Five Secrets in SEO Your Business Should Know

“You cannot just SEO your website and be done. It is a forever moving goal post” –Stoney Degeyter

Search engine optimization has always been something a bit perplexing to business owners.  There is no exact formula to guarantee its success—more often than not, it is a hit or miss deal.

Some companies may not succeed in their SEO efforts, but even fewer companies would succeed. This fact, in itself, is evident of how to these various business owners, SEO is a magical incantation that drives appropriate traffic to their website much more than it is a technological science that would ultimately and potentially help their businesses thrive. In essence, the language spoken by the experts is something of a jargon to them and whether their efforts fail or succeed would not make the process any less complex to them. This is where SEO companies come in, to aid these companies in clearing the murky clouds of incomprehension and perplexity in the logistics of SEO and through their aid; they make sure that these businesses would get the appropriate audience they desire.

But if you are a business owner, you should not leave everything to your SEO’s specialists and discount yourself from learning some of these SEO secrets that could potentially help your business grow. In fact, it would be wise to know some of the secrets that will truly make your brand awesome.

1.)    Stop overthinking it

Perhaps the biggest hurdle in SEO is the fact that it remains to be an ambiguous concept to most marketers, but this uncertainty should not deter you from learning it. It is important to keep in mind that almost every marketer out there is in the same situation as you are which is trying to figure out SEO’s “hidden secrets” with little to no direction so, you should not feel irrelevant and out of touch at all. What you need to focus instead is delivering the best possible user experience instead of worrying about the complex logistics.

2.)    Keep content fresh

One imperative and pivotal aspect of SEO is content and to keep your readers coming back for your content, you need to make sure it is fresh, updated and relevant. When it comes to SEO, there is a universal truth in the clichéd phrase, “Content is King” so you would do well to take heed from it. People conducting research would want their information up-to-date and accurate and recency is becoming a core ranking factor in Google’s search algorithm. So, keep all content as accurate and as updated as possible, your audience would not want to read dated content.

3.)    Prioritize usability

All that researched, relevant and accurate information would be for naught if your website has a complicated navigation process and would be arduous instead of enjoyable to browse. Technology is a focal factor in the user experience equation, so you have to make sure that your website is optimized to accommodate mobile browsing and has a quick load time.

 4.)    Replace keyword research with customer research

Search engines are relatively useful when people have queries. From this standpoint, there would be a necessity for your website to generate informative content in order to be an authoritative source of high-quality information. This is because when people arrive at your website, they are likely looking for immediate answers to their queries and any flimsy and indirect responses just would not do. Earn your users’ trust and readership by producing information-rich content such as blog posts, how-to articles, and researched data.

5.)    The small details matter

Marketers are often too immersed on optimizing elements that would directly affect SEO ranking factors and would neglect or overlook what is ill-conceived as an inconsequential detail: meta descriptions. Meta descriptions are important as these would provide little snippets of what your audience should expect when they access your website and a brief insight into what a particular article is about. Creating a well-crafted meta description increases your chances of click-throughs to your website and would encourage users to access it. In essence, having a meta description, with a few short lines of text, will drive more traffic to your website.

Tips for Guest Blogging

“With guest posting, you should absolutely try your hardest to write something where people demand you come back…” –Tommy Walker

If you are an online digital marketer that would specialize in link building services, then you should know by now that guest blogging is an important aspect in search engine optimization. This is just one of the many ways you can generate more traffic for your website. However, as this is a common way to increase traffic, many digital marketers are similarly exploiting it as this is the case, there is a stiff competition for having your guest blog post approved and posted online. So, to give you an edge over your competitors and to ensure that your guest blog post is considered, approved and posted, here are some of the tips you can utilize to get a much higher approval rate for your guest blog submissions.

1.)    Write original and fresh content 

Writing gripping and compelling content with novel ideas is a crucial element when it comes to writing blog posts. But it is even more imperative when you are pitching your content for someone else to publish. Blog sites may differ in terms and conditions, but they all have a common rule which is to submit original and fresh content. Write and submit content that is both gripping and relevant to your readers as this will heighten your chances of getting your guest post approved.

2.)    Communicate with the guest blog site moderator 

Your chances of getting your guest blog accepted are enhanced when you have communicated with the guest blog site moderator and suggest to them of what you are going to write. Give them an insight into your topic and provide a title in order to impress them. Letting them know what they can expect from your guest post as well as how relevant your post would be to their readers would definitely increase your chances of getting your proposal accepted.

3.)    Read and follow the guest blog site instructions strictly

These websites have set their own terms and conditions for a reason and if you want to have your guest blog post approved then it would do you well if you followed them. These are the guidelines you ought to follow when you are writing your blog so you have to make sure that you would ready and follow them as accurately as you can. Stick to their guidelines and your chances of having your guest blog post approved will be relatively higher.

4.)    Drop the sales talk 

Blatantly advertising your business on your guest post is disrespectful to the owner of the guest blog site. Guest blog sites are not avenues for direct advertising your business and doing so is a very big NO amongst these sites. However, this does not mean to say that you should drop off advertising altogether-- do it in such a way that is not so palpably obvious and direct. Be discreet and subtle about it by indirectly promoting your website through your author biography or using an anchor text in your content body if it is allowed. Practice good etiquette by dropping the sales talk in your content in order to boost your chances of getting your guest blog post approved.

