How to Skyrocket to the Top of Google Local Search Results

SEO for Google and Bing local places search results is more important than ever for local SMEs/small businesses. About a third of search engine queries typed into Google and Bing now have local intent. Eye-tracking studies also show people to spend more time looking and clicking on local search results, probably because local results have visually stimulating red icons and an accompanying map in Google (this is also why microdata is becoming so useful and will probably soon become even more so for SEO).

So how do you get your website to rank well in local search results? The answer, in the simplest terms possible, is to be thorough and consistent. By thorough, I mean saturating all the possible channels where you can get your website and business listed.  That means don’t stop once your business is listed in Justdial in India or Yelp in the U.S.; continue onto the local yellow pages site and every single other high ranking directory you can find for your local area.

Consistency means making sure that your address, business name, URL and phone number are exactly the same across all channels. This includes local place listings, social media listings, paid search listings, and everywhere else. Inconsistencies confuse Google and can lead to duplicate listings, which split your search traffic and hurt your rankings. Make sure you not only claim all listings and enhance them, but also delete any duplicates that may have cropped up. You can use a tool like Yext to check for consistency.

Oftentimes your customers are looking for a local attraction near your business that can help push traffic to your business. Find a way to link the local attraction to your business's local listing, and when potential consumers search for the attraction, they'll find you too.

Encourage customers to give reviews online. This can dramatically increase conversion rates, as most customers check online reviews before making a purchasing decision. Strategies to do this include implementing QR codes for smart phone users, linking to review sites on your website, and creating a user generated content (UCG) section on your website.

Traditional SEO tactics like onsite optimization of alt, meta, header, and title tags also help local search rankings as well, so don’t neglect the fundamentals.

So that’s your primer on how to skyrocket to the top of Google and Bing local search results. It’s not comprehensive, but it does cover all the fundamentals. Don’t feel like taking the time to do all this yourself? Then take a look at Cosmos's online marketing and SEO services packages, all of which include local search optimization.

Read More →

HTML5 Microdata for SEO and Website Design

So far, microdata has been most thoroughly implemented in the case of recipes. Now, you can search Google for recipes and sort them by caloric information, cook time, user rating, ingredients, and many other factors besides.However, it’s only a matter of time before microdata implementation becomes standard industry practice for all sorts of information. The vocabulary is there to tag with microdata people, places, specific types of businesses, products, prices, reviews, phone numbers, and much more besides. The major search giants have partnered together to create a website called schema.org, which contains a complete listing of all supported microdata tags and instructions on how to implement them.

Perhaps the most interesting and most misunderstood new feature that HTML5 brings to web development and SEO is microdata. What is microdata? Microdata is a new set of vocabulary in HTML5 that allows web development companies to semantically tag information in such a way that it can be understood not only by humans, but also by search engines like Google and Bing. This in turns allows search engines to display information more intelligently.The SEO benefit to this is that Google has started rewarding website design companies who use microdata by displaying their websites’ information in search results more prominently than others.

These microdata-enhanced listings are displayed above the standard blue-link search results, giving them coveted first-place status on Google. On top of that, eye-tracking studies show that users tend to spend most of their time looking at and clicking on enhanced search results anyway, which means that if Google displays your microdata-enhanced listing, it will be given a twofold advantage over other websites’ search listings.

Don’t feel like taking the time to learn HTML5’s new microdata tagging language? Then take a look at Cosmos Star Consultants’ website design and SEO service packages, as we’ll be more than happy to do it for you.

Read More →

Do I Need SEO for My Local Business?

There are a million websites on the Internet and the number continues to increase with every passing minute. The importance of well-integrated website design has grown radically. We see a huge number of websites competing with each other, thus, making optimization an immensely valuable tool. Search engine optimization refers to an increase in the amount of traffic to a particular website. This is done with the help of search engines so that the website appears in the top 10 results. The technique is to use natural, organic, or algorithmic search results. Read on to know why has SEO become a must for local businesses, and how it can be achieved.

Use your location in the keywords: When you make use of the location it becomes a lot easier for people to find your place and the work that you offer. For example, if you are in Dubai and you sell mobile covers, your highlighted keyword would be “Dubai mobile covers” as it will include your work profile as well as your location.

