Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social media. Show all posts

1.20.2017

Atlanta Internet Marketing Company Spearheads Search-first Approach

Atlanta Internet marketing company, Captivate Search Marketing, is progressing the ever-evolving art of web marketing by putting search engine optimization (SEO) on the forefront.
Atlanta Internet Marketing Company

In essence, the innovative Internet marketing provider in Atlanta has adopted a "search-first" approach to virtually everything it does. Below we take a closer look at how this top-rated Atlanta Internet marketing company known as Captivate Search Marketing is actualizing this mission.

It Starts With Search™

Having recently trademarked the phrase It Starts With Search™ Captivate Search Marketing (formally under the entity Webvolution Designs, LLC) reinforces its search-first approach in its new slogan. But what exactly does this mean?

Lets take a look at a few examples in how Captivate Search Marketing applies search-first methodology to its comprehensive digital solutions.

SEO Internet Marketing Atlanta

Website Design & Development

Now more than ever, it's essential to have a well-optimized website to be a contender for top search rankings. In employing search-first practices to website design and development, Captivate Search Marketing addresses vital SEO-friendly elements to ensure its clients' websites are geared for success.

Factors like website load speed, HTML, Javascript, structured data markup, on-site content, conversion touch points, usability and engagement variables are all taken into consideration when constructing a site. These elements, when properly addressed and optimized, establish the foundation for a successful future in SEO.

Social Media Marketing

The next most important online assets aside from a company's website is its social media profiles. Here too the search-first approach can lend to strategic implementation in how these accounts are establish and managed.

Take for instance the on-page SEO elements of a company's Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest page. These elements, ranging from the profile's URL naming convention to its description, can facilitate greater efficacy for SEO.

Captivate Search Marketing applies a data-driven strategy to bring these elements to the surface, audit their current status, and optimize accordingly. As a result, clients can often realize greater success leveraging social media as an Internet marketing adhesive for stronger and more sustainable rankings.

Online Reputation Management

The search-first approach couldn't be more applicable to an important component known as online reputation management. Take for instance the typical "Google" the company name scenario, common among prospective vendors and customers. The Google search results will often dictate the company's reputation, based on reviews, the top rankings sites, and the content on those sites.

Atlanta Internet Marketing Agency
Just one of may testaments of how this Atlanta Internet marketing agency
has helped its clients take ownership of page one of Google.

Captivate Search Marketing takes a proactive approach in helping customers shape their online reputation by owning positive sentiment on the first page. Associated with search engine optimized social media profiles and other top ranking online assets, the Atlanta Internet marketing company help businesses and brands take ownership of the search engine results that reflect their name and keywords. This proactive approach to online reputation management also helps mitigate the impact of any negative reviews that may arise.

In addition to proactive reputation management, Captivate Search Marketing also helps businesses respond to negative reviews and content associated with their name. While this can be the most challenging project to tackle, the company is well-versed in helping businesses and brands properly respond, address, and outrank any negative correspondence associated with its clients.

Content Marketing

Parallel to Captivate Search Marketing's data-driven yet creative approach to undertaking comprehensive Internet marketing programs, content marketing remains highly SEO oriented while seeking to achieve a number of objectives.

From blog posts, videos, press releases, and other forms of media, the content marketing team of Captivate Search Marketing leverages keyword data along with layers of creativity and the client's personality to help execute purposeful content marketing campaigns.

Contact Top SEO Company in Atlanta

Captivate Search Marketing has emerged as one of the top SEO companies in Atlanta as a result of its impeccable customer service, outstanding results, and honest, straightforward approach to working with businesses in Georgia.

To learn more about this Atlanta SEO company, visit its website at CaptivateSEO.com, or follow the address, location, and phone number below to get in touch with a representative of the company.

Captivate Search Marketing
1800 Peachtree St NW #205
Atlanta, GA 30309
Phone:(404) 953-2406

Map of Captivate Search Marketing in Atlanta, Georgia:

10.27.2015

The Short SEO Guide For eCommerce Startups

Many online merchants falsely believe that all they have to do to acquire search engine traffic is to simply list hundreds or thousands of products on their websites.

However, in all actuality, the process of optimized an eCommerce website for search engine optimization purposes to secure high rankings, is relatively harder than it is for a traditional blog or a squeeze page.


This is due to the fact that eCommerce sites have an abundance of product pages that are continuously shifting on and off their site as a result of product availability, such as taking down a page for a product that the merchant no longer sells for example. Therefore, you need to be more creative when it comes to formulating an eCommerce SEO strategy.

Implement A Product Reviews Section

Did you know that statistics demonstrate that 70% of online buyers search for reviews before they elect to utilize a product or service? What this entails as far as eCommerce SEO purposes go, is that if you fail to implement a product review system on your site, you are essentially missing out on the opportunity to acquire traffic from those specific search terms. Additionally, a reviews section can lead to user-generated content which keeps your product pages fresh and crawlable, which Google values for SEO.

For example, if your eCommerce store sells custom made iPhone cases, one keyword you could easily focus on by utilizing a product review system is "iPhone custom made cases reviews."

