The Fundamentals Of A Digital Marketing Strategy. Following on from my last post, “Why Your Business Needs A Rigid Digital Marketing Strategy”, I’m now going to help you understand the various areas involved in Digital Marketing and how they work so you can get your very own online campaign off the ground.
Setting Digital Marketing Goals. Why Your Business Needs A Rigid Digital Marketing Strategy. The online landscape is constantly shifting, and what works for your business today may prove insufficient or even detrimental tomorrow.
Generally speaking, this is because Google and other major search engines are continuously updating their search algorithms. If you’re persistently chasing these changes, the chances are you’re always going to be one step behind. Online Competitor Analysis Part 3: Social Media. In this third and final post of my three part series on conducting online competitor analysis, I’ll be discussing the benefits of analysing your competitors’ social media strategy.
If you’ve missed any of the previous posts, you can read part one here, and part two here. Competitor Social Media Analysis The growth in popularity of online social platforms has given brands the chance to interact with their audience on a whole new level. Online Competitor Analysis Part 2: Content Marketing. This is the second post in a three part series on conducting online competitor analysis.
If you missed the first part, you can read it here. Producing content for your site is one thing, but ensuring it is optimised for both visitors and search engines is a skill all in itself. This is where Content Marketing comes into play. In short, Content Marketing is the art of utilising and promoting content to convey your products or services in a way that is clear, targeted and search engine friendly. It’s about creating and publishing content that solves problems, offers knowledge and insight, or simply entertains your audience. Introducing the New Free 7 Day SEO Email Course. Should You Use Press Releases As Part Of Your Content Strategy? Ever since Google’s Matt Cutts announced that online press releases provide no actual value for SEO, it seems that there has been a degree of confusion as to what benefits they can actually yield to a business.
Historically, press releases have been used by PR agencies and internal departments to relay news to the media. Now, with the proliferation of online media growing every day, we are beginning to see a shift away from the traditional use of the press release and are realising its merit as a business communication tool. Where Google Stands Google’s current stance with regards to press releases is that links contained within the body of the text and those coming from external PR syndication sites will not provide any value for your site’s SEO efforts. In fact, the search engines recommend the use of the “nofollow” attribute on any links within press releases to ensure they are not seen as attempts to manipulate PageRank. The Pros & Cons Pros Cons. A Guide To Using Instagram For Business. You’ve probably seen its work at one point or another, with hundreds of selfies plastered over your news feed and an endless supply of photos capturing what others had for dinner.
However, if you are not wildly familiar with Instagram, here’s what you need to know. Instagram is an online photo and video sharing social networking service. Launched in 2010, the platform allows its users to snap pictures and edit them with a number of customisable filters to enhance image. Photos are then shared via the core social networks and within the app itself. One year later, its community had reached 1 million active members. With social media dominating digital communication, brands worldwide have recognised the opportunity that it provides to marketing and advertising efforts, more specifically from the likes of Nike, Starbucks and Adidas. Jelly: The Social Q&A App – The Pros and Cons. Earlier this year, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and former colleague Ben Finkel launched Jelly, the social Q & A app for smartphone and tablet devices.
The core idea behind the application, according to its introductory video, is that when you come across something and don’t know what it is or how it works, simply take a photo of it and then ask the people in your core social network on Twitter and Facebook for an answer. Once you have posted your query, you are to rely on the collective answers of your network for a relevant and accurate answer; placing emphasis on your ‘followers, friends and fans’ to serve as trusted sources of information.
The app has received a fairly impressive uptake in its early days, though the developers have largely put this down to intrigue and recognise that for an app like Jelly to really stick they will need to introduce new features, make improvements for usability and listen to customer feedback to drive a better experience. What Should You Consider? A Guide To Using Vine For Business. By now I’m sure you have come across the odd Vine or two while scrolling through your Facebook or Twitter profile, but for those of you who may not know a great deal about the platform, here is a brief overview.
Background. When To Use The NoFollow Attribute For Internal Links. There is still an element of ambiguity around implementing coding attributes and their purpose.
Are you aware of what to do when linking internally and when to attribute code to your links? If not then this guide is ideal for you. Internal Linking Internal linking is critical to achieving best practice SEO. The way in which you link the pages of your website together enables Google’s bots to can crawl your site, prioritise your pages and provide a richer representation in the search engine results pages (SERPs). One issue concerning internal linking is whether or not to add the nofollow tag to internal links as a means to disqualify certain pages of your site from appearing in the search results. In the clip, Matt addresses the following question. 24 Tips To Improve Conversions Infographic. What Are Widget Links And Should You Be Using Them? Widgets are on-page add-ons that tend to feature video content, advertorials or a displayed a message to a site’s visitors.
