Marketing Tips

4 Simple SEO Tips to Help Boost Your Ranking

mwon

For some of us, search engine optimization has been a part of everyday life for so long, we can’t remember a time without keywords, metadata, and all that jazz.

But for newcomers, SEO is a strange, complex concept. And it can be hard to know what steps to take first.

That’s why we’ve put our heads together and come up with these four simple SEO tips to help you get started.

 

Get Your Keywords Right

Keywords are a fundamental element of good SEO. These ensure search engines display your website for certain queries and help users find your business. For example, if you specialize in women’s hats, keywords might include “women’s designer hats Orange County” or “pink women’s wedding hats”.

You can use a number of research tools to discover the right keywords for your business, but this can be time-consuming and daunting if you’re new to SEO. Working with a professional digital marketing team takes the hard work out of the process.

 

Understand Intent Behind Searches

What are people looking for when they enter a specific combination of words into a search engine?

The three user intents are:

  • Informational: The user is looking for information on a topic, such as a how-to guide.
  • Navigational: The user is trying to reach a certain website, such as a local store or YouTube.
  • Transactional: The user wants to purchase a product or use a service.

The user intent determines the keywords you should use for each page. For example, informational intent might require keywords such as “how to bake a chocolate cake” or “how to change a car tire”.

 

Make Meta Descriptions Informative

Meta descriptions are the few lines of text which appear on search engine results pages. They tell you what you can expect if you click on the link, and should be optimized to maximize relevance.

This means thinking carefully about the user’s intent (see above) and the most important keywords. For example, if someone’s looking to learn how to bake a chocolate cake, the description should emphasize that the page features all the details they need to make the perfect cake. Use clear, simple language that engages users.

 

Create Content with Readers and Search Engines in Mind

Good content is informative, engaging, and written for humans before search engines. Yes, keywords are essential for boosting your ranking, but you can’t cram them into every paragraph. You might have gotten away with this a long time ago, but search engines will penalize you if your keyword density is too high.

Focus on answering users’ questions, helping them find the right products/services, and guiding them around your website. Understand who you’re writing for and keep the target reader in mind for every page of content written.

 

If you’re a beginner in SEO, these four tips can help you get your campaign off to a good start. But working with an Orange County SEO team will bring you real results much faster and leave you to focus on running your business.

Want to learn more? Get in touch with our Orange County SEO experts now!

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How to Generate Great New Blog Post Ideas for Your Business

mwon

 

Blogging is a key element of any successful SEO campaign, as businesses which publish blogs earn 97 percent more links to their website than those that don’t. But while there’s plenty of incentive to blog regularly, finding exciting new ideas can be tough when you’re writing multiple posts each week.

Fortunately, you can try a few tricks to generate blog post ideas that excite you and your audience. Here are a few of the best.

 

Speak to your readers

One simple but effective way to generate blog post ideas is to engage with the people you’re trying to attract — your readers.

Create a brief survey to learn what your audience wants to read more of, and offer an option for them to share their own ideas. You can send this as an automated email whenever people subscribe to your blog posts or newsletters, or distribute them on a regular basis (e.g. once per month).

Alternatively, interact with readers in comments sections and on social media. Ask which topics they prefer to read about, whether they would like to watch the same content in a video instead, and anything else that could be beneficial.

 

Study the latest trends

Take advantage of Google Trends to gauge the popularity of particular keywords and topics.

Google Trends provides a function to view trends across various areas, such as Sci/Tech and Business. Alternatively, you can browse trends based on keywords.

It’s a fantastic tool for staying up to date on trends related to your business and industry. And geographical information is included, to aid with targeting specific locations.

 

Monitor industry news for relevant stories

Pay attention to the latest news in your industry or industries relevant to your company, your products/services, and your audience. Even the smallest change in regulations or the hype surrounding an upcoming product launch can inspire an engaging blog post that appeals to your target readers.

