Don’t fret.

If you don’t have an SEO company at your disposal, it’s alright. You will live. But to save you from misery, we wrote a few mistakes common to rookies. You might be guilty of them too.

1. Not Knowing Which Type of SEO To Use

There are two types of SEO: Black Hat and White Hat.

We don’t know where they got their names, but we understand how they work.

White Hat SEO operates on methods and techniques that follow the search engine’s guideline to improve the ranking of the website. Most companies and websites with long-term, stable and sustainable goals use this. It provides growth steadily and gradually for conversion.

This squeaky clean SEO technique includes high-quality content development, website HTML optimization, and restructuring, link acquisition campaigns supported by high-quality content and manual research and outreach.

Black Hat SEO is the naughty one. It exploits the weaknesses in the search engine algorithms to have quick and short-lasting growth in rankings. It uses techniques and methods in conflict with the search engine guidelines. Some techniques of the Black Hat SEO are link spamming, keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text, and links. However, using these techniques may end up penalizing your website.

If you are using a combination of the two, then you are wearing your Gray Hat. Most SEO companies employ a mix of both techniques to deliver results to their clients. Gray Hat SEO also allows companies to offer affordable services because costs are less when questionable methods are involved.

There is no wrong and right way to do SEO, but it’s better to know and be aware of the types and the risks involved when dealing with them.

2. Not Utilizing Links

Links can either be a follow link or a no follow.

What does that have to do with anything?

SEO is all about putting yourself out there and having links pointing to your website earns you brownie points. Google keeps track of how many links are on a page, and if a lot of pages link to that particular page, then that page is valuable.

A follow link also allows Google to crawl on the pages. It gives your site a higher chance of appearing in the SERP. Google also has a metric for calculating link points. Link points or link juice can flow through the sites. If your site from a reputable site, you’d get a fair share of link juice. Large boosts in link juice give a higher ranking.

3. Not Checking for Duplicate Content

Duplicate content is having the same content on multiple URLs. You may be caught up on filling your website with details and information, but it’s best to do it in an organized manner. Google won’t be ranking a site with a bunch of duplicate content.

Before adding a new page to your site, check if there’s already an existing one with the same content. You can use no follow links, 301 redirects or the canonical tag to fix this.

4. Not Setting Up Landing Pages

Having designated landing pages for each keyword minimizes the probability of having duplicate content. At the same time, it increases the traffic to your site, and it puts everything in perspective. It is useful to direct users to the information they need or to the things you want them to see.

5. Targeting The Wrong Keywords

Choosing the appropriate keywords for your content is crucial for SEO. At most, choose high-value keywords that are relevant to your brand, company, product, and service. It’s best to go for keywords that are unique. Some keywords belong to a competitive niche. You will have a hard time directing the users to your content if thousands are doing the same thing.

Here’s an alternative, optimize your content for Rich Answer. Rich Answers are the results that appear on top of organic search results. It’s the first thing users will see upon searching for their query. It makes them think that information in there is reliable and highly recommended.

6. Expecting Results Overnight

SEO is an ever-evolving process that requires an enormous time investment and plenty of hard work.

Anytime someone offers you or tells you of instant results, don’t be fooled. A high ranking is not possible without influencers, capable webmasters to navigate the algorithms and understand analytics, and a [content marketing] plan.

We hope you picked a thing or two on the mistakes SEO rookies are bound to make. You may have committed a few of these, but now you know how to deal with them. Remember, SEO is a concept not set in stone. It’s always better to keep learning and stay up-to-date on the changes to the search engine’s algorithms. You will learn to catch up, eventually.

The post SEO Rookies are GUILTY of these Mistakes appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

If you are currently in the line of sales, here are the things you might want to consider to be more effective and efficient:

Use productivity app for sales

We should be able to maximize what is in front of us given that we are packed with technological advancements. There are a lot of applications you can download to your smartphones, and tablets use them both online and offline. Moreover, most these are for free and offer premium subscriptions for a minimal fee.

