If you’re having a hard time figuring out whether your SEO strategy is working and you’re struggling to make sense of your website analytics, sometimes it helps if you can visualize the data. Infocaptor’s Bubble My Page scans your website for word content and coverts the keywords into a bubble word cloud so you can see what words you’ve used often on any given page of your website. (Only the first 100,000 bytes are read from any page.) The tool is useful to help you keep on target when writing content for your site by providing an easy way to visualize whether you’re sticking to your keywords and topics.
Google+
Search Articles
Most liked posts
Popular Tags
accounting and taxes blogging blogs Branding Business Development business travel Capital Access Compliance Customer Service ecommerce Email marketing entrepreneur entrepreneurship Facebook Generational Marketing GrowSmartBiz Conference Grow Smart Business lead generation LinkedIn Marketing michael dougherty mobile marketing networking online marketing Raising Capital Resources retail sales sales process SBSI Search Marketing seo small business small business accounting small business hiring small business loans small business marketing small business resources small business technology Small Business Trends social media Technology Twitter Web Design WorkforceCategories
- Categories
- Advanced Degrees
- Allison Kapner
- Best Of…
- Business Development
- Capital Access
- Carol Roth
- Compliance
- Cover Letters
- Customer Service
- Dating
- Email marketing
- Entrepreneurs
- Entrepreneurship
- Entrepreneurship
- Etiquette
- Etiquette
- Events
- Innovation
- Interviewing
- Interviews
- Jennifer Nycz-Conner
- Job Search
- Life Transition
- Lunch with Entrepreneurs
- Marketing
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Networking
- Patrick Madsen
- Patti Nuttycombe Cochran
- Personal Brand
- Recruiters
- References
- Resources
- Resumes
- Robin Ferrier
- sales process
- Sarah Morgan
- Small Business
- small business
- Small Business Success Index
- social media
- Technology
- Thomas Madrecki
- Tweetchat
- Uncategorized
- UnintentionalEntrepreneur
- Videos
- What's next Gen Y
- WhatsNextGenY
- Workforce
- Working World
Posts Tagged ‘Search Marketing’
Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Infocaptor Bubble My Page (SEO Tool)
March 20th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich8 Ways to Use SlideShare for Content Marketing
March 14th, 2013 :: Monika Jansen
Let me just preface this blog post by saying that SlideShare is owned by LinkedIn. That should already give you a clue as to why you should use SlideShare, especially based on my previous blog post about using LinkedIn to grow your business. But let me back up a sec.
SlideShare is the world’s largest content-sharing community for professionals. According to this nifty infographic created by Column Five Media, it gets 60 million visitors a month who view 3 billion slides. In fact, Slideshare gets way more traffic from business owners than Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
We all know content marketing is the name of the marketing game nowadays, so if you are B2B and want to reach business owners, SlideShare is it. Here are 8 ways to use this amazing community for content marketing:
1. Gussy up presentations
Take a look at your PowerPoint presentations – are they chock full of good information that your target market would find relevant, interesting, and useful? Great – turn it into a slide.
Make sure your content is simple and straightforward:
- Keep each slide focused on one idea
- Only use graphics and images that support your messages
- Rewrite content to make it self-explanatory
2. Convert ebooks and whitepapers
To really expand the reach of your ebooks and whitepapers, turn them into slides. Just use the above checklist to make sure they are good to go.
3. Tell stories
Put together a new slide based on customer success stories or use cases. Stories resonate with readers, so if they’re compelling, your slide could end up generating quite a few leads.
4. Add contact info and social links
At the end of your slide, add a page with contact information – an email, website address, and/or phone number – and links to your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. accounts.
5. Include a call-to-action
If people like what you created, give them a good reason to contact you. Add a slide that explains what you do, how you can help them, and why they should contact you.
6. Double check for keywords and phrases
Search engines analyze the content in your slides when generating search results. Double check that your slides integrate the keywords and phrases you want to be found for.
7. Allow sharing
When you add your slide to SlideShare, you can choose to keep your slide public or private. Make it public so people can find it, view it, comment on it, and share it.
8. Provide an embed code
If you are comfortable letting other people use your content on their website or in their blog, choose to provide an embed code.
Do you use SlideShare? If yes, what content has done the best? If not, are you convinced you should start using it?