Use meta-tags: Meta-tags are a great tool to attract traffic on your website. They help to improve your standings in search engines that use them. You should make use of them when you want to gather more page views. Therefore, they provide vital information to customers about what exactly is the website all about.

Quality content is a must: If you are absolutely serious about optimizing your website, you should ensure that the website has quality content. For high traffic ranking, the content should be useful and should talk about the very intention and function of the website. Creating high quality and important content is a primal rule to add to the hits on the website.

Draw on social media: Social media can help drive much more traffic to a website than search engines. Thus, make use of Facebook, Twitter, and several other social networking sites to boost your sales and promote your business for free. What’s more, you can reach the exact audience you’re looking out for without putting in too much effort. In fact, the local groups on various social sites are a great boon as the members are primarily from the same local region you are targeting.

Include original content together with keyword optimization and it is sure to attract quality traffic to your website. All the best!

Read More →

Why Digital Marketing Is a Better Platform for Your Brand

Digital marketing uses online distribution channels to advertise products and services to a target audience. Nowadays many companies and entrepreneurs are beginning to rely on digital platforms as a safer bet. The rise in marketing spends for the digital medium is increasing exponentially and is becoming the preferred choice for brands to launch their campaigns.

There are numerous advantages to launching advertisement campaigns on digital platforms, which are as follows:-

• Feedback: Digital marketing helps companies get better feedback on their campaigns. It facilitates two-way communication between companies and consumers. This allows companies to have an interaction with their consumers rather than a one way broadcast.

 

• Advertising to a target audience: Digital marketing is undoubtedly the best platform to advertise to the youth. Research has shown that the youth of today spends more time on the Internet than any other mass media. This form of marketing helps connect advertisers to the youth as well as other digital savvy parties, thus creating a two way medium that has a higher level of involvement. If consumers like the campaign, they share it. This works on the principle of “word of mouth”, a concept that does not apply much to TV and print media.

 

• Cost effective: Thanks to the option of digital marketing, companies can make changes to their campaigns before investing heavily in other advertising channels. It has also helped companies gain immediate insight into consumer sentiments and effectively target the right audience. This in return has reduced media waste and has aided in decreasing costs.

 

• Originality: Most consumers are still not accustomed to seeing advertisements on digital media platforms; therefore, the mere originality of this form of media appeals to people. This also helps generate awareness about the product or campaign.

 

The growing use of smartphones, broadband and social media has spurred brands to reinvent their marketing strategies in order to increase their campaigns’ reach and effectiveness. Not only does digital marketing increase the reach and cost-effectiveness of advertisement campaigns, but it also helps to make them more personal and relevant to consumers.

 

 

Read More →

Digital Marketing Tips for Insurance Agents

The digital age has taken the insurance industry by storm. Over 85% of all insurance buyers use online research to purchase insurance. Digital marketing has changed the way we keep in touch with and are identified by potential customers. It is by far the most efficient client-acquisition tool. If you can’t be found on the web, you stand to miss out on enormous potential growth.

It is important that insurance agents understand how digital tools can be utilized to attract new customers. It can also be used to strengthen relationships with existing customers through social media marketing, search engine optimization and Internet marketing. Despite the fact that digital marketing tools are an ideal fit for insurance agents, they are scarcely being used due to lack of time or expertise. A few simple steps can be undertaken to start an effective digital marketing strategy. They are as follows:

• Invite questions: Since insurance is something everyone has questions about, a great way to gain the trust of potential customers and to increase their awareness about your product is to start by inviting questions. This can be done through blogs, social media, or on your website.

•  Answer them for free: People are always looking out for the occasional freebie, and answering their questions for free helps to build trust and is also a great endorsement of your abilities.

• Offer advice: Since the main aim of digital marketing is to attract potential clientele, offering valuable advice increases the likelihood that people will come back to you in a professional capacity. People are constantly researching insurance policies online and a great way to capture the bulk of that research traffic is to have informative blogs, whitepapers and other such resources on your website.

•  Social media optimization: A great way to be proactive is to start by sharing your content widely across social channels and creating new blog content every week. You can either do this by employing a digital marketing company who can do this for you or devising a strategy and starting once you are ready.

 

The insurance industry is evolving constantly and it is time to adjust your marketing strategy before you are left behind.

