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Like it or not, if you want your website to gain traction in search engines, as an organic result, you must apply the seven steps in this video.
These are seven distinct steps and each one has something specific you can do, and then measure the results from that action in Google Analytics.
No use thinking you are going to beat the odds, online marketing is a process that is best accomplished step by step. Real success is not going to happen overnight or even in weeks. Be cautious of people promising you instant results to obtain organic results in search engine marketing.
If you are serious about your online marketing success, then you have to become familiar with Google Analytics.
This free data tool will measure many aspects of your website traffic. It can also be used to understand other channel traffic like your blog, Facebook and YouTube sites.
In this post we will cover two basic data views you MUST know in order to understand the 1) characteristics of your visitors are and 2) what activity your blog or website visitors accomplish in a visit.
Once you are logged into Google Analytics you can view data or setup a new property. A propoerty is a website or blog ... any URL you want to measure traffic on.
ADMIN Screen
To add or edit a property look at bottom left of the screen for the ADMIN icon that shows a gear.
That will display this screen where you can choose the best button to continue your work.
Users: the total number of people visiting your property (site). New Users: number of new users only. not total users. Sessions: total number of visits to your site. Pageviews: the total number of pages viewed during all visits. BounceRate: the percentage of visitors that exit your site on the same page that they entered your site.
Pageviews is now, and has been, the recognized measurement of website traffic.
About the Bounce Rate, the smaller that percentage the better. When that percentage is smaller it means more visitors view more than one page of your site.
#2 Website Page Activity
Choose "Behavior" and then "All Pages" from the selection on the left of the screen to see the data view screen below.
Pageview Activity
This data views informs you what pages your website visitors viewed.
To change the date range and display results for new dates, make modifications to the date bar in top right corner of the screen.
These are the clear signs that your digital marketing needs some tune up attention on any website platform, including Wordpress.
#1Video Marketing Your website traffic has not increased visitor traffic and/or your website pagesviews have not increased since you began your YouTube channel. FIX Revise the tags on your YouTube video to be more specific. Or, include name of YouTube channels that are synergistic with your channel, meaning that when the synergistic channel videos play your videos will be displayed as a recommended video. #2Voice Search Your website shows on first page of search results (FPSR) with organic listing using a traditional search - typing into the search field, however; site does not display organically in a search using Siri or Android Voice Command (AVC). FIX The best resolution is adding more content to flush out more features and benefits of your services/products. Either add more web pages or add more content to existing pages. Google considers one webpage to be an "authority" when it contains over 1,500 words. #3Website Visitors Exit Site On Same Web Page They Entered Site The "Bounce Rate" tells you the count of people who left your website on the same page they entered your site. For example, if the Bounce Rate is 90% and you had 100 visitors, you know that 90 visitors only saw one page. FIX Goose up your engagement strategy. Convert your pages into section of bands. Cover one topic in a section or band and provide button to another web page with more content on that section/topic. Offer a special promotion and use a button on all web pages to access the web page containing the promotion. Use more images and link the images to content pages that are the index page of a folder on your web site. Images are great to peak interest. #4Website Does Not Display in Google Search Results With All Directories Displayed. Below is a photo of a website showing all the directories displayed organically on FPSR.
FIX Make sure your top level directories in the website architecture contain a file using index (php or htm or htm). All the other web pages in that directory need to link to that index file - in the content of the index file -preferable as a text link. #5Photos On Website Do Not Appear As Organic Results in Google Under Results of "Images" All images are categorized by the search bots according to thier file name and the "ALT" tag description of the image. FIX To have more of your images displayed in organic search results, examine the text used in the "ALT" tag of the image and the actual file name of the image. Do those two items match or are they very close? If not, make sure they are almost identical or identical. Use a hypen to separate words in a file name. For example, the-file-name.png. Lastly, be sure that the "ALT" tag and file name words are also used in the top header on your web page. #6Web Page is Slow To Display This is best link so far that I use for speed and optimization score: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/. Its an easy location to test your site speed/optimization and receive instant feedback. FIX There are many variables that contribute to page speed. It's probably the best step to focus first on making your mobile website the highest performing site. Google favors mobile devices and has a "mobile search tool" in the Apple and Android stored. There seems to be more SEO juice in using the warehouse method for images rather than inserting - storing the image in your web page of your site. Warehousing images will definitely increase the speed of uploading your website. For sites loaded with images, like a store catalog, remember to keep thumbnail images small and the actual image not larger that 250 px wide. #7Difficult To Measure Marketing Results Your website is up and running, but you are not sure what your website visitors are doing or what they should be doing. FIX Every website needs a vision to carry out a three step plan ... 1. Inform website visitors about your product/services 2. Educate website visitors about features and benefits of products/services 3. Convert website visitors into a subscriber or a buyer When it's difficult to measure the progress a website visitor makes in those three steps, take time create/structure your content marketing with the goal of linking those steps. Those links are known as a "call to action". Newsletter - Turn Your Digital Intelligence WordPress - Nine Common Mistakes In Websites - 2018
There are many great platforms to build your website. Each platform uses a unique process to edit and publish website content.
