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Big Five: A Glance at Top Social Media Platforms in 2018

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Top 5 social media platforms in 2018

When Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of Vayner Media said, “Market like the year you are in,” he certainly found the social media element missing from the digital marketing landscape. However, things have changed in these years, and now, almost every business believes in the power of social media. Businesses are claiming their social media presence with unprecedented fervor. Whether it is the new addition to the fleet of your local car rental service or just launched summer collection from your favorite clothing brand, you will see glimpses of these in your Instagram stories or Facebook newsfeed almost every day.

Social media users grew into a 3 billion community last year with no signs of slowing down. But, not all of them are available at all social media forums. Looking into the individual users of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., there are significant demographic and audience differences that can make or break your social media strategy.

The part of the problem that still persists is that social media is often thrown off as a collective term with a little emphasis on its individual platforms. While it is important to be on social media, it is undoubtedly more important to be on the right social media platforms.

Social-Media-Monthly Active-Users-Stats

So, are you wondering what it is like to market in the year 2018? What platforms matter the most?  Where should your focus be? Find out the answers.

Team SMM at ESP Inspire is here to explain the social media marketing landscape with insights to big five platforms.

  • Facebook – The Jack of All Trade

There cannot be a discussion of social media without mentioning Facebook, the largest of any social media platform. Facebook is the first and only platform yet to cross the 2 billion user milestone, and there are more than one billion monthly active users as of January 2018. The active mobile users on Facebook are above 1.5 billion. Not to forget that Facebook Messenger, a chat app is closely behind the Facebook with 1.3 billion active users.

The sheer numbers indicate that Facebook is too big to ignore in 2018 and coming years.

Facebook is playing an incredible role in connecting businesses with customers, and it is the hub of social conversations. From customer feedback to paid marketing, Facebook is a promising marketing tool to meet the business goal.

Looking at the demographic distribution of the Facebook users, almost 29% of Facebook users are 25-34 years old while another 18% are between 35-44 years old. The number of active users below 24 years is 17%. What does it mean for small businesses? It means that if your target audience is between 25-44, it is time to gear up your Facebook game. But, if your key demographics are in their teens or early twenties, your major followers are somewhere else.

So, if you haven’t already, it is time to claim your Facebook space and pour it with good quality content and fun posts. Use latest trends to create exploding conversations and do not forget to experiment with chatbot features of the messenger. And mind you, what happens on Facebook stays on Google!

  • YouTube- The Ace of Video Content

As a digital marketer, you would have heard the buzz about video marketing and how it is quickly becoming the single most important influencer. According to a research in 2017, 31% of respondents rated video as their favorite type of content, making it the top choice among respondents.

Well, if you know about video marketing and video content, there is hardly any chance that you have not experimented with YouTube marketing.

As of 2018, YouTube’s has officially reached to 1.5 billion users, making it the second most popular platform after Facebook and Facebook Messenger. The whopping figure also indicates that almost half of the internet users are already on YouTube. Furthermore, more than half of the YouTube views come from the mobile devices, and it is the more popular than any other Cable TV channel among 18-34 and 18-49 years old.

Not just a video content platform, it is time to consider YouTube as a full package. It is a search engine as well as a social media platform. Thousands of search queries are entered directly on YouTube every day and another million utilize Google’s video search feature to land on YouTube.

So, if you are in the year 2018 with powerful branding ideas and want to target teenage to middle age consumers, it is time to take the reins of your YouTube channel in your hands and build a failproof YouTube marketing strategy.

Instagram- The Picture Perfect of Social Media

Launched in 2010, Instagram has risen to the hallmarks of popularity quickly in less than a decade. Rising to the occasion, it has become the third biggest platform for social media marketing and a hub of activity in the marketing world.

As of 2018, the Instagram has 800 million monthly active users with more than 500 million daily active users. Instagram’s ‘stories’ feature has 300 million daily active users.

Back in 2016, Instagram reported that its users share more than 95 million posts every day, gathering up to 4.2 billion ‘like reaction’ every day which reflects the powerful engagement of this platform.

Now, let’s have a look at the Instagram’s key demographics. 68% of Instagram users are female, and almost 31% of American women use Instagram as compared to 32% of the total male Instagram users and 24% of American men. The major population of Instagram users is between 18 to 29 years old, making up a large chunk of 59% and another 33% are between 30 to 49 years old. One of the most important thing that digital marketers must carve on their mind in 2018 is that Teens love Instagram and find it the most important social network.

The numbers do not just stop here! Almost 71% of US businesses have their presence on Instagram among the total 8 million business profiles. 7 out of 10 Hashtags on Instagram are branded, and a post with Hashtag gets 12.8% more engagement. While 200 million users visit at least one business profile every week, the top brands choose to stay highly active on Instagram by posting 4.9 times a week. Instagram also has the highest interaction rate of 22.3 per thousand followers as compared to 5.99 on Facebook and 0.83 on Twitter.

In the age of the video and picture, Instagram is a perfect opportunity to spread visual content among a highly engaging audience.

What does all this mean for your business in 2018?

Only one thing that there is no way around the Instagram. If you have not yet, it is time to sign up and start telling your visual story to the young audience, but do not forget the hashtag.

Twitter- The Buzz Creator

As a digital marketer of 2018, you cannot ignore twitter. Twitter is where the hashtags begin, and stories evolve. It is where the well-educated, knowledgeable and affluent millennial sit together to generate conversations powerful enough to send ripples across other platforms. But, as a social media marketer, data is your best friend. So, what does twitter’s landscape look like in 2018?

The twitter’s official numbers of active users have reached to 330 million in 2018 with 100 million daily active users. Almost one-fourth of all internet population uses Twitter, and 67% of America population has twitter accounts.  80% of Twitter users are also mobile users. Twitter reported 500 million daily tweets three years back and has only announced hundreds of thousands of tweets ever since.

Twitter’s demographics show that the platform is specifically popular among affluent millennial. It is also a gender-balanced channel with 24% of all internet male users on the twitter and 21% of all female internet users using Twitter. 37% of the users are between 18-29 and 25% are from 30 to 49 years old, making it a popular platform among millennial.

Exploring the business marketing on Twitter, an average Twitter user follows five businesses and 77% of Twitter users feel positive about a brand with twitter presence. The twitter is a popular social media networking platform among SMBs and US businesses with 65% of US companies with 100+ employees using twitter marketing, and 92% of companies tweet more than once a day. The twitter engagement also looks promising as 80% of Twitter users have mentioned business in their tweet. Twitter’s distinct influencing power with almost 81% of world’s leader on Twitter is not just limited to politics, but businesses too.

So, if you believe in content marketing and want to utilize the power of conversations, it is time to talk the tweet and retweet.

 LinkedIn- The Professional Leader

So, what platform makes it to the last position of the ESP Inspire’ Big Five list? Not so surprisingly, it is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is increasingly getting popular among digital marketers for its reach and effectiveness among digital marketers. As the twenty-fifth most popular website on Alexa, LinkedIn has 500 million profiles with 260 million monthly active users. A startling fact is that more than 133 million users of LinkedIn are from America.

