Get Expert Insights

Google My Business: How To Optimize Your GMB

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 22:27:53 GMT

Learn how to optimize your GMB

There are over 2 trillion Google searches each year.

We use Google for everything. You can search for new restaurants to try with friends, local dog groomers for your pup, or the latest updates of your favorite band.

If you're a business owner, it's crucial to use Google for your benefit. Optimize your Google My Business (GMB) to increase traffic to your website or store.

Are you not sure what Google My Business is or what to do with it? There's no need to worry because we're here to help. Below is a quick guide on how to boost your online presence with GMB.

What Is Google My Business?

Setting up a Google My Business account is important if you want people to see your company's name on their searches. While a GMB account doesn't replace your business website , it's a major complement to your platform.

Your GMB listing is a quick surface-level look at your business name, store hours, website link, customer reviews, and photos. It serves as the digital elevator pitch on a Google search.

Hop onto Google and search something like, "best Italian restaurant near me". Look at the restaurant(s) that pop up on the right side of your screen. Those are restaurants optimizing their GMB.

With a quick search, you were able to get all the information you needed to either decide in an instant if you'd like to know more about a specific restaurant or not.

How Do I Optimize My GMB?

Are you ready for more people to discover your business? It's time to learn how to improve your Google My Business listing. Rome wasn't built in a day, so be diligent but patient when optimizing your listing.

Make a GMB Account

As obvious as it sounds, the first step to optimizing your GMB is creating a profile. Keep in mind a Google My Business account is not the same thing as a Google Business profile.

You must create a GMB account and then request that Google connects it to your Google Business account. The GMB optimizes the Google Business account. It doesn't act as a business account.

Include the Important Information

Don't leave out necessary information as you set up your GMB listing. Fill out your store hours, address, contact information, etc.

You'll also want to complete the sections highlighting the categories of your company, essential Q&As, and what services you offer. Be as clear and concise as possible.

Never leave your GMB without quality photos . Appealing photos of your business and products attract customers as they scroll through search results.

When completing the 'from the business' description, pull key missions statements and values from your website. Aim to use all 750 characters, but place the most important information in the first 200 characters.

Update Your GMB When Needed

There's nothing more aggravating than showing up to a store and realizing they haven't updated their store hours on Google. Always update your company information if there are changes.

Work out the details of your holiday schedule as soon as possible to give customers the proper heads-up. Guarantee your GMB hours reflect the proper holiday hours. Provide extra reminders by posting on social media.

Did your website domain change? Change the link on your GMB. Regularly check in with the link on your GMB to guarantee it's navigating customers to the correct site.

Always Encourage Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are crucial when learning how to optimize your GMB. Most customers will leave a review when asked so don't be shy!

Create small signage to place by the register or exit door that reminds people to leave Google reviews. Some business owners have even created incentives to encourage reviews.

Throw in a free dessert with a customer's meal if they leave a review, or give them a coupon for 10% off on their next purchase if they show proof of a review. Get creative to optimize your GMB.

Set aside time to respond to reviews, especially if they're offering criticism. Let customers know their advice is being taken into consideration and you appreciate them taking the time to leave a review.

How Do I Stand Out?

Cutting through the static can be difficult. Take the necessary steps to get a leg up on the competition.

Post frequent updates to your GMB. This function operates like social media posts. Customers will see your updates if they click on your GMB profile during their search.

Your updates can include exciting new deals and sales you're running or the announcement of a new product. Don't forget to let people know about any cool events you're hosting.

Whenever you create an update, always include a call-to-action. Tell people the next step they should take, and provide an easy way to follow through. For example, tell people to visit your event page, and provide the link to this page.

Search for Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently comb through your Google My Business listing while keeping an eye out for common questions.

If you're seeing the same question being asked time and time again, you may need to edit and update the information on your GMB. You can also reply directly to the customers so that other customers are able to see your response.

Even if a question you see isn't common, respond to the customer. They may be asking a question other customers are too afraid to ask.

Optimizing Your Google My Business Account for Success

To build business traffic, optimize your Google My Business account. It's the perfect complement to your Google Business account and business website.

Set up a GMB account, and fill out all of the necessary information. Guarantee you're using high-quality images for your business, and never forget to frequently update your information. Encourage customers to leave reviews.

Are you in need of help from a digital marketing expert? Our team will create amazing campaigns that'll have people running to your business doors. Check out our list of services, and contact us today.

5 Google Ads Best Practices You Need To Know

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Sat, 16 Oct 2021 14:37:05 GMT

What makes the perfect Google ad?

Integrating a digital marketing campaign is one of the most effective ways to promote your business. However, it involves more than simply throwing money at online ads and expecting a solid return.

Running ads on Google can be a highly lucrative investment. We’ve put together a guide with the Google Ads best practices you need to keep in mind.

Let’s get started.

1. Have a Comprehensive Understanding of Your Audience

As you might anticipate, it’s crucial that you have a strong understanding of your audience. Otherwise, you will not be able to create ads that they find relevant.

In practice, this means considering factors like:

· Age

· Level of education

· Annual income

· Hobbies/interests

· Geographic location/time zone

You can then use this information to anticipate what your audience is looking for online. By extension, you can then figure out what keywords they are likely to search for.

In general, it’s best to avoid using broad keywords as the basis of your ads. If you choose broad terms, Google will put your ads in front of an enormous audience.

However, your ads will be irrelevant to most of them, resulting in a lower click-through rate (CTR). You also end up spending more on these ads.

2. Maximize Your Quality Score

As the name suggests, the quality score of your ads will determine a metric known as AdRank. This determines how highly your ad is placed among your competitors.

Your quality score is calculated based on how relevant your ads are to your audience.

Part of calculating relevance involves measuring your CTR. This can be broken down into three areas:

· Whether or not your ad delivers what your audience expects to see

· How relevant your keywords are

· The overall experience the user has on your landing page

It should come as no surprise that focusing on these attributes will help ensure that your quality score increases over time.

3. Write a Captivating Headline & Description

Your headline plays a large role in whether or not users click on your ad. After all, it is typically the first aspect of your advertisement they encounter.

The same can be said about the description of your ad.

If you don’t place a large emphasis on ad copy, there is a strong chance that you won’t be able to reach your goals. However, writing strong ad copy involves more than clever wordplay.

It should always be relevant to the interests of your audience. More specifically, your ad copy should provide information directly related to what they are searching for.

The type of words you use should also help alleviate any concerns your audience has. For instance, a Google ad for a free trial for software should include terms like “safe,” “risk-free,” etc.

Keep in mind that ad copy can only take you so far — it’s up to the content on your landing page to help convert your leads.

4. Consider Your Potential Placement Options

Interestingly, many of those who advertise on Google don't have a full understanding of how placement works. In fact, many people tend to believe that the Google Display Network is simply an enormous group of websites that are chosen to run ads on.

In reality, you have the opportunity to display ads within videos and applications. This can drastically increase the number of people who are exposed to your ad.

However, advertisers also have the opportunity to manually choose the location where the ads are placed. This is known as "managed placement."

In some circumstances, you may not want your advertisement to appear in certain locations at all. Fortunately, Google allows you to exclude certain platforms from your campaign.

Choosing the right placement option is just as important as choosing the correct keywords. If you don’t show your ads in the right places, then they will be far less effective than you anticipated.

Keep this in mind when moving forward so that you understand what attributes to modify if your ad performance is not meeting your standards .

5. Remarket Appropriately

Remarketing (also known as retargeting) refers to a specific way of advertising to your audience. To elaborate, it involves advertising to members of your audience who have engaged with your brand before but have not made a purchase.

So, the advertisements that you show these individuals need to be different compared to the ads you show someone who has never heard of your brand. Tracking cookies will help determine whether or not someone has engaged with your brand in the past.

It will also provide insight into the type of websites they are likely to visit, allowing you to learn more about their activity.

This information can be used as the foundation for your remarketing campaign. For example, let’s assume a member of your audience saw one of your advertisements on a YouTube video.

You can then show them additional ads as they continue to browse YouTube or use other websites. As long as you keep this factor in mind, you’ll find that your Google Ads campaigns are much more successful.

Following These Google Ads Best Practices Is Essential

From here, you’ll be able to maximize the return you get from your initial investment. So, keep these Google Ads best practices in mind to help ensure you get the results you are after.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to get in touch with us today and see how we can help.

Online Marketing 101: The Importance of Local SEO

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 21:48:53 GMT

Local SEO Will Help Bring In Clients Near You.

Did you know that 46% of Google searches have local intent?

This stat alone gives us an indication of how important local SEO is. If you implement good local SEO for your business, you can tap into local search volume, thereby increasing exposure and sales.

Local SEO is also imperative for keeping up with the competition. Although only 30% of small businesses have an SEO strategy in place, this is likely to change. What's more a lot of small businesses already have a certain degree of local search visibility.

Don't let a lack of local SEO put you in the back of the pack. Instead, keep reading to find out the benefits of local SEO and how to implement it.

Local Search Results Are the New Yellow Pages

One of the top reasons why local SEO has become so important is that local search results are the new yellow pages.

Think about it, what's the first thing you do when you need to find a certain type of business near you? You probably hop on Google and do a search.

From here, you may browse through what comes up and click on a local website that's ranking on the first page.

If you're still thinking, "do I really need to implement local SEO?" consider this. In previous times, would you, as a business, not list yourself in the yellow pages? Would you purposefully make your business hard to find for potential customers?

It’s Easier to Rank in Local Search

Another reason why local Google SEO is an important part of any business's marketing strategy is that it's easier to rank for.

Location-specific search results are getting a little more crowded. However, there's still less competition than if you try to compete on a nationwide level.

For instance, let's say you run a plumbing company. Currently, there are roughly 126,627 plumbing businesses in the US. Some of them with large marketing budgets and teams.

Competing against these companies can be very hard. However, if you target local search results, you don't have to. Instead, you only have to compete against the other plumbers in your immediate area.

