Better SEO Results for your Law Firm

If you already have a website for your law firm then you are one step closer to successfully driving more clients to your practice. However, owning a swanky new website and doing nothing to optimize it for search engines would be akin to investing in a plush office but never letting anyone know you are open for business. Clients will not find you if they don’t know about you. So, if you have been wondering why rival firms are getting the business that is rightfully yours, think one phrase- “SEO for Attorneys“.

No, you don’t have to accept these words at face value, but just take a look at the statistics of search engine marketing for law firms to know how much revenue you are missing out on by ignoring the all-important and potent marketing channel that are the search engines.

96% of people seeking legal advice use a search engine.

- Source: Google Consumer Survey, Nov 2013

40% of small law firms don’t have websites.

- Source:Rocket Marketing, Feb 2015

75% clients who are looking for legal firms will not go past the first page of Google.

40% of web traffic now comes from mobile devices.

74% of consumers visit a law firm’s website to take action. However, 27% do not have a phone number on their homepage, 68% do not have an email address on their homepage, And 70% do not have a call-to-action (CTA) on their homepage.

- Source: Google Legal Services Study, Sept 2013

Despite these astonishing figures, only about 12-15% of all legal firms are using lawyer SEO in their marketing strategy. So, to say that there is a huge, untapped client segment that is just waiting to be discovered and targeted would be an understatement.

10 Steps to Help Build Your Law Firm

1. Keyword Research
2. Competitor Analysis
3. Website Optimization
4. Local Visibility
5. Content Creation
6. Link Building
7. Legal Blog
8. Mobile Marketing
9. Social Media Marketing
10. YouTube

1. Attorney Keyword Research

So, you have a website and have managed to fill it with run of the mill content. But, the important question is, what have you done to ensure that your clients will find your articles and content? Nobody is going to look up your firm by its name. If they already know about you, they would not be turning to the internet to find out about your services. This is where keyword optimization comes into the picture.

You need to pick phrases which will be relevant to the type of legal service that you provide, the location of your firm and the terms that clients would use to find your firm. Then, there is the bit about not choosing keywords that have too much competition. After all, it would not make sense to optimize for keywords that already have thousands or even millions of other contenders vying for them.

2. Competitor Analysis

Analyze the work of your competitors: You need to stay one step ahead of rival firms, and to do so, you need to know exactly what they are doing in terms of marketing. In fact, the analysis should go deep enough for you to learn about their page rank, the keywords that they have been optimizing for, their overall lawyer SEO strategy and more.

3. Website Optimization

Understand what you are working with: Internal website optimization efforts are as important as external interventions. Everything from the page load time to the navigation system of your website, internal linking and the overall architecture of the web pages will have a bearing on the performance of the site.

4. Local Visibility

Go for local visibility: Most of your clients will use local search to find a legal firm that they can approach. To tap into this customer base, you will need to ensure that your firm shows up in local search results. This can be done by incorporating content that has location specific keywords in it and by listing the site with various directories that cater to the local market segment. Google Places/Plus/Local, Yahoo Local, and Bing Places are great places to start.

5. Content Creation

Content is not just the king but also the emperor: Google has clarified its stand on quality content time and again, particularly after the release of its Panda update. Gone are the days when sub standard, keyword stuffed content would work. Today, your site may even get penalized for this. So, treat the articles on your website not just as a marketing tactic but also as the calling card of your business and as a channel to display your expertise to prospective clients.

6. Link Building

The right type of link building: It would be utterly futile for you to get a link back to your site from a gardening tools portal. On the other hand, inbound links coming from legal blogs and new websites will not only be valuable in terms of SEO for attorneys but also it will cement your reputation as a subject matter expert.

7. Legal Blog

Incorporate a blog into your website: A blog will not only be the mouthpiece of your firm and a valuable tool to collect client feedback but also it will help to inject new content into your website regularly. This is one of the most effective strategies in terms of search engine optimization for law firms.

8. Mobile Marketing

Is your website mobile ready? If not, you will be losing out on a large chunk of business that comes from people who use their mobile phones and devices to find information on the internet. So, it is crucial to ensure that your website is mobile friendly or even responsive.

9. Social Media Marketing

The millions of users of social media portals such as Facebook and Twitter are a testament to the raw marketing power of this channel. Likes and re-tweets can take the popularity of your content through the roof and create a solid brand reputation.

10. Youtube

Youtube also has its own share of marketing benefits: While the written word will certainly get your business attention, nothing can beat visual media when it comes to creating and enhancing brand visibility. Yet, this is one marketing venue that is often ignored by firms interested in SEO for attorneys. Answering a legal question through a short video clip will help to create a sense of personal rapport with prospective clients.

