Working with SEO Analyst: Introduction

Search engine optimization is something that is well-known to web specialists but just breaking the into popular consciousness. The need to have a bonafide SEO analyst on your team is growing year over year. People are starting to take note of the power that SEO has, and for good reason.

For whatever reason, most businesses haven’t yet taken the time to optimize their websites for search engines. In fact, very few small businesses are investing in SEO.

We’ll go into some detail about why that is a mistake, in addition to why it may be good for you that your competition is slacking. Most importantly, though, we’re looking to show you why an SEO analyst is a good investment for your business.

Let’s get to it.

If You Don’t Know SEO…

An integral part of understanding the value of an SEO specialist is knowing precisely what search engine optimization is. It’s different than marketing, although the two are often confused.

It’s a fairly straightforward idea with a lot of ins and outs. It gets more complicated as you look closer, but the fact of the matter is that you have to look closer in order to see results.

So, here’s the basic stuff:

How the Search Engine Operates

Search engines are so intertwined with the web that most people have only experienced the internet through the use of sites like Google or Bing. That’s because these sites tend to provide us with all of the information that is immediately relevant to us.

At the same time, the data archived in search engines is just that: archived. Search engines scour the web in search for sites that they haven’t yet indexed. They do this with the use of bots called “spiders” or “crawlers.”

These can be likened to little messengers that bounce from site to site through links, documenting relevant information so that it can be searched at the front end of the search engine. These bots make note of a number of things.

Their first mission is to index the site and make note of the content. Having the content noted allows the engine to pull up sites based on the keywords that a page has. The second mission of the bot is to rank the pages based on over 200 factors that determine where the site will land when it’s searched.

That’s a basic overview of how Google indexes all of its 30 trillion pages. Surprisingly, that is less than 1 percent of the internet.

Where Search Engine Optimization Comes in

Search engines use algorithms to determine which sites will be most relevant to the keywords that a user searches with. Imagine it: whenever a person makes one Google search, their keywords are run against 30 trillion websites. Somehow, the site always pulls up pages that are pretty much exactly what we wanted.

This means a couple of things. First, the algorithm Google uses is sophisticated. Second, because there’s a smart algorithm, we have the opportunity to use it to our advantage.

How Sophisticated Is the Algorithm?

The whole process starts with looking at the words in the search. The system looks at your spelling to check for possible errors, uses language models to cross-reference synonyms, and get an understanding of what you’re looking to find.

This is essential because many people will search for the same thing but use different language to do it. Further, the system determines how specific of results you’d like based on language cues.

Once they’ve got a basic idea of what you want, search engines run through the pages that could be relevant. The keywords in the search are referenced against other pages that contain those words, deciding which of those sites has the keywords in the most significant places.

The titles and headings of pages are common spots for essential keywords. This process on the search-end of things is only possible because the search engine has already ranked the usefulness of pages.

How An SEO Analyst Helps You Use the Algorithm to Your Advantage

The back end of the search engine, the ranking process, is based on hundreds of factors. We know of a number of those factors, but it’s in Google’s best interest to keep their cards close to their chest.

If everyone knew precisely how the algorithm worked, irrelevant sites could optimize to reach the top of searches without being useful to users. If that happened to a search engine, that engine would cease to be useful.

Sites like Google want to remain the most useful so as not to lose their users to other search engines. As a result, we have to guess at some of the finer points of search engine optimization.

There are some general areas that we know the ranking factors fall into, though. Things like freshness, keyword relevance, user experience, reviews, backlinking, and quality are all taken into account. It’s likely that each of those terms has subcategories of ranking within them.

Going with what we know, SEO analysts dig into those categories and fine-tune them to the needs of the search engine.

The Work of Optimization

Each area that requires optimization is a challenge in itself. That said, the difficulty of ranking well is dependent on your competition.

If your local competition has entirely failed to optimize, you’ll have to do a lot less work than you would if your neighbors were spending all their time on fine-tuning their sites.

People are bound to catch on, though, and it’s important to have a well-optimized site, especially for local searches. Most people pull out their phones and search “tacos near me” when they’re hungry for tacos.