WordPress is a popular platform. According to whoishostingthis.com in a 2018 report there are 175 billion websites of which about 75 million are WordPress sites. From that number about 37.5 million are hosted at the WordPress official site.
Two Methods To Start A WordPress Website
You can do a WordPress site in one of two ways.
1. Pick a website host. For example hostmonster.com. Purchase a plan from them that usually costs around $5 to $10 a month per year. Once you have a plan, install WordPress and you are off to creating your website. At Hostmonster they have 7/24 phone support and helpful videos for all web host plans.
2. Go to wordpress.com and select a plan. Once you have a plan you move right into the creating your website. There are many forums integrated into WordPress with a question/answer format. These forums are excellent resources to research problems and solutions, along with reviewing features of plugins from actual users.
Nine Common Mistakes WordPress Owners Make With Content Marketing
Content marketing is the method or process of building content to substantiate and demonstrate your product/services, along with the process of converting website visitors into a subscriber or a purchaser.
The content used in a content marketing effort includes web pages, photos, and videos on your website, and also in marketing channels that includes social media and YouTube.
#1Security
Wordpress releases new versions of the software from time to time. This updating process is just a natural segment of every software life cycle.
The security issue lies in many website owners don't install the updates that WordPress releases.
This allows hackers an easy way to take advantage of the older versions of WordPress sites. For example, hypothetically, say Wordpress has a new version in June 2017 that fixes a piece of code which hackers have been using to do damage to WordPress sites. That piece of code, to fix a security issue, is not updated/installed into a website/blog until the website owner/admin installs the new version of WordPress.
"Less than 1/3 of all WordPress installations (websites & blogs) are updated to the latest version."
- WordPress.com
Wordpress is very good about making it clear that a new version is available to install. A notice appears on the Wordpress dashboard of every website/blog. But it's up to the website owner/administrator to do the install.
Be sure to read the notices that WordPress provides about software updates.
NOTE: There is a second security concern. Be sure to change the username and password that is supplied as the default when you open your WordPress account. This mistake is more common than you think.
#2SEO - Search Engine Optimization
There are a couple of items to address here.
A. DEFAULT TAGS: Be sure to change the default tag line that is automatically installed.
B. SEO TAGS: Install and use a SEO plugin for each web page. I have used the Yoast SEO plugin and seen some excellent search engine results with it.
C. PHOTOS & SEO: Photos/Images do not have the "Alt" tags completed. Each photo/image should have a short text description in the "Alt" tag to tell the search engine what it's depicting. For example, if you have a before/after landscape image, the "Alt" tag may read as "Landscaping project in (city name) before/after photos".
That example is an effective "Alt" tag when your SEO target is Landscape Contractors in (city name) or with a SEO target of Landscaping services in (city name).
D. PAGE SPEED: The speed at which your web page displays to a visitor is an important factor, according to Google, in determining your search engine organic ranking(s). Most sites I have seen don't have/use a Cache plugin. I like W3 Total Cache plugin which is also free. Of course, when you have your site encrypted (see below) you are not going to need the cache plugin.
#3Architecture
A. FILE NAMES: Without making this too complicated, filenames play an important role in SEO. As a general rule of thumb, use the header of your page as your file name - at least the first five words of that top title on your page. Follow that rule on every page of your website.
