The more you dig into learning about SEO, the more likely you are to start hearing about structured data. While this may seem like a complicated addition to your already challenging website routine of updating your website, there are many benefits to making it a part of your online efforts. In this article, we will explain what structured data is and the easiest way to start adding it to your website.
As Skynet Solutions has predicted over the last year, Google has now started rolling out mobile-first indexing to more sites. This means that the mobile version of your website’s content will ultimately create and determine how you rank, even for desktop users. This announcement is the first time Google has verified a large number of sites will be included in the mobile-first indexing process.
Though there are no shortcuts to dominating online with your business, there are many steps that small businesses can take to enhance their search engine optimization and compete in the digital world. Over time the importance of a web presence that is easily found has become critical to the success of a business, even a physical storefront. With the limited number of results on the first page, what can a small business do to compete with larger companies? Search engine optimization solutions can help small businesses remain competitive and increase the number of visitors that will find them organically through search engine results pages. To do this, it is important for small businesses to invest in building their online presence to rank higher. Here are some search engine optimization solutions for small businesses:
One of the easiest, and most efficient, search engine optimization solutions a small business can complete is successfully “getting their business on the map”. If you have ever searched for a service in your local area, you likely saw different businesses placed on a map at the top of the Google search page. These businesses have utilized the power of Google’s FREE GYBO program. According to GYBO’s own statistics, a business that is online can grow 40% faster than the competition that isn’t. Furthermore, these businesses are twice as likely to create jobs as a result of this growth. Struggling to get through the GYBO process? Let us know, we can help!
After your business has successfully completed the GYBO requirements, you are now ready to start building your online presence. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ask your customers for reviews online. This can include multiple different platforms including Google, Yelp, Angie’s List, Trip Advisor or any other review site that meets the industry of your company. To specifically build your Google ranking, however, it is encouraged that you gather as many reviews as possible through Google’s own review system. Any reviews, good or bad, that you receive will be available to potential customers and attached to your business profile. For this reason, it is important to focus on providing the best customer service possible for your clients or customers to bolster your review status.
Social media platforms have grown substantially recently. With targeted advertising opportunities on Facebook and other social platforms, you have the ability to pinpoint exactly who you are trying to reach. Finding these individuals and building a relationship with them through social media can help not only increase real-world visits but serves as one of the most powerful search engine optimization solutions as well. For example, say you have just completed a new blog that will resonate with your target audiences you have been growing. By posting this blog to your social media, you are creating shareable content that your customers will want to share because it aligns with their needs or wants. When this happens, more people can find your website and you will continue to grow.
You can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your online business listing, website development, social media marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2017 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our contact form to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
The team at Skynet Solutions was recently honored with a Congressional Commendation by U.S. Representative Jim Bridenstine, in recognition of all the work we have been doing to educate, enhance and strengthen the small business community in Oklahoma. A Congressional Commendation is awarded by a member of Congress to officially recognize outstanding public achievement by those in their districts. One of the most rewarding parts of being an official Google Partner is all the events we get to host and speak at where Skynet Solutions marketing experts get to share their knowledge and interact with other local businesses.
Here at Skynet Solutions, we love being a part of the small business community and using our skills to help other local entrepreneurs succeed as well. Since fall 2015, we have been hosting and participating in “GYBO” (Get Your Business Online) seminars throughout Oklahoma to help small business owners get their businesses online. Thanks to our partners at Google, the REI Women’s Business Center, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, area chambers of commerce and others, we have been able to help dozens of local business—like yours—improve their online presence in a variety of ways!
We’ve hosted workshops across the state, from Ponca City to Stillwater and Muskogee to Bartlesville and have covered topics ranging from how to use Google Analytics effectively to what S.E.O. is and how you can use it to amplify your business’ online presence. We also covered and held entire workshops dedicated to helping business owners get their business listed on Google Maps and other maps listing services, like Bing and Apple, and other effective tactics to make sure potential customers are able to easily find their business online. We have found maps listings to be one of the most effective ways to help a small, local business grow.
