There is always a lot of debate in the SEO community regarding the impact that social media signals have on search engine rankings.
Google as always gives little away on this subject for obvious reasons but there have been many case studies suggesting that it does actually help. Take a look at the infographic below to see more.
Infographic courtesy of QuickSprout
Anyone who runs their own business is sure to be aware of the importance of reaching a prominent place in the search results of Google. While there are lots of different ways of doing this, most require a lot of testing as well as a little patience.
Google My Business is a specially created dashboard for managing local listings that will help you improve your local visibility. Read on to learn about Google My Business and how it works.
A wide range of data is provided to help users discover at a single glance how visible their business is.
One of the great things about Google My Business is that it is very easy to use and even novice data manipulators should have no trouble getting to grips with it. Users can easily manage their business listings by adding details such as opening hours, NAP details (name, address and telephone number) and photographs to help entice potential customers to get in touch.
Another great feature is the ability to attract reviews which hopefully will happen naturally. Another tactic for getting feedback is to send satisfied customers a review link which can be found by following these instructions.
In order to get started with Google My Business Services, business owners simply need to create an account and fill in their details. They will then be sent an actual postcard from the Google team to their business address, which can be used as proof of ownership of the business as well as the address. Once the postcard has been received, owners can verify their account and fill in all of the required details.
Once this is done, it will be possible to check how the new listing is performing and receive regular insights regarding the number of views over a specified period. It is also possible to link your Google Analytics account and see this information on the same page.
In order to determine the rankings for various businesses, a number of different factors are taken into consideration. The most important of these factors are relevance, distance and prominence. Relevance is used to determine the suitability of your business with the customer’s search intent.
To perform well in this area, it is best to supply as much information about your business as possible so that your listing is both attractive to the user and of course Google.
Distance is also an important factor, as potential customers are likely to be looking for a business that they can travel to easily. Prominence is the final main determining factor and is affected by a number of aspects such as the amount of interest your listing receives, reviews, events that you have created and even local content.
It is essential to try and boost the prominence of your business listing, which can be done by adding quality links to your main site as well as constantly adding different types of content like photos and posts to keep the page fresh and enticing.
People who have already created their Google My Business listing will want to make sure that they optimise it to make their business stand out.
Make sure that you choose the correct business category and complete your profile with your phone number, opening times photos and reviews. It is important to note that all details you add to your listing need to be the same as those that are listed on your website.
Information that is inaccurate will damage your listing as well as your ranking, so make sure that you check all information carefully before submitting it. Any time that the information on your website changes, make sure that you make the same changes to the information in your GMB listing and pay attention to holiday dates.
The important thing to remember about using Google My Business services for local SEO purposes is that your account should be constantly updated. People who simply create their listing and then forget about it are likely to find that their ranking quickly declines.
However, with a little care and attention, this can be a very valuable SEO tool that can help to dramatically boost businesses of all sizes and types.
If you are looking for local seo services in London we can help! Please get in touch on 0203 637 6310 or use the contact form here.
Article by Danny Smith | Virtualeap
Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media websites with visitor numbers increasing at an incredible rate.
For users, Pinterest is simple to use and for travel companies, it can have a huge impact on their business as it works so well at driving traffic, leads and sales.
While Pinterest is a form of social media, it is different to the other platforms because the process of browsing right through to the point of conversion is shorter. For travel companies, this means that visitors to Pinterest are converted into sales at a faster rate than other forms of social media.
Pinterest gives users the opportunity to see a destination or cruise ship for example and simply research more or actually book because they are only a couple of clicks away from the website of the travel company. Essentially, Pinterest helps to increase conversion rates while reducing sales cycles, which is something that travel companies should embrace.
Pinterest has over 110 million active users which is a figure that simply cannot be ignored. For travel companies, it is important to generate traffic so sales increase and Pinterest is the ideal tool for this. A simple pin can lead to a dramatic increase in leads and sales.
Images always appeal to people more than words so it’s quite obvious that Pinterest is going to drive some decent traffic numbers to your site providing of course your images are of great quality and offer some value or inspiration to your visitors.
