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Is Your Website Mobile Ready?

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It’s coming. Mobilegeddon, that is. Will you be ready?

What is Mobilegeddon?

For some time now, mobile usefulness has been a consideration in Google’s search algorithm. Websites that are appropriately optimized to be used on mobile devices tend to have a higher ranking than those that are not. Until recently, however, the ranking factor has been restricted and vague.

Apart from carrying a “mobile-friendly” tag linked to websites in mobile search results, it has been difficult to ascertain which factors Google takes into consideration when computing mobile rankings. As a result, many business owners have held off or evaded optimizing their websites for these devices.

This February, Google announced that, “On April 21 we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.”

Needless to say, that announcement caught the attention of website developers around the globe.

How to get your website mobile ready

In the U.S., 94 % of individuals with smartphones search for local information on their phones. Add to that the fact that over two-thirds of mobile searches are done at home or work. That is one of the reasons Google is stepping up its efforts to deliver the best possible mobile experience to the maximum number of users. Mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and smart watches, are overtaking the online experience. If a web design company, a Phoenix web design firm or a website designer want to survive in the business world they will need to stay ahead of the pack.

There are certain steps a website designer needs to take in order to make sure a website will support mobile. Prior to attempting to optimize specifically to a mobile experience, you need to be sure Google approves your mobile site. That means your site must load seamlessly when a mobile user accesses it.

Standard mobile layouts

Responsive Design

Responsive designed websites are the most popular. A website designer most likely knows that this type of design automatically detects which kind of device is being used to access it and then adjusts the site’s layout accordingly. A responsive website is designed so all the components of each webpage will organize themselves based on the dimensions of the screen that is accessing it.

Advantages: Because this design is adaptable enough to adjust to any screen, each mobile device will have a tailor-made experience. In addition, the “responsive” component only has to be constructed once; has one URL and one design, making it convenient and efficient for a web design agency.

Disadvantage: Because mobile users will be loading the entire site, downloading may take longer.

Dynamic Content

This layout is similar to that of responsive design in that you only need one URL. The difference is you’ll actually be “serving up” various versions of your site. Desktop and mobile versions will be loaded and you’ll serve the one that matches the device attempting to access it.

Advantage: Each device is served more specifically.

Disadvantages: It is more time consuming to develop, implement and manage since a separate version must be created for nearly every type of device that could access your page.

Mobile URLs

Mobile URLs are just that—a separate, customized URL for your webpage’s mobile version. When someone accesses your website from a mobile device they’ll automatically be redirected to the proper URL.

Advantage: Still a good choice for some businesses.

Disadvantages: They are becoming obsolete; take longer to create; require more upkeep; and misfire with the redirect.

Preparing for Mobilegeddon

If you already have a mobile-friendly site you can breathe a sigh of relief. If it isn’t, now’s the time to make the change by:

  • Confirming your website’s mobile version is active and functional. Responsive designs are the first choice but you can also have a separate hosted mobile version of your site. Google doesn’t have a preference, as long as mobile users’ experience isn’t interrupted
  • Confirming Google’s mobile bots can crawl your site
  • Performing a test run for each page on a mobile device to be sure it’s easy to navigate. Just because the home page is mobile friendly doesn’t mean the rest of your site is

If you’re not sure whether your page meets the mobile-friendly criteria you can:

Remember, Google doesn’t care how you optimize your website for mobile as long as it’s optimized. No matter which mobile layout you choose, Google will consider your site optimized and rank it accordingly. If you need help moving to a mobile-friendly layout contact us today for a complimentary 30 minute consultation.  We’re happy to help you make the transition!

local search results matter mobile

Why Local Search Results Matter

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In today’s ever-changing world of technology telephone books and newspapers are becoming things of the past. Instead, it’s all about Search Engine Optimization. Simply put, SEO is the practice of improving and promoting your website to increase the number of visitors it receives from search engines. People are constantly looking for places, items of interest or things to buy close to where they are. The question is: As a business owner, what are you doing to benefit from that? If you put your business in front of them via search engine marketing, they can easily become your customers.

