Tag: seo

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SEO

8 Outdated SEO Techniques You Need to Stop Using — Now

The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is evolving at a fast and constant pace. You’d be surprised at the number of techniques “experts” used just a couple of years ago that are completely ineffective now! Advances in artificial intelligence (and Google’s algorithms) make it easier than ever for bots to identify genuinely valuable information as opposed to content developed to cater to the search engines. You must change your strategies to keep up.

Gaining new knowledge is one of the best ways to stay ahead, but sometimes it’s what you’re still doing that’s the real problem. Avoid these old-school hacks at all costs. If you haven’t stopped using them, they could be leading you down a very risky path.

Article Directories

Remember back in the day when you could submit to article directories? You included a short bio with a backlink, so that anyone who picked up your article to republish it would have to include the same bio and link on their site, too. (Most of those articles never got picked up, and those that did were stolen without the bios anyway.)

After a while, Google started to recognize article directories as the stuffed-with-low-quality content link farms they really were. By the time the Panda update rolled out, the algorithms were able to stop valuing this type of backlink altogether. Don’t waste your time with them.

Article Spinning

What is “spinning,” exactly? It’s a black-hat technique that takes articles and replaces random words to create “unique” content. The spinner then redistributes the plagiarized content to different platforms. The results are at best not well-written, and at worst completely unreadable. A general rule of thumb is to avoid using software to create content. Content created by humans is by far the best.

Low Level Guest Blogging

In the past, guest blogging was about finding well-ranked websites with a high domain authority (DA) and page rank (PR). Bloggers would do anything to get a link, even if it meant writing a home improvement article so they could have a link in the bio pointing back to their health website. Site owners loved it because they didn’t have to pay for content. The strategy didn’t make any sense.

There is value in guest blogging, though. The key is to put in the work to find a related niche website where you can provide high-quality content the readers will find valuable. It’s still OK to write killer content to post on other people’s sites. You need to make sure the site’s topic is somewhat related to yours and that the content is as valuable as anything you’d publish on your own domain.

Keyword-Based Domains

Instead of finding a domain that reflected a business brand, people used to choose a keyword and then attempt to find a domain based on an exact match. We see people doing this not only on the web, but also on Facebook pages and other social platforms.

Exact-match keyword domains are considered spammy. Google will not give you any extra link juice for this uncreative method. As a matter of fact, Facebook’s terms of service specifically ban the use of keywords to name pages. Branding is more important than shoving long or short-tail keywords into someone’s face.

Optimized Anchor Text

We know you want to rank for certain keywords. That doesn’t mean you need to over-optimize your linking strategy to stuff exact-match keywords into your text. It’s considered unnatural and it is — again — a technique Google now limits.

It’s fine to include keywords in your text, but only if you can fit them in naturally. If you can’t, it’s better to create your backlinks from more natural phrases like the one we just highlighted in this sentence. Use your keywords as tools to help you plan your content, not to force overused words or awkward phrases into your writing.

Creating Too Many Pages for Your Site

Let’s say you’re a plumber. An old-school SEO expert may have told you that you need a whole bunch of different pages on your website so that you can rank for each keyword separately. You ended up with a page each for plumbing, plumbing repair, plumbing problems, plumbing upgrades, and other keywords that seem different but are all closely related. The content ends up being weak because it’s not geared towards the consumer, but for the keyword itself.

Why is this bad?

Well, words aren’t going to convert and buy your services.

Okay, that was a little tongue-in-cheek, but what we mean is that it’s people who convert, not the words you write. You should always focus on serving people first.

As for spamming pages? Google can detect it and will penalize you if they do. The RankBrain intelligence system and Google’s Knowledge Graph made it easy for the bots to detect pages created to game the SEO system. Skip it and focus on what matters.

Weak Metadata

Although it’s now considered outdated, SEO experts used to recommend stuffing your keywords into your meta tags and descriptions. The thought was that the bots would crawl the descriptions, and rank pages based on these small chunks of information. As a result, the description previews people saw in the search results were keyword-stuffed garble that made little sense.

Google’s official stance now is that meta descriptions don’t impact page rankings, but that’s not 100 percent true, either. While your rankings may not be affected by the actual text of the meta descriptions, Google does consider how many people click through to your page. If the description is what causes a person to click your link, it is indirectly supporting your SEO efforts and overall rankings.

