Category Archives: Small Business Marketing

6 Awesome Strategies that Will Show You How To Grow Your Business Locally

July 10, 2013Blogging, SEO, Small Business Marketing, Viral marketingPeter Marino

Businesses need to rely on either excellent marketing or local customers if they want to be successful locally. The only thing is that businesses usually have low budgets for local marketing. One optimal method of ensuring that you maximize your potential in terms of marketing is to utilize local sources of marketing and develop your business locally. There are more than just a few methods you can get this accomplished so you need to select strategies that best fit your business model. You need to always identify the demographics of your customers before anything else and cater your efforts of marketing to them when you can.

Setting Up for Local Business
Before you launch a local campaign for marketing, make sure you are completely set up especially if you are beginning a brand new business. It is a good idea to do research of the options you plan to pursue and plan up to half a year in advance while you get your business license or settle a lease. In the case where you have already set up your business, you might want to think about local business rebranding. You need to consult your graphic designer or website developer to ensure that you have great, attractive, and professional local branding. In the long run, it will pay off.

Create Local Website
Setting up your website is the next step. This is something you should do especially when you are planning to penetrate the local market. After all, local customers search online for stuff they need using search engines. Having your site online with service details, directions and contact information is highly recommended.

Advertise with Free Ads
Use free advertising online. Sign up for a free account on Google places where you can list a service description, post a picture, list a website link, phone number and your address. Outside of Google, there are also going to be places your customers might look so get listed as much as you can. Sign up for free accounts on CitySearch, Yelp, FourSquare, Twitter and Facebook. You should set up a Facebook page and make friendly suggestions that your customers or visitors ‘like’ your account. When used regularly, these are great tools for exposing your business to local customers.

Start Blogging
If you love to write and want to share your business, your craft, offer videos, photos and tips of your business then you need to consider blogging. This could attract a throng of customers. Keep in mind that successful business blogs are the ones that give out stuff other than business promotions. They offer insight about the community or the craft. Blogs updated regularly will gain followers and can be linked to Twitter, Facebook or your website.

Network Locally
In your local newspaper business section, find out who the local reporters are and get to know them. They can, after all, be the key to getting your business promoted locally. You might first ask about advertising that is paid and then inquire if there are free listings for businesses on the website of the newspaper. When you can, make sure you keep networking with them and other local businesses.

Get Referrals
Encourage all your website visitors and customers to write reviews on your website to help promote what you have to offer. Not all reviews might be great and if a majority are favourable they will get you more customers.

Growing your business, whether locally or online will demand a lot of time from you and the only way to succeed is by using proven strategies. Try these 6 awesome strategies to grow your business locally.

Emma Ursula is the local online marketing expert at OSI Affiliate Software providing local marketing help. When Emma is not golfing, she is always reading.

How Google Glass Could Change SEO

July 8, 2013Blogging, Google glass, SEO, Small Business Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Technologyaugmented reality, google glass, Google glass seo, How Google Glass Could Change SEO, SEOPeter Marino

Most of us who have been in the SEO game for a few years, will be somewhat reliant on Google to continue our trade. Google is the largest search engine by far, so it’s there that we want to reach the top of the SERPs, and it’s generally ‘what Google say goes’ as far as our promotional strategies are concerned.

But Google is reliant on hardware to be any use. In order to access Google at all, we need to be using a computer, smartphone or tablet of some kind – and so changes in the hardware industry could very easily have a big effect on the way we optimise for search. With Google Glass poised to make a huge splash in the hardware scene sometime soon, how might we expect this to alter the way we use search?

Factors to consider

Of course for Google Glass to have any impact on SEO, it is somewhat necessary for the device to actually be a hit. If nobody uses Google Glass, then it’s not going to affect search – end of story. That said though, even if Google Glass doesn’t take off in a big way, it could certainly prepare the market for the introduction of other augmented reality hardware. It might be that Google Glass flops, but ‘The Viewmaster 5,0089’ becomes a huge hit. And if that happens, then Google needs to make sure that it is the number one search provider still – lest Bing get in there first and steal a big portion of the market.

The New Search

Assuming though that Google Glass is a hit, and that the competition doesn’t turn up and throw a spoke in the works, we will likely all be using Google to search still – just on our faces.

Currently Google Glass isn’t really a device that you might surf the web with, but as developers start creating apps for it, we’ll probably find browsers popping up and people searching the web ‘hands free’.

And to do this, people will want to be able to use voice commands. With no other way to input text, they will be completely reliant on the in-built voice-recognition software in order to get the search results they want. In turn, this means we might start seeing a change in the kinds of keywords that people use – they’ll be searching for things that come more naturally to say rather than things that come more naturally to type.

This will likely mean a wider variety of keywords, and it will probably mean more ‘long tail’ keywords – though because voice-recognition isn’t perfect, most people will still probably want to keep their searches rather brief.

Searching on the Move

The fact that people will be walking around as they wear their hardware though, might also affect the kinds of things that they search for – we might start to see people searching for local conveniences more often for example, or for the weather reports.

