Digital Marketing News in the Tampa Bay Area and Vestal New York.

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Beware of the Dark Side: The Risks of Black Hat SEO and How to Avoid Them

Search Engine Optimization is good. More accurately, SEO is an essential part of the online marketing strategy for your company’s website. We’ve covered this topic before, but the affirmation of SEO’s utility is necessary given the pervasive bias against it due to the shadier practices used in this field, with just concern. Known as “Black Hat SEO” methods, they can best be described as transactional tactics, and at worst, all the negative connotations applied to overly aggressive sales and marketing practices. Your company’s success in SEO will hinge on its ability to avoid this dark side of the spectrum, coinciding with the mastery of techniques from the ethical side of the practice.

Black hat is a term originating from the world of computer hacking, as black hat hackers are whom the modern media portrays as the bad boys of the internet, busting through security measures by big name companies and the government, along with causing the digital arms race between hackers and online security companies today. Black hat SEO is the sleazy cousin to its Hell’s Angel-like hacker counterpart, foregoing the dangerous appeal while retaining its deplorable effect on business. Black hat SEO relies on simple-minded deceitfulness as opposed to earned programming or marketing skills—you may be familiar with the technique of “keyword stuffing,” which requires you to copy and paste the same popular search words repeatedly in order to artificially boost your Google ranking (no, your company is not having a special on Kardashian NFL Iowa Caucus pizza rats). This is an obvious example of the silliness that passes for SEO in the black hat world, but there are subtler methods at play as well. “Link schemes” are where a company will ask an online publisher to provide ad space along with having a link directly inserted into the content text to increase web traffic. Any blatant manipulation of content text along these lines, where it is creating traffic without adding actual value, could be considered black hat.

How do you stay out of this zone? Part of the issue with drawing arbitrary ethical boundaries is that the circumstances of your company’s business could impact how you approach your overall web marketing strategy. However, it is fair to say that there are consistent best practices in the SEO field that should be used whenever possible. To start, as mentioned in the previous article, Google has put together a convenient guide to SEO for all its new employees that covers the basics of the topic. But to really take your SEO game to the next level, you need the dedicated expertise that Sun Sign Designs can provide to your company, geared exactly towards the intricacies of your web marketing strategy. Go ahead and reach out to us today, and we’ll make sure that you hit the top of Google’s results the right way!

Health Wear Rental Gets A Facelift

health-wear-rental

Heath Wear Rental of Endicott New York just got a website facelift. The company supports local doctors and medical agencies by providing a dedicated laundry service for scrubs, gowns and lab coats. The update was designed to modernize their website and bring their web presence to the current 2016 standards. The project also included five instructional videos to assist them with their customer service needs.

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Constance Foundation Hockey 4 Hope

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In 2010 the first Hockey 4 Hope game was played and the Constance Foundation was established. Perhaps you remember Constance “Connie” Glauser, she passed away in May 2006, leaving a void that has never been filled. Connie was known for her witty humor and smile; she was admired for her attitude towards life.

The Constance Foundation serves cancer patients in Central NY Area. The foundation assists with the costs of treatment, services that are necessary in the fight yet not always covered by insurance. The goal is to ease the burden of those battling cancer so that their focus can be on healing. Portions of the H4H proceeds are donated to the Geller Oncology Fund and Make-A-Wish CNY.

Sun Sign Designs Inc. is very proud to be a part of donating time and efforts toward the Constance Foundation and the H4H program. Our contribution this year (2016) was to design the poster, post cards and raffle tickets associated with this great cause.

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Strategy Vs. Tactics: What Does Your Company Really Need?

Do you know the difference between strategy and tactics? Unless you’re in the military, the difference between the two words may seem semantic and meaningless for practical concerns. Both are ways to organize your efforts and energy towards a goal. However, the difference between the two couldn’t be more important, especially in terms of handling your business.