Quantity Over Quality

Quality content is key these days. Stop churning out page after page, blog post after blog post – unless you have something meaningful to say with each article. Your readers want to dig deep and gain value from the blogs you offer.

Want to know the number one secret? Shake up your content types. Offer long-form text, video, infographics, and other visuals. Stop writing nothing but short, 300-word missives that summarize an idea but give no real, actionable information.

Now that you know what not to do, how will you change your strategies for 2019? Are you planning to create new content or more of what’s already working? Have some new hot leads for guest blogging and relationship building? Let us know what SEO plans you have and what strategies you are going to ditch and leave behind. We can’t wait to hear your ideas, see your tips, and watch you grow into the New Year!

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SEO

SEO and Healthcare: What You Need to Know

It doesn’t matter if you work in a small doctor’s office or lab or for a large hospital chain; all healthcare professionals need to have an online presence. Healthcare and medical providers face a growing set of unique challenges in the SEO world because of the intense need for privacy and sensitivity they face. HIPAA compliance rules make it difficult to directly address some online concerns, but patients are demanding higher levels of satisfaction. They’re voicing their opinions and concerns online — loudly.

If you happen to be operating in the healthcare industry, this is an important topic. A single negative review on sites like RateMD can sink a private clinic lightning-fast, leading to a loss of patients or even eventual lawsuits.

Your job is to balance the need for privacy, respect, and sensitivity with the need to market your brand and business. Here’s how to achieve that goal and what you need to know in order to avoid a PR disaster.

Organic SEO Results in Healthcare

Let’s be realistic – just about everyone with internet access tries to look up some sort of healthcare information now and again. Don’t even pretend you haven’t tried to play Dr. Google at least once; we all do it. Healthcare providers often show up in those searches, especially if they use the right keywords and content.

How can you make the most of that? The key is to make sure you are using the right keywords and strategies as they relate to your practice or specialties. This can take a little bit of finesse and skill.

In terms of keywords, a primary care physician may want to use search terms that relate to their geographic area, to their areas of specific interest, or even to the specific age groups they treat (e.g., geriatrics or pediatrics). Some choose to focus on the type of insurance plans they accept instead, because searchers often look for what their insurance will cover first.

A specialist, on the other hand, may be able to take a broader approach regarding geographic area since people are often willing to travel further for a well-known, highly-skilled specialist. Other keywords would have to be more specific to their areas of expertise; e.g., cardiology, endocrinology, orthopedics, and related terms.

Once you have a specific list of healthcare related keywords, the practice’s website will need to be properly optimized. The site’s title descriptions, meta tags, and of course content should all reflect your chosen terms. Unique on-site content needs to be created around these terms, and  not just within service and information pages, but on informative blog and article pages, too.

Healthcare providers are not exempt when it comes to creating high-quality content for SEO purposes. In fact, because most are classified as industry experts, visitors often expect an even higher level of content than they might from, say, a department store, restaurant, or hair salon. Keep this in mind at all times.

SEO and HIPAA

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was designed to create guidelines healthcare facilities must follow in order to keep patient information safe and secure. While this generally applies mostly to patient files and how they are shared among different offices and other providers, there are some things you need to keep in mind for SEO and marketing purposes.

  • Your website should be using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) to prevent unauthorized access to private information. This is especially important if your website has an online portal your patients can use to connect with the office, send messages, and view records. Having SSL will help boost your rankings.
  • HIPAA requires that all websites have a Notice of Privacy Practices in order to remain compliant. The notice must specifically disclose how information is collected and how it will be used.
  • HIPAA guidelines require medical websites to change their passwords on a regular basis. It also dictates that only certain people in your organization should have online access to PHI (personal health information).
  • In terms of website content, you must have a patient’s express, written permission to share details of their treatment or story on your website or social media platforms. This includes anecdotes, even if you switch out a few details to try and mask the possible connection of identity.

In short, everything you do must comply with HIPAA guidelines. The actual bill is almost 140 pages long, though, and most of us here aren’t lawyers. If you are ever in doubt, have your practice attorney take a look at the regulations and your plan. This is one instance in which it’s best to be safe, rather than sorry (or even sued).

HIPAA and Review Management

Review and reputation management is a huge part of search engine optimization. Every business entity should be paying attention to what people are saying about them online, but healthcare providers need to be especially conscious of this feedback. Patients can leave reviews just about anywhere, including the standards like Google, Facebook, and Yelp, as well as other narrow-themed sites like Vitals, HealthGrades, ZocDoc, and RateMD.

