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Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

Optimizing PDF Documents for SEO

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

While search engines have become much better at reading PDFs than they used to be, there are still a few things to keep in mind when using them on your website. Following these few simple steps will ensure your PDF documents will be crawled by search engines.

The first and most obvious tip is to optimize all copy in PDFs just as you would the rest of the copy on your website. Keyword rich copy will be ranked higher in search results and generate more traffic back to your website.
Don’t use the newest version of Adobe Acrobat to save your PDFs. Most search engines don’t have the capabilities to read the latest version, so always try to use an older version of the program.
Make sure you complete all the document properties. The most important property is the title. The title is equivalent to an html title tag and is most likely what will be displayed as the heading in the search result, so be sure to include your most important keywords. It’s also preferable if your title is the same as your file name. The description is another field that is worth your time to fill out. The description will display below your title in the search results, so treat it the same as you would a meta description tag, including keywords and a good summary of your document. The additional property fields don’t hold much importance to search engines, but filling them out as well makes your document appear more professional and complete.
Always include links back to your website. If someone gets your document through email or is reading it on another website, these links will allow them to get to your website easily and will help generate more traffic to your site.
Don’t make your PDF document too large. Huge PDFs are as annoying for search engines as they are for visitors to your website. If your PDF is too big, search engines may stop scanning your document before they are done.
Pay attention when you make any changes to your document. Saving changes to a PDF may change others things, like the version or the size of the document. Always make sure to check these things before reposting the document with your changes.

Completing these items will help you to optimize your PDFs and increase visibility for these documents. Even if you are following all these optimization tips, it is usually still helpful to have a HTML version of the file on your website as well. While your PDF will be much more easily crawled now than in the past, HTML is still preferred by search engines.

Posted in Internet Marketing, SEO | No Comments »

Is Your Business on Google+?

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013

Google+ currently has 359 million monthly active users, making it the second largest social networking site only behind Facebook with1.1 billion monthly active users. While you may be thinking Google+ is just another social networking site that you won’t have the time to update, Google+ is actually a very unique way to promote your business.

Unlike Facebook or Twitter, Google+ allows individual users and businesses to create circles. A circle is a collection of people with whom you want to connect. Google+ gives businesses four circles to begin with: following (people or companies you wish to follow and receive updates from), customers, VIPs (a place to add important people in your industry), and team members (your staff). You also have the option to create more circles. Similar to Twitter, on Google+, you can add people to your circles even if they don’t add you to theirs.

So, why should your business be on Google+? Here are a few benefits of having your business active on this rising social network:

60% of Google+ users log in every single day, which is more than the 50% of Twitter users that do. With the majority of users logging in daily, you know that your content will be seen by your followers.
A Google+ business page can positively affect your SEO. With Google+, your search results are affected by the people you are connected to, and social connections may hold more importance than links now. Links on Google+ tend to be indexed very quickly, and +1 links may rank higher in search results. When people +1 something you post on Google+, it is similar to them ‘liking’ it on Facebook. The more people that +1 your content and links, the more relevant Google will think you are. Also, if someone with a Google+ account is searching for something on Google, their friends’ +1s will show up in the search results making those links seem more dependable and trustworthy.
Even though the number of users on Google+ is rising, not everyone is on it yet. Being an early adopter and jumping on the Google+ bandwagon before the market is completely saturated guarantees that your business is more likely to be heard. It’s a good idea to start building your Google+ relationships now, before the social network grows even more.
Google+ allows businesses to have more personal and direct relationships than Facebook and Twitter do. Think of how cluttered your Facebook timeline is every day with posts from all of your friends. Google+ allows you to only see the posts of the circles you choose, and most of the information shared there is more professional than what is currently on Facebook.
Another feature of Google+ to help you reach your customers is hang outs, or live video chats. The only thing your business will need to participate in a hang out is a webcam and microphone. Businesses can use these hangouts to offer product demos to their customers that will generate instant feedback, and you can also publish your hang out content to your YouTube account. This is a great way to keep your YouTube channel updated regularly with fresh content and grow your audience even more.

