Which outfitter would you choose? It’s possible that both companies are equally knowledgeable about rafting and maybe in reality both have the highest quality equipment available – but if a company doesn’t prove to you that they have these qualities, why would you consider them as an option?

It works the same way with the Internet and websites. You wouldn’t send prospects outdated brochures, so why would you have them visit an outdated website? In the same sense, why would Google display an outdated, irrelevant website on the first page of search results? Especially when tons of new and improved websites are popping up everyday.

Remember, search engines are businesses. They want people to keep using their service, so they aren’t going to display results that they deem irrelevant.

What is Relevant Website Content?

Relevant site content is in-depth text on your pages that describes your current services or products, your business achievements and goals, and industry related news. Although each of your pages have their own topic related to your business, it should be easy to see how each page is related.

Even if your services haven’t changed in the past five years, chances are that industry standards or how people view your services have. Your website should convey to readers that your business is up to par with the competition and always striving to meet the needs of your customers.

If it’s been over a month since your site was last updated with new, relevant content, you risk missing out on a first page placement in search results. Is that a chance you’re willing to take?

Google in particular takes a few things into consideration when determining what sites it displays in search results. These include:

Page Rank:

Page rank is Google’s way of determining a page’s popularity and relevancy by examining the number of quality outside links pointing to that page. Pages with a higher page rank are deemed more important than those with a low page rank. You can gain outside links by having “share worthy” content on your website that other sites think is good enough to share and link to.

Page and Site Content:

Do your website’s pages contain interesting, helpful content about your industry and business’s services? Does your text include identifying keywords and SEO in the appropriate places? Do all of your webpages talk about relating topics? These are things Google considers as it scans your website. Adding new content to your site consistently allows you to improve your site content and build up your SEO.

Relevancy:

Distinctive, useful content makes it easier for Google to recognize what your site is about – and posting new content on a regular basis gives Google a reason to scan your site more often. Sites that are frequently updated also keep readers interested. No one is going to stay on your site to read outdated text – especially when your competition is talking about the latest developments in your industry.

You can keep your site up-to-date and on Google’s radar by consistently reviewing your site content every month and by actively blogging. Blogging about industry related topics on a regular basis gives search engines a reason to index your site more often. Blogs also allow you to add keywords to your website and give viewers a reason to return and link to you.

Renowned marketing expert Gary Halbert is famously quoted as having asked his students: “If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to help you win?”. The students typically respond by saying that they would want the lowest price, or the best-tasting hamburger, and so on. But Gary stuns his students by telling them: “OK, I’ll give you every advantage you want if I can have just one”.

“What is it?”, they ask.

“Give me a starving crowd!” he tells them.

Search engine advertising delivers the starving crowd that you’re looking for: According to Yahoo! and comScore, 89% of consumers research products and services online before buying them.

With search engine advertising, you can place your business in front of the people who are searching for the products or services that you offer – at the precise moment that they have a need. No other advertising medium today can do that.

Search engine advertising isn’t just for big companies. Growing businesses can compete with larger ones — because the quality of your ad campaign, your website, and the relevance of the user’s search (the word or phrase that triggered your ad to appear) carry much more weight than the size of your business. Not only can you control who will see your ads, but your ads will be effective whether you sell a product or a service and whether you have a large budget or a small one. By adding search engine advertising to your marketing mix, you will see a measurable impact on the number of new prospects you are able to attract to your business.

In our first installment of social media marketing for businesses, we discussed the importance of determining your business goals and target audience before jumping head first into social media. Business social media accounts require a commitment to content creation, meaningful updates, and monitoring. Each platform offers a different way to reach and interact with customers.

We have already covered the basic atmosphere and components of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which are by far the most popular and populated social media networks today. But popularity doesn’t always mean success. Some businesses thrive on smaller social media networks such as Google+, YouTube and Pinterest, which allow businesses to reach their audiences through more creative means.

Google+

Google+ fosters a community environment where businesses can interact with potential and current customers. Offering similar features to Facebook but with a much smaller network following, Google+ pages include updates, photo sharing, chats and messaging.

But don’t be fooled into thinking Google+ is just a Facebook copycat. Google+ boasts some unique features not found on Facebook. Features that provide distinct search engine result benefits to businesses that use it properly. Most notable is the Google+ Authorship feature, which allows you to display your name and image next to your blogs that show up in Google’s search engine results. This authorship feature makes your content stand among the other results and has been proven to increase click-through rates.