Focus On Long Tail Keywords (And Write A Detailed Product Description)

If you run a eCommerce store that sells handmade clothing, your targeted keywords for your eCommerce SEO strategy should not be short-tail phrases such as "handmade clothing." The reason being is that short tail keywords are significantly harder to rank than it is to rank for a long tail keyword such as "horror themed handmade shirts for sale" or "buy black and white handmade shirt online."

The point being is that you should focus on long tail keywords as opposed to short key phrases because you will be able to rank a page for the specific term significantly easier than the latter. This is where the implementation of a product description section comes in handy. Utilize it as a canvas to include some long tail keywords as well as to provide your visitors with some enticing information.

Don't Neglect Local Traffic

Did you know that big retail chains do local SEO as well? The concept of avoiding the possibility of adopting local SEO as a part of your entire eCommerce SEO strategy is a big mistake. In fact, people enjoy the concept of supporting locally owned businesses. Additionally, people are well aware of the fact that they will be able to receive a product that they purchased online from a locally based business, much faster than that of a mega corporation.

Create A Sitemap

A sitemap is essentially a list of all your web pages. Search engines utilize what's referred to as spiders, robots or crawlers to locate new pages on a website to index. They usually find these pages through links from other pages. If a sitemap is not identified during an initial audit of your eCommerce site, than you need to create on.

However, main pages that are only accessible by forms, connected to videos or flash content, are not seen by the programs that the search engine uses to index new pages. This is where a sitemap comes in. While they don't necessarily improve your rankings on its own, it provides a road map that robots can use to know what to rank in the first place.

Establish A Powerful Social Presence

One of the things you can do to increase the amount of traffic that your website gains is to leverage social media by establishing a strong social presence via the utilization of content marketing. Some of the benefits your store stands to gain by doing this, includes:
  • Customer research - You will be able to see what your target demographic cares about the most, their interests, as well as the conversations they have about the things that they like.
  • Customer Service - By establishing a social media presence, you will be able to quickly respond to your customer's inquiries.
  • Customer Acquisition - Your social media profile will essentially operate as a storefront that you can use to acquire more customers.
For more information on how to build the eCommerce SEO program for your startup, visit Click Centric SEO Company for a wealth of resources and services all focal to eCommerce SEO.

9.10.2015

Why Smart Businesses Build Web Presence Management Strategies

Unlike specific strategies that center on social media, search marketing, and content strategy, web presence management applies a comprehensive and more strategic approach to Internet marketing and online brand building.
developing a web presence management strategy


When infused with the incredible growth of social media, the power of SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay per click) advertising, and content marketing, web presence management strategies can change the perspective of Internet marketers and help them truly grow powerful businesses.

This, in its own essence, is a strategy culmination of nearly all online touch points or web marketing channels, as well as how they come together to influence engagement, visibility, and brand awareness. A strong web presence requires a combination of creative planning, diligent research, and a thorough execution. Below are some of the primary cornerstones to cultivating web presence management in your company and its culture.

SEO/Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

The whole idea behind SEM is rather simple; when visitors search the internet via either a text box or a directory hierarchy click-through, they are ideally hunting – for information, products and services, or both. The visitor may be at the onset, middle, or final stage of the purchasing cycle.


Searching online enables a buyer to have more information about a product before he or she makes the final buy decision. This could mean that they are comparing what you have to offer with what they can get elsewhere. Sometimes they are looking for options and so they click through a number of links before they are redirected to your site to complete the buy process.

Therefore, it is important to have your site on the first page of “organic” or unpaid search engine results; otherwise you will be losing business to your competition. This is the foundation of SEO and improving your company's web presence in search engines like Google and Bing. Integrate SEO/SEM in your web presence management strategy as a long-term focus and perhaps get a SEO site audit done to ensure your strategy is headed in the right direction.

Social Media

social media
With the advent of social networking, businesses are now exposed to a wider audience globally through their network of friends and loyal followers. When used properly, social media marketing can grow your business tremendously. Social media widgets enable you to create content that your followers can share with their friends and “spread the word” about your business.

However, this is not easy; it requires that you listen to your audience, share the right message, and enable others to do the same. You can reach a larger audience through your social media accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, and more. This should be a priority for your web presence management strategy, as it will help building your brand while also helping to support your SEO objectives.

Content Marketing

There can never be effective social media marketing without relevant, quality content. A powerful content marketing strategy is what builds a solid social media strategy. Great content will get people sharing, which will in turn widen your audience to a larger world of potential fans, followers, friends, and customers. Realize how content marketing works closely with social media marketing to expand your business growth potential.

Additionally, content marketing can also help fuel progress with SEO. By tailoring content that's related the focus of your SEO efforts (i.e. specific keyword targets), and when that content gets social favor, Google and other search engines will attribute greater credibility and value in your website. Good example of this is the Web Presence Optimization Strategy Guide offered by the Web Presence Group. This guide offers a lot of value to businesses, and is also relevant on keywords related to web presence optimization.

