Tag Archive for: small business

8 SEO Scams To Look Out For

8 SEO Scams To Look Out For

     First page results on Google is a goal any business would want to achieve. It is very important to rank high on Google’s search engine, but going from page 100 to 1 is a pipe dream- one that will never happen for any business. The only way you might be able to do this, however not organically, is to pay Google to advertise your existing website for you.

     Anything that does not require payment is considered organic. No one except Google can rank you for organic traffic. All businesses want to rank high on the search engine, but instant front page results is too far fetched. Lets say that an SEO company is able to do this: What keywords are they ranking you for? What practices are they using? Google watches for all of this. If you don’t use keywords to rank your site, you might have a black hat SEO company representing your website. Google definitely will lower your rank score or even worse, black list your site.

     Please beware of SEO companies claiming that they have a special relationship with Google. Or they have a “Guy” that used to work for Google… It’s the biggest scam of the century! There is not one algorithm suitable to sustain all website traffic flow. SEO is much bigger than Google.

     In short, SEO companies can offer you the moon but when it comes to delivering the results there isn’t enough red flags in the world to warn a small business owner. Just beware of offers that seem too good to be true.

     There are only three search engines that really matter, but really there are only two. No matter how many search engines exist, only one can rank your website and get you quality traffic to your website. Google. It is the most used search engine when someone is searching for products, services and blogs. Don’t waste your money on submitting your website to search engines that no one uses.

     Direct links are very important to building traffic to your website. However, when an SEO company claims that they will link your page to hundreds of other pages… What are the other details? What pages? Are they relevant to your website and content? Again, what are their practices? You definitely need more information than riding on a promise or guarantee. It literally takes years to build quality links. This just doesn’t make sense. So don’t waste your time and money on this.

     This next one is easy to fall for. SEO companies asking to gain access to your website. This is something that needs to be done however… Because of keywords and internal links… But if they offer you free stuff in return… BEWARE! Your site that you worked so hard on or spent a lot of money on-  could be potentially wrecked by these companies and with recourse.

     Unsolicited services for SEO is the most common form of SEO scam. How did they even know you own a website? They troll the internet looking for URLs and email addresses. Even I get these emails and phone calls. In fact in the middle of writing this article, I received an email from a woman claiming to boost my SEO ranking.. Hello, I do SEO for a living! Just ignore these forms of communication- if you really need help with your SEO please research a legit company with references.

     Secret SEO tactics and tools DO NOT exist. If you ask the SEO company about their practices and they will not reveal… You’ve got a bad SEO company- most likely utilizing black hat SEO tactics. If they do anything at all for you. Most of these nightmare stories my clients tell me end with a big fat debt and no results. I’ve had a client pay an SEO company that solicited him, $150 a month for 13 months- before he started feeling like he was being taken advantage of.

     In conclusion, beware of SEO companies promising and guaranteeing to offer you more than you understand. It is often far too easy for someone with an online business to be scammed out of hard earned money. However, SEO is not dying. It is the strongest marketing tool out there, but it is the slowest. So if you don’t have the cash to splurge on a good SEO company, just keep in mind that writing good, long and consistent content is still a strong point in Google’s SEO Handbook.

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10 Free Marketing Tools

10 Free Marketing Tools

Don’t miss out on this post – you’ll regret it for sure! Not all marketing tools are obvious, so I am making them available for everyone to see! These ten marketing tools will definitely make you look like a pro! If you have a WordPress website this will be a breeze!

  1. Customized Girl
    • Create & design any branded product from t-shirts to pet apparel. When your item sells you’ll be rewarded with up to 30% of the sale price. This is a perfect solution for any company with a large amount of brand followers.
  2. Free Invoice Generator
    • Look even more professional with a great looking invoice. Your customers will appreciate the quality and if you choose to do so, they can even pay you through Paypal.
  3. Free Logo Makers
    1. Piece Together A Professional Logo
    2. Choose From Over 1000 Different Custom Logos
      • Depending on your preferences and creativity skills these are two great options to explore when you are in search for a customized logo.
  4. Canva
    • Design professionally with Canva online studio. Look like a pro when you need a eye catching social media post, advertisement & event a proposal- they have it all!
  5. Free Backlink Generator
    • Backlinks are the blood of SEO, without them your SEO would be a pitiful puddle of hard work. With backlinks your websites content is stronger and ranked higher because of the amount of links pointing to your content.
  6. Mailchimp
    • If you have existing customer contact info, this email marketing platform will make the best out of it. You can create engaging campaigns and track their individual metrics. So now it is easy to not only engage your audience, but you can gain knowledge of what works and what doesn’t.
  7. WP Yoast Plugin
    • Just download, install, activate and run the set-up wizard! Easy-pee-z! All your SEO tools in one place!
  8. WP Optimize Plugin
    • SEO is so much more dynamic than Google ranking. With this WordPress plugin you’ll be able to clean out old versions of your website and create a table of contents to be easily read by any search engine.
  9. WP Fastest Cache Plugin
    • With this WordPress plugin you’ll be speeding up your WordPress site by cleaning out your cache files of outdated versions of your site. This is a crucial tool in your SEO rank score.
  10. WP Jetpack Plugin
    • This WordPress plugin is jammed pack with marketing tools to help you save time. The feature I like the most is the social media connects. With this feature you can automatically publish your post on all of your social media accounts at once.
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My Girl Friday 805 WordPress Website Design & Development

