changes. And if the answer is yes, then you are most likely already planning changes for 2008. So Where Do You Start to Plan Your 2008 Digital Marketing Strategy ?...

Google’s Did You Mean

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

You surely have seen it, or you might even use it as a spell checker daily. If you search in Google and spell your word or phrase incorrectly, Google will ask, “Did you mean…?” with a suggestion link to an alternative search result page. Sounds like a great idea, and usually it works very well. However, let’s imagine a scenario where your brand name is close to an actual word. If my company name was ‘Fintastic Fins’, and a potential customer heard about me and searched on Google, they might instead get a search result that directs that to click on the...

Keyword Expectation: How Do You Rank?

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Article Updated: Feb. 2015 Keyword expectation is precisely what you’d think, which is kind of the point. It is the expectation a person searching online has based on the meaning of the keyword or keyword phrase they type in. The closer you are to meeting the expectations of these searchers, the higher than chance that they will visit your site, stay on your website, and convert. While this is a simple concept, many businesses are often surprised to learn that they have been mistakenly trying to mislead users or often disappointing visitors. The result is a high website bounce...

Using Web Site Behavioral Clickstream Data As An Email Targeting Tactic

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Using web analytics can help you better understand your customer’s needs and help you market to them more effectively. It has been found that emails generated from clickstream data saw a 9x improvement in revenue and 32x more in net profit versus undifferentiated broadcast emails (”The ROI of Email Relevance”, Jupiter Research). Who has not completed a transaction? Use your web analytics to see which customers have abandon your shopping cart. After a few days send a reminder email encouraging customers to return and complete the process. You may even want to inform the recipient that their...

Increase Web Site Traffic by Eliminating These 5 Web Site Mistakes

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Web designers, programmers, IT specialist and business marketing departments are all involved in the development of wonderful, and functional web sites. However, few of these professionals are able to understand the ways to get your website to rank in search engines and how important that can be your website sales. If you want to increase website traffic, you need to see if your site makes any of these website mistakes and then take action to correct them. 1. Flash Home Page / Web Site Nothing stops a search engine spider crawling through your website than no...

Keeping Offline and Online Branding Consistent

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 The importance of having a consistent message should never be overlooked. Especially when it comes to your website. Recognition that carries over from print or traditional media to the Internet will greatly strengthen your branding and can result in brand recognition or perhaps the beginning of brand loyalty. If you are planning to update the your website design in the near future, here are some points to keep in mind to help ensure your message is clear and consistent: 1. Are you basing your website design off of existing marketing materials...

Small Website Changes That Can Add Up to a 50% Sales Increase

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 It was 10:43 p.m. last night when I logged in to check the daily e-commerce sales. The results; ip 20% for the day and for the month, up a whopping 50%! "Yes!" I said. This would seem routine if I worked or owned the company, but I don’t. I am their Digital Marketing Manager and live hours away from their business. I was ecstatic. All the little changes and adjustments we have been working on all year are now paying off, as they are swamped with huge sales increases. In a way, I feel terrible as Scott...

The Importance of Domain Name Extensions: .Com vs .Org and the Others

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 12:00:00 EST

Article Updated: Feb. 2015 Domain name buying, selling, and brokering can be big business. People will scoop up the good ones and hold them ransom or auction them off to the highest bidder. Your whole business model may be cut down when you are forced to buy ‘i-wanted-this-in-a-dot-com-but-they-only-had.org’. But how much will it affect business? Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) According to Google, if you want to compete in search engines, having a gTLD is important. This becomes even more important is you are a worldwide brand, as these domain extensions don’t target...

Business Benefits of Blogging

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 Often times, to a business, a blog may have an undeserved negative connotation. By now, most of us are aware that it is no longer exclusively for teens to hobnob about their weekend events. Blogging has become a powerful Digital marketing and business tool, when used properly. How to Start Blogging Perhaps a blog on your site still makes you a little squeamish. Do you prefer a newsletter, events page, industry articles section, or a press release section? Well, in all honesty, a blog can act as all of these. While it may...