You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure

Finally, analyzing the efficacy of your SEO strategy is a must. Your efforts will be futile if you cannot see tangible results. So, it is imperative to understand the ROI for every marketing dollar. Although online marketing efforts are known to yield higher and long-term results, it is crucial to set benchmarks that will help you to evaluate how well your current approach is faring and what needs to be done in the future.

Search engine optimization for law firms will continue to bring in revenue for as long as you are willing to invest time and resources in it. However, while the benefits of SEO can be significant, they do take time which is why we always tell our clients it’s a long-term strategy.

Do you want to know how your law firm website is doing right now? Get Your Instant SEO Score Using our FREE Tool here

Bigfoot Media has helped tons of law firms get found on Google and start attracting more clients. Need help right now? Give us a call at (864) 214-5504 and speak to an SEO expert. 

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If you have yet to start optimizing for local SEO or you’re looking for a new angle to add some oomph to your strategy, it helps to have a reliable list of resources to help you reach your goals. Nearly everywhere you turn on the Internet, companies, and tools are claiming that they can take your local SEO rankings to the next level. The truth is that there is no magic bullet that will instantly improve your local SEO—it takes strategy and a mix of resources to take your rankings to the top of the search engines.

Whether you’re a business owner just starting out with local SEO or you’ve been in the game for a while, these resources will help jumpstart a new strategy or fine tine your current game plan.

Here are 5 resources to help you get better at your Local SEO

1. Keyword Eye

Keyword research helps lay the foundation of any SEO campaign, whether your focus is local, national, or international. The truth is that many business owners rely on resources such as Google Adwords in order to conduct keyword research, although its reliability remains a bit questionable.

If you need in-depth and accurate results, you might need to shell out a paid subscription for a keyword research tool such as Keyword Eye. Keyword Eye is one of the lesser-known keyword research tools compared to SEMRush and Wordtracker, but it’s quite affordable at only $157 for the year. It also uses the same database as SEMRush, which gives you access to millions of keywords right at your fingertips.

2. Google My Business

Google My Business is what used to be Google+ for businesses. This platform is essential for your local SEO strategy in 2018, as it literally places your local business right on Google’s map. You also can use Google My Business to upload photos of your storefront, employees, and post your hours of operation.

Google My Business is essentially a cross between social media and a directory. Having a presence on this platform doesn’t necessarily guarantee that your local SEO results will skyrocket, but at the very least it will give your online presence a boost in your local market. 

3. Local Directory Listings

Local directory listings help give your business website a leg up in the search engines. There are literally thousands of search and business directories all over the Internet. While you don’t have to necessarily list yourself on every single one, there are several top contenders that make a big difference for your local SEO.

Yelp is a popular and powerful business directly that nearly every brick and mortar business should be listed on. Yelp’s popularity attracts millions of visitors every year to write and read reviews on countless businesses, with some of those businesses even being in your own town. A presence on Yelp will help your customers get a good feel for your business with real-life reviews given by customers.

Another good directory to list your business is on Bing Places. Similar to Google My Business accounts, Bing will also let you list your own business website within their directory. This will help you tap into customers who prefer to use Bing instead of Google.

Several other popular directories include the Better Business Bureau, Angie’s List, and Yahoo!

If you’re looking for an in-depth directory list, HubSpot has an extensive list with 50 of the most powerful online local business directories.

4. Moz Local Learning Center

Business owners who are looking to delve deep into the world of local SEO can benefit greatly from the Moz Local Learning Center. This is an extensive guide that wraps the ins and outs of local SEO into a neat gift box. It’s possibly one of the most in-depth guides to local SEO available on the Internet today, and Moz leaves nearly no stone unturned.

In the Moz Local Learning Center, Moz breaks down how business owners can use local SEO in their online marketing strategies. Furthermore, it explains how to get citations for your website, best practices for search engine optimization on your website, a glossary, and more. 

5. Synup’s Local SEO Checklist

If you’re looking for a straightforward checklist for local SEO, look no further than Synup’s Local SEO Checklist. For business owners wanting a hands-on approach to implementing SEO, this checklist features the most up-to-date techniques on optimizing your website for local search. The checklist covers everything from social media to reviews and title tags, and it’s the perfect resource to get you started on the right foot for local SEO.

How Does Your Local SEO Stack Up Against The Competition?

If you’re ready to move forward with a local SEO strategy for 2018, these resources will certainly help. Otherwise, you can contact the experts at Big Foot Media to guide you through the process and ensure success every step of the way.

Want to know how your business is doing online right now?

Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.

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Are you preparing to launch a new SEO campaign for your business website? Developing a new SEO campaign is time-consuming and requires a lot of research, from your keywords to the type of content that your customers want to read online. SEO has certainly changed throughout the years, and there are smart (and not so smart) approaches to take for best results.

