SEO For Your Blog: Choosing Keywords

SEO For Your Blog

Inbound marketing and creating a powerful online presence is your ability to close the gap between you and your potential clients. You have a website, that is great. You have a blog, that's even better. The question now is, how effective is your SEO for your blog?

SEO stands for search engine optimization and basically means how well the search engines can read your blog and how easily your targeted customers can find you through search engines. There are several components of SEO but for now we will focus on choosing keywords for your blog.

What Is A Keyword?

Choosing keywords can be tough and so we are totally clear let's just take a minute to discuss what keywords are and how they are used. Let's just say you have a bicycle shop in Atlanta, Georgia. When you set up SEO for your blog, what you want is for people in Atlanta to be able to find you when they search on the internet.

So let's take a moment and imagine that you were in Atlanta and you were looking for a new bicycle. What would you type into the search box in Google? Maybe something like "bike shops in Atlanta". What you would expect to come up in search would be all of the bike shops in your area. You find one, usually one of the first 3 on the page, and then you visit the website.

The keyword (or phrase as they most likely are) in this case is "bike shops in Atlanta". Before you go keyword crazy though and think you've found it, you want to check it out in Google Keyword Tool or some other keyword research tool.

Using Google Keyword Tool

Now that you have some idea of what you think people are looking for to find you, it's time to do a little more digging. SEO for your blog is a very important part so just "assuming" anything is not a good idea. So to test it, enter Google Keyword Tool.

Once you pull it up try typing in your keyword phrase in the box on the top of the page. At the bottom of the page you will see results of your search. It will tell you how many estimated people are searching for the term, and then the "competition" or how many other people just like you are using the term.

It is a common mistake to see a word that is highly searched and choose it for your keyword right away thinking that will yield you the best results, but the truth is, it is more important to pay attention to the competition. What you want to do, unless you have a powerhouse blog, is to choose keywords that have high number of searches and a low amount of competition. This way you will have a greater chance of getting on the first page in search.

Who Are You Trying To Reach?

The more you begin to understand your target market (aka the people who want to buy what you are selling) your keywords will get better and better. Doing a little research to understand the demographics of our market will help to bring those targeted (buying) customers right to us.

SEO for your blog is not that d but choosing keywords is a great place to start and if you can get that right then you are on your way to attracting traffic that WILL convert!

Having trouble with your SEO? Email us at elizabeth@assistsocialmedia.com we can set up a consultation to help get you on your way. Get it but need a little more? Sign up to receive all our SEO goodies delivered straight to your inbox!

How Inbound Marketing Is Just Like Dating

Okay, I got this

Some of you know I used to be a dating blogger, some of you probably had no clue. Either way I am here to tell you that dating and inbound marketing are not all that different. And you must use the same principles of dating to prove your relationships through inbound marketing. when you think about marketing this way, it makes it easier for you. Everybody dates or has dated and understands the dynamics of dating.

For those of you who are not-so-natural daters, or marketers, I'll show you how:

Put Your Pretty Face Out There

No one will date you if they don't know you exist. And how can they ever know how great you are if you don't put yourself in a place to be "found" by potential dates? This is the beauty of online dating, you can be "found" without ever leaving the house. The key is to put yourself out there.

In business this works the same way.. Inbound marketing is a way of being found online by your customers without coming across pushy and desperate which is a big turnoff in both dating and marketing. Having a website and making sure that it is optimized for search engines, connected to your social networks, and easy to navigate is the first step to developing your marketing strategy, or better yet, "get a date".

Show Off Your Best Assets

You may love yourself to death and be a great catch (have a great product or service that is truly beneficial), but no one will ever even look your way if you are not attractive. This was hard to get people to understand about dating. People, especially women were always so concerned about men liking them for who they are, and feeling like a man should take them how they are.

