Content Marketing Archives- Page 2 of 2/Category

Google Plus for Local Business: Getting the Most + For Your Time – EXPANDED

Google Plus: Google’s Gift to Local Area Businesses – EXPANDED

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared on 216digital’s Cleveland Plain Dealer blog. It was such a hit there, we’ve expanded this version to include a few more helpful details.

Have you noticed that local search has changed? What’s going on? Instead of local business sites alone, Google now shows Google Plus results alongside websites. If you don’t have a Google Plus page, or if your page is in bad shape, it won’t pop up in SERPs (search engine results pages). Whoa. This is serious. Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to optimize Google Plus for local business. In this post, we’ll cover some of the basic techniques, as well as point you towards some in-depth resources.

Google Plus and SEO: A Little Nepotism Never Hurts!

At this point, you’re probably wondering if Google Plus affects your search rank on Google. You bet it does! Claire Abraham, social media manager at 216digital, stresses the importance of Google Plus for SEO to every client we get. As she puts it, “The more of Google’s toys you play with, the more it likes you.” In other words, Google favors its own product, Google Plus, in considering what to show in search results. Now, before you start yelling, “unfair,” consider this: Google is a corporate business entity. As this post from Copyblogger reminds us, Google can do whatever they want. They don’t owe any of us anything! The trick is to figure out what Google likes—and just do it.

The real gold that Google Plus offers is that G+ pages display in Google search results when the user is logged in to their Google account. This gives users a direct chance to interact with your business’s page if they’re searching for your business or something that you rank for.

As a social media platform, this is where Google Plus really integrates with SEO efforts. Facebook posts don’t show up in Google SERPs. That puts Google Plus in a great position to integrate your social efforts with your SEO efforts.

Every social media platform has its own quirks, and Google Plus is no different. It’s not simply Google’s version of Facebook or Twitter. Google Plus is its own space with its own rules and best practices. You’ll need a thorough understanding of how Google Plus works before you start leveraging it for your local business.

Getting Your Local Business onto Google Plus

This is easy. Simply sign up for a Google Plus account. One important note—do not use a Gmail address to sign up. Use an address from your business domain name (for example, you@yourdomain.com). This will help greatly when you go to verify your page in the future.

Linking Google My Business and Google Plus

While My Business and Google+ are separate Google products, local business owners should link them to get the most out of Google’s presentation of their businesses. For business owners, that means logging into your Google Plus account (or creating one, if you don’t have one), then finding your My Business page and claiming it. Note: you’ll have to verify your business by phone or by postcard. This is critical! An unverified page won’t show up in SERPs.

Another critical step: you’ll need to determine if there are any duplicate Google My Business pages for your business. If there are, you must delete them. Also, you’ll need to ensure that your My Business page hasn’t been penalized. Duplicate pages and penalties will kill the SEO contributions which your My Business and Google+ pages should be making.

Your Business Info: Get It Right!

Just about every point we make in this article is critical. This one is no exception. You mustensure that your business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation are 100% correct. If not every bit of information matches up between your website and your My Business page, Google sees a problem.

Also, take note of this. As Casey Meraz writes on the Moz blog, you can’t use a PO box as your address, and you can’t list an 800 number as your phone number. If your business has a physical address, you need to list that address. You also need to list a phone number with a local area code.

You’ll find a Categories field as you’re filling out your profile. This field is extremely important. You’ll want to use all the Categories that are allowed for your industry. Note: these categories reflect what your business is, not what it does. If your business is Dave’s Dry Cleaners, your category would be “Dry Cleaners,” not “dry cleaning.” Also note—there are no custom categories! You have to choose from the available options.

Your Profile: Complete It!

An incomplete profile will only hurt your Google Plus page. Make sure you fill out every bit of information until the profile says it’s 100% complete. There’s a lot to do, so pay attention to the details. For example, you need to fill out your intro description. Make sure it’s relevant, engaging, and at least 250 words long. You’ll also want to upload high-quality photos of your business location.

To really round out your appearance on Google, consider hiring a Google-trusted photographer to do a 360-degree shoot inside your business location. Google calls this Business View, and it’s quite possibly one of Google’s greatest gifts to local businesses. Business View gives online users the chance to see what your restaurant or store looks like on the inside before they even leave the house. This is an especially great opportunity for retail establishments with a unique, well-branded décor.

Don’t use a Gmail address to sign up. Use an address from your business domain name (like you@yourdomain.com).

[clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t use a Gmail address to sign up for #GooglePlus. Use an address from your business domain name. #localseo” quote=”Don’t use a Gmail address to sign up. Use an address from your business domain name.”]