Now that you know some of the benefits Google+ can bring to your business, you might also want to know what you can do to make your Google+ page successful. First of all, you need to build a quality audience. You should look for people who are in your target market and are relevant to your business. You might think that the more people you have in your circles the better, but it is actually more beneficial to choose quality over quantity when it comes to Google+. Businesses should try to only include people in their circles who add value to their network.

One last thing to make sure you remember about Google+ is that consistency is the key to success. Even if you only take 15 minutes out of your day to post and respond to comments, your followers will appreciate your consistent online presence.

Posted in Internet Marketing, SEO, Social Media | No Comments »

The Importance of Social Media Marketing

Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

Everyone knows what social media is, but not every business is taking advantage of it. Social media is the newest form of marketing, and it is quickly becoming the easiest way to get the word out about your brand.

Social media personalizes your brand and gives you an easy way to communicate with your customers in a relaxed and conversational manner. Customers are more likely to respond and interact with you if it’s in a venue they are familiar with. Social media is the best way to get direct, instant feedback from your customers. Most people check their social media accounts several times throughout the day, and social media posts are usually responded to within minutes.

Another reason to market your business on social media is the repeat exposure it allows you to have. You may have heard that it takes six to eight exposures to a product before a customer decides to buy it. Social media allows you to post several times a day to remind your followers about your company and what you have to offer.

Posting on social media is an easy way to get traffic back to your website. When you share content from your website, such as blog posts or photos, you give your followers a reason to click through to your site. Once they’re there make sure to keep them there with engaging content. You might also want to make sure that any call to action items are on the pages to which you are linking. Call to action items could include mailing list sign ups or buy it now buttons.

Social media gives you an advantage over your competition, because most companies aren’t very social media savvy and may not even have accounts. If you are consistent with your social media accounts, you have a distinct edge over them. You will be able to reach your target market in a way that they won’t, and that can translate into an increase in sales.

If you do decide to jump on the social media bandwagon, here are a few tips to get you started growing your social media presence:

Keep your posts short and to the point. A good rule of thumb is to make them around 80 characters long. Shorter posts will make it easier to grab the attention of your followers. This is especially important on Twitter, where posts are limited to 140 characters, but it is definitely applicable to other social media networks.
Do you best to make your posts shareable. Posts that are most likely to be shared are ones that spark conversations or contain humor or trivia. When your followers share your posts, they will be seen by many of their friends. This is a great away to market your business to new populations.
Try to schedule your posts when your audience is not busy. The best time to do this is at night, when most people are done with work or school for the day. Another great time to post is around lunch time when most people will be on a break and checking their social media.
Make sure any photos or videos you post are high quality. Quality photos immediately grab people’s attention. When posting photos, also think about including a description that shares humorous information or asks for opinions. This is a sure way to get your followers to comment.
There is no better way to create engagement among your fans and followers than to interact with them. When you respond to comments, people will feel that their participation is valued and will be more likely to comment again or share your posts in the future.
And finally, make sure you are consistent with your posts. If you don’t plan on updating your social media accounts regularly, you’re better off not having them at all. Businesses that don’t frequently post or respond to customer comments can seem lazy or unappreciative of their followers.

Now that you know the basics of social media marketing, give it a try yourself!

Posted in Internet Marketing, Social Media | No Comments »

Marketing Essentials for 2013

Thursday, January 10th, 2013

Start the New Year with our Marketing Essentials to bring your company to the top in 2013!

Mobile Website

Websites that are adapted for mobile use allow customers to access websites wherever they are. If a customer is looking to purchase a product, make a reservation, find business hours, contact information, or any kind of detail they may want to know they can access this information right at their finger-tips in an easy and convenient way. Even though smartphones can access the internet and pull up a company’s original website, it may not be as smartphone friendly as a website designed to be used on a mobile device. According to Forbes.com, in a survey conducted by Google with about 1,100 US adult smartphone users; half said they would not use a companies’ website on their smartphone if it did not work. Therefore, setting up a mobile website is essential to consider when planning your marketing tactics for the New Year.