Coming to the demographics, 31% of men and 27% of women internet users use LinkedIn which means that 56% of LinkedIn users are male while another 44% are females. The age group is evenly split among 18 to 49 with 34% of people between 18-29 and 33% of people between 30-49. 35% of people on LinkedIn are employed, and almost 70% are withdrawing an annual income above $50,000.

A major population of LinkedIn users is in the decision-making roles in their organizations, making LinkedIn extremely beneficial for B2B marketers.

So, mark 2018 to be the year of your LinkedIn marketing integration. Build up your connections and utilize group feature to develop awareness and recognition in the circles relevant to your industry.

Take Home?

Comparison of Top 5 social media platforms
Comparison of Top 5 social media platforms

So, digital marketers, are you prepared to steam up your digital marketing strategy with these latest statistics for 2018?

The social media landscape in 2018 is full of opportunities for digital marketers with roughly 3 billion huge engaging audiences. There is no one formula fits for all when it comes to social media strategy and channels. The best approach is to claim your presence on all top five platforms and start building your fan base with individual yet integrated strategy. Use latest demographics to tweak your content and update your profile to create lasting impressions and continuing relationship with your customers.

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Top 3 Digital Marketing Strategies for Lead Generation in 2018

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Top 3 Digital Marketing Strategies for Lead Generation in 2018

According to the Statista, there are 3.58 billion internet users worldwide. Out of the total 323.1 million population of the United States in 2016, almost 270 million were online, and this number is expected to grow to 275 million in 2018. The Internet world has grown to be the single most influential customer market for businesses of all sizes. Companies in the United States and across the world are tapping into the endless potential of this incredibly large and effective customer marketplace for increasing lead generation and leads. As the leading Bay Area Digital Marketing company, we take it on to us to inform you about how you can increase lead generation for your business.

Are you wondering what is lead generation and why it is important for your business? Here is a brief description.

What is Lead Generation?

In the simplest terms, leads are potential customers. Lead generation is a marketing technique to attract customers and stimulate their interest in the products or services offered by the business, channelizing them into the conversion/ sales funnel. A lead is an unripen sale opportunity which can be converted to a mature sale with consistent and coherent marketing efforts.

Transformation of Lead Generation Process

The Internet is changing traditional advertising and lead generation models for enterprises because of its massive impact on purchasing behavior of customers and how businesses and clients collaborate. The advancement in the technology such as ease of access and affordability of internet has given rise to an era of information abundance as compared to the age of information scarcity in the past.

The abundance of information has led to a major shift in marketing model from push marketing to pull marketing. The availability of extensive information through Web 2.0 channels and user-generated content has made people turn to the internet to search for products and services and to make their purchase decision, hence giving rise to pull marketing.

What is lead generation

Previously, businesses needed to push their products and services to customers through advertisements which mean businesses were looking for customers. As compared to this. Pull marketing focuses on attracting customers that are already looking for products and services offered by the company. In this digital age, businesses need to rightly present themselves to the right customer at the right moment, i.e., customers should be able to see your products and services right when and where they are looking for them. Hence, the lead generation process has transformed and must be revamped to keep up with the demands of the target market, making digital landscape as the best bet. Here are the top 3 digital marketing strategies that offer the best value for money in lead generation and must be the focus of businesses in 2018.

  • Search Engine Optimization

As digital marketing enters its mature stage, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has only risen in its importance and prominence. SEO is an ideal strategy in 2018 to attract inbound visitors and capture leads through manipulating organic web searches. Utilizing the keywords that people use to search for goods and services, SEO can increase the traffic to the business’ digital presence and convert them into leads through the effective conversion funnel. SEO combined with content marketing aims to provide target audience what they are looking for online, whether it is information or purchase.

How SEO Works for Lead Generation

When a customer searches for something, i.e., a product or service, a successful SEO strategy helps the business to show up among the top results for the specific search query, leading the visitor to the website through backlink. But, the catch here is that almost 70% of these visitors will turn away without a purchase or a call which means no leads. Therefore, SEO’s work is not done here! To successfully generate leads, SEO efforts should effectively capture the leads, taking them further in the conversion funnel at the end of which is the sale opportunity.

To ensure visitors into leads, SEO ensues techniques like ‘Landing Page Optimization,’ ‘Signups,’ and ‘Providing Informational Content.’ By providing visitors what they are looking for through information and purposeful content, businesses can establish contact with potential customers. It can be done by enhancing visitor experience through easy navigations, efficient page loading times, and organized layout of content and multimedia, and by offering people to sign up for the newsletter, businesses can significantly enhance their lead generation ratio.

One of the most useful SEO strategies is to install lead magnets on the website. Lead magnets can be an offer to sign up for a free webinar, to avail free trial of website or software, to download ebook or whitepapers, for free expert advice, or to get bonus points by signing up. Lead magnets create the point of contact to the user by asking for information such as email addresses from visitors, and this information can be used to reiterate marketing efforts and collaborate with them in the future.

How SEO Helps in Lead Generation

  • Social Media Marketing

Social media has not only revolutionized the way people communicate and collaborate, but it has left a lasting impression on people’s purchase behavior. It is one of the most influential digital marketing forums for lead generation. Social media has initiated a trend of followership among people. People like to purchase from the brands and businesses that they follow on channels or forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With its enormous lead generation capabilities through user-generated content and brand endorsement, social media can direct traffic to your website as well as produce direct leads. Attracting visitors and driving traffic is one of the core objectives of a social media campaign. However, a successful campaign also emphasizes the positive brand image and leveraging positive customer experiences.

How SMM Works for Lead Generation

So, how exactly the lead generation from social media works?

Social media had approximately 2.5 billion users in 2017 which are expected to rise to 2.8 billion by 2019. Currently, there is exponential growth in the social media users. By creating, owning and maintaining your social media presence, you urge people to join your community where you can have one to one communication with your potential customers.

By using compelling posts and attractive messages along with updates from your website, you direct users to your website and use strategies like landing page optimization and sign-ups to convert them. Social media establishes the point of contact between users and businesses which is not only consistent but long term. Furthermore, effective campaigns can also use the power of their community to generate impact. One of the most prominent factors of social media is its emotional appeal to the users. Equipped with multimedia tools such as pictures and videos, social media can invoke brand loyalty which can turn into leads and conversions.

On a side note, social media marketing requires much less budget than traditional marketing. As a result, it offers good value for money and better turnover.

Not all users are same, and not all users on different channels have same interests. For example, what works for your twitter followership may not be interesting to your Facebook community. Therefore, social media marketing for lead generation needs to be customized according to the forum and target audience. It is better to make customized messages and not to push the same message across all channels.

How Social Media Marketing Helps in Lead Generation

  • Paid Advertising

As soon as paid advertising is mentioned in 2018, you can feel many eyebrows rising. Many people are skeptical about the role and relevance of paid advertising in lead generation. However, Paid Advertising or Pay Per Click is an effective and one of the quickest methods of lead generation in digital marketing. It is not about impressions, traffic or budget, but it is about leads and potential customers.

