7 Digital Marketing Trends That Will Likely Dominate 2017

Decoding Online Marketing Trends For Business Owners.

Online marketing is a field dominated by those creative and perceptive enough to plan ahead, anticipate changes, and jump on trends before your competitors do, so these trends are important to prepare for and utilize in 2017. You don’t have to use all of them, but you should be at least aware of their existence and learn how to use them if you want to beat the competition.

  1. Introduced by Pokémon Go, we expect to experience the continued use of Augmented Reality (AR). The Merriam Webster dictionary defines Augmented Reality as “an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device (such as a smartphone camera);also:  the technology used to create augmented reality.” Augmented reality is the integration of digital information with the user’s environment in real time. Unlike virtual reality, which creates a totally artificial environment, augmented reality uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top of it.

Few people would have predicted that Pokémon Go would have taken off as radically as it did, earning $10 million a day in new revenue during its peak. Enthusiasm for it has largely died down, but the app has had two main effects on the online marketing community; one, it’s shown that users are ready for augmented reality experiences, and two, it’s given marketers a taste of the earning potential here. You can count on seeing more brands coming out with AR games, AR ads, and attempts to capitalize on AR apps that already exist.

Enthusiasm for it has largely died down, but the app has had two main effects on the online marketing community; one, it’s shown that users are ready for augmented reality (AR) experiences, and two, it’s given marketers a taste of the earning potential here.

  1. Live Video Streaming Will Fully Blast Off.

Social media users are beginning to demand more in-the-moment content, giving them a vicarious view into a world (or event) they’d previously been unable to access. Thanks to faster Internet and the pervasiveness of mobile phones, live video has become something of a trend on its own, with more and more platforms and apps giving some kind of “live streaming” functionality; even the first Presidential debate was streamed live, drawing millions of viewers in. Live video has been on an upward streak for the last few years, but it’s widely anticipated to fully take off in 2017, utilized by more brands, individuals and companies than ever.

  1. Data Visualization Tools Will Greatly Expand, As Will The Need for Data Visualization.

Even data analysts frequently have problems understanding exactly what the data is saying; our brains weren’t made to process vast amounts of raw numerical data this way. Now, technology is finally catching up to the “interpretation” part of data analysis; there are dozens of data visualization tools on the market already, but soon, every business is going to want to start using them– the ones who don’t, will be left behind at a significant disadvantage.

  1. Native Advertising Will Literally Explode in Popularity.

Native advertising is on an upward swing; as consumers continue to condemn or ignore most forms of conventional advertising, native advertising becomes a sneakier (yet effective) way to get those consumers’ attentions. Native advertising is paid content that matches a publication’s editorial standards while meeting the audience’s expectations. In non-editorial publications like Facebook or Twitter, Native advertising, is paid content that drives traffic to that content. At times it will contain these or similar words: “sponsored” or “sponsored by” or “paid for” or “paid post” “post by” or “promoted by”.  Some have clear calls to action like “watch …” or “buy …” . We may also see newer, more improved forms of native advertising offered by major publishers, or brands who have previously opted not to offer this method of advertising. A classic example of product placement form of native advertising can be seen in things like the bottle of Red Stripe in the 1993 film The Firm.

Or the Coke cups American Idol judges drink from.

Or the Reese’s Pieces in the movie E.T.

5. Brands Will Increasingly Target Niche Markets Out of Necessity.

Online marketing is becoming more crowded; though the number of available consumers has remained more or less steady, millions of new businesses have flooded into the space for a piece of the same pie. This is especially true in the content and social media marketing spaces. A niche is a distinct segment of a market, like roofing, plastic surgery or extreme sports as a few examples. Targeting the audience or searching for that particular niche is where the advertiser will market its products or services, purportedly to an already interested audience, with the hopes of turning prospective consumers into actual consumers.

  1. We’ll See the Rise of ‘Immersive Experience’ Content Marketing.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are two technologies driving this mentality forward (and I’ve already mentioned AR), but don’t forget other ways of providing this immersive experience. You can offer 360 videos to make your users feel like they’re living in a moment, or host live workshops and webinars to get people to engage with you. Hence, the audience immerses itself in the event and the audience participation encourages a connection to the seller as well as the product & services being marketed.

  1. ‘Dense Content’ Will Become Essential to Cut Through the Content Noise.

Attention spans have fallen to goldfish-like levels, and we’re only going to grow more impatient and demanding as technology progresses. The potentially infinite scrolls of social media news feeds and endless streams of content from almost every brand and individual we follow have forced us to filter out the majority of messages we see as white noise. For example, text messaging has grown to almost eclipse email marketing. In response, more marketers are going to learn that dense content is key, making every word and every line count.

Conclusion

These are some of the upcoming trends based on the current information available, including last year’s trends, the introduction of new technologies, and how I see and hear marketers talking about marketing in 2017.

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How Hiring A Digital Marketing Agency Can Get You Customers

Businesses work hard to produce quality products and services. After you spend so much time and energy designing a product, or developing a service, how do you get your business in front of the right people?

Advertising and marketing is a broad topic area that seems to expand every day as more digital platforms emerge. It entails a complex cocktail of tasks, including keyword selection and utilization, improving website visibility, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, branding, social media, blogging and email marketing, among others.
Despite the absolute necessity of online marketing, good online reputation and widespread visibility, almost half of small businesses allocate just 20 percent or less of their marketing budget to digital marketing activities.