In your quest to expand your customer base, you may have heard of local search. For the inexperienced, local search refers to such things as SEO services and pay per click advertising that are tailored to a specific local business listings.

Reasons Why Local Search Matters

Local search results are key. Are you one of those business owners who is confused about the new-found importance placed on geography and don’t really understand the difference between improving local search results and more traditional SEO? It’s not so difficult to understand that yesterday’s way of improving your Internet search rankings just don’t work the way they used to. It’s not enough to be found online. Today’s SEO services are smarter and rank web pages by their closeness to the search, quality of the website and their relevance to the search terms that were used. That’s why it is critical for your business to show up in local search results.

Take advantage of search engine advertisements. This is one of the primary ways local search results can benefit your business. For example, say that a web user is searching for a digital marketing agency in Phoenix. They type those keywords into one of the many search engines and await the results. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was your local business listings that showed up? You would have to own a digital marketing business in Phoenix for this example to work but you get the idea.

They allow you to cast a wider net. The secret to having your company’s listing appear in local search results is understanding that search engine services don’t’ simply consider your website when calculating their results. Also taken into consideration are your social media presence, online customer ratings and whether your website boasts a responsive and mobile-friendly design. Basically, the search engines scan your content to see what kind of impression you leave on your local Internet world.

It’s easy to target only local customers. Once you get the hang of search engine marketing, you can fine tune it to your business needs. For example, if you were a digital marketing agency you can target those who need your particular services. By doing so, you will save time and money by not marketing yourself to people who don’t need your type of business. When you are targeting local business listings over time, you will see a marked improvement in your customer base.

It’s the wave of the future. Like it or not, search engines are here to stay. Employing this marketing method makes you a savvy business owner because you are bringing your business to your customers instead of the other way around.

Add your address to every page. Localizing your SEO services is key to getting people to convert into buyers or visitors to your local store. Make it easy for them to find you by including your address in a prominent place on each page of your website. Doing so also reinforces your location to the search engines so when someone is searching for localized information your pages will be indexed.

Go into detail. For instance, sticking with “Digital Marketing Phoenix,” in order to provide the user with more detail about the search. Instead, you may consider providing a page on “digital marketing agencies in Phoenix.” The link is relevant to the person searching and this is a great way of attracting targeted links back to your most important webpages.

Make an impression. The implications of this are that to appear in local search results could mean adjusting your website to be more customer friendly. Encouraging your regular customers to leave reviews of their experience and to mention you in social media also plays a large role. Together with the appearance and navigation of your website reviews, SEO services help establish the trust needed to transform web traffic into customers. Improving your profile in local search results now requires a coordinated effort to make sure that all your internet marketing efforts are working together to establish that trust and that you have an active and engaged customer base.

Overall, local search results DO matter. It’s not likely that SEO services will take the place of other types of marketing, such as blogs, websites and large-scale media campaigns. But do not underestimate its power. It can be extremely beneficial, reach local businesses and achieve noteworthy results.

If you still need help navigating local search let us know!  You can contact us at 602-535-2188 to schedule a no obligation consultation.

Or.. just click here to send us an email!

mobile phone with twitter, Search Has Gone Social, Blog by Infinite Reach Agency

Search Has Gone Social: 3 Reasons Why This is Great News!

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Here’s what I love about search and social media. First of all, it’s our business. Plain and simple. Second, it makes the intangible—well, nearly tangible. More than ever before companies are approachable, available and are listening to what their fans and community are thinking, feeling and saying.

The “old-school” days of cutting off a label from your favorite cereal box and dropping it in the mail are from a different time in history. What used to feel like months in receiving any notification back from a company will happen now in a matter of just hours (maybe minutes) with social media and I believe we all cheer as things are much easier now.

Communication is so much faster and really getting to know a company by way of what they publish coupled with their response time is amazing! Yay, technology!! Right? Right.

Search Just Became More Interesting!

