It’s summer in California and who wants to spend time worrying about websites when there is so much else to do? You’ve got Father’s Day, graduations, weddings, and backyard barbeques. But your web marketing strategy can’t wait until September unless you don’t mind letting your competitors steal all your customers! As a web marketing agency, Search Engine Pros develops websites that work hard all year long. Here are six things you can do this summer to improve your website performance and attract more customers:
Know Your Keywords: This is a crucial factor in search marketing Research your top ten keywords and provide title tags that include these words. This one step alone will capture the attention of the search engine “robots,” and could propel your site up the search engine rankings.
Update Your Content: Nothing kills rankings faster than stale, outdated content. Your SEO marketing strategy must include a constant stream of educational, topical, relevant information.
Use Great Photos: The old saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is especially applicable with online marketing. Website visitors decide in seconds whether a site is worth perusing. Grab their attention and tell your story with dynamic photos, and they won’t be inclined to leave.
Build Inbound Links: Word-of-mouth and referrals are still two powerful means of attracting prospects. One sure way to build “authority” is to have other sites link to yours. Part of your marketing plan should include promoting non-competitive businesses on your site, and reaching out to them to reciprocate. It builds awareness for both companies, and helps each reach a new audience.
Offer Something: You never want to have someone visit your site and leave without making some type of connection. Your website should include a way to engage prospects and build that relationship. This could include an informational newsletter, a download of a “Top 10” regarding something that is pertinent to your business, a white paper, or some type of free sample or demonstration.
Make it Mobile: More and more consumers are using smartphones and mobile devices to search online. Top web design practices demand websites that are functional across all digital devices.
Your website is a strategic part of your online marketing plan. Spend some time this summer making sure yours is working hard, or contact Search Engine Pros and ask about our web marketing services.
St. Patrick’s Day is for the wearing o’ the green. While we like that, Search Engine Pros believes in the making o’ the green when it comes to implementing search marketingstrategies for clients. We always tell clients that great SEO marketing isn’t a matter of luck. It’s a combination of knowledge, dedication, and persistence. As a web marketing agency, we’re providing these six lucky tips to help improve your search engine optimization:
Relevance: What you write on your blog must be relevant to the searcher’s keyword. Content optimization builds your site’s relevance. In addition to providing interesting content, it must be posted using meta tags, alt tags, headings and intrasite links.
Longer Content: Despite supposedly shorter attention spans, longer content of 1000-2000 words shows up well in search engine rankings and also serves to demonstrate your authority. The only caveat is that the piece must be of high quality, or you will waste your own time and that of your readers.
Back links: Search engines look for pages and sites that are connected to one another through links. This can be done by testimonials, reviews, blog comments and social media shares that let the search engines know that your site is respected by other web denizens.
Social Media Marketing: Your marketing plan should interweave SEO and social media to expand your online reach. Social media posts which point to relevant website information or blog posts increase the amount of shares and “likes” for existing content.
Build Relationships: Increase your trust factor by showing that others respect what you have to say. Over time, you will become more well-known by the company you keep in your link-building and social media strategies.
Authority: Good content attracts attention, but being relevant builds authority. With a high search engine ranking and high number of links, prospects will tend to trust your online business presence more.
Don’t just select one point and focus on that. Each of these must be combined into an all-in-one, connected, online marketing plan. Each area needs to be functioning smoothly so that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. You won’t need the luck to improve your SEO when you have Search Engine Pros as your marketing expert.
You’ve heard of newsjacking, but are you familiar with holiday-jacking? If it isn’t an official marketing term, it definitely should be. The bigger the holiday, the larger the interest among consumers and the associated volume of search on Google.
By effectively targeting your marketing materials to upcoming holidays, you can capture the interest of consumers who are attuned to the season. According to the National Retail Federation, a record 170 million Americans say they’ll celebrate Halloween this year. Halloween is the second highest grossing commercial holiday after Christmas and spending in the United States this year is estimated to reach $6.9 billion.