How Paid Advertising Works for Lead Generation

As mentioned, paid advertising is one of the fastest and direct ways to lead generation. While showing up in organic results can take weeks or even months, you can pay to show up in relevant results with paid advertising.

A customer looking for similar goods or services as offered by your business initiates a search query. With your PPC campaign, you pay to show up in the ‘sponsored’ or ‘paid’ results. Therefore, it does not involve waiting for months as your ranking improves, but it can kickstart your digital conversion funnel. A visitor is led to your website by clicking on the result, and you can utilize it to capture the lead with lead magnets, get a quote or contact us form along with optimized landing pages.

Take Home?

It is about time that companies should take the potential of digital landscape for lead generation seriously. As customer markets begin to concentrate on internet world of search engines and social media marketing, businesses should shift their focus away from traditional marketing to digital marketing for the successful lead generation. Using SEO, SMM, and Paid Advertising, companies have the opportunity to convert inbound opportunities into leads…that convert.

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5 Not to Miss SEO Trends That Will Dominate in 2018

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The holiday season is coming to its end and with it, the season of gifts and indulgence is also almost over. As we enter in 2018, it is about time to get back to business and get things straight. It is time to reflect on what will dominate SEO horizons in 2018, what kind of year it would be for Webmasters and businesses, and what can we expect from the year?

Search engines have continued to evolve last year, maintaining their tradition to refine and improve search result quality. At the same time, more businesses are taking an interest in internet marketing and optimization efforts. With sophisticated and complex algorithms, raging competition, and increasing awareness around Search Engine Optimization, SEO is becoming more complicated than ever before. SEO is no more just about keyword density and backlinks. In fact, some of the famous SEO techniques of the past have become serious offenses deserving penalties in the current optimization landscape. Ranking factors are always changing, with some dominating the others while others are completely falling apart.

Therefore, it is the right time to contemplate and discuss latest and the most important SEO trends of this year, preparing and aligning SEO strategy to stay ahead.

Team ESP Interactive Solutions, as the leading Bay Area SEO company has prepared a list of the dominating SEO trends for 2018. Here is what we expect SEO landscape to look like in this year.

#1- Evolution of SERP and Featured Snippets

SERP or Search Engine Result Pages are nothing like these have been two years ago, let alone a decade ago. In the past, there were ten links shown on the result page with title text in blue, links in green, and meta description in black. That was it! The theory that the top results in organic search get most clicks

But, now it is not that simple anymore. The new features like position 0, local 3-pack results, relevant images, and news have been introduced in SERP, stealing clicks from the first organic result.

For example, you type and enter ‘Apple Pie Recipe’ in Google’s search engine. A typical result page looks something like this.

Apple Pie SERP

On the top is position 0, where you can read the steps without clicking on the link. Position 0 is Google’s way of quickly answering questions to the user, displaying information on the top. You can also see information including user rating, image, votes, baking time, and calories along with the link, title, and description. These rich snippets are a product of structured data.

Structured data facilitates search engine to crawl, understand and interpret content. As such, structured data has not been a confirmed ranking factor and it is most likely does not improve ranking. However, through properly displaying content in search results, it attracts users and increases click-through rate which improves ranking.

What Should You do?

It is time to take featured snippets and changes in SERPs seriously. Adopt structured data tools such as schema.org to make sure that your content is organized and concise. It is also a good time to start tracking your ranking on different SERP features like top stories, videos, and images as these can be potentially sucking traffic from you.

#2-Speed and Security

Page speed matters and matters a lot. Since 2010, Google has confirmed page speed as a ranking factor. Fast loading websites align with Google’s goals of building a user-centric internet experience. Page speed will continue to play a major role in determining the quality of UX or User Experience of a website which in turns contribute to ranking. Google has an unsurpassed speed of loading in half a second, while it can be overambitious in some cases, you must aim for a website loading in under two seconds. Google’s recommended speed for web pages is three seconds, but the faster, the better.

Website security is a big yes! Digging a little deep in the Google’s SERP, you will realize that almost all links are HTTPS and SSL domains. According to SEMrush survey, 65% of the website that ranks on top 3 positions are always HTTPS. An unsecured site sends untrustworthy signals to the users once they land on the page, resulting in high bounce rate; and you can expect a drop in rankings.

Google Page Speed Benchmarks
Google Page Speed Benchmarks By SmartInsights

So, if you have not considered site security yet, you should make sure that all of your pages are sent over secured servers. Choose HTTPS domain for your website, and not only it will help you to build a secure website, but it will also reward you with improved ranking as well.

#3-Voice Search on the Rise

You would be aware of the fact that Google has launched a voice search assistant for Android. More and more smartphones and devices are launched with built-in voice assistants. If you have turned a deaf ear to buzz about voice search till now, 2018 is the time to rectify it.

Google’s study reported that a whopping 41% of adults and 55% of teens use voice search more than once every day. Need more facts? 1 in every five searches already come from voice search, and 25% of searches on Android devices in the US are voice searches (jaw-dropping?). Google with its Pixel 2 phone, Google Home, and Google Assistant along with Amazon’s echo are determined to make voice-activated devices part of everyday life, and we can already see the momentum gaining around these devices.

Voice Search Statistics 2016

If you have been skeptical about voice search, it is time to mend your ways. With voice search, queries become more of a conversational nature rather than an odd collection of words. So, the SEO webmasters need to pick up this trend of making content conversational, concise, and relevant to everyday language use. It also emphasizes the long-tail keywords and common syntax.

#4-Mobile Is Only Going Uphill

You would have read about mobile friendliness in the past too. They have been making to SEO masters’ new year resolutions for quite some time and was also part of SEO trends of 2017. But, no matter what, the importance of mobile in optimization cannot be emphasized enough.

With increasing voice searches, you may think that mobile friendliness is not that relevant anymore or mobile searches are not big anymore. But, it is another way around. Most of the voice searches come from smartphones and mobile devices, and as voice search increases, this trend is expected to rise.

So, Google’s impending mobile-first indexing, rising volume of mobile search, increasing trend of voice search, and mobile-friendliness as a confirmed ranking factor are the signals all pointing towards the need for mobile optimization. Not only your website should be mobile-friendly with fast loading times, but it should offer a seamless mobile experience to the user. If a user needs to log in to your website from a desktop to read, to get information or to place an order, you are most likely losing a sizeable chunk of your potential customers.

#5-Personalized and Biased SERPs and Machine Learning

Do you think that search results are same for everyone for the same query? I hope you don’t. Search results are modified based on the location of user and business. Or in a geeky way, Local search modifies the result from location to location.

So, do all users searching for ‘best HIIT studio in San Francisco’ see the same results? Or do small business owners looking for ‘best social media marketing company in Bay Area’ see same results?  No! Search results are not only defined by the location of the user, but also integrate factors like user’s search history, interests, and frequently visited websites.

