From a Fort Collins SEO: Why Links Still Matter When It Comes to SEO in 2018SEO is constantly changing. Every year, Google concentrates its focus on new priorities and objectives that often causes SEO principles to fluctuate as well. Therefore, it’s reasonable to suspect that the SEO practices you use now won’t be entirely relevant in the next five years, thanks to Google that is. One common SEO principle that will never go out of style are links, and there are many reasons why. Building links across the Internet is still one of the most viable methods of increasing your website ranking, receiving massive leads, and promoting your brand awareness. In this article, you will learn why links still matter as it relates to SEO in 2018. Links are Essential to Content MarketingIf you are devoting a majority of your resources to your content marketing goals, you need to focus on getting the most out of your efforts. Many websites often create content for the sole purpose of link building. In practice, this task involves creating viral content for the purpose of being aggregated on third-party sites. Once your original content receives multiple backlinks, your organic could grow exponentially once your content is introduced to large audiences. This tactic still remains important for websites and publications. Backlinks are still a primary determining factor in Google’s search algorithm. Therefore, taking a committing approach to creating valuable online content that gets shared on social media or credited on major third-party sites is an excellent way of boosting your SEO tremendously. Links Build AuthorityObtaining relevant links are essential towards building authority in your niche. For example, if you are an electrician, receiving a link from an authority electrician website is a great way to build the authority of your business. Further, the potential of your links depends on the popularity of the website who credits your website. Understandably, it’s obvious that a link from New York Times is much more valuable than a link from a website that hasn’t created a post since 2012. Therefore, if you want to pursue receiving links from other websites, make sure that these websites are popular within their sector. By doing so, you can reach a large audience and allow others to view you as an authoritative business. Google Loves Link DiversityObtaining links from a wide range of sources lets Google know that your website is popular online; thereby, increasing your chances of boosting your SEO and conversion rate. Here are the types of places you should consider having your links placed: ● Niche-specific blogs As you can see, having your links posted in these destinations can improve your diversity. As such, Google will be more inclined to increase your website ranking and also make your website visible to users who may search for products and services that you offer. Overall, links are still fairly important to SEO in 2018. As a result, websites should still focus on distributing their links across the web to secure a vital SEO boost. The post Why Links Still Matter When It Comes to SEO in 2018 appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/fort-collins-links-matter-2018/
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Using Hashtags Correctly in Your Social Media MarketingI’m sure there are a number of people who which the hashtag craze was over. I understand why. I’ve seen enough posts with an overload of hashtags. I often tend to just scroll right past that kind of post. Usually, the people whose posts are obnoxiously filled with hashtags simply don’t know the purpose of a hashtag and how to use them properly. Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Using hashtags correctly could completely change the way you think about them and could become an effective marketing tool for you. What Are Hashtags?
A Hashtag is a word or word phrase (without spaces) preceded by what used to be known as the pound sign (#). These words or phrases are used to categorize and group your social media content with other posts that use the same hashtag. This then makes it easy for users to search that hashtag and find a collection of posts with a similar theme or topic. It’s a great way to find content you are interested in or to get connected with other users who share similar content.
Are You Using Hashtags Incorrectly?
It’s not hard to conclude that someone doesn’t understand the purpose of hashtags when they include one like this: #sooverwhelmedwithmycrazylifethisweek That’s a dramatic example, but let me explain. Hashtags aren’t just a trend of being too lazy to stick a space between your words. They’re not just a way to make your post “cute.” Hashtags are used to categorize posts and make content searchable. If no one would ever dream of searching for your hashtag or including the same one in another post, it’s probably unnecessary. If you are doing any of these things when hashtagging on social media, you are not using hashtags correctly.
Using Hashtags Correctly
In archery, your goal is to aim with precision. You focus on shooting each arrow right at the center of the target. You’re not going to send arrows flying in every direction and hope somehow you hit the target. Think of hashtags in the same way.
Use Precision, Be Relevant
When choosing hashtags for a post, make sure you are choosing a word or phrase that is extremely relevant to the post and very specific. For example, we might share a post about social media marketing, and hashtag it exactly that way: #socialmediamarketing. You always want to choose a hashtag that is going to generate search and traffic in order to help more people find your content. And to actually generate more traffic to your pages, you need to make sure when you include a hashtag, it’s adding value to the conversation in a hashtag feed.
Choose Hashtags That Are Already Trending
You don’t always have to create a new hashtag, especially if the audience you want to reach is unlikely to use or search it. Find out which hashtags, related to the types of content you post, are trending already and jump on board. When you include trending hashtags, your content is more likely to be discovered.
Create Brand-Related Hashtags
If you are looking for a way to get your followers involved or simply want to categorize a series of posts for easy search, you can create your own brand-related hashtag. When doing so, make sure that hashtag is not already being used. Choose something that is short and easy to spell. Remember not to add any spaces or special characters to the hashtag (you can use numbers). Include that hashtag with any post you want to pool in that category. If you want to get your followers involved, encourage them to post with your hashtag. For example, a coffee shop might encourage customers to post a picture with their drink at the coffee shop and include the branded hashtag. Don’t Go Overboard
If you’ve hung around at all in the SEO world, keyword stuffing is a BAD idea. While over-hashtagging won’t get Google to penalize you, you may still be hurting yourself with bad hashtag habits. Trying to include every keyword you can think of as a hashtag is going to look spammy, like keyword stuffing. Instead, for social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, or Google+, choose two, or three at the most, very specific and relevant keywords for your post. And if you’re afraid you won’t reach as many people with so few, remember that the more hashtags you include in one post, the less engagement it will get. In the hashtag world, less is more.
