Maximize Video Content Through Strategic Placement

The following blog post Maximize Video Content Through Strategic Placement was originally published on: Canada West Internet Marketing LLC

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Video is now perhaps the most valuable content marketing strategy. Video viewing requires minimal effort from users, and when done well, video can convey important information in a new format that increases conversions on your site. Studies have shown that visitors are up to 85% more likely to purchase after viewing video content on a website.

Creating unique video content requires extensive time and resources, meaning a successful video marketing strategy is not easily within reach of every business. Given the value of this content, however, it is becoming ever more essential for businesses to invest the resources into developing their own content. If your message is impactful, informative, and easy to absorb, it will bring you results.

Making videos for the sake of making videos will do little to increase conversions or site experience. The type of video content and its location on a website are related, and both are dependent on where a visitor is in the sales funnel.

This post will cover the intersecting factors to be considered in developing a new video marketing strategy, with real-life examples from businesses who are doing it right.

Where Should Videos Live?

Before we examine the stages of the sales funnel, let’s explore the options for video hosting, as this is often an overlooked element of crafting a video marketing strategy. For those new to video marketing, YouTube may seem to be the obvious and only way of hosting and sharing videos online. But third-party video hosting services and self-hosting videos on your site are also possible. While more complicated and costly, they are the only options if you are creating video for SEO.

YouTube and similar sites like Vimeo certainly have their place in a video marketing strategy. Since YouTube essentially functions as the video-only search engine of Google, the videos hosted there will get a ton of exposure and will more easily show up in Google search results. But, if your video is hosted there and a different site embeds it, the information is on YouTube and not on your site. To counter this, include the text of the video as a blog post or informational page on your website. This is especially important when the video is posted to YouTube but is good practices regardless of where the video content lives.

Third-party or self-hosting allows greater flexibility in how video is displayed while also providing your site with all the SEO benefits of having original video content. It also makes it more likely that viewers will convert into leads or customers since they are already on your site.

Many businesses leverage both of these options, uploading some content to YouTube but offering exclusive or expanded content on their site. As we go through the stages of the sales funnel, we will discuss what kind of content to create for each stage, as well as where and how to share it to maximize its effectiveness.

What Content Should You Create?

Perhaps the most challenging decision to make is what type of content to share with your audience. The content you create depends on where your customers are in the sales funnel. For video content creation, we will look at three broad stages of the sales funnel: awareness, consideration, and decision and action.

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Awareness

At the top of the funnel, people need to know who you are and what you do. This kind of content can be similar to traditional television ads, or it can be more creative and unusual - its purpose is to make your brand more visible to the public. Tell visitors why they need your product or service and what distinguishes it from the plethora available in the market. Audiences love videos that answer questions, are funny and engaging, and show your business cares about customers.

This kind of content works well on YouTube and similar sites. Seattle Coffee Gear has built an extensive YouTube following with their how-to videos on making different coffee and espresso drinks. Their video descriptions and content then direct users to their website, where they can learn more about coffee products and processes and make purchases.

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As visitors move into the consideration stage of the sales funnel, focus on directing them to your site where it is easier for them to take action.

Awareness video can also be displayed on the homepage or landing page, like in this example from TransUnion’s new ShareAble for Hires. Here, they have a simple video that gives an overview of their service directly on their homepage so visitors can absorb this information easily.

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For more ideas on content for the awareness stage, check out this resource from Skeleton Productions.

Consideration

If a visitor converts into a lead through your awareness content, provide more detailed information about your product or service. This can include products reviews or comparisons, step-by-step videos for how a product or service works, or testimonials from satisfied customers.

For example, Renovate America creates videos that feature customers talking about their experience with their services. This lends credibility to the product because it seems more genuine than typical, highly branded content.

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In this example, the video is hosted by a third-party on the website and shares the page with blog content and images.

Decision & Action

Customers who reach the decision and action stage already trust your company. Now, focus on providing even more information about your brand that satisfies their curiosity while building customer loyalty. Videos that show behind-the-scenes of the company, such as a process or company culture, or videos that tell the story of the company’s founding are great content for this stage.

In this example from BambooHR, the short video highlights the core principles of the company culture - namely, work-life balance - and features their company mascot. While company culture videos are often used as recruitment tools, in this case, it serves a dual purpose: since BambooHR is a workplace-focused product, knowing the company background can influence a prospective customer’s decision to purchase their services.

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Videos for the decision and action stage are also ideal for placing directly on your site and can serve as blog posts or additions to a resource library.

