Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope 2013 has been a great year for you and that everyone continues to realize the benefits of SEO and social media marketing in 2014. Many of our clients have benefitted from having an online marketing plan. If you’re not marketing online you’re missing out on one of the most effective ways of attracting customers and closing sales.
Here are the Top 10 ways to increase your customer base in 2014:
Increase Your Google Ranking: Use our free Google rank analysis to find out where you are now, and learn how you can do better.
Initiate a SEO Marketing Strategy: Search Engine Optimization is the fastest way to get found online. SEO copywriting provides you with unique and interesting content that generates rankings in the search engines, and boosts credibility levels with your customers.
Try A Pay-Per-Click Initiative: Increase clicks to your site and decrease the cost of those clicks by optimizing your ad positions.
Make Your Website Work Harder: Have Search Engine Pros conduct an objective site analysis and provide you with a free 30 page report that tells you how well your website is working.
Use Email Marketing to Maintain Top-of-Mind Awareness: Send out powerful high impact monthly newsletters that remind prospects to buy.
Ask for Referrals and Testimonials: Use the nice things that clients think about you to build credibility and increase sales.
Optimize Website Code: Having Google Friendly Code is crucial to generating thousands of targeted visitors to your website every month. Simple edits can generate top rankings in 3-6 months’ time.
Convert Website Visitors to Customers: Use eye catching banners and embed powerful calls to action to lower bounce rates, boost conversions, increase time on site (which increases rankings) – and double your sales.
Find out more about using the internet to boost your sales in 2014 by inquiring via our contact form. You can beat your competitors with a well-defined web strategy, social media and web marketing. Search Engine Pros can help you meet your online marketing goals. Outsource your online marketing to our team and let us show you how great 2014 can be. https://www.youtube.com/embed/54sZd0x2u3k?rel=0
From all of us at Search Engine Pros,
Happy Holidays and here’s to your business growth in 2014!
SUMMARY: Business owners in Santa Barbara now have an opportunity to learn how to market their businesses every Friday in downtown Santa Barbara.
SANTA BARBARA, CA – September 26th, 2013 – Business owners in Santa Barbara now have an opportunity to learn how to market their businesses online every Friday at lunch. Lunch and Learn e-Marketing is a web marketing seminar presented by Taylor Reaume, founder of Search Engine Pros, a Santa Barbara marketing agency.
The meeting is aimed at small business owners wanting to learn more about online marketing and social media strategy on the web. One attendee’s web site is selected at random for a group web site review. The other attendees analyze the web site and offer objective advice.
“Lunch & Learn e-Marketing is a unique opportunity for local business owners to expand their knowledge of web marketing and learn advanced search engine optimization strategy,” said Taylor Reaume.
The event takes place every Friday 12:30pm-2pm at Verde Restaurant located at 532 State Street. Attendees pay $20 and get a lunch and one drink.
Discover valuable web marketing secrets to help you outrank your competition on Google. Bring your questions, business cards and laptop (optional). Leave with a full stomach and clarity/sanity on 2013 web strategy and web marketing options. Attendees participate in a live web site review and offer constructive feedback as part of the group. It’s educational. It’s informative. It’s delicious. Find out if your web site is winning the race to the top of Google. Open to everyone!
Topics Of Discussion include:
• Online Marketing • SEO Article Packages • Social Bookmarking • Social Media Marketing • All Inclusive SEO • Local Search & SEO Packages • Video Marketing • Blog Creation • Blog Commenting • Blog Reviews • Forum Posting • Multilingual SEO • WordPress Web Design • Web Directory Submission • Keyword Research • Website Management and Marketing • Website Marketing Strategies • Search Engine Optimization • SEO friendly Web Design • Google Adwords PPC • Press Release Distribution
DOWNLOAD FLYER and RSVP HERE About Search Engine Pros: The Search Engine Pros are a team of advanced Santa Barbara marketing professionals specializing in ethical, economical and effective search engine optimization. As seasoned web architects, they offer affordable search engine optimization and internet marketing packages that bring natural rankings in the organic search engine results. The Search Engine Pros team is comprised of an all star cast of forward thinking web professionals. They help corporations, authors, consultants and small businesses setup cutting edge websites and develop a strong presence online. Their primary business focus is generating more traffic for your web site. Come pick up invaluable tips, network with locals and learn how to increase your web site traffic!