They search “gas station near me” when they’re out of town and need to find gas. They search “flower shop near me” when they forgot their partner’s birthday.

That’s the way of the world now. Word of mouth and print advertising are slightly effective, but the primary visibility of our time comes when you rank within the top three results on a search engine. In order to get to that coveted spot, you have to work on the following things:

1. Creating Quality Content

It’s essential that your site produces web pages on a regular basis. The ranking your site gets will be dependent on the “freshness” of your content. This is why you don’t normally see any posts in SERPS (search engine results pages) that were created before 2013.

The fresher the better. While you’re creating fresh content, you need to make sure that it’s actually relevant to what users want. This requires that you base content off of keyword research.

2. Keyword Optimization and Research

Trends in what users are searching should inform the content that you’re creating. When you make blog posts that answer common user questions, you can be sure that there will be users to look at your site.

This means that you should do research to find trends in keywords and use those specific words and phrases to optimize your content. Optimizing your content for keywords typically means placing one in the introduction, the header, a few in the body of the content, and the conclusion.

It’s important that the placement of these terms is natural, but it’s generally good to have a few keywords scattered throughout the writing.

3. Links

The more connected a page is, the more relevant it seems to Google. It’s important to link out to different sites, but it’s far more important to have sites link to you.

The process of accumulating links to your site is called “backlinking.” This means that you reach out to other websites that might have a connection to some of your content.

Once your site picks up enough steam, you’ll find that sites should link to you without you asking them to. In fact, you might be the site that they ask for backlinks if you’re popular enough.

4. Reviews

Search engines also value customer reviews and customer experience very highly. Achieving positive reviews starts with you and your physical business, of course.

There is, however, a wealth of options for incentivizing customers to give reviews.

Hiring an SEO Analyst

The information above might seem a little daunting. To be honest, we’ve only scratched the surface. Each of the general SEO categories listed above requires significant amounts of work and a lot of attention to detail.

Handling the work of optimizing your site correctly could take up dozens of hours a week. It’s almost as if optimization should be a job of its own.

That’s why SEO analysts exist. These are people who are skilled in understanding the nature of the search engine and how sites can tailor themselves to rank well. The investment of hiring someone to work on your site is an extremely valuable one.

Especially in a time of ‘near me’ searches and excessive reliance on search engines, having your site rise the ranks and reach the top will result in increased sales.

Think You Need Some Help?

It’s a good idea to think about working with an SEO analyst. It’s also smart to take a peek at your site and see if there are any longstanding issues with it.

If you’re interested in generating a presence online and improving sales, contact us to learn more about what you can do.

The post Working with an SEO Analyst to Improve Your Organic Visibility appeared first on Midas Marketing.

When you’re a business owner, or you’re an individual who’s thinking of creating an app, it can be tough to know where to start. You may have some general concepts in your mind, but how do you tell other people what your vision is?’

Or, maybe you know what you want the core functionality of the app to be, but you don’t have anything beyond that, like what you want to look or feel to be.

Regardless, a mood board can be a good starting place in the app development process. A mood board might sound a little artsy for some businesses, but it’s a really good way to make vague concepts and ideas more cohesive.

The following are some tips to help you get started with an app development mood board.

What Should You Use a Mood Board For?

First, developers who recommend the use of a mood board do clarify that it’s not a way to replace prototyping. Instead, it should be used as a complement to traditional prototype development. For example, it can be the first stage of creating a prototype.

Mood boards can also be useful for overall brainstorming, or to bring a sense of cohesion and clarity to the concepts that are going to be used.

If you have an abstract idea in your mind, it can be tough to convey this to other people, so mood boards can be helpful there as well.

A mood board is a good way to help save money on the prototyping process as well, and it can save time in the overall development process because it can ensure everyone is on the same page.

How Should You Present a Mood Board?

When we think about a traditional mood board, we often think about a physical board. However, a digital mood board can be good for app development.

With an app, you don’t necessarily need the textural elements you would if you were let’s say using a mood board for an interior design project.