5.)    Love what you do 

Perhaps the most straightforward tip you can do and probably the easiest tip to accomplish. It is no question that when you love what you do, you would generate better and stellar results. Similarly, with guest blog posting when your passion is shown through the way you write your content, you will be very pleasantly surprised at how well you have done and how spontaneous the flow of your content is which gives your content more value and an edge over your competitors. So, the next time you pitch in a guest blog post, do not write for the sake of writing but write from your heart—your submissions will readily be accepted and posted when you do so.

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Cheat Sheet: Six Catchy Headlines That Would Guarantee You Clicks

More often than not, headlines are the first thing that would pique the interest of your readers much more so than the article itself. This is what would greet them much more than your designated article photo and in an allegorical sense, this serves as an open invitation to read your entire article. And if you are a company specializing in link building services, this is all the more important. However, this begs the question: How would you craft a headline cogent enough to sway readers to click through and finish your entire article?

We have all read articles detailing how we would get click-throughs to our articles by crafting a catchy and attention-grabbing headline. We have seen them gives us comprehensive guidelines that would more or less throw in a bit of psychology and a dash of something that would potentially interest your would-be readers into the mix. In essence, these headlines should entice those who would come upon it to read the entire article—it should contain sufficient persuasive value if you may. However, most of these articles would not give us the concrete examples that we would want to draft into our next article.  This is why this article has collated a list of catchy headlines you may want to employ on your next article.

1.)    THE SECRET OF (BLANK) 

In a sense, it bears no elaboration how this would attract readers. Human beings are curious creatures by nature and the allure of disclosing an insider’s secret and knowledge is something that would very much entice them. In fact, this has been quite exploited by successful bloggers out there because hey, it works! Share some insider information and translate it in such a way that it would put your article at an advantage and benefit your readers.

2.)    WHO ELSE WANTS (BLANKS)? 

The headline itself already conveys that what it contains is something your potential reader might want or need. It is a classic social proof strategy that would insinuate an existing collective desire among your readers and your article would offer them specifically and exactly that in the contents of your article.  Though a tad bit overused, it is still very much effective.

3.)    HERE IS A METHOD THAT IS HELPING (BLANK) TO (BLANK) 

In essence, an article taking a methodical approach towards solving a consensus dilemma, and predicament or as a development scheme towards achieving the desired result is something that would attract readers as it would connote a step by step process to which they can find solutions to their problems.  Identify your target audience and determine what benefits you can provide them and the rest will follow through.

4.)     LITTLE KNOWN WAYS TO (BLANK) 

Fairly uncommon but incredibly effective, titling your articles with this headline would imply an uncommon way to address a dilemma or a less known way to solve an existing problem. In a way, this is similar to how using “the secret to” headline would work but this headline is far more intriguing and engaging.

5.)    HERE’S A QUICK WAY TO (SOLVE A PROBLEM) 

People want everything fast and easy. This is why an article that promises them just that would garner a lot of attention and shares even. Offering your readers a quick and easy way to solve a problem would guarantee that your article would not only get a lot of click-throughs but readership and shares as well.

6.)    WHAT EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT (BLANK)

This headline works as it leaves the implication that the reader is missing out should he or she fail to click through the article and read it in its entirety. People’s propensity for curiosity would be the main cause for drawing them into the article, your topic would be the overall allure while the content of what you are offering is what would make them stay and read the whole article.

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Four Actionable SEO Techniques You Can Utilize Today!

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Without a doubt, search engine optimization (SEO for brevity) has been one of the pinnacles of that enables many and various businesses to flourish in this technological and information age. Naysayers may say that traditional SEO would inevitably die out, but statistics says otherwise and since its inception, it has been shown that SEO is a major factor in contributing to the overall success of an individual company’s marketing strategy.   Digital marketing agencies specializing in link building services are still major juggernauts when it comes to shaping a business marketing strategy. After all, every single day 3.5 billion searches are being made (which is consistently growing over time); it would only show and prove just how significant and more competitive search optimization still is and will still be for many businesses in the years to come.

Over the years, SEO as a channel for online traffic acquisition has not seen much change over a decade of its existence—save for continuous optimal updates and polish for a variety of search engines. A pivotal objective in the practice of SEO is pretty much unchanged, and that is to provide an easier avenue for people and searchers to get the essential information or solution they sought for and needed. People successful in SEO do two things quite well which is identifying those techniques that would get them desired results and then putting one hundred percent of their resources into executing and scaling those techniques. And if you possess sufficient SEO acumen, you would exploit these techniques. However, some of you may be wondering how you can find strategies that would guarantee you results—well, look no further as this article made it easy for you.

All you need to do is select one and see if that works for you.  

UTILIZE THE BROKEN LINKS IN WIKIPEDIA 

Wikipedia is teeming with SEO opportunities that you could largely take advantage of. And it has a multitude of benefits as it is white hat, scalable and powerful. However, some of you might not want to put that much of an effort in finding broken links considering how tedious it is, but if you are aware of Wikipedia’s kink in the editing system, you may soon find many broken link opportunities in your hands. Apparently, the kink lies in the fact that when a Wikipedia editor finds a dead link, they do not delete it right away but add a footnote next to the link that says “dead link” instead.