Google and other search engines want to provide local searchers with relevant results. It would rather display your business or listing, than that of a large plumbing franchise in a neighboring state—as that wouldn't be useful to the searcher.

Local Searches Bring You New Feet

One of the big benefits of local SEO for physical businesses is it can draw in new feet almost immediately.

Once your local SEO strategies are in place, and visitors can find you in search, you might immediately see an uptick in customers.

According to data from Google, 76% of consumers visit a business within the day of finding it in a local search.

Local Searches Usually Have Purchasing Intent

One of the reasons why local SEO can bring customers in so quickly is because local searches often have immediate purchasing intent.

For instance, if someone is searching for a craft supplies store, they probably intend to buy supplies from it in the very near future.

This isn't always the case with general SEO. General SEO practices are typically a slower burn with a longer sales funnel.

For example, if you sell air purifiers online, you might publish blog posts about the benefits of clean air. This could attract visitors to your site who, after reading your content, feel they need an air purification system. However, they might take a number of weeks or months to actually make a purchase decision.

In contrast, with local searches, consumers have usually already reached the decision phase of the buyer journey. They have an idea of what they need and are ready to find a business that can supply it.

According to the same Google data we referenced above, 28% of all local searches result in a purchase.

Because local search can trigger immediate sales, one of the best local SEO tips is to implement it as soon as possible so you can start ranking locally and reel in those customers who are ready to buy.

Ranking in Local Search Increases Credibility

Another of the many benefits of local SEO is it can increase the credibility of a business.

If you show up in local search results, this shows potential customers that your business is active. It also indicates that you are customer-focused and professional. This is because local SEO focuses on building and cleaning up citations through things like Google My Business Listings, reviews, and directory listings.

All of these elements help to increase credibility.

Imagine you google a specific type of business in your area. The results will probably display three Google My Business listings, and the websites of various local plumbing businesses. Chances are, you'll give more attention and trust to the three Google My Business listings than to the list of plumbing sites.

If you consider it like this, it's not surprising that study results reveal Google My Business listings to be the #1 influencing factor in local SEO.

Local SEO Practices Increase Exposure

Last but not least, appearing in local search results also increases exposure. Even if consumers don't visit your business immediately, seeing you in local search will keep you top of mind.

When they are ready to buy, there's a great chance they'll come to you if they are already familiar with your name and what you offer.

Are You Ready to Press Go On Your Local SEO?

As you can see, implementing local SEO is vital if you own a location-based business. Not only can it increase your visibility, but it can also quickly draw in new customers, many of which have immediate purchasing intent.

If you are ready to hit go on your local SEO campaign, you are in the right place. We specialize in professional local SEO , complete with a full citation audit.

Instead of you having to find out the latest local SEO tips, and spending hours creating citations, backlinks, and directory listings, we do it all for you. When we're done you will have top-notch local SEO in place for your business.

Why Your Business Needs an Updated Website: If You Don't Have One, Get One

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 02:59:54 GMT

Your website is the first thing that consumers see.

What if your website was out of date and you didn't even know it?

In our digital world, your website is the first thing that consumers see. And if that site looks old and out of date, they will assume that your business is behind the times.

Still on the fence about whether you need an updated website? Keep reading to learn why this should be your top priority!

Company Visualization

The first reason you need an updated website is one we have already mentioned: your site is a reflection of your business. Think of it as the digital equivalent to a brick and mortar store.

If you walk into a brick and mortar store and see dust and cobwebs everywhere, you cannot help but conclude that the owners have neglected their company. And that is how your own potential customers will feel when they see your website and it looks like something out of the late 1990s.

Additionally, your site is an extension of your brand. If your brand has changed in the last few years, updating your site is a great way to reflect that and incorporate your overall digital marketing strategy .

Standing Out

Pop quiz: what is the aesthetic of your website? If you don't have a clear answer, that's a sign that it's time to update things.

Beyond reflecting your business, a website helps to establish your brand. That means using the right colors, fonts, and imagery to create a unique look and feel for your consumers.

Think about some of your favorite websites. Chances are that you would recognize the site even if the site name and logo were removed. That's because they have strong visual branding that extends throughout each page.

If you don't have that level of strong visual branding right now, then you definitely need an updated website!

Keep Up With the Competition

Why did you create a website in the first place? For many companies, the answer is simple: they needed to keep up with the competition.

When a prospective customer has to choose between a business with a website and one without, there isn't much of a choice. Most of the time, customers will choose the site with a business because it gives more info about the company as well as their products and services.

The need to keep up with the competition is just as important now as it was when you first made your site. If the competition has a slick and inviting website and yours looks like it came straight out of Geocities from the 1990’s, then you need to make some updates!

Mobile-Friendly Design

How do you imagine most of your prospective customers are visiting your site? The majority are not using a desktop PC. Instead, they are browsing with their smartphone or another mobile device , and this number will only grow in the next few years.

Because of this, it's important to have a website with a mobile-friendly design. And if you have a site that was designed with desktop users in mind, chances are that it looks terrible on a smartphone.

When updating your website, we recommend that you incorporate responsive design. This helps your site automatically adjust to the screen size of your users. Whether they are browsing on a desktop or a mobile device, your site will look great!

The Need for More Clients

At the end of the day, the purpose of your website is simple: to attract customers. But your business should have a target demographic in mind. Ask yourself: are you attracting the right customers in the right numbers?

There are certain changes you can make that will appeal to specific audiences. For example, millennials care about consumer testimonials and other forms of social proof more than they care about traditional advertisements. Incorporating such testimonials into your website can improve appeals to this audience and seriously boost your sales.

Millennials and certain other demographics also care about ethical consumerism. Adding a "company values" section to your site showcasing your support for certain causes helps appeal to these demographics while further setting you apart from the competition.

Showcase Your Products

What do your customers know about the different products and services that you have to offer? For most businesses, the answer to that question is "not enough."

Ideally, your updated website should provide information about your products and services in a number of ways. This includes high-quality photos, instructional videos, and detailed specs.

If your website features content marketing (which it should), make sure you have relevant content that helps customers better understand and use your products. Such content shouldn't be just another sales pitch. Instead, you can boost your sales simply by providing consumers with content that answers their burning questions about your products and services.

Better Bounce Rate

In many ways, you can determine the relevance of a website by a single statistic: the bounce rate. You might have an awesome website, but if customers are clicking away from it too soon, most of them will never experience what your business has to offer.

Fortunately, you can improve that bounce rate by improving how quickly your site loads. Try streamlining your site design and minimizing the number of images you use in order to boost loading speed. You can further improve loading speed by embracing responsive design (as mentioned earlier).

On top of making the site quicker to load, try making it easy to navigate and your content easier to access. Give visitors a logical "bread crumb" navigational system while making sure your content is organized around short paragraphs (two to three sentences) and descriptive headers.

Finally, make sure that each page has only one CTA. Keeping it simple means you won't confuse or overwhelm the visitor, and you can make sure each site logically builds up towards that CTA, which ultimately boosts your bottom line.

Your Updated Website: What's Next?

Now you know why you need an updated website. But do you know who can completely transform your site?

We specialize in SEO, site content, social media marketing, and more. To see what we can do for your business and your website, contact us today !

Local Citations: What Are They and Why Are They Important?

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 17:47:49 GMT

Local citations are a must for your business.

It's no secret that search engine optimization is one of the most important criteria of a successful business. A commonly-overlooked factor, though, is the importance of local citations.

Surprisingly, many entrepreneurs are even sure What they are or why they are important.

Not quite sure how to begin? We’ve got all the info you need. Let's explore everything you should keep in mind.

What Exactly Are Local Citations?

Although many people may be unfamiliar with the term, its meaning is relatively straightforward. A local citation is any instance where is your company's name, phone number, or address or mentioned online.

When it comes to local SEO , they're an integral factor that determines a site's ranking.

To elaborate, a Facebook user may Post the location they're currently at (such as through FourSquare). This will create an online mention of the business, therefore establishing a local citation.

Are All Local Citations The Same?

Interestingly, there are two different types of local citations: structured and unstructured.

Structured citations convey a companies name, address, and phone number. One of the most common examples is a social media profile, as this includes all of the above information. The same can be said about online directories.

This data is 'structured' in the sense that it's always presented in a certain format. This is consistent between different brands.

On the other hand, unstructured citations are organic and contextual mentions of business information. This could include anything from blog posts and press releases to mentions on forum threads.

In general, it's best to focus primarily on structure and citations since these platforms are more authoritative. For example, it wouldn't do you much good if the only places your business was mention online was on forum posts.

How Can Local Citations Help My Business?

Although many people go straight to Google when searching for a particular product or service, not everyone uses this as their primary option. In fact, plenty of users take a vantage of Yellow Pages, Yelp, and other directories to find the services they are looking for.

Business directories also have a large influence on the search results for local search queries. For example, if you search something like "New York City attorney" you'll find that most of the top results are directories and not independent legal websites.

As you can tell, it's highly beneficial to have your company mentioned on these platforms.

How Can I Scale My Network of Citations?

Building up your overall volume of local citations can drastically help your business online. But, you'll need to choose them strategically since the quality of the citations outweighs the quantity.

The below steps can help you reach the metrics that you're after.

Focus on Data Aggregators First

Online data aggregators help compile information about businesses and allocate this data to other websites. As such, submitting your business information to an aggregator can exponentially increase your online presence.

There are three main ones that you'll need to focus on:

1. Factual

2. Data Axle

3. Neustar Localeze

You can search your business on each of the above platforms and claim your listing if it already exists. If it doesn't, you can submit it for free.

It's also important that you claim duplicate listings. Of course, be sure to check that the information currently listed is 100% correct. Otherwise, you may encounter complications in the future.

T arget Directories

After you claim or submit the required information to data aggregators, you can then shift your focus toward directories. Some of the most notable are:

· Better Business Bureau (BBB)

· Yellow Pages

· Yelp

· Facebook

Although there are far more directories on the Internet, the above are platforms with some of the most traffic.