A strategy is the overarching framework and plan used to meet your goal. For instance, if your goal is to increase profits, you may want to look at updating your atmosphere for conversions of your website. This initiative – “Promote Conversions” – would be your strategy for improving profits. The tactics would be the individual actions you take in order to carry out that strategy. Maybe you’ll move your Call to Action button to a more prominent place on the website, or employ video in order to engage the customer so that they stay for a longer period of time. These tactics are relatively easy to change and switch in the face of incoming analytics and changing circumstances to your business’s industry, as opposed to your strategy, which should be more stable in the face of changes.

So, why the vocabulary lesson? As the New Year arrives, a lot of online business blogs  are publishing articles suggesting new online marketing “strategies” for your business to take on for 2016. And while many of these strategies can be truly beneficial to your business, you must also be aware that their solutions may not be what you actually need. Connecting with LinkedIn users through its Groups function and using Facebook custom audiences aren’t necessarily bad ideas– in fact, the social networks want you to use these features in a beneficial way so that other companies will follow your lead.  But these aren’t strategies – they’re actually tactics, methods you can implement, test and tweak to your heart’s content, but don’t say anything about your company’s individual and unique strategy towards an overarching goal.  Furthermore, they’re fads; a flavor of the month that the business blogs will grow tired of in two weeks before they start touting a new “world-beating” plan. Suffice to say, if you are lifting an entire strategy straight off a random internet article published within the past week, you either have A) lost your mind or more likely, B) lost serious confidence in your company’s current strategy, and you are now desperately looking for answers.

There is no way a random news editor or blogger will know exactly what you’re company needs in order to optimize its digital and online marketing strategy. Only you can truly discover what your company requires in order to take it all to the next level. The experts at Sun Sign Designs will be able to help bring out the true remedies of what your business requires, as we have done for many other clients before. Reach out to us today so we can help you bring your strategy into the New Year!

The Internet of Things: The Revolution will be Everywhere

There’s no question that Americans have become increasingly attached to their smartphones to complete daily tasks. The innovation of having a handheld device connected to the internet has had an dramatic effect on our everyday lifestyle, but some are wondering if that’s really the limit on the potential of online connectivity. In recent years, companies have sought to expand the reach of the internet beyond phones, tablets and computers. Dubbed the “Internet of Things,” this phenomenon is set to change the information technology industry once again, and this time the results truly will be everywhere. By leveraging Web Analytics, your company will be able to best take advantage of this rising tide as you develop new products and services for the Internet of Things.

The Internet of Things has already collected a few successes in its beginning. If you’ve bought a new vehicle in the past 5 years, you probably noticed the gleaming smart console installed in the front of the car. Those who own the Fitbit have seen the value of a small electronic device able to communicate your physical activity with corresponding apps on your primary devices. And if you’re obsessed with gadgets, you may want to own a Smart Umbrella, which provides you the handy service of messaging your phone if you’ve forgot the umbrella while it’s raining. The Internet of Things isn’t all fancy gimmicks, however, as there is also some serious money on the table: the McKinsey Global Institute estimates the industry value of connecting the world’s devices together online at $11 trillion by 2025, equating 50% of the U.S. economic output in one year (Source: Global News).

Given the huge financial opportunity, it’s no wonder why companies have been clamoring for the Internet of Things to take off. However, there are some serious obstacles in front of the developing industry before it can match its advertised potential. Perhaps the most glaring issue is data protection. Security experts note that the devices meant to connect via the internet to your phone and laptop won’t have the same anti-virus and hacking prevention capabilities, and the operating system for these devices won’t be standardized—can you say that your future Smart Umbrella will have the same processing capability as your iPhone? As a result, a talented hacker could bypass the security measures on your primary devices through these connected peripherals. How companies respond to the overall security risks will play a large part in the potential success or failure of the Internet of Things.

If and when the Internet of Things does reach the tipping point where it becomes a financial boon, you will want to make sure your company is positioned correctly. The best way to do so is by using web analytics. Analytics firms are partnering with product companies to provide data on when and how the latter’s products are being bought and used by customers. By collecting this data, the partner company can then best direct its efforts into either modifying current products or developing new ones to match the behavior. By following this path, Analytics will continue to grow into a influential force as the overall Internet of Things develops.

