How To Find An SEO Company

If you have been trying to manage SEO for your business for some time and just don’t seem to be getting anywhere, it could be time to hire an SEO company. Boosting your search engine rankings can be time-consuming at the best of times, but if your approach is less than successful it can be demoralising as well. Frankly, your time might well be better spent running the areas of your business you know well, whilst you leave the online marketing to the experts.

But once you’ve made up your mind once and for all to invest in internet marketing expert SEO advice, how on earth do you go about finding a company that is worthwhile hiring? It is true to say that the rise of the online marketing expert since the Internet became an everyday fact of life has been paralleled by the rise of their less salubrious cousins – the marketing companies which purport to be ‘experts’  but in fact simply want to make a quick killing and move on to the next victim.

To avoid the latter and find the former, the first piece of advice we would give you is to seek a recommendation from a friend or business acquaintance. If somebody you know and trust has used an SEO company and their search engine rankings have significantly improved as a consequence, this is a company you can safely consider hiring. If you don’t know anyone who has used this kind of service, take to a reputable online webmaster forum to get advice from other users.

Even so, you should still visit each potential company to speak to the person who will be managing your SEO strategy. At this time, there are several questions you should be asking them. For example, ask to see examples of sites they have optimised along with the proof that their rankings have indeed been improved. Be wary if they promise you a number one ranking – no SEO expert, no matter how talented, can ever guarantee this. Just think of all the competition out there, all working to optimise their online rankings. To say they can ‘guarantee’ you will come out ahead of all these every time is just plain ridiculous and reeks of charlatanism.

Check out their website too: are they ranked highly? Ask what their keywords are and see whether their site appears when you type these in. If they can’t even optimise their own site well enough to get high rankings they are not worth wasting your time and money on. Ask lots of questions about the methods they use, and ensure they don’t use any ‘black hat’ tricks. (It’s worth researching what these are so you can ask questions with a little more confidence).

Above all, don’t hire anybody unless they are really prepared to listen to what you have to say. They should be interested in your company and want to find a strategy that is tailored to your own needs. Don’t go for anyone who wants to fob you off with a ‘one size fits all’ approach. You should also compare their prices, but don’t automatically go for the cheapest one.

Before you sign anything, it’s very important to get all costs agreed up-front so they don’t try to add in any hidden extras further down the line when it’s too late.  Lastly, bear in mind that your SEO may need maintenance as trends change, so it’s perhaps worth finding a company that offers ‘post-optimisation’ services in the mix as well.

Is e-commerce the safest place to be?

Electronic commerce or ‘E-commerce’ has largely monopolised the consumer market over recent times. Using the growth of the internet and online networks, companies have been able to extend and reach out to a much wider market place. The likes of Amazon and EBay are prime examples of businesses solely reliant on e-commerce. However, the recession has provided added difficulty and competitiveness in an already driven consumer industry.

On the whole, the consumer market has taken a massive hit since the start of the recession. With nearly 500,000 businesses ceasing to exist in 2009, the majority of these small or medium businesses, the outlook has always looked bleak for the high street companies. The targets of maintaining rather than growth are seen as far more realistic and sensible objectives under the current climate.

Marketing consultants have outlined the need to retain your current customer and supplier base as they are arguably the most important assets when experiencing tougher times such as these. Nevertheless, there are signs that the consumer market is still a place where success is a genuine goal that can be accomplished.

As a result of all the negative press currently associated with the closing of businesses and loss of profits, it may come as a surprise that at the end of 2009, e-commerce experienced a rise in sales of 14%; this occurring at the peak of the recession. The desire for savings and ease of use has seen the consumer swap, or so it seems, to the online market place.

Many an E-commerce market consultant believe the ability to get free shipping and clear promotions can lead to online success. People are now looking for bargains and savings they once would not have; a task much more easily achievable in the comfort of your own home than walking up and down a high street. This changing focus of the customer is already being exploited by some companies and will without doubt be looked at by many more as they look for a solution to their current problems.

Furthermore, the evidence for new and growing e-commerce companies is there for all to see. Amazon is now a worldwide brand after its journey began when it was founded in 1994. With net income for the last quarter in excess of $130million, share prices rocketed up by nearly 15%. Nonetheless, it must be stated that everyone should not try and form a direct copy of Amazon.com. The necessity to appeal to your own customer and be in some way unique is just as important if not more. It is crucial to function in a way that will add the most value to your consumer.

Simple Steps to a Successful Business Website

Internet marketing is fast becoming, if not already become, one of the most powerful tools to businesses around the globe. Some companies are now the largest in the world and rely solely on the internet as its source of business.

The marketing of companies over the internet is now part of our everyday life, spanning from banner adverts to emails filling our inboxes on a daily basis. Search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimisation (SEO) are common phrases that are now regularly considered when setting up a website or beginning an online marketing campaign. Getting onto the first page of a Google search is a giant step to getting the attention desired. It is this visual status that will see a business grow and a vast rate of knots. How often have you looked beyond the first page of results produced by a search engine? Rarely, is often the case.

The problem most people have is where to start. We find ourselves in a continuously changing technology based world with new expertise needed all the time. However, there are some easy solutions to making internet marketing simple.

