There’s been a huge shift in the way businesses receive feedback. In today’s fast-moving digital orbit, recommendations are dictated by online reviews (think Yelp, Google My Business and Facebook).
For those willing to invest the effort, it’s clear that paying attention—and responding when appropriate—to online reviews is a powerful tool to boost credibility, authenticity and transparency.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an ever-evolving beast that can be difficult to navigate.
The rules are always changing and understanding where to begin can present a challenging maze for those unfamiliar with the most current trends.
Google, of course, is the giant of the search engine ladder, and if your business URL ranks at the top of a Google search, it has a 33 percent chance of getting clicked, while the second position gets close to 15 percent of the share, and the third position, 9 percent.
Moreover, a whopping 75 percent of people who use search engines to browse topics never leave the first page of search results. In other words, a high rank leads to more clicks, and more clicks equate to more leads.
To achieve optimal results, businesses can implement several strategies to increase their visibility on Google. Here are a few tips to get started.
Improve the speed of your landing page.
The time it takes for your home page to load is front and
center in the minds of the public—and Google. If your load page is too slow, Google
recognizes the lull and will promptly demote your ranking.
As well, a slow website affects the ways in which visitors to your site engage
with your pages. Research shows that 40 percent of visitors will leave a
website if the page takes more than three seconds to load. Even worse, 80 percent
of those visitors won’t bother to come back.
To test the speed of your website, consult a free online service like Pingdom.
Regularly update your website with new content.
If you allow the content on your website
to become outdated, or worse, let it fade into oblivion, your SEO ranking
plummets. To generate traffic and increase your website’s visibility, posting
fresh content is imperative.
If your site is littered with irrelevant or outdated content, get rid of it. Update
your site on a regular basis with newsworthy, consumable, relevant and value-driven
content (including graphics, videos, how-to guides, webinars and live chats)
and visitors will likely return.
Something else to keep in mind: Google increases your website’s search engine
rank when visitors spend more than a nanosecond on your site. If you keep your target
searchers engaged with great content that makes them care, they’ll stick around—a
factor that Google takes into account when it ranks websites.
Use the correct key words and phrases.
Keywords play a huge role in Google’s
ranking algorithm. When creating content for your website, include keywords and
long-tail keywords (three-or-four-word phrases) that speak to—and define—your
brand.
Keywords can be used in the body of a blog post, header tag or as part of photo
captions.
Google isn’t particularly keen on saturating sites with keywords, however, so use
them strategically and sparingly, otherwise you risk diminishing your search
ranking. Tip: Take advantage of software sites like Moz and Ahrefs, both of
which offer keyword suggestions and monthly search volume.
Real Estate Corner:
New Amazon and Realogy partnership strives to lure homebuyers with up to $5,000 in home products and services.
Retail kingpin Amazon and the nation’s largest residential brokerage firm, Realogy, whose brands include Coldwell Banker, Century 21 and Sotheby’s, have joined forces to attract home buyers in fourteen different cities.
To entice buyers to take advantage of the newly launched partnership—called Turnkey—Amazon is offering up to $5,000 in home services and products upon the closing of a home.
the modern digital age is changing the way journalists rely on information gathering
While traditional press releases – distributing promotional news about your services, products, brand or business through mass communication channels – should still be part of your communications cannon, the modern digital age is changing the way journalists rely on information gathering.
Muck Rack and the Zeno Group, for example, published a survey last year that produced some surprising results: only 3 percent of journalists worldwide rely heavily on press releases distributed via newswires. Even more telling: 53 percent of U.S. based journalists don’t rely on press releases at all.
Consider these additional findings from the Muck Rack and Zeno Group survey:
To be clear: Press releases are not dead. Even in today’s digital bonanza, they’re still a formidable medium for delivering your message, especially when that message is well written, informative and has a strong hook.
Still, these findings, if nothing else, should compel communications professionals to rethink how they communicate – and build relationships – with journalists that go beyond an email and a formulaic press release.
To bolster your message, consider implementing these three additional strategies.
Follow reporters that cover your beat on social media.
Make sure to follow reporters that cover your industry on social media platforms. A journalist’s tweet may spark a pitch for a story idea or the opportunity to become a source or an expert for a forthcoming article or column.
The more familiar you are with the journalists that write about your industry, whether it’s trends, news or thoughts, the more you’re likely to understand the kind of stories they’re looking for.
Share, share and share some more.
When your business is featured in a publication, video or blog post, share the story to your own social media followers.
And always tag the publications and reporter that wrote the story. Spreading good news extends the story’s reach for your business, and it also benefits the publication and the reporter.
It’s a win-win situation for generating visibility across the spectrum.
Make your pitch personal.
Distributing a mass pitch is easy, but it’s not advisable. If you’re going to do the research to craft a press release, ensure that you devote time to developing customized angles and narratives that are personalized for the specific reporter or outlet you’re pitching.
Journalists receive dozens of pitches every day; make yours stand out by personalizing your pitches and letting reporters know why, specifically, they’re the right person to cover your pitch.