Some patients will leave reviews on third-party sites and write their own Facebook posts or blogs about what happened during their office visits. They may or may not call you out by name. The important thing to remember is that you simply can’t engage with these people or reply with specific details. Not only is it a HIPAA violation, but it’s also extremely ethically questionable, too.

We’ve seen business owners react emotionally to reviews time and time again, but you simply can’t do that in the healthcare industry. In most instances, best practice would be to leave a comment inviting the person to contact your office so that you can go over their issues. There is very little else, even if they disclose personal details, you can say online without violating HIPAA.

HIPAA and Social Media

Having a social media presence is obviously important to SEO, but your profiles can be a ticking HIPAA time bomb if they are not handled properly. The first problem is that too many healthcare organizations allow employees who seem social media savvy to handle their accounts without any true knowledge of social media management. They get over excited, post pictures, and share details they simply shouldn’t.

That snapshot of Carol laughing with your patient last week you posted to Facebook? If you don’t have a waiver signed for it, it just might get you in trouble.

The biggest thing to remember when it comes to social media is that nothing you share should include anything at all that could tie the post back to a specific person – directly or indirectly. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t use a name if you did use a full-face photo. HIPAA guidelines specifically forbids you to use any PHI in your marketing or social campaigns, paid or organic. Just don’t do it.

You also need to make sure your staff are trained to not discuss the details of their jobs on their personal social media accounts. VeryWell shared an article detailing some chilling examples of privacy violations gone wrong, including an EMT that posted enough details about an assault victim that the media was able to figure out where the victim lived. This can lead to real, serious harm – physical and emotional – especially in situations where a crime has been committed.

The key to good healthcare SEO is to make sure the information you distribute, whether posted on your website or on social channels, sticks to your area of expertise without using real-life examples or personal details. You can be friendly, informative, and engaging without violating someone’s privacy.

If you do want to share something about a patient, do the right thing – ask them for permission. Have them sign a waiver giving you permission to share that inspiring story or successful treatment picture. They’ll appreciate it, and so will your lawyers.

Categories
SEO

How the SEO Industry Evolved (And Where It’s Headed)

The SEO industry evolved from keyword stuffing and backlink manipulation to a focus on user experience and content quality. Google’s algorithm updates have shifted the emphasis to mobile optimization, site speed, and user engagement metrics. The rise of voice search and AI technologies continues to shape SEO strategies toward more natural, user-focused content and technical optimization.

Sit down; let us tell you a little tale about the Wild West…

And by Wild West, we mean the early days of marketing on the Internet.

In the mid-1990s to the mid-2000’s, the Internet was just coming into its own. More people than ever had home computers, and businesses slowly began capitalizing on this by creating websites and online ads to market to home users.

Because search engines and websites were fairly simple at the time, SEO itself was fairly simple. It started with having a domain name directly related to whatever you were marketing. Something like fun-toys-for-cats-from-hypothetical-brand.com would naturally rank higher than, say, just hypothetical-brand.com alone.

Next came the oversaturation of keywords. Rather than writing high-quality content, writers simply had to create ANY content at all and stuff it with as many relevant keywords as possible. This included both base keywords and their variants.

Because most search engines were only capable of cross-matching words (known as exact match), this approach worked.

It was also incredibly spammy.

The First Evolution (Or How the West Was Won)

By around 2000, it was becoming very obvious just how much of a problem this approach caused. Results were rarely useful, and even when they were, you often had to go to the third or fourth page to find what you needed. Searching felt frustrating, annoying, and exhausting.

By about 2005, Google had had enough. Search use was dropping off because of the low quality, hampering the company’s ability to sell ads. Users were frustrated and turning to other indie engines instead.

So they decided to make a major change: keywording would still be relevant, but not in the same way. Instead, Google would focus on reasonable use of keywords, including where and how keywords were used (e.g., meta tags, H1 tags, and within the body of text).

Writers who engaged in deceptive keywording tactics (like hiding text or keyword stuffing) in an attempt to manipulate results were penalized. Often, Google removed their websites from search engine results altogether.

Around the same time, Google also began to put more emphasis on linking strategies. At the time, they believed that pages with more backlinks must obviously be creating more quality content. After all, why would people link to bad pages?

