Red Kite Creative

local search

Weekly Links Roundup – Top CRMs, Polling Plugins, Nonprofit Content Strategy, Local SEO

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Do you currently use CRM (customer relationship management) software for your small business that you like? Tell us about it in the comments below!

But if you don’t, and you’re looking for one, here’s a review of 9 top CRM software tools for businesses. CRMs help you track notes, leads, contact info and much more for each of your customers. I use Freshworks for my helpdesk so am looking into Freshsales by the same company.

Would you like to collect visitor feedback or run surveys on your site? Of course there are plugins for that! Learn how to use a WordPress polling plugin on your site. The linked post contains reviews and usage info for a number of popular polling plugins.

If you run a website for a nonprofit, this is for you – learn about content strategy for nonprofits, including the planning, development and deployment of your site’s content.

Finally… Brightlocal (a company that provides services geared to improving local SEO) did a big study of the Google Analytics data of over 11,000 local businesses to look for trends. Although over 92% of consumers search for local businesses online,what’s “normal” traffic for one industry may be completely different for another. As you might have guessed, car dealerships, restaurants, hotels, entertainment and local stores got the most inquiries, while cleaning, marketing, and landscaping companies were at the low end of traffic.  How did your company’s Analytics stack up against the others in your industry? Let us know in the comments below.

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.

Weekly Links Roundup – Product Photos, Current Content, Google My Business, Blogging Lessons

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Sometimes, convincing clients (especially new ecommerce site owners) that they need to invest in high-quality photography for their site falls on deaf ears. And that’s a shame, because great photos are critical for ecommerce sites; the quality of your images reflects the quality of your products. And displaying poor-quality images speaks volumes about your business; if you don’t care about the photos, do you actually care about the products themselves? Learn more about why it’s so important to have high-quality imagery.

New research on customer satisfaction with websites shows that 39% of users will think twice about using an outdated website. Do you update your site content on a regular basis? Does your site look fresh and provide the latest info about your business? If not, you may want to take a look at this.

If you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store but instead run a service-area business (like a web design studio!) this is just for you: Google My Business is rolling out a new setup process that’s more friendly to us service-area companies.

If you’re a veteran blogger, trying to be a better blogger, or even just getting started in blogging, this post might be helpful. It’s the result of a survey of 1,000 other bloggers and might teach you some new tricks to make your own efforts more effective and efficient. Check out 5 lessons you can learn from 1,000 bloggers.

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.

Weekly Links Roundup – Best Pinterest Images, Recycle Old Content, Analytics, Google My Business

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Pinterest can be a great marketing platform for your business if your customers are there (same goes for all social media platforms). But do you know how to maximize your efforts? Here’s a post showing what types of Pinterest images get the most engagement.In short: avoid faces, use vibrant colors (especially red) and include lots of detail in your photos.

I’ve written before about reusing your old blog or website content – you spent all that time making it, so why should it not continue to work hard for you long after it’s first published? Learn 5 ways to recycle old content using email.

For those who have yet to use Google Analytics or are brand new to it, it can certainly be overwhelming. Here are some playful suggestions for getting familiar with Analytics.

You’ve likely heard about Local Search. But if you work at home, or do your work at your clients’ locations (think locksmith or carpet cleaner) and don’t have a traditional brick-and-mortar location, can you still get involved? Yes you can! And you should. Learn about setting up a service-area business profile on Google My Business.

On that topic, if you’re not yet using Google My Business, now’s the time to claim and verify your listing, and get to work on your profile. Get expert tips on setting up and optimizing your Google My Business profile.

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.

 

Weekly Links Roundup – Website Problems, Nofollow, Android vs iPhone, Local Competition

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The top website and marketing links of the week.

I’m on a constant campaign to get my clients to overcome these common problems that hold their websites back. Mobile-unfriendliness, low-quality (or mostly absent) content, free website builders, and lack of trackable conversions are always issues that can be fixed to make your site a more powerful marketing tool.

What is the “nofollow” tag, and when and how would you use it? Learn how to use nofollow to avoid passing linkjuice to sites that may be in any way questionable.

Here’s something interesting (if a bit clickbait-y): did you know that research suggests that iPhone users spend more on online transactions than Android users? See what’s behind this and how you might use it in your marketing efforts. Make your own decision as to its validity!

Finally… if you’re in a battle for customers and conversions with other local businesses, learn how to perform a basic local business competitive audit. This can help you identify why Competitor A is doing better in Google Search than you are.