Tips for Using Hashtags on Various Platforms
Part of using hashtags correctly is going to depend on the social media platform you are using. Twitter is perhaps the most popular place to use hashtags, but other social platforms have jumped on the trend as well. When using Twitter, remember that hashtags there tend to be more focused on a certain topic or conversation. See this for help on choosing hashtags for Twitter. Hashtags on Instagram, on the other hand, are used more as image descriptions. Another thing to note is that on Instagram, you can get away with a few more hashtags, up to 7 or 8, without being seen as spammy. On Instagram, people use hashtags as search terms to find related images. On Twitter, even if people are not following you, they can find your post when they search your hashtag. On Facebook and Instagram, however, if you have a private profile or share certain posts only with friends, your post will not appear in the feed of that hashtag. If you want to use hashtags to be found beyond your current friend or follower list, you need to make sure that your account or your specific posts are set to public.
Final Thoughts
Hashtags, if used correctly, can become powerful tools to grow your reach and audience. When you take advantage of them, hashtags can be a free marketing tool that will make your content more discoverable and more likely to be shared, too. While we’ll more than likely continue to see people spamming up their posts with hashtags that may never be searched, you can begin to use hashtags with strategy and precision. Over-hashtagging isn’t the only social media mistake people make. Check out this post for more social media mistakes you should avoid. To learn more about social media marketing, visit our blog or contact Red Rocket Web Specialists. The post Using Hashtags Correctly in Your Social Media Marketing appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/using-hashtags-correctly-social-media-marketing/ Viral Marketing: What Your Business Can Learn from IHOBWhen the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) temporarily changed its name to the International House of Burgers (IHOB) this month, it caused an uproar in the burger community. Everyone was scratching their heads at this incredulous, even foolhardy move. Changing the name may not have successfully shifted the focus of one of the most recognizable breakfast diner chains in the United States to burgers, but the name change is an excellent example of viral marketing. Fort Collins SEO agency, Red Rocket Web Specialists, weighs in what can be learned from this viral campaign. You might not have agreed with IHOP becoming IHOB, and indeed the breakfast chain is remaining IHOP, but chances are that you noticed the change. IHOP is now top-of-mind due to their unique viral marketing campaign. A Mysterious, Cryptic RolloutUsing social media platforms to draw interest and increase brand engagement is nothing new, but IHOP used its social media outlets to build interest in and mystery around its name change. The basic concept behind viral marketing is the spread of brand recognition from person to person, as you would spread a cold virus. An IHOP customer sees a strange tweet by the company Twitter handle, they retweet it, re-post it on other social media platforms, and on it goes. The customers are essentially doing the work of the advertising team by spreading the ‘news’ to more and more people until most people with Internet access in the US know about it. When IHOP made its announcement, it engaged users by asking them to predict what the new ‘B’ would stand for in the name. With Twitter users pouring in with responses, views of IHOP logo and the mystery surrounding its new ‘B’ only grew. Viral Marketing with a PurposeIn the end, only a few, highly-publicized IHOPs changed their signs out front. There were no menu subtractions, only the clear branding message that IHOP is re-focusing on its lunch and dinner offerings and adding several new burger items to the menu. I bet the first thing that you thought about IHOP before this viral marketing campaign was breakfast, specifically pancakes. But now, your perception of the brand, IHOP or IHOB, is different. It has expanded to include lunch and dinner in the IHOP discussion. IHOP has successfully altered its perception in a positive way, and you don’t even have to be a follower of IHOP on Twitter to know that the restaurant offers new burgers for lunch and dinner now. What Have We Learned?We learned that viral marketing can shift brand perception quickly when done the right way. There is no one way to spread brand awareness and shift perception using viral methods, but if you’re creative, create engaging and fun online content, and respond to your audience, you might not break the Internet, but you can create a successful viral marketing campaign. To see how this can work in real-time for your brand, contact Red Rocket Web Specialists. The post Viral Marketing: What Your Business Can Learn from IHOB appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/viral-marketing-what-you-can-learn-from-ihob/ Using Social Listening to Improve Your Business Social Media ContentAre Your Social Media Efforts A One-Way Conversation?How many times have we heard that listening is key to good communication? Probably more times than we can count. Hopefully, we’ve at least begun to learn this trick in our friendships and other relationships. Have you ever considered, however, how important listening is when it comes to your social media marketing as a company? Missing this key component of good communication could be causing us to miss out on better results.
What Is Social Listening?Social Listening: ‘listening’ to what others are saying about your industry and brand online in order to gain helpful insights that will help you improve your business, your products and services, and your social strategy.
Now let’s make sure we’re not getting social listening confused with social monitoring. Social monitoring is focused on collecting information about your social media efforts, including social mentions and engagement with your audience through your posts. Social monitoring focuses on responding to notifications about interactions with your posts. Social listening takes you beyond just monitoring current engagement but helps you take what you learned from those interactions to improve your content strategy. It helps you not only hear what your current audience needs, but takes you further to a greater potential audience that you could reach. What Are the Benefits of Social Listening?What if you began to listen to your audience to allow them to get in their two cents about what they would like to see your business do on social media? Do you think changing your content strategy based on what you learn from listening to your audience could increase engagement with your social marketing? Imagine with me some of the possible benefits you could gain.