Google+ also boasts a +1 button feature allowing people to rank the content on your website and on your Google+ account. More +1s, shares and comments can lead to higher rankings in Google’s search engine results.

The Hangouts feature is also unique to Google+, which allows you to set up group video chats with up to nine people at a time. Hangouts also provide a text chat feature and the ability to watch YouTube videos as a group. All of these features can be used to leverage your social media goals and interact with customers.

Google+ should be consistently monitored for mentions of your business, and updates should be posted consistently to get the most out the search ranking features.

YouTube

YouTube is the largest video sharing website online with over 4 billion hours of video watched every month. If you have the right content and customers are watching videos related to your industry online, then you should have a YouTube account. Video marketing is an effective way to share information about your brand and is a less competitive way to rank in search engine results.

Your content should inform, instruct or entertain. People don’t go to YouTube or search for video’s to hear a sales pitch. It’s also important to properly optimize your account and videos with tags, keywords, titles and thumbnails in order to have a chance to rank for them and grab people’s attention.

YouTube videos can be integrated into other social media platforms such as Facebook and Google+, and can be used on your websites and blogs. People can comment on your videos, create video responses, and thumbs up or thumbs down your videos.

Pinterest

Pinterest’s virtual pin board is a fantastic way to showcase your business with images of your products and what you do. Although Pinterest users are primarily female, it’s a great platform for all things visual.

Pinterest boards allow you to dedicate areas to specific products or topics. People can search, like, pin and comment each photo that you pin to your boards. Whenever someone re-pins your content, all of their followers see it also. Viewers can also click though your pins to be taken directly to the corresponding page on your website for more information. It’s a great way to gain exposure for your company and brand.

Like most social media platforms, Pinterest’s community vibe requires more than just a flow of your own company’s content. You should interact with the pins of other users. Share and comment on their  content. As a business you can create a community board and invite your followers to share pins related to your brand or products. It is also it is important to monitor what people are saying about your products and the photos you pin. Use the feedback you receive to improve your strategy.

Still Not Sure Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Business?

Choosing a social media network for your business doesn’t have to be a headache. If you are still questioning which direction your business should go in, or how to effectively create and share content on your social media accounts, contact one of our social media experts today to find out how our ePresence team can help your business.

Follow ePresence Marketing on Facebook or subscribe to our blog to be the first to know when our evaluations of each individual social media network is published.

Think about it: in the past week how often have you used your smartphone or iPad to conduct some on-the-fly research online? How often do you think people you know have done the same? According to a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than half of smartphone owners use their devices to surf the web. This trend is growing so rapidly that some technology experts believe that by 2014 the majority of Internet traffic will be on mobile devices.

So what’s a business owner to do? Do you need to create a different version of your website for every possible screen size? Do you throw your hands in the air and let your customers deal with the hassle of using a traditional website on their iPhone?

The solution you’re looking for is responsive website design.

What is Responsive Website Design?

Responsive website design is a technique that allows your site to dynamically adapt to the device it is being viewed on. One prospect might be viewing your site on a desktop computer, while another prospect is viewing it on an iPhone – in both cases your site will automatically detect the screen size being used and adjust accordingly.

Flexible’s website on iPhone, iPad, tablet, and standard desktop screen sizes.

Responsive design is more than an “add on” that can be plugged-in to a traditional website. Instead, it’s a way of coding your site from the ground up so that it’s easy-to-navigate and user-friendly regardless of the device your prospects are using to browse your site. This kind of improved user experience has tangible results: improved conversion rates, more page loads per visit and more time spent on your site, to name a few. One company, Skinny Ties, reported a 13.6% conversion rate increase and an iPhone revenue growth rate of 377.6% following their decision to go responsive.

Should Your Website Be Responsive?

The simple answer is: yes.

Regardless of your industry or the size of your business, you need to have a user-friendly site that meets prospects where they are. Whether they’re using their iPhone while sitting on the train, or their tablet while relaxing at home in the evening, you want to capture their attention and convert them into customers when they land on your site.

Not sure where to get started? Contact one of our ePresence Advisors today for a free website evaluation »

Sources:

• Pew Internet: Cell Internet Use 2012
• Mary Meeker: Mobile Internet Will Soon Overtake Fixed Internet 
• Data Monday: Impact of Responsive Designs

The answer is you don’t. If you are just starting to dip your toes into the social media pool,  being selective about which outlet you choose is wise.  No reason to dive head first if you don’t know how well you can swim.