Learning your ideal target audience and engaging in creative and strategic marketing and advertising is crucial for distributing your content to a broad audience and building a strong customer base. Hiring a competent digital marketing agency can help businesses accomplish this goal.

Here are just three ways marketing and advertising agencies can provide value to a business:

1. A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH ENSURES BROAD CONTENT DISTRIBUTION
Effectively distributing content requires implementing multiple strategies.

Let’s say you own a roofing company that specializes in repair and replacement of damaged or worn out roofs with many types of roofing products, such as tile, shingles, metal roofs and others. Now, you have to share those services with your existing audience, attract more customers and get your brand, offering excellent customer service out to the public.
How can you make this happen?

Option A: Use social media to build and announce the new product interest.
Option B: Produce and Publish You as an Expert in the field by educating the public with you speaking about various content rich relevant topics, branding you as an industry leader.
Option C: Do monthly Press Releases to write news-worthy articles about your product or service.
Option D: Hire a marketing and advertising agency to develop a six-month plan that combines all options.

With a marketing and advertising agency, you will work with a team that has a comprehensive understanding of the multi-channel content distribution system.

An agency can launch a robust social media campaign, build relationships with local businesses that can stock your product or cross-promote your content, create a press kit, organize a product launch event, update your company’s website and substantially improve the website’s and Landing Page’s SEO, and ranking in online search results.

This multi-faceted approach combines both digital and traditional marketing tactics. It ensures that content will reach multiple audiences, which in turn will increase brand awareness.

2. CONTENT CREATION TO DRIVE BRAND ENGAGEMENT
With more people accessing information online and through social media, it is important to foster an online community with your audience. This entails engaging with followers and friends on social media, sharing updates through email newsletters and providing a user-friendly website.
To roll out these tactics effectively, a business needs quality content to share. A marketing and advertising agency can write editorial articles, make creative introductory videos, enhance your online reputation with 5 star video review commercials and design infographics that help a business accomplish these goals.

3. TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE TO IMPROVE WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY
Marketing and advertising agencies can help businesses optimize their content online by implementing local SEO and PPC strategies. Because SEO and PPC remains top priorities on the digital marketing agenda, this is an important step.
SEO and Citations or Directories, like Yelp, for example, assures more effective content distribution by making it easier for your target audience to find the information they need about your product, content, services and business.

From working with your business to develop a comprehensive strategy that increases brand awareness, to producing quality content that drives audience engagement, to implementing SEO practices that improve web marketing, advertising and presence, digital marketing agencies add immense value to a business, can generate traffic to your landing pages ad website and convert potential customers into clients.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E. Sunrise Blvd # 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078

 

 

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Learn Key Issues In Choosing An SEO Firm

When you have actually nearly made up your mind about a specific service provider, arrange an individual meeting across the table or share screens  to comprehend each other much better.

You develop an environment of smooth client-provider relationship to make things better. Prevent all type of warranties or validated assurances from Search Engine Optimization services since they hardly ever become a reality with most “expert SEO companies” .

It’s important that you understand the necessity of SEO services to enhance the position of your company website. You ought to have the ability to engage an ideal company to get reliable service in this regard, which is the important aspect of web advertising.

Getting the right provider is truly challenging in today scenarios, where you discover various suppliers contending with each other with numerous claims in support of their abilities. You must verify particular qualities of service providers prior to you engage one for the optimization task of your business website.

For all you novices out there and all you business who are paying for Search Engine Optimization services and do not understand exactly what you need to be getting, right here is a very fundamental SEO process:.

You should be able to engage a right service supplier to get reliable service in this regard, which is the vital facet of web marketing. It offers you a concept of capabilities of service suppliers, which helps you to make the decision. When you have almost made up your mind about a particular service supplier, arrange an individual meeting to comprehend each other much better.

Achievements of service companies are essential. It gives you a concept of abilities of service suppliers, which assists you to make the choice.

Begin examining the profiles of the team and the supplier members. When the company has a group of dedicated and experienced specialists, you are sure to get at least some results.

You should be able to engage a right service supplier to get reliable service in this regard, which is the vital facet of web marketing.

It is smart to engage the supplier, who is able to rank in the first three pages of the search engine result. You have to keep away from those carriers who are not able to enhance their own web sites in a good position of page positions in search engine result.

Online search engine Optimization or SEO experts? The most common feedback I get are: ‘My site was optimized when it was constructed … I’m currently paying a business for link structure … my relative are Search Engine Optimization experts’… etc and so on.

My most usual reply to these prospective customers is ‘however you’re not on the very first pages of the search engines, your website is nowhere in search engine ranking positions [SERPs], you shouldn’t be paying not to be on the first pages of the search engines!

When I inquire, ‘exactly what is search engine optimization’ and ‘exactly what are your suppliers in fact doing for you in SEO terms?’ most don’t have an idea. For all you novices out there and all you business who are paying for Search Engine Optimization services and do not understand exactly what you need to be getting, right here is a very fundamental SEO process:.

Keyword Identification & Study-– The first thing an excellent SEO company will certainly do is discuss your suggested keywords and search phrases. Using keyword study tools they need to discuss and advise the most appropriate keyword and search phrase choice for your company.

