How to Continue to Choose the Right Keywords

Your website has the power to be your best salesperson – but not if you are using the wrong keywords. Keywords are the crucial element in making sure that your website ranks high on search engine result pages, after all.

While everyone knows about SEO, not everyone is exactly sure how to choose the right keywords. If you are just now getting into the SEO game it can be especially daunting.

It helps to keep in mind that when it comes to choosing keywords, you goal is to figure out what keywords your potential customers are using to search for your products and services and then connect your website to those keywords. You also should keep in mind the following:

  1. It’s important to size up the competition. What are they blogging about? What do their landing pages look like? Are there particular keywords that appear repeatedly in their copy? If their website shows up on the first page of search results you will know the keywords they are using get noticed.
  2. Generic keywords don’t work. Keywords do not have to be just one word. In fact, it’s probably better if they aren’t. A little specificity goes a long way. For example, if you sell floor coverings, “tile” or “carpet” are going to be pretty competitive words and probably won’t do you a lot of good. Instead, focus on more descriptive phrases such as “porcelain floor tile” or “laminate wood flooring.”
  3. Testing is essential. You need to test how particular keywords work. You may be surprised to learn how a slight change in words or word order can make a significant difference. If you don’t test, however, you will never know which combinations work better than others.
  4. Region-specific keywords can make a big impact. When you add your city and state as keyword phrases, as well as the address of your business, this lets the search engines know you serve that market. This will help to drive local traffic to your site.

Coming up with an initial set of keywords can be a lot of work. And the fact is, you probably won’t get it right the first time. However, it does get easier over time since you will have a baseline for knowing what works and what doesn’t work. The key to success is to always pay close attention to how your website is ranking on search engine result pages. That way you can make the changes necessary to excel at SEO.

Building a Better AdWords Campaign

AdWords is a great way to market your business and drive traffic to your website. Unfortunately, when not executed correctly, it can also be a huge drain on your marketing budget. This is especially true if AdWords is your principal marketing method.

If you want to launch an AdWords campaign and are expecting a big ROI, you are going to have to manage that campaign. What follows is a list of the things you need to pay particular attention to if you want your AdWords campaign to be successful and cost-effective.

  1. Keyword Matches. Picking the wrong keyword match type is a surefire way to obtain poor results. There are three keyword match types-broad, phrase and exact. Each type will produce different conversion rates and search values so you must do your research before choosing which type is best for your purposes.
  2. Negative Keywords. Targeting keywords is only one part of the AdWords equation. Using negative keywords will save money on clicks that have no chance of converting. Your ads also will receive better quality scores and enjoy higher click-through rates.
  3. Landing Pages. If your ad gets people to your landing page your work has just begun. In order to convert, your landing page needs a great headline, a clear call-to-action and compelling copy. It also must be mobile-friendly. If your landing page doesn’t contain all of these elements, it won’t matter how successfully your ads are performing.
  4. Product Pages. If you are a jewelry store sending someone looking for pearl earrings to your home page you are very likely to lose that sale. Direct matches are your best chance to convert sales. Failing to do so is a costly mistake that can be easily avoided.
  5. A/B Testing. When it comes to your ad copy and landing pages, you must always be testing. No matter how successful your ad copy or landing page currently is, it can always be more successful. Many people are surprised to learn how just a slight change to a landing page can drive up conversion rates. It also is important to keep in mind that you are not testing just for the sake of testing. Instead, you want to use your results so that you have the correct data and analysis to support any changes.

An AdWords campaign can do wonders for your business but only if it is well executed. While a successful AdWords campaign is never a sure thing, paying attention to the most crucial aspects of your campaign will greatly increase the likelihood of its success.

Three Ways to Achieve Work-Life Balance this Holiday Season

The holidays are right around the corner and everyone is full of good cheer. Well, maybe not everyone. If you are a small business owner it can be difficult to find a work – life balance between Thanksgiving and the New Year.

Small business owners are well aware of the fact that if they aren’t working they aren’t making money – and may be losing customers. They also are (or should be) aware that if they don’t take a break from the stresses of work from time to time, they won’t be able to perform the way they need to. They also may regret not spending enough time with friends and family.