They are hosted on a site and can then be embedded on other sites. Advertisers and external sites have primarily used these features as a means to divert traffic back to their site, including keyword-heavy link anchor text in the embed code which, in most cases, offers no real value to the host site or the user. Recently, Matt Cutts, acting head of the Webspam team at Google, released a short video that covers this in detail.
To further address this, Google also recently included a revised description of the types of widget links included in their negative link schemes. These guidelines are used to provide direction to site owners on the sorts of practices that the Webspam team will penalise websites for, so they’re certainly worth knowing about. So, should you use widget links? “Looking into the very specific action that we took, I think we did the right thing. A Guide To Using Pinterest For Business. Since its launch in 2010, Pinterest has been somewhat of a slow burner. Fast forward to present day and the social network has become the fastest growing platform to date; reaching 10 million monthly unique visits in just 9 months.
With this growth, more and more enterprises, small and large, are turning to the site as a means to strengthen the online identity and presence of their brand. In 4 easy-to-follow steps this post will show you everything you need to know to get your business up and running on Pinterest. Step One – Getting Started. Top 5 Tools To Ensure Your Website Is Mobile Friendly. The growth in mobile device internet users has risen exponentially over the last few years and continues to grow day by day. The ease of navigating a website on a mobile device has a major impact on how long a user stays on the site and in turn the conversion rate. Having a site that is user friendly on mobile devices has become essential for competing online. This post explores the options available to make the process of testing and developing a website for mobile devices less cost prohibitive and help improve compatibility with all devices.
Some of the most popular mobile devices include iPads, iPhones and Android smartphones. These devices should be the primary focus of any mobile design strategy to develop a website that works for as many people as possible. Say No To Black Hat SEO. Modern day SEO is a very different practice to that of five years ago. Many techniques that were once sure-fire ways to reach the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) could now do your website much more harm than good. However there are still people out there who look to use underhand tactics to get websites to rank. No sooner have search engines clamped down on one spammy tactic than black hat SEOs find a new way to game the system. This post lists some of the ways that Black Hat SEOs “optimise” websites, putting them at risk of manual or algorithmic ranking penalties. Don’t build spammy and unnatural links One of the most common black hat practices still used today by many trying to get quick wins in the search engines is spammy link building.
Some of the most common black hat link building tactics include: There are many other spammy link building tactics out there so as a rule of thumb, if the activity sounds spammy or unnatural it probably is. Five Social Profiles Your Business Must Have. The adoption of social media has grown exponentially over the last few years and continues to do so into 2014. How To Use The Google Data Highlighter. Tips For Creating Hummingbird Friendly Content. In August 2013, Google introduced its new algorithm to the world.
Labeled Hummingbird, this new algorithm placed new emphasis on the concept of semantic search. Although there has been much talk about the update in the online marketing industry it seems that neither the update nor its benefits to digital marketing are still not widely understood. The Beauty Of Site Search In Google Analytics. How To Prepare An SEO Strategy. Creating an SEO strategy is similar to creating a traditional marketing strategy. 3 Simple Tips For Improving Your User Experience. The Importance of Marketing Across Platforms. The pace of change online can be pretty unsettling; one minute your SEO strategy is winning you rankings, web traffic and customers – the next, a Google algorithm update knocks your site into the Stone Age.
Disappearing from organic search can cripple a business that depends on its website. If SEO is your only angle, you’ve got all your eggs in one basket – never a good business tactic. Be Prepared Search changes all the time, so being prepared for shifting algorithms and the near constant barrage of Google updates can save you a lot of headaches in the future.
Using Google Analytics to Help Improve Your SEO Rankings. Google Analytics (GA) is one of the most widely used tools for the collection and analysis of website data. What does the Hummingbird algorithm mean for SEO? The SEO Benefits of Google Plus. Google+ is a social network which lets you connect with people, share posts and engage in different communities as well as Hangouts. You can also ‘+1’ content that you enjoy, which is essentially giving a thumbs up to its quality. Top Ten Tips for SEO Beginners. A Guide To Local SEO. Using Social Media To Develop Your Link Building. Keyword Optimisation Techniques You Should Not Be Using. The Fine Art of Broken Link Building. Factors Which Contribute To Your SEO Rankings (Infographic) How To Use The Google Disavow Tool. When and Why To Use The “nofollow” Attribute.
How to Find and Fix Duplicate Content. 3 Link Building Tactics That Could Harm Your Site. SEO On A Single Page Site. A Beginners Guide to SEO Keyword Research. The Benefits of Outsourcing SEO. How To Make Your Content Marketing Strategy More Effective. How To Keep Visitors On Your Mobile Site. Keep Up To Speed with 3 Site Speed Test Tools.
What Is Negative SEO? Effective Use of Google Webmaster Tools. Why people are going off Google? Mbining Social Media with SEO. Too much AdSense can harm your rankings. Search Engine Marketing and SEO Blog.