Why Pillar Content is Important for Your Website

Pillar content is also known as cornerstone content. Developing content pillars in a website increases the likelihood of being found quickly during an online search. Even though it’s not as well-known as it should be, it’s much older than one would think.

What is a simple way of describing pillar content? It’s informative content on a specific item or theme, such as guides and eBooks. Its nature allows the topic to be broken down into a multitude of materials, sections, and pieces.

The articles, including blog-style themes, are neither news nor time dependent. In other words, their style stays current because it provides relevant insight. Usually a tutorial type of article that teaches something to the audience, it normally goes beyond 500 words in length and offers meaningful, helpful advice and hints. The “how-to” is a cornerstone designed to make it easy for people to:

• use your website.
• do business with you.

Basically, the website cornerstone provides a foundation that is so interesting and useful that visitors want to stay and read on.

Changes over the last decade include a guideline for longer blogs – up to 10,000 or more words! The content stipulation demands value to your personas and text that is:

• informative.
• evergreen.
• substantive.

Identify structural elements

Pin down the foundation of the overall critical areas that identify your business and what you want it recognized for. It’s a structure designed to withstand the test of time by focusing on your overall content plan. Don’t be surprised if you have several structural elements on your list. Most business owners want their business known for more than one thing. Shorten the list to the most important things.

Pillar content is extremely structured to make the pillar strong. The drawn-out web page or article focuses on a specific theme or topic which can be broken down into shorter forms of content to fill other places on the web. It may result in emails, blog posts, videos, and media updates. The ideal result is reaching a variety of customers, including buyers, through various channels. In simple terms, the pillars help others locate your business during a search no matter how many times and ways Google changes search algorithms. Pillar content has power within the SEO landscape when your pages are a go-to resource for others because they provide helpful information not published elsewhere. It boosts rankings and your identity as a thought leader.

Pillar content in 2017

The pillar has changed somewhat. Make it part of your overall content strategy.  Specific SEO tools define its identity as content optimization and management, recognizing the relationship between supporting topics and the pillar. Other changes include:

• changing the website pillar page from a blog post to a content page.
• the use of relevant keywords.
• steady updates of pillars.

Online Marketing Can Make or Break Your Local Business

Online marketing helps every local business because it directs consumers to a site, but what if you don’t have it? Most people today search the web to find the products and stores they are looking for, instead of phone books, newspapers, and the yellow pages.

That’s not to say those mediums are ineffective, as every form of advertising has value. It is merely an observation on the most common form of finding answers. Smartphones and computers are accessible to people of all ages and provide instantaneous feedback to inquiries.

How do digital sites compare to offline advertising? Major platforms like Yelp and Facebook display more information about your business faster than Yellow Pages.

Flipping through papers to find a name or number has always taken time to do. It’s no longer necessary when you can access the data online.

The results frequently include store hours and the address. Savvy shop owners may have a virtual tour available for walk-through or an online coupon to use with a purchase. It’s a great way to add traffic and revenue.

Energetic online local listings support video, call buttons, and images. Link up to social media profiles. Radio and television advertising can’t match the convenience of hearing and seeing a business from a cell phone. The ability to interact directly with the business is available with a click from the phone.

Think of the cost of a print marketing advertisement if it included your menu, coupons, and directions to the business. Online access does all that in addition to consumer reviews, introductory offers for first-time customers, and pictures of your displays. Newspapers and magazines can’t match online marketing’s attributes!

Local listings draw the attention of residents and visitors to your area. Online advertising is an inexpensive way to increase ROI. It’s vital to have staff available to handle calls, online inquiries, and walk-in customers. Consider the following suggestions to achieve that goal.

1. Choose listing platforms that deliver results. After designing what you want to appear on the listing, you’ll need to enter the data on each search engine, app, and index selected. Look for specialty platforms that support your area and industry. Remember to establish your position on platforms like Facebook, Yelp, and Google My Business.
2. Consider the convenience of filling out one form and letting one of the automated solutions distribute the data to quality platforms. It saves time that you can apply elsewhere. The benefit is an automated check for effectiveness and required updates. After all, you don’t want last month’s offer carrying over and showing neglect. Make automation part of your team, as it reduces mistakes and frees up time for staff to help customers and create more ways to build business.

