Sometimes it’s hard to find your smile on a Wednesday, but stay motivated!  I am a “cup is half full” person, so once I wake up on Wednesday I know there are “only 2 more wake ups” until the weekend. (Can you tell I’m a mom?)  I have always been a believer that a smile is contagious.  You can’t work all the time and sometimes you just need to share a smile……..so, this blog post is just to MAKE YOU SMILE!  Happy Wednesday – you have 2 more full days to achieve your goals this week!  – Feather

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Blogging is intimidating for pretty much everyone – WHY?  There are a lot of answers, but the main reason is because we, as bloggers, don’t have confidence.  We aren’t confident people are going to like….or care….about what we have to say, we aren’t confident what to write about. We aren’t confident in our writing style and we aren’t confident people will read it.  People are never sure blogging isn’t a total waste of time.  I know this because it’s taken me a long time to build up confidence to “just do it”.  Basically, if you put it out there someone is going to read it.  You may not get a million hits on your blog, but your article may get indexed by Google which means it will pop up on a search engine, but most of all it will secure your customer’s confidence that you know what you are doing!

How to have a successful Blog

The main strategy to a successful blog is Planning!!!  You need to sit down on a day that you feel creative and brainstorm about ALL ideas, questions, comments about your industry.  Basically, if a customer has asked you a question in the past, you can blog about it.  This is a picture of what I did.  I took a calendar and wrote my ideas in each day.  I don’t necessary write about that subject on the date it is listed, but it’s there, so I have the idea already.  Some people prefer a list, others prefer a spreadsheet – it doesn’t matter how you do it, just write down at least 30 ideas.  Then the fun begins – writing the blog!

You can do this a couple different ways also.  If you are having a really creative day, you can spend a couple hours and knock out a few blog posts all in one day.  In WordPress you can even schedule the blog to post on a certain date and time so it doesn’t look like you just posted everything one day and forgot about it.  I find this is the easiest way to get the blog knocked out.

If you get burnt out writing blog articles, then you can schedule a time EVERY day or 3 times a week to write the blog article, but make sure you do it at the same time or you WON’T DO IT.  Many are better in the morning, so blog as soon as you start your day.  Some people find themselves more creative after lunch do it then, but make sure you do it and don’t put it off.

Is your Business too boring to blog about?

Pretty much every one I talk to thinks their business is too boring to blog about.  This simply is not true.  You throw an industry at me, and I bet we could brainstorm at least 30 articles about it.  I worked for an accident injury attorney when blogs first started getting popular and we always found ourselves thinking “Who wants to read about an accident injury attorney”.  Truth is, if you are in an accident, you would love to read about statistics, facts, hints coming from a professional like an accident attorney.  Once we sat down and actually started brainstorming we came up with hundreds of subjects to blog about.

My husband is a contractor and he thinks his business is too boring to blog about, so we did the same thing.  We brainstormed a list of blog subjects and wa-la we got about 40 blog articles within just a few minutes.  If you are running out of ideas just google your industry and you will find a ton of other blogs and articles that you can get ideas from. DO NOT COPY someone else’s article though – get ideas and then rewrite it to make it your own!

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People don’t realize that blogging is more then “selling” yourself or educating people about your business.  It DOES work for that also, but the main reason a blog is important for your website is for the CONTENT.  I have talked about Content is King in the past.  Basically, Google serves the websites that have the best content for their users.  If your website is packed with information about your industry then guess who’s website is going to be at the top of the Google list!  Google has algorithms that know if you have updated your content or if the content has sat stagnant for months.  They love it when content is fresh, relevant and helpful to their end user – easiest way to obtain that is through a blog.

Do NOT “keyword stuff” your blog

A few years back people would write blogs that were obviously just for keywords.  Years ago, an article like this on a marketing website would have sentences like:

“You should do Scottsdale, AZ blogging so your business can grow in Scottsdale, AZ.  Blogging is best done by a professional Scottsdale, AZ marketing company”.

Is this helpful for you?  Did you benefit from this?  Google became savvy (like they always do) and wrote more smarter blogging algorithms to discount or punish websites that did this.  They called it “spammy” or keyword stuffing and it is considered bad in the Google (or other search engine) world.

Be Relevant, Be Helpful with your Blog

Google will take notice to your blog if you are trying to help out your customers.  If you are are plumbing company and writing about how to fix your toilet then the keywords plumbing, pipes, plumber will come up naturally in your blog post without you having to obnoxiously stuff the keywords down your readers throat.  Also, remember not to always be selling.  I know this is NOT what you are use to – your website is to sell right?  Not here.  You can make some comments about your services or talk about your business, but do not write:

“If you have a clogged toilet you should call Pat’s Plumbing for all your Scottsdale, AZ Plumbing Needs”  Or “Pat’s Plumbing has been in business for 25 years, so you should call us to unclog your toilet”.

Your blog is on YOUR website.  If someone comes to your blog and reads about remedies for a clogged toilet, chances are they will become overwhelmed with the details or they have already tried some of the remedies and failed, so they will call the professional who wrote the article….and guess what, your phone number is listed on  your website so they will call YOU!

