In today’s competitive economy, reaching the top tiers of any internet search is vital to surviving and growing as a company. More than ever, people take to the internet the first chance they get to find the goods and services they are looking for, and if you aren’t one of the selected few that show up at the top of the page, you’re missing out on opportunities.
Getting your company’s website to the top of a search page is so important, in fact, that there is an entire field of study dedicated to doing so: search engine optimization, or SEO. Following good SEO practices will help your website rise in the rankings so customers can find you more easily. Here are some of those practices that you will need in order to get your website to the top of the search pages.
Create Great Content
Great content always has — and always will be — one of the most important factors in getting your website better search results. Search engines like Google and Bing put a premium on websites that offer in-depth, well-written content as opposed to sites that just throw up content for the sake of filling their pages.
This means that whatever you post to your website (blog posts, articles, photos, etc.) needs to be as good as you can make it. When you add a post, there are key SEO practices that you need to follow, including word count, the number of headings and sections the post has and how well the search engines can track the links to and from your page.
This takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth it. If you can do so, you will see your website rise and rise in the rankings. You can find the things that search engines are looking for here.
Optimize Your Site for Mobile
With the ubiquity of mobile devices, millions of people will be visiting your website through their smartphones or tablets. This means that you need to ensure that their experience is worth their time, so optimizing your site for mobile users is a must.
If your site takes too long to load, people will soon leave. In fact, it’s estimated that people will think about leaving your site if it takes longer than 10 seconds to load. This gives you a short window to keep them on your site. But how can you ensure that your site loads quickly?
The best thing you can do is to trim all of the extras that bog down websites: large images on the front page, ad-blocking software, and Flash plugins all take precious time to load when someone visits your site, causing them to wait. Streamline your pages as much as possible and your customers will thank you.
Improve User Engagement
Giving people to stay on your website will help create more sales and more loyal customers. You want your visitors to stay on as long as possible, so you need to give them excuses to do so by keeping them interested and entertained.
There are four main things you can do to improve user engagement: have a place for people to leave comments, use active participation tools like quizzes and surveys, give visitors the option to share the content on their social media feeds and, finally, a place for them to “like” or otherwise react to the content.
Each of these strategies will allow your visitors to feel like they are part of the conversation when it comes to your goods, services, and information, which will make them feel as if they have a stake with you. This, in turn, will create more visits that last longer.
Pay Attention to the Stats
You can do all of the SEO in the world, but if you don’t have the tools to monitor your progress, it can be all for naught.
There are companies out there that provide you with all of the tools you need to follow your website’s progress (you can read about PosiRank here). These companies offer reporting and insights regarding the effectiveness of your website and give you options for how you can improve your website’s ranking.
This is key because if you are doing something wrong, you will be able to find the problem and fix it quickly, helping your website climb the rankings faster.
One of the most important things you can do for your company is to get to the top of internet rankings. Follow good SEO practices and, with a little time, you’ll see your site rise.
Alicia Bond works for a small marketing agency. She loves to look for the latest trends and shares them on a variety of marketing websites.
5 Reasons Why Unified Branding is So Important for Your Business
/0 Comments/in Branding, Marketing /by Creative Agency Secrets TeamYou want your company to be recognized no matter where a person sees it. This counts on all fronts – you want every single social network to have a unified look to them, and you want that look to borrow from your website. Branding is such a crucial aspect of marketing that you need to have for your business. If you don’t have a key theme that permeates every channel you use, you need to start now. When you’re a student you can buy homework and spend more time searching for solutions for your branding.
Here are five reasons why unified aesthetics (or branding) are important for your business:
1. Your Brand Needs its Own Personality
People don’t connect with objects, they connect with the human traits that they assign to them. Companies that have its own personality feel like a friend to a customer. They are a buddy or someone that you look up to. Whatever your brand is, create a persona that permeates throughout all your branding efforts. Your company needs to feel like someone recognizable. Have a specific voice, a specific look, and benefit from being unique.