In general, you'll need to submit your business information manually. For entrepreneurs that don't have a large amount of time to do so, however, it's often worthwhile to enlist the help of a submission management service.

This also comes with the added benefit of allowing you to streamline the submission process, as many providers have platforms that integrate the most well-known sites into a single space. This will allow you to forego the tedium of navigating to different directories and manually submitting all of your info.

I t should be noted that there's nothing wrong with completing this process by hand— it's simply a matter of how much available time you have to do so.

Submit to Local Sites + Build Unstructured Citations

Once you've handled your core citation responsibilities, you can then move on to submitting to local sites and building your foundation of unstructured citations. In general, local sites that you should focus on include business listings, business directories, and your city's Chamber of Commerce.

You can find sites related to these categories on Google. Simply take the time to browse through them and submits to the ones you feel are relevant and valuable.

Unstructured situations that you should focus on include press releases, blog posts, and reviews. Unfortunately, these can't be manually required in most cases— a third-party has to both be aware of your brand and be interested enough to talk about it.

Over time, you'll find that it becomes easier to acquire unstructured citations as your business grows, so keep this in mind if you aren't able to get as many as you'd like at the beginning.

Understanding and Incorporating Local Citations Can Seem Difficult

But the above information will make the process far smoother.

From here, you’ll be able to ensure that you know how to use local citations to their fullest extent and make the decisions that are best for your business.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.

Coronavirus: How Have Consumer Search Volumes and Trends Changed Since the Pandemic Began?

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 20:29:22 GMT

The Coronavirus has led to significant changes in online consumer behavior.

What if everything you knew about customer behavior was wrong?

COVID-19 and the global pandemic have changed many things about customer priorities and patterns. This is especially true when it comes to search volumes and other major trends.

Wondering what all has changed? Keep reading to discover the answers!

In-Store Visits Are Down

Some of the changing trends weren't really that surprising. For example, Wordstream reports that grocery store visits declined by a stunning 90% between February 17th and March 16th of 2020.

There were many factors influencing this, but the primary driver was fear of COVID-19 infection. Even though grocery stores remained open because workers were considered "essential personnel," most grocery shoppers seemingly questioned whether they really needed to make another trip to the store when it involved so much risk.

Ultimately, this is part of a larger trend where in-person visits and business declined but online searches increased. For better or for worse, COVID-19 cemented online shopping as the norm for many consumers.

Overall Search Volume Is Up

Despite the decline in actual visits to places like grocery stores, consumer interest in local businesses is reflected in their high search volume. For instance, Brandify reports that searches for area businesses went up by 45% across March and April of 2020 compared to the same time period last year. This helps highlight the need for many businesses to improve their local SEO .

What drove such an increase in search volumes? Two basic factors: curiosity and practicality.

In terms of curiosity, many consumers wanted to know how their local businesses were responding to COVID-19. This included things like changing store hours, mask policies, options for curbside pickup, and so on.

This was driven by practicality as well. Consumers were very worried about infection needed to figure out which stores were safer and which had adapted to the global pandemic (and which had not).

Hobby Searches Are Up

One fairly inevitable effect of the pandemic is that people were spending more time at home than ever before. And this led to an unprecedented spike in hobby searches.

Search Engine Land reports that hobby searches were up 16% this year compared to this time last year. And while "hobby" is a pretty broad umbrella, this illustrates how badly people wanted something to do while they were otherwise bored in their homes.

These searches have focused on everything from learning how to draw to learning how to make homemade beer. Basically, if it entertains and keeps someone busy, its searches have risen in 2020.

Pharmacy Boost

As with grocery stores, pharmacies had to stay open throughout the entire pandemic. COVID-19 or no, customers continued to need their medicine.

According to Brandify, pharmacy searches were up 206% in March and April compared to last year. On top of that, pharmacy views are up by 150% and actions are up by 29%.

Thanks to the sheer necessity of medicine, pharmacies were destined to weather the COVID-19 storm better than most businesses. And many pharmacies took on leadership roles in helping test for COVID-19 .

However, other businesses can learn from the ways in which pharmacies have adapted to consumer needs during this time.

Top 6 Social Media Channels for Business and Why They're So Important

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 11:33:23 GMT

Did you know that the current world population is nearly 7.7 billion people and approximately 3.5 billion are online on a regular basis? These people are active on social media platforms and are huge consumers of information, videos, music, and entertainment.

If you have an online business, it's in your best interest to target certain social media channels to promote your products and services. You simply cannot ignore this huge online market full of potential customers that might buy your goods. Keep reading to learn what are the most popular social media platforms and what you can do to take advantage of them!

Facebook App and Facebook Messenger

Facebook has nearly 2.7 billion active users on a monthly basis. This company was founded in 2004 and it has rapidly grown into one of the most popular and entertaining social media platforms worldwide. You can create customized ad campaigns on Facebook and target specific customers, depending on their location, age group, income, and interests.

For example, if you sell fitness equipment and accessories, you can choose to target individuals who are interested in fitness, nutrition, healthy diets, and workout programs. This will make your advertising campaign more efficient and profitable.

At the same time, you can also use Facebook Messenger for business purposes. If someone messages your Facebook business page, you can reply to the message directly or create an automated message. This helps you maintain a good relationship with your potential customers and grow your brand's popularity.

Instagram

Instagram is also owned by Facebook and it's mostly a "visual" social media network. People are allowed to share pictures and videos of themselves or containing the products they sell. Instagram is very useful for business purposes because it has a large user base and it allows you to grow your brand organically, without having to rely too much on paid advertising.

How can you take advantage of Instagram to grow your business? It's easy. Try to snap pictures of the products you sell and post them on your Instagram account.

If you sell fitness equipment, record video footage of someone using a fitness device and post it online. Most of the information we receive is visual, so Instagram can create a lasting impression in the minds of your potential clients. Make sure it's a good impression!

Twitter

Twitter is another popular social media network with hundreds of millions of active users every month. The main feature of Twitter is the possibility to send a message containing up to 280 characters. This allows you to create short, eye-catching descriptions of products without getting into too many details. In many cases, shorter messages work better than long ones.

Another interesting feature of Twitter is the possibility to create and use hashtags . A hashtag is a web page containing information and messages on a particular subject. Continuing with our fitness equipment example, you can use the hashtag "#fitness" to find companies and potential clients posting messages in this category. If one client is posting a message with this hashtag looking for a good pair of dumbbells, you can message that client directly and promote your own products.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a social platform commonly used by people who want to buy something in the near future. Most of the users on Pinterest are women who plan upcoming purchases such as ingredients, foods, wedding accessories, outfits, etc. This platform has both paid and organic advertising capabilities as well as hundreds of millions of users online each month.

If you're into the catering or fashion industry, you might find Pinterest very useful. Just snap pictures of your products and post them online. If someone likes your "Pin", he or she will share it further. Pinterest has been created to encourage people to try new things such as new recipes, clothing items, jewelry products, fitness accessories, etc, so your pictures should make the viewer want to do something he/she has never done before.

YouTube

YouTube doesn't need any introduction as it's the leading video sharing platform worldwide. Regardless of the nature of your business, it's highly recommended to create a YouTube channel associated with it. That's because a lot of potential clients prefer to consume information as a video format. By having a YouTube channel, you give them the opportunity to experience your products and services using their preferred way.

There are many ways you can use YouTube to advertise your business. For example, you can create tutorial videos on how to use your fitness devices. You can create videos explaining the benefits of using certain gym equipment. You can post videos on how your fitness products are used by multiple people in the gym, etc.

LinkedIn

If your business focuses more on other businesses instead of regular consumers then you need to take advantage of LinkedIn too. This social media platform is used by millions of people all around the world. It allows you to target certain types of businesses, create a work portfolio, start paid advertising campaigns, etc.

On top of that, LinkedIn also allows you to see vital information regarding the owners of the businesses such as email addresses, physical addresses, number of employees, etc. This will help you contact other business managers directly to promote your products or discuss business partnerships. If your organization follows a B2B model or you want to target specific individuals based on their job titles then you should have a LinkedIn account.

Now You Know What Are the Most Useful Social Media Channels for Business!

As you can see, many social media channels can be used to promote your online business. Some of them are based on visual information, others are ideal for targeting specific clients, etc. Which one is the best? The truth is that all of them are necessary to ensure the fast growth of your business, so try to open accounts on all of them and keep them updated regularly.

If you don't have sufficient time to manage advertising campaigns on these social media platforms or just need help to start on the right foot, make sure that you contact us today ! We are a professional digital marketing agency with years of experience and we are happy to work with businesses of all sizes.

Local SEO Ranking Factors: 5 Tips for Improving Your Rankings

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 15:04:16 GMT

Local SEO Ranking Factors

Did you know that almost 60% of all website visits in 2019 came from mobile devices? This means that people find it easier to use mobile devices when looking for something on the internet instead of using laptops.

If you have a local business in your city, it's paramount to improve your local SEO and make your website mobile-friendly, so you can attract more visitors. To do that, you need to know the local SEO ranking factors and how to improve each of them. These factors are prioritized by search engines when ranking your website.

Keep reading to find out more about them and discover other useful local SEO tips!

What is Local SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It involves a collection of tools and techniques designed to make search engines rank your website higher in result pages. Local SEO deals particularly with promoting a business to local customers. This involves using a few tools and features to make your particular business stand out from the others.

Why Is Local SEO Important?

You might want to skip this type of SEO altogether and focus on regular SEO, but is that a good idea? Local SEO provides clear advantages to businesses that spend time with it. For example, improving your local SEO helps you receive more targeted customers from your area and this means selling more products.

Local SEO also helps with brand awareness and improves your reputation and credibility as a business. Certain local SEO tweaks can help potential clients find your business easier and faster when they look for specific products and services.

Top Local SEO Ranking Factors

To get a better understanding of local SEO, here are some of its most important factors that need your attention.