Aside from Google+, Google Search is going deeper in the social game. Their last agreement with Twitter expired in 2011 and a lot has changed in the world of technology since then. It’s been a few weeks and now that Google and Twitter have recently signed their (new) deal, Google will have access to Twitters data feed. Yes, things are about to really get interesting.

While Google hasn’t given us much to go on other than the announcement, great news is that this is going to take some time to implement. Our friends over at Stone Temple Consulting reports that out of 138,635 tweets tested, as of right now less than 8% of tweets are being indexed in search results. Unlike other Google algorithm changes, we have some time to adjust to this one!

Tweets that become visible in online search results will give their potential consumers and extra tidbit of info–the will experience the “flavor” of your company right on page 1. And, according to an article on Hubspot; Google is going to index tweets in REAL time search results. The impact of this deal on SEO and website traffic is huge as these two industry giants bring the two worlds of marketers and consumers together—front and center.

With the billions of websites that are published, Google has no idea whether your company is real or even one that is sharing quality content. Their end goal is an optimal user experience delivering quality content and what people are looking for.

Link building in social platforms does just that, it reinforces your quality information. Google loves links but it also loves reinforcement that your web content is relevant to what the end user is searching for and as those links are shared they receive a little extra juice from search engines regarding which websites are credible and should be ranked for what keyword phrases.

Here’s 3 Reasons Why This Is Great News! 

  1. Seriously Impacts SEO

Let’s apply how links get Google juice to how we think Tweets will be indexed. Most tweets will be treated the same way. Knowing how Google works they will implement search algorithms that will populate tweets that offer the greatest value to those searching.

Further, a link that gets several retweets or the number of times a tweet gets favorited could very well contribute to SEO and the probability of a bump in ranking as they reflect the activity that specific link produced among social sharers. It obviously contained valuable information and therefore reinforces everything from brand identity to the outbound company voice and philosophies.

Remember—you are the company you keep. If those that retweet and favorite your tweets have a lot of followers or are considered influencers—this will help greatly! The more followers the better–now is a fantastic time to start growing your audience as Google will most likely index tweets from those that have a lot of followers.

  1. Impacts the Marketer

First and foremost—Twitter just became more valuable than ever to your online social interactions.

Companies will have to rethink their social strategies for marketing as this will make their social media interactions more visible to consumers. This is actually a great thing! Perception is everything and now companies will need to be more cognizant of their message while they sit a little taller and be a little more polished in front of their consumers.

Community managers will be more nimble and work harder at understanding the impacts of their interactions while quick to respond to areas of concern. If there is bad PR coverage it very well could reach Google and blow into a huge PR issue that will need to be addressed and contained.

  1. Fresh Content = Building a Stronger Online Community

This deal will lead to more original content. We can’t stress the importance of how updating your websites with fresh, relevant content on a regular basis is to your business. Google appreciates when a website is updated with fresh and relevant content often, which is also true when it comes to your social media accounts.

Create and curate original content on Twitter, especially. Having social profiles that are not updated on a regular basis is like having a dirty front poor to your business. It only takes once for a prospective customer to stop in to a Facebook page or Twitter feed that’s not being utilized and just as a car runs out of gas on the side of the road, so does that potential customer.

Since your feeds can potentially be seen straight away on the front page of Google, remember to put your best foot forward and gain followers by giving them great, fresh but useful content. This will overflow into those you follow, other influencers, lists and more. Use images, hashtags and links to get more followers to retweet and interact with you. Thank others for sharing–all in all, be a good twitter citizen.

Make it easy—just always be posting! If the social media profiles associated with your website are active with frequent, quality updates then the search engines take into consideration that your business is authentic, engaged, and valuable to readers..AND  your prospective clients love you for it.

If you don’t have time, hire a community manager. Or better yet, hire us! It’s what we do and we take your entire internet strategy into consideration when planning your posts. We call it the Power of the Triangle. Click here to understand more or fill out this contact form for a complimentary 30 minute consultation! We’re happy to invest our time to help you figure out a solid strategy!

