How to Set Up Your Google Business Page in 9 Simple Steps

Google is perhaps the biggest search engine ever for garnering information in the history of Internet world. Worldwide an estimated 1.3 billion users log in to Google every day and this throws up a great opportunity for start-ups and small business to strike a chord with the public.

Google serves as an apt platform to draw massive crowds from across the seas to what you have to offer on your business page.

It is an open secret that Google created the ‘Google My Business Page’ to enable small business owners reach out to customers located in any parts of the world. Google Search, Google Maps and Google Plus are the tools which enable this. Google My Business app was created by Google for Android users. IOS version is coming out soon.

It is high time that you come on board to tap the business potential if you haven’t done already. Use Google to the optimum.

Primary benefits of a Google Business Page:

Google Business Page works wonders for your business but you need to strike the goal correctly which will drive more visitors and customers to your site.

Constantly update information about your business. Feature the latest products, innovations, deal of the day, discounts, etc.
Build a Fan base through your Google Plus page. The clients who follow your business page will write positive reviews about your products reading which new visitors will be drawn to try it out. Your company will strike Gold in the process.
Increase the engagement with your visitors by replying to their queries promptly, taking their suggestions, and leading the conversations online or even off-line.
View information on your related YouTube channels and Google Analytics accounts.
Google My Business page works well with Local SEO the search optimization process of your website so that your page ranks higher in the search engine and pull in more visitors.

How to set up Google Business Page?

First open your Google Account if you haven’t done so far. Try these:

Log on to https://accounts.google.com/login
Click on the search result Sign in Google Account
If you don’t use a Gmail account then create one for your business
Fill in all the relevant information as required by Google and then you are set to go.

Setting up My Google Business Page

Step 1: Go to www.google.com/business

Step 2: Click ‘Get on Google button’ and sign in your Google account entering your email address and password.

Step 3: Once you sign in you will see a map. In the search box you can search for your business. If it does not show up automatically in the first instance then select, “Not a local business” link on the top right.

Step 4: Choose your business type. This is an important step as you want to set it right. It makes a big difference because the Brand means you do not have a local street address and yet you can make it function as a regular Google Plus page. You can choose Service Area option if you are serving clients at their place within a specific service location.The Storefront option is very good for businesses such as restaurants, saloons, gyms, fitness centres, massage service centres, and so on. For those having a fixed location we will choose Storefront to set up their Google My Business Page.

Step 5: After you have chosen the business type, you need to look and find your business again.

Step 6: Look in the search box and still if you don’t find it listed then click on ‘Add your business’ and you will find a new window popping up where you need to fill in an online form with your location details and submit.

Step 7: Accept Google’s terms and conditions and let Google know that you are authorized to manage the business page. Click continue button.

Step 8: Google will send you a text code in to your mobile through SMS and you need to enter the code to complete the verification process.

Step 9: Entering the code completes the formality and your page is set. It is fully ready and operational.

Many small businesses are already using Google My Business Page to good effect to tap the market potential. Set up your Business Page on Google and stay ahead a step against your competitors. This investment will definitely give you rich dividends.

If you would like us to assist you in setting up your Google My Business page to maximise your success online, please get in touch today, and one of our friendly web geeks will be more than happy to help. WebCanny Australia’s #1 Small Business Affordable Web Design Company

Difference between Web Advertising and Print Advertising

Web Advertising and Print Advertising Both use images and text and both are yet different. The aim and the target audience may perhaps even overlap. But a question which often crops up in our minds: “Which is more effective, is it the online one or the actual print that leaves an impression on the minds of the audience, your potential customers?”

In today’s age of technology when we are witnessing “Internet of Things” every common man has the habit of fondling with smartphones. Information is accessed on phone more often than not and the convenience of purchasing or selling a product or service through online is immense. Furthermore it is cost-effective as well.

Web Advertising and print advertising are separate design processes. The format is different. In print the content is read and interpreted differently as against a version posted online. Internet offers varieties. You can have the headline and summary text and give a ‘Read More’ links to several other pieces of information such as text, facts, figures, etc. Additionally you can give the social media like buttons, comment section, and get discussions going online.