Test & Adapt

When creating a video for social media platforms, consider how videos are viewed on that platform and adapt your video accordingly. For example, Instagram’s default video setting is muted sound, so don’t rely on audio to convey your message in an Instagram-targeted video. Ideal video settings and content vary across social platforms, so be sure to consider these maximize the effect of your videos on these sites. BufferSocial has a great resource listing considerations for creating video content for different social media sites.

Videos for different social platforms, or even YouTube versus your company website, do not have to each be their own production. Consider making one long video and editing shorter versions with different shots, with each version intended for a different platform. This is also a great way to leverage YouTube’s reach to direct more visitors to your site: post a teaser video on YouTube, and direct them to your website for the full version.

Finally, the key to any marketing strategy is to test it constantly and adapt where needed. With video content, this can include testing video placement on the page, seeing which social platforms garner the most video views, and measuring views based on video length. When beginning a video marketing project, these tests will be crucial to determining where your resources and efforts should be focused.

As video content becomes ever more necessary for digital marketing success, small businesses and startups must learn to navigate the tricky balance of what to create for what visitors and where to place them to maximize their investment. It takes a broad perspective and a willingness to be adaptable, but a successful video marketing strategy is possible even for those with limited resources.

Resources for further reading:
Creating an Online Video Strategy from Moz
How to Make a Video Content Strategy that Will Engage Your Audience from CoSchedule

source http://ww1.canadawestinternetmarketing.com/?p=3714

Seven Easy SEO Tips

Seven Easy SEO Tips is courtesy of: Canada West SEO Company

Writing with a search engine in mind can be a daunting challenge. You know that there are a bunch of things you're supposed to do, a bunch more things that you're not supposed to do, and additional rules that seem to exist just to make you crazy. Trying to keep all of these things at the forefront of your mind while writing copy, especially something that screams SEO like a meta description, makes the entire process feel more difficult than it has to be.

Rest assured that you are not the only one dealing with this issue. Heck, even professional SEO writers feel it. This article discusses seven easy tips that cover the basic needs of SEO, allowing you to concentrate on your content instead of the nuances of several search algorithms. You'll be surprised by just how much simpler SEO copywriting can be!

1. Write for The User

The most common mistake writers make when producing SEO content is to take the search engines as their primary audience. Google is NEVER your primary audience. It is a tool that internet searchers use to find answers to whatever query they have immediately. They succeed whenever a user is satisfied with the results they offered and return to that engine with their next query.

Hypothetically, let's say you create an article that checks every box the search engine is looking for. It zooms up to the top of the list results because the search engines think that it is the ideal content. Mission accomplished, right?

Wrong! The purpose of SEO is not to get to the top of the page but instead stay there so that as many eyes as possible can spot you. If the article above achieved its ranking by catering to the search engine instead of real people, those people will find your page, click on it, and leave in disgust. They will not be converted into business, nor will they consider you to address their future needs.

Search engines are smart, and they can notice when your site is user repellent. While it initially thought you had created the ideal content, it now has new data that suggests you didn't. The new information trumps the old, and your post will fall down the rankings as quickly as it ascended them.

Therefore, it is imperative that you avoid compromising the user experience to make search engines happy. Ultimately, it is users, not search engines, that determine your rankings.

2. Remember Why SEO Best Practices Exist

It's easy to think of all the rules associated with SEO as edicts from a higher power, but remember that each has a practical reason to exist. For instance, keywords exist because they teach search engines and users alike what a given article is about. Old-fashioned keyword stuffing and other SEO techniques that no longer work was rejected because articles emphasizing them failed to provide users the information they were looking for.

This means that there is no magic formula to determine how many times you need to use a keyword in your content. An automated solution like that appeals to a computer, and you're trying to appeal to a fellow human being. Instead, allow the flow of whatever you're writing to dictate how many times each keyword is employed. Reading it out loud is the best way to get a feel for this.

If you find yourself saying the same word or phrase so often that it starts to lose its meaning, it is safe to conclude that you used it too often. Adjust accordingly.

3. Assign Your Keywords

If you try to rank for too many search terms at once, you end up confusing search engines and end users alike. What is your article even about? No one will be able to find you, and your SEO rankings will plummet.

Instead, assign each page of your website a small group of extremely similar search terms to rank for. There will be no question what you discuss on each page, allowing search engines to guide users where they want to go effectively. Your users will also know that they have found exactly what they were looking for.

