Thinking of Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day, the one day of the year set aside for remembering the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served our nation in its military. Axiom Administrative Services is proud to recognize all those who have served, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice while giving that service.
Our nation has been blessed not only with material abundance, but also with a wealth of spirit and character that has sustained us. The brave men and women who displayed that spirit and character deserve our respect and gratitude. If you know of a family or an individual who lost a loved one in the service of their country, please set aside a few minutes today to think of and comfort them in any way you can.
Tomorrow, we will return to our world of work, striving to serve the needs of family, clients and friends. Right now, let’s pause and think of those who gave their lives so that we can remain free!
Google AdwordsAdWords and Google Maps Advertising
You may have considered, or even used, Google’s “AdWords” or Google Map’s “Promoted Pins” in trying to direct traffic to your website. Many amateurs have given this a try (or a half-try) and concluded that it is just too complicated or confusing. The fact is that these are very powerful tools, but they are not easy to master.
Put simply, AdWords is a Google service in which advertisers pay to display a small piece of advertising text (a “snippet”) along with a web address at or near the top of the results page that is generated by a specific search term. The advertisers pay only when users divert their browsing to click on the advertising copy. AdWords can enable a small business to set an advertising budget which cannot be exceeded, to reach an audience that is interested in their product or service and even to determine the time of day this happens. The AdWords customer pays only when their site is clicked and can set a limit to the amount of money they will spend.
To say the least, AdWords has been a success for Google, generating a huge part of its multi-billion-dollar revenue. This continued success tells us that many people and companies are using AdWords successfully.
To illustrate, let’s use a real-life example. You have a friend or relative, and a special occasion is coming up for that person. You need the services of a florist in Daytona Beach, Florida. This need sends you to the first place most people go today, the Google search engine. Entering the search term, “florists in Daytona Beach” immediately returns a list of results called a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). If you look at the top four to five results, you can see that each of them has a web address preceded by this small icon that says “Ad.”
The whole thing might look something like this-
Ad www.yourflowerbiz.com
We deliver 24/7 in Daytona, Port Orange, and Ormond
Same Day Delivery, Satisfaction Guarantee, $12.99 Bouquet.
These results are the paid ads (Search Ads) featured by Google. The business owners whose information is in this list have paid Google to place their web addresses at the top of the SERP, where the most people are going to see and ‘click’ on them. Typically, they consist of the web address followed by a few lines of text called a “snippet.” For a florist, the snippet might contain terms like, “Same Day Delivery, Satisfaction Guarantee, $12.99 Bouquet.”
Below this list of AdWords is the Google Map showing the map locations of several florists (and perhaps some unrelated businesses). On the map there will be icons called “promoted pins.”
The promoted pins give searchers a graphic idea of the physical locations of businesses that might be able to meet their requirements. Clicking on one of the promoted pins will cause a pop out window to appear with essential information about the business (hours, website, phone, etc.). The Google Maps and their promoted pins are meant to take advantage of several known facts-
- Most consumers do at least some local searches.
- 75% of people who search for nearby merchants use smartphone queries and visit the store within a day.
- Between one third and one half of all mobile device searches relate to location; location-related searches have been growing much faster than mobile searches overall.
- 1 billion+ people have downloaded the Google Maps application to their mobile devices.
Every year, searches on Google.com and Google Maps steer consumers to 1.5 billion destinations. Being on Google Maps is like having your own billboard in consumers’ smart phones.
Perhaps the most common question asked about AdWords and Google Maps is about how much it costs. The answer is, “It depends.” It depends on the geographical area, the keywords in the search term and market forces (the price is responsive to demand). Retailers like Walmart or Amazon can spend up to $50 million per year on paid searches in AdWords. The most expensive keywords in AdWords can cost as much as $50 per click, but these are high-end businesses or services whose customers have very high lifetime value (for example, some law firms or insurance underwriters). The average cost per click (CPC) in Google AdWords is about one to two dollars.
So, how do you go about taking advantage of these tools? It is possible to educate yourself and to devote enough time to branding strategies, to SEO techniques and to finding your own digital marketing solutions. However, most small business owners or service providers do not want to do this. The best choice for most web users is to turn to a professional internet marketing agency, a local SEO services provider who can coordinate direct mail advertising and local SEO services to produce an overall branding strategy that works.