It’s pointless being number one on Google for a phrase which is never ever browsed for. They should be discussing with you the type services you offer and which of those you want to promote to get more customers to buy those services.

Web site Analysis— Is your current website online search engine friendly? Having the ability to set an internet site to tell the search engines who you are, what you do and where you do it, is just as vital as the online search engine being able to check out and index material on your internet site.

Competitor Analysis-– An excellent indicator of what level of SEO work is required in order to achieve your online marketing goals is to constantly evaluate the competitors.

The quantity of time, effort and money that your rivals have invested into Search Engine Optimization consisting of link building, short article writing and entry, will certainly constantly determine and influence just how much you have to in order to achieve similar results.

A good optimization of your website and Landing Pages by an experienced Search Engine Optimization services business will certainly provide a real time boost in your business. Recognizing that 90% of all SERPs choose from the 1st page in results

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078
 

 

 

 

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How Online Reviews Can Make Or Break Your Business

Historically, word of mouth has been a powerful source for business referrals, and it still is today, but the Internet and online reviews has added a layer of information.

You should know that Bob will probably do some online research before reaching out to you– he’ll check out your website, read a few reviews and compare you to other potential like-kind companies.

Online reviews aren’t just for consumer products and restaurants anymore. These days, reviews are impacting revenue for all kinds of businesses and professional services including lawyers, roofers, loan officers, salons, boutiques, auto repair shops, rehab centers, doctors and everything in between.

What’s the big deal? We’ve uncovered the data, and the data tells us one thing– the power of online reviews shouldn’t be underestimated. Because reviews can hurt or help your bottom line, you need to know what people are saying about your business online.

With Jane’s recommendation and a few minutes spent online, Bob is able to form an opinion about you as a real estate agent before ever having met you. The majority of customers, like Bob, will read up to six reviews before forming an opinion of a business.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, as of January 2014, 87% of U.S. adults use the Internet and 58% of adults own smart phones. Worldwide, the United Nations reports 40% of the population is online. Who are the best bankruptcy lawyers in my area?

5 Reasons Online Reviews Matter for Your Business

1) 68% of consumers trust opinions posted online.

One of the most popular review websites, Yelp, has 207 million visits each month. Now factor in that customers are reading up to six reviews, both negative and positive, before ever having met you or stepped foot in your place of business. What is being said about your business should matter to you because it matters to everyone else.

I read it on the Internet, so it must be true.

2) 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

That’s right; today, the vast majority of consumers trust the opinions of strangers on the Internet as much as their own friends. While an online review coming from an anonymous user, a review that lacks detailed information or one that doesn’t seem genuine won’t fall into this category, online reviews can be thoughtful, personal and thorough, much like an exchange between friends.

3) Customers are more likely to share bad experiences than good ones.

Sharing a bad customer experience online is an easy way to release frustration. Sometimes even more importantly, to a reviewer, is the idea that a bad review might save someone else from having a similar experience!

What we can take away from this fact is that it is important for you to proactively ask happy customers to leave online reviews too. Whether you helped Jane Doe buy her dream house or gave her the perfect haircut, let Jane know that you welcome and would appreciate if she could take the time to leave a review on your behalf. A bad review is bound to happen at some point, but wouldn’t it look nicer surrounded by a whole bunch of good ones?

4) You can turn a negative review into a positive review.

When a reviewer says something negative about your business, you have an opportunity to excel at customer service. Many review sites offer a reply feature. Often times after a business reaches out, reviewers will provide an update to their negative review and let people know what happened.

With the trust that your potential customers place in online sources, negative reviews have the potential to substantially impact your business. Reviews are influencing the opinions of potential customers, but they don’t have to be a permanent black mark on your digital record.

5) 72% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust businesses more.

Reading a bunch of negative reviews isn’t likely to make someone want to take a chance on a business. Reading a multitude of positive reviews provides a potential customer with a sense that the business can be trusted.

Summation

How do your online reviews tally up? Are people saying bad or good things about your business?

In short, people are forming opinions about your business based on what other people are saying, long before you even get the chance to meet them, so it’s your job to take an active interest and convert your online audience into new customers.

As the world exists today, you have to care about online reviews. Positive reviews can help bring in customers, negative reviews can turn people away and not having any online review presence can cause someone to feel like doing business with you would be a gamble.

People are looking for reviews and putting trust in those reviews, so it’s time to take a proactive role in the process– provide customer comment cards, send out surveys and ask happy customers to share a review. You may even consider providing a way for people to leave reviews on your own website so people won’t have to look any further to find glowing testimonials.

Now factor in that customers are reading up to six reviews, both negative and positive, before ever having met you or stepped foot in your place of business. What we can take away from this fact is that it is important for you to proactively ask happy customers to leave online reviews too.

Often times after a business reaches out, reviewers will provide an update to their negative review and let people know what happened. Reading a multitude of positive reviews provides a potential customer with a sense that the business can be trusted.

You need to know what people are saying about your business online because reviews can hurt or help your bottom line.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078

 

 

 

Copyright Disclaimer:  Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

How Negative Reviews Can Impact Your Reputation / New Business

Years of work, extensive resources, and loads of money go into the making of a strong brand. In today’s super-connected economy, those brands can be taken down more easily than one might expect.