Make them find you.
Search engines will direct people to your website. The easier you make it for them the more likely they will find you. This is quite simply done through the use of specific titles, and arguably more importantly using keywords. Labels for images and descriptions are best off kept simple and specific and hence easier to find. SEO techniques are often complex and involve the help of trained professionals but if you keep your website regularly updated and linked to other high reputable websites it can make noteworthy progress in rankings on search engines.

E-mail – more than just electronic mail.
Although no exact figures are known, well over 1 billion people in the world today are the owner of an email account. Companies who already have a client base of some form have hundreds of emails at their disposal which they can use, if permission is given, to send newsletters with updates on offers, discounts and news.  Just be sure that they have selected or acknowledged in some form that they desire to be part of this marketing technique, or risk upsetting them and losing their business.

Social Media is a powerful ally.
As long as used correctly the likes of Facebook and Twitter are significant tools in taking your business forward.  Just be sure to keep advertising related to business matters as the risk of alienating a client base through sharing your opinions or beliefs on subject matter are substantial. Facebook has recently surpassed over 1 billion subscribers making it clear to see why so many small and large companies are endearing to its use.

How To Increase Online Sales

If your company’s online business is slow and nothing you are doing seems to be increasing your sales, it may be time to look at making a few changes. Whether it’s re-designing your website, tweaking your product range or maybe even getting in some expert help in the form of an online business consultant, this article looks at some steps you can take to get you through the low patch.

For example:

Products: It may be time to consider altering the range of products you offer on your website. Sometimes companies will try to cram too much in, in the hope of boosting sales through sheer volume. This can actually have the effect of confusing visitors and putting them off. Why not do the opposite and narrow your product range? If you offer just one or two specialised products with detailed descriptions and beautiful pictures, you will be able to target specific customer groups much more easily.

Good Copy: We can’t stress enough the importance of getting your website copy right. Think about what’s important to your target market: what you write should hone in on this. Be clear and succinct when it comes to product descriptions. The look of the text is important too: if there is something you want visitors to pay particular attention to, style the text in bold or italics. Finally, don’t use too much text because people tend to ‘scan’ when they’re reading things online.

Keep Contact: Once you’ve won a new customer, you need to maintain contact with them. Make sure you get their contact details so you can send them emails with details of new products or promotions. Just don’t bombard them with these as it will tend to put them off rather than encourage them to buy more.

Hire An Expert: Sometimes, if all the tactics you’re tried just aren’t working, it may be worth investing in some expert advice. Hiring a business consultant can do wonders for your sales – partly because you have the benefit of a fresh, unbiased perspective. They can identify where you might be going wrong and suggest some new approaches. For example, they may advise you to improve your SEO efforts or recommend a SEO Consultant or perhaps promote your business offline as well.

Website Design: Perhaps you sales slump is owing to customers being put off by the look of your website. If it is over-complicated, many visitors won’t bother sticking around to search for products. You have to remember that a lot of customers will be browsing during lunch breaks etc. Rather than lots of fussy images and lots of different categories, what they want is clear text and images, simple navigation and an easy-to-find search function.

The Importance Of Local Marketing

You might think that the increasing use of the Internet to find products and services would mean that there is more onus on companies to extend their influence further afield. In fact, the opposite can be true. With the huge amount of competition out there, companies need to reach out to clients on a local level to build trust and differentiate themselves. Even the large global companies are hiring local marketing companies to boost their regional appeal.

It is not enough, however, to rely on word of mouth any more to promote a business on a local level. To rival their competitors, companies need to adopt a kind of multi-pronged approach, using a range of media and technologies.

For example:

Online: There are a number of online strategies you can use to improve your company’s visibility on a local level. When it comes to SEO you can, for example, include locations in your keywords to place in Meta tags or anchor text on links to images. All this will help if potential clients are dong online searches for local businesses. You should also get listed in online business directories and make use of local social networks.

Range Of Media: When it comes to creating awareness of your brand, marketing companies will tell you that it’s best to attack on as many fronts as possible. With that in mind, try and use as many forms of local media as you can. Send press releases to or advertise in local newspapers. Organise innovative promotional events and try to get interview slots about these on your regional radio or TV station. Whatever you can do to get your name well-known in the area, don’t be afraid to try it.

Use Traditional Methods: It’s important to keep up-to-date by promoting your company online or through the television – but don’t neglect more traditional forms of advertising. Sometimes a simple, eye-catching banner outside a shop can be far more effective at reaching out to local customers. The beauty of signs and banners is their immediacy and the effect they have on passing individuals. This is part of what generating local business is about.

Local Partnership: Another good way to establish a regional presence is to combine forces. Why not consider a partnership with another company in a complementary field? This way you can promote and recommend each other. You could also try doing work for non-profit organisations and charities in the area. This will present your company in a positive light, as one that cares for the local community, and also offers a great advertising opportunity.

Is Your Print Advertising Campaign Working For You?

Around 70 per cent of business owners who use ‘traditional’ print advertising methods such as newspapers, magazines, trade publications and directories to promote their businesses, do not know whether their advertising is working for them – or not.

Perhaps because of the high-pressure sales techniques of the telesales personnel concerned they feel compelled to keep on doing it month after month. Or maybe it isn’t so much to do with the persuasiveness of the salespeople, but simply because they can’t think of a better alternative. They know only too well that advertising is the lifeblood of every successful business . . . but here’s the thing . . .

