Tag: seo

Why Having a Well-Optimized, SEO Powerful Website is Valuable if You Ever Sell Your Business

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Maybe it’s not in the near future, but as a business owner, positioning your business to sell it for the most value is always in the back of your mind. It’s similar to owning a house. You might love your home and want to cozy up in it as long as possible…but resale is always lurking when you make major homeowner decisions.

If you’ve been in the business game long enough, you know the deal: having a strong online presence is absolutely essential. Part of that is a visually appealing website all those brilliant social media posts link back to.

More important than that, though, is that attention-grabbing, super accessible website needs to be optimized for search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) improves the visibility and ranking of your website in a search engine results page. Having an SEO strategy increases the likelihood that your company will appear towards the top of the results, leading to more traffic.

Bonus points: resale value of the business itself goes up and the eventual selling process is that much easier.

Check out these four reasons why having a well-optimized, SEO powerful website is a must-have when you are preparing to sell your business.

1. Attracts Potential Buyers

When you do decide to sell your business, the goal is to attract buyers who are legitimately interested in acquiring your business.

With a strong SEO strategy, your website will be more visible to those buyers searching online for businesses like yours. The result: you reach a much larger pool of potential buyers, increasing your chances of landing on the perfect fit candidate.

2. Builds Your Business’ Credibility

A website with solid SEO immediately builds trust with those potential buyers. When your website ranks higher in search engine results pages, it gives the impression that your business is both reputable and trustworthy. Sending this type of message can go a long way in attracting more serious buyers willing to invest in your business.

You might have tried PPC (pay-per-click) marketing in the past, with your site appearing towards the top of the rankings as an ad. However, an organic SEO strategy will work to improve the ranking so the site is seen without the word “ad” written next to it. The result: a more reliable reputation.

3. Showcases Your Business’ Unique Strengths

When you optimize your website for specific keywords, you can highlight the strengths and key features of your business that make it stand out from the competition.

Showcasing the business’ unique selling points can help potential buyers gain a better understanding of exactly what your business has to offer, which can motivate them to make the next move.

4. Increases the Value of the Business Overall

By already having implemented an SEO strategy, your business has established:

Strong brand awareness that proves your authority in your industry
A better understanding of customer preferences and online behaviors
Improved overall digital customer experience
The ability to monitor rankings through platforms like Google Analytics

All of this serves as proof to your potential buyer that your business and your brand are strong. Those buyers are more likely to pay a premium, and you will be able to maximize your return on investment.

If you are considering selling your business, or even if you can see the opportunity years from now, it is important to invest in a website with good SEO to ensure you are able to reach the right buyers and get the best possible price for your business.

GoBeyond SEO is a full-service marketing agency specializing in SEO strategy. We are here to answer any questions and guide you in the right direction to build a distinct digital presence. Contact us to book a free strategy session.

Tags search engine optimization, seo, seo for small businesses, seo strategy, seo tips

Blog SEO Services

Google Analytics and the New GA4

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With so many factors at play with how well our business may be doing on the web, many questions might arise: How do we track how well we’re advertising online? How do we know where to allocate funds or time and energy? Are these investments getting the return that we’re looking for?

In the world of marketing, we know that tracking and analytics is the unsung hero of digital marketing strategy. Google Analytics is one of those ultra-useful tools that can direct your business to a better understanding of your consumer behavior, which can lead to marketing structure changes and ultimately more conversions and more cash in your pocket.

Whether it is why certain videos pop up in our For You Page on Tiktok, what ads we see on Instagram, or the ranking of search results when we’re googling, algorithms determine much of what dictates what we’re seeing online.

It’s essential to optimize the free and available tools to put yourself in the algorithm’s favor.

This is where analytics comes in. With insider knowledge of Google’s analytics system and the new GA4 programming attached with it, GoBeyond’s mission to deliver exceptional digital marketing has us ready to help you understand and optimize using Google Analytics to move your business to the next level.

Digital Analytics: The Basics

The goal of marketing is to get potential users interested, engaged, and then converted to customers. Before the world of the internet, these trends were difficult to identify and articulate. With digital analytics, however, we can track user data and make smarter decisions about the way we show up and engage with consumers online.

Now, with the technology available to us, we can in real-time assess user behavior. By making this information trackable, it becomes predictable. When it becomes predictable, we can control it in our favor. This means a higher return on investment, consumer loyalty, and effective branding without guessing games and throwing paint at a wall to see what sticks. This means more consumers converted to customers and more time.

