Online reputation

Online reputation management is the practice of monitoring, managing, and protecting the reputation of an individual or organization on the Internet. It has become an essential part of business and personal life in the digital age. To be successful, it is necessary to have an excellent online reputation. There are a few key ways to manage your online reputation and achieve success.

What is an online reputation?

An online reputation is a perception others have of you based on your online activity. This includes everything from your comments on social media to the articles you write for online publications. Your online reputation can significantly impact your career, influencing whether or not potential employers decide to hire you.

Therefore, it’s essential to maintain a positive online reputation by consistently engaging in activities that can help you build credibility and trust. For example, creating well-researched and informative content will demonstrate your knowledge of the subject matter and show employers that you can produce quality work. Additionally, actively networking with other professionals within your industry can help establish yourself as an expert in the field and increase your visibility among potential employers. Overall, crafting a positive online reputation takes time and effort but is well worth it for building trustworthiness and career success. So be mindful of what you post on social media or any other platform that may affect how people perceive you online. Remember, your online reputation reflects you, so take the necessary steps to build a positive one.

Why is it important to manage your online reputation?

It is essential to manage your online reputation because it can significantly impact your career. Your online reputation can influence whether or not potential employers decide to hire you. Your online reputation can also affect your ability to get loans, as lenders may check your online activity before approving a loan. Even if you don’t have a public-facing profile, employers and lenders may look up your name to see what information is available about you. Therefore, it is essential to take steps to manage your online reputation.

One way of managing your online reputation is by setting up Google Alerts, which will send emails to you whenever someone mentions your name or company in an article or post. This allows you to keep tabs on what people are saying about you and respond quickly if necessary. It can also be helpful to post positive content, such as blog posts and articles showcasing your talents and skills. This helps build an online presence and creates a more positive image of yourself for potential employers and lenders. It is also important to avoid posting or engaging with negative or offensive content, as this can damage your digital reputation.

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How can you manage your online reputation?

There are a few ways that you can manage your online reputation. First, you should ensure you know what is being said about you online. You can do this by setting up Google Alerts for your name and checking social media sites regularly. Additionally, you should ensure that you only post positive information about yourself online. Finally, if there is negative information about you online, you should try to get it removed. This can be done by contacting the website or engaging with the person spreading it. With these tips, you can manage your online reputation and ensure that your professional and social life is not affected by what appears on the Internet.

Another important way to maintain a positive online reputation is to create content that reflects well on you. Try to write blog posts about topics related to your interests or industry so that people see you as an expert in your field. Additionally, make sure that any photos of yourself posted online present you in a good light. Finally, respond politely to any comments or messages sent directly to you online, even if they are negative. Respect for others is key when trying to build a good reputation online.

What are the benefits of managing your online reputation?

There are several benefits to managing your online reputation. First, it can help you to get hired for jobs that you are qualified for. Additionally, it can help you to get loans and other financial opportunities that you would not be able to get otherwise. Finally, managing your online reputation can also help you to protect your personal and professional relationships. Knowing what is being said about you online and taking steps to respond positively can help to maintain relationships with current and potential employers, friends, family members, customers, and other important people in your life. Taking the time to manage your online reputation can be beneficial for both personal and professional reasons.

Additionally, it is essential to remember that what you post online may remain there forever. Even if you delete something from a website or social media platform, it could still be visible elsewhere on the Internet. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that everything posted online reflects positively on you before hitting “submit” or “share.” Doing so will ensure that your online image remains intact for years to come.

online reputation

What are the risks of not managing your online reputation?

There are several risks associated with not managing your online reputation. First, negative information about you could prevent you from getting hired for jobs or getting loans and other financial opportunities. Not driving your online reputation could also damage your personal and professional relationships, as people can quickly learn about your past mistakes or bad decisions. Finally, you might unknowingly expose yourself to cyber attacks as hackers could use personal information spread across the Internet for malicious purposes.

The best way to manage your online reputation is to take proactive steps to protect it. You should regularly monitor the content being shared about you and take steps to correct any misinformation if needed. Additionally, you should limit what personal information you share on social media and other websites to reduce the risk of identity theft or other security breaches. Lastly, engaging with others positively online is essential so that your reputation remains intact and reflects simply on you as an individual. These steps will help you maintain a positive online presence and protect your reputation.

Conclusion

OWS Digital Marketing Agency Portland is a full-service marketing agency that provides businesses with comprehensive digital marketing solutions. Our professional team has extensive experience developing innovative strategies to help you achieve your desired goals and objectives. We specialize in search engine optimization, website design and development, social media management, email marketing, content production, influencer marketing, and more. Our goal is to provide our clients with the most effective digital marketing strategies available to maximize their ROI and grow their business. With OWS Digital Marketing Agency Portland on your side, you can rest assured that you will have the best digital presence possible. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help your business succeed online.

Paid advertising tips for small businesses

Are you dreaming of growing your small business in Portland? Are you storming the internet for marketing strategies that will help make this dream into reality? Well you have found the right article, because we have the best option for you….We can sum it up in 3 simple words: Pay-per-click (PPC).

PPC Marketing

PPC is one of the best business tools you can use to advertise your business.

You would not want to spend too much money on something you are unsure of and PPC is an advertising strategy where you pay for every ad clicked. It is like investing $5 on an ad with the possibility of making $500 from it (depending on your niche and lifetime customer value).

With PPC, choosing the right keywords and which landing pages your campaign will direct visitors to is essential. Here are of 7 of the best PPC networks that you can utilize for your business suc.

Facebook Ads Marketing

With Facebook advertising, your ads are presented in two different formats, it can be in the form of a video ad or a photo ad. These ads/promotions have more exposure, because it is inserted seamlessly on the user’s feed, and is a lot harder to block. On top of that, you can target your audience through their interests which is harder on other social media platform ads. With over 2.6 billion users, you don’t want to miss out on the potential of getting in front of your audience using social media advertising with Facebook Ads.

Facebook will also help you optimize your ads to fit both website formats and mobile app formatting. 

Instagram Ads Marketing

Instagram works the same as Facebook (or close to it). Utilizing Instagram can reach more users and bring an increase in clicks and potential targeted leads to your local business. On instagram, your ads will show up in the user’s feed, but they also offer an option for Stories Ads. Instagram stories are becoming more popular these days. Stories typically are either photos and videos you take throughout the day that last only 24 hours. Your ads are inserted in the middle of the stories of people you follow. If viewers watch the whole ad, they then have the option to swipe up to take them to your website or landing page. Stories Ads are just one of six ad forms that you can choose from on Instagram to help grow your business.

Pinterest Ads Marketing

With 200 million monthly active users, Pinterest is another network to seriously consider. Pinterest ads are a little different in how they look. Pinterest ads are shown as ‘pins’ on potential customers feeds, so it looks like it blends in. Ads are then placed on their websites and mobile applications.

Keep in mind that most Pinterest users are mainly composed of women. Some of these women have up to a hundred thousand dollar worth of household earnings. This is great news if this fits your business niche and even better news if your business specifically caters to women. Search queries on Pinterest are much more general than other social media platforms. This will require you to take a little more time in researching keywords so you can specifically target the right client. Sharing and saving of the pin’s that you advertise will help you get that audience you are going for, and thus likely turn into profit.

Twitter Ads Marketing

On Twitter, you have a much wider audience, but you can filter your potential audience based on their interest, gender, device, and network. Ad formats on Twitter are in the form of tweets that may contain images, videos, GIFS, or just simply plain text. One thing to note is that Twitter literally has little to no downtime. There are posts and hashtags 24/7 around the clock and it has roughly 300 million monthly active users. If you have a very clear target audience and you are great with hashtags, consider Twitter a posible option for your social media marketing campaign.

Linkedin Marketing

If Twitter and Facebook didn’t fit the bill, Linkedin could be another option. On Linkedin, you can filter potential customers and clients by job title, industry, and location. Linkedin ads are usually offered through content and in direct messages. With approximately 630 million adults, professionals, and business owners, Linkedin is ideal if you are looking to target on a B2B level (business to business). This can be a great option for local marketing.

Bing Ads Marketing

Bing is the network behind both Bing and Yahoo search engines. What this means is that Bing can give you a wide audience to reach. Bing’s search engine (although way smaller than Google) still gets millions of searches every day. Because it is smaller than Google, you can take advantage of offers and great deals when it comes to buying advertisements. A Bing ad might only cost you $.01 per click. This can give you a lot of room for testing and getting a good ROI on your ad spend.  

Google Ads Marketing

Google Ads paid search, holds its reputation for being the king of PPC. This is the most used network for business owners across all platforms when it come to PPC. These ads will appear at the top of searches on Google based on what keywords you chose. Google Ads also offers third party website advertising. Third-party websites are sites or apps from other companies that are a part of the google Adsense networks. These website essentially offer this because when they get the clicks on their website, they get a little piece of the revenue.

Since Google is the king of PPC, there is a continuous escalation in their prices/costs. Compared to the networks mentioned above, Google Ads typically cost more, but it truly serves and delivers its purpose. 

Small Business Advertising Ideas To Get More Customers

As a small business, if you mix Google Ads with amazing onsite search engine optimization, you will get an amazing one-two punch which is what we like to use as a successful business strategy for a lot of our clients.

Whatever business strategy you decide on, pay-per-click ads will help give you an added boost to both your brand & online presence.

If you are not sure who your audience is & what they are really searching online, reach out to us & we can help put together a list of keywords that work best for your niche. Once you know what people are searching for, you can then choose the best platform that will give you the highest ROI for your online advertising campaign.

For more information on local marketing, you might want to read our article on local advertising ideas for small businesses.

For more information on Search Engine Optimization, please visit our Portland SEO Company Page. 

Plumber marketing image

From the moment that idea pops up in your mind to the opening of your doors to the public, you must know that running a plumbing business is not an easy task.

A good marketing strategy is essential to make your name stand out from the rest of the crowd. Luckily, the digital age has blessed the industry with an abundance of ideas that you can use for your own business. Getting your name out there doesn’t have to be rocket science, you just need the right tools and a comprehensive plan to make it on top.

And we are here to help you.

This article is dedicated to providing you with handy marketing ideas that will generate more leads and sales for your business. Let’s dive into it!

The Golden Rule: Boost Your Online Presence

Perhaps everything boils down to this.

Everyone has a phone they can easily use if the situation asks for it. When someone suddenly finds out that they have a burst pipe, they can just grab their phone and search for the nearest plumbing business that will immediately resolve their problem. When that happens, you have to be on the first page of the search results. You have to be visible as much as possible to put your name at the forefront of your potential customers’ minds.

We listed tried and tested ways so you can beef up your online reputation. Let’s start with the most obvious one:

1. Create a Functional Website

Don’t get us wrong, we think that the aesthetics of your website is still important. But the priority has to be on the functionality. It should load fast, you don’t want to keep your customers waiting. The website should contain accurate information and details about your business, you don’t want your customers to call a competitor. Make it easy for them to request your services. It’s all about the user experience that you provide for them. See, you can have a simple website, but when it’s able to give what your customers are looking for, then it’s safe to say that they will consider doing business with you.

If you don’t know where or how to start, there are platforms such as WordPress that allows you to build your website without breaking the bank. Set up your website and see for yourself the difference it makes.

2. Use Customers’ Reviews To Your Advantage

This might scare some businesses. Why? Well, it’s not always rainbows and butterflies when it comes to the customers’ feedback. So the big question is this, how can you benefit from customers’ reviews?

One thing to do is to accept reality. People will always have negative things to say. Your response to the situation is what matters. When someone leaves a positive review, be professional, and thank them for it. When a negative review shows up, stretch your arms and back because it’s time to show your customer service skills. Handle the situation properly by asking them to reach out to you for further assistance. The next time a prospect sees your response to poor reviews, it will give them the impression that you genuinely care for your customers and they will have more confidence in your business. After all, you have to go inside people’s houses to do your job. Trust is very important.

  Portland SEO Services 3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is a no-brainer.

If you want to increase your visibility and relevance to other people, then this is a sure way to do it. People are more likely to learn about new businesses through online research. Your goal is to be on that first page for as long as possible and excellent SEO allows you to do that. Invest in your SEO; learn the basics, ask the experts, and make it a habit to constantly improve it. Driving more organic traffic to your website will give your business more chances of turning visitors to returning customers.

4. Share Your Expertise Through Blog Posts

Creating helpful content to potential customers will greatly help your SEO. How? Let’s say you posted an article about solutions on plumbing problems and you included the right keywords, this allows you to rank high on search results. Search engines look for new and fresh content. If you are consistent with posting the latest content, then the favor will always be on your side. Another big plus, you get to showcase your knowledge on plumbing and add credibility to your business. A win-win situation.

  5. Pay Per Click AdvertisingPPC Management

Some will say that when a customer sees that “ad” word, it automatically throws them off. While we cannot deny that this is somehow true, it’s good to know that there’s always the other side. When a customer needs immediate assistance over their clogged sink or faulty water heater, discovering your plumbing business through advertisements won’t matter to them. Advertising remains an effective strategy of reaching out to potential customers and attracting them to choose your business. This is how this works: you bid on keywords and phrases and when someone searches for them, your website is guaranteed to appear on the results. You get charged for every click that your ad receives. A well-thought plan on how you will use this kind of advertising will help your business to receive good results.

6. Facebook Advertising

When launching an online advertising campaign, you should not forget the audience that Social media holds. Facebook allows you to customize your advertisements in so many ways. If you want to be specific in terms of age, location, and even behavior of the audience you want to target, then Facebook got you covered on that. This allows your advertisement to pique the interest of the right people and when that happens, convincing them to convert will be second nature to your business.

7. Google My Business Listing

Don’t overlook this powerful tool. Don’t make the mistake of other businesses. As soon as you start your operations, take the effort to set up your Google My Business listing. It doesn’t even take too much of your time – you just need to provide a company name, location, and necessary contact information. When you already have your listing, then your business will be more visible to potential customers near you. When a person has a problem, they will look for a solution. And they want it fast. It’s the same thing to plumbing businesses. You want to be there when customers look for quick solutions to their problems. A strong Google my business listing is your best bet. Oh, and did we say the best part? It’s free. Another reason to claim that listing. Go for it.

plumbing parts

Do The Work and Be that “Go-to” Plumbing Business

You can do it.

We know that the plumbing market can be too crowded and it can be overwhelming. But this is why we made this list of marketing ideas for your business. You just have to know where to start and you will eventually know how the industry works. Of course, you have to couple your digital marketing with excellent service. But we know that you already have that. Don’t wait for your success to sink. Or go down the drain. We know that you make a living by fixing the broken, but you don’t have to wait for your business to “break” before you take any action. Make a great marketing strategy from these ideas, serve your customers well, and take hold of success.

How To Get Started

If you would like us to look at your business and put together a personalized plan for you, just follow the button below for a free website review:

Free Website Review

Digital Marketing For Small Business

Gaining new customers is always a priority for a business. There’s nothing wrong with having a small client base. This means you have already built a solid relationship with your existing clients, but getting new customers gives you the chance to grow and achieve new business goals. 

So how do you successfully encourage new people to support your products or services? This is easier said than done, but not entirely impossible. Most of the time, business owners splurge their money and focus their energy on ways that don’t necessarily work for them. 

We don’t want you to fall into that trap and waste valuable time and resources. 

To help you expand your customer reach that will turn to increased business sales, upgrading your digital marketing strategies should be given the utmost priority. Here are 10 tried and tested ways to help you attract new customers.

1. Know Who’s Your Ideal Customer

No marketing strategy will work if you don’t know who’s your target audience. You could put out billboard advertisements in every street or get commercials in every tv channel but if they are not strategically placed or shown to where your target audience is, you will not get any good results. If your efforts to get your name out there don’t reach your target audience, then what’s the point? Answer this first, “Who’s your ideal new client? You have to identify their age, physical characteristics, location, income, buying habits, and so on. Think about what they want in life, their pain, their strengths, their aspirations, then identify how your business can make their lives easier.

However, it’s also important to not overdo it. Overstating your target audience makes it difficult to find potential customers, but making it too specific can also cut the chances of reaching them. This process could require some real work – meaning you have to sit in front of a computer for hours to research or go out there and talk to other people or assign a team to do it for you. This will give you significant information that will help your business in making and adapting marketing strategies that will surely grow your client base.

2. Always Improve Your Website 

People mostly come upon new businesses by searching online. Think of your website as the face of your business. If a customer looks at it for the first time, will they be wanting to get to know you more? Or are there some things that hinder them from doing so? These are the questions you have to keep in mind because there will always be room for improvement.

First, aesthetics. Does it look good? Are the texts readable? Does it reflect your brand’s identity? You have to make sure that your website is always up to date with the recent trends and technical developments.

