search engine optimization

Whether it’s foot traffic to your retail store or an online purchase, there is no doubt that positive online reviews, combined with the power of local SEO, play a pivotal role in Search Engine Optimization and increased traffic to your business.   If you haven’t noticed them before, reviews show up under Google Maps when you search for a business name. This year, local reviews factored in 13% of the search algorithm that influences where one business ranks versus where the other ranks in the local 3 pack that appears […]

Pop quiz…just five quick questions for you. Do you know every page/piece of content on your website and how it is displayed within search results? Do you know what errors have been found by Google, Bing, and other search engines? Is your site optimized for all device types? What does it look like on mobile vs. desktop? Has your site been negatively impacted by any of the latest Penguin, Panda, or various other algorithm updates? Do you know what your most important keywords and pages are on your site?   […]

So, You Decided to Run Terrestrial Radio Ads… Why: You wanted to achieve mass reach, with a low CPM, to reach a captive audience. You know your target demo is there, and 93% of U.S. adults still listen to AM/FM radio each week! It’s a no-brainer, right? Right? Radio listening is quite literally “wireless”. There is no meter to measure actual usage. There are no tickets sold, there are no circulations audited. There is no quantifiable “click-through” to point back to. The ratings systems of Nielson, Arbitron and holding companies […]

There are many moving parts to an SEO campaign and having a roadmap that lists the items to accomplish and the actions we will take to fix & optimize your site, can be the best tool. A solid roadmap can consist of:

You can blog and publish content regularly. However, if your site content isn’t converting your website/blog readers into actual contacts – then what’s the point or value behind it? Every marketer inevitably hits a content wall and bandwidth restrictions to keep churning out blog posts, social posts, infographics, videos, podcasts…you name it. The key is to keep the content and conversion wheels in motion, even while you’re not at the actual wheel creating it.

I’m writing this blog post because I just can’t hold in my excitement. Let’s Encrypt has just entered public beta! Read on for technical details.

Emfluence relaunched an awesome Magento theme update for our client Instore Design Display last week, and this got me thinking about the do’s and don’t of redirects. I started to list a few how-to’s when I realized that this would be much more fun with a theme. Since redirecting and canonicalizing can ruin an otherwise successful site relaunch, what better theme than the 10 Commandments?

Search Engine Optimization…yes, it might sound daunting and intimidating, but did you know there are a few quick and easy ways you can improve your site’s SEO?  Today, we are going to get crafty by sharing some do it yourself optimizing. Let’s begin! Links: One large way to ramp up your SEO! Getting your business’ name out there on other well-ranking sites is crucial. Here are a few ways to work with link building. Reach out to companies that are related to your business/industry and work with them to possibly […]

Not too long ago (a decade or so), being in SEO meant figuring out the best “link farms” to submit your site to as well as trying to load each of your pages with as many keywords as possible. While some of these strategies are still around, they are usually not recommended. Keywords still play a very important part in your SEO strategy and, of course, having the right links to and from your site is critical, but not in the way it used to be. It is no longer […]

Customer acquisition is only a small piece of your audience’s marketing journey. Oftentimes, marketing efforts are successful in bringing customers onto a website, but your website isn’t grabbing the baton when it’s time to finish the race. This is where an oftentimes overlooked piece of digital marketing comes in, conversion optimization. Many people know the phrase, but believe this part of strategy can only be accessed by user experience pros. It’s time we take the veil off of conversion optimization. Here are 5 useful tips to use during your website […]

With Techweek concluding recently, here is a run-down on some cool tools you can use for your business with helpful advice from Techweek speakers. So, you are in the process of creating your own business. You’ve spent countless hours brainstorming ideas, building the website, designing and re-designing, and getting the final product out of the window.  You’ve made it this far, but you could use a little help on some internal aspects: organization, SEO, content creation, possibly building tools for your site, or even email marketing. Seems like a lot […]

On September 1st, Google made an interesting statement regarding websites that showcase annoying lightboxes urging users to install the mobile app version of the site (ie. every news site). This has been teased for a while now in the SEO community, but seems the threat has finally come to light. Google claims that top banners for an app install will not be penalized, only full page lightboxes are under attack. Apple and Chrome-supported smart banners (app install banners) should be safe from this update, which will go live on November […]

In this age of data, endless supplies of information can be accessed with just a click of a button. But most of us have no idea what to do with all of the information available. One area confusing marketers is how to grab actionable insights from our site data. Whether you are a Google Analytics pro or novice, we all know that surfing through analytics can be difficult. Let’s do a quick test of our Google Analytics prowess: Are you using Google Tag Manager or event tracking? Have you setup […]

