Category: SEO

  • Top 6 Social Listening Tools To Use Today

    Top 6 Social Listening Tools To Use Today

    Social media platforms are at the forefront of communications, and where most of the leads are being generated.

    Whenever a small business or enterprise uses social media promotion, it is important for them to be armed with the most sophisticated social media listening services at their fingertips. SearchTarget defines social media listening, as the process of identifying and assessing what is being said about a company, individual, product or brand on the web.

    Top Social Media Monitoring Tools at Your Disposal

    Trying to collect these conversations from each channel is one time-consuming task, and that’s where social media monitoring tools come in. Here are the top six tools that will take your social listening to a whole new level.

    #1. SentiOne

     SentiOne is a user-friendly and effective social media monitoring resource. Not only does it keep tabs on good your brand management and mentions are, but you can interact in real-time with your audience.

    The tool is available in 24 languages, and includes key features from the 12 types of social media listeners. In addition, its capabilities for online reputation management provide comprehensive analytics which can be used to further understand what works, what doesn’t, why, and spot user behavior, patterns, and future trends. Here is the main problem of today’s Social Web: many brands are still passive.

    If you, as a consumer, have an urgent need, and wish to reach out to your favorite brand, you do it with the mindset that this present need will not be met right away. In a way, the consumer loses hope of getting an instant response even before sending a message, because most of the times, there is no real-time engagement.

    If you use the Facebook search graph to identify the pages of your favorite brands in your country, for example, most brand pages will display a response rate of under 75%, and “likely to respond in within a day”.  By offering a real-time engagement solution, tools such as SentiOne manage to create a space of connection for brands and consumers.

    This helps enterprises in staying connected with their audiences independent of region, country, industry – which is the basis of a functional, healthy community.

    #2. Sprout Social

     Sprout Social is another easy-to-use tool. You have important functions like integrated analytics.

    The ability to schedule and queue posts from the different social networks enables users to really target their message, and save time in the process.

    What could be added down the road to the software is being able to get a consolidated report.

    #3. Falcon.io

     When coordinating multiple teams (marketing, local marketing group, dealerships and supporting agencies), Falcon.io makes collaboration simple and ensures a consistent brand message.

    It means the incorporated functionality allows the targeting of their messages to be similar across different locations.

    #4. Oktopost

     The social media monitoring tool options from Oktopost offer in-depth reporting. It is a fantastic data-driven marketing software since you can track conversions dollar-for-dollar. No need for previous experience, or a dedicated social media person or team.

    What some users have reported missing is the integrated customer service function within the tool. But the tool offers plenty of advantages in terms of ROI. This article explains more.

    #5. Hootsuite

     Hootsuite has been around for many years. The software allows you to monitor keywords, manage multiple social media accounts and schedule posts.

    You can view all your social networks within a single place. Aside from the comprehensive functionality and reporting, the cost compared to the rest of the competition makes one wonder why it is not more affordable.

    One issue to look out for though is the scheduling part: if not setup accordingly, you can wake up one morning to find your Twitter filled with “monologues” of text without any actual links or images. Happened to many!

    #6. AgoraPulse

     The AgoraPulse tool can be characterized as a social media marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) suite.

    A lot of ease in scheduling, managing, and publishing posts across different social media platforms.

    The only functionality to be addressed is you cannot group social media channels per brand along with the scheduled publications in a brand group.

    Social Media Care and The Importance of Social Media Monitoring

    The use of social media care, social media customer service, is the process of answering questions from users about your products and services in a specific time frame.

    According to Socialbakers, “Using social listening to generate leads means tracking conversation around your own company and your competition in order to discover interested prospects.” Another important aspect is it allows businesses and organizations to leverage their online reputation.

    Answering within a reasonable time frame to posts by users shows the brand is listening and makes interactions more meaningful since you are responding to concerns.

    Valuable Takeaways

    Compiling these top social listening tools was the result of examining reviews and references via G2Crowd. All these tools stood out from tens of apps and software solutions available worldwide, each offering unique features to their respective markets.

    Beyond social media listening, it is clear just how much of an impact social media marketing has on our daily lives. Not just as brands, but also as consumers.

    Brands can no longer rely solely on pushing sales pitches. It’s time to upgrade: they must resort on effective story-telling, and addressing questions from potential customers.

    Just like Gary Vee said in one of his LinkedIn video stories, discussing why ToysRUs disappeared, “If you don’t upgrade, you die” – a bit harsh, but it’s the truth. If you’re not following the consumers and their path, you won’t ever meet them halfway.