How your business is reflected on the Internet is largely up to you. Review your local business listing often and keep the content fresh. The power of up-to-date communication is ready and available.

Why You Want Google to Love Your Website

The old adage “build it and they will come” may work well for brick and mortar businesses or baseball fields, but when it comes to websites, not so much! There are literally millions, if not billions of websites on the world wide web, so this begs the question of how in the world wide web are you going to get people to visit your site!

Search Engines

Think of your website as a piece of virtual real estate. It has an address and takes up space. In order to find your specific site, people are either going to need to know your exact web address or they need to utilize the Internet's equivalent of a map. Your map to all things web page are the search engines, of which Google is definitely King (or is it Queen, does anyone know?)

Search Engine Optimization

Will Google or Yahoo or Bing simply direct people to your website out of the kindness of their heart? Sadly, no, there are only two ways to rank at the top of the search engine pages for relevant searches. One way is to pay for sponsored results for relevant key words and the other is to optimize your page so that it comes up to the top of results.

The second option is best since once you are fully optimized, it will not cost you money on an ongoing basis. Sponsored results can be a great marketing ploy in the short term, but for the long game, the cost is usually prohibitive.

So, exactly how do you get search engine optimized? It starts with good content that is key word rich but not stuffed and continues with good links to other reputable websites and pages and all of this should be spread over weeks, months and even years to be totally effective.

Invest in SEO

Can you learn to optimize your website and make Google fall in love? Of course, if you have the time, patience and willingness to constantly monitor your progress. However, not everyone has the time or the patience to invest in effective SEO, which is where a good search engine optimization professional comes in quite handy, and here are a few reasons:

• They fully understand the steps required to get your website to the top of search engine results for several of the top key word searches related to your business.

• Have experience setting up new websites with SEO

• Understand that SEO has changed to include social networking profiles

You want Google to be so in love with your website you can hear wedding bells! All joking aside, Google is the premier search engine today and that does not look to change any time soon. Doing business today means doing business online, and if your website cannot be found, you are not doing business!

How to Start a Business Online – Optimizing Your Time to Optimize Your Income

How to Start a Business Online – Social Networking

Thank you for rejoining us as we work our way through our series, How to Start a Business Online. In the past few installations of this series, we have explained how to identify a need among your target audience, providing solutions, the importance of conducting market research, and the website essentials of keyword research, content creation, and hyperlinking relevant links.

This week, we are going to go into the topic of social networking. In order for any online business to experience any degree of success on the World Wide Web, social networking is a must.

Develop a Strategy

As with any business endeavor, a strategy must be developed in order to succeed in social networking. If you rush into the endeavor without a strategy, you are sure to fail. The first method to developing a strategy is to understand that social media is NOT like traditional venues in marketing and advertising. It is a platform of social connections, a high integration of technology, and a means to connect and share with others. Social networking is a means of conversing with others on the World Wide Web.

To develop a solid strategy, answer the following questions – as it pertains to your online business:

1. Why is my business going to social networking?
2. What do I hope to achieve by taking my business onto social networking platforms?
3. Who will I be talking to on the platforms?
4. Which social networking platforms/channels are optimal to my goals?
5. Which conversations should I start or join?

The Goals

As you continue in the process of developing a social media plan, you must define your goals. Remember, goals that are considered to be “quantifiable” are goals that are considered to be the “best”. The most common goals that you should consider include – but, are not limited to – the following:

1. Marketing Goals
2. Lead-Generation
3. Sales
4.  Brand Building
5. Brand Enthusiasm
6. Customer Loyalty
7. Human Resources
8. Virality

Conversation Success

Once you have your goals established, it is time to sign your business up for various social media platforms. Today, optimal choices include Twitter, Facebook, and those that are similar in nature. The next step is to get your business involved with some of the conversations on those sites. In order to reap the highest reward for your efforts, follow these conversation pointers:

• Study the etiquette of each of the platforms and act accordingly.
• Ensure a high level of transparency. People love pictures, personal details, and other types of information about those that they are conversing with.
• Keep all of your interactions conversational.
• Be certain to only talk about what you know. Do not get distracted or sway.
• If mistakes happen (and, they do) simply admit them, work to resolve them, and move forward.

