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The Top 5 SEO Best Practices in 2018

Author: Mario Diaz

The Top 5 SEO Best Practices in 2018

Posted on by Mario Diaz

The world of search engine optimization is constantly evolving. Are the tactics you and your brand employ still up to par with what Google and your audience expect?

Here are five SEO best practices in 2018 to help you get up to speed.

1. Structured Data

Within the last year or so, many search engine users have begun to rely on rich snippets to obtain more information about a source. If you’re not sure what a rich snippet is, here’s a quick example.

Let’s say you’re Googling some restaurants in your area. You look at the first two search results and notice that their information is set up slightly differently.

One includes a brief description of the restaurant while the other includes a description as well as an overview of its reviews and general pricing information. The latter is utilizing rich snippets, and according to research, is more likely to get the click over its competition.

More importantly, the site that utilizes rich snippets is more likely to receive a better SERP ranking.

2. Layered Keywords

One of the biggest components of SEO has always been the use of great keywords. While keywords are still among the biggest factors among SEO trends 2018, the game has changed a bit.

Instead of relying on a primary keyword, many brands are utilizing secondary keywords to boost their on-page SEO. Now, it isn’t enough to have one great keyword for your content — you’ll need to come up with a list of at least half a dozen in addition to your primary keyword.

3. Voice Search

Hey Siri, show me why so many users prefer voice search.

Yes, even the fundamental way users search for information has changed thanks to AI-assisted technology. As a result, you’ll need to start tailoring your website and content to a voice-driven audience.

Think about natural phrasing one would use when searching for a topic instead of what sounded best to Google a year ago. The more natural and realistic your keywords are, the better.

4. Authority-Driven Content

With many people more skeptical than ever about what they read on the Internet, now is the time to establish your website as an authority.

If you’re not already in the habit of sourcing your information with reliable links, that needs to change ASAP. Before you link to a website, consider its sources.

Is the site a trusted leader in your field? Is the site secure? Is the information even relevant to your audience?

Yes, this requires more work on your part. However, proving yourself as an authority can be an invaluable asset to your site.

5. Reviews

Reviews are still one of the biggest factors in a business’ branding strategy. So it’s time to focus on generating more reviews for your business.

Many sites opt to include a testimonials page on their website but don’t forget to seek reviews from external sources, as well. Most customers are going to seek out reviews on a brand before a purchase, so having easily accessible reviews can help you make the sale.

These SEO Best Practices In 2018 Will Help You Dominate Google

After reading this list of SEO best practices in 2018, your head may be spinning. And understandably so.

Google’s frequent tweaking of its algorithm can be hard to keep up with. But for now, focus on implementing these five strategies.

And don’t forget, Enfuse is here to help. From creating gorgeous websites to generating stunning graphics to SEO and so much more, we want to help your brand succeed. So get in touch today and let us worry about the details.

Posted in SEO

How to Get More Leads: 6 Useful Tips

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Attracting leads is the biggest challenge for 65% of businesses.

Most business owners struggle with marketing. Experienced marketers know that people need to hear about something several times (up to ten) before it really kicks in.

However, they don’t have a plan to get their business in front of their potential customers that many times.

The solution is lead generation. It is the process of developing relationships with your customers every step of the way.

Here are some marketing tips on how to get more leads.

1. A Personal Touch

It starts the first time customers hear about your business and continues throughout the whole buying process. It even covers all of the interactions that you have after the sale.

Nurture the relationships that you have in person. Many businesses have people coming and going all day long. If you do, have your office in the front of your store so you can personally greet your customers as they come in.

If you know them well, you can talk to them about their family, weekend, and much more. When they leave, don’t forget to wish them goodbye. Ask them how their experience was, so you can ensure that you are making your customers happy.

2. Direct mail

Many businesses like to send out letters, mailers, postcards, newsletters, and much more to keep their customers informed.

Though most people don’t enjoy junk mail, many customers may sign up for a newsletter that comes to their home.

3. Email

Email is a great way to keep in touch with your customers, especially since more people are connected all of the time.

Many check their emails regularly (several times a day) and you can send people many things through an email such as blog posts, articles, invitations, coupons, and much more.