Skynet Solutions also recently co-hosted a special event in May to celebrate and promote National Small Business Week. Along with Tulsa SCORE, we created and hosted the inaugural SCORE Small Business Summit Tulsa, which brought together about 100 mentors, business experts and entrepreneurs from around the region to network and discuss all aspects of starting, owning and running a small business. Speakers from The Small Business Administration, Constant Contact, Tulsa Economic Development Corporation, the Tulsa chapter of SCORE, Skynet Solutions, REI Women’s Business Center and other local and regional institutions discussed everything from email marketing and small business taxes to bookkeeping for small businesses and social media marketing.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of a robust and up to date online presence for a local business; 50 percent of all mobile searches are conducted in hopes of finding local results, and 61 percent of those searches result in a purchase, according to Search Engine Watch. In addition to that, 56 percent of mobile searches are from users seeking local information, like business hours, directions or a physical address for your store—which is why maps listings are so critical. If your business can’t be easily found online, customers are going to go elsewhere. You also have to make sure your business website is mobile friendly.
With the majority of internet searches originating from mobile devices, not desktops or laptops, according to Google, the majority of people who end up on your business’ website are going to get there from a mobile search. The majority of customers believe it is easier to find information on a mobile-optimized site and 48 percent of people who visit a site that’s not friendly feel that the company doesn’t care about their business. That’s definitely not the impression you want to give off to your valued customers!
To learn more about all of the educational small business-focused events that Skynet Solutions participates in and hosts, you can keep up with our blog, follow us on social media or give us a call. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with your online business listing, website development, social media marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’ best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
Just in time for summer, Skynet Solutions helped Eufaula Cove Marina, one of Oklahoma’s best summer spots, launch a new and improved website. The new website, which is also hosted by Skynet Solutions, features new design and graphics to give it a cleaner look, a redesigned backend to make it easier for employees to use and customers to navigate and fresh content to provide all the relevant information for Marina visitors. Our content team also wrote an introductory, welcome blog post for the blog page on their site, to help Eufaula Cove Marina get their blogging efforts off the ground. Blogging is an overlook and often underutilized marketing resource for many small businesses that has many benefits. It gives you a free opportunity to promote your business, your products or services and any ongoing promotions or specials on your site and social media (we know how paid advertising can add up). It also gives you another chance to show your business’ personality and humanize your brand, which is important because people are more likely to use services or buy goods from a business they feel they have a personal connection with. Most importantly, however, blogging gives you a chance to regularly produce new website content. This is important because the more quality content you have on your site and the more often it is refreshed, the higher your website is going to be ranked in search engine results. It won’t happen overnight, but in time, regular blogging will improve SEO (search engine optimization). Google (the most used search engine) uses a complex algorithm to rank websites. But they have said that length and quality of content are big factors in that algorithm. The best thing for you to do is blog at least once a week, to include relevant links in your content and aim for your blog posts to be between 700 and 1,000 words long. Keeping your entire website, not just your blog, up to date is extremely important for any business, no matter your industry or your size. Did you know that the lifespan of a website is only about three years? Technology changes rapidly in the span of three years, meaning everything could be looking, and running, a little behind the times. Your website also might not be mobile friendly anymore, which is a huge roadblock to success—especially for a local business. According to Google, more searches now happen from mobile devices than laptops or desktops. And the majority of mobile searches are made with the hope of finding local results. What this all boils down to, is that if your website doesn’t work on mobile, it doesn’t work. No matter your business or your target clientele, customers are looking for you online, via mobile devices. And if they can’t find you, or they can’t use your website quickly and easily, they will go to a competitor who has a website that is easy to use from a mobile device. You work hard to make sure your business is as good as it can possibly be. And as the digital face of your company, your website should work just as hard to please your customers as you do. You want a website that looks good, has relevant information about your business that customers seek, loads quickly and is easy to use on every device under the sun! Take some time today to look at your business’ website and see if it is up-to-date. Is it mobile friendly? Is it less than three years old? Do the pages load quickly? If the answer to all three of these questions isn’t yes, it is definitely time for you to overhaul your site. In the meantime, you can always get in touch with the experts at Skynet Solutions for help with any design, development or marketing needs, including your online business listing, website development, marketing or anything else you need to help make your business succeed. With our diverse range of skills and experience, we are sure to have the tools you need to make 2016 your business’s best year yet. You can fill out our online contact form on our website to get started today. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn!
Skynet Solutions offers premium eCommerce support services, digital marketing, SEO implementation, custom development & graphic design.
