Should Your Business Use Twitter?

Here are some situations where Twitter may not be a good tool for your business.

• You don’t have time to tweet daily: All social media tools require regular updating, but with this social media platform, in particular, you need to have the time available to engage on a DAILY basis with your audience. Not updating or responding to your followers in a timely way is the fastest way to fail.
• You aren’t interested in what others have to say: The key to being successful with Twitter is the ability to use it to build relationships. If you are simply tweeting links to your website or promoting yourself, no one will listen.
• It’s a numbers thing: If you think that measuring your success amounts to how many followers you have, Twitter may not be the right tool for you. Quality followers who care about what you have to say are much more important than the number of people following you.
• You envision Twitter as ultimate marketing solution: Sorry, that’s just not going to happen. Twitter is a tactic or tool, it is not a strategy. It needs to work in conjunction with other social media tools and your overall marketing strategy.
• You plan to put Twitter on autopilot: A ton of tools exist that promise they can put your Twitter growth on autopilot and help you grow followers. They are all a bad idea for one main reason: they lack the engagement and interaction that is vital to Twitter.

For the most part, this channel works best for public figures and B2C clients. B2B companies might find it beneficial to keep in touch with clients and employees if they have time-sensitive information.

Making the Most of Twitter

Now if you plan to use Twitter for all of the right reasons there are three questions to ask yourself before getting started.

1. What do I want to achieve with Twitter? Define your goals and what steps are you willing to take to get there.
2. What is the message I want to convey? In other words, what are the core of my tweets going to be about? For example, are you a pet bakery who is going to tweet about the pet nutrition along with interacting with pet owners? You must find your niche and what you are going to focus your tweets around.
3. Who is going to be doing the tweeting? Figure out who in your business is going to be your voice on Twitter. It’s often CEO’s, Presidents, and other upper-level management doing the tweeting but there is nothing to say that you cannot have multiple people within your organization tweeting. Just make sure that everyone is in sync with what, where, when, and why they are doing it.

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• Identify a complete list of all the relevant keywords for which people would use to find you on the web.
• Target and remove keywords that are not worth your effort.
• Know the traffic potential for your keywords.

Once you learn how to choose the right keywords and evaluate them, then the next step is How to Use Long Tail Keywords and Niche Marketing to Grow Your Business

Why is keyword research necessary?

Keyword research sets the direction for the rest of your organic SEO strategy. Determining which specific keyword phrases to target is extremely important to your website’s success or failure. This article guides you through the process of keyword research and shows you how to use Google’s paid advertising tool for your SEO purposes.

1. Brainstorm a List of “Seed” Keywords
2. Expand Your Keyword List with the free Google Keyword Planner Tool.
3. Choose primary and secondary keywords for your landing pages.

Part 1: Brainstorm a List of Seed Keywords

30 mins

Before jumping into the process of using tools for keyword research, it’s essential that you take time to brainstorm the seed keywords related to your business and website.

What are Seed Keywords?

Seed Keywords are the initial set of keywords that we believe people will use to find us on the internet. These seed words will give you a starting point for your research. Like seeds, this list of words should grow into a much longer list after we input them into the Google Keyword Planner.

How to Choose the Right Keywords for Your Seed Keyword List

You only need 5 to 20 Seed Keywords. To help you make your Seed Keyword List, try asking yourself the following questions and record your answers.

• What are the main products or services that your business offers?
• How is your business unique?
• What do your customers call your products and services?
• Which categories group your products and services?
• What are the brands you carry?
• What are your competitors’ keywords?

Example Seed Keyword List

Let’s look at an example Seed Keyword List for an imaginary company that sells dog supplies. After some quick brainstorming, we created a list of 14 seed keywords that describe their products and services. Each one of these terms is associated with one of the site’s landing pages or product pages.

For this training, we are going to focus on “dog food” as an example. This company has a category of products they have labeled “dog food.” The category page is the one they want to optimize and on the page will be several product links, all of which are types of dog food.

Now it’s your turn!

Consider your own company and your primary products or services. Brainstorm the search terms you think people will use to find your items. Once you have 5 to 20 Seed Keywords that cover the products or services you offer and you’ve answered each of the questions above, then you can move on to Part 2.