Blogging

A blog is a great way to post updates and generate more traffic to your website as well as gives you an opportunity to continuously update your website. The more you update your site, the more significant search engines think your site is. Search engines will begin to identify your site as a good source of current information, and you will rank high for the keywords you use. With every post, you have another chance to rank for new search terms. An additional perk of having a blog on your website is each entry is archived within the site which is great for SEO.

Social Media

As social media is becoming the “newer” SEO consider a Facebook page, Twitter account, LinkedIn account or Google+ page for your business. Facebook has “likes”, Twitter has “followers”, LinkedIn has “connections” and Google+ has a “+1” feature. The greater web presence your business has and the larger following your business generates is starting to affect SEO. Search engines are starting to favor websites that have more “Likes”, “Followers”, “Connections”, “+1”, “PINS”, etc. as this tells search engines these sites are favorable to visitors. Therefore, the more involved your business is with social media the better it is for SEO.

Keyword Bidding

If you aren’t keyword bidding we highly recommend getting involved with PPC advertising in 2013 as this actually impacts organic rank and search results! By bidding on keywords/ phrases is a great way to attract visitors to your website because your ad will have the opportunity to display at the top and side bar of search results. By buying keywords you can generate more clicks which brings more traffic to your site. Search engines will favor sites that generate more traffic and will display those sites in organic search results.

Email Marketing

Email marketing can be a less expensive and time consuming option to market your business verses an intricate campaign filled with television ads and mailing flyers. With email marketing you can deploy your message in an instant whether it’s daily, weekly or monthly. Email marketing is a great way to test marketing messages. You can test marketing messages by sending different copies of your email/message to different sections of your mailing list. You can then analyze your responses to each message and see which design or message was more effective. With email marketing being so flexible and easy to use, it is something every company should utilize in 2013.

Meta Data

Commonly known as data on data. Meta data can be used to generate more traffic to your website. Meta data is the content that displays in search results. So when writing the Meta data within the code of your website be sure to utilize keywords your customers use to find you, which is great for SEO. By putting a significant amount of keywords in your Meta data can increase the likely hood your website displays and generates clicks. So utilize those keywords and keep your Meta data descriptions relevant to consumer searches.

Copy

When thinking about your websites copy there are a few things to keep in mind:

Engage your audience – Today people want to feel like they are a part of a company and the end result. By having comment sections on your website and links to your social media you are creating ways to communicate with your customer.

Use Keywords – Using keywords can help increase search rankings. Use keywords that are often searched for and are relevant to your site.

Keep your target in mind – Make sure your content is focused and has what your target market is looking for.

Always update – Your content should be constantly updated. Search engines recognize website updates as a current source of information. Search engines want to provide their users with the latest information. Therefore, with each update your website gets recognized and your site rankings will increase. Content that has been around awhile will then begin to get outranked by other sites being updated with similar keywords.

Business Directories

Business directories are a great tool to utilize in this upcoming year because they can provide you with better search rankings which will ensure your company will have increased visibility and traffic. It is also more convenient than putting your company information in a Yellow book. If you make a mistake in a Yellow book you have to go through the time and expenses of revising but with listing your business within a business directory you can make changes anytime you need.

If you would like more information on any of our Marketing Essentials for 2013 Faster Solutions can offer all these services and more to help bring your company to the top in 2013. Contact us today!

Tags:advertising on the internet, internet marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, seo
Posted in Internet Marketing, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Faster Solutions is Hiring!

Monday, July 9th, 2012

Job Description: Web Marketing Coordinator

Faster Solutions is seeking a highly motivated, passionate individual, looking to grow in the field of online marketing. You will join our Online Marketing Department as a Marketing Strategist. Growth within and to other company departments is also possible.