If you are struggling to find those digital marketing solutions that work and branding strategies that make your business stand out, turn to Axiom. Your business deserves more than a cheap web design, and Axiom is more than an internet marketing agency. Axiom Administrative Services has the professional skill and small business SEO skills needed to get your web presence the ranking it deserves.
Our business marketing team can combine traditional marketing tools like direct mail advertising with local SEO services to build your branding strategy. Please visit Axiom’s small business services page or call Axiom at 800-888-6348.
SEO Link Building
The algorithms used by Google, Bing and other search engine operators are complex, dynamic (always changing), and they are well-guarded secrets. Any internet marketing agency or search engine optimization company that claims to have “cracked” the Google, Bing or other search engine algorithm is foolish. Those complex processes are among the best-kept secrets in the world, and they are always changing, sometimes daily.
That said, there are some key aspects of SEO techniques that are involved in any variation of SEO strategy. One of those standard SEO techniques is SEO link building. Put simply, SEO link building is the process of getting other internet pages to link back to your website. SEO link building is important because it is such a big factor in how search engines rank web pages.
Internet marketing agencies and search engine optimization companies should be interested in building links to other sites to direct referral traffic and to increase their site’s gravity. There are a number of SEO link building strategies that can get external websites to link to yours. Unfortunately, none of them are easy and none can be accomplished by cheap web design. They all require time, skill, involvement and knowledge of SEO techniques, especially SEO link building.
Here are some building blocks to help your SEO link building –
- Links from Business Partners, Networking Organizations or Professional Groups. Many businesses and professional people belong to civic groups, professional organizations, networking clusters or just plain social clutches. Ask associates you refer customers to, buy materials from, or know in any business or personal way to link to your website.
- Reviews, Mentions and ‘Likes.’ Get your service or product in front of opinion shapers and influencers. This might be a review site like Angie’s List, TripAdvisor, Yelp or YP. Ask customers or clients who have experience to review and link to your site. There is a caution here: search engines are becoming better and better at detecting material left by “bots,” automated programs that crawl the internet leaving ‘Likes,’ links or reviews. If you are linked on another site, make sure it is accompanied by original, readable text.
- Content Creation. This might be the most important point. High-quality, compelling and unique content will make your website an attractive link target. This means material that viewers will find useful in solving problems or filling needs. If you do not have the time or inclination to do this yourself, pay someone to do it. This must be an integral part of your branding strategy.
- Remember that it will take time to form a lot of SEO link building connections, so be patient and keep at it. Shortcuts like buying links from ‘bots’ violate many search engine guidelines and will actually hurt your page ranking.
The bottom line is this: SEO link building is an important part of your overall branding strategy and your SEO strategy. If you do not think you have the time or expertise to do this, get professional help. Axiom’s business marketing team can combine traditional marketing tools like direct mail advertising with local SEO services and SEO link building to build your branding strategy.
If you are struggling to find digital marketing solutions that work and branding strategies that make your business stand out, turn to Axiom. Your business deserves more than a cheap web design, and Axiom is more than an internet marketing agency. Axiom Administrative Services has the professional skill and small business SEO skills needed to get your web presence the ranking it deserves.
Please visit Axiom’s small business services page or call Axiom at 800-888-6348.
What is Organic SEO?
Most internet users have heard the term, “SEO” and possibly “organic SEO.” Are you sure that you understand these terms? Knowing the ins and outs of SEO strategy and how to execute good SEO techniques is an essential part of digital marketing. Let’s make sure that we understand exactly what we are trying to accomplish.
SEO, Search Engine Optimization, is a very basic concept. It is the process of managing a website’s code in a way that makes it most visible to search engines. Although the process seems clear and simple in the abstract, executing actual SEO techniques and the development of a good SEO strategy can become quite complicated. In truth, this task is best left to full-time professional SEO services. Still , it helps the small business person, service provider or professional to know the vocabulary and some of the basic concepts of SEO techniques and SEO strategy, and how this fits into your overall branding strategy.
