Why Your Tech Company is fading Its SEO

To make sure each different market’s sub-directory is showing highly on the search engines for the target keywords technology companies tend to hire a search agency in each individual country they wish to sell in.

No Centralized approach

Just as too many cooks destroy the broth, too many search agencies spoil the policy. First, it’s hard to manage. A US-based Head of Global Marketing will be liable for managing the activities of numerous different agencies across the world. This makes it really difficult to maintain a centralized strategy. There is also the danger that content is not correctly utilized. 

Not having a centralized strategy can be damaging for not only your site, but for your entire business. Having an organization in each individual country all working to optimize the same field means that it only takes one agency buying spammy links or indulging in Black Hat practices to get your entire website hit with a Google punishment. The more centralized your strategy is, the more control you have.

Attributing Value

Just as an outsourced agency optimizing a central domain in one country can negate the good work of the company’s agencies in other countries through bad work, the opposite is true for those agencies that are under-performing. For example, your French agency could be doing a immense job of optimizing your website while the Italian counter-part is not pulling its weight. 

You are paying for two agencies but could only be receiving a good level of service from one – however, with many agencies working to optimize one top level domain (.com) it is going to be nearly not possible to attribute the correct value to each specific agency. One agency’s shortcomings could be masked because the overall domain is still benefiting from good search authority.

Once again a centralized strategy synchronized by a single agency can limit this problem. If your website’s leads from search increase you know who is responsible – the single agency – likewise if your leads drop you know who to blame and more importantly where to go and who to speak to in order to rectify the problem. One agency can only ever guide to one problem. Multiple agencies can create multiple problems.

Bigger Doesn’t Mean Better

Technology companies that don’t hire a different agency in each country generally go for one big agency to work across all markets. This is ideal, as long as said agency has in-house multilingual capabilities. Taking on a big-name agency that has in all likelihood done a stellar job for domestic search marketing is going to see you in the fast-lane to failure if they’re preparation on outsourcing your global campaigns to a translation company.

The problem with using translation companies for search advertising is obvious: translators are not search marketers. Just because you speak the language does not mean you know how to optimize for search engines. Your mother or father probably speaks English, but would you have confidence in them writing a pay-per-click advert for you?

Employing one agency because you want a national strategy – namely all the work done in one place, by one company – is useless if they then outsource all the translation. Once again you have multiple problems rather than just one. If something goes wrong with one of the markets,  how do you know it is not the translation company that is the difficulty, rather than the agency?

How to do well

So, how do you make sure you avoid these pitfalls and make your global search engine marketing succeed? The simple answer is to have a truly central strategy, with no outsourcing to individual marketing. This means you need to find an agency that can not only productively optimize your website for numerous markets and search engines but also one you can trust to do the work themselves.

Check that the organization actually has the in-house staff that they claim to by asking to see LinkedIn profiles and to meet the team that is working on your campaigns. clearly the latter may not be logistically viable if you opt for an agency not based in the same country, but you can always plan a Skype session.

 you might also like: How to estimate and refresh Your SEO Strategy

Using Social Media to endorse Your Local Business

Too often local businesses set up social media accounts and then leave them empty. I'd more or less rather a business owner not even have a Facebook page than create one and walk away from it. Social media marketing is a incredible way to promote your local business, connect with current and potential customers, and drive foot traffic through your doors but you only get out what you put in! Social media is not a set it and forget it platform, so be sure you are actively inviting and encouraging your customers to get involved. Ask questions, post pictures, promote specials--give them a reason to connect with you! The more times you can interrelate with someone online the better chance you have of ultimately drawing them into your store.

