SEO tips for startups: How to grow organic traffic
24.Oct.2019Christina Mercer-Myers—October 16, 2019 You only have to look back a few years and SEO best practices are noticeably different. Google’s algorithms have matured, and are now more intuitive than ever before. And while SEO techniques are ever changing and somewhat steeped in mystery, there are a few constants that remain. SEO essentially has two main disciplines, technical SEO and content SEO - both equally valuable. And while some businesses will rely more heavily on search-led content, others like ecommerce sites are becoming more like content sites every day, offering not only a place to shop but somewhere to read reviews, get advice and keep up to date with industry news. Money is a factor for any business but for startups - where pursestrings are often tight - employing an in-house or agency SEO specialist is expensive, especially when there are numerous things you can do to improve it yourself. Follow our dos and don'ts to grow your organic traffic. Do Add in site tracking Before you start any SEO campaign, you’ll need to set up a way to measure the results and also make sure you’re making the most of your visitor data. It's relatively straight forward to add in tracking for analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Google’s Search Console and the insights gained from them will mean you can create content and tailor your site to your visitors. Having analytics tools integrated in your site is also vital in spotting any sudden drops in traffic. For example, when Google updates its algorithm or even changes it, you can assess how your site has been impacted. Choose the right keywords SEO best practices have changed and their relationship with keywords is a difficult one to master. Blog posts and articles on your sites should contain keywords, with each story written to gain ranking for that said keyword. However, while individual keywords are important, articles should also include different iterations of the keyword. This means your site is targeting overarching subjects, not just one single keyword. Make sure the keywords you plan on targeting is something that fits into your key readership’s interests. Choosing a keyword topic just because it has high volume is not a bad thing, but sites should be conscious about going after top hitters as they will likely be overly saturated and the competition will be too high to truly compete with. Try not to be fooled by popular search terms. Obviously, the sweet spot is low competition and high volume, but settling for low competition, and a moderate volume keyword, could get you higher up the rankings on Google, and while the search volume is lower, the likelihood of them visiting your site is much higher, so net visits should be higher in this instant. Write in natural language and keep headlines short If your site contains blog posts and articles, headlines are critical for good SEO. Try and write your headlines to mirror how someone would search for it in Google. But make sure they still make sense! Headlines should also be as concise as possible. Where possible, aim for under 70 characters in the main headline but if you post them on social media you can adjust the headline for those individual channels. Links are key To help optimise your online content, you should link to relevant internal and external content throughout your articles/blog posts. You should link between existing content on your site, and link to reliable external content as this will help build credibility with Google. Find out what queries visitors are searching for As you know adding tracking is an important step in an SEO best practices, and one tool that will boost your online offering is Google Search Console. Once integrated, it will show you what exact search queries are bringing visitors to your site. You can then work out what drives your audience and what will keep them coming back. For example, the data might show a lot of visitors coming in on a particular key term, this could opportunity to write more articles around that key term/ the overarching topic. Optimise your site’s navigation Improving your site’s navigation is an important step in technical SEO best practice. You should create a simple site map and use a breadcrumb trail (see photo below) to clearly show the visitor where they are on your site. Add in an SSL certificate This is a relatively simple technical SEO step and is considered a must for good ranking. You can do this via your site’s service provider or there are free options available. Most sites use a free service like Cloudflare to do this. Crawl your site for SEO errors (and fix them) By crawling your site, you’ll be able to see issues that could be damaging your SEO efforts. For example, a site crawler will dig into every aspect of your site and flag issues such as broken redirect links, missing code, broken ads, missing fields and many more issues. You can do this via third-party tools such as Moz, DeepCrawl and BeamUsUp. Don’t Don’t overuse keywords A few years ago, content-based sites could essentially get around Google’s algorithm by repeating keywords throughout a sites article or blog post. Google would spot the many keywords and assume it was useful content and should be placed high on Google’s search pages. Thankfully now, Google’s algorithms are much more sophisticated and are able to see past keyword jamming. It now prioritises quality content and utility to the reader, as well as the site's UX. Make sure you don’t get penalised by Google for overusing key terms. It is still important to have a keyword to target and include that in your headline, strapline and where relevant in the body. Don’t forget about UX Since Google’s algorithms have matured, user experience has become a big factor in Google’s rankings. Make sure your site is as useful and easy to use as possible, and that your content is displayed in the best way possible for the reader, not the advertiser. If your site has long-form content on it, you should organise it, add in subheads and a table of contents to make it as readable as possible. Don’t have long URLs Simply, Google likes short headlines and, similarly, short URLs. The URL is normally taken from the headline, so if that is under 70 characters, you shouldn’t have any issues. However, you should also look back at older content on your site and crop the URLs where possible. Source: SEO tips for startups: How to grow organic traffic
