A Beginner’s Guide to SEO

Sep 18, 2020

It doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, what you sell, or how you sell it (online or in a physical location) search engine optimization is a digital marketing tool that you can’t ignore. SEO is what sends internet traffic to your website through organic, non-paid sources like search engines such as Google or Bing.

How SEO Works

To understand the basics of how SEO works, consider how you use search engines. You enter a keyword or phrase, and you get results in the form of a list of websites that are relevant to your search terms. Search engines — and especially Google — offer up these results based on algorithms and rank results on the level of relevance. These algorithms factor in a handful of elements, like the popularity of websites according to visitor traffic, exact and close keyword matches, and the overall quality of the content on the website.

The Importance of SEO

More of your customers than ever are online now, and they’re becoming accustomed to getting the answers they want quickly and with ease. Leveraging SEO strategies means you will drastically improve the odds that your website shows up early on in search results and edges out the competition. SEO also helps you build and maintain a site that visitors want to keep looking at, with content that answers questions and lets them know how you can solve their myriad problems.

Understanding the Different Types of SEO

SEO is many things, but what it’s not is static — you need to work hard on a consistent basis to keep up with trends and algorithm changes. On-page SEO is what you do to build relevancy on your website pages with content that searchers connect with. Off-page SEO is how you promote your website on other areas of the internet, like guest blogs, link building, podcasting, and social media posts. Technical SEO is a complex process that you should outsource to pros and includes strategies like creating separate pages for keywords and optimizing image tags to help search engines better “crawl” or assess the structure.

Improving Your SEO

What makes SEO a great digital marketing strategy is that there are several approaches you can take without overspending. The list below is just a snapshot of what can be done to increase your online reach and improve your business website visibility. If these are tasks that you’re not comfortable with, it’s a smart idea to outsource the work to a team of pros — like our marketing experts here at Cole Dalton.

On-Page SEO Techniques

Content optimization is the best and most effective way to optimize your website. It begins with keyword research — make a list of the words and phrases that closely correspond with the products, services, and location information for your business. This is all highly relevant and creates connections within search results by potential customers. Use these keywords and phrases in copy like blog posts, FAQ pages, product listings, and service descriptions. Other on-page strategies include a quickly loading website, fully functioning internal links, mobile-friendly and responsive layouts, and easy navigability.

Off-Page SEO Techniques

Search engines love to see that other trusted, reputable sites are linking to yours; it translates directly to a boost in rankings. This is commonly referred to as link building, and can happen through guest blog posts, thought leadership copy, and podcast transcripts that include information about (and a link to) your business. When search engines like Google see that you’re building these online relationships, they reward that effort. Conversely, link farms and spammy directory sites aren’t well-liked by search engines and appearing on these sites will result in a penalty.

Technical SEO Techniques

As briefly mentioned before, crawling is how search engines assess your website during a search and decide whether or not to feed it to internet users in results. Taking steps to index your website pages, marking up your schema, performing canonicalization, and more are all including under the technical SEO umbrella. This is definitely something you want to leave up to a team of marketing pros that have extensive experience with web design. Think of technical SEO as the bridge that connects the human user experience and the search engine crawling process.

However you decide to tackle SEO for your website, ensure that the approach is meant for humans and not for search engines; Google is not your target demographic. If visitors to your site like what they see, search engines will pay close attention and you’ll show up higher in rankings; the more visitors you have, the odds will increase for that traffic to turn into loyal, paying customers.

The post A Beginner’s Guide to SEO appeared first on Cole Dalton.

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
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