• FAQs

          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.


        • FAQs

          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.


        • FAQs

          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.


        • FAQs

          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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3 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Marketing Budget

3 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Marketing Budget

Marketing: “Communicating the value of a product, service or brand to customers or consumers for the purpose of promoting or selling that product, service, or brand.” (Wikipedia)

WHAT THE HECK IS A MARKETING BUDGET?

In order for our products and services to get attention we must market them. Whether it be the old fashion ‘word-of-mouth’ or harnessing the power of the Internet, great marketing is often the difference between a successful business venture and one that flops.

While many companies would agree that marketing is important, many of their budgets, or lack thereof, prove they still don’t fully grasp the power of marketing. Sales is obviously important. But I argue that the businesses that will stand out over the next few years are the ones that merge the sales and marketing process together. Great marketing will increase your sales. A well-informed sales team will help create better marketing. In return, you create a powerful lead generation machine that will ultimately grow your business long-term. In order to achieve this powerful unity between sales and marketing we need to first put value back in marketing and understand that the investment we make is worth it.

Many of the companies I speak with have no clue what they can or need to spend on their marketing. Worse yet, the ones that do have a number are usually not even close to what they are looking to generate. When it comes to marketing, it’s important to see it from a value-added perspective. This will help you set more realistic numbers before you engage with a marketing agency. So let’s look 3 simple truths when it comes to your marketing budget.

1. You May Be Small, but You Still Need A Budget

Too many small business owners think that they are exempt from having a budget because they are just too small. This couldn’t be further from the truth. With less capital than your larger competitors, it’s extremely important to know where each dollar goes and to ensure that you maximize your ROI. Even if you aren’t doing “active” marketing what you are doing costs something.  From your website domain to your business cards, small businesses need to know where their money is going and for what purpose. This gives you the power over your budget instead of the other way around. You may even find out that you have more you can invest in promoting your products and services.

2. You Have More to Work With Than You Realize

Today there are more avenues than ever to promote your business at extremely affordable rates. The trick is finding out what avenue will give you the greatest ROI. By having a clear budget you will be able to look at your options and then intelligently decide what strategy will be the best option for your business.

PRO TIP: Your budget should be tied to SMART goals. This will help you measure the ROI more effectively and in real business terms.

We all know this truth, but I think a lot of the time we like to ignore it. Nothing is free. Whether you are spending money on outsourcing your marketing, having one of your employees (or yourself) do it, or not doing anything at all, it is costing you something. By establishing a marketing budget you will be able to see what it is costing your business to promote yourself and if your resources are being used wisely.

If you’ve never set a marketing budget don’t worry, you can start today. There is no need to overcomplicate the process.  Keep it simple. Just look back at last year’s tax returns or budget (if you had one) and ask yourself 2 questions:

  • What did I spend on marketing?
  • Was I satisfied with the results?

After you’ve answered these two questions see whether you need to change your strategy and invest more or less in a specific area. You’ll never know what you could do if you don’t know what you are doing! Take some time and develop your marketing budget. It will pay off in the end.

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