Image courtesy of SlideShare
Google+Meet the Mobile Super-Shoppers
March 1st, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky
By Rieva Lesonsky
Is your small business reaching out to Hispanic consumers on their mobile devices? If not, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. New research reported by eMarketer shows that Hispanic consumers are not only far more likely than non-Hispanics to use mobile devices, but are also far more likely to use them to shop.
A study from Acosta Sales & Marketing found that Hispanic consumers, in particular, are more likely than the average shopper to use a smartphone (51 percent of Hispanics vs. 41 percent of all consumers), regularly use text messaging (47 percent vs. 42 percent) and use mobile apps (19 percent vs. 14 percent).
According to a study from Leo Burnett and Lapiz, Hispanic consumers are 7 percent more likely than non-Hispanic consumers to use their mobile phones to shop (56 percent vs. 33 percent of non-Hispanics). They’re also more likely to shop with a tablet (43 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 25 percent of non-Hispanics).
The same Leo Burnett/Lapiz study reports that Hispanics are far more likely than non-Hispanics to make shopping a social activity, whether they’re shopping online or off:
- Nearly half (48 percent) of Hispanics use social networking sites as part of their shopping activities, while only 31 percent of non-Hispanics do so.
- Hispanics are twice as likely to share their opinions of products or brands and write product reviews on social media sites (36 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 18 percent of Non-Hispanics).
- Hispanics are more than twice as likely to reach out to friends and family for help with shopping decisions (37 percent of Hispanics do so, vs. 17 percent of non-Hispanics).
What do these numbers mean to you? First, with Hispanics a growing segment of the U.S. population, there’s scarcely a business out there that shouldn’t be reaching out to them. To attract these super-shoppers, consider:
- Creating a mobile app for your business that lets customers do something more easily, whether that’s getting product quotes or making purchases directly on their phones.
- Making it easy for consumers to share information from your website or ecommerce site or social media accounts with friends and family, whether via email, social media or text messaging.
- Have an active presence in social media and make sure your business is represented on ratings and review sites.
- Taking advantage of text messaging, since Hispanic consumers are actively engaged in it. But be careful: Don’t overstep your welcome or send too many texts.
Image by Flickr user moodboard photography (Creative Commons)
Google+B2B Marketing Budgets Are on the Rise in 2013—Is Yours?
February 6th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky
By Rieva Lesonsky
If your small business markets products or services to other businesses, you may want to consider boosting your marketing budget for 2013 if you haven’t already. A new survey from BtoB Online found that nearly half of B2B companies are increasing their marketing spending for this year.
BtoB’s 2013 Outlook: Marketing Priorities and Plans report polled over 300 B2B marketers and found:
What are marketers spending?
Some 48.7 percent of marketers say they will increase their budgets this year, up from 40.1 percent last year. About 41 percent will keep their budgets the same, down from 48.4 percent last year. Meanwhile, 9.5 percent will cut their budgets, down from 10.8 percent in 2012.
Where are they spending it?
Some 67.2 percent of marketers say they will increase their spending on digital marketing this year. Of those, 70.1 percent will spend more on website development, 61.9 percent on email marketing, 56 percent on social media, 55.8 percent on online video and 52.5 percent on search.
In addition, 72.2 percent of B2B marketers say content marketing is part of their marketing plan. The most popular platforms for content marketing are websites (93 percent), social media (65.4 percent), print (47.5 percent) and mobile (20.9 percent).
What do marketers hope to achieve?
B2B marketers report their number-one marketing goal this year is demand generation/customer acquisition, cited by 69.3 percent. The second most important goal, increasing brand awareness, was way behind, cited by 17.6 percent. In third place: customer retention, cited by 13.1 percent.
Who’s going mobile?
More B2B marketers are integrating mobile marketing, but there’s still a way to go. Some 32.7 percent of respondents say they currently use mobile in their marketing strategy, while 35.5 percent say they plan to spend more on mobile marketing this year.
What are they automating?
Better aligning marketing and sales is a key goal for B2B marketers this year. Some 52.3 percent say they will spend money on sales enablement platforms, while 50.8 percent plan to invest in marketing automation systems.
What old-fashioned marketing method still matters?
It’s not all digital and mobile. For many B2B companies, events are still crucial to their marketing strategy. In fact, some 41.5 percent of survey respondents say they will increase their event budgets for 2013.
