Business.com |
- How to Find and Keep Awesome Employees
- How to Create a Giveaway Campaign That Boosts Sales
- 6 Automation Trends for Every Business in 2019
- What Universal Basic Income Could Mean for Innovation
- 6 SEO Tactics Busy Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Ignore
| How to Find and Keep Awesome Employees Posted: 27 Aug 2019 12:00 PM PDT  Think about the last time you purchased a car. I'm willing to bet you spent hours scouring the internet, visiting car dealerships, researching makes and models, only to get to the test-drive phase. After you settle on your car of choice, there are features to choose, payment plans to discern and endless paperwork to read and sign before you hit the road in your new ride. If we put this much time and consideration into buying cars, why don't we do the same with hiring those who work in our companies? Assembling a team is a lot like operating a vehicle. You have to give it the proper care and guidance to perform correctly. Just as your car can't run without an engine, your business can't run without the right people. The better the team, the better the business will run. Hiring rockstars is only one part of the equation, now you have to keep them. Turnover is inevitable; needs change, relocation happens and passions shift. However, a recent study found that 75% of the reasons that employees leave doesn't actually come from these scenarios, but instead from factors like lack of career development, a toxic work environment or management behavior, according to Employee Benefit News. Turnover isn't just bad for morale, it's detrimental to your wallet. Save your time and money by getting it right the first time. Hiring the best employees for your business takes effort, but I promise you it's always worth it in the end. So, how do you find – and keep – these awesome employees? Here's your go-to navigation guide: Fuel upWithout the essentials, we can't even get going. When it comes to hiring, a structured process is going to be the fuel. First, do your research to identify the best websites to broadcast your position. Tools like LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed and Monster are a great start, but don't discount the power of your social media platforms to spread the word, as well. Once you know where you'll be finding candidates, craft a clearly defined job description, specifying the requirements, as well as any qualities and experiences an ideal candidate would have. Lastly, don't forget to include your company's mission and values to ensure you attract someone who will perform well for you both professionally and personally. Use qualified mechanicsOnce you have your detailed job description finalized and posted, it's time to narrow down applicants. If you don't have a designated HR team, identify a senior member of your team to lead or assist you in the recruiting and hiring process, in order to bring another set of helping hands and a second opinion to the decision. While personality fit and skillset are important, you should also be considering your long-term goals for this position and how it may evolve. I like to create a job scorecard that details desired objectives and outcomes of the position for the upcoming 3 months, 6 months or a year and look at your candidates' past experiences to see if they will be able to fulfill those goals. Test the spark plugWhen one plug is off in a car, the entire system can be derailed. Similarly, it just takes one person to disrupt a carefully curated company culture. Besides including company culture information prominently on your job posting and company website, make it a point of discussion in your interviews and see how the candidates respond. Ask them if company culture is important to them and what aspects they value. I've found that most of the time, employees that value the system will play an important part in maintaining the system. To further ensure continued camaraderie amongst the team, I always recommend having other members of your team conduct a group interview with the top few candidates to gauge the potential relationship between the candidate and your team. Take a test driveWhile you'll never be able to get a complete view of how a person works until you hire them, make an effort to get to know them for more than just what is listed on their resume. Ask applicants to tell stories that illustrate the successes and challenges they've had throughout their careers. Can they reveal their biggest professional accomplishment? How they have overcome a workplace disagreement? A way they found an innovative solution to a problem? Where do they want to be professionally in 10 years? The goal of your interview should be to grasp not just a picture of a candidate's experiences, but their emotional intelligence level, as well as situational behavior. This comprehensive knowledge will give you insight into how they will function in your organization, both personally and professionally. Keep up with maintenanceDon't wait until an emergency light is on – in your car or your business, to make a change. Keep your company running smoothly by being in-tune to your team's emotional state. How is the workload? Are they pleased with the current benefits being offered? Is