Happy Blogging!  Be Relevant and provide a lot of content for Google…..and ultimately your customer!

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Adwords is a fancy name for the ads that are listed on Google.  Bing and other search engines have their own version of Adwords as well.  Other words that are synonymous with Adwords is PPC (Pay Per Click) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing).  The reason they call it Pay Per Click is because the basic idea of Adwords or any SEM campaign is that you list the words you want to advertise for and you only are charged if someone actually clicks on your ad.  Sounds simple right?  As with anything online, it’s NOT as simple as it seems.

How to Choose your Keywords

There are a lot of keyword generator tools available.  Just choose one of these resources, plug in your basic keywords and they will come up with a ton of word suggestions for you!

Google Keyword Planner

Wordstream

KeywordTool

SEMRush

What to do After you Choose your Keywords

Making sense of the lengthy lists of keywords and trying to figure out how to apply them into an adwords campaign is the tricky party.  You have to know if you need a Phrase Match, and Exact Match, Negative Keyword, etc.  Then you have to know how to assign a budget to each word.  Depending on the industry, the budgets will be MUCH different.  For example, the keywords for the Accident Attorney industry will be much more expensive then the keywords for a Lighting company.  The price of the keywords also depends heavily on the geographical location you are choosing.  The main city is going to be much more expensive then the smaller outlining cities.

You can Turn it On and Off

If you want to dabble with PPC on your own I would suggest starting with Google.  They have the most traffic and the most streamlined process.  The good thing about PPC is you can start a campaign, turn it on, and if you choose to pause it or stop it completely you can immediately.  PPC is so flexible because when you build your campaign you can even choose the days you want to run your ads and the hours you want your ads to show.

Should you hire a Professional for your PPC campaign

I believe every Adwords campaign is optimized better with a professional.  Usually the professional can easily create a list of keywords PLUS a list of negative keywords for your industry.  They will be able to give you a better idea of where to place your budget and what geographical areas are most cost effective.  USUALLY, a professional will end up saving you money on PPC, even with their service fees included.  There are so many variables that amateurs end up spending a lot of money on trial and error before they even start to streamline their efforts.

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This is one of my favorite sayings and my motto for 2018!  I have always believed this, but never really followed through with it.  I have always “talked” about what I am going to do or how I should do it, but never found the time, energy or motivation to actually DO it.  Sound familiar?

Your business in 2018

Are you ready to bring your business to the next step?  Do you want to amp up your revenue and make your customers happier then ever?  That is my goal with Flip Marketing and SEO also.  Do you need to improve your website, start blogging, increase your marketing budget and show customers you are the best in the industry?  We are in the same boat!  So, how are we going to make the changes?

Keep Accountable

Accountability is the most important part “CHANGE”.  If you don’t hold yourself accountable, or don’t have someone else to hold you accountable, you will slip back to the same old habits.  I have 2 weapons in my accountability arsenal.  First weapon is my calendar.  I actually have 2 calendars which sounds confusing, but it works for me.  My Google calendar keeps all my appointments, commitments and activities.  I also have a hard copy planner which I list my business agenda and goals.  My hard copy calendar is where I list the blog articles I want to do and mark off other business goals I have achieved.  This paper planner sounds so ancient – I’m a tech company, I promise I am “with the tech times” – but I find a paper planner still shows me a visual of what needs to be done and what I have already accomplished.  Don’t get me wrong, I also have tracking programs which remind me when to do client website maintenance, client follow ups and hosting renewals, etc.

The second accountability weapon I use is my husband!  He makes sure I get done what I need to get done.  We communicate a lot and he is not shy about reminding me of a goal that hasn’t been achieved.  I am very happy he does this because if he didn’t, then I wouldn’t achieve those goals.  Find someone who can keep you accountable – even if it’s just someone to say “Hey, did you call that customer to follow up”.  Time always goes so fast and before you know it, days or weeks have gone by without doing a task.

Take Action

You need to take action and put your plan in motion.  Just like I talked about having a plan to blog you need to have a plan to progress your business.  If marketing is your plan, then you first need to figure out how much you have spent on marketing in the past and how much you are comfortable spending in the future.  Remember, internet marketing is flexible so you can do some trials to find out what budget brings in the most customers for you.  Do you need to get more creative with your marketing strategy?  Sometimes there are advertising opportunities that business owners don’t think about or don’t realize are obtainable.  Did you realize that a lot of TV spots are only $100-$200 for 30 seconds?  Now, you have to produce a commercial for TV which is more expensive, but most business owners don’t realize the relatively minimal charges for TV commercials.  Did you know you can do Pay Per Click advertising online and only pay for the people who actually are interested and click on your ad?

There are many advertising and marketing options – just figure out your budget, do some research, set your goals and find a weapon of accountability!  Change doesn’t happen unless you do something different.  Change starts with You!  Conquer your 2018 goals!