The Halloween market is bigger than ever, and adults are having just as much fun as kids. There’s a huge opportunity for your business to join the celebration with some seasonal online content and clever Halloween social media marketing.
7 Halloween Marketing Tips:
1. Hold A Halloween Contest A fun Halloween contest could be for the best jack-o-lantern, the best costume, the best recipe – you name it. Ask your customers to post pictures of their entries, and don’t forget to offer a prize; a free e-book, gift card, or coupon would be perfect.
2. #DoAHashtagContest Setting up a hashtag can help your Halloween contest or promotion get seen by a wider audience. Even those who don’t participate could retweet it or mention it on Twitter getting you on more timelines and generating more buzz.
3. Engage Facebook fans with images Images are a proven tactic for attracting attention to your website, Twitter timeline or Facebook page. On Facebook specifically, with the new timeline for brands, images pop on your news feed and engage visitors, often earning more likes and comments than other posts.
4. Write A Halloween-Themed Blog Post This idea is truly limited only by your imagination. Relate Halloween to some aspect of your business and run with it. Do you have a pet supply business? Blog about tips for keeping your pet safe when trick-or-treaters flock to your porch. Run a home improvement website? List your top ten scariest DIY mistakes made by homeowners. This is also a good place for “awareness” topics like child safety or drunk driving on Halloween.
5. Make A Halloween Video Dress up team members in Halloween costumes and make a promotional, entertaining, or educational video. Halloween tips are a good place to start for inspiration. Tips for applying Halloween makeup. Tips for examining your child’s trick-or-treat candy. Exercise tips for working off all that Halloween candy. The witch-filled sky’s the limit.
6. Do a tweet-vote A tweet-vote can help you earn new followers and engage your current ones. For Halloween, you could have followers vote on the costume contest you held in your office, which has the added bonus of humanizing your brand.
7. Host a Halloween (social) event Making your event social can help you not only generate buzz and attract attendees before it starts – it can also help you engage followers and fans during the party and after it’s over.
Fun Things to do in Santa Barbara on Halloween:
Downtown Halloween Safe Trick-or-Treat October 31, 2013 Times: 3-6PM Location: Downtown Santa Barbara Address: State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Phone: call 962.2098 ext. 24 Downtown businesses get into the spirit of the haunting season by welcoming hundreds of costumed children with treats, stickers, coupons or other Halloween goodies.
Halloween Bash at Carr Winery October 31, 2013 Times: 7:30PM-11:00PM Address: 414 N. Salsipuedes Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103 Phone: 805-965-7985 Venue: Carr Winery Join us in the haunted wine cave! Sip wicked wines and jam to music by Tommy & the High Pilots. Georgia’s Smokehouse will be serving up their frightfully delicious BBQ. 21+, Costume required. A Halloween party you will die for…Get on the list before the event sells out.
Voodoo Lounge 2nd Annual Canary Rooftop Halloween Dance Party October 31, 2013 Times: 9PM-1AM Address: 31 West Carrillo St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Phone: 805-895-3402 Venue: Canary Hotel VIP Access 8:00 – 1:00 am $75 in advance, space is limited – Enjoy Bubbling Brews and Bewitching Bites- 8:00 – 9:00 pm – VIP Entrance to the Party – Two complimentary drink tickets to be used at the Voodoo Lounge Party – Access to VIP bar General Reception 9:00 pm to 1:00 am General Admission $40CURATED COCKTAILS WITH ASCENDANT SPIRITS October 31, 2013 Times: 5:30PM-9PM Address: 653 Paseo Nuevo Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Phone: 805.966.5373 Venue: Paseo Mall MCASB partners with a new local mixologist every Thursday in October from 6-8 pm to offer unique $5 MCASB signature cocktails. Visitors can enjoy music from DJ Emtpy Priest and guided tours of the current exhibitions: Call For Entries and Bloom Projects: Ro Snell, All that is left.