How Do I Begin Social Listening?Start by knowing where your audience (or potential audience) hangs out. If the people you are trying to reach tend to gather on Facebook but you’re only active on Twitter, I’m afraid you’ve started your social media efforts on the wrong foot. Discover where your ideal audience is and then put your focus there. Pay Attention to Feedback on Your PostsThere are all kinds of ways to begin being purposeful about listening to your audience. One of the most obvious ways is to pay attention to comments people leave on your posts. Whether they’re giving you praise or criticism, perk up those social ears…you may just learn something that will help you take your social media marketing to a new level. Go beyond just common courtesy in responding to comments, but learn to extract valuable insight from those conversations to be able to share content your audience needs. Listen to Your ReviewsStart by checking out the reviews customers have left for you on Google or Facebook: the good, the bad, the ugly. Are there additional products or services people wish you would have offered? Is there something about your service that they loved that stands out above the crowd? Are you noticing a common problem people have that you could address in a Live video, blog article, or another type of social media post? Maybe there’s a common theme in the complaints people leave in your reviews. How can you fix or address them?
Check your competitors’ reviews for ideas as well. Notice any gaps in customer reviews that you could fill? Maybe there’s a service they don’t offer that you do. Perhaps there are concerns they haven’t addressed that would be relevant for you to address on your page.
Find out What Questions People Are AskingA great way to find out what people want to know about your niche is to check out a site like Quora or Yahoo Answers. The questions they are asking could help you gain all kinds of ideas for shareable content to create, from videos to blog posts, to infographics. You would be creating content that people have been looking for, even if they haven’t been directly asking you.
Look for the “People also ask” toggle when searching for a target keyword question in Google search to get additional ideas on common questions you could address for your audience. Spy on Your CompetitionOkay, don’t really spy on them. But do visit their social media pages to find out what they’re doing that is bringing good responses from their audience as well as what isn’t making much of an impression.
Have your competitors had requests to share about something, but they have never done it? You may be able to fill that gap. Have they shared information that just doesn’t fully satisfy a customer’s question? Create content that is thorough to share on your page.
Get a Bit More TrendyInstead of trying to rack your brain for new and inventive things to share, why not find out what is already trending with your audience and tap into those trends?
You can find out what’s trending and what people are discussing with these hacks:
Use a Tool to Social ListenStay in touch with what’s going on with your brand or related keywords beyond just monitoring your own social media pages. Try using one of these tools:
Try Taking a PollTaking a poll to find out what your audience wants to see you post may be the perfect approach for your business. Whether you leave it open-ended for people to comment out what they want to see or allow them to select one or more from a few options, this can be a great way to get answers straight from the people you want to reach.
ConclusionSo to wrap this all up, what is the whole goal of social listening and why should we be doing it?
Was this article helpful? You may also want to check out our Facebook Live session about social listening. The post Using Social Listening to Improve Your Business Social Media appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/social-listening-improve-business-social-media/ What Your Fort Collins Business Needs To Know About GDPRThe time is nearly upon us. General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) are coming to the United States, taking effect on May 25, 2018. Although this is a European Union regulation, it affects small and medium-sized business owners here in the US. In a nutshell, GDPR will make marketers change how they seek, obtain, and save consent to use personal data from their customers. Businesses that rely on customer data for marketing—both electronically and directly—will need to comply with the new regulations. So, how will these new regulations affect marketing Fort Collins businesses like yours? That’s a great question. Read on to discover more. Email MarketingAccording to Article 32 of the GDPR, email marketers will be required to obtain “freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous consent” from customers. Email marketers will need to shift their practices and provide new consumer opt-in permission rules, provide proof of consent storing systems, and provide a method by which customers can get their personal information removed from your database. These regulations apply to both B2B and B2C organizations. Soft opt-in and opt-out systems are no longer allowed under GDPR, and there are new regulations concerning third-party data as well. Profiling customers is still allowed, but there will be specific data subject rights that must be honored under GDPR. For example, heat map tracking or even PPC advertising campaigns are subject to GDPR.
Steps to GDPR ComplianceSo how do you know if your Fort Collins business is in compliance with GDPR? To be extremely generalized, GDPR compliance means that you must be transparent with the data you’re collecting, why you’re using the data, and how you’re disposing of the data once it’s been collected. For those interested in understanding the nuances of the GDPR, here’s a a checklist of actions to take to ensure you’re in compliance. Unfortunately, for most local business, the “gray areas” can become quite nebulous and quite confusing.
The GDPR applies to data collected before or after May 25th when it goes into effect, which means that you must have consent from everyone on your email contact list to prove you have the authorization to send email marketing campaigns. You’ll also have to ensure that all unsubscribe processes are clear and include options for individuals to opt out of particular marketing communications and company communications. You’ll need to make sure you also include a contact return email address. Direct Marketing and New ConsentDirect marketing (i.e., by mail or phone) is covered under the new GDPR and generally follows the same rules about consent and data use transparency. In short, you’ll have to obtain consent from customers, provide them with information about how their data is used, and give them clear opt-out options. You likely won’t have to obtain new consent forms from all of your customers. If you’ve gotten consent for direct marketing campaigns that is up to the new GDPR standards, you won’t have to get consent again.