With Google Analytics, it’s also free.

Google Analytics: What You Need to Know

Google Analytics is a platform that collects data from your apps and sites. From there, it creates detailed reports that give you insights into your business. Specifically, Google Analytics can isolate and track each individual that comes across your organization and tell you information about their experience.

This data can be used to show where marketing is successful, which products or services are garnering people’s attention, how much traffic your site is getting, or the frequency of clicks on a video on your website, among many other things.

There are two major ways Google Analytics functions. The first is Measurement.

With a Google Analytics account and a small piece of code added to your sites, Google Analytics uses a tracking code to determine pseudonymous information about how that user interacted with your page or pages. The measurement code is the data collection feature of Google Analytics. Anything from language to geography to how they got to your site in the first place are all trackable pieces of information to gain insight on who is interested in your business and how they’re engaging with you.

The second part of the Google Analytics system is processing and reporting. Once the measurement code collects the data, it packages that information and organizes it, resulting in reports. These reports can be customized to your goals or interests. Once that data is processed, it is stored in a database that can be viewed in your reports. However, that data will not change. An important facet of Google Analytics is its ability to translate user data as it is, not as you wish it would be. This can be an awakening and empowering step for a business owner.

Data doesn’t lie. A key advantage of using Google Analytics is its objectivity.

For example, if you introduce a new marketing campaign and find that suddenly there is a massive uptick in visits to your site because of that campaign, that is data that is useful to you in creating campaigns in the future. Alternatively, if there is evidence suggesting people viewing your site on a mobile device never make it to the purchase confirmation page, it could be a signal that there is a bug or design flaw in your mobile view.

The data has real world application. The data can change your business.

The New GA4: What’s the Update

GA4 is the newest update that has been rolled out from Google Analytics. If your company has already been implementing Universal Analytics from Google, there is a way to convert over to the most updated version, Google Analytics 4. If you’re looking to stay on the cutting edge of your reporting and to get the most out of your Google Analytics measurements, it’s important to make the switch sooner rather than later.

Here are some key feature updates:

An updated search bar to find the information you’re looking for faster
Added search terms to more easily access the data streams you’re looking for
A feature that allows you to see and manage up to 7 different Google Analytics 4 properties based on search terms
Analyze information about your products or services separately from analyzing important e-commerce interactions
New e-commerce dimensions and metrics
Name changes to be more intuitive and user-friendly

Technology is changing rapidly, all the time. Being on the forefront of the trends and technology updates can save your business its most valuable resource – time.

How We Can Help

You’ve got a lot going on. While the importance of Google Analytics is clear, the nuance of its utilization cannot be understated. If you’re investing all of this time into Google Analytics, it’s clear you care about your business and the data you’re collecting.

If you cannot properly read the reporting on that data or can’t decipher its impacts and application, it can have a counterintuitive impact on your business strategy. A misread of important data can result in a decision pushing your marketing in an antithetical, less profitable direction.

While the reporting and implementation of Google Analytics is accessible to all, the ability to properly use and manage the application will determine its usefulness to you and your business. The Google Analytics program’s success for you is dependent on your goals, strategy, and ability to determine what configurations best suit your company.

Let an expert walk you through it. We’re ready to help you. Contact us for a free call to talk about Google Analytics and other strategies you can use to level up your business.

Tags ga4, google analytics, marketing strategy, seo

Blog Local SEO Small Business Marketing

Why It’s Important to Have A Google My Business Profile

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“Google it!” We’ve heard it. We’ve said it. A staple in the cultural zeitgeist, we are all very familiar with Google as consumers. From a business standpoint, the importance of a Google My Business Profile cannot be understated. It is integral for every business; large and small, brick-and-mortar or exclusively online.

You may be curious why it’s important to have a Google My Business profile. Google controls about 92% of the search engine market share across the world. That means if people are searching the web, they’re almost certainly googling. Google connects people to businesses they may normally not have found and connects businesses to decision-makers that can elevate their status from good to great. When considering why it’s important to have a Google My Business profile, consider the impact of starting with trust, being seen, and increasing lead generation.

What is a Google My Business profile?

A Google My Business profile provides you with the ability to list your business and appear in local search results. You can display pertinent information on your business: location, hours of operation, and contact details. A link to your website can be listed and attract web traffic. There are even features available to link upcoming events or articles. With a Google My Business profile, you choose how you are seen in Google search and maps and can even accept online orders.