1. Have A Google My Business Account

This is a tool directly owned and managed by Google. It's useful for local businesses such as coffee shops, restaurants, auto wash shops, and more. It can help you rank higher in Google result pages and even get extra promotion for local searches. To use Google My Business , you need to create an account within this app and verify it. Once you're all set, you should encourage your clients to leave online reviews, mentioning their experience with your business.

Once you have feedback from your clients, make sure that you respond to these reviews mentioning the location of your business. It's important to post genuine replies to the comments left by past clients. Google appreciates when you leave feedback for both positive and negative comments.

2. Have a Good Internal Linking Structure

Internal linking means having a good distribution of links pointing to other pages on your website. This will significantly improve your search engine rankings and make it easier for visitors to navigate your website. For example, each of your blog articles should contain a few links to related articles on your blog. This will eventually make the reader jump from article to article, spending a lot of time on your website.

At the same time, you should also focus on making your website very easy to navigate. Displaying "breadcrumbs" on each page of your website helps the reader find his/her way back to the initial position easier.

3. Add Location Pages to Your Business

Location pages are very useful if you have more than one physical store within a certain area. This will help Google and other search engines identify your business better. For example, you should create a page for each of your store's location and add important elements such as address details, the phone number of each store, etc

This is a good strategy as it helps potential clients differentiate between the stores that you have and pick the one nearest to their location. However, make sure that you don't create duplicate content for your location pages as this can make Google penalize your website.

4. Make Sure That Your Website Is Mobile Friendly

One of the best ways to rank higher in search engine result pages is to make your website mobile-friendly. This involves ensuring that the website is displayed correctly on phones with different display resolutions as well as different operating systems. The phone user should have quick access to a navigation bar, a home button, and a "Contact Us" button. These are some of the most important elements that need to be displayed on smartphones.

Making a website mobile-friendly is not the easiest thing in the world, especially if you have a rather complex and sophisticated website. In this case, maybe it's a good idea to work with a website developer who can offer excellent website design services . A professional can code your website so that it displays well on phone screens of all sizes., reducing the risk of losing customers.

5. Make Sure That Your NAP Is Consistent

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. These are some of the most important elements that need to be associated with your business and website. The best place where you should display your NAP is on the header or footer of your web pages. As a result, a potential client can contact you right away if he/she wants to order something or make a reservation.

Chances are that you'll be placing your contact details on multiple applications similar to Google My Business such as Yelp, Bing Places, etc. Make sure that your NAP is consistent across all these accounts to rank higher in search engine result pages. If you change your phone number or address, update the NAPs on all platforms as soon as possible.

Are You Ready to Improve Your Local SEO Rankings?

These are some of the most important local SEO ranking factors that you need to take into account. Although improving local SEO might seem intimidating in the beginning, all these steps are logical and they gradually improve your rankings in result pages.

If you want to skip the work and just reap the benefits of having good local SEO for your business, make sure that you contact us today ! Our digital marketing agency specializes in local SEO and we can help your company stay ahead of the competition for an affordable price.

The More You Know: Understanding the History of Google Algorithm Updates

info@ipmarketingsolutions.com (Jeremy Robinson) — Fri, 08 May 2020 22:03:16 GMT

Google's ranking system is constantly changing and advancing.

Some people believe SEO is pointless. Google's search algorithms shift too quickly and the target is constantly moving. We beg to differ.

While Google isn't exactly transparent about its search index system, they leak enough information to allow SEOs to fill in the gaps. The best SEOs must be on their toes ready to respond to the slightest change.

This is why we've compiled a list of the largest Google Algorithm changes. Knowing what Google has done in the past can clue you into what Google might do in the future. Keep scrolling to learn more.

1. Florida: The Very First Google Algorithm Update

November 16, 2003 was a day that went down in the SEO history books. It was like a hurricane tumbling across the Atlantic coming for every spammy website in the Google index.

What do we mean by spammy websites? Websites that abused keywords by stuffing them into their content. Sites that used hidden text and links to trick the algorithms. And brands that created multiple websites under one single brand to increase traffic and create false networks.

Oddly, this happened just in time for the holiday season and many retailers who relied on affiliate marketing were left licking their wounds. But it wasn't just retailers who felt the change, it was the entire internet. Suddenly, everything had changed and SEOs were struggling to figure out what had happened.

2. The Panda Rampaged

From Florida onward, SEOs would be on high alert as Google released smaller updates. There was the Jagger update which targeted backlinks, and then Big Daddy and Vince and Caffeine , all of which were small potatoes compared to what came next.

It was 2011 and things were relatively quiet in the SEO world. Content farms were booming and search quality was dropping. Google decided they needed to release the Panda.

The Panda rampaged and it knocked rankings on "low-quality sites." This meant sites that lacked original content, research, in-depth reports, and thoughtful analysis. Panda was an algorithm breakthrough named after its creator.

It hit content farms the hardest. Content farms were sites that churned out low-quality content to boost their rankings and dominate the search engines. It hit the "article marketing" industry hard.

Later, Google released a list of 23 questions to help guide webmasters in creating better content on their sites. Supposedly adhering to this list appeased the Panda.

Since 2011, Google has updated the Panda algorithms 28 times. It's the most tinkered-with algorithm in Google's history.

Panda Integration

The last Panda update was in 2015. Less than a year later, Google incorporated Panda into its core Google algorithm. This means that "quality" is now an official ranking signal even though SEOs have been acting as if quality was a ranking signal for some time.

Google has said they want webmasters to focus less on traffic and more on creating content designed to help people. This is a funny tautology as we're now creating content to help people in order to gain more traffic.

3. Penguin and Webspam

There are several theories as to why Google named their webspam algorithm Penguin. Some surmise they named the algorithm after Batman's nemesis The Penguin. It's more likely the name is related to the key engineers who created the algorithm.

Before Penguin, link volume played a much larger role in a webpages SERP than now. Low-quality sites ranked well merely because people were enticed to click through to them.

Google designed Penguin to fill in the gaps Panda left open. While Panda dealt with various aspects of a site's quality, Penguin dealt primarily with a site's incoming links.

Concern quickly grew. If Google is now downgrading your rankings solely on incoming links, what stops someone from spamming your site with low-quality links as a sort of dirty tactic.

Google created a disavow tool that allowed webmasters to send them a list of spammy links to disavow. In other words, these links would not count either positively or negatively when it came to determining a site's ranking.

The disavow tool was supposed to be a last resort. Google still wants webmasters to reach out to other webmasters and ask for spammy or low-quality links to be removed.

Penguin Integration

Like Panda, Penguin is now part of the core algorithm joining 200 or more signals. There will be no more announced Penguin updates as its components will be constantly updated in real-time using machine learning.

No longer will we see entire sites drop in ranking because of Penguin. It now targets individual pages for linkspam.

4. Meet BERT

Since the Penguin integration, we've seen several major updates both confirmed and unconfirmed including the Medic update in 2018 which targeted health and finance-related sites. But nothing comes close to Bert in terms of complexity and impact.

If you experienced a hit to your rankings this winter, blame BERT and not Ernie. BERT stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers. That's a complicated way of saying "deep learning algorithm."

It uses natural language processing to give the core algorithm a better understanding of the context and nuance of words within a body of text. This should help the core algorithm better match with correct queries to improve results for users.

BERT only affects one in ten searches . Why? Because BERT's main purpose in life is to improve the snippets feature and secondarily to improve long-form content ranking.

Google wants searchers to search in a more natural way. This likely has to do with the rise of voice search and home base options like Google Home and Alexa.

How to Deal With BERT

If you already produce well-written, informative, error-free content, you shouldn't have to worry much about BERT. He'll go on reading and informing the core algorithm of what he finds. In fact, he might be a boon to SEOs who have pushed clients to invest in better content.

Hire an Expert Marksman

If you don't have time to practice your aim, what's the best way to win an archery competition? Hire an expert marksman to compete in your place.

The Google algorithm is a constantly shifting target. It's difficult to keep up with the updates. Let us do the research for you. Try our free SEO analysis and learn how you can improve your website with our services today.

What is Google Analytics and What Do Website Analytics Allow You to Do?

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 23:01:42 GMT

Find out why you should be using Google Analytics

Did you know that Google Analytics can set cookies that last for up to 2 years ? These cookies are useful to identify returning visitors and track their experience and behavior on a particular website.

But what exactly is Google Analytics and what do website analytics allow you to do? Why should you spend time tracking numbers such as how many visitors your website had this month, from what countries, etc? As it turns out, keeping track of such numbers is essential to growing your online business because what you can measure, you can control.

Keep reading to learn more about Google Analytics and how beneficial it can be for your business.

What Is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to monitor and keep track of all the traffic coming to your website. It also brings multiple tools into one place such as Search Console or Google Ads. Google Analytics displays detailed reports on website traffic, allowing you to make important adjustments for the benefit of your online business.

What Do Website Analytics Allow You to Do - Exploring the Answers

Google Analytics is a very versatile tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. It's essential to use it for your advertising campaigns as well as to monitor the popularity of your website. Here are the some of the most important aspects of Google Analytics.

Device Overview

Today's websites are accessed from multiple parts of the world and from various devices such as tablets, laptops, mobile phones, etc. The Device Overview feature allows you to see how much traffic you get from different gadgets. If you get almost no traffic from mobile phones, this might mean that your website is not displayed properly on mobile devices and you should focus on this problem first.

Since more and more people are accessing the internet on their phones, it's paramount to have a mobile-friendly website. If you have a restaurant or coffee shop , the majority of your visitors will probably access your website from a mobile device while looking for places to eat, so you need to optimize it as much as possible.

Bounce Rates

Every website owner wants to have visitors that stay on their web pages. The quicker a visitor leaves, the worse it is for the website owner. The Bounce Rate displays information on visitors' behavior such as how many people visited a web page, how many left after just 1-2 seconds, how many returned, etc. Having this information helps you fine-tune your web pages to make them more attractive for viewers, so they don't leave your website.

Call-to-Action Clicks

As you probably know already, a call-to-action button is meant to make the visitor or reader do something such as subscribe to your newsletter, visit another web page or buy a product. You probably have many CTA buttons on your website, but how efficient are they? If you get few CTA clicks in comparison with daily visits, chances are that your CTA could use some improvement or fine-tuning.