Please call 800.605.4988 or email via our contact form at https://www.thesearchenginepros.com/contact-us/ or by emailing taylor [@] thesearchenginepros.com prior to attending to reserve a seat/ensure we have enough room. You can also send a text message to Taylor at 805-453-9674.
IF YOU ARE A MARKETER: Fellow marketing consultants and web designers are welcome to attend this meetup group provided they agree to post a public Facebook post with a link to our meetup page on the day of the event. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesearchenginepros Google+: https://plus.google.com/103311981304941878108/
Restaurant marketing consultants everywhere are talking about the power of social media and local SEO. But very few restaurant marketing consultants are talking about the power of storytelling.
There are some very empty restaurants out there serving good food. There are also some very crowded restaurants serving OK food. Why are some restaurants busier than others? Did they hire a restaurant marketing company? What’s their secret restaurant marketing sauce?
Just as there are many flavors of ice cream, there are many flavors of restaurant marketing. When it comes to marketing a restaurant, there’s a particularly effective flavor, called Storytelling. Restaurant marketing ideas, trends and strategies are helpful, but the secret sauce to powerful restaurant marketing is about great storytelling.
Great food and great beer is a pre-requisite. But what does your restaurant offer that others don’t. Marketers call this your unique selling proposition, or USP. Forget about “lowest price” or “best quality”, how are you REALLY different? The best points of difference are remarkably subtle.
Shaping perceptions in the mind of the customer base is where many restaurant owners tend to get lazy. Smart bar owners are constantly focusing on their points of difference and storytelling in a smart way to win over the influencers.
Not all bar flys are created equal.
There are two types of bar flys. You want the “influencer” type. Not the loner type. Influencers are the cool kids…the class clowns. They typically have a large influence over a large circle of friends in close proximity to the bar. Usually these influencer type bar flys are great storytellers.
Last year, I spoke to a bar owner who estimated that his “influencer” bar fly added $100,000+ to his bottom line at year end. (This puts the cost of working with a marketing agency into perspective. )
What’s your restaurants story? What do you stand for? Are you clear about it? Is your staff clear? It’s true you can’t be all things to all people, so don’t try. However, certain brand traits are non divisive and appeal to the majority without diluting the brand. For example, are you supportive of animal shelters? (animal loving bar flys) Do you love bicycling? (bicycle loving bar flys) Do you provide free, helpful information about the local music events in town? (music loving bar flys). A professional marketing agency can help you gain clarity.
How do I market my restaurant cost effectively?
After clearly defining your brand, it’s time to choose a “platform” from which you can speak your brand messages. Let’s talk about communicating those points of difference to the masses. I’m not talking bumper stickers people!
Unless you’re a chain, direct mail, radio, television are often too expensive. Locally owned restaurants owners are competing on a different level. Smaller fish need to swim faster with a sophisticated social media, SEO and web marketing plan to stay competitive.
Social media, search engine optimization and email marketing are newer, better, more cost effective ways to spread the word. By using these lower cost online marketing platforms to communicate your unique selling proposition, bar profits, and bar flys will increase.
Advanced restaurant marketing plans require critical thinking sessions with a marketing consultant every week. The world of online marketing moves fast and staying current is crucial to success. The marketing consultant should ideally have a degree in marketing and many years of experience in the field. Testimonials are a good indicator of their track record.
“Break the illusion of separation with your customer base, one story at a time.”
The best restaurant marketing ideas tell stories about the people who work there, about the food, the patrons, the thinking behind the food. Like any good story, these are elements that help potential customers identify in some way with the restaurant. More connections = more likability.