Before you launch your new SEO campaign this year, here are a few tips and techniques to keep in mind:

Don’t Assume That You Know All of Your Keywords

It’s no secret that a successful SEO campaign involves good keywords. However, keywords require a strategic approach. It’s not enough to simply pick a few keywords off of the top of your head and wing it—you’ll need the proper tools to verify if you’re targeting a profitable keyword or a dud.

Some of the best keyword research tools on the market today are SEMRush and KWFinder. Both tools provide good insight in terms of search volume and competition. However, SEMRush excels at supplying a large volume of possible keywords that you can sort through. You’ll need to analyze the keywords one by one in order to determine value and relevance, but you’ll have a fairly large supply at your fingertips.

KWFinder is a fairly new tool that was introduced in 2015. This tool’s unique value is its ability to target long tail keywords while providing SEO competition in plain English. It will display keyword difficulty in color codes, ranging from easy, possible, and hard. You won’t have to second-guess if a keyword is a good choice, and this tool can even unveil new keywords that you won’t find on SEMRush.

Do Plan to Publish a lot of Content

In 2016, SEO is much more than simply creating a generic web article around a keyword. Your content needs to include your keywords, but it also needs to provide substance and value to the reader. If the average person can’t understand your article, you won’t win over Google with better search engine rankings.

The key is to produce quality content on a regular basis, and a lot of it. This is especially the case if you’re targeting competitive keywords such as ‘luxury cars’ or ‘dentist’. Even if you have to create a large volume of content to get better rankings on Google, you’ll have to be sure that every piece has something to offer to your audience. 

Don’t Give up After One Month

The reality is that a lot of SEO campaigns can take awhile before you start to see results—often times, you’re looking at 2-3 months. However, the time that it will take for your website to appear on page one depends on a variety of factors, including:

• The age of your website
• The competitiveness of your keywords
• How much content your competitor produces
• How often you are publishing content
• Social signals
• Quality backlinks
• And more

As you can see, SEO needs a lot of pieces of the puzzle to come together before you can start reaping the benefits. These puzzle pieces can be a bit complex, so it’s important that you’re patient during the launch of your campaign.

Do Make Your Site User-Friendly

Did you know that user experience is one of the secret ingredients to Google’s algorithm? This means that simply providing a website to house your content isn’t enough. You need to make the user experience as streamlined as possible for your customers, and you can do so by using the following techniques:

• Use a clear navigation system
• Create a sitemap
• Use a WordPress theme builder for professional design, such as one from Elegant Themes
• Make sure your website loads quickly
• Use adequate white space in design and the body of your text
• Use bullet points to make it easy for customers to skim content
• Use high-quality images, or even provide your own photography
• Use bold headlines that help break up a large body of text

While it may not sound like user experience has anything to do with SEO, the reality is that it helps customers stay on your website for a longer period of time. When your website has a low bounce rate, it indicates to Google that your website is relevant to the user’s search query.

Launch Your SEO Campaign With Bigfoot Media

Did you know that Bigfoot Media is the area expert for local SEO campaigns in Greenville? We can help build an effective SEO campaign from scratch and help you tackle those tough keywords. To learn more about our SEO services, contact Bigfoot Media today at 864-214-5504.

Want to know how your business is doing online right now?

Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.

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In 2016, business blogging still remains as one of the most effective methods for lead generation and attracting new customers. If you have decided to implement a business blog on your own company website, you’re well aware that it takes serious dedication to keep it maintained. It’s easy to put your business blog on the backburner when things get busy—especially when you’re short on ideas.

The good news is that you don’t have to struggle to create engaging blog topics week after week. In fact, the process of brainstorming blog topics is pretty simple once you have the proper resources. If you’re a business owner who is new to blogging, or even if you’re just short on ideas, here are a few ways to spark your creative for some new blog content:

1. BuzzSumo

One of the most powerful content curation tools on the market today is BuzzSumo. The purpose of BuzzSumo is to gather the most popular content on the web under a specific keyword. You simply enter your keywords into the search engine, and BuzzSumo pulls a list of the best-performing content on the web in terms of social media shares.

While you don’t want to directly copy the blog topic ideas that you find on this list, you can use it as a resource of inspiration. If you find a topic that you like, determine how you can add your own twist and make the idea relevant to your own website.

BuzzSumo has a free, trial, and paid version. When you use BuzzSumo for free, you are limited in terms of how many searches you can generate per day. If you’re just looking for a few ideas here and there, the free version should serve you well.

2. Blog Topic Generators

Blog topic generators can be a quick and easy way to come up with ideas for your business blog. Depending on the tone of voice of your blog and your audience, you may need to try a few out to determine what’s best for you.

HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator is one of the best one-size-fits all generators that can work for nearly any industry. It suggests topics such as guides, lists, and more.

If you’re looking for a creative twist on your business blog, consider using Portent’s Title Maker tool. This tool offers blog topic ideas that are a bit more creative and off the wall, but it’s a good way to add some fun to your business blog.