On a similar note, any expos or conferences you attend can provide plenty of fuel for numerous posts. Capture photos and videos to enhance your text with original visual content, as posts featuring images tend to get 94 percent more views.

 

Take inspiration from content published on other websites

Read lots of articles, blog posts, and press releases? Watch insightful videos and listen to business podcasts regularly?

You might see or hear things that inspire, frustrate, or even outrage you. Take advantage of these reactions and consider how you can share your own views on the same topic.

This may take the form of a blog post written as a direct response to the original source material, linking back to it. It’s possible that the original writer/video host/podcaster will see your post and link back to it. That could drive more traffic to your site and help you gain authority.

It should go without saying that any quotes you use should be referenced properly and credit must be given where it’s due.

 

Take advantage of these techniques to generate blog post ideas that appeal to your audience, and you could see real results over time.

Want to work with our Orange County SEO agency to reach a wider audience? Get in touch to find out how we can help you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Reasons to Add Videos to Your Landing Pages

mwon

 

Do any of your landing pages include videos?

No?

That could be a mistake.

Videos have become a key part of successful digital marketing campaigns, across social media, advertising, and product pages. But why do they work so well on landing pages?

Here are the top 4 reasons.

 

Videos on landing pages can increase conversions

Adding videos to landing pages can boost conversions by as much as 86 percent.

That’s unsurprising when you consider that 90 percent of consumers claim videos help them to make a purchase decision, and 79 percent would prefer to watch a video than read about a product.

Watching a video is faster and more convenient for visitors than reading a blog post, description, or sales pitch. They can sit back, relax, and absorb the relevant information in less time that it might take them to scroll blocks of text.

 

Videos show products and services in action

A text-heavy landing page might tell prospects how wonderful a particular product or service is — but readers have to paint pictures in their mind.

Pictures can show goods from multiple angles — but they’re all static.

Yet videos are dynamic and show products in action.

For example, four concise paragraphs can list a new smartphone’s features and native apps beautifully, but only a video can show the fluid visuals and smooth performance.

 

Videos can build brand recognition

Incorporating videos into landing pages can help to build brand recognition. Adding your logo at the beginning and end is an obvious trick, but you can do so much more.

The brand personality your business has cultivated should be present throughout. So, companies known for a lighthearted and informal tone may create lively videos with plenty of humor.

Whether prospects are familiar with your business already, landing page videos have to align with the tone of the ad which directed them to the site. It should suit the surrounding text and visuals too.

Videos should be crafted with the target audience in mind, based on a concrete understanding of your ideal customers. Define what they’re looking for when they click on an ad and what they expect to see when they reach the landing page. Don’t invest in flashy visuals and cutting-edge animation just to show off — keep everything relevant to your customers.

 

Videos help landing pages to make a stronger impression

People remember information presented through visuals six times better than text or audio.

That means even if your landing pages don’t convert prospects, including a video increases the chance that they’ll remember your business and/or the message conveyed down the line.

They might come back at a later date, and your retargeting campaign could be more effective if prospects already have a positive connection to your brand.

 

Adding videos to your landing pages can make a massive impact on your conversion rates and customer engagement. But actually writing, filming, and editing videos that grabs prospects is a challenge for any first-timer.

Understanding your business, audience, and the possibilities available based on your budget will help to make the process easier.

Want to work with our Orange County digital marketing experts to transform your landing pages? Get in touch today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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How to Make Thought Leadership Content Work for Your Business

mwon

Why is thought leadership content so valuable?

Because it can:

But creating thought leadership content that makes an impact isn’t easy, or every company would be considered an authority in its sector.

So, how can you make thought leadership content work for you?

Our Orange County SEO specialists have the answers …

 

Support Points with Original Research and Data

Conducting your own research is one of the most effective ways to help your thought leadership content stand out. This might be as simple as creating a poll on social media or as complicated as surveying industry experts around the world.

Regardless of its scale, original research provides readers with insights they can’t find anywhere else and ensures your content is unique. You offer more value than a competitor regurgitating others’ data, and establish your site or business as a useful resource.