Second, the user experience. Is it working smoothly? Does it take too long to load the pages? When a customer clicks a button, does it bring them to the correct place? Your website must be easy to use and navigate so that website visitors will not get frustrated and go to your competitors.

Last, relevancy. No one wants to see outdated content. It will only be a turn off to potential customers and it will send a message you’re not hands on to the other aspects of your business. Always update your website and it will encourage more new customers to learn more about your products or services.

3. Make Use Of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Now that you have made your website look great in the eye, it’s essential to take steps into how you can make it always on top of search results. This is where Search Engine Optimization or SEO comes in – it helps your brand to be more visible to increase exposure and drive more organic traffic to your website.

There are two factors you have to consider for SEO: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. The first one refers to any strategies such as header text, keyword placement, meta description, and many more that you implement on your own website. While the second one is about the techniques you have done to other websites. This one usually refers to links that will enhance the quality of your search rankings. 

It’s a common thing to know that if you’re not on the first page, it means that you’re more likely to receive fewer website clicks which also put your efforts into getting known to waste. Learning and mastering the best SEO practices will give you significant benefits in the long run. Instead of paying for traffic ads, you can save more resources by investing in your SEO actions. A brilliant SEO strategy will increase your visibility and make prospective customers come back for more. 

4. Ask For Your Customers’ Referrals

Without getting the word out that your business provides excellent service or product, you will not catch the attention of new consumers. You can ask for your loyal customers’ testimonials and include them on your website’s content or post them on your social media accounts. You can also take control of this process – create a way that will systematically get reviews from your customers. Don’t be passive and wait for them to give their thoughts. Instead, be proactive and make the most out of these referrals.

These positive words about your business will serve as a credible source for other people to give you a try. It’s difficult to gain the trust of people who encounter your brand for the first time, but with the help of these referrals from satisfied customers, it will make them feel more confident to support your business. 

5. Take Advantage of Social Media

Create accounts on different platforms so that your business has an online presence. With social media, there’s an assurance that you will reach a wide number of audiences and potential customers will notice your business. If you pay for social ads, you can always start small then increase the budget when you see a return on your investment. As the number of your following grows, make sure to listen and engage with your online community. Monitor the conversations (the good and the bad) about your brand and the industry. If a loyal customer posts a positive review about you, you can respond to it and make them feel appreciated. If they put a negative post out against your brand, you can address it immediately and properly. This will show your prospective customers that you have excellent customer service with these situations. 

Also, make sure to bring out fresh content as no one wants to see random and uninformed posts. If someone makes a comment or sends a message, respond timely. People always have a lot of questions and if you’re able to attend to them promptly, there’s a higher chance you can persuade them into giving your business a chance. The best part is that after you convert them into paying customers, they can share your brand with their family, relatives, and friends which will bring another wave of potential consumers.

6. Give Out New Discounts, Promotions

Everyone wants free things. Or if they are discounted. The thing is, giving out free trials or discounted products or services might not be the most practical option. However, this strategy can be exactly what you need to finally get more people to look at your brand. Most consumers have second thoughts with their purchasing process. When they have redeemed your rewards, this could serve as the last step for them to seal the deal with you. Let them experience that your products or services are truly the best value and through that, you will gain their trust and make them loyal supporters of your business.

7. Use Direct Marketing

One strategy you can incorporate into your marketing plan is when you ask people to engage by adding a call to action to your marketing materials. This usually comprises encouraging them to be a part of your email marketing list or asking them for more information. Through this way, you can identify and target people who could show interest in your future events, sales, promotions, newsletters, and many more. This strategy doesn’t mean that you can ask for them to do too much, you just have to make sure that there’s an increase in customers’ engagement. 

8. (Online) Networking

With everything that’s been happening, you might think the practice of good and old-fashioned networking can be difficult to do. Hosting and attending business functions with many people is not advisable right now. However, the industry is constantly adapting to the changes and there’s always the internet. Websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to connect with your former colleagues and friends that could bring potential customers. Meeting new people is a great way to build relationships that could lead you to clients who are actually interested to learn more about your business and turn them to paying customers. 

9. Become Partners With Us

Building a partnership with a business that complements your products or services can help you drive in new people into your client base without spending a lot of money. For example, an SEO company can team up with a company that performs website design. The trick here is to strategically plan how you will market each other’s business that will attract potential consumers. In the long run, you have made a benefitting relationship with your partners and loyal customers that’s important to achieve success. 

10. Website Retargeting

A high number of website visits is a good sign. It means that people are aware of and interested in your brand. However, website traffic doesn’t always equate to increased sales. Most of the time, people look at your website, then that’s the end. They might add some of your products to their carts, but there’s no last action. Why is that? There could be a lot of reasons and factors affecting their buying decisions. Therefore, it’s important to take steps into making these customers return to your brand and remind them to give that purchase a go. Remarketing or Retargeting are terms that are often interchanged, but they do one thing: show ads to people who have directly interacted with your website or any of your digital properties. When they go to different sites, ads relevant to your business will follow them. 

This helps to keep your name in their minds and hopefully convince them to convert. When you’re able to increase your conversion rate, you will generate more sales. Website Retargeting makes it easier to reach out once more to customers who are already interested in doing business with you. 

The Wrap Up

There’s no perfect marketing strategy that will tailor to all kinds of businesses. First, you have to identify your unique needs then use the ways that will give resolution to all of these. We have provided you with ways that will help you garner more attention from potential customers. It’s important to make a solid plan that will help your business expand its client base and achieve growth. With these strategies, you can start on your journey and find that winning streak.

5 online marketing stratagies

Have you ever felt frustrated by not getting enough leads on your website? Maybe your visitor count has reached a plateau, or worse, has gotten deep into the pit. Nevertheless, your business is still breathing and what’s most important is that you are still hopeful. What you need is a resurrection, a sudden boost that can skyrocket the amount of lead generation and sales acquisition on your website.

The push your business needs may come from one of the several online marketing strategies available in the industry. These marketing schemes contain different processes that result in unique solutions which all boils down into one general goal: to produce high quantity and high-quality leads. With that in mind, you can surely find one or more online marketing strategies that are the right fit with your business goals and aspirations. This is the time to step out of your comfort zone and see how successful online businesses and top-searched websites have been doing it, all with the help of general contractors and service providers who are experts in this field. 

“The only prerequisite in getting your success is that you have to be open for change.”

To help you decide on the things you would like to improve, listed below are 5 of the most effective online marketing strategies general contractors usually do to their clients that enhance their websites to produce more leads and convert them into loyal customers.

1. Upgrade Your Website Quality

Quality assurance is an important step in the process flow of manufacturing any product. Even in running an online business and website, ensuring that everything released is in excellent condition must be a top priority. Let the consumers feel that you value their time and money by keeping the quality of your website seriously, starting from the web design and user interface up to the tiny product details and content.

Upgrading the quality of your website is made easy with the help of web designers and content creators who can transform your page inside and out. Web designers are equipped with the technical and creative skills to build an aesthetically pleasing webpage with a simple layout and a crisp interface that is optimized and quick to navigate on. Their service will give your website a total makeover, making it more inviting and enjoyable to explore.

On the other hand, content creators focus on delivering engaging and moving materials on your newly designed website. It may be the beauty of your webpage that attracted and spiked the interest of the consumers, but it is the high-quality content that can get them hooked and convinced in buying your products and services. Your content should be worth reading, as it is with your products that must be worth buying. Remember that an overall upgrade will only work if you focus on improving the quality of both your web design and released content.

2. Get Onboard with SEO

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is a marketing strategy that generates organic traffic to your website. The ultimate goal of SEO is to place your page on top of search engine result pages of prominent search engines such as Google and Bing. Especially with Google, SEO experts observe and study the different algorithms that their search engine crawlers (spiders or bots) use as criteria to collect, rank, and index result pages. 

By effectively placing keywords or phrases that are usually used for typing web queries into your content, you will be able to help your website rank higher and produce more leads. Keywords help search engine crawlers understand the data coming from your page. SEO experts are also capable of adding schema markup to the code of your website to translate your content better to the binary language of these crawlers. In this way, when a web query matches the data that your webpage offers, the crawlers, reading through your keywords and markups, will be able to place your page on top of the result pages.

What is more remarkable about SEO is the quality of leads that it produces. When your search engine results are optimized, customers who are looking for the actual solution that you provide will be able to click and visit your website. These are high-quality leads who are very much interested in the products and services that you offer, allowing them to type a specific query about it in Google. You can improve your sales and close more deals with the help of a Search Engine Optimization Expert.

3. Expand Your Network with Links

The Google search algorithm is more than just keywords and schema markup. One important factor included in this algorithm is the number of backlinks that your website has. These are links from other websites that redirect back to your page when clicked. A high amount of backlinks practically means that your content is trustworthy enough to be a resource material for the works of other websites. Having these external links is crucial in expanding your network and ultimately in lead generation.

Keywords and phrases are still essential parameters in getting these links. They must be strategically placed in a way that emphasizes the key points and should not be abusively used all over the page. Be careful in repeating these keywords since the flow and quality of your content are still greater priorities. Other than keywords, collaborating with other businesses and websites for mutual benefits is a possible avenue to strengthen your network and receive higher backlinks.

Several SEO experts who specialize in increasing website backlinks can help you start and grow your network. They can optimize your website and create content that is designed to be cited by others. With their SEO skills and knowledge, these experts can get you the referral traffic that you need to bump up your website performance. 

4. Improve Your Customer Service

Good customer service is a great tool for lead conversion. After getting visitors to flock your website and letting them invest their time on your content, you must make the final move by providing the highest quality of customer service that you can give. Building customer relationships may come from patronizing different kinds of applications and service providers who can help you close the gap between you and your customers.

For example, by installing a live chat application on your website, you can stay connected and appear committed 24/7 to your customers. Live chat can help you personally respond to the queries of your new customers and also reconnect with your former clients. You can receive direct feedback from the users and review them for further service improvements. Lastly, live chat applications are capable of collecting user data that can be analyzed to help you increase your website visibility and performance. Several live chat applications are now available for download and can be easily installed on your website as a separate plugin.

Customer reviews largely affect your online reputation and ranking. Despite having been given excellent customer service, some clients are just too picky in giving out 5-star ratings. In this case, building good customer relationships is just not enough. The cool thing is these general contractors also offer services that can guide your customers in providing healthy and positive reviews on your website. They can also scan and take out negative reviews that are beyond your control. In this way, you can focus on improving your customer service with constructive criticisms and easily shut down irrational comments and not feed the trolls.

5. Make It Work With Retargeting

Investing in online advertisements may cost you a fortune. Although ads are proven to be effective in lead generation, retargeting can help you to efficiently deploy your ads to those who have already interacted with your website. The concept is easy to understand. Those who have prior knowledge of your business and website pose a greater chance of buying and are therefore the kind of leads who you need to convince just a little more and must prioritize. It is an essential tool that can elevate your brand by increasing its visibility to those people that matter. By controlling the circle of people who can see your ads, you can effectively use your investment for lead generation and conversion.

Several failed accounts that did not mature into a sale will have a second chance by clicking your retargeted ads and will most likely be successful in purchasing your products in the end. After all, everything is sweeter the second time around. Retargeting allows you to bet on the leads who will give you the most chances of getting a return. This can also turn your website lurkers into active buyers, getting people within your sphere of influence onboard the lead conversion train. No one left behind. No opportunities wasted.

Retargeting ads are supported by different platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Display Network. Several Social Media Experts can help you increase your reach and manage your ad investments wisely. These are experts who have mastered the ins and outs of social media, including the trends of how people behave and interact online. Knowing the patterns of your customer activity and how they reflect personal instincts and traits can help you to strategically promote your products and services online. They can help you understand your customers better so that you can cater more people into your website led by your advertisements.

These online marketing strategies are all effective lead generators that can surely put your website on top. Before choosing a technique to boost your performance, you must first learn what your business is all about and what it specifically needs to get into the right path. Good thing, Oregon Web Solutions offers a business analysis that can diagnose certain areas where your company needs improvement and the corresponding solutions that can be offered.

Get an All in One Solution From Us!

Oregon Web Solutions is a hub of experts who provide digital marketing solutions, especially in getting websites to achieve the top rank in Google with Search Engine Optimization or SEO. We offer WordPress Website Design, Link Building, Customer Retargeting, Google Maps Marketing, and Online Reputation Management services for those who are willing and eager to learn from our experts. Yes, you heard it right. We have all these online marketing strategies in one.

You can consider us a one-stop-shop where you can get all the help that you need to change and upgrade your website. To check if we are the right fit with your business type and target goals, feel free to fill out the discovery form on our website so we can also learn how our company can help you succeed. With client satisfaction at the heart of our business, our main goal is to get you the highest return with your investments.

Digital Marketing

Small Business Marketing

It’s imperative for small business owners to market their product and brand so they can consistently stay top of mind to potential consumers! Too many small businesses wither away silently because they were unsuccessful in their marketing skills. Consumers can’t buy what they don’t know exists! In addition to the lack of knowledge, consumers won’t take your product seriously if you don’t show them the value in your product.

So, how do you achieve this? Marketing! But wait. . .old school marketing doesn’t yield the same results as it did back in the day. Remember this trick: marketing involves placing your product information in front of the eyes of consumers.

Where are consumers GUARANTEED to be hanging out at today?

On social media, on the Internet and in their emails.

This is what the modern world refers to as “digital marketing”.

Digital marketing is CRUCIAL for the continuing operation and success of a small business. If you do it correctly, you may find yourself being upgraded to a large business or corporation with worldwide acknowledgment.

But, let’s keep things on a smaller scale for the moment.

Here at Oregon Web Solutions, we pride ourselves in helping small businesses thrive. It’s our job to ensure that you know how to carve your way through digital marketing and how it affects your business.

Let’s take a look at why it’s beneficial to work with a digital marketing agency.

1. Digital Marketing Costs Less In the Long Run

Many small businesses shy away from hiring a digital marketing agency for the false belief that it’ll cost them more money in the long run. This is NOT true! It actually costs you less in the long run.

If you hire people within the company to do the marketing for you, that’s a major cost outlay that you will have to pay payroll taxes on. Small businesses need to save costs where they can until they reach that special position within the market where consumers rely on them for their goods and services. That’s when they can easily afford to “get fancy” and hire a marketing team within its own walls.

To further add to this thought, if you hire a marketing team within your business, not only must you chunk out change for payroll but also for other employee benefits like healthcare insurance. If you choose to hire a digital marketing agency, the cost is MORE than cut in half. The reason for this is digital marketing agencies work as “sub-contractors” and things like benefits and payroll taxes get paid by then. Plus, since digital marketing agencies like Oregon Web Solutions do marketing for many different companies, they take advantage of economies of scale.

2. Hiring a Marketing Agency Allows You To Focus On Running Your Business

Most small businesses don’t have a marketing department. Thus, advertising and marketing behaviors are usually performed by the owner or manager. In most cases, this isn’t the best use of your key employees skillset. Plus, it can be very time consuming and stressful given everything else that needs to be done for daily operations!

An agency will listen to your goals, concerns and details of your business. Once we are educated on the nature of your business and how you wish to market your brand and product, we get to work! Marketing is a craft that agencies do all day long so they are quicker and more efficient about getting results. 

marketing board

3. You Can Ask Questions And Seek Advice From Marketing Professionals

When you hire a digital marketing agency, you’re making an investment that ensures the best results for your business. Marketing campaigns require professional research and attention to detail. It involves a careful analysis of the market and how your product fits into the category of consumers’ wants and needs.

Once an accurate analysis is obtained, thorough planning is implemented to create the most effective campaign for your business. This involves strategic marketing tricks for social media platforms and search engine optimization for the company website and other online assets.

Working with the experts means that your working with the best marketing professionals in the business. At Oregon Web Solutions we have nearly a decade of experience working with small business’s across the State of Oregon. We know what works to get you more customers and how to get them quickly. 

4. Digital Marketing Agencies Have Tools & Software That Will Help You Succeed

Do you have the proper tools and expertise to effectively market your company with promising results? If you own a new, small business, you likely don’t. That’s another reason why partnering with an agency can be a great fit. They already have subscriptions to powerful tools like Moz, SEM Rush, Ahrefs and many others. These tools are very powerful and in most cases not affordable for small business owners. By partnering with a agency you get access to these powerful tools that can track your performance, numbers and effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

If the numbers are low, they know how to tweak the marketing campaigns to get better results. Some of the necessary tools needed for professional marketing include analytics, strategic keywords, special automation tools, thorough research of competitors and in-depth search tools. The costs for these tools add up and can get very expensive. Fortunately, marketing agencies have these resources available for your benefit. Why not hand the digital marketing responsibility over to them and save yourself money and time?

