SEO Made Simple 2016

Many people are wondering if SEO, search engine optimization, still matters.  As someone who's been focused on SEO for a long time, I can definitely say it's essential for success. However, the process of optimizing your website and the process for doing so has radically changed.

Back in the day you could trick search engines into believing that your website had more authority than your competitors. Authority is essentially Google's way of assessing a point value to indicate site popularity. Google has become much more sophisticated and trying to put one over on them is a waste of time.

One of the most fundamental changes in search engine optimization is local optimization. Thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices, most searches using search engines have some type of local intent. This type of search query has changed the Google algorithm and ranking factors. Even if you are a national business, you must think locally and optimize for local search.

The second area that have evolved over the last few years is content.  As I talk about in SEO Made Simple (audio version), content is the driving force behind site authority and valuation.  The more engaging content you produce, the more users will stay on your site, interact with, and share your web pages. This had a dramatic and lasting impact on search engine results.

When people ask me for my optimization advice, I always point to the two items above, local optimization and content creation. When these two factors are at the heart of your optimization strategy, you can influence search engine rankings.

What about those old SEO tactics?

If you're still getting emails from India promotion number one Google rankings, there's probably a bunch of outdated tactics behind it. The best case scenario is that you don't get penalized when these companies start posting links to your website all across the internet. The worst case scenario is that Google catches on (and they will), banning your site.

I've found that websites who have received a Google penalty rarely, if ever, fully recover.  Is it worth the risk?  No, definitely not.  My recommendation is always to learn SEO best practices and either implement them on your own or simply hire a reputable firm to implement specific tactics like blogging, digital assets, etc. under your supervision.

To be successful with search engine optimization, you need to take a fresh approach. Focus on how to build quality information online that others want to interact with. When you do, you'll naturally attract links to your website or blog and improved organic rankings will follow.

How to Use Pricing Psychology to Generate Sales

No matter the market, developing a pricing strategy is essential for ensuring something sells. However, the price can't be determined based solely on what the seller hopes to get for it; there are a variety of factors that come into play, including demand and the current market atmosphere. There are a number of psychological tricks that come into play, as well.

Pricing Based on Market

In some situations, you can price a product as high as you want -- and no one will buy it unless they are stupid. For example, a real estate agent would advise homeowners against pricing a home $200,000 over the market price. If the homes on a street are identical, but one is priced much higher, it may attract more initial interest; after all, buyers are curious. However, once they realize it has no advantage over any of the competitors, they will certainly settle on the lower priced options.

Pricing Based on Competition

Another strategy for pricing something to sell is based on the price the competition sells for. This is a common retail strategy; store A will offer a product for one price, while store B offers it for several dollars less. In most cases, store B will have the market for that product because of the pricing difference. The only time customers would choose to buy at Store A would be due to convenience. Of course, there are downsides to this: the profit margins usually end up being very narrow. The 'race to the bottom' tactics only benefit consumers, not businesses.

Pricing Based on Loyalty

This is often called a penetration strategy. A company will sell a very high-quality product at a price much lower than the competition would. This is most often used for smaller companies trying to break into an industry dominated by giants; it allows them to get a wedge of the market share without offering any initial innovation, but through building customer loyalty, they're able to build slowly until they can compete with the bigger players.

Loss Leaders

This price strategy definition is sometimes called promotional pricing. Because the business doesn't make any profit off the initial sale, it's called a 'loss leader' -- it brings customers in to purchase other products that will turn a profit. The initial purchase is just to capture their interest. As a result, the original product is usually priced much lower than the market is asking.

Using an 'Almost' Price

This tactic is exceedingly common. Companies will price a product at $4.99 instead of $5, but because it isn't quite $5, customers don't see it as so great an expense. It's a simple way to trick the brain into believing a product actually costs significantly less than it does, even if the actual price difference is only one cent off.

These four pricing strategies in marketing examples should help you better understand how to implement them into your own business. By using smart pricing strategies and psychologies, you can begin to generate sales even if there are far stronger competitors against you.