Part 2: Expand Your Keyword List with Google’s Help

30 mins or less

Now we want Google to give you a full list of keywords and phrases that people search for based on your seed keywords. To find these phrases, we will use their free tool, the Google Keyword Planner.

Sign in and open the Google Keywords Tool

Go to Keyword Planner and if you don’t already have an account, click the “Sign In” link at the top right corner of the screen and create one.

Otherwise, you can go directly to the Keyword Planner by clicking on the button at the bottom of their webpage.

Generate a List of Relevant Search Terms for Your Landing Pages

This video will show the process we lay out in Step #2.

After you have logged into the Keyword Planner, the first thing you will want to do is to gather keyword ideas. Click on Find New Keywords. Enter the URL of one of your landing pages, or paste one of your seed keywords.

Note: You can input multiple keywords (up to ten) but you may find the amount of data difficult to work with. Our demonstration is for one seed keyword, targeted to a single landing page.

As I mentioned earlier, our fictitious dog supply company has a category page for dog food.  Using the Find New Keywords option in the Planner, we are going to generate related search terms to “dog food” that are recognized by Google and have the highest search volume.

When we input “dog food” and generate the list, Google returns over 1100 keyword suggestions. That is a bit overwhelming, so let’s look at how to find the most relevant, high-volume, low-competition keywords.

Setting the Location and the Language

First, we want to turn on the location filter. You can either click on Location in the left sidebar and then the giant blue plus sign or go to Location in the upper left corner right under the header and click on the pencil so you can edit. The default country is likely the one where you are located, but you can narrow or broaden that area for better results.

For our purposes, we are going to target Indianapolis, Indiana. To change the location, you can enter the city and state (or country) and find it in the drop-down. Click on it and remove your default location or select multiple locations if you desire.

You can also change the language if it’s more appropriate to use another. The Language option is located next to Location underneath the header. For now, we will leave it set for English.

Find More Closely Related Terms

Next, we want to narrow the scope of our list. Go to Broadly Related Ideas, right above the keyword list and change it to Closely Related Ideas.  This will exclude any keyword phrases that don’t contain the words from our seed keyword.

Another way to narrow the list is to create a list of negative keywords.

What are negative keywords?

Let’s say you sell playground equipment. The seed keyword “swing” will return results that are applicable for your company but it will also return results relevant to swing dancing. In this case, we would want to exclude any keywords with “dance” because they are not applicable.

In the case of our pet store, we want to exclude any keywords that have to do with “human food” because they are not relevant to the products they carry nor to their competitors. To do this, you would click on the filter icon in the upper right and then on Keyword Text. Because we are excluding words, select Does Not Contain from the drop-down and then input “human.” You can input as many negative keywords as you like.

Filter by Competition Level

We also have the option of filtering out keywords based on competition level. This allows you to target keywords that your competitors have not. In the case of our dog store, we want to filter out the high competition keywords and focus on those that are classified as low or medium.

The steps we just went through were for a single seed keyword. You will need to repeat this process for all your seed keywords.

Download Your List

To finish Part 2, we want to download the keywords and sort them according to traffic. Click on Download Keyword Ideas.

Now that we have a spreadsheet of relevant, low-competition words, we need to select primary and secondary keywords for your landing pages based on popularity and relevance.

Part 3: Prioritize Your Keywords

1 hour

This video will show you how to manipulate the data in your spreadsheet and you can read the details below:

When you take a look at the data in your downloaded spreadsheet, you will see that the list is still much too long. You will need to whittle it down to the top 10 or so phrases that have the highest volume and most accurately describe what the company stands for and what it offers.

Evaluating Search Volume

First, let’s look at the maximum search volume for each of the search terms.

If your company Ranks #1 then you can expect to receive about 33% of the maximum search volume each month in traffic. If you rank #2, then it drops to 18%, and even though Position #10 is still on Page 1 of the results, statistics show that you will only receive about 2.5% of the total traffic.

Lower competition keywords make it possible to rank higher and improve those numbers, which is why in our first video we showed you how to filter out the high-competition keywords.

Remove all of the keywords whose maximum traffic is 10 or less.