Editor’s Note: Network Solutions offers an easy way to build a website for mobile devices in mere minutes: goMobi™, powered by dotMobi.
Image by Flickr user Andy Roberts Images (Creative Commons)
Google+What Marketing Strategies Are You Spending on in 2013?
January 22nd, 2013 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichBy Maria Valdez Haubrich
How does your small business’s marketing budget for 2013 compare to that of your competitors? A new survey by StrongMail has some insights. Overall, businesses are bullish on marketing for 2013, with a total of 89 percent saying they will either increase or maintain their level of marketing spending in the coming year. (Some 45 percent will increase their marketing budgets and 44 percent will keep them the same.)
Email marketing, social media and mobile marketing will be the main focus of investment this year. More than half (55.5 percent) of marketing executives report plans to spend more on email marketing campaigns in 2013; 51.8 percent say they will spend more on social media; 42.8 percent say they will increase spending on mobile marketing; and 39.8 percent will boost spending on search marketing.
Two-thirds of the companies in the survey report they will spend more on mobile marketing programs such as mobile apps (39 percent) and SMS alerts (21 percent). Overall, mobile marketing spending will increase by 11 percent compared to 2012.
When it comes to social media, where are marketers putting most of their efforts? Facebook dominates, with 60 percent of businesses saying Facebook is the most valuable social media channel for them. Twitter and YouTube ranked second and third, respectively. Google and Pinterest were somewhere in the middle, cited by 31 percent of marketers, while Yelp, Instagram and LinkedIn brought up the rear.
Email is a strong area of growth for marketers, who plan to use it for a variety of purposes this year. While at one point some experts were predicting that social media would make email obsolete, marketers are figuring out email’s value in growing their social media presence and customer engagement. That’s reflected in the 46 percent who say they will spend more on emails to drive growth to their social media channels, such as Facebook or Twitter. In addition, 38.8 percent will spend more on promotional emails, and 34.7 percent will spend more on email newsletters.
Where aren’t marketers spending? Direct mail, trade show participation and traditional advertising will take the biggest hits. Some 37.4 percent report they plan to cut spending on direct mail, 33.6 percent will cut back on trade show spending and 23 percent will decrease spending on advertising in 2013.
You can view a PDF of the full survey results here.
Image by Flickr user Jay Freshuk (Creative Commons)
Google+Are You Marketing to Asian Americans?
January 11th, 2013 :: Rieva LesonskyBy Rieva Lesonsky
What’s the fastest-growing consumer group you may not be targeting yet? The answer might surprise you. In the last 10 years, the Asian American population has grown at double-digit rates in 49 of 50 states, according to Nielsen’s State of the Asian American Consumer Q3 2012 report. That’s good news for marketers, since many Asian American consumers are affluent, well-educated, tech-savvy and have lots of purchasing power.
The Asian American population has increased by more than 50 percent since 2000, to approximately 18.2 million, and is projected to reach 20.9 million in the next five years. Asian Americans come from many different countries of origin, including China, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Korea and Japan. The largest overall group is Chinese Americans, who make up 22 percent of the Asian American population.
The Asian American population is actually growing a little bit faster than the Hispanic population in the U.S. However, unlike growth in the Hispanic population, which is primarily fueled by babies being born in the U.S., currently growth in the Asian American population is fueled by immigration. In 2010, about 430,000 new immigrants, or 36 percent of the total immigrant population, was from Asian nations, and in the last 10 years, 3.6 million Asian immigrants came to the United States
What are some demographic characteristics of this population? Overall, Asian Americans skew younger than the average American (41 years vs. 45 years) and their household size is slightly larger than average (3.1 vs. 2.6). Adult, native-born Asians skew much younger than adult immigrants (median age of 30 vs. 44).
The median income for Asian American households is higher than average ($63,420 vs. $49,580 in 2012). More than one-fourth (28 percent) of Asian American households have incomes of more than $100K; among overall households, only 18 percent boast this income level.
What are the most effective ways to market to Asian Americans? The number of Asian media outlets increased by more than 1,000 percent from 1999 to 2010, so there’s no shortage of options. However, one of the best (and most affordable) ways to reach this market is online, since Asian Americans have high tech adoption rates.