there something easy and inexpensive you could do to recognize their hard work and loyalty? The power of a thank you is underrated, with 79 percent of employees who quit their jobs claiming that a lack of appreciation was a major reason for leaving, according to CNBC. Appreciation doesn't have to be expensive. Start a 'kudos' board where employees can write notes of thanks and recognition to each other. Implement a quarterly giveaway with prizes like gift cards or a free PTO day. Even just stocking the fridge with drinks and snacks is a small way to score big on the employee satisfaction chart. Look at potential upgradesJust as your car will start to age, so will your skills. The harsh reality is that what brought your company to where it is today, isn't going to get it through to the next 10 years. Technology innovation and workforce change is inevitable, so do your part to make sure your staff is strong and prepared. Do you encourage professional development by offering tangible resources? If not, start by analyzing your budget to see if you could implement a professional development budget. Besides financial resources, provide your employees with a list of local professional organizations, free online learning tools or opportunities for mentorship inside and outside of your company. Doing your part to decrease the skills gap in your team will help keep rockstar employees thriving. We spend more than 13 years of our life at work, according to the Huffington Post. That's a lot of time to be stressed, unhappy or surrounded by those who are. If you hire and keep people who aren't A-players and don't mesh with the corporate culture, it can hurt productivity, morale and the company's bottom line. Get it right the first time by solidifying your hiring goals, going deeper in the interview process, including your team, showing appreciation and encouraging growth. |
| How to Create a Giveaway Campaign That Boosts Sales Posted: 27 Aug 2019 09:00 AM PDT  Gamification intertwines with many of the things we do as business owners. Essentially, gamification is when you take something that would never be considered a game and find a way to make it fun and entertaining for your audience. There are various types of games you can create for your brand, but one of the most common are giveaway campaigns. According to HubSpot, sweepstakes are by far the most popular and frequently used gamification methods available, making up 45% of all online contests. We are going to look at various tips and tricks you can use to get more sales and subscribers with giveaway campaigns. In addition, we'll explore the advantages of using giveaways as part of your marketing strategy, which type of prize you should offer, the rules you'll want to establish for your contest, and, finally, how you should promote your contest to consumers. Let's dive in! The advantages of offering a giveawayThere are plenty of benefits to using giveaways in your marketing campaigns to improve sales, conversions and engagement. It's challenging to break through the noise from other companies and show consumers why you're a brand worth following. A giveaway could be just the thing you need to spark interest and turn people who are curious about your brand into loyal customers. Creating a contest will help improve your brand's visibility since sharing a post is usually a requirement. The result is increased awareness and an opportunity to provide something of value to consumers who may have never heard of your company. Businesses, on average, see a 34% increase in their number of fans online after each campaign. It's entirely possible that you could experience the same results – these are all people who have the potential to become customers. Pick a prizeNow that you know the advantages of hosting a contest for your business, let's talk about prizes. There are four categories businesses have to pick from when picking a prize for their game. Potential prizes include
I strongly advise against using a cash prize for your giveaway. While money makes an excellent prize that draws in more new fans than the other options, the quality of the participants drops drastically. For example, if you own a gardening shop and you're hosting a contest, a prize consisting of a free gardening kit is likely to draw in consumers dedicated to your niche and who are highly likely to become future customers. On the other hand, if you offer a $50 dollar Amazon gift card, the contest's participants are not likely to have an interest in gardening and are only participating in the contest for the cash prize. Products and services are ideal when you're hosting a giveaway. For example, you may want to offer three months of free service if you're creating a contest for your email marketing website. The people who enter your contest are likely to have a genuine interest in your niche. Discounts are excellent runner-up prizes. One smart tactic you can use is sending everyone who entered the contest but didn't win a coupon worth 5% off your products or services. If there's someone who has been on the fence, this type of gesture may very well be what encourages them to buy something from you. Editor's note: Looking for the right website design service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. Create clear rulesNext, let's take a look at establishing rules for your contest. You have to set expectations for customers, so they understand