Facebook just happens to be one of the easiest, and most effective platforms for storytelling in 2013. So USE IT! However, keep away from political commentary. Restaurateurs making divisive political comments on Facebook or Twitter will lose more customers than they make.
Local SEO with keyword research, directory submissions and reviews are three additional focus areas for restaurant owners. These are specialized marketing tactics that restaurant owners should consider allowing professional marketers to help with every month. Staying competitive in business requires specialization of roles to keep operations running smoothly.
Optimize your web site for local search keywords your customers, and tourists, type into Google when searching for your business. Use your blog to add value to the reader. Websites aren’t just for large companies; now more than ever, small local businesses are realizing the importance of having a website and implementing an Internet marketing strategy. Engage in local SEO practices and be sure you get a keyword research report from a reliable online marketing company before you start optimizing your site.
Internet directories are the new yellow pages. Since the internet is the #1 place people go to find a restaurant now, it makes sense to get listed in as many local directories as possible. There are 100’s of local directories in your area – find them and get listed.
Yelp and Google reviews are the black swans for restaurant owners today. Online restaurant restaurant reviews are perhaps the most overlooked area of restaurant marketing today. It’s important to get creative and find ways to increase the number of positive reviews on Google Plus and Yelp. Consider teaming up with local food bloggers and turn them into brand ambassadors. Woo local food bloggers into reviewing your restaurant in return for a free meal. The back links will increase Google rankings, and the positive review will help your reputation.
Grow your email database and you’ll grow your restaurant business. Compared to direct marketing, email marketing is a less expensive way to stay top of mind with those bar flys. Keep customers informed with educational, entertaining, engaging information through your email newsletter every month, tie the content into social media and blog.
Restaurants need to market themselves – how they tell their story and explain why customers should give them a try is critical to long term success. Restaurants need to communicate consistently and creatively to their audience, and not go broke in the process. Get with a smart marketing company that’s familiar with the low cost, effective marketing tools and tactics. There are literally 100’s of no cost ways to market a business with the internet today. Learn them, and execute consistently.
Can I do it all by myself?
Can you cut your hair all by yourself? Well maybe yes, but how do you think it will turn out? Smart bar owners stay focused on what they do best, running the bar, and let a professional marketer do what they do best, shaping perceptions and winning the influencers.
Execution is everything. A tennis player does not have time to stop mid swing and figure out how to swing the racket. You have to go fast and stay consistent each month with your messaging. Brand building is all about being ubiquitous in the mind of the customer base.
The need to improve perceptions about your restaurant hasn’t changed, but the mediums for doing so have changed dramatically in recent years (social media, blogging, email marketing, SEO press releases, online reviews). Smart bar owners are using these new mediums to “influence the influencers” with smart brand messages.
Always remember, you could have a better product or service than your competitor, but if they’re telling a better story than you are, they’ll outsell you all year long. It’s all about GREAT storytelling.This is an ancient truth in marketing, and it’s especially relevant for restaurants and bars.
Above all, stay consistent with your marketing every month and your restaurant business will be more successful this year. Good luck, and here’s to capturing more market share and more bar flys in 2013.
With hundreds of millions of active users, Facebook’s fan pages are an effective way to capitalize on internet marketing for events, organizations, businesses, bands, or products that need to build an audience.
Facebook Fan pages are visible to everyone who visits, can grow as big as needed, and can provide the administrator with helpful page insights about visitors. When someone becomes a “fan” of your event, that information appears on their wall for their friends to see.
As a Santa Barbara marketing company we often help businesses promote their events with a Facebook fan page. Fan pages are a great way to generate awareness for the event and draw new visitors.
After you create a page for your event, you need to start using it to promote your event. Our Santa Barbara marketing consultants recommend the following:
Promote The “Get Notifications” Option: When driving visitors to your Facebook fan page, make sure to tell your sponsors, speakers, and vendors about the “get notifications” option. Facebook doesn’t always post every update or notification, but checking this option will make sure your fans get updated every time you post something new and exciting about your Santa Barbara events.
