What is blog writing for SEO?

Blog writing for SEO is the process of writing content that will rank on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) such as Google. This entails researching keywords, writing high-quality content that matches user intent, and optimizing your content, headers, and images for easy page crawling.

7 Steps to Blog Writing for SEO

1. Blog Writing for SEO – Identify and Set Goals

Identify and Set SEO Goals for your blog post

Identifying and setting goals is the first step in all marketing projects. It is no different with blog writing for SEO. I have outlined some common goals below for blog posts.

Educate your audience
Grow your brand’s audience
Increase website traffic
Increase brand awareness
Generate sales or leads

2. Blog Writing for SEO – Define Your Target Audience

Define your target audience for your blog post when writing for seo

Knowing who you are writing to and for will help you when it comes time to plan your blog content. Developing personas of your target audience can help you to really understand the audience for your blog content. Important information to identify includes:

What are people searching for?
Who is doing the search?
When are they searching? (Seasons, Trends)
What platforms are they using to search?
Why are they searching? (Motivation)
What problem are they looking to solve? (Challenges)
What are their interests?
Where are they located?

3. Blog Writing for SEO – Complete Keyword Research

Understanding the keywords that searchers are using to find information is key to writing a blog post that will be found in SERPs. Also, knowing how competitive the keywords are will determine whether your content will have an opportunity to rank. Selecting keywords that will drive the right traffic and rank will determine the success of your blog article.

Free Keyword Research Tools

Google Keyword Planner – https://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner
Google Trends – https://www.google.com/trends/
Keyword Tool.io – http://keywordtool.io/

4. Blog Writing for SEO – Plan Your Blog Content

Planning blog content can get a little complicated with all these SEO guidelines. Remember that you are writing the content to answer the searcher’s questions and to provide value.

The best way for you to improve your chances of ranking is by writing high-quality blog posts with user intent in mind that offer a solution to the questions being asked.

What does that look like?

Thorough answers
Scannable sections
Organized subheadings
Visual aids

Remember the target audience profile you created. Keep your buyer personas, and their motivations, challenges, and interests in mind. Choosing topics that interest your target audience and that offer solutions to their questions make a successful blog post.

5. Blog Writing for SEO – Optimize the Content and Images

Optimize image and content for SEO in your blog

This is one of the most important steps in blog article writing. The keywords that you want to be found for should be used in the article and optimized for important sections of the content.

Make sure that the keywords are used in headings multiple times. Use the keyword in your h1. Then use it again in H2s, H3s and H4s to break up the content.
Use the keyword in the first paragraph of the blog content.
Include keywords in your meta title and description.
Add keyword rich alt tags to all of your images (and make sure your images are compressed for fast loading).
Link to high-authority websites.
Plan for longer posts that can be scanned.
Link to other posts on your website.
Optimize content for featured snippets (answer the question thoroughly and succinctly).

6. Blog Writing for SEO – Distribute and Promote Your Content

Refer to your target audience profile again. This will help you to determine where best to distribute your content.

Social media is a great way to push new blog content out as it is free to post. The channels that we recommend posting on include Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Profile, and Twitter.
Adding your blog content to your corporate newsletter is a great way to distribute to your existing client base.
If the goal of the campaign is to drive traffic to the website, you may want to consider a paid campaign to drive traffic to the blog post.

7. Blog Writing for SEO – Measure Your Success

Finally, you will want to measure the success of your blog article. The measurement strategy will be determined by the goal that you set. Google analytics is a great way to measure traffic that has reached your blog article.

https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/

Finding out your best performing blog posts will help you to determine what your readers are most drawn to and what they are engaging with. This will help you to determine what future blog posts will be useful to your audience.

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEO AND SEM?

Here’s the short answer:

SEO is the process of getting your website ranked organically (or naturally) within the search engine results pages (like Google). You cannot pay Google to rank organically. The results are based on their algorithms.

SEM is paying to have your website show up in the results. This can include paying for ads in Google, in directories, or on social platforms.

For a more detailed answer, and to find which is better (or right for your business) keep reading below.

SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING (SEM) & PAY-PER-CLICK

The online marketing world has changed dramatically in recent years. Google Ads is one of the platforms driving this change. Google Ads is a paid advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) service offered by Google. It is one of the most effective methods of paid advertising online.

