As a business owner in a digital world, you should be familiar with technologies that could boost your business and position it better for success. One such technology is a business website, which will serve as your company’s online home or office.
After you have created your business website, the next step is to optimize it to achieve better engagement and transaction volumes. One effective way of doing it is through search engine optimization or SEO.
What Is SEO?
Search engine optimization or SEO has to do with helping your business website get organic or unpaid traffic from search results.
Search engines utilize crawlers that scan through websites to know what websites have to offer. In milliseconds, these search engines rank websites based on different factors, including content and user-friendliness.
There are three ways to take advantage of SEO for your company’s success. These are the following:
On-page SEO: As its name suggests, it pertains to optimizing your website pages individually. On-page SEO endeavors include content creation, keyword research, and optimization.
Technical SEO: This is the SEO type that relates to the tech-related stuff on your website. It is focused on the backend structure of your website. It improves site readability for search engines, speed, and the overall user experience.
Off-site SEO: This SEO aspect works on the public relationship (PR) of your company with other websites. It focuses on link building, which requires research and guest posting schemes.
SEO Tools
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Just like any other work process, there are tools used to facilitate SEO. These measure the potential of your website pages to rank high, as well as analyze your web content for keywords, backlinks, domain authority, and traffic, among others.
When using SEO tools to get your optimization going, it is possible to measure the accruing results. There are tools to measure your SEO for free, and there are also paid ones as well. These tools ensure that business owners are not blindsided as to what their SEO efforts are achieving by measuring your conversions and their sources. This way, you can work on hinging more on these parts.
SEO tools fall in the following subcategories:
Link Tracking: These tools help to keep track of your link profile. Thehigher the quality of links to your website, the better the rankings.
Ahrefs: It offers an overview and comparison of domain names. It is offered on a free and paid option, although the latter has more inclusive features.
Keywords: This includes analyzing keywords that will earn you an optimized ranking on a search engine. Analyzing keywords will help you to know the most searched words and your competitors that are already using those words.
Google Keywords Planner: This is used to search a list of keywords and to check how they will perform.
Traffic: This refers to the inflow of potential customers to your website and it is very important for business owners to be able to track this. There are a good number of tools that can be used to do this.
Google Analytics: It helps to keep track of your traffic records. It essentially evaluates your ROI or return on investment for your website.
Competitive Research: These tools help to determine which keywords are driving traffic to your competitor websites.
SEMRush: You can get information on your competitors’ Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, keyword rankings, backlinks and more for a paid subscription.
SpyFu: It offers a free option with information on the most profitable keywords, competitor PPC ads, and ranking histories.
Benefits Of SEO Tools For Your Business
Create Organic Traffic
Traffic is a major area of concern in terms of owning a website. The use of SEO tools, however, makes it very possible to pull in a good amount of organic traffic.
Ideally, your business website should be optimized which guarantees the best possible rankings. This is important because when search engine users see a top result they are more likely to click on it than those that are lower in the ranking. These types of clicks are referred to as organic because they are not paid for.
Such organic traffic proves to be potential customers because they visited your website due to a piqued interest and are more likely to make a purchase or deal in the long run.
There Is An Emphasis On High-Quality Content
There is a popular quote in SEO that, “Content is king.” This phrase places a priority on making your website content of high quality. There is really no SEO without an array of content that possesses the right quality, which makes this very important. SEO tools ensure that content is optimized in the following ways:
Content Research/ Keyword Research: Researching the right keywords to use in your content is important in SEO. It is how your content can effectively answer a search query. Thus, your content has to be written clearly.
Content Words/ Use of Keywords: Having carried out the required research on keywords in a concise and non-obvious manner, keywords then have to be appropriately integrated in a non-advertising way into your content.
Content Freshness: Fresh means ‘new’. This is exactly what search engines look out for on a website. In most search engines the content deemed as fresh gets a boost over its counterparts.
An Improved User Experience
Search engines often scan through websites to determine how user-friendly they are. Thus, in order for a website to be optimized, its user experience (UX) needs to be improved. UX refers to the ease with which people can use a product, which in this case is a website.
Search engines seek websites with the best experience for users for search results. User Experience Optimization translates to improved user experience in the following ways:
Mobile Friendliness: This is a parameter that now contributes to the optimization of your website. Google, for example, now uses mobile-friendliness as a factor to rank websites. Therefore, making your website more mobile-friendly improves the overall user experience of your website.
Page Loading Speed: This refers to the time it takes for a page on your website to load. Users are more likely to enjoy a website with a faster page load time over one that is slower.