3. Review Questions on Social Media Profiles

Social media profiles can be a goldmine for business blog topics. Every time a customer asks a question online, you could easily turn that question into a blog post—especially if it’s a frequently asked question.

The great thing about using this method for blog topic ideas is that you can really expand on a particular subject. When you’re responding to customers on social media, you can be limited in terms of characters on your response—especially on Twitter.

When you develop blog content to respond to a frequently asked question, you can simply refer customers to read the post to answer the question in an in-depth manner.

4. Tap into Quora

If your social media profiles aren’t active with customer questions and comments, there is another popular resource that you can tap into. Quora is a Q&A community website that has a lot of great potential for digging up blog topics. You can search Quora for industry keywords, or simply surf around and read answers to questions. Popular answers on Quora can give you even more insight on blog topics, giving you some great content to share with your audience.

5. Piggyback on Popular Trends

Earlier we discussed how BuzzSumo is one of the best resources to find what’s hot and trending around the Internet. However, there are other resources to use in the event that BuzzSumo comes up empty-handed.

One of those resources is Reddit. Reddit has hundreds of subreddits pertaining to nearly every topic under the sun, and there’s a good chance that there is a subreddit that is related to your industry. You can view these boards that are essentially in forum-style to find interesting topics, questions, and find out what’s trending.

Twitter is also a great resource for finding popular topics. Tap into Twitter’s search function to find trends on what potential customers are tweeting—and interact with them for extra engagement.

Need Help With Creative Blog Topics? Bigfoot Media Can Help

If your business blog is lackluster with snooze-worthy topics, Bigfoot Media can help. Get in touch with us today to take your business blog to the next level.

Want to know how your business is doing online right now?

Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.

The post How to Create Top Notch Titles for Your Business Blog appeared first on Web Design Greenville SC | Website Development | BIGFOOT MEDIA.

When was the last time that your website had a design overhaul? In 2018, websites are much more than an online brochure with nice graphics. They are a functional tool that can help generate business and gain exposure, but the benefits don’t always come easily. Although there are do-it-yourself website builders everywhere that you turn, the truth is that the platforms are designed to complement your SEO campaign.

In order to truly launch an effective SEO strategy, you must incorporate your website’s design in the process. Here are a few key tips to keep in mind when you’re building a website:

Consider Keyword Placement

While you certainly need keywords to get your SEO campaign off of the ground, you also need to insert those keywords in the correct places throughout your website. While keywords are most commonly found in the body of your web copy, such as a blog post, there are other important places to include your keywords within your design. These locations include:

• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Your website’s slogan
• Your navigation menu
• Header tags, such as H1, H2, and H3 tags
• Breadcrumb trails
• File folders

It’s important to keep in mind that you do not want to embed keywords into images, such as graphics that you would create in Adobe Photoshop. This is because web crawlers cannot actually see your image and the text that is contained within—it only sees tags that indicate the image is a file.

However, you can work around this by including keywords in the “alt” tags of your images. This is generally best practice for using keywords and images, and it can also help your images to be found within Google’s image search.

SEO Friendly Navigation

When you’re designing an SEO friendly website, you’ll want to pay particular attention to your navigation and its structure. Creating a clear hierarchy of internal linking helps Google to understand the importance of pages on your website.

Furthermore, the use of image button links for your navigation is not recommended. Just as we discussed web crawlers’ inability to see your images, the same concept applies to graphic button navigation. The best way to approach your navigation system is to create text links, whether those text links are in a drop-down menu or on a sidebar.

If you have a lot of links and subpages, you might want to consider using a supersized drop-down menu. Many business owners make the mistake of loading up a bunch of links into standard drop-down menus, which appear messy and can be frustrating to navigate. Supersized drop-down menus open in one convenient panel, which will display all of your links in an organized manner.

Images and Graphics: Best Practices for SEO Friendly Web Design

Images and graphics are an important element of SEO, but they are generally overlooked or ignored by business owners. Aside from inserting keywords into your image’s alt tag like we mentioned earlier, there are other ways to use images for SEO benefits.

One of the first steps to consider is the size of your image files. Large images not only take up a lot of space on your server, but they can be difficult for mobile users to view. Try to keep your image file sizes as small as possible without compromising the quality of the image. This will help ensure that all visitors can properly view and enjoy your photos.

From a web design perspective, you’ll want to keep your images as cohesive and relevant as possible. Try to avoid using tacky stock images, and never swipe images from around the web without asking—this is copyright infringement, and it can lead to serious trouble down the road.

Constructing SEO Friendly URLs

Another overlooked aspect of SEO friendly web design is the structure of your URL. When you create new subpages or image files, it’s important to keep these URLs as clean and easy for web crawlers to locate. You’ll want to avoid using file names containing jumbled letters and numbers, as this can make it harder for Google to understand exactly what the page or file is.