This post comes from Sarah, an inspirational writer who is taking QLD real estate course online at NREL Australia to grow her marketing career. She is part of crews at a specialized training center for the real estate industry, working with entrepreneurs and small business owner to upskills and achieve results that raise the standards of professionalism and respect in the Real Estate industry.

How To Market A Company After You Buy It

Buying a business is one of the best ways for someone to become their own boss. There are many different things to remember when it comes to buying a business. First of all, the legal step when buying a business is to sign a contract with the price that is agreed on. Although that sounds simple in theory, there are other things to keep in mind during this process. There are many contract agreement forms that must be signed before the business can officially be turned over. 

Marketing the new business is something that many people do not understand. Here are several tips in marketing for anyone who has just bought a new business.

Invest Early

It is vital to invest in marketing early on in the process. When buying a new business, it can be tempting to simply put all of the time and energy into getting the business up and running again. However, marketing needs to be considered an essential future component of running the business. 

There are many people who understand this and have had success. With all of the different technology available today, there is no excuse not to leverage this into something larger in terms of marketing.

Use Social Media

Social media is one of the best things a business can have when it comes to spreading the word about its products and services. However, social media must be used correctly in order to have leverage with customers. Simply producing content is not enough to drive the results that are needed. Always make sure to take a targeted approach to social media when trying to attract your customers. This focused effort will pay off over the long run.

Thank You Notes

Many people forget about the power of thank you notes in our new world of technology. However, this is one of the best ways to make your company stand out from the rest. Especially when first starting out, this can be a great way of letting customers know of the business transition after the purchase. Once your customer base grows to a certain level this will not be possible, but until then this is a great gesture to make towards customers.

Build a Website

If your company does not already have a website in the purchase agreement, make sure that you start building one the moment you take over. A website is an essential marketing tool in today's world. Anyone who wants to reach the most customers they can needs to make sure their website is as high quality as possible.

Treat Customers Right

The best marketing tool that anyone new business owner can have is to simply treat customers the right way. If customers have a great experience with a company, they have a much better chance of coming back to do business with them against. Over the long term, the most successful companies are those that treat customers the right way.

About the Author: Tully Rickets is a writer with interests in healthy living and marketing. When he's not blogging about healthy behaviors, he enjoys researching ideas for his marketing website from many blogs and websites.

Online And Offline Marketing Strategies That Make a Difference

Today's world tends to be one of extremes, particular in terms of business; rather than focusing on both online and offline marketing, companies will do one or the other. However, it's important to combine your efforts. When you market online, do it offline as well. A marketing campaign that combines both online and offline elements are more effective, cost-efficient, and successful than one that focuses only on one or the other.

1. Embrace the hashtag
Hate it or love it, the hashtag is here to stay. The key to successfully using a hashtag is to remain consistent in your usage; make sure to use the same hashtag each and every time across all platforms. Use it on your offline marketing materials as those online. Within time, your business will become known for that specific hashtag, even though you have no 'real' ownership of it. .

2. Content In the online world, content is king. The same applies offline. By providing helpful, high-value content to visitors of your website, you give them a reason to return time and time again. Your offline efforts should be to direct users to the relevant pages online. A marketing strategy example of this is to send purchasers of a garlic press to your company's Pinterest page or blog for recipes that use garlic. .

3. Check-In on mobile devices People love to announce where they are online. It's the modern-day status symbol. That said, you can easily make use of this by having customers check-in when they're at your store. Offer a small discount at checkout if they can prove they've checked in. Not only will this encourage more people to do so, but you'll receive free advertising and social proof online as a result. It can be as easy as hanging up a fence sign that says, "Check in on Facebook here!" This is an even more effective strategy if you run a trendy store like a coffee shop. .

4. Use custom URLS By using custom URLs, you can track your efforts and find out how much of your traffic is coming from your offline efforts. Bit.ly and other websites allow you to create customized, short URLS that are easy for users to enter but provide you with the information you want: how many people used that URL to find your website. For example, if you're preparing a campaign for the upcoming holiday season, a cloth banner printing with your URL on it will let you track how many looked for more information through that URL. .

