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So you set up a blog. You were so thrilled at the prospect of sharing your expertise with an eager audience. You started creating valuable content assets and created a few downloadable pieces. You have done everything experts said you should, and yet you’re conversion rate isn’t increasing.

Here are 3 things that might be affecting your content conversion rates.

You’re attracting the wrong type of traffic

If you’re successfully driving people to your blog or website, but your conversions aren’t increasing, you’re probably targeting the wrong people.

Some people assume that an increase in traffic means an increase in conversion rate, but that’s not always the case. While visits, email sign ups and exposures are all great to see, they are not going to make much of a difference to your bottom line. You want conversions. In order to turn traffic into conversion, you need to attract the right kind of traffic.

Your calls to action suck

If conversion is the goal of your content marketing, then you need to create a compelling call-to-action. Most blog posts, however, do not have a call-to-action. Even if your messaging is consistent and you’ve hit the right audience, visitors won’t advance further into their buyer’s journey without a clear call-to-action.

Telling your readers where to click, what they can get in exchange of their email address and how to take advantage of your offer can noticeably increase your conversion rates.

You think SEO is not important

There are lots of great content out there. But the problem is that these contents do not reach their desired audience. Why? It’s because they have taken SEO for granted.

SEO is a vital part of content marketing. This will help your content rank in search engines; thus, bringing it closer to your intended users. All you need is a little bit of keyword search and a few minutes to put proper title tags, meta descriptions, tags etc.

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One of the best ways to make sure that your blog posts keep getting traffic is to make them search engine friendly. Writing for SEO is no longer as easy as it used to be. Before, people could just throw a bunch of words together, incorporate the keywords into the article and expect an increase in web traffic. It doesn’t matter if the article makes sense or not. But that’s not how it works anymore.

How do you create content that ranks well in search engines? Here are a few tips for writing effective SEO-friendly content.

Write for your audience

Since your goal is to boost traffic, you first have to please your audience. There is no point in writing a keyword-rich article if it doesn’t make sense to your readers. The article should offer value to the readers. Make it interesting for them to want to read the entire article. Remember, you are creating content for people, not the search engine algorithm that finds them.

Use keywords

One of the best ways to improve your ranking is to include popular keywords into your content. You need to use them in the title, first and last sentence, and within the body of the article.

It’s not enough to just use the keywords. It is important that you incorporate them as seamlessly as possible into the article, making sure that the sentences still make sense. Also, be sure not to overuse the keywords. If you do, Google may think that you’re overstuffing, which can result in search engine penalties. On average, the article should have a keyword density of 1-4%.

Optimize your image

People are attracted to visuals. That said, we recommend adding pictures, infographics and slide shows to spice up your content.

A lot of people make the mistake of uploading images with file names such as image01.jpg. You have to remember that Google can’t read images. It is through text that Google recognizes them. To get your page to show up in search images, be sure to name the image properly.

 

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Your cover photo is one of the most noticeable parts of your page. In fact, it is the first thing most people would look at when they visit your Facebook page.  Don’t you want to make it impressive?

We understand that finding the perfect Facebook cover photo can be a challenge. You only get once chance to make an impression so you need to get it right. Here at BIMS, we’re all about sharing information that can help your business grow. Here are 4 Facebook cover photo ideas that will make an epic impression on your fans. Pay attention.

Show them what you do

With millions of users from all over the world, Facebook is one of the best places to establish your brand. Your cover photo is a great way to promote your business, your services and yourself. Use this space to show people what your business is all about.

Take advantage of this space to show people the products and services you offer. If you are an artist, feel free to display some of your work. If you have a new product line or an upcoming event, this is the perfect place to put it.

Put your customers and fans center stage

Instead of using this space to promote your business, use it to highlight photos of your fans. You can also use testimonials from customers to your advantage. This adds a human touch to your company and shows the credibility of your business. Plus, it’s a great way to show your fans that you value and appreciate them.

Introduce yourself

While most companies would showcase their products and events, why not shed a little light on the amazing people who works behind the scenes? It makes your business much more personable and gives viewers a more intimate look into your business.

Call to action

Including a call-to-action to your cover photo urges people to instantly respond to your request. Social media is an effective tool when it comes to lead generation. Use your cover photo to encourage people to visit your site, leave their email address or buy your products.

 

BIMS_10.13.15Editing your blog posts is probably one of the best advice that could be given to you, but very few of you will actually do it.

This week, we’ll give you a few reasons why you should edit old blog posts on your blog. Let’s go through them.

Ranking

Just like a news article that’s posted on a local news website, blog posts have dates on them. They become old news and fall from top results after a period of time. If you are looking to improve traffic to your site, this reason alone justifies your editing.

Polish writing

Bloggers don’t have the luxury of an editor to go over our writing, so we try to proof-read an article before publishing it. But as we try to revisit our old posts, we find that they are full of silly mistakes.

Typos are a big turn-off to anyone reading your article, but it’s hard to notice the typos and errors when you write a blog post yourself. Try to read your old posts with fresh eyes to make sure that it’s error-free.