Again, for most, tweets aren’t going to appear in search results overnight. It’s going to take some time for Google to get on top of their tweet indexing game. That means you have some time to make internal adjustments on how you can leverage this new change for the better. It’s great news, really and certainly news that we’re excited about. Yes, search HAS gone social!

 

online search, seo, smm, sem, Infinite Reach Agency

Strong SEO is a Start. But Wait…There’s More!

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First–don’t shoot me for saying this. Traditional advertising isn’t cutting it anymore. I remember back in the day when I worked as a sales rep for a local TV station in Alaska, KYES Channel 5. It was 1998 and the station owner, Jeremy Lansman, wanted me to start selling ad space on our website. I thought he was crazy. Who in their right mind was going to spend money on website advertising when I could sell them $8 rotators? Looking back I have to giggle. Kind of ironic considering now I’m an internet marketer, however, it took a lot of years before I admitted it—but he was and still is… well, brilliant.

Lansman is the kind of forward thinker that naturally sets himself apart from other people just by seeing into the future.  He was the “Steve Jobs” of our station. He’s gifted and I’ve come to realize that having that kind of foresight comes with years of experience—and I am excited to say that I feel we as team are truly getting to that place.

While print, television, and radio advertising are still very relevant in some industries, online marketing has become a necessary addition to traditional marketing plans, especially for businesses to be found by their audience.  Let’s face it, we’re more plugged in than ever! Thousands of people go to the web to search for goods and services rather than use a phone book (which, by the way, my mother-in-law will be the last person on earth to own one as she’s “not the techy type” –her words. True story.).

Just for the sake of online search alone–there were 2,954,252,063 Google searches already performed today–at the exact time I wrote this piece alone!

Further—most of them aren’t using a laptop or a PC. They’re on their smart phones searching in real time. For businesses today, the key to being found is no longer the Yellow Pages, but having a presence online and one that’s mobile responsive. Basically what that means is that the site is the same on web, tablet, or mobile, and when visited “responds” by changing itself appropriately for a quality end-user experience.

With this kind of importance—we take search a step further. Something that sets us apart from our competition is that at Infinite Reach Agency, we believe in the Power of the Triangle – using SEO, SEM and SMM. Partner that with fresh, relevant content in a well thought out, strategic manner will not only improve the online visibility of our clients—we help them dominate.

It’s all about your business being relevant to what your potential customers want and with the new Google Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird (and the rest of the Google zoo…) algorithm updates, relevancy is nearly at the top of the ranking list. Especially when we consider the recent partnership between Google and Twitter where a company’s tweets will now appear in online search engine results. First impressions matter–if you look like a dingle-berry on Twitter, you’ll definitely look like a dingle-berry on Google. Yep, this relevancy thing is super important. You’ll have to get this right.

power of the triangle of seo, sem, smm by infinite reach agency..com

Breaking it Down- SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Think of SEO as the foundation to your home. When you have the right keywords in place and all of your on-page SEO is set, all of the other efforts that you build on bring that house to life. You need that foundation all the time and on-going. You need to trust that foundation will be strong enough to hold the house in place if there’s an earthquake. Here’s an example:

At the rate that Google changes its algorithms your website needs to be constantly updated to accommodate them. Fresh content that is relevant to your audience, proper keyword usage, and knowledge of the latest Google updates are just some of the critical ingredients to SEO.

Here’s some stats to get your attention:

  • 61% of Global Internet Users Research Products Online
  • Google owns 67.5%of the search engine market share, Bing 18.4% and yahoo 10.3%.
  • 60% of all organic clicks go to the TOP 3 organic search results.
  • 70-80%of users ignore the paid ads on the results page, focusing on the organic results.
  • 75%of users never scroll past the first page of search results.

What does this mean for your business? You’re familiar with the riddle–“If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?” Exactly my point. If your potential customers can’t find you through a search engine, they. are. NOT. going. to find you. A good SEO strategist is necessary so your website be visible to the people who are looking for your goods or services. They’ll concentrate on your foundation and also the framing as the rest of your house gets built. Such as off page SEO strategies by way of citations and NAP (name-address-phone listings) consistency, among others.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

You’ve read the articles and know all the stats. Social media isn’t just for kids anymore. Platforms like Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and so many more are the medium for communicating with a wide number of people.