For those of you who prefer audio over reading, marketing thought leader Amy Porterfield had a great interview with Bobby Klinck about this very topic. Still Confused About GDPR?If you’re still confused about GDPR and whether or not you’re in compliance, you’re not alone. To complicate matters, sites like Google have sent out emails to site owners with Google Analytics that are full of technical terms most local businesses may not understand. If you’d like the opinion of a web specialist, give us a call. We’re happy to set up a consultation to make sure your business is ready for the May 25th GDPR deadline. The post GDPR: What Your Fort Collins Business Needs To Know appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/gdpr-fort-collins-local-business/ 6 Chrome Extensions that Have 10x’d Our TimeAt Red Rocket, we’re always looking for ways to make our days most productive. We love to find tools that help us accomplish more in a shorter amount of time without compromising excellence in our work.
If you’re a Chrome user like we are, we’d love to share with you 6 Chrome extensions that have 10x’d our time.
LoomLoom is free online video and screen recording software that enables you to create a recording right from your Chrome browser. This extension has recently become a favorite here in our office.
Because not all of our design team works from our office location in Fort Collins, we often need a way to communicate website design and development ideas with those people in a way that won’t be confusing. Honestly, typing up an explanation and including screenshots to get an idea across isn’t always the most effective or efficient. We love using loom to take a quick screen recording that allows us to explain and show exactly what needs to be done on a certain project. We can choose to record the entire screen or just a specific tab. The videos we create are stored in our personal online accounts where they won’t take up computer space. We can then easily attach the link to the video in an email, in a task management app, or in an instant message. You can also grab the link that will allow you to embed the video directly to a desired page.
Just recently, we published a blog post about creating a content calendar. We created a content calendar template and then attached a video tutorial created with Loom to show people how to use our template. There is so much you can do with this tool!
BufferBuffer is a social media management tool that allows you to create and schedule posts ahead of time. The Buffer extension makes it extremely easy to share content that you are enjoying from wherever you are on the web. All you have to do is click on the Buffer extension icon, add the message you want to share (they already attach the webpage link for you), and then either add it to your queue, publish it immediately, or schedule it for a different time. You never have to leave the current webpage you are on. NOTE: Paid buffer users can also take advantage of Pablo. Pablo allows users to create social media graphics directly within the Chrome browser.
HootletHootSuite is another social media management tool that we love to use. And like Buffer, they also have a Chrome extension. The Hootlet extension for HootSuite allows you to share content from the page you are browsing. You can choose to use the pre-populated message or create your own along with the attached link. You are able to post it immediately, schedule it for later, or have Hootsuite auto schedule for you.
OneTabEver find yourself with a nearly unmanageable number of tabs open in your browser? We have. And we’ve found ourselves enjoying OneTab for that very reason. When you install this extension, you are able to click on the icon in your extension bar and immediately convert all of your tabs into a neat, clickable list in one tab. You can then choose to individually open tabs as you need them or you can restore them all at once.
If you need to share multiple pages with someone, you can use OneTab to send them the list of pages in one URL instead of sending multiple links. You can also export your tab URLs to conveniently copy them into a document or spreadsheet.
LastPassUsing a secure password manager is a time saver in itself. The one we love to use is LastPass, and the Chrome extension is something we might not be able to live without. From being able to fill in passwords and forms to instantly generating new secure passwords, we’re saving plenty of time. You don’t have to click back to your LastPass tab to find login information to copy and paste. You can also search your password vault right from the extension.
Check out our post, “Password Security: Tools and Tips For Small Businesses,” to learn more about using a password manager.
MailboostIf you’re looking for a great extension that will increase your email productivity in Gmail, you may want to try this one. This extension allows you to schedule emails ahead of time, set up email reminders so you don’t forget to respond to a client, track when your emails are opened, and create email templates that you can select right from your email composer window.
Those are just a few tools that have helped us save time. What are your favorite time-saving tools? Let us know on Facebook; we’d love to hear about them!
For more productivity tips, check out this post: Google App Hacks You May Not Have Thought About Using.