To expedite the search for dead links process, use a simple search string: “site:Wikipedia.org{keyword}+dead link”. Then visit a page in the search results that is relevant to your site, hit ctrl+f and search for “dead link”. Your browser will then scour the page for any dead links in the references section. If you are looking for an easier way, you can use a tool called WikiGrabber which would allow you to search for dead links on the Wikipedia pages.

SCOUR REDDIT FOR UNCOMMON KEYWORDS

Undoubtedly, Reddit is a hub for untapped keywords as the people who regularly hang out in the website talk about every possible topic there is under the sun. Because of this, you would find a lot of untapped keywords in various conversation threads that you would possibly never find in the Google Keyword Planner. So how is this possible? Say you ran a website that sold phone casings, search for that in Reddit’s search bar and if there is any subreddit, head to that as well. After which, look for the threads where people tend to ask a lot of questions (such as a Q&A thread), and then you can start scouring the thread for potential untapped keywords (bonus points for terms that frequently pop up).

Dedicate a portion of your time in finding potential keywords in Reddit, and you might just find yourself with enough keywords that would last you for a long time.

WRITE A DESCRIPTIVE BLOG POST FOR YOUTUBE DESCRIPTIONS 

Undoubtedly, YouTube videos have been dominating Google’s first page considering how in demand they are. And apparently, since Google owns the popular video site, you may likely find that it is not a trend that is going to change anytime soon. However, people uploading these videos seem to neglect the fact that Google cannot read videos and mindlessly throw a few words into the description box that would barely give any definitive content of what the video is about. Remember, Google relies on your video’s text based title and description to determine what the video is about.

Remember, adding a mini blurb, even something as little as a two hundred mini blog for your YouTube video makes it look more professional and would do wonders for your Youtube SEO.

PUBLISH CONTENT WITH AT LEAST A THOUSAND WORDS 

Undeniably, longer contents would win over short hundred word blog posts. Longer blog posts work as they are evidently providing more substance and in-depth information to searchers. Additionally, compelling and in-depth content would encourage your readers to share your content online potentially making it into a viral content.

Work on your blog posts, research longer, add any relevant information to it and make it comprehensive enough that would leave your audiences in awe. Then you will see that long and in-depth blog posts would work like a charm.

What Real Estate Agents Should Know About Blogging

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If you all think that real estate agents have nothing to do with blogging, then you better think again. Do you know that it is in the blogging where you can catch more attention to your potential clients? Well, if you don't know, then yes! Blogging helps you get more customers. And the good news is, you don't have to be an expert in blogging for you to blog, for as long as you know the basics of blogging, then you are off to go.

Basically, it doesn't matter if you are selling any real estate properties; you can definitely still do the blogging. When you engage in blogging, you will eventually realize that you can increase your real estate sales and establish a positive image both to your clients and to the other professionals. Of course, that if you also do and a have a guaranteed SEO.

However, just writing random things on your blog will not get you to your desired outcome. Well, if you are one of those real estate agents and is planning to have a blog, below are the things you should know about real estate blogging.

Pick a great platform

For those who are first timers in blogging, picking a great platform plays a big role in making your blog known to your target clients. Basically, a platform is where you can publish or post your articles about the property that you are selling. One of the most popular platform that you can choose for business blogging is the WordPress. You can definitely write and publish your articles in that platform for free.

WordPress gives you all the tools you need to write. Of course, not just about writing your content but also, you can add pictures or videos to your blog. With that, it gives your blog higher possibilities that your potential clients will be intrigued and interested in your posts. Moreover, WordPress is also a user-friendly platform. So, it is easy for you to use.

Write about topics that encourage both local and national interest

Again, writing contents just for the sake of writing will definitely get you to nowhere. Of course, you are writing about real estate, so you are basically writing about houses such as home improvements, how can one successfully achieve a desirable home, or things a home buyer should know before deciding to invest in a particular property. Don't just write something that is way far from your main focus.

Moreover, incorporating keywords to your contents is also a must! It is in your keyword that helps your potential client find your blog easily. Of course, you also have to choose keywords that are usually or commonly used whenever one searches on the search engine.

Answer questions that people are asking Google

If you have just notice, there are actually thousands of questions that are usually asked repeatedly. However, there are some of the questions that are not answered properly, or people don't even have answers at all. It's a sad thing though, especially when one is desperate enough to know the answers, yet enough Google can find the right answer to their questions. However, the cycle will definitely be broken if you just have a blog where you can answer their queries.

Moreover, when one notices that you have the answer, people will get interested in your blog and of course, in you as a real estate agent. Again, blogging can increase your presence online and can boost your image as a realtor.

Become a local expert

Basically, you cannot write something if you don't have any idea at all. If you want to increase your image as a real estate agent online and to boosts your sales, you can start locally. Of course, you definitely know a lot about your area, right? So, better start with giving information based on the area or field of expertise that you have. With that, you know by heart what you want to say to your potential clients.

Get familiar with social media marketing

When it gets down to blogging, it is not enough that you only know things about real estates. You also have the need to know and get familiar with social media marketing and how you can promote your business online. Of course, knowing and learning SEO is one of the things you should know for you to gain your presence online.