Your goal is to produce high quality products or services; the agency’s goal is to effectively show consumers the value in your product or services.

5. Digital Marketing Agencies Understand the Importance of Claiming and Owning Your Niche

Vague, watered-down marketing does NOT showcase the value in your product. If you get on social media and state something like, “Are you hungry? Come eat our sandwiches! We make the best in town!”

Oh really? Do you think that statement will bring people to your restaurant? It might. However, it most likely will NOT. It’s not specific. What makes your sandwiches different from everyone else’s sandwiches in town?

Our staff at Oregon Web Solutions know how to navigate the marketing waters in and effective way. We know how to implement market segmentation for the best results in advertising your product. From there, the target market is discovered, and we position your brand to take advantage of this. Once the target market is determined, we work carefully by your side to craft an advertising plan that’s specific to that target group. You owe it to yourself to not take this task on by yourself! It can mean the beginning or the ending to your business.

6. Digital Marketing Agencies Keep Your Informed On What’s Working

Hiring a digital marketing agency does not mean that you never hear from them and have very little to do with the process. Clients are heavily involved with the planning and ideas for marketing their business. After all, it IS the client’s business!

You can expect to receive monthly reports that showcase the health of your advertising campaign. You’ll gain important information that’ll help you improve areas of your business and operations that will pull in more consumers. It only takes one bad marketing decision to send a business into a tailspin. No consumers, no revenue, no business. This reports can give you valuable insights that you otherwise would not have known. These insights can mean big breakthroughs for your business.

Therefore, agencies must stay in continuous communication with their clients to ensure that proper business decisions are being made and implemented to improve performance.

7. Working With An Agency Can Help Your Refine Your Own Process

If you run your business with the belief that you know everything you are going to miss out on learning new things. Working with a marketing agency will give you insights into how to be more efficient and productive with your internal staff.

You may have one of those light bulb moments when a digital marketer mentions an idea that seemingly stood in front of you all along. In many cases, you may be doing a process the hard way or failing at something all together. Great companies are often made by people combining their ideas and learning from one another. Agencies like Oregon Web Solutions have decades of experience refining their tactics, and when we work with clients they often learn to implement some of these streamlined processes that we use.

Let’s Sum Up Small Business Marketing!

We live in a time period where digital marketing is more important than ever. The general public is constantly glued to computerized technology whether it’s smartphones, computers, tablets and more. You can’t walk through a store without observing other people walk around with the smartphones in hand.

While traditional marketing techniques still work, they don’t work NEARLY as well as digital marketing techniques. For your small business, you’ll want a great website, email lists and effective social media platforms in order to find true success today.

Top SEO Agencies

Technical SEO Services

Here at Oregon Web Solutions, we are experts in helping your bring in more leads and customers from your website. Our goal is to give you higher Google rankings on search engines such and more targeted website traffic. What good is your business website is nobody goes to it?

We have the marketing tools and software to propel your small business in the right direction. Let us take the worry off your shoulders so you can focus on the business and day-to-day operations. We can build a customized marketing campaign that’ll showcase the value of your product or service.

In the end, you’ll end up saving TONS of money while pulling in more traffic to your digital platform and to your business. There’s no need to worry about hiring and training a in house marketing team. Instead, partnering with us will take a heavy burden off your shoulders. You can focus on doing what you do best while we handle the rest.

Free Marketing & SEO Analysis…

Interested in learning more? We make the process easy! Simply click the link below to claim your free website analysis: https://oregonwebsolutions.com/discovery-form

10 Local Marketing Trends

Attention local business owners – Do you own, or market for, a local business like a store, restaurant or service provider? We understand that every business is different, but we also know that there are specific and actionable tactics that you can use right now to elevate your business. Below we have compiled the top 10 local marketing trends that can help you start getting more customers to your local business from the internet.

 

Google My Business – 

Studies show that 46% of all searches conducted have local intent. A properly set up Google My Business listing might just be one of the most vital parts of growing your business’s online presence. The biggest advantage of having a GMB is how it plays into local searches. For example, if you Google “Plumbers near me” Google is going to show you listings for businesses located near you. If you’ve ever googled a similar phrase you likely saw a square profile pop up on the right side of your computer screen, or at the top of your phone screen. This would be a businesses Google My Business listing. It shows location, hours, website, reviews and more. This is now one of the top ways consumers are deciding where to go. If you properly optimize your GMB you have a better chance of showing up in the coveted Google “3 Pack” – businesses in the 3-pack (also known as local pack) show up ahead of organic results and have a spot pinned on the Google maps greatly increasing the chances of someone clicking through to your website or visiting your physical location. This is an extremely easy form of internet marketing that is simple to implement and can greatly increase your online visibility.

 

Online Reviews and Ratings – 

Personal recommendations have long been one of the top ways consumers decide where to go, what to do, or what to purchase. The same principle still stands, but on a larger scale. Online reviews and ratings from real-life consumers are one of the biggest indicating factors on whether or not a consumer will be happy with your product or service. A 2014 study showed that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from people they know, and the same study also found that 72% of consumers say that positive reviews greatly improve the chances they will trust a business. On the same note, negative reviews can greatly impact business and whether or not consumers will choose them over the competition. Businesses are at risk of losing between 22%-70% of consumers depending on how many bad reviews they have. Use negative reviews as motivation to improve customer experiences, and offer an incentive for those customers that are happy to leave reviews. Reputation management is a marketing strategy that often gets overlooked but is crucial to your businesses long-term success.

 

Location-Targeted Mobile Ad Spend & Geofencing – 

Studies show that location-targeted mobile ad spend is expected to nearly double in the next four years. Thanks to advanced technology and mobile devices, location-based mobile advertising is now easier than ever before. Now, instead of only targeting a person’s physical location, you can also target their online location (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) or wherever they are most likely to engage with your business. Gone are the days of spending ad money and hoping someone needs your products or service, now you can target people when and where they need it most. Geofencing specifically is a location-based mobile advertising feature that allows you to send ads and notifications to people that are within your specified geographical area. For example, if you have a pizza restaurant and a person comes within your designated geographical location, you have the option to send push notifications, ads or promo messages to their mobile device urging them to try out your pizza shop that they are already conveniently near. Recent studies show that 70% of consumers think geofencing notifications are valuable and 53% of consumers are likely to engage with the advertisement.

 

The Effectiveness of In-Person Events

Hosting events, where you are in the presence of real, live people, can be considered face-to-face marketing for businesses. Digital marketing and/or internet marketing are important pieces of your business’s overall marketing plan, but face-to-face interactions with customers is a highly effective marketing tactic that often gets overlooked. Even if your business is strictly online, hosting in-person events can be a good way to promote your business to a new area or group of people that may not have interacted with your brand otherwise. Face-to-face marketing can be done in a variety of different ways. You can host a small, intimate event where only a select few people are invited, or host an event on a larger scale and open it up to the public. How you face-to-face market will be dependant on your business and what you hope to achieve through your event. Create buzz for your event beforehand via online advertising and consider offering some sort of incentive for others to share about your event.

 

Website Retargeting – 

Research shows that only a small percentage of customers convert (meaning that they make a purchase) on their first visit to a website or an online store. So, how do you get customers to come back, pull out their credit card and make a purchase? The answer is retargeting. Retargeting is a type of advertising that lets you target your ads to people that have previously visited your website. Because it can take multiple encounters with a brand or business before someone actually purchases, retargeting is a good way to stay in the forefront of potential customers minds (and their news feed!) and increases your chances of turning website visitors into paying customers. You can target people who visited your page and left without purchasing, people who added items to their cart and left without purchasing, and more. As of now you can implement retargeting ads via Facebook retargeting, AdRoll retargeting, and Google Adwords remarketing. The best option for your business will depend on a multitude of different factors so consider checking out what each platform offers before choosing which channel is best for you and your business.

 

Social Media Giveaways & Promotions

Hosting a social media giveaway for your business can actually benefit you in a few ways. Other than doing a good deed and giving some free swag, product, or services to someone, it can help promote your brand and encourage engagement. While social media and social media following aren’t the crucial aspects of your marketing efforts, they definitely don’t hurt your business. Hosting a giveaway that urges consumers to like, comment on, or share your post (or better yet, all three!) can greatly increase your engagement, therefore giving your page a boost in the feed and discover pages. This also increases brand awareness as people are often prompted to tag others in giveaway posts, giving the tagged people a chance to check out your page and so on. This usually results in a surge in followers and gives you the chance to market yourself to a whole new group of people that may have never heard of you otherwise. If applicable to your business, consider investing in influencer marketing, or partner with a local influencer to help promote your giveaway. Influencers have larger social media followings and can get your giveaway in front of an even bigger audience increasing your chances of reaching more people.

 

Local Facebook Advertising – 

Did you know that Facebook has over 2.2 billion active users every single day? Because it is the largest social media platform by far, you can pretty much guarantee that your customers are hanging out on Facebook at least some, if not most, of the time. Studies also show that 78% of people surveyed say they have found new products via Facebook, and 26% of users who clicked on ads ended up purchasing the product (that’s almost 1 in 4!) Facebook Ads allows you to micro-target via a wide range of demographics you can choose from. You can target consumers based on things like location, age, gender, etc. in addition to things like stages of life (people who are engaged,) education level and more. Its micro-targeting abilities are part of what makes Facebook Ads so effective, especially for small businesses. Even better? You can spend as little as $1 per day. With all of this being said, knowing your audience and effective messaging is important for successful ad runs. Consider checking out online forums to learn more about how you can identify your target audience and advertise to them in a way that makes them want to convert.

 

Live Facebook & Instagram Video – 

Did you know that companies that utilize forms of video marketing see up to 41% more web traffic than competitors that don’t? Or that 80% of consumers would rather watch a live stream on social media than read blog content? These are just two major reasons going “Live” on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms is an effective way to increase brand awareness and engage with consumers. While Millenials are more keen to view live streams than other age groups, streaming isn’t something that should be completely ignored. Streams could be based on just about anything relevant to your brand or business whether it is a live Q&A, a tutorial, or a behind-the-scenes look at your business amongst other things. With that being said, there are a few rules you should abide by to ensure successful live-streams:

  • Market your live stream ahead of time – This way you can reach more people and give consumers a chance to recommend your live video to others if they are anticipating it beforehand.
  • Accurately title and describe your live stream when applicable – Giving potential viewers context greatly increases chances of them tuning in to your live video.
  • Don’t go live just to go live – You don’t want to go into your live video ready to read from a script and put on a show, but you also don’t want to randomly show up with no purpose. The purpose of your live streams should be to increase brand awareness, expand your audience, and promo for any new/upcoming releases or events.
  • Bonus Tip: Utilize Instagram stories. In January 2019 Instagram reported over 500 million active Instagram stories users every day!

 

WordPress Website Upgrades

Websites and website building are often a fear of local business owners. Most don’t have the budget to hire a master web designer, and others don’t have the knowledge or resources to do it themselves. This is one of the reasons that WordPress is now the most popular website builder of choice amongst large and small businesses. Studies show that 60.4% of all the current websites online built using site builders were built using WordPress. Aside from the fact that it is free to download, WordPress has a lot of features that other website building platforms don’t. While additional features do cost money sometimes, it is still an incredibly effective way to get your business online and ranking on Google. There is no doubt that every business now needs a website – and a well-functioning website at that. WordPress is great for small businesses because it’s extremely customizable, and user-friendly if you need it to be (if not, it’s easy and relatively cheap to have a site built from scratch if you have the right online resources.) In addition, many WordPress website themes already have some SEO features built-in making it easy to track your sites search engine data. Don’t know anything about local SEO or why you need to be implementing it? Click here to learn more. 

 

Search Engine Optimization (Intent Based Searches) – 

Google receives over 63,000 searches per second. What this means for you and your business is that it is absolutely crucial that you have established an online presence. What good is it to have the best bakery in town if no one is able to find you? SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a process that helps you beat Google’s algorithm and show up higher in their search listings. Google and other search engines only serve consumers with the highest quality content. If your website does not meet their standards you will be lost within the algorithm – which Google says changes between 500-600 times a year – and your content will be amongst the bottom of Google’s search results. If you want to learn more about Search Engine Optimization or local SEO and why it is critical to your business’s success, click here

Digital Marketing Internship

Have you thought about joining the marketing industry? Look to any business and you will see direct evidence of their marketing efforts. Their signage? Marketing. Their website? Marketing. Their radio/paper/online ad? Marketing. It’s hard to get away from it. In the digital age, it can feel like everything and everyone is marketing themselves all over the place, all of the time. With a generation whose eyes and hands are often glued to their computer or mobile device, we are constantly consuming even when we don’t think we are. With that being said, some may argue that marketing is dead. Or, at least, traditional marketing is dead. Back in 2012, The Harvard Business Review published an article titled “Marketing is Dead.” But, we don’t think that’s necessarily the case. Sure, marketing has evolved into an entirely new concept with the introduction of an internet and social media crazed generation, but at the end of the day, we believe marketing is still alive and well. While the description may look slightly different, we believe marketing is on its way to becoming more effective than it’s ever been.

 

In the age of social media, it can be hard to stand out amongst the crowd – this could be one of the reasons many company CEO’s and execs think marketing is on its way to becoming a dead industry. Consumer habits and the way they find and purchase things is changing rapidly along with technology. We can agree that traditional marketing tactics may no longer be effective for everyone, but marketing as a whole is quickly evolving and becoming more important than ever. With technology advancing consumers are changing and it is marketers jobs to ensure they are staying relevant, and up to date with new trends and consumer tendencies. In other words, the marketing world’s future is brighter than ever and advancing quickly. If you have ever thought about taking the jump into this industry, the time has never been better than now.

 

If everything we said above didn’t scare you off yet, chances are you are at least semi-interested in a digital marketing internship and what that career entails. One of the best ways to test the waters is to get a marketing internship. Whether or not you seek out a paid internships, summer internships, or full-time internships is up to you and who you are looking to work for. Marketing is at a dynamic crossroads – it is evolving and so is its role in companies and the digital landscape. Read on for all of the information we’ve compiled on marketing, and becoming a marketing intern.

 

What Exactly Does a Marketer Do? 

While the way companies market themselves is ever-changing, they way they analyze their customers is simple: collect relevant information and apply that to your companies products/services and how you can make them appeal to your customer base. While there is no set job description, at the end of the day, anyone looking into a marketing internship or career should probably have a stats driven work ethic. Marketers generally analyze the public demand for their product or service and turn those results into strategies to promote directly to their specific customer base. As they say, someone who is marketing to everyone is actually marketing to no one. Knowing your companies customer base is crucial to your marketing plans success. 

As for marketing interns, they will typically operate under the supervision of a marketing manager or CMO (Chief Marketing Operator.) Their duties can include a multitude of things depending on who and what they are marketing for. If you’re on the hunt for a marketing internship, we suggest checking out any prospective employers online presence, social media, etc. to ensure their values align with your own. After all, it can be hard to promote a company or product you aren’t completely on board with.

What Skills Do Great Marketers Have?

Problem Solving

  • Marketers need to be continuously finding “solutions” to the “problem” of selling a company or product. The ability to be adaptable based on feedback or market changes is crucial to any marketers success. 

Detail Oriented

  • A good marketer should know all the ins and outs of their company and product/service they offer. More importantly, they need to know the ins and outs of their target customer base to avoid accidental slip ups and turn-offs. Any gap in knowledge can result in unsatisfied customers. 

Time Management Skills 

  • Marketing plans and all that they entail often have very specific parameters – one of them being timelines and deadlines. For example, if you have a new product launching on a specific date in 6 months you are likely doing market research, planning, etc. for quite some time beforehand. Putting any aspect of your plan off until the last minute can be detrimental to the entire launch. You know what they say… being three hours too soon is better than being even one minute late. 

Creativity 

  • While being artistic isn’t necessarily a marketing job requirement, you do need to be able to see the “bigger picture.” With ever-changing trends, a good marketer will need to be able to think innovatively and keep their company ahead of its competitors. 

Communication and People Skills 

  • A huge aspect of marketing is being a “people person.” You don’t need to be the most outgoing person ever, but this job is all about making connections and getting people on board with your idea. In addition, being capable of communicating with people (consumers, your marketing manager, and co-workers) clearly and personably is crucial to your success. You will not only be communicating ideas, strategies, etc. with people at all levels of your company, but you will be communicating your brand value to consumers everywhere.

How To Prepare For A Marketing Internship 

The marketing landscape is more competitive than ever. In this field, employers are looking for someone that has a multitude of talents and characteristics that ensure you fit their job description and will find success within their company. We touched on what skills a great marketer possesses above, but the perfect candidate would have a blend of them all. While not everyone is perfect, you can be the most prepared. So, how do you prepare for a marketing internship?