Responsibilities:

Consult with clients to determine goals and implement an SEO & CPC strategy based on analysis.
Manage client analytics reports according to the client’s goals and KPI.
Manage client SEO programs and record results.
Promote new SEO/SEM strategies, Internet marketing and advertising technologies to clients.
Work with the analytics and research to track results and trends.
Perform SEO & Marketing Campaign services for clients
Perform Social Media and all online marketing efforts for clients.
Evaluate & create monthly marketing reports
Maintain ongoing customer relations with clients as their account manager.
Schedule and participate in meetings with clients to review marketing strategy regularly.
Execute new marketing client procedures.
Activate and execute email sends.
Assisting Customer Service.
Assist Mkt./Sales Director/Owners with miscellaneous duties
Execute for Mkt./Sales Director/Owners all projects/tasks related to Faster Solutions marketing.
Complete Expo/Tradeshow booth organization and preparation.
Other

Required Skills:

2+ years of demonstrated experience in SEO/SEM/CPC.
Experience working directly with clients, presentations and negotiation and pricing conversations.
Content and link building experience.
Interested in numbers & conversion rates/ROI analysis.
Comfortable talking on the phone and in a tradeshow environment.
Knowledge of HTML, XHTML, CSS, and Rich Media Formats.
Knowledge in Google Analytics and Google AdWords recommended.
Knowledge in Facebook Insights and Ads, Twitter, and YouTube is a plus.
Community networking is a plus.
Familiarity with SMO preferred.

To apply, please email employment@fastersolutions.com with the following:

Your writing samples
Your resume
A cover letter, which includes the following:
Please provide an example of a time when you felt passionate about your work. (either school or professional career)
What was it about this experience that made you so passionate?
How have you helped other companies with your online marketing skills?

Posted in Employment, Internet Marketing | No Comments »

Share This! Getting the Most Out of Content Marketing

Monday, June 11th, 2012

The rise in social media has created the demand to share content. We share everything and everyone seems to be starving for more information. But all published content isn’t automatically good content. Quality content is key and search engines are taking note. Search engines are striving to provide personalized and relevant results to weed through the sea of thin, irrelevant content. We are encouraged to present content that will not only be consumed, but be interactive. Blogs and other social media tools give users the necessary means to share your content with their networks of friends, family, and colleagues.

Content marketing can include anything from posting an article to social media comments to writing case studies. Create interactive storytelling opportunities that you facilitate, or write a blog with news, tips, or slideshows. A top strategy is to create a resource and position yourself as the “go to” expert in your field. Give your customer an integrated and effective customer experience with traditional and social channels working together.

Creating exceptional and unique content that stands out is rewarded by both users and search engines. Major search engines like Google are strongly focusing on technologies that facilitate content sharing. Thin and unoriginal content wrapped in boilerplate design is seen for what it is ‐ ineffective. In 2011, Google penalized websites taking this approach and we see this growing in importance in the world of SEO. In the movement towards personalized results, original and meaningful content will win.

SEO is a top goal for many companies and social tools are the way to distribute that content to reach top search engine results. Content marketing mashed into social media distribution channels are now part of your SEO strategy. Companies originating and curating content are generating attention in the social world and search engines are giving this signal more weight in their search algorithms.

In addition to improved search rankings, content marketing is paying big dividends in other ways. Companies are realizing benefits through brand awareness, customer acquisition, lead generation, and customer retention. You should measure content initiatives by using web traffic as a success metric. Your website analytics are a great source of valuable information and tracking key performance indicators such as active users, returning users, and your social reach are at the top. Monitoring your KPI can provide you with the insight you need to take the next step.

Specializing in content marketing will continue along with the focused effort for implementation. This year, the rest of the story will be told as new practices emerge.

Brandon’s article was also featured in the well-known Duluth business magazine, the Duluthian.

