Marketing involves several moving parts, channels, platforms, mediums and audiences. For a small business or practice (under 50 employees), it can be hard to narrow down WHICH strategy to invest in, and often times I see people select the medium they like the most – regardless of whether it is the right place for their target audience. hashtag#oopshashtag#dontbethatperson đ Interestingly enough, Neil Patel recently released an article on which marketing tactic delivers the BIGGEST ROI based on a study of 208 companies. Can you guess which channel it was? Some might be shocked, but SEO/content marketing delivered the BIGGEST ROI at nearly 700%. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/ebpgkvK Your website is your online business card, and Google needs to be able to find it or else itâs a waste of time/effort/money. Hiring someone who understands the latest Google trends and website standards is going to be KEY to your success online. If youâd like more information on how to grow your online presence, message me and letâs chat!
Social media is a HOT topic and itâs something everyone wants to know more about. How do we conquer the beast?! Platforms like Facebook and Instagram are meant to be a place to simply distribute info efficiently. But aside from that, why do people get on social platforms every single day? The most common reasons are to be entertained in a moment of boredom, to be educated, to be inspired, to become a part of the “behind the scenes” or to connect &/or be involved in a community of people. When creating content for your business, keep these questions top of mind: How can I educate my followers? How can I inspire my follower? How can I entertain my followers? How can I show what this really looks like (behind the scenes)? How can I engage and be involved in this online community? Understanding what your followers are looking for is the first step in creating a strong social marketing strategy. If youâd like more information on how to grow your online presence, message me and letâs chat!
Now that we know Google can see a larger websites as a more credible source – the question becomes âwhat kind of content should my website have for visibility?” Quantity is just as important as quality. Sites that include relevant, useful information such as procedure/service details, doctor/staff bios, patient testimonials, before/after galleries & more are often favored. The old-school method of keyword stuffing and adding pages just to add pages just doesnât work anymore. Google is smarter now, and so are patients. Quick tip – donât expect blogs to make a major impact in your rankings unless the topics youâre writing are relevant and full of IMPORTANT information that patients are actually searching for in Google. Stay tuned for more! Hiring someone who understands the latest Google trends and algorithm changes is going to be key to your success online. If youâd like more information on how to grow your online presence, message me and letâs chat!
One of the most common questions I get from the practices I work with: âhow do I show up on Google?â Wow, this can be SUCH a long-winded answerâŚBUT – to keep it simple – the answer truly revolves around content. A way to think about your website and how it ranks on Google is that your website is your online real estate. The more locations (pages) you have, the more opportunity you have the drive more traffic (clicks/new patients) to your practice. Letâs say there are 10 doctors in the same specialty within a one-mile radius. 9 of these doctors have an average website of about 50 pages. 1 of these doctors has a 500+ page website. Google sees larger websites as a more credible source because it has more information on what the users are looking for. Content quality is just as important. Stay tuned for more! Hiring someone who understands the latest Google trends and algorithm changes is going to be key to your success online. If youâd like more information on how to grow your online presence, message me and letâs chat!
What if you could control what people thought of your business before they ever got the chance to meet you face to face and shake your hand? Iâve got good newsâŚ. you can! A website is a first impression for anyone who doesnât know you yet. Many times, people will find your website through search engines such as Google or through other people talking about you on social media. With so many tools available to build your own website, many are quick to think âthis will be easy!â WordPress, Wix and Squarespace are all great places to get started with many tutorial sources available. You have a website, but does it do what you want it to do? Have you thought of a strategy for how your website will perform? Are you converting your visitors to readers? Customers? Fans? Based on experiences in different industries and different types of websites, Iâve compiled a list of six âuniversalâ ways to instantly improve your website.
#1 â Convert Your Visitors
Whether the goal of your website is to sell a product online, inform new customers about your brand or service or simply gain a following for your blog, you want to be converting your visitors. What does converting a visitor mean? It means either they buy your product, leave their information with you so you can contact them or they can easily find how to email or call you directly from your site. There are several tools out there to help you convert visitors depending on which platform your site is on. Add an email subscription pop up to your site so whenever someone lands on your site, they are given the option to leave their contact information. Yes â these can be annoying, but you have to make it easy for people to subscribe or sign up for email reminders. Add a contact form or ask a question box on every page of the site. Include a contact button in the main menu navigation so users will find it in an obvious place. Include you NAP information in the header or nav. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for site visitors to convert.
#2 â Be User-Friendly
I never stop hearing from clients about how they much love the Apple website â and I 100% agree. I may be bias since I have to have Apple everything, but do you know why the Apple website is so appealing? Simple: itâs user friendly. Itâs easy to navigate and easy to find what youâre looking for. Keep your menu short with 5-7 main menu options. Make the answers to visitors questions about you or your product easy to get to with organized navigation in sub menus. Make the purchase process simple. Make it easy for the visitor to get in touch with you. Keep the content clean and organized. Leave room for white space. An easy way to test your site is to have a friend or family member spend 15-20 minutes clicking through the pages and giving their feedback on how they think the site flows.
#3 â Tell Your Story
Just because you might be in an industry or business that isnât necessarily interesting or new doesnât mean you canât make it interesting and new. Use your website to tell your story. Who are you? Where did you come from? How did you get here? What are your goals? Who works for you? Whatâs their story? Who are your customers? Whatâs their story? How are you helping them? How can you help me? How are you better than your competitors? Many of these questions are meant to be answered creatively and in a way that draws a potential customer in, yearning to learn more. Itâs the story of your business or blog. Add a page to your site with the story, then add a main menu option âOur Storyâ or âWho We Areâ or âAboutâ. You can also include it in a slider banner on your home page. People are more interested than you might think to learn about your story and what youâre all about. Talk about you, I want to know!
#4 â Call To Action
Does every page on your website have a call to action? This doesnât necessarily have to be a conversion. Does it urge the visitor to do something, such as go to another page, fill out a form, call, add to cart, see whatâs new, suggest another post, etc..? Your home page isnât the only place where a call to action is important. Look at the different pages you have and see if you can find opportunities to add a clearer action item for new visitors. Tell them where to go or what to do next.
#5 â Â Social Media
If you donât have social media pages, I suggest creating some. You donât have to get crazy with it by creating 10 different profiles. Depending on what you do, I suggest certain platforms. Your website is a great place to connect customers and new visitors with your business social profiles. Add social media icons to the header or footer of your website. Add buttons such as âlike us on Facebookâ or âPin to Pinterestâ to different pages or posts. Social media is meant to be a place where you pull back the curtain of what happens behind the scenes at your business and show customers a closer picture of what you do and why. You can use this to your advantage by attracting new customers.
#6 â Add a blog feed
Adding a blog feed to a website is a great way to keep the site fresh in Googleâs eyes. If a website is constantly being updated and adding new content, itâll stay on the top of Googleâs mind. But before you go blog crazy, be very cognizant of who your readers are and what they care most about. Writing sales-y articles that are constantly mentioning âcome to me!â âbuy me!â âIâm the best!â isnât the best approach. Answer a common question in your category, appeal to your audience and be genuine in your topics. One place to start when trying to think of a topic? Google.
So, what kind of things make your website successful? Do you have any tips to share that could help improve a website? Iâm excited to hear what other tips are out there! Please leave a comment below or contact me to start a discussion
Determining a marketing budget for your business can be a challenge if you don’t know where to start. Use this visual guide as a tool to help nail down a marketing budget that fits your needs!