Remember how almost every point in this article is critical? Here’s another one. You need to link your website to your Google Plus page. This will allow your Google Plus page to appear in SERPs.

Along those lines, you’ll also want to claim a custom URL for your Google Plus page. This is your opportunity to have a URL that matches the name of your business. For both users and Google, this custom URL will look better than a string of numbers and letters.

You’ll see a section of your profile called Links. You’ll want to put as many relevant links in this area as possible. Relevant links include your blog(s), your social media pages, and any other online properties which make up your business’s digital assets.

Google Plus Circles

Circles are unique to Google+. Photo courtesy of Horia Varlan, licensed under CC 2.0. Modified by 216digital.

Among social media platforms, the Circles function is unique to Google Plus. Circles are a way of organizing your connections—say, into groups like Personal Friends, Industry Leaders, and Coworkers. While Circles are primarily a backend organizational feature for your benefit as a user, they do affect your connections: when you post to Google Plus, you can choose which Circles see that post.

Like many aspects of Google Plus, Circles really have no analog on Twitter and Facebook. As Cassy Hicks Kerr (@modernmktgspark) writes on MMSpark, “The key to building circles is not to focus on the numbers but on the relationships you have with the people you circle.” On Twitter and Facebook, you might try to get as many relevant followers as possible. In Google Plus Circles, it isn’t the number of people in any given Circle that bring you marketing value; rather, it’s the people themselves and their position in your niche. Think of it like “less is more.” You want to get the right people in the right Circles. Rather than a broadcast perspective, trying to hit as many random readers as possible, this is “niche-casting”: hitting a few people in your niche who will find your content insanely valuable.

In this respect, the structure of Google Plus is far more optimized for digital marketing than the structure of Facebook–or even Twitter.

Posting to Google Plus

Google Plus has some quirks. For example, when you post to your Google Plus page, the first 45-50 characters get pulled like a title in SERPs. Weird, right? You’ll just have to work with it. That means writing the first 45-50 characters of your G+ post like a titleand like the first line of a post at the same time.

If you want to include a link in your Google Plus post (and you should), make sure you use the Link function rather than adding the link manually to your text. This Link function is SEO gold.

How often should you post to Google Plus? Well… the answer is, “regularly.” We recommend posting every day. However, if this simply isn’t feasible, shoot for once a week. Whatever you do, stick to it.

Getting Followers on Google Plus

To get followers, you should join relevant Communities and stay active in them. That means posting every day. However, take note: no one really scrolls through the Google Plus newsfeed like they would on Twitter or Facebook. You can choose which Circles see your posts, thereby targeting your information to the most interested parties. You should take advantage of this function. It will increase the content value of your brand in your followers’ eyes.

Communities and posting aren’t the only way to gain followers. Social media is all about networking. Since you’re using Google Plus for local business marketing, why not start leaving excellent reviews on the G+ pages of other local businesses? Whether you do this out of the blue, or for a longstanding partner of your business, you can’t measure the value of this act of good will. Don’t be surprised if some businesses reciprocate the favor and start leaving excellent reviews on your page.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t just dump your email contact list into G+ and invite them all to follow you. #googleplus” quote=”Don’t just dump your email contact list into G+ and invite them all to follow you. “]

What shouldn’t you do to gain followers on Google Plus? For starters, don’t simply dump your email contact list into G+ and invite them all to follow you. That’s unprofessional, and it’s unlikely every contact in your list will find your business relevant.

The Bottom Line

Google Plus is essential to the toolbox of any small business. Like Facebook and Twitter, it offers great social networking opportunities; but unlike them, it also integrates easily with your Google SEO efforts.

If your small business isn’t using Google Plus yet, sign up now and start interacting with your customers. If you’re already using Google Plus for local business, we want to hear from you. What’s working? What’s not working? Leave a comment below, and let’s continue learning together.

Greg McNeil

August 11, 2015

216digital, Applied Ecommerce, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Google Plus, SEO, Social Media Marketing
Digital Marketing Round-Up: August 4th, 2015
In this week’s Digital Marketing Round-Up we’re going to talk about ways to ramp up your social media marketing.
August 4th, 2015
7 in 8 Messages to Brands are Ignored on Social
The Sprout Social Index found that 7 in 8 social messages to brands go unanswered within 72 hours.

According to Sprout Social we should be moving towards reacting to social messages the way we react to customer service messages. We would never let 7 in 8 customer service emails go unanswered.

Further highlighting the problem, the index shows social messages sent have increased by 21% in 2015, while response times have increased by 4%.