Pre-plan Status Updates: Did you know you can schedule status updates now on Fan Pages? Get your core team together, and have each person come up with 10 status updates. Next, schedule at least 50 updates to go out during the months leading up to the event. Keep the updates engaging, entertaining or educational.
Link to a Website: Have an online location where visitors can find complete information. Make sure that the page also has a link back to your Facebook fan page.
Post Frequent Updates: For effective event promotion in Santa Barbara, you need to keep interested parties constantly updated on news about your event. Whenever there is a new speaker, entertainer, or sponsor let your fans know.
Use the Facebook Comments Plugin: Your event registration page should allow the use of Facebook comments so that your event receives additional visibility each time a visitor makes a comment.
Connect With Partners: Encourage your sponsors, speakers, and vendors to cross-promote your event on their Facebook pages. You can also include their names, logos or photos in your updates to keep the cycle going.
Consider Facebook Ads: Targeted Facebook ads can help draw attention and interest to the fan page for your event.
Be sure to use other forms of social marketing to promote your Facebook fan page. Make sure any Tweets or YouTube videos you have direct visitors to your site. Event marketing in Santa Barbara will be far less difficult if you follow these quick tips above.
Need help with Facebook marketing strategy? Our Santa Barbara marketing consultants can help you build a fan page, create an event, or promote an event using Facebook fan pages. Once you’ve seen the power of Facebook to attract visitors, attendees, and sponsors to your event, you’ll wonder why you waited so long.
Valentine’s Day is one of our favorite holidays at The Search Engine Pros. V-Day presents a unique opportunity for businesses to get creative with their email and social media promotions.
Small efforts can pay off big
If you don’t have the time for a full scale digital marketing campaign, the simplest thing you can do is update your Facebook and Twitter status, and wish your followers a Happy Valentine’s Day. You may also wish to update your Facebook cover page to celebrate the spirit of this romantic day – keep the images eye-catching and use a call to action. Ditto for Twitter – a V-day Twitter header image and background, in combination with a compelling message about your offerings – can encourage followers to take the desired action.
Got V-day Marketing Automation?
For a more serious direct marketing approach, consider planning ahead. All great marketing requires great planning. But planning is not enough. Nowawadays, you need the help of a good friend named ‘marketing automation’ to stay competitive. Doing things manually is not cost effective and will likely land you in the therapists office.
How consistent is your marketing?
Businesses with automated email marketing systems stay front-and-center in customers’ and leads’ minds more easily than those that don’t. Email continues to be a powerful medium for customer engagement. So, if you have a V-day special offer, it makes sense to implement a drip email campaign that serves as a reminder of the big day, delivers useful information (how to woo your spouse/girlfriend) and follows up with your specials/promotions.
Something like this:
Last week of Jan – focus on V-day awareness, gift ideas, subtle sales message(s)
First week of Feb – launch your promotion, present incentives and make an impression
11th and 12th Feb – create a sense of urgency about gifts and continue with promotion
13th Feb – offer tips to those late to the V-day party on gift ideas or planning surprises for their partners
15th Feb – Solicit testimonials actively, encourage customers to share V-day stories, make this the highlight of your social media conversations; pictures and infographics can go on Pinterest, videos and articles on Google+, Twitter and Facebook.
An optimized press release is also a great way to get the message about your V-day specials across to your audience. Don’t overly promote; cushion your sales message with tips and advice. Keep it interesting and worthy of reading.
These tips will also come in handy come holiday time. Put on your thinking cap and make the most of your digital media campaigns!
All of us at The Search Engine Pros would like to extend a Happy Valentine’s Day for you and your sweetheart. We strive to offer the absolute best web strategy at the best prices with customer service that is unrivaled. Our business depends and grows based on word of mouth and we never forget that. Thank you again for all your past support and we look forward to serving you in the future.
What: The Monday SEO workshop is a group of local business owners talking about how to generate more leads from their website via Google site optimization and pay per click. Attendees come to learn SEO and search engine marketing from other like-minded business owners who have developed effective internet marketing strategies. When: Monday Nights 6pm-7pm Where:112 W. Cabrillo BLVD Santa Barbara, CA 93101More info:RSVP HERE
What’s The Topic This Week?
