Call to Action Button – What should you say?
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Achieve Local Online Traffic for your Small Business
3 Simple Ways for Every Business to Achieve Local Online Traffic
The internet can be a big, scary world and mastering search engine discoverability has literally become a science. It is a daunting task for a small business to understand and implement the necessary plan needed to achieve massive organic website discoverability. Our suggestion is to start smaller by mastering local online traffic.
1. Understand The Local Three Pack
Prior to August, 2015, Google listed seven local business listings at the top of their search results, prioritizing local online traffic and then displaying listings that appear organically and paid ads below. In August, 2015, they reduced the 7-Pack to a 3-Pack. The newly designed local pack shows fewer listings and is more mobile friendly. Google’s goal was to provide more information in a more user friendly interface about the top three local listings.
So, how can your local business make it to the 3 Pack?
- Consistently use your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across many sources because Google places weight on information accuracy.
- Become active on local listing sites such as churches, the local Chamber of Commerce, or Kiwanis Club to generate local online traffic through backlinks and
- Make sure that your existing website takes advantage of responsive design.
- Optimize website content to include local information and keywords.
- Keep your Google Places and YellowPages.com listings current.
There is already talk about the 3-Pack becoming the 2-Pack in favor of “paid for inclusion” in local results. Basically, two local businesses will be organic and one will be an advertisement. Small businesses that are interested in being included in the top local listings will need to prepare now.
2. Encourage Customer Reviews
Google has confirmed on several occasions that customer reviews and ratings are a factor when ranking local businesses. Moz has estimated that customer reviews are 8.4% of the ‘local ranking pie.’ As an added bonus, reviews give your local listing those pretty little stars that help your business to stand out.
Here are a few ways to encourage customers to review your business:
- Entice customers to submit online reviews with discounts or other incentives.
- Simply ask customers to leave reviews once you are sure they are satisfied.
- Include links to review sites in emails and on your website.
- Enroll in several review sites, to make it convenient for customers to leave reviews.
Earning a steady stream of reviews is an important part of increasing local online traffic. Not only will the reviews improve local ranking, but it will also influence customer confidence. And do not be afraid of negative reviews. Consumers do not expect your business to be perfect. Your handling of a negative review can speak volumes for or against your business.
3. Invest Time in Google My Business
Google My Business is free and is essential to local discoverability. Allowing for updating of Google search, Google Maps, and Google+ from one dashboard is convenient and provides a one-stop shop for small business owners. Google favors their own platform and updating Google My Business helps with higher local rankings. The following may be accessed from the new dashboard:
- Google+. Share new photos, links, videos, etc.
- After verifying your business, the dashboard will provide visibility insights.
- Managing reviews on Google is easy now and reviews from other sites can be viewed from the dashboard.
- Google Analytics. One click access to the Analytics dashboard adds efficiency and ease.
Google My Business assists local businesses with managing accurate business information from one convenient dashboard while improving local online traffic. Win-Win!
When tackling search engines on a large scale seems overwhelming, small businesses can start with mastering their local search and then grow from there.
Convert Leads into Sales
Inspire Action: 3 Ways to Convert Email Leads into Sales
You have begun to receive those magical little email addresses in your email manager. Congrats! Ideally, you would like for the people behind the emails to become customers. Because of your irresistible lead magnets, compelling website, and calls to action, you are creating an audience of people who are generally interested in receiving more information from you. So, what is the next step?
1. Build a Relationship
Contact Form
If you have received an online form from your website, someone has taken the time to complete this form on your Contact Us Page, or anywhere else, this is your opportunity to begin a conversation with that potential client! This is a LEAD, and you now have an opportunity to convert this lead into a sale! You can now begin a dialogue, answering their questions and inspiring trust. It’s up to you.. if you received that contact form, go get’m, that’s what you want: converting a leadto a sale can often be as simple as following up… so FOLLOW UP!
Email Opt-in
Through effective email marketing, relationships are built that will eventually translate into new customers. Only around 10-25% of email communications with your leads should be sales-oriented. The remaining percentage should focus on strengthening your relationship with your audience and establishing your business as a primary source of industry specific information. Including value added offers are a great way to build trust with prospects:
- White papers
- Tickets to events
- Ebook downloads
- Videos
- Other resources
Once you learn about your new leads and their needs and interests, you will be better able to meet their future needs.
2. Don’t Give Up
Developing a conversion plan is essential. Relying on one single email will lead to disappointment. Leads like to be courted. Expect the majority of your leads not to respond. If they have not unsubscribed from your emails, they are still an interested lead. A few tricks for encouraging more response are:
- Resend emails with different subject lines.
