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Why YOUR Small Business Should Care About SEO
Because SEO the cheapest and easiest way to get more new customers, now and in the future.
“Why should I care about search engine optimization? I’m just a small business. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on SEO.”
Friends, SEO is THE way to compete with any size company in your field of business. Good SEO has nothing to do with how much money you spend on it. It has nothing to do with tricks or shortcuts.
Good SEO has more to do with what you know about SEO and about how your website communicates with potential customers searching for a product or service like yours, even if they don’t already know you exist.
This article WILL give you insights that will help you make better decisions about your website content and better decisions when you’re looking for help with your website and digital marketing in the future.
All the while, your website will serve your customers better and consequently, you will get more customers.
How Search Engine Optimization Works-Demonstrated
In this article, I am in the act of demonstrating a fundamental search engine optimization strategy. I’m showing you how it works. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
- I’ve created a sensible title for this page. It asks a question about search engine optimization. Many people search the internet for information about SEO every hour of the day because it’s such a valuable skill to understand. The title of the page tells Google what this page is about. That’s vitally important for good SEO.
- I typed 3 short paragraphs that are relevant to the page title. This also signals Google that the content appears to match the title. Although this may seem obvious, it doesn’t necessarily happen. The average business owner isn’t aware of the value in this small but important element. (Pssst…neither do a lot of SEO service providers.)
- Next, we have bold Subtitle which reads This is How Search Engine Optimization Works. This bold type is in H2 format, otherwise known as a Header Tag, and in this case, the 2nd header tag on the page. The Page Title is being used as the H1 tag.
Continuing This Search Engine-Friendly Article About Search Engine Optimization.
As we continue with this tutorial about optimizing a website (or web page) for gaining search engine attention, notice the 3 elements above:
- There is a bullet list in the section under the H2 tag. While this isn’t necessarily a necessity, it does have SEO-rich content, all within the important ideas in the article. A bullet list is orderly, it breaks up long swaths of text, and this, therefore, more readable. This has many benefits (but we won’t get into all that detail right now).
- Then we have an image. It’s actually a colorful block of text but in the form of an image. Images have their own SEO characteristics if done properly and this article will have a link right here when the content describing the optimization of an image is created.
- The image above also has a Call-to-Action. A call to action (CTA) is smart marketing because it’s designed to get a website visitor to make make a decision. I often recommend an offer such as a coupon, a limited time offer, or some kind of free and valuable information. When someone clicks on a link on your page and it takes them to another page on your website, therefore it’s a signal to Google that your website has value. It’s called an internal link. You’ll learn more about this in another article on our blog about the benefits of internal links.
- Finally, we have another Subheading and this is the H3 tag. The H3 tag gets to be rather meaningless and any further heading tags can just remain as H3 tags. (Don’t use H1 or H2 tags more than once in a post or page.
Search Engine Optimization is One of Your Best Marketing Investments
When I say SEO is one of your best marketing investments, I’m talking mainly about your investment in time, not money. You, the business owner understand more about your products and your customers than anyone else. Since you know more about customers think about your product, the words they use and the questions they ask, you are the best person to create search engine friendly content for your website.
When the words and phrases on your website (particularly the page titles and header tags) are a close match to what a potential customer is searching for, your website will have a much better chance to appear at, or near the top of search results.
The Top Benefits of Good SEO:
- Potential customers will find you at the precise moment when they’re in the act of making a buying decision.
- It lasts indefinitely. Once you add content to your website, it stays there to serve you and your customers as long as your website does.
- It gets better with age.
- It allows you to compete with any size business in your field.
- Building a good SEO website that attracts more new customers adds value to your business. Your website becomes an asset.
You can’t get these kinds of results from any other type of advertising, even with bucket loads of money to spend on it.
Learn more about the benefits of good search engine optimization here.
Restaurant Website Checklist:
The Ultimate Guide to Converting Website Visitors Into Long-Term Customers.
Email Automation for Predictable Cash Flow and Asset Creation
Keeping in touch with your customers is good business. This is especially true when they have requested it. This article will explain why building a customer contact list and keeping in touch is so important and so valuable to your business now, and in the future.
Build Your Business with Permission-Based Marketing
Permission-based marketing is when people have given you permission to send them your offers. If people have had a good experience in your restaurant, they’ll often give you permission to keep in touch, especially if you have a special offer for them. Keeping in touch is easy and cheap with email marketing automation. It’s also really valuable.
