Friday, September 13, 2013

6 SEO Results You Should Be Searching for

An organic approach offers benefits well beyond increasing website traffic

Search engine optimization isn’t just about getting visitors. It’s about getting the right visitors – along with better data and a stronger competitive position.

The most successful SEO is aligned with your unique strategies, built with best practices in programming and driven by content that’s relevant to your audiences. When you take this approach, here are six key advantages. 

  1. Gaining credibilityIf you’re on the first page with your subpages listed, your company and your brand command a level of respect that ads and PPC alone cannot bring (and at a lower cost, too). 
  2. Standing out – There are hundreds of millions of active websites. It can seem nearly impossible to get attention. But when your website is optimized for targeted keywords your audience uses, it can provide the differentiation you need.
  3. Getting clicks – About 18 percent of click-throughs on Google go to the very first search result, according to a 2011 study by Slingshot SEO. The second position comes in at 10 percent, the third at 7 percent, the fourth at just under 5 – and all others at sub-2. Securing a spot at or near the top is a key way to gain a significant edge.
  4. Increasing competitiveness – Your competitors are applying SEO practices, too. Stay ahead of them by executing in a way that’s smarter and more strategic.
  5. Helping your customers – Search engines are unique in that they provide targeted traffic – people looking for what you offer. Support their quest by making it easy for them to find you through a search engine.
  6. Learning and adapting – By revealing what people are searching for in your industry, SEO analytics help you uncover shifts in demand and market conditions, which can in turn help you adapt your products, services and strategies for more revenue.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Quick, Appealing, Captivating: Learn How to Create an Effective Infographic

Here’s a simple truth: people process visual messages more quickly than text.

That should be all you need to know to spur you to make visual media a priority in your content marketing efforts. With the staggering amount of information available to your audiences, you need to help them absorb your message in every possible way.

However, for those who are less artistically inclined, the thought of putting together a visual presentation may be daunting.

But how about an infographic? A good infographic conveys information in a concise and aesthetically pleasing style, which helps increase retention. Plus, they can easily be built using various online tools.

This one, for example, was built with the help of Piktochart. Please absorb and enjoy these 5 tips for creating an effective infographic.