Proficient SEO habits mean each page contain a unique "Heading 1" title at the top of the page. That heading structure gives search bots clear direction on what to be looking at - synthesizing - on your web page.
There are SEO methods that go deeper than the rule I just provided, however; if you are new to this SEO concept of file naming, that general rule will get you started in the right direction.
B. ENCRYPT SITE: Google came out in 2017 and said that encrypted websites get favored in search results. You can get a free SSL Certificate at clouflare.com and install it on your site/blog. They also have paid versions of the certificate. For a single business owner, you have everything you need with the free SSL certificate. The SSL certificate modifies your site from http to https.
Many sites I have worked on do not contain a clearly defined sales funnel.
That means lost opportunity to sell products/services and also makes it more difficult to measure your marketing success in Google Analytics.
The sales funnel is the process used on a web site to accomplish the following steps ....
1. Inform the viewer of your products/services 2. Educate the viewer on features and benefits of your product/services 3. Convert the viewer into a subscriber or buyer of your products/services
In the web page content/media to accomplish those three objectives you will place "call to action" opportunites. Those opportunites could be, as simple as, a button to call you. Or, maybe a button to send their email address to you and become a subscriber.
Your call to action strategy will vary with your marketing objectives.
Being successful with your digital marketing relies on your understanding the necessary components of a online marketing strategy.
According to the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, almost half of the online consumers they interviewed stated a website’s design is the number one criterion for discerning the credibility of the company.
In other words, the foundation of your online success is based on a professional web site. Your website design instantly creates a good reputation of your business, or a bad reputation for your business - there is no gray area in this fact.
Distributing Your Business Information
According to current online marketing reporting, there are two proven online marketing methods.
Marketing Method #1
The most popular content viewing strategy for years has been online videos.
"One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words." Source: Forrester Research
Today, YouTube.com is the second largest search engine - aka marketing channel - in the world. MerchDope.com says almost five billion videos are watched every day on that channel.
With smart phones making a video has become easier and easier. To place your videos above the herd, you must SEO (search engine optimize) your YouTube channel, and you must SEO your video content.
"Blog posts incorporating video attract three times as many inbound links as blog posts without video."Source: moz.com
But, to get started, if you are on a low budget or zero budget, then here is an is an idea. Use your cell phone to capture a few of your clients talking about your products .... better show have your video sho them using your product. It is easy to upload your video to a YouTube account.
All you need is a valid gmail address to login at YouTube and setup your channel or upload your videos.
Marketing Method #2
Everyone knows that the google search engine is the place to put your business. The first goal of online marketing is always to produce organic listings on the first page of search results (FPSR). That is the gold Standard for every content marketing strategy.
However, a new search option revolution is making an appearance - voice search.
A Cisco study completed in 2017 says that voice search will exceed the "traditional search" in 2021.
The time to get your site compliant with voice search is today. The significant difference between voice search, and search completed by typing into search field, is that the voice search algorithms are able to interpret additional syntax.
"What that means to a business doing online marketing is, in order to achieve organic results on FPSR you need some serious content explaining, demonstrating, and validating your key marketing ideas around the features and benefits of your products/services."
This can be accomplished over time, not over night, by authentication of your website (in the eyes of Google). There are man steps to accomplish authentication. Here are two easy steps: 1) include publishing several web pages containing 1,500 words or more, and 2) publish multiple videos linked back to your site/blog using phrases relevant to your content.
Have you hear the Supreme Court ruled on collecting Internet sales tax?
Internet retailers can be required to collect sales taxes in states where they have no physical presence, the Supreme Court ruled on today; June 21, 2018.
The Court upheld a law passed by South Dakota lawmakers in 2016 that requires out-of-state online sellers to collect the state’s sales taxes if the companies have more than $100,000 in annual sales of products to South Dakota residents or more than 200 separate transactions involving state.
There are currently 31 states who have laws taxing Internet sales as shown in the map below.
Courtesy Of TaxFoundation.org
These are three easy steps to understand how the Internet sales tax will apply to your business.
1. What is your sales volume?
The threshold is 100,000 USD in sales OR 200 transactions - both within one year.
2. Identify the state of transaction.
Let's say you sell in five different states. You need to start measuring the transaction count and sales volume for each state you do sales in.
