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          Search engine optimization (SEO) helps businesses drive visits to their website through organic search traffic. Given that the top organic search results receive a third of the clicks, a decline in ranking could be detrimental for your business. Implementing SEO best practices on your website will help to ensure that your web content is seen by as many potential customers as possible. The more visitors you have, the better your chances are of converting those visits into sales!

          Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps local businesses gain visibility by optimizing their local business listings for local search. A business that leverages local SEO will include its address, phone number, local opening times, and exact location in the form of a local citation. The goal is to rank for local searches which are usually performed by people in a specific geographical region looking for a business near them.

          We typically see results within the first 30 to 60 days, but when it comes to SEO, there are many factors at play. It's important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy and results may not come as fast at you wish.

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          Digital advertising uses the internet to send advertisements to customers who are online through different websites and social media platforms like Google, Bing, LinkedIn and Facebook.

          The price for Google Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

          The price for Social Media Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

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          This depends on the complexity and size of a redesign and if eCommerce is needed. On average, it takes around 14-18 weeks from the web design intensive stage to launch.

          If your website experiences the following issues: it’s not responsive on all devices, has a slow loading speed, the design appears old and tired, users don’t spend long on the site, sales are stagnant, or your business is going through a rebranding - your website needs a redesign to boost your brand awareness and sales.

          Sometimes there’s no need to rebuild a website. Minor edits, refreshing page content and images, or restructuring page layout for SEO best practices can boost traffic and sales.

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          Semantic search launched in 2013 with the release of Google's Hummingbird update. Since then, Google's search engine has become more complex. The integration of machine learning, with RankBrain, and NLP, with BERT, has enabled the search engine to better understand the context of a query and deliver more personalized and targeted results. Semantic SEO is the process of creating machine-readable content using structured data and linked open data to help search engines better understand your content.

          On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page SEO refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals. From meta tags to page content, website structure, and HTML, on-page optimization services are focused on making your website more visible to search engines.

          Structured data refers to any organized data that conforms to a certain format, such as information in a relational database. When information is highly structured and predictable, search engines can more easily organize and display it in creative ways. Structured data involves using a piece of code that is laid out in a specific format easily understood by search engines. The search engines read the code and use it to display search results in a more dynamic way.

        • FAQs

          An SEO agency has experts in different areas of search engine optimization that may be out of the realm of your marketing team's abilities. SEO can be very complex and time-consuming. Furthermore, as search engine algorithms change it can be difficult to stay current on the latest ranking factors and strategies for improving online visibility. You will likely see a greater return on investment and better results from using a professional SEO agency than you would from tackling this on your own.

          As a digital marketing agency, SMA Marketing provides products and services in four areas: SEO, Local SEO, Digital Advertising, and Web Design

          We focus on building authentic, long-lasting relationships with our clients. We’re goal oriented and results driven and believe in doing good and making a difference in the world.

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7 Tips To Creating Stronger Blog Content

Beth Walker

February 22, 2017

When it comes to creating the best content for my blog, there is one phrase that keeps me focused. We need to create content with a purpose. With two million blog posts going up daily, it’s possible to get lost in the crowd. The blogs that draw the largest crowds of readers have more than fancy logos. They have content filled with personality that is engaging and informative. Here are several tips to help you create content which will rise above the noise.

7 Tips to Create Stronger Blog Content

#1 Develop Your Ideas

Spend time creating a list of topics to write on. You will want to make sure they are relevant to the subject you have created your blog around. That being said, this shouldn’t be a hard thing. You are an expert in your subject matter, which is why you started your blog in the first place! There isn’t an exact science to creating a content subject list, but hopefully, these ideas will help you get started.

  • Google your topic and see what comes up
  • Quora will give you insight into the questions people are asking
  • Read what others are saying about your subject
  • Read a variety of authors unrelated to what you would like to blog on
  • Take a subject and divide it out into more specific items to present
  • Research, research, research and continue to be an expert on your chosen area of focus

Taking time to dive deep into your subject matter as well as what others are writing about will help you to think broadly about a variety of topics. Inspired writers write. You may find that your view opposes current information on a different blog. You might discover you have additional information that hasn’t yet been presented. Regardless of what you learn, positioning yourself to be inspired will help you develop strong content.

