5 No Nonsense Ways To Become a Local Business Celebrity

To become a local business celebrity in your part of the world, you need to consider your search engine optimization a.k.a SEO. Think about how your business is perceived on the web? How can you make it EASIER for people to find you? How can you add more value to your products or services?

WHAT IS LOCAL SEO? AND, WHY DO YOU NEED IT ...

Local SEO is a must if you want to attract local customers – usually those up to 75 miles of where you operate your business. When people turn to Google to search for a product or service you offer, they get to meet YOUR business. It tells them you EXIST. You can then convert hot leads into SALES.

It makes your business look more credible (verification, maps, customer reviews and the like can also help to achieve this). 

Here are a few tips and tricks to ensure even better local SEO:

1. OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE

Your website is STILL your business’ most important online asset, so make sure it’s properly optimized. Fix broken links, and ensure that meta tags, page titles, and images are properly labeled. It's also vital that your website is mobile friendly. Google no longer favors websites who aren't optimized for local searches. This could mean your company will be held back from search results, which means less visibility for you and your business.  Do you really want to risk that?  If your website isn't mobile friendly, get that resolved ASAP.

2. VERIFY YOUR BUSINESS LISTINGS ON LOCAL DIRECTORIES

To improve SEO, make sure your business name, location, phone number and email address are up-to-date and consistent across all directory websites. Include your business on as many directory listings websites as possible – think Yellowbook, YELP, YellowPages, Facebook and Google+. This practice is time consuming but essential. Make sure your business name, location, phone number and email address are consistent across all the directory listings. If you have more than one physical location, create separate listings. 

You're probably thinking, “I do not have the time to add my business listing to all those directories.”  And who wouldn't agree with that?

Although choosing someone to do some (or all) of your local SEO is the more costly option, the only other option is to do it yourself.

Whatever your decision, just make one. Either do it yourself or hire someone to help you. 

Local SEO services can range anywhere from $17/month to $10,000/month. You get what you pay for, that applies to everything in life, and what may appear to be the least expensive option may not necessarily be the cheapest option. Catch my drift? 

3. ENCOURAGE CUSTOMERS TO LEAVE A REVIEW

User reviews are a crucial aspect of improving the visibility of your business on local search listings.

As a human species, sometimes it can be hard to hear the truth – even from someone who has our best interests at heart. This may be why so many local businesses avoid responding to user reviews on third-party websites (Facebook, TripAdvisor, Yelp etc.). If you provide a good service (which you do), there’s nothing to fear.

Email customers after they have purchased a product from your site and encourage them to leave a user review. Even better, provide them with a list of links to review sites where they can leave one for you.
Take the time to respond to these reviews, especially the negative ones. Thank the customer for their feedback and ask them to contact you directly if they wish to discuss the matter further.
Oh, and… DON’T leave fake reviews, focus you energy on creating a great customer experience instead!

4. FOCUS ON YOUR MOBILE EXPERIENCE

Local SEO is where mobile technology is heading.  Think about how many times you opened your phone to search for something like "closest GREEK restaurant” and then received a list of results.

Make sure your website is mobile friendly, fully updated, with maps, contact details, and plenty of relevant information that will help to increase your mobile traffic.  Major search engines have been making dramatic shifts to restructure their local mobile results pages so it is vital that you keep up with these changes.

5. GIVE GIVE GIVE

VALUE that is.  Once they find you on Google give them a reason to stick around!  Create content that helps your audience get where they want to go, become who they want to become, and do what they want to do.  In other words, write, blog or create videos about topics they are most interested in.  Search engines LOVE content. Creating fresh content regularly is the best way to connect with your audience because it allows them to see that you care about them in a very genuine and sincere way, and will keep them coming back to your website, hence increasing your website traffic and email subscription list.

To wrap up, making it easier for potential buyers to find you can result in more website traffic, customers and boost your bottom line! The time you spend working on increasing your visibility will bring you that much closer to becoming a LOCAL CELEBRITY!

If you are ready to shine online, schedule a free consultation to discuss how we may be able to help your business!

4 Ways To Add Flair to Your Website & Company Brand

Many business owners feel that having a well-designed website will give them everything that they need to attract customers. However, the worldwide web can be a very impersonal and sterile environment, so it is important to remember that your business whether in a storefront or online, is still about people buying from people, each of your customers is a human being.