Posted in Internet Marketing, SEO, Social Media | No Comments »

Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

LinkedIn has always had a reputation as one of the most popular business social media tools, and it’s important not to neglect your LinkedIn account while focusing your attention on Facebook and Google+ for business. Most people use their LinkedIn personal accounts much differently than their personal Facebook accounts, making this an excellent tool for business networking. LinkedIn has been a business tool from the beginning (and arguably the original social media source for business networking and growth). LinkedIn is specifically a business tool because of your ability to post your resume and experience, while searching for other professionals based on their skills and credentials listed on LinkedIn. You can endorse coworkers or business partners, and post others’ recommendations of your work on your profile. It is an outstanding tool for recruiting and building professional relationships.

From a business standpoint, LinkedIn’s tools allow you to build a very detailed and professional company profile to attract new customers. You are able to post your products and services and request recommendations for these services. LinkedIn also gives you the opportunity to to post a “Recommend” link on your website (check out our button here: http://www.fastersolutions.com/services/websitedesign/). We recommend creating a fully optimized LinkedIn business page, and requesting all employees to create and optimize their own LinkedIn profiles. With these employees following your business page, you will begin to build more awareness for your company page through social networking.

screenshot 300x300 Optimize Your LinkedIn Company Page

An example of listing your products and services.

In order to fully optimize your LinkedIn profile, keep these additional tips in mind:

It is important to make sure all information fields are complete and written with the appropriate keywords, particulary the company overview as this will appear as the meta description in the search engines. (Using keywords in your description fields is important for any social media company page.)
Use your careers tab to post any job openings. This gives your page the opportunity to reach any job seeker using LinkedIn.
You also want to make sure you are posting status updates from your company page with the appropriate keywords. Daily updates are recommended.
Make sure you are taking advantage of every tool LinkedIn offers you, like the services page we mentioned earlier. This is a frequently forgotten area of the LinkedIn company page.
Don’t forget about the analytics tab. While this doesn’t require any action from you, it will help you to understand what members are doing. This includes who is viewing your company page, how often they are visiting, and where they are coming from. A particularly helpful tool is the comparative snapshot, comparing the followers of your company to those of your potential competitors.

It will always be important to get out in front of the public eye by way of tradeshows and networking events. A handshake and a business card may get the dialogue started, but people will turn to your business on social media sites, particularly LinkedIn, to keep the conversation going.

Posted in Internet Marketing, LinkedIn, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Marketing Your Business on Pinterest

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

A new site on the social media horizon is Pinterest. You’ve probably heard a lot of buzz about this new site, but many people find Pinterest to be confusing and many say they “just don’t get it” or they fear they are using it wrong. Pinterest is an online pinboard where you can share and organize your favorite images with your friends. You are also able to browse others’ pinboards. Some of the most popular subjects on Pinterest include recipes, DIY projects, home organization, fitness motivation, wedding planning, travel images and many more. The user logs onto the site, clicks on an image they find interesting, and then clicks through again to reach the images origin site, such as a blog or website describing or selling the product. The user can also view comments from anyone else using Pinterest, regardless if they are following that particular Pinner or not. By using Pinterest, you can find new things that inspire you, encourage you to create, or plan your next vacation! At this point in time, you must either request an invite or be invited by someone you know. The invites can be sent either through the website or social media sources like Facebook and Twitter.

pinterest1 1024x519 Marketing Your Business on Pinterest

An example of what a Pinterest user could see on the site.

Who should get excited about marketing their businesses on Pinterest?