Keeping in Touch With Customers-Why it’s So Important
It’s not your customer’s job to remember you, it’s YOUR job to remind them you exist. When people give you their email contact information, they’re ASKING you to REMIND them. This is a gift.
You want to be remembered when the question arises: “Where do you want to go out to eat (or order take-out)?” Among ALL the choices there are (and new ones popping up constantly), it’s a lot easier to be remembered when YOUR restaurant shows up in their email inbox once a week.
Even when the customers on your list don’t open your email, they will usually SEE your name and subject line which reminds them of you.
Why do customer stop coming to a place? It’s SO important to keep in touch!
According to Dan Kennedy’s research (a well known marketing guru), we lose customers for the following reasons:
- 1% die
- 3% move
- 14% are influenced by a friend’s or relative’s advice and switch to their brand
- 9%leave because of a better price or product
- 14% switch due to product or service dissatisfaction
- 68% leave because they felt the sales person and company were indifferent to their needs. They feel taken for granted.
Of course, there’s nothing you can do about those who die or about those who move out of the area. But if you have permission to keep in touch with people, you can continue to keep in touch with a friendly message and an offer. Done with class, this will help you retain more customers, even win some back.
Email Marketing Automation
When someone fills out a signup form like the one pictured above, the information will need to be manually entered into an email database. This is about the only part that’s not automatic, but it’s not difficult.
A page on your website should be setup with a similar form or coupons. These can be setup to capture your customers’ contact information and automatically add them to your email database.
Then what?
Email marketing technology allows us to setup emails in advance. Your email messages can be planned ahead to be sent on a schedule of your choosing-once per week, every other week, or once each month.
“But I don’t want to burden customers with emails.”
NONSENSE! Remember, this is a permission-based list. They have given you permission-they have asked you to send them your stuff. You’re practically under obligation! Besides, everyone on your list can opt-out which automatically removes them from the list.
When someone fills out a sign-up form Like the one above) after they’ve eaten your food, they’re telling you, “Yes. I’m satisfied with your food and my experience. I’ll be back, especially if you keep in touch with your specials, coupons, and news.”
Think about the possible lifetime value of this customer. Do the math: if you can get just 50 customers (with a party of 4) to come back in just 3 more times per year by keeping in touch, how much more revenue will you generate?
Advertise to Build Your List
When you advertise with Groupon or in print (coupon mailers or local magazines), people will visit your website to take a closer look. If you have a page on your website called Specials and Coupons, people will opt-in to your contact list. Now, every time you advertise, you’ll not only get a bump in sales, you’ll also be building your list.
Building an Asset Which Makes Your Business More Valuable
When you send out emails, you’ll see a bump in revenue. You’ll be on a mission to grow your list bigger and faster. Not only will you generate more revenue, you’ll also be creating a new asset: YOUR LIST. Your huge list of customers (fans), is property-property which makes your business more valuable to you NOW and makes your business more valuable and attractive to a potential buyer.
ADVERTISING GETS PEOPLE TO MY WEBSITE > PEOPLE ON MY WEBSITE GETS PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL > PEOPLE IN MY RESTAURANT GETS PEOPLE TO SIGN UP FOR MY EMAIL > SENDING EMAIL KEEPS PEOPLE COMING BACK MORE OFTEN > PEOPLE COMING BACK MORE OFTEN GENERATES MORE REVENUE AND HIGHER LIFETIME CUSTOMER VALUE > A BIG CUSTOMER CONTACT LIST INCREASES THE VALUE OF MY BUSINESS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE.
Marketing Ideas Calendar for November, 2018
Keep your marketing fresh and interesting. Find topics here to perk up your website, your next outbound email or social media post.