If you are starting a business and need assistance with your social networking endeavors, we are standing by to assist you. We offer high-quality services that will have you up and ranking high in no time, flat!

How to Start a Business Online – Website Content

Thank you for rejoining us this week as we continue to expound on how to start a business online. In our last installment, we specified the act of identifying a need. You learned that it is important to determine your target market and what those individuals search for while online. You learned that when internet users conduct an online search – in most cases – they are searching for a solution because of a need, a problem, or a desire to discover certain types of information, products, and services.

This week, we will focus on the next element to the online business initiation process – website content creation.

Keyword Research

The first step to the website creation process starts way before your site goes live; it is conducting keyword research. You should ensure that you have a niche. This is a center of focus and that center of focus should be relatively narrow as it helps to narrow down your target market. While many elect to go big, to go broad, they quickly discover that it is not an effective way to start an online market.

Once you have your niche – or “topic” – defined, it is time to conduct a little keyword research. You want to find keywords that are low in supply, yet, high in demand. This will ensure that your pages are indexed on search engines properly, and that they are ranked. If your website is ranked high among major search engines, your target audience will be able to quickly discover your content.

Keyword research can very simply start with Google. Start typing into search, and allow google to make suggestions. Google keyword tool, a part of Google's adwords service, can show you how many people are searching for a specific keyword phrase. There's a vast amount of tools to help you search for topics to write about.

Content Creation

The next component to website creation is content creation. Once you have your keywords in place, you may then proceed to creating the content that you will place on your site. It is important to ensure that the keywords to each of your articles are in the title, first paragraph, sprinkled throughout, and in the last paragraph of your piece. Remember, do not oversaturate your content with keywords. If you do this, you may be penalized by search engines and NOT ranked highly. When creating content, you must provide information that is designed to educate, help fill a need, and/or solve a problem. You should avoid advertising. If you simply promote your products and/or services, the reputation of your brand may suffer. Simply strive to help others and provide useful information. In doing so, your brand’s reputation will be one of the highest value.

Hyperlink Relevant Links

As you create more and more content, you may start to hyperlink back to previous pages that you have created that are considered to be “relevant”. Not only will this step help to keep your traffic at your website for longer periods of time, but, it is also helpful in increasing search engine ranks. Don’t worry if you are not well-versed at keyword research, content creation, or hyperlinking.

How to Start a Business Online – Identifying a Need

How to Start a Business Online – Introduction

Starting an online business is becoming prevalent among entrepreneurs, passionate internet users, and others that understand the importance of harnessing the virtual world. If you were wondering how to start a business online, youre in the right place.

Online business endeavors are often referred to as “electronic commerce”, or as an “e-business”. Essentially, the basis of all online business endeavors is to exchange highly-valuable information, products, and/or service in hopes of engaging in a monetary-based transaction.

Web-based technologies and various innovations are utilized in order to experience success in reaching internet users and providing them with that which they need and want. In this multi-part series, we will expound on the steps that are necessary to start an online business. If you are seeking to experience online success, we can help you!

Continue reading to learn how!

Why Should a Business Transition to the World Wide Web?

Before delving into the basic requirements on starting a business on the internet, we feel it is first important to explain exactly why a business should transition to the World Wide Web. In the simplest terms, the Web has created electronic-based (often referred to as “virtual”) marketplaces where varied trades may be conducted without the complication of geographical hindrances and barriers involving time.

As a result, online businesses have the unique capability of reaching greater distances and creating relationships that are more rich and dense than is offered through traditional brick and mortar attempts. The distribution of resources, economy efficiency, diminished costs, and increased competitiveness are all optimized for those businesses that elect to take advantage of the World Wide Web and the innovation thereof.