2. You Need to Be Recognizable Wherever You Are
When you are a large brand, or even just online, you will be seen from people all over the world. You want people to be able to recognize the branding of your company, even if they cannot understand the language. It is for this very reason that McDonald’s is so successful worldwide. The same goes for other large companies like Starbucks. The unified branding means that, if anyone, anywhere, were to visit another country, they can be assured that they will find the same food and experience at any McDonald’s they come across.
3. Branding Builds Loyalty
Branding means having a look and persona that people recognize and know. As a rule, people will always use the brand that they know over a new, unknown brand. That is where the strength in branding lies. You want people to register your product as something they know and trust. Once you do that, you have a loyal customer.
4. Branding Helps You Convey Information
You can convey a lot of information about yourself, your values, and your vision through visuals. Bright, primary colors convey different information than dark natural tones. Use visual cues to tell your customers and visitors who you are without even saying a word.
5. It Will Grow Your Business
Loyal customers will provide repeat business, and happy customers will provide word-of-mouth marketing for you at no extra charge. Have your customers vouch for you, and focus on building your relationships with them to cultivate that loyalty.
Branding is everything from your website to your social networks to your marketing campaigns. Use marketing automation to couple your unified branding with tailored experiences that will increase your customer loyalty and repeat business through uniform emails. You want to be a brand that people trust and return to. To do that, you need to be recognizable on all fronts. Be familiar, be professional, and people will return.
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Giant thanks for this testimonial
/0 Comments/in B2B, Marketing ideas, Social Media /by Rebecca CaroeCampbell Naish, Partner at export strategy and marketing consultancy Katabolt, wrote a generous testimonial for Creative Agency Secrets. Many thanks!
Read other Testimonials or see our Client List
Have you got a strategy in place for testimonials?
Every business needs a strong plan of action to get and publish testimonials for the business from
customers and clients. As the internet becomes the strongest recommendation engine, because it’s easily searched and free to use, your business MUST get a strong profile in places where testimonials and reviews can be seen and shared.
Don’t forget that recent reviews are more powerful than old ones. So this is a tactic you need to implement weekly or monthly.
Read this Case Study – 3 ways to increase referrals which should give you some ideas for your business.
TrustPilot is a great review site
We implemented TrustPilot for an ecommerce client who needed to improve visibility of its amazing customer service. Based around the world, TrustPilot has local sites for each country – this one was in the UK. The integration of their free version with ecommerce platform was seamless – every time a customer buys, they are invited to leave a review a fixed time period after the purchase is complete.
As a mail order business, the time delay between online purchase and receiving goods can be a while and so the flexibility to specify when the review request email is sent was appreciated.
On the reviews page, you can respond to each one which gives full visibility to your prompt response to feedback. And when you upgrade to the paid version, the option to enable reviews by product, not just for the company as a whole, gives a host of new options.
Read more blog posts about Step 5 Relationship Development by clicking the image below – it will take you to that category on our blog. Teach yourself how to build relationships with people who will bring new custom to your business.
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Search Marketing Smarts: Rising to the Top of Google Page Rankings
/0 Comments/in Marketing /by Rebecca CaroeIn today’s competitive economy, reaching the top tiers of any internet search is vital to surviving and growing as a company. More than ever, people take to the internet the first chance they get to find the goods and services they are looking for, and if you aren’t one of the selected few that show up at the top of the page, you’re missing out on opportunities.
Getting your company’s website to the top of a search page is so important, in fact, that there is an entire field of study dedicated to doing so: search engine optimization, or SEO. Following good SEO practices will help your website rise in the rankings so customers can find you more easily. Here are some of those practices that you will need in order to get your website to the top of the search pages.
Create Great Content
Great content always has — and always will be — one of the most important factors in getting your website better search results. Search engines like Google and Bing put a premium on websites that offer in-depth, well-written content as opposed to sites that just throw up content for the sake of filling their pages.
This means that whatever you post to your website (blog posts, articles, photos, etc.) needs to be as good as you can make it. When you add a post, there are key SEO practices that you need to follow, including word count, the number of headings and sections the post has and how well the search engines can track the links to and from your page.