If you are not 100 per cent certain that your print advertising is working for you, then please stop. Or at least consider some valid alternatives.

The main hurdle with print advertising is this:-

Because people tend to buy from people they like and trust, it can take a while to win over your readership. It has been suggested that businesses will need to run their ad between 7-10 times, before they begin to see any return on their ‘investment’.
This is why many print publications offer new advertisers a ‘write-up’ as a sweetener – an article about the company which sits alongside their ‘paid-for’ advertisement. The reader knows (or at least they should do), that these ‘advertorials’ are not written by unbiased journalists, but rather that they are part of the advertising package.

The fact is, press advertising is expensive these days and there will almost certainly be a more cost-effective option available to you.

For example, have you considered any of the following?:

Search Engine Optimisation 
Pay per Click Advertising                                                                                                                                                                                      
Direct Mail
Leaflet Drops/ Flyer Handouts                                                                                                       Telephone Marketing
Referrals                                                                                                                                          
Social Media & E-commerce
Online PR
Offline PR
Direct Sales
Shows, Exhibitions, Events    
Joint Ventures


These are just a few of the very many marketing opportunities available to you – both online and offline – depending on the kind of business you run and what your goals are.
Something you may wish to consider is starting an email list if you haven’t already done so. Done properly, this can be a useful way of locating buyers who are interested in what you have to sell. This can be achieved by adding a simple sign-up form to your website, or by creating a dedicated ‘squeeze page’ to capture your prospects email addresses – a proven way to extend your marketing reach. Particularly if you can provide an incentive for doing so.
For example, if you are a service business you might say: ‘sign up today for a free 45-minute consultation.’ If you sell products: ‘sign up now for 15 per cent off your first order’. A small ‘bribe’ can work wonders in building your first list!
That’s not to say you should give up press advertising altogether if it’s a medium which genuinely works for you. The point is to know exactly how much each of your advertising forms costs you. And what that medium delivers in terms of sales leads and revenue.
Would that be money well spent? Or could you do better elsewhere?
A marketing or business consultant could help you with monitoring and gaining more from your advertising and marketing budgets.

Cadbury And Oreo: The Benefits Of Combining Strengths

Sometimes, when long-established brands are failing to command the sales, a wise marketing strategy is to use the time-honoured philosophy of ‘strength in numbers’. Mondelez International, the snacks company spun out of Kraft Foods which owns the much-loved British brand Cadbury, is one of the latest examples of this method in action. It has created a new chocolate bar combining Cadbury Dairy Milk and the US brand Oreo.

The new bar, called ‘Dairy Milk with Oreo’, is now available and yours for just £1.42 per 120g. It consists of a milk chocolate bar containing a creamy filling with Oreo cookie pieces – thus combining the elements for which each brand is most famous. It is expected that there will be a significant marketing investment in this new product over the coming months.

This kind of combination approach works because the holding company is already one step ahead in terms of marketing. In this case, the holding company Kraft does not have to establish an entirely new concept but is instead trading on the existing popularity and renowned quality of Cadbury and Oreo. But the combination is a clever twist as it allows consumers to look at each of these brands in a new way. In one stroke, the manufacturer has managed to rejuvenate the images of both brands and get a new product launch off to a flying start.

Kraft has already seen some success with this strategy, when in March this year it launched a new product to rival the global giant Nutella – a combination of its Philadelphia cream cheese spread and Cadbury’s chocolate. It has even customised this product to suit individual market tastes. In Germany, for example, the cream cheese is mixed with the highly popular Milka chocolate brand.

It could be said that confectionery producers in general need to find new ways to generate interest in their brands right now. Annual sales of chocolate bars fell by over six per cent over the past year. This may perhaps be down to increased awareness of the need for healthy eating, or perhaps to growing costs of ingredients such as sugar, corn and cocoa.

Added to this, it is well known that the Kraft takeover of Cadbury was not without its controversy and this caused the food giant to post a fourth quarter drop in profits of 24% in 2011. Clearly something fresh was needed, and this fusion with Oreo may well give the brand the boost it needs.

Five Ways To Spot A Bad Online Marketing Consultant

More and more people today are turning to the Internet to buy products, find local services or get information. Sadly, the number of people looking to exploit this fact has also grown. With this in mind, beware that if you are looking for an internet marketing consultant there will be a lot of dishonest people amongst the genuine professionals. The bad consultants will have very little real knowledge of the world of online marketing and will very likely charge you a lot of money but give you few results in return.

