Archives for December 2018

There are many reasons why you should use AdWords Pay-per-click Marketing:

1. It’s an effective way to achieve instant traffic
2. It’s cost-effective
3. It gives you fast, measurable results

However, did you know that using PPC hand-in-hand with SEO can increase the overall effectiveness of your marketing? Here’s how.

1. PPC only keeps the traffic flowing for however long you keep it running, but there’s no reason its usefulness should stop there.

2. That data gathered from the PPC campaign will tell you what keywords are and aren’t effective. You can then use this data to form your SEO strategy.

With PPC, we can:

1. Use PPC data to find out your best performing keywords, copy and landing pages.
2. Compare Google Console data to PPC data for keywords intelligence.

Analyzing PPC data and drawing out a strategy can be overwhelming for a business owner like you!

That’s why we’re here to help.

Contact us to learn more about how to use PPC hand-in-hand with SEO to grow your website and your sales!

Is a low website conversion rate getting in the way of your business’s success? Here are 15 of our tips to optimize your conversion rate:

1. Find your value proposition. What is it that makes you different from your competitors? Why are you the best choice? Whatever it is, make it central.

2. Have a clear headline. Your headline is the first thing your customers will see on your landing page. Make sure it’s easy to understand and gets your point across.

3. Feature your phone number prominently. Make it easy to find and use a big font to let them know you are accessible.

4. Add a video. A 2-3 min video that explains benefits and features or shows your product in action will capture the attention of your site visitors.

5. Get rid of those cheesy stock photos. Stock photos may be high quality, but they look fake, damaging your credibility.

6. Reduce required form fields. Don’t make your customers put in any more information than the bare minimum of what you need to know. The less work they have to do, the more likely they are to do it.

7. Put your Call-to-Action (CTA) above the fold. Your site visitors should be able to see it without scrolling down.

8. Use a CTA button instead of a link. Text links can be hard to spot. Using a button makes your CTA stand out.

9. Use a contrasting color for your CTA button. Make your CTA button even more visible by choosing a color that contrasts with the rest of your website’s color scheme.

10. Utilize your CTA button’s text. Instead of a plain old “submit,” use your button text to tell your visitors what to expect after they click that button with text like “get started!”

11. Create urgency. Limited-time incentives give your customers a reason to take action now.

12. Display “real” testimonials. Show that your testimonials aren’t fake by using full names and pictures.

13. Display your award badges. Show off any honors you’ve gotten to add wow factor.

14. Add trust badges. Boast about the great reviews you’ve gotten on sites like Yelp, Facebook, or the Better Business Bureau.

15. Add a live chat feature. Live chat support adds value.

We understand that business owners like you are pressed for time. We’re here to help! Contact us today.

1. Sixty-three percent of local businesses said they were going to invest in a mobile-friendly website. Why? Because 80% of internet users browse on their smartphones. If your site is not mobile responsive, then you are not in the game.

Get a mobile-friendly website now!

2. Ninety-three percent of customer buying decisions are influenced by Social Media. Customers trust peer recommendations. Positive comments on Social Media work! You should be connected with your best customers in social media so they can easily recommend you.

Set up your social media accounts now and get active!

3. Active blogs generate 67% more leads! Blog sites are perfect for interacting with your customers on a more personal level. Are you actively blogging?

Start blogging right now!

4. Four times as many potential customers would rather watch a video about your service/product than reading about it. Videos work because they are more interesting and easier to absorb, in addition to being easily shared! How many videos are on your site? Do you have a YouTube Channel?

Get into video marketing now!

5. Thirty percent of small businesses do not bother to measure their return-on-investment (ROI) following their digital marketing campaigns. That’s madness! How do you know if you are doing the right thing?

Contact me at johnny@johnnymurray.com and I’ll show you not only how to measure ROI, but to make your digital marketing work to produce ROI in the first place!

Just about everyone has some sort of mobile device, be it a tablet, smartphone or laptop.These people are also searching for a business that offers your services. If your site does not function properly on their variety of devices, they won’t waste time trying to make it work.

Test your web pages for mobile-friendliness here: https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly

A mobile website is one that has been designed to be responsive. This means the site can detect what kind of mobile device it is being viewed on. It then adapts itself to fit and function properly on the device.

Here are 5 reasons why you should have a mobile site:

1. Social media shares are huge on mobile devices because they are so easy to do. Your content, pictures, and videos will get shared more often because your website is readily accessible on mobile devices.

2. Google favors mobile-friendly sites in the search engines. That means they rank mobile-friendly sites higher.

3. A mobile-friendly site means more opportunity for sales. If the visitor’s experience on your site is fast and straightforward and NOT clumsy and difficult, of course, you will have a better chance of a sale.

4. Users on mobile are bigger buyers! Why? Because more often than not they quickly browse for what they want, checking for info before buying.

5. And finally, the most important reason is that most people now have a mobile device or two. Why ignore the majority of your customers?

Reach out to us if your website has mobile issues. Visit our website: http://icumarketplace.com.

On-the-go mobile users who are near you and who are searching for a product or service on Google at this very moment should find your business. But are they?