Google’s personalization of search results began in 2002 and had advanced a lot in these years. Personalized SERPs are displayed through data taken from history, account information if the person is logged into Gmail in the browser, and cookies stored in the cache. However, it does not mean that you do not stand a chance.

But, it means that you must focus on producing user-centric, informative, and authentic content that grabs attention and is capable of bringing the user back to your website. The personalization of SERPs is an opportunity if it is used in the right way. If you have been successful in being among the top results when the user first searched the query and user landed on your website, you can use cookies to store some information of your website in user’s browser. Furthermore, if user stayed on your website for a good time, there are chances that you will be among top results for any subsequent queries.

Take Away?

So, if you want your SEO strategy to perform in 2018 and beyond, you should stay current on the latest trends and ranking factors along with a futuristic outlook. The year has just begun, and like last year, Google’s confirmed, and unconfirmed algorithm updates can roll anytime. Things may change in due course with changes in ranking factor and their relative importance. Till then, focus on making it to rich snippets, knowledge graph, tweaking your website to make it secure and fast, modifying your website and strategy to make it voice and mobile-friendly, and finally using personalized SERPs for your benefit.

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SEO Highlights of 2017: Year in Review

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SEO Highlights of 2017: Year in Review

Like every year, amidst algorithm updates, changing Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs), establishing a trend of local search, and rising trend of voice search, 2017 has been a roller coaster ride for SEO industry. Change is the only constant this year as well with periodic updates and regular tweaking of search engine pages. From unconfirmed updates in early 2017 to Google’s experimenting with mobile first indexing, a lot of things have changed. Webmasters and SEO experts have been trying to keep up with these changes through finding effective SEO strategies and tools that work.

However, a lot of things have carried on from the past years as well such as the dominance of mobile searches, relevance, and quality of content, and an emphasis on user experience.

As the end of the year draws near, team ESP Interactive Solutions have compiled a list of search marketing highlights for 2017. Let’s see where we have been in this year to understand what we can expect from 2018.

Interstitial and Pop-Up Penalty-January 10, 2017

Back in 2016, Google issued a rare warning (quite unlike Google) about the penalty to websites having obtrusive interstitials or pop-ups that blocked content or affected the mobile experience. Within two weeks in 2017, Google rolled out the update penalizing website with interstitials. Even though the update had only a minor impact on the websites that should have been effective, there was enough buzz in SEO circles.

Interstitials websites block content or hinder reading with interstitials that required user’s action to be dismissed or may require the user to scroll up and down in an unnatural way. It is another milestone in Google’s commitment to mobile experience.

Series of Unnamed Updates- February 1- February 6, 2017

The first week of February saw some serious changed in Google’s algorithm. The changes that were rolled out continued or continued to affect for a whole week, increasing near February 6. As these updates remained unconfirmed from Google, there was so much chatter and speculation in webmasters’ community. Some of the webmasters believed them to be two distinct events happening on Feb 1 and Feb 6 while others argued that it was a series of updates. There were also rumors that these updates targeted private blog networks and links.

Unconfirmed (Fred) Update- March 8, 2017

In March, there were rumors in SEO community about a major update in Google’s algorithm targeting Black hat SEO techniques, suspicious backlinks, and quality of the content. A global SERP volatility was noted, and there was a major impact on the ranking of the websites. Many webmasters complained about sudden dropping in ranking, while ranking for some others was slightly improved.

Gary Illyes tweeted about Fred update

The update remained unconfirmed. Google’s Gary Illyes jokingly tweeted to call all unconfirmed updates ‘Fred’. The name was popular, but Illyes cleared out that it is not official.

 Unconfirmed Update- June 25, 2017

Continuing its tradition, Google launched another major update on June 25 which was intended for the quality of the content. The major spikes in volatility shown by SERP trackers and buzz in SEO community indicated that update has some bases to it. From the look of the chatter, it appears to be a significantly impactful update and changes in ranking were visible.

So, these were some of the major updates of 2017. As visible from the timeline, these major updates were in the first two quarters of the year. Nonetheless, there were regular algorithmic updates and tweaking of search engine result pages.

Along with these updates, there are also some other major highlights with significant impact on search marketing which will continue to affect it in the coming year as well. Here are the top SEO trends of 2017.

Mobile Search Dominance Continued

The mobile traffic continued to grow in 2017 as well, reaching to almost 53% of all search traffic in last quarter of 2017, indicating a significant increase in mobile users. Mobile traffic surpassed desktop and laptop traffic, and mobile users now dominate search engines.

This trend emphasized the need for mobile-friendly websites and responsive websites that scale according to the screen sizes. Google launched Accelerated Mobile Pages technology in 2016 to bridge the gap and help webmasters build faster mobile web pages.

It is expected that mobile search will be on the rise in 2018 and will continue to dominate search queries.

Getting Closer to Mobile First Indexing

Google’s Garry Illyas has not yet confirmed the date when mobile first indexing will go live, but many pieces of evidence suggest that Google is already experimenting with it in some regions. In February, series of tweets from Webmasters and Google’s official said that they are working to make algorithms right the first time and it will take few more months to roll out mobile first indexing. So, it can be said that the year 2017 brought us closer to Mobile first perspective of Google.

In mobile first indexing, the crawler bots will index mobile version of the website instead of desktop version. While Google will continue to index desktop versions for desktop websites, it will give a ranking boost to mobile websites and responsive websites.

Advances in Voice Search

One of the trends that stand out in 2017 is the growing interest and higher volume of voice search. The statistics indicate that webmasters should closely watch this trend and must start tweaking their websites accordingly early on. It is expected that voice search will dominate search traffic in coming years and with voice search, quality of the content will become even more important.

Conclusion

These were some of the search highlights of this year. With Google’s artificial intelligence and natural comprehension of language, along with the focus on content quality and user experience, it is important for webmasters to tweak their website and search strategy for voice search users and mobile devices.

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10 Amazing E-commerce and Social-commerce Startups Based in Los Angeles

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10 Amazing e-commerce websites from Los Angeles

Last week, we curated a list of top 20 amazing e-commerce websites loved by American shoppers including the names of some of the biggest tech giants like eBay, Amazon, and Home depot. This time, we have decided to bring you something which is close to home, i.e., e-commerce websites from Los Angeles (LA).

Los Angeles is among the top cities for online shopping, and LA shoppers often engage in e-commerce shopping. Along with buying from all the big names in e-retailers and e-commerce, shoppers in Los Angeles also love the stores and startups that have originated from the city itself. The e-commerce websites in Los Angeles bear witness of the creativity, interactive perspective, and a focus on humane designs of Bay Area Website Development companies.

The city is known for its tech companies, working on all aspects of online world including website designing, web development, e-commerce. Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Optimization, and Software as Service, Cloud, Web and Mobile Applications.

So, let’s check out these top 10 amazing e-commerce and social commerce websites based in Los Angeles.

