All Posts By

Digital Marketing

Mar 21
1

Why Is NAP & Citation Consistency Important For Local SEO

By | Local SEO | No Comments

More and more businesses are asking the question “How do I rank higher on Google?” The most effective ways to gain a higher ranking is by establishing NAP consistency for your business throughout the web.

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone. NAP consistency means your businesses Name, Address and Phone are consistently listed the same across the web. When Google sees your NAP is consistent throughout the web, it becomes confident that your business/website is credible and will fulfill the needs of the searcher.

Search Ranking FactorsAccording to the Moz local search ranking factors survey, “citations are the 3rd most important ranking factor.” A listing detected as a false business location is the number one negative local ranking factor. The third biggest negative ranking factor is inconsistent NAP. Therefore, your business’ citation inaccuracies will kill your local SEO.

We suggest that businesses display their company’s name, address, and phone number in the footer of your website. It’s the best practice when it comes to user experience, and it’s critical for SEO purposes.

Fixing your business’ incorrect NAP is difficult; however, it is a critical factor to your search engine ranking. To fix incorrect listing, you will need to go on each website, create an account, become verified and edit the listing manually.

NAP consistency is key for businesses looking to improve their search rankings, increase the local organic traffic to their site, and get more leads from the Internet. Contact Gauge Digital Media today if you would like to learn more about how we can help your business.

Mar 07
0

Why Building An Online Presence Is More Important Than Ever

By | Local SEO, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments

In a world of digital absorption, many companies and organizations still have little to no digital presence. However, it is absolutely essential for your business to have an online presence. Establishing an online presence makes it easier and more accessible for customers to learn about your business and for you to showcase your products/services and market your brand.

When a business neglects establishing an online presence, the business openly throws away leads, revenue, and potential customers. Even if your company does not conduct business online, current and potential customers are expecting to see you online. With “over 85% of searches for products and services happening online,” (Forbes)  your business must be online in order to be successful.

Billboards, radio ads and TV commercials initially grab potential customer’s attention. However, they may only remember the business industry, or services you sell, and turn to the Internet to search for solutions. If potential customers are unable to find your business online, they will do business with your competitors.

With the increasing use of technology, if your business doesn’t have a website, your competition will beat you substantially. An online presence is one of the most important investments that a business can make. If you would like to learn more about how Gauge Digital Media can help improve your online presence, contact us for more information!

Feb 21
3

5 Reasons A Website Should Be Part Of Your Marketing Campaign

By | Web Design | No Comments

Web design is one of the most important pieces of your marketing plan. Your website should be beautiful, easy to navigate and provide valuable, informative content to current and prospective customers.

Here are the 5 reasons a website should be a part of your marketing campaign:

  1. Flexibility. Websites provide opportunities to post new and different content daily, weekly, monthly, etc. Websites are also easily revised and tweaked for constant improvements and/or changes in your business’ product or service information.
  2. Convenience. It is far more convenient for a person to research a product or service, sign up for a class, or buy a product online, compared to driving to a store to get the same information.
  3. Credibility. A website gives you the opportunity to tell potential customers what you do, what products and/or services you offer and why you deserve customer’s trust and confidence.
  4. Cost. The cost to build and maintain a website is relatively cheap compared to print forms of media. The best way to spend your marketing budget is by creating a beautiful, mobile-friendly and easy to use website as a way to increase online traffic and create a great user experience.
  5. Customer Satisfaction. Your business’ website can provide valuable and informative content. This can be through blogs, videos/pictures, tips & advice, and industry specific information. Quality content enhances the visitor’s user experience and satisfaction.

Your website is most likely your business’ first impression, so it is important to make it a good one. For more marketing tips and information, contact Gauge Digital Media today!

Feb 07
1

3 Ways To Optimize Your Content For SEO

By | Search Engine Optimization, Uncategorized | No Comments

Content is one factor influencing your website’s search ranking. Content should be easy to understand, relevant and high quality. The content of a page is what makes it worthy of a search result position. Here are 3 easy ways to optimize your content for search engine optimization (SEO):

  1. Keyword Targeted

First, your content should be targeted with a specific keyword that is used throughout your page or blog post. Keyword research is an essential aspect to on-page optimization and provides visitors with valuable, informative content. It is important to place the page’s keyword in places such as: titles, alt tags, anchor texts, title tags and meta descriptions.

  1. Internal Links

Next, your content should include internal links. Internal links are links that go from one page on a domain to a different page on the same domain (MOZ). Internal links are useful for user navigation, establishing site architecture and link juice (ranking factor). If your content is not linkable, search engines, like Google, won’t rank your page highly and as a result, the content won’t drive traffic to the website’s page.