 

Create Gated Thought Leadership Content to Generate Leads

Most of your thought leadership content might appear on your business’s blog or other websites e.g. industry news publications. But you can create longer pieces as gated content to capture leads.

For example, a free 40-page ebook packed with unique, actionable insights can inspire visitors to submit their email address more than the promise of a monthly newsletter.

Newcomers can check your existing content before deciding whether to sign up or not, and you can incentivize them further with a small discount or free trial.

 

Look at Competing Thought Leaders (and Do Better)

One simple step in creating thought leadership content is to explore your competitors’ output. What blog posts, articles, whitepapers, and even books are they publishing? How do they promote it? Do they use special offers to attract interest?

But remember: your content must be unique. So, be inspired by competitors but focus on establishing a distinctive presence.

 

Make Content Relevant to Industry Changes, Product Releases, and Events

Good content is relevant. Not just to your audience, but to industry changes and events.

That’s why it’s important to create a content calendar and schedule pieces to make the biggest impact. For example, if your business is attending an expo in two months, start gathering material for a deep post as soon as you can.

This might document the creation of a product you plan to reveal or explore said product’s expected market impact.

Whatever the topic, the content can generate interest in the product and vice versa. And both can bring curious new visitors to your site.

 

Thought leadership is a fantastic addition to a content marketing strategy and helps drive traffic. But what else can you do to attract more visitors, build authority, and boost engagement?

Our Orange County SEO experts are here to help. Just get in touch for your FREE Relevancy & Quality Score Report now!

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Content Marketing Tips for Small Businesses – The Right Way to Reach Your Audience

mwon

A well-planned content marketing strategy is a crucial asset for any small business, though it’s not easy. You might find yourself sweating at the prospect of having to write blog posts three times a week or putting together a comprehensive whitepaper. but the truth is, all the hard work can really pay off.

Just ask those small businesses posting blogs on a regular basis and earning 126 percent more lead growth than those that don’t have a blog.

So, to help you get more out of your content marketing, we’ve put together the following tips.

 

Know Who You’re Writing For

One of the most important steps in building a good content marketing strategy is understanding your audience. If you try to write for everyone, the results could be vague and, most likely, interesting to no one.

But when you focus your aim and write for a specific segment, you can inject more truth and power into your content.

Think about your current customer base, your competition, and the pain points your business addresses. This helps clarify your ideal reader and the action you want them to take.

 

A Content Calendar is Key to Success

It might be tempting to create content as and when the mood takes you. Especially when your small business is operated by a skeleton crew with little spare time to flex their creative muscles.

But implementing a content calendar establishes a tighter focus and boosts relevance. For example, generating ideas for Christmas-themed content weeks in advance gives you the time to think carefully about the sort of answers your audience will be looking to solve in the run up to the season.

Planning themes and topics early reduces time wasted scrabbling for ideas on the day a blog post is due, too.

 

Use Long-form Content to Achieve Better Results

Research shows long-form content brings stronger results, with articles of more than 2000 words performing well for around 56 percent of creators.

That’s not to say you should never publish short posts, such as news updates, insights into forthcoming products, or simple articles offering a quick read.

Just make sure to publish long-form content that demonstrates thought leadership and gives readers something they can sink their teeth into regularly.

 

Experiment with Visual Content

Images help users process information and grasp the core topics or themes of a piece of content before they even start reading. Posts including images generate 650 percent higher engagement and earn three times as many links as text-only ones.

Try publishing infographics and videos on a regular basis, but spend time and money getting them to a professional standard first. When using images in your content, use original photos or graphics as often as you can. Only rely on stock visuals when you have no other option.

These content marketing tips can help small businesses build more effective campaigns and reach the right people. But it can be difficult to implement a strict plan when you have a company to run and a team to manage.

Want to work with a professional Orange County SEO agency committed to achieve real results instead? Just get in touch for a free marketing analysis now.