Specifically, Asian Americans spend an average of 80 hours online each month; view 3,600 Web pages monthly (1,000 pages more than any other demographic group) and visit computer and consumer electronics sites 36 percent more often than the average population. Using search engine optimization and online advertising targeted to these consumers are effective methods to reach this growing market.
Image by Flickr user Cea (Creative Commons)
Google+7 Quick Tips to Optimize Your Content for Search
January 2nd, 2013 :: Monika Jansen
You create content for various reasons: to build awareness, gain thought leadership, demonstrate expertise, and convert Web visitors into leads and then into customers. Since you’re spending time on content creation, be sure it is optimized for search to make it super easy for potential customers to find you.
Here’s what to do:
1. Conduct a search
Even though you are 99 percent sure your target market uses specific keywords and phrases, double-check. You might find additional ones you hadn’t thought of.
2. Integrate keywords
Don’t just add the keywords to the body of the content; add them to titles (early in the title is better) and use them in links back to landing or other Web pages instead of “read more.”
3. Optimize images
Because search engines cannot read text embedded on an image, use keywords in the file names and alt text, tag them (like you would for a blog post), and include a description or caption when you can. This is true for images in any digital content – blog posts, white papers, ebooks and downloadable marketing collateral.
4. Optimize video
This is pretty much the same as optimizing images. Use a keyword-rich title and add tags, but when it comes to the description, focus less on keywords and more on a compelling message that will convince people to watch your video. Add a link to your website at the end.
5. Add to executive summaries
When you publish long-form content like ebooks, white papers and how-to guides, write an executive summary, add keywords and use it to publicize your content on your website, in press releases and newsletters, in blog posts, etc.
6. Use on Web pages
Add those keywords and phrases to page titles and URLs where the content is housed, whether it’s a landing page or service or product page.
7. Optimize for social
Look up hashtags on Twitter and keywords on Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and any other social sites you use to ensure your content will be easily found once you share it there.
As you optimize your content, just be sure you don’t go crazy and overstuff with keywords. Search engines don’t like that.
Image by Flickr user mRio (Creative Commons)
Google+
How Local Search Can Boost Your Business
December 14th, 2012 :: Rieva LesonskyBy Rieva Lesonsky
If your business relies on local customers from the neighborhood and surrounding areas, then you need to know about the importance of local search to consumers. According to a new survey by YP, local search is becoming widespread, and shifts in how consumers rely on how local search will affect businesses now and going forward.
YP discovered that local searches (that is, searching the Web for local businesses) is a way of life. In fact, four out of 10 consumers in the survey say they use local search once a day; two-thirds use it three to four times a week.
The study divided consumers into those with PCs, those with PCs and Smartphones, and those with PCs, Smartphones and Tablets. The more devices someone has, the more frequently they are to use local search. Those with PCs only average about five local searches a week. For those who also have Smartphones, the volume of local search nearly triples, to 13.5 local searches per week. Consumers who have all of the devices perform nearly 21 local searches per week.
The most frequently searched categories relevant to small business were entertainment, restaurants/dining, contractors, retail stores, automotive, professional services, personal and fitness, financial services and healthcare.
While “local” is kind of a vague term, the survey tried to pin it down a bit more and found that for most categories, most consumers actually buy from businesses that are within 15 minutes of their home or work. If you have a product or service that’s purchased less frequently (such as automotive repair or financial services), customers are more likely to be willing to drive farther, which means your “local” base might expand a bit more.
Users who use local search at least daily on a regular basis were defined as “avid” local searchers. These consumers were more likely than others to own both tablets and smartphones. They were also more likely to:
- engage in behavior such as “showrooming” (looking up information about products in a retail store on their mobile devices while in-store),
- engage in mcommerce (buying products on their mobile devices),
- use mobile shopping apps and
- click on mobile ads.
As tablet and smartphone use grow, the report predicts, regular users’ search behavior will start to resemble that of avid searchers—so catering to avid searchers now can prepare your business for the future.
Image by Flickr user zabdiel (Creative Commons)
Google+
How Can You Motivate Last-Minute Holiday Shoppers to Buy?
December 12th, 2012 :: Rieva LesonskyBy Rieva Lesonsky
The holiday retail season is heading into the home stretch, but there are still plenty of Americans who haven’t checked off every item on their gift lists yet. How can you attract them and what motivates them to buy? The PeriscopeIQ Second Annual Holiday Shopping Survey has some useful insights about what works and what doesn’t.