Incoming Traffic and Conversions

Increasing traffic to your website is paramount for the success of your business. Google Analytics displays large graphs and statistical information on how many visitors you have every day, from where they access your website, etc. At the same time, you'll also see statistics regarding conversions. A conversion happens when a visitor becomes a paying customer.

If you sell products or services online, you definitely want to have more conversions. If a very small percent of your visitors convert, this means that you need to improve your sales funnel or selling strategy. You cannot improve something without seeing specific numbers every day and Google Analytics shows you these numbers with great accuracy.

Keeping Track of Referrers

A referrer is a website that sends you a lot of traffic. For example, if you published a guest post on a large blog with a backlink to your website, you might see a lot of traffic coming from that particular website. In this case, you have an effective referrer. Google Analytics shows you from where your traffic comes and if one website seems to send you a lot of visitors, you should focus on it more than the others.

Information like this helps you strengthen your business relationships with other websites or business managers online. You can send them traffic from your website, they send you traffic from their website and everybody wins from this scenario.

Real-Time Visitors

This report is also useful if you want to see how a new article on your blog is performing. In this case, Google Analytics displays a large graph with real-time visitors on your website. This is a sum of all the visitors on your website pages at that moment. Information like this can be very valuable and it can be easily accessed from the Google Analytics Dashboard.

Average Time Spent on Website

It's great if you get a lot of traffic on your website, but what if visitors leave quickly, your conversions will remain low. Similar to the Bounce Rate, the average time spent on a website report can tell you more about how well you capture the attention of your visitors.

Do you have a video that's 10 minutes long but visitors leave after just 1 minute? Chances are that you need to improve your video editing skills or your content choices. Have you created a long blog post but most readers leave after just 20 seconds? Maybe you need to refine your intro and hook to make the readers stay on the page and continue to read.

Make Sure That You Install Google Analytics as Soon as Possible!

Hopefully, this article provided sufficient answers to your original question - what do website analytics allow you to do? The next step would be to install Google Analytics on your website and use their step-by-step tutorial to learn how to use this tool correctly.

We understand that digital marketing can be a little bit confusing at times, especially if you're not particularly tech-savvy with information technology. Contact us today and speak with one of our experienced specialists who can help you install Google Analytics and run a successful marketing campaign for your website!

8 Powerful Benefits of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Marketing Strategies

Sat, 11 Apr 2020 05:00:00 GMT

Artificial intelligence is transforming the way we live, the way we communicate, as well as the way we market our businesses. Every day, AI is becoming more prevalent in the digital marketing world.

In fact, the global AI enterprise is expected to grow to over $31.2 billion by the year 2025, due to the evergrowing demand of chatbots, trolling bots, SEO, and more.

Artificial intelligence involves using systems that mimic human behavior, decision making, logic, learning, creativity, and even reasoning.

All Robocop jokes aside, it is safe to say that the future is upon us.

If you own a business or looking into starting one, you must understand how AI machine learning marketing can improve your marketing strategy.

Because without it, you may be falling behind your competitors that are using the right AI strategies.

Thankfully, we created this article to teach you about artificial intelligence and machine learning marketing strategies, so keep on reading to learn more!

How Does Artificial Intelligence Work With Marketing?

When many people first think of the words "artificial intelligence", they visualize scenes of Star Wars with different robots moving around in space. Well, this isn't too far from the truth, as Nasa has developed AI technology to improve many problems in space science.

However, what we are talking about is much different than space and science fiction.

This is the artificial intelligence that you have the power over by the use of your fingertips, with digital marketing.

AI is changing the way that many brands connect to and discover their audiences. AI now understands how a customer's purchasing journey works, what makes people purchase, and what turns them off from a brand.

Knowing these points can help anyone from small business owners to enterprises, like Google , operate more strategically and productively.

1. Product Recommendations

Do you ever wonder why certain brands seem to know you so well? How did they know that you were interested in that style of shoe, or considered that different career path?

This is artificial intelligence at work. They are using AI recommendation widgets that can detect related content to their audience's interests. Then, based on your browsing habits, offer you similar recommendations.

Take the widget IDIO, for example, which can track the visitor's interests as they browse, and then offer them specific content based on what they may be interested in reading.

2. Helps Brands Connect to Their Audiences

As a business owner, you know how difficult it is to stay in contact with your customers at all times, especially if your brand offers products or services in multiple time zones.

Customer service is in itself, a full-time job, let alone you trying to stay on top of that along with all your other tasks.

This is where the magic of chatbots comes in, by the use of messaging apps, you can now offer great customer service that is immediately responsive, trainable, and can help you boost your overall brand reputation.

Some of the other benefits of chatbots include:

Customer Service and Assistance

Considering that over 83% of online shoppers have questions before they purchase, if you are not there at that very moment, you could lose that sale. Chatbots provide an interactive communication experience, offering customer video tutorials, related products, shopping advice, images, and more.

Customer Response

The current fast-paced digital world creates customers that expect instant answers to their questions. They do not care if you are sleeping, they want answers. The use of a chatbot can increase the reputation of your brand by offering speedy replies and friendly service.

3. Adds a Personal Touch

Artificial intelligence can also be used during email marketing campaigns, to add a touch of personalization for your customer. This helps you to send relative emails to your audience, regarding what is going on for them at that time.

Your audience will receive an email that is so personal that it feels like it was crafted by you. This email will also include product recommendations of yours, of course!

4. Better Lead Generation

Understanding your customer's buying journey involves a lot of research and time. With AI, however, the journey has been followed and recorded for you.

The use of chatbots during this process will ask the customer appropriate questions, and use persuasive selling techniques to get you more sales.

5. Generating Fresh Content

You can now save yourself time from creating content by installing an AI program to do it for you! All you have to do is fill in some data, then it can come up with full reports and articles based on that data.

This is also called automated journalism, and companies such as the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, and more.

6. Website Design

If you are in a pinch to create a website, AI can help you with that too! Using a grid, along with your information, the AI software can come up with a professional appearing and functional website, for much cheaper than a designer.

7. Digital Advertising

AI technology can predict and detect trends, which can help brands develop advertisements that directly market the right audience. This technology uses information such as age, sex, interests, etc to generate an idea of that client's buying process.

8. Shopping By Image

Certain apps such as Bixby by Samsung allow users to shop by adding images relative to what they want. For example, if a user sees a t-shirt they like in a store, they can snap a photo of it, and Bixby will find a similar t-shirt online.

Learn More About AI Machine Learning Marketing

Although it seems that the AI machine learning marketing technologies are so advanced, they are just getting started.

There are many more predictions as to what's to come with the role of artificial intelligence and digital marketing.

To learn more about how you can use AI in digital marketing, feel free to contact us with any inquiries!

Facebook Marketing: 5 Important Reasons to Use Facebook Ads

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 05:00:00 GMT

What if the app that helps you find funny cat pictures could also take your business to the next level?

Most of us only think of Facebook as a silly social media app. However, Facebook ads present a unique opportunity for business owners everywhere.

Think about it: 2.37 billion people use Facebook every month. Taking out ads on this platform can be a real game-changer for your business.

Still wondering what Facebook ads can do for you? Here are a few of our favorite reasons to use this unique form of advertising.

1. Highly-Targeted Marketing

Since the advent of television, the goal of marketing has been finding the right audience. After all, the exact network, broadcast time, and show demographic makes all the difference in the effectiveness of your ad.

Facebook takes that idea to another level with their Ads. You can target every ad you take out to super-specific communities.

It's a snap to advertise based on customer age or location. You can even advertise based on their interests and online behavior.

In short, Facebook's ads let you take advantage of all the consumer information the social media giant collects every day.

2. Brand Awareness Boost

No matter the size of the business, brand awareness is always a big deal. Taking out ads on Facebook is a great way to directly (and indirectly) boost your brand awareness.

On the most direct level, this strategy boosts brand awareness by putting your ads in front of your key demographic. Your company will be on the radar of countless customers who had never heard of you.

Indirectly, Facebook ads boost brand awareness by generating word-of-mouth and customer referrals (more on this later).

3. Creating An Online Community

While taking out ads on Facebook is a great first step, you should be focusing on social media synergy. For example, you need to create a Facebook page for your business if you haven't done so already.

Creating and running a Facebook page is completely free. It helps you create an online community of loyal users who will serve as your brand ambassadors to others.

Meanwhile, those ads on Facebook can direct people to your social media pages as well as your website. In this way, you are building the kind of online community that will last far longer than your social media marketing campaign.

4. It's Very Economical

Sometimes, the reason to use Facebook Ads is nice and simple. For example, it is a very economical form of advertising!

While exact costs can vary based on your needs, Facebook marketing is cheaper than many alternative forms of marketing. For example, you can easily reach 100,000 people for only $50.

As we noted, these aren't just any potential customers. These highly-targeted ads will be sent to your exact demographic, creating warm leads that are ripe for customer conversion.

What if the ads don't work as well as you were hoping? Remember, you're not locked into a long contract with Facebook. You can use the ads for a short period, evaluate their impact, and then decide whether you will continue using them.

5. Drive Website Traffic

With any luck, your business has a robust online marketing strategy. For instance, you should have a professional-looking website on top of having a highly active social media presence.

As we noted before, these different online elements should work together. Your Facebook Ads should help drive website traffic, as should your social media posts.

Any campaign to drive website clicks benefits from your targeted advertisement. If you need more local customers to visit your store, you can create a campaign that targets your local area.

Ultimately, this is the best of both worlds. You can increase website traffic while focusing primarily on your key demographics.

6. Boost the Entire Sales Funnel

Ever try to explain the sales funnel to someone who is not in marketing or sales? Their reaction will confirm something you already knew: the sales funnel can be pretty complicated.

Making things more complex is that most marketing strategies only focus on one aspect of the funnel. Something that improves your sales may not directly improve your leads, for example.