With a digital mood board, it’s easier to share, and you can show investors, developers, and all key stakeholders easily.

Carefully Curate

When you first start a mood board, you’re going to be doing a ton of research and brainstorming. It can be a challenge to limit what you want to include, but you will need to curate your inspiration.

Once you feel like you’re at a point to curate, eliminate everything that doesn’t speak to the core concept and functionality you want to get across.

While a mood board can reduce the development time for a new app project, if you don’t properly curate it, it can take longer. You don’t want conflicting or unclear concepts or images that muddy the process.

To make your development process as streamlined as possible, you want to cut out anything that could seem ambiguous or like it clashes with something else on the mood board.

Finally, you can always follow a set format for your mood board. There are excellent tools online that give you a defined framework from which to work.

The post Creating a Mood Board for Your New App appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Nowadays on the internet, memes reign supreme.

New memes are created every day from celebrities’ quotes, politicians’ mistakes, or even idiotic catchphrases from viral videos.

Facebook averages roughly 1.2 billion active users per day, and Twitter has over 300 million active users per month. With the constant usage of these social media sites, new memes spread like wildfire, reaching more people than ever.

The popularity of memes has led many businesses to contemplate whether or not they should partake in meme marketing.

There are both pros and cons to meme marketing. Read on to learn more about them and to see if this type of marketing strategy could be the right fit for you.

What Exactly Is Meme Marketing?

Before we get into the marketing side of things, let’s first clearly define what a “meme” is.

The term “meme” was first coined in 1976 by the famous evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in his book, The Selfish Gene. Its origin is Greek, and it most simply means “to imitate.”

Since that time, though, the word “meme” has taken on a much larger, more expansive meaning. It essentially describes any type of idea, phrase, image, or other type of media that is shared online between people.

In a way, memes have become the common, universal language of the Internet. That is why so many businesses are interested in using memes to market their products: there is essentially a built-in audience that will recognize the marketing of your brand.

With meme marketing, relatively new businesses can use existing memes to advertise their products and gain customers.

Meanwhile, more well-known and well-established companies can create their own memes and try to make them go viral.

The Pros

There are a lot of clear positives when it comes to using memes in your marketing strategy.

First and foremost, discovering and utilizing the right type of meme makes your brand become more identifiable. Potential customers will notice and appreciate the familiarity of the meme you are using. It’s a way to instantly relate to them.

Using memes can also help businesses connect with a younger audience if they’re struggling with reaching out to them. Memes project a fun, lighthearted image that’s appealing to young adults. Plus, they are instantly shareable on all social media platforms.

While social media has become more widely adopted by people of all ages, young consumers still use it the most out of any age group. Plus, they have used social media for a longer and more consistent period of time than older adults have.

The Cons

With all of those positives, though, come some potential negatives when businesses try implementing memes into their marketing.

The first and most important thing that all businesses can do is know and understand the meme they want to post before they actually post it. Using a meme incorrectly can backfire and damage your brand’s reputation.

Another possible issue could be the timing of your posts.

Some memes have very long life spans that last for years. Other ones burn out in just a couple of weeks or even a few days.

With each meme you use, you are taking a risk.

Some posts could become evergreen marketing if the meme lasts long enough. But others could be huge misfires if you mistime the posting of the meme.

Lastly, be sure that the meme you are using is appropriate.

In the past, other organizations have faced harsh criticism from people who were offended by the meme they chose to use.

Whatever publicity you get from using an inappropriate meme won’t be worth the cost of destroying your reputation with loyal customers.

Do your research. Consult other professionals.

Make sure the meme is the right fit for your business and your customers before you use it.

The Verdict

So what’s the verdict? Should you include memes in your future marketing plan?

Honestly, it could be a different answer for each business.

But, overall, memes have proven to be an effective form of marketing when used responsibly. Plus, memes open your business up to the widest consumer base possible.

Keep yourself informed and updated on the newest trends. Understand that there are major benefits to utilizing memes correctly in your online marketing plan.