Plus… it’s free!

Start with Trust

When people are searching your business, knowingly or otherwise, they are beginning their relationship with your business. One of the reasons why it’s important to have a Google My Business profile, is to be in control of your first impression.

It can be frustrating to receive mixed messages from a business, especially after a simple introduction. When information is difficult to find, incoherent, or inconsistent, it turns away potential leads from engaging further or turns away potential customers seeking your goods or services.

There is also the possibility that your business does not get fair or accurate information posted online. Without claiming your Google My Business profile, you will not be notified of reviews of your business or any information that is listed that is inaccurate or outdated.

By having a Google My Business profile, you get to speak for yourself. You can visit your profile anytime to edit or see how many people have seen or clicked on your listing. There is even a question and answer feature that can connect you with your community. What better way to start a relationship of trust and competence than with being available and transparent with people from the second they’ve found you in a search.

Start with trust. Build a reputation for being clear, informative, and up-to-date as a business.

Be Seen

With the Google algorithm being directly linked to your company’s SEO, a Google My Business Profile puts you in a position to improve your likelihood of being seen just by optimizing your profile. With a Google My Business profile, your reviews and location improve your likelihood of being seen.

When questioning why it’s important to have a Google My Business profile, an immediate asset is the ability to be seen in Google Maps. More and more search queries are based on geography. This makes sense. With the immediacy of information available in search engines like Google, searching “restaurant near me” or “law office near me” is an efficient and concise way of searching to get relevant results. Whether or not you know it, you’re being shown businesses first that have a Google My Business profile. In fact, it’s got a cyclical benefit. A Google Business Profile improves your local SEO. A local business listing is more likely to appear when people search using Google maps.

Engaging with feedback from your community is another reason why it’s important to have a Google My Business profile. With a profile, you are able to see, respond, and contact people who leave you reviews. Reviews add to your credibility as a business. While branding yourself with legitimacy is integral to successfully running a business, reviews also benefit your SEO. The Google algorithm favors this and it highers your ranking in search results. Simply put, reviews on your Google My Profile listing improve your likelihood of being seen.

Improve your SEO

Google uses vivid phrases and keywords to help users find businesses in search results. Like traditional website SEO, implementing these keywords and relevant phrases in your content improves your visibility. Therefore it is increasingly important to add keywords that match your business and services to help potential clients find your business in all places possible – your business description, your comments, and your posts. The algorithm favors the specific. Take advantage of the profile tools like Question & Answer, Messaging, and GMB posts to consistently put yourself in the best position to be seen.

The importance of your search engine result page rank increases daily. More and more people are becoming less and less likely to keep scrolling and instead choose to click and engage with top results.

That is the difference between making a connection, completing a sale, or doing business.

To conclude

As our world becomes more insular and our online activity becomes increasingly targeted toward our habits, it’s integral for businesses to stay current on all of the opportunities available to them to gain and maintain people’s attention. With Google’s ever present impact on our daily lives, it is essential to think seriously about the benefits your company can garner from starting with trust, being seen, and improving your SEO with a Google My Business profile. All of this is at your fingertips when you make a profile with a few simple clicks, totally for free.

When considering why it’s important to have a Google My Business Profile, remember you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Make an account today.

Tags google my business, search engine optimization, seo

Blog SEO Tips

5 Tips for Creating Irresistible (Yet SEO Friendly) Blog Titles

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Do you know the difference between website developers and website designers?

Bear with us for a sec.

From a distance, they look like one in the same. They are not.

While there are some uber-talented folks who can effectively do both, it’s far less common. Designers focus more on appearance and appeal while a developer’s job is making a website functional.

SEO is like that. You can create content that is tech-speak heavy and make search engines happy, but lose the humans. You can also make the content delightful for humans, but useless to search engines. It’s important to strike the balance between form and function when writing blogs and crafting blog titles.

Here are five simple steps to writing irresistible yet SEO friendly blogs and blog titles to grab the attention of both search engines and your audience.

Step One: Keyword Research

First things first, head to Google to do some quick and dirty research. Type in keywords for the topic you want to write about. Keep in mind this is not a comprehensive build-your-entire-SEO-strategy-level search. This is to help you find topics people are searching for most often so you can craft your blog title around what your audience wants.

