Category: Communication

Boost Online Visibility with Links

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Content is often the first thought when working to boost online presence and SEO. Publishing great content is important, but expanding reach is also a factor. Links increase your audience and help with search engine optimization (SEO).

Here are the steps to follow for a successful link building strategy.

Good Links Defined

Good links are at sites that generate traffic to your site.

To get good links:

  1. Get to know your audience
  2. Make a list of websites which appeal to your desired audience
  3. Write amazing content
  4. Match content to websites
  5. Reach out to site owners

Focus on Your Audience

You need to know your audience well to build effective links. What do they care about? What places do they go online? The answers give you a sense of the links that will get attention, and where they need to be.

Develop a List of Valuable Websites

List the websites that could help you reach more people in your target audience. Find the websites that appeal to them. You can do your research on Google and also look at the websites that people in your audience share on social media.

Focus on Great Content

You knew I would get to this, right? It’s always all about great content. In order to get other websites to link to your content, your content has to be a worthy addition to the site’s content.

Ask

Now that you have target sites AND great content, you need to ask for links. Take time to find one or more places at the site where a link would make sense.

Don’t make a general request like “please link to me.” Be specific: please link this page and this content to this page at my website. The more specific you are, the easier you make it for the receiving website to act.

Assess Results

Use your web metrics to determine which links drive traffic to your website and the behaviors of the users. This can help you determine the most effective links and give you insight into your ongoing link building efforts.

A successful link building strategy should always be aimed to bring new valuable visitors to your website who engage with your content and your brand.

How being an entrepreneur is like a road trip

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Guest post by Maggy Sterner,brand & business coach

After eight hours, three cups of coffee, and a bag of Twizzlers, I’d completed the first day of My Big Road Trip Adventure: a cross-country solo drive from Washington, D.C. to Portland, Oregon.

I wasn’t even sure I would make it out the door of my apartment.  It all felt too daunting. My covid cocoon isolation had gotten to me.

But I’d said I was going. I chose the date (April 5, 2022). Nobody did it to me.

So I went.

Remember to breathe

We’ve all gone through the wringer for the past couple of years. In March 2020, the world shut down and we were tossed into a scenario nobody had anticipated.

Fortunately, I’d been running my business as a brand & business coach via Zoom since Zoom was launched.

Unfortunately, I don’t thrive in captivity. I need freedom and mobility to feel alive.

After two years, I couldn’t take one more second of being in my very pleasant apartment, work-work-working, living on Zoom, not traveling.

What I discovered once I got going is this: A road trip experience is just like being an entrepreneur. They share the same qualities and types of experiences:

Pick a destination, it’s your choice

One way to guarantee you don’t get where you want to go is to not know where that is.

My target was Portland. But I headed south – not west – and people were like, “Uh, that’s not the way to Portland.” I know. We get to choose our own path to the place we’re going.

I’ve gone down side trails with my business, cooked up ideas for things that were out of alignment with my values or my superpowers.

My motto is: Everything goes into the pot, keep stirring. There are no mistakes.

Follow your business’s GPS – your brand statement – if you get lost

Get your a$$ out the door

Hit the “go” button. I could make all the lists I wanted about what to bring and my itinerary, but the going is the whole point.

I felt so alive heading out into the world, not knowing what was going to happen next.

For your business, you’ve got to be visible – nobody can see invisible things, especially not the people who need precisely what you offer.

Show up by networking, on social media, do speaking engagements, produce your own or be a guest on podcasts, writing a book, and giving away a free worksheet.

If you say, “I need to … ” or “I should do …” – stop it. It doesn’t matter what you do. Do what’s fun.

You’ll veer off course

Now I know I never need to visit Marfa, Texas again. Ever. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t done it. There are no mistakes, just plot twists.

I’ve spent way too many hours focusing on things that weren’t important to my business. I went down roads that didn’t serve me or my business. But that money’s gone, it’s already happened, so move forward.

Get a grip, reel yourself in, pick a new direction.

When an engine light goes off in your dashboard, that’s a clue something big needs your attention

Just as I pulled into my first hotel on day ONE – literally, the very moment – a yellow light went on in my dashboard: Either my car had gone into submarine mode (that’s what the symbol looked like to me), or uh oh.

The “engine lights” for your business can be a lack of consistent income (your bank account is the “engine light”), spending too much time with clients who are not a good fit (you’re feeling drained instead of joyful), you’re working all the time and burned out (have fun!)

Road angels are everywhere

I hit a patch of hiccups during my first week. Dashboard light, computer shouting, “I HAVE NO MORE ROOM FOR ANY OF YOUR STUPID FILES!”, balancing work time and drive time, no place to have a client call.

I found what I call “road angels” everywhere: the geniuses at the Apple store in Knoxville, Tenn; The desk guy at the hotel who said, “I can’t give you a late checkout but I have a conference room you can use.” And then he made it nice for me.

My friend who found me a mechanic in Austin, Tex. Sean turned my fear of a $2k bill into $126.17 by cleaning one dirty filter.

The hottest of all my hot tips

Ask for help. Don’t hesitate. We’re not here to suffer in silence.

I said this a lot, “I’m wondering if it’s possible to have . . . “. The only possible answers are “yes,”, “no,” or renegotiate.

Ask for what you need. None of us can do this entrepreneurial (or life) road trip along.

Road angels are everywhere.

About the Author

Maggy Sterner is a brand & business coach. She helps coaches, consultants, creatives, and healers learn how to talk about what they do so the right people say, “OMG I need you!” And then they make da monies.

WEB:  http://bit.ly/MSBC-WEB

LINKEDIN: http://bit.ly/MSBC-LI

FACEBOOK: Pitch Power ® Business page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pitchpowerbusiness

Budget-Friendly Marketing for Small Businesses

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You can have effective marketing with a small budget. If the economy has you tightening the budget, here are five great – and inexpensive – marketing options you want to try.

Offer Great Content

The best marketing happens with great content. That means providing information that your target audience needs on your website, on social media and everywhere you are online.

Content can come in the form of videos, blog posts, social media posts, white papers, etc. The best content is about helping your customers and not selling. Share useful information that’s relevant to your customers and you’ll earn their trust and create a positive impression of your brand.

Use the customer service queries that you’ve received in the past as a way to get content ideas. Pay attention to metrics to determine what content works best. Do more of that!

Optimize for Search Engine Visibility

You can spend a lot for SEO. In fact, many businesses do. However, search engine optimization doesn’t have to cost you anything except time.

Optimize your website for search engines by researching the keywords customers use when they’re looking for products or services like yours. Once you determine your keywords, use them in your website content. Use your selected keywords in headlines, content, alt tags on images, and meta descriptions.

Use Social Media

Social media platforms are great for getting attention for your content. Your business pages on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. are a great place to share your content. They should reflect your branding and always link to your website.

Make connections with your customers and target customers. Interact with them to learn what they care about and where you fit in.

List Yourself in Local and Industry Directories

Local search directories are typically free or low cost. Create business pages in search engines like Google and Bing! Claim your business listing in local search directories, such as Google Business and Yelp. Also pay attention to local community websites that feature business listings. Most industry professional associations also have directories. Get listed!

Get Reviews

More than eight in 10 American adults say they read reviews at least some of the time before making a purchase. Make sure your business is listed on important review sites for your industry and that your profile on these sites is complete and detailed.

Encourage your customers to review your business by including links to your review sites on your website and in your social media. Be sure to acknowledge all reviews that you receive.