Marketers are motivated by people sharing content and then linking back to their website – something that Pinterest encourages significantly. Every pin will have a link that will lead back to the location of the image and so, links that are built through this platform are very effective for search engine optimisation.
People are addicted to Pinterest in a way that is completely different to how they see and use Facebook. Users feel compelled to share more on Pinterest because it’s so visual and there is no need to write a status to go with the image. For travel companies, this is a great way of sharing the latest holiday destination or offer and is a behaviour that they should all be actively involved in.
Sharing information in this way provides a real opportunity for travel companies because their pins will be seen by a potentially huge audience and could even go viral. Pinterest makes it easy for users to digest information that matters to them because there is no reading. Ultimately, it is easier for users to scan through lots of images than it is for them to scan through Facebook posts or tweets.
Pinterest is not just about sharing information and images on its site as it also connects with other social media sites extremely well. This means that more people get to see the images that you post. Every pin has an option to share on Facebook, Twitter and FB messenger plus there is a drop down menu to share with your Pinterest followers.
It is also possible for companies to add a ‘Pin It’ button to their website or blog and this makes it even easier for visitors to pin content that other people will be able to see and share.
Pinterest makes it possible for travel companies to identify the latest trends and the places that people want to travel to. Through following people, it makes it possible to gain an insight into what inspires them. This provides an ideal opportunity to identify trends which makes it easier to deliver the right offers and products.
Pinterest is continuing to grow and evolve and this gives travel companies even more of a reason to get on-board. They can use the platform to drive traffic which in turn will convert to leads and sales and it also provides them with the ability to reach a wider audience due to the fact that pins can be shared on other social media platforms.
It has always been said that a picture speaks a thousand words and Pinterest proves just how true that really is!
For more information on our services, contact us here www.virtualeap.com/contact
Article by Danny Smith | Virtualeap
The perfect blog post is the one that attracts readers with its headline, draws them in with its quality written content, and allows everyone to walk away with a new piece of information. While a blog post can be about any subject or personal thought, there are some particular points you should know about when preparing your new piece.
The Main Blog Post Components
The headline should grab the reader’s attention. There are a number of ways to do this, but it really does depend on your niche.
If you find yourself writing list articles most of the time, a simple trick is to use an odd or uncommon number and to use power words; for example, 9 Ways to Get Toned Before Summer sounds a lot more appealing than 10 Workout Routines to Get Ready for Summer. Throw the boring headlines out and spice up your article with a headline that jumps out!
The first few sentences of your post are going to be the first thing, other than the headline, that the reader is going to read when they reach your blog. If you don’t catch their attention with those first few sentences, they will quickly be off to another site.
If you offer them quality content right at the beginning instead of unnecessary or obvious information they already know, you have a potential loyal subscriber on your hands.
Recommended to be placed as a half width image on either side of your hook and opening paragraph, this is usually the featured image that appears beside your blog post when it comes up in the search results.
A well timed, relevant photo here will solidify the foundation of your blog post, cement the trust you’re working on building with the reader, and entice them to read further.
After your opening paragraph, you’re not about to just start the next paragraph without giving the reader a reason why. That’s where a subheading comes in. The engaging opening paragraph has got them this far, but you need a benefit, step, promise, or a summary of the next paragraph that they’re about to read, rolled up conveniently into a subheading, to give them a reason to continue reading.
Readers are more likely to take action, engage in more of your content and subscribe to your list when they’re presented with content that they can connect to on an emotional level.
The key is to get personal, demonstrate emotion or convey sympathy, and emphasise the content that you know will connect with the majority of people who visit your blog.
What’s the point of your blog post? You’ve got the reader’s attention, hooked them to read further, connected with them emotionally, but what was it all leading up to? After you’ve written beautiful paragraphs which connect with the reader, it’s time to add a call to action.
You can prompt readers to action with a statement, a request, a quote, or a bold fact that will have them ready to do what you ask.