Additionally, think beyond text: the inclusion of infographics and videos in your release is proven to generate more attention.
https://www.prdaily.com/report-journalists-are-ditching-the-press-release/
Content is at the epicenter of digital and social platforms:
It’s the single most important component that ensures that businesses are communicating—and connecting—with their clients.
But content can make or break a brand: Clients will either pay attention, or they won’t. But when businesses authentically connect with their audience, they have the opportunity to leverage their content, which generates more search traffic, trust and, ultimately, leads.
In a nutshell, content marketing is one of the most effective communication strategies available to businesses, but while slapping blog posts on your website and posting on social media channels seems easy enough, businesses too often misjudge their audience—and, more important, the content that most appeals to them.
It’s not about direct sales; it’s about engagement and inspiring reactions.
Still, even when it’s done right, content marketing can be tricky. It’s a crowded field with major competition at every click, and it’s becoming ominously more difficult to reach potential clients and retain existing ones. To best your competition, follow these content marketing tips:
Have a strategic plan in place: Before creating content, build a smart and solid strategic roadmap that considers your company’s growth and revenue goals, your target audience, the ways in which you’ll deliver content (videos, tweets, blog, Facebook and Instagram posts, infographics), a list of salient topics that clearly positions and defines your company’s brand and image, an assessment of your company’s distinguishing perspectives and, finally, metrics to measure the achievement of your content.
Don’t tell your story all at once: Storytelling is key to content marketing, but you want your audience to keep coming back for more. Teasing a story on social media platforms is a great way to keep your audience engaged and intrigued. If your business is considering hosting a special event, for example, build momentum by running promotional, brand-aligned giveaways or contests that last a few days, or even weeks.
Use your website to promote it and take advantage of social networks to extend its reach. The longer your footprint lasts, the better.
Be conversational: No one appreciates an overbearing sales pitch. And now, more than ever, audiences want (and demand) value, authenticity and the opportunity to respond. When you write content, think of it as a feedback-oriented conversation between you and your audience. A conversational style builds relationship over time, whereas a hard sell often drives audiences away.
Real Estate Corner:
What’s up with Denver’s baffling real estate market?
Unprecedented low interest rates, a record-high stock market and a Denver real estate market that’s suddenly underperforming:
What on earth is going on? June is historically one of the highest performing months for Denver home sales, but not this year: Inventory was up 28 percent, sold homes were down 14 percent and the time a home spent on the market soared to 23 percent. Not since 2013 has Denver seen such a high inventory of houses for sale.
Vesa Tubbs will oversee the financial and statutory reporting and management of the accounting and finance department of Alliant National’s Longmont headquarters.
LONGMONT, CO. – The largest title insurance underwriter in the nation with no direct operations to compete against its agents, Alliant National, announced Vesa Tubbs has been appointed as the company’s controller.
Tubbs has resided in Boulder, Colo. since 2004 and is originally from Moscow, Russia. She holds three degrees: an M.S. in chemical engineering and an M.A. in accounting, both of which she received in Russia, along with a second M.A. in accounting that she earned from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Additionally, Tubbs has a CPA license.
“We are grateful to have Vesa join our team. She brings a strong financial background to assist in our growth,” said Scott Hendrickson, CFO, treasurer and co-founder of Alliant National.
Tubbs will oversee financial and statutory reporting, general accounting and management of the accounting and finance department, she said.
“I came from the public accounting industry, and I have a good understanding of accounting, as well as the technical skills to make the process efficient and user oriented,” she said. “Alliant National is a growing company that’s developing new processes, reports and ideas, and I’m happy to be a part of such a creative group of people.”
When she’s away from the office, Tubbs, who lives with her husband Bob, a math professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, spends her time diving and snorkeling.
“There’s nothing like the ocean,” Tubbs said, adding that she also enjoys hiking. “I’m fortunate to live in Boulder, so I can just close my back door and go hiking around Chautauqua, in the sun or the rain, with company or alone. For me, being in the thick of nature is the best stress release I know.”
Tubbs’s positive work philosophy makes her a great fit for Alliant National’s ever-evolving culture. “I don’t believe a situation can’t be changed and improved,” noted Vesa. “Everything can and will change so we need to constantly listen, learn and think. Tomorrow is always unpredictable and interesting.”
About Alliant National Title Insurance Company
The Independent Underwriter for The Independent Agent® Alliant National believes in putting other people first. The company protects the dreams of property owners with secure title insurance and partners with 500+ trusted independent title agents as a licensed underwriter in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
Alliant National is the largest title insurance underwriter in the country with no direct operations to compete against its agents and puts the interests of its agents first. Bolstered by financial stability, strong underwriting capability and independent agents’ in-depth knowledge of local markets, the company has established a nationwide network with deep roots in local communities and a wealth of expertise that is flexible, nuanced and continuously growing. Visit alliantnational.com for additional information.
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Cathie Beck
Capital City Public Relation
e : cathie@capitalcitypr.com
p : 303-241-0805