The Top Predicted SEO Trends of 2015

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The year is almost coming to an end, and before we officially wrap up the year, it is time to take a look back and review one of the most overlooked marketing strategies in the web that is none other than search engine optimization. For companies looking to build their product or specializing in link building services, SEO is quite a crucial aspect in their marketing strategies and this current year, we will review some of the biggest trends that have made an impact on search engine optimization itself and the digital world.

It is worthy to note that SEO has rapidly been evolving in the past four years where algorithms frequently change making search engine optimization even more necessary to match the new standards set. As the strategy evolved, it became more holistic and integrated almost everyone involved in digital media to assist in achieving the same task that is to optimize a website appropriately.

So before 2015 draws to a close, let us take a look back at some of the predicted trends of search engine optimization.

MOBILE COMPATIBILITY 

Seeing as how most users surf the Internet through their phones, access social media apps on smartphones and are basically glued to their phones, it is only inevitable that Google makes the pivotal move of penalizing any webpages that do not provide sufficient optimization for mobile. Simply stated, this was the year where a mobile takeover happened and where mobile optimization was far more frequent than desktop ones. Essentially, as mobile usage constantly decreases, SEO strategies need to keep up to suit the needs, demands, and requirements of these consumers.
Additionally, mobile and desktop algorithms are inordinately different making it imperative to comprehend how each works to have a competitive advantage.

CONTENT OPTIMIZATION VIA VIDEOS 

A picture may paint a thousand words, but a video can definitely say a lot more. In fact, as research would have it, consumers tend to purchase a product or avail of a service after watching a video. The creativity and ingenuity in crafting and creating videos may not be as easy as it is in writing written content, but they do go a long way. Quality audiovisuals complemented with the appropriate descriptions and hashtags will do well for a brand, and if it goes viral, the odds of purchasing power are even higher.

MORE IMPORTANCE WILL BE PLACED ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

Seeing as Google+ failed to generate that much-needed attention from users, Google is prompted to include other social media juggernauts such as Facebook and Twitter as determining factors of a company’s SEO strategy. With the integration of social media into SEO, it is not only essential but imperative to create content for various social media platforms rather than zeroing focus on one. Google is known to reward brands for this by pushing them at the very top of the search page.

BRAND MENTIONS

Brand mentions and citations have become as powerful as links. Fresh manuals from Google has shifted its focus towards recognizing brand mentions as more important seeing as that in the past link building was over exploited and utilized by brands. This year, it has become important to mention your brand in any content you post online whether it may be in social media, blogs or web content if you want it out there and recognized.

SEO FOCUSES MORE ON BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS RATHER THAN STRATEGY 

SEO campaigns are extremely varied. However, for this year, it has definitely been more rewarding to be more humanized. Building relationships with potential customers, users and consumers, internal clients, suppliers, influences and even the competition has become rather important. Considering that brand mentions are as big as links, it only makes sense that by building relationships, you can increase the frequency of mentions and your respective online performance.



2015 has introduced innovations in search optimization and from here on then; it only looks like SEO is going to progress even further in its evolution. Consider that SEO is a tool of constant change which is why it is essential to keep tabs on any information that might be useful in your marketing strategy. Always keep an ear out for any Google updates or anything that might be relevant to the progress of SEO and you will continue to stay on top of the game.

SEO 101: Optimizing For “Other” Search Engines

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Despite what the naysayers may say search engine optimization is still very much alive. And today, it remains as one of the many Internet processes that drive the most traffic to particular websites. Additionally, with the recent web developments modern technology has made and with the different updates that have been made for SEO, it has showed no signs of slowing down so far.

However, with so much SEO companies specializing in link building services, competition remains stiff and relentless. In order to keep up with the steady competition, various SEO companies would need to think of ingenious ways to revamp and update their SEO strategies. They keep up with Google’s updates and constantly come up with fresh techniques that would keep them relevant and on Google’s good list. But, this is a vast oversight most SEO companies make.

By focusing on search engine juggernaut Google, most SEO companies neglect to polish and optimize their sites for other search engines and this could be a fatal and erroneous move. Google may be the biggest search engine there is, but this is also where 99% of SEO companies focus their attention on.  Apart from adding diversity into your optimization techniques (and coming up with SEO tactics for search engines where SEO is virtually nonexistent), you would be taking advantage of ranking for these lesser known search engines—the ones on social media sites.

As SEO presence is rather sparse on these websites, it would mean that you would have less competition making it much easier to overpower amateurs who are accidentally just ranking for terms than it is professional SEOs. Rankings would also be relatively simpler as most people are manipulating algorithms and search results elsewhere.
To fully exploit this rare SEO advantage, here are a few of the things you should do:

SEARCH IS VISIBLY PROMINENT IN FACEBOOK’S FEATURES, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT

That nondescript and neglected search bar on Facebook is more powerful than you give it credit for. Though Facebook is all about making connections, this is not to say that converting Facebook’s search traffic into traffic for your business cannot be done. Consider the fact that most local businesses need to be on Facebook, couple that with a significant portion of its daily searches used to find these businesses and you have an opportunity for rankings.