Which Social Media Network Should Your Business Use?

First  figure out what your goals are. Are you trying to engage potential and current customers? Build relationships? Spread information? Monitor what’s being said about your brand? There is no right or wrong answer to this question, but certain social media sites are better suited for certain goals.

You also need to determine how much time you have to commit to meaningful social media updates and monitoring. Creating accounts then leaving them inactive can hurt your online image. So eliminate all of the little guys and focus on the big dogs. If you’re going to spend precious time on a social media network, spend it where the most people are: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest. In this article we’ll discuss the first three services. We’ll touch on Google+, YouTube and Pinterest later in our next installment of social media marketing for businesses.

Facebook

If you only have time for one social media platform, Facebook is the way to go. With over a billion monthly users, Facebook is the largest social media network in the world and chances are that members of your target audience are hanging out there.

If your goal is to create a community around your brand, get customer feedback or improve customer service, then set up shop on Facebook. Facebook Business Pages provide a great place for reciprocal communication between you and your audience. This requires that your business page be actively monitored and that new content be consistently added.

Facebook followers expect answers to their questions, complaints, and comments in a timely fashion. They also want useful information about products, services, and industry news and events. Making your followers feel involved is the key to Facebook success.

Twitter

Twitter’s fast-paced news feed allows people to get real-time updates from businesses they follow. It’s also a fantastic way for business owners to keep up with industry related news.

With messages limited to 140 characters, Twitter is more about quick information sharing rather than close-knit community building. Actively monitoring Twitter for mentions of your business, and to respond to any questions or comments from followers is a priority.  Your followers will expect some sort of consistent Tweeting from you, be it the monthly sale you’re having or the weekly announcement of your latest blog post.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a low maintenance network that allows you to create a professional source of information about both you and your business. If you’re looking to make business connections, find employees, or to show off your industry expertise, set up both a personal and a business LinkedIn page. They require minimal monitoring and there isn’t an urgent need to post daily updates.

LinkedIn business pages allow you to showcase your business as well as individual products and services. Since each product page displays corresponding employee contact information, viewers with questions or comments can contact employees directly rather than posting to your page as a whole. Viewers can also promote products and services that they have tried and enjoyed.

Business pages also have a section where you can post updates about your business, but it doesn’t promote a community vibe like Facebook. With LinkedIn you’re more likely to attract potential and current employees, business connections, or people trying to confirm the legitimacy of your company.

LinkedIn’s main attraction is profiles for individual people. Having employees create a LinkedIn account can help to promote the expertise of your business, especially when they take advantage of endorsement features, industry groups and recommendations to show off their skills.

What Have We Learned So Far?

There is no such thing as a “set it and forget it” social media platform. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all require monitoring and each one requires a dedicated amount of time to keep viewers happy.

Knowing what your social media goals are will ultimately determine which account you should set up for your business. Don’t let Facebook’s chatty community vibe or Twitter’s fast moving news feed scare you away. This should be a fun and rewarding endeavor that allows you to share your passion with people who are looking for the products or services you offer. Share news that you’re excited about, provide useful tips and information, thank or apologize the customers who leave you feedback, and ultimately be genuine about your business.

If Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn don’t seem like the best fit for your business, stay tuned for  ”Which Social Media Network Should Your Business Use?” – part two – where we’ll review Google+, YouTube and Pinterest. Get notified when it goes live by  liking us on Facebook or subscribing to our ePresence blog.

This video reviews how social media is changing how companies think about external communication, the role of policies and guidelines in social media participation, and the role of empowering employees to participate.

It’s worth remembering that, even though they are free to use, search engines are for-profit businesses that make money by selling advertising. Just like any other advertising medium (television, radio, newspapers, etc.), the price that search engines can charge advertisers depends on the number of viewers they deliver. Search engines, therefore, work hard to earn your loyalty and keep you coming back. They do so by continually improving user experience, and attempting to deliver results that you consider relevant to whatever search you are performing. When you search, the search engines display paid advertisements as well as organic (non-paid) results.  In this article, I will review how search engine rankings are determined for the organic results.

Search engines use complex, proprietary algorithms to determine website ranking in the organic search results. While none of the search engines share precisely how they do it — those are closely-held business secrets — they do offer guidance on getting your website found. Here are four categories every business needs to focus on in order to rank well in organic search results:

1. Content. Search engines reward websites that contain fresh, current, compelling, and unique content; they penalize websites that aren’t updated regularly. Adding a blog to your website (and contributing to it on a regular basis) is one of the best ways to get your website found in the organic search results. Always remember: whatever keyword or phrase you want to get found for, you must have plenty of well-organized, original content on your website relevant to that keyword or phrase.

