Posts

Paid Search Should Be Part of the Mix

/in , /by

Why Should Paid Search Be Part of Your Mix?  Digital advertising isn’t a novel idea. From Google and Facebook ads to sponsored content on LinkedIn, to banner ads on other websites, advertising online has been around for a while.

The importance of advertising in general, and of paid search in particular, has increased in the past few years. So let’s take a closer look at paid search. Why does it matter for your business? And what can you do to get the most out of your campaigns?

It’s Not Just for Retailers Anymore

Increasingly, Google is where people head to find information about businesses. And it doesn’t matter what kind of business it is—B2B or B2C, retailer or service provider—people are opening up a search browser to find you online.

Businesses of all stripes and sizes need to be easily searchable on Google because that’s where everyone goes to find the information they need about your business.

Paid Search is Taking Up More Real Estate

So you understand that having a presence on search engines, particularly Google, is important. But why not just focus on SEO and call it a day? Research has shown that the listings at the top of Google SERPs capture an outsized share of all web traffic. In fact, only five percent of websites found on page two of results get any clicks at all!

Paid search has always been an important tactic in any small business’ overall marketing strategy. But as the Google landscape continues to shift, it takes on an even greater significance. Following the advice above can help you to build out a paid search approach that facilitates lead generation and gets the greatest possible ROI.

(Source: Duct Tape Marketing)

We are Certified Duct Tape Marketing Consultants who can help you develop strategic content for your marketing campaigns.

Get Your Content Noticed with These Tips

Get Your Content Noticed with These Tips!

/in /by

In our last blog post we shared four tips for optimizing images for SEO.  This week we are sharing four more techniques to help you get your content noticed.

1. Include captions
Image captions – the words directly beneath images – may not have a direct impact on SEO, but, unlike file names and alt text, captions are visible on a website page. For this reason, they keep the user engaged with your content.

2. Use unique images
Using stock photos is fine, but they won’t necessarily help your search rankings, as other websites often use the same images. In the same way that unique written content is better for SEO, it’s a good idea to upload unique images whenever possible.

3. Ensure that your text complements the images
The copy on the page can help search engines determine the relevancy of your images. If it doesn’t include enough information to explain an image, add more relevant text, and describe the image if possible.

4. Add image structured data
Adding structured data to your pages helps search engines display your images as rich results.

If you’re struggling to get your content noticed, keep these strategies in mind before you upload any image. These image optimization techniques will improve the likability of your content by both search engines and human users.

(Source – Content Marketing Institute)

Need help with your marketing?

Get the Advantage Marketing Total Online Presence audit today!

4 Tips for SEO Optimized Images

/in , /by

Images are crucial to ensuring that your content is more accessible, attractive, and engaging to users, but they’re equally important for SEO.  Here are some tips for optimizing them.

1. Resize your images
Image size and file size are not the same thing. Image size refers to the dimensions of an image (e.g., 1024 by 680 pixels). File size is the amount of space needed to store it on the server (e.g., 350 kilobytes). Be sure to choose the right compression rate, file format and test optimization for speed.  Also be sure the size fits the social media platform to which you’re posting.

2. Optimize image file names
Choosing the right file name is important for page SEO and for ranking in image search results. Before uploading any image, name the file with relevant, descriptive keywords to get the most SEO power.
Include target keywords at the beginning and separate them with hyphens.

3. Use alt tags
Viewers may understand what a picture is about, but search engine spiders still need clues. Without alternative text, it’s impossible for search engines to accurately index your image content. A good alt tag provides context and helps visually impaired users too.

4. Optimize the image title
If you use WordPress, the image title is usually taken from the name of the file so you can sometimes leave it as it is. If you don’t use WordPress or the title doesn’t explain the image, rename it with the appropriate keywords in the same way as file names.

If you haven’t been using these tips for optimizing images, be sure to give them a try. Look for even more tips for optimizing images for SEO in our next newsletter!

Contact us for a Total Online Presence Audit

We can assess your current social media and website strategy and recommend powerful tactics to build your online presence. Learn more about TOP audits.

Your website is more than a digital brochure

Why Your Website Doesn’t Attract Customers

/in , /by

Gone are the days of your website just being a digital brochure for your company.

Your website is more than a digital brochure

A website now has many jobs, including:

Get found – The website should be optimized for search to help you get found online.

Build trust – Your website is a key element to building trust. Once a person arrives on your website, it needs to validate their challenges. Your website needs to function the way your customers need it to and expect it to.

Educate – Your website should teach people how to recognize what their problems and challenges are. · Inform – Once a person has found you and trusts you, you need to inform them on how you can solve their problems.

Nurture – Often people need to come back to your website numerous times before making a purchase. Capture their email address and continue to create valuable content that is relevant to their stage in the customer journey to nurture them through to the sale.

Convert – A conversion can be many things from subscribing to a newsletter, to calling you, to making a purchase on your website. Conversion opportunities need to be an element of the design of your homepage to help guide the journey.

In today’s world, your customer’s journey starts by researching online. People are coming to a conclusion on their own as to whether or not they are interested in buying from you far before you even realize you are being looked at. You need to make sure you have a presence in these early research stages, and completing each of the jobs above will help you do that.

Wondering why your website doesn’t generate traffic and leads like you thought it would? Our Total Online Presence Audit  can help. Find out why you need this audit.

Tell a story

The main goal your website should achieve is to be able to immediately tell a story. What you may get wrong about storytelling on your website is that the story is not about YOU. The story must be the story your customers and prospects are telling themselves. They need to see themselves in the story which starts with their challenges, problems, and issues that they don’t know how to solve. You have to immediately let your website visitor see that you know what they’re struggling with and that there’s a good chance that you know how to solve it.

Read more

Improve Your Online Marketing with a Total Online Presence Audit

/in , /by

Wondering why your prospects don’t find you on Google? Why your website doesn’t generate traffic and leads like you thought it would? Why your competitors seem to show up for coveted keywords?

With our audit and the subsequent plan of action we build for you, you’ll have a complete picture of your current online presence and a roadmap to help you do the things you need to do to dominate your market. Read more

Avoid These Common SEO Mistakes

Common SEO Mistakes Ruining Your Content Marketing

/in /by

Common SEO Mistakes Ruining Your Content MarketingSearch engines help you get new readers, viewers, and listeners for your content. Give the search engines what they want by avoiding the following common mistakes that content creators make.

Short Content

Google likes long-form content because it gives searchers enough information to satisfy their needs. Generally, the more in-depth the content is, the more likely it solves the searcher’s intent or question, and that is what Google wants. Read more

10 Resources for SEO

/in , /by

10 Resources for SEOLooking to improve the SEO for your business? Here are 10 resources for understanding and optimizing SEO.
Read more

Why HTTPS Should Be Enabled on Your Website

/in , /by

What’s that extra “s” for? Well, it turns out that the “s” stands for “SSL,” which stands for Secure Sockets Layer – the technology that encrypts your connection to a website, so that hackers can’t intercept any of your data. So why should it be enabled?

Read more