To help ensure you find the best service, here are five tips for avoiding the bad consultants:

Vague About Services: If a consultant uses vague terms to describe what they can do for you, be very wary indeed. Using ‘technical’-sounding language to talk about their services without actually telling the potential client in clear terms what they can do for them is a classic tactic of the charlatan. Another way to spot a chancer is that they will be reluctant to set concrete goals so it is hard to quantify what they have actually achieved for you. It’s a good idea, before you talk to them, to read up a little about internet marketing first so you can be ready for them if they try to blind you with impressive-sounded terms.
Wild Promises: If an internet marketing consultant tells you they can guarantee you number one search engine rankings, never hire them. It is extremely difficult, particularly in highly competitive markets, to achieve this position and it is never certain that you will be able to do so. True, it is easier in some niches where there is very little competition, but even in these cases it would be foolish and unprofessional of a consultant to make any such promises.
Cagey About Their Past: Be on your guard if the consulting company you are talking to is reluctant to give you any information about past clients. A good firm should be happy to provide you with references and also to show you examples of their previous work and where it has succeeded. If they can’t offer you this, how do you know if they have ever had any successes at all?
They Are Always Right: A good consultant will be keen to sit down and listen to what you want to achieve from using their services. Rather than tell you what you need without first finding out what your company does, they will want to adapt a marketing strategy to suit you. If they are reluctant to discuss any concerns you have, or make changes if you want them to, they are not providing you with the service you deserve.
They Won’t Talk Prices: This is so important: always, always agree on a fixed price for services before you sign any contracts. If, during early talks, a consultant keeps avoiding the issue of what their services will actually cost, run a mile! You can be pretty sure they are trying to avoid the issue and get you hooked so they can charge you over the odds and add plenty of hidden clauses to the contract so you end up paying far more than you should be.

How Does SEO Help Businesses?

We’ve all heard how SEO can help businesses boost their online profiles by improving their search engine rankings. There’s no doubt it works, if done right, but there are many different strategies and technologies involved these days so getting it right as a novice can be complicated. Hiring a specialist SEO company to do the job for you can considerably increase your sales and your standing amongst clients or key stakeholders.

The first point to remember is that SEO does not work over-night, so persevere with it. Whether you are hiring an expert is this area or attempting to do it yourself, there are a lot of different facets involved. Firstly, keywords: Ideally, when somebody types your keywords into a search engine you want your website to appear on the first page of results. To do this, you have to carry out some keyword research. Identify your target audience and find out what kinds of terms they are most likely to use. It is easier to improve your search engine rankings with keywords if you work in a niche market where there is slightly less competition.

Once you’ve found your keywords, you need to get the density right. Keyword density is the percentage of times your keyword appears on the web page compared to the total number of words on the page. If you get this right you will achieve higher search engine positions, but if your density is too high you may be flagged for what is called ‘keyword spamming’.

Links are also used  as part of an SEO strategy. These can be internal links between pages of your own website to increase the visibility of important sections. Another method is to create reciprocal links with another website to ensure mutual traffic, but this is less widely used today. Website owners also often submit their sites to website directories which will then include a back-link. Basically, the more genuine back-links to your site, the better your rankings will be.

Social media links are gaining popularity as more and more businesses turn to sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to build business contacts and improve their visibility. Use Twitter as an example: of course you shouldn’t include a link to your website every time you tweet, but if you are posting a particularly useful bit of information or promoting an event, it is perfectly ok to give a link back to the info on your website.

Keywords and link building are just two examples of the wealth of SEO tactics at your disposal. Other areas, such as metadata, can be more complicated. We would recommend hiring an SEO Agency, at least initially, to help you understand how strategies can be successfully implemented. In time, if you are patient, you should begin to see the results as your search engine rankings climb and your website traffic increases.

Local Exhibitions Are Perfect For Remote Worker Networking

Finding a consistent stream of new clients can be a challenging prospect, particularly if you work from home. It’s all too easy to slip into your own daily routine and become overly-reliant on your website to pull in new leads, when what you should really be doing more of is getting out there and mingling with people who might need your services.

It’s no good waiting until your client list dries up completely before seeking out new prospects. It’s vital to build networking into your marketing armoury sooner rather than later.
Pop up display banners make great exhibition and networking tools as they are easy to transport and erect whenever you want to put your business on display. And when you think about it, exhibitions are all about creating awareness of your brand rather than hard selling.

The majority of conversions will be secured after the show anyway and successful business exhibitors report that it can take anything up to a year to turn those contacts into clients, dependant on what type of business you run and how far along the ‘buying cycle’ prospects are when you are introduced to them.

If you are an artist, inventor or entrepreneur who has discovered that the right kind of exhibition is not exactly on your doorstep, you could choose to set up your own one-day event at a local café, hotel or wine bar. The DIY option has the advantage that you will be able to custom design the event exactly to your liking – plus there will be no competition in your midst! The downside is that it can be difficult to attract the right kind of people to this type of event and that if you get it wrong there will be nowhere to hide.

Another option you have is to team up with several non-competing local businesses. If for example you run a copywriting business, you could choose to team up with a graphic designer, a web developer and a PR expert and hold a get together for local businesses who might need advertising and marketing services. This can be a very successful way of gaining new clients.

Neil and Laura Westwood, owners of the company Magic Whiteboard, who secured funding from Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, view exhibitions as an essential part of their ongoing marketing strategy. The couple recognise the importance of being able to demonstrate their products’ ‘wow!’ factor in front of an audience as the secret to making more sales.

Pop up display banners make it easy to promote your business ‘on the go.’ And the really smart thing about taking your business to a trade show or exhibition is that it is something you can profit from for years to come.

Could Facebook’s ‘Business Boost’ Initiative Benefit Your Small Business?

How does £80 worth of FREE Facebook advertising sound to you?

In May 2012 Facebook launched ‘Business Boost’ with the aim of helping UK small businesses make the most of its advertising platform. In fact, the programme is being rolled out in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, beginning with the UK and will enable 50,000 small businesses (in total) to claim their free advertising kits.