4. Work in A Simple Format

This may seem basic, but it's essential. Producing content on a word processor gives you more formatting options than you'll realistically need for SEO content in an intuitive interface. It's an excellent option.

By contrast, you should never compose content directly on your CMS. It's far too easy to misclick and send content live before it's ready, or miss something stupid and end up publishing something that looks unprofessional.

5. Ctrl + F/Cmd + F Is Your Friend

Most word processors support a handy, underutilized "find" function that highlights every instance of whatever you type into its search box. It's accessed by hitting Ctrl and F simultaneously, but Mac users need to hit Cmd and F instead.

If you try to find one of your keywords and almost nothing is highlighted, you haven't used it enough. If your whole post lights up like a Christmas tree, you've used that phrase too often.

Either way, you get a handy visual representation of how often you used your keywords if they're spread out or clumped together and any areas that could use some tweaking.

6. Concentrate On Mobile

Nobody likes reading big walls of text on the internet, so you don't write big walls of text on the internet. However, your moderately-sized paragraph on a PC might look like a wall of text on a device with a smaller screen. Did you consider that?

Search engines are increasingly concentrating on mobile devices because users are choosing these devices more often. One easy way to improve their experience is to make any lists a series of bullet points instead of a long sentence with a bunch of commas.

7. Structure Matters Too

Headings and links are still critical components of SEO, but much like keywords, they need to feel natural. For example, using your primary keyword in your H1 makes sense because it shows both search engines and prospective customers what that page is about. Related phrases should be in the subheadings that follow because the content is still discussing that topic.

Internal links should be inserted wherever users might legitimately want more information and nowhere else. For example, calls to action should include a link to purchase whatever you've been talking about. Leading with the same link would make little sense because you haven't pointed out why users might want it yet.

Ultimately, all seven of the tips above are advice on how to achieve the first one. Concentrate on your end user, and SEO will sort itself out.

 

Looking for more information in regards to SEO?  Contact Canada West I.M. today!

 

Edmonton SEO Company

Canada West Internet Marketing
10050 Jasper Avenue #2020c
Edmonton, AB T5J 3R8
(780) 628-7535

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The SEO Trends and Changes in Google To Expect In 2018

The SEO Trends and Changes in Google To Expect In 2018 was originally published to: Canada West Internet Marketing Service

Be prepared to for algorithm updates targeting fake news

In 2010, Google was getting various critics from the media due to the "content farm," that is the clutter users receive after searching. Overwhelmed by the critics, Google had to respond. Its response was a proclamation that they hear and understand their users complains about the content farms and site. They explained that they were working on finding a solution to the problem.

Later on, in February 2011, the Google Panda update was launched. Google Panda update was targeted on the spammy and the content that was of low quality.

Many may wonder why I am bringing this up; the reason is that the media is complaining about the fact that Google has allowed the spreading of fake news. Danny Sullivan terms the matter as the biggest ever quality search crisis that Google has ever experienced due to the extent of the problem.

These claims are severely tarnishing Google's image. The problem is a tough one to solve, but Google is motivated to provide a solution.

Some of the tactics that Google has used to solve the problem include:

• Adding fact check tags for search results displayed
• Banning publishers who have been reported to spreading fake news,
• Coming up with new ways for users to report auto-complete suggestions that they consider offensive.
• Adjusting their algorithms to remove non-authoritative info, for example, Holocaust denial sites.

In 2015, researchers released a research report on the Knowledge-Based Trust (KBT). The research shows how Google will be able to evaluate the websites by analyzing the accuracy and factuality of the information they post rather than just focusing on the inbound links it has. However, even if this system would be implemented, there is still the risk that incorrect facts will still article before the website is shut down.

It is good to recognize that Google is doing all it can to work on ensuring factuality in their services. This may be achieved by the KBT if altered, to solve the loopholes it has. However, we may never know if the system was implemented, but they did not have any results, so they are working on a better version.

The use of Voice search and features snippets will grow

Currently, for all the five mobile searches, one is made through a voice search. The growth of the Google assisted devices example Google home will promote the increased use of Google searches. As Google sources its voice search results from features snippets, the snippets are thus also expected to grow similarly to the voice search.

To support this, Stone Temple Consulting did a study last year that shows that featured snippets accounted for about 30% of the 1.4 million queries that they used in their test the statistics show that the use of featured snippets is growing. If their use continues to grow, then they will be able to rival the organic listings. Thus, advertisers would be more interested in featuring in them. For more information on how to use and target the featured snippets, you can check Stephan Spencer's primer on the topic.