Although this is a novel thought, it is not at all how the world works. Our first impression of a person or business comes from what we can first see with our eyes. So what first impression are you giving off to your potential clients? Are you branded across all your social networks? Are you saying the same things? Is your site clean and neat, easy to navigate?

Are you really clear about what it is you are selling? As no-brainer as that may sound there are so many businesses that think they are conveying exactly what they are selling, but they are not. Show off your best assets, your best work, the best of what you have to offer. And by all means, highlight what you are selling, because that should no doubt be your best asset.

Flirt A Little

Social Media is a great place to "flirt" with people who you want to do business with. Use the basics of flirting: Listen, show your personality, give a little, but not too much… you do remember how to flirt don't you?

Twitter is an especially good "flirting" ground for your business. Give shout outs to other people, RT their articles, listen to what people are talking about-both in your industry and potential customers, then give them just what they want. Flirting, or engaging your followers and fans creates interest around who you are and what you have to offer them.

Snag A Date

Let's make this thing official. It's time to just ask for what you want. After you have engaged and listened, then simply start asking people to visit your blog, sign up for your list, RT your work. You will be surprised at how easy this will be for you. Key to "snagging a date" is getting them to your blog. Whether this be done by SEO and your content or through social media, this step is crucial to ever building a relationship.

And first dates are tough. It's your one chance to see if there is chemistry. In that one visit to your blog, it will take a person 60 seconds to decide if you have what they are looking for, or content they would like to return and read. That's all you got, you have to make it memorable.

Secure The Second Date

Oh email marketing… how I love you. How do you get those oh so precious emails that enable you to keep in touch on a personal level and allow you to foster relationships with your readers and potential clients? There are several ways you can do it. You can simply rely on the value that you give to people on your site, or you can give something away for free that will entice others to sign up.

We do both. Our hope is that you find true value in what we have to share on our site, whether you are buying something from us or not. We also have a free eBook for those who sign up for our list. No matter how you do it, your end game is securing a way to get in touch again. It's converting the casual visitor into the avid reader, and then into the buyer.

Did you know that on average a person has to see a product or service 6-7 times before making the decision to buy it? Second dates are even more important than the first.

5 Of The Best Blogging Tips Ever

Best Blog Tips Ever

What are your favorite blogging tips? There is so much advice about the do's and don'ts of blogging out there it's hard to decipher what is relevant and what is not. My bet is that most of the information that you come across is relevant in some way shape or form.

There are no right and wrong answers about blogging and content creation for the most part, and most of it you will figure out on your own once you get started but we wanted to share with you our favorite blogging tips ever.

1.Write For Your Audience, Not Search Engines

Keywords are important, and we'll talk about that in a second, but if your whole purpose when you sit down and write is driven by a search engine, then your content will probably not be very pleasing to read. Let's face it, search engines are not people, and they read content in a much different way.

It's okay to keep them in mind, but know that getting people to your blog is only half the battle, the harder part is actually getting them engaged and coming back because they actually like what you have to say.

2. Do Use Keywords

One of my favorite blogging tips is this one- Use Keywords when you are blogging. The better you get at identifying keywords for your content, the more targeted traffic you are going to get and thus the more people coming to your blog you are actually interested in buying what you are selling. It's tricky, finding the balance between well optimized content and content that is engaging but the best writers have this skill down to almost a science. If you are writing for your own blog then you need to familiarize yourself with keywords, know how to do the research, and know how to use them in your content.

No, you don't want to write just for the search engines, BUT you do want people to find you right?

3. Blog Only What You Know

What you know is enough. So often I run into bloggers or people who have businesses who have to blog and they think that they don't know enough to teach someone else. Truth is, every one of us knows something that someone else doesn't . And if you don't know something, then learn it, and then write about it. You don't have to be an "expert" to write about something. Just write down what you do know. And if you feel like that is not enough- learn more.

