Smartphones are changing the way that people drive. A number of developers have created some great smartphone apps that you may want to look into. Here are the five best that we have come across. Saving Money Gas prices have dropped a bit recently, but they may rise again in the near future. Savvy consumers will use apps that help them cut their gas bill. There are other services that can cost people a lot of money as well. Here are three of the best money saving apps on the market. GasBuddy Have you ever spent time driving around town, trying to find the gas station with the best prices? GasBuddy is a free app that does the task for you. It syndicates prices from gas stations in your area so you can quickly find the best price. Gas Guru Gas Guru is another…
0 Comments Read MoreLinkbuilding is one of the most important elements of any successful SEO strategy. Google takes a number of factors into consideration when analyzing your link profile, including the domain authority of sites and the anchor text used in the link. Most companies used to focus primarily on generating backlinks with their target keyword in the anchor texts. However, Google has since changed its algorithm to encourage companies to work on building branded links instead. Google’s Evolving Algorithm Google is constantly improving its algorithm to thwart spammers. It’s algorithm was originally based off of a concept called Pagerank, which was an algorithm used to measure the volume of links referring to a website. Incoming links were weighted according to the number of backlinks to the pages they originated from. The Pagerank concept was an innovative approach to minimize the effectiveness of keyword stuffing, but the…
0 Comments Read MoreEverything that your employees say about your company reflects on your brand image. They can either improve or destroy your reputation. They also need to be closely supervised to make sure that they reflect properly on your company. This is becoming even more important in the digital era. Half of all employees discuss their company on social media, but few businesses oversee the content they post. Make sure that your employees and contractors are utilized properly to benefit your company’s image. How Do Your Employees Support Your Brand? Your company’s brand is its most valuable asset. Unfortunately, a single careless employee can ruin it. Here are some tips to protect your online reputation. Establish Your Own Goals It is always a good idea to create a social media policy that all your employees and contractors must abide by. The policy must stipulate what…
0 Comments Read MoreSocial media has become a very important marketing element for businesses in every industry. However, business websites are still far more important for online branding. A recent poll from Gartner found that marketing professionals feel the design and layout of a company website was the most important element of its marketing strategy. As a business owner, you need to invest in a high quality website to leverage your online marketing campaign. Importance of Website Social media has transformed online marketing in many ways, but it still has many limitations. You will need to invest in your website to truly create a powerful online marketing campaign. Here are some reasons building a quality website should be a top priority. Provide Unique Layout Social media platforms provide little flexibility for users to create their own layouts and customize other branding elements. While they provide some flexibility to…
0 Comments Read MoreContent marketing is one of the most effective strategies for companies to brand themselves online. You can improve your business substantially by leveraging powerful content to brand yourself as an expert and improve your SEO. Benefits of Content Marketing A recent study from the Content Marketing Institute found that 94% of businesses use some form of content marketing. Here are some reasons to embrace it: Sharing high quality content is one of the most effective ways to build your brand as an expert. Content marketing is a very important way to build high-quality backlinks for SEO. Creating content is one of the best ways to interact with your audience. Creating content regularly shows your readers that you are disciplined about running your business. Creating content is becoming an increasingly important element of online branding. Research from the Custom Content Council found that…
0 Comments Read MoreThe vast majority of small businesses understand the importance of having a web presence. A recent study from the NSBA found that 96% of small businesses have a website. However, many businesses don’t use their website to its full potential. You will need to actively market your site and make sure it drives you business. Here are some things every small business owner needs to do after building their site. Make Sure Your Message is Clear You have hired a beautifully laid out website. Your first instinct is probably to start showing it off to your current and future customers. Unfortunately, an awesome website isn’t enough to drive sales. You will need to make sure that your site conveys your message first. This means that you will need to write some webpage copy (or hire a company that offers these services). Here are some pages…
0 Comments Read MoreSurveys from Merchant Circle have shown that the search engine optimization is the single most desirable marketing medium for small and midsize businesses. These business owners understand the benefits that organic search traffic provides, but don’t always get the results they hoped. One of their biggest mistakes is failing to identify the best keywords to optimize their site for. Common Keyword Research Mistakes Small Businesses Make Identifying the right keywords to target is an essential step for every SEO campaign. Here are some mistakes that small business owners make: They try to optimize for their company name rather than industry-specific keywords. They target highly competitive keywords that are nearly impossible to rank for. They target keywords that few customers are searching for. They target keywords that aren’t likely to convert. Many businesses have very effective onsite and offsite optimization campaigns, but they don’t…
0 Comments Read MoreEvery small business owner needs to understand the importance of protecting their online reputations. A study from Bright Local found that nearly three quarters of customers trust online reviews. The same study found that over half of customers are more likely to purchase from a company with positive reviews. Unfortunately, online reviews are also a double-edged sword. Negative reviews can damage their business, so companies need to know how to respond. Here are some things that you will want to keep in mind. Keep Your Cool Most people are sensitive to criticism, but you need to resist the temptation to get defensive. Some companies have overreacted to negative reviews and damaged their reputation in the process. Amy’s Baking Company is probably the most classic example of a company that had a meltdown on Facebook. The incident went viral on Reddit, Facebook…
0 Comments Read MoreSmall businesses are finally starting to recognize the importance of websites. A 2013 poll from AT&T Small Business Technology found that that nearly two thirds of small businesses intend to invest more heavily in their website this year. However, many small business owners don’t understand how to structure a website properly to reach their conversion goals. Here are some common mistakes that you will want to look out for. 1. Not Understanding the Purpose of the Homepage Many small businesses try to use their homepage to tell their customers everything they want to hear about their business. The homepage is not the place for that. It should serve a single purpose: getting your customers to another page on the site. You want to change any elements that may be keeping your customers from visiting other pages on the site. Here are…
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