Social Media Status Updates: 7 Factors You Must Consider Social media marketing is a powerful platform for brand awareness. Getting customers to know, like and trust your brand can seem like walking a tight rope and juggling bowling pins sometimes. With each passing year, the noise level on the social media marketing landscape increases. How do we stand out and get our message heard without being annoying or losing followers? Here’s a few tips that may help. 1. Clicking like on every single status update. Be careful not to over communicate. In May 2010, Facebook added privacy controls and streamlined its privacy settings, giving users a few additional ways to manage status updates and other information that is broadcast to the public News Feed. Among the new privacy settings is the ability to control who sees status updates: Everyone, Friends of Friends, or Friends Only. Facebook took it one step further and now allows users to hide each status update from specific people as well. However, (here’s where the bulk of my research time was consumed or this article) a user who presses “like” or comments on the status update (or photo) of a friend cannot prevent that action from appearing in the news feeds of all the users’ friends, even non-mutual ones. It is simply not possible to prevent it, despite all the misinformation on the web. 2. Use Quotes: Another good way of starting out status updates is with quotes. Do a search for some quotes of interest and schedule these to go out in your time line. Make sure they are remarkable and have a universal appeal to them. Personal development ones are great and also quotes by famous people. Here’s one I just found in the as an example: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” — Aristotle. There are thousands of these all over the Internet that you can use. 3. Not Engaging Online: It’s not about you, it’s about your audience. Ask questions and incite participation. Create posts that engage your audience. For example, visit the many Q and A sites on the web, and discover what kinds of questions people are asking. Which is more powerful, the question mark, or the exclamation point? 4. Don’t just broadcast; listen: All people need is a good listening to. Visit the pages of your complementary business categories, and support those posts by helping to keep the story alive and posting a meaningful, helpful comment. For example, if you’re a realtor, you might try following a few mortgage people social media streams, and provide positive helpful responses. 5. Closed Ended vs. Open Ended: Learn about the difference between open ended and closed ended status updates. An open-ended question requires an answer greater than a single word or two. A closed-ended question can be answered with a simple “Yes,” “No,” or other very simple answer. A response to your status update shouldn’t require a huge time investment. Ask questions that elicit short responses that don’t require a huge time investment. Bad example: Me: “Do you think online marketing is effective?” Them: “Yah.” Good example: Me: “What has been the most effective marketing for you this year” Them: “The most effective for me has been a combination of SEO and PPC!” *This question is vague enough and open to interpretation in many ways, so those that respond will not potentially feel embarrassed about their response. Bad example: Me: “Tell me why you think social media is the future of marketing” Them: “Huh?” *Too complex, too much thought required to respond and too much potential to sound unintelligent. Another technique that can help you get specific information and a lengthier answer is to ask a closed-ended question followed up with “Why?” or “How?” For example, if I want to know whether I might find a local kick boxing class, I can ask someone who took it. Then I could follow up with “Why?” or “How?” Me: “Did you like that kick boxing class?” Him: “Nope.” Me: “Why not?” Him: “Oh, well, it was a lot of kicking and my legs got really soar and eventually I had to go see the doctor!” 6. Make use of humor: Don’t be all business. Find classy, relevant, humorous, entertaining photos and post them on your stream occasionally. Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Quite frankly many people don’t care until you have built a relationship with them. Engage. Educate. Entertain. Don’t forget to entertain people! Two quotes come to mind: “The shortest distance between two people is laughter!” and “All lasting business depends on friendship”. -Montapert 7. URL formatting: Make sure you always include http:// in the link and not just www so the link is clickable. The over arching goal with social media marketing is to make friends, be social and keep the conversation going = much like a social gathering at a bar or a restaurant. You don’t make money from social media, you make money by getting people to know like and trust you through social media. If you garner