Consider What Type of Marketing You Want To Work In

  • Have you considered what type of marketing internships you are interested in? Summer internships, paid internships, unpaid internships? Also, have you considered what areas of marketing interest you the most? There are so many different areas of work that fall under the term “marketing” that it can be tough to pick just one. Are you interested in Market Research only? Public Relations? Digital Media? Brand Management? Web Development? Check it out and do your research! The only thing worse than not securing an internship is securing an internship doing work you hate. Put in the work beforehand and reap the benefits of loving your job later. For digital marketing internships, companies rarely require hands-on experience as the point of your internship program is to learn and explore the marketing field.

Check Out and Prepare Your “Personal Brand” Beforehand

  • Have you ever Googled yourself? Chances are that’s what your potential employer will do when looking to hire you for their digital marketing intern. While a quick Google search of your name may or may not come up with anything even related to you, it’s worth checking out. This includes reviewing (and editing!) your social media accounts to reflect your professional self, updating your LinkedIn/other online portfolios and ensuring there’s nothing iffy they can pull out of the woodworks. After all, a lot of marketing entails being on the interwebs and you want to position yourself there strategically and accordingly.

Write a Resume and Cover Letter That Stand Out 

  • This may sound obvious, but a great resume and cover letter can go a long way! Some employers look for such specific cues on resumes and cover letters that they won’t even review ones that don’t meet their standards right off the bat. While you should always keep it quick and concise, this is your chance to make a first impression before even meeting them. A few rules to keep in mind: don’t repeat your resume when writing your cover letter, use language related to the job you are applying for, and use results-driven work examples when possible.

Actually Prepare For Your Interview 

  • Again, this one may sound obvious but you can never be too prepared. Some helpful tips on how to better prepare yourself for you interview are: 
    • Do some research on the company and your interviewer if possible. Find out more about their brand, their mission statement, work they’ve done, etc. Doing so can help you make personal connections and help you relate to the company on a personal level. 
    • Consider reaching out to your marketing agency, interviewer, or the company CEO ahead of time to relay your appreciation for even being offered an interview. This can go a long way and keeps you at the forefront of their minds.

What Is A Paid Marketing Internship?

While internships are typically unpaid, it is not unheard of to secure a paid internship. While they can be scarce depending on the area you live in, and the career you are seeking, a little bit of research can help you find internships near you. Choosing between the two may seem like a no-brainer (who doesn’t want to get paid for work?) there are many factors you should take into consideration when applying, and deciding where you will intern. Depending on your circumstances, and if you have the resources to support yourself whilst NOT being paid, unpaid internships can usually offer more hands-on experience as they are usually within smaller companies. Another perk? You are more likely to secure a paid internship down the line if you have an unpaid internship under your belt already. Depending on the field of marketing you are seeking work in, your duties as an intern will vary greatly. Internships typically run on the same work schedule as your superiors (typically Monday – Friday) but events, errands, and more may add some variation to your working hours. While it can be hard to committing to working a full-time job unpaid, we recommend checking out both paid and unpaid internships. Both have perks, and both will benefit you as you continue your education in the marketing field.

Summer Marketing Internship Ideas

While you can find some marketing internships throughout the year, most companies offer more opportunities in the summertime to give college students a chance to get intern experience while working towards their degree. And as you know by now, marketing is a pretty broad field of work. You can do market research, brand management, development, and so much more. So, the type of marketing internship you should seek (and hopefully secure) should be related to your desired field of work. If you are looking into conducting market research, an internship promoting a brand via social media, etc. likely won’t be beneficial to you. Ask yourself, are you interested in working in the analytical field? The creative field? Be sure you are seeking internships and opportunities that will teach you these skills, and hopefully give you hands-on experience in your desired field of work.

No matter what field of marketing you join, it is undeniably an industry that is alive and well. And as time progresses, less and less companies are requiring applicants to have degrees in marketing. Technological and societal advancements will only continue to grow this position as it has for decades before. Whether you want to be crunching numbers and analyzing data, or curating the perfect online presence, there is a digital marketing internship for you.
Most Popular Cities For Digital Marketing Internships
– Portland, OR
– Seattle, WA
– Miami FL
– Tampa FL
– San Diego CA
– New York NY
– Chicago IL
– Los Angeles CA
– San Francisco CA
– Washington DC
– Austin TX
– Lehi UT
– Dallas TX

 

Wedding Video For Clients

Wedding videography is a great way for video creators to get top dollar for their work. Unlike other video production niches, wedding videos involve creativity which means your price you can charge per job is higher. In fact, good wedding videographers can make $10,000 or more per video. In this article, we are going to give you tips and tactics for landing high-ticket wedding videography clients. Wedding video production is a great niche for new filmmakers because the barriers to entry are very low. Most newly engaged couples have low expectations for their wedding video and it’s a great way to get your foot in the door. Just about everyone knows someone getting married and by offering to do the video for free you can begin building your videography portfolio.

Reach Out To Friends And Family Who Are Engaged

This may seem obvious to most, but this is a great place to start looking for clients. Unlike photography, a large portion of couples see their wedding video as optional so in most cases, they don’t mind taking a risk and giving you a shot. The important thing to remember is that if you’re going to charge a fee to film someone’s big day, it’s critical that you get it right. You only have one chance to capture the big moment so don’t screw it up. The best way to ensure that you get it right is to do a lot of planning ahead of time. It’s always important to be prepared, but when your filming weddings this is even more important. Make sure you get to the venue earlier and scout the train. Brides are almost always on the left side so it’s important for you to be positioned on the right side. At the end of the day, the bride is more important than the groom so make sure you portion yourself to film her. If you have multiple camera angles then position your primary angle on the right and secondary angles centered or not he left side. Ideally, you would have at least three camera angles so you can capture the magic moment from multiple angles. Another tip is to go to the rehearsal and make sure that you understand what will be taking place during the ceremony. In some cases, the crowd will be asked to stand up which can block your entire shot. If you can’t go to the rehearsal then make sure you communicate with the pastor or wedding planner to find out exactly what’s going on. Finally, always make sure you have extra batteries in case the worst case happens during the ceremony.

Create A WordPress Website And Google My Business Listing

Another great strategy for finding wedding video clients is to create a website and optimize it for search engine optimization. In most cases, the bridge will be searching for the wedding videographer and if she doesn’t already have someone selected, she will search online for someone. The idea here is to position your business in front of your potential client when they come looking for your service. This is best accomplished by having a high-quality WordPress website and a Google My Business Listing set up. If you’ve decided to make wedding videos your primary niche, then it helps to have wedding related keywords in your name. This will make appearing at the top of Google Search much quicker and easier. Make sure you use a variety of wedding-related keywords throughout your website and copy to ensure maximum chance of being found. These means don’t just focus on “Wedding Videographer + City” but instead have a variety of different versions of those keywords. If your website is set up properly it’s time to work on your Google My Business Listing. Remember, GMB’s are focused on a local area so setup your GMB in the primary area you want to serve. In most cases, wedding video creators will not have an office or physical location so you will need to set up a service location.

Network With Wedding Photographers And Ask For Referrals

Your best source for wedding video clients is to create relationships with wedding photographers. If they are good, they will have a constant stream of new clients and this is a great resource to tap into. Compared to other client acquisition strategies, referrals are a great source of clients because the sales process is much easier. In other words, instead of a cold lead, referrals are what is called a warm lead and there will already be a certain amount of trust form the client. If the wedding photographer is referring you then it usually means you have been pre-vetted and are going to do a good job. Now, this may or may not be the case, but in sales perception is reality. When looking to develop a relationship with a photographer it can be challenging to find more than one person to referring clients to you. The reason for this is because in most cases they will expect you to send them leads in return. This begins to get complicated when you’re working with more than one person. The best strategy here is to build a relationship with one really good, and busy, wedding photographer. That way you can just focus on building one good relationship instead of multiple.

Use Facebook Ads To Target Newly Engaged Bride & Grooms

This is my favorite tactic for getting consistent wedding videography clients. Essentially, this strategy involves using a highlight reel or wedding video you’ve done previously to directly target brides or grooms that have just got engaged. This works well because Facebook has very advanced targeting systems that allow you to conserve advertising spend and just focus your efforts on your potential customers. Once they see the video it’s wise to set up a landing page that directly speaks to their want and desire to have a high-quality wedding video. If you do this correctly you can easily get a steady stream of new clients. Like all other marketing strategies, this tactic works best when you have a great highlight reel or wedding video that shows you are a good videographer. Plus, if you can tap into the emotion of their special day, you can easily set up a system where you will have unlimited new wedding clients coming to you. If you’d like more information on how to set up this entire system then check out our training below. We go through step by step our exact strategy for creating the wedding video advertisement, landing page, how to invoke emotion, and of course how to close the client with ease. If your new to wedding videography and are looking to get started this is a very simple and efficient way to land your first few clients. If you’re a seasoned professional this is a great way to keep a consistent flow of clients coming so you can get top dollar for your work.

If you’d like more information on the 5-Days To Unlimited Weddings System then click on the link below:

https://www.sethmorrisey.com/wedding-course

In conclusion, wedding videography is a great niche for videographers looking to get top dollar for their work. If you want to charge more per job or hour, you need to focus on niches that allow for creativity and you need to master them. That will allow you to stand out from the crowd and begin to build a name for yourself. Video creators that focus on wedding videography for any length of time usually find those wedding clients are easy to land and their price per wedding job will continue to rise.

The Definitive Marketing Guide

Marketing your construction company is critical to your long-term success. The nature of the construction industry is that you need a steady stream of new leads and jobs in order to stay in business. No one job lasts forever and each new project you start will eventually reach completion. It’s critical for contractors to have the next job lined up in order to cover your fixed expenses and keep your employees working. In order to do this successfully, you will need to develop a system that will consistently bring in new leads and potential clients.

Passive Vs. Active Contractor Marketing

Marketing strategies can be broken into two categories: Passive and Active marketing and it’s important that you know and understand both types. Passive strategies are things on your website, Google My Business listing, and directories that customers seeking the services you provide will potentially find. Active marketing strategies include things like website retargeting and paid advertising on Facebook and other platforms that we “push out” to potential customers in the hope that they will reach out to our business and potentially become a client. The best marketing strategies include a strong passive framework in conjunction with a strong active marketing campaign. In this article, we will reveal tips and strategies for a holistic campaign for your business.

The 4-Pillars of Success Contractor Marketing

Building a solid passive framework is the best way to capture new client leads on auto-pilot, regardless if you have money in the marketing budget for advertising. The best way to do this is to set up a system that captures leads from clients that are ready to buy and searching for a company to do business with. We call these Intent-based leads and our 4-pillars system goes through the framework of how to capture the maximum amount of these leads. Watch the video below to learn the 4-pillar system:

The 4-Pillars of Successful Marketing:

  1. Setup Your Home Base – Your home base is your website. This is the place where client leads are converted to new customers. The best platform for building a construction company website on WordPress. The WordPress platform gives you increased functionality and control for superior search engine optimization, design, and plugin installation. A great website includes clear calls to action (CTA’s), easy navigation, customer testimonials, reviews, and a form to collect potential customer contact information.
  2. Get On The Map – When it comes to local search Google My Business listings are your #1 source for new client leads. When a potential customer searches for your business on a mobile device, most likely the Google Map Pack is going to pop up first. This means that in order to be competitive in your local marketplace you will need to have your company appear in the top 3 positions in the Google Map Pack. It’s also helpful if you have your happy customers leave reviews directly on your Google My Business listing. This will improve both your click-thru rate (CTR) and your customer conversions.
  3. Build Your Brand – Brand search is important when converting potential clients into paying customers. If you track the conversion path that most new customers take it will include doing a basic brand search in Google with your company name. In other words, these potential clients are “checking up” on your company and making sure your legitimate and have positive reviews from other happy customers. It’s important for all construction companies to control their brand search by soliciting 5-star reviews, creating social assets, and adding their company information to business directories.
  4. Get Em Talking – Studies show that happy customer testimonials are the deciding factor when people decide to do business with a company. Unfortunately, most customers will not leave a review of your business unless they have a negative experience. In order to combat this phenomenon, it’s critical that our contractor marketing strategy has a process in place to get reviews from happy customers. This usually involves simply reaching out and asking.

Search Engine Optimization Strategies & Opportunities

Search engine optimization or SEO is the process of optimizing both on-site and off-site factors to appear at the top of Google search engine results. The actual process is very technical but involves the keywords and backlinks from related websites. Studies show that appearing at the top of the Google search results is the most effective way to consistently drive new client leads and customers to your website. Unfortunately for most engaging in DIY search engine optimization is beyond the scope of their expertise and will most likely need to be outsourced to professionals. Hiring a professional search engine optimization company is usually a significant investment, but when done properly can produce a great return on investment.

The Top Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Secrets For General Contractors

If you’re looking for SEO services for your business, my agency Oregon Web Solutions would be happy to give you a no-obligation estimate and price quote. If you’re interested in learning more just fill out the contact form at the bottom of this article.

Why Contractors Fail To Successfully Market & Promote Their Companies

The Construction industry is a labor-intensive occupation. It involves a ton of paperwork, numerous legal requirements, and complex management and coordination services. All this gets in the way of marketing. However, considering all the opportunities popping up in real estate, as well as the rising competition, contractor marketing is now simply indispensable.

Unsurprisingly, most general contractors do not know how to handle their marketing. This comprehensive marketing guide will get you up to date on the most effective strategies for your marketing.

Contractor and construction businesses, by their very nature, are labor-intensive and marketing is usually the last thing considered.

Between giving quotes, going on jobs, completing jobs, and acquiring new customers, there seems to be little to no time to plan out a solid marketing strategy that can increase your reach to potential customers while engaging your current customers.

While contracting and construction businesses operate differently from other businesses, a planned and well-researched marketing strategy is still imperative to your business’ success and should be at the core of every effort to connect with new customers and grow your business.

Why Marketing In The Construction Industry Is Different

Marketing in the general contracting and construction industry is slightly different from marketing for other business types.

One advantage of being a general contractor is that you can get before and after pictures from your clients in order to promote the quality and success of your work. This is part of what will help you properly Market in the construction industry. It doesn’t just help you with gaining new clients, it can also help you with partnerships when it comes to referrals from other businesses or creating an affiliate program with other businesses who are in a complementary industry.

Best Advertising Strategy For General Contractors

There are many options that contractors have when it comes to advertising. One of the best ways is by getting a website and getting your business and information online. It’s important to remember that a website alone will not just bring in new business for your company. In order for your website to be found by potential customers, you must optimize it for the keywords that your customers are searching for. This process is called on-site search engine optimization.
Another good option for contractors to advertise their business is by going to trade shows. There are many options that you can choose from when it comes to attending a trade show and getting a booth at one. But, what you want to remember is that not all trade shows are created equal. It’s important to ask questions as far as the cost of the booth in relation to how much foot traffic will be coming through the trade show. If you find that the trade show seems to have more speakers on their stage than attendees who are walking through it, then it may not be the best option for your business at this moment.
Paid advertising strategies can also be an effective form of marketing. Paid advertising includes things like Facebook Ads, website retargeting, Google PPC, and any other paid advertising platforms. It’s important to note that before you spend money on paid advertising strategies you make sure you have sufficient knowledge on the advertising medium, and strategy you are looking to execute. Paid ads have a higher level of risk because you can spend a lot of money very quickly with very little results if you’re not familiar with the advertising platform.

Google My Business Listing Construction Industry Best Practices

To set up the Google My Business Listing for your General contracting business, visit Google.com/Business

General Contractors Contracting
while logged into a Gmail account. This will take you through a series of steps that will help you properly set up and optimize your Google My Business listing. The most important thing is to fill out your profile completely with all the information that’s available to you. This means adding your name, address, phone number, hours of operation, website URL, and any other relevant information. Next, go into the photos section and add as many photos as you can to your profile. By filling out the profile completely you are giving your business an advantage over the competition. Finally, take the time to get as many 5-star customer reviews as possible using the strategies outlined below.

Social Proof & 5-Star Customer Reviews

The best way to convert potential clients into paying customers is to leverage the power of social proof and customer reviews. Getting reviews from happy customers usually involves reaching out and making the process simple for them. There’s a number of useful tools on the market today that you can utilize to make this process easier. One of which is a review tool called Grade.us. Grade.us will allow you to send a link to clients that will take them through a simple process for leaving you’re a review online. The reviews can be posted on a number of different review sites including Google, Yelp, Facebook, and a number of others. The tool also allows you to screen potentially harmful reviews and send the customer to a questionnaire where you can solicit information about why they were not happy about your services. If you’d like more information on Grade.us you can watch the video.