Let’s start with the difference between organic SEO and paid SEO. SEO techniques that lead to your webpage ranking highly in Google, Bing or other search engine results without purchasing AdWords (from Google) or Bing Ads (from Microsoft) constitute organic SEO.
Let’s take an example, say the search term, “plumbers in Daytona.” Entering that exact search term in Google and Bing will yield two different pages of search term results. At the top of both pages, you will see results that are labeled as ads. Here is an actual example –Ad · www.mrrooter.com/DaytonaBeach . Directly below, is the Google or Bing map with a graphic representation of locations. You need to toggle down a bit to see the organic SEO or the unpaid results. This is where good SEO techniques can place your web ranking without any ad expense at all.
This pattern is repeated for almost any search term related to a business, product or service. Try it with the term, “medical clinics in Daytona.” You can see that this applies even to professional practices like medicine. The advantage of using professional SEO services from an internet marketing agency like Axiom is that your page is more likely to be found on that first results page.
If you struggle to find digital marketing solutions that work and branding strategies that make your business stand out, turn to Axiom. Your business deserves more than a cheap web design, and Axiom is more than an internet marketing agency. Axiom Administrative Services has the professional skill and small business SEO skills needed to get your web presence the ranking it deserves.
Our business marketing team can combine traditional marketing tools like direct mail advertising with local SEO services to build your branding strategy. Please visit Axiom’s small business services page or call Axiom at 800-888-6348.
Digital Marketing Solutions Today
The exceptional thing about our time is not change itself; that has always been with us. The new and unique element is the speed of change. In a single decade, things that we may never have heard of previously have become central to our lives, and today they are an absolute necessity for building a successful branding strategy for any small business or professional practice.
Internet technology and digital marketing solutions especially, have changed a lot over the last decade. Today, internet use, digital marketing solutions and branding strategies revolve much more around social media than ever before. New technical abilities have made it possible for customers or clients to “check out” a business or professional practice from their laptop or mobile device without even leaving home.
“Word of mouth” is still an effective form of marketing, and it is an essential part of a good branding strategy. But today, that word can be spread faster and farther by platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Yelp or even specialized tools like Zillow. Now is a good time to think about some of these changes and ask if your digital marketing solutions and branding strategies are keeping pace. How is your business or practice relating to new realities like these?
Online Reviews. A decade ago only about a quarter of online users would check a review for a local business. In 2017, 97% of consumers looked online for local businesses, with 12% looking for a local business online every day! 53% of potential customers search for a local business one or more times per month. Old-fashioned customer service is still a key to success, but the way that customer service is reported to others is changing.
Video Is Now Essential. Ten years ago, online video was considered something of a novelty, an amusement that was not part of any branding strategy or digital marketing solutions. Now, many experts predict that more than 80% of all internet traffic will be video by 2021. This is a tsunami, a trend that has changed small business marketing and branding strategy forever.
Mobile Is Your ‘New Best Friend’. Internet traffic originating from smart phones and other mobile devices surpassed traffic from computers four years ago. For any branding strategy, it is time to think mobile first. This is a major trap for users of cheap web design; so much of it looks at mobile compatibility as an afterthought. It is not! Mobile appearance should be one of the first things on an internet marketing agency’s checklist. Get it done professionally.
Facebook Is Still King (and Queen). Maybe Facebook sites are not the best places to go if you are looking for hard news, but this has not affected the site’s usefulness in building branding strategy and fashioning a digital marketing solution. Ten years ago, most businesses did not have Facebook pages. Small businesses have hugely increased their adoption of Facebook.
2018’s consumers expect to get customer service support, location and contact information, customer reviews and other important information from social media, and Facebook is still the dominate social media force. If you do not have a Facebook page, the time to get one is now.
If you are struggling to find digital marketing solutions that work, branding strategies that make your business stand out and social media presence that keeps you in the customer’s mind, turn to Axiom. Your business deserves more than a cheap web design, and Axiom is more than an internet marketing agency. Axiom Administrative Services has the professional skill and small business SEO skills needed to get your web presence the ranking it deserves. Axiom pros can produce the quality video, graphic and written content you need to dominate local small business SEO.
Axiom Administrative Services understands the needs of small businesses, professional practices and nonprofits. Please visit Axiom’s small business services page or call Axiom at 800-888-6348.
