marciacatlin

The Real Reason You Need A Business Blog

marciacatlin · January 11, 2016 ·

Yours is a small business site. Say about ten pages. That means, of course, you have about ten chances of coming up on Google when someone searches for what you do with your keywords.
Right? Wrong!
Remove the contact page, the disclaimer page (if you have one), the thank you pages, etc , it’s likely only 6 pages on your site may be searchable.
I’m being generous here. When was the last time you google’d and a Company Services page came up? Or the company’s About page? No doubt NEVER.
Assuming you have optimized your pages well, added individual titles and descriptions for each page, etc … still there will probably be only 3 pages on your website that show up on Google.

Blogging changes everything

You want to increase the amount of business you get from the internet — you want to use the web to generate more leads and make more sales.
So you publish your first blog post.
Now instead of three pages that could show up in search results, there are four. By publishing a single blog post, you created another opportunity online for someone who needs what you do to find you.
If you blog twice a week for a year, you will add over one hundred new opportunities to get your website in front of people, increase your chances of appearing in the search results, and you’ll expand the visibility of your brand and business.

What Others Have To Say

Blogging may just be the magic for your local market.
Most local businesses do not blog, so if you do you will have a distinct advantage over your competition and attract an audience that may interact with you.
See how that works here:
http://searchengineland.com/need-a-secret-weapon-for-local-seo-try-blogging-138067
The Viral Effect of Blogging
While Hubspot states the obvious – that a core benefit of business blogging is to drive traffic – it adds a little-known fact.
About 70% of their traffic each month comes from posts that were not published that month!
More about the benefits of blogging.
Knowing all the benefits, still many businesses don’t blog!
Why?
I think it’s because businesses don’t understand the real power and PURPOSE of consistent blogging. It is => to entice potential clients by proving you can solve their problems. Consistently solve people’s problems and you win clients online.
Read about Copybloggers’ eye-opening blog post formula here: – http://www.copyblogger.com/blog-post-formula/
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia, WordPress Web Design, Inbound Marketing, at 561.906.3436.
Follow @jmgroupdesign

How to Get Social Buzz For Your Website

marciacatlin · January 11, 2016 ·

Clients have been known to tell me “let’s get some buzz” for my website. On a tennis court, we call that “action”. Action on the racquet. Action on the ball. Techniques that work. You win!
“Buzz” is chatter and traffic, it can be short term, it is quick. Here are some tried-and-true approaches you can follow to get action now:

Facebook Groups

Be sure to join the right group. You can track down groups within your industry to connect with your peers and prospective customers. Start with some research to find groups that fit your needs. Start by asking your colleagues and customers what groups they’re active in.
Facebook also offers a “suggested groups” feature that you can find on your top navigation bar when you view Groups from your profile.
Being active in Facebook groups offers a way to help drive people to your Facebook page. And, it does much more.
Convert prospects into buyers. Create a event or promote a giveaway of your product for a defined length of time.
Best part of groups? They require very little time and you can participate when it’s convenient.

Twitter

I have discovered that image tweets get double the interaction of a standard link tweet. The process is simple. Just click on the little camera icon below the Twitter update box.
Why do you want images in Twitter?
Answer: You will get more favorites! You will get more retweets! You will get more click-throughs!
Overlay Words on Your Images to Convey Quick Meaning
Remember to put words on your image before you share it. A caption or even the title of an article that the image relates to can be useful.
Here is one of my examples with a bit.ly link to an article from a third source … superimposed on an image. I have also included my logo.
Horizontal Images Are Best
Horizontal images work best on most social sites such as Facebook as well as Twitter. Long vertical images get cut off in certain views, or they are difficult to see if fully expanded.
Tag People or Companies in Images
When you can, particularly when you are sharing a product image, remember to include the company’s Twitter handle in the tweet or a hashtag.
TOOLS
Amazingly simple graphic design. Start designing: https://www.canva.com/
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia at 561.906.3436.

The New Café Pro Theme for Restaurants

marciacatlin · January 11, 2016 ·

When people research restaurants for a nice dinner out, they head to the web. And if you want them to end up inside of your restaurant, then you need to make a strong, positive impression when they are on your website.
Enter Cafe Pro — the newest StudioPress theme for the Genesis Framework.
Here is a link to a customized Cafe Pro theme I recently developed.
Café Pro combines elements of two popular Studio Press child themes — Parallax and Foodie — to create the quintessential design solution for not just restaurants, but for any brick and mortar business looking to create a captivating presence online.
What makes Café Pro such an effective design solution for brick and mortar businesses?
First, the full screen background images that are featured on the home page. It is easy to set up and allows you to showcase your business through beautiful photography and dynamic effects.
Second, the pricing table widget allows you to showcase menu items (as shown in the demo) or any other listing of features and benefits that would help show the value your business delivers.
Third, all relevant information that needs to be on every page of your site — contact info, address, hours of operation, etc. — can be included easily, you just set it and forget it, using the convenient footer widgets.
This is essential not only for local SEO, but also for converting web browsers into real-life, in-the-flesh visitors to your establishment.
And of course, there’s more — so you can see for yourself. Take a look at the demo here, and see if Café Pro is the right theme to take your brick and mortar business online presence to the next level.
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia at 561.906.3436.

Creative Marketing On A Shoestring

marciacatlin · January 11, 2016 ·

In the 20th century “small businesses” were mostly local and had major marketing challenges.
Without the graphic design and marketing skills required, local car dealers, plumbers, stores, doctors, lawyers, et al. jumped into weekly newspaper advertising, brochure writing & design, direct mail, outdoor signage, radio spots, in-store promotions, and more.
None of this was cheap, though it could appear so. Much of it was hit and miss. All of it was ephemeral. Some of it relied on local “experts” in the field who charged whatever the market would bear.
Meanwhile, all of the above were brick and mortar operations with major overhead like employees.
Who knew?
In this century the same businesses have come to know a totally different universe. A seductive one. A do-it-yourself one.
Champagne Tastes and a Domestic Beer Budget
How to Squeeze the Most Out of Your Marketing Efforts
In her latest blog post, Pamela Wilson, Director of Special Projects, Copyblogger Media and Owner of Big Brand System discusses in fascinating detail all the ways you can get maximum impact from the limited budget you have.
Read Pamela’s post here:
How To Squeeze The Most From Your Marketing
– By Marcia Coffey
Find Marcia on Google+
Call Marcia at 561.906.3436