Red Kite Creative

local seo

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 – New Business Location, URL Shorteners, Small Businesses Without Websites

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Adding a new brick-and-mortar location to your small business empire can be very exciting! But even though you’ll probably remember to update your website with your new location’s information, you might not remember to edit your Google My Business local search listing. Here’s a guide to understanding how opening a new business location can impact your local search strategy.

Not using Google My Business? Even if you don’t have a physical location, it still matters for most businesses! We can help get you set up.

If you use Google URL Shortener as a way to provide short, memorable links to your customers and prospects, you know that a simple link is better than a long one. Google URL Shortener stopped its service in March (though old shortened links still work). Here are 8 alternatives to Google URL Shortener that will do the trick, too.

Here’s a big one as far as I’m concerned – small business that still don’t have websites. Studies show that 30% of people won’t choose a business if it doesn’t have a website. People turn to online search first these days. If you’re not one of the sites that comes up for them when they search for a product or service, most of them will never know your business exists. They want an easy way to learn about your business, and whether it fits their needs, and whether your business has credibility.

Social sites alone don’t cut it – if you rely on Facebook alone and your account gets removed, then where are you? And by relying on social sites, you’re letting them create first impressions for your business – they call all the shots. You don’t own the page or the contacts you made, the social media network does.

All small businesses need websites. Contact Red Kite if you’re ready to get started – we won’t judge, and we’ll make the process as pain-free as possible!

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

Weekly Links Roundup – Holiday Marketing, Local SEO, Blogging, Security

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The top website and marketing links of the week.

Happy Black Friday! To celebrate (is that the correct term?) here’s a collection of top tips for holiday email marketing from HubSpot and more email tips from Mailchimp. And one more from Constant Contact – how to stand out in an overstuffed inbox.

Oops, here’s another one… a holiday checklist for Local SEO, including things like making sure your listings are accurate and your website is all updated, especially if selling products online. And, that you’re ready to deal with complaints…

If you’re blogging (and you should be, it’s a great way to both establish yourself as an expert and grow your site) you don’t have be a great writer, just be yourself. Learn why it’s important to write like you talk.

Hacking is bad anytime of year, but getting hacked during the holidays when you may be at your busiest with online sales is the worst. Learn the very basics of protecting your WordPress site from hacking. And if you’re not comfortable handling these technical details yourself, check out our sister site WP Minder, we have maintenance plans which include all these security measures to keep your site safe.