Search engine optimization, SEO, has gone through another major shift recently. The fact that Google has changed its search algorithm again is not surprising, but the shift in the way it organizes and represents data is. Here are a few SEO tips for small business owners to best take advantage of these changes. Knowledge Engine vs Search Engine Let’s look at the conceptual changes first….
If you are like many of us, then your Google account is connected to a lot of the things you do every day. YouTube, Gmail, Google Drive, Adwords, etc. The list is extensive. The sophisticated level of connectivity has provided us with time saving features and sharing possibilities that make our day to day online activities seamless and efficient. But it does mean your Google…
Keywords & SEO Most small business owners understand the importance of keywords and SEO (search engine optimization). They go together like cookies and milk, peanut butter and jam, or eggs and salsa (or is that just me?). Whatever your perfect pairing, this post will provide you with a basic outline for choosing your target keywords and phrases to best support your online marketing and SEO. This…
As part of our ongoing series on Small Business Marketing Tips, I decided to write a post about customer service. Situation Overview I recently purchased something online from the Blue Jays gift shop for Father’s Day. The package was delivered while I was at work and the typical “We attempted to deliver” notice was left stuck to our door. As the notice clearly stated that…
It’s small business week and, like Google, we believe that small businesses are the backbone of the community. As one of those businesses ourselves, we thought it would be a great idea to share some small business marketing tips to support those hardworking folks following their passions. Small Business Marketing Tip #1 – Make a Plan Marketing is no different than payroll, inventory or washing…
Wendy’s burger franchise has been busy undergoing change recently. New menus, modernized look and feel, updated uniforms and logo transformation are all part of the more traditional aspects of fast food franchise renovations. The big change this time, however, is Wendy’s online. Wendys.com is like Cinderella at the the ball. The transformation is astounding. Wendy’s Has Got Game The new website is fresh, responsive and…
Google Conversational Speech has just been released on Chrome. As a linguist in my previous life, this is pretty incredible news. Since forever, computers have had difficulty participating in natural language conversation, both spoken and written. Prepositions for example have always been tough. “Who is he?” He what? He where? What he? What does he refer to? As very young children, humans are innately able to discern…
QR codes, the darling of the marketing world. More and more organizations are incorporating these little black and white (or custom) beauties into their advertising in the hopes of luring potential customers to their latest contest or special. The million dollar (is that enough anymore?) question is, do QR codes work? I think that depends on who you ask. Let’s consider a common implementation of the QR code…
With the emergence of so many new and innovative Social Media platforms, they’ve naturally had to find their own niche. Some newcomers on the scene such as Pinterest, are used to collect images the user finds interesting. Instagram is oftne used to share pictures with a like-minded community, and Komunity.com is used to catch up on sports news, latest videos and product reviews that actually…
The news is out: Twitter has released new functionality that allows you to create a new header image. It’s a pretty straightforward update to make and has great branding potential. Chris Burdge at bWest interactive wrote a great blog post with step by step instructions. It’s not rocket science and definitely worth the few minutes it will take to read and then make the changes….