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SEO is also known as Search Engine Optimization.  It’s a fancy way of saying you want to get your website to come up first on Google or other search engines.  SEO has become a very “hot” topic for many business owners.  There are definitely tricks of SEO but it’s not rocket science.  It mostly takes dedication and follow through to achieve a good Google PageRank.

Can my website rank without SEO?

Your website will probably NOT rank on Google or any other search engine without SEO strategies.  It’s one thing to make a “nice” or “pretty” website, but to actually have it rank on a search engine is a totally different thing.  The website has to be built with the SEO strategy in mind.  Search Engine Optimization isn’t just the words on the page, but it also includes the background code, what platform your site is built on and how many people are seeing your site.

There are a TON of articles on Moz about these topics, but sometimes they are too technical or lengthy.  This is where a quality SEO company in Scottsdale, AZ is helpful.  They will look at your site and figure out what needs to be reworked, tweaked or completely changed.  They will be able to build a successful SEO strategy which will fit within the budget and needs of your company.

The internet is different then traditional marketing, because all efforts you do for your website will continue to grow and lead to more customers.  If you choose a different SEO team, the efforts of the first team will still be there.  If you invest money, write articles and get traffic to your site, it will lead to future profits.  The goal of any website is to drive traffic and unfortunately you won’t get any traffic to your site if it doesn’t have SEO strategies integrated in it.

The post What is SEO appeared first on FLIP Marketing and SEO.

Hi – My name is Feather Proctor and I am the proud owner of Flip Marketing and SEO, along with my husband Paul.  I am sure you read our bio, so here I wanted to introduce myself on a more personal level.  I am the proud mom of 2 boys.  They are my world and keep me very busy.  On the weekends or evenings I am often at the baseball field or batting cages.  Our family loves the beach, but I am glad I don’t have to deal with sand on a daily basis

We are a very active family.  Paul and I like to DO things with the kids, not just watch the kids do things.  When we go to the water park I will be racing my kids down the water slide and we’ll be playing tag in the wave pool.  When we go to the trampoline gym, Paul and I will be playing dodge ball with the kids, OR against the kids!  We all love to snowboard and I must say the kids are good at it!  They have no fear, so they get going faster then me.  We travel with our kids and they LOVE it.  We have gone to several different states to see tons of different things.  Life experiences are what it’s all about – we try to take advantage of making family memories whenever we have the opportunity.

Organized – Over achiever – Creativity

I tend to be very organized, an over achiever, love to talk to people and very creative which means I end up doing many volunteer activities.  I help at church, school and other miscellaneous events throughout the year – I love putting my talent to good use.  Creativity is in my blood – I scrapbook, dabble with photography and love ALL holiday decorations – especially Christmas (you can’t have too many Christmas decorations – well, I guess you could, but I do not!)   I try to stay positive with every situation and I like to think my positive energy is contagious in a group.

A little about Paul

Paul and I got married in 2003.  He is my rock, my best friend, my better half!  We dated for exactly 5 years (to the day) before getting married on September 20th.  We get along very well and compliment each other in pretty much everything we do.  If you ask either of us the “secret to a successful marriage” it is communication.  We talk about pretty much everything, which I think is what makes us great business partners.

Paul has owned businesses since we met and I have always helped him with pretty much every aspect of each business.  I did marketing for a law firm for 13 years and Paul would give me better ideas on artwork and campaign strategies while I worked there.  Paul thinks very different – which is a good thing.  He comes up with new marketing strategies, new design elements and new ways of doing things.  Paul will be watching TV and all of a sudden pause the TV and say “I got an idea”……which leads to a lengthy discussion.  He’s a true entrepreneur and successfully turns ideas into businesses.  Paul is a contractor by trade and has built some beautiful masterpieces.  He can pretty much do anything and everything with his hands, which I find amazing.

Why an SEO Company

So, all of this is fun, but WHY do we have a Scottsdale marketing and SEO company?  Quite frankly because we both love the marketing aspect of business.  We love to think of new marketing techniques, new artwork, new website designs, etc.  We still love the opportunities the internet has given small businesses.  A small business can compete with big businesses online and dominate the industry market if done properly.  We like meeting people who LOVE their business, who immerse themselves in their business and need someone to help them figure out and organize the website and marketing efforts.

We were also sick of the “Big” SEO companies promising the world and offering nothing.  They have such a sales pitch, but really don’t care about the business owner and the success of the business.  Paul and I have been there – we have looked for a Scottsdale SEO company to help our businesses, we have looked for a Scottsdale Marketing company to organize our campaigns and it seems like our requests go on deaf ears and everything is so overpriced and not effectively applied.  We got sick of hiring other people, so we decided to do a TON of research and take some college courses and start doing the marketing ourselves.

Fast forward several years, and this is our passion…..this is what we love to do and we do it well, so we made it a successful business instead of just doing it “on the side”.  We have been doing this for a few years and have made our customers very happy!  We treat each of our customers like we would want to be treated and make sure we go above and beyond for everyone!

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