Not by their top competitors, but by the average Joe behind a computer or smart phone.

You may deliver impeccable service, but occasionally something will slip through the cracks. A sales associate might be having an off day. A contagious illness might cause a location to be short-staffed. You may have an issue with a supplier and run out of stock of an item.

For whatever reason, a customer has an experience with your brand that is not at the level for which you are normally known. Then, they want to vent.  And they do. Online.

How much can one, two, or a handful of negative reviews or posts actually damage an otherwise strong brand?

A lot.

This tale of digital David and Goliath is commonplace: one or two consumers throw stones at your brand online. Thousands of potential customers see their negatives posts and decide against doing business with you. Sales plummet – and often management does not know why.

Without the right monitoring tools and analytical skills, it is difficult for managers to understand what is happening with their brand online. Often they do not discover problems until their reputation has incurred significant damage. Because their customer satisfaction levels are high, they assume online sentiments match.

However, studies show that both B2B and B2C customers are more likely to share negative experiences than positive ones in person, on social media, and on review sites like Yelp. This is particularly troublesome for businesses because the sites where customers are likely to share their negative experiences tend to rank well in search engines. Because of this, potential customers find the undesirable content early on in their research, marring their first impression of your company.

It is easy to imagine how a bad review or two can jeopardize a company’s online reputation – and the statistics support it. In one survey by Dimensional Research, 86% of customers who read a negative review online said that information impacted their purchase decision.

How many potential sales are jeopardized by poor results in Google? While the answer to this question varies by business, online reputation is extremely important for almost all companies. According to a report by Fleishman-Hillard, 89% of consumers conduct online research via search engines before making a purchase.

This percentage is even higher for B2B.  Acquity Group’s 2014 State of B2B Procurement Study found that a whopping 94% of buyers complete some sort of online research before making a business purchase. 77% of these use Google.

You can imagine the immense impact just one or a few well-placed negative comments can have on internet searchers’ perception of a brand.

Moreover, vast amounts of information and data are exchanged out of the sight of search engines. Known as the “deep web,” this includes dynamic web pages, blocked sites, unlinked sites, private sites (like those that require login credentials), non-HTML content and private networks. Some estimates suggest the amount of information on the deep web (also known as the deep net, invisible web or hidden web) is 500 times greater than the surface web.

Within the deep web resides another area of the Internet called the dark web (also known as the dark net), where individuals can exchange information anonymously, and oftentimes do so nefariously.

Originally developed by the U.S. Navy as an avenue for secretive communications, today’s dark web is best known as a place for more illicit activities. On the dark web you may find individuals selling drugs, guns, illegal images and videos, and private data.

One important thing to note is that you are not going to wander onto the dark web by accident. You have to download a special browser, so you can’t get there from Chrome, Firefox or Safari and your toddler can’t access it on your iPad. (I can’t say as much for your teenager).

Several commercial insurance executives recently advised that cyber-security is the number one rising threat to businesses around the world. Security breaches, which can bring major reputational hits, should not just be the concern of big-name retailers, online sites like Ashley Madison or political entities like the Democratic National Committee.

Any organization that touches private information – credit card numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license info, medical records, and so on – is vulnerable to a security breakdown which could do irreparable harm to the business and its reputation.

For confirmation, speak with communications managers at Target or Home Depot if you don’t believe this should be a concern of the public relations and marketing professional. When millions of credit card numbers are stolen from a retailer, does this not cross-over from being solely an issue of cyber-security to one that impacts the company’s collective reputation? Of course it does.

Whether we like it or not, as professional communicators we must embrace technology and understand that cyber-security and reputation management are joined at the hip. If you have any questions about your company’s online vulnerabilities, on the surface, dark or deep web, contact an appropriate consultant sooner than later.

The dark web is an area of the deep web where people search and exchange information anonymously. The dark web is part of the deep web, but the deep web is not necessarily dark.

Known as the “deep web,” this includes dynamic web pages, blocked sites, unlinked sites, private sites (like those that require login credentials), non-HTML content and private networks. Some estimates suggest the amount of information on the deep web (also known as the deep net, invisible web or hidden web) is 500 times greater than the surface web.

The dark web is an area of the deep web where people search and exchange information anonymously. The dark web is part of the deep web, but the deep web is not necessarily dark.  Yet another place and way your company’s online reputation could be tarnished without your knowledge.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078

 

 

 

Copyright Disclaimer:  Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Guide To Attract New Customers In 2017

OUR INSIGHTFUL “TRIPTIK” TO HOW YOU WILL ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS IN 2017

  • Opinions and Original Research Matter– Don’t be afraid to break through clutter with room splitting statements.
  • If You’re Not Doing Mobile, You’re Way Behind– Get the mobile help you need, because it’s no longer a question of if you’re doing mobile, but how well you’re doing it.
  • Live Video is Critical– Facebook is prioritizing video in its feed and users are 10x more likely to comment on a video than other forms of content. All video will become more and more important as time goes on.
  • Make Sure Your Data is Precise– Data isn’t just the end product, on the contrary, it needs to be carefully built from the beginning to result in robust insights.
  • Strategy is Essential, But It Doesn’t Have to be Complicated– Follow Matt Brown’s straightforward advice to ‘Have a plan, know the plan, do the plan.”
  • Win the War for Talent– The key to success is people, not technology or strategies. Attract the best people by helping them grow and emphasizing purpose over profits.
  • Social Media Continues to Drive Awareness and Engagement– Though you should never build on rented land, a strong social strategy of teaching and selling will result in engaged audiences.

