In today’s landscape, it’s hard to imagine web design without clean coding, friendly page structures and all of the other factors that impact a website’s place on the SERPs. Web design and development has always focused on providing the user with the best experience possible, but recent trends in search marketing mean that developers and webmasters must work together to stay relevant. Web designers now must consider aspects such as mobile compatibility and site structure (plus more!) when putting together a new or revamped website to ensure it can work hand-in-hand with the company’s SEO strategy.

So what exactly does this involve? If you’re new to the world of digital, or just don’t know the different between a <p> and <h2> tag, then here are 4 key ways that SEO and web development work together!

Clean Coding

Despite the name, clean coding is actually a bit of a messy subject. There are many factors at play and different definitions, but at its essence clean coding is as simple as possible. It involves ensuring that every command is focused and that there are no unnecessary inclusions. Basically, you want another developer to be able to look at it and understand exactly what’s going on. But how does this affect SEO? Poor coding can affect your site’s ranking in a number of ways, but it can negatively impact how well Google can read and understand the content of your site. And if Google can’t understand exactly what you’re trying to say, it’s unlikely they’ll place you highly in the rankings.

Site Structure and Internal Linking

It’s all well and good if your site has pages and pages of amazing content, but what’s the point if Google (and consequently your readers) are unable to find it? The structure of your site is extremely important and should be intuitive for both people and a search engine’s crawlers. It should be designed in a way that allows any visitor to the site to navigate it easily. Luckily, these goals are actually pretty similar and you’ll find a good developer will be able to create a site that achieves both. In short, good site structure means that Google can crawl your pages and rank them for relevant keywords.

Schema

You know when you want to Google something important like, “When is national doughnut day?” and you get a succinct answer in a little box at the top of your search results. This is called schema, and developers and can incorporate this into their webpage with the correct code. This technique targets long-tail keywords and questions and can help your site rank higher for the relevant queries.

Speed and Responsiveness

Your site’s speed and responsiveness are just two more factors that can affect your search rankings. In particular, in recent updates Google has been prioritising mobile compatibility, so it’s more important than ever that developers are creating websites that can adapt to screens of all sizes. They also look at your time to first byte and a host of other things when ranking your site, so make sure to use tools such as Google Developers’ PageSpeed Insights to find out where you can improve.

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Targeted Audience

Established bloggers have earned themselves a loyal following because of the quality content and genuine point of view they express on their blog. As a result, their audience is segmented to a particular niche and demographic that relates to the blog’s content. Finding a blog that is established and operating in your niche gives you direct access to hundreds, if not thousands, of consumers who fall into your primary target market.

Cost Effective

Collaborating with a blogger is often cheaper than traditional advertising and marketing streams that operate in the mainstream media, such as billboard, television and print ads. As partnering with a blogger gives you direct access to the niche community they have created, all finances used in the campaign will go directly to reaching your target market without wasting it on people who the marketing message will not impact. Obviously blogs with a large following have the potential to charge hefty fees for sponsored content and brand collaborations, however the benefits far outweigh the original investment.

The Rise of Influencer Marketing

Bloggers have garnered enormous publicity power in the consumer market and their role as influencers has put them on par with celebrity endorsements and sponsorship deals. With the power of influencers continually on an upwards trajectory, engaging a blogger to promote your business is sustainable for short and long term campaigns as you head into the future.

Creative Campaigns

Whether a blogger is a self-taught professional or someone who has had experience in the industry, all are undeniably good at creating worthy content. Whether it be text, graphics, images, video or audio, or a multimedia combination of the 5, bloggers know what content works the best on their blog, and also what resonates most with their audience. Allowing a blogger to have creative control of the campaign, with approval, means your business is investing in a creative, targeted, interesting and informative campaign that is conducted from a personal point of view. Consumers appreciate that and are more likely to connect with the blog (and your brand!) in the process.

Encourages Engagement

Finally, a blogger’s livelihood and success is dictated by their followers and how much, or little, they are engaged with the blog and its content. As a result, bloggers strive to foster communication and engagement among the community they have created, so you can be assured that your brand will not be blatantly pushed in front of potential customers.

Increasingly, bloggers are becoming a powerful player in a brand’s marketing and advertising strategy and engaging the blogging community can be an extremely effective way to get ahead of your competitors. Whether it be a one-off collaboration or part of an ongoing partnership, bloggers can be key to business success and brand awareness in the digital age.

As indicated in this blog post, bloggers may help you reach your target market and raise brand awareness at a low cost. Yet, a successful online presence requires more than partnering with bloggers. Search engine optimization (SEO) can boost your website’s search engine rankings and organic traffic.

Howbiz Solutions can improve your website’s SEO. Our SEO services can be found on our website.

The post Why Your Business Should Work With Bloggers   appeared first on SEO Toronto - Best SEO Company in Toronto.

If your customers use the internet (hint: they definitely do), having a website is essential. But that doesn’t mean you should rush out and invest in the quickest, cheapest option available. A weak website can actually do more harm than not having one at all, so you need to treat this asset with the appropriate care.

This article explains what a bad website could be costing your business. To help you determine whether your site needs to be left as is, given a facelift, or rebuilt from scratch.

What makes a website ‘good’ or ‘bad’?

There’s no line in the sand that separates ‘good’ websites from ‘bad’ ones. But typically, these are the key 8 factors that will separate a strong website from one that performs poorly:

The specific goals and measures of ROI for a website will vary from business to business. The fact remains, however, that if a website exists at all, it must deliver a return of some sort.

An ideal website will deliver:

• A direct return via e-commerce
• An indirect return via lead generation, service bookings or pushing users to a physical store
• Brand-related objectives such as visibility, brand equity, authority and trust
• Or some combination of the above.

This means a strong website can provide value even if you’re strictly a bricks-and-mortar company.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true for a weak website. Even if you don’t have any online conversions to worry about, a bad site can still cause harm to your business. Let’s look at how.

What can a bad website cost you?

