Gulf Coast Local Blogdescription...https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-DetailsHow to Dominate Your Industry on Googlehttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/159/how-to-dominate-your-industry-on-googleDigital Marketing,SEOThu, 05 Mar 2020 03:39:00 GMT<p>The concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) technically applies to all online search engines, but let’s face it - with over 70% of online searches in its corner, Google is king. If you’re budgeting for SEO in your marketing strategy (and you should be), you should be doing it with Google in mind.</p> <p>Google is a large ocean, and your website is one of the millions vying for its attention. So how do you get noticed? Google’s algorithms exist to fairly crawl and index all websites, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to get ahead of the game and rise through the ranks.</p> <p>If you’re looking for a first-page Google ranking, use these tips to dominate your industry on Google.</p> <h2><br /> Narrow Your Niche</h2> <p>When you’re asking “How do I dominate my industry on google?”, what you’re asking is “How do I out-rank the competition?”</p> <p>If you’re going to out-Google your competitors, you need to know who those competitors are. That’s why the first step of dominating your industry is to define it as a specific niche. The more specifically you define your business, the better. You’re not just a law firm - you’re a personal injury lawyer. You aren’t a financial company - you’re an accounting firm that specializes in corporate tax. </p> <p>Ask yourself what product or service you want to be known for and keep your focus on dominating that niche. Think about it this way - the more narrow your industry, the less competition you have.</p> <h2><br /> Optimize Your Site with The Right Keywords</h2> <p>Once you’ve defined your niche, it’s time to find the keywords that will help you rise to the top of those search results. The point of using targeted keywords is that it will make your content relevant and easily searchable on Google, which is exactly what your SEO goal should be. </p> <p>In previous days, keywords were all it took to dominate Google rankings. Companies turned to stuffing their content and websites with as many keywords as possible, and it worked. As expected, Google has gotten smarter, and now websites that keyword stuff are penalized, so choosing the right keywords takes a bit more work.</p> <p>Many keyword tools on the market can help you research keywords for your niche and narrow down your options. Your keywords should be as specific to your business as possible. Don’t automatically choose the most-searched keyword in the list (remember what we said about competition!) Long-tail keyword phrases and those with lower search volumes can help convert users more easily than trying to compete in the most popular searches. </p> <h2><br /> Write Well - And Often</h2> <p>Content is extremely important for Google rankings - as long as it’s relevant, high-quality and authoritative. Your content should be optimized with on-page SEO and keywords, but it’s even more important that it makes sense, is engaging and keeps your audience’s attention. Many businesses fall into the trap of writing for search engines instead of for humans, and while that may get you an initial boost in your rankings, it’s ultimately bad for your business. Be sure to write with your audience in mind; avoid keyword stuffing, irrelevant links or badly re-spun content.</p> <h2><br /> Use On-Page SEO</h2> <p>On-page SEO means optimizing the content and HTML codes of an individual webpage so it gets noticed by Google. On the technical side, on-page SEO includes optimizing your headlines, images and HTML tags (header, meta, and title tags). On-page SEO is a great way to rise in the ranks from behind the scenes instead of strictly through content, and it’s a must for any website wanting a first-page ranking. For more information on how to dominate with on-page SEO, check out these great tips.</p> <p>Getting your website optimized to dominate Google has many moving parts. To take your business to the top of Google, utilize these tips. If you’re feeling lost in the SEO jargon, don’t worry! BIS Designs offers SEO services that are guaranteed to move you through the ranks and top your industry on Google. Contact us today to learn more!</p> 159The Top Website Design Trends For 2019-2020https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/152/the-top-website-design-trends-for-2019-2020Digital Marketing,SEO,Web DesignTue, 03 Sep 2019 20:50:56 GMT<p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Website design trends are as fluid and changing as the sea (or the internet). What is popular today may be a website faux pas tomorrow, and what was deemed uncool two years ago can make an unexpected comeback. Staying on top of the day’s trends can feel like a full-time job. Luckily, we’ve done it for you!</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">We’ve scoured the industry’s top leaders for the day’s most popular website design trends. The ones that can make or break your website. The ones that will set you apart from your competitors. The ones you can be sure will stick around for 2020. Check them out below!</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>Mobile-First Designs</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><b> </b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">The days of desktop dominance are gone, and mobile devices are the undisputed king of screen time. <a href="https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2017/2017-US-Cross-Platform-Future-in-Focus?"><span style="color:#3498db;">Users spend an average of 69%</span></a> of their media time on smartphones, so if you want to reach your audience then you’ve got to optimize your site for mobile use. Also, Google now ranks mobile sites ahead of desktop sites in search rankings, so focusing on a mobile design will help make sure your site is seen. And studies show that users are <a href="https://designadvisor.net/blog/web-design-trends/"><span style="color:#3498db;">67%</span></a> more likely to buy a product from your site if it is optimized for mobile use. See the pattern?</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Mobile devices aren’t exactly new, and they’ve taken up a big spot in web design for a few years. But the new focus on mobile-first designs means that website designers are focusing on mobile templates <i>first</i> rather than creating websites for desktops and then making them responsive to other devices. Because users expect a website to load in under 3 seconds, optimizing a website for mobile loading also means you’ll decrease your bounce rate and increase your user engagement.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">What does that mean for you? Well, it means a focus on layouts that can be compressed to fit a smaller screen without losing content. It’s also important to keep in mind that mobile screens are touched rather than clicked, so you’ll need to adjust your designs to be accessible by various fingers. In short, simple and direct navigation, adaptive designs, and responsive frameworks will reign supreme.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>Speedy and Trendy Designs</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><b> </b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">We’ve already discussed optimizing your website for load speed (recap: you should), but doing so involves more than just technical work. The design of your website also plays a big role in how quickly it loads. Keep your design simple but trendy to stay on top of your speed and your relevance. Be generous with your white space - it helps guide users down the page and keeps your site uniform, while also loading quickly. You should also reduce clutter by ridding your site of unnecessary graphics and complex designs to make your site quick and scannable.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">For the trendiest site on the web, use a good mix of contrasting colors, large and playful fonts, and high-quality images and videos. Grid patterns are becoming especially popular - a good example of this is the block layout of Pinterest pins. Grouping your content and related pages into easily scannable squares keeps your users attention while looking sleek and modern.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>Video is King</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><b> </b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, you’ll know that video content is the name of the internet game. Today’s users are more concerned than ever with immediate gratification, and information is often easiest to access and digest in video form. In fact, static pages (those without any animated or video content) are likely to be obsolete by 2020. That’s why the top websites have shifted their content focus away from text graphics and articles and instead use full-screen or embedded videos to boost their site traffic.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">One of the top ways to do this is to place videos in the header of your website to immediately gain the attention of visitors. Or, you can place multiple related videos along your page to entice users to scroll down. Some websites even choose to display looping videos as the background of their homepage. Whatever method you choose, video content should be your prime focus as we move into 2020.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Don’t have video content? Jump on the motion bandwagon with GIFS or animation to keep your page from looking static.  </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>Chat Bots</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b><b> </b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Chat Bots are a new feature in AI that have taken the internet by storm in 2019 and show no signs of slowing down. A chat bot interacts with users on your website through chat ‘conversations’ to provide automated customer service, saving you time and money. They also allow users to access information and engage with your site much more quickly than traditional methods. Chat bots use assigned ‘rules’ and information along with really cool artificial intelligence to allow users to do a multitude of tasks. They can do things such as ask questions, file complaints, make online orders, book flights, buy tickets, and more.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">There are two types of chatbots: simple and advanced. Simple chatbots use pre-filled keywords to process and respond to customer queries. This type of bot is much simpler (and cheaper) to implement on your website, but it isn’t as good at engaging with your users; it often responds to difficult or unanticipated questions with an ‘I don’t understand’ message. On the opposite side of the coin, advanced chatbots use artificial intelligence to learn customer preferences and enhance conversation. They are able to make jokes, understand sarcasm, and answer complex questions.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Artificial intelligence is not yet an art, so there are still bugs in the system. Plus, chat bots can be extremely expensive and they require technical knowledge that many companies may not have on the payroll. However, we anticipate that as technology advances, chat bots will become much more streamlined and accessible for all.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>Sticky Elements</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Sticky elements is a very descriptive name, as they “stick” to your webpage. In other words, as users scroll down your page the sticky elements scroll with them. It’s a great way to keep navigation simple and keep your users engaged.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Sticky elements can be a variety of things. Newsletter sign-ups, contact information, and promotions are all good sticky element materials. Many websites create sticky “floating” menus to make navigation easier for a better user experience. Perhaps the most important one is social media links, which allow users to quickly link to your accounts or share your material on their pages. Which is important, because social media attracts billions (with a b) of internet users every day. That’s a huge audience!</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">But, be careful not to over-saturate your site with too many sticky elements. Doing so can make them seem spammy and intrusive, plus they’ll cover your other content. Stick to the sweet spot - no more than two or three at a time.  </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Well, there you have it. The top website design trends for 2019-2020 focus on increasing speed, keeping your designs simple but engaging, and using technology to stay ahead of the game. Trends evolve, but we’re confident that keeping these in mind will help keep your website relevant and modern through the New Year and beyond.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Need more help? We do <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Website"><span style="color:#3498db;">website design</span></a><span style="color:#3498db;">!</span> From consultations to complete overhauls, BIS Designs can transform your website into a stunning reflection of your business. <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Contact-Us"><span style="color:#3498db;">Contact us today</span><span style="color:#3498db;">! </span></a></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> 1524 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Bloghttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/151/4-reasons-why-your-business-needs-a-blogInternet Marketing,SEOWed, 14 Aug 2019 15:26:00 GMT<p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Once the gem of personal or lifestyle websites, blogging has taken the business industry by storm and is now a highly effective marketing tool, especially for small businesses. Blogging has so many benefits for your company - it can increase your website traffic, widen your target audience, and help create and promote your business brand, among others. Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at the top benefits of a business blog - and how to make them work for you.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>A Blog Benefits Your SEO</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Let’s start with the obvious - as a business, you want people to find you. The vast majority of consumers find products and services through search engines, but 75% of them never move away from the first page of results. That’s why paying close attention to your SEO strategy is crucial to achieving your marketing goals. Blogging is one of the easiest ways to boost your Google rankings, and if you want to be found via search engine then Google is king. Each blog post that your site publishes is another page for Google to crawl and “index” in its search algorithm, which increases your website authority (and thus your rankings). Adding new and regular content is also an indicator to search engines that your site is active and current, which increases your visibility factor. In short, blogging is an essential tool if you want to rank highly on Google or any SERP.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Be sure to do thorough research and include relevant keywords and topics in your blog content to maximize your SEO success. For more advice on successful SEO, check out our article on <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/stay-on-top-seo-in-2019"><span style="color:#3498db;">the best SEO tips for 2019.</span></a></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>A Blog Increases Your Website Traffic</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">You’ve got your website up and running, your business is front and center, and you’re ready to start helping customers! But all you’re hearing is crickets. How do you get people to visit your website?</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">A blog is a great way to help increase your website traffic. Blog content is more shareable than traditional website copy, making it a more effective way to reach your audience. If your content is engaging, solves problems, and focuses on relevant topics, related websites may link to it in their own posts or readers may share it across their social media accounts. You can also cross-post your articles on your own social media accounts, which will increase your business exposure, drive traffic, and help take some of the strain off your marketing department by reducing the need for new content.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">It’s important to make sharing and linking your content easy. Include social media widgets or hyperlinks in your content, and format your blog images to translate easily across platforms. For even more exposure, try collaborating with related websites or pitching your articles to them for publishing on their site.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>A Blog Widens Your Audience</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">A carefully crafted business blog will widen your available target audience. Users who are searching for your services will find them easily if your website is SEO-friendly, but what about those who can benefit from your business but may not know it? Through careful blogging, your website can appeal to this untapped section of your audience. This may sound confusing, so let’s look at an example:</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Say your business sells automobile transmissions. Obviously, you’ll get a great deal of traffic from local users who search “where can I buy an automobile transmission”. But this is a small audience, and those are all people who have already diagnosed their problem and are seeking a solution. What about people who know their car has a problem, but they aren’t sure what it is? This is a much larger audience, and it is one that your business can’t ignore if you want to maximize your profits. By writing a blog post about how to diagnose transmission problems, you’ll reach consumers who need your services but aren’t actively searching for them, and you can help guide them towards purchasing your product. This is called “top of funnel” content, and it’s essential to maximizing your website conversions.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Don’t be afraid to vary your content across all of your industry’s challenges, trending news, and current topics. Remember - the goal is to drive a new audience to your site and promote awareness of your business. Once you’ve got their attention, your services will speak for themselves.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b>A Blog Establishes Your Business Brand</b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b> </b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"><b></b></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">Online consumers are increasingly concerned with where (and with who) they are spending their money, and businesses who have an identifying brand consistently outperform those who do not. Blogging is a great way to establish and promote your business brand because it gives your business a voice. Whether you want to promote your brand as knowledgeable, caring, quirky, or even humorous, your blog should showcase your company’s values and help engage with your audience on a personal level. As a business you’re likely to be competing in a large market. Establishing a brand through blogging will set your company apart and distinguish you from the competition.</span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"> </span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif">If you’re new to business blogging or need help with other areas of your marketing strategy, let <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/"><span style="color:#3498db;">BIS Designs</span></a> help! We can provide consulting services, help design your content strategy, or even manage your business blog for you. If you’re unsure about outsourcing your business blog (can an outsider <i>really </i>capture my brand?), we’ve got you covered - here’s why <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/should-you-outsource-your-business-blogging"><span style="color:#3498db;">outsourcing your blogging is a great decision</span></a><span style="color:#3498db;">.</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="Standard" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Arial,sans-serif"></span></span></span></p> 151Stay On Top: SEO in 2019https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/147/stay-on-top-seo-in-2019Digital Marketing,Internet Marketing,Mobile Marketing,SEOThu, 24 Jan 2019 15:01:52 GMT<p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""></span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">Hello, 2019! It’s a New Year, which means it’s time to get ahead of the competition and on top of your search engine optimization (SEO). In the next few minutes, we’ll cover these five topics to get you thinking about improving your SEO strategy: Mobile-first indexing, page speed, thought-provoking content, featured snippets, and RankBrain. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="color:null;"></span></p> <p><span style="color:null;"></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span new="" roman="" times="">1. Mobile-first indexing </span></b></span></span></h1> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">As of March 2018, Google started rolling out what they call “mobile-first indexing”. In 2019, this concept will become even more relevant as mobile users rise and Google adapts mobile-first indexing to more and more websites. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">Searches on desktops are declining, driving the pressing need for appropriate indexing based on the mobile versions of websites. Due to this, mobile-first indexing was created with the intention of helping mobile users easily find what they’re looking for. So, what does this mean for you? Should you completely disregard the desktop version of your website and solely focus on the mobile? The simple answer is no. Both your desktop and mobile versions will come into play in the New Year. This is why Google’s new strategy is called mobile-first indexing, not mobile-only indexing.</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">In order to avoid negatively impacting your rankings, ensure your mobile and desktop versions are developed with quick loading times and optimized images and content. It’s important not to sacrifice your desktop version for your mobile version, or vise versa.  </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span></span></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span new="" roman="" times="">2. Page speed</span></b></span></span></h1> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">In the new mobile-first index, page speed has become a huge ranking factor, primarily impacting pages that deliver the slowest experience to users on mobile versions. Slow loading speeds cause users to bounce from 32-90% as page load times increase from 1-5 seconds. Research has shown, consumers don’t like to wait for content, especially while on their mobile devices. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">How can you increase your page speed? There are three easy steps you can take to increase your speed. First, you can conduct a page speed test using <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration:underline"><a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool</a></span></span>. Next, take into account the size of your pages; many sites are loaded down with too much information, making it difficult to process. Cutting down on the bulk will help your speed improve. Third, contact your web/SEO expert, like us! We can help determine what steps you should take to improve your page speed (and overall SEO).  </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span></span></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span new="" roman="" times="">3. Thought-provoking content </span></b></span></span></h1> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span new="" roman="" times="">It’s time to stop creating content for the sake of creating content. Focus on creating content that solves a problem by offering advice, motivation, and engagement for your customer. Creating exceptional content shouldn’t be forgotten and will likely always be an important key to improving your SEO. Exceptional content keeps people wanting more, bringing them back to your site. </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span new="" roman="" times="">4. Featured Snippets </span></b></span></span></h1> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span new="" roman="" times="">A featured snippet is a short summary to a user’s search displayed on top of Google search results. The image below is a snippet, and trust us, it’s where you want your website to appear when consumers search for a service or product. </span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span new="" roman="" times=""></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="background-color:null;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span new="" roman="" times=""></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:null;"><span style="background-color:null;"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><span style="background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;"><span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#222222"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt;">By using snippets effectively, you can maximize your authority, prove that Google chooses your page over competitors, and increase your traffic. You can earn a featured snippet by analyzing keyword opportunities and implementing them into your site, creating strategic content, having a Q&A section on your website, clearly outlining your subheadings, lists, tables, etc., and polishing up any existing snippets.</span></p> <h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:16px;"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b>5. RankBrain</b></span></span></h1> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"><b></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif">RankBrain is a machine-learning algorithm that works alongside Google’s current algorithm, Hummingbird, to improve Google’s search engine by learning and identifying patterns and interpreting unknown search strings. Machine learning is what happens when a computer learns by experience, and that’s exactly what RankBrain does. It intelligently gathers users habits and needs to direct them to the most useful content for their search. It works by taking segments of the entire search and relating them to the most popular searches with those related terms, and as people click on their desired result, RankBrain grows in its search knowledge. RankBrain affects how Google ranks search results. It learns which results are relevant and pushes them to the top.</span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif">According to Google, RankBrain is the third most important factor in SEO, after content and links. The key to overcoming RankBrain is to provide users with a positive experience through easy-to-navigate, detailed, and quality content to optimize your site. </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif">If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the slough of information and ever-changing world of SEO, don’t stress! We’re here to keep you abreast of the changes, and help you implement them into your website structure. </span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span></p> <table style="border:undefined"> <tbody> <tr> <td> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="color:#ffffff"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif">RELATED: </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/responsive-web-design-and-why-your-business-needs-it"><font face="Cambria, serif"></font></a><font face="Cambria, serif"><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/responsive-web-design-and-why-your-business-needs-it">Mobile-Responsive Web</a></font><font face="Cambria, serif"><span style="font-size:16px"><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/responsive-web-design-and-why-your-business-needs-it"> Design and Why Your Business Needs it</a></span></font></p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt"><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:Cambria,serif"></span></span><br /> <img alt="" src="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Portals/0/plong_1.jpg" style="height: 75px; width: 75px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; margin: 5px 2px; float: left;" title="" />Phillip Long - CISSP, CEO of BIS Technology Group, along with his team of marketing and information technology experts, will walk you through an overview of  what your business should be doing to protect your data and plan your digital marketing strategies.</p> <p>About BIS Technology Group</p> <p>BIS Technology Group is the technology leader on the Gulf Coast and is comprised of four divisions: Information Technology, Web Design & Digital Marketing,  Office Equipment and Business Consulting. Together these divisions help local businesses exceed expectations and allow them to group to their full potential while minimizing risks. To learn more about BIS Technology Group, visit <a href="http://bistechnologygroup.com/">bistechnologygroup.com</a>.</p> <p>You may reach out to us at:<br /> Phone: 251-405-2527<br /> Email: plong@askbis.com</p> 1474 Basic Tips of Blogging Search Engine Optimizationhttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/139/4-basic-tips-of-blogging-search-engine-optimizationContent Marketing,Digital Marketing,Internet Marketing,Mobile Marketing,SEO,Social Media,Web DesignWed, 07 Mar 2018 20:56:22 GMT<p>Here&rsquo;s a quick illustration of how SEO works&hellip;</p> <p>Google has developed automatic algorithms that rank your website.&nbsp; They send out what are called &ldquo;spiders&rdquo; to &ldquo;crawl&rdquo; your site and check it for over 100 indicators that determine whether the<a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Website"> </a>website is valuable or useless.&nbsp; These indicators include things like backlinks, domain age, traffic, fresh content, etc.</p> <p>SEO can be considered the art of making&nbsp;sure those crawling spiders are happy with what they find.&nbsp; It is a very complex field that is always changing but in all that chaos there are a few constants that have remained the same since the beginning.&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>1. You need your own domain and hosting.</strong></span></p> <p>One thing that beginners need to know is that you need your own domain and hosting.&nbsp; Free blog set ups don&rsquo;t do any favors for your SEO efforts.&nbsp; Why?</p> <p>People tend to speculate that if you were serious about your website you would get your own name and host it yourself.&nbsp; Google only wants to point to <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Website">websites that are considered serious and trustworthy</a> and so this is a basic signal.</p> <p>Starting your own website, hosting and a business blog can seem intimidating but that&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re here.&nbsp; We offer multiple packages to meet your needs, which saves you a lot of time.</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>2. Problem solving with original content.</strong></span></p> <p>Keep in mind that Google&rsquo;s entire purpose is to provide their customers with relevant and useful search results.&nbsp; Everything they do is built around this goal.</p> <p>To be realistic, the most important thing you can do for your <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/SEO">SEO</a> is create the most useful content that solves people&rsquo;s problems. If you are solving problems that people are searching for then it is likely that you are going to get shared on social media and ranked higher in Google.</p> <p>And &ldquo;original content&rdquo; means so much more than just blog posts these days.&nbsp; You can expand into:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Videos&nbsp;</strong></li> <li>Make tutorials or video posts.&nbsp; This builds links and traffic from YouTube and does well on mobile devices.</li> <li><strong>Photography</strong></li> <li>Original images and photos can boost your rankings as well as add value to your blog posts. Adding your own logos and sharing to social media is an extra layer of marketing, too.</li> <li><strong>Podcasts</strong></li> <li>iTunes has grown fast as people get better smart phones and spend more time plugged in.&nbsp; Adding a <a href="https://internationalpodcastday.com/what-is-podcast/">podcast </a>to your blog will ensure a unique and original addition for SEO. You want to build a relationship with your customers and readers by helping them out.&nbsp; This will mean more sharing and faster results in your search engine rankings.</li> </ul> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>3.&nbsp; Make sure your theme is SEO optimized.</strong></span></p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/blog3.png" style="width: 75px; height: 75px; float: left;" title="" />Think of SEO as having two components: the off-site stuff like social media and backlinks and the on-site stuff like optimizing your theme.</p> <p>Optimizing your theme is important because it helps give Google indicators that you are a trustworthy site.&nbsp; It also helps Google find your content.&nbsp; Some of the things to keep in mind when optimizing are:</p> <ul> <li>Mobile Response</li> <li>Cleanly coded</li> <li>Fast loading</li> <li>Secure domain</li> <li>Original theme (rather than a pre-made template)</li> </ul> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>4. Build your social media profiles constantly.</strong></span></p> <p>You want to have a big focus on <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Social-Media">social media</a> for SEO purposes as well as traffic building purposes.</p> <p>Why?</p> <p>Because Google is now looking to social media as a signal of an article&rsquo;s authority and relevance.&nbsp; If people are sharing on Facebook or tweeting about it, you must have written something pretty good.&nbsp; The best way for this to happen is to build a strong following, <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/PostId/134/12-reasons-why-your-business-needs-a-content-marketing-strategy">keep them engaged</a> and they&rsquo;ll see your blog posts as they are shared.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/blog2.png" style="width: 51px; height: 75px; float: left;" title="" />Commenting and sharing other business blogs is always a great way to build a community and possible cross-promoting opportunities&nbsp;for the future as well.</p> <p>Are you now ready to get a blog started and make sure your SEO is on the right track? <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Contact-Us">Schedule a meeting</a> and we&rsquo;ll handle every detail from writing, optimizing your website and sharing to your social media!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Author: <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Social-Media">Stephanie May</a>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>RELATED: </strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/PostId/136/5-benefits-of-business-blogging">5 Benefits of Business Blogging</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/PostId/134/12-reasons-why-your-business-needs-a-content-marketing-strategy">12 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Content Marketing Strategy</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/2026496073.jpg" style="float: left;" title="" />Phillip Long - CISSP, CEO of BIS Technology Group, along with his team of&nbsp;marketing and information technology experts, will walk you through an overview of&nbsp;&nbsp;what your business should be doing to protect your data and plan your digital marketing strategies.</p> <p>About BIS Technology Group</p> <p>BIS Technology Group is the technology leader on the Gulf Coast and is comprised of four divisions: Information Technology, Web Design &amp; Digital Marketing,&nbsp; &nbsp;Office Equipment and Business Consulting. Together these divisions help local businesses exceed expectations and allow them to group to their full potential while minimizing risks. To learn more about BIS Technology Group, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://bistechnologygroup.com/">bistechnologygroup.com</a>.</p> <p>You may reach out to us at:<br /> Phone: 251-405-2527<br /> Email: plong@askbis.com</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> 1395 Benefits of Business Blogging https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/136/5-benefits-of-business-bloggingB2B,Content Marketing,Digital Marketing,Internet Marketing,Mobile Marketing,SEOTue, 23 Jan 2018 19:24:29 GMT<p>These days, having a company website is no longer enough to stand out among the thousands of competitors you compete with in the digital space.&nbsp; Blogging isn&rsquo;t just a place to host your company press releases, it&rsquo;s about providing valuable content to your future customers.</p> <p>What is <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog">business blogging</a>? Blogging is a marketing tactic that uses articles to get your business more online visibility.&nbsp; A business blog is a marketing channel (just like social media, email campaigns, etc.) that helps support business growth.</p> <p>No matter what kind of business you have, whether you&rsquo;re a local mom and pop shop, or giant corporation, there are some serious benefits are seemingly endless.</p> <p>Here are 5 benefits of business blogging:</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>1. Creates Brand Authority</strong></span></p> <p>Consistently updating an active blog for your business allows you to personify your business by giving it a voice.&nbsp; Your blog is a space to discuss industry related topics, market trends and upcoming products.&nbsp; Focusing on these topics actively builds brand-trust.&nbsp; Trust generates leads.&nbsp; Leads grow sales.&nbsp; Can you see where this is all going?</p> <p>When you utilize your blog effectively, you are creating a two-way conversion between you and your customers, prospects and other industry professionals which can be very helpful for gathering insights for future business development.</p> <p>Having an active blog helps you stay ahead of the curve when it comes to industry news and competitors.&nbsp; By staying ahead of the curve, you are positioning your company as a leader as opposed to a follower.&nbsp; Your blog also serves the purpose of having a place to share your brand story, although it should be noted that it&rsquo;s not advised that you blog only about yourself as a company.&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/blog.png" style="width: 150px; height: 90px; float: left;" title="" />2. Business Blogging Fuels Your SEO</strong></span></p> <p>There are some pretty obvious <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/SEO">SEO benefits</a> blogs can offer, such as viewers spending longer amounts of time on your website, increasing page views and lowering bounce rates.&nbsp; However, it&rsquo;s also important to mention that search engines love valuable content and reward it with higher search result placements.&nbsp;</p> <p>As more people are putting out content to capture the attention of search engines, the algorithms are getting smarter.&nbsp; Your business blogging content should focus on having frequent high-quality content as opposed to having constant poor-quality content.&nbsp; Opt for longer blog posts because Google actually favors in-depth blog articles but a regularly updated blog, no matter the length of the articles, ranks higher in search engines than websites with no blog at all.&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>3. Supports Your Social Media Advertising Efforts</strong></span></p> <p>Using blog articles as part of your content strategy on both Facebook and LinkedIn platforms has been proven to be very effective.&nbsp; Depending on the nature of the industry, boosted blog posts typically generate more engagements as opposed to generic click campaigns.&nbsp; This increased engagement impacts your overall organic reach for the post, which essentially means you are getting more viewers and spending less money as you&rsquo;re running your ad campaigns.</p> <p>Aside from using blog content for your ads, leveraging your blog posts throughout your <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Social-Media">social media content</a> also increases the chances of gaining extra exposure.&nbsp; When you can write a blog article that is so interesting that others will want to share it, you are ultimately gaining free exposure.&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>4. Generates a Great ROI</strong></span></p> <p>Business blogs are cost-effective marketing investments.&nbsp; Many business owners choose to outsource their blogging efforts entirely because it can be a time-consuming task when you are already wearing multiple hats for your business.&nbsp; According to Hubspot research, B2B marketers who use blogs as part of their content marketing mix get 67% more leads than those who don&rsquo;t.</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/bigstock-157322675.jpg" style="width: 135px; height: 90px; float: left; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;" title="" />5. Blogs Serve as a Lead Generation Tool</strong></span></p> <p>Blogging is an integral part of your digital sales funnel.&nbsp; In addition to driving traffic to your website, business blogging offers a great opportunity for capturing leads.&nbsp; By using non-intrusive lead capturing tools such as lead capture forms and call-to-action buttons, you can gather valuable data on the quality of the leads your blog posts are generating.&nbsp;</p> <p>How many times have you read a blog post and downloaded a free e-book because you were interested in gaining more insightful information about the topic you were reading? If you recall a moment where you have personally done this, congratulations! You were successfully moved from the inbound marketing stage of attraction to the stage of conversion.&nbsp;</p> <p>Each blog post you create is an additional page that can be indexed by Google, which can be used with a combination of lead generating call-to-action buttons such as free webinars, fact sheets and e-books.&nbsp; Asking for emails isn&rsquo;t an easy task but when you offer valuable data in exchange for emails, you can leverage it for better prospecting.&nbsp;</p> <h4><span style="color:#ffffff;"><strong>The Takeaway</strong></span></h4> <p>Although it can be difficult to find the time to keep up a business blog, you don&rsquo;t want to neglect the benefits blogging has to offer.&nbsp; By utilizing a local outsourced marketing company, like BIS Designs, your blogs can serve as a central piece for all your other marketing efforts which can include social media, SEO, email marketing and much more.</p> <p>When business blogging is done properly, it creates an opportunity that will have lifelong benefits to boosting your business marketing efforts.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>RELATED:&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/PostId/134/12-reasons-why-your-business-needs-a-content-marketing-strategy">12 Reasons Why Your Business Needs A Content Marketing Strategy</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Author: <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Social-Media">Stephanie May&nbsp;</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/2026496073.jpg" style="height: 105px; width: 100px; float: left; border-width: 2px; border-style: solid; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 4px;" title="" />Phillip Long - CISSP, CEO of BIS Technology Group, along with his team of&nbsp;marketing and information technology experts, will walk you through an overview of&nbsp;&nbsp;what your business should be doing to protect your data and plan your digital marketing strategies.</p> <p>About BIS Technology Group</p> <p>BIS Technology Group is the technology leader on the Gulf Coast and is comprised of four divisions: Information Technology, Web Design &amp; Digital Marketing,&nbsp; &nbsp;Office Equipment and Business Consulting. Together these divisions help local businesses exceed expectations and allow them to group to their full potential while minimizing risks. To learn more about BIS Technology Group, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://bistechnologygroup.com/">bistechnologygroup.com</a>.</p> <p>You may reach out to us at:<br /> Phone: 251-405-2527<br /> Email: plong@askbis.com</p> 136How Is Voice Search Affecting SEO?https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/133/how-is-voice-search-affecting-seoDigital Marketing,Internet Marketing,Mobile Marketing,SEO,TechnologyThu, 14 Dec 2017 22:15:31 GMT<p>Have you talked to Siri, Alexa or Cortana lately? You probably have, and you wouldn&rsquo;t be alone.&nbsp; According to Google, more than half of teens and 41% of adults are using voice search daily.&nbsp; For users, voice search is basically the best thing since sliced bread and now marketers are racing to optimize their content for it.</p> <p>Why is voice search hailed as the next big opportunity? Let&rsquo;s break down what voice search is, how it&rsquo;s impacting search, and some quick tips on how to optimize for these new types of queries.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/voice-search-app-ss-1920.jpg" style="width: 267px; height: 150px; float: left;" title="" /></p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-size:larger;"><strong>What is Voice Search? </strong></span></span></p> <p>People tend to use voice search when they are multi-tasking, like asking for directions, dictating texts, and getting quick information.&nbsp; And because voice search is a drastic new medium to perform searches, the types of queries and ways in which people are searching are changing immensely.</p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-size:larger;"><strong>What&rsquo;s Its Impact? </strong></span></span></p> <p>Voice search is making long tail, colloquial keywords more relevant.&nbsp; People are now having conversations with their devices, whether it&rsquo;s a smartphone or voice assistant, so preparing for longer, more descriptive terms is imperative.&nbsp; Also, searchers are using more interrogative words within their searches.&nbsp; Imagine you&rsquo;re driving around town, jamming to your favorite song and realize that your gas light just turned on &ndash; chances are you might quickly ask Siri, &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s the closest gas station?&rdquo;, and voila! In a couple of minutes your tank is full, you&rsquo;re back on the road downing a Dr. Pepper and pretending to be Britney Spears.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/voice-search.png" style="width: 270px; height: 150px; float: left;" title="" /></p> <p><span style="color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-size:larger;"><strong>How Do I Optimize For It? </strong></span></span></p> <p>An easy way to begin optimizing your site&rsquo;s pages is making sure you&rsquo;re tracking voice terms, which include long tail keywords and searches with question terms attached &ndash; like who, what, where, when and so on. Once you have a benchmark, you&rsquo;ll be able to track your improvements.</p> <p>Next, create or update an existing FAZ page predicting relevant voice searches.&nbsp; This page can include questions like, &ldquo;How much is shipping?&rdquo; or &ldquo;How does it work?&rdquo; so when people are searching questions that might relate to your business, you have a page ready for them to land on.</p> <p>And lastly, make sure your site passes the mobile-friendliness test.&nbsp; People using voice search want quick answers to their pressing questions, so if your landing page doesn&rsquo;t load fast enough, your user might bounce right off your site and get answers from elsewhere.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Author: <a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Social-Media">Stephanie May&nbsp;</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>RELATED:&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-Details/PostId/125/emerging-trends-in-digital-marketing">Marketing Trends for 2018&nbsp;</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/plong.jpg" style="width: 100px; height: 100px; float: left;" title="" />Phillip Long - CISSP, CEO of BIS Technology Group, along with his team of&nbsp;marketing and information technology experts, will walk you through an overview of&nbsp; &nbsp; what your business should be doing to protect your data and plan your digital marketing strategies.</p> <p>About BIS Technology Group</p> <p>BIS Technology Group is the technology leader on the Gulf Coast and is comprised of four divisions: Information Technology, Web Design &amp; Digital Marketing,&nbsp; &nbsp;Office Equipment and Business Consulting. Together these divisions help local businesses exceed expectations and allow them to group to their full potential while minimizing risks. To learn more about BIS Technology Group, visit&nbsp;<a href="http://bistechnologygroup.com/">bistechnologygroup.com</a>.</p> <p>You may reach out to us at:<br /> Phone: 251-405-2527<br /> Email: plong@askbis.com</p> 133Emerging Trends in Digital Marketing https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/125/emerging-trends-in-digital-marketingContent Marketing,Digital Marketing,Internet Marketing,Mobile Marketing,SEOThu, 03 Aug 2017 21:18:18 GMT<p>The year is flying by quickly and before we know it, 2018 will be here.&nbsp; Top companies have a habit of starting to plan for the next year by Q2 of the year, so many businesses are already looking at trends coming up in the new year.&nbsp; If you have initiated planning your marketing strategy and budget for 2018, be prepared to face questions regarding tactics you are opting to use that would go best with most of your customers.&nbsp; And most importantly, which tactics can result in the most efficient conversion.&nbsp;</p> <p>To plan a top-notch marketing strategy for your business in 2018, go through the seven trends explained here and incorporate them in your planning process.&nbsp; From personalized elements and mastering micro-moments to moving visual and analyzing the authentic data, we will go through all the best strategies for acquiring leads, conversions and engagement.</p> <p><strong>Master Micro-Moments</strong></p> <p>Mobile gadgets have proved to be a major influence in customer interaction and engagement with brands across the globe. But the surprising thing for most people is the concept of &ldquo;micro-moments&rdquo;, which has powered the shift to mobile phones. From long-term goals such as planning to purchase a home, or something as small as acquiring a quick grocery from the nearest store or even locating the ingredients of a dish from your phone, etc., countless of these micro-moments stimulate the impulse to reach out for our mobile phone.</p> <p>As per Think with Google, micro-moments are highly critical and evaluative touchpoints where customers expect brands to cater their needs with reliable information, regardless of the time and location.</p> <p>Whenever a customer feels the need to inquire about something, an astounding 96% of users reach for their smartphones to conduct the required research at that very instant. Only successful brands have the tendency to correctly anticipate and address the exact micro-moment needs by providing the right information at the right time to customer in need.</p> <p>A useful, quick and one-touch access to the needed information becomes the basis of acquiring customer trust and building long-lasting relationships.</p> <p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-8702" height="133" src="https://askbis.bypronto.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/515/cache/2017/08/digitalmarketing2/1378219803.png" width="300" /></p> <p><strong>Visualization Is More Important than Ever</strong></p> <p>For all the exciting and informative things found online, whether it is a couple of kittens playing, a baby laughing or a top commercial featuring a popular model, there is always an element of video.&nbsp; With a video, people tend to accept and attach on a much deeper level due to the usage of visually-rich and interactive elements depicting a proper message or story. And as a consequence, audience is tempted to take considerable action in terms of likes, sharing, etc.</p> <p>With time, brands have been able to capitalize on the introduction of highly-engaging video features on different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.</p> <p>For this trend, we are going to focus on video aspect only since businesses are seizing the opportunity to differentiate their brand in the competitive industry.</p> <p>Mobile users are tending to spend more time than ever with their smartphones, with the excitement to watch videos online being proportionate as well.&nbsp;It is clear from the following stats that online video is growing rapidly in popularity.</p> <p>YouTube registers more 18 and above years-old audience during peak TV hours than any cable TV network.<br /> Advertisers on prime time broadcasting TV could gain 56% more audience of 18 to 49 years-old through advertising on YouTube.<br /> Plainly from statistics, it does not come as a surprise that Facebook recently revealed the count of 1.65 billion active users (data from April 2016) watching about 8 billion videos each day.</p> <p>Consumers are more tempted from videos because of the deeper attachment they experience from the visual on-screen elements. Realizing the need, the trend of promoting high-quality video content is very much likely to soar high in future.</p> <p><strong>The Best Visibility with Native Ads</strong></p> <p>To grab a plain sight exposure in front of the right audience, native advertising has become one of the most sought-after marketing methods. Most users find interruptive ads frustrating and irrelevant. For instance, browsing a website and instantly an out-of-context ad pops out of nowhere is a big no-no for the user.</p> <p>This is a common concern, which is best catered by native ads. It facilitates brands to market their offerings in a quite non-disruptive way that blends in easily with the environment a user is most comfortable with.</p> <p>Native ads blend in such a seamless manner, that customers may not even spot them when viewing let it be advertorial, instant content, search advertising, recommended content or sponsored listings form of native advertising. Rather than approving it as a deceiving aspect, the point is to put the right information in front of the viewer when they actually need it.</p> <p>As per the data provided by Polar and BI intelligence, CTR rates for premium native ads on mobile gadgets were four times higher, than the count of non-native display ads. The data also stressed that native ads calls for better engagement rates on tablets and smartphones as compared to desktop systems.</p> 125Emerging Digital Marketing Trends (2 part series)https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/124/emerging-digital-marketing-trends-2-part-seriesContent Marketing,Digital Marketing,Internet Marketing,Mobile Marketing,SEOThu, 03 Aug 2017 21:14:30 GMT<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Emerging Digital Marketing Trends</strong></p> <p>The year is flying by quickly and before we know it, 2018 will be here.&nbsp; Top companies have a habit of starting to plan for the next year by Q2 of the year, so many businesses are already looking at trends coming up in the new year.&nbsp; If you have initiated planning your marketing strategy and budget for 2018, be prepared to face questions regarding tactics you are opting to use that would go best with most of your customers.&nbsp; And most importantly, which tactics can result in the most efficient conversion.&nbsp;</p> <p>To plan a top-notch marketing strategy for your business in 2018, go through the seven trends explained here and incorporate them in your planning process.&nbsp; From personalized elements and mastering micro-moments to moving visual and analyzing the authentic data, we will go through all the best strategies for acquiring leads, conversions and engagement.</p> <p><strong>Master Micro-Moments</strong></p> <p>Mobile gadgets have proved to be a major influence in customer interaction and engagement with brands across the globe. But the surprising thing for most people is the concept of &ldquo;micro-moments&rdquo;, which has powered the shift to mobile phones. From long-term goals such as planning to purchase a home, or something as small as acquiring a quick grocery from the nearest store or even locating the ingredients of a dish from your phone, etc., countless of these micro-moments stimulate the impulse to reach out for our mobile phone.</p> <p>As per Think with Google, micro-moments are highly critical and evaluative touchpoints where customers expect brands to cater their needs with reliable information, regardless of the time and location.</p> <p>Whenever a customer feels the need to inquire about something, an astounding 96% of users reach for their smartphones to conduct the required research at that very instant. Only successful brands have the tendency to correctly anticipate and address the exact micro-moment needs by providing the right information at the right time to customer in need.</p> <p>A useful, quick and one-touch access to the needed information becomes the basis of acquiring customer trust and building long-lasting relationships.</p> <p><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-8702" height="133" src="https://askbis.bypronto.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/515/cache/2017/08/digitalmarketing2/1378219803.png" width="300" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Visualization Is More Important than Ever</strong></p> <p>For all the exciting and informative things found online, whether it is a couple of kittens playing, a baby laughing or a top commercial featuring a popular model, there is always an element of video.&nbsp; With a video, people tend to accept and attach on a much deeper level due to the usage of visually-rich and interactive elements depicting a proper message or story. And as a consequence, audience is tempted to take considerable action in terms of likes, sharing, etc.</p> <p>With time, brands have been able to capitalize on the introduction of highly-engaging video features on different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.</p> <p>For this trend, we are going to focus on video aspect only since businesses are seizing the opportunity to differentiate their brand in the competitive industry.</p> <p>Mobile users are tending to spend more time than ever with their smartphones, with the excitement to watch videos online being proportionate as well.&nbsp;It is clear from the following stats that online video is growing rapidly in popularity.</p> <p>YouTube registers more 18 and above years-old audience during peak TV hours than any cable TV network.<br /> Advertisers on prime time broadcasting TV could gain 56% more audience of 18 to 49 years-old through advertising on YouTube.<br /> Plainly from statistics, it does not come as a surprise that Facebook recently revealed the count of 1.65 billion active users (data from April 2016) watching about 8 billion videos each day.</p> <p>Consumers are more tempted from videos because of the deeper attachment they experience from the visual on-screen elements. Realizing the need, the trend of promoting high-quality video content is very much likely to soar high in future.</p> <p><strong>The Best Visibility with Native Ads</strong></p> <p>To grab a plain sight exposure in front of the right audience, native advertising has become one of the most sought-after marketing methods. Most users find interruptive ads frustrating and irrelevant. For instance, browsing a website and instantly an out-of-context ad pops out of nowhere is a big no-no for the user.</p> <p>This is a common concern, which is best catered by native ads. It facilitates brands to market their offerings in a quite non-disruptive way that blends in easily with the environment a user is most comfortable with.</p> <p>Native ads blend in such a seamless manner, that customers may not even spot them when viewing let it be advertorial, instant content, search advertising, recommended content or sponsored listings form of native advertising. Rather than approving it as a deceiving aspect, the point is to put the right information in front of the viewer when they actually need it.</p> <p>As per the data provided by Polar and BI intelligence, CTR rates for premium native ads on mobile gadgets were four times higher, than the count of non-native display ads. The data also stressed that native ads calls for better engagement rates on tablets and smartphones as compared to desktop systems.</p> 124Three Effective Marketing Strategies for Your Businesshttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/119/three-effective-marketing-strategies-for-your-businessCustomer Relationship,Internet Marketing,SEOWed, 10 May 2017 18:30:54 GMT<h1>Three Effective Marketing Strategies for Your Business</h1> <p>There are many marketing strategies for anyone running a business or promoting a product. New and improved strategies may become global trends, however most will become a thing of the past before you even read about it. These three marketing strategies will help keep your business fresh and credible.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Content marketing</h3> <p>Why content marketing? Content is king. Search engines love content. Content helps to spread the word about your business and your products. Customers are searching for what you offer online. Their search engine searches bring them to videos, blogs, and social media posts.&nbsp;</p> <p>Videos, blogs, and social media gives you a platform to show your prospective customers how you can help solve their problem or issue. Hang up the idea of having to constantly pitch and start showing the world how you or your product are relevant to their needs.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Search Engine Optimization (SEO)</h3> <p>Gain a better reach to your prospective customers with search engine optimization, known as SEO. Once you have produced your content, your next step is to make sure that it is optimized for search engines. Having a SEO specialist optimize your content &ndash; website, blogs, and videos &ndash; will help you get an advantage over your competitors. This can be accomplished on a local and national geographical level.&nbsp;</p> <p>SEO is a very important process in a customer&rsquo;s research and purchasing cycle. While it may not be easy to find out exactly how a customer decided to walk into your store, SEO tools can help you gather that data for online shoppers. SEO is a very effective tool for learning how to continually target and retarget the customers that actually buy.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Customer Relationship Manager (CRM)</h3> <p>A CRM is a Customer Relationship Manager. This database keep a list of your customers and prospective customers (also known as leads) contact information that you ask for such as: name, phone, address, birthdate, and/or email address. People willingly provide this information in order to find out more about your business via a contact form on a landing or capture page. Their information is kept in a CRM for you to maintain and follow up with them.&nbsp;</p> <p>CRM&rsquo;s are the lifeline for your business. The size of your business has no relation to whether or not your need a CRM. You can use a CRM to send out newsletters, informational emails, email marketing of sales/promotions, follow up after a sale, or even generate a winner for a contest.&nbsp;<br /> These three effective strategies will help you to drive more traffic to your business and website, increase sales, and keep customers coming back. Content, SEO, and a proper CRM are things that must be continually updated and monitored.&nbsp;</p> <p>This can be a lot of work for someone who is trying to run a business. Fortunately, there are companies like BIS Designs who can help you manage these things effectively. BIS Designs is a small, but powerful firm with some of the top specialists on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Mississippi, and the Pensacola panhandle.&nbsp;</p> <p>Contact us for a consultation to find out the best marketing strategies that will be the most effective for your business and niche.&nbsp;<br /> BIS Designs is an internet marketing company serving the Mobile, Alabama area. Our content, development, social media marketing and search engine optimization specialists have years of experience in targeting custom audiences for the B2B community and would welcome the opportunity to help your business grow.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> 119Why Your Website Needs to Switch to HTTPShttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/110/why-your-website-needs-to-switch-to-httpsSEO,Web DesignWed, 05 Apr 2017 20:19:08 GMT<div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Http SSL Secure Website" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Http%20SSL%20Secure%20certificate.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 400px;" /></div> <p>This is the year for websites to become more secure. Since 2014, Google has given search engine&nbsp;<a href="http://searchengineland.com/google-starts-giving-ranking-boost-secure-httpsssl-sites-199446" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">ranking boosts</a><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> to sites that use https://, also known as SSL or Secure Socket Layer, for their web addresses instead of http:// alone. &nbsp;As of this year, Google&rsquo;s </span><a href="https://security.googleblog.com/2016/09/moving-towards-more-secure-web.html" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" target="_blank">web browser Chrome</a><span style="font-size: 14px; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> is taking huge strides towards making the internet a safer place by labeling all HTTP pages that take payment information or collect passwords as non-secure. This is part of Google&rsquo;s long term plan to eventually label all HTTP sites as non-secure. Other web browsers are said to soon follow suit.</span></p> <h1>Switching to encrypted SSL certificates, meaning sites change to https:// rather than http://, is now more important than ever.</h1> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>What is HTTPS?</h2> <p>HTTPS is the acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is a protocol used for secure communications over the internet. Communication over HTTPS is encrypted between the end user and the server so the data cannot be tampered with and listened in on.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>What is SSL?</h2> <p>SSL is the acronym for Secure Socket Layer and is another type of protocol that helps encrypt data transferred over a computer network. Through purchasing an SSL certificate, an encryption key is placed on the server to protect your communication via your website.</p> <h2>Why should you care about HTTPS and SSL?</h2> <p>This gets back to the main reasons why Google is calling for all websites to switch to HTTPS. The beginning of your URL (www.example.com) begins with either HTTP or HTTPS. By remaining on the unsecured HTTP, the data transferred between the web server and the browser on your computer or smartphone can be compromised.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p>Even if your website is not an eCommerce site or doesn&rsquo;t have login capabilities, it is still at risk. User behavior has become a very hot commodity for cyber criminals. The best course of action is to get a fully encrypted SSL certificate on your website so you can continue business as usual without feeling any ramifications from being viewed as an untrusted website. Implementing SSL on your website is definitely a direction all websites should be headed in as it helps keep everyone a little safer.<br /> <br /> It no longer suffices to make certain pages https:// and not others. Your website has to be fully encrypted or it will lose search engine placement, and anyone who views it will soon see a warning sign that they may not understand. This might deter them from ever visiting your site again.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Since most of <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Website">BIS Designs&#39; websites</a> are easily editable by our clients, we include a login in the footer on each page. As a courtesy, we are moving all non-SSL certified sites to a secure encrypted SSL server. &nbsp;<br /> <br /> Here&rsquo;s an example of how a secure SSL certified site appears:</p> <p><img alt="Secure website https" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Secure%20website%20https.PNG" /><br /> <br /> And here is an example of what a website&rsquo;s address in a web browser might look like without an SSL certificate starting this year:<br /> <br /> <img alt="http secure website" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Not%20secure%20http%20website.png" />&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Here is how the http:// web pages are said to soon be displayed:<br /> <br /> <img alt="HTTP secure website" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/HTTP%20secure%20website.png" />&nbsp;<br /> <br /> BIS Designs is a web design and marketing company based out of Robertsdale, Alabama with clients spanning from Gulfport, MS to Pensacola, FL. With our clients&rsquo; best interest as our top concern, we take every effort to ensure their online presence accurately communicates their mission, produces results, and engenders trust among their customers. If your business is in need of an online makeover, <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Contact-Us">contact us</a> for a free website audit and marketing evaluation.</p> <div>&nbsp;</div> 110Top 6 Tactics to Convert Visitors into Customers on a Landing Pagehttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/103/top-6-tactics-to-convert-visitors-into-customers-on-a-landing-pageInternet Marketing,SEO,Web DesignTue, 10 Jan 2017 14:57:24 GMT<p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Landing%20Page%20Elements.jpg" style="text-align: center;" /></p> <p>A landing page can be your business&rsquo; biggest advocate. By creating high-converting and SEO-optimized landing pages, these pages can effectively run your business while you&rsquo;re away by having the convincing power to appeal to your customers in your absence. </p> <h1>In marketing terms, a landing page is any web page that a visitor can arrive at or &ldquo;land&rdquo; on that is focused on a main objective, or website conversion goal.</h1> <div><br /> </div> <p>Typically, it is a standalone page not available to access from the navigation menu. It&rsquo;s created to fulfill a single purpose to get visitors to take a particular action on the page. </p> <p>&nbsp;<br /> <strong>Example goals for landing pages include:</strong><br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Capture email addresses for future leads<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Get attendants to an event or seminar<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Promote a special offer<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Make an announcement<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Build your brand&nbsp;<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Make a profit</p> <h2>We believe that every marketing promotion needs its own landing page.</h2> &nbsp;<br /> <p>Since landing pages are separate from your website&rsquo;s visible pages, they are the perfect platform to send all campaign traffic. This separation makes testing and measuring through web analytics incredibly easier to track.</p> <h3>Here are the top 6 tactics for landing pages that experts across the globe value as instrumental in turning ordinary website visitors into actual customers:</h3> <h3>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Find the perfect headline.</h3> <p>Headlines serve the most important purpose on a landing page: to convince a visitor to stay. &nbsp;There&rsquo;s a famous quote by advertising legend David Ogilvy that says, &ldquo;On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy.&rdquo; Since your headline is the first thing people see when they land on your site, it&rsquo;s imperative to make a good impression. That&rsquo;s why we always suggest A/B or split testing to figure out which one will get higher engagement.</p> <p>Some elements you can test for are: (This is something we love to do!)<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>A short versus long headline<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>A headline that states benefits versus features<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>The color scheme of the headline<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Headline transposed over a background image versus negative space<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="Landing Page Vivino" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Landing%20Page%20Vivino.JPG" style="width: 600px; height: 333px;" /><br /> Source: <a href="https://www.vivino.com/" target="_blank">Vivino</a></p> <p>This wine news and review site uses an appealing solution-oriented strategy in their captivating headline.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Create a compelling, clearly stated value proposition.</h3> <p>A unique value proposition (UVP) should be the first thing your visitors see when they land on your landing page. It is not a slogan. It&rsquo;s a promise you&rsquo;re telling customers about what your product/service will do for them while also conveying how it is better than the competition. It can be a single statement or 2-3 lines that hit home with your target audience.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="Landing Page Karma" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/karma%20Landing%20Page.PNG" style="width: 600px; height: 283px;" /></p> <p>Source: <a href="https://yourkarma.com/?gclid=CjwKEAiA17LDBRDElqOGq8vR7m8SJAA1AC0_-KcV9STYYxJhHdP6rUXszJiodgTr6GrIhWmnqy3XZhoCV5rw_wcB" target="_blank">Karma Mobility, Inc.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;The unique value this brand offers is clearly stated in the byline letting viewers know they can get online anywhere with their product with affordable data plans.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Reinforce your value with an effective Call to Action (CTA)</h3> <p>Even though you now have a compelling UVP and an impactful headline, visitors often still need that extra push, and a CTA form or button can be exactly what gets them on board. An effective CTA should be prominently placed, not too small, and placed above the fold so visitors won&rsquo;t need to go searching for it.&nbsp;<br /> <span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /> </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Our client <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Our-Work/Portfolio/agentType/View/PropertyID/408/Magnolia-Dental--Website">Magnolia Dental</a> was looking for web design services in Mobile, Alabama and their home page illustrates how sometimes depending on your service, it&rsquo;s beneficial to use multiple calls to action on one page.&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&nbsp;<img alt="Magnolia Dental Call to Action" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Magnolia%20Dental.png" style="width: 600px; height: 363px;" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3></h3> <h3>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Include benefits and/or features in digestible chunks.&nbsp;</h3> <p>Because web visitors are scanners by nature, your text should be simple and minimal, using images as much as possible while ensuring the relevant features or benefits are succinctly highlighted.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="Landing Page H. Bloom" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/h.bloom-landing-page.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 456px;" /><br /> Source: <a href="https://www.hbloom.com/ResidentialSubscriptions/" target="_blank">H. Bloom</a></p> <p>This flower company does a lovely job in illustrating the simple process for their subscription service.<br /> <br /> </p> <h3>5.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Provide social proof&nbsp;</h3> <p>Potential customers want to know they&rsquo;re making a good choice in choosing your business. Social proof can help seal the deal by reinforcing trust and establishing credibility. This can often create an emotional response, ultimately turning visitors into customers. Examples of social proof can include:<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Testimonials from clients (with images and names)<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Social media share buttons (showing the number of shares)<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Logos from well-respected businesses that use you<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Business or product reviews<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Trust seals, i.e. BBB, VeriSign, TRUSTe (see image below)<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <img alt="" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/trust-seals.png" /></p> <p>One client of ours in Daphne, Alabama does a great job of providing social proof on their landing page for a new program they&rsquo;ve launched. <a href="http://markeegroup.com/eAutoTraining/90DayBootCampSalesTraining" target="_blank">The Mar-Kee Group</a> uses testimonials, video demos, and social media icons that play well with their call to action sign-up forms and buttons.</p> <h3>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Make sure the message matches the promotion</h3> <p>This is especially important when using PPC (Pay-Per-Click) ads as the link associated with your Google ad will need to direct users to a page built specifically for that service or promotion being offered.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="Landing Page Promotion" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Frankandoak.com-Landing%20Page.png" style="width: 600px; height: 303px;" /><br /> Source: <a href="https://www.frankandoak.com/" target="_blank">Frank &amp; Oak</a></p> <p>If someone who clicked on an ad in Google that advertised a &ldquo;30% off your next purchase promotion&rdquo; but ended up on the home page, they likely would get inundated with way more information than they wanted, get a bit overwhelmed that they didn&rsquo;t see that coupon, and leave the site out of frustration.<br /> <br /> </p> <h3>Conclusion</h3> <p>By no means do landing pages need to include all of these elements, and in some cases, the more minimal a landing page is the more results a site can see. Figuring out what kind of landing page your marketing campaign needs will depend on many factors. Above all else, research into what types of personas make up your target audience should be the first step. This article is meant as a general overview, as there are many more components to a successful landing page that are not mentioned here, such as the need for an integrative design (see <a href="https://www.beoplay.com/products/beoplaya1#introduction-main" target="_blank">BEOPLAY&rsquo;s</a> experiential design) or adding video, which can lead to <a href="http://www.eyeviewdigital.com/documents/eyeview_brochure.pdf" target="_blank">86% more conversions</a>.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>At BIS Designs, our goal is to create a website and subsequent landing pages that will support your goals and accurately reflect your brand for businesses not just in Baldwin County and Mobile County, but also extending to Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pensacola, Florida. From our pre-project meeting to content development and design, we keep your website goals at the forefront of everything we do. Through combining <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/SEO">search engine optimization</a>, <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Internet-Marketing/Social-Media">social media marketing</a> and cutting edge <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Website">web design</a>, our integrative approach for your business provides successful results. <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Contact-Us">Contact us</a> today to hear more about our new comprehensive packages!</p> <div><br /> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>103Intro to Video Marketing for Your Businesshttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/98/intro-to-video-marketing-for-your-businessInternet Marketing,SEO,Social MediaTue, 06 Dec 2016 22:39:04 GMT<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Video%20Marketing.jpg" alt="Video marketing" style="width: 500px; height: 500px; text-align: center;" /><br /> </div> <p>By now, you&rsquo;ve probably heard that video marketing is all the rage. It&rsquo;s evidently more impactful and can engage many more people on social media networks than a post with an image alone could. You may be saying, &ldquo;Yeah, that sounds great, but I don&rsquo;t have the time and the resources to make a video!&rdquo; Well, don&rsquo;t throw the idea away just yet. </p> <p>&nbsp;<br /> What if we told you that within just a few hours, you could have enough video content for almost a whole year to dole out each month? There are many styles of videos for marketing and some will take much longer to make. However, a simple Q&amp; A style video can be done relatively quickly and provides numerous beneficial results to your marketing.&nbsp;</p> <h1>by addressing topics you believe are important to your audience, your business value is increased and deeper relationships are developed as you&rsquo;re looked at as a trusted expert in your field.</h1> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p> Before you take your first stab at making a video, keep in mind the following pointers to get the most out of your work:</p> <h2>1. Grab attention early.</h2> <p> <span style="font-size: 14px;">Ideally within 1st 10 seconds or less, appeal to the viewers&rsquo; emotions by addressing particular pain points, concerns, or other impassioned viewpoints.</span></p> <h2>2. Establish a clear Call to Action (CTA).</h2> <p>Determine what your ultimate goal is for the video, i.e. visiting your website, sharing the video, etc. and incorporate that into a straightforward CTA usually toward the end of the video, such as &ldquo;Learn more at (insert url).&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <h2>3. Don&rsquo;t forget about the post text.</h2> <p>What you write about in the text for the video post is very important and should be used as the bait &amp; hook to the video. Be sure to not spam it with hashtags.</p> <h2>4. Set it to autoplay with subtitles.</h2> <p> One study found that<a href="http://digiday.com/platforms/silent-world-facebook-video/" target="_blank"> 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound</a>. The video needs to be able to attract attention without sound, meaning an aesthetically pleasing background and camera quality is important, but so is the need for subtitles. Facebook offers this as an option now. Contact us if you want more specifics!&nbsp;</p> <h2>5. Know how to measure your success.</h2> <p>Depending on the platform the video is posted on, make sure you know how to read the metrics, i.e. the number of shares, the amount of engagement, and the number of clicks to your site.</p> <h2>6. Follow the golden rules.</h2> <p> Make sure you have a good audio (lavaliere wireless microphone), a clear and aesthetically pleasing, but not distracting background, and that you&rsquo;re discussing something that you are passionate about.</p> <h2>7. Upload the video individually into the social networks rather than sharing a YouTube link.</h2> <p>While it would certainly be easier to share the same link across all channels, Facebook&rsquo;s algorithm favors videos placed directly onto their platform more than links. Doing it this way will create greater organic reach, especially on Facebook.&nbsp;</p> <h2>8. Optimize for search.</h2> <p> The text you include in your post about the video won&rsquo;t be searchable, but the headline and descriptions you post with your video will. Try to include those keywords or phrases you think viewers would be searching for to help them find your content, and include a couple relevant hashtags on platforms like Twitter and Instagram to boost search results.<br /> <br /> </p> <h2>Now for the director &amp; producer in you, here&rsquo;s a list of ideas for topics:</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>1. Share a how-to video.</h3> <p>It&rsquo;s important to keep the video short, so if it&rsquo;s a visual &ldquo;How-To&rdquo;, use the speed-up feature in your video editing software to shorten the duration.&nbsp;</p> <h3>2. Answer questions.</h3> <p> Give brief answers to a few of the main questions you know your audience is interested in. This is a great way to establish your business&rsquo;s expert credibility.</p> <h3>3. Take viewers behind the scenes.</h3> <p> This is a powerful brand-building tool as users on social media follow companies typically because they have an affinity for the business and want to learn more about what the brand really is and what it stands for. Show viewers how something works or how something is made and this can lead to major increases in brand loyalty.</p> <h3>4. Tell a story.</h3> <p> By creating a story with a beginning, middle, and end that fits into a 30-second video, you&rsquo;re bound to easily connect with viewers. Telling stories about real people is ideal, but even telling a story about your customers, your business, or a cause you want to raise awareness on are dynamic tools to build and sustain loyal relationships.</p> <h3>Are you ready yet?</h3> <p>If you&rsquo;re pressed for time, but feel video marketing is an excellent strategy you want to give a try, start out with the Answering Questions format.&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Develop a list of 10 questions that your clients and prospects most frequently ask you about your business.&nbsp;</li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Then brainstorm another list of 10 questions that you think your clients and prospects need to know, but rarely ask.</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Rehearse the answers so you can keep the videos short and sweet, ideally within the 60 sec range. This way, you don&rsquo;t even have to worry about editing except for the start and finish. Doing them all at once can be filmed in just a few hours.&nbsp;<br /> </span></li> </ul> <p>If you schedule a day on your calendar that you can sit down and record 20 videos back to back, you can have 10 months of videos ready to go that get posted online every two weeks. Pretty efficient, right?</p> <h3>Once you have a video created, cross promote it on your blog, post it on YouTube so the link can be embedded into an email newsletter campaign, and add it as a video post to your social media networks.</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/">BIS Designs</a> is more than happy to come to your location or schedule time in our studio to record video tutorials, testimonials, or any such video as described above. Our comprehensive marketing services can integrate your video marketing with your website, social media, and print marketing endeavors, all the while ensuring your videos are efficiently optimized to help your search engine rankings. <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Contact-Us">Contact our Designs team</a> to learn more about our video marketing services and how we can increase your brand&rsquo;s recognition, reinforce your business&rsquo;s credibility, and boost both your <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/SEO">search rankings</a> and <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Internet-Marketing/Social-Media">social engagement</a>.&nbsp;</p> <div><br /> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p>986 Marketing Trends to Watch in 2017https://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/95/6-marketing-trends-to-watch-in-2017Internet Marketing,SEO,Social Media,Technology,Web DesignWed, 09 Nov 2016 12:00:00 GMT<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Digital%20Marketing%20Trends.png" alt="Digital Marketing Trends" style="text-align: center; width: 600px; height: 543px;" /><br /> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>At the end of each year, we like to pull together the marketing community&rsquo;s top digital marketing trends to look out for in the upcoming year. By keeping our finger on the pulse, we hope to be able to provide our clients with valuable insights that will sustain their growth and keep them ahead of the curve.</p> <br /> So what&rsquo;s the meter showing? There are many advances on the horizon that will impact marketing in a big way in years to come, such as virtual and augmented reality devices, applications and games, but we&rsquo;re going to keep this article&rsquo;s focus on practical strategies that can be implemented right away should our clients request it.<br /> <h1>As you embrace the idea of a new marketing strategy for 2017, here are the top digital marketing trends to consider and hopefully capitalize on:</h1> <h2>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Cross-Device Marketing Optimization<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Longer Sales Funnels/Increased Content Marketing<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Live Video Streaming, e.g. Facebook Live<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Big Data: Consumer Behavior Analytics<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Artificial Intelligence (AI)<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>BLE Beacons</h2> <br /> <h3>Cross-Device Marketing Optimization&nbsp;</h3> Most companies understand by now the value of having responsive website designs that are mobile friendly. The key term here is cross-device or multi-platform. The majority of web users are still using multiple devices for their web searches. When purchasing something online, often users will want to see the details on bigger screens such as their desktops or laptops. This means we need to adopt strategies that engage the &ldquo;multichannel majority&rdquo; and not just our <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-details/PostId/18/why-is-a-mobile-website-a-must">smart phones</a>.<br /> <h3>Longer Sales Funnels</h3> Understanding the sales funnel is crucial to developing successful <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Internet-Marketing/Social-Media">marketing campaigns</a>. A big trend that we&rsquo;re seeing is that companies are investing in marketing pursuits that provide a high level of value upfront, long before asking for an email address or moving into the Calls to Action that prompt users along the sales process. By providing valuable content will ultimately establish a strong level of trust, which is needed for someone to choose you over a competitor. This may take longer than the traditional sales funnel, however, the rewards will come in easier sales when you do ask your visitors to purchase from you. &nbsp;They will already have developed a sense of trust because you&rsquo;ve established yourself as an authority on certain subjects.<br /> <h3>Live Video Streaming, i.e. Facebook Live</h3> Your fans and social media followers want an immersive experience that connects them with your particular brand. No longer can you rely on static blog posts or images alone to impact your audience. &nbsp;Whether Facebook Live, the Twitter-owned Periscope, or Google&rsquo;s YouTube, mobile live-streaming has a captivating power that can spread a company&rsquo;s message into the far reaches of social networks. &nbsp;Curious on how to get this started for your business? We&rsquo;ll guide you through it!<br /> <h3>Big Data: Consumer Behavior Analytics&nbsp;</h3> Website analytics is by no means new, but the full potential of this kind of reporting and analysis is continually emerging. As consumer decision behavior is growing in complexity, companies will soon start using web analytics for more than the 20% the majority of us access today. The Affinity and In-Segment reports in Google Analytics is just one hidden gem that can demystify the types of customer personas that makeup your intended audience. The more we know about what makes our target audience tick, the more successful we&rsquo;ll be at marketing to them.<br /> <br /> <img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/google_analytics_interests_affinity_in-market_segments.png" alt="Google Analytics Affinity report" style="width: 500px; height: 292px;" />&nbsp;<br /> Image: <a href="http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/google-analytics-smarter-web-data-analysis/" target="_blank">Kaushik, 2015</a><br /> <h3>Artificial Intelligence (AI)</h3> Compiling user behavior facts from a global population&ndash;and in a timely manner&ndash;is an enormous feat beyond human ability. This is why the biggest research companies in the world use AI to establish patterns for this kind of pre-emptive marketing. The type of automation we see in establishing the ideal audience for Facebook ads, for example, is one way this is already being used. In the coming years, we believe this process will heavily increase, and we are bound to see major advances in customer behavior, user experiences (UX), and profitable outcomes for businesses.<br /> <br /> <h3>BLE Beacons</h3> <p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Beacons are another hot new trend that is expected in increase heavily in 2017. &nbsp;BLE Beacons are used within brick-and-mortar stores to &ldquo;hypertarget&rdquo; customers through new levels of proximity awareness. They are low-cost transmitters that use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to provide smart devices with valuable location-based information. Beacons can be installed throughout entire buildings and can be used in a variety of ways. These include:&nbsp;</span></p> <p>&bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Sending coupons and notifications when someone is near a specific retail display.<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Serving as a store guide by providing a virtual map of a store.<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Educating visitors on specific exhibits as they tour a museum.<br /> &bull;<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Alerting people of the arrival and departure times of specific bus routes or plane delays.&nbsp;</p> <p>Beacons are already being used by 85% of the top US retailers, and it&rsquo;s estimated that <a href="https://www.abiresearch.com/press/abi-research-finds-future-ble-beacon-shipments-not/" target="_blank">500 million</a> beacons will be in use by 2021.&nbsp;</p> <p>With all of the fascinating advancements in technology and the pervasive infiltration of the IoT lifestyles, 2017 looks to be a year that will go down in history as marketing tactics take a giant leap forward and hit their stride.</p> <p>If you&rsquo;re ready to explore what makes your target audience tick, give us a call and let&rsquo;s talk. Our web designers and analysts will work with you to create intriguing and conversion-inducing websites that will be consistently monitored and optimized for the best possible outcomes. Our goal at BIS Designs is your success. Let&rsquo;s get you back on track! Schedule your free <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Request-Quote">consultation &amp; quote</a> today.&nbsp;</p>95Top 11 Mistakes To Avoid When Using SEOhttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/86/top-11-mistakes-to-avoid-when-using-seoInternet Marketing,SEOTue, 13 Sep 2016 14:24:54 GMT<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/bigstock-Search-Engine-Optimization-For-63641755-sm.jpg" alt="search engine optimization SEO graphic" style="width: 600px; height: 400px; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 2px;" /><br /> </div> <p>What good is a website if no one can find it? Today, most businesses recognize the need for a website and the importance of ranking well in search. But how can you be sure your website gets top listings in a competitive marketing world? The answer is strategic&nbsp;<a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/SEO" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857;">search engine optimization (SEO)</a><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.42857; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;">.&nbsp;</span></p> <div> <h1>Well-deployed SEO helps cut through all the noise to get your website found by its intended audience.&nbsp;</h1> <div><br /> </div> <div>While optimizing for search engines is a crucial component to your business&rsquo; success, there are several mistakes that must be avoided. Otherwise, you could actually end up hurting your SEO efforts. <h2>Here&rsquo;s a quick overview of the top mistakes to avoid when leveraging SEO for your company&rsquo;s best success online.</h2> </div> <h3>1.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Keyword stuffing</h3> <p>a.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>This used to be a regular technique in search engine optimization where a webpage had &ldquo;keywords&rdquo; (popular words used in search queries) placed all over the site in metatags or in the content. However, Google soon &nbsp;realized that the number of keywords on a site did not necessarily equate to a valuable resource for the web user. Currently, keyword stuffing is viewed as a black hat technique and an attempt to manipulate a site&rsquo;s <a href="http://backlinko.com/google-ranking-factors">rankings in search results</a>. This can potentially cause a site to be banned or penalized in search engine rankings.</p> </div> <p style="text-align: left;">b.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>An example of keyword stuffing is below:</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> &nbsp;<img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Keyword-Stuffing-Example.jpg" alt="keyword stuffing - bad SEO" style="text-align: center;" /><br /> <span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Image source: <a href="https://www.inklyo.com/seo-mistakes-to-avoid/" target="_blank">Inklyo.com</a>&nbsp;<br /> <br /> </p> <h3>2.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Keyword research or lack thereof.&nbsp;</h3> <p>Many companies these days are telling people to just write naturally and not worry about keywords, but there is a deep value in using the <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-details/cid/64?Category=seo">search algorithms</a> to your advantage. Having quality content on a website is the leading factor for making a website useful and popular for visitors. Keywords need to be researched and selected first before any writing begins in order for the content to read naturally.&nbsp;</p> <h3>3.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Not Using Long Tailed Keywords.</h3> <p>Long tail keywords, or descriptive phrases, are keywords too. They are much more likely to rank well in search results than short tail keywords. Why? Because people are getting much more specific in their searches, and keyword optimization should follow suit. You may get fewer hits, but the hits you get will be from web users that are much further down the road towards taking action than those that were only searching for one general word. It&rsquo;s also much more achievable to get a webpage to rank highly on the search engine listings for long tail keywords because the competition is not as high as it is for general one word terms. Just think about the intention difference between someone searching for &ldquo;Mobile Bay&rdquo; versus &ldquo;Mobile Bay charter boat tours Fairhope AL&rdquo;. The specific search query is more likely to reflect a shopper who knows what they&rsquo;re looking for and is closer to a purchase decision.</p> <h3>4.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Not adding fresh content to your site.</h3> <p>Okay, so now you have a stellar website with dynamic content and optimized keywords ready to rock the socks off of users. But before you expect to be listed on that first page of search results on Google, and ideally the top three listings, you need to understand the importance of updating the content on your site regularly. If you&rsquo;re not regularly updating your website, search engines are not going to continually notice you. Each time you add something new to your site, it&rsquo;s a beacon calling the web crawling search bots to come back around to index your site, which in turn gives you better chances of higher search rankings.&nbsp;<br /> How can you add new content to your site? Writing blog articles, providing downloads and adding new web pages are good examples. But these content updates need to be on a regular basis, and the content needs to be reliable and valuable information in order to have a better chance of your site ranking higher with each update.&nbsp;</p> <p>How often is often enough? Typically, a frequently updated site is considered one that is updated once a day, or at least two to three times a week. These updates can be as simple as making minor changes on your site, but the easiest and most effective ways to get noticed are to add blog articles with images that will get the attention of your viewers. As a bonus, if users comment on your blog, this counts as an update on your site too.&nbsp;</p> <h3>5. Weak Content</h3> <p>Search engines have begun devaluing the ranking in search results of websites that have don&rsquo;t have much content. It used to be a common goal to keep blog posts around 300 words, but now the world&rsquo;s leading brands and marketing analysts agree that longer form content actually boosts SEO rankings because of its added value to the readers. Thus, somewhere on your website, a strategy should be to include content that goes up to 1,500 words, with of course, the necessary optimization of meta descriptions, image tags, and other text formatting.&nbsp;</p> <h3>6.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Duplicate Content</h3> <p>Duplicate content refers to content that appears on the Internet in more than one place. This can be text that copies verbatim content found on other parts of your own web page, but more importantly, found on other webpages. Obviously, plagiarism is highly frowned upon, and the search algorithms are engineered to penalize sites when duplicate content is found. It&rsquo;s completely okay to quote or insert a block of text from another source as long as you attribute to it in a link, like we do on our blogs all the time.&nbsp;<br /> Another situation that creates red flags is when you publish guest posts on other sites. For the most part, it&rsquo;s okay to use the majority of the content, but you need to make sure that some of the content is altered to make what <a href="https://blog.kissmetrics.com/myths-about-duplicate-content/" target="_blank">Kissmetrics calls</a> an &ldquo;evil twin.&rdquo;</p> <h3>7. Broken Internal Links</h3> <p style="text-align: left;">Internal links are places on your website where you can have content from one of your web pages link to other content on another page on the same website. It should only be used if there is a real connection between the two pages. When done correctly, internal linking is considered good SEO practice. It helps keep users on your page longer by linking to the internally referenced pages, but mainly it is a routine step in SEO because it helps the search engines crawl your sight and verify that your content is valuable to readers because of the linked connections.&nbsp;<br /> However, when internal links are broken and users and web bots get a &ldquo;404 Error&rdquo; page, it&rsquo;s a red flag that the content lacks value. &ldquo;404&rdquo; pages are damaging to your website&rsquo;s credibility, and search engine crawl interruptions can lower your site&rsquo;s ranking and decrease its visibility. You can check for broken links on your webpage by using this <a href="https://validator.w3.org/" target="_blank">web validator tool</a>. No one, users or web crawlers, like to see this message:</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/error%20404%20message.png" alt="webpage error 404 meessage" style="font-size: 14px; text-align: center;" /></p> <h3>8. Black Hat Backlinking and Lack of Link Building.</h3> <p><a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-details/PostId/22/the-importance-of-backlinks-in-seo-for-a-website">Backlinks</a>, or inbound links, are links on outside websites that link to your webpage. &nbsp;It&rsquo;s an important SEO strategy to acquire these links that point back to your site, but not so long ago, this practice was tarnished with people buying low quality links to get listed on sketchy website directories. Link farms, as they were dubbed, became so popular that Google made algorithm changes to specifically penalize websites that did this. Finding quality web directories and acquiring citations and reference links from websites in the same industry are the smart way to go about doing this. Search engines can tell if you&rsquo;re trying to trick them into promoting your website. While it&rsquo;s better to have no links than bad links, there are still many tools, time consuming as they may be, to help get your site the <a href="http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/32479/32-White-Hat-Ways-to-Build-Inbound-Links.aspx?__hstc=128727251.eb9fdd5030a90ac6f94d82a8e280dee3.1423175309121.1434633108944.1434639998492.262&amp;__hssc=128727251.13.1434639998492&amp;__hsfp=2766612684#sm.00000t84uav30xes9rwre0rti1gb9" target="_blank">quality backlinks</a> Google values. But remember, content first, links later.</p> <h3>9. Incomplete On-Page SEO&nbsp;</h3> <p>On-page SEO refers to items like keywords, quality content, and fresh updates added regularly, as mentioned earlier, but it also includes the technical aspects of filling out the meta descriptions, title, and image tags with a chosen keyword, as well as including your keyword or keyword phrase ideally within the first paragraph. Ensuring you have consistent brand messaging throughout the webpage is also important.</p> <h3>10. Not Utilizing Social Media</h3> <p style="text-align: left;">For a business to maintain credibility these days, it needs to be online on social media. It&rsquo;s a great avenue for building brand awareness, <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Blog-details/cid/12?Category=internet-marketing">retaining loyal customers and fans</a>, and sharing all those wonderful webpages and blogs you&rsquo;ve optimized on your website. By sharing your website content on <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Internet-Marketing/Social-Media">social media</a>, search engines discover there are more places to find that content, thus boosting the number of listings that pop up when people search for products or services matching your content.&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"> <img src="/Portals/bisdesigns/Social%20media%20icons.jpg" alt="Social media icons iPhone" style="text-align: center; width: 500px; height: 334px;" />&nbsp;</p> <h3>11. Not tracking or measuring your progress.</h3> <p>It&rsquo;s important to know how your SEO is performing. Using <a href="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/why-google-analytics-important-your-website" target="_blank">Google Analytics</a> or other software is essential to monitor the rate of change so steps can be made to amend any low-performing webpages. Conversion goals, keyword monitoring, and weekly reports are invaluable tools to determine if you&rsquo;re making progress or not.</p> <h3><em>Customizable SEO Services That Deliver Results<br /> </em></h3> <p>Search engine optimization may seem daunting at first, but the benefits far outweigh the cost to your business versus not using SEO. If your business is not seeing the results you need from your website to stay successful, then it&rsquo;s time to <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Contact-Us">contact our BIS Designs team</a> for your <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/Request-Quote">free quote</a> on our SEO services. Our SEO &amp; Online Specialist will collaborate with you to create the most effective search engine optimization strategy possible, customized to your individual needs. Bring your website into the modern competitive arena with strategic <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com/SEO">SEO services</a> from your local digital marketing experts at <a href="http://www.askbisdesigns.com">BIS Designs</a>.</p> <div><br /> </div>86Google to Release Penguin 4.0 Update That Could Potentially Hurt Your Website's Search Engine Rankingshttps://gulfcoastlocal.com/Blog-Details/PostId/73/google-to-release-penguin-40-update-that-could-potentially-hurt-your-websites-search-engine-rankingsSEOThu, 23 Jun 2016 16:43:54 GMT<h3>Google to Release New Penguin 4.0 Update That Could Potentially<img alt="" src="/Portals/bisdesigns/bigstock-African-Penguins-African-Peng-109318907.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 344px; float: right; margin-top: 20px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 20px;" /> HurtYour Website&rsquo;s Search Engine Rankings</h3> <p>At some point this year, Google will release an algorithm updated called Penguin 4.0. Some might remember the very first release of Penguin where it was compared to &ldquo;dropping a nuke.&rdquo; Many websites lost their first page rankings which affected their traffic, conversions and profit even putting some websites out of business.</p> <p>Google&rsquo;s goal is to promote high-quality content. When webmasters use blackhat search engine optimization (SEO) schemes like link buying, they can get poor quality sites to rank high on search engines &ndash; at least for a short period of time. Unfortunately for users like me and you, it makes searching for good quality content difficult. Google became wise to these unnatural links and developed algorithms to prevent this from happening. As new blackhat tricks are created, Google releases new updates to stop these websites from ranking.</p> <h3>When Penguin 4.0 comes out this year, your website will suffer if you or your SEO specialist:</h3> <ul> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Buys links</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">Embeds numerous links into widgets</span><span style="font-size: 14px;">&nbsp;</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Creates excessive partner pages for backlinking</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Gives away services or products to someone for the sole purpose of receiving a written review with a link back to your website</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Participates in large-scale article marketing campaigns</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Links to articles that are considered spammy</span></li> </ul> <h3>With BIS Designs, our SEO and content specialists will:</h3> <ul> <li>&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14px;">Get real, non-spammy links from websites</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Focus on internal linking</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Add new optimized content</span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 14px;">Optimize every page of your site for your chosen keywords</span></li> </ul> <h3>Get your free SEO audit today! Give us a call at 251-410-7601!</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 10px;">Sources:</span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 10px;"><a href="https://moz.com/ugc/what-is-an-unnatural-link-an-in-depth-look-at-the-google-quality-guidelines">https://moz.com/ugc/what-is-an-unnatural-link-an-in-depth-look-at-the-google-quality-guidelines</a></span></p>73