Step Two: Pick Strong Keywords

Strong is a relative adjective, so let us clarify. Specific keywords are great if you want someone who is ready to move forward now. For example: “Best SEO Services Near Me”.

However, if your service or product requires some education, strong keywords could be more solution-focused: “How Can My Business Get Found on Google More Quickly?” Be discerning when choosing keywords for your blog titles.

Step Three: Write Multiple Headlines

Writer and entreprenuer Marie Forleo suggested this trick. Write multiple (like, 20) headlines. It seems like overkill and it isn’t. Sometimes you need to work through your thoughts on the page before they’re ready for the world. Avoid industry-speak when possible.

Examples:

Your Guide to Great Blog Writing
Five Steps to SEO-Friendly Blog Writing
SEO-Friendly Blog Titles
Four Tips for Great Blog Titles

Phrases like “Your Guide”, “Five Steps”, “Three Tips”, are key for a couple of reasons. It’s an easy way to slip in a keyword without it feeling forced and it gives the reader an idea of how much mental energy they need to commit: Five tips? I can handle five tips. Let me read this blog real quick.

Step Four: Write the Post

Be natural and educational. Don’t focus on squeezing in those keywords in your first draft if it feels forced. Say what you want to say and then add keywords during editing. It’s important to offer helpful information without selling. People change their thinking when they feel they’re being pitched. Be breezy, not salesy.

Step Five: Change Your Permalink

Most of the SEO nerds we know love WordPress, and with good reason. If your blog is on WP, we’re gonna nerd out for a moment, but stick with us and it will help!

WordPress allows you to change your permalink/slug URL. This is simply the actual URL for your blog post.

www.yourwebsite.com/your-blog-post

You will want to edit this permalink (you’ll find it at the top of your post, right underneath your blog title in WordPress).

Your permalink :

Should contain your keyword
Be short–no more than seven words if possible
Be descriptive and relevant to your post
Can be different from your actual blog title

Click “ok” to save and you’re ready to hit Publish on your blog post.

Are You Ready to Create Excellent Blog Titles?

When writing blog content, keep keywords in mind, but don’t sacrifice your audience. Whatever your headline, make sure it’s interesting and relevant enough to be clickworthy.

Insider secret: The amount of actual humans who read your blog impacts your SEO results. Google tracks search behavior and pays attention to how many clicks your post gets and if people stick around to read it. Big Brother is absolutely watching, so give ‘em a good show.

Need more assistance with jump starting your content strategy? Book a strategy session with GoBeyond SEO today.

Tags blogging, blogging for business, search engine optimization, seo

Blog Business Blogging Search Engine Optimization Tips SEO Tips

Top 3 SEO Tips for Click-Worthy Headlines

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Are you a reader or a skimmer? We’re going to guess you’re a skimmer. After all, in a world overrun with information, who has time to dissect every detail?

But what if you need your clients or potential clients to read? You’ve written a blog or published an article and the information you’ve included would actually help them, but alas, they don’t think it’s worth their time.

There’s one way you can increase the chances that people would actually read your content: your blog titles and article headlines should be both obvious and promise a pay off.

Vague or off-beat titles may be fun to write–and you may even call yourself clever for writing them–but those titles do not get clicked on. Headlines are read six times more than the article itself is. You have a split second to get your reader’s attention and about two seconds to keep that attention. You’ve got to give it your best shot.

With that being said, here are three tips to help you draw readers in with your headlines.

Tip #1: Keep Character Length to 70 or Fewer

Unless you’re trying to be funny and you know your audience will get the joke, don’t name your blog post like the new Kristen Bell show on Netflix. If you’re unfamiliar with it, here it is:

The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window

If you want a click-worthy headline, make it clear and easy to read in under two seconds, preferably 70 characters or less–unlike the above example.

Tip #2: Bait the Hook Early

Tell your readers the most important thing they need to know first. Not only does this help with SEO because the “bait”, or most important thing to your reader, is most likely a keyword, but it makes them want to read more.

Example: Which of these two titles would you click on?

Bad: Digital marketing practices are helpful to most businesses.

Good: 67% of businesses experience business growth using SEO.

While both statements are helpful, the second cuts to the proverbial chase more quickly and is therefore more effective.

Tip #3: Use Numbers, “W” Questions, or Reveal a Secret

Nobody wants to feel ignorant. Pull in your readers by using information that they want or would feel foolish not having.

