With a notably sizable 51% of the world’s population using the internet, SEO is a necessary key to a successful business website.

With those countless searches that the 51% are conducting on Google and other search engines every day, people are most likely to click the first three top search results displayed on first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.

Every business wants their website to hold that real estate no doubt and surely, it’s no different for you if you’re reading this.

To aim for and achieve this, your business needs to implement an effective SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategy. SEO is the process of increasing organic traffic from search engines to your website (Google, Yahoo, Bing etc.).

If you are not using SEO for your business or have a strategy in place currently, then business is getting away from you.

Ah, but better late than never!

Let’s explore some of the reasons why SEO is must for your business – for every business.

To Gain Quality Traffic

The absolute best traffic is Search Engine traffic! Why? When your business website is displayed in proper search results, you are actually providing the user the exact results that they were looking for.

With proper SEO implementation, you can pull this traffic easily to your business website and do so without any advertising. This traffic alone has a good chance of increasing leads, which can ultimately convert to sales.

This reason alone is why SEO is valuable and necessary if you want to be successful long-term.

Build Trust and Credibility

Google is the ‘go to’ … period. It’s the place people trust when looking to find the answer to their questions or search for products or services they need. They are as dependable and reliable as other products in the past that came to be household names representing a familiar product; like Coke was to soda and Kleenex was to tissue. Sure, there were other sodas and other tissues, and there are other search engines, but we’ve come to rely on Google as the internet authority; like we did with the unique taste of Coke and quality of a Kleenex. Today, Google is the world’s household name. You have a question and need an answer – just “Google” it.

Because people use Google every day, several times a day, to find everything they want to know about; ranking top on Google SERP your business will build trust and credibility with your potential customers! What’s not to love? Keeping in mind as well, that approximately 36% – 38% of search engine clicks are on the first organic listing.

Long-Term

Proper search engine optimization can take 6 to 12 months to increase your search engine rankings. There are no instant ‘add water results’. If you’re looking for that then be realistic and know that buying ads and AdWords should be the avenue you go down.

As you achieve better and better SEO results over time, the same applies once you’re there – you don’t move down fast. With proper maintenance of your SEO plan, you’ll hold good placement and ranking; however, not without a constant, focused commitment to do so. This is where GOOGLE algorithms are your friend and our SEO experts can share the methodology behind this in detail with a complete SEO audit for your website.

Safety

SEO also improves the safety of your website. Yes, you read correctly, SEO can make your website safe and speedy! It protects your website visitors from viruses. And the even better news is, this will also boost your rankings; as having a secure website will impact your SEO ranking as well!

It’s Just a Part of Doing Business

SEO is a very wise and affordable marketing investment for your business. The benefits of SEO are a given. It’s a part of business that you really can’t do without if you want to succeed in business now and in the future. To be a player in the search engine ranking game, you have to be in the game in the first place. It’s time now to get started with a reasonable SEO plan and strategy that is both necessary and simply a part of doing business nowadays.

You win!

SEO done right the way can generate a lot of traffic, leads, and sales without any advertisement.

Anything is Possible!

To be on the first page of Google is possible with Social Status. Our SEO experts will analyze your website and then generate a detailed report for you and explore a SEO plan that is tailored for your business goals and meets your budget.

Don’t wonder and wait to get more business. Get your SEO strategy in place today. So you can GET NOTICED – GET AN AUDIENCE – AND GROW tomorrow!

Tag: SEO web traffic trust strategy

Trending – how it helps your business to be ‘in the know’

So, what exactly does “trending” mean?

Undoubtedly, you have heard the word “trending”. Trending is the new trend on the various social media platforms. But do you really know what exactly, “trending” means?

In simple terms, trending means anything that is popular or gaining in popularity. When the social masses are talking or sharing on the same topic at the same time, it is termed asa trending topic.

Mostly these topics are deemed interesting – hot news – conversational – and controversial; and so are the opinions of people sharing their views on them.

How can trends help your business?