     Do you need a professional website, but can’t afford “professional” prices? We can help!

     Do you have an existing website and need some help? We do that too!

My Girl Friday 805 is a small business that has been helping other small businesses & nonprofits for over 3 years.

Why Us? No Hourly Fees: At My Girl Friday 805 we just don’t believe in hourly fees. Our goal is to provide quality designs at the right price.

No Long-Term Commitments: With My Girl Friday 805 you will NEVER be locked into any contract of any kind. We don’t want to be a prison, we want to create quality designs and have room to breathe!

No Gimmicks: You can count on My Girl Friday 805! Not only will we have the best customer service on the web, but you’ll never feel taken advantage of. Honesty Is Our Policy!

Here Are Just Some Of The Perks You’ll Receive: 1. 100% Search Engine Optimized content & name 2. Keyword Research & Implementation 3. Your website & services will be found on Google, Bing and Yahoo 4. Free hosting for 36 months 5. 1 Free custom domain 6. Free cyber-security 7. WordPress Expert 8. Custom layouts (No Templates) 9. Custom graphics 10. Effortless 11. 1 month education & training available 12. 1 month of 24/7 technical & design support

My Girl Friday 805 is a budget-friendly custom website & graphic design business in Ventura, CA. Advertising. Email Marketing. Event Planning. eCommerce. Logo.

Our Services: Advertising, Blog Design, Email Marketing, Event Planning, Forum Design, Google Analytics, Logo Design, Promotional Merchandise Design, Promotional Print Design, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Technical & Design Support, Videography, WordPress Website Development & Design.

***|We have a 5/5 Star Rating On Google ***|We have an A Rating On The Better Business Bureau (BBB)

We’ve worked with clients all over the world & Wherever you are we can help!

My Girl Friday 805, our goal is to get your website up and running Professionally, Quickly & Affordably.

Check out our portfolio, past clients and services on our website: www.MyGirlFriday805.com

Or Give Us A Call 805.766.8935

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Siri & Cortana Are Changing The SEO Game

Siri & Cortana Are Changing The SEO Game

Who am I? I’m very popular with men & women of all ages. I’m fast, convenient and I allow you to search on the go!

Give up? My name is voice to text! My technology services popular products like Siri and Cortana. As my technology improves, i’ll be even more reliable and even more popular. As a result of my increasing popularity, marketers are implementing me into their strategic SEO plans. Sooner than later however, typing into a search engine will be a thing of the past.

Tips to Help You Prepare For The Next Big Change in SEO

  1. People Will Not Type The Same Way As They Speak

Generally people will be more specific in the way they speak rather than when they type. This is especially true when it comes to doing an online search. Statistically speaking, there are more people typing in a search engine and using the least amount of words to describe what they want than vice versa. It’s just not convenient for people in a hurry. Let’s face it, most of us have very little time to be searching the internet with everything else that needs to be done in a day. With voice to text you can just ask your phone to do pretty much anything nowadays. Which makes it even more important to plan search strategies for the shopper that doesn’t have a whole lot of time.

To prepare for this change you will need to focus on natural patterns of speech. For example, expect people to search for their local weather in full sentences rather than searching by keywords. Create content around conversation speech. If I were to be using my Siri I would say, “What is the weather forecast in Ventura, CA tomorrow? If I were to use my safari I would type, “weather in Ventura, CA tomorrow.” You see how voice to text searches differ from a typed search? Create search strategies for the average joe, and not the lazy suzan. Times are changing.

     2. Short Keywords Will Become Obsolete  

When voice to text users are searching for something they most likely be using proper language. This language is straightforward and to the point. You will want to expect your consumers to be looking for your product or service with complete phrases. Don’t use old techniques by creating your content around one word keywords. Giving your keywords a little more cushion will create more visits to your desired content. To find out which long tail keywords work best for you, utilize Google’s Keyword Planner.

