How To Get Started On Your Blogging Journey

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, How To Get Started On Your Blogging Journey

Blogging can be many things to many different people. To some, it is a hobby. They can talk happily about the subjects that interest them, and engage with like-minded individuals who also feel a passion for the same topic. For others, blogging is a side-line, a great way of earning money alongside your regular income. Many people, however, can turn their blogs into their full-time jobs and earn a lucrative income from the content that they create. Businesses will also use blogs to fantastic effect as a way of raising awareness of their own brands. It is important to never underestimate the potential of blogging.

If you have ever thought about blogging, you should understand that with the right amount of effort, and with great content,  it is possible to create a successful blog that will be ready by countless people, while generating you a reasonable, if not, substantial income.

But if you don’t know your WordPress, from your Yoast, or your affiliate marketing from your search engine optimization, here is some great advice to get you started on your very own blogging journey.

Pick A Niche

You will have a few decisions to make early on in your life as a blogger. The first one is to decide on the niche that you will write in. You might be able to write confidently and inspiringly in a number of subjects, and if you can do this, and link them all together, you can cover a range of topics on your blog. Generally, readers will have an interest in a specific niche, and if your blog covers too big a range of topics it can get confusing. Stick to the areas that you are the most knowledgable and passionate in. Make sure you pick a subject that you have enough milage in, you will need to write about this on most days for a very long time to come.

Pick Your Platform

There are lots of different blogging platforms out there. Some will host your site on their servers, and in others, such as wordpress.org, you will need to buy for your own hosting from a company such as Bluehost.

Read all about the various platforms that are available and try and understand the differences and what the benefits and limitations of each one are. This is a big decision, and, while it is possible to migrate your blog to a different platform and host at a later date, it is quite a stressful and time-consuming process to carry out.

Creating Great Content

The reason that your readers will visit your site is for your content. You need to regularly create great content. Try and stick to a schedule so that you are posting to a reasonable frequency. Many sites will posts a couple of times a day. You don’t have to post each day, however, if you are going to post six or seven posts all at once, and then not update the site for a month or so, this is not going to do you any favours when it comes to building repeat readerships. If your readers know that they can expect new content on a regular basis, it will keep you fresh in their minds.

Make sure that your posts are of a reasonable length. The bare minimum a blog post should ever be is 300 words, however, longer-form content often fares well, so aim to write posts that are much higher in their word counts.

Include a striking image with your post and a catchy title. You need to bring your readers in any way that you can.

Monetizing Your Content

When you have a reasonably large readership, you should be able to start earning money from your blog. There are many ways that you can do this, though affiliate marketing is one of the most popular. The way that affiliate marketing works is that you will insert a link to a product or service in your blog. This will act as a recommendation to your readers, and, if anyone signs up or buys whatever the link is offering, you can earn a commission.

Remember, if you are using affiliate marketing on your blog, you need to be perfectly clear that you are earning money from the links that you are sharing. Create a disclaimer or disclosure page on your site and make sure and link it on any relevant posts that use this type of affiliate link.

You could also monetize your blog by using adverts, or by selling paid content such as eBooks, or by offering up your services as a consultant in your area of expertise, or as a content writer.

Socializing

Your blog needs readers. You can obtain these by sharing your posts on social media. Create social media profiles and build up a strong following on as many platforms as possible. Engage with your followers and make sure that they are engaging with your content.

Social media promotion is a vital way of generating visitors to your site, and you need to do everything that you can to build up relationships. The bigger your following, the wider your reach.

Search Engine Optimization

An area that all bloggers need to learn about and understand is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO involves getting your website as high in the internet search engine rankings as possible. If you are not in the first few results on any relevant search, then your site won’t be found by people looking at Google.

SEO is a wide subject that covers everything from inserting relevant keywords in the right places in your content, through to building up a web of links between all of your pages. By inserting a link back to relevant content elsewhere on your blog, you will be helping to optimize your website. You should also include links to other sites, and try and get your site linked to from as many external sites as possible.