Pay-per-click (PPC) is a type of internet marketing service in which the advertiser pays a fee each time their ad is clicked. Once clicked, the ad directs the searcher to the advertiser’s website. The goal of the advertiser is to get the searcher to perform a predetermined action.

Common Actions Include:

Filling out a lead form
Completing a sale
Signing up for a newsletter

PPC is a way to buy targeted visitors to your website, rather than gaining visits through organic methods.

Primarily based on keyword bids and other relevancy factors, ads will be displayed on the top or on the side of the organic results. Through their search query, searchers reveal their intent to purchase.

Using the results and insights from Google Ads and Google Analytics, advertisers are then able to measure the effectiveness of their ads and the quality of the traffic. They can then refine their ads and make adjustments as necessary.

If Google Ads is a platform you would rather leave up to the experts, then visit our Search Engine Marketing & Pay-Per-Click page to inquire about pricing and to learn more.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)

What exactly does SEO mean?

Search engine optimization is the process of designing, writing, and coding your website so that there is a better chance that your website will appear at the top of search engine results page, like Google, for your desired keywords. Ultimately, it is a way for your website to get organic traffic from the search engine results page on major search engines – for free!

How it works:

The simple version: Google reads the content on your site (and other elements) and determines what keywords your website should rank for.

For the techies: Search engines used web crawlers (sometimes referred to as spiders or bots) to crawl the web and build an index of web pages, files, news stories, pictures, videos, and other media. When someone types in a search query, the search engine scours its database and returns only the results it deems to be the most relevant. It then presents the results in the form of a list, ranked from most relevant to least relevant. Each search engine has their own algorithms that use mathematical equations which contain hundreds of variables to determine the relevance and popularity of web pages.

Our team uses proven and ethical search engine optimization strategies to get your website ranked in the top positions for your industry keyword phrases.

Are you ready to start driving more traffic to your website? Visit our Search Engine Optimization page to inquire about pricing and to learn more.

What’s better? SEO or SEM

There’s a simple answer to this, it depends on what your goals are.

With SEM you have a lot more control over your campaign. You control your budget, keywords that you want to be found for, geographic area to target, immediacy of rankings, among other things. The down side is that this platform is becoming more competitive so you will have to have a regular budget to accomplish your goals. Once you stop paying for SEM, you will no longer show up in the search engines.

With SEO you may have to be patient to see results. Writing good content, generating back links to that content, and getting reviews takes time. Not to mention that you are competing with everyone in your industry as well as local directories for that first page spot. Working with a professional to complete proper keyword research and selecting the right keywords to target will help you to move in the right direction. And once you do achieve results, the traffic tends to convert higher than SEM and your website rankings will generally be maintained for a period of time. SEO tends to be a long term strategy.

We usually recommend implementing both strategies at the same time to achieve maximum results.

Are you looking for a great SEO company in Coquitlam to work with?

Longevity Graphics specializes in SEO and SEM for small to medium businesses specifically in the trades, professional services, and health services industries.

With search engines like Google dominating the online user experience, it’s crucial for you to cater to the top platforms. To increase traffic, Longevity Graphics uses SEO and SEM techniques to help your website rank for relevant searches (keywords used by the person searching). This is done through organic keyword use, as well as paid avenues such as Google Ads. When used in tandem, these techniques ensure more online success.

Contact Longevity Graphics today for a free one hour consultation, and learn how SEO can make a difference in your business. Call 778-229-5383.

Reputation management is the practice of shaping the public’s perception of a person or an organization. What was originally a public relation term, has grown to encompass online search results as a core part of an individual or entity’s reputation.

Some interesting statistics:

91% of adults use search engines to find information online
93% of searchers never go past the first page of search results
90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business
84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation

Here’s the bottom line – people are looking at you and your business online and making decisions based on what they find.

Why does Reputation Management Matter?

How you look online directly impacts your personal and professional life. Here are some of the main reasons why building and managing your online reputation is so important.

Freedom of Speech

Anyone can say anything about you online without getting in trouble. Whether the information they share is true or not, it is out there for other people to see. Some review sites have the option to open an investigation, but many places on the internet simply do not have this option. Unfortunately, there are very few laws in place to protect people who have been affected in these situations.

