internet marketing
Why Should I Hire a Digital Marketing Agency? #FAQuesday
Has your lead generation come to a screeching halt? Does your website still look like it belongs in an era where neon color schemes were all the rage? If inbound marketing hasn’t provided the results you’re looking for, take your business to the next level by hiring a digital marketing company. So why should hiring a digital marketing agency be your next step? Let our very own team at The Web Guys give the rundown on the best reasons to enlist the help of an agency: 1) Experience & Training Becoming well-versed in all facets of online marketing, whether it’s social media, search engine results or website design, isn’t an overnight process. Although we wish that could be the case, digital marketing is an ongoing process that takes a high level of training, skills, and commitment. Also, it can be downright confusing. For example, take a look at what our … Continued
Do I Need Outbound Links for Blog Posts? #FAQuesday
As a form of online content, links provide a great value for users. Without links, a blog post is simply a dead end and may not be very helpful if people need more information than what is offered in the article. SEO industry experts often mention the importance of getting backlinks to your website, but should outbound links be totally left in the dust? What Are Outbound Links? First off, outbound links, also known as external links, are defined as links on a web page that link to pages on other websites. Examples of outbound links include press releases, industry-relative blog posts, and government regulations. While overloading your blog post with a large quantity of outbound links is not an effective digital marketing strategy, linking to other articles with high quality content can help provide additional sources for your audience. A big part of incorporating outbound links is understanding which … Continued
Connect the Dots for Digital Marketing Success
Now that you’ve spent a few weeks learning about digital marketing, it’s time to summarize the takeaways. It isn’t enough to know about each individual aspect; you should also understand how they connect and work together to provide the results you need to grow your business.Build a Solid FoundationThe foundation and beginning of your digital identity is your website. Design a professional, credible website you can be proud of that properly portrays your business. Make sure to make it “mobile-friendly” so it’s appealing from any device, and fill it with useful content that provides the experience your target customers expect when navigating a website.Get Found LocallyNow that you have the proper online foundation, it’s time to drive targeted local traffic to your website. That being said, not all traffic will do, because you offer a service or product in a very specific geographical area. Let the right customers find you by setting up and … Continued
How Do I Verify My Company’s Facebook Page? #FAQuesday
Last week in this space, The Web Guys explained why authenticating your company’s Facebook page is important. Today, we’ll walk you through the process of getting your page verified so consumers can easily find it on the popular social network.The first step is to access the settings on your business Facebook page.If you are an authorized administrator of the page, you’ll find the verification status near the top of the Settings. Click on the blue “Edit” link and then on “Verify this Page” to get started. Choose Your PathAt this point, you’ll need to determine whether you want Facebook to use the business’ publicly listed phone number or business documents to confirm that your page is the real deal. (Pro tip: If your phone system requires a caller to enter an extension number to reach an employee, opt for the documentation method. Although you can include an extension on Facebook’s verification-request form, we have had mixed success with that option.)If … Continued
Start at the Beginning for Digital Marketing Success
In the fast-paced world of digital marketing, it’s easy to get distracted by the never-ending array of shiny objects designed to get Web surfers’ attention. But even the latest and greatest innovations can’t accomplish much unless they’re supported by the right infrastructure.It is crucial for businesses to build a solid foundation for their digital marketing efforts before attempting anything else. At The Web Guys, we start at the beginning by designing engaging websites that appeal to potential customers and search engines alike. Craft a Custom Strategy Our website-development process begins with a deep dive into your business, exploring everything from its history to its ambitions. We also research the broader industry to make sure we understand the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for you and your customers. Understanding who your targeted audience is — and what they’re searching for online — empowers our team to create a well-thought-out website … Continued
Why Does My Business Website Need Images? #FAQuesday
Think about the last time you were scrolling through your Twitter feed and found something appealing enough to “like” or re-tweet: Were you drawn by your neighbor’s 140-character description of his new car or the photo of him grinning like a kid from behind the wheel? And that White Castle breakfast casserole you whipped up for the last family gathering — did you find the recipe in a dust-covered cookbook or through a link your friend posted with Facebook pictures of the finished dish? When it comes to cutting through the volumes of information Americans are inundated with every day, The Web Guys understands that few things are as powerful as an attention-grabbing image. Indeed, industry research shows that tweets with images are shared 150 percent more often than those with pure text, and photo-focused posts drive 87 percent of a typical Facebook page’s engagement. The stakes are even higher … Continued
Can a Seasonal Business ‘Turn Off’ Digital Marketing? #FAQuesday
At The Web Guys, we serve many businesses that provide seasonal services: snowmobile rentals, lawn care, watersport rentals, and even construction. These firms tend to bring in the majority of their income during specific times of the year, offsetting the months when they are simply hoping to break even. Over the years, a number of our clients have asked if we can deliver our digital marketing efforts during the months they are “in-season” and pause them during down times, hoping to save money when things are tight. While it might seem like something that can be turned on or off like a light switch, that isn’t the case, and trying to do it can actually negatively affect your online visibility in the long-run. Google Doesn’t Stop When Your Business Slows Down Digital marketing is a year-round activity because although your business may slow down during certain times of the year, Google is constantly working to provide … Continued
Why Do I Need to Keep Updating My Website? #FAQuesday
Anyone who has been through a business website launch knows it can feel like pulling off a minor miracle. Even with experts like The Web Guys handling the programming, content creation, and design, it takes a village — and months of hard work — to build a site that attracts visitors and turns them into customers. So it’s understandable that many companies aren’t eager to start making changes after crossing the finish line. But as we tell our clients, that natural inclination to take it easy could be a big mistake when it comes to search engine optimization.That’s because industry giant Google’s search algorithms tend to reward sites that have fresh, high-quality content, ranking them higher in search results. Ironically, it’s not a recent development; freshness has been a ranking factor since 2007, when Google began using its “Query Deserves Freshness” model to boost new content tied to “hot” topics. … Continued
Should I Buy More Domain Names and Forward Them to My Website? #FAQuesday
One of the questions we periodically hear from clients goes something like this – “If they’re available, should I buy more domain names that include keywords people might use when searching for the services my business provides?” Let me first explain the question better with an example … Company Name: Distant Landscaping Company, LLC Location: Distant, PA Website: www.DistantLandscapingCompanyLLC.com This company provides landscaping services in Distant, PA, and wants to be found in the SERPs for searches like “landscapers in distant pa.” The question is whether they should purchase exact-match domain names (EMDs) like the following and forward them to their website. www.LandscapersinDistantPA.com, www.DistantPALandscapers.com, www.LandscapersDistantPennsylvania.com, etc. The short answer is no. Purchasing a domain name that doesn’t have and hasn’t had an actual website associated with it, and then forwarding it to your website will not benefit your website in the SERPs. You will simply incur the expense of domain … Continued
What’s Your Best Content Marketing Strategy?
In the ever-changing world that is search engine marketing, you can probably find dozens and dozens of articles every day about the multiple different views and methods to getting any number of results for your website. Considering there is a new way to improve your online presence seemingly every day, what is your best bet for getting your message out there? How do you convince people to choose you over the millions of other sources out there? Your content marketing strategy can define whether your site is taking steps in the right direction, but should you strive to develop more and more content, or focus on the overall quality of your creations? There is No One Way In reality, the answer to that question in reality is a combination of both. If you are able to develop a lot of high-quality content on your site, the people will come in … Continued