November 2018 Marketing Ideas Calendar
Monthly Holidays
Adopt a Senior Pet Month
Aviation History Month
Banana Pudding Lovers Month
Diabetic Eye Disease Month
Epilepsy Awareness Month
Family Stories Month
Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month
Historic Bridge Awareness Month
International Drum (Percussion) Month
Lung Cancer Awareness Month
Movember
Military Family Appreciation Month
National Adoption Month
National Alzheimer’s Disease Month
National COPD Month
National Diabetes Month
National Family Caregivers Month
National Fun with Fondue Month
National Georgia Pecan Month
National Gratitude Month
National Home Care and Hospice Month
National Inspirational Role Models Month
National Long-term Care Awareness Month
National Family Literacy Month
National Novel Writing Month
National Peanut Butter Lovers Month
National Pepper Month
National Pomegranate Month
National Raisin Bread Month
National Roasting Month
National Scholarship Month
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month
Prematurity Awareness Month
PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month
Spinach and Squash Month
Sweet Potato Awareness Month
NoSHAVEmber (U.S. – Beard Month or Movember; Australia – Moustache Month)
Vegan Month
Worldwide Bereaved Siblings Month
Birthdays
11/6 Sally Field
11/7 Marie Curie
11/14 Prince Charles
11/20 Joe Biden
11/20 Robert F. Kennedy
11/22 Billie Jean King
11/30 Winston Churchill
11/30 Mark Twain
Weekly Holidays
Nov 4 – 10
National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week
Nov 12 – 19
World Kindness Week
Dear Santa Letter Week
International Fraud Awareness Week
National Nurse Practitioner Week
National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week
American Education Week
Nov 17-23
National Farm-City Week
Nov 20-24
Better Conversation Week
National Game and Puzzle Week
Nov 21 – 25
National Deal Week
Daily Holidays
11/1/2018 World Vegan Day / National Men Make Dinner Day (No BBQ Allowed)
11/2/2018 National Deviled Egg Day
11/3/2018 National Housewife’s Day
11/4/2018 Daylight Saving Time Ends – First Sunday in November
11/5/2018 National Love Your Red Hair Day
11/6/2018 National Nachos Day / Saxophone Day / Election Day
11/7/2018 National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
11/8/2018 National STEM/STEAM Day
11/9/2018 National Scrapple Day
11/10/2018 Marine Corps Birthday
11/11/2018 Veterans Day
11/12/2018 National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day
11/13/2018 World Kindness Day
11/14/2018 National Pickle Day / National Educational Support Professionals Day
11/15/2018 Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day / America Recycles Day / Great American Smokeout
11/16/2018 National Fast Food Day
11/17/2018 National Take a Hike Day / National Adoption Day
11/18/2018 Mickey Mouse Birthday
11/19/2018 National Play Monopoly Day
11/20/2018 Universal Children’s Day
11/21/2018 World Hello Day / National Stuffing Day / Tie One On Day
11/22/2018 Thanksgiving
11/23/2018 National Day of Listening / Black Friday / Buy Nothing Day
11/24/2018 Small Business Saturday
11/25/2018 Shopping Reminder Day
11/26/2018 Cyber Monday
11/27/2018 National Day of Giving
11/28/2018 National French Toast Day
11/29/2018 Electronic Greetings Day
11/30/2018 Stay Home Because You’re Well Day
August 2018 Marketing Idea Calendar
Ideas for August 2018 promotions, emails, and social media posts
Subscribe to get this valuable marketing resource in your email every month! CLICK HERE.
Monthly Holidays
National Crayon Collection Month
Family Fun Month
National Catfish Month
National Eye Exam Month
National Golf Month
National Peach Month
National Water Quality Month
Romance Awareness Month
National Goat Cheese Month
Happiness Happens Month
National Sandwich Month
National Panini Month
National Brownies at Brunch Month
Get ready for Kindergarten Month
Black Business Month
National Immunization Awareness Month
Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month
International Peace Month
MedicAlert Awareness Month
Motorsports Awareness Month
Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
National Back to School Month
Birthdays
8/3 Martha Stewart
8/4 Barack Obama
8/13 Sarah Huckabee Sanders
8/17 Robert DeNiro
8/19 Bill Clinton
8/23 Kobe Bryant
8/26 Mother Theresa
8/29 John McCain
Weekly Holidays
August 1 -7
International Clown Week
National Cleanse Your Skin Week
Simplify Your Life Week
August 6-12
National Bargain Hunting Week
International Assistance Dog Week
Exercise with Your Child Week
August 7-13
National Fraud Awareness Week
National Farmers Market Week
National Stop on Red Week
National Hobo Week
August 13-19
National Health Center Week
Elvis Week
National Aviation Week
National Resurrect Romance Week
August 25-31
Be Kind to Humankind Week
Daily Holidays
8/1/2018 Respect for Parents Day / National Raspberry Cream Pie Day