How do you want users to enter your contest? Can they use social media, contact forms or both? You have to decide how you want consumers to enter your giveaway so you can set the terms and conditions. For example, some businesses let consumers enter their contest twice if they use both the social media entry method and the contact form found on a company's website. Your terms and conditions should specify the length of the contest. Research shows that the best way to gain traction and sales with your giveaway is to let it run for 25 to 60 days. Terms should also spell out what consumers need to do to enter your contest. Some businesses create forms that ask for necessary information like the email address and name of the individual, which will help build your email list. Other companies encourage users to share their posts on social media and tag their friends for a chance to win. In this case, both methods can be beneficial for growing your email list and improving your sales. Always make sure you're crystal clear about the prize. Consumers don't like it when things are overly complicated and unclear. We advise including both a picture, if applicable, and the name of the prize in your copy. Promoting your contestFinally, you have to promote your contest. There are several ideas you should consider if you're just getting started with contests. First, create a blog post where you announce the event. An article about the new contest will give consumers an easy way to read and reference the rules. Your email list is jampacked with all of your biggest fans. It's always a good idea to create an email campaign to announce and promote your contest. If your most dedicated audience is aware of the giveaway, they are more likely to enter and promote the event on social media. Speaking of social media, promoting your giveaway through your social channels is one of the best ways to see significant growth in your sales and conversions. When you set up your rules, you likely decided how many friends a consumer has to tag in your post. Depending on the number you choose, you could see rapid growth overnight. If you require followers to tag five friends to enter, and each of those five friends participates, you've just exposed your brand to over 30 people. As this effect multiplies, so will your sales and growth. ConclusionGiveaways are a great way to engage with your audience and give back to the community that has helped you flourish. In the process, you'll obtain new leads that may be interested in your products and services, which translates to more sales. Every contest is a little different, depending on your niche. Make sure you take the time to pick prizes that are relevant to your customers. The more relevant the award, the stronger every lead from the contest becomes. It's better to have 100 leads that are interested in your product than 500 who are only interested in a prize. Plus, offering a relevant prize helps cement your brand identity and lets new consumers know what to expect from your business in the future. After you create and promote your giveaway, track your Google Analytics and social media stats. The statistics will help you figure out which methods are working and how you can deliver a better experience to your customers. When you combine this information, you'll get a good idea of just how effective giveaway campaigns can be for your small business. |
| 6 Automation Trends for Every Business in 2019 Posted: 27 Aug 2019 07:00 AM PDT  As technology relentlessly accelerates the pace of change, organizations must leverage every opportunity to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve productivity so they can boost the bottom line and stay ahead of the curve. With the digitization of business processes, automation technologies are increasingly important in helping organizations optimize resources, reduce labor costs, streamline processes, facilitate collaboration and drive profits. In fact, 61% of respondents in a survey believed that workflow automation helps improve the customer experience, 59% indicated that automation leads to higher productivity, and over 50% apply automation to enhance knowledge sharing within their organization. There are many automation tools on the market. It's important to understand the key trends in business process automation (BPA) so you can choose the right technologies to optimize your ROI. In this article, we'll explore the top six BPA trends and how they impact businesses:
