How A Responsive Web Design Firm Improves Your Search Ranking

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A web design firm, especially a responsive web design firm, can help your business in a lot of ways, from helping choose fonts and colors, to organizing your menus and content.

But certain things a responsive web design firm does have a huge impact on your search rankings. So when you are choosing a new designer, make sure they can help you out in the following ways.

How Does A Responsive Web Design Firm Increase My Ranking?Rankings

Speed

Studies show that if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load, 57% of your visitors will move on. Those users either close the window, frustrated, or hit the back button, looking for a different, faster answer or result.

As a business owner, you want to serve your customers well. If the doors to your business had a 3 second wait before opening, you’d probably have a lot fewer walk-ins. The only people who would come in are those who are already determined to buy something; it would be hard to get new business.

Check with your web design firm and make sure the speed of your website is up to par.

Future Proofing

A responsive website design effectively “future proofs” your site. Whether someone comes to your website on a desktop, iPhone, laptop, tablet or any other device, your website should automatically adjust to properly fit the screen your visitor is using.

This responsiveness is not “set in stone;” in fact, it’s the opposite. No matter what type of device your website is seen on, even a device which has not been manufactured yet, your website should adjust in size appropriately.

Most Google searches and browsing time is now done on mobile devices, so having a responsive website for the many sizes of screens out there is important so you don’t exclude any potential customers.

Clicks Beget Clicks

Having a responsive website design which is also fast will help improve your rankings, which means more people will be able to visit your site. Those visitors will have a better experience, staying on your website longer and possibly sharing or linking to your content or merchandise. This will also improve your ranking!

Having a responsive website with a good rank is very important, because 95% of people do not go past the first page of search results, and 60% of clicks happen within the top three search results.

“Cohlaboration” With Cohlab

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their responsive web design efforts. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.

3 Creative Ways To Get More Positive Online Reviews

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The goal of any business should be to get more positive online reviews.

Online reviews drive consumers to visit your website or brick-and-mortar location, creating more opportunities to create loyal customers. In a recent survey by BrightLocal, 57% of consumers visit a local business’ website after reading online reviews and another 15% call the business directly.

Here at Cohlab, we have our own online reputation management tool which helps businesses like yours get more positive online reviews and display them. For only $75, you can have the peace of mind that you are gaining and monitoring those testimonials while also driving additional customers to your website.

Let’s look at 3 creative ways our tool helps you get more positive online reviews.

1. Ask For Reviews

Why should you ask customers for reviews? Research by Emarketer shows that if asked directly, 20% more users will post a testimonial as compared to not asking at all!

Asking is a powerful tool, and our online reputation management allows you to automate asking so you don’t have to think about it. Once a customer’s information is in the tool, it will send them an email asking them to review your business, and will remind them periodically if they have not done it yet.

2. Make Reviewing Easy

Our tool guides your customers through the process, making it easy. Through a link in their email they are taken to a page where they can choose where to leave a testimonial. They can choose from any set of websites you would like including Facebook, Google, Yelp, Fandango, YellowPages, etc.

3. Solve Negative Reviews Before They Are Posted

Research has shown 70% of customers who post negative reviews do so only in the hope the business will respond, so it is a huge advantage that Cohlab’s online reputation management tool allows you to see negative testimonials before they are posted online.

This allows you to contact the customer privately, solve their problem, and possibly leverage them into a positive review instead!

Are You Ready To Get More Positive Reviews?

Click the button below to start gaining positive reviews and monitoring your brand across more than 50 review sites.

Click to Buy Now

 

How Does Your Business Compare?

Use our free Review Scan to generate an instant reputation report and see how your business currently appears on local review sites.

“Cohlaboration” With Cohlab

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their online review management efforts. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.

3 Bold Lies: You Get What You Pay For With SEO Prices

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When you are unfamiliar with search engine optimization (SEO), the pricing structure can seem arbitrary. Even though it can be difficult to understand without experience, be wary of firms who seem to promise something which doesn’t quite seem right or possible at all, or at least given their SEO prices, because you get what you pay for. Let’s go over 3 bold lies told about SEO ‘black hat’ firms tell to watch out for.