  • Google My Business: The Hows and Whys of Getting Your Business Listed

    Google My Business: The Hows and Whys of Getting Your Business Listed

    If you’re like me and you have a WordPress website that promotes your business or service, then you’ll always be on the lookout for new ways to get targeted visitors to your site. In this article are going to look at one such way and that is Google My Business.

    For anyone promoting themselves and their services online, there has never been a better time to be doing so than now. With so many different channels available that can send potential clients and customers your way, the hardest part of generating traffic today can be choosing which method to implement next.

    While focusing on SEO and ensuring you’ve done all you can to increase the visibility of your website in the search engines should be your first priority, after that, you’re spoilt for choice.

    From paid advertising, content marketing, guest posting, social media marketing, and a whole host of other options, there’s always something new to try. I would recommend though to hire a professional company for SEO services since SEO is much more complex these days.

    However, most of those channels for generating more traffic are ongoing and that means your work is never done. Nevertheless, there is another way you can attract more visitors to your site that you might’ve overlooked. That is adding your website to Google’s recently launched My Business service and it’s something you can do today, and then check off your list.

    In this article, we’ll explain the purpose of My Business and how it ties into Google’s new strategy. We’ll also walk you through the process of getting set up on Google My Business. This will help you to start getting more targeted traffic to your website and increase the number of ways you can be found online.

    As well as this being something you can implement for your business website, it’s also another value-adding service you could offer your clients. So let’s get started and find out how to get featured on Google My Business.

    What is Google My Business?

    How your website and listing could look across Google

    From the mouth of Google, My Business enables you to connect directly with your customers. Due to the unparalleled reach of Google and their services, plugging into the My Business network means your customers and clients can now find you more easily through Search and Maps.

    Google My Business doesn’t just serve traditional businesses with a storefront. You can also sign up and instead of listing your business address, add the area you serve or just details of your brand.

    We all know the importance of being ranked prominently in the Google search engine. It’s by far the most popular search engine out there today. Depending on who you ask Google has between 70% and 89% of the global search engine market share – something that isn’t predicted to decline anytime soon.

    However, when it comes to getting noticed in the search engine results pages (SERPS) there’s more to just working on your search engine optimization and aiming for a top spot in the regular results. As we’ll now see, by signing up with Google My Business, there are more ways to be found and connect with your target audience than ever before.

    What Happened to Google Places?

    My Business is the replacement service for Google Places for Business. It’s a key part of their attempt to simplify the process of harnessing the power of the Google suite of tools to get more traffic to your business. This means that Google Ads, Insights, Maps and Search are all closely tied into My Business, making it easier to use and more powerful than its predecessor.

    Benefits of Being on Google My Business

    Right, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of engaging with My Business in order to get a better sense of what this Google service has to offer you.

    Better Search Visibility

    Stand out in the SERPS

    Ever wondered why some businesses you search for are featured in a high-visibility panel that lists their information, right next to the regular search engine results? This isn’t anything to do with paying Google through their PPC Ads service. Instead, it’s a result of being on My Business.

    Once you’ve been included in the service, your most important info will be on display right away, with the rest of your content only a click away from those searching for you. You’ll still be listed in the regular search engine results, but now you’ll also take over the right-hand column, giving you even more exposure.

    Put Your Business on the Map

    While no longer being the world’s most popular smartphone app, Google Maps is still accessed on over half of all smartphones in the US as of July 2019. Apple is making great strides with its own mapping app, but there’s no doubt about the current popularity of Google Maps.

    Therefore, it’s vital that your business – or those of your clients – is listed on the Google Maps platform.

    Google My Business gives you an easy way to verify your business and get it added to Google Maps. Now your customers and clients can find their way to you much more easily. They’ll also be able to view information about your business and check out your ratings and reviews.

    Display More Useful Information

    Once you’ve taken the necessary steps to complete the integration process, useful information about your business will be readily displayed on Search and Maps.

    This business information can include a description of your business; hours of operation; directions; busy periods; and the all-important call now button which are displayed for mobile users.

    Google My Business is fully mobile responsive

    As Google is fully committed to the mobile revolution, your listings will be as easy to access on smartphones and tablets as they are on notebooks and desktops. Your audience will see the same information as they switch devices, delivering a consistent user experience before they even get to your website.