But also remember that you are taking a risk each time you jump on the meme bandwagon. Discretion is key. Pick the right ones.

Have you tried this type of marketing before? If so, what was your experience with it like?

Interested in exploring meme marketing or other types of marketing strategies? Contact us so we can help!

The post Should You Use a Meme Marketing Strategy? appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Do you want to take your business to the next level and see it grow considerably and consistently? A high quality, strategic SEO campaign can do just that and more.

Did you know that 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results and 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine?

What’s more, a study by Outbrain found that search is the #1 driver of traffic to content sites, beating social media by more than 300%.

You can spend as much or as little as you want on SEO, but what would happen if you went all out? Here’s what actually happens in a $1500/month SEO campaign.

What is an SEO Campaign?

SEO involves the optimization of a website, blog or web platform to encourage genuine traffic to be directed towards the site more often. SEO is pivotal in determining the rank of websites. If done right, it will attract more people to your site and therefore increase long-term growth.

What Kind of Businesses Should Aim for the $1500 per Month Budget?

Small and mid-size business, often with local emphasis should look at this kind of price range.

For regional businesses with a niche audience, $2000-6000 is more reasonable and for international businesses, expect to pay more than $10000 a month for optimal results.

What Do you Get for $1500 per Month?

An SEO campaign budget of this level will usually provide extensive link building, which is a very important part of generating online authority. It will also include:

• Keyword analysis
• Competitor analysis
• Onsite SEO
• Content strategy and development
• Google Analytics
• Monthly reporting

When Will You See Results?

In the SEO world, you won’t see results overnight and this is really important to keep in mind.

In the first few months of A $1500/month SEO campaign (or any for that matter), there will be a gradual increase in traffic to your website. But by the 5th or 6th month, rankings will go up significantly.

Don’t panic if you don’t see immediate results, it takes time for SEO to affect rankings, traffic, sales and leads.

The Benefits of Using a Monthly SEO Service

If you’re looking to form a long-term partnership with an SEO service, a monthly campaign will enable you to develop a working relationship and strategy that grows with time. Monthly services are also fantastic if you need to outsource SEO work since it’s one less thing for you to have to worry about regarding your business.

You’ll have someone managing your campaign from start to finish, leaving you time to focus on everything else.

Final Thoughts

A well-rounded marketing plan is imperative for both new and established companies. Regardless of how many years your business has been up and running, it is essential to think long-term when addressing budgetary considerations for any SEO campaign.

The Internet is constantly changing. There are trends and methods that will come and go, but SEO is here to stay, which means you and your business need to jump on board.

Want to learn more about how Midas can help with your business’s SEO needs? Contact us today to talk to one of our experts.

Curious about our past work? Check out our impressive portfolio.

The post What is Involved in a $1500/Month SEO Campaign? appeared first on Midas Marketing.

One of the daunting aspects of getting your business officially of the ground is building the best website possible. How much does WordPress cost? What about web design services?

How do you even know what you need?

As you’re developing your website, it can be difficult to develop an appropriate budget. You may not even know where to start.

We’re here to help you navigate the Internet jungle and answer your questions. When it comes to websites, is the most expensive option the better one?

How much does a WordPress site cost?

When you’re wondering how much budget to allot for your WordPress site, you may start by researching exactly how much a website should cost.

However, if you’re looking for a specific figure, you might be disappointed.

There are a ton of variables to your website that make a ballpark figure all but impossible.

Different websites have different needs, so your website budget isn’t going to match another business.

Therefore, regardless of what system you’re using to build your site, there are some questions you need to ask yourself to get accurate answers.

What do you need for your website?

The first step to developing your business’ website is to figure out exactly what it is your website needs.

Presuming you’re using design services to take your website as far as it can go, you need to figure out what pages you need, the costs for writing them, as well as links to your social media.

• 7 pages, Home, Contact, FAQ, About Us, Shipping, TOS, and Privacy Policy.
• Social media links: Facebook, Twitter, Google+
• Social media widgets for the above

Keep in mind that this is a very bare-bones web page. It doesn’t include anything for you to interact with, and it only includes links to the most effective advertising schemes.