     3. Keep Planning To Cater To The Mobile Devices

With over 50% of online users displaying their content on a mobile device, the importance of a mobile friendly sites are increasing. Moreover, 20% of consumers shopping the web landed on a website through voice to text technology on their smartphones. If you are planning on creating an SEO strategies your website needs to be prepared as much as you do. This change will create waves of new kinds of content directed to the voice to text user. Conveniences thrive in a society that favors instant gratification. Get prepared and get ahead of the game!

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5 Essential SEO WP Plugins

5 Essential SEO WP Plugins

     All five (5) of these WP plugins are essential to your WordPress site SEO health. Don’t miss out on free SEO tools! Create traffic, speed up your site and more with these plugins that work well together. Just download, install, activate & enable settings. Eureka!

  1. WP Optimize

    • WP Optimize is a great plugin and works together with Yoast SEO plugin by cataloging your internal links. Therefor Yoast SEO plugin enables “Internal Link Counter.”

  2. EWWW Image Optimizer

    • The EWWW Image Optimizer will increase your page speeds can result in better search engine rankings, improve conversion rates, save you storage space and bandwidth.

  3. Jetpack By WordPress.com

    • Jetpack By WordPress.com keeps any WordPress website secure, increases traffic, and engages your readers.

  4. WP Fastest Cache

    • WP Fastest Cache plugin creates a static html file from your WordPress website. However, when a page is being viewed, php and mysql are also being used. Because of this your system needs RAM and CPU. If you have lots of traffic coming through your website then your system uses lots of RAM and CPU so page loading time is potentially slower.

  5. Yoast SEO

    • Yoast SEO plugin is like a swiss army knife, but instead of a knife, bottle opener etc., it is full of essential SEO tools. WordPress by itself is equipped with a technically good platform for SEO. Yoast SEO plugin goes the extra mile to take care of all the technical optimization and aids in you writing better content.

 

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How To Choose Which Social Media Channels To Use For Your Business

How To Choose Which Social Media Channels To Use For Your Business

When To Use Facebook For Your Business

     Every business should be on Facebook. Whether you are Vons Grocery Store or a drapery cleaner, you all should have a Facebook page. Why should your business be on Facebook? It boost the score of your SEO and the “Like” and “Share” buttons are viewed more than 22 billion times a day, not only on the network itself but across millions of websites worldwide! If you do not have one get one! If you don’t know how to get one? CLICK HERE Don’t know what to post on your business Facebook page? CLICK HERE

When To Use Twitter For Your Business

If you are trying to reach a broad audience that has been known to be receptive of marketing messages, Twitter is for you! Here you can post a short text of 140 characters, a photo or links to other websites. The posts on Twitter are short and concise. If you have lots to say and not a lot of time to do it in, then try twitter. Twitter is best used on your smartphone for the busy business owner. Check out our Twitter page for examples: @mgf_805

When To Use Google Plus For Your Business

Google Plus is main competitor of Facebook- or so they try to be. Google Plus is a great option for every business with a website. If you link your Google Plus profile to your website it acts as an SEO booster. Posting is optional, it does not effect your new SEO boost. Just remember to set up your profile completely before ditching it. Then post a link to your Google Plus profile on your website. TADA! Check out Google Business as well, you need it! Our Google Plus Profile & Our Google Business Page

When To Use LinkedIn For Your Business

Retail and leisure businesses (like a spa) do not thrive on this platform. You can set up a LinkedIn profile for your customers, but do not expect it to drive traffic. This social media platform is meant for technology services, public management experts, self-employed creatives and consultants. These types of businesses can actually benefit a lot from sustained activity on LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn Profile

When To Use Instagram For Your Business

Instagram is a social media platform for people and businesses that take a lot of interesting pictures. Whether you like to or not, some businesses really should use this platform. If you have something unique or interesting to sell, you will thrive on Instagram. Antique stores, boutiques or Antique Malls please snap some photos! Don’t forget to hashtag though. Our Instagram Page

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California’s Best Website Design

     My Girl Friday 805 Website Design & More is a budget friendly, full service internet marketing company based in Ventura, CA. We work with local businesses, international clients, and are specialists in the field of advertising, blog design, event planning, email marketing, forum design, google analytics, logo design, promotional merchandise design, promotional print design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, technical support, videography and WordPress website development & design.

We don’t just build a great website for your business, we also build it in mind for your customers.

