How to Improve Your Web Search Skills?

Have you ever asked someone in your life a pressing question about something you needed a quick answer to, only to be told to “just Google it”? Search engines have become an integral part of the way we live and gather information. So often, the answer you are after really is a simple click away. For example, think “what’s the weather in Austin, TX” or “free online calculator”. Other times? Well, the query you are asking is both more complex and nuanced. In this article, we will show some tips to improve your web search skills.

How to Improve Your Web Search Skills?

For those times, a crash course in web search skills can really help you out. Here are some pro tips to get better at using the internet to find the answers you are truly looking for.

Making Search Engines Work for You

Are you trying to find out where that quote you heard today came from? Or, maybe you want to know what garden pests are most likely to pose a threat in your area. Or, where to buy a new graphics card. No matter what you are searching for, you will get the results you are looking for quickly if you are able to be precise as you choose your search term.

Web Search Tips

Include a year in your search if your query is time-sensitive. The search engine’s algorithm is likely to offer you the most popular results — which are also often outdated. Try “Hindu population data India 2020”, for instance, “hottest summer day 2021”, or “apply for student loans 2021”. An even better strategy would be to make full use of Google’s advanced tools by specifying a time range.
Include the geographical region you are looking into in your query where relevant. For example, “green spotted toad berlin Germany”, or “lung cancer rates California”.
If you are trying to locate the source of a quote or attempting to find a person, you can use double quote marks (“like this”). This tells the search engine to only include search results that feature that specific phrase in its entirety.
Want to exclude something instead? Try adding the minus symbol (-) and the words you don’t want to include at the end. For example, “Austrian chocolate -Mozart balls”.
If you are only looking for research studies about a topic, you can simply add the words “study” or “research” at the end of your search query. This will often allow you to read newspaper articles about studies. However, if you want to access the studies themselves, you are better off going to Google Scholar.
Explore Google’s advanced search tools for more accurate results. Access the advanced search tools here. This allows you to limit your results to, for instance, .gov or .edu domains to find information from reputable sources.
To search an entire website, and only that website, input site:www.example.com (replace with your target website) and enter your chosen keywords after that.

Google offers highly personalized content, including search engine results pages. As a result, you may prefer to log out of your account or open an incognito window to access more generalized results without losing your cookies. You can also try using other search engines, such as DuckDuckGo, which are less personalized.

Beyond Search Engines: Assessing Whether Your Web Search Results Are Accurate

Once you refine your search engine search skills, you will still need to pay close attention to the results you are getting. Ask yourself:

Is this website an authority on the topic at hand? Am I sure about that? (If not, keep looking, at least to verify the information elsewhere.)
When was this page last updated? (If you wanted to know how many people died of a heart attack in your state last year, but the page you are looking at hasn’t been updated since 2011, that is not going to be very useful.)
Can I independently verify that this information is correct by looking at other websites or confirming with an encyclopedia? This holds true in the case of customer reviews as well. Many sellers hire people to post positive reviews.

While you can always continue to refine your web search skills, taking these simple steps will put you ahead of the curve — and allow you to find the things you are looking for more easily.

Additional Reading: Refine Web Searches

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Aug 2021

Should You Hide or Delete Negative Social Media Comments?

Deciphering if you or your business should hide or delete negative social media comments may be a tough decision. The answer to this question relies heavily on your account as well as the context of the posts and comments. It may just need to be addressed on a comment-by-comment basis. Additionally, deciding on if you should remove the comments or not depends on the nature of the account. Is it your personal account? Is it for a large corporation receiving negative reviews? These should be acknowledged before a choice is made.

Should You Hide or Delete Negative Social Media Comments?

Getting negative comments

It doesn’t matter if you’re the juiciest peach on social media, if you have enough followers or a post of yours goes viral, someone will find something to complain about in the comments section. It’s no secret that people can be quite ruthless on social media platforms. People often forget that there’s an actual human behind the other side of the screen. Even though we shouldn’t take these comments seriously or personally, it doesn’t make them feel any better. Social networks that were initially intended as a way to connect with family and friends have now turned into profitable social platforms. Being able to resolve issues with these comments in an appropriate manner is imperative to a positive social media presence. So let’s dive deeper.