The great news is that many of these technologies are very accessible. They can be implemented quickly and affordably, offering flexible solutions for organizations of all sizes to adapt to the rapidly evolving business environment. BPA is the key to ensuring that information is shared across the organization in a timely manner, while routine forms that need approval and authorization are routed to the right people at the right time for optimal operational efficiency. It also helps prevent bottlenecks and minimize human errors. Here are some key technologies to look out for in 2019 and the coming years. 1. Machine learning and artificial intelligenceAutomation and AI are different. Automated systems follow preset rules, while AI mimics human behavior. AI-driven technologies, such as machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), are already being used for smarter process automation, leading companies to rapidly adopt a data-first culture. ML can help evaluate both structured and unstructured data to extract actionable insights and suggest data-driven improvements to optimize operational efficiency. We'll also see an increased use of predictive analytics, which can help businesses leverage the large amount of data available to anticipate trends, take proactive actions, and even automate data-driven decision-making so they can respond to changing market conditions in real time. 2. Robotic process automationRobotic process automation (RPA) is most effective when used to conduct rule-based processes that don't require human decisions. In the future, it'll be augmented by the use of AI-powered technologies to handle more complex and less repetitive tasks. RPA is used to automate individual tasks while BPA software manages the underlying workflows. These two types of automation will be closely integrated so RPA can complement BPA. For example, RPA can be used to transfer data between different systems (e.g., from on-premise software to a cloud platform) so a BPA workflow can be executed. 3. No-code and low-code platformsNo- or low-code platforms empower business users to build digital applications quickly with minimum IT involvement so they'll have the flexibility and agility to respond to the fast changes of the business environment. According to a recent report from Salesforce, 76% of IT leaders indicate that a low-code solution is helpful in improving their business partner relationships. No- and low-code platforms replace programming with features such as a visual form builder, a drag-and-drop interface, and prebuilt integrations with point-and-click wizards. They enable users who are not coders by trade to quickly build reusable forms, workflows and business rules for routine tasks (e.g., time-off requests, purchase orders and travel requests). They can standardize processes, increase efficiency and facilitate the application of BPA. 4. Adaptive case managementWhile most current BPA technologies deal with predictable tasks, the use of adaptive case management technology will allow organizations to automate processes that are unpredictable in nature. These workflows follow different courses that are altered by human decisions along the way, instead of adhering to a prescribed order (e.g., as illustrated on a linear flowchart). With case management functions, sub-workflows will be combined into one "case" with a defined outline, so users don't have to create and stitch together a series of complex workflows to cover every scenario or work pattern that could happen along the way. 5. Collaboration and communication technologiesThe right collaboration and communication tools help ensure that data and files are shared across the organization effectively. For example, features such as data syncing and process-related alerts can integrate with a BPA system to streamline internal team communications (such as by reducing the number of emails). For example, chatbots can be paired with a BPA solution to eliminate the need for human agents in many customer interactions. They can provide timely resolution to common questions or screen queries to route them to the right agents. 6. Smart technology integrationThe use of smart technologies and IoT devices, such as sensors and monitors, can bridge digital processes with equipment in the physical world. Data can be gathered from self-monitoring, analytics and reporting functions, providing the feedback necessary to adjust processes in real time. Interconnected technologies make it possible for various systems in the physical environment to "talk" to each other. This allows them to automatically make adjustments based on a variety of inputs to optimize resources and deliver the best possible outcomes without human intervention. Final thoughts: The era of 'small automation'In 2019 and beyond, automation will focus on improving the agility and adaptability of organizations. Small automation – driven by technologies such as AI, ML and RPA – will be implemented in short sprints to deliver focused and budget-friendly results. In fact, small automation can improve the productivity of individual processes by 80-100% and overall functions by over 20% when integrated with existing BPA applications. These technologies are often easily configurable and have the ability to "learn" dynamically, so they can be deployed in environments where the input and output are highly variable, such as customer service centers. The inherent flexibility of small automation technologies enables fast implementation, allowing individual departments to nimbly respond to changes in the business environment. Meanwhile, many of these tools allow for integration across departments to help avoid a silo approach. Since small automation focuses on individual processes or tasks, its success is built upon a solid foundation of data and standardized processes established by a larger-scale IT initiative. After all, without a well-defined framework and an effective automation strategy, you won't be able to organize your efforts and further optimize results just by throwing more technologies into the mix. As such, you need to consider the big-picture BPA workflow management that's built upon your business objectives. Also, consider the incremental benefits made possible by incorporating new technologies into an established framework to optimize your investment in automation technology. |
