Even though most companies like yours do the majority of their business over the phone or in person rather than online, having a Website is an essential step to getting in front of potential customers in your service area. Nowadays, your Website is your most valuable marketing tool.

Companies that don’t have a Website lack credibility and miss out on the growing number of customers that do online research before hiring a provider. In one report, researchers found that 63% of consumers primarily use a business’s Website to find and engage with a local service. In other words, businesses without a Website are missing out.

The success of SEO efforts relies on the ability to pick and choose strategies that keep you above the competition in your area and industry. Knowing how to track and analyze the results of your campaigns is just the first step in improving your results. Here are just a few key metrics to pay attention to when looking at your SEO campaigns.

Research shows that posts with links get more traffic than posts with just text.  Do you ever find an interesting article that you end up emailing to all of your friends? Or maybe write articles of your own and post them to your blog? If this is the case, you should be posting these articles on all of your social sites as well.

This guest blog was provided by Julia Clem, a member of the marketing team at Best Pick Reports.

Your end goal when structuring your Website should be to optimize user experience. Your site needs to be structured in a way that guides users through certain steps you want them to take. Whether it’s filling out a consultation form, learning more about your product or service, or signing up for a newsletter, you want them to be able to do so as easily as possible.

Paid Search, or pay-per-click advertising is known to have a positive impact for many businesses who utilize it. Results are highly measurable and it grants immediate entry into the market. However, costs have steadily increased over the past decade, making it too expensive for some businesses to use. Here's why you may want to give it a try...

Different Social Media platforms can be used in a variety of ways to increase and enhance your business’ online presence. One platform that people often shy away from is Twitter. Twitter can be intimidating to some because of its limited character use, as it can be tough to determine what to post and the best way to use it to promote your business online. So, why use Twitter?

This guest blog was provided by Julia Clem, a member of the marketing team at Best Pick Reports. 

Lead generation should be a top priority when building your Website. While you may be able to attract visitors, you won’t be able to get any new customers unless you convert those visitors into leads.

Most peoples' natural reaction when confronted with criticism is to pretend like it didn’t happen. This is why many business owners ignore negative reviews online. It’s a natural defense mechanism, but that doesn't make it acceptable in today's competitive market.