This could cost you about $3000 to $4000.

Also, if this is a new project, the cost will differ somewhat from a website redesign.

To get an idea of a solid budget, you need to know how many pages you need for your website. If you sell products, you need to take count of those, as well as any options (color, size, etc.) for those products and whether or not they vary in price.

The price will also change if you need help creating content or you’ll do it on your own. Additionally, pictures and graphics can change the cost.

Where to draw the line?

The figures and process above can be eye-opening. When we’re talking about a $10,000 WordPress site compared against a $4000 bare bones site, it’s easy to see how your costs can soar.

That said, a $10,000 WordPress site could absolutely be worth it, provided everything is optimized correctly and your content is effective.

A good portion of this is going to fall on your shoulders, not your designer’s. A website is only as good as what you do with it, so you’ll have to put in the legwork to make sure that website pays off.

For $10,000, it should be completely decked out, meaning that it’s mostly plug-and-play to take it to its full potential.

Conclusion

As a business owner, you best know your website’s needs and strengths. Find design services that capitalize on those.

Designing a great website can take a big chunk of your budget, and looking at that number’s never a great experience if it’s flying away from you.

However, an expensive website can help polish your name and develop a good reputation for your business. It’s up to you to determine whether or not you need fully loaded options.

Any questions or comments regarding web design or building the perfect website? We’ve got you covered.

The post How Much Does a WordPress Site Cost? Is a $10,000 Site Worth it? appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Putting together a digital marketing campaign can help your business, but to maximize its benefit it should be results driven.

By being results driven, your company maintains its focus on what works best and leverages this to improve your business.

But how can you make sure your digital marketing campaign is results driven?

Let’s take a closer look at how to do this!

Set Measurable Goals

One way is by establishing measurable goals for your campaign.

In order to set these goals, you need to give your business an honest assessment of where it is now and where you want it to go.

But how do you do this? By looking at the past and the present to help you look ahead to the future.

Look at the current trends in your industry. What is working for you and your competitors?

When you consider the past, take a look at what you or your competitors have done that worked and didn’t work.

With those things in mind, set short- and long-term goals for your business.

Ask yourself how your businesses campaign can help it achieve those goals.

Regularly Evaluate Results

Pay close attention to the results of your digital marketing campaign through a reliable metrics measurement tool.

Google Analytics is a free service offered by Google that measures your website’s traffic. But it isn’t just a matter of who is visiting what area of your site.

What are your customers doing when they are on your website. Are they spending more time on certain pages over others? How are certain marketing tactics you are using helping sales of your product or service?

By an in-depth analysis of your results by your business and experienced digital marketing professionals, you can recognize patterns and other trends to help you refine your campaign.

Act on Your Analysis

But an in-depth analysis isn’t enough on its own! You need to take that information and use it to your businesses advantage.

Your data will probably show you things that are working well and others that aren’t.

Knowing what to do with this information is an important part of keeping focusing on  results

A Results Driven Digital Marketing Campaign

A results driven digital marketing campaign is an important tool for your business.

But in order to maintain your focus on being results driven, you have to do a few important things.

Set measurable goals for your business by looking at trends in your industry and what has worked (and not worked) in the past.

Utilize a reliable analytics program, among other things, to see what is working and not working.

But putting this information to use is what matters in a results driven campaign.

Be sure that you refine your message so that it resonates with consumers in the best possible way.

If you are a business owner in the Portland, Oregon area considering taking your digital marketing efforts to the next level, contact us. We want to talk about your business and how we can help you!

The post How to Make Sure Your Digital Marketing Campaign is Results Driven appeared first on Midas Marketing.

Do You Need An Expensive Website?

As business owners and marketing leaders, we all hopefully recognize that a great website is crucial for a successful business is just about every industry. But what type of site do you need, and what should you expect to shell out to make sure you aren’t overpaying for your website? Which features do you need, and which are going to run up costs unnecessarily? What exactly is hosting and what should it cost? Since having a website designed is often viewed as a confusing process, many will blindly hire someone to build them a site not knowing whether or not the cost is even fair. We’re here to help you cut through the noise and understand how to price out your website project properly.