The more cynical amongst us may be saying: ‘Ha! They just want to get more businesses using Facebook – they’re tempting us with a sweetener.’ And of course there may an element of truth in this. But for those business owners currently contemplating setting up a Facebook Page anyway, it’s a win-win situation – and after all, Facebook is a proven advertising medium for businesses of all sizes.
You’ll be able to use Facebook’s free advertising alongside your regular marketing activities such as e-commerce, social media, direct mail, PR, and banners.

So how can you claim your goodies?

Well for starters you will need to have attracted a minimum of 50 fans to your FB Page to get £20 of free advertising credits. In addition, Facebook is offering an extra £60 worth of free ad credits to companies and businesses which add a further 100 fans to their Page over the course of the scheme. Kindly note, your business must be UK-based to qualify.

The Facebook Business Boost programme has attracted the support of the British Chambers of Commerce, who are running business breakfasts in six major UK cities this summer: Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Sheffield and Sunderland, to offer free practical advice to business owners face-to-face.

A word of caution though: When you set up your Facebook Page it must be done through the ‘Local Business or Place’ channel. Use any of the other five possible categories to set up your Page and you will not qualify for this promotion. Unfortunately, if your FB Page is already established under one of the other categories you will not be able to change it. This presumably is a reasonable precaution to stop businesses changing their status simply to get their hands on the freebies!

Successful entrepreneurs these days are recognising the need to use a combination of online and offline media such as blogging, banners, PPC, social media and PR in order to drive their businesses forward, rather than remain reliant on one or two marketing activities.

If you want to participate in the Facebook Business Boost promotion you can sign up over at the Facebook Marketing Page. Facebook is also offering a range of live webinars to help you develop your marketing skills and maximise your business or brand’s potential.

Why Is Branding So Important?

Branding is the process of differentiating your company so it can be identified as distinct from your competitors on the market. Sadly, in today’s highly competitive marketplace it is no longer enough just to develop and produce outstanding products. It’s a fact that even more inferior goods can sell well if they are launched together with a slick branding campaign.

For many companies, creating a strong brand is so important that they will hire in a marketing company especially for that purpose. So what is it that makes branding so crucial? One of the main functions of strong branding is to build a trusting relationship with your client base. For example, think about Coca Cola, one of the world’s biggest known brands: Its logo is instantly recognisable so wherever consumers are in the world they will feel this is a product they can rely on. This is a huge power to have, and Coca Cola have achieved it through a careful branding strategy.

Secondly, of course, branding is intended to increase sales. Whilst strong products are important, it is not quite true that ‘a good product sells itself’. What sells a product is a good perception of it. Consumers tend to buy with their eyes, and it’s well known that they will make the majority of their purchasing decisions within around 10 seconds. If you are successful in creating a strong image for your product or service that appeals precisely to the needs of your target customers, good sales results are far more attainable.

So how do you begin to go about creating a strong brand? Firstly, you need to identify what is important to your customer base and what will appeal to them. Your branding message should be based around this. Also, isolate what is unique about your brand and think about how you can communicate this. What are your brand values? A memorable tag line can work wonders and the simpler it is, the better. Something like Gilette’s ‘The Best A Man Can Get’ has worked very well for the brand.
It’s a good idea to hire in some marketing expertise to help you in these initial stages.

Next, come up with a design theme and logo which can tie all products under the brand umbrella together. Not only will this make your brand stronger as a whole, it will also make new product launches easier as they will already be identified with an established name. After this, you should get your brand out there by any means you can – whether it’s television advertising, online, in printed media, attending trade fairs or one-off promotional events. Everything helps.

Finally, don’t just assume your work is done when the brand is launched. It’s essential to get regular feedback from your target market and be prepared to make adjustments if necessary. If your brand doesn’t seem to be building consumer confidence you have to look at where you’re going wrong.

Exposing Your Content Online

Possibly the most difficult part of any content marketing campaign actually comes after the creation of valuable, interesting content. Promoting content and getting it seen, heard and read by potential clients and customers is at least as challenging as creating it in the first place!
Unfortunately, it is a vital part of content marketing as, without it, a company’s blogs, podcasts, white papers and whatever else has been created are effectively useless. Here we take a look at a few ways of exposing content online.

1. Create quality content

If your content is dull, out of date or incorrect people aren’t going to respond well to it, let alone share it with their peers. Creating interesting, useful and up to date content is absolutely paramount in any content marketing campaign.

2. Develop relationships with other companies and bloggers

By finding prolific bloggers, businesses and internet marketing companies out to spread their own message, you can seek to establish relationships that benefit both parties.

 Start the ball rolling by sharing their content and linking to their site from your own blogs. Once they notice your presence, they’ll begin to appreciate your efforts and may even start sharing links to your content. If this occurs, get in touch with the company or blogger and come to an informal arrangement whereby you each promote one another’s blog/brand/product/service.

3. Join Online Forum Communities

By creating a company profile on several relevant forum sites, you could soon be providing expert, industry specific advice to thousands of users.

Instead of always plugging your own company, add a simple tag line to your posts which includes a brief description of what the company does and a link to your homepage. Every time you post useful answers or piece of advice you not only impress anyone who comes across it, you also gently guide them towards your homepage.