Reputation Management

Reputation management is another important aspect of web presence management. Online marketing professionals spent much time offering advice on the importance of managing online reviews and ratings for local businesses.
reputation

However, reputation is much broader than just reviews on Yelp. While issues often arise between a company and its customers, you can try and resolve the matter before customers are pushed to the point where they believe that they can only get satisfaction through one of the public forums where they can warn other people about your products, services, and business. With the Internet, word-of-mouth can travel almost at the speed of light! For this reason, it's vital to develop a reputation management strategy.

The goal of web presence management is to build a sustainable, credible, and trustworthy web presence that is not only visible in search engines and social media, but will also protect your image or brand and last long enough to keep you in business.

6.24.2015

5 Business Strategies to Make Your Surgery Practice More Successful

As a surgeon, you do not undergo business training during your time in medical school but you need it for a successful private practice.

Most surgeons and medical professionals have learned business strategies the hard way through an “on-job” sort of training. Below are five business strategies that will when implemented will make your surgery practice more successful.

1. Optimize your website 

With the ever-changing technology, everyone seems to turn to search engines when looking for information about products and services. There is no better way of getting the attention of people who may be looking for your services than through SEO for surgeons. Apart from listing your services and location on the website, you can come up with a blogging series.

Consider crafting a themed series that targets your client’s needs and provide them with an exclusive proposition. The information on your blog posts will give the visitors confidence in your services as well as build you image and brand.

2. Develop video content

Over the years, use of video content has massively gained popularity though it is not used by many organizations. Good and quality videos will help give your target clients a better insight of your services and the persona of your business.

In the videos, you can include tours of your facility to show clients your team of employees as well as the technology you use. You can also have interactive webinars with past clients to ask about their progress or with potential customers to answer their questions. Including the videos on your site will enhance search engine ranking and put out your business to more customers.

3. Embrace different social media platforms

Most internet users belong to at least one social media platform, the most common ones being Facebook and Twitter. It is advisable that you create a profile for your business in each of these platforms and engage your followers in discussions about your services. You can also create campaigns and give rewards to winners. You may decide to give a free service to whoever wins; such campaigns will get more people asking about your services.

You should also consider joining LinkedIn where you can join groups to get ideas of how you can improve your brand. It also gives you the opportunity to market your services to potential clients by contributing in discussions. Lastly, check out the emerging social media platform Google+. Between the four latter mentioned social networking sites, not only can you expand the visibility of your surgery practice, but these social media platforms have been proven to help support SEO strategies for surgeons and other business professionals.

4. Be patient-centered

At the end of the day, it is your patients who determine how successful your business becomes. If they give other people a positive feedback regarding your services you will get more clients.

Always help the patient go through what to expect from the procedure, its risks, and after-care. Do not just clear a patient for a surgery just because you need the money. After a surgery always ensure to follow up with your patients and find out how they are fairing.

5. Improve surgery billing process with patients

At the end of the day it is every business’s goal to make revenues. You therefore need to have a clear understanding of your revenue cycle. You staff should play a big role and ensure that billing starts immediately a patient makes a booking through to the time they are treated and discharged.

As surgery billing best practices, always ensure that the data obtained from patients is accurate so you are easily able to follow up on issues such as insurance and demographics. For maximum revenue it is critical that all charges are reconciled and above all make it a point to share your billing policies with clients.

Branding is critical in setting the tone on how your community and patients perceive your services. Using these five strategies will get your business rolling towards success.

7.11.2014

Web Presence Management: A New Approach to Online Brand Building

There is search engine optimization (SEO) and social media but what is "web presence management?"

Web presence management is a more strategic and holistic approach to internet marketing and online brand building. How so?

Consumers interact with businesses online via different methods. Consumers are searching, socializing and generally browsing about the web through many different portals. These activities are being done on thousands of sites, social media and search engines. Web presence management helps to ensure that potential customers are exposed to a given brand through various means during their online exploration.

The Evolution of Web Presence Management

The practice of web management has evolved significantly over the years due to the power of search engines and web optimization. This practice culminates all digital marketing channels and online touch points and how they merge to influence visibility and brand awareness.

A strong perception of diligent research, market empathy, thorough execution and creative planning are the fundamental characteristics that result to a powerful web presence. Currently, there are thousands of internet marketing services soliciting small enterprises each trying to sell a piece of the digital landscape and claiming their method is the superior one. These methods go by various names but they have a factor in common, they are paid placement on a site, search engine or directory.

Elements of Web Presence Management

Some of elements that can an online brand can take advantage of when pursuing web presence management include the follow.

Paid Search Advertising (PPC)
Paid search advertising is also referred as pay per click or PPC advertising. This is an internet advertising platform used to drive traffic to sites where advertisers pay the owner of the site (publisher) or a search engine when the ad is clicked.

In other terms, it is the amount spent to get an ad clicked. Advertisers bid on keywords (with search engines) relevant to their target niche while content sites charge a fixed price instead of bidding on keyword phrases. The advantage of PPC is that it clearly shows how effective advertising is, clicks measure interest and attention of people.