1. Understand What You Need

First, you need to have a better understanding of exactly what it is that you need with your website. What are the core competencies of your business? What has worked well for your business, and how might you integrate that into a website? Never just blindly accept what your designer says, because they may not have an intimate understanding of your business and what drives it forward. Do you actually need a fancy site that does a lot of cool but unnecessary things (even if those are recommended to you)? Maybe not. Take a look around at your competitor’s sites to see what they look like and write down the ideas you’d like to emulate. If you have friends or colleagues who work in online marketing, don’t hesitate to get advice from a 3rd party about making your site stand out and hitting its goals. Once you have both of those lists, you’ll be much more prepared for the conversation with your team or agency about designing or redesigning your website.

2. Do Your Research

Another point is to make sure that you do your research first to become aware of the going rates for the work. A good rule of thumb is to get 2-3 different quotes to establish a realistic range of what you should expect to pay. By assessing what different website designers are offering and for what price, you’ll be able to see if you are indeed being overcharged for the work. If you have a colleague who has had a site built that you like, be sure to ask what they paid for their site and what exactly was included in that price.

3. Look Out For Hidden Extras

With a website, there are some companies that may be looking at adding in some hidden extras such as “upkeep and maintenance” of your website. If you are the kind of business where you do not need to update things on your website very often, you might want to ask why you need to pay for a service like that. It is all too easy for companies to charge a healthy monthly fee for webmaster duties, but in all honesty, all they are selling is peace of mind. There may be a fair price for that, or you may need frequent maintenance on your site, but if this doesn’t apply to you and you get quoted hundreds of dollars each month just for upkeep, you might want to inquire further into the actual work required to do this. If you are looking for ways to keep your costs low and your company has the bandwidth, be sure to tell the web developer that you will want him/her to teach you how to use the site once it is done. If they are unwilling to do that, it’s probably a red flag as many firms make a living by taking control and billing for it year after year! Keep shopping for a firm that will empower you to run the site once the major build has been done if all you require are basic content updates.

If your web developer won’t teach you how to perform basic updates on your site, but insists on charging hefty upkeep fees, get ready to run!

4. Think About The Hosting

If you have a small business, and your website is not going to be getting a huge number of hits, then you might not need to pay for an expensive hosting bill. Our advice is to check out the rates of some larger hosting companies, so you will be informed when your web development team gives you a quote. When shopping around, be sure to check the customer reviews of each company as not all hosting services are created equal. Although price is undoubtedly important, factors such as bandwidth, access to tech support and amount of storage you’ll receive are also important considerations. If you are unsure about what you need, make a call to the sales team of the major service providers and find out what they’d recommend and look for any overlap with the recommendations of your web developers.

Don’t End Up with an Expensive Website You Don’t Need

In summary, it is essential for you to do your research before you get a website designed, or re-designed, or you could end up costing yourself a lot more money than is required. Think carefully about what you need, look at what others are doing, do your research into the companies themselves, and actually try to find out what the going rate is for a website similar to what you need. A final word of caution: while price is undoubtedly something that you need to take into consideration, you should also make sure that you are getting value for money. “You get what you pay for” is often true in the world of online marketing. It’s true that an expensive firm may not be a good firm, but it’s also true that spending a little more upfront with a strong company will be well worth your while compared to the DIY temptation many people often consider. Your website represents your business, so investing in a good site is important. A budget website may actually be worse than having no website at all. All in all, doing your homework and following these steps will lead you to the best possible experience. Good luck!

The post How to Know if You Need an Expensive Website appeared first on Midas Marketing.

6 Ways to Turn Social Media Followers to Buyers

Taking a personable approach to social media marketing is a very effective way to build a large and loyal following. However, there’s more to business than just being liked. Unless you’re giving your online audience great value and a clear, undeniable reason to convert, it won’t do much for your bottom line. To ensure your followers show their support with their wallets also, here are six best practices for converting fans to customers.