This was the first and most impactful change in the SEO and content writing industry. Rather than paying for churned-out cheap, spun content, businesses had to scramble to find skilled writers who could write without angering the “gods.”

The Final Frontier

Search engine results did improve after these changes. Overall, results became better targeted to the needs of searchers with fewer spammy links or uncorrelated results. But there was still a problem; people were still gaming the system, especially in relation to keywords and links.

In 2008, when Google first placed more emphasis on linking, they underestimated how likely people were to abuse these links. The result was that marketers began creating link directories and link farms – pages they owned or posted a link to their website on solely to increase backlink volume.

Obviously, this was a problem. In some cases, websites would have 20,000 or 30,000 backlinks pointing to them, giving Google the impression that they were immensely popular. In reality, those links were fake and/or purchased from link farms instead.

The Start of the Future

In 2011, Google rolled out their Google Panda update. Panda focused on using more contextual analysis to provide a better picture of what really qualified as, well, quality. It also penalized users for manual links – including backlinks, purchased links, and linking directories or farms. Within an instant, a significant portion of the marketing industry found themselves sandboxed.

It gets worse.

After Panda, many websites who weren’t even using paid backlinks or linkfarms suddenly found themselves de-listed.

As it turns out, competitors were abusing Google’s system to get their opponents de-listed, and there wasn’t much they could do about it.

Enter Google’s Penguin update. Penguin made the penalties for abusing keywording or links even more harsh, but it also gave webmasters the ability to disavow links permanently. This ensured the system wasn’t abused.

By 2016, algorithms were smarter than ever. Keyword matching became much less effective; instead, Google started using a strategy called intent matching. How intent matching works is fairly complex, but essentially, it focuses not only on what’s being searched, but the specific intent with which the searcher is searching.

The Mobile Revolution

Around the same time, Google enacted a massive crackdown on bad mobile website practices. Websites that refused to optimize for mobile saw a drastic drop in ranking. This was the first time we saw the search engine factor in website design as well as keywords and contextual search information.

Just afterward came another change to mobile and its impacts on ranking. Pages that used mobile pop-ups (especially if deceptive or difficult to close) would also find themselves falling in rank or de-listed altogether.

In the search engine’s official announcement, they drew parallels between pop-ups and poor user experience, especially in accessibility. “Pages that show intrusive interstitials provide a poorer experience to users than other pages where content is immediately accessible,” they explained.

Fortunately, everyone’s favorite search engine also provided webmasters access to a handy tool to help them acclimatize. The mobile optimization test, (found here) remains online even now. It’s a fantastic way to get a quick peek at your website’s mobile friendliness, even if it is an admittedly surface-level view.

Not optimizing for mobile devices is one of the most common SEO mistakes businesses make today.

Looking Forward to a Changing Future

That brings us neatly up to just about present day. In 2018, we’re seeing more change than ever on the horizon as search engines respond to increasingly complex technological demands.

Mobile, for example, will likely be a much larger focus as people make the shift from big, bulky computers to smaller handheld devices. Given that over 50 percent of all users view websites from a tablet or smartphone, that just makes sense.

Newer technologies that don’t currently factor in to Google’s ranking system may also play a bigger role in coming years. This includes voice search requests, chatbot-driven search assistance (Siri; Alexa), and social search influences. All three are currently at the forefront of search algorithm research, but most haven’t been integrated or developed enough just yet to make them useful to Google.

Content will remain key, but the way we digest and use it may change. We’re seeing a shift away from average-length content (500 to 800 words) and a bigger focus on short, snappy tidbits (under 400 words) and longform content (1000 to 4000 words).

You should also expect other forms of media, including photos, gifs, graphics, video, and even mobile games, to qualify as “quality content” in the upcoming years.

Ultimately, what this means for you is an even bigger focus on content quality, diversification, and skill. This is a good thing (even if it does make our job a little bit more challenging) because it encourages a higher level of expertise than ever before. And that makes it harder for shifty SEO “specialists” who rely on client deception to succeed against the real, hard workers in the industry.

 

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SEO

Why You Need to Utilize NAP to Master Local SEO

NAP doesn’t refer to the short sleep you love to take in the afternoon, but instead stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. It is a critical piece of the local SEO puzzle, and without it, you will have a hard time getting a business to rank well. Search engines use the NAP information to determine which companies to show when users enter any kind of geo-targeted search. You may hear NAP referred to as “citations”. You get a citation when your NAP data shows up in a directory on the web.