There are several approaches that you can use to construct SEO friendly URLs, such as:

• Keep your URL short and sweet. Include your target keywords, but there is no need to go overboard with information
• Think of how the end-user will view your URL. If it looks confusing and jumbled to you, it will probably appear the same to your customer
• Use hyphens to separate words; this avoids making your URLs look sloppy and confusing

Want to Learn More About SEO Friendly Web Design? Contact Bigfoot Media Today

Bigfoot Media is the go-to source for SEO friendly web design in Greenville, South Carolina. Get in touch with us today to maximize your exposure to SEO friendly web design by calling 864-214-5504.

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Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.

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It’s no secret that Google is constantly changing, and those changes stem anywhere from its algorithm to its search engine results pages. In recent months, Google has changed the way that pay-per-click (PPC) ads are displayed amongst varying devices, and it plays a role as to how your ads are viewed by your customers.

The biggest change is that PPC ads with Google Adwords are no longer displaying on the right side of the screen. For years, the default positioning for many PPC ads was within a column on the right side of the screen and the top of the organic search engine results. Now, Google is displaying four PPC ads on top of the organic results—and that’s it.

Google told Search Engine Land that this change is not permanent, but it has now been over two months since the format has changed.

What Does This Mean for Small Business Owners?

At the time of the initial announcement in February, the switch caused an upset within the organic SEO community. The reason behind this was due to the PPC ads pushing the organic search engine results further down the page, making many results appear below the fold.

While this situation was frustrating to professionals in organic SEO, it was a welcomed change for those investing in Google Adwords. The “top four” ads are displayed front-and-center for your customers, and it is now a little more difficult for your customer to automatically jump to the organic search engine results. Google considered most PPC ads as “commercial”, meaning that people are generally searching for your specific keywords with an intent to purchase. There is no official definition in terms of what Google views as a commercial term, but several examples include “auto insurance” and “dog food.”

It’s also worth mentioning that shopping campaigns have a more prominent position on the first page on Google. As of April 2016, Google shopping campaign ads display on the right sidebar of Google’s search display results—essentially taking the place where Google Adwords displayed its standard PPC ads.

How Can You Get Your Ads at The Top of Google’s PPC Display?

Just because you are simply bidding on a keyword, it doesn’t mean your ad will skyrocket to the top. In fact, Google Adwords and its PPC campaigns still require strategizing and testing as it did before the change.

Google chooses the top four ads based on several criteria, which is generally determined by your Ad Rank. This is a combination of click-through-rate (CTR), relevance, landing page experience, and more.

There are several ways that you can increase your odds of being in the top 4 of the Google Adwords display. These methods include:

• Focusing on relevance for the customer. Make sure that there is an obvious connection between your ad’s copy and the offer that is presented on the landing page. You also want to be sure that your chosen keywords are related to your ad and your campaign.
• Strategize new keywords on a regular basis. Over time, you’ll want to stay on top of your keyword list to be sure that it’s getting the best results for your campaign. Furthermore, it’s important to be aware of your chosen keywords are actually being searched by customers. If you choose the wrong keywords, it will negatively impact your quality score and CTR.
• Properly track and manage your account. One of the most important techniques for managing a successful Google Adwords campaign is to regularly track, test, and change your campaign. Unfortunately, many business owners are under the impression that pay-per-click advertising is a one-and-done advertising technique. The truth is that you must stay on top of your ad’s performance at least every 24 hours—possibly even more if your campaign is brand new or very complex. In the world of Google Adwords, autopilot is not recommended.

How Does Google Choose the Top Four Ads?

While Google won’t give away all of its secrets, it does give away some inside tips on how it chooses the top ads:

• The top four ads are highly relevant for customers’ search queries. The ad copy matches the text on the landing page.
• The top four ads consistently perform well and have a healthy click-through-rate over the duration of the campaign.
• The top four ads also have competitive bids for each keyword. These keywords exceed the top of page bid estimate.

Become One of the Top Four on Google Adwords with Bigfoot Media

Even though the Google Adwords display has changed, for the time being, Bigfoot Media has stayed on top of the trends to bring you the very best PPC management available. Launch your Google Adwords campaign by contacting us today at 864-214-5504.

Want to know how your business is doing online right now?

Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.

The post Google Adwords: The Guide to Google’s New PPC Layout appeared first on Web Design Greenville SC | Website Development | BIGFOOT MEDIA.

As a business owner, getting exposure online feels like an uphill battle. You’re constantly battling Google algorithm updates, and sometimes you can find yourself paying a pretty penny to keep your name on the first page of Google. Search engine optimization (SEO) and Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertising are two of the fundamental ways to achieve better search engine rankings. While both can help customers find your website, they are different animals that require various techniques for best results.

For the average business owner, it can be difficult to determine if SEO or PPC is right for your goals. This guide can help you understand how each method functions, how they differentiate, and how you can move forward with your campaign.