2. Inbound Links. Search engines pay considerable attention to whether or not other authoritative websites are linking back to yours. If an authoritative website in your industry is linking back to content found on your website, that’s a good indication that your website is relevant. Search engines reward websites that have genuine inbound links from other authoritative websites; they penalize websites that take part in paid link exchanges.

3. Activity. Search engines consider the number of visitors to your website, the amount of time they spend, the number of pages they visit, where they click, and where they came from, to be additional measures of your website’s relevance. One of the best ways to get people to your website is by providing them with useful information they need — not just information about your company.

4. Popularity and Social Sharing. Search engines are increasingly taking into account whether or not websites are popular. Your presence on social media, whether or not you’ve published videos, the existence of online reviews — all of these previously ignored metrics are now being considered by the search engines. Remember that Google owns YouTube, so you can bet that a business with an active YouTube channel will rank higher than one without.

Nobody can guarantee that your website will rank highly in the organic search engine results, but by working diligently and consistently on the points I’ve outlined here, you will increase the likelihood that your website will get found.

When Sandy hit, and in the storm’s aftermath, many businesses and individuals lost power, telephone, and Internet access. Without these essential services, how can a business get word out to its clients, respond to their needs, or even communicate with its own employees about whether or not to come to work?

Social media is the answer — and Facebook and Twitter are the two best tools to use. Hosted in the cloud and impervious to localized outages, these two behemoths belong in every business’ arsenal, and both can be used even if you lose Internet access (most people don’t realize that they can use text messages to connect with social media).

Use Facebook to post announcements; use Twitter to post updates.

Your business’ Facebook page is the place you would post an announcement, such as: “Dr. Smith’s office is closed today because of a power outage in our area.” Your business’ Twitter feed is the place you would post an update, such as: “Power has just been restored and the office is now open.” The concept of announcements and updates can be tailored to any type of business.

Both Facebook and Twitter can also be used to enable clients to get messages through to you, for example if your business’ telephone service is down; when customers “Like” your page on Facebook, they can post messages that you and your staff will see.

Tips for Using Facebook:

• Encourage all clients and employees to “Like” your page – this will enable them to see information you post more easily, and allow them to post information back to you.
• Assign one or more employees the responsibility of monitoring your page and responding promptly to all messages that are sent to you.

Tips for Using Twitter:

• Encourage all clients and employees to “Follow” you on Twitter – this will enable them to receive your Twitter updates.
• Assign one or more employees the responsibility of monitoring your account and responding promptly to all messages that are sent to you.

It is important to set-up these tools before disaster strikes. This article explains how to use Facebook and Twitter without Internet access:

“How to Use Facebook and Twitter Without the Internet“

Remember to publish social media icons correctly on your website so that visitors can find your business on a variety of social media platforms.

Every business should have a disaster recovery plan. This is a list of last-minute storm and hurricane preparation that you can make now. This is not intended to be a replacement for a true disaster recovery plan nor is it comprehensive.

Last-minute storm and hurricane preparedness tips:

1. If you are using cloud-based or on-premise disaster recovery, ensure that you have a complete and up-to-date copy of your data. For on-premise disaster recovery, make sure that your archive media is protected and kept as far away as possible from both your main premise and the storm or hurricane path.
2. Inform your employees how you will update them on business and weather conditions and also when it will be safe for them to return to work.
3. Take photographs or make a video of your business establishment, both inside and outside, to help with property insurance claims.
4. Protect your property with heavy plastic sheeting, duct tape, sandbags, an emergency generator, a chain saw and large pieces of plywood.
5. Protect any non-electronic corporate records, keeping duplicates at an alternative location.
6. Move critical equipment and furniture away from windows and skylights to a location preferably not on the first floor.
7. Ensure all critical equipment is protected via surge protectors. If this is not possible, turn off electrical appliances and equipment (except for refrigeration equipment) in case there is a power surge.
8. Bring in display racks and other objects, like trashcans, that can cause damage if airborne. Remove outdoor signs, especially those that swing or are portable.

A comprehensive disaster recovery plan will increase the likelihood that your business can continue to operate in the event of a disaster. Avoid costly downtime by planning ahead.

How can augmented reality help your business? This video explains the technology and some possible uses in easy-to-understand terminology: