You have probably heard it said over and over again just how important it is to have a business website, even if you are not going to be selling any products or services online. You are told that it is a way to introduce your company, build your brand, and provide contact information where you can be reached to answer any questions a prospective customer might have. That is true, but there is one very important thing which probably hasn’t been made clear and that is the importance of having a blog on that website. In fact, that blog is probably more important than you may realize. Here are three reasons why. 1. Positions You as a Site of Authority Having a well-populated blog can position you as a site of authority and that is a key factor in ranking highly with Google. There is no secret to the key elements Google’s crawlers look for when ranking sites and one of the most important is in the information you are able to disseminate, placing you as an authority in your industry or niche. With user-friendly Content Management Systems like WordPress, you can even create your own blog posts to upload. While you can hire a content writing service, you may want to write some of your own posts. After all, who knows your industry better than you do? With a reliable Internet Service Provider and fiber services in ultra-fast speeds, you can quickly upload your content and then be on about what it is you do best, and that would be running your business. 2. Drives Traffic to Your Site Driving traffic to your website is important on a number of levels. Most importantly would be that this is exactly how consumers find the businesses they deal with. Long gone are the days of letting your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages and if you want to grow your business, you must be found! A blog is an important way of ranking highly for organic traffic in which SEO keywords are the driving force. When ranking within the first few results on page one of the SERPs, chances are excellent that users will click through to your blogposts. 3. Informative Blogs Build Trust in Your Brand Altogether too often consumers are left in the dark when it comes to products and services a company offers. Blog posts can provide a ton of information on the uses of products you carry. They also offer an opportunity to post content from business partnerships you have developed along the way. You can build off the trust those brands have built over time, and they can build off the trust you have earned. Whether or not you are going to sell any products and services online isn’t as important as being seen as an authority in your industry. As long as you provide information on where to find your storefront, you should be good to go. In the end, it’s all about telling the world who you are and what you have to offer. If you position yourself as an authority in your industry, they will listen and that’s the key to business...

Digital marketing is an essential part of any business, but even more so for charities. This blog post will explore some ways you can use digital marketing to maximise your fundraising efforts by leveraging several effective digital marketing strategies. Who is your audience? Before you begin with anything else, you need to know who your audience is. What do they want? What questions do they have? How can your charity help them, and what will resonate most with their experience and needs? Once you know these things, then it’s just a matter of creating content that addresses those specific issues and concerns. Marketing agencies such as Eleven Marketing can be useful in this sense because they can help you get the most out of your budget to really reach the people you are trying to reach. This is useful because not only is budget often a constraint when it comes to raising awareness of your brand but spending your money in the most effective way possible can be difficult if you don’t know what you’re looking for. Get to the root of your cause It’s easy to think of reasons why you and your team should be passionate about your cause, but do those same people who will be donating share that passion? If not, then why should they care? What is it exactly about your cause that makes it something worth donating time and money to rather than another charity? Make sure you’re always asking yourself these questions so that you know what to focus your marketing efforts on. One of the best ways to leverage digital marketing is through storytelling.  You can use storytelling in a variety of different ways – especially when it comes to getting fans involved with their favourite causes. You can also do this by leveraging influencers, sharing stories about people who donate, or by creating a story and sharing it.  All of these methods can draw in your audience and create a closer connection between your charity and the people who support you. Positive social media engagement Social media is essentially an endless hive of buzzing activity. It’s also a place where your brand can be seen by potential donors and, more importantly, by those who already support you. The question is, how do you make the most use out of social media? What kind of content should you share that will actually get people engaged with your charity? One of the most popular ways for charities to use social media is by sharing positive or inspirational stories. People are much more likely to share positive content with others because it leads to them feeling good about themselves. If you can create a digital marketing strategy that aligns with this mindset, people are far more likely to share your information and spread the word about your cause. Build a useful website Another effective digital marketing strategy you can use is building a useful website that provides people with the information they need to know. It’s like having your own personal assistant that’s always available and ready to answer questions 24/7. So, what kind of content should you be sharing? It’s best to stick with articles about specific things people will be looking for when they visit your website. For example, if you’re a cancer charity, then you can post information about symptoms of cancer or how to find a specialist close...

Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) is the backbone of internet traffic. Well-implemented SEO helps Google search engines to correctly classify and rank your website. This, in turn, means that you’ll appear higher in relevant searches, increasing traffic and visibility. Many of the practices associated with SEO are well known, but mistakes are just as common and can have a detrimental effect on your site’s performance. #1 Keyword stuffing Keywords are important. They help Google to classify your site correctly, ensuring that it appears high in relevant searches. Keyword stuffing, on the other hand, is bad. Properly optimized content will contain two or three highly relevant keywords, dispersed and occurring naturally throughout the text. Stuffed content will contain tens and, in some cases, even hundreds of keywords crammed into the text without context. Not only does keyword stuffing affect the readability of content, but it’s a sure-fire way to get yourself flagged as a spammer. Some content producers struggle in this area, so it’s useful to hire SEO specialists like https://www.altagency.co.uk/services/digital-marketing/seo/ . They’ll find the best keywords for your site and ensure that those keywords are implemented correctly, avoiding overkill. #2 Bad linking Links are contagious. A good backlinking profile that includes links to relevant, high-quality sites will see your own content classified in the same way. Links to low-quality spammy sites (or hundreds of irrelevant links scattered across your content) tell Google that you’re a spammer too. This, of course, leads to a poorer ranking and decreased traffic. Keep your links as relevant as possible, and always link to authority sites like newspapers and specialist websites. Not only does this ensure value for your readers, but it lets Google know that you’re focussed on informative content. Remember that value is key. Give your readers information they can use (in the form of good content and good linking), and traffic will naturally follow. #3 Neglecting mobile traffic Mobile traffic now represents a vast portion of all internet usage, and search engines know this. Sites optimized to perform well on mobile will inevitably and invariably rank higher in results. Sites appear differently on mobile and tablet than they do on desktop, and it can be difficult to manually optimize for every platform. Fortunately, responsive themes make the process much simpler. Responsive themes do just that: they respond to the device they’re being viewed on. They’ll adjust how your site appears between mobiles, tablets, and desktops, ensuring that it functions perfectly across them all. #4 Duplicate content While there’s nothing wrong with writing content around a similar theme, duplicating the same material will eventually see you penalized by Google. Search engines and their users want fresh, new content. Simply taking an old article and rewording it slightly won’t be enough to fool them. Worse still, avoid so-called content recycling software that promises to automatically rework previous posts so that they appear new. Search engine algorithms are extremely advanced. They can tell the difference between new and old content, and they categorize websites...