Everything and Everyone is Online

We do everything online these days and we have the technology in place to track and store all of this activity. That means everything we post on Facebook, everything we search for in Google, every website we visit, every online transaction we make, and every conversation we have through text, exists somewhere online.

Let the Good Outweigh the Bad

Your digital reputation creates significant opportunities. In an increasingly competitive economy, more and more customers are looking for positive information about you online. If you aren’t taking advantage of what your reputation could be, people aren’t seeing your best foot forward.

Why might someone need an Online Reputation Management Specialist?

A reputation management specialist will provide you with the maximum control possible over what people can see about you online.

Our Reputation Management services include:

Create review generation campaigns
Provide a review conversion funnel
Monitor online reviews
Manage online review sentiment

Contact Longevity Graphics to learn more about the Reputation Management services we offer. We provide a FREE 1-Hour Consultation.

Spring Into Action –
Mobile Optimization Coquitlam

Name: Longevity Graphics
Address: 102 - 7 Burbidge Street, Coquitlam, BC, V3K 7B2, Canada
Telephone: 778-229-5383

Global data reveals that mobile devices continue to ingrain themselves into consumers’ daily lives. Here are some interesting statistics about mobile device usage:

80% of global consumers own a smartphone
50% of global consumers own a tablet
85% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device

The fact is, if you are not optimized for mobile you’re ultimately losing sales.

Navigating with a mobile device on a website that is not optimized for mobile use can be very frustrating, and most people today do not have the patience. Research shows that 57% of mobile users will abandon your website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. On e-commerce websites, 30% will abandon a purchase transaction if the Shopping Cart isn’t optimized for mobile devices.

Not to mention, Google and other major search engines are giving you the hint, too.

“If you haven’t made your website mobile-friendly, you should.” – Google

What is Mobile Optimization Coquitlam?

A desktop version of a website can be difficult to view and navigate on a mobile device. It may require the user to zoom in order to read the page content. In comparison, the mobile-friendly version is readable and immediately usable. This is demonstrated in the image to the right.

The Mobile-First Index

In late 2016, Google began testing its mobile-first index. This index primarily looks at the mobile version of your website for its algorithm and ranking signals, falling back on the
desktop version when there is no
mobile version available.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, that will have an impact on where your website appears on the Google search results page.

Regular Price $1250

Spring Promotion $625

(Available until May 15, 2017)

If you are looking for an expert in Mobile Optimization Coquitlam, then collaborating with Longevity Graphics is the right choice for your business. Contact Us Today to learn more!

Get Mobile Optimized

Search Engine Optimization Coquitlam

What is search engine optimization?

Search engine optimization is a way for your website to get traffic from the results pages on major search engines – for free! How does it work? When someone types in a search query, results like websites, photos, videos and local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers to be the most relevant to the searcher.

Paid ads appear at the very top of the page, followed by the organic results. You will want your business’ website to be appearing as high as possible on the search engine results page. The higher you are, the more website clicks you will receive and consequently, the more leads and customers you will obtain. Search Engine Optimization Coquitlam is the key!

How do search engines rank websites?

Search engines use web crawlers (sometimes referred to as spiders or bots) to crawl the web and build an index of web pages, files, news stories, video and other media. When someone types in a search query, the search engine scours its database and returns only the results it deems to be the most relevant. It then presents the information in the form of a list, ranked from most popular to least popular. Search engines assume that if a site is more popular, it is probably because the information on the page is more valuable.

Search engines each have their own algorithm. This algorithm uses mathematical equations that contain hundreds of variables to determine relevance and popularity.

How should you get started with search engine optimization?

See what your competition is doing online
Figure out your best keywords
Add meta tags
Start a blog
Create an active social media presence
Sign up for free local listings

What are some best practices when getting started with SEO?

Create good content
Use your best keywords
Include linkable content
Tag your titles
Create URL’s that make sense to your viewers
Describe your content
Link to other popular websites
Create a sitemap
Monitor your rankings

What are some SEO mistakes to avoid?

Keyword stuffing
Broken links
Content that is copied or duplicated
Complicated website navigation
Not optimizing your website for mobile
Using flash
Cloaking

Are you ready to start driving more traffic to your website? Longevity Graphics can help! We use proven and ethical search engine optimization strategies to rank your website at the top positions for your specific keyword phrases. Get in contact with us today, and have your website ranking in the top position during the busy, summer months.