You may not notice, but if you are going to observe, some people are holding their phones almost 24/7! Are you doing it as well? Is it for something productive or not?

Practice punctuality

Being a better salesperson and a person per se requires you giving and acknowledging the importance of time. Time, not only of yourself but others. In whatever you do be it in attending meetings or submitting proposals, do it with quality along with punctuality. Others argue that it is better late than never which mybe true but why late if you can pass on or ahead of time?

Another reminder, do not settle for less. Make the most of the time you have.

Expand your vocabulary

You don’t need to impress your leads and clients by talking to them using highfalutin words. Nevertheless, you should have a broad range of words for you to be able to converse with different people confidently and efficiently. Yes, you may not use these fancy words but what if someone talked to you using a word or phrase you might not be familiar with?

Moreover, expanding your vocabulary is not just for you efficiently communicate for work purposes only. It is something you can do to improve yourself.

Research and know more about your product and market

Learning is an endless process. As what I mentioned above, you should not settle for less. Keep on learning and feeding your hunger for more knowledge. It makes you more informed and analytical in your offers and decisions.

I had an experience when I was still working as a sales account manager for a company that sells customized flash drives. I had a client who asked me if all computers can read USB 3.0 and other techy stuff. It is kind out of my scope as a salesperson, but I should not just keep on responding with “I’ll get back to you” or “I’ll confirm that with my manager.” Besides, it may not be directly in my job description, but it affects my job performance.

Be observant and sensitive

Being a salesperson is not just about selling your products by talking to your leads and customers religiously. One should be able to grasp the idea on when should you stop speaking to a client, what are the appropriate words to say given the person’s context, and what not. Being more analytical with the steps you take in being a salesperson is a must. Moreover, it is also recommended for you not to settle for one strategy. Be diverse.

Let us know what you think about it and if you have other things to add! With all the experience and hardships you had, what do you say is a great tip for a person to become a better salesperson?

The post How Can You be a Better Salesperson appeared first on Internet Marketing Reach.

Internet slang has widely become popular nowadays. And before you realize it, you’ve been learning them every day from social media, chat rooms, text messages and even from the movie you’ve recently watched. Typing in an easy and fast pace is a thing for many. Fortunately, using of terms and abbreviations would do the work. For instance, instead of using “Oh my god,” most people, if not all would rather use the shorter and easier one “OMG.”

Perhaps, not all slangs are used in your professional work. However, if you are working in a digital marketing agency, learning internet slang is a great help when you want to understand and attract your target audience. Going through the list of internet slangs, you’d encounter a lot. That is why we list down some common and useful slangs for you to learn and use.

1. YOLO: You Only Live Once – YOLO is a justification for doing something that you probably shouldn’t be doing, but do it anyway.

2. TBT: Throwback Thursday – TBT is used when you want to share an old picture on social media, yet you hold it off till Thursday. This kind of post is usually tag with #ThrowbackThursday or #TBT.

3. JSYK: Just So You Know – Forget about FYI (For Your Information). JSYK is the new FYI.

4. IMO/IMHO: In MY Opinion/In My Humble Opinion – IMO/IMHO are used when you want to express something without making it rude or making yourself sound like a “Know-it-all” person.

5. ICYMI: In Case You Missed It – people use ICYMI when they are trying to be polite, especially when they are not sure if other people already know about something or anything that you have said before.

6. Facepalm: Short for “Ugh, idiot.” – Instinctively, your palm hits your face when someone does something stupid. Facepalm also convey disapproval, disappointment, dismay, or ridicule.

7. NSFW: Not Safe For Work – if you’re at the office, avoid visiting links that have an ‘NSFW” sign. It contains nudity, graphic language or anything offensive, and you don’t want to open a working environment.

8. ASAP: As Soon As Possible – if you want something from your friend or colleague, and you want it immediately, you can just tell them you need them ASAP.