4. Be A Real Person, Use Your Own Voice

It should be no surprise to you that people like to interact with other people. This is even true when people read. Part of engaging your audience comes from making your audience feel like they can relate to you, like you are somehow just like them, with just a little bit more knowledge on a particular topic. Use your own voice. If you are funny, it's okay to let that out in your writing. If you are strictly professional and have an even keel, straightforward personality, then use that. There are no right or wrong answers, just you.

5. Get Involved In The Blogosphere

Okay this one has less to do with actual content creation and everything to do with networking. Aside from the professional benefits that I have seen from getting involved in the blogosphere, I have actually made friends and business associates that I've grown to love and trust through blogging. Twitter and Facebook are both great vehicles for doing this. Writing guests posts for other blogs is a great way to build your network and also grow your following.

Not quite sure where to start? Just start asking people to guest blog for you. Many times this opens the door to a great relationship and it also gives your readers a different perspective and like I said before, everyone knows something that someone else doesn't know. You will be amazed at the doors that open from this. If you are interested in guest posting on our blog shoot us an email at info@assistsocialmedia.com we would love to make friends!

What do you think of these blogging tips? Are there others that you swear by? Please share with us below in the comments!

3 Quick And Easy Ways To Grow Your Twitter Following

Want to know how to grow your twitter following without buying followers? The key to most things in life is simply persistence. You would be surprised how much people can accomplish when they set forth a goal and stay persistent toward achieving it. So it is with social media and inbound marketing. Persistence, consistency, and authority are all keys to growing and maintaining a successful online presence.

With all that being said, for someone who is newer to twitter there are basic principles that you could make a consistent practice that will help you grow your following pretty steadily. And depending on how consistent and persistent you are, you can grow your twitter following pretty fast. We have grown twitter accounts from nothing into accounts that are strong with not just a lot of followers, but followers who retweet, interact, engage, and are actually interested in our business and what we have to say.

Here are 3 quick tips that you should practice daily on twitter to grow your twitter following:

1. Follow

Decide how many people you want to follow a day and get to it. If you have a smaller account you can start small following only 25-50 people per day, larger accounts can follow more. You never want your account to get really out of balance like you following 5,000 people and only 1,000 following you back.

You can use an automated program for following like Tweet Adder or Social Oomph. These programs can follow people for you based on keywords and who others in your industry are following. If you don't want to invest then do your own keyword search in twitter to find people in your industry. For instance, I would search "social media" to find relevant people to follow. Most people follow you back, if not you can always unfollow them.

2. Retweet

A retweet can be a form of flattery and also a big help to businesses trying to get the word out about their services. You helping out by retweeting their articles or things they say will get you noticed. And the best part about it is, they usually return the favor. Sometimes they don't, but it's okay, if it's valuable information that you know your audience would like, go ahead and give it a RT.

Don't forget to thank those who retweet you and make sure you are engaging your audience as a real person. No one wants to interact with a retweeting robot. Be authentic.

3. Content

Content is always king. Always. I don't care how talented you think you are, or how much you can help people, if your content isn't compelling, even under 140 characters, then no one is going to listen. What are you tweeting? Why does it matter to your followers? Are you boring them with articles all the time and uninspiring headlines? Read this article about Twitter for business for some ideas on what kind of content you should be tweeting. '

These are 3 great tips to get you going on twitter, but they are only the beginning and only scratch the surface of the twitterverse. For more tips follow us on twitter @divabusiness . Have some other great twitter tips or a question? Leaves us a comment!

The Impact Of Small Business

I just wanted to take a moment to share with you something that is truly amazing. In a previous post we shared with you some of our values here at Assist Social Media. At the core of what we do is wanting you to succeed in your business. The impact of small business is limitless. No longer does have x number of employees or clients matter, you can have an impact, and profitable all by yourself (big grin).