| What Universal Basic Income Could Mean for Innovation Posted: 27 Aug 2019 06:00 AM PDT  "What would you do with $1,000 a month on top of whatever you now make?" asks presidential candidate Andrew Yang in a plea for voters. "Let's find out." It's a question nearly everyone has considered – what they'd do with some extra cash, no strings attached. Now that universal basic income has become a legitimate policy proposal, however, it's a question with actual economic implications – such as what it means for innovation. Proponents say it could be a boon for entrepreneurial activity. Critics say it's a boon for laziness. "The problem with most political assertions about universal basic income is that they are being made 'ceteris paribus,' which means 'all else remaining equal,'" said Peter C. Earle, economist at the American Institute for Economic Research. In other words, predicting the effects of UBI is not as simple as adding $12,000 to the median American income. What remains unclear is how UBI would affect institutional investors, consumer demand or the veracity of current economic predictions, Earle said. "The effect of essentially dropping $4 trillion into the U.S. economy and financing it with vastly increased taxes on certain small groups is essentially impossible to predict." Futile or not, we spoke with several entrepreneurs on how basic income could fuel – or stifle – economic innovation. What is universal basic income?Universal (or unconditional) basic income is a periodic stipend paid to every member of a society, regardless of means and situation. In the case of Yang's "Freedom Dividend" proposal, that's $1,000 a month to every U.S. citizen over the age of 18. "Yes, that means you and everyone you know would get $1,000 a month every month from the government, no questions asked," his campaign states. According to the Citizen's Basic Income Trust, UBI is defined by the following conditions:
There are some programs, like a negative income tax or guaranteed minimum income, that come close to UBI without satisfying every condition. The Alaska Permanent Fund and Norway's Oil Fund – both social dividends funded from oil revenues – come close to UBI, except that payments vary in amount and are not enough to meet basic living standards. In 2017, Finland launched a basic income experiment, in which 2,000 unemployed Finns were randomly selected to receive 560 euros ($635) per month. Preliminary results released in 2019 suggested that, while happiness levels increased, recipients were no more likely to find employment than the rest of the population (though some consider it a victory that they were no more likely to give up). Once again, however, the program does not fit the exact definition of UBI, as it was only given to unemployed citizens. There's no telling how it could affect employed people. Support for UBISupporters of UBI are difficult to categorize. While income redistribution tends to be a left-wing agenda, UBI has historically drawn support from figures across the political spectrum, from Martin Luther King Jr. to non-interventionist economist Milton Friedman, who supported the idea as a more efficient alternative to what he saw as convoluted welfare programs. It's also made for some odd bedfellows among the Yang Gang, which has united progressives and free-market tech moguls (most recently Elon Musk), and even garnered some unwanted support from white nationalists. While Yang may be the unofficial face of the UBI movement in the United States, the idea is not new. In 1797, inspired by the Iroquois' lack of private property, Thomas Paine proposed that all land be "the common property of the human race," meaning any landowners would have to pay "ground rent" into a community trust. Much like with UBI, the dividends from the trust would be doled out automatically in "payment" to the non-landowning majority. The U.S. even came close to UBI in the 1970s when Richard Nixon proposed a negative income tax, only for it to be shot down by Congress. Innovation under a universal basic incomeThe concept may be an old one, but UBI has become timely once again, thanks in large part to the impending threat of a "robot revolution" – a survey of artificial intelligence experts conducted by the BBC estimated a 50% chance that all jobs would be replaced by AI in 120 years. One readily apparent example of this technological unemployment is that caused by self-driving trucks, something Yang often invokes to draw urgency to the issue. Driverless technology already exists in a safer form than human-powered vehicles. By some estimates, driverless trucks will dominate the roadways by 2027. Truck driving is still the most common occupation in 29 U.S. states, and demand