Rankings and SEO expenditure

Any effort your business has put into optimising your search engine rankings can be completely undermined by a poorly made website. Even assuming you have the greatest content, with the best incorporation of keywords possible, a bad UX will cost you rankings.

Firstly, Google (and other search engines) map the ease of navigating your website. If your website doesn’t respond well, it can become almost impossible to rank for anything other than the longest-tailed keywords.

And even if Google initially serves your website with terrific rankings, and your click-through rate is strong enough, users will make up their own mind once they land. If your website doesn’t meet their requirements, they pogo-stick (go back to Google, and click the next listing). Over time, each pogo-stick tells Google that your website doesn’t fulfil users’ search intents, and this will cost you rankings.

Psst. Your bad website is driving your SEO agency crazy too.

A bad CMS and site can make it very difficult to implement SEO strategies. A CMS like WordPress can usually be crawled by Google with ease, and deliver an enjoyable UX on the front end. AdWords spend

If rankings are becoming too difficult to gain organically, bidding on the right keywords can seem like the most obvious backup. And even assuming your SERP listing is strong enough to encourage click-throughs, you’re still likely to find you’re paying for an incredibly low (if any) conversion rate.

It’s the equivalent of running the most targeted, high-quality TV ads for a theme park… where all the rides are still under construction.

Brand reputation

The common ground between the 2 points above comes down to your audience being exposed to your brand, but with little impact made on their intent. But a poor enough website will convince your audience that your brand isn’t worth purchasing from anyway. If this is the case, it’s almost better to take the website down, and leave you brand a ‘mystery’ rather than a ‘known negative’. Strong creative design is a first step in the right direction if you are struggling forming your brand identity.

Conversion rates

Consider the average journey for users, from search to conversion.

• They search for the product or service they need.
• They open the first 5 listings.
• Immediately, 1 of them doesn’t meet their search intent, so it’s closed.
• Another 2 have rather ordinary designs and don’t inspire the reader to look for more information. They get closed too.
• The last 2 seem good, so the user goes ahead and asks for a quote from each.

Simply put, the quality of your website is going to weigh directly on your overall conversion rate and your volume of enquiries/purchases. And trust us, your conversion rate is important.

Case Study

Let’s put this into practice, by considering a hypothetical e-commerce business that’s been operating for around 18 months. While young, the business has developed around 1,000 visitors per month, and a conversion rate of around 2%. Each conversion averages to around $50 of revenue.

Their goal is to invest in SEO over the next 12 months in order to increase their website traffic. Unfortunately, their website build is hardly ideal, and is going to heavily limit their potential reach and conversion rate growth.

*Based on a $50 conversion value

Over 12 months, their spend on SEO services would have cost $1,600 more than extra revenue those services would have brought in.

Now, let’s factor in how the performance of the very same SEO services could differ, if the business elected to build a new website prior to commencement.

*Based on a $50 conversion value

Rebuilding a site tends to cost around $5,000-$7,000. So even if you take that away from the total increase in revenue from the same SEO services, it still would have brought in close to $20,000 in extra revenue. This is typically why we prefer not to perform any SEO services on an older or poorly operating website. We’d rather be honest upfront and look after the business owner.

Bonus: One thing this example doesn’t consider is that your conversion value can increase when your website design is good. Consumers feel more confident spending money on a well-functioning site, and seamless navigation will make it easier for your customers to discover other items they’re interested in adding to their cart.

Please note this case study is hypothetical and should be viewed as an illustrative example only. 

The science of a good website

There have been countless studies, including one by UXMag, into how website design influences a consumer’s trust of a brand. But there are 4 key factors that can influence the trust customers have in your brand and website:

• A high-quality and consistent UX
• A credible brand
• Case studies & testimonials (around 72% of customers trust online case studies and testimonials)
• Positive online reviews (around 88% of customers trust positive online reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation).

Applying these across your website can dramatically improve the trust between brand and audience, as well as optimising your website’s ROI.

A high-quality UX should apply across devices and platforms seamlessly.

And sadly, strong content won’t save you

Strong copy is important, but a poorly built site will put your words to waste. Despite how well your copy can connect with your consumer, a poor website will still have a bounce rate of 70% or greater. The same copy delivered on a stronger website could reduce that bounce rate to as low as 40% – doubling your engaged users from the exact same reach.

So, do I need a new website?

More often than not, speaking with someone who understands where the bar is set can be the best way to find out. When you’re closely attached to the brand, it can be difficult to see if your website meets the quality or usability standards required in this multi-device, multi-channel marketing era.

As a digital marketing agency, we get queried on this topic frequently – and our answer usually comes down to two basic factors:

• The cost of producing a website, against the risks of driving traffic to a bad one
• Whether users would have an experience on your website parallel to the experience they would get as a real-world customer of yours.

We see a lot of small businesses invest significant funding into their products and services. And it’s always a shame to see a website that doesn’t reflect the quality they’ve strived so hard to achieve offline. So if your website doesn’t match the standards you strive for in person, it might be time to talk to a professional.

For more advice on website performance and all things digital, chat to the experts at Howbiz Solutions today.

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Working in a search agency, it’s important for us to analyse a prospected clients back link profile to identify what keywords they are targeting with what anchor text terms, and the volume of inbound links using the anchor text.

If you’re unfamiliar with what anchor text actually is, it’s simply the clickable hyperlink used in content to refer/drive a user to another page or website.

There are a number of different types of anchor text that is used when building links:

Branded Anchor text

Branded anchor text includes any link that is a brand name (Howbiz Solutions), URL or domain (howbiz.ca). It is important to build a solid presence of branded anchor text in your back link profile. Google basically wants to see brand referrals in content, opposed to targeted keywords, as it looks more natural.

Exact Match Anchor Text

Exact match anchor text is now frowned upon and can be considered over optimization. This refers to the words in the links (anchor text), exactly matching the keywords that you are trying to rank for. If you have a keyword, let’s say ‘SEO’ that is the H1 on your home page, included in your page title and contains a high volume of inbound links containing the anchor text ‘SEO‘, expect a visit from the Google.