4. Social Media

Social media gives business owners another way to keep in touch with their customers. Make sure that you have a Facebook page for your business, as well as a Twitter account.

You may find many other avenues that would be perfect for your business. Instagram and Pinterest may work well for your business.

Then, make sure that you are posting regularly on these sites so that your business is in your customer’s feed often. Don’t just post about your business. Find other things that would interest your customers that are related to your business.

Don’t forget that if someone messages you with a question or leaves a question in a comment, try to get it answered as soon as possible. Your customers want to feel important.

5. Blogs, Vlogs, and Podcasts

Blogs, vlogs, and podcasts are a great way to get new interest in your business, as well as keep your current customers informed. When people are looking for information, they are likely to see one of your blogs, vlogs, or podcasts.

If it is good enough, they will start looking for more and then try to learn more about you.

6. Events

Have events at your place of business. If you have enough interested parties, you may want to have your event somewhere else so you can help even more people. Host people to give talks that your customers will enjoy.

Have an away day with target audience groups (for example moms or parents) or even other business owners.

How to Get More Leads

Now that you know how to get more leads, it’s time to get started. Focus on finding high-quality content that you can give to your customers.

Then, try to reach them on social media, email lists, and even direct mailings. The more ways that you can get in front of your audience, the better off that you will be.

Contact us for more marketing tips.

3 Ways to Achieve a Higher Search Engine Placement

Posted on by Mario Diaz

There are over 67,000 Google searches every second. With potential traffic like that, your site’s search engine placement is more important than ever. But how exactly can you improve your websites rank?

Here are 3 ways to boost your SEO so your site will rank higher and your business will attract more customers.

Mobile First

Mobile searches overtook desktop in 2015. Since then, the push toward responsive design and mobile-first SEO strategy hasn’t let up.

2018 marks another milestone in the mobile-first movement, with Google announcing in March that it’s rolling out mobile-first indexing. This means all searches, whether on mobile or desktop, will now index according to the content of their mobile view.

What does this mean for your SEO page rank? In a nutshell, you need to be thinking mobile-first.

Ensure your website is responsive and easy to navigate on mobile. If your mobile view is more streamlined than your desktop, also make sure the information essential to your SEO can be parsed by search engines.

Focus on Content

Search engines aim to deliver quality content to their users. Therefore, the best way to make search engines view your site favorably is to do just that.

Quality, relevant content is the key ingredient to a healthy page rank. It helps drive traffic, keeps users on your page for longer, and invites robust backlinks. All good things when it comes to your SEO.

Keyword stuffing is a thing of the distant past. Since search engines have updated their algorithms specifically to combat it, employing the tactic can actually hurt your page rank.

Instead of focusing on keywords, your content should be tailored to specific topics. You must know what your users are asking and craft your content to answer those queries specifically.

Relevancy doesn’t just apply to the quality of content, either. You should also ensure your site is updated regularly. New content is essential but keeping your older posts up-to-date is also an excellent way to tell search engines that your content is fresh and relevant.

Go Local

Local SEO is the practice of targeting your SEO efforts to a specific locale. If you have a brick and mortar location, this practice is one you can’t afford to overlook, because search engines certainly aren’t.

46% of all Google searches are local and search engines are meeting that user needs in a big way. If someone searches for pizza restaurants, for instance, Google will take their location into account when serving them results.

What does this mean for your business?

You should optimize your website for local search. Make sure your business’ contact details are prominent and up-to-date. All phone numbers should also be clickable on mobile.

When crafting content, choose topics relevant to your locale. It’s a great way to boost your local SEO but can also help you target less competitive keywords.

Boost Your Search Engine Placement

Search engine placement isn’t an exact science, but there are ways to boost your sites rank. By ensuring your site is mobile optimized, your content is well-crafted, and your local SEO is up to snuff, your site will be putting its best SEO foot forward.

Want to know how the GDPR impacts your business? Here’s everything you need to know about the GDPR.

Posted in SEO

5 Tips for Boosting Brand Value

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Are you looking to build awareness for your small business and a raving customer base?

Did you know that failing to connect with customers is one of the biggest reasons that small businesses fail?

Creating a strong brand will help your business build serious rapport with your customers.