#2 Add an Attention Grabbing Headline

Although you will spend the majority of your time on the content of a blog post, having a great title will draw people to read the content you’ve worked so hard on. Personally, I hate when a blog title is misleading. It’s become a habit of my friends to post an article on Facebook with a disclaimer that says something similar to “Read the whole article before you comment!” This disclaimer is included because people use the title of an article or blog post to determine the author’s content. To take the point further, people often decide whether or not to read an article in part because of the title. Taking time to develop a headline that attracts a reader who will learn something from your content will help build trust, resulting in readers who return again and again because they know your writing is relevant.

Besides the title reflecting the content of the blog post, a catchy phrase in the headline will draw in the right readers. The Advanced Marketing Institute has a free tool which will analyze your blog title. The analysis will give you insight into ways to strengthen your score as well. The title of this blog scored 42.8%. The first title I chose scored 27%. I swapped out words and rearranged things until a score I was happy with was achieved.

#3 Watch Your Tone

Hubspot explains you need to watch the tone of your content. It’s important that you speak in an authentic voice. You also want to make sure to stay focused on the information you are presenting. It’s better to keep your writing conversational, even with academic topics. Aim to write to your readers, not to elevate yourself above them. Humor is always a great addition, but keep it clean and relevant.

#4 Make it Relevant

Writing tangents can be detrimental to a blog post. The typical blog post is between 500-1000 words. It’s important to use all of those words to surround the subject you promised to present in your title and first paragraph of your post. Short attention spans will stay focused for the length of the article if your post is interesting and informative.

#5 Use Clear, Concise and Simple Language

There are a variety of words that can be included within a sentence structure to convey the same idea. That is to say; you can say the same thing many different ways to get the same idea across. Newspaper reporters write at an average of 8th-grade level. They are doing this to reach the largest audience.

Hubspot also suggests avoiding as many acronyms as possible. The idea is the same; acronyms won’t be understood by everyone reading the post.

#6 Read, Review, and Edit

Misspelled words can be a distraction. Using a program like spellcheck will catch most of the errors. Grammarly will take things a step further and offer suggestions on sentence structure. This process, although tedious, is a key piece of creating excellent blog content. Any professional publication has multiple sets of eyes reviewing it, and your blog posts should always convey that you too are a professional. Spending time rereading your blog posts will help ensure you are presenting your topic clearly. For a list of free editing tools, check out this post.

#7 Have Fun

Writing your expert blog post should be a fun process. There will be times you feel rushed to get a post scheduled, but overall, your language and style can still convey a cheerful presentation.  Consider adding humor or asking the reader to engage by answering questions. These help to reveal a welcoming personality that is warm and interested in developing a relationship with readers. Your blog is a chance to display your passion and knowledge for others with similar interests. Your words might help someone solve a problem, make a decision, or broaden their view. Whether you help guide someone towards the best purchase or assist them to increase their business revenue, your blog will be making an impact, and that’s worth the time and effort to create strong blog content.

Writing a blog post that stands out in the crowded internet is achievable for many people, but it won’t happen without hard work. Taking the time to create a blog post with strong content will be a leap in the right direction. Including an attention-grabbing headline along with a post written in clear, concise language will draw the right readers in. Providing informative content that speaks to their interests and needs will make them read to the last sentence. Having a tone that is relatable and relevant will keep them coming back.

Good luck! I hope these 7 tips help you as much as they’ve helped me create stronger blog content. I’d love to hear your favorite writing tips so be sure to comment below.

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Beth Walker

Beth Walker is a Content Manager who is passionate about storytelling. She leads our In-House writing team and works closely with clients and CSMs to ensure all the content SMA creates meets SEO best practices and tells each client's unique story.

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