Companies with seasonal specific products. Because Pinterest is a real-time sharing site, if you were to log on right now, you would already begin to see ideas for Valentine’s Day being posted, from V-Day cupcake recipes, to hand made Valentine’s cards to make with your kids.
Artists of all kinds should market their work on Pinterest – photographers, painters, etc. It is important to make sure that your image links to a website or blog where the user is able to learn more about your product and buy it if they are interested. Pinterest and Etsy.com (the online marketplace) make great marketing and selling tools when used together.
Restaurants and bakers can use Pinterest to post mouth-watering photos of their creations, link to their website or a blog sharing their recipe or cooking secrets.
Businesses in the wedding industry can easily reach potential brides (or anyone planning a wedding) on Pinterest.
New companies or a company with a new product launching can quickly create buzz on this site.
Vacation destinations or businesses in the tourism industry can post photos of their lodging options to build interest in their location.
Post your coupons and QR codes on Pinterest to really build your next promotion.

There are a few things to remember to make your Pinterest campaign more successful. Images are everything. Quality photography is the largest factor to getting your pin noticed on Pinterest. Videos can also be posted, so for the most attention to your video, make sure the screen shot is an attention grabbing one. (Of course, photos and videos of pets and babies are almost guaranteed to get a lot of attention.. if that would work with your business.)

To get the Pinners headed in the right direction, make sure your image links to your blog or an appropriate landing page to keep them on your website. Call to action buttons will also encourage them to explore other areas and pages of your site.

We’ve heard many people say it.. Pinterest can be more addicting (and more fun) than Facebook! That being said, now is the time to get involved with Pinterest. If you are interested in learning more about Pinterest internet marketing ideas, how to make it work for your specific company, or if you would like help getting started, give our marketing team a call or email us. Today is a great time to get started.

Happy Pinning!

Posted in General Internet, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing | 1 Comment »

We’re Hiring!

Friday, January 6th, 2012

Job Title: Web Marketing Manager/SEO Specialist

Faster Solutions is looking for a creative, energetic and talented Web Marketing Manager/SEO Specialist to join our team. This position will work with other web marketing managers and developers in a collaborative, fast-paced environment. This candidate must be an eager, ambitious, & hard worker who is talented and knowledgeable in SEO.

Description:

Consult with clients to determine goals and implement an SEO & CPC strategy based on analysis.
Manage client analytics reports according to the client’s goals and KPI.
Manage client SEO programs and record results.
Recommend new SEO/SEM strategies, Internet marketing and advertising technologies, and current Internet trends to clients.
Work with the analytics and research to track results and trends.
Perform SEO & Marketing Campaign services for clients
Perform Social Media and all online marketing efforts for clients.
Evaluate & create monthly marketing reports
Maintain ongoing customer relations with clients as their account manager.
Schedule and participate in meetings with clients to review marketing strategy regularly.
Execute new marketing client procedures.
Activate and execute email sends.
Assist Customer Service.
Assist Mkt./Sales Director/Owner’s with miscellaneous duties
Execute for Mkt./Sales Director/Owners all projects/tasks related to Faster Solutions marketing.
Complete Expo/Tradeshow booth organization and preparation.
Other

Recommended Skills:

2+ years of demonstrated experience in SEO/SEM/CPC.
Knowledge in Google Analytics and Google AdWords recommended.
Knowledge in Facebook Insights and Ads, Twitter, and YouTube is a plus.
Community networking is a plus.
Experience working directly with clients, presentations and negotiation and pricing conversations.
Content and link building experience.
Knowledge of HTML, XHTML, CSS, and Rich Media Formats.
Familiarity with SMO preferred.
Interested in numbers & conversion rates/ROI analysis.
Comfortable talking on the phone and in a tradeshow environment.

Job Location:
Faster Solutions Inc
10 E. Superior St.
Suite 200
Duluth, MN 55802

How to Apply:
Email: employment@fastersolutions.com
Website: http://www.fastersolutions.com

Work Type:
Weekdays – Full-Time

Posted in Employment, Internet Marketing | No Comments »

Archive for the ‘Internet Marketing’ Category

Optimizing PDF Documents for SEO

Marketing Essentials for 2013

Faster Solutions is Hiring!

Marketing Your Business on Pinterest

We’re Hiring!

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