9. DM: Direct Message – Direct Message is a feature from Twitter where it lets you send private messages to your friends. And instead of typing long characters, you can just use “DM.” DM is much more like PM (Private Message).

10. ELI5: Explain Like I’m 5 – ELI5 is used when you don’t understand something, and you want them to explain it to you in a simpler way as possible – like you’re a five years old.

11. FTFY: Fixed That For You – People used FTFY in two ways. One, they will literally fix something for you, especially when the mistakes is unintentional. And two, using FTFY sarcastically.

12. Headdesk: Supreme Frustration – Headdesk is a term used when someone does something super dumb, that you hit your head on the desk to convey your complete loss of faith in humanity. It is also an extreme term for facepalm.

13. IRL: In Real Life – in this millennial age, the internet is life. And many people are into having a second persona online. That is why you’d probably want to have a second thought before you trust a person. However, using of IRL is enough to let the people know you are talking something about your real life.

14. NSFL: Not Safe For Life – unlike NSFW, links that have NSFL warning contains offensive graphics or videos, that are scary enough to ruin your sanity, whether you’re around with people or not.

15. TIL: Today I Learned – TIL is used when you learned something that it isn’t new, but it hits you. This slang is used almost everywhere on social media, but mainly on Reddit.

These internet slangs mentioned above are just a few of those “lingo” you can find online. The internet has so much to offer. And every single day, we learn something new.  (TIL that internet slang makes people’s lives simple and fun.)

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The problem is there are no simple “right” answers for most web design questions (at least not for the important ones). What works is good, integrated design that fills a need—carefully thought out, well executed, and tested.

― Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Today, both offline and online business owners aim to promote their brand and product and service offerings on a global scale, enhancing the competitive edge and bottom-line in the process. This is possible with the help of a professionally-designed, highly customized website.

Business owners may not realize the importance of custom web designs in bringing in more traffic and thus more sales opportunities.

1) A customized website differentiates the business from the competition

It is a form of distinction that tells much about your brand and branding strategy. The overall design will be associated with your brand alone, so your website will always be on top of mind of the consumers when they remember an associated subject with it. Unique designs are often easily recognized and recalled by the visitors.

2) A custom site reflects the business philosophy and values

It is more than being a showroom for your products and services. Rather, the website can help the visitors in creating appropriate and favorable impressions of the brand as a whole. It won’t be difficult to encourage these visitors to invest in and transact with your business.

3) A custom-built website entails professionalism

It is more related to the reputation that the company is trying to maintain. Professional elements can be easily distinguished. In fact, any average Internet user can tell which site is professional looking and which is not. Businesses with custom sites are perceived as credible enough to do business with.

4) A tailor-made website synergizes with the overall marketing purpose

It contributes in convincing the consumers to purchase, so conversion is also easier with custom designed sites. What we’ve learned from customer psychology is that an individual will only purchase from a reputed company. Custom sites are essentially designed to suit the taste of the target market as well as the products and services that it markets.

5) A custom-made site complements optimization

It’ll be constructed to be search engine friendly. SEO elements can be integrated during the coding stage to increase the findability of your website. What good is a customized site if your target audience cannot find it? Professionally written codes are the necessary first step towards having a profitable site, attracting the right audience who are ready and willing to purchase.

The customization dilemma

Unfortunately, in most cases, the budget dictates the decision to opt for using website templates, which is the less costly option than custom websites. Custom website design and development is not as expensive as you think especially if you are going to look at it from the cost-and-benefit perspective.

Anyhow, customization also translates to adaptability and scalability which means changing the features of new business and technical requirements easily in the future when new technologies and tools came up. So for now, you can include only the most important features and incorporate other important features when the budget allows for it.

With this, your goal should be customizing the website at a cost that your present budget can accommodate. Your main goal should be setting a realistic budget. Customized websites can go as high as $5,000. Why skimp, right? After all, it is your website – the core of your online presence.

Achieving the brand personality that you want is impossible with a template! Why would you even consider using templates when customized web designs are very budget-friendly?

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