8/2/2018 National Coloring Book Day
8/3/2018 National Watermelon Day / National IPA Day
8/4/2018 National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
8/5/2018 National Friendship Day / National Sisters Day
8/6/2018 National Root Beer Float Day
8/7/2018 Purple Heart Day / National Night Out Day
8/8/2018 National Dollar Day
8/9/2018 National Book Lovers Day
8/10/2018 National Lazy Day / National S’mores Day
8/11/2018 National Son’s and Daughter’s Day / National Garage Sale Day / National Presidential Jokes Day
8/12/2018 National Vinyl Record Day
8/13/2018 Left Handers Day
8/14/2018 National Creamsicle Day
8/15/2018 National Relaxation Day
8/16/2018 National Tell a Joke Day / National Roller Coaster Day
8/17/2018 National Thrift Shop Day
8/18/2018 World Honeybee Day
8/19/2018 National Soft Ice Cream Day
8/20/2018 National Radio Day
8/21/2018 National Senior Citizen Day
8/22/2018 National Tooth Fairy Day
8/23/2018 National Sponge Cake Day
8/24/2018 National Peach Pie Day
8/25/2018 National Park Service Founders Day
8/26/2018 National Women’s Equality Day / National Dog Day
8/27/2018 National Just Because Day
8/28/2018 National Bow Tie Day
8/29/2018 National Chop Suey Day
8/30/2018 National Grief Awareness Day / National Toasted Marshmallow Day
8/31/2018 National Matchmaker Day / National Trail Mix Day
Small Business Marketing Ideas for 2018-April
Looking for ideas or themes for your emails, social media, videos, or in-store promotions? Small Business U. provides this FREE RESOURCE every month to help you prime the pump so you can create interesting, fun and engaging content to help your marketing and message stand out from your competition. Never miss an issue: SUBSCRIBE!
April 2018 Marketing Ideas Calendar
Monthly Holidays in April, 2018
National English Language Month
National Month of Hope
National Canine Fitness Month
National Internship Awareness Month
Distracted Driving Awareness Month
National Child Abuse Awareness Month
National Donate Life Awareness Month
National Cannabis Awareness Month
National Fair Housing Month
Month of the Military Child
International Guitar Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
National Autism Awareness Month
National Couple Appreciation Month
National Decorating Month
National Humor Month
National Landscape Architecture Month
National Inventor’s Month
National Jazz Appreciation Month
National Soft Pretzel Month
National Straw Hat Month
National Poetry Month
National Pecan Month
National Volunteer Month
Occupational Therapy Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Stress Awareness Month
National Safe Digging Month
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Famous February Birthdays
4/9/2018 Hugh Hefner
4/13/2018 Thomas Jefferson
4/23/2018 William Shakespeare
4/26/2018 Carol Burnett
4/26/2018 Melania Trump
4/27/2018 Erik Schmidt (Former CEO of Google)
Weekly Holidays in April
April 2-8
National Public Health Week
National Window Safety Week
April 8-14
National Work Zone Awareness Week
Animal Control Officer Awareness Week
Crime Victims’ Rights Week
National Library Week
April 10-14
Cancer Registrars Week
April 15-21
Boys and Girls Club Week
National Pet ID Week
National Volunteer Week
April 22-28
National Princess Week
Sky Awareness Week
Every Healthy Kid Week
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Daily Holidays in April, 2018
4/1/2018 April Fools Day / Easter
4/2/2018 National Ferret Day
4/3/2018 National Find a Rainbow Day
4/4/2018 National School Librarian Day / National Walking Day
4/5/2018 National Deep Dish Pizza Day / National Read a Road Map Day
4/6/2018 National Student Athlete Day
4/7/2018 National Handmade Day / National Love Our Children Day
4/8/2018 National Zoo Lovers Day
4/9/2018 National Name Yourself Day / National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day
4/10/2018 National Siblings Day / National Equal Pay Day
4/11/2018 National Bookmobile Day / National Barber Shop Quartet Day
4/12/2018 National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
4/13/2018 Natinal Scrabble Day / National Thomas Jefferson Day
4/14/2018 National Reach As High As You Can Day
4/15/2018 National Tax Day / National Take A Wild Guess Day
4/16/2018 National Bean Counter Day
4/17/2018 National Ellis Island Family History Day
4/18/2018 National Animal Cracker’s Day
4/19/2018 National Hanging Out Day
4/20/2018 National Look Alike Day
4/21/2018 National Kindegarten Day / National Aucioneers Day
4/22/2018 National Earth Day
4/23/2018 National Picnic Day
4/24/2018 National Teach Children To Save Day
4/25/2018 National DNA Day / National Administrative Assistants Day
4/26/2018 National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day
4/27/2018 National Arbor Day / National Day of Silence
4/28/2018 National Pool Opening Day
4/29/2018 National Shrimp Scampi Day
4/30/2018 National Military Brats Day