The Ultimate Guide to Making Small Business Websites: This is What to Do

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article|small business websites |The Ultimate Guide to Making Small Business Websites: This is What to DoNearly 50% of small businesses reported that they did not have a company website.

With how popular technology is, it is surprising so many companies are unable to be searched online.

If you want to stand out from competitors and grow your business, you must create a website to draw people in and contact you.

Continue reading to discover the steps you need to take to make small business websites so that you have a strong online presence!

1. Get Started With the Basics

The first step to creating small business websites is to start with the basics and create a domain name.

Your domain name will also be the website’s name. You should check with online resources that you have a unique domain name that won’t conflict with another business. You will also need to take care of website hosting.

Website hosting includes your site’s homepage and files. There are many companies for web hosting, and some are free. This usually takes about an hour to complete, unless you can’t come up with a unique name.

GoDaddy, Bluehost, and DreamHost are all popular and trusted sites that businesses use to create their websites.

2. Set up the Format and Style

When readers go to your website, they should be able to quickly find information and understand it.

Formatting your website is important if you want it to flow for readers. Many people put a banner across the top of their site to help organize information. This has become a common tradition and doesn’t fail.

Without different pages and tabs, the website will look like one long list of information that won’t attract customers. You should also consider the style that you want to use too.

Many businesses design the site to match their logos. You should stay professional and use readable fonts. Try to stick with a common theme, so that your customers don’t feel like they are being misled to other sites.

Don’t be afraid to get creative and come up with a unique homepage. Graphic designers can also help your site stand out!

3. Create an Attractive Homepage

Did you know that the average computer user only spends 10-20 seconds looking at a website?

Beyond those 20 seconds, they have likely moved onto another site or lost interest. You must attract your customers and readers from the minute they get to your website.

By staying up to date on trends and using interactive pages, you can get readers to stay on your page for longer and consider your business. You can use high-quality videos and images on your page along with animation to draw in attention.

There are many things that you can do to draw people in, following the same patterns, however, will leave you forgotten like the rest. Try to come up with a unique way to display your business values and team to encourage new buyers.

4. Encourage Contact

If you want customers to consistently use your services or products, you should allow them a place to contact you.
Including a contact page on a website is standard. People use this tab to include emails, addresses, and phone numbers. If you notice that a lot of your customers like to offer feedback, you can even put a comment box on your contact page.

Letting your customers contact you lets them know that they matter. If something goes wrong or there is a defect, they can easily reach out to you, to resolve the issue. Make your contact page welcoming so that people feel comfortable talking to you and asking questions.

Sometimes, companies will include a picture of the person who will be answering your calls or emails. This help people put a face to the name and make your company more memorable. Adding personal touches will draw customers back.

5. Describe the Business

One of the most important things that your website should have is a summary of what your business is or does.
You want to let people know what your business is, immediately after going to the website. Without telling people what your services are, they may become confused and check out another site.

If you take pride in your company’s progress, it can help to include history online. When potential employees and devoted customers go to your site, they will likely want to know more about the company. A brief history is a great way to get your story heard and gain local business.

While describing the purpose of your company, you can present your mission statement and discuss everything you have to offer.

Explaining the progression of the business can be interesting to readers and teach them more about your values and hard work.

6. Display Your Team

Every good business comes with a solid group of employees that work well together.

If you are proud of your team and want to give them a spot on the website, you can do so with an “our team” page. This allows customers the chance to get to know who they are working with so that they can feel more comfortable.
Lawyers and other types of services that involve other people are recommended to include team pages. Offering this recognition to employees can also help make them more satisfied with their job and feel like they make an impact.

A business isn’t run by one person, rather a collective team working towards the same goal.

7. Market and Sell Your Products or Services

Another page that you may need on your website is a store of services page.