Many SEOs or webmasters will use ‘money’ or ‘targeted’ anchor text to build links without over optimising their website. You just need to be careful that you don’t over do it with volume, H tags and other content within your site.

Compound Anchor Text

Compound, also commonly known as ‘partial match anchor text’, is used when the link contains the brand or targeted term, in addition to other words that you aren’t targeting. For example, is you use a brand name in conjunction with some other words – ‘Howbiz Solutions SEO services provide a custom strategy for each individual client’.

White Noise Anchor Text

Also commonly referred to as ‘zero match anchor text’, white noise uses call to actions to drive users to targeted pages, such as, click here to follow us on LinkedIn. It’s acceptable to have a small percentage of white noise terms in your back link profile.

Back link profiles

So now that you have a basic understanding of the different anchor text terms, let’s look at an example. Below is a metric comparison taken from an analysis I did when conducting a competitor analysis in Link Research Tools:

When looking at this data, it’s easily identifiable that this potential client is heavily over optimised. The orange column in the table is for the website I was analysing and the green was their competitors.

The client back link profile contains 86% money/exact match anchor text and only 7% branded. This scream over optimisation!

The immediate competition (2 websites) were the complete opposite, with 55% branded and only 28% money/exact match anchor text on average.

Each both had their small percentages of compound and white noise (other) anchor text, which is fine and looks somewhat natural in the eyes of Google. But if you have 86% of exact match anchor text pointing at your site, that isn’t  natural.

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In digital marketing, and content marketing in particular, it’s especially important that we understand what motivates users to perform certain searches.

One common framework for understanding search intent used by content marketing agencies is the transactional, informational, or navigational model.

Or as Google puts it,

• Do (transactional)

Transactional searches are the most hotly contested in both organic and paid search, as they’re the nearest to the end of the funnel.

• Know (informational)

For organic search, the informational category is generally the most competitive. There are many ways to skin this cat; you can go for the high-volume unbranded terms or you can target the long tail for smaller but comparatively easier wins. The problem is that the broader the term, the less clear the searcher’s intent is.

• Go (navigational)

For brands, navigational keywords are generally the easiest to rank for, and this means they spend less time and effort monitoring and maintaining these rankings. However, this can leave them vulnerable to proactive competitors or negative PR.

Freeing ourselves of keyword tunnel vision

When we look at search terms, we see combinations of words. But it’s the intent behind the search that we need to be addressing.

I can pull a bunch of short- and long-tail search terms, group them into topics and then create content to match those terms, but this misses out the biggest piece of the puzzle (the informational search) even if I try to weed out the intent-marking terms like “buy online” or “near me”.

This is where we ask ourselves why the user is performing their search, and in doing so outmanoeuvre the competition by creating answers to not only their questions, but their actual needs.

Serving user intent = user experience

Going for intent frees us from keyword tunnel vision. We aim to serve human searchers, not just what they type into that little white box in their browser. We think about what someone might want to know – the keywords are a secondary factor.

If you can’t give people the information they seek, you’re not going to do very well as a website, let alone a search engine.

Google’s ability to understand what we’re looking for and provide access to information has made it one of the most important developments in human culture and history, ever. As marketers, it therefore makes sense that we do everything we can to help our users – and Google – achieve their goals.

As search becomes more “human”, optimising for user experience (i.e. intuitively giving people what they want) will become increasingly important. The simplest way to do this is to optimise for user intent; delivering on user intent creates better user experience, by definition.

The opportunity: Information seekers

For content marketers, the informational category offers the most significant opportunity for addressing user intent.

The traditional funnel (awareness, consideration, purchase) isn’t an accurate representation of how people seek information when they’re looking to buy something. In reality, it’s more like this:

Let’s put this into a real-word example.

Say you want to buy a digital camera. Photography gear isn’t cheap, so you want to do your research and make the best decision.

Your research process might go as follows:

1. Google search for “Canon DSLR”
   1. See a product and look up reviews
   2. Shortlist items, look up reviews across YouTube, forums, blogs, overseas sellers, etc
   3. Decide on something that might be the right combination of price and features
2. Search again for product name
   1. Shocked at the price, look up Gumtree used ads
   2. Find some items you hadn’t seen, Google for more info
   3. Refine your shortlist
3. Go back to look for brand new cameras
   1. Notice Google Shopping or eBay ads and discover much cheaper prices for the same items
   2. Why are some people so much cheaper? Google the store names
   3. Whirlpool forum, find out that there’s a grey import market
   4. Look up grey import company reviews. Mainly forums come up
   5. Research into pros and cons of grey imports
4. Start watching YouTube videos on totally different camera-related topics (e.g. photoshop, photography techniques) and consume this media
5. Forget you were even shopping for a camera and start looking at lenses for days on end
6. Days or weeks later, repeat this process until you feel confident you know enough to have made a good decision
7. Purchase
8. Continue researching for product support, tutorials, and new gear to go with your recent purchase
9. Repeat ad nauseam.

(Source: this is more or less what I experienced myself when searching for a camera)

As you can see, there are multiple touchpoints where information is the key decision driver. You’re comparing products, learning the pros and cons, looking at related products, finding out about new purchasing channels, and so on.

The more places a brand can be during this process, the better.

People search repeatedly. Aim for their search refinements.

The moral of the story is that the information-gathering (or “consideration”) phase is the biggest slice of the funnel. By far.

Many brands get caught up in the final purchase stage and treat all searches as if they were transactional, but they shouldn’t. For most businesses, to limit yourself only to a website with prices on it is a huge missed opportunity.

This is the difference between YouTube or Facebook and Google Search. It’s very possible to come across something on social media or have Google suggest something to you at the bottom of the SERP, and for that to take you on a journey of learning and entertainment – and the further into your buying process you are, the more likely users are to engage.

We must understand how those people in the middle of the funnel are actually using the internet, and how they bounce around. The funnel model is a bit of a misnomer – very few people are really that linear in their decision making.