5 Ways to Increase your Twitter Marketing Impact
24.Oct.2019Neel Sinha Founder, MyLnk—December 07, 2018 People across the world are observing an increase in their business exposure to social media marketing. Close to 90% of marketers are spending close to seven hours a week on various social media platforms to reach targeted traffic. In this article Neel Sinha, CEO, MyLnk, writes about how marketers can cleverly use Twitter as a tool to make a meaningful impact. Every social networking site has its own distinctiveness. A survey has stated that Twitter influences the buying decision of the consumer and is extremely effective in creating marketing impact through a 280 characters blurb called tweet. Marketing impact implies customers can remember and associate with the company and its products or services for a long time through continuous engagement. Indeed, Twitter is a must-have communication tool for every business as it intensifies the social reach. Twitter is one of the best forums to have semi-formal two-way communication with existing customers and would-be customers. Interactions through tweets boost customer connect with the company and its brand. Here are five ways to increase marketing impact through twitter. Let us discuss it one after the other. 1. Turn potential customers as followers Twitter, the microblogging forum is a powerhouse for lead-generation provided the tweets have the right content and can engage the targeted followers. It enables to connect with target audience across the globe instantly. Twitter followers should be the target customers because if the followers are not targeted then there will be only a few clicks on the links and purpose would be defeated. Many times 97% of followers are likely to be fake in the popular Twitter accounts! TwitterAudit.com can be used for doing a reality check. Twitter involves communication between multiple people simultaneously on the public platform providing ample space for open conversation with customers and potential clients who would become followers. Next step is to interact with them through regular tweets, polls or contest. When the tweets are posted on a regular basis it leads to more followers. Ask simple objective questions in the polls to engage with the target audience. If the customers are posting their feedback or concern then respond to it quickly. 2. Keep tweets simple and short 280 characters are the treasure-limit for a single tweet so use it wisely. People throughout the globe are accessing Twitter on the smartphone, therefore, it is must to keep the tweets concise and crisp. Avoid long contents instead give catchy titles with a customized link to begin the customer interaction and hold customer engagement. Post the tweets with the link shortener to direct the target followers to the respective page such as new product launch page on the website, online store, contest page, informative articles etc. As Twitter is more of an informal communications tool so the tweets can be stretched to incorporate friendly emotions, a touch of humor or subtle opinions but it should be oriented to gain cleverness to instigate future communications rather than a mundane sale communication or personal update. Ensure to develop the content in a more structured way rather than a random pick of words. The tweets must hold the buyer's attention that stimulates retweet. To increase the prospects of the tweet to be retweeted add images and videos as sometimes graphics are worth a thousand words. The content of the tweet would vary as per the product, company or individual. If it is the individual then the tweet could be about some new research or even some informative article. If it is the product, the tweet can be new product feature, testimonial of existing user, associating with a national event or even taking the feedback or attending to the concerns of consumers. It shall lead to strong customer faith in the company and its brand. It is possible to reach customers in close to real-time hence respond to the consumers and attend to them as soon as possible. Next, it is vital to have ‘new content in new tweets’ else followers would be turned off if the same old content is tweeted again and again. It is also possible to cross-post Twitter content on other social networks but ensure the content is not repetitive. To increase the traffic on the website’s online store through Twitter, provide the website link in Twitter Universe changing the content. If the company product or service is any way associated with an on-going current affair then it must be tweeted instantly as per the updates of the event. It brings in a lot of attention, but the content of the tweet must be distinctive. 3. Tweet during rush hours for higher reach It is important to tweet during the peak hours. The attention time of the followers and other Twitter users to notice the tweets is very small therefore it is imperative to tweet when a large number of followers are online to notice the tweets, click the given links and reach the desired page. In order to get the most attention and attain higher retweets it is best to tweet during peak hours precisely 10 AM to 12 Noon. Be around on Twitter at this time interval to have utmost engagement of the followers. In addition, Friday is the most popular day of the week when tweets get maximum exposure. 