will only grow before that cliff is reached, leaving millions of middle-class Americans suddenly unemployed. This is where UBI comes in – something supporters view not as a frivolity, but a necessity. According to Yang, however, the positive economic reverberations of UBI will go beyond meeting our basic needs. "UBI would be the greatest catalyst for new jobs, entrepreneurship, and creativity we have ever seen," his campaign claimed in a statement. Opponents, meanwhile, argue that UBI will only serve to stifle innovation. At the root of the debate is a conflicting narrative on what exactly motivates entrepreneurs. The case for UBI stifling innovationAccording to opponents, the fatal flaw of UBI is the fatal flaw in all big-government proposals: It will lead to complacency. If there's free money going around, there's no incentive to create your own job or start your own business, let alone pioneer some innovation. Innovators are those with "the grit to bang down doors that are often banging in your face," said Radha Agrawal, serial entrepreneur behind Daybreaker, an events company for morning dance parties, and Thinx, the period-proof underwear. "[It's] always having an endlessly curious mind that doesn't accept the status quo." What prevents people from innovating is not so much a lack of resources as poor time management, Agrawal said. "People are not efficient with their time, and they don't have the mental grit to say, 'No, I'm going to be disciplined and spend an hour each night chipping away at this project.'" She also said that, based on her experience, some government-supported social programs don't create motivated communities and instead can lead to entitlement. Others go on to argue it's the very lack of a safety net that motivates entrepreneurs, or "knowing that it is do or die, being all in, 100% or nothing," said Amy Finlay, co-founder of Edinburgh IFA. "I think the idea of having a 'safety net' there would take away that hunger and determination that entrepreneurs must have to keep pushing forward." There is some evidence for the complacency argument in Norway's Oil Fund. While it has brought the country great economic prosperity, Norway lags behind its Scandinavian neighbors in innovation and startup development, and some blame the country's dependency on oil wealth. The case for UBI fueling innovationProponents of UBI, meanwhile, see it as a way to tap into the potential of those who would not otherwise have the opportunity to be entrepreneurs. "UBI will only increase innovation – it is a total privilege to have the cushion of enough to live on, such that someone can pursue a great idea they have," said Britta Schell, who runs her own market research consultancy. "I was only able to start my own business because I was fortunate to have health benefits and income from my husband's full-time job ... [I] couldn't have built my business without this support." For Schell, it's also a generational issue. "Millennials and Gen Z are absolutely drowning in education debt, and I think daily about how many fantastic business ideas just aren't coming to life because young people have to keep up with debt payments and just don't have the luxury to pursue them." As for the do-or-die argument, Schell disagrees. "The determination to succeed comes from feeling so strongly in your idea, not a fear of failure. And I just can't relate to that argument ... Most are already living their lives that way, but the 'no turning back' is on their day-to-day job, because they are on such a debt precipice." Yang's campaign shares this view. As its website states, "UBI increases entrepreneurship because it provides for basic needs in the early lean days of the company and acts as a safety net if the business fails." According to Yang, UBI will also fuel innovation from the demand side by creating more consumers with disposable incomes to sell to. Is entrepreneurship beside the point?Whether UBI will fuel or stifle entrepreneurship, there are supporters who argue this outcome is irrelevant to its actual purpose. "I would frame basic income as a way to sustain, rather than boost, consumption," said Alex Howlett, host of Boston Basic Income and founder of Project Greshm. "I would not frame it as a way to boost employment. And I would question whether boosting employment for employment's sake is a reasonable goal in the first place ... creating employment for people is too circuitous of a route for supplying consumer income." Besides, the main priority of UBI was never to reinvigorate business per se, but to offset the effects of automation – at least for the Yang Gang. If automation is replacing work and UBI is covering basic needs, does it even matter whether recipients find employment – through entrepreneurship, re-education or otherwise? As Howlett explained it, UBI would negate the need to create pointless jobs for those displaced by technology. "If we give people more freedom, some of those people will still choose to be unproductive, but at least it will be a choice," he said. Howlett disagrees that innovation can only occur out of desperation. "As far as entrepreneurs being motivated by scarcity, that may be partly true," he said. "But what we tend to see in the real world is that successful entrepreneurs are people who had the resources to take risk." |