4. Persuade People To Share Your Content

This doesn’t have to be as cringe as emailing various website owners to beg for their help in promoting your brand. By persuading users to ‘Like’ your videos, re-tweet your messages or subscribe to your mailing lists you can quickly increase the amount exposure your content receives.

A simple example would be ‘A chance to win £20 of iTunes vouchers by liking this status’, although the more inventive and creative the better. As clichéd as it sounds, being unique and thinking outside the box is what will separate your company from the rest.

Otherwise, enlisting the services of an internet marketing company may also be a viable option. These companies have the resources to share content with large, often specifically targeted networks.

5. Promote Across Multiple Channels

Finally, and possible most importantly, you should always promote your content across as many channels as possible. Simply relying on Facebook or Twitter is only going to limit your exposure, so utilise as many social networking sites, email subscription lists and blog posting sites as possible.

Your imagination is really the only limiting factor in this case and the more ways you can think of sharing your content with the world, the better.

Content Marketing For Small Businesses

The benefit of content marketing for any business is well documented. Customers receive useful and valuable content absolutely free and in return, become loyal champions of the company, returning with their business time and time again.
For large companies this is straightforward; entire sections of a marketing team can be dedicated towards providing useful content on a day by day basis. For smaller companies this can be much more difficult, especially with constraints on man power, resources and time.
This article, however, takes a look at some techniques and methods small companies can use to kick off their own content marketing campaigns.

Blogging
Blogging is one of the most popular and effective methods of content marketing. Through the use of social media and blogging sites, a small business can release short blogs daily and quickly build up an online community of readers.
A blog should share things like success stories, industry breakthroughs and interesting news developments in the company’s industry. It should not contain direct attempts to sell products or services, however, as these will quickly drive away readers.
Podcasts
Podcasts are essentially mini-radio shows that typically last between 10 and 30 minutes. They should be useful, informative and interesting so, like a blog, should not attempt to sell products or services.
Instead a podcast should be used to keep customers and clients up to date with industry happenings, breakthroughs in science and suchlike. The more creative podcasts will quickly build up an online following.
White Papers
An old school form of content marketing, a white paper is a document put to together to detail a company’s research or scientific breakthroughs. Typically between 5 and 10 pages long, a white paper can promote a company’s brand and reputation within an industry; particularly to other businesses.
A white paper could analyse a recent industry trend or event, predict areas for future growth in a specific industry or comment on new, industry relevant legislation. Usually, smaller companies should focus on a specific industry niche rather then head for groundbreaking, industry wide research.
Outsourcing
A viable option for many small companies is for outsourced marketing to marketing companies. By entering into a contract with such a company, a small business can access all the benefits of content marketing without having to take on more staff.
In addition, internet marketing companies employ consultants with marketing knowledge and expertise beyond that of most staff at a small business. They also keep up to date with the very latest techniques and methods.
At the end of the day, there are certainly several content marketing techniques that a small business can employ to boost their online reputation. By enlisting the help of an internet marketing company, this reputation could be dramatically increased, without the need to expand or take on more staff.

How Quickly Can You Get My Website Onto Page One Of Google?

It’s possibly the most frequently asked question of every internet marketing company.
Hardly surprising really when you consider how valuable a spot on Google Page One can be for the vast majority of businesses.

For those who achieve success in reaching this seeming illusive territory the rewards can be enormous.

It’s important to realise that optimising your website for the search engines is not a quick fix, but rather a medium to long-term objective. That said, dependent on the competitiveness of the keywords and phrases you want to rank highly for, you could begin to see notable results as early as 6-8 weeks’ time.

Do not be tempted by any internet marketing company which promises you overnight success or instant results. Unless these people possess some kind of magic powers the rest of us mortals don’t have, then their processes will be at best dubious and like many before you, you will almost certainly find your website plummets in the rankings suddenly, or even disappears altogether, along with the so-called internet marketing company hopefully!

Another trick of the unscrupulous agencies is that they will promise you will achieve Google Page One status for a keyword or key phrase, which turns out to be irrelevant. Let’s say your widget manufacturing company is called ABC Widgets London.

Now do you think you’d be impressed by an agency that claimed they could get “ABC Widgets London” onto that exclusive first page?

Well I sincerely hope not:

1. Because there is no competition for that particular phrase
                and
2. 99% of people searching for your type of business won’t be aware you exist, that’s why they are searching, so the likelihood of someone actually typing your company name into the search box is pretty slim.

What you need is to rank highly for those terms your customers will actually use to find you. In the case of our example you would be aiming to attract rankings for search terms like: “widget manufacturing”, “widget manufacturers”, “widget production”, and the like.

This is where the knowledge and skills of your internet marketing advisor will come to the fore. The aim of every competent internet marketing company will be to get its clients’ websites to the top of the rankings . . . and to keep them firmly fixed there.

Clearly, in the world of internet marketing, you cannot do much better than to rank top of the pile every time someone searches for what your business offers.

Kickstart Your Business Growth With Expert Marketing Assistance

Have you recently launched a new business or are you about to launch? No matter how confident you are in your product or service, getting your new business out into the world can be a daunting prospect.