Find the Most Popular Search Terms

Next, evaluate the remaining keywords based on popularity. Sort the data by Top of the Page Bid High Range. This number is what people are willing to pay to get to their advertisements at the top of the paid advertising section.

Note:  If you rank for that term organically, then you can occupy the top spot directly under the paid ads – for free.

Carefully evaluate your list, from the top to the bottom. You want to identify the keyword with the highest popularity that best describes the primary content, product, or message of that particular landing page.  If it is a Top-Level landing page, such as your About Page or Contact Page, your keyword will be more general. A product or category page will, by their very nature, be more specific.

For instance, the homepage of our example company may target “dog supply company,” while their interior category pages might target “dog food,” “dog grooming supplies,” etc.

Your analysis and selection of keywords is subjective and should take into consideration your customers, their needs, and your company’s mission. We have already narrowed the list of possibilities to include the highest-searched, lowest-competition choices, so now relevancy is the most important factor.

Note: The most popular keyword may NOT be the most relevant to what you offer.

Once you have identified this primary keyword, highlight it.

Find Secondary Keywords

Next, you will want to identify 5-10 related keywords that will be interwoven throughout the content on your landing page. Related keywords help Google understand the intent behind your website. If you are selling dog food and use related keywords that focus on adult dog food, then your page will not be the first choice for someone searching for “the best puppy food.”

Related keywords may appear on multiple landing pages.

Once you have identified your secondary keywords, you can give the list to your content writer so they can create the SEO content for your web page.

Taking the Next Steps in the SEO Process

Continue with our SEO Empowerment Series and build a more profitable website…

How can long tail keywords and niche marketing grow your business?

The inclusion of long-tail keywords within your content often uncovers new client groups within your market. These previously undiscovered leads usually have a high conversion rate due to little competition and targeted interest. The art of ferreting out these hidden customers is called niche marketing. Web Marketers consider niche marketing to be one of their best tools for attracting and converting clients.

Effect Web Agency builds and maintains WordPress websites for clients in a variety of industries. If you have questions about SEO and how to build a more profitable website, contact Effect, and learn how strategic SEO can benefit you.

The post Defining Your Seed Keywords for Better SEO appeared first on Effect Web Agency.

In today’s digital age, your website isn’t just an online brochure—it’s the face of your business and one of your most important sales tools. But not every website is effective at turning visitors into leads or customers. So, how do you build a website that truly works for your business?

The key to a high-performing website lies in three crucial components: Building a solid foundation, Attracting the right audience, and Converting those visitors into customers. Let’s dive into each of these areas to ensure your website becomes your most valuable asset.

Building the Foundation of an Effective Website

Before you start designing, you need to think strategically. A successful website begins with clearly defined goals and a deep understanding of your target audience. Ask yourself:

• What do I want visitors to do on my site? (e.g., fill out a form, make a purchase, contact us)
• Who are my ideal customers, and what are their pain points?
• How can my website address their needs?

Once these questions are answered, focus on creating a website that offers a seamless user experience. Your site should load quickly, be mobile-friendly, and feature easy navigation. The design should reflect your brand’s identity while ensuring visitors can find what they’re looking for in just a few clicks.

Pro Tip:

Make sure your site’s structure is optimized for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Use clear heading tags (H1, H2, H3), descriptive meta descriptions, and keyword-rich content to help your site rank higher on search engines like Google.

Attracting the Right Traffic

Building a great website is only the first step. If your target audience isn’t finding you, your site won’t generate the leads or sales you need. That’s where SEO comes into play.

To attract the right visitors to your site, focus on creating high-quality, informative content that speaks to the specific needs of your audience. Start by identifying the keywords your potential customers are searching for and incorporate them naturally throughout your site’s content, including blogs, service pages, and FAQs.

SEO Best Practices for Attracting Traffic:

• Optimize your title tags and meta descriptions with primary keywords.
• Create content that solves your audience’s problems—Google rewards helpful, engaging material.
• Leverage local SEO if your business serves specific geographical areas (e.g., “Best SEO Services in [City Name]”).
• Build backlinks from reputable sources to improve your site’s authority.

Don’t Forget Social Media

Your website isn’t the only place your business lives online. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn are great ways to drive traffic back to your website. Share your blog posts, services, and promotions on social media to engage with a wider audience.