Along with marketing as a whole, SEO is transforming in 2017.

Instead of focusing on keywords, marketers should be thinking about User Experience (UX), integrated marketing, and audience-focused content for great SEO results. The Essentials.

Over the years, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has slowly, but surely, transformed into more than just optimizing for the search engine result pages (SERPs). From the days of spamming and jamming, to the rise of mobile and voice search, SEO has evolved and continues to change every day.

While Google’s algorithm updates are never-ending and often mysterious, there are some notable trends in SEO that you’ll want to take advantage of come 2017:

User Experience (UX) Will Continue to Grow in Importance– Both On-Site & Off-Site

In 2017, there is no doubt that user experience (UX) is going to be atop of most companies’ marketing initiatives. With mobile usage representing 65% of digital media time– a number that is only going up– site speed, easy navigation, and responsive web pages are becoming more significant than ever.

On-Site:  Along with mobile optimization becoming a priority, navigation and above-the-fold content have their fair share of the digital pie. For example, easy navigation and a trail of breadcrumbs give returning customers an easy shopping experience, which likely leads to a higher conversion rate.

Those new to the site, though, will likely want to learn before they buy. With educational content above-the-fold, and without the in-your-face CTAs, users will be more inclined to learn and then buy and less inclined to bounce from the site.

Quick Takeaways: Educate, Identify and described the problem, and then sell the solution. The search engines guided these users (and potential customers) to you, don’t lose them right away!

Off-Site:  While UX is usually associated with on-site content, Google’s UX can often be overlooked or underutilized. In the SERPs, users are looking for easy searching and quick answers. Attracting searchers with compelling titles and meta descriptions might be enough now, but taking advantage of schema markup and rich snippets will make your listing stand out against competitors.

Not only can schema render reviews in your listing or provide a quick answer from a piece of your content, it will provide search engines with a better understanding of your site, allowing it to rank even higher.

Quick Takeaways: Start implementing schema sooner than later. It will not only increase your click-through rates, but also your overall rankings!

Need for Customer-Centric Content:  Ever since Google’s Panda Update, SEO and content have become inseparable. Quality content, paired with solid SEO strategy and keyword research, can drive rankings up and, thus, drive users to your site. Are your strategies aligning with your target audience?

Creating customer-centric content while taking advantage of perfect moments to reach your audience paves the way for great opportunities. Aligned content, written with the right keywords and in the context they are being searched for, connects companies with users on an even greater level. With varying degrees of search intent, optimizing for semantic search has become extremely important.

Google is continuing to put more resources into understanding the intent of a searcher and how they are searching, especially with the rise of voice search. Going forward, content needs to be written in the right conversational contexts and aligned to the searchers’ who, what, where, and how questions.

Quick Takeaways: SEO and Content teams need to work closer than ever if they’re not already. Optimizing for your specific audience and the context they are searching for is key going forward.

  • SEO Collaborates Well With More Than Just Content

While SEO already performs well when paired with content, it is often still a storehouse to the other teams. Having an integrated marketing approach not only aligns a consistent message across your marketing channels, but it also allows you to tap into and utilize resources already at your fingertips.

  • Sharing Your Newly Optimized Content Through Your Social Channels

As stated above, integrating your marketing efforts across digital channels sends a unified message and brand experience to your customers. This integration leads to social sharing across platforms and, in turn, links to your site, giving you more brand exposure. If the content you’re sharing is customer-centric and being pushed at perfect moments, it will drive even more sharing and exposure.

While it is still a mystery whether social shares have any true value or not, there is speculation that they may become a ranking factor in 2017.

Quick Takeaways: Utilize your social connections. Pushing out relevant content to users will not only generate another medium to expose your content, but it will exponentially drive links and build| up your online presence in the SERPs.

  • Leverage Your Paid Media Efforts to Improve Your Organic Presence

With both SEO and PPC teams performing keyword research every day, why not take advantage of collaborating together? A unified keyword strategy gives you an integrated approach across both channels.

This provides ample opportunity to take ideas from PPC specialists such as LocalAd Connection.  For example, who are testing ad copy every day and utilizing the insights to best optimize the click-through rate on your site’s organic search results. Not only will your agency show a unified approach, but you’ll be better utilizing your resources and even optimizing your team’s time.

Quick Takeaways: If you are utilizing both SEO and PPC, why not let them collaborate? Leaving them in silos will only take away the potentially great opportunities to having an integrated strategy going forward.

Ever since Google’s Panda Update, SEO and content have become inseparable. Quality content, paired with solid SEO strategy and keyword research, can drive rankings up and, thus, drive users to your site.

Creating customer-centric content while taking advantage of perfect moments to reach your target audience paves the way for great opportunities. Aligned content, written with the right keywords and in the context they are being searched for (remember, voice searches are becoming more common) connects companies with users on an even greater level. If the content you’re sharing is customer-centric and being pushed at perfect moments, it will drive even more sharing and exposure.