This takes a lot of effort, but it’s worth it. If you can do so, you will see your website rise and rise in the rankings. You can find the things that search engines are looking for here.
Optimize Your Site for Mobile
With the ubiquity of mobile devices, millions of people will be visiting your website through their smartphones or tablets. This means that you need to ensure that their experience is worth their time, so optimizing your site for mobile users is a must.
If your site takes too long to load, people will soon leave. In fact, it’s estimated that people will think about leaving your site if it takes longer than 10 seconds to load. This gives you a short window to keep them on your site. But how can you ensure that your site loads quickly?
The best thing you can do is to trim all of the extras that bog down websites: large images on the front page, ad-blocking software, and Flash plugins all take precious time to load when someone visits your site, causing them to wait. Streamline your pages as much as possible and your customers will thank you.
Improve User Engagement
Giving people to stay on your website will help create more sales and more loyal customers. You want your visitors to stay on as long as possible, so you need to give them excuses to do so by keeping them interested and entertained.
There are four main things you can do to improve user engagement: have a place for people to leave comments, use active participation tools like quizzes and surveys, give visitors the option to share the content on their social media feeds and, finally, a place for them to “like” or otherwise react to the content.
Each of these strategies will allow your visitors to feel like they are part of the conversation when it comes to your goods, services, and information, which will make them feel as if they have a stake with you. This, in turn, will create more visits that last longer.
Pay Attention to the Stats
You can do all of the SEO in the world, but if you don’t have the tools to monitor your progress, it can be all for naught.
There are companies out there that provide you with all of the tools you need to follow your website’s progress (you can read about PosiRank here). These companies offer reporting and insights regarding the effectiveness of your website and give you options for how you can improve your website’s ranking.
This is key because if you are doing something wrong, you will be able to find the problem and fix it quickly, helping your website climb the rankings faster.
One of the most important things you can do for your company is to get to the top of internet rankings. Follow good SEO practices and, with a little time, you’ll see your site rise.
Alicia Bond works for a small marketing agency. She loves to look for the latest trends and shares them on a variety of marketing websites.
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What do you do? Explain, clearly or lose leads
/0 Comments/in B2B, B2C, Case Studies, Copywriting, Lead Generation, Local Marketing /by Rebecca CaroeI want to showcase this list of three businesses who want to grow their international connections. Shared by a reputable international facilitator organisation, these exemplify the utter incompetence of smart people when answering the question “What do you do?”.
I despair.
Poor descriptions of business loses leads
How to differentiate your business
We did some work this week with a consultancy who describe themselves as “Family Business Specialists“. How straightforward. I know who they advise…. I don’t yet know what they do – but that three word description allows me to filter myself in or filter myself out of using their services. Either I am or I am not a family business. Either I need or I do not need a family business advisor.
Who wants to work with an
Now maybe this is a clever IT joke “I server my customers, you server your customers etc”. Or more probably it’s a spelling mistake nobody spotted. Never mind that – every consultancy can claim passion, dedication and customer services. It doesn’t say what TYPE of consulting they do or for whom.
C’mon.
10 questions to answer before writing your elevator pitch
This is Step 1 in our New Business Development workshop – during which you write a one year marketing plan, and from which you will understand how all the parts of the “marketing mix” join up to deliver successful communications to your prospects.
Read more blog posts about Step 1 State your Business by clicking the image below – it will take you to that category on our blog. Teach yourself, how to describe your business successfully.
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Being Proactive About Your Digital Marketing Proficiency
/0 Comments/in Marketing /by Creative Agency Secrets TeamThe rapid pace of innovation in the digital marketing sphere means staying up-to-date and informed on topics in the industry is an essential skill. Google offers a good starting point for research, however, access to a curated compilation of tutorials can give you a greater advantage.
We’d like to congratulate Dan Morris and Rachel Martin from Blogging Concentrated for putting together another excellent collection of resources with this year’s BC Stack, worth over $8,000 in value. 65 products come together into a single package that is offered for only US$27 (~NZ$37) during a 7-day promotion that ends tomorrow.
The stack accumulates years of expertise from 65 industry professionals that provides an all-encompassing marketing database. Check out the product list subdivided into relevant categories below to start formulating a plan to accelerate your education.