Being discovered in Facebook’s search results guarantees you immediate business and in addition to this, you can often get that searcher to like your page which could potentially mean this follower can market your business in the future. Facebook’s present algorithm understands that when a user types in a particular product (i.e. burger), the searcher is not necessarily looking for people, groups or photos so the results it will show are pages or places.  Likely ranking factors are likes, reviews and having the exact search phrase in your title and they do count if only for a bit. The benefit of having more of this would yield diminishing results so make sure to get a lot of reviews and likes and you might just have the desired effect you have on your rankings.

What is imperative when it comes to local business is the location but this is not as easy to change as we want it to be. However, if you have a business with a flexible address, change the address of Facebook and see if there is a significant difference in the way your business shows up in the results. Apart from this, you can utilize long tailed keywords which might be an easier keyword to target but would get a good search volume regardless.

TWITTER SEARCH IS A SUCCESS

Twitter is not simply a social media platform for micro-blogging. Over the years, the usage of Twitter has evolved from connecting with other people but rather it has used to garner more followers and has been massively exploited as a source of traffic to many websites. In fact, Twitter is the largest purveyor of trending topics online and it has a section specifically designated for it. This is so users who are curious about trending topics would just click the hashtag or search for it. The main benefit of this is that when a user searches a particular topic, they will see all of the tweets about it even from those who do not have an impressive follower count. This is a great opportunity to get in front of an audience right away.

Exploiting this opportunity requires you to tweet about things that include any of those trends and relate them to your business or niche. Though this is not necessarily practical for all hashtags, you can rest easy knowing that if a lot of people would see your tweet, at least a few of them will be interested in your niche and could follow you later on.
Complement this with a good social media strategy and you have a workable technique to drive more traffic to your website.

DO NOT NEGLECT LINKEDIN 

LinkedIn’s search engine mainly has two purposes: To find people to connect with and for people to find potential companies and persons to hire. This is why good optimization for LinkedIn can lead to potentially high paying clients making it so valuable. Keywords play a great part in SEO and these are massive in LinkedIn but there is not so much of an advantage in having the exact phrase, but you are guaranteed to show up in the search results anyhow. Additionally, should you click any of the results; LinkedIn would highlight all the keywords in that person’s profile page.  So start by optimizing your profile and have the right keywords in the right place. This would mean your keywords should be in three pivotal areas (job description, current job title, and past job titles). Couple this with including commonly searched words and edit your professional description and you are good to go.

Connect with more people so that you can get more profile views and try to accept all requests even if you do not necessarily know them as this will up your chances in showing up in other people’s networks and lastly, look for opportunities to connect with people with a lot of followers.  A more tactical approach is to target and connect with people who have certain job descriptions.



There is so much potential in ranking highly on social media networks and to top that off, it is much easier to accomplish that than it is to rank for searches on Google and it would still produce worthy results. Find the network that is most suited and appropriate to your business and build on that. Create a social media marketing plan which would direct you to which networks to target. From there, you can begin optimizing your posts and profiles and you will get faster and better results.

How do NonMobile Friendly Websites Fare with Google?

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Checking out the latest news?

Trying to find the best Italian restaurant in your proximity?

Have an interesting post to share?

Approximately decades ago, these feats would not be possible without us having direct access to a personal computer that is wired to the Internet.But with the evolution of modern technology, this is easily achievable and manageable.

Today’s time and age have us all perpetually connected to the internet with a simple yet powerful device that can roughly fit into anyone’s pocket. And it comes with its certain perks as well as its pitfalls. So what could this potentially mean?

Well, in essence, this would be a great boon for users while being a constant bane for non-mobile friendly businesses.

Could my business potentially be at risk? 

Today, link building services are offered and are invariably utilized by companies seeking to market and promote their services, products, and goods online. This is where SEO consulting services come into play. However, with the relentless development of web evolution, many online marketing agencies struggle to keep up. And of course, Google adapts to this evolution by issuing complex updates every now and then to which SEO experts struggle to keep up with.

Google may not be as straightforward as digital marketing agencies and SEO consultants would want them to be with their updates; however, if one thing can be gleaned from this, then it is the subtle inference that Google is putting mobile users first.

Consider it this way, with the high influx of traffic coming from mobile users (given the term “mobilegeddon” by Google); it would only make sense that the world’s largest search engine would put them in the front line when it comes to search rankings. So to put it simply: Yes, your business is at a precarious position wherein your nonconformity to this modern era of searching could result to a demotion in rankings.

So, what would this mean for my business? 

Just to put it out there, if your business is not adaptable to mobile users, in other words, your website is clunky when users access it from their mobiles, improperly configured to be viewed on multiple device types and irresponsive to different screen sizes then Google might slam you with a penalty. All your efforts in polishing your website for search engine optimization (SEO for brevity) would be for naught if your site is not accessible on a mobile device.

Why?

When more and more users are accessing the Internet through their mobile phones, it is critical that business websites keep up. With this pivotal move, Google is transforming and shaping the digital terrain.

Can I do anything about it?

Of course, you can!

Your first step would be to survey if your website is mobile friendly. To do this, you would need to run two tests. First, you would need to check your website’s SERP appearances: If a mobile friendly tag appears in Google search results and if it appears there, then your website is safe.
The next test would be to run your site through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and let the application do the rest.