With Facebook Ads, your entire sales funnel gets a big boost. Boosting sales is easy: by creating marketing campaigns that feature hot products and that directs people to your website, you will see a sales bump very quickly.

The boost in leads is similarly intuitive. Your ability to target specific campaigns to specific demographics and customer segments helps generate leads, and you can also use Facebook's specific Lead Ads feature .

Finally, Facebook makes it easy to calculate exactly how much you are spending to convert each customer. This helps you balance sales and cost, leading to a better understanding of your business revenue.

7. Engagement Refined

One of the best parts about advertising on Facebook is that real customer engagement is baked into each ad.

This is because your ads will take the form of regular posts via the social media platform. That means customers can like, comment, and share on your different advertisements.

Whenever someone likes or shares your ads, it exposes more of their friends and followers to the ad. At the same time, comments on a post help generate conversation and buzz about your products and company.

Put it all together and Facebook can refine your idea of customer engagement.

8. Return of the Referrals

The last reason to use Facebook ads is also the simplest: it helps create "word-of-mouth" advertising about your company.

While Facebook Ads are great, the real goal is to create offline buzz. When customers discover your products and services online, they are likelier to talk about it with others who have similar interests.

In this way, advertising via Facebook can increase referrals and word-of-mouth marketing.

Facebook Ads and Your Business: Making the Next Move

Now you know how Facebook Ads can benefit your business, but do you know who can help you take full advantage of social media marketing?

We specialize in digital marketing strategies that range from SEO and web design to social media marketing. To see how we can transform your social media marketing, contact us today !

A Beginner's Guide to Google My Business: Everything You Need to Know

Sun, 15 Mar 2020 12:12:53 GMT

Navigating the in-depth world of SEO can be overwhelming - we get that.

So, unsurprisingly, it's easy to forget some of the little aspects that make up a successful strategy.

But, we're here to tell you that one of the best ways to get started with SEO is to optimize your GMB (Google My Business) listing.

This is just one of many tools Google provides in its kit to help users soar to the top of their search engine results.

If this is the first time you’ve heard of GMB, or you’re not sure how to use it, don’t worry. We've written a beginner’s guide to 'Google my Business' detailing everything you need to know.

Let's dive in!

What's Google My Business?

GMB is an entirely free tool provided by Google, that's explicitly designed to help you manage the way your business appears on Google Search and Maps.

This listing provides space for your business name, location, and opening hours, as well as tools for monitoring and replying to customer reviews. You can add photos, learn where and how people are searching for you, and much more.

Why's this important?

Well, 46% of shoppers read customer reviews on their phones, and one in two people who conduct a local search visit the store that same day. Interestingly, over 90% of consumers use the internet to find a local business, with 33% looking every day!

The tech-savvy generations of today know how to evaluate a business to decide where to eat, shop, or buy services. So, if you're a local business with no photos, reviews, or details on Google, you'll quickly fall off their radar.

Often, Google is the first place new customers will interact with your business, so it’s crucial you use this platform makes an excellent first impression.

How to Get up and Running With GMB

First, you'll need to create an account and claim your business. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Log in to the Google Account you want to associate with your corporation (if you don't have an account yet, create one).

2. Go to google.com/business and select ‘Start now.’

3. Complete the questionnaire and add the right category for your business.

4. Verify your business via postcard, phone, email, instant verification, or bulk verification.

Tip: Google My Business is also available as an app for IOS and Android, so you can update your details and post statuses and pictures on the go.

Now you're all set up, let’s take a look at how you can use GMB as part of your SEO strategy .

Optimize Your GMB Listing

Go to the GMB dashboard and click the listing you’d like to work on. Here you can fill out various sections and update your information.

Try to add as much info as you can, some of the essentials include:

• Location

• Opening hours

• Your website

• Attributes (here you can add details like ‘wheelchair accessible’ or ‘free wifi’)

• The day and year you opened (if you’re a long-running business, capitalize on your experience)

• Description and sub-heading (these indicate the type of business and the services you offer)

• Frequently asked questions. (Preempt your customer’s problems to make it easier for them to find all the info they need to make a purchasing decision.)

Anyone can edit your listing. So, get in there early to avoid others making their own (often incorrect) changes. It’s also important to regularly check-in to see whether everything on your listing is still accurate.

Google My Business Photos

It's a fact: businesses with photos get 35% more clicks through to their website and 42% higher requests for driving directions.

This isn't surprising. Photos give customers a better idea of what to expect. This doesn’t only make your business look more professional, but it also takes away some of the uncertainty prospects feel towards a company they've never visited.

As such, if they're on the fence about visiting your store, this could be the clincher that gets them to come.

As a rule, images should be at least 720x720 pixels and either a JPG or PNG file. These photos go a long way in creating a first impression, so make them count - use high-quality snaps that showcase your business’s best qualities.

Pay special attention to your Cover Photo. This sits at the top of the listing. Whereas, your Profile Photo appears whenever you reply to a question or comment on a review.

Be sure to add images of the exterior of your store. This helps customers identify the location and makes you easier to find. You should also include snaps of the interiors. Make sure your shop looks inviting and that you showcase some of your products.

You can also upload videos that are shorter than 30 seconds and smaller than 100MB.

Google My Business Reviews

One of the best ways to encourage customers to leave positive reviews is by commenting on existing ones. Regularly check into your GMB account to view new reviews or questions and positively answer them.

Be grateful for each review and don’t act defensively if it's negative - all feedback should be taken graciously. This is a chance to apologize for any mistakes, reassure your customers, and thank them for their business.

Unprofessional responses can break your public image if you’re not careful.

Google My Business Posts

You can also post status updates. These are a bit like mini-ads or social media posts and can be written from your GMB dashboard.

Here are some ideas for posts:

• You could feature a new product with an image and a link to where people can buy it.

• Drive traffic to your latest blog post with a link to where people can read it

• Advertise seasonal specials, sales, and discounts

• Announce events you're running

How you utilize the post function is up to you, but using it in some capacity is definitely recommended.

Additional Features

Finally, let’s introduce some of the features that aren’t as famously known but still provide an excellent way of engaging with customers:

• If you’re a business that runs on appointments, you can add a ‘booking’ button where customers can book an appointment via your Google listing.

• Customers can use the inbuilt message function to get in touch with you.

Pretty handy, right?

Ready to Establish Yourself on Google My Business?

Now you know how to take those all-important steps to establish yourself on Google My Business, it's time to put this advice into action!

For more tips on how to build a successful SEO strategy, or if you have any questions about our services, please get in touch .

Google as a Company: The Ultimate Guide

Sat, 07 Mar 2020 15:02:45 GMT

A brief history of what led to Google becoming a prominent force in the world today.

Over the past two decades, the Internet has become one of the most useful tools that business owners can take advantage of. In fact, having a strong online presence is often mandatory to keep up with your competition.

The Internet wouldn't be what it is today, though, without one company— Google. We all know the name, but not everyone knows the history of how the company grew to be one of the largest in the world.

Not sure where to start? Don't worry, we’ve got you covered.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know about the company and what it provides.

1995: How It All Started

In 1995, two Stanford University students — Sergey Brin and Larry Page — met by coincidence. At the time, Page was considering Standford as an option for graduate school.

Within a year, the two had become friends and formed a partnership with a common goal of developing a tool that could rank the importance of web pages. Since this period was still a time when the Internet was in its infamous 'Wild West' era, the students recognized that there was far too much clutter to sift through.

The name was eventually changed from Backrub to Google in reference to the mathematics term 'Googolplex'. This is the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes.

This number was used symbolically as a representation of all the internet's web pages and as a reference to Google's mission to organize them by ranking.

1998: Next Steps

After their initial development, the two founders continued working out of their dorms and doing what they could to optimize the way their search engine functioned.

Over the next three years, word got around about what Google was, how it worked, and who was behind it all. Since Brin and Page were filling a void in a way that saw no competition, they caught the eye of many Silicon Valley investors.

Toward the end of 1998, Andy Bechtolsheim (co-founder of Sun Microsystems) gave Brin and Page a check for $100,000. This money was used to make the search engine an official company, and Google Inc. was the result.

Shortly afterward, the pair relocated to Menlo Park, California and made the garage of a suburban home their first office. The owner of the home was Susan Wojcicki, who is currently both a Google employee and the CEO of YouTube.

As time went on, the team rapidly grew to include engineers, sales employees, and other workers in order to ensure the company could function as efficiently as possible as it continued to scale outward.

2002: Striking Gold

Google was already proving to be a success, and it had experienced rapid growth since relocating to California. During this year, it completed the development and introduction of its AdWords service, which served as a third-party platform for pay-per-click advertising.

This marked a pivotal moment in digital marketing and is something many companies quickly took advantage of.

Over the next few years, the company also released a handful of its hallmark services, such as Google Maps, Google Earth, Gmail, and Google AdSense.

This time period served to further establish google as a dominant force in the tech industry as well as a company that stood apart from Yahoo!, which was one of Google's main competitors at the time.

Interestingly enough, Yahoo! sought to acquire Google in 2002, but Google's founders rejected their offer.

2007 and Onward

Fortunate Magazine named Google the 'number-one company to work for' in 2007, pushing it further into the spotlight. Over the past 13 years, it continued to introduce game-changing products, such as Google Chrome and Google Voice.

Although the search engine giant acquired YouTube in 2006, it's grown to be the world's largest video-hosting network and serves as a platform for some of the most recognizable brands in the entire world.

Today, Google continually strives to optimize its existing products, create new ones, and come up with innovative ideas that will benefit its user base as a whole.

Company Policy + Societal Impact

Google is renowned for its personal mantra 'don't be evil,' which was its unofficial motto until 2018 . Although the phrase was officially removed from its code of conduct during this year, no other part of this document has been changed since.

Regardless of its presence within the document, Google has continually sought to do the right thing when it comes to company ethics. This includes how products are sold and offered, how employees are treated, and how global issues are recognized.