In Sum,

Heading into 2017, the SEO landscape may head in the direction we’ve envisioned, or it may follow in other mysterious surprising ways. We can not see what the future holds, but we can give you a road map of tricks and tips to start planning for the trip ahead based on the evident foreshadowing of trends today.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078


 

 

How Important Is Reputation Marketing To Getting New Customers

 

Today, Customers Tend To Trust Online Reviews From Their Peers More Than They Trust Advertising.

These reviews then directly correspond with your company’s reputation.

When deciding to make a purchase or not, a massive 70% of consumers trust online reviews. You are losing business if your company has negative reviews. LocalAd Connection, can help you improve your company’s reputation by using advanced reputation marketing skills.

Creating and maintaining a 5-star reputation online should be your company’s number one priority. All of the other marketing efforts done by your organization will mean nothing if you don’t have the reputation marketing to back it up when your customers go to look your company up online. Many business owners overlook reputation marketing.

Why is Reputation Marketing Important?

If they value customer service, but your company has several negative reviews about customer service, then they may choose to make their purchase from another company. When deciding between companies or products, they turn to reviews before making their final decision.

It’s ideal to have positive reviews across several review outlets. Many people tend to favor one review medium over another, i.e. Yelp over Yahoo. By ensuring that your company has a wide range of reviews then you are sure to have the greatest reputation marketing range possible.

One of the best things you can do for the reputation marketing of your company is to encourage your customers to post real reviews with specific details. You should always be encouraging your customers to leave positive reviews as a steady flow of positive reviews will greatly improve and maintain your reputation marketing. Customers are more likely to overlook a one-star review if you have hundreds of positive reviews than they are if you only have ten positives.

Customers want to see several high rated, recent, real reviews. This assures them of the quality, consistency, and reliability of your company. Reputation marketing then takes these reviews and builds upon them to create more business for your company.

Building upon Reputation Marketing

Many reviews appear locally to the area around the business in searches. If you want to expand your reach further then you will want to build your reputation marketing strategy to include more aspects to reach more customers. When people are searching for what your company offers, by using SEO to boost your company’s search engine rankings in the desired cities you will reach a larger audience.

It’s also vital to ensure that your company features a mobile-friendly website as many people now access information via a mobile platform. Having a site that is easy to navigate and read from a mobile view is extremely important. If you have a business that people may be looking for while they are out and about, this is especially true.

Other Benefits of Reputation Marketing

Reputation marketing has other benefits that come along with having a strong review base. When you set your company apart from others with consistently high reviews, you prove the worth of your company and your product.

With a large amount of consistently positive reviews, you will drown out the few negative reviews that your company will naturally receive. You can learn from negative reviews, but for the most part you want to focus on the good and ensure that your company’s reputation marketing is ahead of the game.

If they value customer service, but your company has several negative reviews about customer service, then they may choose to make their purchase from another company. It’s ideal to have positive reviews across several review outlets. You should always be encouraging your customers to leave positive reviews as a steady flow of positive reviews will greatly improve and maintain your reputation marketing. Customers are more likely to overlook a one-star review if you have hundreds of positive reviews than they are if you only have ten positives.

With a large amount of consistently positive reviews, you will drown out the few negative reviews that your company will naturally receive from some people who just can’t be pleased or your competition that wants to tarnish your otherwise stellar reputation.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

What Are The SEO Trends For 2017

 

If an internet marketing agency wants Google to quickly understand it’s client’s websites and landing pages to rank higher in the SERP, then the changes in or progression of these existing trends are a must for successful SEO.

Video Content

Video content has been on the rise for a little while now, and it’s not going anywhere in the foreseeable future. In fact, a high power at Facebook even stated that video will become the main type of content by 2020. Although it’s hard to predict – as for right now, written content is still the norm, but that doesn’t mean that it will always be. It also doesn’t mean that you should have variety in your content either.

However, as new technologies keep developing, Snapchat, Vine, Periscope, and even Instagram, video is not going anywhere in 2017. Even Google is experimenting with video ads in the search results. There are numerous types of video content that you can implement into your search marketing strategy – webinars, hangouts, step-by-step tutorials, expert Interviews, Q &As, etc.

Experiment with a few videos in your content, maybe as an addition to one piece you already have and see how it does. If it performs well, which we at LocalAd Connection think it will, you’ll discover it would be wise to placing more importance in video.

Mobile First Index

Mobile has already dominated the search marketing world. In 2015, mobile searches surpassed desktop searches for the first time ever. With this, Google said that mobile and desktop were equal. However, that’s not true anymore.

Google has since stated that it wants a mobile experience across all types of devices. Google recently announced it’s mobile first index. This is huge for the industry because now Google will crawl the mobile version of your site or responsive mobile version first, before the desktop version, and use that content to place you in the search results.

This shouldn’t be a problem if you use a mobile responsive version of your website. Also, there’s no need to start panicking right away – Gary Illyes, a Google engineer, has confirmed this update is still a few months away. However, this is something that everyone needs to be aware of and prepare for.

Voice Search

For a while, voice search was something that was floating around out there but wasn’t really playing a huge part in the search marketing industry. However, as mobile continues to increase and technology advances, voice search is gaining momentum. Today, 55% of teens say that they use voice search on a daily basis – with 56% of adults saying that they enjoy using voice search.