This includes information that you can use to answer “W” questions, such as who, when, where, what, and why. It also includes numbers, as people tend to focus on what stands out in an article or title–aka numbers in a sea of text.

Examples:

5 Tax Write-Offs You Could Be Missing
What Does Q2 of 2022 Have in Store for Family Law Practices?
Why SEO Is No Longer ‘Nice to Have’ for Small Businesses in 2022

Bonus Tip: Act Like You’re Writing to a Real Person

When writing content for clients or potential clients, write like you’re writing to a person.

Not to people. Not to search engines.

To one singular person.

It may feel weird at first, but the writing connects better with your audience when you act like you’re writing it to one person.

It takes a minute to get the hang of headline writing, but when you’re a small business owner, learning on the fly is what you do–you got this!
Find out more about how you can enhance your content marketing for the better by booking a free discovery call with GoBeyond SEO today.

Tags search engine optimization, seo, seo tips

Local SEO Marketing Small Business Marketing Small Business SEO

Word of Mouth Has Gone Digital

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Word of mouth (WoM) has gone digital. It’s no longer good enough to hear from one or two people that a movie is good or entertaining. We won’t consider a hotel that doesn’t meet our own health and safety standards. We now rely upon a consensus of reviews before we make our decisions, even if it is something as simple as choosing a movie from our couch.

In 2022, this kind of feedback crowd-sourcing is ubiquitous. From restaurants to law firms, or from pet groomers to industrial cleaning companies, reviews are (or should be) a big part of the marketing strategy for businesses, large or small.

Many business owners feel that their best clients come from word of mouth. And they’re probably right.

If only there was a way to have those sweet, positive, and wildly influential words used to describe their business immortalized in some way so that future prospects and potential clients could hear them–oh wait, there is! It’s called Google reviews. And if you’re not prioritizing Google reviews, you’re setting yourself up to fail.

3 Ways Google Reviews Affect Your Business

Online reviews are the closest thing we have to WoM in the digital realm, and they absolutely matter for your business. Here are three ways Google reviews can impact your online visibility and reputation.

Reviews impact SEO. You read that right. Getting more of them, especially positive ones, improves your digital visibility and conversion rate. That means more clients for you. (Psst: Dealing with a fake or negative review? We’ve got you.)
Google trusts the power of WoM marketing. It factors in the quantity and quality of reviews to evaluate where and when your business should show up in search engine results. Just as customers use online reviews to validate their purchase decisions, Google and other search engines take a similar stance when showing results.
Users and search engines have a similar objective. Google wants to weed through the vast web to deliver the right information, service, or product to you in the fastest way possible, and this aligns with our goals as searchers. In fact, reviews pretty much work as crowd-sourced WoM recommendations.

If you’re already prioritizing Google reviews and reviews from other sites, good for you. If you have a system or process in place already, even better.

However, if you haven’t been able to net enough positive Google review to impact your business, it may be time to consider setting up an automated process to make getting reviews simple, painless, and effective.

GoBeyond SEO works with business owners to implement an automated process to make it easy for customers to write and submit reviews and to give businesses a cringe-free way to ask for them. Find out more by booking a free discovery call with us.

Tags google ranking factors, search engine optimization, seo, word of mouth

Search Engine Optimization Tips Small Business Marketing

Are you Missing this Important Opportunity to Get More Clients?

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Word of Mouth (WoM) will always be the best form of advertising, but it’s gone digital. If you’re not prioritizing your Google reviews and actively managing your digital reputation, you are missing an important opportunity to be visible and vetted by more clients or customers. Keep reading to learn more about online reviews and how they affect your rankings in Google.

How Google Reviews Can Bring You Clients

When you enter a local search term into Google, three main factors will affect the ranking of each site displayed:

Relevance
Distance
Prominence

The first two ranking factors are explanatory–Google will attempt to present the most relevant options within your immediate vicinity. Makes sense, right?

Reviews, however, fall into the category of prominence. If you searched for “dog groomer” and found one with hundreds of highly rated reviews, that groomer may outrank a closer local competitor if they have fewer, less positive ratings and reviews.

3 Simple Steps to Get More Reviews and Boost Your Rankings

Let’s say you’re one of the many businesses that doesn’t have a ton of reviews. Here are three steps you can take to bump those review numbers and, consequently, your SEO results.