The post 6 Chrome Extensions that Have 10x’d Our Time appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/6-chrome-extensions-that-have-10xd-our-time/ Creating a content calendar can seem daunting when you don’t know where to start. You may think you can continue just fine without one, so why would you bother? I’m going to start by just giving you a few reasons why you need a social media content calendar. Trust me, it will help your life feel more organized when it comes to creating and promoting your content. Creating Your Content StrategyYou’ll get a better grip on your content marketing when you have strategy. You can’t have strategy without a clear plan, and that’s where your content calendar comes in. Having a content calendar allows you to plan and organize your social marketing ahead of time in order to get better results. Don’t Miss a Date Those important holidays and events won’t take you by surprise. When you create your content calendar, you can plan ways to post unique content for key dates and events in your industry. You won’t be scrambling last minute to find a creative way to promote the launch of a new product, to create a post for national _____ day, etc. You’ll have time to plan content that’s worth sharing. Fill in the Gaps Having a content calendar will give you a clear visual of where there are still gaps to fill in your social media marketing. Work Well as a Team A content calendar is a great way to work on social media as a team without stepping on each other’s toes and overwriting someone else’s work. Become Consistent When you have a calendar, you are better able to provide consistency for your followers instead of having a hit-and-miss posting pattern. Make Your Life a Little Easier Having a social media schedule to follow can make it easier to come up with shareable content. For example, you may choose a theme for a week or month in your social media calendar (or maybe you have certain types of posts for various days of the week). Then when you are collecting content to share, you know exactly what kinds of things you need to create or find. That’s just a taste of what a social media calendar can do for you. If that sounds like something you need, you may want to keep reading. Before You Create Your CalendarIt’s going to be challenging to make your content calendar if you don’t hash out a few details beforehand. Here are a few steps you’ll want to take before you begin:
Tools for Creating Your Content CalendarFor any assigned task or project, you need the right tools to get a great end result. The tool you choose for your content calendar will depend on the specific needs you and your marketing team have. For that reason, we’ll highlight several tools here that you can use to create your content calendar. Google CalendarThis is an excellent tool to use not only for your personal and work schedule, but also for creating your social media schedule. I love this tool because it’s easy to use and can be easily shared with any number of team members. And if you didn’t know, it’s also available as a mobile app. Not only are you able to make a schedule, but you can create reminders, color code events, create multiple calendars, create task lists, and so much more. TrelloTrello, an online project management app, is a favorite here at Red Rocket. Not only is it an excellent way to assign and track multiple projects and assignments, but it’s an excellent tool to create your social content calendar. With the ability to create multiple different project boards, lists, and individual tasks/cards, you can organize your information in a way that makes it easy for team members to collaborate and make sure each assigned task gets completed. AsanaAsana is another tool we’d recommend for your social media calendar. If your business social media is a team project, you’ll appreciate this task management tool that allows you to track projects and tasks and keep everything organized. You can use their calendar view to create your schedule and assign social media tasks to individuals on your team. And of course, there’s always something satisfying about a tool that allows you to check off a task when it’s complete. Google SheetsGoogle sheets is yet another collaboration tool that may be exactly what you need to create a content calendar that works well for you. You can choose to give as many team members access to view and edit as you like. Excel SpreadsheetIf you’ve been using Excel for a while, you may feel most comfortable creating your calendar in an Excel spreadsheet. This will be a bit more challenging as far as collaboration goes but is otherwise an excellent way to organize your upcoming social posts. Using the 5-3-2 Rule to Create Your Content ScheduleHave you ever followed a business or brand on social media that seemed to do nothing but try to sell you something? If so, I’m guessing that you probably did one of two things: you either quit following them, or you started ignoring their posts. If you’re nodding your head in agreement, you’re not alone. This traditional “pitch” is also known as push marketing. When using this approach, brands are pushing their information to you in hopes of making the sale. In contrast to push marketing, there’s “pull” marketing. This is also commonly referred to as “inbound.” Inbound marketing is magnetic. Rather than pushing your agenda on a customer or client, you’re inviting them to be a part of the conversation. When done properly, inbound garners trust, excitement, and delight in a brand. So what is the 5-3-2 rule? The 5-3-2 rule is simple: out of every 10 social media posts you make, 5 should be something users could find value in, 3 should be something about your business, and 2 posts should be your call to action (CTA). Of course, you’ll want to mix up the order of the 5-3-2 posts. Let’s dive into this a little deeper with some practical, real-life examples that you can use when creating your content calendar.
5 – Posts of Value When considering what kinds of things to post for your “5 posts of value,” ask yourself the following questions:
If you can answer these questions with a “yes,” then the piece of content you’re about to share is probably pretty good.
3 – Relevant Posts About Your Business For the 3 relevant posts about your business, this is your opportunity to tell people what’s going on with your company. If you’re stuck on ideas for topics, here are just a few to get you started:
2 – Call To Action Posts Before getting started with these posts, have a clear understanding of what you want users to do. This could be registering for an upcoming event, downloading a whitepaper or e-book, or simply liking your page. Having a goal in mind will make your call to action much more focused. As a general rule of thumb for businesses just starting out with 5-3-2, pick one call to action and repeat it for at least 1-2 months. While your call-to-action may be old news for you, it may be brand new to someone who’s just seeing your posts for the first time.
Keep It EvergreenWhen creating a content calendar, it’s important to remember that it’s OK to reuse evergreen content. Evergreen content is content that your followers may find useful but doesn’t necessarily have an expiration date (like a holiday post or something seasonal).
Where a lot of people get stuck is that they feel like they constantly have to come up with new content. While it’s true, new content is something that establishes the authority of your business, don’t be afraid to “recycle” old social media posts that have performed well. Consider the fact that the average lifespan of a tweet is 18-minutes and a Facebook post is less than 5 hours. It’s not a bad idea to make sure that those golden blog post ideas get the proper kind of promotion they deserve.
Hopefully, this article helps you as you become more efficient at planning your content calendar. We’d love to hear about any additional comments, strategies, or insights you have. Let’s connect through any of our social media platforms; we’d love to hear from you. The post Creating Your Social Media Content Calendar (Template Included) appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/content-calendar/ 6 Reasons SEO is a Great Investment for Your BusinessContrary to what you may have heard, SEO is not dead. It’s also not dying. In fact, it’s not facing extinction in the least. Not now, or for the foreseeable future.