If your company sells products, like clothing, shoes, or accessories, you will want to display each item online. You should post clear pictures of products with detailed descriptions and ordering information.

This is where your customers can add items to the cart and try out your products. If your business doesn’t sell products, you can create a service page.

On the services page, you can include information about all of your offers and what you can do for your clients. Even if you can’t give them exact numbers, you can also include estimated prices for each service.

This will be one of your largest money makers in the company. Keep up to date of what your company offers, so that you don’t have to turn customers down.

8. Set up Payment System and Options

More than $158 million was spent online in the final quarter of 2019.

Online shopping has become so popular because it is convenient and accessible at any time. If you want your business to succeed, it is crucial that you set up a payment system online.

If you plan to sell products or services over the internet, online paying can help increase sales. Depending on the needs of your business, you will have to find the right plan for you. Many people have the account set up so that the money goes directly into the business’ bank account.

PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App are all other excellent options that you can accept payment through.

Don’t forget to include discount codes for customers if you are sending them out. To use these codes, they must be able to enter them in while paying.

9. Try It out

Now that you have all of your pages filled in with crucial information, you can test out the site.

This is an important step because it gives you the chance to fix any errors before making it public. Reviewing the site for spelling and grammar errors should be the first step. Editing and accuracy show your customers that you care and want to offer them the best service you can.

You will also want to make sure that all of your images, videos, and animation were uploaded correctly. Not all files are compatible with websites, so you may have to make adjustments along the way.

Testing out your site can also prevent you from having incomplete sections. With how many details there are in making a site, it can be easy to overlook a portion of the site.

Take notes of everything you discover on your test run so that you can make adjustments or continue down the same path!

10. Publish Your Site

You’ve uploaded all of your information, checked it over dozens of times and everything looks good. It’s now time to go live!

Publishing your site will allow access to internet users. Although your website may not be perfect, you can get feedback from customers about the site so that you can make sure it is meeting their standards.

This is an exciting step to creating a website and the beginning of a new chapter. Your business should continue to grow now that you have a strong online presence.

11. Market on Social Media

If you are wanting your new website to be seen by the world, you will have to market it.

After your site is error-free and published, you need to tell other people about it. By posting the site and sharing it on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest you can attract new customers. Use these sites to teach people about your company and why they should select your business over others.

An article by Corberry Digital Marketing examines marketing and factors that make a business fail or succeed. Read this to determine if your marketing efforts are working!

Don’t be afraid to find other avenues of marketing. You can also do so by word of mouth and posting ads in local papers.

12. Maintain the Website

If your website is continuing to work and bring in customers, you are likely doing something right.

If you want to continue the business, you will need to maintain your site. The contact information you provided should be accurate, along with employee information too.

When your business has new products or services being launched, they should also be uploaded to the website. Maintaining your site will prevent your site from being outdated and mismanaged.

Websites with blog pages should be having frequent uploads that stay up to date on trends and news. Many people recommend that you put aside a certain amount of time each day to work on your website.

13. Interact With Customers

Successful business owners know that you must interact with your customers if you want to keep them coming back.
You should be interacting with the customers online through your website and social media. Otherwise, your business can become forgotten. When customers comment on your posts or reach out to you in an email, you must respond to them.

Unanswered questions from customers can make them unsatisfied. A caring and conversational business owner can help make them feel comfortable to support your business.

You should always acknowledge what people are saying about your company. You may be able to increase sales if you follow the logical requests that people want.

Create Small Business Websites That Impress Customers

When you own a company, a lot of your business comes from word of mouth and through referrals.

Utilizing this guide can help you create small business websites that give you an online presence. This can help people learn about your company and all of the services that you offer. Most people look at online reviews and sites to determine if they want to support them or not.

To have an impressive website, you should use organization, media, and personal touches. Whatever you can think of to make your company look as unique as it is will help your site.

Be sure to check out our blog for more articles about improving your business with technology!