Here’s an example of power behind social media. Singer and performance artist Beyonce ignored traditional marketing methods (television, radio, print) and instead launched her new album on Instagram to her 8 million followers.  She sold over 1 MILLION copies of the 14 song/17 video package in 5 days.

Not convinced yet? How about this…I’d even go so far as to say that the power of social media has changed the world.

We were there and witnessed the downfall of Gaddafi in Libya and how the rebels used Twitter. The country was locked down from communicating outside their borders and their regime controlled the media and messaging until this happened—the rebels, not having any internet used their flip phones (gasp!) to communicate out by text to family members who took their story to the web.

Hmmm.. But is Social Media Good for Business? If done right, YES!

The average American spends 37 minutes on social media a day. If businesses are going to reach potential clients, they are going to need to have a robust social media strategy as part of their overall online marketing plan. However, the key is to unlock the engagement.

You can post to social all day long, but that’s not going to bring any traction. I witness so-called marketers do it at the expense of their clients’ marketing dollars. They go in claiming to be an authority to help small business owners by taking the social tasks off their hands while at the same time doing their clients an injustice.

The results are…well there really ARE NO results. There’s no organic growth and a serious lack of engagement which equals no traction.  It takes a strategic approach to break away from mediocrity and not simply spew junk content on their client’s social channels just to have something to post. Again.. back to the dingle-berry reference above.

Enter SEM—Search Engine Marketing

Yes, we love social media but where we make a difference is when we start with the foundation of SEO and build our social around the overall marketing strategy for our clients. We have a proven strategy that works; when a social plan is combined with a strategic search engine marketing campaign, the results are astounding!

In a study by Marin Software, they found that marketers who combine search engine campaigns with social media campaigns had nearly twice as many conversions and DOUBLED their revenue vs. using only social or search campaigns.  According to the study, people who clicked on social AND search ads spent nearly twice as much as people who only clicked on social ads.

search engine land seo, sem, smm graph

search engine land seo, sem, smm graph

What does all of this mean for you and your business?

Implementing a strategic marketing plan that uses both SEM and SMM with a solid foundation of SEO is the much needed approach for being relevant in all aspects of your online presence. We’re here to help!

Our team at Infinite Reach Agency uses what we call the Power of the Triangle, to elevate our clients’ presence on the internet. We are committed to bringing you the traffic you need to be found, be successful and grow.

To find out how we can help your business, please contact us at 602-535-2188 to schedule a no obligation consultation. Seriously, we love to meet people and learn about your business!

Or.. just click here to send us an email!

 

 

 

google page on laptop reviews

Online Reviews Are More Important Than You Think

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Last week while on my way to my next appointment, I had a few moments and stopped in at a local coffee shop. Humming around me were the whirls of chattering voices, happy smiles and deep conversation. In the center of all the busyness, I noticed a mid-forties professional typing rather fast on his laptop. I could clearly see that he was on Google.

As I sat sipping my coffee I found myself deep in thought about the customer review process and its impact. I had just had a conversation with a client earlier that morning about finalizing her review strategy and this guy was my case in point—exactly why they’re so important.

From what I could tell (and honestly I wasn’t trying to be snoopy but surely I am curious) he was leaving a review on a local G+ business page and I’m guessing by the look on his face and the frustration that was clearly coming off the tips of his fingers and on to his keyboard…he wasn’t happy.

Reviews are a necessity for any business that has an online presence. This is one of those things that as a business owner you must get right as nearly 88% of all prospective buyers check reviews before making a purchase. Just look at online retail giant, Amazon for instance. The first thing we all do before clicking that “add to cart” button is check the reviews and read the experience others have had with that retailer. Here’s how important they are to buyers and retailers alike; Amazon happens to be the leading review site in the US today with over 20 million prime members. There’s definitely power in numbers.