1. “We Can Make Your Website Rank #1 On Google.”Organic Local Search on Google

What a load of hooey! No honest SEO firm can guarantee your website will rank #1 on any search engine, no matter the price. Google’s webmaster guidelines state very clearly to be wary of firms and consulting agencies which guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

While everyone would love to rank first, it is simply never guaranteed and never should be. In fact, reputable companies will admit outright they can’t guarantee results.

2. “We Can Fix Your SEO In 1 Month.”

The Internet is a living, breathing beast. Change is constant, with websites moving up and down in search engine rankings as users find value in their information or layout.

SEO requires constant monitoring and adjustments to strategy based on Google’s ever-changing algorithms as well as the changing needs of your customers. A firm’s first obligation is to make your online presence useful to customers and second to improve your alignment with Google’s algorithm. Search engine optimization does not happen in a vacuum; your competitors are also constantly working and improving which can place them above you in search results if you don’t keep up.

One month is a completely unrealistic timeframe to work on an SEO campaign for two reasons: 1. If you stop working on it after 1 month, you will fall behind; and, 2. One month is simply not enough time to have any sort of impact. Most work done needs 3-6 months before results can be seen. No amount of money can create long-lasting, effective search engine rankings in 1 month.

You need a firm who can work with your company for the foreseeable future and make recommendations and improvements as you go.

3. “We Use Foreign Contractors To Save You Money.”Money

While this one might not technically be a lie, it is still a terrible tactic for a good search engine optimization firm to pursue.

Yes, using foreign workers may save money in the short-run, but the quality is going to be much lower. Google’s rules change quickly and are intricate. Experience in the field as well as a strong grasp of the language surrounding SEO are paramount to executing a strategy.

You get what you pay for, and often outdated tactics will get your website penalized in the rankings by Google.

You Get What You Pay For With SEO Prices

When hiring a firm, do your homework. The second you hear one of these lies, or feel their SEO prices don’t match their promises, it’s time to start looking at other options.

Always be sure to check out a firm’s website and reviews to make sure they can do the things you are looking for.

Cohlab Digital Marketing has great reviews and tons of information about search engine optimization. If you’d like to learn about our pricing, let us know.

Google AdWord Changes Places Huge Emphasis On SEO

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Until just recently, Google AdWords ads were displayed at the top and bottom, as well as the right-hand column on search engine results pages (SERP’s). The recent changes have eliminated the right-hand column ads from the SERP’s altogether, and now promote ads only at the top and bottom. Also, the number of AdWord ads displayed at the top numbered between one to three, with only 1% of SERPS showing four. However, Google has significantly increased the use four-ad blocks with the new changes. This is highly significant for AdWord advertisers because the changes actually reduce the number of ads shown in SERP’s. Before the changes, the right-hand column typically displayed eight ads on average. Because of this reduction in AdWord real estate, AdWord optimization has become critical, and it places a massive emphasis on the importance of SEO.

Why Google AdWord Changes Occurred

Google regularly makes changes to the SERP’s and the algorithm determining page rank. In fact, we just recently discussed the latest update to the algorithm known as Panda. In some cases, Google is very straightforward in sharing the purpose of their changes. Often, however, it is left up to speculation. We can be sure that Google is placing more emphasis on the importance of mobile optimization. The issue with the AdWord placement was that mobile does not support the right-hand column. By eliminating this area, Google advertising becomes standardized and uniform regardless of the device being used.

AdWord Optimization and SEO More Critical

The whole point of using Google AdWords is to drive traffic to your website and to convert visitors into customers. With a reduction in Adwords in the SERP’s, it makes the keywords used in your AdWord strategy even more important. If you have irrelevant keywords, people searching for the products or services you provide may not even see your ad. AdWords must be carefully optimized to ensure you are getting the most from your investment. In addition, SEO on your website also becomes more necessary. If your site and content are not SEO optimized, and you are not making the conversions needed to improve ROI, the use of AdWords is simply not justified. Of course, AdWord optimization and SEO were always important. These recent Google AdWord changes only made it more so.

At Cohlab, we are a Certified Google Badge Partner and fully understand AdWord strategy and the importance of SEO. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand and meet their needs. However, achieving this practically can be a challenging effort. That is why we work closely with you, and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.

Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet

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Running an efficient digital marketing campaign requires a diverse range of tactics. One successful method used is display ads. Display ads can vary in the type of ad you use including everything from text and images to flash animation and videos. Also known as banner ads, they are used to project your message and entice internet users to click on them to bring them back to your website. Display advertising is a form of paid digital advertising in which your ad will be posted on other sites strategically chosen to reach your target market. They are an essential tool that should be part of your digital marketing strategy.

Example-Display-Ad

This is an example of a display ad. When running display ads there are normally 8 or more variations depending on the size of screen.

Display Ads: The Billboards of the Internet

Any time you drive down the road; it is likely that you are bombarded with billboards for any number of industries all to capture your attention, cement their brand in your head, and encourage you to purchase their product or service. The problem with roadside billboards is that they are not specially targeted to your specific market, and are placed in hopes that enough people who need your service will see it and act on it to generate ROI. Billboards can start at over $1000 per month, and are stagnant, only appearing in one location. Display ads differ in that you could run a successful display ad campaign for a conservative budget of only $200 per month. Furthermore, your display ads could appear on a variety of strategic websites whether you place them on weather.com or hgtv.com.

Why Are Display Ads So Important?

Display ads are not new. In fact, banner ads were one of the first forms of digital advertising on the internet. In the early days, banner ads were highly successful. However, their usefulness and use declined. However, display ads have come a long way from the standard sized banner ads. Better targeting on the right websites, internet speeds allowing the rapid use of audio and video, and various sized ads for maximum effect have once again brought display ads to the forefront. Furthermore, the cost of display ads has also decreased making them a very sound investment.

At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of display ads. It is critical that prospects be targeted with the best message, in the best manner, at the best time. Creating a strategy can be a challenging effort. That is why we “cohlaborate” with you to ensure you get the most out of your efforts.

Learn more about our PPC Management Service and the special limited time offer that will build your brand and your ROI at an incredible rate. Our team would love to speak with you and answer any questions you may have. Our mission is to provide you with Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your organization’s needs.

Google’s Panda Update: It is All About Quality

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Google is once again changing the game with its Google Panda update. We’ve often discussed the importance of SEO optimization being in-line with Google’s algorithm. In addition, we’ve shared the importance of having high-quality content on your website. Panda is another Google SEO algorithm update that makes this even more crucial. Google designs its algorithm to ensure that the best quality and most relevant sites for a given search term is offered in search engine results. Obviously, websites that are higher to the top of the list will have more traffic and more conversions than websites on page two or three of the results. Content is a significant driver that determines your site rank.

What Is The Panda Update and Why Should You Care?stocksnap_ivy2vg1mad

Panda is an update to the Google algorithm that is now integrated into its core SEO engine. Named for Google engineer Navneet Panda, who developed the technology to implement the algorithm, Panda is specially designed to lower the rank of websites with “low-quality” or “thin” content. Due to Panda, it is now more important than ever that your site contains content that is of the highest quality. Panda was first introduced in 2011 and is updated periodically. This latest Panda update allows websites that were previously penalized by Panda for poor content to rise to the top of the rankings once more if the website made the appropriate changes. However, the update also places more importance on quality. This means that if your site has been enjoying positive results from your organic SEO strategies if your success did not include the use of a higher-level quality in content, your traffic could see a significant drop.

How to Handle the Panda Update

If your website already uses exceptional content, you should have nothing to fear. In fact, it is likely that as poor quality sites begin dropping in rank, your site’s rank will rise. The best way to determine how Panda is affecting you is to use Google Analytics and keep an eye on your stats. However, if you know or are unsure if your site has the level of quality Google now requires, there are ways to overcome a possible drop in rank. Matt Cutts, the head of spam at Google describes the type of content the new update is looking for.

“This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.”

Given that description, you may have some work to do to freshen up the content on your website.

At Cohlab, we fully understand the importance of digital marketing through the use of quality content. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand their needs through solid data. Creating and delivering content of this caliber can be a challenging effort. That is why we partner with you and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.

Did you know that online reviews are becoming increasingly important? 

YouTube – The Second Largest Search Engine

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YouTube—a search engine?  Most people would immediately discount that because everyone knows that YouTube is site for sharing videos, right?  Actually, more than 3 billion searches are done every month on YouTube, which is more than AOL, Ask, Bing, and Yahoo! combined!