For those of you who’ve been hibernating the past decade, SEO is an area of marketing that focuses on improving your organic search traffic by improving your rankings on search results pages.
In a nutshell, SEO improves your ranking, which drives more traffic to your website, which can ultimately result in more leads and sales. The intent is simple; the execution, however, is a bit trickier. There are numerous aspects to SEO, from keywords to links, and a whole lot in between. But the one question on your mind is, “Why should I care about SEO?”
SEO Isn’t Going AnywhereYou’re probably thinking you’ll just ride it out and wait for this SEO fad to pass. News Alert: SEO is no fad, and it’s not going anywhere.
Search engines are the starting point for most web activity. A study by Groupon found that 60% of their traffic comes from organic search. A study by SimilarWeb found that Yelp received a whopping 69% of their traffic thanks to organic search.
SEO is a common marketing strategy, whether you’re a startup or a standout, whether you’re Groupon, Yelp, or a small mom and pop business. And while you may not always know exactly what rules you’re playing under with continual algorithm changes, you can count on SEO to be relevant for a very long time.
No one can see the future. However, with mobile browsing recently surpassing desktop browsing, and the fact that people always have their phones on them, we feel pretty good about predicting a healthy future for SEO.
SEO Works
It’s popular because it works. It spawns thousands of written articles and millions of conversations because it works. We’re in the SEO business because it works!
According to Optimus, 81% of internet users get to websites through search engines. Is that really a group you want to ignore?
Proper SEO techniques are always relevant regardless of changes Google makes periodically. If you focus on the user experience and design your SEO strategy with them in mind, you are a long ways ahead. But if you try gaming the system and ignore your site visitors, your traffic might suddenly get shut off like you forgot to pay a utility bill.
Good Return
No one enjoys throwing money away on marketing. And while measuring a return on your investment can sometimes be difficult, SEO is near the top for producing long-term results at a good cost.
There’s a lot of gray area when it comes to SEO results. Someone who has little experience and poor techniques is going to have a hard time keeping up with seasoned SEO veterans who live, eat, and breathe this stuff. This brings up a good point when it comes to marketing:
You get what you pay for.
Forbes contributor, Jason DeMers, recently wrote an entire article on the dangers of outsourcing your SEO to the cheapest provider.
Long-Term Results
Businesses cannot afford to indulge in short-term thinking. SEO requires a bit of patience. But if you can muster it up and have a solid SEO strategy, you’ll be rewarded over the long haul.
If you’re looking for immediate results at any cost, perhaps it’s time to meet PPC advertising. If you’re a gambler and not too concerned about ROI or have money to burn, the two of you will be very happy together. But if you’re looking for something that will last and have the kind of impact compound interest has, you’re in the right place.
Your Competition Is Doing It
What if we told you that the only difference between your business failing and succeeding was the strength of your online presence?Now, what if we told you that the strength of your online presence relies on your business SEO strategy?
We’ve gotten to a point where more people are finding products and services online than offline, and this will only continue trending upward. If you want people to find you, you’ll need to work on appearing in organic search results. And remember, more than likely your competition is trying to do the same, and has been for a while.
Increase Revenue
Marketing is meant to produce leads and sales and sales produce revenue, so increased revenue as a result of good SEO is a given.
It’s simple logic: the more people that can find your business means the more money you’ll make. In 2018, finding a business online means finding a business through search engines. Some things really are that simple.
SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. And when it’s done with the web visitor in mind, rather than search engine robots, it’s going to produce lasting results more times than not. The post 6 Reasons SEO is a Great Investment for Your Business appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/investing-in-seo/ Why You Should Care About Mobile-First IndexingIn November of 2016, Google announced its new mobile-first indexing. With the overwhelming rise in mobile devices, Google noticed that searcher origination had shifted. The majority of Google searches were now coming from mobile devices, but indexing algorithms were still designed around desktop-based keyword searches. Although the shift has been gradual, recent studies show that 57% of online traffic is now initiated from smartphones and tablets in comparison to the 43% being made from desktops. As the shift to mobile increased, Google was forced to acclimate their existing search engine indexing protocols.
Search engine indexing is used to collect and interpret search engine data in order to enhance web pages, making them more usable and provide relevant results. Through effective indexing, Google can better process information and quickly produce applicable results for search queries. Through an index, search engines are able to optimize their performance and efficiency. Through mobile-first indexing, Google will deliver more useful results to mobile-based searches. The Need For Indexing Change
Original Google indexing algorithms gather data as if all queries originated from desktop computers regardless if they actually do. This then ranks results based upon the desktop index, which resulted in search engine results pages (SERP) that were less relevant to the actual intent of mobile users. Mobile users were being redirected to mobile homepages rather than the information they were looking for.
Bad user experience in conjunction with dominating mobile traffic prompted Google to respond and adapt desktop algorithms to accommodate the ever-increasing number of mobile device search queries. Google’s mobile-first indexing modifies pre-algorithm evaluations, which in turn changes how content is added to the existing search engine index.
Google will now respond to search queries made from mobile devices based on calculated assumptions about mobile searcher intent. For example, a mobile user searching for where to buy a specific product is more likely looking for the closest physical store rather than an online marketplace. In comparison, desktop searchers likely have a different intent and are seeking to purchase this product online. Google’s mobile-first indexing is able to determine this, adjust results accordingly, and accommodate the growing demand for optimized mobile traffic.