Read on to learn five tips for boosting brand value that you can implement today!

1. Know Your Customer

When focusing on brand marketing, ask yourself and your team how well you really know your target customers?

For each product or service category, you should create an ideal customer avatar.

Learn the wants, needs, fears, goals, and desires of your audience. This will help you speak their language in your branding and marketing.

2. Be Consistent

With any kind of marketing, consistency in your brand design is key.

Make sure your website, logo, content, and social media are congruent with imagery and color scheme.

Along with a consistent look and feel, consistent action is equally important. You don’t want your website and social media to look like a ghost town.

Set up a posting schedule and a content calendar to stay on top of this strategy with your blog and social profiles. You can even use a tool like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule posts in advance.

3. Awareness Equals Introduction

One of the key focuses of your brand marketing should be awareness building.

While it’s important to build campaigns that turn prospects into customers, it’s a fruitless tactic if you don’t have an audience that’s already aware of your business.

Instead, spend more of your effort on the front end of your marketing. Think of awareness campaigns as a way of introducing yourself to a totally new audience.

Short videos, contests or giveaways, and blog posts that solve your customers’ problems is a great start to introductory content.

4. Don’t Fear Advertising

Posting on social media, managing SEO, and blogging are long-term traffic strategies for building your brand.

If you’re looking for a serious push in traffic, plan to invest in paid traffic.

Whether you target specific keywords with Google AdWords or find your target customers with Facebook Advertising, both platforms have huge advantages to building brand value online.

5. Don’t Leave Your Customers in the Dark

Just as awareness campaigns should be viewed as an introduction, it’s important to continue the relationship building over time to grow your brand.

Accomplish this by having a follow-up plan with your leads and customers.

Email marketing campaigns like newsletters and retargeting ads with special deals and discounts are a great way to build customer relationships that keep them in the loop and ready to buy in the future.

Boost Your Brand Value!

If you’re looking to build your brand value, these five tips will get you started leaving a lasting mark on your potential customers!

Following these strategies will help you build up a loyal following of customers that stay with your brand.

Not sure how to put these tips into practice? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help answer your questions!

Google Positioning: How to Rank Higher

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Positioning your business to rank higher on Google sounds daunting to someone starting a website for the first time.

However, that’s mostly due to the fancy jargon. The basics of Google positioning actually aren’t that complicated.

Ranking higher isn’t about writing in a weird language or putting enough keywords in the article.

In fact, those things might hurt you. It is instead about recognizing the topics that people are searching for and picking the right one to get their attention.

By following these steps, beginners at Google ranking can expect to gain traffic from Google.

Write About What People Care About

Every day, people are searching Google for solutions to problems and answers to questions. Your goal is to position your content into the conversation about those problems and answers.

To get started, you’ll need to have a way to track the topics that people are searching for, which are called keywords.

SEO Book’s Keyword Suggestion Tool is an easy tracker to use. Enter your subject into the tool. Then, you’ll see a neat list of related phrases and the number of daily and monthly searches they get.

You can then cross-check the results with the total number of searches for the topic on Google.

If your phrase gets a high number of daily searches and has 10 million or less total results on Google, you have a good chance of ranking on the first page for it, since competitors probably won’t be as specific as your content will be.

Don’t Neglect Images

While Google doesn’t disclose the data, a significant percentage of its searches, perhaps as much as a third, are image searches.

Because Google often presents related images on the pages of its web search results, having a high ranking image on your site is a great way to get traffic.

To begin making the most of your image optimization, you should upload your file with the keywords or phrases in the name. For example, “Roman-Gladiator.jpg” will do much better in image searches than “egjudhcncjpg.”

Once your image is uploaded, make sure that its alternate text (which can be edited either in web software such as WordPress or in HTML) is related to your keywords or phrases. If possible, put your image above and below content that contains the keywords or phrases.

There’s much more to it than this, but it’s a good way to get started.

Keyword Density

In the early days of SEO, webmasters would stuff their content full of as many keywords as possible to rank high.

Those days are long gone and Google will now penalize anyone who does it.

Modern SEO isn’t about keyword stuffing, but creating content people will want to share and link to.