The Importance of Healthcare Marketing for Your Medical Business

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, The Importance of Healthcare Marketing for Your Medical Business

Do you have a thorough marketing plan in place for your medical organization?

Are you missing out on the benefits of healthcare marketing?

If you’re not treating your medical organization like a business and putting serious effort into promoting your services, you’re making a mistake. You need to do everything you can to get the word out about your healthcare practice if you want to get more patients and form great relationships with the ones you already have.

Luckily, we’re here for you. Below we’ll tell you about the top reasons you should have a solid healthcare marketing strategy for your medical business.

1. Reach More People

One of the top reasons you need healthcare marketing is that it helps you to expand your reach and build more brand awareness.

Like with any other company or business, it’s also important to build the brand of a healthcare organization as well. Marketing a clinic will allow you to cultivate your brand image and more potential patients will know about the type of care you offer.

Having a great healthcare marketing strategy is essential for expanding your reach and ensuring your medical business has a great local reputation.

2. Build Stronger Relationships

Creating a marketing plan for your practice will not only help you to get new patients. It can help you stay connected with the ones you already have as well.

Ideally, your patients won’t need your services too often, but if they do, it’s important that you’re at the top of their minds.

Be sure you’re marketing your medical business not only to potential new patients but also to previous patients as well. By doing so, you’ll ensure that your practice helps as many people as possible.

3. Educate Your Patients

Patient education is also essential for building a strong practice or organization. Part of your marketing plan should include creating educational content and informing patients how to better take care of themselves, their general health, and any specific conditions they have.

The better educated your patients are the easier they’ll be to care for and the more likely they’ll be to come back if they notice issues with their health.

4. Patients Will Do Their Research

These days, patients will do a lot of research first before deciding to visit your practice or healthcare organization. Healthcare marketing can help you to craft your image and will help ensure patients find the most useful information online.

Creating a great marketing plan, ensuring your website is filled with useful information, and managing your online reputation will make it more likely that patients will make the decision to use your services.

5. Ensure Great Word-of-Mouth

It’s important that you realize the importance of building a great reputation both on and offline. These days many people will pay attention to online reviews when deciding whether to visit your practice or not.

A great marketing plan and online reputation management tactics can help you to improve your reputation. This will help ensure that bad feedback isn’t scaring potential patients away.

Recognizing the Importance of Healthcare Marketing

There are many more benefits than those listed above, but by now you should be starting to realize the importance of healthcare marketing.

While your main goal may be to help people you still need to treat your organization as a business. Marketing your organization effectively is essential for getting great patients and doing the best you can for those who need your services.

Looking for more marketing tips and ideas for medical businesses? Start exploring our blog now to find more useful advice and insights.

 

4 Online Methods for Helping Your Restaurant Gain More Customers

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Online Marketing for Restaurants|4 Online Methods for Helping Your Restaurant Gain More CustomersAs a restaurant owner, you will already be well aware of the difficulty and continual challenges it throws into the mix. Not only does operating a restaurant require strong dedication and consistency, but you also need to put in long hours on a daily basis.

With so much work that needs to be done every day, it can be even more challenging to find the time to do any marketing. Yet for your business to grow, you need to be able to get the word out. The more people who know about your restaurant, the more likely you are to attract new visitors ready to sample your cuisine.

Thankfully, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go around posting leaflets or attending events – although these are useful promotional methods. With the power of the Internet, you can reach more potential customers than ever before without stepping foot out of your restaurant. For proof, here are four effective online marketing methods:

The power of social media

Social media is an incredibly effective tool for marketing your restaurant. It’s an easy way to interact with your customers and advertise your business in a visual manner. Social media is also the perfect platform for running competitions, which can gain your eatery an extensive level of visibility among the local community.

Reviews = validation

In the world of restaurants, reviews are king. They serve as validation for the quality of your restaurant, and they are an easy way for potential visitors to know what you’re about. As a result, you need customers to supply positive reviews – the more, the better – on the likes of TripAdvisor and Facebook.