Social Media Marketing
At least two billion people are on social media with the leading sites being Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Flickr and so forth. According to statics, social media has penetrated to an estimate of 71% in all regions, 1 out of every 4 people log onto their social accounts at least once daily, according to Worldwide Social Network 2014 report by eMarketer.

Looking at these figures, the amount of visibility a business can get using these kind of media is immense. A key factor to note is that brands that regularly use social media and respond to customers queries get a higher consumer confidence thus converting traffic to sales.

Content Marketing & Blogging
Content marketing is one of the ways to achieve web presence management hence the phrase, Content is king. A business should create a blog and generate content relevant to the business’s objective. This method won’t work unless the content is genuine and grabs the reader’s attention thus bloggers should take time to sit and write quality articles that users would find useful.

In conclusion, the objective of web presence management services is to build and sustain a trustworthy, credible and nicely-promoted online presence visible in both search and social media. The success of a business’s web presence will depend on how dedicated they are in utilizing the above named aspects to realize their full potential.

1.30.2014

3 Easy Tips to Leverage Google+ for Your Business's Local SEO Strategy

Google+ is becoming increasingly popular since its launch in the summer of 2012. Although Google+ has been slow to rival Facebook in terms of sheer number of users, Google+ offers incredible potential for local business marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).


If you take a close look at the Google local search results (accompanied by Google Maps and the red pins,) you'll notice the social elements of reviews positioned just under each business listing. In short, this is social media blended with search, and as a result, Google+ Local pages can contribute to local SEO.

3 Tips to Make Google+ Work for Local SEO

If you're local business marketer looking to ramp-up your local SEO efforts, below we share some solid tips to help you make the most of this emerging social platform.

1. Verify Your Local Business 

Once you claim create your company's Google+ Local page, look for the option in the lower right hand corner to "Verify Your Listing." Google will simply send your business's address a postcard with a PIN. Once the postcard arrives, you can enter the PIN on your Google+ Local page and your done.

This easy first step is critical to display to Google that your Google+ Local page and your business is legit place. If you're still lost, check out this page from Google.

2. Optimize & Populate Your Google+ Local Page

Populating your Google+ Local page with optimized and informative content will help increase the page's local SEO value. You may be asking "what do you mean by "optimized content?" Before you upload images and videos to your page, you can actually keyword optimized this media. (Learn how to optimize images for SEO. The same process applies for videos, too.) Additionally, populate your page with as much information as you can. It doesn't hurt to use your SEO keyword targets in the business description, but only do this in a mindful and user-respected manner. Lastly, use the "Links" section to add links to some of your most important webpages and blog posts.

3. Link Your Website to Your Google+ Local Page 

The final step to leveraging Google+ for your company's local SEO strategy is to add link to your website to your Google+ page. This is also Google-recommended option that you'll find while in edit mode on your Google+ page. Here you'll the "Publisher" mark-up to the link (it's generated automatically from the Google+ page) which tells Google that your website is the publisher of this page. In short, this link brings it all together for SEO.

If you're looking to generate better rankings in Google's local search results, these foundational steps are critical to jump start your SEO strategy. If you want more specific tips for using Google+ for SEO (or local SEO in general) visit OIC Group, Inc. a Peoria SEO company that offers a wealth of insights about SEO, PPC, and social media marketing.

7.09.2013

The Basics of Facebook Advertising for Righteous Businesses

Facebook advertising is an option with seemingly endless advantages for businesses. As one of the top social media platforms, Facebook can be used to not only increase the number of 'Likes' to a webpage, but also for generating highly-qualified leads and increasing sales volumes.

The popularity and, therefore, power of Facebook makes it an avenue for business marketing that must not be ignored. Some have been able to enjoy amazingly high click through rates from the ads placed on Facebook. However, experiencing results like this require the right approach.

Learn To Measure Campaign Success First

Many of those who fail at Facebook advertising do so because they fail to establish the Key Performance Indicator, or KPI, for their campaign first. Your KPI is basically the goal of the campaign, which varies greatly between businesses, but can be accomplishes such as, earning more 'Likes' to a webpage, getting more squeeze page opt-ins, or simply obtaining more new customers. Once established, the KPI will serve as the foundation of your Facebook advertising campaign and dictate the presentation and purpose of each ad.

Use Only Highly Targeted Ads

Facebook is not only a great advertising outlet because of its popularity, but also because it allows marketers to target their ads with a remarkable amount of precision. This is because a great deal of info is provided on demographics and user interests, insight which has proven to be a very powerful tool for businesses. Although it is true that the more refined ads are the less impressions they get, highly targeted ads on Facebook generally have higher conversion rates.

Avoid Side-Column Facebook Ads

Some marketers look at the side-bar ads on Facebook and think they present a prime advertising opportunity. However, it is a well-established fact that these ads suffer low click-through-rates. This is because Facebook users log on to socialize and are not interested in shopping. The low clicks these ads get, along with the fact that there are more effective ways to advertise on Facebook, make them an utter waste of time.