How To Automate Customer Reviews

How To Get a Direct Link To Your Google My Business Listing

If you prefer to manually build 5-star reviews to your Google My Business Listing then it’s important to send a direct link to your customers. The goal is to limit the amount of work and friction in order to have the maximum amount of customers follow through and actually leave the review. I’ve created a video to give you a step by step guide in finding a direct link to your Google My Business listing.

Contractor Marketing Strategies That Get Results

Remember that marketing strategies for general contractors are not just about having a good website or nice business cards. The best strategies include a holistic approach that includes all aspects of marketing your business.
general contractor
In the marketing world, there is a saying that it takes approximately 7 touches for a person to see an advertisement to have a response and sign up for the service that they viewed through your advertisements. This is just an estimate and it could take more or less depending on the effectiveness of your advertising.
With that in mind, it’s important to make sure that your contractor marketing strategy is considering all aspects of your business in any way, shape, or form that people may come across it.
Things like your logo, a wrap design for your company vehicle, flyers and signage that you use when you’re handing out information in the community. All of these are part of a smart strategy and should be well planned and executed before you move on to the next stage – using other outlets to Market your business.

Social Media Marketing For Construction Companies

One of the key strategies in marketing your business will be the proper use of social media through both organic posting and advertising.
Organic social media posting is a great way to keep your business “top of mind” for your potential clients. This form of social media promotion can be labor and time-intensive, but when done correctly can result in a steady stream of new customers for your business. Facebook and Instagram and constantly adjusting their algorithm to make it harder to reach your customers organically, so you will have to think outside the box to effectively promote your business. The best strategies usually include providing value or even giving things away for free, in exchange for likes, shares, and comments from your followers. Social media marketing strategies that rely entirely on self-promotion will usually fail because your engagement will be little or non-existent. It’s important to think of your social media promotions not as a direct sales tactic, but instead a long-term branding initiative.
Online ads and paid advertising, when done properly, can increase your business significantly. It’s important to remember that using ads online as a contracting company should be done with great care and planning. If you’ve never worked with social media ads before, then it’s imperative to hire a professional who has worked with an online advertising campaign within the contractor industry. The best-paid social media marketing campaigns leverage high-quality content that fits the medium and channels that it will be delivered to the audience. For example, platforms like Instagram are strictly phone-based, to your paid advertising should fit within the aspect ratio and specification with which your audience will consume it. On the other hand, YouTube is watched primarily on computers and in a wide aspect ratio, therefore wide versions of videos work best. In order to be effective with your paid advertising, it’s best to pick a platform that will work best to promote your business and focus the majority of your advertising spend there. I always advise contractors to go deep on one platform rather than using a shotgun approach on multiple platforms.

How to Use Instagram To Promote Your Contracting Business

Instagram is one of the most popular social networks and is still growing quickly. The nature of construction is it is very visual, making it the perfect tool for contractors to promote their business. Plus, Instagram is still one of the few social networks that you can get significant organic reach without having to pay for advertising, and that’s why I recommend it for marketing. In the video below I show you step by step how to use Instagram to promote your business.

Instagram Marketing Strategy For Contractors

New & Innovative Construction Marketing Ideas

Successful marketing campaigns always include out of the box thinking. In order to promote your construction business to a wider audience, you could use email marketing, video content, and personalize interviews with past customers. Most of these strategies will be beyond the scope of what your competitors are doing and will set your business apartment. Of the three outside the box marketing strategies discussed above, past customer interviews will no-doubt be the most effective.
These are some ways that contracting companies are using in order to promote their business in a new way. As we move along in this article, you will see more ideas to utilize in your new marketing plan.
Marketing your company is not hard, but it should be planned and thought out thoroughly. Use some of these suggestions, do your research, and understand what direction will work best for your business.

How To Use Branding To Make Your Construction Company Stand Out

There are thousands of contractors in the construction industry, but only a handful really stands out in the busy marketplace. Branding is the key differentiating factor between those who succeed long-term and those that fail.
Your branding campaign is the face of your business. It is what your clients identify with. It represents your business’ virtues, beliefs, and so much more. Consequently, 
General Contractor Doing Marketing
it is also a pivot point for any marketing strategy. As such, it is prudent to begin by building the ideal brand for your business. You will need to take several factors into consideration including an image that represents your business, a motto to go with it, values and virtues that you stand for, and more. You should also take a personal brand into consideration if you are an independent contractor.

How To Get A Great Logo On A Budget

Your logo is the most important part of your overall branding campaign. The logo you choose will be the visual representation of your business to your customers and the sub-contractors you work with. There are no hard and fast rules for logo design except to pick a logo and stick with it. It’s important to not fall into the trap of constantly changing your logo because this will only confuse your potential clients and erase the majority of the branding work you have done previously. One strategy I like to use for logo design is to mimic the color and look of popular logos that already exist within your industry. For example, you could use the same color yellow as the Dewalt power tools. This color is already associated with construction and will make your logo recognizable almost instantly in the mind of your potential customers. If you’re on a budget and you’re looking to get your logo done at a reasonable price, then watch this video for some quick and easy tips to getting a high-quality logo designed at an affordable price.

How To Design a Contractor Logo On a Budget

Final Thoughts On Contractor Branding

Your audience will identify better with your brand more than it will identify with you or just simply a business name. Great branding can make you stand out in a busy marketplace and will instill a sense of trust in your customers. Once your logo is designed it is important to prominently display your brand identity on all your marketing material. There are many different ways to promote your brand including vehicle wraps, custom shirts, hats, business cards, and more. Utilize your logo anywhere you can and make sure your branding is consistent across all advertising platforms both physical and virtual. When properly executed, branding will help drive more leads and customers to your business.

Marketing Summary

In the digital era, most businesses have found a way to make revenue online. The construction industry is an exception because it is entirely physical. However, smart contractors can still use the internet to market their services. The construction industry includes a wide variety of different trades including general contractors, electricians, plumbers, roofers, gutters, HVAC, concrete, foundations, tile layers, cabinet makers, and many more. All of these trades can benefit from a complete and robust digital marketing strategy. To effectively promote your business online follow the below framework.

Build a Stylish and Functional WordPress Website

When you decide to get a website for your contracting business, you will want to choose a WordPress website design company that can help you build a stylish and functional WordPress website. This will help you rank better in Google search and give clients a place to learn more about your business and the services you provide.
Every professional business needs a website – it is like your very own entry in a vast virtual directory. Your website speaks for your business. You can use it to list the products and services you offer in a detailed manner. It can also function as a receptionist whereby your clients can hire your services directly through the website.
It is not enough to just get a website – you will need a website that outranks your competitors’ websites. As such, ensure that you get the best web design services for your website and utilize the best SEO strategies to ensure that you rank at the top of search results.

Leverage Organic and Paid Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a great way to keep your brand “top of mind” to your prospective customers. In this article we’ve discussed both paid and organic social media marketing strategies that will help your business grow. Remember, social media is rapidly growing and changing. In a way, it is taking over communication. Billions of people around the world communicate on social media sites such as Facebook, and Twitter every day. For marketers, this creates an opportunity to meet large audiences at scalable levels starting with small localities on a global basis.
Marketing your construction business on social media is no different than any other type of business. The key is to provide value to your potential customers so when they decide to make a purchase, your business is the one they go with. By using the advanced targeting systems available to you on Facebook and Instagram, you can target your audience precisely at the exact moment they are ready to make a purchase. Finally, it is an interactive way to market as your audience can offer honest feedback, thus helping you modify and improve your products and services.
You will need professional social media pages for your construction business on all major social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It is also advisable to hire professional social media marketing services for more successful leads.

Setup and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Google My Business listing is the most important asset you have when it comes to local marketing. The majority of people searching for contractors on the local level will click on a Google My Business listing first, before navigating to a website or contractor directory. It’s important to not only set up your Google My Business but to completely fill out your profile and make sure you have 5-star reviews. All of these factors will be taken into consideration in Google’s algorithm when deciding your search positioning.

Use Video Marketing To Stand Out From Your Competition

A majority of people would prefer watching a video based on a book to actually reading the book. The same is the case with adverts nowadays – video adverts are more popular than written pieces. They are much more engaging and illustrative. Additionally, they can be fun and enjoyable, thus helping generate more leads. What’s more, you do not have to pay astronomical fees to have your videos featured on TV – you always have video sharing sites such as YouTube.
YouTube gets billions of visitors every day, so your video ads will get great exposure. What’s more, YouTube offers a wide range of features such as geo-targeting, so you can get the most out of your marketing efforts. Another way to utilize video marketing is to get video testimonials of happy customers. These provide positive social proof for your brand and will help you stand out in a busy construction marketplace.

Give Back To Your Community To Promote Your Business

As mentioned earlier, construction is entirely physical. In fact, it can be described as dirty. To this end, there is no better way to showcase your skills than by getting your hands dirty by building things for free. That’s right, utilize your unique skillset by volunteering in your community when the need arises.

Construction makes up a significant part of the public infrastructure, and it is usually never enough. To this end, your services may be needed in upcoming charity events. As such, be on the lookout and volunteer for any charity events in your area that will require your services. Make sure that you make your presence known by doing an excellent job.
This way you can help nurture confidence and trust in your business from members of your community and get more leads. Besides, you have a moral obligation to contribute to the embitterment of your community as a (potential) business leader. If you’re a painting contractor you could help paint your local youth center or library for no charge. If you’re a contractor you could help build a shed or a kids playground. Find unique ways to use your talent to give back to your community and it will pay big dividends in the long run.

Engage in Strategic Partnerships to Promote Your Construction Company

Everyone needs some help to get by especially in an industry as competitive as construction. Considering the nature of this industry, your partnerships should be strategic. Experts recommend partnering with interested third-parties who are not in competition with you. For instance, you can partner with materials suppliers and have them spread the word about your services to their customers. Essentially, make strategic partnerships with other businesses also looking for partnerships and have something to bring to the table. You can also go the extra mile to combine forces with other contractors if your pool of resources is not enough – major construction companies are merging and putting smaller contractors out of business in the process.

Final Thoughts On Contractor Marketing

There are numerous opportunities to exploit in the construction industry. However, most of these opportunities are only accessible to the few who successfully engage in marketing. As such, take some time off your busy schedule to come up with the ideal marketing strategy for your business. The tips in this guide have been tested and proven to work optimally and will put you ahead of the competition.

Contractor Marketing Online Training Course

Marketing General Contractor

If you’re a contractor who would like to learn how to do their own marketing then we have the perfect resource for you. We’ve put together the ultimate DIY contractor marketing training that gives you step by step instruction in all aspects of marketing including website design, Google My Business, branding, advertising, and more. The training course includes over 50 video training modules. This training is perfect for the business owner, spouse, or even marketing manager to use to be more effective with their marketing efforts.

Do You Own a Construction Company and Need Help with Your Marketing?

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seo tips and tricks to promote your website
There is no doubt that the internet is a core pillar of our modern society. The internet, social media, mobile devices, and more are now being used by more people than ever before. According to Statista, as of April 2019, over 4.4 Billion people were active internet users – that is over half of the world’s entire population! America comes in on top with a 95% internet penetration rate amongst the population. As a business owner, it’s important to establish yourself online — with a website and social media presence if you want to be competitive. Although important, having a website and a presence on social media alone will not bring in new leads, clients, and customers to your business. In order to do this, your business must also be visible in Google search when potential customers come looking for the products or services you offer. With over 63,000 searches being conducted via Google per second, you can guarantee people are searching for your type of products or services. Now, the question is, how do you get your business website and social assets to appear in front of potential customers when the internet is saturated with other businesses just like yours? In order to do this, you need an effective, strategic, and focused Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.
Search Engine Optimization, commonly known as SEO, is a systematic approach that’s purpose is to increase the visibility of your website without the need to pay for driven ad spaces (PPC or Pay Per Click) on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bring, and more. In other words, it is the process of increasing organic search engine traffic to your website. The process behind SEO involves technical and design criteria that set you up to rank best among your competitors and drive website visitors to your site. Essentially, it makes it easier for search engines to find your website and display it at the top of its results. In fact, its search engines need to find your site but also need to decide to display it at the top of the search results. Search Engine Optimization is a broad strategy that involves optimizing your website to search engines — While making the site user-friendly and engaging for those that do visit. In many cases, these two strategies are at odds with each other — Therefore, the SEO’s job is to balance and create synergy between the two sides of the equation. In this article, we have compiled an exhaustive list of the best tips and tricks you can implement in your own SEO plan to drive more organic traffic to your website and increase your online visibility.

Beginners Guide To SEO For Quality Websites Make Sure Your Website Optimized For Google Search

First and foremost, you want to make sure that your website is optimized for desktop as well as mobile. According to Bright Local’s study, 61% of mobile users are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. In other words – your clickthrough rates will skyrocket if you are optimized for mobile devices. If you aren’t sure, you can use “Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test” tool. Simply Google “Mobile Friendly Test,” enter your domain or URL in the box provided and shortly after, Google will tell you whether your page is mobile friendly, or if it’s not. From an SEO standpoint, the primary objective of website optimization is to strike a balance with the proper amount of keyword density on a page. In other words, once you’ve identified the type of keywords you’d like the page to appear for, your goal is to include those keywords throughout the page at a density that will satisfy Google and other major search engines in order to rank your website. Google is constantly changing and adjusting their algorithm so this part of the equation involves constant updating and experimentation. At our agency, Oregon Web Solutions, we use sophisticated software programs to ensure that we have the correct density to deliver the best possible search engine results and are successful at beating Googles algorithm.

Setup and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Google My Business Listings are one of the major ways new and existing customers will discover information about your business online. Learning how to set up and optimize your GMB is one of the most valuable SEO technique you can learn during your SEO training. Google My Business Listings are arguably one of the most important parts of SEO -, especially for local businesses. Functioning as a local business directory, Google My Business Listings or GMB’s for short should be a critical part of every companies Search Engine Marketing strategy. If your business doesn’t have a Google My Business Listing setup, simply go to Google.com/business, sign into your Google account, and it will prompt you to put in your NAP (name, address, and phone number.) If you have a business with multiple locations or you purchased a franchise, then you can start typing in the business name, and you’ll see a list of businesses that are already registered in Google’s database. In most cases, these existing GMB listings can be claimed by the business owner. One quick tip is that your business name is not meant for keyword stuffing – do not write something like “Oregon Web Solutions Portland Oregon 24/7 – Oregon Web Solutions”. It’s not going to help you appear at the top of Google, so don’t bother. Next, you would add your address – if you’re an independent service provider like a work-from-home consultant then you can enter in your home address, select “I deliver goods and services to my customers,” and choose to hide your address since it’s not a storefront. Now, when your business shows up in Google search, it will show the city and province/state where you work from, and the general area your service. Next, you will be prompted to drop a pin on the map to show Google approximately where your business is located. Finally, you will be prompted to enter your business hours, phone number, and some other details. Once the information has been added, it’s time to publish your listing. Setting up a GMB is important and will enhance a customers user experience, but setup alone will not guarantee that you will be found online or that your business appears at the top of the search results. If you’re looking for help in this department I recommend reaching out to our agency as we employ advanced SEO strategies.

Identify Your Target Keywords Through In-Depth Keyword Research

Identifying and optimizing for the correct keywords is critical for the success of your business website. Keywords can be defined as “a word or concept of great significance” or, they are essentially “keywords” identifying what you do, sell, service, etc. In other words, these are the types of phrases your potential customers are searching when trying to find a business like yours to patronize. There are many ways to do keyword research and identify potential keywords, but one of the easiest is simply using Google’s autocomplete feature. This is one of our most valuable informative tips for beginners and it is as simple as searching on Google, and typing in the main query you’d like your business to appear for – for example, “Coffee Shop Portland.” Next, make note of the types of “suggested” search phrase Google is recommending to you —Phrases such as “…open late,” “…Portland Oregon” and so on. This tactic can also be used on any website or search engine that has a suggested search feature. Remember – when using this SEO technique quality over quantity is the rule of thumb. You don’t need to try and rank for ALL of the keywords Google is suggesting – just the ones most relevant to your business. This can help you identify the types of keywords people are searching when they are interested in products or services that your business offers. Another option is to identify potential keywords that your competition is already optimized and appearing for. This strategy works well because your crowdsourcing your competitions keywords assuming they have already done the research. Furthermore, another great strategy is to use a tool like Moz and simply enter in the domain of one of your search competitors. Next, go to the organic keywords report and it will show you all of the search queries that the domain you entered is rankings for. You might find that your competitor of choice is ranking for a lot of branded queries so we suggest using the “exclude” box and typing in said brand name which will give you a nice list of other relevant keywords to target. Some keywords we found using this tool.