To gain business reviews for local SEO purposes, you could give customers a reason to leave feedback. Entice them with the offer of, say, 10% off their next restaurant visit. You could even run a competition where everyone who leaves a review is added to a competition for a free meal.

Build an informative website

Don’t just rely on social media and Google My Business to deliver your business information to customers. This should be done through a dedicated website, one which is modern and professional in appearance.

By doing this, you can customize and add as much information as you want. Want to detail the history of the restaurant? This can be done with an ‘About Us’ page. Perhaps you want to detail the meals and drinks you serve?Post an easy-to-read PDF of your restaurant menu.

Reservations are not only done over the phone

That’s right. You might be used to only accepting reservations over the phone, but it’s time to move into the present. Nowadays, restaurants offer the opportunity for customers to complete their reservations online. This added convenience is a subtle yet effective method for increasing visitor numbers.

To provide the option of online reservations, you could hire a professional web design company to implement a platform on your website. However, there are third-party platforms such as OpenTable which give you the opportunity of setting up online reservation functionality with little trouble.

5 Critical Areas to Focus to boost your Local SEO

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Local SEO|5 Critical Areas to Focus to boost your Local SEOAs a small business owner, growing your business is full of impediments and challenges. Local SEO is one such hindrance that remains a mystery as well as area of expertise that is beyond the scope of entrepreneurs. With limited resources and budget, entrepreneurs cannot afford to hire a full-time SEO expert for their firm. Here business owners should churn down specific areas where they can afford to focus in their busy schedule. According to Local Dudes Marketing, a San Diego SEO marketing company dominating your business on Google for local search queries is easy if you focus on these 5 important areas. Take a look!

Local Site Listing

Citations play a huge role in boosting the local SEO campaigns. And, if you want to target users with local intent, you must build citations using local resources. Here local listings such as directories, business pages, local blogs, and review websites focused on local businesses can be vital to get effective results. Apart from SEO perspective, local site listing can be an incredible source of traffic that not generate traffic but help you get more revenue from targeted users.

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Local SEO|5 Critical Areas to Focus to boost your Local SEOOn-page SEO

For achieving the results you’re aspiring for in Local SEO, you cannot undermine On-Page SEO anyway. On-page SEO tends to remain as crucial for local SEO as for International SEO. Make sure to optimize your title, description, and alt text to match the queries with local search intent.

Apart from the optimization, put a great deal of effort in researching and finding keywords that are used by users in your area to find your business and related products. And, make sure to target keywords from local point of view. So, Instead of going for simply “Italian Pizza”, you can optimize for local search to make it look like “Italian Pizza in New York”. Undoubtedly, these changes will open up your business to witness phenomenal results.

Other necessary additions include NAP, this factor is imperative to prove the legitimacy and credibility of your website to search engines. Make sure to add your Name, address, and phone numbers are consistently added to your listings as well as landing pages.

Reviews

Reviews are crucial to develop trust, credibility, and make your business stand-out from the competitors. A few reviews definitely make a good impression on your customers and overall help you gain more and more customers. To master SEO, don’t be afraid of offering some free products to get some reviews to get local SEO success.

Social Media

Social medial is not all about sharing images, thoughts, and gossiping, it can be an amazing place to reach out targeted local audience too. If your don’t have social presence, make sure to create business page with NAP details and create posts with hash tag that includes local keywords to engage local audience.

Content

Instead of going for Marketing Services, you can strive to create engaging and useful content that people would love and share. You can focus on making stories about your product or services with local keywords to get traffic relevant to your products. Use content marketing to win natural backlinks. And, thus eventually gain more traffic.

Final words

Local SEO can help you dominate organic search and reduce the marketing cost to fit your pocket. And, using it to your advantage is definitely the way out to grow and succeed.