To combat this problem, Sprout Social says your business should be instituting a fully functioning social communication strategy by

using the right tools

listening and providing timely answers

and being authentic

Content Marketing for Local Business
Content marketing can be a bit of a buzzword, but it means more than ever when we are talking about local marketing strategies.

Interruption-based advertising is losing all it’s power with the ability to record TV, the ability to mute ads, or use AdBlock on YouTube.

What’s great about content marketing is that it isn’t advertising. It is relating.

Local businesses have the leg-up over national brands when it comes to content marketing, because they can relate to their audience on a personal level.

When you are a local business you can implement an online / offline strategy. For example, sponsoring a charitable event and offering a coupon for posting a picture from the event.

3 Social Media Marketing Basics to Review Constantly
To keep your social media strategy fresh, it is important to keep up on the latest trends and best practices. Social Media Today put together a quick list to keep you on track!

First, keep up on etiquette and ethics. One major rule to social etiquette is to not broadcast all your own content. You should be sharing relevant content from other sources as well.

Second, you should be customizing your content for each social platform. What works on Twitter will probably not work on LinkedIn without having adjustments made to it.

And lastly, you should be continuously researching your target audience’s preferences. Your audience’s interests may change, or more importantly their priorities can change, so it is important to know what they care about.
Greg McNeil

August 4, 2015

216digital, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing
Digital Marketing Round-Up: July 7th, 2015
This week’s Digital Marketing Round-Up is all about staying ahead of the curve. Make sure your eCommerce marketing efforts are aligning with the best practices.

July 7th, 2015

Promoting Content Over Producing It: Another SEO Story

Link building authority Brian Dean, put out a how to guide for promoting your blog content. While it sounds simple, it is more than just throwing it into the social universe.

Good influencer outreach email
- Promoting your content takes time. This time should be spent identifying influencers in your industry, and once you know the names, reach out and ask them to share.
- As you reach out make sure that the influencer’s audience will be interested in your piece, if the content is relevant to their audience they will be more inclined to share your content.
- With promotion, you are not only putting your content in front of more people, but building valuable links for your website.
Making Your eCommerce Marketing Future Ready

It always seems that once you get a grasp on a new marketing trend, it is the way of the past. Start playing by the rules of the future, and your marketing mix will stay creative and up to date.
- Personalize your online shopping experience – customers are more likely to provide you with personal information if there is incentive. For example, free shipping on their next purchase if they create a customer log-in.
- Make your mobile advertisements targeted towards discounts and deals. This is important to the two-thirds of U.S. mobile shoppers who are comparing and checking prices.
- Don’t let your social strategy fall to the wayside. Social marketing is becoming increasingly important with the mass adoption of the “buy button” bringing one click shopping to the consumer.
Creating Demand For Products With Low Search Volume

It is hard to do keyword targeting when there is no search volume for your keywords. But as the Moz Blog points out in their latest White Board Friday video, SEO can be a channel for opportunity.
- When there is no search volume for your product or service it is important to take a step back in the SEO process and do in depth keyword research. For example, what else is your target audience searching for?
- When you identify what else your audience is looking for, you can optimize content for those key phrases, even though they might not directly promote your product or services.
- Building brand awareness is also important when a product has low search volume. Build your brand awareness through a combination or organic and paid advertising on sites that your audience is already visiting.
Greg McNeil

July 7, 2015

Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, SEO
Cranking Up The Volume On Your SEO Content Writing

Cut Out the Excess Noise, And Your SEO Content Writing Will Pop!

Writing comes in all kinds of styles and lengths, but one thing distinguishes great writing from mediocre: doing more with less. If your SEO content writing boasts thorough research and clear expression of facts, congratulations! You’ve passed level one. After all, truth is the first goal of expression. But what if you took the writing itself—the expression of the truth—to the next level? Can you make the truth unforgettable, even for clients whose market doesn’t interest you personally?

This is the challenge of professional SEO content writing. At 216digital, we practice this all the time! We continually improve upon our own work, growing and learning from everything we’ve ever written. Were we born knowing our clients’ markets? No way. We only got here through strategic research into every client we write for. But we’ve found that great research isn’t enough. Great research must lead to great writing—and great writing is a process.

To see this in action, I’ll give you a micro-tour of our revision process. We’ll look at a few examples of sentences from first drafts produced by our SEO content writing team. Each of these gives you a little snapshot of our writing refinement process. In the first version of each sentence, you might notice a little wordiness or a lack of clarity. In the revised sentence, you’ll notice that the meaning really pops off the screen. In the final version, you’ll see how we’ve achieved the ultimate in the clear expression of the truth.