If you haven't heard of a little company called Instagram let me tell you a little about it. Instagram is a social app for sharing pictures. Kind of like Pinterest, only it is designed to share photos that you snap directly from your phone instead of grabbing them from online and sharing them. Instagram was started two years ago and has only 12 employees, and here is the kicker, Facebook just purchased it for $1 Billion! Now that is the impact of small business. Facebook has a pretty awesome story behind it as well.

This infographic compares Instagram to the New York Times and shows the numbers of each company. It is a very interesting and inspiring showing of the impact of small business and how one person can grow a business into a powerhouse.

by visually. Browse more Business infographics.

So now it's your turn. Tell us what you think about the impact of small business and about how you plan to grow your business below in the comments.

How To Stand Out In Business

How do you stand out in business when you are surrounded by a sea of businessses who are selling the exact same thing that you are? And with the internet, you are gauranteed to be in an even bigger sea of busineesses all competing for the same clients. The good news is, there is enough business to go around in most cases. The bad news is, if you are not standing out from your competitors than you are likely to get put out of business faster than you can blink. I watched an incredible video just the other day about this topic and thought that sharing this message with as many people as possible was not only super important, but my social duty. (Watch the video for yourself from Marie Forleo herself).

In order to stand out in business you have to communicate how your company is better, different and more awesome than anyone else in the market.

- Marie Forleo

Here are 5 Tips for how to stand out in business from Marie, and how we here at Assist Social Media are doing it. Listen up, it's about to get personal:

Tip #1: Tell Your Company's Story

Instead of telling you how to tell your story I'll just tell you ours. Our partnership started long ago when we crossed each other's paths on twitter (proof that social media is powerful). We became instant friends and business associates. We were bloggers, and Liz was the SEO queen sent from God to help me in my endeavors. We instantly began to mastermind together.

It was about the same time last year that we both took an interest in social media management and strategy for others. We had both used it to leverage our individual businesses and became passionate about helping others to use the powerful platforms to increase lead generation, sales, and most importantly build relationships through every aspect of inbound marketing. Liz went on to start her company, and I did the same.

As we continued to mastermind together and our friendship and business savvy grew we realized that a partnership was the logical next step. We are wonderful complements of each other and love to work with each other, and we love to share our passion with others as we support, encourage, and educate businesses on the importance of social media and the benefits of relationship marketing.

Tip #2: Tell What You Value And Believe In

We believe in adding value to people's lives and businesses. For us it's not all about selling to you what you don't need. We aim to provide every single person who reads our blog, or purchases a service from us unbelievable value. We aim to educate, inspire, and provide the best services because we love to see people succeed both in life and in business. Persistence, smart working, and smart investing are key to success. If you invest in yourself and your business, believe that you can, and never give up- you can do it!

Tip #3: Create A Distinct Voice And Tone

I can't tell you what our distinct voice is, hopefully you have already identified that! But this is a great tip! Don't be afraid to just use your voice, be uniquely you. There is one thing that your competitors can't do and that is to be you! Just because it's business doesn't mean that it has to have no personality.

Tip #4: Leverage Your Visual Communication

Use every opportunity to make your visual elements like your photos, videos, site design, email communication look like you. It's called branding, and making sure you pay attention to how your visuals are communicating your brand to your audience is important. It really pays to invest in making all of your visual clean and professional looking. And make sure they communicate your unique brand.

Tip #5: Give Outstanding Customer Service

Everyone has a story to tell about a time they received horrible customer service. I received poor customer service at my local pizza hut (yes, pizza lover here) so many times that I racked up a credit for enough pizzas to feed a basketball team! Needless to say, I opt for driving to another pizza hut in a nearby town, or simply buy a frozen pizza whenever the craving hits me, all because I feel undervalued as a customer at this particular pizza hut.

Giving outstanding customer service will create loyal customers who talk about you in a positive way, thus sending referrals your way. When you make your customers feel valued, they are going to be more than happy to do business with you time and time again.

So There you have it. 5 tips teaching you how to stand out in business. So now it's your turn. Tell us and the other readers your tips on how to stand out in business. Leave a comment! Also we would love to hear your company's story. If you have written about it, leave us a link in the comments.