1. Take trending topics and relate them back to your business.

As a company owner and/or decision maker, part of your job is to identify the problems your customers have, even if they aren’t consciously aware of them. After all, you’re the industry expert and this means that you have the trusted ability to determine how your services or products can impact and improve lives. Use major search engines to find out what topics are trending on the web and then find one that you can relate back to your business. For instance, if you service and install HVAC systems and web users are in a frenzy over the latest report on indoor mold growth, generate a few blog posts on this subject and then offer a modest discount on HVAC system servicing and filter replacements. Not only will this be a timely and well-received value-add to your fans, but it will also give them a relevant reason to consider your offer and take action.

2. Create a sense of urgency.

This is the oldest marketing tactic in the book, but it has, does and will continue to work. Generate social media posts to let people know that you have a high-value offer that will only last for a limited amount of time. Make sure to include a link back to the appropriate sales page and provide all the information that they need for taking advantage of the related promotion. In addition to fostering rapid and positive purchasing decisions, creating buyer urgency is also a great way to offload products that are collecting dust on warehouse shelves or nearing their expiration dates.

3. Contribute to a worthy cause.

Believe it or not, consumer buying decisions can still be driven by a desire to do something good for others. When researching trending topics, also look for a cause that you believe in and address it in your social media posts. Also, make sure to tell your customers that you’ll be donating a portion of your sales to the specified cause. Actions like these create more buyer urgency, give people the chance to contribute to causes they want to support and generate goodwill and good word-of-mouth advertising for your business.

Be creative and relevant with the causes your support. For example, a computer repair company might donate a percentage of profits to solar-powered computers in developing countries.

4. Take it to the press.

Do you have a new product, a new service or even a new address? Write up a professional press release or source one from a trusted team of content writers and then publish a link back to any media outlets that issue this release. This is marketing on top of marketing and it is guaranteed to make people take more interest in your business. Media outlets are considered information authorities and if they perceive your business as being worthy of discussion, consumers will consider it worthy of their cash.

5. Solve problems for free.

You don’t have spend money on promos and giveaways in order to win trust for your business. You’re an informed, experienced expert in your field and this means that you have valuable information to share. Helping people troubleshoot common problems online without collecting cash will allow you to establish a reputation for trustworthiness with your audience. When it comes to choosing a supplier or service provider, most people heavily consider the companies that they trust.

6. Make it fun to buy from you.

Gamification has been one of the top marketing buzzwords as of late. Making a game of you marketing campaigns is guaranteed to be effective. Why? Online consumers love playing games, especially on social networking sites. The enjoy competition and they like having the opportunity to win something. Gamification allows you to give things away without having to give something to everyone, which is the surest way to control your online marketing costs. Tell your fans and followers that people who purchase now will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a special prize or give them daily puzzles to solve for product or service discounts. Additionally and somewhat surprisingly, the ability to win something is often far more appealing than being given something for free.

Use These Tips to Turn Social Media Followers to Buyers

Ultimately, when it comes to building a robust customer base through social media marketing, it’s not enough to just attract large numbers of followers and fans. You have to give your readership a reason to engage and adequate incentive for converting. Fortunately, there are countless ways that you can do this without coming off as being entirely sales-oriented. The leading strategy, when the dust settles, is to commit yourself to always giving your followers excellent value. If you consistently give your fans and followers something worthwhile, they’ll keep coming back and your profits are sure to soar. Lastly, if you are wondering if your social media marketing is converting well enough to return positive value to your business, here’s a dedicated post on that very topic of measuring social media ROI.

The post How to Convert Your Social Media Followers to Buyers appeared first on Midas Marketing.

10 Best WordPress Plugins for Business

WordPress is the most widely used content management system, which basically means it’s a platform for creating dynamic websites that anyone can learn to use. Whether you’re a seasoned web design pro or a newbie just trying to make a splash, WordPress is for you. Once you get started with WordPress, it won’t be long before you start exploring how “plugins” can empower and enhance your business’ website.