What is it? Google Analytics launched November of 2005 and yet, there are still so many misconceptions about what it is. Is it a giant analytics monster that constantly bombards you with numbers and charts? Or, is it a friendly guide to help you in your quest for finding the elusive conversions. The short answer is: a little of both. Fortunately, there are varying levels of Google Analytics to get acquainted with before getting thrown in the deep end of the analytical pool. For now, let’s just dip our toes […]

As Google relies on a wider variety of link and social sources, content marketing has taken the cake. Yet another Google algorithm was released in early May that laser focuses on quality content. Everyone is in the content game, but few are effectively combining content and search strategy. We need to look into where content is heading and how we can best utilize strategic content creation to both increase awareness and build brand loyalty. 86% of B2B businesses are utilizing some form of content marketing, and 87% of organizations claim […]

Chances are that you’ve heard of Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), but what is it and why do you need it? Conversion rate optimization is the process of improving your website user experience to convert more visitors into customers. We’ve all bounced off websites that don’t provide a clear message or navigation to get us what we need. Or worse, the website or form isn’t working the way that it should. By having a conversion rate optimization process in place, we can find and solve these problems to improve your customer […]

Link building: what is it? Link building: people know it’s important, but they don’t exactly know why. Link building can be thought of as a system of building relationships that Google views as worthy or reputable. Think of a link builder as an eHarmony representative, but instead of matching you with a compatible person, I match you with a compatible website that can increase your brand awareness and page ranking. The end goal with link building is to increase the traffic to your site, your Google ranking, and ultimately the […]

It’s no secret that meta descriptions don’t carry official weight when it comes to search engine algorithms, but that doesn’t mean you should stop caring about them. When a user searches for something, the first impression he or she will get of your site, brand, product, offering, etc., is what is presented on the SERP. This includes the title, description, URL and more, if you have rich snippets. You are competing for the user’s attention on this ever-changing search space. How are you going to win the user’s eyes and, […]

Jason White from DragonSearch.net provided a great synopsis of earning authority via link acquisition at SMX East 2014. Below is a collection of the actionable insights I took away from his presentation. They make a great basic checklist for getting into link building!

Taking the stage on the first day of SMX East is Marshall Simmonds, famed CEO of Define MG and longtime SEO professional. I am excited to be reporting from New York all of the excitement and adventure surrounding this years Search Marketing Expo! Blog posts will be coming rapidly and I frantically try to share all of the valuable information shared for the next four days.

Things have finally warmed up in the Northern Hemisphere as summer arrives. It’s time for vacations, great food, and a surge in flip-flop sales. Just in time for summer travel, Google has been hard at work updating Google Maps for iOS and Android devices, offering new features, like an alert when you should change lanes and more advanced offline map functionality. Google has also been updating their local search metrics, and it’s important for restaurants to ensure that this summer’s local searchers — both native and out-of-towners — can find […]

Last fall, Google announced that they would be phasing out keyword data in its Analytics toolbox, and replacing it with new features for search engine marketing professionals to use. One of these features is DoubleClick Demographic Data. Google Analytics demographics reports offer aggregated age, gender, and interest data that can be paired with other analytics metrics to help understand the personality of your customers. Are they movie lovers? Shutter bugs? News Junkies and Avid Readers? I know what you’re thinking: “What is the fastest way for me to find this […]

Search engines have made a variety of changes over the past year. The state of search is changing into the state of search + social + content. Check out these trends you should know for Search Engine Optimization 2014.

I’ve had the revelation that after all of that hard work becoming “grownups”, it turns out, just like our high school years, the Internet is a popularity contest. Practicing general SEO is kind of like enrolling and beginning high school classes; using link building techniques is like getting noticed by the “cool” kids.

Google recently announced that they are moving to encrypted (https) search in an effort to make searching “more secure” for users. Whether the move actually creates a more secure search experience is up for debate, but for the SEO world, this announcement has created quite a stir.

Google+ for Business offers strong SEO opportunities by actively passing relevant traffic, if not through preferential treatment from Google itself. Tyler takes a look at 3 ways incorporating a Google+ plan is still worth it for your SEO team (even if the social media team pushes back).

emfluence emsights features posts about email, social medial, mobile, search marketing, and digital marketing.

On Tuesday night, emfluence and our clients won 4 KCDMA AMBIT Awards! Two for search engine optimization and 2 for email marketing.