  1. Share Pages & Posts on Social Media

Last, use social media to extend the reach of your blog posts and page content. Utilizing social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google + provide opportunities to connect with current and potential customers. These social platforms allow businesses to share content for extended exposure to your visitors for free.

Google loves fresh, relevant and quality content, and will rank sites websites with quality content higher than others. If you’d like to learn more about creating great content to improve your online presence, visit our website at gaugedigitalmedia.com

 

Jan 24
0

Why Online Reviews Are Critical To Your Business’ Success.

By | Uncategorized | No Comments

Many companies overlook the importance of online reviews, despite the impact reviews can make on your business’ online presence and success. MOZ states, “67% of consumers are influenced by online reviews.” Watch our Marketing Tip Tuesday video to learn more about why online reviews are critical to your business’ success. 

Marketing Tip Tuesday: Why Online Reviews Are Critical To Your Business’ Success.

Search engines continually strive for better search results and online user experience. Because of this, customer reviews are critical to your business’ success. According to MOZ’s Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, online reviews make up approximately 10% of how search engines decide to rank search results. These include: review quantity, recentness, diversity and more. Having positive online reviews can help companies reach a top position in local search engine results.

In addition to Google including reviews as a search ranking factor, online reviews greatly influence your potential customer’s buying decisions. According to MOZ: “67% of consumers are influenced by online reviews.” Having positive online reviews, again, can help your business’ success, because good reviews encourage more clicks and physical visits.

Negative reviews and damaging feedback can have a lasting harmful impact on a company’s ability to sell their products or services. If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your company’s online reputation, check out our website at gaugedigitalmedia.com

Jan 17
0

Why Is Local SEO Important For My Business’ Success?

By | Local SEO | No Comments

Approximately sixty-four percent of local customers use search engines as their main way to find local businesses. Will your potential customers and clients be able to find your business online? Watch our video explaining why local SEO is important for your business’ success.

Marketing Tip Tuesday: Why Is Local SEO Important For My Business’ Success?

SEO is the process of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the amount of visitors to a website by achieving a high-ranking placement in the search engine results.

According to BrightLocal, “64% of local customers use online search engines and directories as their main way to find local businesses.” If your potential customers and clients can’t find your business online, they will do business with your competitors. Since people are choosing to search online compared to paper directories, it is important to have your business rank high in the search results.

In order for your business to rank in the top three in competitive markets, search engine optimization is critical to your business’ success. Local SEO is both efficient and cost-effective. With local SEO, your business will reach potential customers when they are actively searching for products or services similar to what your business offers.

Across all industries, businesses can improve their marketing, generate more leads and make more money through local SEO. If you would like to learn more about how we can improve your business’ success and online presence, check out our website at gaugedigitalmedia.com.

Jan 10
0

What Is The Difference Between Facebook Ads and Boosted Facebook Posts?

By | Social Media Marketing | No Comments

Have you ever wondered about the difference between boosting a post on Facebook and running a Facebook Ad campaign? This is a common confusion for businesses on Facebook. The answer depends on your business’ advertising goals. Learn more about the differences between boosted Facebook posts and Facebook advertising.

Marketing Tip Tuesday: Boosted Facebook Post vs. Facebook Advertising

A boosted post allocates a specific amount of advertising dollars to increase the views of a pre-existing post on a business’ Facebook page. Boosted posts are the most basic form of Facebook advertising. The goal of boosting a post is to increase audience engagement through likes, comments and shares.

On the other side, Facebook advertising provides more customized promotion options. Facebook ads are more advanced forms of advertising and will require a Facebook ad manager account. Facebook ads offer a variety of advertisement types depending on your business’ goal. For example, does your business want website click conversions, video views or to install a specific application. Facebook ads also include call to action buttons to promote actions, such as: contact us, download, or shop now. The main benefit of Facebook advertising is the ability to target ads. Facebook ads provide more targeting options, making it easier to find the right people, at the right time, capture their attention and get results.

The best option your business decides to chose, really depends on what your goals are for advertising and what audiences you want to reach. If you need help with your business’ Facebook advertising campaign, Gauge Digital Media can help. Visit our website to learn more about our Facebook Advertising services.

Jan 03
1

Why Is It Important To Have A Mobile-Friendly Website?

By | Local SEO, Web Design | No Comments

Is your website mobile friendly? Approximately 82% of searchers consult their smartphones even after they are inside a chosen store. If you’re not able to reach your audience through mobile search, and/or not providing a great mobile experience you will fall behind to competitors.

Marketing Tip Tuesday: Importance of Having a Mobile-Friendly Website

Having a mobile-friendly website is essential for your business’ success. Google now uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking factor to ensure the best user experience for searchers.