Most aspects of the searches will be powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Google's Machine learning AI system, RankBrain which was introduced two years ago to help google process its results has evolved from handling 15% of the search results to all of them.
Google has also developed its AI through developing Cloud Vision API. The Cloud Vision API can recognize a vast number of objects.

However, Google has stood out more with its AI inventions due to the invention of an AI that is better at building other AI's than human beings. The project was headed by Google Brain, and they were intent on building an AI that Google would use.

Although the system has its advantages, it has a few disadvantages as well. One of them is that after attaining a good solution, they will stick to it rather than try to get a better solution. Also, they tend to create a correlation between very different things thus making it very superstitious. To add on to their problems, they were responsible for creating the machine-learning algorithm but not the final algorithm thus they are finding it very difficult to predict its behavior.

Google will continue to work on its AI which they will incorporate into their search algorithms. Google users should thus be prepared for unpredictable results or behavior from the search results.

It is important to note that optimizing AI is not similar to what is done for SEO strategies, instead to optimize AI; the machine has to learn to make predictions more like humans.

Manipulative guest posting will be handled soon.

Google announced in May that they do not appreciate the fact that some webmasters were using article marketing to get more links to their sites. This practice is against Google's guidelines and would result in penalties. This announcement brought about the feeling that Google was working on an algorithm that would handle the matter accordingly.

Manipulative guest posting as recommended by Google is explained as information or an action that would be a 'yes' if asked if the tactic helps the users or I would still do the action even if the search engines were not in existence.

It is thus essential to avoid guest posts that do not increase brand awareness or become a source of referrals. In some cases, posts are done to influence search engine rankings positively. However, this solution does not work effectively in the long term.

The rule on the guest posting is a common knowledge that people in the SEO community are familiar about. However, some marketers will still pursue the strategy as they convince themselves that it is a legitimate act. EzineArticles can bear witness to article marketing regulations.

'Linkless' mentions

Bing confirmed that they track the brand mentions that have not been linked then use then as ranking signals. Google also indicated that they do the same as well in a patent they made.

With AI continuing to play a more significant role in rankings the searches from Google, then more 'linkless' mentions are to be expected.

This would benefit smaller brands which are unable to reach the required threshold that allows them to get press. This will be achieved by the fact that although the ways of getting brand mentions through mentions are not very different from using links, mentions are usually more commonly used than the links thus offering an opportunity to the smaller companies.

This factor thus increases the value of being part of online conversations or starting up the discussions on your own instead.

An Interstitial crackdown may happen soon

Google has had an intense battle with mobile ads that are very intrusive to its users. Google announced a mobile interstitial penalty early 2017 to further fight the issue. The most affected sites were those that had aggressive adverts on their pages that prevented users from using the interface at all.

According to SEO expert and columnist Glenn Gabe, he stated that the penalty mainly affected the small brands as the big brands were left free thus the effects of the penalty did not meet the expectations. He believes that in the future, Google will handle this matter. The main reason that the big companies were left free was due to the trust that they culminated over time. The result of this battle, however, will depend on how Google handles the intrusive advertising vs. branding issue.

Mobile-first indexing

Google announced that the mobile searches had surpassed the desktop searches three years ago. Also, last year BrightEdge noted that 57% of the traffic in their servers was as a result of mobile devices.

To accommodate this change, Google now aims to rank its search results while basing the content on the mobile versions. The listing strategy will also apply to desktops. The mobile first index is expected to be launched this year according to some of Google's representatives.

This means that by the end of the year, the signals that only affected mobile searches will affect all types of searches. The changes to the mobile first index will thus mean that sites that cannot be accessed by mobile phones will become obsolete over time.

Google became a common phenomenon in the late 1990s. Since then it has been involved in massive growth and complications, but it has still maintained its position in the world as an excellent supplier of information.

For this year, we expect Google to strive to develop its AIs then try to combat the political and media criticism to find solutions to some of the common problems that it is faced with. Typical examples of such challenges are the aggravating adverts and manipulative guest posts.
We also look forward to the launching of the mobile-first index and the changes and different experiences it will bring about.

All these are factors that the SEO community to be on the lookout for. They should thus be focused on creating long-term SEO strategies to keep them ahead throughout the year.

If you are looking for SEO help for your business website, the Edmonton SEO Experts at Canada West Internet Marketing https://ww1.canadawestinternetmarketing.com/ can help you. Call us today!