more likes, comments, shares, etc, this will increase your EDGERANK on Facebook, and this means your brand will appear in news feeds more often. Plan to spend a specific amount of time over the next month getting your feet wet with Social Marketing practices. The most important thing to remember for the person who is promoting their business on the net is that he/ she should always keep the content interesting, valuable and full of fun. My final advice to you is “You don’t have to be great to get started with social media marketing, but you do need to get started to be GREAT!” About Taylor Reaume and The Search Engine Pros: Taylor Reaume is an online marketing professional and founder of Santa Barbara marketing firm, The Search Engine Pros. Do you have questions about web design, SEO, PPC, social media or web strategy? Fill out the contact form on this page to get instant advice and helpful tips from The Pros. “Why should I come to the SEO Workshop?” At the SEO workshop you’ll pick up some handy tips on web site marketing strategy and also enjoy a networking opportunity with other local business owners. Bring your business cards, your lap top and an open mind. We hope to see you at 6pm at 112 W. Cabrillo Blvd, The Santa Barbara Veterans Building, just a few steps from Sambos Restaurant. Please RSVP here “How much does it cost?” The meet up cost is $5. Alternatively, you can pay with a Facebook Post recommending the group to friends. We go to great lengths to prepare the workshops, and your support in helping us spread the word on Facebook is greatly appreciated. http://Facebook.com/TheSearchEnginePros
Business Networking Opportunities In Santa Barbara
Contacts N Coffee: Great opportunity to network with other local businesses every Friday morning. visit hereGoleta B2B Breakfast: Largest business breakfast mixer in Santa Barbara. First Tuesdays of every month. Earl Warren Showgrounds. visit hereSanta Barbara Young Professionals: Business Networking with young entreprenuers. visit here TECH BREW: Brings together hundreds of local professionals, who gather to Exchange Ideas, Network, Form Alliances and Focus Technology and Business Growth in the Santa Barbara Region. visit hereLocals That Rock: Social media smart group for advanced social media savvy business owners. visit here.
Earn income with The Search Engine Pros
Affiliates: Simply sign up for our Affiliate Program and place our banners on your site to start earning monthly referral fees from us. Sales Pros: If you would like to take your relationship with The Search Engine Pros to the next level and become a sales agent, please apply here. If you pass our initial screening, we’ll get in touch to discuss your increased commission level. Writers: Do you have technical writing skills? We are hiring writers on temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here.Graphic Designers: We have immediate openings for Graphic Designers. We are hiring graphic designers on temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here.Social Media Experts: Can you curate content with the best of them? We are hiring social media experts on temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here.PPC Pros: Have you managed Google Adwords campaigns before? We are hiring PPC experts on temp to permanent basis at The Search Engine Pros. Apply Here.
Get Online. Get Ranked.
Successful websites launch with 100 helpful articles In order to rank well on the internet’s largest search engines, you site must contain informative, original content that contains the relevant keywords from which you’d like to capture traffic. Part of the success of your business depends on your ability to generate top ranks on Google and other major search engines. Santa Barbara’s Only SEO Meetup Group Join us for an hour filled with interesting conversations about online business. With over 81% of consumers making purchasing decisions online, web sites are no longer optional. If you have a good product or service, then driving traffic to your site is a matter of SEO. Taylor Reaume, The Search Engine Pros Founder, will discuss:
The latest cutting edge marketing strategies
How to wine and dine the Google spider at your web site.
Discover 4 powerful SEO Tools to help increase visitors to your web site.
Learn SEO and internet marketing strategies at the weekly SEO meetup. Share ideas with other local business owners who have developed innovative internet marketing strategies.
Tired of roadblocks in your marketing campaigns? Does your web marketing team have the communication skills to help bring your visions to reality? The Search Engine Pros are practitioners of compassionate communication. Learn more about our web strategy and workshops hosted by Taylor Reaume. Subscribe to our blog for fresh articles. If we can’t help, we know someone who can! Get a quote. Work with a team that cares for all the right things. Inquire today. 800.605.4988