The Internet of Things provides a gigantic financial upside in the next ten years, with a corresponding risk of potential disaster if customers’ data is compromised on any level. Who do you trust to guide you during this exciting yet uncertain time? Turn to the experts at Sun Sign Designs, where we have worked to anticipate the changes arriving to the IT field and will help you navigate through them so you can achieve success. Feel free to reach out to us today!

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Analytics: How Do You Know How Great You Are?

Digital Marketing Analytics

 

You can do everything right. You can strategize with the best of the online marketers, be a social media superstar, have your website be the top Google search result, master email communication, and drink coffee with the rest of the closers when you convert your visitors into customers. If you do all of these things, you will generate revenue from your website and all your hard work will pay off. However, unless you employ Analytics to track your progress, you will not know where your strengths and weaknesses are located, and you will not know how you can improve your website to maximize its performance. Analytics does not stop at examining the performance of your own website. The ability to properly mine online data will also let you see where you can take advantage of emerging online trends, to the point where you can direct future content to match the interests of your customer base. By enabling you to learn from your past efforts and providing you the path for the future, Analytics will become the force multiplier for your online business.

Classic management advice: “What gets tracked, gets done.” Being able to track the performance of your website is essential for its improvement. The use of Analytics gives you a sharper set of tools to examine your online traffic beyond just seeing the number of people who visit your website. It allows you to track the demographic data of your visitors, to the level of detail where you can see how they accessed your site, if they are repeat visitors, and their geographic location (you might be big in Japan and have no idea). You can also see the nature of their behavior as they move through your website – did they stop at your home page and move on? Did they make it all the way to the checkout page without proceeding with their order? Maybe you’re getting a lot of visitors, but are they pushing on your Call to Action button so they can be converted? With Analytics, you can see where the winners and losers are within your organization and modify accordingly.

Where Analytics really can shine is in the world of observing trends. You may have heard the following quote by hockey star Wayne Gretzky: “Some people skate to the puck. I skate to where the puck is going to be.” Being able to go not only to where the customers are, but where they are going to be will propel your business to the top of its industry and provide you with an enviable reputation for being ahead of the innovation curve. And while it sounds nice, it ain’t easy—if it were, wouldn’t everyone be doing it by now?  The sheer quantity of data online will force you to think in terms of strategizing where you will target your Analytic efforts. And… wait, didn’t we talk about Strategy before? Indeed, Analytics will provide you with the raw data for your Strategy, where you start the online marketing process anew with more experience and clearer eyes.

So if you’ve been reading our previous articles, you now have all the tools required in order to dominate the online landscape: Strategy, Social Media, SEO, Email Marketing, Conversions, and now Analytics. And we know it can be a lot to take in all at once, and it’s not like you get extra credit if you can name off the core concepts for each tool. What will earn you extra revenue is having a qualified team dedicated to the future success of your website. Reach out to Sun Sign Designs today to find out how we can help your business with all of these tasks!

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Conversions: Transforming Website Visitors to Customers with the Right Call to Action

Over the past month, we’ve explored several concepts that will serve as the foundation of success for your website and online marketing strategy. We saw how Strategy can make or break your business, and how Social Media has grown to become one of the primary drivers of new website traffic. We looked into the importance of Search Engine Optimization for people to be able to find your site, and how Email Marketing can be implemented to maintain customer relationships over time. Today we’re adding a new ingredient to mix, and much like baking powder in a recipe, the correct amount must be used for the dish you’re serving to your guests to come out right: Conversions. The importance of Conversions can’t be understated; once your website visitors are there with their interest engaged, do they know what to do next for your business to benefit from the interaction? The Conversion is the “moment of truth” for your website and online marketing efforts, as everything has led up to this point where the visitor decides to choose you as the provider for the product or service they are seeking.