Update content

Blog posts that are a year old or more may contain outdated information. It is important to keep all posts up-to-date and relevant. Otherwise, visitors may hit the close button and move on to other websites.

Updating old posts will not only turn a visitor into a subscriber, it also helps improve your site’s ranking. Be sure to update your content to match the latest facts and figures.

Add images

It is important to include images in your blog posts as it makes the post more attractive to most people. But sometimes, it is difficult to find the right image that aligns with the topic. You can change those images later on in case you find something more relevant.

More images are stored in your database as your blog gets older. This may slow down your site. We suggest that you resize the image to reduce the overall size of the post.

 

office-594132_640There is a surplus of information on the internet today. In fact, about 2 million blog posts are published every day. Along with that, 70,000 hours of Youtube videos are uploaded and about 290 billion emails are sent on a daily basis. The problem is that most of these contents result in a waste of time, energy and resources.

How do you go about creating content that stands out and captures the attention of your target audience?

While there is no specific way in creating great content, there are a few characteristics that most successful content shares. Keep these things in mind when creating contents for your prospects and clients.

Relevant

When starting out with content marketing, most companies create contents that are centered on their products and services. While there is nothing wrong in wanting to showcase your products and services, you first have to focus on content that your customers care about.

Your content has to resonate with your prospects and existing clients. Otherwise, those contents will just get lost among all other noise.

Provides value

Writing great content is a choice. You can produce high quality content or you can take the easy path and produce junk.

People are searching for information that will educate them, inform them and he6lp them solve a problem. If your content is entertaining, informative and interesting enough, people will be happy to share your content. Add to that, it will get the attention of industry stakeholders and position your company as an educator or expert.

Original

Creating original content will get you great results. Google rewards sites with original, high quality content. On the other hand, it penalizes sites with duplicate content. Original content will help your site get more exposure and improve your site’s ranking.

Easily consumed            

When people use a search engine, they’re not just looking for answers – they want fast answers. In fact, one study revealed that 79% of web users scan contents rather than read them in detail.

Make your posts easier to read by keeping each paragraph short, preferably 3-4 sentences each. Bulleted lists are also very helpful. They are easily scannable and make it easier for users to find the information they need.

SEO has been changing rapidly over the past couple of years and Google and other search engines are getting smarter. For 2015, it is important to stay on top of knowing what search engines want and how to optimize your quality of the content and overall experience of your site to better your business. Here are some of the SEO essentials for 2015:Search Engine Optimization - Magnifying Glass

Considering the goals of Search Engine companies is a good place to start when thinking about your SEO strategy. The two most important things to consider are making sure that your site has the best quality content for keywords relevant to your site and making sure that Google and other search engines are aware of this. Over the past few years, Google and other search engines have become smarter in understanding both website content and user experience.

Making sure your site is free of spam, malware, and other problems is crucial to making sure that your site is reputable. Excessive ads, pages filled with nothing but links, and any deceptive practices are signs that your site is not reputable. If you sign up for notifications in Google Webmaster tools they will tell you if they detect any issues on your site. The fastness of your site is also a huge factor in ensuring quality experience for your users. Studies have shown that just a one-second delay in page load time results in a 7% decline in sales. Alexa Site Audit is a tool that can help detect your sites slowest pages to make sure your performance is optimized. Alexa Site Audit also helps monitor your site for broken links.

It is also important to be aware of the “freshness factor” when it comes to the quality of your site. A site that hasn’t been updated in months or years is most likely lower quality. With out of date content, this also probably means the site hasn’t earned any new inbound links. Without fresh content on your site, search engines will most likely pass over your site for newer, more current content.

Quality content that is original, clearly written, and relevant is integral for your website and business overall. Making sure that your content is effective in making the connection between what people are searching for and the pages of your website is crucial. The pages of your site should be more focused on individual topics rather than individual keywords. But, choosing the right keywords for your content is one of the most important parts of SEO. When choosing keyword phrases for your content, it is important to keep track of which ones drive traffic to your site, which ones drive traffic to your competitors sites, and how often people search for certain keyword phrases. The Alexa keyword tool, which is part of the Alexa Advanced subscription, can help you find keywords driving traffic to your competitors’ sites.

SEO has grown tremendously over the past couple of years and Google and other search engines are getting smarter and smarter. Staying on top of the current changes and changes in SEO is crucial in deepening our understanding of how to use it to our advantage. I the world of internet marketing, SEO is the key to understanding our customers’ needs and making sure you’ve got it.

For the past 7 years, SEO has been changing rapidly. Now that 2015 is among us, it is important for marketers to stay on top of the shifts in SEO including what’s outdated and what will be a waste of effort. Understanding these common myths and assumptions about SEO will ensure that you’re up to date for this year and that none of your efforts will be put to waste. Below are a few of the most common myths about SEO:untitled

Myth 1: Google Authorship is a necessity.