1. Fix Your Listings

“Near me” searches are growing exponentially year after year. With the rise of voice search, they’ll be even more important. It’s estimated that 22% of voice searches are location-based. That’s a big number and growing by the minute.

If you haven’t done so already, claim your Google My Business (GMB) profile. This is your most visible listing, since it will show up every time someone does a search for your business.

It’s incredible how many businesses don’t take this simple step to boost their rankings and online visibility. Some of these businesses still have their old business address and phone number listed and then wonder why they don’t get more phone calls!

If you want to make sure your Google listing (or Yelp, Bing, or any other listing service) is correct, Google your company and see what pops up. If you think you need help fixing it, give us a shout. We update and optimize Google My Business (and other) listings every day.

2. Send Review Requests

Customers trust reviews. The more reviews you have, the better. That’s why it’s important to ask your customers to leave reviews. This is the kind of social proof that future customers will trust and can ultimately encourage them to convert.

To get the best results, make sure you’re sending review requests via text and email. This makes the process easy for the customer. They don’t have to spend time looking for your business or where to post the review. All they have to do is click the link and write about their experience.

Also, there’s no need to feel weird about asking. Happy customers love to help out. Asking can feel awkward, but more for you than for them. Make it easy for them and you’ll get more reviews. If asking directly is still too much for you, GoBeyond has a cringe-proof process in place to get you those reviews without making you blush.

3. Respond to Customer Reviews

Lots of business owners don’t respond to online reviews. That’s a big mistake. A study by Harvard Business School showed that responding to reviews leads to a higher overall star rating.

But the benefits don’t end there. Genuine responses help build loyalty with your customers. A simple “Thanks a ton, we hope to see you soon!” can leave a positive impression in the mind of your customers and encourage them to come back for more.

Google has confirmed that responding to reviews can help your business rank higher on search engines. What’s not to love about that?

Don’t Stress About Getting Reviews

Word of Mouth will always be a factor when it comes to decision making. We’re social creatures and the opinions of others dictate everything from how we behave at the dinner table to how we make our laws. Word of Mouth has not and will never go away, but how we access those opinions has changed permanently.

Don’t stress about the review process. These days, having the occasional bad review is not a business death sentence. The far worse outcome sounds more like this: “Acme Products and Services? Never heard of ‘em”.

Want to automate your review process to make it easier and less painful to get more reviews of your business? Contact GoBeyond SEO to learn more about our process for getting reviews without the hassle.

Tags google my business, google ranking factors, search engine optimization, seo

SEO Tips

How to Deal With Fake Negative Reviews of Your Business

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Negative reviews are never fun to deal with, but fake reviews can be even worse. However, by handling reviews the right way, you can protect the reputation of your business.

Prioritizing reputation management should be an important part of your process whether or not you receive the occasional fake review.

Most businesses have to deal with a fake review at some point. Even GoBeyond got a fake review on the Better Business Bureau website. The person leaving the review was very disappointed that we had not sent her the supplements and diet shakes she ordered.

For those just tuning in, GoBeyond doesn’t sell supplements. Or shakes. Or products of any kind.

When we found the review and the woman who left it, we had a lovely conversation and sent her our website, showed her our faces, and demonstrated that we were not the culprits. She agreed to amend the review.

But had this bad (although fake) review been on Google, it would have been easier for her to recognize that we were not the offending company.

So what happens if you do get a negative, fake review on Google? Are you stuck with it? Not necessarily. Here’s how to deal with fake negative reviews on Google.

Flag the Fake Review for Google to Remove

Google will not just remove a comment because you say you want it removed. That said, if a comment violates Google’s policy, and you flag that comment, Google will step in and remove the flagged comment. Here’s a short list of violations that can be grounds for removal:

Spam and fake content. Content should reflect genuine experiences and should not be placed in an attempt to manipulate ratings.
Off-topic. Content should be related to the specific location being reviewed.
Restricted content. No calls-to-action for materials restricted by law such as alcohol, tobacco, guns, etc.
Conflict of interest. Business owners, employees, and employees of competing businesses cannot review your company.

If you have a bad review that fits in the criteria above, here are the steps you can take to flag that comment:

Find your business listing on Google Maps. If you have not claimed and optimized it, do it now! Not sure how? Book a time to meet with us to find out how.
Find the review you’d like to dispute.
Do not respond to the comment. Not yet. If the review is mean or rude, of course you want to politely and professionally respond to that. However, if it’s simply untruthful, don’t respond. It’s hard to make a case for Google to remove it if you’ve engaged with the comment.
Click the three vertical buttons on the right side, then flag as inappropriate.