Brands must embrace the chaos that is the decision-making process and work out where they want to slot into the content landscape and engage with their prospective market. The time for websites to simply be online shopfronts is well and truly over.

But what about the cost of creating all this content?

You might ask yourself, “Why should retailers spend all that time and money creating content for someone who’s just going to buy used, or go somewhere else?”

Or is the real question: why aren’t they all doing it? Why isn’t everyone trying to one-up each other in positioning themselves as the place you should go to? A good salesperson who knows what they’re talking about and is genuinely interested in helping is the person I won’t for a second regret buying from.

They could create all this content and generate a Facebook page, Instagram account, YouTube subscriber count, newsletter or educational resource that users truly want to interact with. The bigger their following gets, the more they’ll be able to harness (i.e. monetize) that audience.

Their suppliers might start giving them special access to deals or new products, or they could begin holding paid events or meet-ups, with early access going exclusively to members of their list. Non-competing but related brands might start approaching them wanting to gain access to this audience, which would of course come at a fee.

These are just some of the ways that content marketing should be considered; it’s so much more than just blog posts optimised for high-volume keywords. All you need is some time and an internet connection, and something interesting, educational, informative or entertaining to say (which your audience actually wants to hear), and you will be able to build an audience.

People will forever look up YouTube reviews and forum comments. They’ll ask their Facebook friends, they’ll scroll through Instagram and Pinterest, all for different reasons and different stages of their indecision. In future they’ll search using their voice search assistant, and Google will show them results from whatever channel it deems fit. Being there is half the battle won.

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Customers want local. Unless they are buying products online, they are most likely searching for businesses which are in their home town so that they can come in to visit. 86% of people use online searches to find businesses near them, and 82% of all people who follow up on their search do so with an in store visit. The days of the Yellow Pages are over, because a quick search is so much more productive and efficient. By targeting just your city instead of the entire country, you are able to ensure more of your audience will be your target buyer. In fact, 1 in 3 searches include a place of some sort, whether it is country, city or suburb.

Google is responding to this preference of their users. After all, they try to improve their functions wherever possible when they see a trend arising. Have you noticed that the latest algorithms have included priority of local places? If you type in something generic, such as ‘restaurants’, Google will use your present location and after the top ranking two or three organic searches, list an array of local restaurants you might enjoy.

One important factor in a successful SEO strategy is being better than your competitors. An outsourced, over the phone SEO business will not be able to understand your competition in the same way that someone can face to face. It is important that you can communicate your knowledge of other brands’ marketing angles to your specialist so that they can market you differently.

Not everyone fully understands the complexities of SEO at first glance. It is common for newer clients to have questions about exactly how to do something, or about what they can do without undoing all the hard work that has been put in. Mistakes of this kind can be quite damaging, and set you campaign back by weeks. A local company can be contacted during regular business hours, and often consulted from time to time in person when you have a query.

By finding a great company you know is from Toronto, you can Google search ‘Toronto SEO’ to see how successful they are. If one of the main goals of an SEO agency is to get rankings on Google for their clients under keywords, then they should be able to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. This little test is one way of seeing whether the business is good at what they do. Likewise, being a local you should be aware of some of their other clients. Are they big names, or people you have never heard of? Reputable brands means that the business gets good enough results that they attract the big names. You can also probably take an educated guess at what some of these may be listed under, and take a look at whether they are ranking. This little bit of investigation can help you sort out the worthwhile from the wastes of time.

As a general statement, local businesses tend to focus more of their efforts into customer service, as they know that their reputation rests with their local customers’ satisfaction. Trust the high ranking SEO specialists in Toronto at SEO Toronto, who can be contacted at Howbiz Solutions

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 to make its own stand.

SEO Agency in Toronto

 can clearly expand the opportunities of obtaining huge prevalence.

To be frank, for immaculate web advertising, compelling systems followed by SEO experts, helps for a superior advancement. Each organization hunts down an open door that will turn into an assistance to increase worldwide advancement. The propelled innovation utilized by these organizations, makes them effective. The streamlining done by the specialists gets to be valuable for clients to get obliged data.

Here are some different advantages that show how best SEO company specialists are beneficial to your business association.

Inserting your website with Best Keywords:

To enhance you’re showcasing style, depending on best SEO company in Toronto expert administrations, appears to be more compelling. Execution of compelling techniques helps in legitimate advertising.Promoting is only an arrangement of procedures that needs certain changes. By surfing the web, it is unrealistic for basic individuals to comprehend the progressions. SEO specialists make utilization of the essential keywords that serves to pick up a rank in the internet search result. Accordingly, it helps in fruitful promoting.

Advance Website:

In the event, that you are attempting to enhance your website, then positively you have to do something inventive. To enhance the quality, general transferring of good substance shows a positive effect. Notwithstanding this, SEO specialists bundle the items in a manner that upgrades advancement. Best SEO Company in Toronto experts, add to the magic word quality and find superb methods to put it on the landing page of the site. They can surely ensure the site ideal and make a dynamic notoriety.

An extensive report doesn’t simply say, what had been done, however, what outcome exited it. An even better website, streamlining organization, will let you know who had been come to, by exactly how much, and how a best SEO company in Toronto, truly gets its cash worth from the greater part of the site design improvement venture.

It’s about deriving best results from the right SEO Company. These SEO Company gets you the right result, targets, and movement. Toward the end-of every last bit of it, what customers look for is typically a site design improvement that sets the bar in a sensible tallness for the clients. The right site improvement will never disappoint you, as you probably are aware for sure as to, what is occurring with the venture.

Discovering the right SEO company among 100’s of wrong ones is somewhat dubious. In any case, this focuses will help you or your business to succeed inside of the long run.

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While you are working hard to get your business going, your web presence should be working to engage and convert customers 24/7. If you want customers to find you, then it’s time you considered implementing an SEO strategy, so you can gain that all-important visibility.

In this post I’ll help you answer 20 of the most common SEO FAQ’s.

1.What does SEO stand for?

Search Engine Optimisation.