The best way to capitalize on the Conversion opportunity is with a Call to Action. The Call to Action (CtoA) is to online marketing as the Close is to direct sales. Yes, those are uppercase letters and yes, it’s that important, because if your website does not incorporate Calls to Action then you are losing out on potential customers and therefore, money. In most cases, the CtoA will be a link often in the form of a button – easily seen and used in order for them to go to the correct next action. A brilliant example of a simple CtoA comes from none other than our friend Google, which has perhaps the single most used Call to Action of all time right on their home page:

Google Image

The “Google Search” button is how Google users, well, Google something, and it’s the all-important step for visitors to be taken where they would next like to go. Note that in this case that this particular Call to Action does not directly provide revenue for Google; it is however the essential step for Google to use its money-making AdSense and AdWords functions as customers click through to participating websites (you can find out more about how the Google revenue model works here).

While the Call to Action is perhaps the most important element of Conversions, there is more to the concept than just having your very own magic money button. The Landing Page is the destination where the Call to Action link will take your customer, and you will want to make sure the page is correctly organized so the customer knows where they should go for the next step if needed—if the Call to Action is the door for your customer, the Landing Page is the room where they’ll find themselves after entering.

Amazon provides a great example of how Calls to Action and Landing Pages work together. For every one of its product Landing Page displaying the item, product description and reviews, Amazon uses an “Add to Cart” button to select the corresponding item for purchase, followed by a “Proceed to Checkout” button from the Cart page, with a final “Place Your Order” button at the Checkout page. On each Landing Page, Amazon asks you to fill out the necessary information for your order to be completed. This all feels natural to us as customers and we normally complete the steps without thinking much beyond the requested information—in fact, the majority of vendor websites offering a product are built this way, to the point where it’s hard to imagine a successful widespread alternative (Amazon’s own 1-Click ordering being a very notable exception, something few businesses other than Apple’s online stores can pull off). The interaction on your website between Calls to Action and Landing Pages should likewise feel natural, where it eases the visitor along the process to their desired destination.

Conversions are critical to the strategic success of your online website, and while this article provides a brief overview of the process, you’ll want to make sure your site is configured correctly so you can maximize the revenue it is bringing to your business. The experts at Sun Sign Designs are here to help you as you navigate this process. Reach out to us today so we can successfully turn your visitors into paying customers!

Email Marketing: How to Stay Personal and Relevant to Your Customers

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As the number of Millennials in the U.S. workforce increases, the more valuable these consumers become to your business as they obtain the responsibility and the pure adrenaline rush of joy of spending their hard-earned income. Of course your company will want to target these consumers, generally 18-33 years of age, with your marketing efforts, but there’s a catch: never has a demographic been more bombarded and thereby turned-off by media advertisements and gimmicks than the Millennials. Email may seem to be a fantastic way to keep tabs on this group of consumers, as 98% of Millennials check their email every few hours. But email marketing can become dangerously close to being considered spam for even your most loyal customers, Millennials and otherwise, when improperly executed. Thankfully, best practices have been implemented by customer-savvy companies that can revolutionize the way you use this tried-and-true method of communication to reach your customers, whatever their generation happens to be.

These new practices can be summarized with one word: personalization. And while it may seem to be asking too much to make every individual message personal to your customers, new technology has enabled ways to streamline this process so it can be realistically done. In what is known as cross-channel marketing, companies can utilize automated services in order to collect information on what consumers are buying from them, allowing marketers to email customers with unique, targeted offers that can help drive both business and the overall relationship. For the uninitiated, it may seem a little awkward to be collecting this kind of information, but it actually saves your consumers time and money in the long run— if someone is already buying something from your website, wouldn’t they want to hear about relevant products and services in the near future, especially if it’s at a discount and a frequently bought item or service? As a business, you want to stay in the mind of your easily distracted customers, and there’s no better way to do so than to be seen as a helpful and useful friend.

While building out your new email campaign to target Millennials and other tech-savvy consumers no matter the age, keep in mind the following pointers, courtesy of the Harvard Business Review. First, make sure your emails are friendly to mobile devices—88% of Millennials use their smartphones to check their email, so you want your own communication to be compatible with this trend. Time your emails for key points in the day, such as around bedtime when many consumers are checking their email before going to sleep. Make sure to use pictures, and to keep your emails concise; don’t let the curse of TL, DR (too long, didn’t read, for you non-Millennials out there) become the conversation killer for your campaign.