The Impact Of Mobile-First Indexing
SEO will soon to be dominated by a mobile-first approach. Customers who initiate product searches from their mobile device are much more likely to make a purchase or conduct follow-up actions within 24 hours of the initial search. According to a recent study performed by Digital-Stats, 3 out of 4 searches made from mobile devices trigger a follow-up action with 55% of these conversions happening within an hour. Conversions tend to happen faster and more frequently on mobile devices.
These numbers are further affected by how accessible mobile devices are to consumers. The same Digital-Stats study found that 77% of mobile searches happen at work or home. This is significant because it means that even with immediate access to a desktop, users still opt to search with their phone or tablet. Convenience is king, even when it means saving a few seconds by reaching into your pocket for your phone instead of walking over to the computer. Mobile searches are also over two times more likely to be conducted in-store, further amplifying the likelihood of buying intent.
With such a significant increase in mobile searching and resulting conversions, Google places growing importance on implementing measures that will adapt and develop. Google’s mobile-first index is formatted to more efficiently crawl the web from a mobile perspective while reducing the algorithmic effort and overhead needed to then index and rank content.
Although its impact may not appear significant at first, it will increase over time. The digital world has shifted and is steadily transforming into a mobile-first platform. Google is intent on producing an index and search results that represent the mobile searchers that are proving to make up the majority of search engine users. SEO agents and webmasters will be required to act, updating their websites to match the changes in algorithms. Having a mobile-first perspective better allows companies to connect with users, putting information, services, products and more in the palms of their hands. Having mobile-first optimization better allows Google to organize your data and then place it in the hands of mobile users. The Basics For Google’s Mobile-First Index
A mobile-first index does not mean a mobile-only index. While Google prefers you to establish a mobile site, it will not yet require one; desktop sites will be indexed when a mobile site is not available. That being said, mobile sites will be looked at first, which with time could lead to penalization if you fail to progress and create a mobile site with comparable content as a desktop site.
The mobile-first index will rank both mobile and desktop sites based on data acquired while crawling from the mobile perspective. This will also result in a minimized importance on traditional links and HTML URLs for organizing the index and determining ranking; content with Schema signals, on-page structured markup, and XML feeds will instead provide more effective crawling entities. By distancing from the dependence on links and URLs, the mobile-first index will allow Google to better influence rankings based on more important aspects for mobile experience such as speed or engagement. Stepping away from traditional URL crawling will also make it possible to integrate the influence of app content and cloud hosting into the index and consequently ranking. By tapping into cloud hosting, indexed content can also provide insight into how users engage with any form of content.
Influences On Mobile-First Indexing
– Mobile-Friendly and Responsive: Being mobile-first means that your website needs to be both mobile-friendly and have a responsive design. Your site is mobile-friendly if it works the same across all devices. Responsive design means that your site has a clean and easy-to-navigate format on all devices. Since responsive design is the new standard, this shouldn’t be a concern for most webmasters. According to Gary Illyes in a recent SEJ article, sites that are already using responsive design for their websites will hardly be affected by the change. Websites that pre-date the mobile revolution, however, may want to consider investing in a mobile-first strategy.
– Site Speed: Site speed is also a major contributing factor. Even when desktop usage dominated, loading time had a large impact on SERPs. Today, it’s even more important for mobile pages to load quickly if they want to maintain positions in rankings.
– Format Articles for Mobile-Readership: This especially applies if your website publishes plenty of in-depth or long-form content. A 2,000 to a 3,000-word blog post that looks and reads great on a desktop might come across as too daunting to engage in on a mobile device. Try breaking your paragraphs up into no more than a few sentences. The goal is to avoid presenting the user with an intimidating wall of text.
– Differentiate Between Mobile Keywords and Desktop Keywords: In a recent study, out of 25 million keywords tested, 71% ranked differently in mobile vs. desktop searches. It wasn’t just low ranking keywords that were affected, either. For keywords ranking in the top 20 SERP results, nearly half ranked differently on mobile than they did on desktop. The difference comes from what Google now knows about user intent and how it differs between desktop and mobile. Users searching mobile devices want different things than desktop users, and they’re also more likely to convert.
Embracing Mobile-First Indexing
Google Webmasters had this to say about the future of mobile-first: “Our algorithms will eventually primarily use the mobile version of a site’s content to rank pages from that site.” Speculation aside, mobile-first is here to stay. Websites that are mobile-first will continue to rank well for both mobile and desktop search queries. Sites that fail to optimize for mobile risk seeing a drop in search engine results. By embracing the advancement of mobile technology, you will better be able to remain competitive in Google’s ever-changing domain. The post Why You Should Care About Mobile-First Indexing appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/mobile-first-indexing/ Google App Hacks You May not Have Thought About UsingMore than likely, you are already using Google apps and appreciating what they can do for you. Whether you mainly use a Gmail account or enjoy additional features they offer, there are probably some things you didn’t realize you could do that would make life just a bit easier. Check out these Google app hacks you may not have thought about using.
Gmail Email HacksIf you have an email account with Gmail, this blog post is for you. While most people know how to send and check emails in Gmail, you may have been missing out on these hacks:
Un-Send an Email within a Certain Time SpanEver made the mistake of sending an email to the wrong person but you realized it just after you hit the send button? Gmail has a solution for that. While you cannot unsend an email hours after it has been sent, you can alter your settings to provide a short grace period directly after you’ve hit the send button.