Do you want more Google Reviews?

In the 21st century, Google is the first point of contact between many customers and businesses. From finding businesses nearby to looking up a forgotten phone number, we search keywords in Google to help us find anything and everything we want to know. And if we want to find out how one business compares to another, we Google them to learn about other people’s experiences.

Why should you care about Google Reviews?

Local search engines love online reviews for one primary reason – consumers love online reviews! Did you know that Google uses these Reviews as a factor in their ranking algorithm.

So, let me start with a very simple example. Let’s say you’re looking for a Website Designer in Coquitlam.

Right away, you can see the user ratings and the number of reviews prominently displayed in both the search results and the accompanying map. If you click on the place pin of one of the businesses, you can also see brief summaries of the latest reviews shown alongside the businesses information including the address, hours of operation and phone number.

This example illustrates the fact that customer reviews are among the first things people see when they search a business category on Google or Google Maps. It has also been shown that positive reviews provide your website with a greater boost to conversion rates compared to any other local SEO effort.

For local businesses, online reviews help increase the degree of trust felt, based on feedback from other people with similar needs. A 2014 study discovered that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.

Do you want more Google Reviews for your business and for your website to appear higher in local search engine queries? Ask us how we can get more Google Reviews for you!

I want more Google Reviews!

Are you looking for the perfect gift to give this holiday season?

Do you know someone who needs help getting their website ranking higher
in Google search engine queries?

What is it and why is it important for a business?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. When used effectively, it will allow your website to get traffic for free from the search results pages on Google, Bing and Yahoo. How? When someone types a search into Google, results like websites, videos and local listings are shown based on what the search engine considers to be the most relevant to the searcher.

“80% of people click on the organic search results, making search engine optimization one of the best ways to increase your website traffic.” – YP

Top 5 reasons your website needs SEO

It helps people find your website
Your website should be generating leads and attracting new customers. But it won’t be able to do this if nobody can find it.
It’s a cost-effective form of marketing
Compared to other forms of online marketing, SEO provides the best return on investment.
Your competitors are doing it
If people are unable to find your website online, they’ll find your competitors’ websites instead.
It builds recognition and trust
SEO makes your brand image appear stronger because it makes you more recognizable.
It’s a measurable ROI
Every element of your website can be measured assessed and tweaked for SEO. You can see your return on every dollar you invest.

What can this gift do for a business owner?

An search engine optimized website will rank higher in the organic results. A higher ranked website will get more visitors, page views and ultimately more conversions from the business’ target market.

Get in touch with Longevity Graphics and give the gift of SEO this holiday season.

Give the gift of SEO

What Should a Seasonal Business Be Doing In The Off-Season?

Do you have a seasonal business?

As a seasonal business owner, your busy summer season is likely winding down. The off-season is the perfect time to evaluate your results. You now have the time to see what worked, what didn’t, and what you could be doing to increase business for the following year.

Did you know that getting started now on improving your online presence can help your business thrive next year? Organic rankings take time, so getting started now will mean your business will be ranked on the first page in Google by next season.

How can you do this? SEO!

What is SEO and why is it important for your business? SEO stands for search engine optimization. When used effectively, it will allow your website to get traffic for free from the search results page on Google. How? When someone types a search into Google, the paid ads appear at the top of the page, followed by the organic results. You want your business to appear as high as possible in the organic results so you can get more page views and ultimately more conversions from your target market.

Take advantage of the “off-season”

If you’re ramping up your SEO right when your business is starting to get busy again, you’re already too late. You will want your website to be SEO optimized months before you know people will be searching for your business,product, and/or service. Even if you’re business is currently closed, SEO is ongoing. A prominent organic search presence is an effective driver for your business.

Getting started with SEO

Here are the top ways to improve the SEO of your website.

Start with good content
Use keywords
Include linkable content
Tag your titles
Work on your page URL’s
Link to other websites
Create a sitemap

SEO mistakes to avoid

Here are some SEO mistakes to avoid. They will decrease your search results ranking.