Of course, it does not stop there. Should your website fail the two mobile friendly tests then you would have to do something in order to keep up with Google. Make the necessary plans for a site upgrade--this is a crucial move as this ensures that your website is in Google’s good pages. The exact consequences and repercussions may still be unknown, but the risk is glaringly obvious and is already there. Any further delay on your part will cost you. Besides, if your business is truly at stake, can you really wait?

What Happens When You Turn off Blog Comments?

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When we talk about blogging, receiving comments from the readers is one thing that we usually think of. What else? For bloggers, it is a common thing to get excited and feel anxious when you receive a lot of comments on your blog. Of course, it is when we usually receive praise, recommendations and hurtful comments from the people.  Although we receive various comments from them, we technically take their comments into considerations.

However, there will always be possibilities that most comments are sugar coated and may not always prove helpful for you. And not all of us here are aware of the fact that some bloggers just want to have their good deeds in return. Although we may consider these facts, we can't also deny that there are some advantages that we received from them.

In order to avoid headaches, some bloggers would play safe and turn off their blog comments. For as long as they have posted something on their blog, they're off to go. They don't care about what readers would say and/or react. And if you think you are one of those bloggers, here's what happen when you purposely turn off your blog comments.

It sends the message to your readers " I don't need your opinion"

First and foremost, as a blogger, you have to be aware that whatever content you post on your blog, there will always be someone who would leave a comment. And if you disable your blog comment, they will know that you are not willing to receive and know their opinions. And I'll tell you, it is definitely a rude thing for you to do. What if you are technically wrong and someone out there who is thoughtful enough to correct you? Unless there is someone who is bold enough to correct you, you will bring that misconception for the rest of your life.

When you are a blogger, you should be mentally prepared for the comments that you will receive from them. Well, when you make a guaranteed SEO, you have to make sure that you will not be overwhelmed of their praises, and of course, you should not take it personally when you receive hurtful comments. Although some comments might come cold and hypocritical, just think of your friend who is there to act as your mirror, pointing out things that don't fit. Receiving their comments is for your own good anyway.

In inhibits your ability to learn from your readers/audience

One of the benefits you can get when you let your readers leave their comment is that you can learn something from them. Again, this might sound cliché, however, it is true and applicable to every blogger. It doesn't mean that when you blog, you know better than them. Definitely not! There are just times that even if we think that we know something, but for other bloggers and/or readers, it is still not enough. That is why, if you turn off your blog comment, you are limiting your ability to learn something from them.

As you read and go along with their comments, you will eventually feel intimidated with the others, considering the fact that they know better than you do. However, if you get that kind of mindset into you, you will also not grow in the field of content marketing. Basically, when it comes to learning, you are open to every idea and comments that you are going to receive. Don't take it too personal, but instead, make it as your reference for a better you as a blogger.

It prevents you from developing stronger relationships with audience

You will definitely miss ½ of your blogging career when you turn off your blog comments. This is the part when you got to enjoy blogging – building good relationships between your audience. And I'll tell you, you will eventually quit blogging when you don't feel like you're having fun and learning out from it. Of course, it is totally a waste of time when don't grow from it.

Basically, when you have a strong relationship with the other bloggers and/or readers, they are willing to share their experiences and ideas with you. The more you build a good rapport, the more knowledge you can get from them. Of course, vice versa. With millions of things that can make a good topic, you will definitely enjoy talking about it with your audience. And the more you have good and interesting topics for your blogs, the more readers are willing to visit and read your blog posts. Isn't it a good thing to experience?

As a blogger, whether you like it or not, there will always be pros and cons when you turn off your blog comments. However, it is still your call on whether or not you are going to consider their opinions. As I've said, it is for your own success as a blogger anyways.

Pointers: Writing and Achieving Catchy Web Copies

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Ok, let's admit! Some of us here are guilty in writing plain contents. Yes, as in PLAIN, agree? And we all do know that simply writing content is obviously not enough. Your content should be more than just presenting and giving information to your readers. Interesting and engaging content is a plus factor in order for you to achieve the desired outcome and a guaranteed SEO. Moreover, you have to ensure your content should be fresh, relevant and accurate enough. And yes, it might sound easy, but not all of us here can consistently pull that off.

Writing and achieving catchy web copies can also be demanding and a critical thing to do. There will be a lot of things to think of before you hit the "post' button. Considering the fact that your audience will pick the catchiest and most engaging content, you'd definitely do your best to grab their attention first before anyone else can.

Think of your audience

Remember, you are writing for your audience. When you are too focused on the technical terms and/or jargons, your audience may not understand what you are saying, or find it hard to digest the context that you are trying to imply to them. Basically, before you start writing, you have to ask yourself: what does your audience want or need to know? Who your target audience are? Technically, you have to make it simple yet effective and engaging enough to grab your audience's attention.

A fresh and quality content

Technically speaking, it is ok to have some inspiration from the other blogs and/or writers. You can get some ideas out from the content that they have – but definitely, don't copy it. Google can recognize whether your content is an original one or not. And if it is not, you will be marked down, and it will affect your rankings. As a content marketer, your aim will always be to have a fresh and quality content for you audience.