To be a successful business owner or entrepreneur, you should know the importance of classifying business trends. Indeed, it is essential in order to stay relevant in the ever-changing industry climates. 

It’s also beneficial when crafting your business plan, to include the proper budget and resources for trend-watching. This is to help ensure that your business is in the know and following what people are talking about, sharing, and suggestion, their views, and their likes and dislikes. These are powerful influencers that will help shape and advance your business goals.

So if you really want to take your business to new heights, then without a doubt you need to stay on top of the trends! A good social media marketing agency can do this for you too, while saving you time and money; giving you the peace of mind knowing they are on top of everything that is trending in your industry!

Wondering where to find these trends and trending topics?

Trending topics dominate on all the social media platforms, so look no further. They are quickest way to discover everything that’s hot and relevant!

You can do a random search of trends or set parameters for the trends that are industry-specific to you.

For past generations, to remain updated with any sort of information was simple – you read the newspaper or watched the news on TV.

Today, however, so much has changed and we are inundated with news – fake or real – via many outlets. Thankfully, it’s relatively easy to quickly uncover the latest trends from these various outlets on the main social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.

Generally, trending topics come in the form of #hashtags; however, they can also be in the form of keywords that are used frequently on different social media platforms.

TRENDING ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Diving a little deeper, let’s review some of the social media platforms and where to find access to the latest trends.

TRENDS ON TWITTER

Do you know Twitter is one of the first social media platform used for trends?

List of Trends is located on the left-hand side of your twitter profile page.

Here you will get all the latest information regarding what people are talking about generally in form of tweets or using the #hashtags. You can also change the search parameters to a local geographical region.

For more information regarding trends on twitter click here. 

TRENDS ON FACEBOOK

Facebook, the largest social networking site in the world, also features a “Trending” feed on the upper right-hand side of your newsfeed page. Although this isn’t in real time like Twitter, it does provide a better overview of what’s trending at the present moment.

For more information regarding ‘trending’ on Facebook visit this link.

GOOGLE TRENDS

Google is the No. 1 internet search engine and it helps you know what is trending right now.

Visit Google Trends and you will gain all the latest information; including relevant search functions that can keep you well-informed of what the people are talking about.

You can search any key terms and can look whether their popularity has increased or decreased over the time period. The page combines the data from Google News, Google Search, and YouTube.

TRENDING ON YOUTUBE

YouTube offers trending videos located on the left-hand side of the homepage.

If you go to the bottom of the youtube page, you can also modify your country to see what’s trending in other locations.

There are a few other excellent tools, in addition to those listed above, to find trending content and topics, like BuzzSumo, Reddit, and Buzzfeed.

How to get your business noticed

Ahhh, the use of #Hashtags …

By now, you should know that using #hashtags can give your business more exposure on social media. Yep, hashtags work (and they’re slightly addicting too. ;)).

In fact, hashtags help you to increase your business’ online presence by making your articles or blog viewable to anyone who is interested in your particular hashtag(s). So be creative and clever and definitely use hashtags!

The more visibility for your business equals an increase in your audiences, which increases the chances of leads and ultimately sales of course.

Here’s a current and informative video on using #hashtags for Instagram. What was once true on the number of hashtags used per post has been revised, so check it out to see if you’re sticking with the trends of hashtagging. 😉

Share your opinion on current hot topics

For a successful business you have to have an eagle eye constantly focused on what is happening with your audience and in the market.

When you feel there’s a conversation going on related to the topic of your business, jump in the conversation and be sure to add value. Share information and opinions.  

This helps to increase engagement and also strengthen your business’ reputation.

Talk about the current topic and then work to relate it back to your business. It’s obvious that not every topic is related to your business, so there’s nothing wrong with talking about the unrelated topics as well. Though be aware to engage in topics that are valid and professional; keeping your image and presence consistent with how you want your customers to view you.