One reason for WordPress’ incredible popularity, in addition to its amazing ease of use, is the staggering amount of plugins available. What’s a plugin? Put simply, a plugin is a way of adding special features to your WordPress site. It’s like an app for your smartphone. Some of these will affect how the site looks and acts while others perform tasks “under the hood” that make a huge difference to how your website will function. Many WordPress plugins are free, although some will come with a (usually small) price.

We’ve compiled a list of 10 essential WordPress plugins to grow your business and make your website shine.

You can find any of these plugins by searching by name for them in the plugins section of your WordPress dashboard.

1. Simple Share Buttons Adder (free)

Part of growing your business involves ensuring you have a presence on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. As the name suggests, this plugin adds buttons that easily allow your site’s visitors to quickly share your website’s blog posts. If you’ve made your content relevant and engaging, then your readers will want to share it – and this plugin makes it a snap for them to do so.

2. Yoast (free)

Yoast is the king of SEO optimization plugins for WordPress. This SEO plugin ensures helps you target keywords, modify your posts, and optimize your content to rank well in the search engines. It’s a vital tool for any website that wants to be discovered organically through online search.

3. iThemes Security Pro ($80 – $150 per year, or $247 permanent license)

Although this plugin does come with a price tag, it is completely worth it. While WordPress is an incredible platform to use, like anything online it is vulnerable to hacks and malware. The last thing your business needs is a website that doesn’t work and iThemes Security Pro will protect your site from hackers.

4. Contact Form 7 (free)

Don’t let business slip away because customers couldn’t find your contact information! A prominently displayed “Contact Us” page is vital for any website. If your customers, or potential customers, visit your site with questions, Contact Form 7 will be ready and waiting to take their query and email it to you. You can literally get your contact page setup in minutes.

5. Mailchimp For WordPress (free for the plugin, cost to use Mailchimp may apply)

Mailchimp is an incredibly versatile email list management system. Used the world over by businesses and marketers, it’s an excellent way to not only keep your customers informed but to drive your sales. Mailchimp For WordPress will seamlessly integrate Mailchimp into your website, automatically adding new subscribers to your Mailchimp list when they sign up on your website.

6. Backup Buddy ($80 to $150 per year, or $247 permanent license)

Another essential plugin from iThemes, Backup Buddy does what the name suggests. Time is money for your business, and a broken website or lost data is something you simply can’t afford to have. Backup Buddy helps to easily and effectively automate the backup process for your WordPress site, ensuring that important information is never lost.

7. Visual Composer ($25)

While WordPress comes with a sophisticated text editor for creating web pages and posts, it can be limiting in many respects. While the built-in editor allows only for full-page display of text, Visual Composer will allow you to jazz up your pages by adding columns and other more dynamic layouts. This plugin will help give your business presence that extra bit of spark that will wow your visitors and make your site unique, without the headache or expense of custom coding.

8. The Events Calendar (free)

This plugin is a must-have for any business that hosts events of any kind. The Events Calendar enables you to put a calendar of events up on your site, showing exactly when they are scheduled in detail. Not only that, but the plugin will allow you to sell tickets to your event – all from your WordPress site!

9. WooCommerce (free)

Have an inventory to sell? WooCommerce is the ultimate online selling tool, and it’s completely free. This incredibly flexible plugin allows you to add shopping carts, checkout, online catalogs and integrates seamlessly with an online payment processor such as PayPal.

10. W3 Total Cache (free)

This is one of those “under the hood” plugins that is absolutely essential. It “caches” your website information, which means it stores the unchanged information so that it speeds up your website, sometimes to a dramatic effect. It’s a night-and-day difference for your website speed, and your customers will definitely notice how lightning fast your website operates.

Dominate Your Niche with These 10 Best WordPress Plugins for Business

Having the right plugins for your business’ WordPress site can mean the difference between a website that sells and informs versus one that merely takes up space. Grow your enterprise with these tools that will help educate and engage your visitors while ultimately adding to your business’ bottom line!

Midas Marketing is a digital marketing and web design agency in Portland, OR

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