  • Shoedazzle*

Untitled-1

 

Starting in 2009, Shoedazzle is a fashion subscription service and e-commerce website based in El Segundo, Los Angeles and has fashion names such as Kim Kardashian on its list of founders. The mantra of Shoedazzle is to spoil women who love fashion and lust shoes with a specially curated, personalized showroom to shop from every month. There are two ways of shopping at Shoedazzle; one is to buy as you do at any regular e-retailer while the other is to avail their subscription-based service in which your showroom is personalized and filled with new items every month according to your style and personal fashion statement.

  • wittlebee

E-commerce website-Los Angeles

Based in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, the wittlebee is an “a parent minded company with a heart” as stated by happy customer on company’s website. It was launched in 2012 with a unique e-commerce shopping model for children online clothing. As a membership-based service, the wittlebee will send you the clothing items you need for your kids in a box every month. For a subscription cost of $39.99 every month, every box holds items that are at least $100 worth in retail. So, if you are a convenient shopper with a mission to save money, all you have to do is to fill out a simple style form, and your box will be ready for stylist’s pick.

  • Little Black Bag

It was also a subscription-based service founded in 2011 with an ambition to pamper luxury shoppers. Every month a mystery bag was shipped to the subscriber with designer items ranging from personal style, dresses, accessories, and home décor. It was a fun, shopping website where you could play with other shoppers, trade items with family and friends, and get more and more of what you love. The shoppers could buy a monthly subscription or a 3-months or 6-months subscription that could be canceled any times. There was also an option for sending mystery bag as a gift. The website was shut down after it merged with another fashion website pose.

  • NastyGal

e-commerce website-Los Angeles

NastyGal is another web-based fashion venture born out of Los Angeles and has spread around the United States. Initially starting as an eBay account with the name Nasty Gal Vintage in 2006, its founder Sophia Amoruso moved it to its own brand site with an attractive and vintage website design. NastyGal caters to its prime audience of young girls, selling them vintage items and fashion accessories.

  • The Honest Company

Koyla Hospatility

The Honest Company is another of America consumer good e-retailer initiated from Los Angeles in 2011. Emphasizing on ethical consumerism, the company is the vision of Celebrity star Jessica Alba who is also a co-founder. The company’s mission is to provide safe and healthy products for family care including hygiene products, childcare, diapers, and beauty products. With a simplistic design and user-friendly navigation, the company has a strong clientele.

  • DAILYLOOK

E-commerce website Los Angeles

Daily Look is another of fashion subscription services from Los Angeles starting in 2011. Catering to women, Daily Look sends out a box of handpicked items curated by a personal stylist every month to its subscriber. The items are between 7-10, and the subscriber can keep the items they like and send rest of them back with free shipment both ways.

  • Dollar Shave Club

E-commerce website Los Angeles

If you are skeptical of the creativity and vision of people in Los Angeles, Dollar Shave Club is the place to check. Starting in 2011 as a company that ships razors to its subscriber every month for few dollars, helping them to save money while getting good razors at their doorstep. Within few years, the startup has transformed into a billion-dollar business with millions of subscribers. With a parallax design, the website is simple and easy to navigate.

  • Tradesy

E-commerce website Los Angeles

Founded in 2009 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Tradesy connects the buyers of premium brands and labels to the sellers, providing packaging, managing shipping and returns, and helping with the price. Tradesy works on almost all items in women fashion including bags, shoes, clothing, wedding dresses, and accessories from the world’s renowned brands like Luis Vuitton, Prada, Channel, Coach, Saint Laurent, etc.

  • JustFab

E-commerce website Los Angeles

JustFab is another online fashion subscription service out of Los Angeles from 2010. With a range of handbags, shoes, accessories, jewelry, and denim, JustFab ships a box filled with curated items to the subscribers based on their personal style and preferences.

  • Winc

E-commerce website Los Angeles

Winc is kind of service out of the dreams. It is also a subscription-based e-commerce website, but the difference is that you receive a pack of four wine bottles in your mail delivery. The company started in 2011 with the idea of creating a unique online wine buying experience. The consumer subscribes for a monthly cost and subscription can be canceled anytime. The wine is selected with the help of specialist with a focus on consumer’s taste and budget.

So, here are the top 10 e-commerce startups from Los Angeles. Do you have an idea that can take the Bay Area by storm? Bring it to us the leading Bay Area Web Designing company and let’s make it happen.

Best Webdesigning Solutions, E-commerce website, E-commerce website design, Responsive Web Design, Web Development Methodologies

Top 20 E-commerce Websites that American Shoppers Love

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Top 20 e-commerce websites in America

As technology is becoming ubiquitous, it is profoundly impacting commercial habits of the American shoppers. From the product research, evaluation, comparison to the way they pay for the purchase, digitization and new technology has completely changed the way Americans buy stuff. One of the trends that have quickly caught up is ‘e-commerce.’

Almost Eight in every ten Americans are online shoppers with 15% of them making weekly online purchases. 28% of American shoppers buy a few times in a month, while 37% purchase less often. Just in the second quarter of 2017, the retail e-commerce sales crossed the whopping figure of $100 billion by reaching to $111.5 billion with an increase of 4.8% from the first quarter of 2017. Also, 51% of Americans think that shopping online is absolutely the best way to shop.

These statistics indicate one definite fact that e-commerce trend is only going upwards in the United States with every passing month.

Based on the popularity of e-commerce in the United States, team ESP Interactive Solutions has compiled a list of top 20 e-commerce websites in the country. The list is based on various online data sources including Alexa, National Retail Federation, and ptechguide and includes daily traffic and annual online sales as major criteria for popularity.

So, let’s have a look at these 20-amazing e-commerce stores that American shoppers love. If you are thinking to build one of your own, let us help you.

#1-Amazon.com

Not only in the United States, but Amazon also tops the list of world’s largest e-retailers. Starting in 1994 as an online bookstore, Amazon has grown into a giant general merchandise store. Simple interface, easy and intuitive navigations, comfortable mobile experience, the wide variety of products, ability to compare prices, daily and event-based discount deals, a variety of payment methods, fast and affordable shipping, and security of payment makes Amazon the top choice.

#2-eBay.com

Ebay is the second largest general merchandise online store in the United States. With its unique person to person business model, customers can find products at affordable price and can sell their products too. Customers can find occasion based discounts.

#3- Walmart.com

The third on the list in Walmart.com which is the e-store of the Walmart chain. With an easy and simple interface, properly categorized products, free shipping offers, different payment methods, seasonal and event-based discounts, and local campaigns, eBay is the online shopping heaven.

#4-Costco.com

Thinking about the wholesale products, Costco is the largest e-commerce platform to buy products in thousands of numbers. With membership options, member discounts, and occasion discounts, this is the place from where Americans buy products in large numbers. With options varying from electronics, grocery, optical, and pharmacy, there is the wide range of products.

#5-Etsy.com

Etsy.com is the online marketplace for handicrafts, art, and vintage products. With a business model of individual sellers and buyers, you can sell your creative products to the buyers directly and can purchase products online. Whether you want to sell your products, buy Christmas decorations, or order gifts for her or him, etsy.com is one of the favorite e-commerce stores of American shoppers. With its creative yet simple website design and content, the website is fun to use.