Optimize Your Homepage For Keywords & User Experience

In general, most single location businesses should optimize their homepage around their primary location and the most desirable keywords. For example, as a Portland-based marketing company, we would primarily target keywords like “Portland SEO” rather than “SEO.” In most cases, your potential customers are looking to do be business with a company in their general location. Another important factor is to list your name, address, and phone number on your homepage. We suggest having this in the text of the homepage as well as in your footer — if you’re a single location business we recommend including this info in your footer across all pages on your website. If you’re a business that has multiple locations, then you’re exempt from the rule of optimizing your homepage around your primary location. Instead of optimizing your home page, you would want to optimize local landing pages or inner pages by including key elements like the location’s name, address, phone number, and hours. You should also be using related keywords targeted at the specific location each landing page is for.
 
Furthermore, an additional strategy to optimize your homepage is by adding Schema markup. Schema markup is code that you add to your website to improve the data and information search engines can read and understand about your page. This additional information will make it easier for search engines to properly position your website in the search engine results. Our personal favorite way to do this is using Technical SEO’s Schema markup generator. Simply enter your information, copy the code they generate — add this code to the head tags of the page you’re trying to optimize. Bonus tip — if you have a WordPress website (which we recommend) simply download the plugin “Per Page Add To Head” and it will give you a box at the bottom of each page when editing. Next, simply input your Schema code and voila! Your page is one step closer to dominating your competitors in the SERP’s.

Optimize Inner Pages For Multiple Locations

Properly optimizing your website for multiple business locations can be challenging. In order to do this properly, it’s best to give each location a unique page. This page should be used as the primary landing page for all assets — both social and otherwise — that are related to that location. These assets could include social accounts, Google My Business Listings, and online directories. Next, use on-page SEO tactics shared above to configure the proper keyword density. Finally, make sure to properly optimize your URL structure for each location page to properly reflect the specific keywords the page is targeting.

The Difference Between On-Page and Off-Page SEO

One thing that must be considered, is the difference between on-page and off-page search engine optimization strategies. On-page SEO put simply is optimizing individual web pages to help your website appear at the top of the Google search engine rankings. On-page refers to the content of a page that can be optimized as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to external ranking factors including referral website visitors, contact, and backlinks. Both on-page and off-page SEO has changed a lot over the years as technology advances, so it is important you stay up-to-date with the latest practices. Here are some of the ways we suggest optimizing pages to increase your organic traffic, and rank higher in search engine results.

5 Simple Tips That Will Immediately Improve Your SEO Performance

1. Have a descriptive, eye-catching, keyword rich title.
 
The title will be the first thing potential website visitors see in the search engine results. With that being said, you don’t want to keyword stuff or add too many keywords.
 
2. Easy to read, short URL’s
 
Your URL’s should be descriptive, but short and to the point. For example, “oregonwebsolutions.com/best-seo-tips-2019” would be a better choice than “oregonwebsolutions.com/the-best-seo-tips-and-tricks-of-the-new-age-and-beyond.” Another example of a less than desirable URL would include symbols, random numbers, etc. Google has specifically said that these types of symbols are unnecessary unnecessary-unnecessary unnecessary and can actually hurt your Google search results.
 
3. Have an attention-grabbing meta description.
 
While meta descriptions are still used by search engines, they are only a small portion of the Google search algorithm. We like to think of them more as a description of what the consumer will see when they click on your web page. You want to use this as an opportunity to draw the consumer in — tell them why they should click on your webpage but also leave the statement open-ended so they have to click on your website to read more.
 
4. Use target keywords intentionally throughout your URL, title, first paragraph, content, etc.
 
There are lots of free tools out there to help you optimize pages based on your keyword. Sometimes it’s easier to be told what to do and where to do it rather than figuring it out yourself.
 
5. Take advantage of image search traffic by adding and optimizing images.
 
Google’s image search is undoubtedly a huge part of where the search engine’s traffic comes from. In order to take advantage of this valuable traffic source, add keywords to your image titles before uploading them to your website. It’s important to note, that large images can actually slow down your website and hurt SEO performance. Make sure you reduce your image file size prior to uploading them to your website.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The world of SEO is constantly changing and it takes a full-time focus and commitment to stay ahead. As the internet grows more competitive, more websites will be competing for limited resources. In order to stand out from the crowd, your team must deploy significant resources of both time and money to keep your competitive advantage. Many clients ask us, can I do SEO on my own? Do I even stand a chance against the competition? The reality is in most cases business owners would be better to outsource this portion of their business to a professional SEO agency. This allows the business owner to focus on their core competency and leave the technical aspects of search engine optimization to the experts.

If you’d like more information about our services and to receive a website search analysis please click on the link below to get started: http://149.28.13.162/~oregonwebsolutio/discovery-form/

{SEO, SEO Tips, SEO Website Tips, Search Engine Optimization Guide}

videography

Making money as an independent videographer can be tough. This is why we are putting together a full comprehensive course on how to do just that. It is 10x easier and faster with a roadmap and a mentor to do anything in life.

We just launched a course for Videographers looking to get wedding clients. We literally got 8 quality leads in 7 days. If you are curious how, you can find out here: https://www.smartfilmmakers.com

If you are interested and would like to get notified when it comes out, email us at: contact@oregonwebsolutions.net

how to get video production clients filmmaker

How To Get Consistent Video Production Clients For Filmmakers

While pictures and video have been used to commemorate moments, and as an advertising mechanism for years, it is undeniable that the last decade has brought a huge surge of the want and need for quality digital content. Take a look at Instagram, or Facebook for example – the most popular content is generally high-quality photos or videos. With huge advancements in technology and the mass number of skilled photographers, and videographers, quality content is no longer as hard to come by as it once was. As an aspiring videographer you likely know that there are dozens, if not more, people in your area just like you and simply being good at what you do isn’t always enough to get clients. With that being said, if you’ve got the skill and passion to pursue video production, you are in a market full of work to be done as clients for video work will never run out – there is almost always be a need for quality video content. Whether it is for marketing purposes, weddings, businesses, etc. you can guarantee there is someone out there looking for your services. But, how do you find your clients? Keep reading for our best tips on how to secure your next video production client, and continue to grow your video production business for years to come.

Top 5 Tips To Get Video Production Clients

1. Identify Your Ideal Video Production Clients

While there is no shortage of people needing video production, it does not hurt to visualize your ideal client. What is your preferred style of shooting? What would you consider your area of expertise? What is your past experience, and how does that play a role in your future as a videographer? These are all good questions when trying to identify your ideal client to work with. If you would consider yourself good at what you are most interested in (for example, shooting aerial shots with a drone) consider niching down and pursuing clients specifically interested in that type of videography.

2. Make Yourself a Digital Portfolio

While it is a given that a photographer would have photos available to showcase their skill set, it’s not as simple for videographers. Make yourself a digital portfolio, or consider creating a highlight reel of your past work to help attract new clients, or showcase your work to potential clients. With that being said, you don’t need to have full versions of every job you’ve ever done available, but you should have something to represent yourself and the type of work that you do. Consider posting this (or clips of/from it) on your website, and social profiles so it is readily available to those just browsing – you never know who may need a job done.

3. How To Get Clients Using Organic Outreach Methods

An organic reach out method is when you are personally working towards reaching out to prospective clients. While these require you to seek out people without the chance to break the ice before trying to grab their attention, it is a good way to secure potential new clients and bring awareness to your business/brand. Some examples of organic outreach methods are Email – Sending a personalized email to people you believe are potential clients Cold Calling – Making an unsolicited call to a person or business Direct Mail – Physically mailing a brochure or something else to draw attention to your business) Reaching out to people via social networks – Posting on social networks and willing people to engage with your content and mutually engaging with theirs.

4. Learn How To Network Like a Marketer

Networking is one of the best ways to establish relationships and get high-ticket video production clients. Networking is an opportunity to meet new people and, especially in smaller communities or niches of videography, can be a game changer for building your business. Network with prominent people and businesses within your community and, once you make a connection, it’s almost like a free way to market your video production within a new group of people. Network with other local videographers, or photographers and consider teaming up to make content together. Networking isn’t about going out and approaching random people to tell them about your service. It is about making connections within your community that can help you find, or attract more leads. Also consider attending local networking events, speaking at local events, or even host your own event. A quick way to network and put yourself out there is to join online groups. Consider joining a local small business group on Facebook, or engage in posts relevant to videography. Check out Reddit, Quora, or other social networking sites to find people to connect with and gain instant access to people similar to you, or people looking for services like yours.

5. Create High-Value Content & Promote It On YouTube

This may be the most obvious of our tips on how to get video production clients. Market yourself on as many social media platforms as possible, and consider engaging with others on those platforms to help draw attention to your content. While the most obvious forms of content marketing are to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn also consider creating free content to distribute. A good example would be to create a cheat sheet titled something like “10 Things To Consider When Hiring Your Wedding Photographer” or writing a blog post relevant to videography/photography and posting it online, or on your website. Alternatively, create some kind of content and incorporate it into a lead magnet. Offer your Wedding Photographer Cheat Sheet for free in exchange for someone’s email. This way, you not only caught someone’s attention (and hopefully willed them to check out your stuff) but you have also collected some contacts for future endeavors. Content Marketing for a video business is essential as it is a great way to get your content in front of others without having to reach out first.

Bonus: Create “Click-Bait” Posts That Encourage Sharing

Remember – when content marketing via social networks like Facebook and Instagram simply posting good content isn’t enough to make your posts visible. In order to beat the algorithm and create organic reach, you will need to post with the intent to engage with your followers. Accompany your picture with a caption willing viewers to comment by leaving a reply, or tagging someone else. Also make sure you are engaging with those that engage on your posts, like their comments, reply back to them and give their page a look. Consider following and liking/commenting on other content that is similar to yours. Build a network of online “friends” and mutually use your engagements with each other to help boost your posts and help it show up on people’s news feeds. While there is a multitude of ways you can attract new video production clients, we would suggest starting out with these few easy tips. Being a successful videographer in today’s market is harder than ever, but is by no means impossible. Put in the work, and produce quality content and you are already on your way to success and more clients. Good luck, and happy filming!  

SEO vs SEM

The world has never been the same since the Internet was introduced. With the advent of the digital revolution, amazing things that we once thought were impossible were made available to us. It made the world a smaller but a better place especially for selling your products, services, brand, and business as a whole.

With the development in the business world comes the evolution of marketing terms, jargons, and acronyms. Almost all marketers are guilty of using different kinds of terms that at times confuse the clients. The truth is even marketers are sometimes confused about the terms and acronyms that they use.

One perfect example is the acronyms, SEO and SEM. In the online marketing world, these terms are most often used interchangeably. Some even pull the terms from thin air without clearly knowing the distinction between the two terms.

If you are nodding your head in agreement while reading this, then you are not alone. The terms search engine optimization and search engine marketing can be very confusing. While they are related, they are individually different.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) vs. Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Let’s take a look at both terms deeper and expand on each one as we go along. SEO is increasing the number of website visitors by enabling the site to show high on the results when you search a particular term or sentence using a search engine. SEM, on the other hand, is an internet marketing process that increases the visibility of the site through advertising and organic search engine results. SEO is just a part of one of the strategies of SEM.

So What is SEO?

SEO or search engine optimization is a strategy of turning a website into a user-friendly site for search engines to pick up. It involves several technical components like utilizing clean code, fast load times, and high-quality content. This could be in the form of visitor statistics, content, backlinks, multimedia, as well as social media sharing.

The search engine giant Google is believed to be using more than 200 criteria before finally deciding which site tops Google’s search results for any given keyword. SEO is just one of the numerous components that make up SEM. Its major function is to enhance the exposure of the site in the search engine results page. As a result, it aids in raking in free and organic traffic to the website.

The focus of search engine optimization is to make high-quality and valuable contents that relate to the business itself. Additionally, the content is deemed relevant to the searchers by the search engine. It is important to note that the search algorithm of the search engine giant is incessantly modifying and altering.

It is very important that you understand and track these changes. In addition, SEO strategies do not work overnight or give you results immediately. The normal SEO campaign typically takes anywhere from 6 month to 12 months for good results. When executed properly, it could pull in heavy traffic to your website that will set off a positive domino effect on the business as a whole. Normally it’s important to have a good strategy which involves link building too. Find more info on this kind of SEO strategy on OutreachMama blog.

Pillars Of SEO

Search engine optimization is composed of two unique pillars. These are the on-site and off-site pillars. The term on-site refers to everything within your own website. Some basic tasks in on-site or on-page SEO include the following:

  • Adding proper keywords into meta descriptions, title tags, alt text, and heading tags, to name a few
  • Written and optimized quality page content and blog posts
  • Formatting and cleaning up page URLS
  • Enhanced load speed of the page
  • Incorporating Google authorship
  • Integration of social sharing within your content

Off-Page or off-site SEO includes the following:

  • Making a natural but high-quality backlink profile. This is also known as link building from high-quality and authoritative websites through guest posts or outreach.
  • Signs of social sharing
  • Bookmarking in social sites
  • Content sharing with other sites in your niche.

What Is search Engine Marketing (SEM)?

Search Engine Marketing is a type of Internet marketing that promotes websites by making them very visible in various SERPs because of advertising and optimization. SEM uses advertisements and paid search listings. Unlike its components SEO, SEM delivers quick results by providing fast and substantial exposure to a particular site or the page.

Aside from search engine optimization, SEM involves using a paid search like pay per click listings as well as advertisements. Most often search engine marketing includes pay per click activities and campaigns. However, if you utilize paid search and SEO, then it should be recognized as an effort under SEM.

There is a list of prevalent practices for optimizing your money within a paid search campaign. This includes the following:

PPC or Pay-Per-Click Campaigns

PPC campaigns are highly focused. You should finish thorough keyword research before consider this option or buying. When you have finally selected the keywords that are most pertinent to your brand or business, you can buy the ads on the SERPs where those keywords will be found. In this type of campaign, advertisers pay every time an ad is clicked or its link is opened. Some of the examples of this kind of campaign include Google AdsWords, Yahoo Search Ads, and Bing Ads.

Geo-Targeting

This strategy includes providing exact ads or content to a site user depending on their geographical location. This process is designed to focus on local customers making it a perfect strategy for small businesses.

Keyword Research for SEO and SEM

This is the primary component of search engine marketing since these are what users key in on the search box of the search engines to learn about something. Before you invest your money in this method, it is important that you do some research about the keyword. This way, you will determine what the users would like to know about your brand, business, product, or service. If you are not sure where to begin, you can find various keyword tools online.

Which Marketing Strategy Is Better SEO or SEM?

Until now, there is a debate among advocates of either side regarding which strategy is better than the other. For an inbound marketer, the best approach would be the organic search engine optimization. However, if you look at the big picture, you will realize that genuine search engine marketing will not and could not succeed without the help of organic search engine optimization.

In addition, there are a number of instances where pay per click campaigns are more useful than search engine optimization. For instance, if you want to achieve immediate visibility when you launch your site, the best approach is to create a pay per click campaign since it works faster than SEO and gives instant results.

However, it is foolish and impractical to work solely on PPC without touching on SEO. While it is true that organic search engine optimization takes time to yield results, in the long run, organic SEO becomes less expensive and sticks around. In addition, your site will create a search reputation or credibility that you will not achieve using pay per click campaigns.

The debate about which strategy is better than the other is not going to end. However, it is more constructive if we put an end to the battle for supremacy between the two. Instead, change your perspective and treat high-quality search engine optimization as a requirement for a highly-effective and high-quality search engine marketing.

Search engine optimization is the crucial stepping stone for highly-optimized content that customers and prospects of the search engine marketing find useful. Without blog content, landing pages and web pages that are optimized for search, your efforts in search engine marketing will be in vain because of low quality. As a result, there is little to zero chance that your page will be visible to the SERPs.

In the long run, organic search engine optimization will establish your website’s credibility given that you maintain the quality of your content as well as your social media usage. Organic SEO then becomes less expensive. So, going back to the question, which is the best tactic, the answer is it depends on your specific needs and what you would like to achieve. The key here is fully knowing the difference between the two and maintaining the consistency of your efforts.

At Oregon Web Solutions, we also offer the following services:

  • Website Designing
  • Social Media Management
  • PPC Advertising
  • Mobile Marketing
  • Video Marketing
  • Niche Market Research
  • And Facebook Paid Ad Campaigns

SEO and SEM Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our article on SEO vs SEM. If you are considering looking into SEM and SEO or any of our other services and would like a free consultation, simply fill out the form below and we will get back to you right away:

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SEO vs SEM

Construction company Digital marketing for businesses

Why You Need a Professional Agency for Your Construction Company

If there is one thing that the 20th century is known for is its quick rise to the digital world. The last couple of years brought about several innovations pertaining to artificial intelligence, 3D printing, virtual reality, drones, and plenty more. All of these are relevant and crucial in the business operations within the different industries.