You don’t need to have gone to Harvard to know how to stay in touch with your consumers, but you do want a team to expedite the process as much as possible so you can focus on running your business. That’s where the dedicated professionals of Sun Sign Designs make the online world simple for your company. Reach out us today to see how we can construct a world class email campaign together with you!

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Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Getting Google to Work for Your Business

We discussed in last week’s article how social media has grown in importance for potential customers to link to your business, potentially surpassing search engines as the most prominent way for users to find you. There is no doubt, however, that the use of search engines is still essential to your online web presence. After all, customers have to be able to find you and your business, and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the concept of making sure people can do so in a natural manner on the internet.

First, the elephant in the room: SEO has recently developed a bit of an unfortunate reputation, where its methods are accused of being spammy or even sleazy by its critics. The argument goes that it manipulates users into being directed to content they allegedly would not want to see by abusing the use of keywords in search engines’ algorithms. As with any successful business practice, bad apples will appear to spoil the crop, and it is essential to use the correct methods of SEO in order to avoid falling in with that group.

Google itself is a proponent of SEO, offering educational material to its employees in the form of its SEO Starter Guide, helping them bolster the online presence of their individual websites. It is safe to say that if the current king of search engines has a list of SEO best practices to use, it is A) certainly fine to use SEO in general, and B) a good idea to read up on the given material. The free guide covers important topics such as creating unique web page titles, optimizing core content for search purposes, and making sure the right material on the website gets picked up by the “crawlers” utilized by search engines to index your site into its search directory.

While Google’s guide is an excellent start into the world of SEO, the field is always changing and requires constant vigilance in order to stay ahead. For instance, how does your website handle the increased use of digital assistants like the iPhone’s Siri for search purposes? Is your website geared for mobile platforms such as iOS and Android? Your site may be optimized for Google, but what about Bing, Yahoo and other search engines – do you know if your business is topping out on those web services as well? The fact of the matter is, not everyone is an expert in online marketing, nor should they require themselves to be. The qualified professionals at Sun Sign Designs are adept at cutting through the noise in the SEO world to deliver you meaningful and tangible results for your online presence. So reach out to us today to find out more about how SEO can contribute to your overall marketing strategy.

Emphaticaleigh LLC Launches Artist Marketplace Website

December 3, 2015

Today Emphaticaleigh LLC is officially launching its site emphaticaleigh.com as an online marketplace for artists to meet, communicate and sell their pieces of work to interested buyers. The website already features work done by one of its principal artists, Shannon Leigh, and is looking to expand its roster of qualified artists going forward.

Emphaticaleigh.com is an extremely valuable resource for artists looking to sell their work on the internet and increase their name recognition among buyers. It features an expertly produced website as the portal for transactions, and is run by professional artists who deeply care about both the craft and business of visual art. Artists who previously viewed the internet as confusing and as a last resort for displaying their work can rest assured that we will act in your best interests so you receive a suitable return for what you do.

The website seeks to address many issues artists face when looking for online buyers. Many interested buyers simply do not know how to find and identify emerging artists if their work is not currently displayed in a gallery. Emphaticaleigh will serve as go-to resource for consumers to view art for sale. The price is of the work is also clearly displayed, eliminating the issue where buyers had to directly contact the seller for the price of the individual piece. Emphaticaleigh takes the guesswork out of purchasing premium works of art, creating an ideal experience for both artist and buyer.

Emphaticaleigh understands the difficulty that artists face when marketing and selling their art. Our platform and artist community network offers a non-traditional solution that will allow you to expand the audience of your work worldwide. In addition to our web services, we also handpick works of art to showcase in galleries around the country in displays that we create ourselves. Feel free to contact us directly so we can review your masterpieces.

Emphaticaleigh LLC.
279 McGuire Park Drive
Bloomsburg PA, 17815

P: 570-594-4216
F: 888.280.1272
E: [email protected]

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