 

Check Your NAP for Accuracy

Before you start working on increasing the number of citations you have out there, it’s important to make sure the information is accurate. It should be listed on your website, too. The information should match in every single citation you have. If there is a difference between how it is listed from one place to the next, the search engine bots may not be able to read it as the same place – thereby negatively affecting your ranking. Your online citations should match your business filings with your state, the information on your website, and match the information on file with the post office. Ideally, your NAP should also include a landline as a phone number.

You need to find all the variations in your citations before you begin working on local SEO in earnest. This means thinking about any previous business names you’ve had if you’ve ever changed your name in the past. You also need to think about any addresses you’ve had in the past, especially if you’ve moved offices recently or if you have additional locations. How many phone numbers are you using? Are you using call tracking numbers? Toll free phone numbers? Cell phone numbers? List all of that stuff out, and then go over to Moz Local and search for your business.

This tool lets you see all the primary data aggregators, so it’s easy to see any NAP variations you  may have. Add those to your list.

Then, head on over to Merchant Circle and Yellow Bot. These collect data from various sources but aren’t good at merging data from the sources, creating a lot of duplicates. Though it’s a pain to clean up, it can help you find variations you need to address.

Next, search Google. At this point, you’re looking for variations you’ve not already found, by searching with the phone numbers you have. Searching the phone numbers and excluding the names ensures you’ll get a list of results mentioning only the number, so you can catch any new names you didn’t already.

How do you search for this?

Phone number =”name1″ –”name2″, etc.

You can reverse this to find more phone numbers, by searching for the names, and excluding numbers you’re already aware of.

Name1 –”phone1″ –”phone2″ etc.

Repeat this process using the phone numbers and exclude address you’re already aware of, using only a portion of the address leaving out things like suite numbers.

 

What If There’s a Problem with the Information?

If you notice inaccurate or inconsistent NAP information, don’t panic. It’s not necessary to go through each listing one by one to manually fix it. Major data agencies collect, verify, and distribute your business data – which is why it spreads through the internet quickly. These companies generally make money by selling the data as leads, or by selling the data to other companies.

These major players include:

Start with these main companies, as correcting the data here ensures the right information will trickle out to other websites. Once the information is corrected with those sites, go on to the most authoritative directory websites, which include:

Once the information is cleaned up there, you’ll want to check other listings on the lower tier directory sites like:

But that doesn’t mean the job is easy, or done. When you fix an incorrect listing, it’s common for it to come back up again, since there’s not a single authority source of information for business NAP data. If you take the time to fix a Bing listing, Bing may see the listing (the wrong one) still exists on another site, and recreate it automatically.

As frustrating as the situation is, cleaning it up is essential to ranking locally. It will take time to get it done, and it will require diligence, but it can be done. The best part is, you can get the clean up done in ways that are not cost prohibitive.

 

Where Should You Enter Your NAP?

Your NAP needs to be entered using the same format anywhere it’s mentioned online – whether it’s your website, a newspaper article, a blog post, or a profile on any directory. It should always be included in text format, so Google and other search engine robots can read it. If it’s an image format, the search engines won’t “read” it like we can.

Here’s a list of some directories and websites to help you get started:

 

Building Citations

When you have all the NAP variations ready to go, you’re ready to start building citations. All you have to do is check all the NAP variations on the site before you submit a listing. This way, you’re not creating a duplicate listing.

You have two ways you can do this – using the site’s search feature to search by either the business name or phone number, or using Google. As simple as using a site’s own search feature is, it’s not the most reliable method, so I always recommend using Google.

Search it like this:

Site: domain.com “phone1”

Site: domain.com “phone2”

Site: domain.com “name1”

Site: domain.com “name2”

Site: domain.com “address1”

Site: domain.com “address2”

If you find an existing listing, follow the steps required to claim it and then update it. If you do not find a listing, follow the steps required to submit one. When you edit or submit listings, make sure they are fill out the profiles completely, with photos and descriptive copy.

 

What if You Have Multiple Locations?

Whether you have two locations, or tens of thousands of locations, clear and trustworthy location signals are necessary to high local ranking. But, with each location you have, keeping that information clear and trustworthy becomes more difficult.