SEO vs. PPC: What’s The Difference?

SEO and PPC advertising are both similar and different. There are certain aspects where the two advertising methods overlap, but they both have the same underlying goal: gain exposure for your business and help boost leads, sales, and conversions.

In order to truly understand SEO vs. PPC, it’s necessary to delve a little deeper into their definitions as well as their benefits and strategies.

Let’s start with SEO.

What is SEO?

SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of optimizing your website in order to generate better search engine rankings. There are many components of SEO, and those components include:

• Keyword optimization
• Accurate citations
• Web directory listings
• Meta tags and descriptions
• Publishing high-quality content
• And more

There is a lot involved when you’re executing a search engine optimization campaign, and it can become a bit overwhelming to the average business owner. A lot of this overwhelm can stem from Google’s ever-changing algorithm updates, which can cause your search engine rankings to increase (or drop) overnight. It’s important to stay updated and informed on what Google views as a useful, credible, and trustworthy website—and you can read all about it on Google’s Search Quality Guidelines. This is a very intense read, but it’s an essential learning tool when you want to learn as much as you can about SEO in 2016.

Search engine optimization is technical in nature, but it has drastically changed over the last several years. The best approach for search engine optimization in 2016 is to produce high quality and engaging content on a regular basis. This can easily be achieved by blogging for your business—even if it’s just once per week.

If you choose to blog as a route to enhance your website’s SEO, be sure to incorporate your best keywords in the headlines and body of the post. This is one of the keys to ensuring that Google will rank your website accordingly.

Keep in mind that getting to the top of Google by means of organic SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It can take months for your website to rank under a particular keyword, especially if your keyword is competitive. However, the results can be very long lasting as long as you continuously create content.

If you are in a hurry to get your website in front of your customers, pay-per-click advertising might be the right choice for your business.

What is Pay-per-Click Advertising?

Pay-per-click advertising is typically done through Google Adwords, but you can also use the advertising platforms on Yahoo! And Bing. For the sake of this guide, we’ll specifically be talking about Google Adwords.

Pay-per-click advertising overlaps with SEO in the sense that they both use keyword optimization to enhance your presence online. With PPC, you will pay money every time someone clicks on your ad. The amount of money that you pay depends on a variety of factors, such as competition for the particular keyword, your budget, and even your click-through-rate (CTR).

The most effective PPC campaigns require using numerous ads that contain different words and phrases. This is to test and find out what copy and promotions are most effective, so you can cycle out the bad ads and create more ads with higher conversion rates.

One very important element of pay-per-click advertising is your landing page. In order to generate as many leads and conversions as possible, your landing page must be designed in a specific way. It’s vital that you include a call-to-action so your customers know the next steps to take. This call-to-action typically includes filling out a free estimate form, downloading content, or calling your company for more information.

SEO vs. PPC: Which Method Should You Choose?

SEO and PPC both have their pros and cons. PPC has faster results, but it can be costly. SEO can take months to yield results and it’s a lot of hard work, but it can help you become a credible source of information for your customers.

Whichever method you decide to choose, Bigfoot Media can help. Contact us today to learn how SEO and PPC can help you grow your business.

Want to know how your business is doing online right now?

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We’re over one-quarter of the way through 2016, and hopefully, by now you have a digital marketing plan in place. One of the most difficult aspects of determining the best digital marketing trend for your business is having too many choices. The options for branding your name online are quite vast, and the truth is that your business may not benefit from every marketing option available to you.

This is a brief guide for some of the best digital marketing trends to invest in for 2016. Once you make your decision on what trend is right for you, you can contact Bigfoot Media for professional assistance.

Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is a staple in the world of digital marketing. SEO is the science (and art) of helping your website to rank on the first page of Google. Search engine optimization has become quite advanced over the years, and it’s all due to Google’s ever-changing search algorithm.

Long ago, it was relatively easy for business owners to rank their own website on the first page of Google. It typically involved overstuffing keywords throughout your website and allowing the web crawlers to work their magic. The process is much more complicated today, and a professional search engine optimization company can help you get the best results.

In 2016, search engine optimization is a combination of good quality content and targeting the right keywords for your business. Publishing valuable content on a regular basis will help Google determine that your website is a reliable resource. SEO takes a lot of time and effort to execute, but the payoff can eventually result in more exposure, lead generation, and extra web traffic.

Social Media Marketing

In addition to search engine optimization, social media marketing is another smart investment for business owners. Social media marketing is the technique of using social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to gain more exposure for your brand. However, social media marketing can be difficult to master, even for the savviest business owner.

Professional social media marketing companies such as Bigfoot Media can help your business engage and interact with customers. Higher engagement levels on social media can help position yourself as an industry leader and a credible source of information.

