 When you hire a content marketing agency, we know you have choices. Here are some questions to ask before you hire a marketing agency to handle all the online marketing for your business.
- How long has the company been in business?—The Internet is no longer “new” technology. Look for an online marketing agency with a proven track record for improving their clients’ page ranks and sales.
- Is it a full-service online marketing agency?—You want to hire a company that will work with you to create a comprehensive marketing strategy, provide the content you need for your website, test the content for maximum benefit, track the results and make changes as needed.
- How good is their Content Management System?—Their CMS should be reliable so you’ll get the new content you need when you need it.
- Are they up to speed on social marketing?—The Web is about so much more than tossing content out there and hoping it sticks. Can the content marketing agency you select help you create the community you need to build brand loyalty and generate sales?
- Is the company up-to-date on SEO best practices? —Search engine algorithms change constantly. You need a company that can keep up, to keep your website at the top of the search engine rankings.
- What does their portfolio look like?—Can they show a range of diverse clients—or clients with needs similar to yours? Do the items in their portfolio mesh with your corporate culture? Based on their past work, do you like the way the marketing agency’s employees think—and write? Finding a marketing agency that takes the time to understand your company culture may be the most important factor when selecting a firm to create marketing content for your website.
Dawn Allcot is a full-time freelance writer and blogger. She frequently writes about technology, business, parenting and paintball.
Image from maine-seo.com
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 Webinars and video content are great site enhancers. Want to improve your stats for time spent on a particular page? Put some video on it! But video has one little issue (easily fixed) that many overlook in the push to embrace YouTube, Vimeo or podcasting; you still need text on the page for SEO value—video is only one part of the solution.
If you include a description of your video contant in paragraph or two that’s SEO friendly, you’ve got a page that’s high in value. Search engines will find it, viewers will pay attention to it, and your message is reinforced. Of course, just as with SEO writing, any content you put in the video needs to hold the viewer’s attention. Moving pictures aren’t enough—take some care with your content or hire a freelancer to create it for you and those pages will succeed.
Don’t forget to promote your video content via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Once you’ve invested time and money in media content, it should have the widest audience possible.
Joe Wallace has been a writer/editor since 1992 and is always open to fun new ways to market online businesses. In addition to running Freelance-Zone.com, he blogs about music at Turntabling.net and runs a small press specializing in snarky t-shirts.
Image from salesmanual.deere.com
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 Are you trying to improve conversion rates from your landing pages? Here are three mistakes could be costing you visitors and sales.
Landing Page Optimization: 3 Mistakes To Avoid
- Don’t dazzle me with automation. Most web users hate to feel like they have lost control of their browser. Avoid too many flash intros, auto play music or dancing, flashing graphics. The most common response to over the top web special effects is for visitors to immediately close their browsers in order to regain control.
- Don’t ask me for too much information. Lengthy registration forms can kill the conversion rates of your landing pages. Some experts estimate that you lose 30% of your respondents for every registration field you ask visitors to complete. Stick with the minimum requirements you need to effectively communicate with your potential customer going forward.
- Don’t end the conversation abruptly. Once I’ve filled out your registration form, will I find myself on a simple “Thank you for registering” page, or will you give me the option to go further? Provide me with links to more information or invite me to download a free eBook. Maybe I can follow you on Twitter or become a fan of your Facebook page. Whatever you do, don’t be the one to hang up first.
Landing page optimization should be focused on simple design, while always considering a possible next call to action for your visitors. Most important, always be testing!
Britt Reints is a freelance writer living in Orlando, Florida. She is leading a statewide crusade against auto play music.
Image from webbuildinginfo.com
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Read the full article here:
http://bit.ly/d5kKv6
var addthis_language = [...]
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Let’s take a look at the funny pages:
Umm … that was weird and not exactly funny. Ok, next:
????
No, Jim Davis [...]
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White Papers
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