Likewise, Google is likely to include location services even more closely as more and more people start searching on the go (something that has already happened to an extent thanks to the popularity of smartphones). Watch this space to find out what else might change, but just make sure that your site and your SEO is ready.

Today’s guest writer, Mike, is an internet marketing consultant who works at Wisdek. He is a passionate blogger and likes to share his strategies and views on marketing. He loves technology and is fond of knowing more about the latest gadgets that enter the market.

3 Questions To Ask Answer Before Designing Your Medical Website

July 5, 2013Facebook Marketing, medical website design, SEO, Small Business Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Web DesignPeter Marino

Before you spend lots of money designing a flashy new website you are going to want to make sure that it’s not just bells and whistles with no real content to sell your business. Make sure you have a site that helps you capitalize on your potential clientele and effectively market your services. Before you even get started ask yourself these following questions.

Do I make the most of my staff page?

If you want people to know right off the bat what kind of person you are, show them the faces behind the company. Truly take advantage of the opportunity to share information about yourself and your staff. Include photos and brief bios about each of your staff members. You’d be surprised how comforting this can be for people who may be skeptical about your company, perhaps because they are considering leaving a practice they’d come to know and love. They would really benefit from seeing the type of people they’ll meet in your office. It’s always good to put a face to a name and that is especially true when putting a face to your business.

Also don’t be afraid to step outside of the box with your staff bios. Perhaps instead of just listing their name, occupation and credentials, include interesting facts about them. For example customers may find it endearing to know their favorite quotes or most cherished accomplishment.

Does my web design have ‘social proof’?

Social Proof is a “psychology phenomenon where people assume the action of others reflect the correct behavior for a given situation…driven by the assumption that the surrounding people have more information than they do.” It is a classic case of monkey see monkey do. You can use social media to make sure your business is being talked about, shared and maintaining a degree of popularity, therefore building your reputation through social proof.

You probably know by now that you need to have your business represented on Facebook, so you have created a Facebook page. You want your page to be active and engaging. Don’t host a page simply for the sake of putting it on your website. Use it as a way to interact with your clients, stay engaged with the online community and show that you are personable and truly involved in your field. Use it to post articles about your field, links to your specials, and to start discussions about the new and inventive procedures your office offers. That is all content and content is important if you want to get noticed.

Facebook has been offering the “Sponsored Story” feature for some time now. It allows advertisers to attain more likes, posts and other activity. By getting their “story” featured, it is seen on the right hand side of your friends Facebook screen and functions as an advertisement of sorts.

In addition to Facebook make sure your social presence is big! If someone tweets something like, “I just got treated for sun damage at “XYZ Dermatology” and my skin has never looked better,” be sure to re-tweet it. Get listed on Yelp, be searchable on Google Business, allow people to check-in on Foursquare, get subscribers to your blog, and post testimonials to your page. Most importantly, make sure it all links back to your website.

Is my site at all persuasive?

Remember that at the end of the day you are selling a service. You can have the prettiest website on the internet and never get a single client if you aren’t persuasive. Incorporate some simple selling strategies to make sure that you are actively marketing and selling your services.

Product Badges—Help your customers during the decision making process by “badging” certain products with qualities such as “best-selling service,” “customer favorite,” “limited time only.”

Customer Reviews—the badges will catch their eye and the reviews will reel them in. You’ve labeled a product as best-selling, so include a review from a particularly happy customer to let people know that you aren’t baselessly boasting about your services.

Suggested sells—Strategies like buy-one get half off is a great way to persuade customers to try new products. Also sharing information about what other clients are buying can be quite persuasive. For example you could have a note under products that complement each other reading something like, “Customers who received the advanced acne treatment also purchased the dark spot removal services.” It suggests that getting both is a logical decision many others have also made and therefore is likely a good investment.

Our Guest Author: Dr. Steven Zimmet is an Austin dermatologist at Zimmet Vein and Dermatology who is dedicated to venous and dermatological advancements. Dr. Zimmet was nominated by his peers for inclusion in the Best Doctors in America Database 2011-2012 and has proudly served the Austin area for several years.

Symbiotic Relationship Between SEO and Content Management Key To Future Gains

July 4, 2013Blogging, content marketing, Copywriting, SEO, Small Business MarketingPeter Marino

The major buzzword around SEO campaigns these days is ‘quality’ – and predominantly it is being used in reference to content.

Indeed, Google seems to have developed an obsession with content management and, with it becoming increasingly difficult to successfully harness the majority of SEO techniques without incurring penalties, content is King.

This doesn’t mean, however, that quality content alone can deliver a successful SEO campaign – many great writers don’t know the first thing about online marketing strategy, let alone site mapping. What it does indicate, however, is that there needs to be a symbiotic relationship between SEO and content management – the two need to go hand in hand.

Objectifying Quality

The almost contradictory reality within new SEO techniques is that Google’s algorithm tools are now judging quality; something that is generally subjective. Indeed, recently, Google’s Vice President, Amit Singhal, stated that – “If you build high-quality content that adds value, and your readers and your users seek you out, then you don’t need to worry about anything else”.