This trend is just going to continue to grow as we progress in 2017. Why is this? As we stated earlier, with technology advancing, voice search is just another way that technology can make our lives simpler. Isn’t just talking to your phone a lot easier than typing, especially when you are on the go or trying to multi-task?  (i.e. Don’t text and drive).

What makes this a technology to become familiar with, use and optimize is that voice searchers are not going to be entering the same phrases or keywords as someone who is typing on a computer or smart-phone. Since voice searches are more like spoken word, you want to make sure you understand the searchers intent and market to that. Use question words like who, what, where, when, why, can, how, etc. Hence,  you need to optimize differently for voice search versus the written text searches. Try reformatting your headlines into questions that include these question words.

Structured Data and Schema

Structured data really hasn’t been talked about as much as everyone  thought it would be lately, but it is a very important aspect in the SEO world. According to Search Engine Watch, structured data is information formatted in a way that can be universally understood. Through this structured data, search engines are able to understand a website easier and therefore gives them better SERP rankings.

Schema.org is structured data that was developed by Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Yandex, and it is a code that you can add to your website that allows all search engines to define it. While webmasters have been using this for a while, it’s been recently that Google has started to really use it to help crawl sites. Since it’s making their jobs easier and helps them to display rich snippets in the search results, structured data and schema are going to continue to gain importance in the SEO world.

Look for structured data and schema to start playing an even bigger part in websites now in 2017 and beyond. Search engines want to be able to crawl your website faster and easier, and with the advancements in this technology, they should start to implement it more.

Conclusion

Being mindful of these four trends will help you be more successful in your SEO efforts in the upcoming year. Make sure you optimize your search marketing strategies to account for these changes and use the professionals at LocalAdConnection.com for your online SEO marketing needs.

Call Us Today:
LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
(USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078

 

 

 

 

Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Best Marketing Tips For Boosting Business After The Holiday Season

 

The holiday season usually provides a big sales bump for a lot of small business.

How can you boost post holiday sales? Here are some useful tips.
The holiday season usually provides a big sales boost for a lot of small business. After the presents have been exchanged and the parties have come to an end, those sales often slow down significantly.
Still small businesses don’t have to just accept that
post-holiday slump.

Indeed, there are plenty of ways you can take advantage of that extra time after the holidays have wrapped up to increase your sales
throughout the year.

Here are a variety of useful tips for enhancing your sales after the holiday season:

Include Post-Holiday Coupons
Since more customers make purchases during the holidays, that offers businesses a unique opportunity to get more sales after the holidays as
well. To leverage those holiday shoppers, you can  include coupons with holiday purchases that people can only use after Christmas or the New
Year. And if you didn’t start that type of promotion during the holidays, you could potentially send out a coupon or discount code via email.

Be Ready for Returns
The post-holiday season is also usually full of exchanges or returns. And you can also just provide people with a good experience when making
returns so that they’re more likely to come back throughout the year.

Show Your Appreciation
Since the holidays are so busy for many businesses, you might not have had a chance to properly thank your most loyal customers or clients.
But when sales slow down, it can be a perfect time to host a thank you event for loyal customers, offer an exclusive deal via email or do something really special for those who helped your business a lot
over the past year.

Follow Up With Holiday Shoppers
You can also simply follow up with anyone who made purchases with you throughout the holidays. Send out an email asking about their experience
and then include any new products or promotions
as well.

Improve Your Online Reviews
When following up with those holiday shoppers, you
should also use it as an opportunity to improve your
online reviews on sites like Google, Yelp and Facebook and any specially tailored Citations and Directories. Simply remind those who bought from you that they have the opportunity to share their experience,
give their feedback to allow you to better serve your customers in the future or correct any unpleasant experiences and then provide them with links. Then if you get more positive reviews from those holiday
shoppers, you can potentially benefit from that throughout the rest of the year.

Keep Holiday Campaigns Going
In addition, your actual holiday campaigns don’t have to stop just because Christmas is over. There are plenty of people who might have some last-
minute purchases to make or who want to spend some of those holiday gift cards. So keeping the holiday promotions going for an extra week or so can potentially help you squeeze even more sales out of the holiday season.

Host a Fun Contest
Your business isn’t the only one feeling the post- holiday blues. Consumers could also use a bit of fun after the season. So hosting a fun contest where you ask people to submit holiday photos or plans for the new year could be a great way to increase engagement or even sales.

Put Extra Profits to Good Use
You could also use those extra dollars you made during the holidays to good use. You could run some advertising campaigns or invest in other
marketing activities to keep your sales up throughout the rest of the year if you have extra money.

Start a Retargeting Campaign
For online businesses, one way you can really take advantage of the increased holiday traffic after the fact by launching a remarketing campaign. So you can target those who made purchases or visited
your website at some point throughout the holidays.

Stock Up on Content
You can also take the opportunity to simply tackle some marketing activities that you might not have time for throughout the rest of the year. You can spend time creating social media and blog posts that you can stockpile while business is slow so that you don’t have to rush to create that content when you’re busy later in the year.

Create Unique Visuals
Or you could focus on creating a series of unique visuals for your marketing campaigns throughout the new year. That way you can make sure they’re all cohesive and set toward your main business goals for the year.

Start a New Social Media Campaign
The new year is also a perfect time for you to try something new. Since many people see it as a fresh start, it will seem natural for you to introduce new branding or a new style for your social media
posts. You could even launch a new campaign aimed at increasing your engagement or followers so you can continually boost your sales throughout the year.