A few reasons your business needs a mobile-friendly website:

  1. Google has 2 different search indexes – one for mobile search and one for desktop search.
  2. More searches are done on mobile devices than on desktop computers
  3. On the go consumers search for local businesses using smartphone. According to Moz: “82 percent [of searchers] consult their smartphones even after they are inside a chosen store.”

Google states that 29% of smartphone users will immediately navigate away from any website or app that doesn’t satisfy them. Having a mobile friendly website provides your customers with what they want: fast loading pages, easy navigation, and a site with relevant, quality content and great products. If your business’ website isn’t mobile friendly, you are likely to lose business. If you still haven’t updated your site, 2017 is the year to make this change in order to improve your business’ online presence and success.

Dec 27
1

Why Is Keyword Research Important?

By | Search Engine Optimization | No Comments

Around 90% of adults use search engines to find information on the Internet. Will your target audience be able to find your business online? Keyword research is an important aspect of your marketing or SEO campaign. Until you are aware of what words and phrases are most important for your business’ ranking, you cannot optimize your site or content to attract visitors to your website. Watch our Marketing Tip Tuesday video to learn more about the importance of keyword research.

Marketing Tip Tuesday: Keyword Research Importance

As Internet popularity has grown, more individuals are searching for products, services and information online. In fact, around 90 percent of adults use search engines to find information on the Internet.

An important aspect of your business’ marketing or SEO campaign is quality keyword research. If you want your business to succeed online, keyword research should never be neglected. Finding the right set of quality keywords to focus on is crucial to your campaign.

According to Moz, “quality keywords successfully target your demographic during their acquisition phase, have a specific searcher intent, low-medium organic competition, and medium-high search volume.” When beginning the initial keyword research, you should put yourself in your target audiences’ shoes. Think about what, where, why and other phrases your target visitor might be searching for. You should perform keyword research for each of the products and services you offer. Keyword research tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, can help generate keyword ideas.

Your selection of keywords and keyword phrases should be targeted to your ideal audience. Keyword research is a critical step in the process of understanding what keywords your target audience is searching for, so you can optimize your business’ website based on those keywords, in order to connect your content to online visitors searching information relevant to your business.

 

Dec 07
0

What Google’s Possum Update Means for Your Business’ Search Results

By | Local SEO, Search Engine Optimization | No Comments

What Happened After Google’s Possum Update:

A recent update in Google’s local algorithm, called Possum, might affect how your business listing appears in local searches. This update was released September, 1st 2016. This update is different from Google’s previous updates – Possum does not penalize businesses. Possum is like a filter that hides certain listings that aren’t considered relevant. This could be good or bad, depending on your business. Google updated its local algorithm (Possum) as a way to prevent spam business listings and diversify local search results.

While the strategies of achieving a successful SEO campaign haven’t changed, Possum has slightly altered how local search works. Some observations of Possum’s changes include:

  • Your physical business listing may or may not show up when searches include the city name closest to you.
    • May be a good thing for businesses located outside the physical city limits, as they may see increases in rankings.
  • Your physical business address now impacts your ranking
    • Businesses in similar industries that share the same building and the same building address might compete for a listing.
    • This may be alarming for professionals like doctors and lawyers, with similar practices run in the same building.
    • Google’s update might consider these similar businesses as “duplicate” listings, since the same service is being offered at the same address. Consequently, only one of these businesses at that address would appear, and the others would be filtered out from the search, but not deleted.
  • Geographic location of the searcher is now more important than ever
    • In the past, search results were weighted more heavily towards the search terms. Now Google has placed a greater importance on a user’s physical location to provide more accurate results in the local 3-pack.
    • Because of this, it’s important that the searcher location is set to the town, city, and/or region that you want to target.
  • Search results vary more than before based on small variations
    • The Map Pack is now a lot more sensitive to small keyword variations.
    • We’re seeing a lot more ranking fluctuation between similar keywords
      • For example, there are big differences between the phrases “Salon Tampa FL,” “Tampa FL Salon,” and “Salon in Tampa FL.”

What You Can Do As a Business:

  • Update and optimize your Business Listing (especially the address)
    • Make sure your citations are updates and accurate across all platforms where your business might be listed (not just on Google, as all these listings impact your ranking).
  • Keep with to date with your keyword selections and website content.
    • Have several variations of keyword combinations in your link building and on your site

We thank you for checking out our Whiteboard Wednesday video, we hope you learned about Google’s recent Possum update. We hope to see you back for our next edition of Whiteboard Wednesday. You can always check us at www.gaugedigitalmedia.com