Planting more trees

Evergreen content is content that stands the test of time, that is found through search and provides constant traffic, that is shared socially over time, and acquires natural links. Evergreen content is the lifeblood of inbound marketing and the key to being viewed as the expert in your niche. By creating quality, useful content that is targeted toward search queries people use, you will be able to build your audience and expose your brand to potential customers in different stages of the conversion process, giving you multiple opportunities to capture them as a lead. Some types of content just can’t be evergreen, such as pop culture, trends, seasonal article, statistics/studies that will go out of date, or news. It’s not that these types of content aren’t valuable, it’s just that they have a quick rise and fall, with a limited lifespan. Keyword Research The first step to creating an evergreen content strategy is to find out what your audience is searching for … [Read more...] about Planting The Seeds For An Evergreen Content Strategy

As Barry Schwartz pointed out earlier this month, Google’s warning sites about spammy link practices. And it’s no April Fool’s joke. While most of the attention’s been focused on affiliates, link networks and the like, enterprise sites need to take a careful look at their own link profiles. But that’s not easy. Instead of hundreds of links, you may be looking at thousands, or tens of thousands. Or more. In my experience, a moderately-popular enterprise client can have 30,000-40,000 links from 2,000-3,000 domains. You need a process, and a few tools, if you’re going to complete this task and maintain your sanity. You have to automate what you can and reduce the steps necessary for any required hand-filtering. Do We Have To…? The first question I usually hear from this type of client is: “Why do we even have to check our link profile? We’re a big company. We’ve accumulated lots of links over the years. We’re fine, … [Read more...] about How To Prune The Enterprise Link Tree

Did you know that planting trees on Arbor Day can drive traffic to your site and grow your Facebook Page likes? And employee volunteer hours at a local fundraiser can elevate your search rankings and generate 5-star reviews of your business. Ask any savvy marketing pro or SEO influencer and they’ll tell you: community involvement can do wonders for your company’s online presence. Community Involvement Builds Corporate Image & Brand Reputation Whether it’s by participating in a hunger relief campaign or investing in health and wellness initiatives, a business organization’s involvement in the community can go a long way in sprucing up corporate image and brand reputation. It’s also a powerful way to create business value and drive bottom line performance — in a way that is organic and inspiring. According to Cone Communications, 82 percent of US consumers consider corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community involvement when deciding where … [Read more...] about 5 Ways to Get More Involved in Your Community & Grow Your Online Presence

More than half of consumers worldwide are willing to pay more for products and services from brands that are committed to making a positive social or environmental impact, according to a global survey conducted by Nielsen, which is why giving back is no longer just a non-profit business model. Similarly, BDC-Ipsos released a survey that found that 60% of Canadian shoppers were willing to pay an additional 5% for products and services that were considered ethical. The same survey also reported that consumers would stop purchasing from a company with irresponsible business practices; and I don’t think the results are simply because us Canadians are so nice, eh. These surveys were discussing exactly the types of for-profit/for-change hybrid businesses that this article is focusing on. The new super-breed of business, a hybrid between profit and purpose. Welcome to socially-responsible for-profit businesses that have had “change the world” written in their business plan … [Read more...] about Profit Meets Purpose: 5 Companies That Give Back

Most business owners do not spend enough time considering their business category names. Categories are used by internet yellow pages directories and local search engines to classify types of businesses. When consumers are not looking up a particular company by name, they first seek out businesses by type. If your company isn’t associated with the category they’re seeking, you won’t be found. The value proposition of categorizing your business properly ought to be obvious, but for many it is not. Printed yellow pages directories first popularized the notion of categorizing businesses. Reuben H. Donnelly was probably the first to thoroughly categorize business listings by their services and product types in 1886. The ease of selecting from a list of similar types of businesses resonated with consumers, and the long history of YP directory usage from then to now really solidified into a consumer behavioral norm. As print yellow pages evolved into their internet yellow … [Read more...] about Double Your Traffic Using Optimal Category Names