Let Your Audience Share their Opinions

Extend your audience the opportunity to express their opinions and share information freely as well. Let them share their opinions regarding the services and products your business provides. Always respond professionally and timely to both the positive and negative and be sure to never let them see you sweat. Ultimately, feedback of any kind helps your business be better; and helps influence future plans and decisions regarding your services and/or products. 

GET TRENDING!

And keep the trending truths below in mind! Start researching the trending topics on the social media platforms mentioned in this article and help your business to stay top of the trends. Become an influencer in your industry by starting your own trends, new trends! With research and informed delivery, you can use trending topics to your benefit by gaining access to new markets and targeting a broader audience.

If the whole trending topic of trending tries you, Social Status can lend a hand! We are trend followers and trendsetters and can definitely get your business trending too! That’s a lot of t’s, whew! 🙂 

Tag: Google marketing small business trending YouTube Twitter Facebook hashtags

Color Psychology: The Ultimate Secret of Successful Business Website

Our world is filled with a beautiful array of colors. Life would be gloomy and uninspiring without colors. Truly, colors are significant elements in our lives.

Unquestionably, one of the first things we notice is color. And it directly influences our buying actions.

When it comes to choosing the color for your business success, there is an important key element you need to consider . . . the psychology of color.

Do you know colors have a psychological effect on all of us? Colors generate a strong emotional response from people. Colors can influence behaviors, responses, and moods of your audience.

Around 84% to 86 % of shoppers said that color is the main reason for their purchase. That is a fact!

It goes without saying that color psychology is used widely in all the fields. From household items to company’s logos and website design, color is the key feature that delivers a strong message to buyers, visitors and users.

The perfect blend of colors on your website encourage your audience to think and communicate with your company. Using color psychology is an important component of your website and may play an important role in the success of your business.

What You Need to Know About Color Psychology

Color psychology is the study of colors and the effects color has upon us.

Did you know that different colors arouse different feelings and actions in people? Colors can change our opinion, change our mood, alter our senses and impassion our thoughts. Colors have the power to convince us to make a certain decision.

How to add meaningful colors to your website

Red – Passion, love, and urgency. Red is the perfect choice to encourage a visitor to act on your product or service offerings.

Orange – Energy, cheer, and vitality. Orange is a “fun” color to use on a website geared towards a more youthful audience and energetic brands. To learn more about sensational orange click here.

Yellow – Optimistic, cheerful and competent. Yellow is a delightful color; however, some shades may appear cheap. Make sure to use good design to eliminate an appearance of poor quality.

Green – Nature, freshness, and riches. Green can be a paradox. It may provide a relaxing effect or demonstrate financial success. Green is ideal for the natural senses or wealth and stability.

Blue – Trust, reliability, and communication. Blue is usually the preferred color for branding and advertising, because of its versatility. Be careful with shade selection and avoid if it is overused in your industry.

Purple – Mysteriousness, spirituality and royalty. Purple is preferred by a female audience. Using purple creates an impression of luxury, wealth and extravagance.

Lighter shades of purple are feminine and nostalgic.

Pink – Compassion, affection, and love. Though pink is feminine, the level of intensity affects its meaning. It is used widely to brand companies with a primarily female audience. 

A hue in the same family as Good and Plenty pink is the preferred color for Social Status! 

Black – Elegant, mysterious and protective. Black is a color of opulence and is widely used for luxury brands.

White – Simplicity, purity and minimalism. White is stark, which is often used to convey a clean and modern quality.

Gray – Subdued, quiet and reserved. If your brand is authoritative and mature, gray adds an elegant look like black. When combined with other colors, a hi-tech look can be achieved.

Choosing the right website color palette is crucial to your website’s success

The right color palette for your website can drive your audience to act. Here are some inspiring website color palettes that will help you in making the correct choice for your business website.

Website Color Palette That Creates Excitement

If your business caters to brands for kids, creating a website that interests kids will also likely excite them. They in turn will push their parents to buy the clothing or other items featured on your site. An exciting website color palette can translate into sales!