To set up this feature, login into your Gmail and then click on the gear in the upper right corner. Select ‘settings.’
Under the “General” tab, you will see the ‘Undo Send’ setting. Check the box to enable this feature and then select the number of seconds you want to give yourself as a cancellation period. Unsubscribe QuicklyI’m not sure why this is so easy to miss because it’s right there! You do not have to look for the unsubscribe button in the footer of an email. Gmail offers an unsubscribe button right next to the email of the sender. Gmail Mail CheckerTired of continually clicking back to your email tab to see if there’s anything new in your inbox? When you get the Google Mail Checker extension, you can see the number of unread messages in your inbox just by looking at the envelope icon in your extension bar.
Google Docs/Sheets HacksIf you are new to using Gmail, Google Docs and Sheets are free, web-based word documents and spreadsheets offered by Google to its Gmail users. Google Docs and Sheets are a great solution if you need to be able to access a document from anywhere on any device. It’s also a great way to share documents with other people. An awesome feature about these tools is that all your changes to your documents are saved autimatically as you type. To access your Google Docs/Sheets, click the Google Apps grid icon in the upper right-hand corner of your email. From there, you can choose ‘Docs’ or ‘Sheets.’
Using Voice Typing for Your Blog PostsYou may have heard that you can speak much faster than you can type. Have you ever tested this for yourself? Perhaps you use voice recognition search tools on your phone when you are searching for a restaurant or getting directions. But have you ever considered using voice typing to write up a blog post or other document? Using the voice typing tool in Google Docs is a great way to save time as well as to help your writing flow more smoothly and conversationally. No, it won’t be 100% accurate, but even when you’re typing, you have a few typos to correct. Outline View In Google DocsEspecially if you’re creating a very long document with lots of content, this is an excellent tool to use if you need to go in and find certain sections of the document to edit, etc. The outline view in Google Docs allows you to click on any headline you have added to the outline (this appears in the left sidebar) and it will take you directly to that section on the page. You can select to turn on this feature in the ‘view’ tab in the menu: Here is an example that will show you how it works: Google Docs/Sheets as an Online Collaboration ToolThis may not be new to you, but perhaps you have forgotten to use this helpful tool recently when working on a project with your team. Instead of sending edited versions of the document you are working on back and forth to each other, you can be working on it at the same time and see the changes that are being made as they happen. The color codes that are used for each member joining allow you to see who is editing which portion of the document. You will be able to see where their cursers are located on the page in the color associated with their emails. When you use Google docs/sheets as a collaboration tool, you are able to choose the level of permissions and access each team member can have.
When you use Google docs to work on a project as a team, you may find the chat feature really helpful as well. You’ll see this option next to the team members currently active on the document in the upper right corner. Select the speech bubble next to the member you need to communicate with to use the chat option. Google’s Pre-built TemplatesIf you love convenience, you’ll probably appreciate having pre-built templates to get your work done. Google sheets provides you with a number of ready-made templates in their template gallery. Why go through the trouble if you can find one that fits your needs, ready for you to add your content? Taking Advantage of the “Explore” FeatureEver noticed the little explore icon at the bottom right in a Google sheet or document? This explore button could end up being far more useful to you than you think. When you click on the explore button, you are able to search your document or search the web right on the same page within the right side-bar. Analyze your data with the Explore tool. You won’t have to memorize long formulas to organize content in a spreadsheet in a way that is easy to understand. Check out this video: Hacks for Your Online Google DriveGoogle Drive is a secure online cloud storage app that allows you to save your files to your account. You are then able to view your files from any device anywhere and share files with others. To access your drive, go to drive.google.com. You can also access your drive from your email by clicking the Google Apps grid icon in the upper right-hand corner:
Downloads with Google TakeoutIf you already love using the Google Drive app, you will more than likely appreciate this hack. Google Takeout allows you to easily bulk download anything that you have stored on your drive.
Google Drive SyncGoogle Drive Sync makes syncing your local computer files with the cloud really easy. It’s especially convenient when you are needing to upload files in bulk to your Google Drive account. It’s as simple as dragging and dropping the content you want to upload into the desktop Backup & Sync app…which will then automatically sync your files to your online drive. In order to do this, you need to make sure you’ve downloaded Google Backup and Sync (for personal) or Google Drive File Stream (for business). Note: These apps will be completely replacing the original Google Drive desktop app in March of this year. You’ll start by opening the Google Backup and Sync app on your computer. I use a Mac, so the drive icon is located in the top right corner of my screen. Then you’ll open the Google Drive folder. You can then choose ‘My Drive’ or ‘Team Drives.’
Once you’ve chosen the drive you want to sync files with, simply drag the files from your computer into the drive window and they will be uploaded. Once the process is complete, you’ll be able to access those files from anywhere from any device when you are logged in to your account. What Are Your Favorite Google App Hacks?We’ve mentioned only a few Google app hacks you can use to make your life just a bit easier. Do you have additional tricks that you’ve discovered that help make your work more efficient? Drop by our Facebook page and leave us a comment; we’d love to hear about them! The post Google App Hacks You May not Have Thought About Using appeared first on Red Rocket Web Specialists. Via https://www.redrocketmg.com/google-app-hacks/ |
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