Your keywords instead should flow naturally in sentences crafted for readers, not search engine bots. This is the best way for people to like and share your content, which is ultimately the way that Google determines your site’s importance.

To avoid having Google think that you’re keyword stuffing, never have your keywords be more than 1% of your total text.

Improve your Google Positioning

While these are the basic steps that can help those new to Google positioning grow their sites and businesses, generating search engine growth can take time and be a tedious effort

If you’d like the help of a team of experienced professionals who specialize in growing the presence of businesses on Google, contact us.

Posted in SEO

5 Simple Steps for Building Brand Awareness

Posted on by Mario Diaz

You have a product, you have a team, and you have sales goals. But do you have a brand?

Sure, you have a company, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a brand. A business is often cold and faceless where a brand is warm and interactive.

If you’ve yet to start building brand awareness, you’ll want to start now. Here are five ways you can build brand recognition and get your brand in the public eye.

1. Know Your Brand

Before you become the most popular brand in your industry, you’ll first need to take a step back and figure out just what your brand is.

Your brand is so much more than what you sell.

It’s how you present your content and the type of tone you’ll use to market your product.

The more familiar you are with your brand, the better your marketing will be.

For instance, you’re not likely to use casual, conversational language in a B2B setting. But a more relaxed tone would likely resonate much more with a more general audience.

2. Stand Out

The Internet leveled the playing field, and now anyone can create their own brand with the right mix of moxie and business savvy. As a result, it’s crucial for today’s brands to stand out.

You’ll need a great web design that’s easy to use and graphic design that fits with your messaging.

The more unique your branding is, the better.

For instance, when we mention Old Spice, what do you think of? Likely not deodorant, but the silly, zany commercials the company ran several years ago. As strange as the commercials were, they did wonders for Old Spice’s brand recognition.

3. Create Guest Content on Partner Sites

You’ll certainly want to fill your website with original content. But creating content for others can be equally beneficial.

Guest posting has the ability to expose your brand recognition to an entirely different audience. Furthermore, it’s a great way to partner up with a like-minded brand and establish a new business relationship.

4. Focus on Interaction

Yesteryear’s advertising was extremely passive. The audience wasn’t so much talked to as they were talked at.

Today’s consumer is much smarter and more sophisticated than those before. As a result, it’s important to take a more interactive stance when building brand awareness.

Social media is a fantastic way to find and interact with your audience. Share content from your website and let loose a bit. Obviously, remain professional, but don’t be afraid to talk to your audience and establish a rapport.

5. Building Brand Awareness Through Your Community

Want a way to build brand recognition while giving back at the same time? Volunteer at an upcoming community event and sign your brand up as a sponsor.

You’ll feel great about helping out your community and get exposure simultaneously. It’s win-win!

Get Discovered

If you’re just starting a business, building brand awareness should be your priority. But that doesn’t mean it needs to be an intimidating process.

Be sure to follow this guide for easy, organic ways to boost your brand awareness.

And don’t forget to contact us if you’re looking for some help. We offer great services that can bring your brand to the world. Whether you need a website, great copy, or marketing assistance, we’re here for you.

How to Get Followers For Your Social Media Page

Posted on by Mario Diaz

In 2015, 96% of businesses used social media marketing. By now, that number has to be closer to 100%. And if you own a business, social media should be playing a crucial part in your marketing strategy.

The name of the social media game is to get followers. But how do you accomplish this with your company’s social media profiles?

Here is a quick and easy guide to get followers and get more loyal customers.

The Top 7 Ways to Get Followers

There are many aspects of a great social media strategy, all of them harped on again and again. So here is the quick list of things you should already be doing:

  1. Post highly valuable content
  2. Make your social media bios professional
  3. Use relevant hashtags
  4. Engage with your audience
  5. Create a community: Share other content and make your content shareable
  6. Remain active (more on this later)
  7. Follow back

These are necessary across the board. No matter the industry, if you want to succeed in social media and get followers, implement all seven.

What Type of Content Should You Share?

Information over personal updates. This is the mantra you should establish as a business with social media pages.

If your goal is to get followers, it’s much easier if you share content that provides value to your audience. So, while you can share things about employees and your personal day from time to time, the majority of your content should help the fans.