Template CMS Based Websites

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:00:00 EST

There are many companies out there offering very attractive hosting and website solutions. They promise to give you 99% uptime and tools to build your own website in minutes for a low monthly fee. Many of these services are focused on certain niches such as golf courses, churches, hotels, etc. These are great solutions for businesses who just want an online presence and a url to put on their business cards. However, these template type systems generally have some huge seo drawbacks for those looking to attract and gather leads online. These content management systems often advertise seo tools, search...

Mergers, Acquisitions and Websites

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 12:00:00 EST

Recently we have seen several of our clients purchase additional businesses or be purchased by another company. My first question to my clients is "What is going to happen to the web site?" This is often followed by a "Huh?" and a statement like "We buying a business and not a web site." and that is where I reply you are buying both. In many cases people know how to value a business but not how to value a web site or even understand how a successful web site plays into the success of a business. So what do you look for and questions...

How Google Sees Your Site

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 12:00:00 EST

In order for Google to even begin seeing your website, it needs to be able to send it’s Google bots to “crawl” your website. The way that these bots crawl your website is determined by a file called robots.txt. On most websites, there are pages that utilize CSS and/or Javascript, which are often external files that are linked to from your HMTL. In order for Google to access these, and fully understand your webpages, these files need to remain unblocked by the robots.txt file. Google Webmaster Tools One of the best ways...

The Importance of a Good Hosting Company During Website Launch

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:00:00 EST

When you're ready to launch a new website, it is easy to forget the little things, like search engine rankings. Enamored by the glitz of a fresh looking website and new images, often redirects are overlooked and the old site is just forgotten. However, Google does not forget so easily; unless properly told so. Why Use Redirects Your old website and Digital marketing efforts worked hard to climb up the rankings, slipping past competitors and nestling on the first page. Often the old site’s content was so amazing...

Website Asset Rather Than Expense

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 There seems to be a misconception by many businesses that a website is an expense. Of course this is true to the extent that a properly built and marketed website costs a decent amount of money, but so does a new building to facilitate your employees and day-to-day business. As a CEO or business owner, it is easy to see why a building, the equipment used, and your brand name and logo are assets to your business, but a properly optimized business website is now just as important for your business growth. Attracting...

Importance of a Good Internal Linking Structure

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

A website’s internal linking structure is simply how each page links to other pages on the site. Seems simple enough, but surprisingly, many business owners or Internet marketers overlook how important it is to search engine optimization efforts to properly display and name internal links. How to Use Internal Links Each page on a website should link to many other pages on the site. The most common place to accomplish this is in the footer. It is out of the way, yet if users get lost on a site they will often...

Online Marketing: Before or After Website Development?

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

It’s not altogether uncommon; a prospective client calls in and says, “We just finished our website and now we are looking for a marketing firm to drive in new business via search engine traffic and media buys.” The first thing we do is take a look at their newly designed website after asking for their domain name. Sometimes, no matter how hard it might be for the client to swallow, we have to say, "You have a beautiful website that showcases your product/service as a high-end prestigious brand, but it is not built correctly for online marketing success." ...

What exactly is a PING and how do I do it?

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

A “ Ping ” is a basic internet program that allows one to verify that a certain IP address exists and can accept requests. Pinging acts as a notifier to search engines that you have updated your RSS feed on your site. Once a search engine receives the ping they will typically schedule an immediate refresh of your feed so they have the latest content. This is the easiest way to get your blog or RSS feed indexed by the search engines. There are two easy methods to ping a search engine. You can use the REST client method or use a pinging service...

What’s a Title Tag? Why Does It Matter?

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 12:00:00 EST

A “title tag” is coded into each page of a site and is meant to define what a page’s content is about. It appears in the title area of a browser window and will be the default name when you go to bookmark a page. It’s defined in the underlying HTML coding of each page. Title tags are a critical part of search engine optimization, or SEO. While not as important as the content of a page in gaining rankings in the search engines, it does get heavily factored by the search engines. However, arguably its greatest importance lies in getting people to...

