Andy Preisler says, “It’s tough to measure the ROI of your content. Sometimes, you’re not certain where a customer come from; other times, a customer visited your blog or social media page months ago and has just now come back to make a purchase. What you can measure for certain, however, is traffic and on-site conversions from that traffic,... [Read more]

Murray Newlands says, “Social media is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to promote your brand within your target market, but you won’t have much of a reach on your own page. Building relationships with social media influencers is your answer — you can extend your reach and boost your visibility by creating relationships... [Read more]

William Johnson says, “Marketing ideas are floating everywhere. Tips and tricks of social media lead generation are plenty across the web. There are also some great articles on it with a handful number of resources to motivate you to do a better job. However, that’s definitely not enough for a marketer when it comes to ensuring the maximum... [Read more]

Your site needs traffic, actually, it needs more traffic and better traffic (i.e., traffic likely to invest in your offers.) That traffic does exist; no doubt about it. You just need to find it. Abbas Ravji had the same problem, and he decided to do something about it. When he analyzed the situation, he realized that the sites on Google’s page... [Read more]

Jim Yu says, “The search and content marketing world has undergone some major changes during 2015. The stage has been set for a shift away from producing content for its own sake. Instead, there is a trend towards the use of search and social data to guide content creation. This development will be a critical part of boosting engagement for brands... [Read more]

Jennifer Cedorchuk says, “The sheer volume of sales you experience during the holiday season could put you in a very different situation during tax season next year. There are several considerations you’ll have to keep in mind, such as an increase in revenue, locations where you or other staff members work, and potential exemptions. These tips... [Read more]

Ryan Stewart says, “Earlier this year, Google rolled out the Related Questions feature (AKA “People Also Ask”). If you haven’t seen them yet, related questions appear in an expandable box, mixed in with organic results. Once expanded, a typical answer contains a machine-generated snippet, a link to the source website, and a... [Read more]

If you are a marketing consultant for local businesses, your greatest need is prospects, but not just any prospects; you need hot prospects, ones that both want more business (who doesn't?) and don't know how to get it, but may have a vague notion that the Internet may be their answer.... [Read more]

Stefanie Flaxman says, “I’m good at math. If you looked at my standardized test results from when I was back in school, you’d see I scored very high in math and very low in verbal. And yet, today I’m a professional writer and editor. It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Sort of. Your content needs to quickly communicate what your audience... [Read more]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “From confirmation emails to connecting with customers, we’ve covered a lot of hot topics on the blog in 2015. So in light of the new year, we’re counting down the best of the best (as determined by your clicks, tweets and shares): 10. Quick Ideas for Emails You Can Send Today Bookmark this handy email cheat sheet,... [Read more]

Matt Walker says, “Keeping abreast with what works in digital marketing can be a constant catch-up game. Fickle consumers jump from channel to channel. Google updates its search algorithm. Keeping up with Facebook’s monthly changes requires constant education. Because of all of this change, it can be hard to keep on top of which digital tactics... [Read more]

You've got to hand it to Mark Dickenson. He has persisted in online marketing for almost 10 years, despite years of absolute failure and discouragement... [Read more]

Greg Head says, “What’s the difference between the confident entrepreneurs who lead growing businesses and owners who can’t get out of survival mode? It all comes down to this: All successful businesses have a clear marketing strategy that makes everything they do more effective. Unfortunately, many busy small business owners get so caught... [Read more]

Barry Levine says, “LeadPages, whose purpose in life has been to capture leads at “points of signup” like opt-in forms or landing pages, is now reorienting itself toward a new goal: becoming the “command center” of marketing tools. The Minneapolis-based company released on Tuesday a new product, Center, that is intended to act as the... [Read more]

Richard Smith says, “If you are a business owner, having good social media exposure will always come in handy. Be it Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, social presence is certainly a better determinant of our reach as an entrepreneur. The best strategy, however, would be the manner in which technology mixes with social media, for getting the required... [Read more]

John Thornhill is running a very short-term sale on a big bundle of recources he and his business partner, Dave Nicholson, created. They call it 'Niche Marketing Kit'.  It is stuffed full of training tools that will make it easier to make 2016 your greatest year online... [Read more]

Sandra Guy says, “Gap garners the lead for fastest-loading mobile site in Catchpoint Systems survey of its Top 50 e-commerce desktop and mobile websites. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. gave its online shoppers the gift of speed this holiday season. That’s according to a just-released survey from website monitoring firm Catchpoint Systems, which... [Read more]

Matt McGee says, “SEO (search engine optimization) has come a long way. After experiencing the “wrath of Google” years ago, some marketers have exited the SEO game and opted instead to use paid traffic to generate their leads and prospects. However, when done correctly (and ethically), there is no match for the longevity, consistency and... [Read more]

Carly Okyle says, “All of us are glued to our cell phones — and for marketers, that means big opportunity. As mobile continues to become a more significant part of advertising budgets, it’s an important area to watch. Here are several predictions and trends to take into consideration as you invest in mobile advertising, as told by those... [Read more]

Marketers typically concentrate their Search Engine Marketing on Google. That's no surprise since Google is the top search engine. However, Bing and Yahoo! are also top tier search engines and they can drive a lot of traffic to your sites, too... [Read more]

SBT team says, “Back in 2013, we wrote about whether or not a cache plugin will help your SEO, and almost three years later it seems that the WordPress W3 total cache plugin may have a monopoly on the different plugins out there. It’s still the most popular, but unfortunately the idea of a cache plugin in general hasn’t grown in popularity... [Read more]

Matt McGee says, “A 2015 study by Smart Insights showed that 50 percent of businesses doing digital marketing had no form of digital marketing plan or strategy. They were doing digital marketing, yet there were no clearly defined objectives or goals. Does this seem a little crazy to you? In our experience helping businesses large and small,... [Read more]

Matt Mansfield says, “Back in 2011, Goggle introduced the “Zero Moment of Truth” (ZMOT), the exact moment that a consumer, whether a business (B2B) or individual (B2C) goes online to find the product or service that will fulfill their need. ZMOT is all about being present in the time and that a customer needs you. Google contends that your... [Read more]

Lisa Cozad says, “Hiring a PR agency to manage your company’s public image can be a difficult decision. Perhaps you are a small business owner who needs a “leg up” in getting the word out about your brand, or you’ve recently experienced some bad coverage and need someone to aid in crisis management. A PR firm can help shape the voice... [Read more]

Eric Siu says, “If you think that the brilliant mind behind LeadPages, one of the web’s easiest-to-use landing-page generators, comes from a hard-core sales and marketing background, you’d be wrong. Clay Collins, LeadPage’s co-founder and CEO, isn’t a sales guy at all. He’s a PhD dropout in developmental neuropsychology, a field from... [Read more]

Tom Tate says, “We are quickly approaching the new year, and with each new year comes new beginnings. If you’re planning to start a new business venture in 2016, then you’ll definitely want to listen to this packed-to-the-brim episode of Ask Me About Email Marketing. This week’s question comes from life coach, Dr. Wasi Saleem, who recently... [Read more]

Wes McDowel says, “Facebook has been increasing its video content features in an effort to compete with rival YouTube. And that includes Facebook video advertising. As a next logical step in Facebook’s video march, the company has now launched a new option for advertisers to bid for 10-second video views on a cost-per-view basis. The cost-per-view... [Read more]