In fact, there are those who have completely integrated their strategies into the digital marketing world. Indeed, communication has become much more efficient and marketers have found new ways to reach a new audience and expand their customer base. With that in mind, this article will explain the importance of digital marketing and why it is important to find digital marketing companies to do the work for you.

How Can A Construction Company Benefit from Digital Marketing?

The difference in the construction industry is that its procedures and projects have become much more complex and larger. If you are in the construction business, you will know that sustainability is one of the many crucial factors. This is needed to operate and manufacture the projects. Also, the number of workers with the right skills in their field has become limited.

For each industry to survive this technological era, there is a need to adapt to the changes. Oregon Web Solutions knows this as we use digital marketing for General Contractors as a means to grow and scale construction businesses.

Here are some of the reasons why a construction company should consider using digital marketing to grow their business:

Social Media Branding

With the increasing number of social media platforms on the internet, more and more companies are making use of these for expanding their customer base. There is no reason why a construction company should not use them as they are are one more area to get found online. With the help of a professional internet marketing company, a construction company can build a web presence that separates them from the rest of the competition. You get to engage with your target audience and develop the right kind of relationship that has the potential to increase sales. Social media is one of the best tools that provides opportunities for building trust between a brand and its customers.

Increasing Traffic

As communication becomes much more efficient, companies are using the internet to reach a wider audience. The internet is a vast place where people store and retrieve data every day. Companies are using this to develop an online presence that will boost brand awareness. With the help of Oregon Web Solutions’ products and services, you can harness the true power of search engine ranking. You’ll be able to create a consistent flow of traffic to your website which will result in new leads and customers for your business.

Increased Traffic

Building an Online Community

The beauty of the digital marketing world is that you can reach a new audience right from your home location (no traveling needed). With the online presence, you will establish, you will have the power to communicate with your customers from anywhere in the world. In addition, you can ask them for testimonials to be posted on your website. Remember, word-of-mouth recommendations are one of the most effective forms of marketing strategy. Those who have provided great testimonials can serve as references for potential consumers.

Acquiring Customer Insights

Another benefit you get from hiring an online marketing expert is that you get a chance to learn more about your customers. With this knowledge, you can focus on what they love and what they don’t love about your services. The comments and feedback from your customers are a great basis for re-establishing your operations to ensure that you provide high-quality service. Also, you get to learn more about your competitors as well. Depending on how you acquire these customer insights, you get a glimpse as to which of your competitors does your target audience love. By learning the gaps in your services, you are provided with an opportunity to become better.

Employing SEO Techniques

Those who are involved in the construction industry are and should be focused on improvement and operations for their business. With this said, there is a high chance that they do not know some of the basics of marketing their products and services in the digital world. With OWS’s effective SEO strategies, you can ensure that your company will begin to reach the top search engine results pages or SERPs. This will guarantee a consistent flow of traffic and clients which is what we all want and how you found this article.

Dominating Local Search

With proper consultation from our construction company digital marketing experts, we will formulate strategies that will ultimately increase your traffic and conversion rate. You will also learn a lot more about your current presence and how to improve it on your own. You’ll also learn the importance of local listings and having them properly optimized. Most are shocked as to how many people are searching for what you have in your own neighborhood and they will never find you if you don’t know how to place yourself in front of them properly. 

Construction company website

Constructing the Perfect Website Design

There are a great number of digital marketing companies and marketing strategies for construction and home improvement companies. Oregon Web Solutions can help you build a website that can match your company’s vision and appeal to your audience. A great website is a perfect place to display your work as well as testimonials from happy clients. A construction company’s website should be visually and aesthetically pleasing, but more than that, convert well. We are happy to assist you in this process. The website design chosen for your company will be sure to drive results.

Learning All About Paid Advertising

Another effective digital marketing strategy offered by OWS is Paid Advertising. With this, you can gain quick exposure to the online community as well as build a loyal customer base. Online advertising or paid channel marketing can also be referred to as pay-per-click or PPC campaigns. These can do wonders when properly used for your website.

Here is a quick list of services that OWS offers for Contractors:

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Web Designs
  • Youtube Marketing
  • Detailed SEO Audit
  • Facebook Advertising
  • Marketing Campaigns
  • Professional Press Releases
  • Construction Marketing
  • Reputation Management (Very Important For All Companies)
If you are interested in more information on construction company marketing or our services, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you ASAP:

Find Out More

If you are in need of someone to help grow your business through web design, search engine marketing, or for online marketing in general, feel free to reach out and contact us through the form below:

Request A Free Marketing Quote

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Best Contractor Design Ideas

Designing Contractor Websites: Ideas And Guide

Building an online presence as a contractor and having a professional website is essential in a highly competitive market. Whether you are interested in attracting local clients or if you are expanding your brand state, or nationwide, developing an official website is imperative. Knowing which steps to take while creating your presence online is a way to ensure you are maximizing your online reach while providing yourself with an optimized platform to showcase your ability, skills, and reputable work.

Website Domain Name

The domain name you choose is one of the most important elements of a successful online presence. Your domain name should reflect you personally as a professional, or the contracting company you have created. Avoid using lengthy domain names that are too difficult to spell or remember. Choose a domain name that is most relevant to the types of services you provide, your location, the name of your business, or a combination of the three. Domain names should be easy to remember and simplistic depending on the target audience or the demographics you intend to reach.

Research the domain names you have in mind to verify that you do not have competition utilizing the same, or a similar name before registering the domain itself. Ensuring another contractor does not use the same domain name or company name as you is essential to avoid potential copyright or trademark issues once you launch and your business is live.

WordPress Website Design

Implementing a WordPress website is one of the best ways to maintain control of your contractor website design while managing content even if you are unfamiliar with coding and programming. WordPress websites provide a robust administrative panel that allows you to easily add content, images, and other forms of media to your website within minutes. In addition to a user friendly admin panel, WordPress provides you with the ability to use thousands of plugins for added features including eCommerce solutions (WooCommerce) and SEO-boosting plugins. This is one of the most used and recommended platforms for designing contractor websites.

Pick the Best Web Design Theme For Contractors

Choosing the right WordPress theme is important as it allows you the opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition while building an online reputation. The theme you select should reflect the types of services you provide along with navigation that is easy to access, even for users browsing on mobile devices such as tablets or smartphones. Choosing a mobile-friendly WordPress theme ensures you do not alienate an entire audience from browsing your website and the services you offer.

Compare both free and premium WordPress themes before selecting the option that is right to represent you. Preview all WordPress themes while in the process of deciding on the look that is most suitable for your contracting services. Your theme should be relevant to you, while also appealing to the demographic you wish to reach.

There are many great themes out there for contractors web design and contractors marketing. These themes are already built with construction businesses in mind and cater to and can be molded around all kinds of construction trades. We have personally used a lot of these themes for the following construction businesses:

  • Plumbing Contractors
  • Commercial Roofing Contractors
  • Landscaping Contractors
  • General Construction Companies
  • Painting Contractors
  • Remodeling Contractors
  • Electrical Contractors
  • HVAC Contractors and more….

Having a quality contractor website is essential when you want to appear professional, knowledgeable, and informed of current business trends. With the right online presence, it can increase the number of referrals you receive while appealing to prospective clients who have a genuine interest in learning more about the contraction work you offer.

Photography

High-quality photography creates a professional design look and aesthetic to contractor websites that help you stand out and attract new clients. Invest in a professional camera or work with a photographer to highlight and capture your best work. Use a WordPress website plugin that provides you with the ability to upload photos into a gallery portfolio, allowing you to showcase your work with ease.

Avoid using photos that are low resolution, pixelated, or discolored to prevent losing out on a potential opportunity to gain a new client. The more professional your website design appears, the easier it becomes to attract new work while building a positive reputation in your local community and the areas you service.

Optimize The Title Tag

Optimize the title tags of each of your pages of content via the WordPress admin area. Titles should reflect the main focus of each of your blogs and pages that are visible on your website. Avoid using titles that are overly wordy or irrelevant. Proper title tags help to boost your websites contractor SEO (search engine optimization) terms, increasing you rank, and making it much easier for users to find your website when seeking out your services via search engines.

Website Meta Description

Meta descriptions are visible in search engine results and provide users with an overview of the content and pages you are providing. Essentially, their sole purpose is to get someone browsing the web to clickthrough to your website. You should usually limit your Meta description to about 160 characters – so make sure you are using an active voice, and are including a call to action to grab their attention. When using WordPress specifically, you can add a Meta descrition via the administrative area.

Clean URL’s

Clean URL’s prevent your web page(s) from looking like a random strings of characters. With clean URL’s you want to showcase your website, or page titles within the URL bar for optimization in search engines, helping users find your site in less time. A clean URL will be immediately, and intuitively meaningful to the average internet user. When using WordPress specifically, you can implement clean URL’s for your website via the admin panel on the left.

Google Map Embed

Embed Google Maps into your website on your contact page to share your current office or work location to prospective clients. Google Maps helps present your services professionally while reassuring new users that your business and the services you offer are legit and authentic. If you dont have one already, make sure you have an accurate, and up to date Google Business Listing before implementing this on your website.

Contracting SCHEMA Markup

Use schema markup to better organize your web designs while providing more accurate results in search engines. Schema markup generators are available for free and do not require you to understand in-depth HTML or programming. Schema markup is essential when you have pages that require categorization and when you want to distinguish blog content, location pages, and even review sections of your website within search engine results.

Clear Call to Action

Use a clear call to action that motivates prospective clients to learn more about your services and urges them to reach out for additional information. Implement your call of action in a clear location with an attractive or colorful button and messaging. The simplest call-ta-action is “Buy Now!” but lets be real – that can come off as scammy and aggressive. Get creative to hook, line, and sink potential customers.

Mobile Friendly Website

This should almost go without saying! If you have a constructor business and you have a website or website content that is not mobile friendly, then you are getting hit with a Google penalty right out of the gate! More than 60% of searches come through mobile searches and you want to get in front of these customers. So when selecting a website design for contractors, make sure your web developers have made it mobile friendly and a responsive website design.

Construction Client Testimonials

Client testimonials are essential when launching a contractor website to share details regarding your clients who are satisfied with the work you have provided. Ask past clients for written testimonials and create a page dedicated to showing off the overall satisfaction they have had when working with you. Testimonials help to incentivize users to learn more about companies while helping to build the trust and loyalty of those who are thinking of hiring you for their next project.

Find Out More

If you are in need of someone to help grow your business through web design, search engine marketing, or for online marketing in general, feel free to reach out and contact us through the form below:

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Is SEO worth the money

Is SEO Worth Getting?

Hundreds of millions of people surf the web each day. Of these millions, many are using the web for the purpose of shopping. When it comes to finding specific items, one of the best means you can use to narrow down your focus is a search engine. In fact, a recent study has revealed that over 80 percent of people surfing the web find the sites they are looking for through search engines. 

What this means for your business is that it is absolutely mandatory for you to have a presence on the web. It’s no good having the best quality goods for sale at unbeatable prices if no one knows you exist. Without an official website and subsidiary social media pages, you’re going to go unnoticed all the way to an early bankruptcy. 

What Can You Do to Maximize Your Presence on the Web?

In order to avoid coming and going in the blink of an eye, you’ve got to get your business noticed by a sufficient number of people. There are several means that you can use to achieve this goal. One of the most efficient ways to do so is to make use of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 

SEO is the art of maximizing the content on your website for search engines. This means that when people search for a certain phrase – for example, winter coats – they should be able to zero in on the content that you have on your website regarding this item. The idea is for your winter coat content to be as close as possible to the first search result that comes up when they punch in this phrase on Google. 

How Do Search Engines Ensure Top Quality Content for Web Searches?

But, of course, Google and other major search engines won’t make it quite so simple and straightforward for you. Their reputation for state of the art customer service demands that they propel only top quality content to the top of their search results. If the content on your site isn’t up to their standards – which change continually at a rate that they aren’t making public to business owners – you’re going to find your content at the bottom, rather than the top or even middle, of the results. 

Can PPC Be a Viable Shortcut for Gaining Maximum Exposure on the Web?

There is a method that has been hailed as an effective shortcut to getting maximum exposure on the web without having to observe the normal rules of SEO. This method is called Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising. PPC basically comes down to the act of buying a series of ads complete with sponsored links that are tailored to show up in search results.

PPC ads can be loaded with high-value SEO keywords and phrases. The more you pay per keyword, the higher your chances of getting your PPC ad on the first page of a major search engine result. Every time someone clicks on your ad, you pay a certain amount -hence, “pay per click.”

What is the Main Benefit of Mounting a PPC Campaign?

The main advantage that comes from using a PPC strategy is the speed with which multiple ads – each specially laced with multiple high-value keywords – can appear on search engines. Results can sometimes be measured within minutes. It’s important to note that the higher the value of the keyword you are using, the more you will pay. Some PPC ads cost a penny per click, while others can cost as much as a dollar or more. 

It’s up to each individual business owner to decide if the PPC approach is the best one to adopt. If your current conventional SEO campaign isn’t quite getting you the results you need, you may be tempted to mount a high dollar PPC campaign just to bring in some needed traffic. However, the cost of doing so needs to be calibrated against the ability of your budget to withstand such a potentially heavy blow. 

A Conventional SEO Campaign May Take Longer but Will Cost You, Less,

Meanwhile, running a conventional SEO campaign may take longer to produce results but will definitely cost less in the long run. As a matter of fact, a recent industry study has shown that a conventional SEO campaign routine occupies 11 percent of the average business owner’s advertising budget. Compare this with 87 percent that is devoted to PPC advertising. The difference is tangible and instructive. 

Perhaps the most important lesson to take away here is that an SEO campaign may be the “slow and steady” approach but will put less of a strain on your budget. A PPC campaign is flashy, noisy, and effective in the short term. However, the results it produces are necessarily temporary. For this reason, experienced business owners tend to use it sparingly in addition to, rather than in place of, a conventional long-term SEO campaign. 

An Organic SEO Campaign Will Give Your Business Long Term Credibility

When it comes to deciding whether to mount an “organic” SEO campaign or go the PPC route, there is one important factor to keep in mind. Making use of the conventional SEO methods will give your business a much-needed dose of long-term credibility. This is because your content will continue to be seen on a regular basis by web shoppers who prefer to do their own searching rather than being dazzled with a flashy PPC ad. 

Many people simply don’t want to click the PPC ads that appear on the right-hand corner of their screen. They find these ads distracting and annoying. In addition, most people don’t like a PPC ad of the pop-up variety that suddenly appears and covers up the content on their page. The only kind of response you’ll get from this kind of person is a click away from your content. 

An organic SEO campaign will give you credibility with the kind of web shopper that prefers to find content at their own pace. This will help you build a positive public reputation that will give you top marks with people who prefer to shop long term in the same few locations. These are the kinds of customers whose loyalty will prove to be a major asset. 

Organic SEO is Still the Best Way to Produce Long-Term Results

It is true that PPC ads are certainly more noticeable than organic SEO. By definition, they can’t help but be. And you will get a huge number of people that will gladly click through to your website. But, as noted above, the results are temporary. A PPC ad will only last for as long as you continue to fund it. If you are currently in the early stages of your career, the length of a PPC campaign will be limited by the size of your budget. 

Meanwhile, organic SEO lasts longer, costs less, and brings in the kind of people who prefer its slow and steady pace. You may not be able to get to the top of the search results page overnight. But if you keep at it long enough, you will eventually be in a position to reach the coveted pole position.

So what you think? Is SEO worth it?

If you would like to find out how much SEO for your website would be, fill out the form below and we will send you a free SEO video evaluation at no charge.

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Oregon Web Solutions

The world of marketing is fast-paced and ever-evolving. As such, one might wonder about the realities of majoring in this field. Here’s a look at the top five things you need to know before making that crucial decision…

Is Marketing a Good Career for your Future?

The versatility of the marketing industry cannot be denied. When you have a marketing degree, the options are virtually endless. Every company, regardless of its industry, has a need for a marketing team or specialist and these positions are quickly becoming top-priority with many industry leaders. With a degree in marketing, you’re not limited to working in a particular field. There are so many companies all around the world who are in need of educated marketing specialists and the variety of jobs is endless.