| 6 SEO Tactics Busy Entrepreneurs Shouldn't Ignore Posted: 27 Aug 2019 05:00 AM PDT  For entrepreneurs and small businesses, balancing myriad tasks as they scale their business, SEO is often put on the back burner. However, SEO is a critical ingredient to scaling growth, and can pay dividends: Successful search optimization helps increase web traffic and brand visibility, leading to broader reach, sales opportunities, and revenue. If SEO shouldn't be ignored, how can busy small businesses reap the benefits despite limited time and resources? I recommend six SEO-building tactics, which are discussed in more detail below. 1. Maximize your technical SEO.Technical SEO is the art of ensuring that search engine crawlers can successfully read and index your site. Key factors in technical SEO include making sure that your site's pages load quickly, all links are functional and that the site has effective security measures in place. Technical SEO is foundational to overall SEO; in order for high-quality creative content to reach the audience it deserves, your site's fundamentals must be in good working order. If your small business has engineering resources available, more technical aspects of your site (such as security updates, data structuring and optimizing pages for speed) should be put in the hands of those experts. Additional technical SEO techniques to utilize – which don't require a technical background – include:
Editor's note: Looking for the right website design service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs. 2. Maximize local SEO.Google has adapted its search algorithm to deliver local results when the searcher is deemed to be looking for close-to-home options. For example, Google now provides local options at the top of the page for searches such as "restaurants." This shift is very much in line with users' needs: On mobile devices, almost one-third of searches are now location-based. Small businesses have an outsized opportunity to benefit by focusing on local SEO. You will want to set up and maintain a free Google My Business profile for your small business. Be thorough in filling out your business information, which will appear in Google search results. Listing your business with Google also enables customers to leave reviews, which you can and should respond to. By engaging with reviews, you can build your digital reputation and establish a loyal community of customers. Google My Business also provides a question-and-answer section, which you should also take advantage of to proactively handle inquires your potential customers may have. Going beyond Google, you can further grow your local SEO (without too much effort) and reach new audiences by registering your business with other directories of local businesses, including Yelp, TripAdvisor, and the Yellow Pages. 3. Discover the keywords your ideal customer searches for.To create content that speaks directly to the needs of your intended audience – and to target the optimal search keywords for reaching that audience – it's a huge advantage to know what keywords your ideal customers are actually searching for. For busy entrepreneurs and small businesses, there are many tools available to both accelerate and simplify keyword research. One easy technique is to use Google autocomplete. Start typing a relevant keyword in the search bar, and Google will offer suggestions for the most commonly searched phrases that include that keyword. From this simple research, you can develop site content. Be sure to understand the search intent behind the keyword searches you build content around and to target a single keyword with each piece of content. 4. Maximize on-page SEO.When it comes to optimizing the impact of your content, ensure that it focuses on target keywords (with one primary keyword per page) and is optimized to increase the odds of your pages being included in search results. Best practices include:
While the time and effort commitment on this tactic should be relatively low, you'll still want to develop a plan as to which pages should be prioritized for optimization. 5. Practice efficient content marketing.To efficiently succeed at content marketing as a busy entrepreneur or time-strapped small business, leverage these techniques:
6. Pursue backlinks to establish your site's authority.Google's algorithm values the quantity and quality of sites that link to your own in assessing the authority and importance of your site. In fact, research indicates that backlink quantity correlates with high search rankings more than any other factor. To earn backlinks efficiently, execute an outreach strategy by creating a list of potential contacts, including media, blogs, noncompetitive businesses, and other influential sites that you can approach with news, offers to exchange guest posts, and similar tactics. Tools for identifying where competitors earn their backlinks are also useful in quickly expanding your list of targets. By putting these six tactics into action, entrepreneurs and small businesses can find that a little effort can go a long way toward making SEO a key pillar of their growth strategy. |
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