Ensure Quality Content:

Questions to ask yourself

1. Is it unique?

2. Is it useful?

3. Is it well written?

Still, in the absence of each and every website being manually assessed by content and design professionals, with niche industry expertise, there will always be techniques that you can successfully implement, in order to enhance your website’s success. And, on that note, Singhal also pointed out that discounting SEO would be like discounting marketing in general.

Importance of Trust and Genuine Interaction

If quality is key to content, then genuine intent is key to SEO and, in truth, once more, the two are interconnected. Quality, unique and useful content is a major source of improving trust. All of this can be lost, however, if you then partake in ‘shortcut’ SEO initiatives, such as paid link schemes, or over indulge in advertising.

One of the most important elements of trust – both online and in the ‘real’ word – is making yourself known. Google seems to be intent on creating an online marketplace, which applauds the same attributes appreciated in the outside world – just with a more futuristic Star Trek-esque pizzazz. Simply, as online marketing evolves to become ever more important, to both global and local businesses, becoming a trusted individual – as opposed to just a trusted website -is key to your success.

The process to making yourself known, in this respect, is really quite straight forward and simply revolves around developing a personal profile – a photograph, brief history, business address, certification, testimonials (real ones) and links to your personal Facebook page – is really all that is required.

There are many other techniques to support your trust building campaign, but truly they all revolve around being an active, genuine and useful member of your online community. Yes, link building with high trust-ranking sites, such as; Universities and Government Offices, helps, but the consensus seems to be that if your content is quality and your interaction genuine and thorough, then you will achieve this anyway.

Other Trust Building Tips

(taken from ‘Proving Stuff on the Web’)

1. Clean and clear design

2. Correct spelling and grammar

3. Quality photograph of authors

4.Citations to other trustworthy sites

5. High quality graphics, screenshots,

or other images

6. Sign of social adoption (likes, shares)

7. External validation from reviewed platforms

8. Short, simple and memorable domain/brand name

9. Well reasoned, logical and intelligent content

10. Professional logo

11. On site interaction and engagement

12. Frequently updated content

13. Clear indication from author if/when bias or conflict of interest exists

Combining Your SEO With Content Management

With the basics of both content creation and SEO strategy firmly in place, it is now time to create a symbiotic relationship between the two, in an all encompassing campaign. Indeed, such is the benefit of this symbiosis that some major agencies have even merged, in order to reap the rewards. Loud Interactive and Alpha Zeta’s was one prime example, with some suggesting that the combined capacity had created the “ultimate web traffic stimulant”.

Fundamentally, this balance is part of ensuring that you are not simply trying to get as many people to your website as possible, but rather you are attracting the right visitors – those that will translate into tangible benefits. This is unless you are running a site purely to make money from Adsense – in which case one-time visitors are what you are after.

To simplify things into a four-step programme of challenges; you are looking to achieve the following through your campaign:

1. Brand Identity

2. Sales

3. Interaction

4. Repeat Visitors

Within this 4-step programme, it is clear to see that quality is of primary importance.

With regards to your brand identity, it is imperative that people associate your brand/company name with quality – in terms of Information, Service and Product. This is a major component of trust-building and it needs to be backed up at all times by quality content.

SEO techniques, such as; guest blogging and link building, as well as on site optimisation, are crucially important in ensuring that you can attract traffic to your site, but it is the reputation you can establish within your target base that will, ultimately, have more of an impact on your sales.

Interaction is the next vital component of this four-step programme and its benefits are multi-faceted.

Firstly, by inspiring and encouraging an individual to interact on your site, you are making them feel like an active and participatory member of your community. The better a reputation your site gets, the keener other individuals and companies will be to become a part of it.

This interaction, too, develops increased trust and, of course, the additional comments and ideas from members of your community will help to enhance the benefit of your content. It can also serve as a marketing tool in itself, by attracting other people to enter into the discussion and, thus, visit your site.

The final step involves being able to attract repeat traffic. One sure way to ensure the success of your website is to develop an active and loyal support base. All of the above components contribute towards this and it is crucial to maximise interaction and provide users with the information that they want.

Another major factor in securing such a loyal support base is to ensure consistency, both in terms of quality and frequency. It is crucial that you are on top of current trends and, thus, are consistently able to provide visitors with the information they desire. This involves having content writers who, as well as being excellent writers versed in your specific industry or sector, also have excellent research capabilities. Developing strong relationships and partnerships with other industry leaders is also crucial, in this respect, to ensure you stay one step ahead.

Final Thoughts

Simply, it is highly beneficial to develop your content and SEO campaigns together, in order to ensure that everything fits into an overriding website management strategy.

Quality content is only quality if it is what your customers want and if it translates into sales. Likewise, a successful SEO campaign, which attracts traffic to your site, is only truly beneficial if it is the right traffic and, thus, translates into sales.

A successful dual content and SEO strategy can help you to develop your brand and truly pave the way to becoming a successful, highly trusted, quality market leader.

Our guest author: Jonathan is the CEO of Fresh Fire Media, a company that specialises in fully comprehensive website development – from the building and hosting, to the content, SEO and marketing. With an integrated service, they provide a well oiled, collaborative digital presence that delivers exceptional results with longevity.