#6-Bestbuy.com

When it comes to consumer electronics from smartphones, laptops, wearable technology to home theaters, and kitchen appliances, Bestbuy is the e-commerce platform offering everything to American shoppers. Bestbuy offers daily, weekly and clearance discounts to the shoppers and has easy to navigate interface.

#7-Target.com

Target.com is the general merchandise online retailer with options ranging from fashion, kids, appliances, technology, food and beverages, personal care, pets, beauty, home essentials, and furniture. It offers occasion discounts along with free shipping option.

#8-Apple.com

As the official website of the U.S based technology giant, it takes a distinguished position in e-commerce stores in the country. With annual sales of almost $12,000 million US dollars, Apple.com is one of the favorite technology e-retailer sites.

#9-Staples.com

An online marketplace for all kinds of office accessories, furniture, devices, and technology, Staples.com has a stylish and professional interface, proper categorization of the products, intuitive navigation, and discounts for the customers. The website design speaks for its quality and ease of use.

#10-Macys.com

Macy’s is the online fashion store with products including apparel, accessories, beauty care, and toiletries for both men and women. It offers the seasonal discount to the shoppers along with other offers to avail. The company’s annual e-commerce sales are $4,829 million US dollars.

#11- Homedepot.com

Homedepot.com is the online retailer for home improvement products, home renovation products, and building materials including do-it-yourself installation products, garden furniture, and power equipment. Home Depot also offers free shipping on most of its orders, giving it every reason to be among the top e-commerce website.

#12-qvc.com

Selling a range of products from apparel, accessories, kids’ stuff, jewelry, beauty, and makeup, the qvc.com has the annual sales of $3,722 million US dollar. The website has an attractive and engaging design along with easy to use navigation and website pattern. Along with this, the website is secured with secure payment methods. The website occasionally offers extended return options as well.

#13-Nordstrom.com

Nordstrom is the upscale fashion, e-retailer offering designer handbags, shoes, accessories, and apparels for kids, men and women. Nordstrom provides the unique collection of products to the shoppers and therefore, it is the top e-commerce website. The website has a sophisticated, graphic-laden interface, easy navigation, and quick checkout process.

#14-Nike.com

It is the e-retailer for fitness and casual wear including shoes, bags, accessories, and clothes. It is one of the most famous fitness wear online destination for shoppers in the United States. From exclusive discounts to sophisticated website design, Nike.com offers a premium e-commerce experience to customers.

#15-Wiley.com

Wiley.com is the online retailer of print and electronic media for professional, educational, and scientific, technical, and medical related consumers. It is one of the largest e-commerce stores in America and around the world for products developed by John Wiley & Sons. The user interface is simple, and products are displayed in separate categories.

#16-Newegg.com

Newegg.com is a technology accessory e-retailer including peripheral parts. The e-store now offers a wide variety of products from technology, networking, office solutions, automotive parts, and industrial parts. Apart from this, the store also offers hobby and interest products, and apparels and accessories for men, women, and kids. With an intuitive design and navigation, the website is quickly becoming one of the favorites in the United States.

#17-Gap.com

Gap.com is the fashion online retail store with products for men, women, and kids. Offering special discounts, seasonal discounts, and regular offers along with free shipping, Gap had made it to the top e-retailers in the United States. Providing easy and quick checkout for all its four brands, the customers can enjoy a quick process to the checkout.

#18-Kohls.com

Kohls.com is a rapidly growing online store in the United States offering products from fashion, apparel, accessories, shoes, bags to home improvement and bed and bath. Kohl’s is customer’s favorite because of its special discount offers and sales with free shipping option. The website is simple, fast, and engaging in monochrome tone.

#19-Wayfair.com

Wayfair.com is the top choice for indoor and outdoor furniture, home décor, bed and bath, kitchen accessories and cooking essentials, rugs, and lighting. With the wide variety of products from upscale to economic, Wayfair offers many purchase options to the customers. Website design and the user experience are strong plus points of Wayfair.

#20- Groupon.com

Groupon.com offers discounts and deals to the customers that they can avail online or local stores and services such as spa, restaurants, shopping, travel, and health and fitness. The unique business model, attractive website, and great offers make groupon.com a favorite online destination for American shoppers.
So, which of these is your favorite online destination? Let us know in comments.

Best SEO Tips, Local SEO, Search Engine Optimization Techniques

Local SEO Guide for Small Business

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Local SEO Guide for Small Business

From the way people look for information online to search engine algorithms, the internet is becoming a different world than it used to be. People are increasingly searching for local businesses and places nearby them and the search engines increasingly display results based on the location of business; hence, giving birth to Local SEO.

The Bay Area SEO industry is abuzz with Local SEO and is increasingly emphasizing its importance for small businesses in Bay Area.

Local SEO is quite different from average Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and integrates local ranking factors such as Name, Address, Phone Number, Photos, and Customer Reviews along with traditional SEO components. Local SEO helps your business to standout in local searches while local searches are known for driving ‘Real’ and ‘Ripe’ leads.

Let’s have a look at some of the facts indicating the high volume of local searches and the traffic they generate.

Local Seo Statistics in 2017
2017 Local SEO Statistics

By now, you should be convinced about the importance of Local SEO in promoting your business online. But, let’s first understand what is local SEO.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a highly targeted and timely marketing strategy to promote your business to local customers who are present in your area of operation at the exact time when they are looking for products or services offered by your business. So, there are two factors in Local SEO i) Local customers ii) time targeted marketing.

Let’s look into the phenomenon of Local SEO with the help of this example. While sitting at his home in Denver, a person A searches for ‘sushi restaurant.’ Google will refine and display results according to the location of the searcher, and the searcher will see the restaurants near him.

 

A Typical Local Search SERP
A Typical Local Search SERP

In the Local SEO, search engines factor in the location of both the business and searchers and present results where searcher and business are in the same area. In addition to this, local SEO is particularly important for the searches with local intent. For example, if the person A is planning a trip to New York and wants to look for the best Sushi restaurant in New York. So, instead of a generic search, he will search for ‘Best Sushi Restaurant in New York.’ The ‘geographic’ component in the keyword depicts the local intent of customer.

You can say that local SEO helps local businesses to connect with local customers…customers that matter and the customers that covert.

Components of a SERP in Local Search

Let’s have a look at the individual elements in the typical Local Search SERP.

Components of Local Search SERP
Components of Local Search SERP

 

Part A- Google Map:

Part A of the Google’s typical SERP in response to local search consists of a Map in which the red dots indicate the location of businesses which in this case are Sushi restaurant. The three bigger dots with a fork and spoon sign (representing food and eatery) correspond to the three results in Part B.

Part B- Places Results

Part B shows three results with information about business name, customer rating, an indication of price, address, and opening hours along with the pictures on the right corner. These results offer multiple points of contact to the searcher to access business including the phone number to call, the website to visit, or directions from Google Map to drive to its location.

If you are searching from your mobile, you can directly make a call to the business by clicking call button.