Don't forget to subscribe below to receive tips about how to grow your business through social media directly to your inbox!

3 Easy Tips To Creating Compelling Blog Content

Blogging is hard work, and it involves a lot of writing. One of the hardest parts of blogging is coming up with compelling blog content day after day. The longer you have been blogging, the more important it will become to get organized and figure out some sort of system to keep the good content rolling. If you have been blogging for longer than one month, then you know how difficult it can be to constantly pump out quality, relevant content. Here are a few tips that I have used that help me generate ideas, keep them organized, and keep on top of my writing.

1. Make An Editorial Calendar

An editorial calendar keeps you on top of your blog content. You can make a calendar for the month, week, or quarter. It doesn't matter how you decide to do it and it can be as intricate or as simple as you want it to be. Our editorial calendar is pretty simple. Each day of the week a different task is due such as "keyword for post" or "first draft of post due". Simple but effective. We work as a team and each contribute to our posts so it is especially important to know who is doing what and when. Even if you are working by yourself it is a good idea to have the way you write and publish your blog content planned out.

2. Keep An Idea Bucket

You can call this a journal, an idea bucket, and thought jar… whatever you choose to call it, make sure you have a place where you can jot down ideas as they come to you. You can keep a journal, use traditional paper and pen, or you can use an online tool like Evernote where you can create different notebooks and bookmark things of interest as you browse the web. It's always a good idea to keep a collection of ideas and/or keywords to pull from when you sit down to create compelling blog content. It also helps combat writer's block and blog burnout.

3. Use StumbleUpon

Up until about a month ago I would have never had this on a list of tips for blog content creation, but as I have begun to use this tool, time and time again I find interesting things that spark ideas and eventually content. It is a quick way of sweeping the web for content that is relevant to your industry. It is a great tool to see what is being said in your industry, how many people are talking about it (in the comments), and also questions that are begging to be answered. Try StumbleUpon!

So there you have it, 3 easy tips for creating compelling blog content. Simple right? So now it's your turn. I know that there are tons and tons of tips, tricks, and lessens in blogging that you can share with us. What are some things you do to make creating blog content easier? Please share your thoughts so we can all learn from each other.

How To Build A Network Using Facebook Search

You've got a great brand, a great product or service, and your marketing strategy is in place ready for those customers to come pouring in. So what's next? Time to build your network, if you haven't already. It's time for you to make meaningful connections in your industry and among other business owners. It's time for you to learn how to build your network, but how?

Easily one of the most overlooked tools on Facebook is the search function and it's ability to help you connect with even more people who are in your industry. If you are wondering how to build a network than you can benefit from using Facebook search. It is a simple quick way to find people in your industry and people with whom you share interests.

Navigating Your Way Through Facebook Search

If you've never visited the search page on Facebook. You can find it at http://facebook.com/search. This is the page you will see:

On the left side you see the search filters, let's pay attention to particularly the filters for people, pages, groups, public posts, and posts by friends. Once you are at the page you can type what you are searching for into the search box at the top. I am interested in social media so I would like to connect with other social media managers so I search for that. For this search I will leave the filter set to "all results" so Facebook will show me anything and everything related to my search query "social media managers".

You can scroll down and there are pages and pages of results for this term but I just give you a screen shot of the top of the page to show you what I am doing. And then you can turn on the filters for your search:

People results:

You can see that Facebook shows you people who have "social media manager" in their "work" section of their profile. You can add these people as your friends, or visit their page and subscribe to their updates. I go ahead and add as friend. That way they notice me, check out my profile, and then we can interact on a more personal level. Some people like to keep their personal Facebook page just for personal things and that is okay too. If they don't accept then it's no sweat. But I find most people will.

