2012 should be the year that you learn how to properly use local SEO for your business. Let’s start with the basics which can sound pretty obvious to SEO veterans. However, these basic steps are often forgotten or ignored by many SEO practitioners and this can result to the downfall of a local SEO campaign. Remember that you need to build a solid foundation when it comes to everything including SEO.

Invest in Your Website

Don’t try to save as much money as you can. You need to spend money to make money. For example, great web designers usually cost a lot more compared to average ones. Be prepared to make a serious investment in your website if you’re really serious about making money with it.

Study the Google Places Guidelines

The most common local-related questions are answered by Google Places Quality Guidelines. Almost everything you need to know about what you shouldn’t do is stated in here. Don’t be lazy and take the guidelines for granted. A single mistake can have considerable results in your local SEO campaign. Strictly follow the guideline to the letter.

Visit the Google Places Help Forum

Google Places Help Forum is very much alive and kicking. It is the best place to look for advice regarding questions you have that aren’t answered in the guidelines. Other webmasters may also be able to help you with your problems.

Non-Google Opportunities

You can’t just put all your eggs in the Google basket. Bing Local, MapQuest, Yahoo! Local and others can help with your local campaign. As a general rule, get your business listed in as many local business indexes as possible.

Be Sociable

There are so many opportunities in social media not just Facebook and Twitter. Also look at Google+, coupon sites, photo sharing sites, review communities, etc. Of course, start with the top social media sites then work your way down. You also need to pick the platforms that are most relevant to your industry.

Focus on Content

Every business that ventures onto the web is already in the publishing business. It is all about content. Even the smallest description on a listing should be given the necessary focus. A single mistake can have catastrophic results like losing a potential customer. Of you don’t have the writing skill or the time you can always hire a copywriter who will do it for you. As long as you have an online presence, you need to keep the words flowing on your site, listings, profiles, reviews, etc.

It is getting more difficult to define exactly what SEO is. Is it all about on-page optimization? Building links? Or is it the process of optimizing conversion? Or is it all about rankings and the rest of the others should just be passed on to someone else? It is actually a little bit of everything combined together. SEO needs to focus not just on rankings and it should use the guidelines of search engines in order to combine all the marketing elements into a single web campaign.

People are using the term “inbound marketing” more and more to describe the overall SEO approach. It is a fact that businesses need more than just hiring an SEO awareness. It is better to have a web marketing firm that doesn’t just look at rankings as the main goal. SEOs essentially should have the skills necessary to provide solutions to their clients in order to get them the results that they actually want to have.

The Need for Collaboration

SEO should not just be the responsibility of one person. It should be a collaboration between the marketers, business executives, developers and every employee of the company. This is exactly the reason why SEO awareness and education throughout the organization is the first and most important step in integrating SEO into a company. If any part of the organization fails in fulfilling their part in the process, the online marketing campaign will usually fail. Search engines continuously implement changes in the signals they use for ranking websites. To achieve or maintain high rankings, optimizing is important but having a great website is more important. Great in terms of design, usability, content, service, etc. It is all about gaining the trust of search engines. This takes some time to build but is very easy to destroy.

Just Build an Excellent Website

If you want your online marketing campaign to succeed, you need to have an excellent website. Otherwise, you will just be wasting your time and money. A high quality website always has the upper hand when it comes to SEO. It is a lot easier to succeed in optimization if you have a great website. The SEO and website developers should work together from the beginning in order to create a high-quality website that is SEO friendly. This will make things a lot easier where minor tweaks here and there will usually result to high rankings and the success of a website.

It should never be about outsmarting search engine algorithms. The result you enjoy from doing this is always temporary. Sooner or later, search engines will catch on and give you the necessary penalty. You can even get blacklisted from a search engine or two which is like a stamp of death on your website. Build a website that truly deserves top rankings and this is what you will achieve. Take the shortcut and you will end up nowhere.

PPC advertising is one of the best ways to attract new customers. However, it is a very tricky subject that only a very few marketers understand correctly. If you do it the wrong way, you will just be wasting your time or you might even be hurting your business. This is why you should be aware of common PPC campaign mistakes that can be making your efforts useless. Here are the most common ones that you should be aware of:

Not Tracking Your Conversion

This is the biggest mistake that you can ever commit when it comes to PPC. Having no conversion data at all is like driving a car with a blindfold. You can’t just wing it and hope for the best. You need to know exactly where you are in order to determine what you need to work on. Conversion data gives you an understanding of what is happening to your campaign whether you are having the financial returns you want or not. This data has an effect on all aspects of campaign optimization.

Not Performing Ad Testing

Ad tests are vital when it comes to determining the exact words and phrases that are most effective to your target market. It can be anything from an enticing offer like free shipping or a brief proof of your company’s credibility like customer testimonials. Ad testing is one of the most effective ways to improve your campaign’s performance. As a start, try to test at 3 diverse ads for every ad group. It is highly recommended to first test 3 various ads. After getting a sample of about 300-400 clicks per ad, you must have a good idea which ones are the real money-makers and which are trash when it comes to return on investment.