 

 

 

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Social Media Marketing in Orange County

How to Get Social Media Marketing Right for Your Business

mwon

Social media marketing is a must for every business. Big or small. New or established.

Why?

So, we know social media marketing has big potential to get your brand and products in front of a huge audience.

But how can you get it right?

 

Know Who Your Audience is and What they Care About

When you know your target audience, their interests, their values, and their buying habits, you can narrow your marketing’s focus.

For example, let’s say you want to target millennials. You’re in luck: more than 90 percent of them use social media, compared to just 48 percent of baby boomers.

That means you have a high chance of reaching your ideal customer base through effective social media marketing. You need to:

  • Gather information on your existing customers (age, location, spending habits, purchase preferences)
  • Look at your competitors’ social media marketing: what techniques do they use to reach your shared audience?
  • Survey customers to discover which social networks they use, which days and times they tend to browse, etc.
  • Create buyer personas for different demographics within your audience

The more you know about your ideal customers, the more effective your marketing should be.

 

Focus on Engagement, Not Just Selling

It’s tempting to promote your products or services on social media shamelessly. But this is likely to bore and frustrate your followers.

Work on engaging your audience through relevant, valuable content. Use images, videos, concise text, and more to keep your posts diverse.

Another key element of engagement is interacting with followers, responding to comments on posts, and more. Be transparent and accessible. Build relationships with the potential to translate into conversions down the line.

 

A/B Testing is Your Friend

A/B testing (or split testing) is a simple but effective way to determine the best ads and content for your social media marketing campaign.

Create two versions of ads or posts, incorporating different images, language, video lengths, GIFs, and more. Run them both at the same time, split between your audience equally, for a fixed period.

Analytics will reveal which version secures the highest engagement. You may or may not keep it as is, or build a new variation implementing the strongest features of the most successful one.

 

Stay Consistent

Establish a voice and stick to it.

That’s not to say you can’t evolve over time and embrace a slightly different tone. But it does mean it’s best to stay consistent across posts and social networks.

So, if you use punchy language and humorous GIFs on Twitter, don’t be painfully dry on Facebook.

This can disorient your audience, and suggest your team behind the scenes is unprofessional or disorganized. Consistency helps your brand develop a recognizable personality, build trust, and ensure followers know what to expect during interactions.

 

Social media marketing isn’t easy, but it’s worth putting time into developing a sound strategy that suits your business goals, audience, and budget.

Focus on building brand awareness, gaining trust, and establishing a consistent voice to maximize your campaign’s performance. Want help from a seasoned Orange County SEO team? We’ve got a free marketing analysis with your name on it!

 

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How to use Featured Snippets

How can You Use Featured Snippets in Your SEO Campaign?

mwon

 

We’ve all seen featured snippets by now, even if you don’t know them by name.

They’ve quickly become a common fixture on SERPs (search engine results page), helping users to find fast answers from an authority source just by clicking on one of the snippets at the top of the page.

Each featured snippet includes a link to the site, unlike answer boxes, which makes them a valuable addition to your SEO campaign. But how can you make the most of them?

 

Focus on Answering Questions

Featured snippets commonly answer questions, such as ‘what is a backlink?’ or ‘how do you bake a cake step by step?’.

How to use Featured Snippets
How you can Use Featured Snippets

Dedicate a full page to a question, with images, videos, strong keywords, and an in-depth answer that offers real value to searchers. Focus on giving the reader all the information they need in a well-structured format, incorporating keyword-rich header tags (H2, H3).

 

Embrace Lists

Lists are another type of featured snippet. They may appear in response to searches for ‘where should I stay in San Francisco?’ or ‘the best CRM tools’ (see below).

Featured Snippets List
Embrace Lists in Featured Snippets

A glance at the list gives users a fast answer, but still leaves enough missing to encourage a click through to the site. Lists’ accessibility can help to boost user engagement and aid scannability.

You may not be able to work lists into every piece of content you create, but try to include them when constructing pages dedicated to answering questions.