Heightened Visibility
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What use is a business website if it isn’t visible to its target customers? This is exactly what SEO strives to achieve. When your website is optimized it typically appears on the first page of search results. Thus, your website becomes more visible to users which can greatly aid ease with how search engine users can recall your business website domain.
SEO tools can help to improve the visibility of your firm’s website by coming up with a visibility score that can help you decide what needs to be optimized on your website
Better Conversion Rates
Conversion in marketing pertains to the process of converting your website traffic to paying customers. SEO tools aim to see that a highly optimized website can result in high conversion rates.
SEO’s famed ability to make your website more visible ensures this. When users see and click through a website they make more buying decisions. This translates to more profits for your company.
Better Brand Awareness And Credibility
Creating consciousness of your brand in the minds of your target audience is one of the benefits SEO tools bring to your business, such that the moment people read or hear your website name, they can recall it with ease. This is referred to as brand awareness.
Search engine users trust their providers to assure that they remain on the top search results as trusted and established brands. Thus, when your business website is up on the first page of search results, it translates to better credibility.
Cheaper Than Other Digital Marketing Methods
In SEO the results are based solely on conformity with the search engine’s algorithms. Therefore, there are no running costs as long as that is satisfied.
Of course, you might need to pay experts to get the best optimization results, but it will remain relatively cheaper than other promotion methods. In contrast, for other marketing methods such as Pay Per Click (PPC) ads, you can pay as much as $5 per click.
Having carried out the necessary research, writing, and formatting required to create high-quality SEO content through paid services, your website’s spot in at the top of rankings is achieved virtually free.
What’s more, you have the option of learning SEO by yourself, which will totally eliminate its monetary costs. However, this will mean personally investing time in learning and implementing the best SEO tactics.
A Long-term Investment
SEO costs should be viewed as a business investment other than just marketing costs because the full effect of SEO often takes time to kick in. This is typical of a business investment waiting to yield. It could take as long as six months to achieve optimal rankings but once your website attains this, you could stay at the top for years to come except if there are drastic changes to the search engine’s algorithm.
Conclusion
SEO, as discussed in this article, is the process of optimizing your website in order to rank well in search engines. SEO tactics are three-pronged, namely: on-page, technical and off-page SEO.
SEO tools are used to ensure that these SEO tactics are properly utilized for the best results. Some of which are Google Analytics, Google Keyword Planner and others.
Using these tools can result in numerous benefits that have been discussed comprehensively above such as improved user experience, better conversion rates and more. Making use of SEO tools in your business efforts guarantees success.
A solid digital marketing strategy is essential for increasing brand awareness, customers, and sales. SEO, for instance, has an impressive conversion rate of 14.6% while traditional print and mail methods have a low average comparative rate of 1.7%. By finding ways to improve your digital marketing strategy, you can better stand out against the competition and attract and convert your target customers.
Prioritize Authenticity
Almost 60% of customers are put off brands who post superficial and salesy content online. By making sure your content is authentic (rather than solely focused on selling), you can better attract and build trust with your target customers. For example, try posting informative, educational content that offers value to your readers. This way, you’ll build a reputation as an expert in your industry and you’ll be the first your audience thinks of when it’s time to buy. Even simply responding to your customers’ comments in a friendly, helpful, and timely manner works to build genuine relationships.
Use PPC Ads
PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is a cost-effective way to reach your target audience, explains Neon Ambition, an Austin PPC management company. With PPC ads, your business appears in front of your target customers at the exact moment they search for relevant keywords. Rather than wasting your budget on estimated impressions, PPC ads are paid for only if the user clicks through and generates traffic to your site. It gives you complete control over budget, ad placement, and targeting, so you can increase your chances of attracting high-quality visitors interested in your products or services to your site — where you can then convert them into paying customers. Although Microsoft Advertising and Facebook ads are popular platforms, Google ads are most useful for PPC campaigns due to the high volume of searches received.
Try Guest Blogging
Guest posting helps generate three times as many leads as paid search advertising. By inviting industry thought leaders to contribute to your site via blog posts or interviews, you can strengthen brand awareness and credibility. In addition to presenting your readers with interesting, engaging, and educational information, you’ll also likely receive backlinks on other websites, therefore improving your SEO ranking. Digital marketing plays a key role in business success. Authentic content, PPC ads, and guest blogging are powerful methods you can use to boost sales and take your business to the next level.
Employees are the main backbone for both small and large businesses. You can see an increase in productivity when employees are satisfied and happy about their work. So, one of the best ways to grow your business is keeping employees happy.