This means that most of them are looking for something that will make your business stand apart from the competition. With that said, you need to think outside of the box, along with having an attractive + easy-to-navigate website.

1. AN INFORMATIVE BLOG WITH LOTS OF PERSONALITY

It is a good idea for every company to have a blog on their website, and to post on a regular basis. This will make it easier to attract the attention of new customers, and it is also a good SEO tool. You can also use your blog to let people learn about the personality of your company; consider writing posts introducing your staff and even having them write their own additions to the blog. For example, if you go to an industry conference, you could let each member of your staff write a blog post about the experience from their own point of view.

2. WEBSITE CHAT

Installing a website chat box gives your customers a more personal shopping experience on your website. Some sites make the chat feature available on a daily basis for individual shoppers. Potential customers appreciate the ease of engagement and the ability to get their questions answered on the spot. 

3. TWITTER CHATS

Hosting regular Q+A twitter chats allow your customers and prospects to ask questions about your company, products, or services and is a good way to increase your level of consumer engagement, increase your brand's footprint, and increase your followership.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media marketing gives your business a megaphone and attracts attention to your brand. Your consumers will really embrace these interactions. Therefore, you should always respond to questions, and maybe consider encouraging participation by having contests, and question and answer sessions via Facebook, Twitter and/or Google Plus. Taking the time to offer a more personal approach will make your customers feel more comfortable, and it will also give you the opportunity to learn from the experience.

Quick Study Guide To SEO For Small Businesses

Getting Google to notice you may seem harder than hiking the Grand Canyon, but being a top search result can position your brand above the rest (literally).

SEO has a bad reputation of being spammy, but today, search engines are smarter than ever. If you want to appear in search results, you must create genuine, helpful content that gets attention. This encourages organic traffic that is FREE!

Wondering what you can do to attract organic search?

CREATE COMPELLING + INFORMATIVE CONTENT.

It’s not enough to put random words up on your site. Your content needs to be compelling, informative, and strategic.  

Think about it this way: 

If you're selling wedding consulting services and you create a blog post comparing two "out of the box" wedding ideas for brides on a budget, you'll catch the attention of those doing research, who in turn might hire you. Your audience might search “weddings on a budget” and be led to your site. 

But creating compelling content isn't as easy as slapping words down on a screen. It can sometimes be a challenge to keep things interesting.

If you're a wedding consulting, that doesn't mean you limit yourself to ONLYwedding related content. Instead, you might be able to create content that your audience and potential customers would find helpful.

For example, we offer local search engine optimization, content marketing and social media support to small businesses, but we also create free resources for small business owners who are simply looking for day to day business support.

TIPS FOR CREATING COMPELLING CONTENT:

• Write for people. Imagine you're writing to your best friend. Would they find it convincing?
• Don't hire an intern to write your entire website. If you honestly can't do it yourself, hire a professional writer.
• Tell stories– make your audience laugh, cry, get angry, nod their heads, take action – something!
• Use eye catching visuals and formatting to make it scan-able and easy to read.
• READ. Read everything you can get your eyes on. Read your heart out. Find what you like and analyze why.

APPROACH OTHERS ABOUT LINKING TO YOUR SITE

If others link to your site, you'll get traffic, but you'll also acquire SEO value. The higher the value of the site that links to you, the more power it has - which impacts your page's value.  Create resources that people want to link to.  Pitch the media and authoritative blogs for guest posting opportunities.

Sell it! There are tons of things you can do.

HAVE A FAST, WELL-THOUGHT OUT, PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE

SEO is another good reason to have a fast and professional website. The quicker your site, the more Google will like it. A spammy-looking, shoddy site is unlikely to be the favorite of any search engine.

Here’s what looks good to Google:

• Easy navigation (make sure your links aren't broken)
• A responsive site that looks good on a range of devices (not just a computer with a huge screen!)
• Site speed. If it takes a long time for pages to load, visitors will drop off and so will search engines. 
• Building and leveraging social media. By staking your claim on social networks, you prove to search engines that your business is legit.

GET YOUR SEO ON!

If you want to get noticed by Google (and trust us, you do!), it’s time to learn about SEO. It’ll take a bit of work, but the benefits are worth it. Even a small amount of knowledge can make a big difference. 

If you're just getting started with SEO, we highly recommend taking time to understand how search engines work, why search engine marketing (SEM) is necessary, and how to do keyword research.