Keyword stuffing
Broken links
Copied content
Not optimizing for mobile
Using flash

If this sounds like something you would rather leave up to the professionals, work with a trusted SEO partner to ensure you don’t miss out on valuable search engine results page positioning next season. Get in touch with Longevity Graphics and start improving your online marketing strategy now!

Guide to LinkedIn Advertising

So you’ve been taking advantage of Facebook and Twitter advertising, but have you thought about LinkedIn advertising?

LinkedIn is a professional platform where users can connect and network with other business professionals. People connecting, making referrals and recommendations are nothing new in the world of business. The difference is, people are now able to perform these tasks online, through one social platform. In the year 2016, if you want to engage in the professional community, you must have a LinkedIn profile.

A LinkedIn profile is a page containing elements of a person’s resume, website, Facebook profile and blog posts. Ultimately, it is a presentation of who you are professionally.

Advertising on LinkedIn is a great way for businesses and professionals to reach highly targeted groups of like-minded people.

Creating an Advertising Campaign

To get started, go to your business page. If you’re currently viewing your personal LinkedIn account, look at the top tabs and scroll over Interests. Go to company and then your business page. Again near the top of the page, look for Business Services. If you scroll over this tab, it will open and the Advertise option will appear.

You will now be welcomed to the LinkedIn Campaign Manager. This is the main area to view all your campaigns. There are two types of ads you can create on LinkedIn; sponsored updates and text ads.

Text Ads

These ads appear on the right side of the page.
These ads are a great way to drive targeted leads across multiple LinkedIn pages.
These ads only give viewers the option to click through to the advertiser’s website.

Once you have decided which ad is best suited for your advertising campaign, then you will open an account. You will create an account name, choose the currency you wish to pay in, and link the company page that you will be advertising. Name your campaign and decide what language you will be targeting. Next, you will decide where you want to direct users when they click on your ad. As mentioned, you can direct them to your LinkedIn page or your company website.

Now, you will create your ad. Add a catchy headline, image and content. Your headline should be engaging and include a call to action. After, you will configure your target audience and budget. Finally, you will commence your LinkedIn advertising campaign.

Are you interested in advertising your business on LinkedIn, but you’re not familiar with the platform? We can help! Get in touch with us today. We offer a FREE 1-hour consultation.

Are you thinking about starting a business in Port Coquitlam? We’ve gathered some resources to help you get started.

Visit the City of Port Coquitlam Website

The City of Port Coquitlam website is a great place to begin when thinking about starting a business in Port Coquitlam. The website has many resources that will help you, prior to ‘opening your doors’. Click here to visit the City of Port Coquitlam’s Starting a Business page.

Get to know the area… and your competition

If you don’t already live in Port Coquitlam or the Tri-Cities area, it is a good idea to spend some time in the city. This will allow you to get a sense of the successful businesses that are currently operating in the area – including businesses that you will be in competition with. If your business is going to have a store front, you can use this time to search out potential areas for your business to operate.

Create a Website and Social Media Pages

If you’re thinking about starting a business in 2016 – you MUST have a website and social media pages. There is a vast amount of competing businesses in Port Coquitlam and the surrounding areas.

In order to be discovered by potential customers online, you must have an experienced, knowledgeable online marketing company who will be able to optimize your website and social media pages for optimal rankings.

Your online marketing company should be able to:

Help your website gain top position in search result lists
Perform keyword research to discover vital search combinations for your business
Perform meta and title tag development
Establish HTML code optimization
Perform inbound link building

If this sounds like something that you will need help with, contact Longevity Graphics for a FREE 1-Hour Consultation. We specialize in working with local clients and helping them rank for their industry specific keywords.

Are you considering outsourcing your website design?

Below are some Pro’s and Con’s of hiring a local web designer vs. outsourcing your web design.

Pro’s of hiring a local web designer:

Personalized, one-on-one service
It’s easy to get in contact with your web designer if you have any questions
You know exactly who will be working on the design of your website and social media pages

Con’s of hiring a local web designer:

Well, we sure can’t think of any con’s!

Additional Resources

Sign up your business on the Shop PoCo BIZ Directory; Click Here
Join the Port Coquitlam Business Improvement Association (BIA); Click Here
Join the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce; Click Here
Contact Longevity Graphics for a FREE 1-Hour Consultation to learn about the online marketing services they offer; Click Here