You’ve connected with the reader emotionally and called them to action, giving them information, benefits, and maybe some great tips along the way.
Now that you’ve fully engaged them, it’s time to deliver another big promise, offer another benefit, dish out the step-by-step process you’ve been leading up to, and, no matter where you’re taking the blog post, the goal of this subheading is to inform the reader of what they’re about to learn.
This is where you give your readers advice, a guide, or the core concept that your blog post is all about.This is the meat and backbone of your blog post. You give them the information they’re looking for in this section, transitioning smoothly to your final call to action at the end.
This is your call to action, Take Two. This is where you’re going to reiterate the central focus of your post. You’re going to wrap up the post in these last few sentences. You can also add a subscribe or buy now call to action here, enticing the reader to either subscribe so that they can get alerts when you post going forward or buy whatever product you’re selling.
Now that you’ve got a general guideline to follow, you also need to be equipped with the elements and tools needed to make a perfect blog post.
Don’t fill an entire blog post with just your opinion – as harsh as this sounds, no one wants to read a one-person rant. You need to pepper the entire blog post with hard, real facts. Facts can be used to grab a reader’s attention, call to action a certain need, and much more.
The important thing to remember is to provide reliable sources that you get your facts from, straying away from any biased sources and sticking with educational and informative websites like wikipedia for instance.
If readers just wanted to read big blocks of text, they would just pick up a book. They’re going to your website to read your blog post so that they can be entertained, engaged, and educated, but they won’t stay long if there is a big wall of text in front of them.
Place relevant images, screenshots, and infographics throughout the post to give your readers a visual representation to go with what they’re reading about. Remember to save the images with your keywords in the file name and to use descriptive alt tags.
You’ve given them a visual representation of the core concept of your post, but a video really drives home what you’re trying to convey. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth millions. It stands to reason that adding a video that’s relevant to your blog post is a recommended element to utilise.
An example could be a testimonial from an outside author, a chart or other diagram of raw data, or just a picture showing a demonstration as a visual example. Examples add value to your blog post, giving your readers something they can compare to the information in the post.
Utilising heading tags in your post is very important for the look of the post and of course for search engine optimisation. If every line of text, subheading, and the main headline are all the same size and length, then we run into the problem of your blog post just looking like a menacing wall of text with some visual aids added in.
Giving your headline and subheadings the proper h1, h2, or whatever other tags you choose for your format is a great way to keep all of your blog posts consistent and more engaging.
Adding numbered lists, bullet points, and other content formatted to be more bite-sized and readable is one of the easiest tricks to keeping your readers engaged. It breaks up the text and offers a format that’s easier on the eye.
Obviously you want your post to be found when people are searching for an answer to their query. To give yourself the best chance make sure that you are using your preferred keywords in the meta title and description tag with a call to action in the latter.
Also try and fit the words into your heading tags and content but be sure to make everything read naturally and don’t overdo it otherwise your readers will be off somewhere else and of course any efforts to try and fool the search engines will catch up with you sooner or later.
Even if you opt not to throw in a “buy now” or “subscribe now” additional call to action towards the end of your post, you should still be looking for feedback with every post.
Your readers are very important to the success of your blog, so asking for their feedback, critique, what could be improved, and opinion on the concept of the post as a whole is a great way to show this. Wrapping up by asking for your readers feedback or experience is also a great way to start solidifying the trust you’re trying to build with them.
We can use the example of the list article again, 9 Ways to Get Toned Before Summer. It’s as simple as writing, “What are some of your favorite ways or specific workout routines that you do to prepare for the summer?” as the last sentence of your blog post.
This is the best way to potentially trigger a discussion in the comment section.
Fortunately, when you’ve got a simple guide to look back on, you have everything you need to create the perfect piece of content. This post was designed to help you learn how to incorporate important elements in your content and engage your readers.
By connecting with your readers, you’re more inclined to potentially gain a new subscriber or have another item purchased, depending on what the overall goal of your blog is.
For more information on our services, contact us here www.virtualeap.com/contact
Article by Danny Smith | Virtualeap