By making certain small changes, you can easily enhance the levels of office efficiency and productivity in your business by time management. It helps you in receiving more quality work in a short time as well as limit the time spent on unimportant tasks. We have listed eight important tips that will help you in getting the best efforts from your employees and also obtain maximum productivity.
1. Be Efficient
Think about how you are currently operating your business and check how you can change the way you are working. It is important to make long term and short term lists so as to prioritize tasks in a small-sized business.
Ask questions to yourself like- Is there is any way where staff members could organize their day to day tasks to accomplish their goals? Offer each of your staff members with a strategy and motivate them to make a list to do activities. Also, ensure the employees prioritize duties on time and complete tasks every day, which results in efficient working.
2. Reduce Distractions
One of the biggest productivity killers in the present scenario is social media. It is not possible to follow no phone policy but you can motivate employees to remain engaged and focused. You can allow them to take breaks once in two to three hours for better engagement.
Request your employees to switch off mobile phones. During break hours, they can check their phones and remain active in social media as they wish. This way, they will be more productive when they are at their desk.
3. Delegate
Though it is slightly risky, delegation is helpful for enhancing job satisfaction and morale of your staff. It is almost like giving additional responsibilities to your employees. It is recommended to give duties only to qualified employees who have a good track record, experience and success in your field. By giving tasks to employees who are skilled, you can remain in the peace of mind as they do the tasks as per your expectations.
4. Have The Right Equipment And Tools
It is important to offer the right equipment and tools to employees. This way, they can do their duties on time and efficiently. In the present scenario, there are a lot of advanced equipment and gadgets that help in doing work in quick time. For instance, when you do not have a printing device, the employees have to wait for long hours to print their paperwork. It affects your entire productivity.
High quality, modern equipment, and programs make an excellent difference to the workforce and also the way the company perceives. So, save effort and time by utilizing equipment like MFP that functions as scanner, fax machine, copier, and printer.
5. Set Realistic Goals And Provide Real-time Support
Most managers experience this issue, they will not have a clear or strong idea of whether their staff members are performing well or not. Help your staffs by offering some achievable goals. Give clear direction to employees and supervisors to assist clarify expectations. It helps in increasing your productivity and also they will have clear goals and clear focus.
6. Enhance Workplace Conditions
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The work environment should be comfortable with good furniture and interiors. A workspace that is comfortable should maintain temperature from 68 degrees to 70 degrees F that is between 20 and 21 C. If the workspace is too cold or too hot, it can distract the employees and affects their concentration. Due to this, the employees will be just walking with an electric fan or adjusting their coats around the office. It is necessary to make sure both the air conditioning and heating systems are in good working condition according to the relevant season.
7. Make Sure Employees Are Happy
If the workplace is stressful, you cannot expect good results. The employees who are continuously functioning under stressful situations are said to have levels of absenteeism and disengagement and be less productive. Remember, employees have to be happy. The company has to appreciate, value and respect on a personal level. It is called as gratification. It should never be missed when you want a productive workforce.
8. Practice Positive Strengths
Encourage ,motivate and reward. When your employees are performing well, tell them they are performing a good job and offer constructive criticism. Another important part is providing personal incentives when you find them doing the task perfectly. You can take them for dinner, a free coffee or offer a free holiday trip for performing tasks beyond their rules. It is recommended to share positiveness of employee to another so as to cultivate a feeling of fulfillment and also encourage others. When employees are motivated and given rewards for their hard work, they will start to put more productivity on their daily task list.
9. Get Employees Feedback
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Employees give feedback on a different angle, which you can think about and implement. When you ask their feedback, you can learn lot of things from their viewpoint. You would not even think about certain things but they would have expressed in form of feedback. It is best to discuss with employees who directly interact with clients. They will know more about client’s expectations. They tell clearly what can be done to improve workplace productivity.
10. Offer Training To Employees
It is necessary to update your employees with the latest tools and technologies for better productivity. As they learn new applications and programs and implement on own, you will find a lot of change in your productivity. It will also help in increasing your productivity at a great rate. Proper training leads to greater productivity and efficiency.
Hope you find these ideas helpful for increasing your workplace productivity. Encourage remote work? Do you want to increase productivity? Do you concentrate on engagement? Share your tips and suggestions in the comment box below!
Author Bio
Niall Kennedy is the Creative Director at ”Preferred training networks ”. He has over 20 years of experience in Professional Development Industry. He has published 4 business books – “All Aboard the Brain Train,” “Healthy Leadership,” “Errant Workplace Behaviours,” and “Hidden Observations”.