3. Contact State office to get specific information
It's a good time to get the "official" information for states that you do online business in. That official source of information is going to start with the Secretary of Sate for each State.
If you need additional sales tax info in a state, which means drilling down to the county level, you will likely have to contact the Treasurer of each county.
I think these three nuggets of research will help any business build a better online marketing strategy ....
1. Online Transactions According to a study in 2017, the three categories of online transactions are books/music, electronics, and apparel. The expectation for growth is from categories that traditionally use showrooms.
~ KPMG 2017
2. Video Marketing Video has soared during the last 12 months, with a 17% leap in usage. This looks set to carry on into 2018 – around 2 out of 3 businesses not currently using video plan to start in 2018, and, almost unanimously, those who already use video plan to continue. The vast majority also plan to increase or maintain spending on video in the next twelve months.
~ State Of Video Marketing 2018
3. Marketing Trends Services like Comcast and DirecTV may potentially partner with Snap Inc. and Facebook to distribute television content through these platforms. Brands should place more emphasis on short form video content since audiences will begin consuming more video content on mobile devices. ~ Edelman Digital Trends 2017
- According to CPCstrategy.com, 96% of Americans shop online.
- The cost of shipping is the number one shutdown of online purchases.
- I am surprised that 43% of respondents said they shop from their bed. Does that surprise you?
Majority, 67%, Of Retailers Not Prepared to Exploit Intelligent Agents "Retailers will need to consider how to work with intelligent agents that will take a greater share of how customers discover and order; create immersive, dynamic store experiences; use physical stores as logistics nodes for intraday fulfillment; expand the digital catalog."
~ Forrester Research 2018
Need a quick idea on video content in your business?
These five ideas are simple and apply to any business - any product or services.
Videos are on the rise in marketing across he USA.
A video can automatically accomplish the most important aspect of marketing - putting the customer needs first, by simple explaining how a product or service will solve a problem of the potential customer.
From a study in 2018 here are the top three motivators to get some video done to marketing your business ....
#1Where both video and text are available on the same page, 72% of people would rather use video to learn about a product or service.
~ Hubspot
#276% of businesses using video say it helped them increase sales.
~ Hubspot
#385% of people say they'd like to see more video from brands in 2018.
~ digitalmarketinginstitute.com
You may be surprised when you read these 10 facts. But, no matter what platform your website is on, you can put these facts to work for you. Content marketing services produce digital media content to engage your website visitors using digital marketing strategies, based on your customized marketing plan. Learn more about content marketing strategy.
You want to spend wisely when it comes to building your business reputation.
Sure you want to reach your targeted demographic but without spending some serious cash on research its kinda hit and miss to find the best online channel containing your niche viewers.
But no matter what channel you are using for marketing there is one thing you can count on correctly - videos give you the best return on your advertising buck.
In the online world everything is always changing except on thing - videos.
No matter what business you have.
No matter what products or services you provide.
Videos remain the most popular attention tool across all ages and demographics.
Video Marketing Research In 2018 From Hubspot ....
Video is often cited as a tool that helps drive various areas of business performance, and the numbers back up those claims:
A) 97% of marketers say video has helped increase user understanding of their product or service. B) 76% say it helped them increase sales. C) 47% say it helped them reduce support calls. D) 76% say it helped them increase traffic.
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
Video are an excellent method to build organic results in the search engine about your business.
Google and Bing even allow you to select videos as the results instead of searching everything on the web.
How Fast Do Viewers In Marketing Channels Change?
According to a new PEW study, Facebook was the dominant social media site among U.S. teens, visited by 71 percent of people in that demographic.
Not anymore. Now only 51 percent of teens use Facebook, according to Pew Research Center.
The world's largest social network has finally been eclipsed in popularity by YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook Inc.-owned Instagram. Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube is the most popular, used by 85 percent of teens, according to Pew.
About one-third of the survey's respondents said they visit Snapchat and YouTube most often. Meanwhile, only 10 percent of teens said Facebook is their most-used online platform.
Summary
Three things you must build into your marketing campaigns to capture the attention of your potential customers ....
1. Build your content so it's smart phone friendly.
2. Publish videos that are educational and informative about you.
3. Include Search Engine Optimization techniques in your video.