4. Enhance visibility of tweets with right hashtags Right hashtag can be effectively utilized for business promotion by reaching the target audience as it filters irrelevant tweets and connects with the target audience. Hashtag is not only fun to work with but also drives the targeted audience and turns them as followers. Hashtag is a symbol '#' added just before a word. This created hashtag allows the user to join the on-going conversational topic as well as is resourceful in creating new dialogue. Users on Twitter, use these hashtags to reach the relevant tweets. It is indeed quite impactful. Search for most commonly used hashtags related to the content and incorporate in the tweet. To attain the marketing goals and engage the followers, it is best to use the hashtags that hold the interest of the existing followers and bring in new followers too. As soon as the tweet is posted with right hashtag it generates interest amongst the Twitter users, and in just a couple of seconds, the message reaches millions who then become active salesforce to promote company products and services through retweets or new tweets along with their comments, feedback or opinions. Hashtags create eagerness for the brand and engage even those users who are not existing customers. There are many success stories where using ‘#hashtag’ business enquires were intensified and subsequently converted into end sales. However, it is important to note that excess of anything is bad so avoid using too many hashtags in a single tweet. In maximum word limit of 280 characters, where every character is valuable, overflowing the tweet with hashtags makes it look like a spam and the real message is completely lost! Further, industry statistics have confirmed 21% more engagement on tweets having 1-2 hashtags than those with more than 2 hashtags. So, keep it only 1-2 most relevant hashtags in a single tweet. 5. Participate in on-going conversations to gain followers To engage and interact with the potential customers, it is not only about sending the fresh tweets and generating the content continuously but it is also vital to be part of some trending topics. Be active in the conversation as well as encourage others to share their voice too. Use #hashtags to spot the trending topics that are related or relevant to the business and is of interest to the followers. When becoming part of any Twitter community it is a good strategy to mention active Twitterati in the conversation. To do so just add '@' before their Twitter account name and the notification is sent to the concerned account holder. Think out of the box to interact in the on-going conversations. Similarly, if there are mentions for oneself then be sure to respond. In case the mentions are too many then prioritize it but try to respond for sure. In the process of active interactions be analytical to decide as when to take the private conversations with the customers into DM or email support precisely B2B client. Twitter is certainly the top choice to accentuate customer interaction but be decisive to take the conversation off the Twitter feed at the right time. To increase the Twitter marketing impact, it is not limited to the count of followers instead it is largely powered by the organic engagement of targeted followers through meaningful and attractive tweets. The right use of 1-2 hashtags, posting tweets during peak hours and joining the Twitter chats escalates the social reach in the online world for offline sales conversions. Source: 5 Ways to Increase your Twitter Marketing Impact
10 SMS Survey Best Practices
24.Oct.2019Sara Staffaroni—March 18, 2019 SMS surveys—also known as text message surveys—are perfect for reaching those customers always on the go. They’re also great if you need to follow up on a phone call or an in-person interaction. Although I doubt you need more convincing, here are some stats on why you should use SMS as a customer feedback channel: SMS has a response rate that’s 7.5x greater than email. More than 50% of customers prefer contacting support through text messaging compared to other channels. 80% of people use texting for business purposes. And according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan, people are more likely to give accurate feedback over text. There are many scenarios in which SMS serves as the best survey channel, but we’ll save that for another blog post. We’ll start with SMS survey best practices. Follow these tips to receive reliable, actionable customer feedback. SMS survey best practices 1. Keep your SMS survey brief A text message has a limit of 160 characters. Anything above this and your text will be broken into separate chunks which may affect the readability of your message. Keeping your SMS survey message brief doesn’t mean that you should use text speak, however, as it could make words even harder to read and make you look unprofessional. Simply get your point across in as few words as possible. Same goes for the survey URL—make sure you’re using a URL shortener to save on space. 2. Make an introduction Your customers receive SMS from a lot of people and brands, so even if you’ve sent a customer a survey or promotion via text before you should still introduce yourself. Letting the customer know who the SMS survey is from at the start adds credibility to your messages and improves the likelihood that the customer will respond. 3. Follow up on your SMS survey When sending SMS surveys it’s useful to keep in mind that your customers are busy, and most are probably juggling several things at once. It’s easy for your text to get lost amidst all of that and even if it’s opened, the customer can simply get distracted by something else and forget to send a response. Which is why you should send a follow-up SMS to give them another chance to respond. You should also follow up when the customer gives a response. SMS are a very personal communication channel so you should treat it as such—there’s no better way to show that you care about the feedback. 