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Information on paper on the other hand has to be written from the traditional left to right way for the reader to make sense. The flyer should carry the information in a simpler format with some images, text and design. It shouldn’t be as busy as a webpage can be. Else the reader will get confused.

The effectiveness also plays differently. For example, you saw a poster or hoarding on the road about the latest product which you had been pining to buy for long. You see the venue printed on it and reach the place overcoming all traffic congestion only to find that it has been sold out. What you do now?

Computers, tablets and smartphones have now made it simple. You can simply check online where else you can buy the product and get it delivered to your doorsteps. Furthermore you can even find a better product than what you were looking for or the same product which was selling in the mall at a certain price you may get at a lesser price. No need to bargain anything. Everything is available on your fingertips.

The outreach which you get in print is limited whereas through online you reach across the globe. If you customize your business as per the aspirations of your customers then you can create a unique brand image for your budding business using the web presence. Unlike print media, electronic channels have the option to track your success through certain tools to understand the demographic views which gives you a proper feedback as to what your consumers are responding well to and what they aren’t.

You also provide your customers the much needed comfort instead of making them run around to buy the product. The consumer is exposed to a large number of different products on the online platform and the good thing is that you can sell your other brands as well by giving a link option in your page which impossible to do in print. Moreover you spend only for maintaining the website and to your designer and save yourself from shelling large sums of money to the printer as well.

The visual aesthetics of your online design is your unique selling point in several instances making it a distinct one from print which cannot afford that many visual effects to sell the product. With internet still evolving consumers as well as entrepreneurs are just beginning to make use of the varieties that it offers. Print has already run its course. Internet is the future and investing online will pay rich dividends.

WebCanny NZ providing Cheap Web Design services in Auckland, Christchurch. Feel free to contact us; our sales team is very friendly and here to help you.

Featured Image Source: http://www.emmersion.com.au/what-is-better-online-or-print-advertising/

Why SEO Can’t Stand Out without Content Marketing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content Marketing go hand-in-hand in publishing world. Content marketing is the future of SEO. Both rely on each other for success. This deadly combination can get you listed on Google quite quickly and in real short time. Learn the basics of both and the synergy will allow your piece to perform better than ever before. As we all know content is the driving source for internet users as well as businesses and to build a brand these two parameters play an important role. Traffic to your site will give you more opportunities to get real leads and this could well establish a solid database many of who would be your loyal customers.

Learning the basics

For many the terms content marketing and SEO could be still an unexplored area. Let us unwind what it is after all for those of you who are beginners:

Content marketing is all about bringing your thoughts to your audience, in short terms, convey the message that you want to communicate through posting or mailing of valuable content which is in sync with your brand and this could be disseminated through various mediums such as social media channels, print media, online media, blogging, talk forums, advertisements, and so on.

SEO is building up of pieces of information which could lead more visitors / traffic to your site. Snippets of information are often highlighted or broadcasted to attract more business visitors for your business.

The Difference

Although the objective of both SEO and content marketing is the same, i.e. to increase traffic to your website, there are certain inherent differences that you can find when the functions of both are examined closely. Often, SEO is narrow and somewhat technical and whereas content marketing embraces a broader hemisphere. It is much larger and holistic in its approach.

So are they two different entities and should not go hand in hand? No. In practice they should work together, overlap, cohere and blend well to complement each other. Many think that content marketing will eliminate SEO. In reality this is not so. The only way to implement a successful content marketing strategy is to incorporate SEO as part of the process to build the brand and establish it in the market. The results may be limited when both are separated.

The Similarities

SEO and content marketing are in the same boat:

Both aim for more readers, visitors and customers.
Both need to follow search engine rules to gain success.

How They Work Together?

We need to understand how they come together to promote content as a whole.