For years, marketers have been stressing the importance of getting Google Authorship set up on their blogs, but as of 2015, this no longer needs to be a concern because it no longer exists! Recently, in June 2014, Google removed Authorship photos from search engine results page. This was the first step that eventually led to completely getting rid of the Authorship program in August 2014. All byline information disappeared from Google’s search results, and with the dismantling of the program , that gives us one less thing to worry about in 2015.

Myth 2: The more links, the better.

“Quality over quantity” is a great mindset to have this year in SEO. Many businesses often hire someone for link building, but this often leads to a focus on the number and links and not the content. Focusing on relevant and diverse sources that link to relevant pages is so much more important than the quantity of links. Investing in someone to write content for 2015 is a steer in the right direction and will ensure that all content types will bring more links with them over time. Focusing on the number of links will only end up being a waste of effort and investment in the long run.

Myth 3: Keyword optimization is THE key to SEO

In the world of SEO, using keywords to communicate is crucial. With that being said, realizing that Google is no longer trying to match the keywords you type in to search engines to the keywords of a web page is very important. Google has been getting smarter and smarter every year and is now able to understand the internet behind the keywords you type in and match it to relevant, high quality content. So, for this year, it is important to keep in mind that overusing keywords is more of a waste of time than underusing them.

Myth 4: My homepage should have a lot of content.

Your homepage should be thought of as the “face” to your business. Put yourself in the shoes of whoever is visiting your homepage and visualize how you can make it clear and simple for them to get around. Not only is your homepage a change to make a first impression and convey what you’re all about, but it’s also a place where you can help make things easier for your visitors so they are not feeling overwhelmed. You can keep your homepage simple and easy to get around while also getting all the information you need on there. Clarifying who you are, what you do, where you’re located, your value proposition, and what you’re visitors should do next is all the content you need.

 Myth 5: SEO is not a usability issue

SEO is so much more than optimizing for search engines. Ensuring that your website is easy for visitors to use will lead to more contacts and customers overtime, helping your business grow. To keep visitors on your site, ensure you’re publishing content that’s personalized and relevant. You should also make sure your website is intuitive and easy to browse. Don’t make customers look for what the need to do next by providing clear and simple navigation on your website.

 

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The world of SEO is constantly changing. SEO experts around the world are watching the search engines like a cast of preying hawks, taking note of what Google is going to do next. That being said, the tricks you are using today may not have the same impact a year from now.

What do you need to do in order to make sure that you are focusing on long-term optimization and results?

In an attempt to help entrepreneurs and marketers succeed, we have put together some tips that would guarantee long term SEO success. Here are some of them.

Create and manage a blog

Even if you think that your business is not the most appropriate platform for blogging, it is imperative that you create and manage one. This is because your blog will act as your command and control center.

Think of categories and topics that are related to your business and start writing. The best articles are the ones that answer your audience’s questions such as how-to guides, top 10 list, industry news, company updates etc.

A high quality blog is more likely to bring more leads and attract your target audience. Plus, it gives Google more contexts to index.

Create a social strategy

Search and social used to be 2 entirely different things. Now, having a strong social media presence plays an important role in high search engine rankings.

Don’t rely on just one social media platform. In order to expand your SEO reach and build network connections, it is important to use various social media platforms. As long as you stay active, you can reap the SEO benefits.

Encourage good reviews

Positive reviews are great strategy for any business. This is especially true if your business relies on local customers.

The more positive reviews you have, the more traffic you’ll get. Plus, you’ll have more authority in Google’s local ranking algorithm. The most effective way to get good reviews is by giving your customers a great experience.

 

 

 

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People are looking for information, products and services on a daily basis. When a person wants to find something online, they go to search engines like Google or Bing and start by typing keywords or phrase. Thanks to these keywords, it becomes a lot easier for us to find the content we’re looking for.

An SEO keyword is the heart and soul of your SEO efforts. Choosing an effective keyword for your site is both a science and an art. It’s about striking the perfect balance between the number of people searching for a particular keyword and how much competition you have.

Here are a few tips for choosing highly effective SEO keywords.

Focus on what you’re writing about

If you want to get a high ranking on a keyword, it would be best to focus on something that you frequently write about. If you only intend to write about it once, then you are less likely to succeed.

Before you decide on a keyword, take a look at the contents and articles that you have written in the past. Now, make a list of the keywords and phrases that are commonly used by people to find businesses like yours.

Avoid items that are too broad

Strike a balance between broad and specific. Make sure that the keyword you choose is broad enough that a lot of people would search for it; while specific enough that you have a decent chance of attracting potential customers.

Single-word terms are usually a poor choice for optimizing. For instance, the word “Internet” is too broad. It’s not going to be very useful for getting the results you want. Keywords with 2 to 3 words are your best option.

Do your research

To make sure that you come up with the best keyword, you have to do your research. Start by typing some of the keywords on your list on search engines and see if Google will fill in the rest of the search for you. Based on these suggestions, you can see which phrases are most commonly searched.

You can also use other Google tools like Google Insight for Search or AdWords Keyword Estimator.