2. What is SEO?

It is the process of improving a websites visibility in organic (non-paid) section of search engines, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo etc. The process involves onsite and offsite work to increase traffic to your website.

3. Can SEO be spam?

It can be! Like every job, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do things. Following Google’s guidelines is the correct way. Other methods are just shortcuts and could possibly damage your reputation with Google.

4. Is SEO dead?

SEO has got some bad press because of ‘black hat’ techniques, which are used to manipulate the search results. These techniques no longer work and will result in a penalty that will affect your ranking and visibility in search engines.

SEO isn’t dead, it’s just that the practices have changed. To read more about this topic click here.

5. How do search engines work?

Search engines crawl through an estimated 60 trillion pages on the World Wide Web. They sort these pages in their index by content and other factors. Read Google’s story how search works.

6. How exactly does Google rank pages?

Google uses a set of algorithms, which are formulated programs, to understand the search query and deliver the most relevant and reputable pages. These algorithms are regularly changing to combat spam and to provide the best experience for the user.

7. What are SERPs?

SERP is an acronym for Search Engine Results Pages. Usually they showed 10 organic results per page, with a paid section above and to the right of these results. However, the SERP’s page will display in various formats. It can include video, images, news, local results, plus much more. Results also vary for each device and location.

8. Why are we not ranked number 1 on Google yet?

SEO generally is a medium to long term strategy. Not only is there several businesses fighting for the same position as you, but these search engine algorithms are complex and regularly changing, so what works yesterday may not work tomorrow. There are over 500 algorithm changes a year. While traffic is a priority, you main KPI’s should be conversions (sales and enquiries). Results take time and effort, be patient.

9. What’s the difference between paid and organic search listings?

Paid search listings are sponsored search results that appear in the SERP’s usually at the top and on the sides. Organic search results are listings that are not paid for and can only be earned by improving your relevance and reputation.

10. What does it mean to have your site indexed by search engines?

Having your site indexed means getting your website listed in the SERP’s so people can find it. To check if your website is indexed, search the following “site:[your-website.com.au].

11. How do I have my site indexed?

Go to Google Search Console and submit your website with a sitemap. To set up a Google Webmaster Tools account, they will ask you to implement tracking code. However, there are other methods to verify your website, using a meta tag or Google Analytics.

12. What are keywords and why are they important?

Keywords are search queries that you want search engines to identify with your web page. These keywords will drive relevant and valuable traffic to your website.

13. How do I get multiple backlinks to point to my site?

Hold on a moment! You don’t need lots of backlinks to your website. You want to attract high quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant websites in your industry. Provide valuable content to your visitors and they will share it, either on their blog, website or social media profiles.

14. How do I find out how many backlinks my site has?

There are few online tools that can help you determine your backlinks however the best place to start is Google Webmaster tool. It’ll give you a list a websites linking to your website.

15. Does website design effect search engine rankings?

Yes it can. There is almost too much to discuss here but feel free to contact us for more details.

16. If I’m redesigning a website, when should I start thinking about search engines?

Right away! So many things can go wrong.

17. Can social networking help rankings?

It will in the future. Google has stated they don’t use social signals in their algorithm yet, however studies have shown a strong correlation between social signals and rankings.

18. Is local search important for my business?

If you’re a local business, then yes. Google has made recent changes to the SERP’s design. This is to support mobile phone search results. Results are becoming more location based, so I suggest you verify your business and its location today at www.google.com/business.

19. What is onsite and offsite SEO?

Onsite SEO focuses on website elements, such as the title & meta tags, headlines, content etc. Offsite SEO focuses on generating votes, through social media, links, mentions, reviews etc.

20. How do I track the results?

Google Analytics can help you track conversions and traffic. This is very simple to set up. Contact your web developer or Howbiz Solutions if you need assistance.

If you have any other questions, feel free to contact us.

Want to boost your SEO performance? Contact our team of SEO experts for a free consult.

The post 20 Common SEO FAQs Answered – Learn About SEO Strategies appeared first on SEO Toronto - Best SEO Company in Toronto.

People use the internet for EVERYTHING, almost like a lifeline. They use it to find phone numbers, addresses, and reviews among other things, so not having a strong web presence puts you at a major disadvantage compared to your competition.

Is having a web presence enough? Unfortunately, it’s not. Because having a web presence is pretty much useless if no one is discovering it.

If you own a business that can meet the needs of national or international clients, a strong internet presence is crucial. If your potential customer base is so geographically spread out, how do expect to target them if not on the web? I suppose you could invest in billboard’s to be placed on every highway in America or in the world…but I’m pretty sure investing in building your web presence would be more efficient and affordable without making you seem like a lunatic.

Even if you have a business that only caters to local clientele, an online presence is still essential. This is because 76% of people use the internet to inquire about local businesses, but few are searching those businesses by name. They may be searching something like “best Chinese restaurant in Toronto” or “food delivery open late”. This is why you must be in tune with what your potential customers are searching for. This is where SEO comes in.

You want to be listed as close to the top of relevant queries as possible. This is because the further down in search you are, the fewer people you can expect to see it. In fact, over 18 percent of traffic generally goes to the first site for a search term, with the second site getting over 10 percent. The fifth site and lower are lucky to garner even 2 percent of the keyword’s traffic.

Now, if you want to gain a high ranking, it is imperative that you have awesome SEO. Sure, you could continuously use paid advertisements to try to get traffic, but this is not a good long term plan. That is because while establishing good SEO can be time-consuming at first and possibly cost money if you choose to outsource the job to a professional, it is still ultimately an INVESTMENT.

Once you establish good SEO, it will continuously pay off. Unlike paid advertising, good SEO is an investment that will continuously bring in potential clients. So, if you’re ready to invest in your business’s web presence start with the most important thing-establishing your SEO.

The post Importance of Establishing Strong SEO for Your Business’s Web Presence appeared first on SEO Toronto - Best SEO Company in Toronto.

However, starting a business in Toronto also comes with challenges. Toronto is a competitive market, and you need a solid business plan and a unique value proposition to stand out from the competition. It would be best if you also were prepared for the high cost of living and doing business in Toronto.

Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or a first-time business owner, there are many factors to consider when starting a business in Toronto. This comprehensive guide will provide you with all the information and resources you need to start a business in Toronto, Canada.

Step 1: Identify Your Business Idea

The first step in identifying a business idea is to conduct market research. This affects gathering information about your target market, including their needs, preferences, and behaviors. It would be best to research your competitors to determine what products or services they offer, how they price their offerings, and how they market their business.

Once you understand the market well, you can start brainstorming potential business ideas. It’s important to consider your skills, knowledge, and experience when developing ideas. It would be best to think about your passions and interests, as starting a business in a field you are passionate about can make the process more enjoyable and rewarding.

When considering potential business ideas, it’s important to focus on scalable ones that can be profitable in the long run. It would be best if you also thought about the level of competition in the market and the barriers to entry, such as legal requirements or licensing.

One approach to identifying a viable business idea is to look for unmet needs or underserved markets. For example, you may identify a new product or service need in a particular niche market. Alternatively, you may see an opportunity to improve upon an existing product or service by offering better quality, lower prices, or more convenient delivery.

Another approach is to look for trends or changes in the market that may create new opportunities. For example, you may identify a growing demand for environmentally-friendly products or services or a shift in consumer behavior toward online shopping or mobile devices.

When you have identified a potential business idea, testing it before investing too much time and money is important. This may involve creating a prototype or minimum viable product, conducting market research or surveys, or running a small-scale pilot program.

Ultimately, the success of your business will depend on many factors, including the quality of your product or service, your ability to market and sell it effectively, and your ability to manage finances and operations. However, by taking the time to identify a viable business idea, you can increase your chances of success and build a business that meets your goals and aspirations.

Step 2: Conduct Market Research

Market research is a vital step in starting a business. It helps you to understand your target audience, the competition in the market, and the current market trends. With this information, you can create a business plan tailored to meet your target audience’s needs and ensure that your business is competitive in the market.

Identify a Viable Business Idea

Before conducting market research, you need to identify a viable business idea. This can be an idea that you have been considering for a while or something new that you have come up with. You can use your experience, expertise, research, and analysis to identify a viable business idea. The key is to ensure that the idea is viable and has the potential to be successful.

Gather Information About Your Target Audience

Once you have recognized a viable business idea, you must gather information about your target audience. This includes understanding their needs, preferences, and behaviors. You can gather this information by conducting surveys, focus groups, or by analyzing available data. This information will help you create a product or service tailored to meet your target audience’s needs.

Analyse Your Competitors

Another important aspect of market research is analyzing your competitors. This involves understanding your competitors, their products or services, and how they position themselves in the market. You can gather this information by conducting online research, attending industry events, or speaking to people in the industry. This information will help you identify opportunities and gaps in the market and create a competitive and differentiated business.

Understand Market Trends

Finally, it is important to understand current market trends. This includes understanding the broader economic, social, and technological trends impacting the market. You can gather this information by reading industry publications, attending industry events, and monitoring social media and other online channels. This information will help you to identify opportunities and threats in the market and to adapt your business strategy accordingly.

Resources for Conducting Market Research

Step 3: Develop a Business Plan

Developing a business plan is vital for any entrepreneur looking to start or grow their business. A well-crafted business plan can serve as a roadmap to success and help you navigate potential pitfalls. In this blog post, we’ll explore the key components of a business plan and offer tips on creating one that works for you.

First and foremost, a business plan should outline your business goals. These goals should be clear, measurable, and achievable. For example, your goal might be to increase sales by 20% over the next year. Once you have established yourc goals, you can start to develop strategies to achieve them.

When developing your business strategies, it is essential to consider your target market. Who are your ideal customers, and what are their needs? How can you meet those needs better than your competitors? This information will help you develop a marketing plan tailored to your target audience.

In addition to your business goals and strategies, your business plan should include financial projections. This includes revenue projections, cash flow projections, and profit and loss statements. It is crucial to be realistic when developing your financial projections, as these numbers will be used to secure funding and attract investors.

Another critical aspect of your business plan is a description of potential challenges and how you plan to overcome them. This might include market fluctuations, changing regulations, or unexpected expenses. By anticipating potential challenges, you can develop contingency plans to help you stay on track even when things don’t go as planned.

Finally, it is essential to have a solid understanding of your industry and competition. This means researching industry trends, analyzing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and identifying growth opportunities. By staying informed and adapting to changes in your industry, you can position your business for long-term success.

Step 4: Register Your Business

When starting a business, one essential step is registering your business with the government. This process varies depending on the location of your business, but in Toronto, there are main options for registering your business: Ownr.co.

Business Name 

The first step in registering your business is choosing a business name. Your business name should be unique and memorable and reflect your brand’s values and goals. You will need to check the availability of your chosen business name before registering it. This can be done through a name search on the Ownr.co website.

Business Number

After choosing a business name, you must register for a Business Number (BN). A BN is a unique nine-digit identifier the government uses to identify your business for tax purposes. Register for a BN through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website.

License and Permit

Once you have a BN, you must obtain the licenses and permits to operate your business legally. The licenses and permits you need will depend on the type of business you are starting and your business location. You can find information on the licenses and permits on the Ownr.co website.

Step 5: Secure Funding

Starting a business can be costly, and obtaining funding is crucial to launching your business. Entrepreneurs in Toronto have various funding options, including government grants and loans, venture capital, and angel investors.

Government grants and loans

Government grants and loans are among the most popular funding options for entrepreneurs in Toronto. The Canadian government funds small businesses through programs like the Canada Small Business Financing Program and the Canadian Innovation Program. These programs offer funding to startups working on innovative projects or creating jobs in their communities.

Venture capital

Venture capital is another funding option for entrepreneurs in Toronto. Venture capitalists are investors who fund startups in exchange for equity in the company. These investors are typically interested in high-growth startups with potential significant returns. In Toronto, many venture capital firms specialize in investing in startups, including OMERS Ventures and Georgian Partners.