Converting Visitors into Leads or Customers

Once visitors land on your website, the next goal is to convert them. Conversion is all about encouraging users to take the desired action, whether that’s filling out a contact form, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase.

Key conversion elements include:

• Clear Calls to Action (CTAs): Every page on your site should have a clear, compelling CTA that guides visitors toward the next step in their journey.
• Compelling Offers: Whether it’s a discount, a free consultation, or access to exclusive content, offer something that entices visitors to take action.
• Trust Signals: Build trust with your audience by showcasing customer testimonials, case studies, or certifications that validate your expertise.

Analytics & Testing:

To maximize conversions, continually monitor your website’s performance. Tools like Google Analytics help you track how users interact with your site, while A/B testing allows you to experiment with different headlines, designs, or CTAs to see what drives the best results.

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Ready to Build a High-Converting Website?

Now that you understand the building blocks of an effective website, it’s time to take action. We’ve developed a comprehensive toolkit that will guide you step-by-step through the process of building a website that works for your business. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to improve your current site, our toolkit will help you Build, Attract, and Convert.

What makes for an effective website? Some websites are slick with the latest graphics innovations, and others look they were created in 1997, but an effective website goes to WORK for your business.  We have created a toolkit that shows you just how to Build, Attract, and Convert through your website to bring your ideal customer directly to you.

When it is built strategically, your website will attract the right customers, and convince them you are the right fit to meet their needs so they TAKE ACTION.

Building an effective site means you have defined your goals, created a site your audience will love (in appearance, function and communication), and you share well-targeted, quality content on a regular basis.

An attractive website is not just about looks—it’s about visibility. To attract the right visitors, your site needs to be optimized for search engines and designed to engage your audience with content that speaks directly to their needs and interests.

Converting leads is all about enticing your target audience with what is most interesting and helpful to them.  So make your landing pages sing, your offers tantalizing and let your analytics make sure you notice each person who comes in your door.  It’s so important to test and reflect on which strategies are working for you – if you aren’t listening, how can your customers be heard?

Download the Effective Website Toolkit

With attention to these three areas, you are armed to create an effective website. We have created a toolkit that takes you step by step through this process to do just that — Build, Attract, Convert. Get Your Toolkit Now >

The post How to Build a Website That Works for Your Business appeared first on Effect Web Agency.

How are QR Codes used?

Businesses often use QR Codes to link potential customers to coupons and special offers, actions such as sign-up forms or Facebook “Like” buttons, files to download, or any other URL. Some codes also hold company contact details, event schedules, GPS location, texts, and other data.

How do the codes work?

As of now, scanning codes require a QR reader app. These are widely available for iPhones, Androids, or other phone models. Simply search your app store for a no-cost, highly-rated code reader. Once the app is opened, it will automatically scan the code by taking a photo and opening up the URL or data it contains.

How do I get people to use my code?

Here are some questions to consider:

• Can the benefit to the customer (what happens or is received) be clearly understood?
• Is the perk or information from the code worth the time it takes them to pull out their phone, launch the app, and load the URL?
• Is your code easy to scan? (Close proximity, unobstructed, colors patterned correctly)
• Does using the code save time over simply doing whatever the code itself does? (Such as calling a phone number)
• Does your customer base understand the use of QR codes?

How can my retail store or restaurant use QR Codes?

Here are a few ways to put QR codes to good use:

1. Direct customers to your Facebook page, where they can “Like” the page and subscribe to news and updates
2. Allow them to “check-in at your store’s location, which will notify others in their networks
3. Make it a game by positioning text message QR codes around your building, as a scavenger hunt leading to a prize
4. Link to your menu from outside locations or materials
5. Offer links to store coupons and special offers
6. Link to an easy process for posting reviews, which will boost your exposure on Local Search sites
7. Feature codes on product tags, containing reviews and additional information

How do I get a QR Code?

Creating QR codes is an easy process. Begin by opening this link to the QR Code Generator.

• In the “Contents” field, select you code type. (“URL” is standard)
• Complete the other fields and click “Generate”.
• Click “Download”, then place your code wherever you choose.

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