Put simply, Google is willing to forego short-term gains if it means that a more positive impact can be made on the world.

Google's products have effectively changed the way that the world communicates with one another. For example, Google Drive allows multi-user access to important documents, while Google Translate can help bridge the gap between different languages.

On top of everything else, the company has made the Internet's information easily accessible to all of its users. In fact, it's likely difficult for many people who are used to the search engine's services to imagine a world without it.

How Google Works Can Seem Complicated

Google may seem like a complex company, but it doesn't have to be!

With the above information about Google in mind, you'll be well on your way to understanding where it came from, the impact it's made on the world, and how its service can benefit you.

Want to learn more about how we can help? Feel free to get in touch with us today to see what we can do.

The Essentials of Google Ads Marketing

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:04:14 GMT

Google Ads Marketing

Google is not an unfamiliar name to most US businesses. The search engine giant owns over 90 percent of the US search market share. They estimate there are over 2 trillion worldwide Google searches every year offered in 150 different languages.

What some businesses may not know is that Google also has an impressive digital ad service that companies can leverage. The service, called Google Ads, helps generate almost $95 billion in digital ad revenues annually.

If your company wants to know more about launching a Google Ads marketing strategy, then this article is for you! Learn these essentials on how to use Google Ads here and you’ll soon see if it’s the right fit for your business.

What is Google Ads Marketing?

Google Ad’s is Google’s advertising platform that lets users bid for the highest rank on their Search Engine Ranking Page (SERP). Companies with higher bids and more relevant ads are more likely to receive more webpage visits and subsequently, rank higher than their competitor’s sites.

Google Ads marketing is a valuable method for driving a good-fit customer or other high-quality traffic , to your company as they search for services or products like yours. A Google Ads strategy can bring more customers to your bricks and mortar sites as well as drive traffic to your website.

Getting Started With Google Ads

Google Ads requires a marketer to choose a specific Google keyword that pertains to their company. The marketer then competes with other marketers who are trying to make a bid on securing the same keyword in question. Marketers have three marketing channels to choose from when they submit their bids:

1. Pay-per-click : Amount to pay if a searcher clicks your ad

2. Pay-per-mille: Amount to pay for every 1,000 impressions

3. Pay-per-engagement: Amount to pay when searchers perform specific actions on your ad (i.e., watch videos, sign up for a mailing list).

What is Score Quality?

Score quality is when Google estimates the quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. A better quality ad will result in a better ad position as well as a lower bid price. On a scale of 1 through 10, a 10 is the best Google score you can achieve.

What is Ad Rank?

The bid amount a marketer provides combined with their company’s Quality Score will establish the estimated place where the marketer’s ad appears on the SERP page. This estimated place is called an ad rank. Google believes that if searchers are more likely to click on the marketer’s ad, they are more likely to complete a purchase.

Google Ads Categories

Google currently provides two different categories of online ads. These ads include a search network and a display network. Here are the details on both:

Search Network

Search Network ads will appear as text in Google’s SERP page for the specific keyword entered. Most Search Network ads will be highlighted on result pages with a green “Ad” logo next to it.

The primary benefit of search network ads is that they target demand harvesting users. Demand harvesting means aiming for those

searchers who are already aiming for your company and matching them to one of your services or products.

Display Network

Display Networks use other Google website partners to highlight your ad on their own sites. Some of these other partners include Youtube, Waze as well as Google’s Gmail along with millions more.

Display networks mean you can access the many ad formats available today. These formats include video, text or GIF images that can reach as many potential customers as possible.

Benefits of a Google Ads Marketing Campaign

Here are just a few benefits that a Google Ads marketing strategy can do for your business:

Existing Analytical Tools

Google Ads offers its Google Analytics tool that provides detailed information on how well your campaigns are performing as well as those campaigns that aren’t performing. This information is vital to collecting data on what’s happening on the other side of your campaign.

You’ll also be able to see what your target crowd responds to so that you can improve your online ads. If you update these campaigns, you might see an increase in your site’s return on investment (ROI.)

Fast and Effective Ways to Get Noticed

Most websites rely on search engine optimization (SEO) to build visibility for their company’s site and record more visitors. Unfortunately, this method consumes many months of effort before the company might see any progress in their web traffic flow. Most companies can’t wait that long to see this kind of change.

Google Ads can generate the traction and attention your company website wants.

Google Ads display network creates a shortcut for you to enjoy the level of results and visibility you need.

Google’s display network doesn’t rely on text-based searches alone to identify potential markets or deliver ads. Their use of high-quality graphic formats can drive more traffic to your site and increase your sales.

Leverage other Google Properties

As mentioned previously. Google ads marketing also extends to their other properties like Waze and Youtube. Google display ads are also seen on over two million other websites as well as over 600,000 other apps.

Affordable

One of Google Ads’ many benefits is that it’s very affordable. Marketers will only pay when a searcher clicks on their ad and they identify what amount they plan to spend.

As ad campaigns become more optimized over time, the cost per click amount will start to decline. The final result will be an increase in site traffic to your site without the increased cost.

Multiple Customer Targeting Options

One of the biggest benefits of Google Ads includes its assortment of targeting options. Their preset options allow marketers to build a custom audience to aim for. Some of these options include:

Location Targeting

Google Ads will allow you to target certain geographic locations where you want your ad shown. You can select locations like a specific radius around a target area, a city, county or even an entire country. AdWords lets you target searchers reviewing pages about your targeted location, even if they aren't physically located inside your target area.

Behavior Targeting

Google’s display network, for example, can target a specific audience based on their previous web-behavior. Behavioral data marketers study includes websites visited, pages viewed or time spent at a specific website.

T he display network can also steer towards particular demographics such as gender or age. Google’s algorithms can crunch device-identifying data like cookies or IP addresses. These algorithms can then predict a viewer’s age and gender without using specific email addresses or personal names.

Mobile Targeting

Mobile devices generate location data that marketers can analyze to identify where searchers are physically located when they search a site on their phone. Google Ads analyzes mobile location data so that marketers can time their ads to reach their audience at just the right time.

Google Ads marketing also provides mobile-friendly landing page layouts as well. These layouts include text, images, videos and links that can be easily seen from smaller screens found on tablets or smartphones. Mobile-friendly also includes easy call-to-action buttons that a viewer can activate from their phone and not have to complete the transaction from their desktop machine.

Language Targeting

One Google Ads preset option is language campaign targeting. Google Ads provides more than 40 language target options to choose from.

Language targeting helps marketers trying to reach a world- audience with language-specific messaging, who are located in countries where multiple languages are spoken. Language targeting appears on Google properties such as Waze Gmail or visited sites in the searcher’s native tongue.

Time Targeting

When marketers collect and analyze cellular GPS data and point-of-sale system data, they’re able to determine when customers are inside a store shopping. Google Ads lets marketers choose specified hours in the day to place their ads and reach the optimal amount of viewers who are about to make a purchase.

Remarketing to Previous Traffic

Google Ads lets you remarket to viewers who previously visited your site. Google collects cookies from previous viewers who showed promising behavior on your site but didn’t convert. This “promising behavior” might include visits to your details page or actual purchases.

Google Ads lets you create unique ads that can appeal to the searcher’s expanded needs. These ads might include products that complement a previous product purchased or discounts for repeat customers.

Conclusion

Google Ads can be a profitable improvement to your company’s bottom line. Google Ads allows for a high return on advertising investments because you only pay for ads searchers click through. Google Ads also allows you to provide personalized service to repeat customers and gauge your ads to complement their previous behavior with your site.

You can find out more about this advertising strategy as well as other important digital media strategy concepts on our website. If you’re ready to launch your own company’s Google ads marketing campaign, give us a call. We’d love to hear about your digital marketing needs.

Why You Need a Digital Marketing Strategy in 2020

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 18:56:40 GMT

Why is digital marketing necessary?

Without digital marketing, the reach of business is extremely limited. In today's world, it is hard for a business to maintain or even think about expanding if they don't have an online presence.

Did you know that there are nearly 31 million small businesses in the United States? That's a lot of potential competition to handle.

When it comes to standing out from the competition, the importance of digital marketing should not be underestimated. There are many reasons to take advantage of digital marketing so that you can both increase the size of your customer base and connect with it on a level like no other.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why is digital marketing important?"

Keep reading to learn about why you need a digital marketing strategy in 2020.

1. You Can See Important Analytics

With traditional marketing, whether it's a billboard or handing out fliers, all you can really do is hope that the time and money will be worth the investment. Conversely, when you engage in digital marketing, you can see detailed reports on the fruit of your efforts.

From how many people clicked on a link or photo to where those people were from and what age they were, you can see exactly how your digital marketing is working and how it's not. When you know what isn't working, you can take measures to do better.

It's much easier and cheaper to tinker and tailor with the mechanics of digital marketing than it is with traditional marketing.

I t is said that information is power. Well, information is money too. With the analytics of digital marketing, you can track the who, what, when, and where in relation to potential customers and act accordingly if it's necessary.

You'll never want to go back to handing out fliers again.

2. Your Pool of Potential Customers Is Much Wider

When you go with traditional marketing, your scope is quite limited. Even if you launch marketing efforts in several different states, it still won't be able to match the potential audience you can reach in the digital world.

Did you know that there are almost 4.5 billion active internet users across the globe?

That's more than half of the number of people on the planet, which currently stands at nearly 7.8 billion .

Simply put, a business must reach out to where potential customers are aggregated. In almost every case, those people are going to be found somewhere on social media.

Billions of people use social media sites like Facebook and Instagram every day and even more people than that use search engines like Google and Bing.

With traditional marketing, the number of potential customers will always be in the hundreds or thousands, maybe millions, but with digital marketing for businesses, you can start thinking in terms of billions. This is not a pool of potential customers, it's an ocean and it should not be left untapped.

3. Digital Marketing Is More Cost-Effective

Another important number to consider when thinking about digital marketing versus traditional marketing is cost, of course. Traditional marketing outlets like radio, print, and TV are not as cost-effective as ads on social media and search engines.

