Monday, April 18, 2022

Why Should I Use Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing For Your Business

Internet Marketing - Not Your Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing is based on one simple principle: You have to tell your audience what you want them to do. In other words, you have to "sell" them on something. Content marketing is different. Content marketing is about creating valuable content that your audience wants to read and share. Today's online marketing has changed the way businesses work. It's no longer enough to simply advertise and wait for people to find you. You need to be present and engaged in your audience. The good news is that internet marketing is easy to do and can be done in a way that allows you to focus on what you're passionate about. If you want to learn more about online marketing, I'm here to help you! Consumers want to be engaged with brands and businesses in a meaningful way. If you're not providing your audience with valuable information, you're missing out on a huge opportunity. By creating content that is helpful and entertaining, you're giving your audience something to talk about. Why Should I use Internet MarketingMarketing has been around for thousands of years, and the goal of most businesses is to grow sales and profits. However, the way we do business today is very different from how it was in the past. Traditional marketing focuses on sales and growth, but what if you want to focus on creating quality content? This is where digital marketing comes into play. In the past, it was common for companies to have a catalog you would order from, or they would send you a brochure with information on their products. The internet has changed everything, and companies are finding that the internet is a great way to reach potential customers. The internet has also become a valuable tool for companies to help them find out what products their customers want. There's never been a better time to be a consumer. With the Internet, we're able to search for products and services to fit our needs. And thanks to social media, we're able to find out what others are saying about a particular product or service, and how they are feeling about it. This information is invaluable when making a decision. Digital marketing is all about creating, executing and measuring the most effective marketing strategies using technology. It includes everything from developing and executing digital marketing plans, to using digital technology to create and deliver content, to measuring the performance of digital campaigns. There are many definitions for internet marketing, but here's the one I like best: "Internet marketing is the process of using the web to promote products or services." Content marketing differs from traditional advertising in that it focuses on creating content that is valuable to consumers, and then promoting that content on the web.

Content - Give Them What They Need

If you're not delivering content, you're not selling anything. This is why it's so important to know your audience and provide them with the content they want and need. If you're just throwing up random content and hoping that people find it, you'll never see a return on your efforts. Think about your audience and what they're interested in. Provide them with the content they want and need, and you'll be successful. How should you deliver that digital content? Here are some suggestions for your digital marketing efforts:
  1. Upload the digital content to a website. (get one here)
  2. Email the digital content to a list of recipients.
  3. Post the digital content on a social media page.
  4. Send the digital content as an attachment in an email.
  5. Create a video and post it on YouTube.
  6. Maximize your GMB profile. (learn more here)
  7. BONUS MARKETING TIP - Create a free account on Patch.com. Then create free classified ad. Include a photo and your brand information (website, name, address & phone number).
Creating high quality, targeted content is a great way to ensure that your audience finds value in your information and associates that value with your brand. By providing valuable content that is relevant to your audience, you can create a strong relationship with them and ensure that they continue to return to your site. It's clear that consumers want and need content. Brands are listening, and responding. This means that brand content should be a priority for marketers. But it's not just about writing content, it's about creating an experience with information that resonates with your visitors and leads to sales.

Paid SEM

Up to this point we have focused on organic SEO tactics. There is another side of marketing and that is Paid SEM. Paid SEM is a form of paid advertising that uses search engine marketing (SEM) to promote a business or product. Paid SEM can take many forms, including paid search, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and display advertising. This form of marketing more closely resembles traditional marketing methods than organic SEO. Paid SEM has a place in marketing and is useful in supplementing organic SEO efforts.

Opportunities For Marketing Your Business

The internet is growing and evolving at breakneck speed. If your brand isn't taking advantage of the opportunities to present your information and utilize available online marketing services you really need to get on board. If you have questions or need help please get in touch with Team 218.  

Original post here: Why Should I Use Internet Marketing

Friday, April 8, 2022

Technical SEO – What Web Designers Leave Out

Website Audit Technical SEO

What Web Designers Leave Out

Website Audits

One of the services I offer is website audits. A website audit looks at several key areas of a site and grades the website. I review on-page SEO optimization, off-page backlinks, social, performance, security and more. A higher grade results in a better experience for your users and improved ranking and visibility by search engines. Something that I see all too much is a website that has a good appearance but is lacking in the important technical SEO optimizations that are critical in ranking a website. Google has made a lot of changes to their algorithm in recent years that have made it more difficult for websites to rank well. Not utilizing on-page aspects of SEO optimization is like leaving money on the table. SEO is an essential part of a website's success, and neglecting it can lead to decreased traffic and lower rankings. A web designer who is not familiar with SEO can create a website that is difficult to find and rank, and may even result in a loss of business. The website might look great and be easy to use but without solid technical SEO it will never be as good as it could be if the SEO was correct.  If your website doesn't have strong technical SEO, it will likely not rank as well in search engines as it could. This could lead to a loss of business and customers. So why do web design firms leave out or ignore important SEO components? Is it because they only focus on the design of the website? Maybe they just don't understand SEO. Whatever the case, you should be looking for a different web design company.

What Is Technical SEO?