#Affiliate Marketing
#Business Strategy
#Content Marketing
#Entrepreneurship
#Growth Hacking
#Leading Edge Tools
#Podcasting
#PR Management
#Productivity
#Publishing
#Social Media
#Videography
[button_6 text=”style5_buynow.png” align=”center” href=”http://bloggingconcentrated.com/members/aff/go/rcaroe/?i=34″/]
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How to Get Subscribers to My Email Newsletter?
/0 Comments/in B2B, Copywriting, Email, Marketing ideas /by Rebecca CaroeWell done – getting started.
Focus on Your Marketing Assets
Let’s help you work out the key answers you need: Start with answering these questions.
So you’ve guessed, you need to get people to visit a place on the web which you own (website / social profiles) and then invite them to join your newsletter. Consider what ‘offer’ you can make which is attractive to them in addition to getting the articles. Sumo.com has a good WordPress plugin for subscriptions. Also check out Push Notifications as many sites prefer this as subscribers won’t share their email address. I wrote this article about Notifications
Things for you to GrowthHack test
Once you have started the newsletter and finding subscribers, you need to work on continuously improving your offer and the means for people to join it. Growth hacking is the process of improvement and measurement.
Now grow your profile
Get known by answering questions in public which relate to your issue (Financial services) and your audience (millennials). By showing off your knowledge and linking back to your website or social profile, you can encourage people to remember your brand and respond – starting discussions, which further allow you to show off your expertise.
Good luck and keep up the good work.
This answer was originally posted on Clarity.fm
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Become Social Media Savvy with the Social Media Conference 2017
/1 Comment/in B2B, B2C, Marketing, Public Speaking, Social Media /by Creative Agency Secrets TeamThis September, the Social Media Conference is happening again! We are big fans of the content, even more so this year because our very own Rebecca Caroe is a speaker!
Are you looking to use Social Media to benefit your business but just don’t know how?
Social Media isn’t just for kids these days. In fact, it’s one of the biggest platforms for a business to market in today’s environment. Whether it be Business to Consumer or Business to Business, the Social Media Conference 2017 provides insights on how to utilise these skills to your business benefit.
Expand your knowledge in this field through New Zealand’s biggest Social Media conference hosted by The Online Business Academy for its fourth year.
Rebecca Caroe (CEO of Creative Agency Secrets)
Marketing experts from all over the world come together to talk about their experiences with Social Media, how it helped them in their business ventures and how it can help you market to a larger audience through Social Media.
Listen
Discover
Learn
Master
Seize the opportunity to network with business owners from all over the country and develop connections for your business. Gain information that can assist with expanding your business through Social Media platforms and understand how Social Media aids with keeping up to date with the evolving business world. If you’re serious about expanding your business, you wouldn’t want to miss Social Media Conference 2017.
SkyCity Auckland
September 15th and 16th 2017
8:00am – 5:00 pm
Use the code “REBECCA” at the checkout to get a $250 discount!
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Can you tell when you’ve found the right business in search?
/0 Comments/in SEO /by Rebecca CaroeI was searching for a music streaming service for classical music. But I got the name wrong.
I knew I had not found the right business in my search results when I clicked through to the best result, and found this website design (top image). Realising my mistake, I quickly revised my search (by spelling the business name correctly) and was directed to the second page – where I knew I’d arrived at the site I wanted.
You can see how I worked out my error, through the image design, layout and styling. It’s dated and not mobile responsive. Styled as 2000s versus 2017.
Now imagine if that actually WAS the correct result and it was the business I wanted. What first impression is your website giving to first time visitors?
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NZ Entrepreneur Magazine features our article
/0 Comments/in Local Marketing, Marketing ideas /by Rebecca CaroeWe are stoked that this month’s NZ Entrepreneur Magazine has published an article by Rebecca. Called
Marketing Strategies to Grow and Scale a local business, it sets out 12 top tactics for local marketing.
Subscribe to NZ Entrepreneur Magazine to get it monthly delivered to your inbox.
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