- If your leads do not respond by acting, reword the email highlighting a different incentive to act.
- Repackage content in different formats such as infographics, visuals, videos, etc.
- Send emails at different times of the day.
Perform testing and try many different approaches in an effort to reach your audience in the way that they want to be reached. Remember…you worked hard to earn these leads so don’t give up.
3. Learn More About Your Leads
If your call to action only requested an email address, try to learn more information about your lead. Behind that email is an actual person. The more that you know about that person, the more likely you are to convert the lead into a customer. Here are a few ways to get more information from your leads:
- Facebook Lead Ads. Once you have an email list, you can target your list through Facebook and generate a lead ad. With Facebook’s lead ads, customers can easily provide their information, including a phone number, without leaving Facebook or completing the form. The form is auto-filled and delivered directly to you.
- Offer a Sweepstakes. Create an email that offers a sweepstakes for a gift card. In order to enter the drawing, leads must complete a form that includes a phone number.
- Conduct a Survey. Surveys are a great way to learn more about your prospective customers’ needs as well as glean a bit more contact information.
Once you have a phone number or physical address, you have one more way to reach out to your lead in a personal way.
Leads are the key to your future business growth. Growing your email list should remain a marketing priority, but do not forget to schedule time to invest in those leads. Your leads are tomorrow’s clients.
Is Your Website A Lead Capturing Machine? It Should Be!
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Lead Capture
Your website is so much more than your virtual storefront or professional portfolio. Powerful small business websites are also used as lead generating tools that can account for a large percentage of new business. Every business website should accomplish two primary lead capture goals:
- Inform your audience about products, offerings, and value.
- Capture leads from prospective clients.
We promise that it isn’t complicated and you can make it happen on your website. Here is how:
Calls to Action for Lead Capture
Integrate call to action boxes anywhere that makes sense. Slider images should include a strong call to action such as, “Receive Our Interesting Stuff” or “Learn More.” If your website does not ask for an email from visitors, you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to collect an email address that will open the door to a new client. Do not be afraid to include a thin banner through a web page with creative call to action boxes.
Lead Magnets
A lead magnet is an irresistible offer that website visitors willingly provide their email address to receive. The offer is carefully developed in order to attract and target a specific audience that has a high likelihood of converting into actual sales. Lead magnets include the following ideas:
- Analyzer Tool
- Instructional Video
- Checklist
- “How To” ebook
- Live consultation
- Coupon or other discount
- Free sample
- Quiz or survey
- Free trial
- Sweepstakes entry
When websites include side bar boxes offering irresistible content or tools, the email leads will begin to pour in. And these leads are eager and willing to learn more, do more, and be more. Take advantage!
Landing Pages for Lead Capture
Once you have developed a few high value offers, landing pages can be used to generate leads that convert. Landing pages are clean, very specific web pages that have the sole objective of capturing a lead. They rarely include navigation buttons and they are clear about what the ultimate goal of the page is: Exchange an email address for a valuable offer. Landing pages can be created as part of your existing website or can be created with separate urls.
Pop Up Boxes for Lead Capture
Businesses who include pop-up boxes on their websites experience a lead increase of up to 600%. That number is difficult to argue against. Yes, pop up boxes can be annoying, but they work. A few ideas for reaping the benefits of a pop up box without disturbing your visitors are:
- Present a pop up box at the end of the content.
- Introduce a pop up box when the visitor indicates that they intend to exit the site.
- After the page scrolls, slide in a pop up box.
- Add a pop up sidebar that does not cover the content.
However you choose to implement the pop up, make sure that you use it as an effective tool to generate leads.
Now, USE THE LEADS!
In an online environment where businesses are paying hundreds of dollars to acquire one email lead, what is the value of your lead? The answer is ZERO! Unless, of course, you take advantage of the lead. And then it can be worth thousands.
Behind the email leads are actual people who are eager to speak with you and learn more about your product offerings. These leads are your best opportunity to create a sale from a lead.
Use your new email leads to reach out, connect, develop relationships, and ultimately, cultivate an ongoing, profitable relationship.
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3 Game Changing “On-Site” SEO Ingredients
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The Importance of On-Site SEO Ingredients:
Whether you already have a website or are considering developing one, understanding on-site SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and the importance of doing this work (making sure your website designer or developer includes this service in the creation of your site), could ultimately determine the success of your online presence. On-site SEO optimization is not just the process of creating a website that is appealing to both users and search engines. A search engine evaluates your website differently than your audience and without “on-site” optimization, you may find that your website’s reach is sparse.