You want a structured localized presence for your multiple location business, and you can do this using either subdomains or subfolders. Subfolders are typically the easiest, but if you only have a handful of locations, you could also create pages for each of them, and link out to them from a main location page. Treat the location pages as a landing page for each store location, optimizing accordingly for each locality.

If you’re a larger scale business with a bigger number of locations, you may want to consider the subdomain approach. You can piggy back on the root domain’s SEO “juice”, but now you’re able to optimize for the subdomain instead of the root. For example, if you owned redcars.com, and one of the countries you served is France, you could create france.redcars.com, and optimize the subdomain content specifically for your French customers. The local relevancy will boost your local SEO and improve your overall user experience to help increase conversions.

Do not rely on a single directory listing for multiple locations. Create separate listings for each location. Do not list corporate headquarter locations that do not serve customers. This approach doesn’t help local search or your customers. Many directories, including Google My Business now allow you to create multiple listings and optimize each according to their actual location.

 

Benefits of NAP Consistency

You’ll be able to increase your organic rankings since the information is the same and accurate across all channels. Whenever you move locations or change a phone number, you should update all citations as soon as possible.

You will appear higher in local search results on mobile devices and desktops. As such, you should see an increase in traffic, and hopefully an increase in calls from mobile devices. You’ll make it easier for new and existing customers to find your website and physical location.

 

Be Patient

NAP citations are a necessary evil for local SEO. If you find the process overwhelming, be patient and work methodically. If you’d rather not handle the task alone, the team here at Sach’s Marketing Group can take care of it for you.

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Social Media

How to Leverage Social Media for SEO

 

Social media development isn’t a Google ranking factor, simply because anyone can create a social profile on any number of networks at any time. A mere social presence would mean everyone would rank highly, but with the number of spam accounts out there offering zero value, it’s easy to see why the search engines don’t directly consider social media.

That doesn’t mean you should completely ignore social media for SEO, however, because it still has the power to influence ranking through increased visibility/brand awareness and increased linking potential… social signals do matter.

Google may not be telling us the true value of social signals, but there’s no doubt it plays a large part in SEO. It should be clear that social has a significant role to play when it comes to launching and maintaining a successful SEO strategy. – Dario Zadro

How to Set Up Social Media for SEO

It’s not enough to create profiles on your chosen networks, slap some content on there, and wait. To see

To see real benefit, it’s an extensive, on-going process involving multiple steps.

We’ll start as though you already have social profiles set up with a relatively decent following, but if you’re starting from scratch, you’ll want to do a bit more homework to develop a content strategy that will attract the right kinds of followers, and you’ll have to hit it hard with promotion to get your brand and social activity in front of the right eyes.

Even if it means investing in paid advertising across social platforms, you must start the ball rolling.

Step One: Create Contagious Content Related to Your Products and Services

Notice we don’t say “viral” content – everyone has a different definition of viral, and there’s no guarantee your content will ever reach that level. We say contagious because it’s the kind of content that people

We say contagious because it’s the kind of content that people want to spread. Could contagious content become viral content? It’s always possible, but setting out with going viral in mind could lead to disappointment later.

How do you create contagious content? The STEPPS Formula, found in Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger is the best place to start. According to this theory, your content must hit on one or more of the following:

  • Social Currency: Something about the content makes people either look or feel good by sharing it with their audience. Remember the old Tempurpedic commercials where they showed someone jumping on a bed with a glass of red wine, that didn’t spill? You respond with amazement and want to order one – then tell your friends about it.
  • Triggers: It’s easy to remember so it keeps your idea, products, or services at the forefront of the reader’s mind. Think slogan, jingle, logo…
  • Emotion: Invokes some sort of emotion. Emotional value statistically means the content is more likely to be shared. However, certain emotions are shared more often than others. A 2013 study from Moz revealed positive emotion was more common in viral content, with the top emotions being: amusement, interest, surprise, happiness, and delight. The bottom emotions were: anger, politeness, frustration, doubt, and embarrassment.
  • Public: Share something people will imitate. If you create a campaign that will advertise itself, people will eagerly participate. The Lay’s Do Us a Flavor contest where people are asked to submit their own flavor ideas for a chance to win full production and a monetary prize is a prime example.
  • Practical Value: Something informative and useful.
  • Stories: Telling a compelling story should generate buzz. Take a look at the TOMS Shoes. The brand story tells customers the company was born after seeing children without shoes while traveling in Argentina in 2006. His company matches each purchase with a new pair of shoes for children in need. See how that story also hits on emotion? The company since went on to launch TOMS eyewear, to give the gift of sight to children in 13 countries.