Benefits of RSS

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

What is RSS? RSS, also known as Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary, is an XML-based format for distributing links to content on your web site that you would like others to use. Each area of your site that features a changing list of information should have a corresponding RSS feed. Current State of RSS RSS users can be lumped into two types of buckets, "Aware" and "Unaware". Aware RSS users are knowingly using RSS. Unaware RSS users enjoy the benefits of RSS without...

Tracking Offline Media Buys

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

Updated: Feb. 2015 Your website analytics can be used for far more than just tracking the performance of your search engine optimization efforts. Media buys these days almost always have a website address as one, if not the only, path for conversion. Think about how many television spots, radio reads, magazine ads, direct mail pieces, or billboards feature prominently a website address as the next step for an interested party to take. When the people making these media buys are not working with the ones tasked with tracking and analyzing your site’s traffic, you are missing out on a bevy of...

9 Years of Digital Marketing and Everything Continues to Change

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

When I started Search Engine Marketing in 1998, there were 10 to 20 key players, instant search engine updates, Google was in beta, GoTo (a new pay per click search engine) had penny bids, banner ads were overpriced, and black hat techniques of hidden text and tag manipulation were all the rage. Today there are 3 main players in the search engine world, content is king and offsite factors are a greater influence in your online success. How It Has Changed Web site promotion has grown from achieving high rankings in the search engines and outbidding the...

Getting Local on Yahoo! Local

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

According to a recent comScore study : 63% of U.S. Internet users perform a local search online last July This is a 43% increase over July 2005 As Local Search starts to take off in the next couple of years, businesses need to monitor and update their business listings in the local search engines. Today we are going to take a look at Yahoo! Local. First, determine if you are indeed listed in Yahoo! Local by doing a search on your business name and the city / state that your local business resides in. If your...

The Pros and Cons of Google Analytics

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

Google Analytics has been on the website traffic statistics scene for just a little over a year now and looks to be in no danger of fading into obscurity. For many website owners and professional Digital marketing firms, it has become the standard for helping to manage online marketing campaigns. Much of this is due to the depth of data and the ability to cross reference categories of information. It really drills down to specifics on the who, what and when of your site’s visitors. When Google Analytics is integrated into a shopping cart based site, it can really...

The Difference Between a Sitemap and a Site Map

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

Most people are familiar with the term "site map", but how does it differ from "sitemap"? Besides the obvious spelling, these two terms have completely different meanings. Knowing the difference when talking with your customer versus your Digital marketing team can make the word of a difference. Site Map A site map is a collection of plain text links to all of the pages on your website. Site maps are standard on most websites and are most commonly linked to in the footer section of the site. By providing a site map, you will...

Google Supplemental Results

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 12:00:00 EST

Article Updated: Feb. 2015 Google Sandbox You may have heard about the Google Sandbox, or sandbox effect, while surfing the web for Digital marketing, SEO, SEM, or other related terms. This term is a name given to the supposed Google penalty which effects newly created websites. Although it has never been confirmed, the Sandbox has been up for discussion since 2004. The sandbox effect basically implies that Google filters webpages by the active age of a domain and by the competitiveness of the keywords used in links. These can sometimes be indicators of spammy or...

Using NOODP Meta Tag

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 12:00:00 EST

What exactly is the NOODP meta tag? NOODP, or No Open Directory Project, is a meta tag that is used to prevent DMOZ, an open content directory or website’s link hub, from pushing titles to search engines that we don’t want. Instead, we want Google and other search engines to pull the meta titles and descriptions that we worked so hard on into the search results. Controlling the information that appears in search engines can have a huge effect of your rankings, your click-through-rate, and your bounce rate. If your website is listed in DMOZ...

ModRewrite for Apache and IIS

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 12:00:00 EST

There’s a lot of ModRewrite tutorials out there, but I always had a hard time finding a pretty clear cut explanation for the most common uses: redirecting and making search engine friendly URLs out of query string dynamic ones. Finding a simple laid out example was always a bear as well. A friend recently asked me for a rundown on using ModRewrite for both Apache and IIS servers and I wrote out a pretty good email explanation and thought, hey, perfect blog post. So here goes: “Rewrite” is a misleading term, nothing it really getting rewritten so to speak. What is happening is you...