SEO Content Writing Process: Examples

Example 1:

“Today, we’ll be examining the way in which some example phrases are constructed. We’ll try and see if we can say the same thing using one half or even one third of the original number of words, compared to the original.”

“Let’s look at the construction of some example phrases. Can we say the same thing in half the words—maybe even a third of the words?”

“In these sample phrases, we’ll work on saying the same thing in half the words—maybe even a third of the words.”

Example 2:

“You should aim to have a high quality score because that means that your bounce rate is going to plummet.”

“A high quality score will cut your bounce rate dramatically.”

“A high quality score will slash your bounce rate.”

Example 3:

“Since 1999, 216digital has been a premier Miva developer. Over that time, we have become experts in the design and development of responsive Miva websites and custom Miva applications and modules.”

“216digital has been a Miva developer since 1999. We’re experts in responsive design and development, and we rock Miva applications and modules.”

We couldn’t really improve on that one. The first revision was the final revision.

The Bottom Line

The point here is that your best writing is never your best. At each stage in the writing process, the writer of each of these sentences couldn’t find anything else to improve on. Yet after a little time away, we found we could take these sentences through two more versions to reach the ultimate in clear, concise expression.

This process is easy for us now. Fast drafting and revision are second nature to us! We bring these skills to every client we serve. If you’re looking to improve your existing SEO content writing, or if you’re about to dive in for the first time, get in touch with our SEO content writing team. Let’s start talking about your next big thing.

Greg McNeil

June 17, 2015

Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, SEO
Targeted SEO Content Writing

Great research is the key to SEO content writing

Without adequate research, a piece of writing is at risk for factual errors. Nothing destroys reader trust like reading something that’s obviously false. This is especially true when the error is so basic that a little research on the writer’s part would’ve nipped the mistake in the bud. But great research isn’t the only factor involved in SEO content writing success; an audience-tailored voice ensures that all that great research gets through to those who want to read it. In other words, at 216digital, we believe that voice and style are just as important as good research.

In marketing, customer research involves the discovery of different market segments—different portions of a customer base defined by age, education, income, interests, and so on. Say one of our SEO content writing clients sells aftermarket parts for a highly customizable make of car. That client’s general customer is enthusiasts who love that kind of car. But not all of those readers are the same. We might divide these customers into different segments—say, longtime car lovers who’ve had their car for years, and younger customers who are just getting into that kind of car and have some basic to mid-level questions. These customer segments will have different concerns and knowledge levels.

Different sections of this client’s website might cater to one market segment or the other—or both. Any copy we write has to fit the segment or segments who will read it. If multiple segments will read the page, our copy has to work at a higher level of generality while still popping off the screen. If only one segment will read the page, our copy has to work at that segment’s knowledge level and speak to their exact concerns—while still popping off the screen.

Voice and Tone

The voice of a piece of writing is critical to its success. How many times have you clicked on a page, started reading, and quit because the writer couldn’t write? In writing fiction, “voice” is what separates one author from another. It’s the most difficult quality for a writer to develop, and it’s often the last to emerge. Think of it like stage presence for a musician. Every successful musician carries herself differently on stage, making every performer unique; but all successful performers have one thing in common—a highly developed persona unlike anything else in the business.

Every client we write for needs a different voice. We may find, through audience research, that some clients require similar voices. That’s fine—but we can’t start with that assumption; we can only work that way once we’ve researched our audience and we know that a voice we’ve used before is appropriate.

Some clients will need a highly technical voice that writes with a lot of technical knowledge. These clients will require even more extensive research than others. A client in the engineering sector will need a far different voice from a client who sells retail clothing. Each of these clients needs its own voice to match its target market and sales strategy.

How do we determine what kind of voice to use for a particular client? By researching that client’s content competitors and soaking up the best writing in that market. For example, to develop a voice for articles on 216digital.com, I looked at SEO articles on www.searchengineland.com as well as ecommerce customer case studies from Miva, the premier online store platform. Reading these sources not only gave me raw information, but it helped me capture the tone that turns our audience on. We take the same approach with every client. We find the best content sources in our client’s market, imitate that tone to teach it to ourselves, and finish by blowing that tone away.

Putting Audience First

It’s simple: we put our audience first. With every sentence and every article we write, we ask if it serves our audience. Every word that gets in the way has to go. We find creativity in structure and topic, rather than in using more words. We owe it to our audience to give them the shortest, most dynamic structure and phrasing we can.

If you’re looking for incredible content marketing services, consider the SEO content writing team at 216digital. Get in touch today, and we’ll start talking about your next big thing.

Greg McNeil

June 10, 2015

Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, SEO