Google Reveals the highest searched terms for Halloween costumes of 2013:
Thinking of dressing up as a Minion for Halloween this year? Judging by recent searches, you aren’t the only one. Both Google and Yahoo agree that Minion costumes – from the “Despicable Me” movies – are the top trending costumes of 2013. With Halloween less than a week away, here’s a look at the top 5 costumes people are searching for most this year:
1.) Minion – from the movie “Despicable Me” is popular with both adults and kids 2.) Breaking Bad – searches are up nearly 3x vs. last year for the popular AMC series, which just saw huge ratings for its series finale. 3.) Fox – supposedly inspired by Ylvis’ viral video “The Fox”. 4.) Duck Dynasty – searches are 3x higher this year vs. last year; search volume is highest in Texas. 5.) Miley Cyrus – not surprising following her post-VMA performance and latest “look at me” antics.
Join us at Lunch & Learn e-Marketing Tomorrow Time: Fridays 12:30pm-2pm Location: 532 State Street (Next Door Joe’s Cafe) Join The Facebook Event
Lunch and Learn e-Marketing is a web marketing seminar presented by yours truly, Taylor Reaume, Fridays 12:30pm-2pm at Verde Restaurant @ 532 State Street. I would like to welcome everyone to this new venue for our e-marketing discussions every week. VerdeSB.com is a new mexican cuisine restaurant located on lower State Street. At this lunch meeting you will have a unique opportunity to share online marketing secrets with other business owners. Learn online marketing and social media marketing strategy on the web. One lucky attendee will have their web site analyzed live by the lunch group and feedback is provided, to help optimize online presence.
Expand your knowledge of web marketing and learn advanced search engine optimization strategy. COST is $20; Includes lunch, a drink, e-marketing discussions with local business people – GREAT BUSINESS NETWORKING. Discover valuable web marketing secrets that will 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!
NOOZHAWK.COM – SANTA BARBARA, CA – 4/8/2013 – The Santa Barbara Business Expo brings together the brightest local business minds. Attendees will learn about the latest marketing trends, business tools, emerging web technologies and best practices in business. Speakers will provide valuable, practical insight about efficiency, purpose and direction.
Local marketing strategist Taylor Reaume is wearing several hats this year as the expo’s website designer, social media director and speaker.
“Many business owners are resistant to change,” said Reaume, owner of Search Engine Pros, a Santa Barbara Internet marketing firm. “However, neglecting a business marketing strategy is the kiss of death, as invariably those businesses will be outranked by competitors, while those who adapt to the future will thrive.”
In 2013, marketing companies have started broadening the scope of their marketing services to include SEO and social media. With Google being such a large part of the marketing mix today, marketing agencies whose core focus is SEO marketing are emerging as particularly attractive to business owners.
“Business owners are finding that they must execute swiftly, all at once, on a series of complex writing tasks to be successful with search marketing,” Reaume said. “Bewildered business owners are arduously blogging with little traction because their web strategy lacks a ‘connected’ approach. The cost of hiring and teaching an in-house employee is simply not cost-effective for most businesses. The number of hours required to learn this stuff is staggering.
“A connected, well-rounded web strategy over a one-year period will earn those rankings from Google, naturally. It takes time and focus. Search engines are the new yellow pages and rankings are the holy grail of marketing today. We explore the subtle nuances of your brand, USP, how you’re different, and promote you carefully and consistently every month. The highly custom blogs, press releases, Facebook posts, social media links, local directory submissions, email newsletters, etc., are all pivotal for a successful strategy.
“Our Accelerator e-marketing plans offer a winning strategy that combines the best of the best, highly effective, lowest-cost Internet marketing tactics today. The 2013 marketing battlefield is even fiercer than last year. Let’s coordinate and launch our marketing arsenal to protect and increase your market share. Book a lunch date with me by connecting on my personal Facebook page.”
According to Taylor, building a business today is a matter of time and human resources, working smarter not harder. There are dozens of zero-cost ways to build a business through the internet, and it is simply a matter of knowing how to tie them all together into a unique strategy. Finding the time to learn, and then finding the time to execute consistently is proving difficult for most businesses. It is crucial to stay consistent with your marketing every month because success builds exponentially, and consistency is the secret sauce for brand building (and strong ROI).