According to an article by the National Business Association, marketing is cited as the major reason 64 per cent of new businesses fail. It doesn’t necessarily follow that these companies that went under did not spend any money on marketing, but rather in some cases that the marketing they did was inconsistent or ineffective.

For some inexplicable reason, some business owners view marketing as a ‘bolt on’ activity – a ‘nice to have’ – when the stark reality is that marketing is a ‘must have’ for every single business that wants to survive in these ultra-competitive times we live in.

So should you use marketing companies to take on your marketing for you, or should you take the DIY route?

For any new business, having a marketing expert on board from the start can be a great way to kickstart your company’s growth. The main advantage here is that those marketing companies which are experienced in your trade or industry will have accumulated a wealth of knowledge which can readily be put into practice. Not only will this save you a huge chunk of time over the coming days and weeks, but you will not be wasting your efforts going down blind alleys in trying out marketing activities which may not bear fruit.

As there are now many hundreds of marketing companies online which you may choose to employ, it’s well worth checking out their websites as the first port of call (particularly the sections on achievements and testimonials) to see who might be a good fit for you.

Something you might want to consider: is your preferred marketing company on the first page of Google for all the main ‘marketing’ keywords and phrases? If not, can you reasonably expect they will be able to achieve this for your business?

Once you’ve narrowed it down (anything from 3-6 potential ‘partners’), then why not call up your shortlist of marketing companies and ask them what they can do to kickstart your new business?
One final thing to bear in mind: don’t sign up with anyone who won’t let you have a trial period or who tries to tie you into a long contract. Any marketing professional worth his or her salt should be confident enough in their abilities not to have to resort to these sorts of underhand tactics.

Why AdWords For Mobile Phones Could Make Perfect Business Sense For You

If you run a service-based business setting up a Google AdWords campaign specifically for mobile phone users could be of considerable benefit to you.

You see, more people than ever before are using their mobile phones to carry out ‘service provider’ searches. And that’s across a wide range of industries not just the most obvious. Therefore it makes sense to consider tapping into this particularly lucrative marketing channel before your competitors do.

As well as having less competition (fewer advertisers), mobile advertising clicks generally cost less than traditional PC AdWords campaigns too which is good news for the budget-conscious business owner or entrepreneur.

As you would imagine mobile ads work particularly well for emergency call out type services such as plumbers, electricians and locksmiths. Perhaps a little more surprisingly, they are also proven to get great results for services like web design, jazz band hire and administrative and payroll firms too – services which would traditionally have been located online via a PC – or at one time – Yellow Pages.
Once you’ve registered your Google account it’s easy to set up your mobile advertising campaign in AdWords. Just go to the ‘Settings’ tab and under the ‘Devices’ column click on the word ‘All’. Now select ‘Let Me Choose’ and select ‘Mobile Devices With Full Browsers’. This will mean that your ad(s) will run on mobiles only, not iPads or PCs. Click save to confirm your selection.

To add your chosen contact number click on the ‘Ad Extensions’ tab, then ‘New Extension’ and type in the telephone number you want your customers to use. And that’s it.

It’s helpful to incorporate a tracking device so you can keep an eye on your ROI and the overall success of your mobile advertising campaign.

As well as placing ads onto the mobile network, here’s something else you may want to take a closer look at:

On June 7 2012, Google announced that its advertisers would have access to the 300,000+ mobile apps within its acquired AdMob network, providing marketing companies with a totally customisable advertising experience with global reach across multiple platforms.

To take advantage of this option select ‘New Campaign’ from the ‘Campaigns’ tab, then choose ‘Display Network Only (mobile apps)’. You will be able to refine your advertising campaign further by selecting individual apps you wish your ads to run with – perfect for fine-tuning your campaigns for specific target audiences.

Google AdWords provides highly optimisable advertising solutions along with infinitely customisable communications platforms, allowing you to access the people you most want to reach easily and cost-effectively. If you wish to learn more about the use of Google Adwords then contacting a Google Adword Consultant could be a first step, and how to find one? Try Google!

Joining the Chartered Institute of Marketing

The Chartered Institute of Marketing are an industry wide, highly respected organisation that represents the marketing profession and all those who work within it. The Institute is open for anyone working or considering working in marketing and there is an entire scale of memberships ranging from those just finding their feet in the industry to senior management. Whether you are an apprentice, in education or a fully qualified marketing consultant, there is a membership level for you.

Affiliate

Affiliate membership splits into two branches; Professional and Studying. There are a few subtle differences between the two.

The professional branch is open to anyone who is working in or studying towards a qualification in the marketing industry. It is also available to those actively interested in marketing or considering a career in the profession.

The Affiliate (Studying) membership is a requisite for anyone wishing to study with the CIM.

The Affiliate annual membership costs £140 in Europe on £100 for an International membership. There are discounts available for direct debits.

Associate

The Associate is a rather more respected level of membership than the Affiliate despite being similar in many ways. The major difference lies in the fact that to be eligible for the Associate membership, a person must have one or more of the following qualifications. 

A Professional Diploma from the CIM

A Professional or Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the CIM

A bachelor’s degree in Marketing

An equivalent professional marketing body’s examination certification

The cost of annual membership is slightly higher too at £160 for European members and £130 for international membership.