So what’s a business owner to do? Here are some tips for achieving balance during the holiday season:

  1. Get organized. Set up meetings and calls with clients but also make sure you schedule time for non-work related activities. This reduces stress because you can be fully present no matter if you are at work or at play because you aren’t neglecting either.
  2. Communicate with clients. Letting your clients know in advance what your availability will be over the holidays goes a long way toward making the holidays go more smoothly. The fact is, most of your clients don’t want to be in work mode throughout the holiday season so they would like to get things done as quickly and efficiently as possible, as well. The simple act of telling clients when you will be open for business will allow them to plan ahead and reassure them that you are taking care of business.
  3. When you work, work hard. We’re all guilty of wasting time on social media or checking our emails more than necessary during the workday. To ensure you are as productive as possible, don’t try to sneak in online holiday shopping while at the office, for example. You also should work at times when you are the most productive. If you are a morning person, for example, go into the office as early as possible and get as much work done as you can before noon and then leave. Working at full speed all morning and then leaving early makes much more sense than staying all day but taking breaks or getting distracted and wasting time.

The holidays should be the most wonderful time of the year. By making sure that you achieve the right balance between what you need to do and what you want to do, it will stay that way. The key is to plan in advance so you don’t find yourself stressed on all fronts.

The Four Most Successful Lead Generation Strategies of 2017—and Likely 2018

As the year-end approaches, it is a good time to reflect on what marketing methods have proven most effective over the course of the past year. With B2B lead generation marketing budgets expected to increase by approximately 5 percent in 2018, it is important to know which techniques are working so that you know where to invest your marketing dollars.
So what were the clear winners in 2017 when it came to B2B lead generation tactics? Read on to find out and to learn more about how these tactics can help make 2018 your business’s most successful year ever.

  1. Content Marketing. It seems cliche by now but content really is king. Well-written content that connects, educates and inspires its readers will establish you as a thought leader in your industry. It also will do wonders for your SEO ranking so people can find you online. Finally, it will increase the number of prospects who reach out to you instead of the other way around. What’s best? The cost-per-lead is very reasonable.
  2. Email Marketing. Email marketing continues to be a force unlike any other in the world of lead generation. Part of its appeal is its versatility. Use it to promote your blog, sales event or just to connect with customers and prospects. Make sure it includes a killer call – to – action and there is virtually no end to the success you can achieve with this type of marketing. In fact, email marketing has been shown to be one of the best ways to nurture leads.
  3. Pay-Per-Click. One key to making PPC work harder for you is to make sure that all of your ads don’t end up on the same landing page. With separate landing pages for each keyword, your PPC campaign can be even more successful at converting sales. Just make sure that your landing page copy matches the initial search.
  4. Social Media Marketing. This technique is proof that it pays to be patient. If you keep with it over the long haul, your social media efforts are very likely to pay off in the form of new leads. Consider this: In 2017, the third leading source of visits to websites originated from social media platforms. With almost 75 percent of internet users on social media, it is easy to see how lucrative social media marketing can be in terms of lead generation.

How to Reel in Lukewarm Leads

If you are a business that doesn’t have an endless amount of time and money (and what business does?), deciding which leads to pass on and which ones to pursue can have a huge effect on your bottom line. After all, if you are fairly certain a lead is going nowhere, there is no sense wasting your time on that lead. Conversely, failing to follow up with a lead that seems to be very interested can mean the loss of a big sale.

It would be nice if all leads fit neatly into two categories – dead ends and certain to convert – but that’s not how it is. In many cases, a lead seems like it could go either way. As a result, you don’t feel comfortable tossing any lead aside but by the same token you are worried about wasting too much time when you don’t know if a lead will convert.

Fortunately, there are some ways you can approach leads to better gauge their potential before you decide whether or not to pursue them.

  1. Carefully track all leads. It is important to meticulously track all leads that come to your website. This can be done by using marketing automation software or simply providing a place for visitors to enter their information.
  2. Incentivize leads. Many people are leery of giving out their information unless their interest is really piqued. Offer white pages on different topics and you will know what your leads are looking for.
  3. Reach out periodically. If you have information on a lead, follow up periodically so that you can find out if they will take the bait. For example, call or email just enough that if they are interested they will welcome your interest but not so much that you become annoying.
  4. Continue your content marketing efforts. Content is still king. The more interesting and useful the content you publish, the more likely it is that a lead that was on the fence will decide to finally make a decision to engage with you.
  5. Use ads. When ads are used with marketing campaigns or other outbound lead generation efforts, leads may opt in after a while.

It is important that you engage with leads so that you can always have the chance to convert them. But the truth is, sometimes a softer approach is the best way to reel in leads that are on the fence.