When to address the comments

Let’s first go over when you should address the negative comments. First and foremost, if you or your company is being harassed, you should absolutely block and delete whoever is engaging in this harmful activity. With that out of the way, let’s go over the more gray areas.

If you’re an influencer or a social media manager with an audience that is watching your every move, you may want to calmly address the negative comments. Engaging mindfully may also open up a conversation that will help you come to a solution or agreement with the person complaining or with a differing opinion than your own. You may also want to be aware if deleting or ignoring a comment will appear as if you’re hiding something. You don’t want to lose your credibility due to this.

If an apology is in order, it would be wise to reply to the comment. If a customer is unsatisfied and upset, it should be properly addressed. In certain cases, the best customer support practice is directing them to discuss it further privately. Finally, if your reputation is on the line, you’ll want to respond. If a statement has been made that is false or inaccurate, you are more than allowed to make clarifications and corrections to it.

When to ignore them

Now that we’ve gone over when to address it, let’s go over when to ignore it. Often times with influencers, their audience may do the defending for them. In this case, you have people that have your back and you won’t need to engage if you don’t have the energy. Other cases that warrant deletion include bullies, profanity, spam, random attacks, aggression, cultural slurs, racial bias, harassment, and threats. You can even go as far as blocking this user if it continues.

Ways to respond

What exactly are the appropriate ways to respond to negative customer comments if you do decide to? Firstly, you’ll want to be positive and polite. Staying positive and kind will help you keep your credibility, especially if you’re responding on a business Instagram account or Facebook page. As stated before, best customer service practices include directing them to contact you privately via direct message. This allows an opportunity for resolution without having the conversation displayed for all to see. You may also want to respond to social media comments quickly so it doesn’t come off like you’re ignoring them. Finally, you can choose to keep it funny. Keeping a sense of humor about it may help calm the complaining person down. However, have discretion with this one as it may come off the wrong way.

Don’t let it affect you

It’s important to keep in mind that negative comments on social media (especially degrading ones) are never personal. It’s almost always a case of someone who’s struggling internally. Knowing this when you’re engaging in social media in any form will ensure that you have a much more pleasant experience than you would otherwise.

Additional Reading: How to Do Social Media Customer Service the Right Way

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Jul 2021

How To Create a Landing Page

landing page

Many will tell you that having a website is one of the most crucial first steps in building a presence online. One of the first tools in creating that webpage will be having a convertible and solid landing page for your community. A landing page is a dedicated page on your site used to increase your conversion rates. Whether you make it your home page or a separate one, a quality landing page will help you reach your goals. What makes them so important is that they are found via keywords and search results. It’s an organic process. You can incorporate promotions and call-to-action buttons. Maybe you’re promoting a retreat or selling an ebook. These are excellent examples of what you’ll want to include on your landing page. Let’s dive in.

How To Create a Landing Page

The importance of a landing page

Let’s say you’ve got your website down pat. Or we’ll just imagine you’re already there. Either way, it’s time to start converting your visitors into sales. I mean that’s the whole point, right? This is exactly the purpose of a landing page. Landing on a landing page is typically done after clicking on an online ad or email. You can have a reference landing page that will provide information about the product or service. Or you can opt for a transactional one where visitors are encouraged to make a sale in some capacity.

The benefits of having a convertible landing page are that it will capture more quality leads. It’s effective and efficient. It will rank you higher in your area. Finally, it will help you connect more deeply with your audience. You have the power to tailor it perfectly to your audience’s needs. It can act as the beginning of a flourishing relationship between you and your client.

How to create one

So now that we have the importance and benefits out of the way, it’s safe to say a landing page is necessary. So how do we get started on it? Let’s discuss the steps.

Persona/audience

Thankfully it doesn’t have to be a complicated task. One of the very first steps will be to create a persona. Who is your audience exactly? Think about what it is that they truly want. What do they enjoy? How old are they? What’s their budget? Answering these questions will narrow down what your ideal target audience looks like. This can be done through surveys and research. Once you’ve collected this data, you’ll be on your way to quick and easy conversions.