Did you know:
- Search is the #1 driver of traffic to content sites?
- 50% of search queries are 4 words or longer?
- Search bars are the starting point for 60% of travelers?
- Local searches motivate 50% of mobile visitors to visit businesses within one day?
If you did not realize how important your website’s SEO is, you sure do now. SEO is a complex beast, but the first step to a discoverable website it to take advantage of on-site SEO practices.
Keywords
Identifying appropriate keywords and using them throughout your website is essential to being recognized by search engines. Free services such as KW Finder and Google Keyword Planner are a couple of tools that can get you started. Select a primary keyword for each page and be sure to include it in the first and last paragraphs of content. Also, use variations of the keyword throughout the content.
Meta Descriptions
Although your page content may be clear and concise, search engines require a bit more help understanding what you website is about. By adding behind the scenes metadata to each page, search engines will be clear about the content and will begin to deliver it to the appropriate audience. It is always smart to add keywords to metadata as well.
Unique Page Titles
Assigning each page of your website a unique and relevant title will ensure that your pages will be discoverable. The page title does not need to match the navigation tab, but it should include a keyword to make the page more favorable to search engines.
Considering these three important ingredients of on-site SEO will give your website an edge over the competition and position your business for success.
Although there is more, this is the first step and very important… we will expound on this further with “on-page” SEO, covering the additional strategies on each individual page or post to more fully optimize your site’s content for discoverability.
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Search Engine Optimization… What is SEO?
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If you have been thinking about your business website and how to have an effective web presence, you have likely encountered the term SEO. But, what does that mean and more importantly, what does it mean for your business?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the term that is used to refer to a marketing discipline designed to grow the organic (unpaid) traffic to your business website. Once your business website is launched, there are many ways to direct traffic to your site. According to a study conducted by Search Engine Watch, the top five results of any search result in over 67% of the clicks. Ranking high in search results is important!
When a website is well structured and optimized for discoverability, it will begin to appear in search engine results naturally. There are hundreds of factors that influence Google and other search engines and allow your website to be ranked over other, similar sites. Understanding the most important components of a discoverable website and monopolizing on them is essential for a healthy and effective web presence.
1. Quality User Experience
There are many ways to optimize your website to provide the best user experience. Consider the last time that you visited a website looking for information. Ask yourself these questions about that experience:
- Was the site easy to navigate?
- Were you able to easily search the site?
- Was there content that improved the experience?
- Was your objective for visiting the site achieved?
- Did the website direct you to additional, useful information?
- Did the website load quickly?
These are the same questions that your visitors will ask themselves while they are exploring your website. Placing yourself in the position of your target audience and structuring a website to provide a seamless experience is recognized by search engines and will influence your websites ranking.
2. High Quality Content
Long gone are the days of stuffing a website with keywords in order to increase traffic. Today, well structured, meaningful content is essential to cultivating website traffic. There are several types of content and websites that have a mix of content are favored over sites that are sparse with content.
- Page Content. Each individual page of your business website should have a minimum of 250 words explaining the purpose of the page and providing useful information to the user.
- Blog Posts. Posting frequent blog posts provides an opportunity to stay in touch with your audience and provide updated information. Centering blog posts around specific topics increases discoverability.
- Evergreen Content. A term that is becoming increasingly discussed, evergreen content is thoughtful, long form content that helps to establish the author as an industry leader. Evergreen content is typically published in the form of a blog, white paper, or ebook and is readily accessible from the website.
- Product Descriptions. eCommerce sites have a unique opportunity to utilize product descriptions as a form of high quality content. Although it may be tempting, resist the urge to use standard product descriptions and instead, write unique descriptions for maximum search engine exposure.
- Meta Descriptions. Although meta content is almost always invisible to the user, search engines rely on high quality meta descriptions to make sense of the parts of your website. Making full use of behind the scenes meta content will produce a noticeable increase in website traffic.
When developing any of these types of content, it is important to product well structured sentences. There is no such thing as too much content, so keep writing.
3. Social Media Authority
Linking social media accounts to your website is important way for Google and other search engines to verify that your business is well established. Do not be afraid of being present on all relevant social channels. Use the opportunity to interact with customers and use social platforms as a channel for providing customer service. There are several ways to take advantage of social media to increase your website SEO. The first step is to create accounts and link them to your website. A few platforms to consider are:
- Snapchat
- Vimeo
- YouTube
SEO is a very broad term and encompasses a range of marketing techniques. Understanding the most important keys to being discovered can be tricky. When in doubt, rely on a professional for help with optimizing your site and GET FOUND!
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