Before we get to all that, keep this in mind:
The goal of a headline is to seize readers’ attention and convince them to continue
Increase Traffic to Your Site
Basics to Help You Setup Your Facebook Page
Every business should have a Facebook Page. However, having a Facebook Page is not just about getting tons of fans it’s about connecting and engaging with your customers and fans. When your fans comment or share your posts this will will increase your “reach” or number of new people that see your fan page.
First you need to build your fan page and fill out basic info; address, hours, web address etc. This allows people to learn more about your company and ultimately find and visit your store.
Second step add profile pictures, this adds personality to your store. Then invite your friends and family, this will “prime the pump” and help jump start your fan base. The beauty of this is that friends of your friends will learn about your new business page.
Lastly setup a vanity URL, example http://facebook.com/AndrewsBikeShop and make certain to put this URL on all your marketing assets.
Once you have setup your page try and post at least once a week. You can then use Insights the built in tracking program to learn which posts resonate with your fans.
Join Your Local Chamber and Watch Your Rankings with Google Climb
Perhaps the best way to achieve top ranking with Google and other search engines is to attract a large number of relevant and authoritative links back to your site. Because Google, for example, interprets each link as a “vote”, the number of votes becomes key to evaluating (ranking) your website. When many sites provide links to a website, that website is understood to be significant. These links, however, should be relevant and from a reliable or authoritative source.
Many Black Hat search engines practitioners create “Free For All” sites with tons of links pointing to other sites. This tactic does little to increase traffic since in the majority of cases the originating site is neither relevant nor authoritative. How, ever, when an organization such as a local Chamber of Commerce site links to your business, then you have an authoritative link. Thus I encourage all businesses to join their local Chamber and make certain that the Chamber links back to their sites.
The Branford Chamber of Commerce takes this strategy a step further by creating micro sites for all of its members. These sites are by definition authoritative, because they are connected to the local Chamber. Thus for the cost of annual membership, Branford Chamber of Commerce members automatically get a huge boost with Google and other search engines.
13 great tools to help you manage Social Media
Are you looking for tools to simplify your social media activities?
Many businesses feel overwhelmed when implementing their social media marketing.
Sometimes the solution is to focus on the right social media tools for your business.
We asked social media experts for their most valuable tool for small businesses using social media. Here are 13 tools to help you execute your social media strategy effectively.
Search Engine Expert Madison CT
There are many if not TOO many “Search Engine Experts”. Many claim to guarantee you top ranking, this is a red flag.
Here’s a direct quote from the Better Business Bureau website:
“Avoid companies that guarantee you a top ten ranking in the search engines. These companies may get your site listed high in the search engine results, but only for keywords that are unrelated to your website and are almost never searched for online. Some of these SEO sites are outright scams that will take your money and disappear … Any company that promises an outrageous claim should be avoided altogether. The most important thing to keep in mind is that no one can guarantee you a top listing in the search engines.”
Search Engine Optimization takes time and there are few “silver bullets”. However there are many ways that a company with a minimal investment in time and money can achieve a high ranking. Below are 5 simple steps that will help:
Make certain the text on your home does a good job of describing your business. If it’s a local make certain to mention your geographical location.
Also make certain that this “text” is plain text and not an image hidden in Flash or an image.
If local make certain to include a footer on each page that includes your company name, address and phone number.
Make certain your title tags are unique and include your key words.
Lastly make certain that your h1 tags for each page contain your important key words.
Less is More – Don't submit your site to google. Let them discover it !!
Many people overlook an important method to boost your rankings with the search engines. Google looks very closely at the sites that link to your site to determine the value of your site, these links are called “back links”. Back links are web links that point to your site. For example most businesses are members of their local chamber, and thus usually listed in the chamber’s business directory. Thus your local chamber has a back link to your site.
TIP: Double check your chamber site and make certain the information is accurate and complete.
Note Branford Chamber new website takes this “link juice” a step further for more info please see micro sites.
When the search engines spider the chamber site they will also discover your web address. You now have a link from the chamber site to your site. In theory the higher the number of links the better, EXCEPT quality matters. Links are similar to “votes” for your website. It’s better to have the NY Times post a favorable review of your restaurant, then 10 local bloggers, so it’s really quality over quantity. In fact it’s possible to be penalized for “low quality” back links.
Google analyzes both sites for relevancy as part of its algorithm to determine ranking. Example if a dog grooming site links back to your restaurant site, this is obviously a lousy link. However, if a hotel or a local wine store links to your site this would carry more weight.
It’s easy to check the number of links to your site, just go to siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/