Page results:

Searching for pages is a good way to find industry leaders and a great way to find places to get great info about your industry coming right through your Facebook stream. You can also find the owners of the page and friend them or ask them to like your page as well. Most people will do this as well. Knowing how to build a network is all about making as many contacts as possible and putting your feelers out there.

Group results:

Public posts and Posts by friends:

Through this filter Facebook shows you who has talked about what you are searching for. You can see above that none of my friends are talking about "social media managers" but I can see public posts by people who are talking about it. This is also helpful when searching for people to network.

If you want to connect with me on Facebook <~~ click this link and let's get connected!

How To Get Customers: What Small Businesses Need To Know About Today’s Consumers

Ever wonder how to get customers to flock to your business? Or would you settle for a steady flow? The web and technology have changed today's consumers and how those consumers interact with your business. Today's consumer is online and if you are wondering how to get customers the answer is a resounding, "on the internet".

Not having a strong online presence or a solid Inbound Marketing plan in this day and age is a sure way to cut your business out of a large piece of the pie and businesses that do not operate online will eventually become extinct. Inbound Marketing is the way you will attract, engage, educate, and retain customers through SEO, social media, email marketing, and blogging. This strategy works whether you are a local business our a strictly online company. It's all about getting targeted traffic to your website where you will educate them and feed them valuable info, build relationships, and then they will buy from you.

Knowing how to get customers is an obvious part of growing a business, and there is no better way, or no more effective way than finding those customers online. Here's a fun and informative infographic about the web and technology and how small businesses need to adjust if they plan to grow their business and attract more customers:

Browse more data visualizations.

As you can see it is more important than ever to have a strong online presence to attract more customers and grow your business. If you have a website for your business then congratulations, that is the first step. Don't forget to setup a blog, grow your social influence through social media, use SEO to get targeted traffic, and email marketing to build relationships and establish your authority.

So now it's your turn. We would love to hear what struggles you have when it comes to getting more customers and what strategies you have tried to turn that around. If you need help with your Inbound Marketing, elizabeth@assistsocialmedia.com . We would love to help.

Don't forget to join all of the other savvy business owners growing their business and increasing their online presence with us. Sign up below for the emails where you will receive tips and tricks on how to use social media to grow your business!

How To Stand Out In Business

How To Stand Out In Business

Tip #1: Tell Your Company's Story

Tip #2: Tell What You Value And Believe In

Tip #3: Create A Distinct Voice And Tone

Tip #4: Leverage Your Visual Communication

Tip #5: Give Outstanding Customer Service

3 Easy Tips To Creating Compelling Blog Content

1. Make An Editorial Calendar

2. Keep An Idea Bucket

3. Use StumbleUpon

How To Get Customers: What Small Businesses Need To Know About Today’s Consumers

Services

Recent Posts

Top Posts & Pages

SEO For Your Blog

What Is A Keyword?

Using Google Keyword Tool

Related posts:

Put Your Pretty Face Out There

Show Off Your Best Assets

Flirt A Little

Snag A Date

Secure The Second Date

Related posts:

Best Blog Tips Ever

1.Write For Your Audience, Not Search Engines

2. Do Use Keywords

3. Blog Only What You Know

4. Be A Real Person, Use Your Own Voice

5. Get Involved In The Blogosphere

Related posts:

Here are 3 quick tips that you should practice daily on twitter to grow your twitter following:

1. Follow

2. Retweet

3. Content

Related posts:

Related posts:

Landing Page Tutorials For Growing A Business:

Related posts:

How To Stand Out In Business

Tip #1: Tell Your Company's Story

Tip #2: Tell What You Value And Believe In

Tip #3: Create A Distinct Voice And Tone

Tip #4: Leverage Your Visual Communication

Tip #5: Give Outstanding Customer Service

Related posts:

1. Make An Editorial Calendar

2. Keep An Idea Bucket

3. Use StumbleUpon

Related posts:

Related posts:

Related posts:

Services

Recent Posts

Top Posts & Pages