Directing Users to your Homepage

You need to direct the user experience as closely as possible. Determine what is important to your users through research, analytics and testing. Then, you need to deliver this in a concise and engaging manner in order to suit their needs. Directing a user to your homepage gives them the opportunity to control their own user experience. There is a possibility that you will lose them when they click on “sitemap”, “FAQs”, “about us” or anything else on your homepage. Instead, you can employ landing pages that precisely connects to the user’s purpose. This includes headline, content, images and CTAs.

Using Very Broad Keywords

Many companies use keywords that are too broad. The common reason for this is the notion that this will attract more visitors. This is very wrong since using keywords that are too broad usually attracts many visitors that are actually not interested in what you are offering.

According to a recent survey, only about 30% of companies have a formal SEO strategy. In a digital age where everything is about the internet, this is totally inacceptable. In fact, it is safe to say that online marketing is almost critical for succeeding in business today. Let’s look at the reasons why this is still happening and what we can do to solve this problem.

The Reason: Lack of Understanding

The world of SEO strategy is still fresh although it has existed for several years now. The problem is that most companies still don’t understand what SEO is. Also, they still don’t understand how SEO works and how it can help their business. SEO is still very difficult to understand due to the volatile nature of search engine algorithms. However, there are many good SEO companies today that have a good understanding of search engines.

Combining SEO with Traditional Marketing

Having an SEO strategy adds another layer to the marketing complex. This makes marketing more complicated than it ever was. Marketing is already an intricate part of business even before SEO came into the picture. In order to succeed today, a good SEO strategy needs to be integrated with traditional marketing.

Developing a Basic SEO Strategy

The first step is to assess your situation. Where do you stand? Once you know exactly where you stand, you can proceed with creating a plan. Of course, you need to learn the basics of SEO which is not really that difficult and can be done in a few hours. There is always the option of hiring an SEO expert whether outsourced or in-house. The next step is to work on your on-page SEO which includes titles, URLs, interlinking, social networking, etc. Then you need to work on your link building which is probably one of the most important parts of SEO. When it comes to link building, one of the best tips is to create exceptional content. This way, people will naturally link to your content or site without any effort on your part. You just need to get the ball rolling and then it will take care of itself once people start linking to your page.

Conclusion

SEO is very important. Every company should have a good SEO strategy. This is a critical part of business success today. The first step is accepting the importance of having an SEO strategy. Once you have done so, you can work on your SEO plan or hire someone to do it for you. So, what are you waiting for, it’s time to get started on your SEO strategy.

When adjusting the copy of your landing page, you need to put your most powerful content first. It is very important to go straight to the point and put your best offers first. Otherwise, there is a better chance that the visitor will lose interest and leave your page. Here are simple steps you can easily take to make your landing page content more effective:

Think of your landing page as a big call-to-action

You can do this by using copy that is rich in verbs which will create an action-oriented atmosphere to your page. This will encourage your visitors to take the action that you desire. Within a couple of seconds, the reader should know where you are going and where they need to be. Squeezing in more verbs in the sentences will give the reader direction and also give a vibe of confidence which can help in pushing them toward what you want them to do. You can do this by using active sentences and not passive ones.

Your Copy Should Sell Value

Copy that offers value means the difference between your visitors thinking that they need what you are offering and thinking that they can do without it. You need to be able to convince them that doing what you want them to do is worthwhile for them whether it is to fill out a form, join your social media account or any other CTA. You can do this by using value-oriented phrases. Mention benefits and not just features since they care more about what they can get.

Always Think about Your Visitors

Don’t just use SEO keywords. You should also use keywords that are important to your visitors. Think about keywords that will grab the attention of your visitors. Use valuable active words that your visitors will be highly interested in. Also, use first-person copy since visitors aren’t really interested about you. Their main focus is themselves and what they can get from your site. Instead of using “I”s and “we”s, use “you”s as much as possible.

Always be Direct

Although it is generally better if you have fun and creative content, it is a must that your content is easily understandable. Avoid complex words and jargon that many people won’t understand. Most content writers use these words to sound smart but the tendency is that your visitors won’t be able to understand these words. They might even get irritated which can result to them leaving your page. Always use simple, clear and concise terminology.

A successful call-to-action strategy is one of the best ways to succeed in internet marketing. Without it, you cannot even call yourself a marketer. The best way to create an effective call-to-action strategy is to observe what the best internet marketers do. Of course, you have to make the strategy your own or adjust it to suit your particular needs. Let’s take a look at the strategies of some of the top CTA campaigns:

GoDaddy

GoDaddy is an email- and web-hosting company which also sells domain names and offers other online services. GoDaddy is well-known for having one of the best CTAs in the business. Their CTAs are very noticeable because of their high contrast and very visible buttons that follow the reader as he scrolls down the page. One of their secrets is using a remarkable and actionable title for their buttons. They use the phrase “continue to registration” which is not only enticing but also very effective because it follows the visitor around the page. There is a higher possibility that the visitor will click a button if it is always noticeable and visible.