You can also schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss leveraging local seo and content marketing for your business.

5 East Fixes to Improve Your Website Traffic

Since it's usually the first introduction the world has to your company, a good website is critical to your business. Here's how to make it not only good lookin', but functional - for you and your audience. 

A strong online presence begins with design and clarity.  A beautiful and clear website is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to generate leads for your business, especially if it’s built and marketed properly. On the other hand, a poorly designed site will create lost business opportunities.

Here are the top five fixes that will set you up for online success!

1. GRAMMAR + SPELLING

Seems obvious, but we have all been to websites that could use some work in the grammar and spelling departments. Where the unspoken acceptance of weak editing + proofreading in digital publishing came from is up for debate, but it definitely reflects your company's credibility and professionalism. And it sends your customers searching elsewhere. Remember to spell check + proofread before publishing!

2. RESPONSIVE DESIGN A.K.A. MOBILE FRIENDLY

Responsive design is a website design feature that allows the site to grow and shrink depending on the size of the screen it’s displayed on. You should want your website to be accessible and consistent with equal ease via smartphone, tablet or computer. If you care about getting your message across to your customers, you can't afford to have anything less than a responsive website.

Today, responsive website design is the standard for all websites, so if your business isn't offering mobile-friendly experiences for your customers, you’ve lost more than half of the opportunities for new business right off the bat. That’s the bottom line.

3. USER BEHAVIOR METRICS

I hate to break it to you, but as a business owner, it's your responsibility to know how browsers behave on your website - this is vital data you need to grow your online business.  As essential as having an attractive, responsive, professional site is, it’s only half of the equation. 

There is a simple, easy-to-use tool called Google Analytics to help you monitor behavior on your site, which helps you fine-tune and tweak your site performance.

Set a reminder on your calendar to review your analytics at least once a month.

4. CONCISE MESSAGING

There’s a different mindset and level of attention when reading a website as compared to print. Nothing can turn a customer off more than "loooo-ng" blocks of text with small print. Use attention grabbing images to make text blocks scan-able.

Don't make users try to figure out important information about your company. That will only make them shop elsewhere.  They need to know: 

• Why should they make a purchase from your site? 
• Is there free shipping? 
• A special offer?

We have a download to help with this part.  Grab "101+ Key Questions Website Visitors Will Never Ask But Expect You To Answer" to help you focus on the MOST important details about your brand.

5. FRESH CONTENT

Just like a fabulous boutique changes its window display and adds new inventory every month, you should add fresh content and opt-ins to foster website traffic and lead generation.

The days of keyword stuffing, fluff and filler are so 2012.  If you want your customer's attention, and their money, then you better provide information they find useful.

It’s also important to give your visitors the ability to comment about and share your content. This allows them to become your marketing ambassadors. And their sharing helps your SEO.

The Only 3 Tips You Need To Finally Get Your Web Design Started

If you need a website and don’t know where to start, these 3 smarty pants tips will set the foundation and have you on your merry way.

1. Right Now, Decide If You Will Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Or Hire Someone

If you're a little introverted and a little bit of a perfectionist, getting your first website up might be freaking you out. Or at least, that's what you keep telling yourself. There are so many options when it comes to getting your website up and running. Maybe you've looked into it and haven't found the right designer.

Decide right now what you're going to do. Either DIY, or find someone to do it for you. Those are your ONLY two options.

2. Commit To A Due Date

If  #2 makes you sweat a bit, ask yourself this question...

Where are you not committing in other areas of your life? Because how you do one thing is how you do everything.

Here's the thing, most people procrastinate because they don’t know where to start. But not you. You're one of those people who make a decision and make it happen.

What’s your deadline? Do you want a website up before Memorial Day? end of Summer?

3. To Thine Own Self Be True

Don't let time, perfectionism, or lack of confidence be the reason you put it off for another day.

Especially if this is your first website, sabotaging beliefs will start to surface and slow you down if you let them. You'll start to panic and tell yourself you're not ready.

What will you regret not doing at the end of your life? Is it a website? Of course not.
It’s what you do after having a tool, like a website. You'll be able to express yourself and connect with people who get you.

Enjoy yourself and the process of getting started. Push past the fears of doing something that freaks you out. Make a decision. Pick a date. And believe you are good enough as you are right now (because you are).

If you decide to hire someone to get you there, consider us + schedule a free consultation to get help leveraging the internet to increase your bottom line!