Website

Naturally, if you want to create an online business, you will need to have a website. While it is possible to construct a website yourself, this is probably something that you just do not want to get into. Why worry about all that coding and programming? What about the content that you place on the site? You will need text-based content, images, and possibly even video content.

If you attempt to create all of this yourself, it could – literally – take a lifetime. You need to focus on return on investments and pulling in profits immediately. As a result, it is best to opt for a professional that has the ability to build your website, create content for it, and obtain copyright-free images that will help you succeed in your virtual space.

Social Networking

Once you have a website, you absolutely MUST engage in social networking. There are many social media platforms out there that will aid in your overall success. Examples include Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, and those that are similar in nature. In fact, the very nature of the online business model is actually changing quite rapidly with the advent of these sites. It is easy and inexpensive to do this – but, once again – time consuming. To reach the highest level of success, you should enlist a social media specialist that will create and manage your accounts. In taking this step, you are already creating a business that will result in massive profits!

Super Simple Strategies for SEO Success

Throughout the history of search engines, websites, blogs, and all things internet, search engine optimization (SEO) has often been viewed as a form of rocket science. Its not that difficult if you follow strategies for SEO Success.

It is not at all like rocket science, though, it IS a form of science – technically speaking, of course. SEO is a multi-layered dimensional portal that is often daunting for those that lack technical expertise, but have a desire to create a brand, promote a service, or sell a product on the World Wide Web. The good news is, though, that there are several super simple strategies for SEO success!

They are as follows:

There you have it! Simple, right? Simple sets the pace and aids in the success of your SEO campaign. If you really want to make it simple, let us help! Brick Road Media knows all of the ins and outs of the virtual world. We can take your concept and vision and put it into a site that is fully-optimized and geared for YOUR success! To find out more, simply visit the following page now: https://brickroadmedia.com/supersite/

Looking for assistance with your marketing endeavors? We offer that, too! We can assist in marketing, sales conversions, and results! We can aid with your social media campaigns, and we can create engaging content that will attract your target audience!

3 Unspoken “Laws” of Social Media Success

Accountability, accessibility enhancement, and attribution are on the minds of every marketer in today’s virtual environments. Larger amounts of time, effort, and money are being spent on digital-based marketing. Social Media success might start to feel like someone is keeping a big secret.

Business owners are heading to areas where customers spend the majority of their time. While once considered to be nothing more than an add-on to complete the socialization process of a website, social media is now a highly-evolved, technologically-advanced component to online success. Social media platforms are considered to be an integral and highly-necessary aspect to a thorough and effective marketing campaign. '

Unfortunately, many businesses are having a hard time making social media work for them. What is the problem?

Those businesses are simply not aware of the top 3 unspoken “laws” of social media success. In this post, you will be introduced to these laws. If you want to rule the playing field in your niche, continue reading to learn how!

Law 1: Find and Utilize Influence

The first law to social media success is to find and utilize influencers. That is, people and businesses that have high-quality targeted audiences for your niche. These are people that will have the highest degree of interest in your posts, your products, your services, and other aspects of your business.

They will be interested in what you have to say and what you have to share. In turn, they are likely to then share what you share. This could result in the reaping of numerous rewards.

Law 2: Reciprocate

In order to achieve a high level of social media success, it is imperative to ensure that you reciprocate actions taken by others. For example, if an online influencer shares your content and discusses it, you should then make an effort to share and discuss their content.

You will quickly find that by helping others, those individuals will help you. It is a simply concept, really. Simply think of it as the “Golden Rule of Social Media”.

Law 3: High-Quality Content Creation with Focus

The third law of social media success is to create high-quality content that is focused to your niche. Simply promoting that which you offer is not enough. In fact, it is a complete turn-off for social networking users.

You must remember that “content is king”. Offer helpful, educational, and even entertaining content that will draw in your target audience. Have a direct focus when creating that content. It is then that you will build your brand and be deemed an “expert” in your niche.