Solidify the goal

What will your call to action be? It may be a contact form, a survey, a free trial, a free ebook, product, webinar, coupon, or newsletter. Sticking to one will eliminate confusion from your audience. They’ll only need to choose from one and so they will feel more called to click.

Keywords, keywords, keywords

Finding the best keywords will ensure you get the most people on your page. You’ll want to stick to long-tail ones as they typically produce a higher ROI. So, instead of short popular words, come up with more specific topics.

Headlines and titles

Would you even consider reading an article or book that didn’t have a catchy headline or title? Probably not. It simply just won’t draw in your attention enough to feel like it’s worth your time. The exact same can be said for landing pages and websites. You can do so by making sure it’s short and attention-grabbing. Make it straight to the point with little fluff. Simplicity wins out most of the time in this case.

Visuals

There’s no way around the fact that we are visual creatures. Why do you think Instagram is being used and abused on a daily basis? Take advantage of this fact by incorporating quality photos and videos on your page. It will strengthen your message faster and deeper than any words can.

Optimization

Optimized pages inevitably bring in more traffic. This can mean an ideal title tag, a powerful meta description, header tags, and most importantly, the content. The content is your bread and butter here. Make sure you have those powerful keywords.

Now go get started!

Now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s time for you to start creating your landing page. Moosend dives deep into the details if you’re looking for additional guidance. Having a convertible landing page will ensure that you succeed in that business you’ve been dreaming about. It’s time to create a landing page!

Additional Reading: How to Create a Landing Page With WordPress

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Naples Search Engine Optimization SEO services
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Jul 2021

Can Sales and Marketing Work Together?

Sales and Marketing

Ah, the age-old question; can sales and marketing work together? Unfortunately, there’s been a lack of alignment between the two over the years. While the ultimate goal for both may be the same, the way each gets to it may differ. Working closely together can have many advantages and can help propel the business forward if done properly. Here are some advantages to integrating your sales and marketing teams.

Can Sales and Marketing Work Together?

Communication is the answer

In some instances, sales and marketing teams can be pitted against each other. This is usually due to a lack of communication. This is where teamwork can play a major role. With the marketing team pumping out the content of the service, products, or industry they want to promote, and the sales team being the face of the business, it would only make sense to have them in constant communication. The sales team is directly speaking with prospects through email, phone calls, or face-to-face interactions. Therefore, it would seem that the marketing team would want to ensure that the same information that’s been relayed to customers is the same as what’s being created. Creating content as a team can attribute to better leads and, ultimately, more money in everyone’s pocket. A win-win for all involved.

Time and energy spent on leads that are unqualified is a dead-end scenario. With regular communication, information can pass smoothly between departments. If something isn’t working, teams can solve it by talking it out. Sales will be less inclined to blame marketing for unworthy content and marketing will be less likely to blame sales for being too pushy. As a result, a healthier and more successful environment is created altogether. Trust and rapport will improve when shared visions and goals are put into place. Campaigns will be more impactful and potential buyers will be impressed enough to follow through with a sale. Analyzing results over a month, the quarter, or the year will get everyone on the same page and spark motivation.

Merging buyer personas

Developing and defining the same buyer personas within both departments will help target the most accurate audience. Who exactly is the ideal client? Are there specific challenges they face? What do they do and how do they make decisions? What kind of buying habits do they have? Fully stepping into the customer’s shoes will ensure both teams know exactly what to provide. If sales and marketing can combine their practical and theoretical knowledge, it will result in the right product for the right customer.

Key performance indicators

Sharing the same KPI between sales and marketing is also a must. Sales will focus on new accounts, closed deals, and upsells, while marketing typically focuses on lead quality, brand awareness, and lead funnel progression. Adopting the same mindset with revenue growth, pipeline growth, and audience and employee engagement may increase revenue exponentially.

The proof is in the pudding (or the percentages)

If these points haven’t been enough to drive home how well sales and marketing can perform if they come together, there have been multiple studies and research to prove it. According to Precision Marketing Group, 95% of buyers will purchase from someone who provided content throughout the entire buying stage. Therefore, this highlights the importance of marketing and sales creating a seamless and uniform experience. Additionally, 67% of businesses improve upon closing deals when sales and marketing play as a team.