The course curriculum for most college marketing programs revolves around the generic concepts involved in the industry. From public relations to consumer research, many of the fields covered when going for this major will pertain to any marketing job you might find after graduating. The essential information you’ll learn in the fields of advertising, marketing communications and strategies, sales, and management will provide a strong foundation for your post-graduation job. Of course, the potential classes offered will depend on the college, but most will apply at least a generic version of these courses.

Is Marketing a Bad Major?

There are a lot of fears surrounding many occupations, rendering the thought of obtaining a degree in those fields an obsolete idea. Could this be the case with a marketing degree?

While not necessarily falling into the category of a ‘bad major’, marketing is definitely for a certain type of individual. To find out if it’s right for you, you’ll need to become a little introspective. The following skills are some which are commonly found in those successful in the marketing industry:

  1. The ability to write well.
  2. Public speaking skills.
  3. Organization skills.
  4. Can differentiate between goals, strategies, and tactics.
  5. Collaboration skills.
  6. Strong research skills.
  7. Basic understanding of social media algorithms and SEO compliance.
  8. Keeps up with social trends.
  9. Generate original concepts.
  10. Understands data science and interprets consumer data accurately.

Things to Consider When Choosing a College Degree

  • What makes you happy? Basically, what do you find exciting and consistently interesting? A passing hobby is all well and good, but when you’re choosing your college major, how you decide will determine the path your life will take. If you choose based on how much money you think you will be able to make, rather than going with a field you find interesting, you run the risk of winding up with a lower-paying job than you expected, doing work you don’t even enjoy. That’s no life for anyone. So, please, be careful and considerate of your future when making this most important selection. Determine where your skills lie, what you’re naturally drawn to, and find the right balance of enjoyment and occupational success for your life.
  • Set a desired net worth or annual income. While you’ll want to choose a major based on your personal interests, it is important to keep in mind how much you might be able to make in that industry. For the best balance of potential income and general job contentment, make a list of at least three possible majors and understand the pros and cons of each before making your final decision.
  •  Which college best suits your future plans? If you’re looking into a specific field, such as marketing, some schools may specialize in your chosen field. Choosing the right college is just as important as choosing the right major. Make a list of everything you’d like to get out of your courses and compare and contrasts colleges which offer those key concepts.

More College Major Choices

  • Computer Science:

In today’s technologically advanced world, the field of computer science is continuously blossoming. Choosing this as your major will land you jobs like software developer, computer programmer, or a systems analyst, among many others. Common skillsets for people occupied in this field are critical thinking and analytical skills, strategic thinking, time management, and web design skills.

  • Business:

Those who major in business will find themselves at an immediate advantage. This major has been one of the most popular, providing people with occupations such as accountants, financial analysts, management consultants and many more. A practical mind and strong organizational skills are key to success in this field.

  • Psychology:

Understanding the way the human mind works has been a draw to theorists and philosophists, dreamers, and thinkers for eons.  When you choose to major in psychology, you’ll join the field of great theologians and philosophers such as Plato, Tversky, and René Descartes. Those who choose this field for their major typically have an inherent desire to obtain a deeper understanding of the human psyche and are not easily overwhelmed by convoluted texts and statistical data analysis.

  • Chemical Engineering:

Many who choose this as their major will look forward to learning about the molecular structures of bioorganisms and how to modify and/or incorporate them in various ways. A strong background in chemical science and biology is likely to lead one to pick chemical engineering as their major. You also need great math skills and ease of understanding complicated formulas to be successful in this field.

Making a Decision On a Major:

All of these majors and more are viable options for any who deem themselves fit for their chosen industry.  Of course, taking the potential average salary for each possible major will play a large role in your overall decision. There is an over-abundance of information available on the web, and it can get a bit daunting at times. That’s when you fall back to what you know. Understanding what your strengths and weakness are and what makes you truly happy in an occupational setting will be the key to your future success. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of having an element of enjoyment in your career. After all, it’s called a ‘job’, right? Of course, we all have a job to do, and it’s not always going to be the most fun thing in the world. Which is why choosing a career path that’s in line with your hobbies and natural skill set is so crucial to the overall quality of your life.

Continued Thoughts on Marketing

Is marketing a good major? In the end, it is up to you to decide. We use marketing all day every day. If you were to personally ask me  if marketing is a goodmajor I would say absolutely if you are going to use it in the digital market. Everything happens through the web and it is only growing. Old school marketing can still work, but online marketing is where it is at.

The Degree Required For Online Marketing

That is the trick, there is no required degree for online marketing. There are training course and suggesting reading and studying I would do, but you don’t need a degree. Some of our best hires don’t have any kind of college degree at all. I’m not saying having a marketing degree wouldn’t help, but it is not required. It would look good however for an employer to see. It just shows that you are dedicated and can follow through.

While more and more marketing agencies and companies are stepping away from requiring employees to have degrees in the field, you may still be interested in attending school prior to launching your career. So what classes should you be taking, and what skills will they teach you? We discuss below:

  • Consumer Behavior:
    • A consumer behavior course should discuss best practices and customer-focused practical marketing. It will generally also cover how social class, education, culture, behavior, etc. affect consumer behavior in the marketplace.
  • Principles of Management:
    • This one is pretty straightforward – students can expect to be introduced to the principles of management and how it will be applicable to their market.
  • Logistics Strategies:
    • Students will learn the tools they need to find the most efficient manner of service and goods distribution. While there are tons of logistics strategies, students can expect to learn core principles that will ultimately be applicable to their market, customer, and position.
  • Principles of Finance:
    • This class teaches the role of finance in relation to overall business operations and the role finances play in the business community.
  • Managerial Communications:
    • Students can expect to learn the ins and outs of written, technical, and oral communication used in business. All successful marketers should have excellent communication skills not only in their work but with co-workers and others involved with their marketing projects.
  • Principles of International Business:
    • This course typically covers the multidimensional macro-environment of business on an international level. It should provide them with the tools necessary for the evaluation of problems on the global level.
  • Principles of Marketing:
    • This course examines the basic marketing principles practiced in modern business including product development, product distribution, product promotion, and sales.
  • Marketing Research:
    • Students will be taught the various tools and techniques used in marketing research. They should also expect to cover statistical analysis of research findings and how they would be applicable in the real world.

Thank you for reading our article on. If you are looking into online marketing be sure to reach out to us and ask what kind of required training we might suggest to assist in your future career or marketing major. There are never enough good marketers out there, so we hope you will be the next!

a picture of the top seo trends in 2018

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a website or online asset. In theory, improving online visibility should increase visitors and potential customers to a website. In turn, increasing revenue for the company. There’s a large variety of tactics used in this process including on-site and off-site methods depending on your desired end result. While SEO is constantly changing, the value of the service increases as more people transition into a digital life. In fact, of all traffic channels, organic search from Google continues to be the highest converting source making it critical to the success of any business. Introducing the 10 SEO Trends in 2018 infographic.

Top 10 Search Engine Optimization

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While these 10 trends are in no particular order, it’s important to note that some factors due carry a higher weight than others in the Google algorithms. At Oregon Web Solutions, our job is to constantly study and test to figure out what works and what doesn’t. From our research in 2018 the #1 ranking factor is engagement on your website. This means real people visiting and interacting with your website is the #1 thing you can do to improve your overall rankings. This should include a combination or referral sources including direct URL type-ins, high-quality referral traffic, Google search, and social media referral traffic. The key is to receive a good balance of the four different traffic sources above. Keeping in mind that a local business or company should work to strike a balance between all 10 SEO trends. The 10 trends for 2018 are social media strategy, long-form content, video SEO, image SEO, featured snippets, voice search to access content, mobile SEO, Secure Site SSL upgrades, understanding searcher intent, and website speed. Taking a balanced approach to implementing these items on your site will improve your companies online visibility today and into the future. If you have any questions about the Top 10 SEO Trends please leave a comment below.

3 Month Business Website Boost

Oregon Web Solutions is now offering a 3-Month Business Website Boost™ marketing package designed to breath new life and revenue into your business. Over time, your online presence can become “stale” and even move into a state of decline. This results in fewer and fewer views on your website, and eventually fewer new customers and revenue coming into your business. Using a proprietary system, our 3-Month Business Website Boost™ is specifically designed to reverse this process and keep your website visible online.

Seth Morrisey the Co-Founder of Oregon Web Solutions says, “We’ve designed our 3-month Business Website Boost™ package to give our clients maximum results without a long-term marketing campaign commitment. In fact, our package includes all the critical elements you need to boost your websites online visibility at a fraction of the price. Over the years our marketing agency has worked with clients both big and small and successfully helped them improve their online presence. We’ve learned that at the end the day clients want maximum results for the lowest possible price and that’s what this package is intended to do.

Seth continues, “We’ve eliminated all the extra expenses and “fluff” included in traditional marketing campaigns, and instead just provide you the essential services you need to get results. Our 3-Month Business Website Boost™ package targets the first contact points a potential client is likely to have with your company.” These contact points include your Google Business Listing, Business Website, and Social Assets. “By making these first contact points more visible in Google and other search engines, we can dramatically increase the amount of new customers and leads to your business. Our goal with any client is to rank their website in the #1 position in Google and we’ve developed this campaign to give us the highest chance to do that,” says Seth Morrisey.

Oregon Web Solutions has built a reputation as one of the top marketing agencies in the State of Oregon. Regionally located in Portland, Oregon Web Solutions has locations throughout the State including Bend, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Medford, and Seaside. Our services include search engine optimization, WordPress website development, social media marketing, website retargeting, and influencer outreach. Our team of internet marketing experts has the skills and experience to help you grow your company online and reach new customers.

To claim your 3-Month Business Website Boost™ and to receive a no-obligation website video analysis simply fill out our Discovery Form. Next, our team of experts will go to work researching your online presence and then propose a marketing plan intended to grow your business. If this sounds like something that can help your business, visit our website today!

Contact Oregon Web Solutions: Oregon Web Solutions | Portland SEO

5 questions to ask before hiring seo agency in 2018 blog

5 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring an Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Agency in 2018

Let’s face it, hiring the right agency to work with your company can be hard. Everyone has heard horror stories of hiring the wrong agency and having them do long term damage to your site. I will be the first to say you need to be very careful when choosing a company to work with. The reason it’s hard to hire a search engine optimization company comes down to how technical the process is. In most cases the problems arise because the business owner isn’t able to judge the quality of the work the company is performing. To keep your company safe, you must ask these 5 questions before you hire an SEO Agency.

1.What Techniques will you use to improve my search engine rankings?

Every search engine optimization agency will use different techniques to improve your SERP rankings. Agencies will be very accustomed to being asked this question. For the most part, the way an agency improves Google rankings will depend on obvious factors such as on-site optimization, social media marketing, and website engagement. Other factors will also be utilized including off-site techniques like back links and website outreach. Most agencies will have both public and private SEO tactics and this should be expected. In fact, the most effective techniques will be closely guarded and are considered “trade secrets” in the industry, so you shouldn’t expect full disclosure here.

2. Do you adhere to Google’s search engine webmaster guidelines?

It’s important when choosing an agency that you find one that will adhere to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This is a set of rules that Google has developed to explain what they consider good and bad SEO tactics. Another word for these types of techniques are called “white hat” and “black hat.” It’s important to find a company that will there to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and only use safe and effective “white hat” search engine marketing tactics.

3.  How do you measure success of the SEO campaign?

Success can me measured a number of ways and can differ from client to client. One of the easiest ways to measure success is through improved Google search rankings. Using rank tracking software such as Pro Rank Tracker, you can monitor the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. Remember, organic search rankings improve slowly over time, so it’s important to have a long term view when measuring your progress.

4. Do you have any #1 Google Rankings you can show me?

This is an important question to ask because any company that doesn’t have #1 Google Rankings for themselves will have a hard time effectively improving yours. In fact, this is so important i’d highly advise never hiring any company who can’t show examples of where they have successful implemented their own techniques. The bottom line is anyone can sound knowledgeable when explaining the technical aspects of search engine marketing. The difficult part is knowing the techniques and tactics that are currently working, and successfully implementing those for your agency and your clients. That’s why we recommend to ask for at least 3 examples of #1 Google rankings before you consider hiring the agency. 

5. What happens when we part ways and I’m no longer a client of yours?

Inevitably, you will end up parting ways with the agency. The nature of SEO is it’s usually a 6-12 month process and will eventually be finished. It’s true that you could technically do SEM indefinitely on your site, but in most cases a 6-12 month term will be long enough to get the results you desire. So what happens when you part ways? Good companies will assure you that the link building and outreach that has been performed on your site will be left in tact. Furthermore, they should offer you a spreadsheet with login and password information of all assets they have created for your business. It’s absolutely crucial that you get a verbal or written agreement prior to signing with a company that all online marketing efforts will stay in place after the business relationship has ended.

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FREE Website Analysis

If you want to learn more about how search engine marketing and claim your free website analysis, just simply click on the Discover Form link to get started!

marketing trends

Online Marketing Trends for 2018 and Beyond

Staying ahead of the competition often means knowing what products or services are more in demand when figuring out what to offer potential customers. In addition to keeping track of trends on what to sell, however, successful business owners also have to stay up to date on how to sell. The following are a few of the online marketing trends that are currently underway and should only expand throughout this year and into 2018.

Content Marketing Will Reign Supreme Through 2018

Online marketing is overcrowded with websites and content, so this will force businesses that wish to compete successfully to tailor their content more toward niche markets. Marketers have already learned the importance of focusing on niche keywords when it comes to promotional methods such as pay-per-click advertising. If there are a million people selling shoes online then it’s completely pointless to bid on the keyword “shoes.” The competition on such a general term will result in an absurdly high bid being required to rank anywhere near the top under it. This is why experienced marketers learned that you need to bid for far more specific keywords to what you are selling such as “black leather boat shoes.”

This same type of niche marketing is happening more in content marketing now as well because the internet is flooded with content under every imaginable product category today. Content that targets a specific, narrow group of potential consumers will have much less competition than more general offerings of similar information.

Increased Use of Images

When it comes to grabbing the attention of someone quickly scanning an ad or website, a powerful or evocative image is generally more effective than text. Whether one is talking about Facebook ads or Google Adwords ads, it has been known for a while now that ads with an image perform better.

Infographics can be particularly effective because they combine the attention-grabbing power of a visual with content throughout it that helps to relay your message. They also look far more impressive than simple text and random pictures on a webpage and convey the impression to website visitors that you are a serious professional in your field.

Increased Use of Video

As compelling as standalone images and infographics can be, when it comes to grabbing a viewers attention, nothing beats video. This medium more fully engages a website visitor’s senses by adding sound and motion to the drab text and imagery that adorn all websites.

Putting a video on a website to increase visitor engagement is the best way to make your website stick out from the competition, and this trend is only going to continue through this year. The internet is swarming with an impressive array of video production companies that are booming thanks to businesses realizing that they need to stick out from their competition. Whether it is a corporate video, training video, educational video or a sales presentation, the message will be relayed with far more certainty through this medium.

The use of short explainer videos seems to be growing across the internet. These couple minute long animated presentations get a company’s message across to their target audience in a way that gets people to take action.

Video streaming is another one of those online marketing trends 2017 will see an increase in. Live streams on sites such as YouTube are an effective method for growing YouTube channels to offer current information in a more interactive manner.

More Native Advertising

Some people may find it annoying, but native advertising will undoubtedly be one of these online marketing trends that continues through 2018. These are those ads that disguise themselves to look like other content on the website they are on. One example of this is when you go to a site like cnet.com to download some free PC software, and on the download page, you see a square graphic that says “download.” When you click on it, however, you find it takes you to some advertiser’s page.

It is easy to see how this method may aggravate some people as they frequently think they are getting something else when they engage with the advertiser. This may make it especially important for those who use this method to have landing pages that grab the visitor’s attention even more quickly than usual.

Capabilities That Give Consumers an Immersive Experience

The next step in online marketing seems to be to give web browsers the feeling that they are more a part of the shopping experience. This is being accomplished through the use of augmented reality(AR), virtual reality(VR) and 360 degree videos.

The one thing that’s missing when we shop online, as opposed to going out to the store, is the knowledge that we are really just sitting at home staring at a screen. We are not really experiencing shopping as we do when we go out to the mall.

To set themselves apart from the crowd, increasing numbers of companies will utilize technologies that immerse the consumer in the company’s business through their internet device. You may have already seen these types of technologies on some real estate websites where they give you the feeling that you are actually in the home that you are looking at.

Online Marketing Trends 2017 and 2018

The above marketing trends for 2018 reflect the fact that there is a lot more competition online today. The trend in general is moving more toward more focused content and advertising efforts that are more interactive and immersive. This type of evolution of online marketing should improve the bottom line of businesses that stay on top of trends while also providing consumers with ads and information more tailored to their needs.

top seo trends 2018 oregon web solutions