5. Use QR codesMuch like check-ins, QR codes can be used to offer discounts, display more information about a product, and much more. Over 50% of web traffic is from mobile devices, and people never leave home without their phones. By ensuring you include QR codes in all of your offline marketing material, you can grab your customer's attentions and direct them to your online presence.

It's important to make use of every marketing avenue available to you. By mixing both your online and offline strategies, you reach out to two separate demographics and create a more coherent marketing strategy. Developing a marketing plan that makes use of both offline and online elements can give you an edge over other companies in your sphere that haven't yet caught on.

About the Author: Tully Rickets is a writer with interests in healthy living and marketing. When he's not blogging about healthy behaviors, he enjoys researching ideas for his marketing website from many blogs and websites.

5 Easy Tips to Kickstart a Google Business Page

Google plus local business page effects small business's marketing in a positive way. When you create Google+ business page, you increase the chances of getting highly targeted visitors from Google's organic search results. You should pay attention to this strategy as it brings your business to the top as far as Google searches are concerned. Increasing authority and influence of your business and adding directions to your brand are benefits that you will not want to miss. You don't need a web designer to create a professional Google Plus business page. It is DIY process that can take only a few minutes to complete. This article highlights five easy Tips to Kickstart a Google Business Page.

#1 Verify Your Google Business Listing

The next step after creating a Google+ business page is to verify your business information. Any update that you include on your Google+ business profile such as description, contact details, operating hours or photos appears on the Google Maps and other Google properties. Before you add your local business, make sure meets the given Google guidelines

#2 Make Your Google Business Page Visually Appealing

You should put in extra effort to make sure your Google Business page is visually appealing. You can achieve this by adding appropriate branding information such as informative videos and captivating cover images. If you are running a boutique business, you can add beautiful behind-the-scenes photos on the cover section. If you are running a bakery business, you can add captivating photos of daily specials to draw in customers. You can also include external links to your social media sites to help improve your Google Search ranking.

#3 Using Hashtags Frequently and Strategically

Just like Twitter, Google Plus also has an open posting environment that supports the usage of hashtags. You can check things that are trending in your local areas under "What's Hot." In any trending hashtag, you can start your conversation or comment of the active conversations. As an added advantage, these hashtags also appear in Google searches. Additionally, when visitors search for your business, Google retrieves the recent Google+ post that you made on your page.

#4 Take Advantage of Gifs

Optimising Google business page also require you to take advantage of Gifs. However stupid they may look, Gifs are considered Google plus gold. In addition to allowing Gifs to play automatically on your page, Google Plus also offers a tool that collects your photo's to create Gifs for them. Engaging and funny Gifs not only adds beauty but also adds interest to the posts being shared. Unlike other social media business platforms, Google Plus business page is the only medium that plays gifs automatically. So you will need to utilize this feature.

#5 Continue Sharing Images

Make sure you include a high-quality, interesting and relevant photo in your post. Posts with images perform well compared to text-only posts. If you have other social media pages, you will find that these same rules apply. You can use an image that encourages your audience to click. Post interesting images and infographics with helpful information and share them on your other social media sites. One of the brands that understand how to use images on their social media platforms including Google Plus is the National Geographic.

About the Author : Tully Rickets is a writer with interests in healthy living and marketing. When he's not blogging about healthy behaviors, he enjoys researching ideas for his marketing website from many blogs and websites.

Yeah, Market Research Still Matters...

Successful businesses have expansive knowledge about their competitors and customers. Market research is the process of gathering market data about the current and potential customers to enable you react to the potential or current products or services. Many small businesses carry out market research without even knowing they are doing so. For instance, when a small business owner inquires from customers about how they feel about the services offered, or a business owner checks competitor product prices, then he/she is conducting market research.

The main aim of market research is to prepare for the marketing research report. Marketing research report includes a summary of the important data and analysis of the data for decision making in the business. Market research has been enhanced with the advent of the internet which makes it possible to reach the target market quickly and with ease and still gain important consumer knowledge to drive business forward.