Here are 3 ways local businesses can use social media marketing to drive physical foot traffic and grow their online occurrence:

1. Connect with local bloggers and online personalities in your industry.

Most cities have their fair share of local bloggers and online personalities and these are the kind of online authorities you can unite with via social media to help promote your local business. For instance, a vegetarian restaurant could reach out to vegetarian food bloggers in their area, local food growers and suppliers, the organizers of farmer's markets and so forth. While these online personalities might not have a huge national presence chances are they have a strong foothold in the local community, which is precisely where your foot traffic is coming from! Invite them to check out your local business, ask them to review your products, form business partnerships and cross-promotions and so forth. They can promote your business using their own social media accounts to a wider audience and help draw new customers in.

2. Continue involved with other community events.

It's dangerous to be overly self-promotional. Yes, you have every right to endorse your events and sales on social media but you have to remember that social networking sites are not just another soapbox for you to stand out and talk about how awesome you are. You are a local business so get involved in the community and stay involved with related local events! For example, a book store could sponsor and help promote the library's summer reading program. Or a pet store might volunteer at the local shelter's adoption day and promote a "pet of the week" on their social profiles to help animals find new families. When you help promote other local businesses you also get the chance to introduce your brand to their customers/social followers, which might drive more foot traffic your way in the end.

3. Reward your social media followers with a special offer.

In addition to special discounts and sales for your best customers, local SEO expert Chris Silver Smith had an outstanding idea for your social media followers. He suggested that local businesses "have a night where your store is empty and social media can be a great option for filling the place up with more customers and more sales!" For example, a local clothing store could host a fashion night in for their best customers and give them the first chance to buy new pieces. A restaurant could hold a wine tasting or create a special pre-fixe meal that is just for their social media followers. Turn a slow night into a huge success for your local business and foster some good will with your best customers! At the event be sure to give confidence your social followers to take and post pictures, check-in on Facebook, use an event hashtag on Twitter and so forth.

In my opinion, just about every local business can influence social media in some way to not only augment their SEO and online presence, but also help drive foot traffic. The key is to keep finding new ways to give your social followers a reason to interrelate with your brand. Sales and promotions are great, but what else can you do to attract attention, both online and in-store?

The significance of Updating Your Website’s Content

Creating a well organized, well written website is a great accomplishment and it can lead to a profitable business, but that isn't where the work ends. Whether a website was created last month or last year, it is extremely essential to keep the content fresh, accurate, and up-to-date. Updating the content on a website so that it remains on topic and applicable can help push any business to center stage.

The Internet plays a essential role in many people’s lives today. Through the decades, the Internet has evolved from a novelty to a tool that is used in almost every portion of one’s life, from paying bills and ordering groceries to communicating with friends and family to earning an income. Because the Internet is so dynamic, webmasters must regularly deal with the challenge of simply keeping up with regular changes and the latest innovations and trends. That means that regular website maintenance is essential to ensure that visitors are getting the very best information probable.

Update frequently – it’s essential

Consistently updating a website’s content is the only way to sustain a competitive edge. Here is a look on the importance of updating certain aspects of a website to make sure that users are getting the best experience possible which will, in turn. Result in improved sales and a better online presence.

Types of website content

There are two types of content on a website: that which is static and that which is dynamic. Static content would include the likes of the “About Us,” “FAQ,” and “Contact” pages, whereas dynamic pages might take in the news section or blog. The dynamic content should be frequently updated and should be applicable at all times. Static content should also be updated; however, it does not need to be done as regularly.

When updating the content of a website, it is not only important to make sure the content is relevant and fresh, but also well crafted. New search engine algorithms need that content be well written for the human eye rather than for the search engine spiders. The focus should be on original, quality content that is not just limited to the written word but should also take in infographics and videos.

If a webmaster fails to update a website for a important period of time, that website will fail to keep up with the constantly changing market. This can mean certain doom for any online business because the website will almost surely lose its ranking in the search engines, and every webmaster knows the lower the rank, the fewer the customers.

Hiring a competent copywriter to maintain a blog is not the only way to keep the content of a website updated and fresh, though it is an outstanding way to attract regular visitors and engage the customer. Today, social media plays a vital role in the success of a content marketing strategy. Therefore, any business should have a presence on the leading social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, where customers may attain the latest information and engage with the business.