Keep it related to your products and services so you attract targeted audience members. You can totally make people laugh with a funny cat video, but unless you’re selling products to cat owners, it doesn’t belong in your social media development campaign.

Dove is well known for their success with their 2013 Real Beauty Sketches campaign, where FBI sketch artists drew faces based on the individual’s description to demonstrate how overly critical of ourselves we really are. The campaign was shared over 630,000 times on Facebook within 10 days. But since then, they have sought to change the language of social media to transform it into a more positive place with the #SpeakBeautiful campaign.

Step Two: Listen to Your Audience

After you’ve developed the contagious content, it’s time to listen to what people are saying about it. Watch your social channels, and use social listening tools to keep your ear to the ground. Schedule time to be present, engage, and respond. This will go a long way in making your customers feel heard and appreciated. In turn, this reinforces a positive brand image and encourages further engagement.

Take airline JetBlue for example – they are highly responsive to tweets from their customers, as shown in the screenshot below. Aim for that level of responsiveness with your own accounts, and you’ll no doubt see a rise in customer satisfaction.

 

 

Step Three: Monitor and Adjust

Use your analytics and other SEO tools to monitor how the social activity is impacting your backlink profile.

Your social profiles and content posted there will be indexed, so your social media development campaigns have a better chance of helping increase ranking. Go beyond the basic social status update to include multiple types of content, such as video, images, and reviews.

These forms of content are often syndicated by other outlets to further spread the message in your campaign.

As you gather more data about how well your social campaigns are performing and how that performance is affecting your SEO, make adjustments as you see fit. Use the lessons learned from one campaign as a way to improve the next, and so on.

Although social media for SEO may not improve the ranking of your website directly, it definitely matters to the success of any online marketing for your business. Instead of worrying about the implications of each and how they affect your desired outcome, focus on the value you provide your customers and keep them in the center of any campaign. It is that consistent customer-centric approach that will translate to success.

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock

Do you have any first-hand experience impacting your SEO results with social media activity?  If so, please share it in the comments section below.

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SMG News

Sachs Marketing Group Rated #8 Top Local SEO Firm

Sachs Marketing Group is proud to announce that our company has been rated #8 top local SEO firm for both February and March 2015 by TopSEOs. TopSEOs, an independent authority on search vendors, rates local companies based on customer satisfaction, competitive advantage, and general industry knowledge. We have received the “Best in Search” award for the Local SEO category and are very honored to have been recommended by TopSEOs in our field.

If you’re interested in reading more,  you can visit our page on TopSEOs.com.

 

Local SEO presents a range of challenges that stem from the need to appeal to a specific geographic audience while also contending with a dynamic online landscape. One of the key challenges is the intense competition, especially in densely populated areas or for popular industries. Local businesses are not only competing with each other but also with larger, national brands that have a local presence. This competition makes it crucial to have a finely-tuned SEO strategy that can help a business stand out in local search results.

Another major challenge is the constant evolution of search engine algorithms. Google frequently updates its algorithm, and these changes can significantly impact local search rankings. Staying abreast of these changes and understanding how to adapt is crucial for maintaining visibility. There’s also the challenge of managing local listings and reviews, which are vital for local SEO. Ensuring that a business’s information is consistent across various directories and platforms can be time-consuming, and managing customer reviews requires constant attention.

Moreover, local SEO demands a deep understanding of the local audience and market. This includes knowledge of local keywords, the interests and behavior of the local population, and how to create content that resonates with a local audience. All these factors must be seamlessly integrated into a business’s overall online presence.

This is where an award-winning local SEO company becomes invaluable. Such a company brings expertise in navigating the complexities of local SEO. They have the tools and knowledge to conduct thorough market research, identify and target the right local keywords, and optimize a business’s website and content for local search. They are adept at managing online reputations, including handling customer reviews and local backlinks, which are critical components of local SEO.

Furthermore, an experienced local SEO company can provide tailored strategies that align with a business’s unique goals and the specific characteristics of their local market. They stay updated with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes, ensuring that their strategies remain effective and relevant. Their ability to track, analyze, and adjust strategies based on real-time data helps in maximizing a business’s online potential and achieving sustained growth in a competitive local market.

