We Know Search Engine Optimization Has Changed. The Question is: Have You?

If you are still utilizing old search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, or worse, your SEO vendor who you are paying continues to implement old SEO techniques, you may (and probably will) wake up one day and find your website is nowhere to be found within the search engines. That’s because the game of SEO and online visibility has changed dramatically. It’s not about the links. It’s about the content. Put bluntly, it’s about the value you bring to visitors when they are searching for your product.

The new rules of online visibility is about content, blogging, social media, mobile friendliness, videos, etc. Don’t be left behind. If you have positioning, don’t lose it. If you don’t have good visibility within the search engines, don’t fret. Believe it or not, it’s easier to get on Page 1 than you may think. That’s because so few companies are following the new SEO rules. Start looking at content more closely for your website, and you will be amazed at the increase of visibility you will see. And what does more visibility mean to you? More customers.

If you want to learn more about this, contact GoLeads, and we’ll be happy to speak with you about this. We work with numerous companies, managing their website and social media platforms, and helping them grow their business. We can do the same for you.

 

How Content Marketing Will Continue to Evolve in 2016

The one thing that will never change about content marketing is the fact that it will always be changing. Now that 2016 is here, it’s time to take a look at what many experts believe will be the biggest trends in content marketing over the next 12 months.

  1. Mobile first. While there has been an ongoing shift toward mobile marketing, if you are in the marketing game, there is no longer any way to avoid going mobile. Touchscreen technology will be of particular importance. From making purchases to posting reviews, if people are doing it, chances are they are doing it on their mobile device.
  2. Marketers need to focus on SEO and social media. Consumers are looking to social media when performing searches. They like the visual nature of social content, as well as the reviews and comments. So if you can’t be found on social media, you will be missing out on a large market segment.
  3. Facebook isn’t going anywhere but new sites are cropping up everywhere. Facebook continues to add functionality and tighten security and anyone who says it is becoming less relevant is mistaken. However, marketers would be wrong to not pay attention to other sites like Snapchat and Instagram when it comes to getting noticed and obtaining sales leads. While these newer sites have a younger demographic and were originally used only for personal communication that is changing—quickly.
  4. Options for publishing online content will increase. In 2015, Facebook launched Instant Articles. This new technology allows publishers to stream content directly to Facebook. When it launched, only nine major publishers could use Instant Articles, but it appears it will soon be more accessible. Other social media platforms trying to keep up with Facebook are likely to begin offering this type of service, as well, and this will benefit smaller businesses.
  5. An increase in demand for quality content. The savviest content creators will take note of user preferences for video and images. They also will steer clear of blatant sales content.

By year’s end there may be other content marketing trends that no one saw coming. But one thing is for sure, to remain competitive in the world of content marketing, you must always stay on top of the latest trends—whether expected or not!

 

Now More than Ever Local Businesses Need to Concentrate on SEO

Many small businesses believe they do not need to be concerned with SEO but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, recent changes to SEO practices have shifted a great deal of focus to local SEO, making it more important than ever to small and local businesses.

Local businesses that aren’t maximizing their SEO results are likely to lose potential customers to their competitors who are easier to find online. It is essential, therefore, that businesses keep up with changes in SEO in order to achieve a higher local SEO ranking. After all, if you are a small, local business most of your sales leads will be local.

If you still believe SEO isn’t something you need to invest in, you might change your mind after considering the following:

  1. Local SEO improves your visibility because it gives you a better spot on a search engine result pages that show only local businesses.
  2. Local SEO attracts a very specific target audience. If are a painting company and someone types in house painters in your area, it is likely they really want someone to paint their house. This leads to much better conversion rates.
  3. Local SEO results in less competition. If your customers are looking for an interior designer, they likely want one in their area. In most cases, they don’t want to do business with someone four states away. If there are only a handful of interior designers in your area, your pool of competitors just got a whole lot smaller and your chance of landing a new customer a whole lot greater.
  4. Local SEO is an important element when it comes to mobile apps. Research shows that more than half of all internet searches take place on mobile phones. If you aren’t visible through SEO on mobile devices, people will not be able to find you. What’s more, Google reports that if an individual looks for a business on his or her phone, they are likely to visit that business the same

While small businesses may think that SEO is something they need not concern themselves with, this is absolutely false. In fact, SEO is critical to the success of all businesses, no matter how big or how small.

 

 

Social Media Critical to the Success of Your Business

Marketing your business through social media is critical to the success of your brand. In fact, social media marketing is no longer an option for businesses looking to promote their brand, products and services—it is a must.

Social media also is critical to SEO ranking. In her article, 10 Things You Have to Know about SEO & Social Media in 2016, Dee Stephens says that the relationship between social media and SEO rankings involves much more than creating and posting great content.

It’s about promoting that content so that it achieves the results we are looking for.

Unfortunately, many businesses today aren’t quite sure what they are looking for. Thankfully, Stephens’ article helps you to better ascertain what you need from social media as well as how to get it. She touches on topics such as why you need more than a social presence to increase your SEO ranking; the importance of post optimization; and the fact that SEO and social media are both considered to be inbound marketing techniques.

Stephens concludes her article with a healthy dose of realism.

As we move into 2016, it’s important that businesses’ and brands make allowances for social media, content marketing and SEO in their marketing budgets, and have these disciplines implemented in their business this year, as without these things working like a well-oiled machine, I fear those left behind in 2017 will stay behind.

Ask Yourself: What Has Social Media Done for You Lately?

If you are a business owner, you know you need to be on social media. In fact, you are probably spending a good deal of your marketing budget making sure you are on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. And with so many other high-profile social media sites cropping up, that is unlikely to change.

In your rush to get on social media and continue to remain active there, however, you may have forgotten why you are there in the first place. Is social media really that important? How is it helping your business?

The New Year is always a good time to step back and reflect on why you made particular business decisions. So why not spend a little time reflecting on your decision to get active on social media. In other words, ask yourself, what has social media done for you lately?

It has improved your search engine optimization. Every tweet, post, and update leads to more traffic to you website. Many of those visitors are prospects that are interested in your product or service (aka sales leads)!

It has established you as an expert in your field. Through a blend of content and engagement, people can tell that you know what you are talking about – and they look to you for the answers. And when it comes time to make a buying decision, they will look to you, as well!

It has improved your customer service. Comment or question? Problem or complaint? No matter what your customers need, you can get it for them. Equally important, when you solve a customer’s dilemma quickly and completely, the whole world can witness it!

It has built your brand. Your brand is your most important asset. No matter what message you want your brand to convey, social media lets you do it. It also lets you tweak your message along the way if you feel that is necessary.

It has helped you get to know your audience. Are the people you are trying to reach bored with your message? Do they want to know more about you? Do they love what they are learning from you? Social media allows you to answer all of these questions so that you can literally “give the people what they want.”