Angel investors

Angel investors are also a popular funding option for entrepreneurs in Toronto. Angel investors are high net worth individuals who fund startups in exchange for equity in the company. They are often more willing to take risks than traditional investors and are interested in supporting innovative startups. In Toronto, many angel investor groups, such as Maple Leaf Angels and Golden Triangle Angel Network, provide funding to startups.

Step 6: Hire Employees

Hiring employees can be a daunting task for many small business owners. It involves a lot of planning, preparation, and legal compliance. However, hiring the right people can also be one of the most rewarding experiences for a business owner, leading to increased productivity, better customer service, and higher profits. This blog post will discuss the important things you need to know when hiring employees.

Employment laws

First, you must familiarize yourself with the employment laws and regulations that apply to your business. The Government of Canada website offers information on minimum wage, overtime pay, vacation time, and termination pay. You should also consult with a lawyer or an HR specialist to ensure you comply with all the legal requirements.

Hiring plan

Once you have a right understanding of the legal framework, you can start creating your hiring plan. This should include a job description that outlines the responsibilities, qualifications, and experience required for the position. It would be best to determine the salary range and benefits package you can offer.

Job advertising 

When you start advertising the position, make sure to use a variety of channels, such as online job boards, social media, and networking events. This will help you reach a wider pool of candidates and increase your possibilities of finding the right fit for your business.

As the applications start, you should review them carefully and shortlist the candidates that meet your criteria. You can then schedule interviews with them in person or through video conferencing. During the interview, ask questions relevant to the job and assess the candidate’s skills, experience, and personality.

job offer

Once you have decided on who to hire, you should make a job offer that includes the terms and conditions of employment. This should also include any probationary period or performance expectations. Make sure to communicate clearly with the candidate and answer any questions they may have.

Train New Employment 

After the new employee starts, it is important to provide them with an orientation and training program. This should include an introduction to the company culture, policies, procedures, and specific job training. It is also a good idea to assign a mentor or supervisor who can provide guidance and support during onboarding.

Employee Policy 

Finally, consider creating an employee handbook outlining your company policies and procedures. This should include attendance, vacation time, sick leave, and performance expectations. Having a clear and consistent set of policies can help avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in the workplace.

Step 7: Market Your Business

Marketing is key to any business’s success. Once your business is operational, you must devise a marketing plan to connect with your target audience. You can access resources such as Toronto.ca, Inc.com, and HubSpot to learn about marketing strategies and best practices.

Marketing involves determining the right mix of products, prices, promotions, and place to reach your target market. Understanding your audience’s demographics, interests, and behaviors is essential in developing an effective marketing plan. By doing so, you can tailor your messaging and promotions to appeal to their specific needs and preferences.

Your marketing plan should include a mix of online and offline marketing tactics. Online marketing includes search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, email marketing, and online advertising. Offline marketing includes tactics such as print advertising, events, and direct mail.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is optimizing your website to improve its visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). Optimizing your website’s content, structure, and code can improve your rankings for relevant search queries, driving more organic traffic to your site.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing involves promoting your business on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Creating and sharing engaging content can build a following and connect with potential customers.

Email marketing

Email marketing affects sending promotional emails to your email list. By crafting compelling subject lines and messages, you can encourage your subscribers to act, such as purchasing or signing up for a newsletter.

Online advertising

Online advertising involves paying for ads on search engines or social media platforms to drive traffic to your site. You can reach your ideal customers and increase your brand’s visibility by targeting specific keywords or audience demographics.

Print advertising

Print advertising involves placing ads in newspapers, magazines, or other print media. By creating eye-catching ads and targeting publications that are read by your target audience, you can increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.

Business Events 

Trade shows or community events allow you to showcase your products or services to a live audience. You can attract potential clients and generate leads by creating engaging displays and promotional materials.

Direct Mail

Direct mail involves sending promotional materials, such as flyers or postcards, to a targeted audience. You can reach potential customers who have yet to hear of your business by targeting specific demographics or geographic areas.

Are you looking to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or increase sales? You must first determine your marketing goals and objectives to create an effective marketing plan. Once you have identified your goals, you can develop strategies.

Your marketing plan should also include a budget and a timeline for implementing your tactics. Setting realistic goals and budgets ensures your marketing efforts align with your overall business strategy.

Step 8: Get Help

Starting a business is a challenging endeavor that requires great determination, hard work, and, most importantly, a solid support system. The Government of Canada website offers resources and support for entrepreneurs, which can be incredibly valuable when starting a new business.

One of the most critical resources available to entrepreneurs is mentorship programs. These programs provide new business owners with guidance and support from experienced entrepreneurs who have already started a business. This support can be invaluable, as it can help new business owners avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions.

In addition to mentorship programs, the Government of Canada website also offers networking events and workshops. These events are an excellent opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect with other business owners, share ideas, and gain valuable insights into the business world. Attending these events can also help entrepreneurs build their professional network, which can be crucial for future success.

Business associations and chambers of commerce are other valuable resource for entrepreneurs. These organizations provide a forum for entrepreneurs to connect with other business owners in their community and gain access to resources and information that can help them grow their businesses. A business association or chamber of commerce member can also help entrepreneurs establish themselves as credible and trustworthy business owners in their community.

Starting a business can be daunting, but with the right support and resources, it can also be incredibly rewarding. By taking advantage of mentorship programs, networking events, and workshops, as well as joining business associations and chambers of commerce, entrepreneurs can build the support system they need to succeed. The Government of Canada website is an excellent place to start when looking for resources and support for entrepreneurs.

One of the most significant benefits of seeking support and resources from the Government of Canada website is that these resources are often available free of charge. This is particularly important for new business owners operating on a tight budget. By taking advantage of these resources, entrepreneurs can access the information and support they need to start and grow their businesses without breaking the bank.