Remember, reviews posted on Google My Business are meant to represent the genuine experiences of customers. If Google believes a review doesn’t represent a real experience, it will be removed.

What Happens If the Review Isn’t Removed?

If the review doesn’t get taken down, there are a couple of other steps you can take.

Contact Google by phone to ask about the status of the flagged review.
If that’s not enough, you can fill out a legal removal request if the review can be considered libel.

There’s never a guarantee that Google will remove a fake review. Being proactive, building a process, and responding to negative feedback is usually the best way of dealing with reviews whether they are good, bad, or ugly.

If you think it’s time to automate some of that process, we can help you at GoBeyond SEO. Find out how by booking a call with us here!

Tags google, google my business, negative reviews, reputation management, seo

Content Marketing

How to Improve Your Content Marketing Focus & Strategy

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Have you ever been chatting with a client or colleague and they mention that they’re doing content marketing for their business? You think you know what it is, but also think you don’t know what it is? Like, you know that it has something to do with blogging or posting on social media, and there’s an SEO tie-in, but you’re still not fully sure how it turns into leads or helps your business?

You’re not alone. In fact, there are some marketing pros out there that still can’t quite explain the value of content marketing and how best to use it.

The word “content” can refer to a litany of things: service pages, product pages, blog posts, white papers, articles, downloadable freebies, videos, and infographics, just to name a few.

So why is content marketing such a confusing topic for business owners? More often than not, they’re not sure why they’re doing it. The push to do content marketing is overwhelming. That said, content for content’s sake is a waste of time.

It’s essential to be intentional with all your content, especially if it lives on the internet. But how can you be intentional when it matters most?

Keep Your Audience as the Focus

Valuable content goes far beyond content that’s stuffed with industry-specific keywords. In fact, if you write content that way, it actually can get your content penalized and result in lost rankings for your website.

Google has the end user in mind when indexing content. Not the product. Not the services. The end user. Google’s currency is attention. Eyeballs are the prize. If you write content that reads like it’s catering to a bot or search engine, humans will tune out and click away. If that happens, is Google happy?

Nope.

Google wants engaged attention. The more your audience pays attention to a piece of content, the more valuable it becomes to Google. They can sell more ads. They can sell more ads at a higher price. They can sell their own products.

Puts content in a whole new light, doesn’t it?

So what happens if you’ve already created several pieces of content and posted them to your site and social media without this in mind? Don’t worry—you can still revitalize your content to be more audience-focused for improved rankings and better results!

How to Improve Your Existing Content and Draft Sparkly New Content

Whether you’re planning to review your existing content and give it a few tweaks or just plan to write new content with more intention, here are four steps you should take before you scribe another syllable.

Keyword Research. Keyword research is the process by which you research popular search terms people type into search engines. (See Pro Tip #1 below.)

Keyword Optimization. Taking the best keywords and strategically, but organically, placing them in your content to improve how well they are found in a search is keyword optimization.
Content Organization. The content on your site should be organized in a logical way. This is not only good for SEO, it encourages visitors to stay engaged with your site or content. The more engagement, the better.
Content Promotion. One of the best ways to increase visibility to new content you create is by sharing it on social networks and building links to your content. (See Pro Tip #2 below.)

Now, you’re well on your way to making your content favorable to both Google and your audience on the internet!

Keep These Things in Mind When Improving Your Content Marketing Strategy

Each business is unique, and since content marketing can cover such a broad range of mediums, it’s important to put the content marketing strategy in effect that’s right for your particular business. Here are a couple pro tips to keep in mind to improve your content marketing!

Pro Tip #1: Popular keywords are not necessarily the best choice when engaging in SEO. The more searched the keyword, the harder it will be to rank in the search results. Keywords with specificity are called long-tail keywords. For example, “plumber” is a very popular keyword. “hot tub plumber Charlotte NC” is a less popular keyword and may be more effective.

Long-tail keywords are a better way to go for a few reasons. The first is there is less competition and therefore they will rank faster. The second reason is that the searcher is looking for something very specific and is likely ready to buy.

