8 Search Marketing Factors that Impact Local Rankings

According to Local Search Association’s 2012 “Local Media Tracking Study,” 64 percent of US adults said that they used search engines to find local business information. When looking at Internet search engine based searches, 25 percent of respondents said that they use mobile phones (smartphones) to perform the searches, compared to laptops and tablets. Consumers are using a broader array of online and offline media when searching for local business information.

When are local businesses going to start rethinking their digital marketing strategy?

Sure, there are some local businesses looking for insights on how they can improve in local search marketing and SEO, but which ones are more important than others? Is it a more focused keyword strategy or a social strategy that aims to drive more positive online reviews - reputation management - for service related businesses? 

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3 Social Media Marketing Tools for Ignorant Brands

There are hundreds of big brands that aren’t using new media to its full potential. Just as you’re getting caught up on traditional social media marketing strategies, your customer is on to the next thing. They’re vining, snapchatting, and instagraming, spreading their digital footprint like gasoline on Tannerite. 

Did I make up those words? Who cares. Your customer is consuming and producing content in new ways, especially if they’re between the ages of 12-21.

Do me a favor. Google “vine,” “snapchat,” and “instagram,” then let me show you how to incorporate these tools into your digital marketing toolbox.

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3 Reasons Why SEO Content Creation is Perfect for SMBs

Internet users go to the blank box - Google - for one reason and one reason only. They want to get content quickly. Their searches can have many intentions: finding a certain website, uncovering additional information on a broad topic or service, or exploring with the intention of buying a product or service online. Informational and transactional queries are the ones that involve SEO and website content creation the most. 

High quality SEO content caters to these types of searches because - if good enough - provides helpful information relevant to the query in the search box. Things like blog posts, online videos, social media marketing and other tactics can have you showing up higher in search engine results listings, especially if the content gets links from high authority new sources. After all, 2013 has been stated as the year of the online writer.

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Why B2B Brands Have a Link Building Problem

There are a limited amount of B2B brands that are still doing a good job of corporate storytelling in 2013. The ones who are excelling include Cisco, Boeing, and GE, but there still are many B2B brands that have a long way to travel. You may be wondering: how does corporate storytelling play a role in SEO strategy and link building? We would have to follow up by asking: Remember how I mentioned the year we’re in, you know, 2013? 

Link building is an important part of SEO, but B2B brands are much better off telling their story to acquire links and traffic. The best online B2B marketing pushes corporate messaging even further, and it turns into stories about customers, people, advocates, and influencers which plead to be shared. 

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Using Reciprocity as a Weapon in Digital Marketing

Introduction

At the young age of 10, I was the victim of reciprocity in the retail environment. The occurrence remains in my memory because I wanted to try the newest soda on the market - Surge. This “Mountain Dew Killer” of a soda gave a heart-pounding, cardiac arrest-ish experience to anyone who consumed the green syrup. Moreso, they pushed the product down the throats of consumers, specifically that day when people in Surge garb gave me a free 2 liter of the stuff. Little did I know, they were using reciprocity in the form of a concession to make my ten-year-old-self an advocate of the product.

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The Impact of Content Creation on Selling Your Product

We’ve written a couple articles - Supplement: 2013: The Year of the Online Writer, 4 Digital Marketing Predictions for 2013 - on why content creation fuels your SEO practices and search marketing efforts; it ultimately gives authoritative online publications a reason to link to your website. Remember, Google’s sole purpose is to deliver the most relevant content to the user for a given query. This means that if you enter “st louis traffic lawyers” into the search box, Google wants to give the user the best information on traffic lawyers or traffic law for St. Louis. And if you’re selling traffic law services, then it’s in your best interest to create content that attracts both search engines and consumers to your website.

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