SEO needs keywords: SEO content is nothing but certain important keywords. The editor or writer carefully analyzes and researches those words and use them in the written piece. You need to track the ranking of them in the SERPs before strategically placing those keywords in your articles and blog entries. However, you need to ensure that you don’t overdo in your enthusiasm and put your piece at risk. Over-optimizing can harm you and put your page at risk. You could be blacklisted by Google and penalized. So you need to maintain a balance and learn how to put SEO and content marketing work in tandem with each other. The harmony needs to be maintained.

Linking it

There are many ways through which you can get links to your article but the best option is to build links by publishing content which is worth linking to naturally. This is the best way to do since it will ensure your continuous SEO success and you will find a natural increase over the long lifespan for your content once public starts taking a liking to what you put up.

SEO is onsite technical optimization, content marketing is great UX

Apart from optimizing blog articles, SEO is also known for optimizing the robots.txt, enhancing metadata, utilizing proper tags, and constructing a strategic sitemap. Technical SEO components should serve users and promote the content that you post online. For example, you create a good sitemap so that people can easily navigate the content or you need an optimized robots.txt so search engines can crawl your site better which as a result enable readers to find the content that you put up meticulously.

Maintaining Consistency

SEO consumes time and effort and therefore it is necessary to keep up the consistency in creating content marketing. You need to keep it going to make your product eye catchy and enter into the minds of your customers which will eventually build the brand.

Conclusion

Search Engine Optimisation in actual terms is content marketing and content marketing is actually SEO. Your e-commerce page will require SEO and content marketing to attract visitors to your site. It is a tough job to create fresh and attractive content, more so when you have higher business priorities to focus on. In case you find it tough to create articles on your own then you could hire a good writer to help do this job for you or get in touch with a reputed SEO service provider to help you with combined SEO / Content marketing efforts and help bring the two into a perfect harmony.

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How To Create and Advertise on Facebook Using Facebook Ads

Social media is the biggest platform for everything online. Whether it is news, views, business, or promotions, mediums such as Facebook Advertising give a big outreach to business. It is already putting even the traditional form of media on the back foot. Small as well as large business houses use Facebook for aggressive marketing and advertising.

With millions of users from all over the world Facebook has become a rocket that no business can ignore says Donald Atkinson, CEO of a global company with the base in New Zealand. The potential for using Facebook to advertise is immense but the mistake that we do is that we often approach it with an objective of “trying it out”, he adds.

For an established business willing to spend dollars on advertising it may not matter much. However, for small businesses including micro, small and medium enterprises that don’t have a big budget for marketing Facebook is the best medium for delivering budget-friendly advertising campaigns to the target audience.

Four indisputable reasons why your business needs to invest in Facebook advertising:

Everyone is on Facebook:

Millions use Facebook for whatever peculiar reasons that may be. One basic idea is to have a public profile and get noted. Many among the millions of users spend ages browsing stuff and chatting with people in their circle. Inadvertently they also tend to click on advertisements, share them, like them and in the process promote them. This vast pool of people could one day become your potential customer.

Highly targeted Advertising:

Targeted advertising is a specialization of Facebook. This offers targeting options that possibly you couldn’t have gauged such as life-event targeting, custom audiences and lookalike audiences. With such plethora of options advertisers get a good option to spend only on relevant audiences so that they can get optimum value from the money they spend on ads.

Cost-effective Advertising:

Facebook Advertising cost a fraction of what other online marketing forums would cost. For a multinational it might not matter if they spend some dollars but for small businesses that won’t have a big budget, it matters a lot. Every penny of the ad budget counts. So an effective way to do is to post links on Facebook and reach out to your pool of customers.

Different ROI:

Some businesses do well and some don’t. Success and failure happen in every business. Most businesses fail for the fact that the business didn’t have a solid strategy or due to the reason that they approach Facebook Ads with some wrong intentions. What you sell on Facebook greatly determines the success of your campaign and B2C businesses are likely to find more success than B2B in direct selling.

The results of your campaign are quite visible. The metrics such as:

Impressions: The number of times your ad was shown.
Reach: The number of users who saw your Ad.
The number of actions people took, such as clicks, page likes, engagement, comments and shares.
Cost per Click, Cost per Like and Cost per Conversion.