The main questions property decision makers would want to ask themselves is - is there a useful way to conduct market research for a property business to make informed decisions about the way forward? And why is market research important? These questions can be answered by understanding how effective and efficient market research can be to help business find the opportunities and strengths, and where to eliminate opportunities to help the business expand.

Let’s start with why is market research important? Market research defines a clear direction for a company. When market research is done effectively and market research report is prepared well, businesses have a clear view of the customer needs and a clear path which the company need to take to achieve the needs of the prospective customers. Unfortunately, many small businesses may not be in a position spend the thousands of dollars to hire the most reputable market research firms. In this regard, many of them prefer to ignore taking market research into consideration or use approaches which may not lead to useful information.

The importance of market research include helping to understand the market, which may include the target age bracket, target gender and other demographics. Market research is critical to understand the competition, know the right product customers need and building connections.

Big Data has been a game charger as far as market research is concerned. Market researchers are faced with large amounts of data to analyze and monitor both online and offline to understand the customer needs. In this regard, Big Data is continually being used by researchers as a compliment to market research to know what consumers need and monitor changes in tastes and preferences. The five insights gained include - creating a more accurate profile of the target customers, to monitor and analyze the consumer reaction to product offerings and marketing messages, develop strategies for retaining customers in a more effective and efficient way, plan marketing campaigns and digital marketingto the target groups and monitor changes in tastes and preferences.

Queensland property market is currently a BOOM market thanks to Queensland’s economy which has started to improve. For instance, the latest RP Data CoreLogic Home Value Index for Brisbane show an increase of 0.7% for September 2014, 0.6% increase over the last quarter of 2014 and 6.4% year-to-year increase. Small businesses investing in Queensland property market should use these kinds of market data and outsource market research from property research companies to achieve real value of their investment.

This post comes from Sarah, an inspirational writer. She is part of crews at Real Estate Academy Australia (a specialized training center for the real estate industry), working with entrepreneurs and small business owner to grow their careers and achieve results that raise the standards of professionalism and respect in the Real Estate industry.

Social Responsibility Goes Vegan

Marketing gets responsible.  As a leading marketer and founder of The Marketing Blog, I know that companies have to stand for something. Whether it's giving back to the environment, focusing on positive outcomes for individuals, or helping those less fortunate, social responsibility is essential for any business who wants to thrive.

What is your social responsibility?

For a long time I've been helping companies grow, achieve marketing success, and deliver top line results.  But to what end?  Recently I had some pretty significant changes in my life and started asking some pretty big questions like, "What will I leave behind?", "Have I done enough?", "Have I been socially responsible?"  And it occurred to me that businesses need to be asking themselves the same questions.  As marketers, we should be leading the dialog.

It also occurred to me that my answer to the question, "Have you done enough" has been an emphatic NO.  But the good news is that it's never too late to change and individuals can make new choices and go in new, more productive directions at any time.  

I'm happy to announce the launch of a new website that has grown out of my own need to become more socially responsible and make a difference.  The site is called, Vegan For One Day, and we'll be changing the world one bite at a time.  This site is dedicated to millennials and other health conscious individuals who are looking more carefully at what they eat and the impact it has on the environment and their health.

You can make a difference

Our goal is NOT to make everyone on the planet a vegan (although we wouldn't mind). Rather, the goal is one of education and self reflection. When people are truly informed, they tend to make better choices.  Look at smoking for example. As individuals learned about the harmful implications of lighting up, they changed, albeit slowly over time.

The same is true about diet and nutrition.  Our goal is to educate individuals about the impact of what they consume on both their health as well as the planet and the lives of animals impacted every day.  We've also introduced a challenge for people to try going vegan, no meat or dairy, for a day, week, or month.  This will have a positive impact on all of our natural resources.

Social good

No matter what you do or who you work for, consider the implications of your actions.  Are you making the world a better place? Are you having a positive and lasting impact on the world or the people you care about most?  Social change happens when we start asking ourselves the right questions like, "Am I doing enough?"

Don't wait until the end of your life to begin asking questions about your legacy, the impact you'll make, and how you can help.  Get started today and make a difference.