Member (MCIM)

To qualify for this prestigious level of membership, a person must meet all the criteria required of an Associate member. Also required is at least three years of experience in the marketing industry including a year in a managing role. Current employment in a marketing role is also necessary.

For senior a senior marketing consultant with no formal marketing qualifications, there is an entry route to the MCIM as long as the person is at or near to board level.

European membership costs £180 per annum, whilst the International rate is £150.

Fellow (FCIM)

For all those who meet the MCIM criteria and have a strong level of industry or teaching experience, the Fellow level is a prestigious membership status to hold. To qualify, one must have either held a senior executive position in a marketing role or taught as a marketing professor or senior academic for at least fifteen years.

The FCIM costs £210 for European members and £185 for Internationals.

Chartered Marketer

Whilst there is no additional fee for becoming a Chartered Marketer, the prestige and professional acclaim that comes with Chartered status cannot be overestimated. It is the highest grade of professional marketing accreditation and recognises a person’s outstanding marketing experience and expertise.

To be eligible, a person must hold either MCIM or FCIM membership, as well as satisfy certain requirements of the CIM’s Chartered CDP Programme for at least two years.

For more information and details on how to apply for membership to the CIM, visit their website.

Advertising In Local Publications – Can It Still Work For Small Businesses?

The advertising legend David Ogilvy once said:

“I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it ‘creative.’ I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product.”
 
So now, to local advertising. Yes, it can most definitely work, as today’s business marketing consultants will confirm, provided the publication has:

Sufficient readers in your target market
Ask for a media pack or profile of the readership before you make any kind of commitment. Focus on your target audience and the publication’s target audience. Is there enough of an overlap to strongly suggest you will get a good return on your investment?

Good distribution channels
Is the publication actively delivered to its readership or key influencers or decision makers? Or is it something people have to pick up from a shopping centre or train station? Is it a specialist publication which is only available on subscription? If so, how many subscribers do they have currently? Also you need to know how frequent the publication is and on what dates it is published, so as you can plan time-sensitive offers accordingly.

Engaging content
Frankly, a publication stuffed with wall-to-wall ads is unlikely to bear much fruit. Look for punchy editorial and engaging, informative articles people will actively want to read.

Reasonable rates
As well as the advertising space itself, don’t forget to build in any outsourcing costs such as copywriting and design if you are not creating your ad in-house. Don’t be shy about haggling either. Many publications will offer you their standard rate card and will be used to negotiating. If you can’t get a discount on the price of the advertisement can you get extra value in other ways? For example, by increasing the size of your ad, or the promise of a free editorial write-up? Or perhaps a free ad on their associated website?

If the price of your ad still seems unaffordable at this point, tell them ‘no’, with the proviso that they are welcome to phone you back on Friday afternoon if they still have space available – at a heavily discounted rate naturally. You might be surprised at how often this tactic can work in your favour!
Once you have booked your advertising space and designed your advertisement, be sure to have a program or spreadsheet in place to measure its success. And never be tempted to design your own ad (unless you are a graphic designer), because it won’t look professional. Remember, your friendly local business marketing consultants are on hand to help you with any aspect of your advertising, marketing and PR.

Finally, keep in mind David Ogilvy’s advice. Be sure your advertisement is so interesting . . . so compelling . . . that the reader just has to buy your product.

Launching A New Business? A Marketing Company Can Help You Make Your Budget S-t-r-e-t-c-h Further

When you’re launching a brand new business every penny counts. And without careful budgeting in place, it’s all too easy for your start-up costs to spiral out of control. This isn’t the best way to start a new venture as I’m sure you’ll appreciate.

While there are some costs that are (happily) avoidable because they are not essential to your business, marketing is not one of them.

Marketing is a requirement every business will need to consider for as long as that business exists. Marketing is how the world will get to know of your business. At its most fundamental, marketing will bring about brand awareness and a steady stream of customers. At its extreme it has be known to create fame and fortune too, particularly within the realms of Reality TV. But I digress . . .

Either marketing will be a function you will choose to carry out in-house, or else it will need to be outsourced to an competent individual or company. If you’re not sure what kind of marketing activities would glean the best results for your particular business industry or sector and you don’t have the expertise or resources to market in-house, then assigning your marketing function to a marketing company makes perfect sense.

Employing an marketing company to kick-start your online marketing campaign can benefit you in a host of ways:

You won’t waste time and money carrying out ‘random’ marketing activities that might not be right for your business.

All marketing will be tightly focussed and designed to appeal to your target audience.
Your marketing company will create an emarketing campaign that is within budget and where ‘actions’ are fully accountable and measurable.

Your emarketing plan will contain a number of elements designed to maximise your visibility to potential customers and the media. This ‘marketing mix’ generally works much better than singular marketing activities carried out in isolation, which can result in a lack of momentum.

Your marketing company may be able to obtain discounts from relevant publications and advertising platforms by bulk-buying advertising slots.

Your chosen marketing company will be experts in social media and can arrange for you to have these elements (Facebook, Twitter etc) integrated seamlessly into your marketing campaign (if relevant).

As you have seen, there are many reasons for handing your fledgling business to an marketing company to work their magic.

By teaming up with the right specialists early on, you will ensure that your business starts off on the right foot so to speak, and keeps on heading in the right direction.