As a premier sponsor of the event, Reaume will be speaking at the event and offering live website critiques. Reaume walks the talk and has built a successful Santa Barbara marketing company through educating and empowering locals at his weekly Santa Barbara Web Design and SEO Workshop (offered Thursdays from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 629 State St.). Reaume covers topics such as Google Adwords strategy, WordPress design, search engine optimization (SEO), SEO campaign management, branding consulting and social media marketing.
“Web marketing and social media are the lowest-cost tools for building a business today,” he said.
The Santa Barbara Business Expo will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 20 at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd. Click here for more information.
Online advertising techniques are more important than ever. Over 81% of consumers are now making purchasing decisions online and according to a recent study by Comscore Research less than 7% of the websites out there are fully optimized. If you have a good product or service, then generating traffic to your site is a matter of search engine optimization. We offer SEO Services and other online advertising techniques for our clients who want to take the next step in internet marketing. We help other people find you in cyberspace, which is where everything gets noticed these days.
The explosion in usage of search engines has changed the landscape of internet marketing for good. Online advertising techniques are now a prerequisite for commercial success on the web. If your company is not utilizing natural search optimization, then its profile on the internet is not as strong as it could be — as it should be. In order to increase web site traffic and drive higher revenue, your website must be optimized for search engines. Search engine optimization services are all over the web, but they’re not all created equally. If you want affordable search engine optimization that is guaranteed to increase your web site’s exposure, then you want the Search Engine Pros. Our online advertising techniques are not only cost-effective and results-oriented, but they have been proven to work.
If you’re not happy with the amount of traffic you’d like to see on your website, my company can help you quickly and inexpensively to enhance your online advertising techniques. SEO is a marketing medium that is still largely untapped. If you’re a small business and can’t seem to generate any traffic to your site, you’re frustrated, you’re fed up with your e-business strategy, you have options with us! We are proud of the fact that our company is recognized as the web marketer’s web marketer by several local firms in Santa Barbara. Very few firms have pricing lower than ours — due to our outsourcing relationships and offshore contacts. We are one of the few SEO Companies that offer Multilingual SEO on the internet. Call us anytime! 800.605.4988 To your search engine success!” -Taylor Reaume
Not finding ‘commercial intent’ keywords.
Failing to study your competitors strengths and weaknesses, trust issues.
Having a search engine “un” friendly site.
Not having an aggressive ‘smart’ link campaign.
Blowing off LinkedIN, Twitter, Facebook, Ping.fm
Not doing Online Press Releases every month.
Guessing instead of tracking with Google Analytics.
Taylor Reaume Speaks To 50 Film Book Authors In Los Angeles, CA.
Over the past year or so I have had the pleasure of working directly with the largest film book publisher on the internet, http://www.MWP.com. Michael Wiese, owner and founder of MWP, is an amazing person to know. He is knowledgeable, patient, wise and successful as a business man, and a teacher.
Below is an except from his homepage that will give you an idea of what he does. Michael first came to me in 2009 as a referral from a colleague in Santa Barbara. Michael’s main concerns revolved around his frustration with stagnant traffic levels at his site, and the inability to quickly and easily add content to his site.
I explained to Michael about how I could help him by way of a professional WordPress installation and community portal. About 11 years ago I started a community web site for musicians…perhaps that story is best summed up by Michael Wiese’s speech introduction on Saturday…I’ll let the introduction Michael’s is giving tell that story:
“Taylor Reaume is a fortune 500 SEO consultant, and owner of the Santa Barbara Search Engine Marketing firm, Search Engine Pros.com Taylor is most widely known for his eStockMusic.com, a stock audio web site that he built up to 200,000 unique visitors per month, WITHOUT the use of seed capital. In 2007, Taylor sold the site for six figures to fortune 500 Jupitermedia. Later the site was purchased by Gettyimages and now populates IStockAudio.com Taylor has vast knowledge of how to get a #1 rank on Google, and how to build more traffic to a web site. Taylor holds a Marketing and Economics degree from Humboldt State University, and has been teaching SEO at his weekly workshops in Santa Barbara for 2 years. Interesting tid bit, Taylor’s SEO firm is one of the few firms on the internet that offer Multilingual SEO services. Today he is going to speak to you about the new MWP.com community web site he built for us, and also provide you some tips on how you can sell more books by getting top ranks on Google.”