A+B –> Google’s 3-Pack Results

The part A and B together are called Google’s 3-Pack results. Google’s 3-Pack is the most distinguished feature of local search, and it is a power pack with detailed information about the business. With the integration of call, directions, and website option, the user has multiple forward ways, and hence, there are more opportunities to attract the lead.

However, as the Google only displays three results, it is highly competitive. It requires serious optimization efforts with special consideration to local ranking factors to get there in the Google 3-Pack.

Part C- Organic Results

Down the Google 3-Pack are the typical organic results for the search query, displayed in the grid of 10 results. The organic results contain links to the ‘Best Sushi Restaurant’ or other lists and include the results of sushi restaurants.

So, by far you understand what is Local SEO and what a typical SERP for local search looks like.

Local Ranking Factors

Now, let’s have an overview of the individual local ranking factors that help you get there in Google’s three pack results.

Local Ranking Factors 2017
Local Ranking Factors 2017

As it is evident from the Moz’s survey, making it up to Google’s 3-pack results is not just about one or two optimization techniques, but various factors weigh in making the top results. From Google My Business (Read how to setup Google My Business Page) Signals to Behavioral Signals, everything counts to make a difference.

Having an updated and maintained Google’s My business page, consistent citation, on-page optimization, customer reviews, and strong social presence will lead a small business to a place in the Local pack result.

 

Phenomenon Behind SEO, Search Engine Optimization Techniques, SEO Steps, Uncategorized, Web Development Methodologies, Web Development Skills

SEO for WordPress: 6 Tips and Tricks

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SEO tips for WordPress Website

WordPress is the world’s largest Content Management system with a market share of 59.4 % as of April 2016. The WordPress powers more than 25% of the world’s entire websites and according to the Forbes, it is used by almost 75 million websites across the web.

The WordPress.com’s non-English downloads have surpassed the number of English downloads, indicating the popularity of this platform throughout the world and not just in the United States or English-speaking countries. Also, the users generate 69.5 million posts and 46.8 million comments on average each month.

28.7% WordPress Usage
Most popular content management system on Web (10/3/2017)

These stats establish one big fact that WordPress is taking the world by storm.

But, how do WordPress websites perform when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Just as WordPress dominates the development and content management platforms, SEO is the dominates internet marketing strategy for websites. Based on the importance of SEO, it is almost imperative not just to build WordPress websites, but optimize them as well.

However, as always, it is easy to overdo or underdo things in the optimization process, and SEO of a WordPress website can be tricky. Things that often work on PHP or HTML frameworks may not work well with WordPress. So, it is something like a quest to find things about your website, things about SEO, and which of the things work together to create positive ratings.

While there cannot be a hard and fast rule or formulae to make things work, here are the common tips and tricks for SEO for WordPress.

  • #1-Theme Selection Beyond Visuals

The good things about WordPress are that there are thousands of themes available to kickstart your website. There are chances that like many other people, you also only considered appearance and visual experience of your customer while choosing the theme. Visually attractive or appealing themes are not necessarily well-coded. A bad code or unnecessary elements can slow down the website and cause loading errors.

So, it is time to revisit your theme choice and make sure that the theme offers a great interface plus amazing user-experience.

  • #2-Sitemap Submission

A WordPress website does not have the option of the sitemap. You will have to use SEO plugins to create the sitemap of the website and can even create multiple sitemaps for advanced control with additional plugins.

But, your sitemap is nothing more than useless, if you do not submit it to Google Console. If there is no sitemap directory in Google Console, search engines cannot see you.

So, submit your sitemap to Google Console to facilitate search engine crawling and visibility.

Sitemap on Google Console
Submit Sitemap on Google Console

  • #3-The Balanced Link Recipe

Anyone who knows SEO knows the magic of links. Links are the proven way of establishing visibility, ranking, and authority of the website. WordPress websites that are built around theme usually have pre-set links as well.

But, it is easy and frequent to overdo the backlinking. Too much link stuffing will result in increased bounce rate and will take customers away from your website. It will also turn the content in the senseless jingle of keyword and anchor text, delivering no meaning.

And, the customers are looking for original and insightful content. Therefore, you must mix and match a perfect link recipe.

  • #4-The Plugin Load or Overload

If you have used or developed, you would be aware of the pivotal role of plugins. There are some amazing and irresistible plugins out there, and the new ones are developed every other day. While the plugins are great, too many of them can compromise your website’s user experience.

Installed plugins take up additional space in servers and make websites heavier to load. The slow loading speed and crashing of plugins are not the customer attractor, but repellent.

So, pick and choose the right plugins for your website and get going.

  • #5-SEO-Friendly Images

Yeah, your images can be SEO-friendly too. Too many people focus on the text so much that they overlook the importance of SEO-friendly images. Alt-texting the images is as important in WordPress as adding the images itself.

Adding the proper description, titles, and alt-text makes images more visible and crawler-friendly. The images also show up in Image search on the Google and search engines, resulting in higher visibility on other search platforms as well. Also, the SEO-friendly images are optimized and fast to load. The WordPress plugins like pixpie and Smush are a good and easy way of optimizing images.

So, it is time to make sure all images have the proper description, caption, and alt-text attributes. Do not stuff image captions or alt-text with keywords, but make everything meaningful.

Add alt text for optimized images
SEO friendly images with Alt text

  • #6-Make Use of H1, H2…Tags

H1, H2, H3…these tags are there for a purpose. Instead of putting one long content on the website, these tags allow you to break down the content into the section with headings. However, as you write about same services or same topic, the H1 tags may become similar, you are committing the sin of plagiarism.

Even when you think that you are not copying the tags from other websites, they still drag your ranking down. Also, keyword stuffing in tags is a technique that has lost its usefulness. Unless you want to increase your spam ranking, do not attempt to trick Google.

So, work on H1, H2 tags in your content. Get creative and write attractive and attention-grabbing tags.

Add creative Title Tags
Title Tags to Organize Content

 Ready to Roll?

SEO WordPress is tricky. These tips and tricks can help you get aboard. Read these tips and revisit your website to find out what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Fix the wrong ones and work on the right ones. Be ready to create a wonderful user experience.

Best SEO Tips, Phenomenon Behind SEO, Search Engine Optimization Techniques, SEO Steps

Different Types of SEO Services from a SEO Agency

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Los Angeles SEO

Are you thinking about implementing a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy on your website? Many businesses around you are exploiting the potential of the internet based marketplace to get more customers.

When you are thinking about implementing SEO strategy, choosing the right person to do your SEO can be tricky, but crucial for achieving results. Many businesses are inclined to do SEO on their own instead of hiring a professional agency or expert. These companies either consider themselves capable of handling their web presence or find it difficult to take out a budget for SEO activities.

On the other hand, a major portion of businesses looks for local SEO agency like Los Angeles SEO companies to work for them.

Why you should hire an SEO agency is another debate, and unless you are a pro with SEO training, you will have difficulty in crafting, running and managing the campaign. But, if you have decided to hire an SEO agency, you should be aware of different types of SEO services that a typical agency offers to its clients.