Observe good format

Post formats are automatically visible to any blog platforms such as Wordpress, Blogger, etc. When you add a new content/post, for example, there are already visible icons for you to manage your paragraphs and graphical enhancements. However, there are certain functionalities that you still need to enable for you to use a more advanced formats, designs or templates. Observing a good format can increase blog sharing. And of course, more and more people would love to read a user-friendly blog.

Proofread and edit

Typos and poor grammar are definitely a no-no!  Before you hit the "Publish" button, you have to make sure that you have already proofread and edit your content. Check whether there are words that are misused and misspelled and whether your sentences are clear enough for your readers to easily understand it. Again, Google will detect and penalized you. With this negligence, you will eventually lose your credibility as a marketer.

The use of right keywords

Including of keywords is a critical thing to do. And cramming your keywords with your sentences is definitely a bad idea – it can turn off your readers. Observing the right balance, you have to make sure that your keywords fit perfectly on your sentence without compromising its thought. Generally, including of keywords is also an important factor to increase your target audience. And of course, it enhances your rankings on the Google search engine.

Call to action

When you blog, it is a two-way communication between you and your target audience. That means you can have a better response from your audience when you include a call to action on your blog post. If you want to let them engage in a survey, for example, then there must be a button or a space where they can respond. Moreover, the visible your call to action buttons are, the more people will be interested in engaging in it.

SEO 101: Methods for Client Acquisition and Retention

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Search Engine Optimization involves a lot of aspects should you want better client acquisition and retention. Should you be an SEO consultant, being in the business alone would test the boundaries of your patience. Apart from that, you need to be crafty and creative in very diverse aspects. But apart from thinking out of the box when it comes to link building services, you should also be great in acquiring clients and retaining them as well.

After all, what good is a service if people do not even buy it or at least recognize it?

Perhaps the easiest (yet overlooked) and the most basic way in acquiring and retaining your clients is to consistently provide great service. Alone, this would suffice and would directly influence your client acquisition process but compounded with effective delivery, then you have in your hands a top notch SEO service. 

However, this is easier said than done and no matter how easy SEO may come off to some people, it is a reality that some of the processes may be a bit difficult to comprehend. That is what this post is for, to further expound on the processes you can utilize in order to strengthen and lengthen the partnership you have with your clients.

Keyword research and discovery compounded with content strategy is key

Selecting keywords that will assist your clients in having their sites discovered by potential customers is a rather conventional and commonplace wisdom when it comes to search engine optimization practices. However, what most people in the business overlook is the fact that in order for this to be effective, you need to align your data with the content of your site. This will give your audience better pages that would target to organic search visitors.

Do not disregard advanced search technologies

In order for your client to maximize his reach on potential visitors, clients and customers, you should not discount the impact of advanced search technologies. It is best to integrate this into your SEO practices as early as today as search is gradually transitioning into these newly advanced techniques. Should you disregard these new practices, you run the risk of offering obsolete and outdated procedures to your clients.

Utilize holiday campaigns to be relevant as well to herd potential customers

Do you want your clients' websites to stay relevant all year long? Planning holiday campaigns might help you there. This practice will help your clients' customers and visitors feel more connected to them as launching holiday campaigns makes them feel like you are reaching out to them at a personal level. Apart from that, holiday campaigns usually have an uplifting and joyous aura about them. Do not just limit yourself to holidays worldwide, research for various holidays celebrated around the world, choose an appropriate one and integrate them in your holiday campaign.

Do content networking

To get more visibility for your clients' websites then it would be best if you start investing on building quality niche sites. As this specifically targets industries and markets where your clients are in, this would assist them in getting more leads in their businesses and would also prove to be an advantage to your service in various ways seeing as these niche sites will make a few aspects in your process a lot easier (piercing the blogosphere where your client's business is, creating hard to replicate links, earning extra income through ads, etc.)

Foster a good relationship with your clients

This may sound basic, but it may surprise you how so many of SEO industries tend to neglect this. Fostering a good relationship with your clients builds their confidence in you and would likely result into retaining your clients for the long haul. When you invest in your relationships with your clients, they would feel like they got more than their money's worth, trust you and are likely to give you an outstanding word of mouth recommendation.

Search engine optimization alone can be tricky. When compounded with the need to acquire clients and retain them as well, it just got a lot more difficult. However, it does not have to stay that way all the time. Utilize these various techniques and let it work to your advantage.

Content Marketing 101: Six Types of Content to Boost Traffic and Engagement

People make the rookie mistake of thinking that content marketing is all about blogging. 
However, this is a vast understatement and a misconception no less. We have reached new depths in the creation of content that blogging is just one of the many and diverse ways to do it.

 However, with so many options to choose from, which of these drives more traffic to our respective websites? 

Which of these have better online traction and user engagement? 

A direct answer would be the hip and trendy ones. However, it is not as straightforward as we all think it should be. Utilizing just one type of popular content may initially guarantee you results, however maintaining this would prove to be difficult. Moreover, marketing just a single type of content is a surefire way to make your traffic and engagement rates tank and dip. The key is to add something new to the mix every once in a while. Make your page fun, exciting and fresh. 