Keep in mind that there is an art in terms of what content to publish on Facebook. Expert social media marketing companies will provide a social media calendar with the best-curated content and pre-scheduled social posts. This will make your social updates a lot more streamlined, and you won’t have to spend hours hunting down content for your audience to enjoy.

You’ll also want to keep in mind that not all social media platforms are created equal for your business. While you might get great traction on Facebook, it doesn’t mean that you’ll receive the same attention on Pinterest. It’s important to keep your efforts focused in terms of where your audience spends their time online—otherwise, you’ll be marketing into an empty cyberspace.

Pay-per-Click Advertising 

Pay-per-click advertising is an entirely different animal from social media and SEO, but it can give your business a quick boost in the search engines. PPC is one of the smartest digital marketing trends to invest in when you have a healthy marketing budget and need to see results quickly.

However, it’s advised that you don’t attempt to launch a PPC campaign on your own. Just like any other digital marketing trend, a strategy should be involved for best results. For example, you’ll want to carefully select your keywords and omit any non-related keywords that can be confused with your business—otherwise known as negative keywords.

If your business has a storefront, you will also want to make sure that you set an appropriate radius to service your customers. It won’t do your pizza business much good if you are located in South Carolina, but you’re advertising in Ohio. Furthermore, there is an art to writing effective ad copy for PPC. Your ad description can make or break your campaign, and Bigfoot Media has experience in writing great PPC ad copy for a variety of industries.

Reputation Management

One of the last digital marketing trends to invest in is reputation management. However, the reality is that reputation management is not a trend—it is a critical key to ensuring that you have a polished and professional online presence. Reputation management can help remove dishonest reviews and even clean up negative discussions about your brand around the web.

If your online image needs an overhaul, consider investing in reputation management in 2016.

How Are You Growing Your Business Online? Bigfoot Media Can Help

No matter how you choose to invest your marketing dollars this year, Bigfoot media can help grow your business online. For more exposure, lead generation, and a streamlined social media presence contact Bigfoot Media today.

Want to know how your business is doing online right now?

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One of the biggest challenges of social media marketing is keeping up with the trends. It seems as if every day we log onto Facebook, and things look different than they were yesterday. This is not only frustrating to everyday social media users, but business owners as well. Luckily, social media marketing experts such as Bigfoot Media keeps on top of the updates so you don’t have to—and these are some of the newest trends that you should be aware about.

Newest Facebook Updates

One of the newest social media marketing updates to happen in recent month is the transformation of Facebook’s “like” button. For years, Facebook has used the like button to allow users to like the posts of friends, family, and businesses. However, there has been a big change to this concept as of lately.

Facebook has rolled out a new “liking” system where users can more specifically express emotion toward a particular topic. Instead of simply liking a post, Facebook users now have the ability to hover over the like button and select new options such as: like, love, haha, wow, sad, and angry.

What’s interesting about this update is that there is still no “dislike” button. For years, Facebook users have been requesting a dislike button for posts. Facebook gave users a more extensive selection of options, but the most negative emotion offered is anger.

Could this be Facebook’s alternative to the like button?

In more recent news, Facebook has announced updates for its branded content policy. This means that verified pages can share branded content such as text, photos, videos, and even Instant Articles. This feature is most beneficial to media companies and big influencers.

Facebook video updates are also drawing attention, and live video broadcasting is now available for users.

What’s Happening with Twitter?

One of Twitter’s biggest potential updates in its history ended up falling flat. There was buzz circling around about Twitter expanding its character limit from 140 to 10,000—an intensely drastic increase.

Twitter promised to keep the timeline the same, and users would still only see 140 characters for a Tweet—they’d simply need to expand the tweet to read any characters beyond that limit.

Twitter’s 140-character limit forced users to be creative with their copy, and they would sometimes work around their limit with photos and blocks of text. Twitter believed that it was enhancing the user experience by offering this update, but users felt otherwise. By mid-March, Twitter decided that it is not going to increase the limit, after all, stating that it’s a good constraint for both the company and its users.

Back in February, Twitter rolled out a new algorithm-based timeline. This caused timeline updates to display as chronologically out of order. The new algorithm displays tweets from friends, families, and businesses in an order that Twitter believes the users will want to see. Twitter defended this updating by saying it helps users discover tweets that they otherwise would have missed, especially if they follow a lot of accounts.

The reverse timeline is the default on Twitter, but users have the ability to turn it off.

Instagram is Feeling the Heat

The newest update in the world of Instagram is that it is now second fiddle to Snapchat for teenagers. However, the ranking of its importance is marginal. In a survey of 6,5000 teenagers in the United States, 28% cited Instagram as the most important social media platform, while 27% cited Instagram.

This means that if your business caters to the teenage demographic, it might be a good idea to explore Snapchat and see how you can take advantage of the platform.

