Blog

Is it possible to rank the first page on Google overnight?  Let's find out! If you're wondering why SEO is everywhere now, it's because everyone wants to get their website ranked on Google's front page.  In the digital marketing realm, first-page results are hard to attain.  Even when utilizing SEO's best practices, this space is usually disputed by the industry's biggest companies.  Is it even realistic to expect first-page results overnight?  Plan For Consistent Improvement: Not Overnight Success The problem here is the timeline.  It's quite possible to rank the first page on SERPs, but it does take time for things to reciprocate.  Even after you make the improvements, Google has to notice your website changes before giving it any earned domain authority or page ranking.  How Long Does It Usually Take To Start Seeing SEO Results? There are a lot of factors that go into ranking on first-page SERPs.  In fact, there are different kinds of SEO, too.  On-page SEO deals wit…

We've all seen our share of economic turbulence.  People are quitting jobs in record numbers.  The economy has seen better days.  But in the midst of this current recession, what does your sales strategy look like? Discounts.  Promotional offers.  Buy One Get One Free!  

If you named any of those, then you should continue reading and find out why it's not beneficial to offer discounts or promotional offers during hard times.  There is some valid psychology behind this.

  Discounting Sets a Pattern of Behavior I know it seems harmless, right?  Twenty percent off for just this week doesn't seem like it would hurt at all.  Chances are it won't hurt every now and then, but using it in general to offset sales is typical not the answer and can potentially wreak havoc later on down the road.  The outcome can be debated, but more than likely, your customers will start expecting discounts.  And if you stop offering discounts sudde…

After doing a lot of research, I’ve come to the realization that everyone has their own unique view on what the 4 C’s of digital marketing is all about.  I didn't have any luck finding an "across-the-board" solution, but what I did notice is a common theme.  Included in this article are certain things I've noticed everyone doing, and I hope some of you can take real value away from this post and apply it to your next marketing strategy.  The following four concepts may help make or break your next digital marketing strategy.  I'd love to hear your results!  Customer   Customers are what drive your company’s revenue, so it only makes sense to start here.  What is driving your customer to find you?  What problem do they have that you can solve?  Sounds a lot like “going back to the drawing board”, and well, it is!  The fundamental things that relate directly to your customer base are important to your marketing strategy.  This is where building a relationship with your …

In today’s connected world, businesses have more information about their customer base than ever before.  Sadly though, most are not using this advantage to gain valuable insight into their marketing efforts.  Everything from social media posts to major campaign revisions should be tracked and their efforts measured to determine whether or not you’re hitting your goals.  How else can you tell if what you’re doing is working?    KPI (Key Performance Indicator) KPIs are a way of gaining insight into how your efforts are lining up with your goals.  So whether or not you’re setting quarterly or annual goals, you’ll have data to help make the next decision.  The biggest advantage in setting a KPI is being able to visually see how your efforts affect the bottom line.  Recognizing strategies that aren’t working efficiently can save an enormous amount of time and money.      So what KPIs should you measure?   Think in terms of SMART criteria.   KPIs a…

What’s driving your website’s search engine optimization?  Depending on the year, that answer may differ from time to time.  It’s hard to stand out in an over-saturated market, or is it?  We’ve been discussing SEO since Google’s new page experience update, and just as I thought, standing out with unique content will be the game changer for 2021.  Follow along as we go over 5 ways brand awareness and unique content can improve your SEO.     YMYL (Your Money. Your Life.) Before we get started, ask yourself this question? Does your business offer content in the health, finance, or law sector?     If so, you should make sure the content you’re producing is accurate, helpful, and truthful.  The reason - if the information is presented deceptively or inaccurately, it could negatively affect a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety. . Google takes this very seriously and will penalize websites for false or misleading information. Content …

Businesses often overlook the value of Google reviews, and if you’re one of them, you’re missing out on a really powerful marketing tool.  The benefits are priceless, and it doesn’t take as much effort as you may think.  Follow along, and I’ll outline a few reasons why Google reviews are worth their weight in gold.   Google Reviews Build Trust We’ve all been there.  You’re shopping online for something important, something that can’t break within five minutes or the first try.  Naturally, the first thing you might look for is a review from a previous customer.  If they’ve had a good experience purchasing this item, so should you, right?  That verification that we seek sometimes is called “social proof”.  It tells us that other people have done business with them successfully or if they’ve had a bad experience.  We can leverage, based on other people’s experiences, whether or not it would be worth the risk to do business with a company, just based on Google reviews.   …

In a world of limitless information, people are growing less patient when they search on Google.  When the internet first came out, reading an article online was new and exciting.  Fast forward to 2021, and people are more likely to click on a video link versus an article to a blog post.   According to Brightedge, Google’s search algorithm delivers a video thumbnail 26% of the time.  These thumbnails are also considered rich snippets, which tend to have a higher click-through rate than traditional snippets.  Increasing your click-through rate helps with SERPs (search engine rank page).   Marketing and Video In the marketing world, videos lead the way in conversion rates.  Increasing engagement and user longevity is easier than ever with video.  Of course, the content must be engaging, but readers are more likely to stay to watch a video versus reading an article.  According to Unbounce, if your homepages including a video can increase conversion rates by 80 percent! Furt…

Google is constantly updating and improving its platform to bring users the most relevant search results and advertising on the market.  With their latest update, the June 2021 Page Experience Update, search ranking results will be directly affected by new factors considering a user’s “page experience” while visiting a website.  In this article, we’ll go over some of the latest announcements, what to expect, and a final review of our thoughts.   Eligibility Requirements For Top Stories Those familiar with Google’s early attempt to modernize the web for mobile will recognize AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages.  In order to show on Google’s Top Stories carousel on their home page, your website would need to have an AMP version.  According to Google, that’s no longer the case.  As of May 2021, your website will be eligible as long it meets the Google News Stories requirements. Core Web Vitals Core updates to the Google Search platform happen pretty often, usually every year.…

If your business provides a product or service to your local community, local SEO is a great way to enhance your marketing plan.  Most brick-and-mortar businesses focus on traditional marketing, but can local SEO provide unique benefits?  Follow along as we break down what local SEO is, and the value it can bring to your marketing plan. Local Intent Drives Traffic   It’s not surprising, but almost a third of consumers search locally for a business at least once a week.  Terms like “near me” and “where to buy” are increasing, according to Google.  Creating a blog about your service or product gives your website credibility and more importantly, something for Google to rank in the search results.  Of course, the more relevant the blog content is, the better Google will score your website ranking.   Content That Generates Local SEO Covering local events in your community is a perfect example of content that generates organic local SEO results. If you’re in the need for…

In the world of e-commerce, traffic is king. The more traffic your website gets, the better chances of converting traffic into sales of your products, services, and promotional offers. Follow me in this article for tips on how you can drive more traffic to your website and generate more sales and leads.     Add Your Website Link to Social Media   One of the first things you should do is to add your site link to your social media bios. This is a great way to help drive traffic to your website; it makes it easy for your followers to click on your site link and visit your website. Usually, the best place to add your link is in the profile section and under each post that you share with a group or community. It's best to limit the amount you share on posts to avoid looking spammy.     Optimize Your SEO   Now that you've got your link established on a few platforms, it would be a good time to do a quick SEO audit on your website to see if there ar…