So if you’re looking to add a new spin to your contents, let this article serve as your menu of the various types of contents you can choose to utilize on your page. 

GUIDES 

Guides are fairly common online and more often than not, they are usually exhaustive when it comes to detailing the information they are trying to convey. This is understandable as guides do not simply offer their readers information but rather, they have that authoritative voice that teaches their readers the relevant techniques on how to go about what is discussed. 

This content is relevantly popular as it encourages readers to do things themselves and take whatever task they have at hand by the reins. Though they are lengthy compared to other types of content, they are popular as they provide extensive information. 

MEMES

Making memes is one of the best content marketing ploys to attract a diverse population of online users and readers as it is fresh, new and trendy. It was fairly unheard of in the early 2010’s and made a sudden impact in the latter part of that same year. Memes are popular in a sense that they are humorous and readers can relate them better which is why they are such a hit with the online community. Memes utilize the voice of your audience who made this type of content popular in the first place. 


Memes are fun-filled pictures usually associated with pop culture alongside just a sprinkle of words. To make this more effective, they usually have a humorous undertone. It does not take a lot of brainwork to do and is relatively easy to utilize which is it is so popular. 

VIDEOS 

Videos offer you a lot more variety than ordinary writing ever can. 

It offers you a whole lot of possibilities and it certainly presents your content in a more visually entertaining way. Because videos are a lot more versatile than written contents, aestheticism is easily achieved through the utilization of motion pictures. Additionally, it helps you convey your message better, memorably and succinctly as well making this type of content effective in gaining traction. 


If it is done well, its power of persuasion will be unmatched.

HOW-TO’S

This one is a bit more popular than the rest and is certainly making rounds online. In fact, each and every content writer must have written at least one how-to article in her career. This is because how-to’s are relatively easy to do and succeed in capturing the interest of your audience. 

It is less extensive than a guide and is certainly not as exhaustive as one which is why it is an effective type of content for the type of audience who wants to get the gist of how to get a particular thing done without going through all the specifics.  For writers, this is a content that is rather easy to manipulate and create seeing as options are rather inexhaustible and seemingly endless. You basically focus on a single task at hand and create a step by step plan on how to accomplish it. 

In order for you how-to article to gain traction and efficacy, make it thorough and informative. Include diagrams and pictures as much as you can. 

In closing…

The options offered in this article are just a smidge of the various possibilities you can still try out there. When it comes to content creation, the possibilities are endless and in there is teeming potential for traction, traffic and audience engagement. Now, it is up to you to exploit that potential in your content strategies. 
Remember; do not stick to a particular type of content. Mix it up. 
Now, get up and get creating. 

How Hashtags Help Your Marketing Strategy Noticeable

Everyone in the social media world has probably bumped into the concept of hashtags. For content marketers, it enables them to track the possible trending topics of which they can study and analyze for their own good, or to boost their marketing strategies and apply them into their own businesses. It has basically become a general rule, especially on social media marketing, to have a guaranteed SEO experience, on their end.

There have been a lot of world wide trending topics that have been surprisingly noticed. And just like that of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that has been vastly spreading around across the online world, using hashtags has been one major culprit.

Hashtags are…

These are labels for contents. They are a way to track down topics on Twitter and other social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest and so on. By sharing content with their messages and posts having the ‘#’ symbol, these can be quickly found by people, and perhaps makes the topic more known by accumulating the topics into one. Words such as #marketing and #OOTD are just one of the many other famous words or tags that can be seen online.

Each hashtag is clickable and redirects users to a page that displays all the messages and images that use the same hashtag. By using hashtags, it enables people to wade through the fire hose of social media posts and interact only with the content they find relevant.

Market your topics

There are various ways in using the hashtag to help you increase the growth of your marketing efforts such that your brand and your products and services are noticed.

The following are some ways hashtags can help you:

Include a specific and relevant hashtag

By this, it would mean using a relevant hashtag already designated for a certain event, or using a hashtag already being searched for frequently. With the right hashtag, readers will find your message even when they’re not following you. To test, you can search those hashtags from your social media platforms used or you can use an analytics tool.

Create Your Own Hashtag and Consistently Use It

This would mean creating a very unique hashtag. Anyone can start a hashtag hoping that it goes viral, however for the most part, creating your own hashtag for your business name or brand or product, would mean requiring you to consistently effort in order to get picked up by other users. This would also mean that these hashtags could track all the relevant images, posts and statuses pertaining to your product or brand from your consumers end.

Use Your Hashtag on as Many Social Media Networks as Possible

To make everything count, as much as possible, try using your hashtags from different social media platforms. This would not only mean expanding your horizon for such social media strategies, it would also mean that you are targeting different types of audience that may benefit from your products. Thus the need to display those hashtags in a lot of social media networks is very much effective. Not only that, it will also give exposure to your hashtag even more and will eventually help people remember your hashtag whenever they want to tag you.

However, there are also rules on how not to overdo the usage of hashtags. In fact, sometimes, it gets pretty much annoying seeing posts of everything under the hash (#) symbol. It is no more appropriate to make every word ‘hashtagged’—so to speak.

Always remember that hashtags belongs to the community, even if you created it yourself. You can’t censor or control how others use it so it is also important to be careful and be sensitive.