 

 

 

Read More →

How a Proper Marketing Plan Can Help One Achieve Maximum Efficiency?

Marketing gurus around the world will tell you that without marketing and advertising one cannot get anywhere. These campaigns play a vital role in establishing the identity of a product and in making it a brand anyone can recall at the drop of a hat. As a matter of fact, no matter its size, every organisation is aware of the level of competition it faces in the marketplace. So, what are the best tips one needs to follow to achieve maximum target market infiltration via marketing campaigns? Let’s look at the ones listed below:

Bull’s Eye:  The first and most important thing you need to do is create a niche for yourself. Target the right kind of audience that suits your product and you can never go wrong. The basic idea is to persuade your target audience to choose your products over your competitors’. Make sure that you understand who your audience is and what they want from you, before you try to sell anything to them. This in turn will increase your sales and profits and help you flourish in the market.

Right Channel: Don’t over think when it comes to deciding the means of reaching your target audience. Figure out which channel would be the most effective means of gaining their attention. For example, there is a vast difference between the types of audience for a direct mailer campaign and for a social media campaign. Similarly, a combination of both would appeal to a completely different set of people. You can use research data to figure out the channels that your target segment is most likely to pay attention to.

Establish yourself:  Unless people know that what you offer can be of benefit to them, they won’t opt for your products. Hence, establish your credibility via various methods. For instance, you could write articles for the foremost industry-related publications. You could also give out catalogues and brochures which answer FAQ’s or maintain a blog that features similar literature.

Be honest:  They say what goes around comes around. So if you want people to trust your organisation and its products and services, make sure that you are trustworthy and honest in all your endeavors. Once you have lost your reputation by being dishonest or cheating someone out of their hard-earned money it is very hard to build a name for yourself again.

Ingenuity and research go hand in hand when it comes to converting a potential customer into a consumer. Be very thorough while designing a marketing plan. Unless you pay the utmost attention to details like imagery and language, there is a good chance that they will completely ignore your product, since it didn’t make much of an impression on them. Plan properly and success is sure to be yours! All the best!

Read More →

5 Points to Consider Before Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency

If there ever were a question that we would choose to headline our FAQ section, the one above would be it.

Over the years, this single query has struck a common chord across the length and breadth of our client list. Having said that, however, our personal experience with some of the top brands throughout the market capitalization spectrum has led to a startling insight about businesses:

Hardly a handful of brands out there have a fair idea about how to choose a digital media agency!

In such a scenario, the decision to hire a marketing agency that operates exclusively in the digital domain has to be the result of a well thought-out process. Here are five pointers that will be helpful in making that decision:

1. Commitment:  Digital marketing is not a flash in the pan phenomenon. It is an experience that’s best had when immersed. Unlike the piecemeal campaign approach of yesteryear's, digital marketing is about doing things in a more cohesive manner. So a firm better be prepared to introspect and ascertain whether they’ll be willing to put in their everything when they decide to go digital.

2. Road-Map: Clueless minds are obstacles on the pathway to progress. Before speaking to a digital marketing agency, formulate a road-map of the goals that are expected from such a move. Even a rough-cut would do, as it offers the agency a chance to formulate a more complete solution. This is better than taking shots in the dark.

3. Money Talks: For digital greenhorns, it may often be a hazy prospect to assign numbers to the venture. Having a range in mind in such a scenario would often set the ball rolling on the feasibility and scope of the promotional initiatives that are expected to emerge later on. The better digital agencies out there will always be around to assist and guide in these matters, so the budget need not always be set in stone at the beginning.

4. Employee Involvement: For any promotional endeavor to truly flourish, it is imperative that the organisation’s employees be involved. This means that each and every employee in the company must be convinced of their brand representation skills. Enthusiasm and a keen backing from the management go a long way in making this happen.

5. Stakeholder Approach: The very nature of digital marketing lends itself best to setups that are agile in their approach. Thus, forging a sound, strategic partnership is preferred over simply signing them on as service vendors. Support has to come from both the agency side as well as from the client for the partnership to truly succeed.

At the end of the day, digital marketing is a continuous process. There are multiple examples of brands using this gift to wonderful effect. If you’ve got something to add to what’s been said above, feel free to head over to our comments section and help spread the knowledge.

 

Read More →