Making your small business stand out in a sea of larger companies is no small feat. Small companies, by definition, have a more modest marketing budget. This budget has to stretch considerably to make the brand’s voice heard.
There is no magical path to achieving the best marketing strategy. Any number of people in the business of marketing will tell you that an effective campaign is a combination of various methods and factors. At its very core, your marketing should present your business to the right customer base.
Fortunately, certain proven strategies give the most reward for your investment. These strategies have been used by small businesses, like yours, time and time again. Here are the best ways to leverage effective ads for your brand.
Build A Great Website
Most people are now moving towards buying online rather than having to face the hassle of visiting physical stores. Small businesses, in particular, can benefit from a well-designed website with thoughtful landing pages.
A good website not only showcases your brand but also works as a great way to capture new leads, provide relevant information to your customers, and drive people to your social media pages.
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Setting up a brand new website for your business is not too difficult. You will need to buy and register your domain name and sign up for web hosting. Use content management software (CMS) to manage your content and update it over time.
If you are still a bit jittery about creating your website, then do not hesitate to invest in a professional. They will be able to walk you through the many options available and should build you a beautiful and fully customised website.
Google My Business
A local business that targets local customers needs to rank high on Google My Business listing. It pulls data from several platforms under the Google umbrella including your Google Maps profile, Google reviews, Google Insights, and Google Analytics.
Google presents an advertised listing followed by Google My Business listings for local searches. Having a high ranking will get more eyes on your business, increasing your conversion rates. To rank high, optimize your business profile, collect Google reviews, and encourage citations.
Email Marketing
A majority of marketers report that the leads generated from email marketing campaigns are more than any other marketing channel. Small businesses thrive when they nurture their clients. Since most people do not make a transaction the first time they visit a business’s website, collecting leads is imperative for your success.
Your website needs to create an email marketing funnel that collects leads for you to nurture at a later date. This is when you offer something of value to your potential customer such that they are compelled to provide their information. This could be a coupon code, a discount, a free download, or a free trial.
Email marketing is a low cost, easy to automate, and has a global reach. You can segment your leads to get the maximum effect for future campaigns. This can be easily tracked and recalibrated depending on the results.
Google Ads
Engage with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising since you pay only when a customer clicks on your advertisement. Google Ads is one of the most popular PPC platforms. No matter where you are located, chances are that a majority of your customers use Google’s search engine. Harnessing its vast reach to place your business front and center can result in a huge pay-off.
Google uses keywords relevant to determine the rankings of ads on its search engine results. This is why you must conduct accurate keyword research. Another important aspect is to develop a compelling landing page when the ad is clicked. This landing page should tell the customer exactly what they need to know most directly.
Facebook Ads
Facebook ads are considered to be one of the more inexpensive marketing strategies and can target virtually any audience. Around two million small and medium businesses use Facebook ads to drive their sales.
Facebook ads offer advanced targeting where you can directly put your ad in front of the right demographic. You can target your ad based on age, gender, location, online behavior, interests, and more.
While it is pretty easy to run a Facebook ad, many newbies find that the ROI isn’t what they expected. Luckily, many third-party tools can help you run your campaign by tracking and analyzing its performance and providing actionable insights.
Instagram adsalso use the same targeting techniques like Facebook. This isn’t surprising since Facebook owns them. If your business is visually appealing, then consider using Instagram as a way to advertise your business.
Content Marketing
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Content marketing is no longer limited to blog posts. You should have a diverse range of pieces like videos, podcasts, and online courses. Your content should be valuable to the customer while staying relevant and consistent.
Content marketing is more of a long-term plan than something like Google Ads. It sets up your business to build a brand based on customer engagement. It consists of high-quality pieces that are optimized for SEO.
If you are just starting out on developing a content marketing strategy, then take the time to conduct the right research. A great strategy that never fails is to try to have your content answer what your audience needs.
Consistent content with regular and diverse uploads is key to garnering a broad audience. You can dabble in creating videos using a promo video maker for your brand and track the engagement you receive for the same across different platforms.
Drum Up Referrals
A key factor many small businesses tend to overlook is their existing customer base. Sure, they understand the importance of word-of-mouth advertising, but they fall short on leveraging their community to drive up sales.
Potential customers are going to trust existing customers over any message that a business puts out, no matter how compelling the ad. Use this dynamic by offering referral programs to your most loyal customers. They are now going to be incentivized to spread the word about your business.
The referral program can offer discounts, codes, gifts, or even free products. If the rewards from the program are working in your favor, then build a tier-system for your customers.