 

Build Authority to Gain Google’s Recognition

Google draws on authority sites for featured snippets, to ensure maximum value and expertise. So, if you want to increase your site’s chances of being picked, you need to build authority.

How can you do this?

  • Pay attention to your title tags, meta descriptions, and image alt tags
  • Make sure all content is high-quality and formatted in an engaging way
  • Work on achieving backlinks from other authority sites, to build your own credibility
  • Optimize your website for mobile devices

Building authority takes time and patience, but it’ll pay off when Google starts to notice you.

 

Add High-quality Pictures and Videos to Boost Value

Pictures and videos can increase your content’s value. Visual media has the power to convey meaning and present examples to users, answering questions in a more engaging way than text alone. Humans are more likely to remember visuals than words, and content with visuals tends to earn 94 percent more views than text-only content.

These are especially valuable for how-to pieces or resolving complex issues. One good way to increase videos’ impact is to create a transcript, so Google gains a clearer insight into its content.

Take advantage of these ideas to help your site rank for featured snippets. If you manage this, you’ll gain valuable real estate on SERPs and secure more traffic.

Want to learn more about increasing your visibility and ranking? Get in touch with our Orange County SEO experts now, and we’ll give you a FREE pro-marketing analysis.

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How-can-You-Boost-Engagement-on-Your-Website

How can You Boost Engagement on Your Website?

nettsolutions

How engaging is your website?

If you can’t answer this question, it’s time to give it some thought.

And in this post on boosting engagement, our Orange County SEO experts give you plenty to think about. Let’s start with user experience.

 

The Power of Good UX

User experience (UX) is a key part of building and maintaining an engaging site, especially now that mobile search is so important to the digital marketing landscape.

Every business has to make sure its site gives visitors exactly what they’re looking for in the fastest time. The layout, presentation and content should all be designed for a smooth browsing experience.

Research by Google backs this up:

  • 61 percent of users will jump to a different site if they can’t find what they’re looking for on yours quickly
  • 50 percent will visit a business’s website less often if it’s not mobile-optimised, even if they like its products and services

So, the main factors to focus on:

  • Speed (fast load times, logical progression from page to page}
  • Convenience (value visitors’ time: show them what they’re looking for fast)
  • Mobile Optimization (make sure your site can be browsed on smartphones easily)

 

Keep Content Clear and Readable

It’s tempting to show off and pack your content with sophisticated language or technical jargon. But if you do this, you increase the odds of visitors clicking away out of boredom or frustration.

Here are some key points to keep in mind:

  • Content should be tailored to your target audience: speak their language and address their pain points.
  • Keep the layout clean and tidy with plenty of white space.
  • Use images and videos to break text up.
  • Make content valuable and ensure it serves a purpose.

 

Encourage Interaction

Invite visitors to communicate with your business and reach out to your customer support team to find out more about products or services. This can increase engagement and show users you value their input.

One effective way to do this is implementing live chat and / or chatbots. This lets visitors speak with an agent quickly and easily right on the website. There’s no need to login to an email account and draft a message or leave the browser to dial a number.

Live chat should be easy to access on every page. Don’t make users go searching high and low for it or they could click away to a business that makes things a little simpler.

 

Working with Experts

Working with a seasoned SEO team is a great way to boost your website’s engagement. Our Orange County SEO agency has helped many businesses give customers a better, smoother browsing and buying experience.

Want to know more? Get in touch with us today.

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Local PPC Tips for Your Company

Local PPC Tips for Your Company

nettsolutions

Local PPC is a must for reaching customers when we all have smartphones, with research showing almost half of mobile searches are for local businesses.

And that makes sense. While we might have flipped through a phonebook for restaurants, tailors, plumbers or other service-providers within our local area in days gone by, today we can just ask Google to find them for us.

You can use this convenience and accessibility to your advantage, boosting your company’s visibility for nearby customers.

How? We’ve pulled together some key local PPC tips to help you get started.