Launch a New Product or Service
It’s also the perfect time to work on launching new products or services. Since you’re not likely to be as busy during this time, it can be easier to work on new product launches. And those new offerings can
also lead to sales increases. Think About New Year’s Resolutions
During this time of year, many individuals also decide to try new things or set new goals. And for some businesses, there’s an opportunity to market
products or services to those customers who are focused on specific new year’s resolutions. For example, if you sell an app or product that could be
used for tracking fitness activities, the new year is a perfect time to market to goal setters to increase sales.

Budget for the Year Ahead
You can also use the end of the year as an opportunity to look back at your finances throughout the past year and then make plans for the year
ahead. Creating a budget for the year might not increase your sales notably right away. But it’s an essential activity that can help you optimize your marketing efforts throughout the whole year.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078

 

 

 

 

Copyright Disclaimer:  Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

4 Quick Ways To Grow Your Site’s Authority

The Greater Your Site’s Authority, The Easier It  Is To Rank Higher For Keywords, Thus More Likely To Be Found By Your Target Audience

Before I jump into “Foundational” backlinks, I want to show you how to boost your site’s authority. Remember, the purpose of link acquisition to build the authority of your site.

1. Fix Broken External Links

Remember, every external link you place on your site leaks authority That’s why it’s important to audit your site (here’s an SEO audit checklist) to find broken external links. This applies to both external links in your content and in the comment section.

To find broken links use one or all the following:

Screaming Frog SEO Spider
Siteliner
Google Search Console
Ahrefs

2. Reclaim Lost Link Juice (404 Link Reclamation).

404 link reclamation is at the top of the list because it is the easiest. To find all 404 errors on your site use Google Search Console or Screaming Frog. Run the pages through a bulk check on Ahrefs or Majestic if you find 404 errors. I recommend doing both just in case you miss some links. You must 301 redirect them to a relevant page on the site or to your homepage when you find pages with link equity.

3. Find and Fix Redirect Chains.

Sometimes the most obvious solutions are right in front of your face. Once fixed, redirect chains are another simple problem that can boost your site’s authority.

4. Change 302s to 301s.

302s redirects block authority flow and could be stealing authority from your site. Identify all 302 redirects on and off your site, and change them to 301s. Once again, use Screaming Frog to find.
302s.

You now know how to improve your site’s authority without building new backlinks. Now it’s time to learn how to build foundational backlinks.

How to Build “Foundational” Backlinks.

“ Foundational” backlinks improve your site’s TrustRank.

The more “trustworthy” your site is, the better you will perform in the search engines.

The Foundational backlinks will create a layer of trust around your site. That’s because you will be using nothing but unoptimized, branded backlinks on authority sites. This system works extremely well.

Important note:  You should only use naked link or branded anchors for foundational backlinks.

Social Media.

The first thing you need to do is secure all your social media properties. At the very minimum, your business should have:.

Facebook.
Twitter.
Google + (Personal & Business).
LinkedIn (Personal & Business).
Pinterest.
Instagram.
You don’t have to actively market on these platforms, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

For example, for some clients we decided that Facebook was our best social media platform based on referral traffic and engagement. That’s why we are “all-in” on Facebook and not as active on the other platforms. Choose what platforms work best for your business. At the minimum, populate these accounts and share some content, so that you at least have a base.

Business Listings/Citations.

Google values business listings so much that it is apart of the local search algorithm. This should be more than enough for you to use them for ANY SEO campaign. The cool part about listings is that about 50% of them give you a DoFollow, unoptimized link.

Business citations are a perfect way to build a foundation of trust around your site. Remember, not all backlinks hitting your site need to be 100% relevant. I’m referring to business listings and social media profiles.

Google trusts these platforms and is well aware that all types of businesses will be using them. In a sense, they get a pass for not being relevant. Make sure you check out our citation building service if you don’t want to waste your time building citations.

Niche-Targeted Directories.

While most directories are pretty much worthless, there are some diamonds in the rough. Niche-targeted directories offer both a relevant and DoFollow link. As you know, backlinks with both of these characteristics are hard to come by.

Use these search strings in Google to find niche directories:.

NICHE + Directory (Example: “fitness + directory”).
NICHE directories.
NICHE + “submit site”.
Geo-Targeted Directories.

Geo-targeted directories are a must-have link source for local businesses.

Here are some search strings you can use to find geo-targeted directories:.
city + directory.
directory + city.
submit my site + city.
niche + city + directory.
city + directories.

Niche Relevant Blog Comments.

I’m always amazed why so many SEOs skip out on niche relevant blog comments. Too many SEOs neglect them because of the dreaded “NoFollow” tag. I highly recommend you don’t neglect them.

My agency uses niche relevant blog comments to:

A) create a layer of relevancy around our client’s site.

B) improve to the ratio of Do Follow and No Follow backlinks.

C) diversify our anchors in a meaningful way.

D) sometimes get small amounts.

LocalAd Connection
1700 E.Sunrise Blvd Ste 1213
Ft Lauderdale, Florida 33304
Call Us Today: (USA) 1-954-266-0078

Call Us For More Info: (954) 266-0078

 

 

 

Copyright Disclaimer:  Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.