Here are seven major types of SEO services that are available to you from professional agencies.

  • Keyword Research

Keyword research is the first step in an SEO campaign. There are various online tools including Google’s keyword planner to identify the keywords related to business’ niche or industry. The top SEO experts have access to online tools that can help to target relevant keywords that are also fruitful for campaign objectives.

While preparing the campaign, SEO agency begins with keyword research. It is not always important to target high-volume keywords, but the experts will identify keywords that match to your campaign budget and objectives.

Different types of research in SEO
Different types of research in SEO

  • On-page SEO

On-page SEO refers to the optimization activities on your website. It includes content optimization, URLs, meta tags, meta description, crawler setting, etc. The SEO agencies offer On-page optimization services to their client in which experts improve the website and its content based on Google’s guidelines. Furthermore, the agency can also locate issues in your website’s internal navigation, linking, site architecture, or content that can create problems in ranking.

  • Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO includes all the optimization activities that are done on the internet except client’s website. The external signals of the website have a significant impact on its ranking and can lower or improve it. From backlinking to directory submission, guest posting, bookmarking, and article submission, all activities are part of off-page SEO.

Off-page SEO gives signals to search engine about the authority and credibility of the website. If other credible websites have mentioned the domain or are linking back to it, the search engine will whitelist website and will find it credible.

A professional SEO agency offers you off-page services that can improve ranking while, if you end up with a fake agency, you can be penalized or blacklisted by the search engine for spamming activity.

On and Off-Page SEO Services
On and Off-Page SEO Services

 

  • Audits and Testing

Website audit and testing is another SEO service which is important for optimization campaign. The website audits identify loopholes in the website that can affect ranking like site architecture, browser compatibility, errors, site loading time, or 404 errors. The website audits and tests can prevent many problems that can occur later in the campaign and give you an opportunity to fix them at the beginning.

The audits and tests also make up a starting step of the SEO campaign and also help in the keyword research.

  • Content Planning and Content Creation

The content marketing is a term that is coined parallel to SEO. The optimization activities require content planning and creation. A website that offers high-quality content, relevant information to the topic, and has the significant amount of content is placed higher in the search engine’s results. So, the content creation is an important part of SEO.

Many businesses create their content for on-page and off-page. However, a large number of SEO agencies offer content planning services to the client. You can hire the services of the SEO agency to write content for the website, guest posting, and article websites. The content is often charged separately.

  • Local SEO

Local SEO is dominating the SEO market, and it is becoming a part of SEO services. Instead of providing SEO, the professional agencies will provide you location-based optimization services that let you connect with the people in your area of operation. The local SEO services also include Google’s My Business Page, marking of the map, updating information about business, name, address, phone number, opening hours, and customer reviews.

Local SEO Service in Los Angeles
Local SEO Service

Local SEO has proven to be more effective, driving a higher number of relevant traffic and sales.

  • Monitoring and Reporting

It is usually part of the SEO package. In monitoring and reporting, the SEO agency provides regular updates about your campaign and its objectives to the client and keep them posted about how many objectives or milestones have been achieved.

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SEO Vs PPC: Know What Works for Your Website

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Bay-Area-SEO

Don’t want to read the article? Watch the video to know.

Google’s advertising revenue has continuously increased in the past years, and the bulk of Google’s $75 billion revenue comes from its proprietary search Ads. Launched in 2000, the AdWords has grown into a multi-billion dollars’ industry. Google dominates the search ad industry, but there are other Ad or Pay Per Click (PPC) platforms including Apple ads, Bing Ads, Yahoo Ads, Android, Facebook Ads, etc.

Parallel to the paid ad industry, the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has grown to become bigger and better in the last two decades. Even though SEO can be traced back to as early as the 1990s, it became a prominent internet marketing strategy in early 2000s, and in 2016, the worth of SEO industry is totaled at $65 billion.

As both SEO and PPC are internet marketing strategies with proven results, a question which is often asked from a digital marketer is ‘SEO Vs PPC, which one is better?’. The local digital marketers offer both the services to businesses. For example, if you are a small business in Bay Area and thinking about launching a digital marketing campaign, a Bay Area SEO company can provide you both SEO and PPC services.

So, which one should you choose? Should you go for SEO or should you launch a PPC campaign? But, in a precise answer, there is no one answer to this question. Both SEO and PPC have their advantages and disadvantages.

This article will help you to explore main differences in SEO and PPC to understand which one is the best for you. Or maybe, by the end of this article, you are thinking along the lines of an integrated approach.

Changing Trends in Digital Marketing Mix
Changing Marketing Mix

What is Pay Per Click?

            Pay Per Click is a digital marketing model in which the business pays a specified cost to the host website every time the ad is clicked. For example, Website A has an advertising space on its web page and Website B places an ad for its product on the space. A visitor visits website A and clicks on the ad of website B, the website B pay a specified fee to website A for every click.

The search advertising works in the same way. People search for a keyword on the search engine. The search engine displays some sponsored/advertised link to the visitor. When the visitor clicks on the link, the advertised website pays the cost of the click to search engine.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

The search engine optimization is an internet marketing strategy in which the website earns organic traffic through higher visibility in search engines. SEO improves website’s visibility by displaying it on higher positions on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs).

For example, if a person searches for ‘sports shoes’ in the search engine, the websites that make up top results have higher chances of being clicked. So, SEO enables the website to rank higher in SERPs to receive more clicks, traffic, and leads.

As you have understood the major difference between paid and organic traffic, it is time to explore what works for you.

Long Term Vs Short Term:

            Like always in the marketing, some of the digital marketing efforts are short term with instant results while some of the techniques are long-term. PPC is a short-term strategy in which you start to get clicks early on, while SEO is a long-term strategy and it takes the time to improve website’s search ranking.

So, if you are looking for short-term sales goals, PPC may work for you. But, if you are looking for sustainable traffic, SEO is more effective in the longer run.

Fixed Cost Vs. Variable Cost

In a PPC campaign, A fixed cost and fixed budget are involved. You buy paid traffic, so depending on your budget, you can buy a particular number of clicks with the budget, and you are already aware of the cost per click.

However, SEO does not have a fixed cost per click. The organic traffic does not involve a fixed cost or budget. But, it does not mean that SEO is for free. SEO has a variable cost that you invest over time to improve your website’s ranking.

Targeting Customers

The PPC provides laser focused targeting opportunity to the businesses. It allows you to set keyword categories, negative keywords, location, date, and even time of your Ad. It allows you to only display the Ads to relevant demographics, at a relevant day and at a relevant time.

On the other hand, you can target specific keywords in the SEO campaign, but it is not laser-targeted. It means that if your Bay Area SEO company is optimizing the website for “Nike shoes in Bay Area,” it can also appear in the results of “Sports shoes.”

 

SEO or PPC Vs. SEO and PPC

There is no one formula for SEO or PPC. It varies according to industry, scope, budget, target audience, and company’s marketing objectives.

A better approach to digital marketing is to have an integrated campaign in which both SEO and PPC work together.