“We don't have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.” You can have a smooth ride or a rough ride or be gone forever amidst the cacophony. It all depends on your understanding as to how the process works and how you shall progress taking all the odds into account. “Start With Your Brand’s Why” Why – Brand PurposeHow – Brand VisionWhat – Brand Mission Here I list the Basics of Brand Strategy for a better understanding before delving into the power of the magic wand that Instagram holds to promote your business. Why –Why are you in business?Value Proposition – What do you offer?What’s so unique about you?Target Audience – Who is it for?Visual Appeal – How does it look like?Messaging – What does it feel like? The crux is anyone can sell a product. But can you create a memorable experience for the customer and lure them to come back again and again? Apple, the technology giant has surpassed many of its competitors by employing story telling to invoke the emotion of the customers  and add sensory dimension to overall delivery and make it less like shopping. “Successful companies in social media function more like entertainment companies, publishers, or party planners than as traditional advertisers.” You have to remember this when you want to win big in Instagram. Key Instagram Metrics Reach – The number of unique views Impressions – The number of views Website taps – The number of times someone has tapped through to the link in your bio Call-to-Actions aka “CTAs” are important in social media, in ad campaigns, in digital display or in search ads. They help guide the audience to your goal and increase visibility of an offer. Here are 7 CTAs to use in Instagram without moderation!  Double tap if you …Watch our stories for…Send me a DM if you…Tag a friend who…Click the link in the bio to…Follow for more!Share with your friend who… 5 Instagram Growth Tips Interact 30 min dailyMake your account SEO optimisedStay active and interact with the communityShow up everyday and stay consistentUse optimized hastags The best way to start out your Instagram branding strategy is by looking at the content you’re creating. Come up with the best strategy for ensuring your content has a similar look and feel across the board. (@sproutsocial) Use a rainbow or ombré look throughout your Instagram feed.Stick with a single focus color for all of your content.Find a photo edit effect or filter you like and use it for all images evenly.Create a pattern with graphics and photos throughout your feed.Put together a grid where your photos have elements that overlap. Usually the color palette for a colorful theme is: blue, pink, green, red, orange. You can’t go wrong with this color combination. All these colors will be around you in summer! (@thepreviewapp) Think about a tropical getaway: blue sky, blue water, pink flowers, pink sunsets, green trees. Always plan your content ahead of time and use a content calendar to organize your thoughts. Its not wise not to have a content plan and randomly publish a post. Consistency is the key in any social media platform and Insta is no exception. Slowly you’ll see your audience building up – those people who are truly interested in what you have to offer and these people are your “Insta Warriors” who will help build your brand by spreading the word across their network. Many pre-made design templates are available for download that you can instantly edit and customize to suit your needs. (@ksioks) This blog post introduces you to the basic concepts of...

If you are looking for success with your business, it makes sense to make sure that you are fully prepared for when it happens. By having good procedures in place, and performed already as a habit, you can keep focused on the areas within your business which will bring you the success you desire and propel your business into the next profit bracket and beyond. Effective SEO In order for your business to be seen on search engines such as Google, you will need to make sure that your SEO strategy is working for your business. If you have no SEO strategy or it is not working well for you, your business will never get to the top rankings in the pages which matter, which is mainly page one, so your potential customers will not be able to find you. If you do not understand SEO or feel that your knowledge is somewhat lacking in this particular field, hiring the help of professionals in order to do it for you is a must. This will not only save you time, but it can also save you money, and you will see good results a lot faster than if you chose to struggle on with it yourself. When thinking about your business’s SEO, you may also need to think about the conversion rates from your website. In order to truly understand what is meant by conversion rates or CRO, it is a good idea to read the ultimate guide to cro for ecommerce, which has been written by an expert. If you are thinking about struggling on with your SEO yourself, then this will affect the amount of CRO your business is getting and, therefore, your profits too. Forms of advertising It is important to take full advantage of all forms of advertising that are open to you. This includes advertising your products and services on social media platforms to get your products seen worldwide and gain those worthwhile customers. Use whatever media you feel necessary and use your best pieces to showcase your business and what it has to offer. Make sure to put links back to your website within any dialogue or video so that potential customers only have to click the link to see more of what it is you are selling rather than having to go searching the internet for your business name. Importance of being customer-focused It is highly recommendable to be customer-focused and keep your customers happy. Happy customers tend to be returning customers, and what is more, they recommend good businesses to others which extends your customer base even further. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising that there is. Not only is it free, but it totally endorses everything good about your business, services, and the products which you offer for sale. Obtaining customer feedback and acting on comments which need to be addressed is a must, making sure to go out of your way to keep all customers happy and letting them know what improvements have been made due to their comments is good curtesy, it may also pay to offer these customers discounts or other types of enticement so that they can see the improvements that have been made first-hand to win back their...