QR Codes: So far, QR codes on ads, point-of-sale items and price tags haven’t lived up to their potential, reports the PeriscopeIQ study, because nearly three-fifths (59 percent) of shoppers don’t know what the codes are or what they do. Fewer than one in five (18 percent) have ever used a QR code in a retail environment, even though 60 percent own smartphones with built-in scanners or apps. “We believe QR codes will continue to evolve but the actual 2D code will be transformed by a newer, more efficient technology in the near future,” said Mohamed Latib, COO of PeriscopeIQ.
Working Shoppers: Up to 40 percent of survey respondents admit to shopping online at work during the holidays and year-round, and more than a quarter of those polled shop more than 15 minutes daily on the job.
Gassing Up: Some 40 percent say their willingness to drive long distances for a bargain will be impacted by gas prices. And for shoppers in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy, gas availability itself may still be an issue. Consumers’ awareness of gas prices is good news for ecommerce sites that let them shop from home.
Free Shipping: If you do have an ecommerce site, know that 95 percent of respondents say free shipping is a major factor in whether they buy from a particular site or not.
Smartphones Mean Smarter Shoppers: Over two-fifths (41 percent) of customers say they are pre-shopping online before going into stores, up from 27 percent last year. A smaller number (33 percent) check prices at other stores or at websites while in-store, and about 36 percent take pictures of items with their phones in-store, whether to get feedback from friends or family, or to do comparison shopping.
Waiting on Mobile Wallets: While mobile wallet options such as Google Wallet or Passbook have captured headlines, these technologies are still in limited use. Fewer than 5 percent of respondents say they use mobile wallet technologies.
Black, White and Read All Over: When looking for product information, sales and other information about shopping, almost three-fifths (58 percent) of consumers say they still rely primarily on print magazines and newspapers. In comparison, only 24 percent said they look at online reviews of products for information before shopping.
“With more than half of our respondents equipped with smartphones, the multi-channel world is a boon to holiday shoppers,” said Dr. Pawan Singh, CEO and Chief Scientist at PeriscopeIQ. “But it can also be an advantage to retailers who address physical, mobile and online customer experiences with equal diligence.”
Image by Flickr user RetailByRyan95 (Creative Commons)
Google+5 Steps to Keep Your Sales Funnel Full
December 10th, 2012 :: Monika Jansen
No matter how long they’ve been in business, a lot of small business owners are not very good at keeping the sales funnel full. You’ll do a marketing blitz, get super busy and focus on work. Because you’re so slammed, you will then ignore marketing and sales. Then your projects wrap up, and you’re back to square one – you need to do another marketing blitz.
The better, less frantic approach is to always be marketing – it’s the best way to keep your sales funnel full, especially if you tend to have a long sales cycle. Here’s a 5-step process to ensure those marketing blitzes become a thing of the past:
Step One: Create valuable information
Your goal is to first get people onto your website. Devote time each week to creating valuable content, like blog posts, white papers, eBooks, infographics and videos, that are full of keywords. Potential customers will find your site when they go searching for information on a specific topic.
Step Two: Pump up the SEO
Your goal remains the same: get people onto your website. Make sure your website is fully optimized for all the keywords you want to be found for, including location if that’s relevant. Even though it’s not technically SEO, use hashtags on Twitter to make it easy for people to find you.
Step Three: Convert Web visitors
Now that they’re on your site, your goal is to convert visitors into leads. There are two ways to do this: 1) If you’re offering an eBook or free demo, direct them to a landing page and ask for basic information before they can access the item. 2) Use compelling calls-to-action that direct visitors to do something – contact you, sign up for your e-newsletter, like you on Facebook, etc.
Step Four: Nurture and qualify leads
At this stage, your goals is to stay n touch with potential customers and build the relationship through social media and email marketing. Because you’ll stay top-of-mind, when they’re ready to buy, they’ll think of you first. You can also offer specials or coupons, to speed up the decision-making (on a personal level, this always works for me).
Step Five: Analyze your efforts
Your final goal is to simply look at your process and see if people are getting caught up somewhere in the process. Is a piece of content not attracting website visitors? Are people leaving your site when they reach a certain page? What offers are converting more leads into customers? Adjust, and continue.
What do you do to keep your sales funnel full?
Image courtesy of outsideinview.com
Google+