Website Color Palette That Inspires Loyalty

There are two colors that are great for establishing brand loyalty and building staying power – blue and green. These colors have a universal appeal for both men and women. 

By adding these two colors in your website, the percentage of acceptance and loyalty is increased.

Website Color Palette That Suggests Reliability

If you want to convey reliability and responsibility, color choices are somewhat limited. As you wish to display stability, the overall visual appearance is best toned down.

Avoid using bright color palette as it may come across as too brash and may undermine a more serious field of business, like insurance, financial services or retirement planning. The neutral colors of black, brown, and gray colors suggest gravity for these serious matters.

At the end of the rainbow

As a business owner, you need to provide incentives to convince your visitor to follow you, communicate with you, and most importantly, purchase from you.

Social Status is a very creative digital marketing agency that has a great understanding and vibe for the perfect color choices! Choosing the right color palette for your website is a key element to its success. Take the time to determine which website color palette complements your brand and encourages support for your business.

Tag: business website marketing color psychology success design

Benefits of a Digital Marketing Agency for Your Business

Having a Digital Marketing Agency help your small business is a smart business!

There is valuable benefit to having an agency help with your online marketing.

To run a successful small business can be quite a daunting task.

There are many hats to wear and gears to switch. Tasks such as accounting, marketing, and managing staff. These all take precedence on a daily basis just to ensure the wheels of business continue turning.

Marketing efforts are a large focus on your business simply because that marketing is what drives attention and awareness to your business, which will hopefully make sales. And those sales provide the funds to keep your doors open and your business growing.

So how do you effectively manage it all and still have time to enjoy life and feel you are actually progressing? This is where a creative agency can be a life-saver and a very wise use of your marketing dollars.

A digital marketing and creative agency like Social Status can lift the heavy weight and reduce your business load by providing valuable online marketing services such as:

    Branding Campaign Design, Development, and Management

    Website Design and Content Management

    Mobile Site Design and Development

    Search Engine Optimization

    Social Media Marketing Implementation and Management

    Email Marketing Campaign

To get your small business to the next level, you need to be committed to growing and also to understanding the value a digital marketing agency offers. The key is to get the right company that understands your business needs and fits your budget.

If you are a big company with high marketing demands, you will seek a large creative agency or marketing firm who can meet those demands and expectations. A start-up or small company should seek out a smaller firm that offers more boutique services a menu of services, which you can add on to as you grow. 

Focus More on Your Business

Social Status absolutely recommends that you do whatever you can on your own in the initial stages of your company, so you can learn from the experience, be hands-on, and know what it is that you actually need help with. From there, you can realistically access what you have available financially to work with and the best agency to join forces with. You can also then fully appreciate the value of this help because you know what it entails and be free to focus on the next phase to grow your business.

Share Goals and Work with Experts!

When you’ve teamed up with the right creative agency, share your goals and expectations and they’ll take it from there. Gone is the worry and challenge of having to onboard, train, and manage a new person with a high salary. The experts you entrust will do it all for you. You can be confident that everything for your online marketing will be covered by an experienced and capable team!

Know What Will and Won’t Work for Your Business

There are plenty of platforms for digital marketing. So it’s important to note that not all things will work for you. It is imperative to be realistic and also be open to new ideas and concepts.

A good digital agency will help share innovative and fresh ideas on what techniques will give you the best results.

A good agency will provide a whole new perspective by analyzing your business needs. They will be able to determine which platforms your potential customers are on and target them directly. And from there, a good agency will deliver the best content strategies and social media campaigns that help turn those into active, paying customers.

Measurable Results

When you invest in a digital marketing agency you should expect a high ROI.

Social Status helps you determine the Key Performance Indicators (KPI). You will receive detailed reports of website audits and campaigns monthly or quarterly.

You will know how your keywords are performing and how well your targeted customers are engaging with your company.

Get Ready for the Next Level

If you are ready to take your business to next level in Front Royal, Winchester, and Northern VA, Social Status is ready to help get you there!

Tag: business website marketing small business