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Tips and Tricks for Branding on Social Media

The post Tips and Tricks for Branding on Social Media is available on: ww1.canadawestinternetmarketing.com

It goes without saying that the existence of social media revolutionized the digital marketing of SMBs and startups. The reason behind this lies in the fact that, for the first time, they’ve gained a playground on which they can compete with major conglomerates on, more or less, equal terms. Sure, a proper social media marketing campaign is far from cheap, but the ROI gained by using it correctly can make any investment more than worthwhile. With this in mind and without further ado, here are a couple of tips and tricks that can help you build a brand using social media.

1. Pick your network

While it is true that every business needs at least a LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter account, when it comes to the choice of additional networks, it all comes down to your audience. Device and software retailers and developers would probably do best on YouTube, seeing as how this platform can allow them to demonstrate their products. As for people who are into arts and crafts, décor, event management or a similar line of work, Instagram and Pinterest can serve as a great opportunity to graphically display your work. Most importantly, your target demographic may have their own network of choice, which is one more sound idea worth checking.

2. Create shareable content

If your content is good (or at least shareable) enough, by simply posting it, you have a shot at starting an avalanche in your favor. However, you need to keep in mind that not every piece of content will work in your favor. When building a brand image, you need to maintain your brand consistency, which is particularly important when sharing opinionated pieces. Even videos and blog posts that have a negative impact on your brand may get shared by people who strongly disapprove of the stance you’ve taken. Therefore, you need to choose your battles wisely and only utilize those content pieces you believe will resonate strongly with your target demographic (in a positive way).

3. A brief journey to the shopping cart

One of the most important things that everyone in the world of e-commerce knows is that the notion of impulse buying makes the difference between a successful transaction and a high shopping cart abandonment rate. You see, once your potential buyer sees something they like on your Facebook page or on a link you’ve Tweeted, you have a limited time-span to make a sale. It is in both their and your interest that you manage to sell this until they’ve changed their mind. Therefore, apart from promoting products on your social media accounts, you also need to have an e-commerce website design made with this in mind.

4. Reach out to influencers

In 2017, influencer marketing has continued its steady rise, and there are no implications, whatsoever, that this will change in 2018. This is why it might be a good idea to identify your potential allies and reach out to them in time. Ideally, you need to look for people whose words resound strongly amongst your target demographic. In other words, the right micro-influencer can be much more effective than a macro-influencer, as long as their online persona is relevant to your audience. To make the long story short, the number of followers is not all that matters.

5. Have your own voice

Finally, in some of the previous segments, we talked about things like audience-appropriate content and influencers. Well, in order to become an influencer yourself (at least as a brand) you also need to find a social media voice that speaks to the majority of your demographic. This starts much earlier, in the formative stage of your company, when you have to set some ground rules and principles regarding your company culture. Next, you need to find a way to translate these core values into words, attitudes, and content, and use the networks in question to present them to your audience.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, the key to building a brand on social media lies in creating a consistent image and laying out a solid infrastructure to catch up with its efficiency. In this way, you will make your audience fall in love with your brand without them even noticing. Witnessing your core-values day in and day out will make them care about your business, while recommendations coming from figures of authority and the ease of making a purchase might turn the idea of working with you into a no-brainer. Needless to say, through proper utilization of these methods, you can gain some important short- and long-term victories for your young company.

source http://ww1.canadawestinternetmarketing.com/?p=3498

Bed Bug Control SEO: A Guide to Exterminating Competitors

The following article Bed Bug Control SEO: A Guide to Exterminating Competitors is available on: Canada West SEO Company

 

Most customers look for a bed bug control company online, making it a challenge for companies to find new customers. An estimated 82 percent of customers carry out their research online making it vital to have a robust online presence.

You can up your SEO game by implementing some of these useful tips.

Keywords

All the web pages that include a specific keyword will be displayed in the search results when potential customers search using a keyword. Whether it's with Google or another leading search engine, using keywords is essential for anyone who wants to be found online.

Enjoying a higher rank on SERPS is typically more likely if you optimize your keywords.

Optimized Keywords

Carrying out research and using the most relevant and widely used keywords is essential for any bed bug control company or other business which means more chance of potential customers clicking on your website instead of the competition.

Getting Found

Here, we will take a look at how your company can enjoy a higher number of site visitors, despite the thousands of similar sites already out there.

Google My Business

If a customer enters 'best bed bug control' into the Google search box, they can look at a map of the locations close to them as well as a list of company names.