Instagram also has new algorithm changes to its timeline that are similar to Twitter. This new algorithm would display posts based on engagement and popularity—so all of the popular posts would become front-and-center to Instagram users.

This has caused an uproar in the world of Instagram, but as of now, the changes are here to stay. The best course of action to take as a business owner is to use some of your marketing budgets to buy ads on Instagram. You’ll want to be strategic about how you approach this—if you aren’t sure if advertising on Instagram is right for you, Bigfoot Media can help.

How is Your Social Media Marketing Moving Forward?

As you can see, some of the biggest players in the world of social media change their platforms frequently. It’s important that you keep up with the changes and trends so you can stay in front of your customers. If you need help on strategizing a social media marketing plan, contact Bigfoot Media today.

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The post The Newest Social Media Marketing Updates for Business Owners appeared first on Web Design Greenville SC | Website Development | BIGFOOT MEDIA.

Content marketing. This has been a hot phrase in the world of digital marketing over the last several years, and its growth has continued to climb. It’s no secret that the world of internet marketing is quite vast, and it can be difficult to keep on top of various trends that might not help your business at all.

The reality is that content marketing isn’t going away any time soon. In fact, 84% of the top performing companies plan to use or start using content by this year. If you have yet to consider content marketing as an approach to generate exposure, it’s time to make the leap into one of the most effective marketing methods available today.

What is the Definition of Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the process of using online content to gain exposure for your business. It can come in multiple forms, including white papers, blogs, eBooks, case studies, press releases and more. Businesses can use this content on their websites, social media profiles, and even other websites (guest posting and publishing) for extra exposure.

It’s important to understand that content marketing is strategic and an ongoing process. Many business owners are under the impression that you simply publish a blog or two, and results will come pouring in. Unfortunately, content marketing does not work this way and business owners may become frustrated.

In order for content marketing to be effective for any business, there needs to be a plan in place in order to move forward.

How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy

If you’re considering taking on the role as content marketer for your business, you may want to consult with an expert such as Bigfoot Media before you get the ball rolling. Content marketing goes well beyond simply writing a blog post, and research is critical for your success.

One of the first steps that you need to take is to analyze your website and the existing content that’s on it. If you don’t have a blog, you’ll need to launch one so you have a platform to publish content on a regular basis.

The next step is to conduct keyword research. This is important because you need to know what keywords to target to get the most out of your efforts. Content marketing can help Google discover your website, and help your business rank highly in the search engines.

Once you have your keywords in place, it’s time to identify some blog topics that you can use. There are online generators that are quite helpful when you’re in a pinch, such as HubSpot’s Blog Topic Generator.

Come up with a list of 8 blog topics—1 per week over the next two months. You can then take these blog topics and add them to a content calendar to help keep your posts on track. The calendar doesn’t need to be anything fancy; you can simply use an Excel spreadsheet. Be sure to include the publishing dates, days of the week, blog titles, and any keywords that you’d like to include.

Why is Content Marketing So Popular?

Content marketing has a laundry list of benefits—and if you’ve ever used it, it’s easy to see why. In a nutshell, content marketing helps businesses:

Generate Leads

Lead generation is one of the top major benefits of content marketing. It’s entirely possible that a single blog or eBook could generate thousands of dollars in revenue for your business. Keep in mind that lead generation via content marketing is both an art and a science, and you aren’t going to score big with every blog that you publish.

However, content marketing will help move potential customers down the sales funnel. In turn, lead generation will eventual follow.

Search Engine Optimization

Another benefit of content marketing falls into the realm of search engine optimization. This isn’t to be confused with old school SEO techniques where keyword stuffing helped achieve high search rankings. Search engine optimization is a lot different today, and content marketing is the driving force behind ranking your website online.

One of the keys to enhancing your SEO with content marketing is consistency. It’s important to frequently publish new content on your website so it remains active and up-to-date. Another piece of the puzzle is implementing the right keywords (typically long tail keywords) into your strategy, and using these throughout blog posts, articles, and more.

Social Media Content

One of the challenges that business owners face is having content to share with their social media followers. This challenge leads to business owners never updating their social profiles at all, and results in a stale and bland image.

Producing regular content will give you a source for great social media posts time and time again. You’ll begin to notice trends in terms of what your audience enjoys the most out of your content, and you can continuously replicate your approach to share the best content possible.

Industry Leader Status

Another big benefit of content marketing is becoming a thought leader in your industry. Your blog can become a credible source for industry news, updates, and insights—as long as you regularly update and add valuable insight.  It’s a long road to achieve thought leader status in your industry, but content marketing can certainly help take you there.

Grow Your Business with Bigfoot Media

If you’re interested in growing your business with content marketing, social media management, and more, contact Bigfoot Media for your consultation.

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Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.

The post What is Content Marketing? A Guide for Beginners appeared first on Web Design Greenville SC | Website Development | BIGFOOT MEDIA.