Soft Selling Proves More Effective

Since users of Facebook go there to advertise and not to shop, hard selling is not a good approach to use. It is much easier to gain the attention of the audience with insightful copy that has real meaning for them. Earn their respect by positioning yourself or your company as a knowledgeable authority. Think about the benefits you can offer your audience and use that information to get noticed.

Use Facebook's Power Editor to Fine Tune Ads

Once your KPI is ready and your soft selling copy is done, it is time to fine-tune the ad so that it can be as effective as possible. Facebook's Power Editor is the best way to accomplish this. The tool can be found on the left side of the Facebook Ads Interface. Simply click on it, and then click on 'download'. All of your ads will get migrated to the interface, allowing you to easily manage just about all aspects of your ads.

Use Facebook Feed for Advertising

Side-column ads might prove to be highly ineffective, but advertising in Facebook feeds gives the highest click-through-rates. This is the option that you should select for posting your soft selling, fine-tuned content to Facebook if you want the greatest marketing success.

4.12.2013

How Google+ Will Influence Your SEO & Web Presence Optimization Strategy

Google's "Search Plus Your World" was unveiled to help make search results more personalized and relevant to users. Search Plus Your World centers on Google+, Google's emerging social media platform. And it's all having a profound influence on SEO and web presence optimization.

It sort of works like this... 

When a Google+ user adds a person or business to their circles, that person or business has some degree of influence over the user's search results.

For example, lets say I add the Trek bikes page to my circles. Trek often makes Google+ posts about their new bike models. One of their most recent posts was about their new "Trek Concept 7" (a popular triathlon bike.)

So when I go to Google and search for the "Trek Concept 7," Google will display their recent Google+ post about this particular bike. Because I have Trek in my circles, and because my search was very keyword relevant to their recent Google+ post, I am shown these unique, socially-influenced results.

This a serious game changer for business and brands with an online presence. In essence, the more people that have a certain brand or business in their circles, the more influence that brand or business will have over their search results. It's evolving the SEO and search marketing playing field like never before.

Leverage Google+ and Expand Your Web Presence

So how do you start leveraging Google+ to expand your web presence and increase your SEO potential?
Below I share with you a few tips to help you get started.
  • Set-up your Google+ business page and populate the page as thoroughly as you can. This includes the visual elements (main banner and profile image) that reflect your online brand.
  • Frequently post (shoot for daily post) relevant content that educates, informs, and/or inspires your followers.
  • Join relevant Google+ communities and be active in those communities by sharing good content.
  • Reach out and encircle influencers (authoritative people who are relevant to your brand) as well as other related business and brands.
  • Promote your Google+ presence on your website and other social media platforms
By becoming an early adopter on Google+, your SEO and web presence optimization efforts will only be magnified in the future. Jump on-board now and start building an authoritative presence that will soon shape the search results of your Google+ followers.

2.20.2013

Don’t Include that Cute Puppy Video on Your Business Page

When you find something cute, interesting, or fun out there on the World Wide Web, it could be tempting to share it with everyone you know, including your customers. However, this could be a very big mistake. Yes, those images may be cute, but what do they say about your business? Think about the following and you just may change your mind before you post that video of a puppy howling “hello”.

Your Business Should Always Remain Separate from Your Personal Life

The cardinal rule of good business is to remember that your business is not your personal life. When you set up a business webpage or social media page, these presences should be related to business and business only. If you want to share personal information, make sure you are sharing it on your own personal pages instead.

When you muddle the lines between your business and your personal life, you are creating a situation that can be detrimental for your company, and it is a situation that can be very hard to get out of.

Ask Yourself These Questions

Before you post anything on any of your business pages, there are questions you need to ask yourself. When you answer them, you can help determine if what you are about to post is business related or not.
  • Does this have anything to do with my company?
  • Does this reflect a professional business?
  • Why do I want to post this?
  • Would this be better posted on my personal page?
  • Will this post help my clients in any way?
Always make sure the things that you post are directly related to your business in some way or another. You should not post things that will cause your company to look unprofessional.

Put Yourself in Customer Shoes

Think about a time when you saw something cute, whimsical or silly on another business page. Even if you thought that post was funny or amusing, you probably immediately changed your opinion of that company. Most likely, your first thought was one wondering why that company thought the post was something that should be included on a professional page. Make sure you use all professional methods to represent your company, including WordPress themes, social media pages, and more.

There are so many cute, funny, silly, and whimsical things floating around out there on the Internet, and you can be quite tempted to share them with everyone. However, this kind of content is not appropriate for your business page. Posting unprofessional things will cause customers to seek out more professional companies.

About author
Olga Ionel is a creative writer at ThemeFuse.com. She is passionate by WordPress, SEO and Blogging. Don’t forget to check out stunning Premium WordPress Themes.

11.07.2012

The Social Integration of Search Engine Marketing


As time passes and social networks become more circular than ever, the thought should dawn on business operators and marketers alike that search engine optimization is becoming eerily similar to real marketing.