It means that your company's name will appear on the first page, a great way to boost your online presence. Having a Google My Business page can be more effective than having a website when it comes to promoting your bed bug control business. For your Google My Business page to work, keep in mind the following:

• Have your information accurate and correct
• Collect customer reviews
• Use local keywords

You can get more visitors to your bed bug control website by using keywords that relate specifically to your local area.

An Optimized Website

If the information on your website is clear, informative and accurate a simply designed one-page website can be just as effective as a site with a complicated design.

For a functioning website, use these categories:

Home Page

It's essential for the home page to be appealing and useful, as it is the customer's first impression if your company.

Make sure you put something like 'contact us for a quote today' on your homepage; a call to action can help to persuade that site visitor to be your next customer. And your customers can get a good feel for what your company is about if you add a short but clear description on that page.

https://www.squarespace.com/

About Us

Let your customers know why you are better and different than the competition. Whether you focus on values, your typical workday or the expertise of your employees, the 'about us' page is your chance to win over the customer.

Services

Whether they are mentioned on the home page or a separate page, list all the services provided by your company.

In Conclusion

A higher ranking in search engine results means more customers. Using solid SEO tactics is vital for any bed bug control company.

If you are looking to squash the competition for your bed bug control company, contact the SEO experts at Canada West Internet Marketing to find out how we can help.

source http://ww1.canadawestinternetmarketing.com/?p=3441

Why Your Blog is Your Most Important Marketing Tool

Why Your Blog is Your Most Important Marketing Tool was originally published on: Canada West Internet Marketing

When starting or trying to grow a business, many entrepreneurs overlook the power of blogging as a marketing tool. An up-to-date and relevant blog can be your most effective and high-converting marketing tool. Not only do blogs bring more traffic to your site, but they also help to convert visitors into leads and establish your business as a trusted source within your industry.

If you don’t have a blog for your business or are looking to re-energize your current blog, follow these tips for making the most out of blogging for your business.

Blogs Drive Traffic to Your Website

There are several ways that blogs drive traffic to your website. To begin with, every time you post to your blog you are adding one more page that is indexed and can return results for search engines. Therefore, adding more blog posts increases the likelihood that your page will appear on (and at the top of) the search results page. Frequent updates and posts to your blog signal to search engines that your site is active and should be checked regularly.

Blogging also creates more opportunities for you to reach social media audiences. Every post you make has the potential to be liked, shared, retweeted, and so on. The more times this happens, the larger your audience will become, which should equate to more site traffic. You can also draw from your posts to create your own social media content, saving you time when trying to create content for all of your social media sites.

Types of Content that Drive Traffic

There are many different types of content you can share on your blog, but some have proven to be more effective than others in driving traffic to your website. The two content types that are most successful at driving traffic are “How To” articles and infographics.

How to Articles – How to articles are very effective in driving traffic to your site because there are endless options for topics. They also have great potential to include long tail keywords, which search engines love. How to articles provide value to your potential audience and quickly turn them from visitors into loyal followers. When people realize they can go to you for reliable help in solving issues they are facing (exactly what how-tos are designed to do), they are more likely to check back with you in the future and to share your information with friends, family, and colleagues.

Let’s take a look at a successful how-to article from VitaMedica, a leader in the health and wellness space. In this how-to article, VitaMedica addresses a topic that both current customers and new visitors are interested in. By focusing on a topic that has a lot of search volume, it is more likely that they will draw visitors to their site who are searching for this term. With higher search volume comes more competition, though, so it is usually more difficult to rank your blog post for a highly searched term. Just something to keep in mind when choosing your how-to article topics.

Infographics – Infographics have become extremely popular because of their ability to take complicated ideas or topics and explain them in a quickly digestible visual way. Infographics are shared, viewed, liked, and linked to more than any other type of content. In fact, according to Hubspot, infographics are liked and shared three times more than any other type of content, demonstrating just how powerful infographics are when it comes to driving traffic to your site.

This next example comes from SmartMove, a division of TransUnion. While SmartMove has a wide selection of infographics, let’s take a look at their most recent infographic. The purpose of an infographic is to visually represent data to make it easier to digest the information rather than just reading it. While the information in this infographic could be put in a simple blog post, it is easier for the reader to understand the data when it is represented in this fashion.

