It’s been seven years and counting since Google’s first biggest update. And SEOs have been battling ever since on how to best please the Google engine. And you might keep hearing conflicting information on whether keywords are relevant or not. I’ve touched on that subject before and the answer is “mostly yes.” So, we’re not going to talk about that …
The most popular method for determining a marketing budget is percentage of sales. And if you’re just starting a business, you could end up spending up to 50% of your sales income on marketing. Even if you’re spending the average of 10%, you’re going to spend a bit. Why couldn’t you just do it all yourself and save money? Sometimes …
Maybe you took an art class in college. You might have learned about the rule of thirds in photography class. But neither of these things makes you an expert in design. Today we’re going to look at a few examples that prove some people shouldn’t do their own design work. 1. Just Needed to Buy a Compass Some people are …
The best way to learn how to do something is to attempt to replicate someone else who has already done it. Knowing absolutely nothing else, if you’re trying to learn how to ride a bicycle, a good place to start is to watch someone else ride that bike. You can deconstruct the fundamental components: sitting in the seat, holding the …
You hit publish and wait. Nothing. So you close your browser, go eat a cookie, and come back. Two hits. Your mother texts you to say she read your blog post. That brings it down to one hit. You’re baffled. The article went to all your social media accounts. There should be more eyes on your content than that. Well, …
You’re staring bleary-eyed at the screen. This is only your tenth topic and you’re just ready to smash your head through your monitor. I get it. The SEO numbers game is so damn mind-numbing sometimes. And if you just aren’t seeing results or it’s taking more time than it’s worth, then you’re probably ready to just quit. Don’t quit just …
In the 50s, women weren’t supposed to do stand-up comedy. They were supposed to watch the children, obsess over their waist sizes, and cook (if they didn’t have a servant). But a brave few women did take to the stage and raise a middle finger to the patriarchy. These women went through hell to earn their right to make people …
You’re walking down the street and a Green Peace volunteer hands you a flyer. You glance at its colorful graphs spelling out the planet’s doom. Then you toss it in the recycle bin. “What a waste of paper.” You think. But is it really a waste of paper? Sure, plenty of people did exactly what you did. But how many …
You just left a lunch meeting. You had just been talking about how you were excited about the newest NHL team coming to Seattle soon. You open your phone to check your Facebook and up pop ads for ESPN coverage of NHL games. How did they do that? Targeted ad marketing is a funny thing. And sometimes Facebook tracks odd …
“Did you get the sign?” “What sign?” “The one we ordered a month ago for this trade show!” If this exchange sounds familiar, you might have run a booth at a trade show. You’re one in hundreds and by the time people get to your booth, they’re glassy-eyed and ready to go check out the refreshments. You’ve got to knock …
Everyone and their mother have a blog on their website. This is probably why there are 1.7 billion websites on the web right now. 90% of those people don’t know how to write a blog (my estimation). And probably a good number think they do know how to write a blog. The question is, how many of those people are …
Most people choose left or right when they come to a fork in the road. And you could just follow everyone else. Or you could just take the fork and do something with it. This is what business building is like. It’s looking at what other people aren’t doing and doing that. But how do you get from “no clue” …
“How much is that doggy in the window?” The little girl asks as she clings to her daddy with sticky hands. You’re grateful for moments like this as a pet store owner. It means you made a sale today. But ask yourself, how did that family find your store? Did they just walk by and say, “we’re going to buy …
For narrative effect, businesses and corporations on TV are violent and seedy. There’s always a backroom. There’s always a deal. And someone always gets buried in the foundation. No wonder it’s hard to gain trust as a business. Everyone already thinks you’re connected to the mob somehow. One of the best places to gain trust is online. Even if you’re …
Exterminate! EXTERMINATE! Thank goodness nobody is building a marketing Dalek, right? But at the same time, maybe a killer bot might be exactly what we need. 60% of users are used to talking to chat bots. The other 40% just don’t know they’ve talked to a chat bot. Here’s how to use bots on Messenger to bring those leads home. …