In summary, the challenges of local SEO are significant, but they can be effectively addressed with the expertise of an award-winning local SEO company. Such a partnership can lead to enhanced local visibility, a stronger online presence, and ultimately, business growth in the targeted local market.

 

 

 

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SMG News

Sachs Marketing Group Recognized for SEO and Digital Marketing

Sachs Marketing Group Stands Out Among Peers

Clutch is an online service that uses a rigorous and proprietary research methodology to identify leading mobile app developers, digital marketing agencies, Web developers, IT consultants and system integrators. Thanks to its careful vetting, Clutch enables potential buyers to separate the small group of elite performers from the mass of mediocre firms claiming to be leaders.

Because Clutch spoke to four of our client references and produced a robust report, we are excited to announce that the firm has listed us as a top SEO Consultant. An impressive feature of Clutch’s vetting process is client reviews. Clutch conducts phone interviews with clients of listed firms, and then transcribes the interviews on its website, allowing you to see exactly what customers say about the firm you are considering doing business with.

Needless to say, it’s extremely helpful to hear what customers say about a business to compare to a firms website and online profile. The following quote from a longtime client echoes the positive feedback given by all four clients that worked with us, “What I really loved is that I can call them anytime and tell them what I need. They can get it done. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I’ve never had a better experience with a SEO agency.”

To date, Clutch has reviewed more than 600 companies in 50+ markets. In addition to client reviews, Clutch considers key, real world factors such as client projects, client referrals, experience, reputation, quality, cost, and efficient delivery of services. We are proud to have received this recognition from Clutch and are grateful to both our clients and to Clutch for sharing these positive reviews.

Want to know more? You can view the full press release here on PR Newswire.

If you are reading this on any blog other than SachsMarketingGroup.com, it is stolen content without credit.
You can find us on Twitter at @Sachs_Marketing and Facebook via Sachs Marketing Group.
Come and visit our blog at https://sachsmarketinggroup.com/blog/

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SMG News

A Spooktacular Halloween for Sachs Marketing Group

Happy Halloween from the Sachs Marketing Group team! The SMG team enjoyed dressing up and celebrating the holiday together with a potluck lunch. Kaylee even created her own version of the Sachs Marketing Group mascot and dressed up as SMG Girl! From all of us here at Sachs Marketing Group, we want to wish you a happy and safe holiday!

Charlie, our company cat, also felt right at home with Samantha and Khoa dressed as cats!

If you are reading this on any other blog than Sachs Marketing Group or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.
You can find me on Twitter via @SMGguy
Come and visit our blog at https://sachsmarketinggroup.com/blog/

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SEO Social Media

Organic Search and Social Networking – The Great Crossover

Not long ago, there was a clear separation between organic search results and social media channels. Recently, that has changed dramatically. The line that used to separate these two online elements has become blurred.

Google’s very advanced algorithms are picking up on what we call “Social Signals” and those signals are impacting organic search results and rankings.

This all started with Google + and has now bled into Facebook, Twitter and various other social media channels. The basic theory is this:

If your friends like something, you will probably like it too – makes sense right?

At Sachs Marketing Group, we do our best to capitalize on this concept and we wanted to share with our clients and site visitors what we have been doing that seems to be working well:

1. We conduct detailed research into our clients’ audience – the people who are listening. We learn who they are, where they are and why they are listening. If we can determine what they like, we are better able to give it to them!

2. We identify the people who are influencing the topics in our clients’ industries and follow them on social media channels. We also follow the people who follow these influencers. Finally, we follow the people whom these influencers are following. We do our best to get all of these people to follow us.

3. We design and implement apps on Facebook. These apps are designed to engage our clients’ fan-base. Our apps provide a platform for us to run contests, sweepstakes, group coupons and other incentive-type elements that encourage people to share our content on their personal social media platforms. We also share white papers, informative lists and other content that we believe our clients’ audience will find useful, interesting and relevant.

4. We integrate a social media analytics platform into our administration of social networking campaigns for our clients. This allows us to determine how often our Facebook posts and Twitter “tweets” are being shared, re-posted, liked, favorited and clicked. We use Bufferapp.com for this process. We track our progress and try to capitalize on any trends that become evident to us.

All of these efforts are aimed at leveraging the tremendous power of social networking, sharing and social signals.

 

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