Blogs Convert Traffic into Leads

With blog posts generating higher volume traffic to your site, the next step is to convert those visitors into qualified leads. To do this, you should include at least one call-to-action (CTA) on all of your posts. Your CTAs should include some kind of offer to the site visitor that will encourage them to submit their contact information. These offers can include anything from free templates, tools, eBooks, how-to guides, white papers, etc. – really anything that you can offer that provides even a small value to the visitor will help convert more of your traffic into leads. Two highly effective types of content that help convert traffic into leads include white papers and webinars.

Whitepapers – White papers are an effective way to create demand for your product or service without being pushy or using high-pressure sales tactics. The purpose of a white paper is to provide an in depth look at a particular subject that is related to your industry. It allows you to show your potential customers that you have extensive industry knowledge and can address the questions that they want to be answered. This warms the audience up to both your product and brand before the sales pitch ever begins.

A great example of how to effectively use white papers to generate leads is from DocuSign, an e-signature software company. In this white paper, DocuSign goes into detail on how to solve common HR problems by doing paperwork digitally. Before they offer up the high-quality content to readers, they require that the visitor input some information. This allows them to generate leads in return for in depth information on topics potential customers are looking for.

Webinars – Webinars offer potential clients a great opportunity to engage with your company in a more personal way, helping to create an emotional connection to your brand. By hosting webinars, you give attendees the opportunity to ask questions and get a better understanding of how your product or service can benefit them. Having these personal interactions not only helps to create a connection with potential customers, but it also helps you and your company get better insight into questions, concerns, and issues your target audience is facing, which allows you to create other types of content that are both timely and useful.

Our final example comes from Fi360, a financial software company. Fi360 lists all of their previous webinars and gives users the opportunity to not only download a recording of the webinar but also the slides presented. While it is helpful to have potential customers join the live webinar so that you can answer any questions that they may have, it is important also to allow users to access the recordings if they cannot make it at the scheduled time.

Blogs Help Establish Authority

By answering common questions that your target audience has, your blog can become an effective tool for establishing you as a credible and reliable resource in your industry. When your company has high-quality posts that answer questions, explain issues, or offer other valuable information, then potential clients will refer back to your blog on a regular basis. Furthermore, your sales team will have a highly effective way to respond to client questions and give them something they can easily reference over and over again, even after the sales contact has ended, which in turn keeps your brand at the forefront of their minds.

Conclusion

Your blog is an essential part of creating an effective marketing plan. Your blog can increase site traffic, convert traffic into leads, and establish authority. By creating strong blog content in a variety of ways and adding great call-to-actions, your blog will quickly allow you to attract and convert more leads, ultimately benefiting your bottom line for a fraction of the cost of many other marketing tools.

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What It Takes to Become a Good Web Designer

What It Takes to Become a Good Web Designer is courtesy of: http://ww1.canadawestinternetmarketing.com

Being a sound web designer takes a combination of skills. When making a web page, one has to analyze and arrange a lot of information in the most appealing way. The schedule of work is in most cases systematic. Planning, execution, general marketing, and effective communication are the primary areas to consider in this field. With this kind of demands, one must replicate what they have learned in class smartly.

What are the attributes of a sound web designer

Creating a good web design is not all about having the right education. What you learn in class provides a foundation that you are to build on as you practice. In such a profession, you have to be active in the field. That is the only way that you can gain experience on how to handle various situations that might come up. Being aggressive is what will make you stand out from the rest as a web designer.

Have the right communication skills

Without communication, there is no way a client and a web designer would understand each other. Execution of work would become very difficult and time-consuming. Proper communication is the foundation of a good web design. It is an assumption that computer geeks in most cases are not talkative. When it comes to the field of web design, one must free themselves from such a mindset.

When marketing your skills, you must be able to sell your idea to a client in the most appealing way. Even though you have a lot of technical knowledge, to walk a client through the design, you have to explain things in a simple way that they can understand. Most of the time, queries arise on the quality of work done. In such situations, you have to be keen and understand the issue. Even if the client is furious, you must make sure they are at peace. Assure web design is something to marvel about once complete.

Learn how to market your products

Due to the high demand for web designs all over the world, it has become a very lucrative field. Very many people are now offering web design services across the globe. With such kind of competition, one has to be creative if they are to get and maintain clients.

As a designer, you have to update yourself on market trends continually. Be willing to venture out and market your work to a variety of clients as you also listen to their reviews. To have an upper edge, ensure you provide quality work and at a competitive price.

The importance of having a good plan

The whole process of web design is tedious and requires you to go through a lot of information. For one to make work more relaxed, it is beneficial to have a well thought out plan. The nature of the program will depend on your scope of practice. Before coming up with the schedule, as a web designer you need to understand what the client wants clearly.

