SEO Tactics That Aren’t Just Keywords

SEO is the buzzword of digital marketing, but you may be surprised to learn that it isn’t all about choosing the right keywords to reach an audience. In fact, using keywords incorrectly can actually result in losing readers, as your blogs appear littered with unnecessary repetition (known as “keyword stuffing”). Too many keywords can also clue your competitors into the type of phrasing you’re using to hook your audience — not exactly what you want as part of your marketing strategy. Of course, SEO is still as relevant as ever, but with Google’s ever-changing algorithm, newer trends and practices are beginning to replace those simple keywords of old.

SEO: A Quick Overview

SEO, or search engine optimization, is using available tools to help your website reach the highest possible ranks in a list of returned search results. For instance, if a person Googles, “restaurants open late,” and you own such a restaurant, you’d want your restaurant to appear at the top of the list. But how can you make that happen? The answer is in SEO.

SEO can take many forms, and some of the most common are, yes, to employ keywords; but there are many other, newer tactics that can help boost your website’s search appeal. Here are a few of the newest ways to increase the odds of your website getting on Google’s good side:

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

These days, the Internet is literally at our fingertips. Most people are never without a mobile device, and Internet searchers are increasingly viewed through a cell phone, rather than a computer screen. In fact, Google announced back in March that it would begin using the mobile version of websites to determine its ranking in search results. This is an incredible change, as Google had previously used the desktop version of websites in its rankings. These days, having a mobile-friendly website isn’t just an option; it’s a necessity.

Have a Quality FAQ Page on Your Website

Think about the last time you typed a question into a search engine like Google. Was the first result a box with a quick answer to your question readily available to view from the search page? With ever more websites crowding the internet and all of them vying for attention, it has become increasingly important for search engines to be able to pull an answer from your website in the least amount of time and with the least amount of effort.

Add in the creation and widespread use of voice-activated devices such as Siri and Alexa, and this will only become more important. These types of devices need to be able to quickly provide a concise answer. Having an FAQ page will allow search engines to pull the needed information from your website quickly and cleanly, boosting your search rankings.

Write Longer, Engaging, Original Blog Posts

Having a blog on your website will boost your search ranking, but not just any blog. In a world where quick information is valued, you may be surprised to learn that a 2015 analysis found that content longer than 1,000 words receives greater engagement return, with higher amounts of likes and shares, than content with fewer than 1,000 words. The Internet is saturated with short blog posts that don’t engage readers. Your blog must contain quality, in-depth posts that get readers sharing and keep readers reading. The longer that a viewer to your website stays on your page, the higher Google ranks your website.

Simply stuffing keywords into a short blog post just doesn’t cut it anymore. Don’t forget about pictures and videos, as well -- blogging is quickly becoming a visual realm, with text alone hardly ever enough to result in a strong search ranking. When you do include images, don’t forget about image optimization. You can use tools like Optimizilla or CompressNow to develop the most high-quality images for your blogs.

Writing this kind of content isn’t easy. It’s time-consuming and requires careful research. This is why one of the best investments you could make for your website is to hire a professional writing team to create content for you. A writing team can generate more posts more quickly than any individual, and knows the ins-and-outs of this evolving world of SEO.

When You Do Use Keywords, Find a Balance

There is absolutely still a place for keywords, but you have to find the balance. Use variations of your keywords, as opposed to repeating just one specific phrase over and over again. You want your blog posts to appear organic, not forced or unnatural. Remember, the more inauthentic your posts appear, the less likely your reader is to be engaged -- and the less likely search engines are to rank your website highly. With the popularity of mobile and voice devices, you’ll also benefit from using simple, everyday language that a person would be most likely to type into a search engine.

Bamboo Offers SEO Solutions

Since search engine algorithms, and SEO trends, are constantly changing, it can help to have someone in the know to guide you through the trenches of digital marketing.

Bamboo Marketing Solutions is a full-service marketing department that bends with these changing trends to implement effective SEO tactics, improving your position in the search engine rankings. We do our research and optimize your content for your success.

Contact us today for a free consultation regarding our SEO solutions for your business, as well as the many other ways that Bamboo Marketing Solutions can help you succeed.

Email Marketing for the Holidays

The holidays are here, and with the hustle and bustle of the season comes holiday email marketing that could seriously increase the revenue of your business. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, this is the time of year when consumers are ready to spend, and businesses of all types can reap the benefits. The key to success is in knowing the kinds of emails to send, what content to include, and how you can stand out in a crowded holiday inbox.

Here are a few tips to help you rework and maximize your email marketing this holiday season:

Know Your Audience

First and foremost, before you ever send an email, you need to be aware of who it is that you are reaching. This knowledge will help you regardless of the time of year, but it is especially important during a time when buyers are receiving endless emails from other businesses also hoping to market their product or service. One of the most valuable steps you can take is to segment your email lists. This is done by keeping careful data on your subscribers and using this data to send them relevant emails that are more likely to appeal to them based on their past purchases or their demographic.

You also don’t want to forget that it is the holiday season. Add a human element to your emails. Offer your customers warm holiday wishes, sincerely thank them for their business, and explain what your business or service can add to their holiday experience.