According to Review42 and Zoominfo, aligning both teams can mean 209% more revenue from marketing and a 36% higher customer retention. Misalignment could mean a 10% loss in revenue every year, whereas alignment could mean a 20% increase in the annual growth rate. 55% of marketers are unaware of which assets are most useful to their colleagues in sales. These statistics merely scratch the surface, yet still, prove the point on sales and marketing alignment.

Merging sales and marketing will ensure that a seamless experience for the buyer, client, or customer. In fact, having the same voice across all platforms will build trust, excitement, and a feeling of security for the buyer. These qualities will ultimately lead to more sales. Isn’t this the whole point? If you’re wondering if sales and marketing should remain separate or not, keep this idea in mind. The two need each other in order to thrive.

Additional Reading: Sales and Marketing Alignment

Naples SEO Company | Providing the BEST SEO Company in Naples, FL

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Naples Search Engine Optimization SEO services
Online presence
Website Design
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And More

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Posted by Naples SEO Company | Posted in Digital Marketing, Marketing |

Jun 2021

What Is a Video Markup in SEO?

Video Markup

Most search engines allow websites to use video search engine optimization. By doing so, website owners can describe their videos to search engines in a clearer and more detailed way. Without this feature known as video markup, search engines can only see and filter a video’s title, description, and thumbnail.

What Is a Video Markup in SEO?

A video markup also allows the search engine to determine a video’s creator, producer, cast members, duration, and copyright holder. Plus, you can also attach the video’s transcript to your website. Having the ability to add this information can help you increase your site’s rank on search engines. To sum it all up, a video markup allows you to add details in your videos that you can use for SEO purposes.

There are a lot of parameters you can use for your video schema markup. Here are some of the following along with their descriptions to help you optimize your website.

Director

This tag allows you to put the video’s director/creator in your website.

Actor

This tag is used to identify an actor in a video. You can find this tag in most websites that post movies, series, TV shows, short films, or video games.

Expire

This describes when the content will expire or when it will no longer be available on your website. Usually, you can find this property in VideoObject or NewsArticle which is time-limited.

Transcript

This property is intended to have the video’s transcript. Typically, a transcript should contain the “text version” of your video. This way, users and viewers can search specific parts of a video and still be able to find them. For example, you can look-up, “Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort, which could only be broken by love’s first kiss,” in Google. If you do this, the websites that will be recommended to you are sites that have Shrek’s script.

Aside from using the property “transcript” to add a video or movie’s script, you can also use the property to further describe your website. Unlike the property “description” whose characters are limited, you can use the “transcript” property to describe your website in a more detailed manner since it has no character limit.

Name

This is the parameter given to the title of your video. It is important to think of a title that contains strong keywords and truly encapsulates the content of your video. Having a good title for your video will help you increase its relevance in search engines, bettering the chances that it will appear in the top results.

ThumbnailURL

A thumbnail is a reduced image used by content creators and website owners to help their audience or viewers recognize their website, YouTube channel, or videos. For some creators, they use a specific frame from the video as their thumbnail. This way, their audience will know what to expect in their content. For others, they’ll specifically create pictures to help them further establish their brand. The parameter “ThumbnailUrl” will help your thumbnail get considered in SERPs.

Duration

Simply put, duration is the length of your video. For most users and viewers, the length of your video can affect whether they’ll watch it or not. Having a long video on your site can push your viewers away, so try to be concise with your content as much as possible. Only add information that is relevant to your topic.

There are a lot more tags and properties you can use for your video schema markup. Some of the tags in this list are those that can help you optimize your website for SEO. Each of these can influence your website’s placement on the search engine results page. It is up to you how you will use these properties to improve and enhance your site’s traffic. For it to be effective, only use the properties that are relevant to your site.

Additional Source: Get videos on Google with schema markup

Naples SEO Company | Providing the BEST SEO Company in Naples, FL

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Naples Search Engine Optimization SEO services
Online presence
Website Design
Local SEO Strategy
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Social Media Marketing
Marketing Campaigns
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And More

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Posted by Naples SEO Company | Posted in Digital Marketing, SEO |