In this post, we'll discuss what technical SEO is and why it's important for your website. We'll also show you how to make sure your site is optimized for search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in search engine results pages (SERPs). The goal is for a website or web page to appear at the top of results for specific keywords or phrases. Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website for the search engine. This includes all the things that you can do to improve your website's search engine optimization. It includes things such as the title tag, the meta description, the keyword tags, and other things. Let's examine the pieces of technical SEO and how to implement them.

Title Tag

The title tag is the most important piece of technical SEO. It is the first thing that a user sees when they click on a link from another website. The title tag should be short and concise, but it should contain keyword phrases that are relevant to the page. There is almost an art to creating a great title tag. You need to explain what your page is about in 60 characters.

Meta Description

The meta description is the second piece of technical SEO. It is the description of the page that appears below the title tag. The meta description is what the search engine displays in its results page when someone searches for your page. You can use it to attract more clicks to your page.

Image Alt Tag

The image alt tag is used to describe the images that appear on your page. It helps the search engine to know what your page is about without having to see the image. In the event your image is not able to be displayed for any reason, the Alt text will be shown.

Page Hierarchy

Every page on your website should have an <h1> heading tag - and there should only be one. All too often I see multiple <h1> heading tags or no <h1> heading tag at all. That's a sure sign of poor technical SEO. When using more than one heading on a page it is important to use the correct hierarchy. Using the incorrect hierarchy level can affect SEO and could make using assistive technology, such as a screen reader, very cumbersome. Be sure to never skip heading levels. For example, the heading after an <h2> should never be an <h4><h5>, or <h6>. Follow the correct order.

Site Structure / Sitemap

How your website is structured is important. It's also important to make sure the search engines know the structure. That's where your sitemap comes in. A sitemap is a file that tells the search engines about all of your web pages. You should create a sitemap and upload it to your website. This will help your site to appear in the search engine results.

Linking

Inter linking is important for ease of navigation but it also plays a role in telling search engines how the content of your web pages should connect to each other.

Schema Code

Schema markup (schema.org) is a structured data vocabulary that helps search engines understand the info on your site in order to serve rich results. This markup will help search engines understand your content better by showing them the meaning and relationships behind your website's various content entities. Schema markup has become a hot topic for SEO because it lets you provide more details about your products and services.

Performance

How fast your web page loads and displays is an important metric when it comes to SEO. There are several websites you can use to test your site's performance. GTMetrix and WebPageTest are a couple I like.

Core Web Vitals

Core web vitals are a combination of several metrics designed to measure how users perceive the experience of interacting with a web page. In this update, Google wants to ensure that only sites that provide simple and seamless experience show up on the top of search engine result pages (SERPs) for specific search terms or keywords. Core web vitals are a subset of Google’s overall evaluation of Page Experience, a longstanding ranking signal. The metrics that define Core Web Vitals will change over time along with changes in a user’s expectation of web pages. The current set of metrics focus on three important aspects of the user experience, including load speed, interactivity and visual stability. I wrote an article about Google's Core Web Vitals where you can learn more.

Conclusion

Technical SEO is not an option. You need every advantage to be competitive in the online world and your website will never achieve its' full potential without solid on-page SEO. If you would like a free website audit you can get one on our Free Website Audit page. Wait…FREE? Yes, it’s really free. No strings attached or obligation on your part. Just an honest review of your website. I’ll look at 3 areas of your website: SEO, Performance &  Security, and User Experience.. You will receive a detailed report clearly explaining the results in PDF format and a few ideas on what you might do to improve.

Original post here: Technical SEO – What Web Designers Leave Out

Destination Iowa Funding

Destination Iowa - Iowa Capitol

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What Is Destination Iowa?

Iowa is serious about attracting visitors and pulling in new residents. How serious you ask? $100 million serious! The Destination Iowa fund provides $100 million in grants to counties, cities and non-profits located in the state of Iowa.

Destination Iowa consists of four separate funds.

  1. Economically Significant Development
  2. Outdoor Recreation
  3. Tourism Attraction
  4. Creative Placemaking

The federal American Rescue Plan Act is funding Destination Iowa grants. Applications will be accepted beginning on May 9, 2022. On Friday, April 15, at 10 a.m. there will be a webinar to explain the program. Link To Webinar

The contacts for Destination Iowa are:

 

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Alaina Santizo

515.348.6162

 

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Maicie Pohlman

515.348.6161

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If you are a nonprofit organization, make sure to review the links in this post to see if you might be able to benefit from a Destination Iowa grant.

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Original post here: Destination Iowa Funding

Saturday, April 2, 2022

Custom T-Shirts, Hoodies, Sweatpants, Flyers, Posters & More

BCMK Design logo

If you're in need of any type of custom printing you need to talk to Brian at BCMK Design in Corydon, Iowa. Their competitive pricing can't be beat and their virtual viewing process lets you see your products being made! Great quality products. Check them out at https://bmckdesign.com

Original post here: Custom T-Shirts, Hoodies, Sweatpants, Flyers, Posters & More

SEO Basics: Guide to Search Engine Optimization For Beginners

via Team 218 Web Services https://ift.tt/JgnVCiA