Try It: Create a CTA that follows the visitor around the page. Also, you have to create a CTA button that is transparent or tells the visitor exactly what will happen once they click the button. This will avoid confusion and help gain the trust of your visitors.

Yapta

Yapta is a hotel and flight price-tracking site that assists their users in getting refunds. Their strategy in doing business is almost as excellent as their CTA strategy. The company’s claim to fame is threading their copy and CTA buttons impeccably. Their ability to compel the user to move from page to page is seamless. Also, their CTA strategy is simply a work of genius. They use CTAs that are directly related to particular page content making the transition from reading to action very smooth. It is so smooth that users can only notice the progression due to the clear headlines and images.

Try It: Make your CTA buttons, copy, images and headlines in line with each other when it comes to language and content. The goal is create something unified or seamless. Remember to create unique CTAs for each page or content.

Conclusion

Try one or both of the proven CTA strategies stated above. Don’t forget to adjust it a little bit in order to suit your particular situation and needs. Experiment a little and figure out what kind of strategy is best for your business.

Internet marketing is very difficult in the beginning. This is because of the presence of many internet marketing misconceptions from blogs and so-called experts. To become better in the internet marketing game, it is important to build your knowledge on actual tried-and-tested information and not on common misconceptions. Here are some of the most common misconceptions that you should be aware of:

Asking Your Followers to Share/Re-tweet Doesn’t Work

This is one of the biggest internet marketing myths that has been around for several years now. Many marketers underestimate the effectiveness of asking their visitors/followers to share their content. Surprisingly, most users don’t think this is a desperate move unlike most marketers think. This is according to an online survey conducted recently. As a matter of fact, the same survey indicated that they are about 4 times more likely to share content if you ask them to. Don’t forget to include a CTA when you are asking your followers to share your content so that people who will read it will know that it came from you. They will also know how to act on it.

Social Media is not a Podium

Many so-called social media and internet marketers think that social media are places for conversing with the audience; they think it is a place to talk with the audience and not to talk at them. Yes, social media is a great place to talk and engage with your audience and potential customers. However, there are a lot more people who are just listening or “lurking” than those that are engaging. This means that social media is more like a podium compared to being a platform. This means that when you are marketing on social media sites, you should make both informational and conversational posts.

Never Call Yourself an Expert

The internet marketing industry is generally sick and tired of people who label themselves as an expert or guru. The common misconception is that this turns off a lot of people who are disgusted by the overconfidence. However, the truth is that marketers who label themselves as gurus or experts have a lot more followers than those who don’t. Also, their followers are more engaging and the “experts” usually have more social influence that those who don’t label themselves as such. It is okay to label yourself as an expert or guru as long as you are really very good at what you do. If you’re not, then you shouldn’t do it or else you will be turning off a lot of people.

In the internet marketing game, one mistake can have catastrophic results. When you fail, you fail and you will probably have to start all over. One such area that most marketers don’t get right is landing pages. First of all, a landing page is any page with a particular purpose whether to entice a prospect, sell a product/service, offer important information or perform just any kind of lead generation activity. Landing pages are essentially meant to convert traffic as impeccably as possible. Here are mistakes that you should avoid at all cost in order to prevent the downfall of your online marketing endeavours:

Overconfidence

Confidence is advantageous but too much of it can have negative results. Do not think that your product is the best and customers should be lining up to get a hold of it. Always approach your copy from the point of view of your visitors. Take note that they are probably sceptical about what you are offering and don’t have a clue about it. Never assume that your visitors know about the advantages of your offerings. You need to convince them thoroughly with your copy and always think about their perspective.

Disorder

The design of your website or blog theme won’t work when it comes to creating a landing page. This is because the purpose is totally different. Minimize or eliminate clutter if possible. Websites are designed to keep visitors on the site to learn more about your company and products/services. On the other hand, landing pages are basically designed to convince visitors to make a quick action whether to make a purchase or find out more about your products/services or enter their information. Landing pages need to be simple free from distractions.

Confusion

Avoid having too many choices, lack of focus and lack of relevance. Naturally, it is difficult not to become greedy and try to offer as many choices as possible in order to have a better chance of making a sale. Unfortunately, this usually backfires as users tend not to make a purchase if they are offered two or more choices. You need to offer only one action in order to prevent the loss of conversion due to distraction. Focus is also very important. You need to explain what you are offering as clearly as possible. Also, stay away from cheap design elements that are irrelevant to your offer. This will only add to confusion which will result to visitors leaving the landing page.