Another benefit of seeking support from the Government of Canada website is that the information and resources are often tailored to Canadian entrepreneurs. This means entrepreneurs can access information and resources relevant to their needs and challenges. For example, Canadian entrepreneurs may face unique challenges when navigating government regulations or accessing financing. The Government of Canada website resources can help them overcome these challenges.

Step 9: Find a Location

Choosing the ideal location for your business is essential to its success. You must take into account several factors, such as traffic and accessibility. Fortunately, the City of Toronto website has numerous resources to help you locate the perfect spot for your business.

When selecting a location, you must first determine your business type. A retail store, for example, will require a different location than a manufacturing facility. Your target market is also an important consideration, as you will want to choose a location that is easily accessible to them.

Traffic is critical to the success of a retail store. You must choose a location where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic. Consider the area’s demographics when selecting a location for your business.

Accessibility is also important. Your location should be easily accessible to your customers, whether they are arriving by car or public transportation. Choosing a location that is difficult to access will deter potential customers from visiting your business.

Competition is another factor to consider when selecting a location. If several businesses in the area already offer the same products or services as yours, it may be challenging to attract customers. It may be more advantageous to choose a location with less competition or to differentiate your business in some way to stand out.

Once you have identified a suitable location, you must set up your business operations. This includes establishing a business bank account, obtaining insurance, and creating an accounting system.

Business Bank

A business bank account is necessary for separating your business and personal finances. It will also make tracking your business’s expenses and revenue easier.

Insurance

Insurance is also crucial for protecting your business against unexpected theft, damage, or liability. It would be best to speak with an insurance agent to determine what types of insurance your business requires.

accounting system

An accounting system is necessary for managing your business’s finances. It will help you keep track of your expenses and revenue and generate financial statements and reports. You can use accounting software or hire an accountant to manage your financial operations.

By following these steps and utilizing the resources available, you can start and grow a successful business that can help you achieve your entrepreneurial dreams. 

Starting a business in Toronto, Canada, can be a challenging but rewarding experience. By following the steps outlined in this manual and utilizing the resources available, you can start and grow a successful business in Toronto. Remember to conduct market research, develop a solid business plan, register your business, secure funding, hire employees, market your business effectively, find the right location, set up your business operations, and seek help when needed. Good luck on your entrepreneurial journey!

The post Starting a Business in Toronto: Advantages, Challenges, and Comprehensive Guide appeared first on SEO Toronto - Best SEO Company in Toronto.

Here are 5 reasons why your company website needs a blog:

Long-Tailed Traffic

Writing blog posts about current news and events in your industry is a great way to increase long tailed traffic to your website. The main pages of your website should be setup to target your high volume ‘head’ terms, such as “SEO”, “SEO company”, “SEO Toronto“, while your blog posts are aiming to attract longer search queries, such as “search engine friendly anchor text profile”.

Sales Leads

Oh, you think that long-tailed traffic isn’t valuable and you are better off only focusing on head terms? Here at Howbiz Solutions, we have had a numerous sales leads and closed multiple deals from people coming to the website through our blog posts via long-tailed searches. The fact is that blog posts generate income.

Be Recognised as Industry Experts

Writing regular blog posts is a great way to increase your knowledge and your staff’s knowledge of your industry. Writing blog posts and sending it out through your EDM and social media accounts will also help your brand to be known as an authority in your industry because you are seen to be informing others of what is going on and what is important.

Fresh Content

An important ranking factor to search engines is how frequently your website is updated with fresh content. Publishing multiple blog posts per week will ensure that you are continually keeping your content fresh!

Social Sharing

If we take a look at the top SEO ranking factors, we can see that social media is an absolute must. Writing interesting blog posts is a great way to attract social media shares to your website! Not only will social shares help your website to rank, but the more shares you get the more people see your post (and visit your website) and any one of those people could be your next client.

The post Why Your Company Website Needs a Blog: 5 Compelling Reasons appeared first on SEO Toronto - Best SEO Company in Toronto.

With today’s internet speeds, no one wants to wait more than a couple of seconds for a page to load. If your site is slow to load, visitors are likely to click the “back” button and quickly exit your site. Page speed is not only important from a usability perspective, but it is becoming increasingly important for SEO purposes.

You can check your page speed here.

If your site is using WordPress, take a few minutes to install the W3 Total Cache plugin and configure the options. This plugin has been known to improve page speed by 40 points or more. Your visitors (and Google) will thank you for it!

Check your Page Titles

Would you go grocery shopping and buy products that aren’t labelled or didn’t tell you what they were? Essentially, that is what a page title is to each page of your site. Your page title is the first thing a searcher will see when your site appears in the SERP’s.

Every page of your site should have a unique page title to show to search engines that each page is unique, and to show visitors what a page is about. Page titles are also an important ranking factor, so use some of your keywords and keep the under 70 characters to ensure they display in full in the SERP’s.

Check your XML Sitemaps

When was the last time you checked your XML sitemap? If your sitemap doesn’t generate automatically, chances are you will have many old URL’s that are 404 error pages, 301 or 302 redirects, have noindex tags, folders that are in your robots.txt folder, or URL’s that have a canonical tag pointing to another page.

Even if you are using a sitemap that updates automatically, take a good look through your XML sitemap and look for any URL’s that shouldn’t and don’t need to be in there and remove them. When you check your sitemap in Webmaster Tools, the number of URL’s submitted should be the same as the number of URL’s indexed.

Think of Google as a pirate; it wants to know exactly where the treasure is and not sail around guessing. Give them their treasure map (or sitemap.xml) and show them where to go!

If you’re serious about crushing it in the digital world, you need to pay attention to your website’s page speed, titles, and XML sitemaps. These are non-negotiables, folks. You gotta make sure your website is lightning fast, your page titles are on point, and your sitemaps are clean. No excuses.

So, have you taken a look at your website lately? Have you run some tests, installed some plugins, and given your sitemaps a good scrub? If not, what are you waiting for? Time is money, and you’re losing both if your website isn’t optimized.

Share your experiences in the comments below, let’s hustle together. Drop your tips, tricks, and hacks. Let’s help each other win the game. I’m all ears, let’s go!

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