All these will help you gauge and understand your ad’s performance and measure ROI. This will also help you analyze what you spent and what you get out of it. With this you can optimize your campaign results as well and in the process get better results in terms of marketing.

So, for your business Facebook is the most cost-effective way of targeted and cost-effective marketing and if successfully executed in a professional way it will give your company rich dividends in the long run.

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How do I choose the right keywords for SEO?

Every successful business today has a ranking on Google. This is so with the keywords that is used in the blogs, write-ups and so on. Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a critical role in building the success of a business online.

It begins with your headline before you start with the journey of your thoughts that is put forth in the article that follows. Using right keywords will ensure that you hit the right target. Keep this in view when putting together your keyword phrases list:

What is a keyword phrase?

To begin with it is important to understand what your business needs are and what are the primary objectives. For this we use the right keywords so that Google pulls up your site to the front list of search items whenever a user or customer types it in the browser.

For example, as a part of your business you want to sell white t-shirt for ladies. To appear on the top pages of Google’s search results your content should be filled with keywords and phrases such as “buy white t-shirts for ladies”, “attractive white t-shirt for ladies”, “ladies white t-shirt prices”, etc.

Further, where the number of products and services that you offer is expansive and you have an exhaustive range then you would be looking at a wider market. You may likely target shoppers at various stages of sales such as those who are researching for some specific products, those reading reviews about products and those comparing prices of products from different sources.

You can divide them into different groups and split them into buyer type, buyer stage, product type or region. Avoid keywords that are an extension of what you have already. For example, when you have used “buy white t-shirts” it doesn’t make any sense in adding “buying white t-shirts”.

Refine your keyword list

Many businesses have the habit of assigning certain keywords each time they optimize their web pages. Often these keywords are not just about SEO but also about defining a company’s marketing campaign.

Some attributes to refine your keywords list are:

Focus on some good phrases. Keep it simple to define your products and services in the best way possible.
Avoid vanity keywords and use more specific keywords to come up in the rankings significantly.
Product attributes such as color, style, design and shape, etc. should be spelt out.
Unique problems that people experience which your product can solve.
Anything specific or unique about your business.

Review how competitive the keywords are

One way to figure out keywords that are worth using frequently is the words which advertisers are interested in and willing to pay for. Google AdWords allows website owners to have their ads show for specific keywords. It is a quick way to target keywords although it involves some cost.

Google AdWords Keyword Planner will give valuable feedback on keywords that you want to use in your business. You can verify the expected cost per click, i.e. the amount advertisers are willing to pay for this keyword. Where advertisers are willing to pay more than $2 in New Zealand then it becomes clear that the keyword has prominence in the market and if used can translate into sales.

It is a universal truth that advertisers don’t pay for something which doesn’t sell. And these are words which specify commercial intent which gives an indication that buyers type those keywords not for window shopping but for buying. Use highly competitive keywords for later use if you are just starting out as you need to establish in the market before taking on the big guns.

Check your current ranking

The first step begins by checking your current ranking and where you stand before you start building your website with chosen keywords. This will enable you to chart your progress in due course. It will help you also determine whether you are on the right path and whether you are getting good results.

Check your current ranking through Google search and then scan the results page by page. You can change your settings to show more than 10 results on the search homepage. Change the results setting to verbatim at the top under search tools to remove personalization which tends to uplift websites that you visited previously higher up in the results. Incidentally this is a good reason for encouraging traffic on to your website.

Periodically review your target market

Just as technology changes and customer thinking changes, over a period of time words used also change. There will be new forms, abbreviations and thoughts which are coined in daily conversation written and verbatim. To keep abreast of this you need to be aware of the performance of your product in the market. Is it still well received? For example, “mobile-friendly” has gained popularity with the introduction of smart phones and tablets. People use hand-held devices to gather information. So you need to keep moving with the changing times.

Have in place a keyword list and keep it expanding. Put them to best use in your blogs, tags, and titles or keep it peppering on your website to draw attention. Use them also when getting links from other websites. When kicking off an SEO project or when optimizing the website, keywords have a prominent role to play.