People go to YouTube all the time to find a specific video or channel, and how do they find that?  They search for it, of course.  Even those who only go to the site with the intention of watching new videos from their subscriptions may end up doing a search or two.  There are 100 hours of new video content being uploaded to YouTube every minute of every day.  With that much new content being added, it’s impossible to simply browse the site and try to find what you want.  You have to search for it.

Another factor that contributes to YouTube’s huge number of monthly searches is the fact that almost 50 percent of all internet users use YouTube, and the site gets a billion unique visitors every month.  These billion visitors watch 6 billion hours of videos on YouTube each month.  If all these users lived in one country, that country would be the third-largest in the world!

YouTube continues to grow, too.  One year the number of overall monthly views increased by 50 percent, a huge jump for a website.  The infographic below includes more interesting facts and figures about YouTube.

Does your Digital Marketing Strategy include a YouTube Strategy?  If not, contact Cohlab Digital Marketing to learn how to implement YouTube into your content Strategy.

Created by Mushroom Networks

How to Recycle Content for Your Blog or Website

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In our last content based article, we discussed how to choose blog topics that will generate the SEO results you hope for. We mentioned that there was certainly value in recycling or repurposing content from your blog or website when done properly. In this article, we will take a closer look at this practice including the proper time and place for it, as well as how to do it effectively. When we have content on our site that has been hugely popular or that has contributed to a high number of conversions, it only makes sense to use it as a benchmark for future content. Instead of allowing that content to sit stagnant on your site, recycling it can both bring back the same visitors who made it successful with a fresh spin, and also generate an entirely new crop.

Benefits of Recycled Content

When creating a new piece of content, in order to be effective, it takes a lot of time and effort. Because your time is valuable, it can be limiting if you are re-inventing the wheel every time you post. The research, planning, and writing of content can be significantly reduced through content recycling. The practice is also valuable to generate a jump in your SEO efforts. Having multiple content pieces that use the same keywords or focus on the same subject can drive more traffic, rank higher in the search engine results, and generate more backlinks. Also, if you use the same content, but optimize it for different mediums, you can reach entirely new audiences. From a standpoint of your branding, it also will help to reinforce your position as an expert on the subject and reinforce your desired message.

What Is Recycle-Worthy?

It may seem daunting to select the best of the best material for content recycling. It is true, not all content is recycle-worthy. However, finding opportunities to do it is not as difficult as it may seem. Your blog archive is the perfect place to begin your search. Simply start by reviewing your past content, or search for content related to the topic you wish to revisit. There are four primary aspects that you should be considering as you do this. First, the content should be high-quality. If the original content was choppy and full of holes, it is likely not a great candidate unless you plan to start from scratch. Also, the subject matter should remain relevant. This type of content is commonly known as “evergreen”. The message should be just as valuable today as the day it was first presented. Analytics can be of help as well. Look at the posts that were most popular. There is a recycle-worthy reason for that. Finally, think about whether or not there is room to expand on what was said. If you feel the information can be improved upon, added to, or has changed, it is probably an excellent candidate.

How Can I Recycle It?

There are many great ways to recycle your past content. Some are basic while others require some creativity. Use the selected content to create new posts. Simply expand on selected portions of the original content by adding detail, providing examples, or relating it to new developments in your field. The recycled material also does not necessarily need to be in the same format as the original. You could use the content as a basis to create an online slideshow, and infographic, or a video. If the content is truly exceptional and highly valuable, you may not need to do anything more than to repost it on your social media pages or highlight it on your front page. Another favorite tactic is to transform the article into an email series to send to your list or to create an eBook. These are just a few of the many valuable ways to recycle content. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and come up with some of your own.

Content can be expensive from a standpoint of both time and money. Moreover, while there is no way of getting around the fact that new content needs to be continually generated, there is still great value in squeezing every last drop of usefulness out of content you’ve already used. Recycled content can even be strategically placed in your overall marketing plan to boost traffic when you need it most. Just as a professional SEO company can help provide you with quality new original content, they can help you maximize the effectiveness of content you already have.

Use our complimentary Digital Marketing Scorecard to gain valuable insight on how your website rank compares to others. We are also glad to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.