Are you visible in Google’s ‘Local Pack’ and expanded results?

Increased foot traffic, phone calls, or visits to your website should mean more customers for local business owners like you. That is why optimizing for local search results should be important.

Businesses listed in the Local Pack vary from the searcher’s location. If you are nearest to the searcher at the time of the search, then your business listing should appear there.

However, being closest to a potential customer searching isn’t a guarantee that you will come up in the search results. Your listing and your website must be optimized for local search.

Here are some of the important ranking factors that we can help you with based on a study by Moz:

Google My Business Listing Signals
Link Signals
On-page Signals
Citation Signals
Review Signals
Behavioral Signals
Personalization
Social Signals

Sounds too technical and challenging for you? No worries, ICU Marketing Associates is here to help you.

Contact us if you want your business to become more visible in the local search results and get more customers!

Johnny Murray

Home

https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

It seems that in social media lists, LinkedIn is always thrown at the end as another, lesser, option to the bigger sites.

However, if you are looking to make B2B connections and grow your leads there is no more effective social media platform than LinkedIn!

Unlike the other social media channels out there, LinkedIn was specifically designed for business leaders to share ideas and make connections.

Studies have shown:

1) 92% of B2B Marketers leverage LinkedIn over all other social platforms.
2) 79% of B2B Marketers view LinkedIn as an effective source for generating B2B leads.
3) 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn.
4) 43% of marketers say that they have sourced a customer from LinkedIn.

So hopefully those statistics have pointed out to you why using LinkedIn is an effective choice for your business. Now, let’s focus on how you can best utilize the site.

Just showing up to the party isn’t enough, you are going to have to enter the conversation. In order to do that your company needs to begin posting engaging content for your target decision makers to read and share. Here are three points for you to think about regarding LinkedIn content:

1) 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content

Businesses are sharing tons information with one another and making connections. It is time for you to join in and boost your visibility by posting useful content for your future customers.

2) 10 pieces of content are consumed before a purchasing decision is made.

People are constantly taking in information and researching before buying, especially on LinkedIn. Now through the content you post, your business has a direct way to speak into their decision-making process.

3. LinkedIn SlideShare reaches 70M unique visitors a month.

The site is now among the top 100 most-visited websites in the world. The audience is already right there for you to reach out to!

We are ready and willing to help you create and post content that is going to make valuable connections and grow your business!

Contact us today at johnny@johnnymurray.com

Here at ICU Marketing Associates, we want to make sure your business looks irresistible online. Our experts have compiled a list of 4 warning signs that your website might need a total redesign.

1. Your site takes more than 3 seconds to load

If your site takes longer than two seconds to load, you can not expect people to sit around and wait for the content to show up. According to a survey from Akamai, 49-percent of consumers expect a site to load in two seconds or less. Testing the speed of your website is easy. Open your website on multiple devices such as phones, tablets, and desktop computers to check the speed.

2. Some of the features or content do not display properly

Check your website regularly to make sure logos, photos, and outside links are working properly.

3. Your site is difficult to view and navigate on mobile

Check to make sure your website is usable on a wide range of mobile devices. The last thing you want is to lose a potential customer because your website is not responsive.

4. You’re Not Seeing Any Business Results.

Is your website bringing in leads and sales? If not, then it is definitely time to consider a redesign.

If one or more of these 4 warning signs apply to your website, give us a call today and let our experts help you create the best version of your website.

908-375-3030
johnny@johnnymurray.com

Are you putting social media to work for your benefit? Follow these 10 strategies to reach social media success!

1. Choose the Right Platforms

Every business is different. Make sure you consider both your customers and your business. Find out what social media sites your audience uses most, and think about which sites are the best fit for your products, too.

2. Create Unique Content for Each Platform

Your customers use different social media sites for various reasons and purposes. Make sure you’re crafting content that reflects the strengths of each platform.

3. Create a Social Media Calendar

Get organized by creating social media calendars to help you post consistently and effectively.

4. Optimize Post Times & Frequency

For that calendar, make sure you incorporate the best times to post on each site and the optimal frequency of posts.

5. Encourage Engagement

Make sure your social media is social! Interactive posts will encourage your customers to engage with you.

6. Target Your Social Media Outreach Expertly

Go for quality over quantity with your outreach: utilize your business advocates, peers, and “big fish” influencers to your advantage.

7. Avoid Over-Promote Your Brand

Don’t give in to the temptation to directly promote yourself every time. Some experts recommend the 1-in-7 rule: for every 1 openly promotional post, make 6 content posts.

8. Share Video

Visual content, especially video, is a proven attention-grabber.

9. Build a Community Around Your Brand

Another common pitfall is trying to get the most followers possible. Instead, we recommend you focus on cultivating a loyal, engaged customer base.

10. Provide Value to Your Followers

To keep them engaged, give your customers something useful, whether you entertain or inform them. This will help you gain followers and spread your content to a wider consumer base.

For more information or assistance with social media marketing for your business, contact us today at johnny@johnnymurray.com or 908-375-3030!