4. Test different send times The time you choose to send your SMS survey is going to influence your engagement rate a lot. The best time to send your SMS survey is going to depend a lot on the demographics of your customers (such as working hours) as well as if you have customers in different time zones. Most text marketing software give you the option of sending SMS at the local time of the recipient. This ensures that wherever your customers are they’re only going to receive your messages at the most convenient time for them. But the only way to truly know the best time to send your SMS survey is to test different send times and study your analytics to see when you have the best response rate. 5. Get permission SMS is like email, in that there are regulations that stop companies from sending consumers unwanted messages. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulates how marketers should contact people. Failure to comply with the TCPA will lead to heavy fines, lawsuits, not to mention damage to consumer trust. Whether you’re sending out surveys or marketing messages through SMS you should always make sure that the consumer has given you permission to reach them through text and that they also have the ability to opt out from your texts. Note that having a customer’s phone number after they make a purchase isn’t the same as receiving permission to contact them. 6. Have a clear call to action (CTA) When you send your SMS survey it has to be clear to the customer what exactly you want them to perform. This is true no matter the channel you’re reaching people on. Adding a straightforward CTA to your survey removes all the ambiguousness and results in even the most distracted customer knowing that you want them to gauge their experience. The result of a clear CTA is improved response rates from your SMS campaigns. 7. Limit SMS survey frequency One of the worst things you can do is to send too many SMS surveys to your customers. The more frequently you message them the less important each message will become in their eyes. The only exception to this is a transactional message where an action a customer took, such as buying a product, led to the message e.g a satisfaction survey. Not having a handle on your SMS frequency can lead to consumers opting out from your messages thereby reducing the effectiveness of future campaigns. 8. Personalize your SMS survey Just like in email, people are more likely to respond to your SMS survey when they feel like it was meant just for them. Which means personalizing your messages, rather than doing traditional text blasts, will boost your response rate. You can personalize your SMS by segmenting your customers, using their names in the message, and by including details of why you’re reaching out to them. 9. Use a shortcode If you want to use SMS as a channel for reaching your customers then you need to have a shortcode. Shortcodes are phone numbers generally 5 to 6 digits long made specifically for commercial use and mass mobile communications. They’re short so customers have an easier time remembering that it’s from your brand. They’re also approved by wireless carriers for marketing which means that your messages will have a much higher deliverability rate as they won’t be blocked. Using a shortcode also allows you to send messages at a much faster rate than from regular mobile phone numbers. 10. Make sure your survey is mobile friendly It should go without saying that you need to make sure your survey page is mobile friendly. Since you’re using text messages as a feedback channel it’s safe to assume that your customers are going to open your survey link on a mobile phone. Because of this, having a mobile-friendly survey page is essential to good user experience and getting the most accurate data from your customers. Wrap-up on SMS survey best practices SMS surveys are a surefire way to expand your customer reach and receive valuable, timely feedback. When used in conjunction with other channels, SMS surveys can help companies master a truly omnichannel feedback program. Source: 10 SMS Survey Best Practices
Link Shortener: A shortcut to successful marketing campaign
24.Oct.2019B123.be is a powerful link shortener to track URLs. Sometimes you need to shorten the URLs because social media platforms like Twitter have character limits. However, a URL shortener can be more powerful—not only for individual, but your business. Let see how to use a link shortener for your business. First, a good link shortener is not just a tool to create shorter links. For example, B123.be can help you to track links and collect the data. You can track everything and everyone who clicks your link. Whether it is the number of clicks, the country or the referrer, you can get all the information about your links. Then, you can make good use of the data collected by B123.be. Target interested users, understand their behavior and provide them a better overall experience through smart re-targeting. Remember that a successful marketing campaign is to manage the links and reach your customers efficiently. Therefore, B123.be helps you to target your customers. If you want to engage the users in your marketing campaign, you can create a custom landing page to promote your product or service on forefront. After you target the users based on their location and device, they will be redirected to specialized pages which increases your conversion. B123.be, is not limited to reduce character counts of links. It helps you to control the links, and the most important thing is to analyze marketing campaign and promote your business.