Breaking down the workload into a three-part plan is an easy way of arranging tasks. Research is ideal for the first item. During this time a thorough scrutiny of the client's ideas will take place. The web designer will also consult with other technocrats in the field.

The second item can be consultations with the client to establish what they desire. In this phase, the client will avail all the necessary details, and any queries will be sorted out. The last item will be coming up with a pre-design plan to guide the implementation of the web design.

The planning process can be tedious and time-consuming. It may seem convenient to skip, but in the long run, it assists you to save time and also acts as a map to guide you through the whole process. The plan will also help you allocate resources appropriately.

Provide the necessary checks and balances

Even with a perfect plan, poor execution of task will eventually result in an average web design as the final product. It is good to evaluate the progress of your work regularly. The practice will help you point out mistakes if any.

You are your judge in this type of projects, and you need to be very honest with yourself when you review your work. As a way of improving on quality, you can ask other experts in the field to evaluate your work. Such a move will help point out any errors that you may have overlooked.

Maintaining the expertise of a web designer

In most cases, it is easy to confuse a web designer with a graphic designer. Though the two are very skillful when it comes to computer graphics, they utilize the skills differently. A graphic designer will mostly dwell on printed based projects while a web designer specializes in web-based projects.

With such a clear distinction, it is crucial that during web design, the web designer sticks to the principles of designing a web page. The target audience at the end of the project will require fulfillment of all the objectives.

In some instances, a graphic designer can advance to the level of execution of web designs. Even with experience, they still lack some technical skills necessary for a web design to be perfect. For anyone wishing to become a designer, they should be willing to invest time and resources in the field.

Understand the market you are operating in

When it comes to technology, you have to strive to keep up with new developments. Within a very short a lot can change an especially in the field of web design. Clients are on the lookout for anyone who can come up with something new and exciting. No client wants to have a flat web design after investing money.

As a web designer, you must continuously read the news and interact with other designers. The approach will help sharpen your skills. The Internet is an excellent source of such information. Keep in touch with other web designers and learn what they may be doing differently. What separates good web designers from sloppy ones is the fact that they have an open mind are willing to try out new things.

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Strive to nature and have excellent skills

Experience is essential in the execution of work in web design. The fact that you went to school does not make you a sound web designer. You have to practice so that you understand what the expectations and huddles of dealing with a client are. In the process, you will also make mistakes that will help you improve the quality of work.

To gain skills you have to develop interest early enough. If one is still in school, it is wise to invest your free time in the field working on projects with senior web designers. Such an initiative will leave you informed and create a good network that you can rely on once you finish school. Experience is not a one day. It is a continuous process.

When you need a job, a firm will usually require details of your previous engagements in the field. That extra time you spend in doing practical work will, therefore, benefit you in the long run. While on such duties, it is vital that you are very observant and as for clarifications so that you can learn and improve on what you have been learning in class.

Have good organizational skills

Web design is a very involving process. Without proper organizational skills, you can quickly leave out relevant information. Having excellent organizational skills is also a selling point when dealing with clients. It creates an appeal of seriousness.

It takes straightforward steps such as arranging your computer files. Pictures, texts, and graphics in a folder with proper labeling. Having a list of activities is also an easy way of maintaining organization in your day to day activities. Make this a habit and your work will be easy to coordinate.Have a business mind when dealing with clients

As a web designer, you can either be in salaried employment or work on freelance. It is a competitive field, and you will have to deal with some challenges to remain relevant. A web designer should not only think of creating a web page.

To the client, it is a business asset and should be in such a way that it provides a link to business opportunities. Those visiting the site should get all the relevant information in the most convenient way. Such a page is the client's image to visitors. As a designer, always think of how you can expand your business.

Have a good working relationship with other web designers

To flourish in the industry, you have to work continuously with other designers. A good relationship will encourage sharing of valuable information such as potential customers and the new trends in the industry. In case you employ other designers, create a good working relationship. Delegate tasks that one can easily handle and assist them when they experience difficulties.

Have an impressive job record

As a web designer, you deal with current designs. A customer will like to see that you have successfully done a variety of jobs in the past. Such a good portfolio gives them confidence that you can deliver high-quality work. If you want to get right pay for your work, you must always provide a web design that is impressive. Be on the lookout for any information that can help you improve your work. Being a sound web designer is all about sacrifice. With the right attitude, you will not only earn but at the end of the day have a smile for engaging in something that you love.

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