We all know the days of implementing as many keywords as possible into an irrelevant piece of content hoping to achieve higher rankings. Those days are gone. Now search marketing all about getting social and sharing worthwhile content with a desired audience.

People are searching in their World

We live in a great big World, but for the most part we stick to our small, personal circles. Google + holds a lot of cards in determining how a business can rank. Though not super new, Google’s Search Plus Your World remains a game changer. The feature, launched in January earlier this year, makes all the social activity on Google + directly valid in terms of search engine listings. It’s up to the user to have their search results tailored personally to them—but who wouldn’t want to be spoon-fed recommendations based around your own life?



After all, would you trust a stranger’s opinion over someone you know? When it comes to vacation recommendations, music and film buzz or the next online video sensation, you are interested in hearing from your friends and acquaintances before some random Joe on the web. Google’s Search Plus Your World is the first step in allowing users to delve deeper into their communities with one segregating click.

Profile = Business Card

Does anyone use business cards anymore? Probably short-sighted of me, I’m sure they do. However, these days what yours or your businesses online profile looks like probably reigns supreme. For major brands and operations, this step is obvious. But for the small, and/or local business owner, making sure your social network profiles are thorough and searchable is critical.

For starters, having your Google + Local page verified and optimized can do wonders for credibility to the search engines. Having a presentable picture on your profile sounds elementary, but can really grab eyes in the results page. And there’s no substitute for timeliness—if you can beat your local competitors to the chase (or Google +, social media in this matter) than the ball’s in your court. The search marketing industry is evolving back into its off-web counterpart with the dominant influence of social media platforms.

Build/Hold/Flourish Your Target Market

Whether you have a particular market you’re targeting or not, you won’t be able to hold them without fresh content. It’s verified that social signals (likes, shares, tweets, +1’s) help trigger higher rankings. Every business should be dedicated to building a following through the variety of mediums and platforms the web has to offer. I’m talking about videos, how-to guides, news blurbs, quirky blog posts, compelling articles, startling info-graphics; there is an unlimited ceiling web marketers have in projecting their unique voice onto hundreds, thousands or even millions depending on the business and the reach it has.

Quality content coming on a regular basis will hook readers whether they realize it or not. They’ll probably start following your businesses page and be fed content in the future as a result of personalized searches. The result of this system is brand awareness and customer rapport. To bring it all full-circle, the best practices of social media marketing and search engine optimization are evolving and merging. Together, they define a more unified approach that's emerging as a practice called web presence optimization.

So if you haven’t been following, joining Google + along with all the other social networks is essential for search marketing. Whether you have a local business or play a part in a massive corporation trying to appeal to a large target audience, Google + can play an integral part in both campaigns. Get connected for the sheer sake of not losing the edge to your competitor’s. Because chances are they’ll catch on sooner rather than later, leaving your business behind the curve. 


This article was produced by blogger, SEO, and web marketer Kyle Blasco. You can connect with Kyle on Google+.

10.22.2012

Pinterest as a Marketing Tool

The New Kind of Window Shopper

Pinterest is an elite online photo sharing website, designed for people to organize and share all the things they love on a virtual pinning board. Once you join Pinterest, you have access to millions of “pins,” the images that have been posted by a user.

People use Pinterest for a number of different reasons. Some are looking to collect delicious recipes, share their favorite books, movies, music, quotes, and get great ideas for a new hairstyle or DIY project. However, one of the most common uses of Pinterest a virtual kind of window shopping.

Users seek images on the web or use their own digital photographs of clothes, furniture, art, jewelry, technology, etc. that they would love to own. Then, others who share the same passion for their style ideas can “like” the image or “re-pin” it onto their own board with the simple click of a button. Instantly, a limitless amount of images are available to millions of potential clients.

A Sneezer’s Dream Come True!

So, what makes this important to manufacturers’ and sellers’ marketing strategies? First off, it’s free publicity. It wouldn’t cost a thing, but someone’s time, to open up a Pinterest account for the manufacturer/store; or simply install Pinterest’s “Pin-it!” button on an already existing website. This way, sneezers can easily share products with everyone they know. Yeah, remember what sneezers are? Sneezers are people that live to recommend your products to others? Pinterest is full of them!

Even better, Pinterest, being an upcoming social media site, has aligned itself with other wildly successful forms of social media—Facebook and Twitter! Now, if a “Pinner” so chooses, they may connect their Pinterest account to one or more of their other accounts, meaning optimum exposure for anything and everything they “pin.” So, not only are these images going out to the millions of Pinterest users, but the billions of international “Facebookers” and “Tweeters.”

What Brand is this?

Manufacturers and stores also need to be involved to maintain their branding. So many images on Pinterest have no link back to their original websites, no logos, and no pricing. The more the original supplier and/or original users of these images are involved, the more likely an image will lead back to its brand. In addition, with a Pinterest account, a manufacturer or store can track the amount of times the image of a particular item is “re-pinned” by users. This could be a great way to tell what people are actually interested in or at least dreaming about buying.