Your audience wants to get something out of following you, not simply see what you had for breakfast or the latest company party.

Respect Your Own Authority

Be an influencer in your industry. You want to take an authoritative voice when it comes to sharing information over social media. This gives you the power of a thought leader, which means your followers will believe and buy into anything you sell (including actual products).

Engage with other leaders in the industry, stay updated with niche news, and give solid, quality advice. This inherently brings massive value to your fans, which helps with the previous tip.

Be Consistent and Happy

Post often, post continuously. Don’t create these huge content spikes where your fans suffer from information overload, only to go off the grid for a week. Keep it steady when releasing content.

As far as the mood of your content, make it cheerful. When you post negative or downtrodden content, it reflects in your follower’s attitude at the moment and towards your business. So steer clear of being too depressing or bitter – your fans will end up the same way.

Give Your Followers What They Want (and Often)

People want special offers. They want tremendous value for free (or for cheap). They want exclusive information, added attention, and they want it all the time.

So give it to them.

Your social media is a gateway to providing fans with your expertise. Give and give and give. Once you’ve given a lot – and we mean a lot – then you can ask them for something in return (i.e. buying a product or service).

This is how you get followers and, more importantly, get fans that will purchase anything you offer.

Get Followers to Help Your Business Succeed

Use these tips and tricks to improve your social media marketing. Get followers that hang on every word your company says and you’ll have a group of loyal customers who will buy every time.

If you want more help with your social media marketing, get in touch with the experts.

7 Brand Design Tips to Make Your Page Pop

Posted on by Mario Diaz

As many business owners know, having a good brand design can make all the difference in the world.

Why? For starters, this helps you stand apart from your competitors visually. Additionally, a consistent brand image can be used to influence your target audience’s perception of you.

Keep in mind that a brand is about more than just a logo. Branding encompasses every aspect of your company, from your website to your reputation.

Not sure where to start? Here is a list of 7 branding tips to help you out.

1. Know Your Audience

Want to build a strong brand identity? A good first step would be to figure out who you should be speaking to. In other words, who do you want to engage with your brand?

Looking at your competitor’s social media followers can help you in this regard. You can find out a lot about a brand’s target audience by the posts they’re liking or retweeting.

2. Find Your Value

Once you’ve found your audience, you need to understand what makes them tick. More importantly, how can you help them? Why would they want to buy your products?

For instance, let’s say you’re a life coach. Your ideal customer might be a busy mom looking to gain clarity about her future. Your brand should communicate — in a visual, friendly way — that you have the right answers.

3. Visualize a Personality

For many brands, the biggest challenge is to present their personality visually. With a website, you can’t rely on face-to-face interaction.

Fortunately, there are many methods of putting a face to your brand. Try experimenting with different color schemes, photo filters, and imagery choices. These are the best ways to add some tone to your words.

4. Keep It Simple

Creating a visual identity is a critical part of any brand strategy. One thing to keep in mind here is that a simple approach works best.

Why? Well, trying to fit in too many visual elements into your brand identity could end up confusing your audience. Anything that doesn’t directly contribute to your brand persona should be left out.

5. Keep It Consistent

In order to build brand image, it can be helpful to have a distinct visual style.

Here is a quick tip: apply the same font type and the same filter across all of your social platforms. This way, both your Facebook and Instagram followers will get the same story.

6. Use Social Media Proficiently

Using different social media platforms is great, there’s no question about it. However, using them effectively is a whole other bag of worms.

For instance, Facebook is about communities, which makes it great for interacting with your audience. Twitter is great for short bursts of commentary. Instagram is about capturing a slice of life, so the catchy imagery is always a good choice.

7. Choose the Right Colors

Colors are a key part of any brand’s visual identity. As a general rule, you should stick to 2-3 colors while designing your logo, website, and stationary.

While choosing your colors, it’s important to understand the psychological aspect of it. For example, a blue color scheme indicates trust. By comparison, red is usually associated with passion and boldness.

More on Brand Design

Hopefully, these seven branding tips should help you come up with a unique brand strategy.

If you need more help with your brand design, we may be able to assist you. Contact us right here, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!