If a TV commercial isn't successful for some reason, then you would have to create a new one for more money and also pay for it to be broadcasted. If a social media ad isn't successful, you can finetune and edit it sometimes without even taking it down. Depending on the ad, you don't even have to pay everything upfront but can pay for the projected number of views or clicks.

Strategies like search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing can also help to bolster and boost the success of your digital marketing in general.

In short, for less money, you can reach more people while also knowing how each ad is performing in detail.

4. You Can Interact with Customers

The old adage that the customer should come first has always been true. With a strategized online presence, you can have access to more outlets and opportunities for interacting with customers.

Responding to comments, questions, and feedback will make your customers feel heard. This will increase customer loyalty and allow your business to maintain a relationship with customers that you wouldn't be able to do as often or as effectively offline.

Even if a customer leaves negative feedback, by reaching out to them in an attempt to fix the situation, you're showing them and people who read the review that you care about your customers.

Plus, you can handle customer queries at a quicker pace. Leaving a comment on a Facebook ad, for example, is much more convenient for a customer than it would be to find a phone number and make a phone call. With the right digital marketing strategy, queries that are left in a comments section or elsewhere can be answered in a manner that is both quick and personal.

5. You Can Take Advantage of E-Commerce

Gone are the days when someone was forced to get in their car and drive to a specific store in order to buy something they wanted.

More and more people are doing their shopping online. It's quicker, more convenient, and it allows them to stay in the comfort of their own homes, which can be a huge benefit to introverted customers.

Whether you have a store on your own business website or you're listing your products on Amazon, you'll want to be a part of the ever-increasing popularity of e-commerce.

You can also take advantage of various social media sites to post attractive pictures of your products. With a link to purchase, more and more customers will be able to enjoy the products and services that your business has to offer.

6. You Can Create Engaging Content

Traditionally marketing can be quite one-sided, consisting of ads that simply tell a viewer or reader what they're selling and why they should buy it. However, with digital marketing, you can create content that engages in a meaningful way with potential customers.

A blog, for example, is a great way to offer potential customers valuable content on a regular basis. They're more likely to keep their ears open if you are being informative rather than just trying to pitch a product.

From 360 degree video to how-to articles, your potential customers will come for high-quality content and stay for reliable products.

Even if a visitor to your website, for example, comes and goes, that doesn't mean you won't see them again. For instance, if you give potential customers the option of signing up for an informative and entertaining newsletter, then you can keep them updated on your products and more.

Memes on social media are yet another way to spread your brand while also providing something that can make people laugh or relate to your ethos.

7. You Can Target Niche Groups

With traditional marketing, you can only reach a broad audience but with digital marketing, you can focus on niche groups just by tweaking a few parameters.

Not only can digital marketing help you to discover what niche groups belong in your customer base, but after you find out, you can capitalize on that information.

When you set up a Facebook ad, for example, you can choose which demographics you want to target, from age to location and more.

If you sell men's deodorant, for example, then you won't have to waste time and money showing your ad to women. Rather, you can regulate your ad so that it shows up in the social media feed of men.

8. Other Businesses Are Doing It

Are you still asking yourself, "Why use digital marketing?" The answer is simple.

There's a vast audience of potential customers out there. As you read this article, other businesses are already winning those customers over with their digital marketing strategies. Essentially, every customer they gain is your loss.

This is why it's important to start thinking in terms of how you're going to accomplish your digital marketing goals rather than if you should have any goals in the first place.

As technology continues to progress, there will be more and more opportunities for businesses to evolve their digital marketing strategies. First things first, you need an online presence before you can join the future and invest in your success.

Are You Ready to Create a Digital Marketing Strategy?

Now that you know some of the reasons why you need a digital marketing strategy in 2020, you can take the necessary measures to ensure the success of your business. A new year is the best time to revolutionize how your business handles its marketing.

IP Marketing is your go-to source for digital marketing strategies. Our knowledgeable experts can assist you with search engine optimization, Google ads and social media marketing, website design, and the all-important creation of valuable content. We can guide you into the digital future.

If you have any questions about our high-quality services, feel free to contact us . We're always happy to help.

What is SEO? Learn what SEO is and Why it is Important!

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 17:13:10 GMT

What is SEO? 7 Things You Need to Know

Have you ever asked yourself, "What does SEO stand for?"

SEO is an acronym that refers to ' search engine optimization .' SEO can make the difference between your website appearing on the first page of a search engine's results and the very last page.

Successful businesses have recognized the importance of SEO and now use it as a strategy to increase their exposure and ultimately increase their profits. However, as technology and competition get more complicated, so do the requirements of successful SEO. There are various strategies and tips you can take advantage of so that you can get the most out of search engine optimization.

What is SEO? Keep reading for 7 things you need to know about search engine optimization.

1. You Need Quality Content

The old adage about quantity over quality should really be kept in mind when it comes to the content you put on your site's blog. You could have a thousand blog posts on your business website but if your content isn't taking advantage of SEO, you won't be getting the most out of it.

However, another factor that can work against you is if your content is written with SEO in mind while forgetting about the actual human beings who will be reading your posts. What you want to aim for are many articles that are written with both SEO and human reading in mind.

The best strategy is to create content that customers will find valuable. When a customer finds value in your content, they're more likely to become loyal to your brand. SEO can give you hints and suggestions about what kind of content to make but your content shouldn't be made around a handful of keywords, for example.

In addition to quality content, your blog should be regularly updated with fresh content in order to remain relevant. That way, customers old and new will continue to visit your business website.

2. You Need a Fast Website

First and foremost, you need a website , but not just any kind of website. The headquarters of your online presence must be optimized for speed when it comes to loading pages and the text, images, and videos that are on them. By optimizing for speed, you'll also be optimizing for search engine results.

There are some businesses that have websites that are trying too hard to be unique and artful. This comes with a cost. Search engines like Google also determine search results by factoring in the speed at which a site loads, which can put your quality content at risk of being invisible to potential customers.

In fact, if certain aspects of your site are reducing its speed, then it's worth it to remove those aspects altogether. Depending on what it is, you could reformat it or present it in a completely different form, such as going from video to text.

Even if search engine results were not affected by the speed of your site, it would still be a problem. The patience of potential customers is not infinite. On the contrary, it's small enough to where if your page is taking more a few seconds to load, they may leave your site for good.

3. You Need Optimized URLs

The Google bots that work to determine search engine results are not perfect. If the URLs that connect people to your content are not easily understandable, then that can work against your attempts at search engine optimization. A human being may take the time to decipher your URL but a bot won't.

A successful URL should be both readable and relevant to the content it links to.

When creating a URL for a specific post, remember that Google reads hyphens, not underscores. Additionally, the entirety of your URL should be lowercase rather than uppercase. This will ensure that there is no confusion or technical mistakes.

If possible, you should try to keep the number of words in your URL within the range of about 2 to 4.

Your most high-quality, traffic-driving content should be kept in the root folder of your business website to signify its importance. You can also use robots.txt to control what files or pages are requested from your website.

4. You Need Unique Meta Descriptions

Are you still asking yourself, "What does SEO mean?" If so, then you should know that the proverb about leaving no stone left unturned applies to the mechanics of search engine optimization.

While paying attention to all the nuances of SEO, it can be easy to forget about other important factors that can contribute to your search result ranking. For instance, meta descriptions deserve your attention as much as any other aspect of SEO.

After someone searches using Google or Bing and finds a result that links to your site, one of the first things they'll see is the meta description. To ensure that you leave a good impression, you should write a meaningful and unique meta description for each page on your business's website.

If you have a blog filled to the brim with rich content, then a generalized meta description simply won't provide a quality user experience. Contradictory information is bound to arise and confuse the people who are visiting your website.

5. You Need to Keep an Eye on Web Analytics

You may have the idea that web analytics won't matter until later on when you have more information to look at.

However, it's best to keep track of all the information from the very beginning.

Once you've implemented your SEO strategies, then you should have the analytical software working around the clock so you can tell what is working and what isn't. This will allow you to fine-tune your strategy so that you can maximize your success.

Every ounce of information is worth consideration and can contribute to a picture that can tell you how to proceed with your marketing efforts in the future.

With this in mind, whether you use public or private software, it should be up and running before your marketing strategies are launched.

6. You Need to Link to Established Websites

It might seem counterintuitive at first to put links in your content to websites that are popular.

You could look at it as a tit for tat situation. As your website grows, you should be confident in linking to relevant and established websites because they're more likely to link to your site in the future.

From humble beginnings, you can aim to reach the authority and popularity of other websites but you can't expect them to link to you if you won't link to them.

Additionally, you can reach out to social media influencers whom you've linked to, for example, and notify them of what you did. If they find value in your content, they could share it with their sizeable audience.

Either way, having quality and trustworthy links on your website is a fundamental aspect of SEO.

7. You Need SEO Across the Board

SEO isn't limited to your website and where it appears in the search results of places like Yahoo! and Google.

Rather, you can apply the methodology of search engine optimization to other areas of marketing and social media too. For example, you can optimize the search results for YouTube, app stores, Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and more.

Of course, there will be specific differences depending on what you're working with but the essential concept of being on the top of the list remains the same.

Best of all, as you optimize the SEO of your brand in general, aspects of your business can appear in the top results of main search engines like Bing. For example, you shouldn't be surprised to see your Youtube video appear as the result of a Google search.

What is SEO? Now You Can Tell Your Colleagues

Now that you've learned about the importance of SEO, you can give an in-depth answer to someone who asks, "What is SEO?"

From there, you can boost the exposure and success of your business by taking advantage of all that SEO has to offer.

In an increasingly competitive world, it takes a lot to get your products and services noticed by potential customers. From SEO optimization and social media marketing to web design and Google ads marketing, IP marketing solutions has everything you need to stand out from the crowd. Our knowledgeable team members will do everything they can to meet your marketing needs.

SEO doesn't have to be intimidating or frustrating. If you have any questions about our high-quality services, feel free to contact us . We're always happy to help.