Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a very complex field with ever changing analytics and tips & tricks of the trade. While it is worth following the latest news and staying informed, not everyone is titillated by the technology behind SEO. And, not everyone can afford to pay an outside company to handle the work for them. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, there are a few SEO steps – a checklist if you will – that every website should follow to boost its visibility. Think of this SEO checklist as your website backbone—the foundation of your SEO plan.
Social Media Stats: What Do They Really Mean?
Remember when Direct Mail Marketing was all the rage? We squeezed our budgets to afford dynamic designs and impressive images. We racked our brains to create messaging intended to reach out and grab our buyers’ attention at a single glance. We paid a premium for the perfect paper and packaging to serve as a vehicle for our messaging. And then we paid for production, printing and assembly… Oh, and let’s not forget about those postage costs! There were quantities to be determined and deadlines to beat, all so we could get our messages in the mail by some magic hour in hopes of reaching our prospective customers in time.
After all that, we hoped to receive a 1 – 3% return rate from our investment. If we were lucky, 1 – 3% of everyone who received our message would become a customer and buy what we were selling.
Email Marketing Resource Diet: 4 Food Groups
At Filament, we love our place at the digital marketing table. Participating in the infinite internet landscape is a privilege, and knowing our stuff is a job requirement we take seriously and enjoy fulfilling. This means that we constantly educate ourselves on technology and trends, from programs that do cool things to the latest Google behaviors and philosophies.
To do this, we bookmark several industry websites, many of them blogs, and we make time each week to take in as much information as possible. Since we’re all busy people and nobody likes to drink from the proverbial fire hose, here’s four excellent sites you should consider bookmarking. Alone, they are very good. Together, they give you a pretty complete daily requirement of news, education, trends and tech – with a wee bit of entertainment to finish the meal.
What Marketers Can Learn From Target’s Facebook Content Strategy
At Filament, we love to see a job well done. We also love to come across great ideas about content marketing and content strategy. We’re sharing the love with you as we take a look at a few of Target’s Facebook content strategies.
Original Content
If you want to be liked, be likable. Target does this with original content that’s directed directly toward Target customers. Fans can learn about upcoming sales, find great new recipes, view new products and much, much more all at Target’s Facebook page. Customers get value out of each and every post, whether its fun or informative. Plus, Target posts this content consistently. Here are a few recent posts to their Facebook page: Read more
All You Need to Know about Title Tags and SEO
Title tags are probably one of the most ignored yet most powerful search engine optimization (SEO) tools out there. How many times have you gone to a website’s home page and seen that their title tag is “HOME”? It’s actually quite sad how often this little SEO gem is ignored.
First of all, let’s cover what a title tag actually is. When you go to a webpage, you’ll see a little tab at the very top (not even on the actual page) that resembles the tab on an old manila file folder. This tab will have a title which typically isn’t completely visible unless you hold your cursor on it. This is your title tag.
Social Media Know-How: The 5 W’s of Social Give and Take – Part III
There is an incredible amount of information out there about social media. A thousand How To’s and Best Of’s, and hundreds of sources touting recommendations about what you’re supposed to do to succeed in social media.
You already know that social media doesn’t run itself. And, you also know that there’s an incredible amount of thought and intention that goes into managing successful social media strategies from day to day. As we’ve discussed, there’s a lot to consider about what you have to offer your social media communities. And of course, there’s also a lot to learn on an on-going basis.
You can have the fanciest pages and best analytics that span every-known social media platform, but when you get down to it, the only thing that matters is HOW you do it.
Quick Hits on Four Top Email Marketing Systems
There are literally hundreds of email marketing management systems to choose from, and once you start researching them, your head quickly begins to spin. So, before you start, do a quick brainstorm of your priorities, so that you can zero in on the features and benefits that will be most important to you. Here’s a place to start:
- Capabilities (surveys, newsletters, customization, etc.)
- Simplicity
- User interface
- Affordability
- Technology basis and support
- Data and list management, including reporting capabilities
- User FunFactor*
Once you have a clear(er) picture of your needs, let the research begin! We’ve given you a head start by breaking down four popular systems:
All the Right Stuff: Posting the Right Content
Knowing what type of content your followers on a particular social network want is key to higher engagement on that channel. As a general rule of thumb, you want to post content that adds value. Quality content gives people a reason to engage with it. Think honestly, “Would I click on this? Would I share this?”
Beyond that, what’s the right content for each social media network? Luckily, research has been done that shows us what (as a general rule) works best. You’ll always want to fine tune these suggestions for your specific target audience in order to get the most comments, shares, likes and clicks that you can. Read more
Keyword Planner News from Google
Google has recently announced some updates that affect the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but not as much as anticipated. SEO fanatics were excitedly awaiting the recent announcement from Google and the changes that were coming to the Keyword Planner tool. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, the changes were not huge for SEO. They centered more around paid search and pretty new graphics.
If you’re using the Keyword Planner regularly to track your website keywords, the first thing you’ll notice is a new graph at the top that tracks popularity of a keyword over the last year. This could be a great addition for people who have seasonal products. For some of us in the consumer world, it’ll be nice too if the holiday products begin rolling out when the trend is high for them rather than midsummer.
The 5 Give and Take W’s of Social Media—Part II
We’ve been talking about the 5 W’s of social media. In general, that covers Who, What, Why, Where and When. To make sure we focus on the two very different, but crucial sides of the W “coin,” we went a step further and divided the W’s into two main parts.
Earlier, we talked about what you GIVE or offer to your social media communities and how you relate to the people who follow your brand. Now we’re going to focus on what you TAKE away, or learn from your social media efforts.
Of course, the goal on both sides is to grow and advance in our marketing efforts. Fortunately, there are some pretty savvy resources available that can help us accomplish our goals. It’s always good to cover the basics from the ground-up, though, and that’s what we’re going to do today.