 

Get Colloquial

One simple but solid way to attract local buyers is to speak in a language they recognize.

This doesn’t mean you need to pepper your PPC ads with slang you hear on the streets to try and seem cool, but dropping relevant references helps establish your business as part of the community.

For example, if you know consumers like calling your products by a specific term, feel free to adopt it in your content. Show you understand your audience and know how to communicate with them at their level.

 

Include Call Extensions for Direct Contact

Adding call extensions to your PPC ads empowers consumers with an easy way to interact with your brand.

Just by tapping a call button, a customer can book a table in your restaurant, schedule a haircut or plan anything else in a matter of seconds. It saves them having to search your website for your number and is far faster than using an online booking system.

 

Keep Your Google My Business Updated

Google My Business is a must-have element of your online marketing.

Make sure you take advantage of it. Add photos of your establishment, products and even staff or customers (provided they’re happy to be included). Show your business off with professional, clear images.

You can manage your company’s presence on Google Maps and in search results to keep all information updated. Using out-of-date images, contact details or even an incorrect location doesn’t just look amateurish — it means your customers can’t find you when they need to.

 

Avoid Targeting Irrelevant Locations

Exclude locations from your PPC campaign to avoid wasting money on customers outside your local areas. Obviously, if you ship your product around the country or world, you can still be marketing on a wider scale.

Otherwise, when you want to reach local buyers only, refine your target locations for a more cost-effective strategy.

 

Work with a Professional Team

Nett Solutions is an Orange County digital marketing agency committed to helping businesses of all sizes reach your goals.

We’ll work with you to create a bespoke PPC campaign targeting your local audience for maximum impact.

Want to learn more? Just get in touch with our friendly, hard-working team for your FREE marketing analysis!

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Making the Most of Ad Extensions for Better Marketing

Making the Most of Ad Extensions for Better Marketing

nettsolutions

You want to reach as many customers as you can. That’s an obvious element of any effective marketing campaign.

But are you doing everything in your power to achieve better results?

If you’re not using extensions in your PPC ads, the answer may be a resounding ‘no’.

Extensions are a simple but impactful way to increase ads’ appeal and reach a bigger audience. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at what they are, how they work and how you need to take advantage of them for better results.

 

Expanding Your Ads’ Power

Ad extensions give you the chance to inject extra details into your ads beyond the headline and copy. Implementing multiple extensions increases your ads’ ability to stand out from others and encourage clicks.

Ad extensions reveal more about your business, your products / services, and your site too. Using the following types of ad extensions can make a big impact on your paid marketing:

 

Sitelinks

A sitelink is simple: it’s a link to a specific page on your website. You can use these to promote sales, popular products or special events.

For example, if you’re hosting a one-off webinar in the coming weeks, you can include a sitelink to the respective page inviting prospects to sign up for it. Obviously, this should be relevant to the ad and appear as an organic element rather than a forced promotion.

Location Extensions

Adding location extensions to your ads gives searchers clear details on how to find your business or the branch nearest to them.

These also show the company isn’t online-only and may prompt them to visit in person. Research supports this: 78 percent of local-mobile searches lead to offline sales.

Call extensions

A call extension is a direct way to communicate with your customers. You can include a phone number for your local or main base, reducing the time it takes for searchers to get in touch.

These are most effective on mobile ads as customers are already on their smartphones and in a position to call you. Call extensions are especially helpful if your business is targeting local buyers rather than a wider audience.

Review Extensions

Want to show prospects all the nice things people have said about you?

You can include third-party feedback / coverage in your ads using review extensions. These boost your company’s credibility and may help you secure searchers’ trust sooner than you might otherwise.

 

Creating a Bespoke Advertising Campaign for Your Business

Want to launch a tailored PPC campaign for your company?

Our Orange County digital marketing team leverages ad extensions and other effective techniques to maximize your ads’ impact. Get in touch now and we’ll give you a FREE marketing analysis!

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