Pro Tip #2: Most people know that if they write a post on social media, they can hyperlink a keyword back to a blog post or sales page on their site. Pretty easy and a smart thing to do. What many people fail to do is build INTERNAL links. When you write a blog post on your site and then make reference to a service you offer, hyperlink that service to a service page on your site. The link never leaves the website, but is a powerful tactic to optimize your website.

The best thing you can do when building your content strategy is to begin with the end in mind. Set your intention for your communications and be mindful of the experience you want your audience to have. Pair that with some strategically placed, well-researched keywords, and you’re on your way to having some killer content that both Google and your audience will love.

Wondering exactly what your content is doing for your business? Find out if your content is working for you or if you need to make some changes—schedule a complimentary strategy session with us at GoBeyond SEO!

Tags blogging for business, content marketing, keyword research, seo, website content

Content Marketing

5 Essential Reasons to Include Video Marketing in Your Strategy

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The need for video marketing in your marketing strategy has exploded on the internet. Fortunately for people who aren’t keen on taking, editing, or posting videos, creating videos has never been easier. With a smartphone in your pocket, a camera on your laptop, and platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels, you can create videos in seconds.

Easy, right? That depends on your definition of easy. While the tools and platforms above give you the ability to create a video easily, knowing what to say or do, how to say or do it, and how to make the video work hard to achieve your goals is another matter altogether.

Good videos can be pricey and can take a lot of time to create. Where do you begin? Is it really worth it for a business like yours? How can you be sure your business needs video? These are all great questions—let’s see if we can answer some of them below.

Why to Prioritize Video Marketing Whenever Possible

Prioritizing videos for your marketing efforts may not make much sense to you if you haven’t done it before. However, here are five essential reasons to include video in your marketing plan.

1. The know, like, and trust factor.

In the quote made famous by Bob Burg, effective networking and marketing are hugely tied to how well a prospect knows, likes, and trusts you. Video expedites this process. The more videos you have to educate your clients about your services, the more you build a strong foundation of trust. Trust is the fast track to sales.

2. It slays SEO.

SEO is a little boring and yes, people talk about it a lot. But having a website that floats around unacknowledged on the interwebs is far more costly than cutting some videos. Search engines are designed to find content. Literally their only job is to find and sort relevant content. How does a search engine, like Google, determine how well your site should rank? Lots of factors, but A HUGE ONE is page views. Video improves page views better than anything else. (See Pro Tip #1 below.)

3. Social. Social. Social.

Videos are great for social media. If there is anything that could or did kill MTV, it is social media. Social media for your business is a FABULOUS way to fill in the ‘know’ and ‘like’ factors of the K-L-T equation. If you’re willing to show the ‘how’ behind your services in a video, you build trust. Having that video (or videos) then shared on social media, will only expedite the ‘know’ piece. Making the video cool, funny, comprehensive, or relatable rounds out the ‘like’ factor. You’ve got yourself the sales trifecta!

4. Email open rates SKYROCKET.

Getting people to read your email is nothing short of a magic trick. Well, get your magic wand ready. According to HubSpot, video in emails can increase open rates and decrease your unsubscribe rates. Having a video in your email can increase your CTR (click-through rate) by a staggering 228%. It’s also a great way to explain what you do when simple text isn’t enough.

5. The single most important reason: conversions.

Video is the swiss army knife of mediums. In addition to the great SEO component, the shareability, the compelling nature of the open rate, video can convey emotions on a grand scale. Emotions like joy, community, discomfort, fear, calm, and countless others are most effectively shared through video. Sales are not standalone entities. Sales are made by humans. Humans are emotional. Emotions are sales, video is just the vehicle.

Did You Know?

Pro Tip #1: Google is the biggest search engine, but YouTube is the second. YouTube is owned by Google. Google loves to reward (over-reward, in fact) relevant content as well as promoting its own properties. Videos on YouTube = great Google search results.

Frank Schwartz, CEO of LEC Media and a 20-year veteran in the broadcast media space had this to say about the use of video in your marketing.

“You become an instant industry authority when customers repeatedly see your business at the top of search results and view your videos for information. They trust what you have to say and think of you first when making a buying decision.”

-Frank Schwartz, CEO of LEC Media

Video marketing is only going to increase in scope and frequency. It’s a flexible medium that can truly convey nearly any message you want to share. Find out more about how video marketing can revolutionize your businesses with us at GoBeyond—contact us today!

Tags content marketing, email marketing, seo, video marketing

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