September 17, 2018September 17, 2018 Robert Dunford

Why Bother with Meta Descriptions?

Meta descriptions have no ranking value… right?

If you take Google’s word for it — they don’t have value. But, if meta descriptions don’t affect a website’s ability to rank and don’t help you at all when you’re competing for the click of the customer, you may wonder, “What’s the point?”.

What if I told you that despite not being a direct ranking factor, a meta description can still change a user’s perception of website value or it could indirectly affect rank. To unpack this, let’s talk about what meta descriptions are and why you should bother with them after all.

September 10, 2018August 21, 2018 Robert Dunford

Why You Should Use Google Ads Retargeting Options

There’s a distinct learning curve to Google Ads, which can be disconcerting to small business owners. How are you going to set up your new campaign? How much should you pay per impression? There’s no end to the questions.

Who has the time to learn an entirely new skill from scratch while trying to run a business?

Hiring help to manage online advertising is always an option because the problem is many business owners aren’t aware of the capabilities of PPC ads. One of the most useful features of Google Ads, especially within the Google Display Network, is undoubtedly retargeting. Let’s have a look at retargeting in more detail, as well as why you should use it.

September 4, 2018August 21, 2018 Robert Dunford

Do I Need a Blog? #bloggingforSEO

Blogging is one of those things that new business owners are generally discouraged from. Many marketers will tell you that it doesn’t pay off or it is too late to get into blogging in 2018. Those observations are undoubtedly correct in some cases.

However, painting the question of blogging with broad strokes leaves out a few crucial points. Is there no value at all to be had from showcasing your expertise via an SEO blog? It depends. Before you can find out whether that’s true for you, we need to dig a little deeper and ask a few critical questions.

August 27, 2018September 13, 2018 Robert Dunford

My Website Is Not Secure with HTTPS: So What?

My Website Is Not Secure with HTTPS So What.png

Until recently, having a secure website with HTTPS wasn’t a priority of every business online. However, times are changing, and Google is making sure that companies follow its recommendations regarding privacy protection.

It’s essential for all business website owners to be up to date with the situation. To that effect, let’s recap the changes Google has been making recently, as well as take a look at the importance of HTTPS.

August 21, 2018August 20, 2018 Robert Dunford

Local SEO: 5 Tips to Build Local Engagement

If you own a local business, you might be thinking that you don’t need online marketing. While it is true that local companies can do well with traditional marketing channels, there are indeed benefits to having a robust online presence. One of the ways of accomplishing that is improving your local SEO (Search Engine Optimization.)

Despite some misconceptions people tend to have about optimizing a website for local audiences, it’s a great way to make a business more discoverable in your immediate area. Here are five tips to build local engagement by implementing a good SEO strategy:

August 13, 2018August 20, 2018 Robert Dunford

5 Ways to Make Your Website Stand out in the SERP’s

We’re used to turning to Google search for all our online needs and questions. With over 40 thousand searches processed every second, it’s clear why showing up in the SERP’s (Search Engine Results Pages) can be valuable for a business.

Most people stick to the first page of results for any given Google query. That’s where your website ranking becomes essential – you want to be at the top of the results for your preferred keywords. Depending on the industry, market, and keyword, that can turn out to be difficult. However, it doesn’t mean that improving your ranking is impossible. Here are five ways to make your website stand out in the SERPs:

August 7, 2018August 20, 2018 Robert Dunford

Traditional Marketing Vs. Digital Marketing – Pros and Cons of Each

Depending on the unique needs of a business, any style of marketing can bring favorable results. However, that does not mean that anything works. To indeed make the most out of your marketing budget, you need to learn the benefits and drawbacks of different types of marketing.

Business owners who are just starting their marketing efforts often wonder whether they should invest in digital or traditional marketing or both. That’s an interesting question because there are distinct pros and cons to each. Let’s have a look at some of them.

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018 Robert Dunford

Google AdWords vs. Facebook – Which Is Right for Me?

For business owners who are starting with their digital marketing efforts, choosing an advertising platform can be agonizing. When your marketing budget isn’t expansive enough to cover experimentation with all of them, you need to make a choice.

More often than not, that choice comes down to whether you should use Google AdWords or Facebook ads. Both platforms have their distinct advantages and differences. But what are they and how do you choose which platform is right for you?

July 23, 2018July 10, 2018 Robert Dunford

5 SEO-Related Reasons You Should Invest in Keyword Research for Your Content Marketing

Content marketing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ideally go hand in hand. Content is still king, but when you optimize your content so that it ranks more efficiently, it’s a definite benefit. If you want to complement your content marketing strategy with SEO, you can’t neglect keyword research. It’s one of the staples of SEO, and it can help you better understand your target audience as well.

Let’s look at a few reasons to invest in researching keywords from an SEO standpoint:

July 16, 2018July 10, 2018 Robert Dunford

Will the Domain Name You Choose Affect Your Website Ranking in Search?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) used to be pretty simple back in the day, especially where domain names were concerned. Companies could use a domain as a keyword and still rank well despite not having relevant website content.

However, the days of using an Exact Match Domain as a keyword are over (i.e., companies buying a domain like longtailkeywordimrankingfor.com). Because of that practice, Google has significantly decreased the importance of your domain

Robert Dunford Digital Marketing Consultant

Getting found online is a Journey…not a Race