Anyhow, I explained to Michael about the community web site building experience I have and he decided to have me build him a community web site for his Film Book Authors. I have to applaud Michael for his faith in my skills, and according to his recent comments, he is extremely happy with the outcome. Our goal is to continue to grow the web site and implement new strategies for building traffic to the site over the next few years.
Community web sites, and the user generated content that comes with them, are perhaps one of the best ways to build a strong presence on Google and other major search engines. The new community web site at http://www.mwp.com/community enables Michael’s authors to collaborate on ideas, upload videos into their profiles, add blog posts and most of all it grows brand loyalty.
Long story short, Michael was very impressed with the way the site turned out, and as a result invited me to speak at his upcoming closed door, invite only (woohoo ! Exclusive! ) Film book author workshop, (3rd Annual MWP Publishing Summit) this Saturday June 19th in Venice Beach, CA.
Of course I accepted his offer, and here I am now, compulsing over my speech. This is, after all, probably the largest crowd I have yet to speak for. My experience with hosting my SEO Workshops every Thursday (a free community service I offer) here in Santa Barbara has really helped me to gain a better handle on my speaking skills. I am excited to meet this challenge and potentially meet some interesting film book authors, new friends and new business partners.
If you are a film book author, I would highly encourage you to check Michael Wiese’s site at http://www.MWP.com
I am pasting the homepage content below for you. If you know of any book writers who might find this resource useful, please do let them know. Thank you!
MWP (Michael Wiese Productions) is the world’s leading publisher of books on screenwriting and filmmaking. It started in 1981 when Michael Wiese wrote and published the first book in what is now a line of over 130 books. Our goal is to provide information and inspiration on all aspects of filmmaking to students, emerging filmmakers and professionals through the brightest minds in the creative community.
Who are the authors?
Our authors and consultants come from the hard-knock school of production as well as America’s esteemed film schools. They know what they are talking about because they write screenplays, they direct and they produce. They understand all elements of the moving picture. Some are working directors, cinematographers, editors, commercial and corporate producers, animators, film professors, screenplay writers, DVD producers, special effects supervisors, mythologists, psychologists, writing gurus, sound designers, script format software designers and game creators.
MWP authors have directed, edited, consulted on the script development or made major contributions toSaturday Night Fever, Grease, Rumble in the Bronx, The Lion King, Fight Club, Beauty and the Beast, War Games, Stakeout, Bird on a Wire, Romancing the Stone, Cast Away, Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, The Graduate, Cool Hand Luke, Chinatown and many others.
What Else Do Your Authors Do?
MWP authors write for the New York Times, Variety, Wired, Premiere, the Houston Examiner, Film Threat and Scr(i)pt Magazine. MWP authors teach at UCLA, USC, The American Film Institute, The New School, San Francisco State and at schools around the world.
MWP authors have won countless nominations and awards, including Emmys®, Oscars® and Director’s Guild Awards. They’ve worked in all the Hollywood studios, in commercial and independent production companies and in post-production houses throughout the U. S. Their work includes studio and independent feature films, network television, digital movies, music videos and documentaries.
Collectively, they’ve written hundreds of produced TV scripts, screenplays and sold dozens — including two million dollar script sales to Steven Spielberg and Disney
One of Hollywoods Best Kept Secrets…(shhhh)
While it’s one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets, many top writers, directors and producers study with our authors to gain that competitive edge. They know that there is always more to learn, always another skill to sharpen. So, if you attend a workshop or seminar with an MWP author, you may find yourself sitting next to someone with major credits who is there to learn more. MWP authors have trained thousands of professionals through their seminars and workshops in the U.S. and throughout the world including Japan, Germany, Spain, England, Indonesia, Finland, Poland, Ireland, France and Italy. Their books are used in over 600 film courses worldwide.