When Window Shoppers Decide to Take a Step Inside

Another key point to make about Pinterest’s marketing abilities is that it’s not so much about making a sale as it is getting the look or style out there. Pinterest is about building inspiration, promoting new trends, getting a look at what’s in right now. Sales may come when a really interested “Pinner” clicks on the image to be instantly transported to the seller’s website, but only if someone makes sure they can get there!

This blog post was contributed by Aubrie Parth. Connect with Aubrie on Google+.

10.10.2012

Discovering Your Ideal Customer: How to Build a Group of Passionate Fans from Nothing


Too many small businesses picture their target market to be everyone in their local proximity. This fallacy can lead to loss of focus, and potentially, a loss of business.

For small businesses and start-ups, finding and catering to your target market as soon as possible will minimize time spent lost in the dark. Without a precise target market, your business plan will be spread too thin and you won’t be able to be everything to everyone.

A good word in marketing is empathy, which is defined as the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another. Marketers need to be empathetic in order to cultivate a following of people who find value in your products and services.

Below I offer some insights to help you discover your ideal customer and overall target market.

Starting with the Smallest Market Possible

Don’t get hung up only focusing on one customer, or one message. When starting out, there’s little to hang your hat on. The key is to not spend time lost in the dark. Highlighting one aspect that makes your company valuable and then communicating that to your target market will get the ball rolling in building an audience.

Discover Why You’re Valuable

Your business plan will be successful only if the market cares about it. Defining why you’re valuable to a market and testing whether the hypothesis holds up is important in moving forward. Moving forward in business is impossible when the hypotheses don’t test well in the lab.

Desire Feedback

Small businesses and start-ups don’t have the capabilities that a thriving corporation has where they can learn a lot each day from customer interaction. Formulating and testing theories on the fly is the only option available in the early stages of implementing a business plan.

Setting up meetings with prospects who fall within your smallest market group is a good way to start finding out what’s working and what’s not. It can be hard to find the prospects, so joining industry or trade groups containing your target market is a safe start.

Offering free samples and beta test relationships to individuals willing to provide feedback is also helpful. Your business will only start to evolve when you get the message and focus out to the target you’re intending to reach.

Make a Customer Sketch

After all these plans and tests, you need to identify every last detail of your customer. Most of the information attained will not be commonly understood, and thus needs to be gathered through additional research in heavy behavioral places such as social media.

Thorough research in the social media platforms will help kick start your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and allow you to start building custom profiles. There are several CRM platforms to assist you in your customer sketch.

Worketc, Batchbook, Nimble, Highrise and Cubesocial all provide excellent CRM tools, collecting as much customer data in one place as currently possible. These tools will help you build custom profiles with more information than you could ever capture on your own.

Never Stop Evolving

Perhaps the most important step to learn is that your business will always undergo changes to the strategy. When you discover your ideal customer you should look back at your basic business model and overall strategy. If you want to have a great business model, it needs to be customer-influenced, even customer-forced. It’s wise to think about how your perfect client will affect your offerings, revenue streams, pricing and ways of distribution.

Think of finding your market as a pivotal line in a crossword puzzle; it should help you figure out more lines to the puzzle, or strategies to the model. Game plan how you can reach your target market, potential partners and the resources you either need or have in order to reach the target market effectively.

You’re never done evolving if you want to be successful. Businesses learn and grow; their models change shape. The on-going process of experimentation and discovery is equally important to what you’re discovering.


This article was scribed by blogger, SEO, and web marketer Kyle Blasco. You can connect with Kyle on Google+.

10.01.2012

Where will SEO be in 2013?


The World that Once was, Is, and Will Become

The generation of our grandparents has lived without the Internet, cell phones, and social media for most of their lives. The current generation, labeled the Internet or Net Generation, has been fully immersed and utterly dominated by this technology. They carry it in their purses, school bags, and in their pockets. It’s in their homes, classrooms, and cars. No one knows and understands technology better, or can use it to cultivate and share information faster than ever before. But, what’s next? As we come to understand and speak with technology more and more, does that mean we become less in touch with how to talk to and influence our own kind?

The Ways of the World Tend to Repeat Themselves

Just like the current generation, SEO has become more about speaking with computers, teaching them how to deliver information to human beings through a set of codes or list of keywords. But, like most things in this world, a shift can begin that transforms SEO back into humans reaching out and actually speaking to other humans. It’s important to learn how to become personable like our grandparents, and one of the best ways a SEO copywriter can do that is to write for readers and not for computers.

The Beginning of the Transformation

The Internet is a social place. It is a great way to deliver information at the speed of light all across the world. But not all information that travels on the web is reliable. The best way to reach people is to write quality pieces that are relevant to your audience. These pieces may also hold their integrity and last longer as people recognize their worth and share with others. The use of other social media such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, etc are important tools to be utilized as well.

SEO in 2013

Combining the strengths of years of generations, in 2013 SEO can be about this move to start speaking to one another directly again. In the future people will still be using the Internet to gain useful information and SEO copywriters can be the ones to continually deliver it to them.




This blog post was contributed by Aubrie Parth. Connect with Aubrie on Google+.