Make a Strong First Impression

You absolutely must send a quality welcome email whenever someone engages with your business. Statistics have shown that the average open rate for welcome emails is 50%, with these first emails generating over 300 times more revenue than a random promotional email. Plus, over 70% of online users surveyed actually expect a welcome email to show up in their mailbox after subscribing to a website — but only a little more than half of businesses send them. These welcome emails are clearly your chance at getting the attention of people interested in your website, so you’ll not only want to have a system for sending them immediately after a person interacts with your site, but you’ll also want to fill your email with content that will make your visitor want to return.

Consider offering a welcome discount within the email and, since so many emails are viewed on mobile devices these days, strive to create a mobile-friendly design that is pleasing to its readers. Be sure to include links to your social media channels to provide your email recipients with another platform to interact with your business.

Have a Little Fun

Make your marketing emails entertaining and creative. These days, text alone simply isn’t appealing enough to consumers. Add mobile-friendly visuals and interactive opportunities to your emails. The current trend is gamification, which is essentially just what it sounds like. Marketers might send out actual games in their emails that lead to offers or social media platforms, they might hold contests, or they may simply encourage consumers to share something on social media in exchange for a discount code. This gamification email from Taco Bell has garnered a lot of attention online for its crafty way of luring potential customers.

The bottom line is that shoppers receive a lot of emails. Drawing them in with something new and exciting is a clever way to make them want to receive yours.

Make Your Subscribers Feel Special

Your subscribers are your VIP buyers. After all, they signed up for your emails, or made a purchase, because they already like what you have to offer. Keep that momentum going by offering exclusive rewards or promotions to email subscribers, as though being apart of your email list is a kind of exclusive club. When someone does make a purchase, pack that receipt email with future discounts, upcoming products or events, and recommendations based on their purchase. Because, what’s the other email most likely to be opened? A transactional email.

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The holidays are filled with opportunities for your business to grow. With shoppers ready and eager to try new products and services, your email strategy can make all the difference. Of course, this is also the time of year that business owners may feel overwhelmed. Running a business and running a successful email marketing campaign is no easy feat. You’ll also need to make sure your website is regularly maintained and updated. Bamboo Marketing can help. Contact us today to learn what our team of experts can do to market your business this holiday season, and year-round.

Why It Helps to Hire a Team of Bloggers

If you want to grow your online platform, you need a blog. A blog is a perfect way to draw in potential customers, boost your SEO, and set yourself up as someone knowledgeable in your industry. If your blog posts are engaging and helpful, readers will be more likely to read more posts and look into your services further, turning clicks into leads. But a blog can take a lot of time and needs to remain engaging consistently. That’s why sometimes it’s best to turn it over to a team of bloggers.

More Time to Do What You Do Best

If you’re a realtor, or a lawyer, or a fashion designer, chances are you didn’t go into that business to blog about the industry once a week: you went into it to sell houses or win cases or make beautiful clothes. For some, it can be interesting to share their own insights on the industry they’re passionate about occasionally, and hiring a blog team won’t stop you from doing so. What it will do is save you hours each month that could be spent tackling your most pressing concerns. With a team of bloggers, you won’t have to worry about staying consistent on your blog or using the right keywords and SEO practices. Your team will take care of that for you, and you can focus on what you do best.

Professional Bloggers Are Specialists

There are many aspects to running a business, including digital marketing. A skilled entrepreneur with plenty of time might be able to do a few of them well, but it’s a different thing entirely to have your blogs handled by people specifically qualified to write your blogs. Bloggers understand aspects of blogging and how it can help grow business in ways that busy entrepreneurs sometimes don’t. They understand how to communicate the information they need to in an engaging, creative way. They also understand the metrics of blogging — what kind of blog posts are likely to get the most clicks, and how to encourage further interaction beyond that blog post.

Bloggers Speak Your Customer’s Language

When it comes to your industry, you’re the expert — and sometimes that can be a disadvantage. Have you ever heard a scientist talk about their findings or a car mechanic rattle off streams of jargon and thought, “I have no idea what they’re saying?” Sometimes when you get so deeply involved in your industry, you start to speak like, well, someone in your industry. The problem is your customers don’t speak that language, and it can often leave them confused and frustrated. Bloggers serve as a sort of middle-person. They can take all those helpful tips and insights that you have and make them accessible to anyone, regardless of whether they’re an expert in your industry.

You’re Sure to Find the Voice You Want

Okay, so all of that explains why you should hire a professional blogger for your website. But why should you hire a team of bloggers? There are a few reasons: for one thing, there are more hands on deck to make sure that your blogs are done on time and done right. Perhaps more importantly, though, you’ll have more choice when it comes to the voice of your blogs. Often when hiring just one blogger, you’re taking a chance that one person will be able to effectively communicate the content of your blog in the way that you want. However, when you hire a team of bloggers, you have a few options. If one blogger isn’t working out for you, someone else in the team will.

Interested in growing your business through the use of a blog, with the help of a team of bloggers? Contact Bamboo Marketing Today to set up a call for a free quote.