    Another Chanel of Communication

    By creating a My Business profile, you’ll be opening up another new interactive channel of communication with your target audience and existing clients and customers.

    Easily update your listing from anywhere

    How to Get on Google My Business

    Ok, so now that you’re convinced of the need and benefits of being on My Business, let’s look at what you have to do to join the party.

    Sign Up

    Firstly, you’ll need a Google account. If you’re already using a service like Gmail then you should be good to go, if not sign up here.

    Choose Your Listing Type

    Choose the right type of listing for your business

    If your business has physical premises or a storefront, then choosing this listing type this is the best option. But what if you’re an online-only business or operate from a home address? Alternatively, perhaps you serve your local area, but just don’t work from a standard location and instead go and visit your clients and customers. In these cases, you can use the service area or brand options.

    Add your business details

    Whether you want to create your listing with a storefront location or just a service area, you will need to create a business listing first. Once you’ve added your business you can then choose not to display your physical address if that information doesn’t need to be made public.

    Do you operate remotely?

    If you don’t want to display your business address, you can instead enter the area you serve. To prevent your listings from publically displaying your business address, check the box that states that you deliver goods and services to your customers at their location. Then uncheck the box that states you also serve customers at your business address.

    Set the area your business serves

    The service area is a flexible feature of Google My Business. It allows you to enter whole cities and zip codes that you serve, or set a custom radius from your business location.

    Once you’ve completed those steps you will need to verify your business listing to prove your address. Depending on your business type, this usually takes place by mail verification.

    While you are waiting for your postcard from Google, you can get started on setting up your business page. This gives you an opportunity to build out your profile and add your contact information, hours of operation, and upload a selection of photos.

    Make any necessary changes

    Thanks to the new integration features of My Business, through the dashboard you can start promoting your listings with AdWords Express right away. You can use the pay per click service to ensure you listing shows up in more places than it would otherwise. However, this isn’t essential, as by simply having a listing, you’ve already created a new way for your target audience to find you.

    Drive traffic with easy AdWords integration

    Once your account has been verified, you can find out how often your listing has been viewed through the Insights tool. As a verified account holder, you can also read and respond to reviews left for your business.

    Creating a Brand Page

    If you don’t have a physical location that you want to publish and you don’t need to enter a specific area that you serve, the best listing type for you is a brand page.

    When creating a brand page you can get started by entering your details, before verifying your account. You get a few different options for verifying your account, with the default choice being by SMS or a call to your phone.

     

    Create a brand page instead

    Once you’re, in you can create your brand page and start populating your profile with information about your brand and the services you offer.

    View your brand page

    Managing Your Google My Business Listing

    After creating your My Business profile, you have plenty of options for managing your listing. You can do this through the My Business online dashboard, on either your desktop or mobile device. Alternatively, you can download the apps for Android and iOS devices.

    Get the mobile app for management on the go

    These mobile apps make it easy to stay up to date with and respond to customer reviews; update your business details, such as a last-minute change in opening hours; upload photos straight to your listing, and view the Insight visitor analytics data.

    If you are on the go and need to respond to customer queries, feedback, and reviews in near real-time, these apps and their notifications can really help you out.

    Integration with WordPress

    There are a few plugins out there for integrating your Google My Business listing with your WordPress website. However, the best of the bunch seems to be the freemium Google Places Reviews plugin.

    Google Places Reviews plugin

    This plugin gives you the ability to display reviews that have been left on your Google My Business listing in the sidebar and other widgetized areas of your website. You can also embed these reviews into your posts, pages, and other content by using the included shortcodes.

    While the free plugin does get the job done, if you want the ability to filter the reviews that are displayed on your site by their star rating, then you will need to upgrade to the pro version. This commercial version of Google Places Reviews is available from $37.

    By using a plugin like Google Places Reviews, you not only get an easy way to add some social proof and credibility in the form of customer reviews, but it also adds an easily accessible link to your Google My Business listing.

    Following this link gives your visitors a quick and straightforward way to view your listing and location on Google Maps – if you’ve set one in your profile. To really make your listing stand out amongst the competition, you will need to acquire as many positive reviews as possible. Any method that gives you an easy way to send visitors to your Google profile page is welcome.

    Final Thoughts

    Hopefully, you can now see the benefits of engaging with this recently updated service from Google. Getting on board with My Business gives you more opportunities to be found, connect with your audience, and send more targeted traffic to your website or offline premises.

    It’s a free service from a market leader and it’s very easy to setup. What more could you ask for?