9.27.2012

5 Tips for Google+ Socail Marketing

When it comes to social marketing, Google+ is one of the most powerful social networks that you can use. It is not only great for personal networking, but it can also work wonders for your business by connecting with like-minded consumers, vendors, and partners.

Having a business that is successful online is not simply about writing content. You should also build relationships with your target demographic. Here are some tips for Google+ social marketing;

1. Construct highly focused circles. When it comes to Google+, you connect with people through circles. To make the most of this circles-system, you'll want keep your circles organized and highly focused.

So what is a focused circle? This is a group of people who have similar interests and aspirations, whether in their personal lives or business-wise. Before including people into a particular circle, you should establish what mutual benefits and aims you have in common. By using circles, you get the opportunity to determine what your target demographic wants and figure out how best to provide it to them.

2. Sharing should be focused. Emphasis is being put into the word focused since this is pertinent when it comes to online marketing. When it comes to generating traffic for your website, it is not simply about getting all and sundry to visit your website. It is about targeting specific people that will grow your business, and not simply visit your website and not do anything about it.

Focused sharing ensures that you are reaching a targeted audience that will boost your sales. They will not only click the link to your website, but chances are they will also purchase your products, sign up for your mailing list and possibly recommend you to the people in their circles. This will not be achieved when you are only getting generic traffic to your website.

3. Search engine optimization. By using Google+, you can increase the chances of capturing greater search visibility and higher rankings. Google keeps updating its search engine algorithms and one common trend we're seeing is how Google is integrating highly relevant social activity with search. By using Google+ to promote your content, you can further increase your online visibility. In addition to this, having a Google+ account will verify that your content is more credible and valuable, depending on how popular it gets.

4. Stay up to date with the trends. One thing to note about successful online marketing is that it is dynamic and up to par. It never stays in one particular form. There are new developments, which could greatly improve on your social marketing efforts
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A number of online business owners tend to have outdated content since they are not staying abreast with these trends. If you would like to increase targeted traffic and become more popular on Google+, you should know what's hot in your particular niche, and be timely to share it with your audience.

5. Contact your target audience. With Google+, you should no longer send mass updates to everyone. Instead, you can direct them specifically to the individuals that believe in your business. Your circles will act as email lists to subscribers who genuinely want additional information.

Google+ is surely a life force you'll want to join. Google+ is empowering companies in so many ways and helping new entrepreneurs grow viral in a matter of days.

7.16.2012

SEO Tips for Real Estate Professionals

For real estate agents, as is the case with other righteous business professionals, it is important that search engine optimization (SEO) is an integral aspect to their marketing efforts. SEO can result in a high ranking in the search engine results, which can translate to more hits and consequently greater sales potential.

Although SEO employs the same concepts and strategies almost all righteous business professionals, there are always unique qualities per campaign. For real estate professionals, there are a number of components that must be included to best ensure a successful SEO strategy. Below we outline several SEO tips for real estate professionals:

Define your goals: Your SEO campaign will not be effective if you do not have clearly defined goals. Your goals should not be high Internet traffic or big commission checks, it should be such things as a particular number of monthly newsletter subscription and search registrations and increase in certain parameters over the specified period.

Adopt an editorial calendar: You could use the popular WordPress Editorial Calendar for content mapping. Your content must be fresh, interesting, and to the point if your SEO campaign is to be effective. It should be keyword optimized, but do not overdo it since search engines will notice and reduce your ranking.

Go small: Do not brand yourself as the best real estate agent in, say New York, if you are small and you are competing against thousands of other real estate agents. You will not be able to handle all the pressure from the many clients you get and you may get clients who are out of your league. Target a niche market near where you are based. Having a targeted market is also important in that you will not be lost in hundreds of thousands of search results.

Social media marketing: Take advantage of the popularity of social media marketing. Create social media profiles and link them to your website. Consider creating profiles in LiveFyre, WordPress.com, Blogger, Disqus, and Intense Debate. Linking with other relevant sites will also help your campaign since link popularity is one of the major factors that determines ranking such as Google’s PageRank or PR. Do not shy away from linking with your competitor’s sites. Another good option is linking with community-based websites.

Be willing to fail: You must go all out if you want success in your search engine optimization campaign. Do not shy away from experimenting with different SEO techniques.

Create regular content: Create quality content and post it regularly. Write about different topics, provided they are related to real estate. A good example is writing about interior decorations.

Include a call to action: Have a call to action in your website after your content in such places as article submission directories. Examples of good calls to action are “read our blog for more information”, “search for homes here”, and “learn about short sales here.”

Spit testing: Testing is crucial for success in SEO Peoria IL. The best tool for this is the WordPress Split Test Optimizer. Split tests should be done on headlines, words, locations, phrases, titles, and colors.

If you are interested in learning more about SEO and website optimization, visit WebPresenceGroup.net for articles, resources, and services.

Create an effective home search: People come to your site to search for houses; it is therefore necessary that you create an effective search. The search application should offer multiple solutions and it should be user friendly.