All of this is to let you know – you are in good hands.
May you enjoy our books and the assistance of our authors, many of whom are available to consult with you on your projects. Onward and upward.
The MWP Community Welcome to The MWP community, the premiere Internet destination for aspiring film book authors and screenplay writers. Becoming an screenplay writer is a dream shared by millions of people worldwide. But most have a limited knowledge of how to break into film book writing.
In the competitive world of screenplay writing, talent and ability is not enough. Serious and dedicated writers need every advantage available to them. MWP is a leading provider of film book resources. We provide high quality book publishing platform for established writers while guiding the careers of beginning writers through easy to follow tools, tips, and helpful writing hints. Join MWP’s online film book writer community today.
Your film script will be viewed by hundreds of film supervisors/assistants, film consultants and film reps who are seeking the best screenplay talent from across the world. The site is viewed daily by companies such as Universal, Warner, Walt Disney Pictures, Fox/TV, CBS, ABC, WB, BMI-Film/TV, Touchstone Paramount, Sony Pictures and Universal Studios. Don’t hesitate. Register today!
Get A Bio. As a film maker or a writer, you know the importance of networking. Creating a profile at MWP.com is powerful way to network in the industry. easiest way to break in to showbiz. Register Now
Post Videos. Post videos in your profile to enhance viewership. Videos are a great way to get your message across. Record an introduction video and post it to your bio. Register Now
Post Blogs. For those serious about film book writing, we provide a robust mini blog inside your profile. This helps you in two ways. Backlinks boost your web site rankings and keyword rich blog keywords will u as well as a Every post you make is reviewed by the MWP staff. We regularly feature entertaining blog posts. Register Now
Search Engine Pros Offer Salvation for Floundering Business Websites
Friday, October 9, 2009 By Ty Manning
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): According to the Search Engine Pros (thesearchenginepros.com) founder Taylor Reaume, it can make or break your business. Basically, by making websites more user-friendly, capitalizing on highly-searched, non-ubiquitous keywords, and utilizing the advocacy of reputable websites, SEO aims to increase website traffic.
This is where Search Engine Pros come in.
“We are different than other SEO companies because we have a lot of information on our site that helps people do their own optimizing,” said Reaume. “We add a lot of value up front to help businesses succeed.”
Aside from their resourceful, abundantly-paged website — a testament to Reaume’s belief that a successful website should have “at least 100 pages of helpful content” — the Search Engine Pros offer a free SEO workshop every Thursday at the Eagle Inn at 211 Natoma Ave., Santa Barbara. “It’s a great place to come and learn about what you need to do or have done to generate top ranks with your sites,” said Reaume, who conducts the meetings by picking a business name out of a hat and evaluating what they are doing right and wrong. While the meetings bring a lot of business to his company, Reaume has also noticed that the workshops attract those who want to learn SEO on their own.
For those businesses that choose to hire the Search Engine Pros, they should hold high expectations. According to Reaume, clients should experience a much more beneficial relationship with web marketing when working with his company; “We help them to simplify what will increase website traffic, which is primarily done through link-building and content generation.”
Additionally, clients should expect prices lower than those offered by competing SEO companies, which Reaume attributes largely to his international business contacts — the result of an extensive career in e-marketing.
Following his graduation from Humboldt State University with a degree in Marketing and Economics, Reaume also founded Loopwise.com — a music collaboration website that was later retooled as eStockMusic.com — before serving on the board as an e-consultant after selling it to Jupitermedia.
After observing a trend among business websites concerning a disconnect between web design and SEO, Reaume moved to Santa Barbara to start his own SEO company; he has since felt a tremendous demand for his company’s services. “Let’s just say I have more business than I know what to do with,” said Reaume.