Reviews Allow Real-Time Engagement

Reviews equate to engagement, they allow businesses to shift directions immediately and meet the needs of their followers in the present as well as past. Just look at Yelp and TripAdvisor—do you eat at a new restaurant or stay at an out-of-town hotel without checking the reviews first? Most likely not. If you were to read a response left by management that explained a bad situation, it might persuade you in your decision to give them a try—where we currently are in real-time.

Keep in mind that reviewers are a separate niche of people all unto themselves. The really good ones (and there are many), have developed a cult following. They’re not afraid to say how the feel and they like the attention and possible rewards they get when others chime in as they open up their Yelp app on their mobile device and start to leave a review. I’ve even seen the staff of a restaurant bring the table next to us a special desert on the spot because someone left a 5 star Yelp review on how great their experience was. As reviews get posted, management is on point with recognizing their value—and instantly rewards them.

Reviews Affect Local SEO Results

Good or bad, Google reviews pack a punch. With Google being the second most important review platform after Amazon, they can make or break your reputation. However, what most business owners aren’t thinking about is that they are uber important to our SEO.  Reviews are one of the 200 Ranking Factors that Google uses in their algorithm.

First of all, they appear when someone Googles your business. Google wants your prospective buyers to know you’re a legitimate business and to help them make solid decisions so they decided a few years back to add review results to your online listing. They conveniently shine and twinkle right next your listing and when compared to the other 5 or 6 local businesses that populate (aka your competition). The one with the most reviews usually wins the click. If you have a successful SEO plan that puts you at the top of the search results and have no reviews, again, the one with the reviews will most likely win the click simply because of those little yellow ranking stars.

All Google reviews are good to have. However, only reviews that are native Google Map reviews with text pin point exactly where that reviewer was at the time he or she wrote the review will actually boost your SEO. This reinforces your location and your reputation back to Google that yes, indeed you are a real business.

My advice is to make use of your Google+ Places Page and set it up so it’s easy for your customers to review you. As you get your Places Page all optimized and set up, you’ll need to verify your business address with Google. They’ll send you a postcard with the code but also know that postcards get lost and then we lose track of time. So once you go in and request to be verified, be sure to watch for the code that will come in your mailbox so you can finish the listing properly. Again, this is very important to your local listing and SEO results.

Reviews Affect the Buying Decision

Reviews that are out on review sites and on forums are helpful to your SEO as well. They may be less authoritative, but your future customers will still read and refer to them for consistency. Take it one step further, nothing is as strong as a personal (that turns out to be non-personal, because let’s face it—we probably have no clue who the reviewer actually is) recommendation from someone who has experienced that product/business before.

They tell us the good, the bad and the ugly. They’re honest and for the most part even the strange or funny ones are helpful.  As business owners, they keep us on our toes or help us navigate through issues or even create a change for the better. As buyers they reinforce our decision which makes us as consumers feel happy about a purchase. For some, they simply allow the freedom to unlock the purse strings and have peace of mind.

Create a Review Strategy

I get it, as business owners we’re busy. We are in the SEO business and while we do this for our own clients, we have been so busy working on theirs that we have forgotten about ours! We know through and through that we also need a review strategy. Yet, it’s hard to find the time to actually get a process in place. Just like good SEO—good reviews take time to drive results.

Here’s what we’ve doing. We’ve created a solid review strategy and incorporated it into our overall marketing plan for the year. We’ve kept it simple…and you can too. Get your think tank together (or call us!) and brainstorm ways that you can build a solid online reputation while you build your SEO at the same time.

Before you get started though, check out the Google review policies. It could save you from being penalized down the road. If you know another small business that can benefit from this post, please share it with them! We’d love to help them boost their SEO by implementing a solid review strategy!

 

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About Us: In addition to our other services, Infinite Reach Agency works with our clients to help them rank and be found! If you have questions on this topic or have questions on how to implement a review strategy, contact us for a complimentary 30 minute consultation! We’re happy to help!