  1. Over 90% of people searching the web are on mobile devices. We build your website on a desktop friendly platform and a mobile friendly platform. So no matter who is looking at your site , all they see is a beautifully organized website.
  2. Another thing that sets apart from all the other website design companies is that we employ search engine optimization tactics to the max. There is no other website design company that will do this. Most website design companies do not even know the first thing about search engine optimization. With My Girl Friday 805  Website Design & More you get a serious bargain, you’ll save thousands of dollars using us.
  3. Lastly, all customer traffic to your website is completely tracked using Google Analytics. Google analytics can track demographic information about your customers. Thus, you will gain valuable information about your customers to use on other marketing tools.

Competitors like Finfrock, Daybreak Web Design, OkVentura Web Design, The Final Code and Antigua Web Designs don’t even come close to our quality, price, range of services and speed.

My Girl Friday 805 knows you are overwhelmed, so we make working with us stress-free as humanly possible. Have your website up and running within a week. It only takes a quick phone interview to get started!

 

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Marketing | Small Business Born Because I Found A Wallet

Ventura Website Design

2015 was the year I graduated from California State University Channel Islands  (CSUCI). “Finding a job will be a breeze!” However, the truth would soon prevail. I took quite an undertaking trying to find employment that would suite me and my needs. Months go by and still nothing. Meanwhile, my dog Marley and I are volunteering at a local retirement home in Ventura, CA.

And then…

One day Marley and I were walking to our job. Marley loves to play in the leaves! She was jumping and making all the piles of leaves explode. Then I spot something. I get closer and realize it is a wallet. All of its contents had fallen out and scattered from all of Marley’s joyous jumping.

To keep it, or not to keep it…

After 30 minutes of scouring the area, I find a total of $300 in cash, 5 credit cards, AAA member card, AARP member card and a drivers license that read “Sal.” He lived in Ventura, CA too. He was nearly 90-years-old and this wallet is loaded with a small fortune. I thought to myself, “I better get this back to him as soon as possible!”

I rushed home…

Sal had a small sized card tucked in his wallet with a few names and phone numbers. Remember, I had his I.D. and just a few first names and phone numbers to the side of them. I called all 5 numbers and only one person answered. The man on the other end of the line was very careless of the situation, and come to find out I was speaking to Sal’s oldest son. Who would have known?

A few hours later…

I finally get in touch with Sal, who is hard of hearing, talking on a flip-phone on a bicycle. He couldn’t hear me give him my address- so I told him I would text him. Old people understand technology, like young people understand Morris Code.

I finally meet Sal…

A bright yellow & neon green man pulls up on a bicycle. I run out and handed him his wallet. He tells me that he must’ve lost his wallet earlier today when he was riding his bicycle to the Kimball Community Pool. Which made sense to me because of where I had found it.

Then things got weird…

He asked me if I wanted a reward, and I refused. I started walking towards the house and he shouts something and hands me all of the cash inside the wallet. I laughed and said, “I don’t need money, I need a job.” Then headed inside.

A few hours later…

You know that feeling when you just know someone is going to call you? I had this exact feeling for the whole rest of the day. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner when my phone rings. I answer it and Sal says, “Meet Chuck at Antiques Adventures 10:00 AM. Bring your resume.” “…okay!”

Things get even more weird…

The next morning I woke up chipper. I couldn’t believe the recent turn of events. When I walk into Antique Adventures, I feel instantly in love. It is an antique mall! “I love antiques! I’m going to spend all my paychecks here.” I also see a lot of potential marketing that can be done. The weird part of this story was that no one knew who Sal was. Nor did they know how Sal knew that they needed my marketing services. So I got the job and I went straight to work.

The creative Juices started to flow…

Here are the marketing tools I used:

  1. YouTube (The Antique Adventures Show): This YouTube channel showcased each vendor of the antique mall and their booth. These vendors went all out in decorating their space. Walking around this antique mall was not just like walking around a museum, but also like walking around a competition for interior designers. Customers of Antique Adventures would often pose for pictures in vendor booths.
    1. Videography Service
  2. Instagram & Facebook: This was a platform for many beautiful & silly photos taken at Antique Adventures. Likes & Followers were not hard to find. Within a week of starting the feeds on our social media platforms, we gained over 1600 Followers and a total of 100+ Likes. As the Marketing Specialist and Website Designer, I also used this marketing tool to engage our growing audience and to gain traffic on the floor.
    1. Social Media Management 
  3. SEO & WordPress Install (AntiqueAdventuresLLC.com): With this marketing tool, many others tagged along with it. WordPress is by the best website platform to build on. Not only did I design the site, I packed it full of SEO tools. SEO is the best marketing tool. It is also the slowest marketing tool.
    1. Search Engine Optimization
    2. WordPress Website Development & Design
  4. Event Planning (Memorial Day Weekend & 4TH of July): This was the best part of my job. I had finally convinced the President and the General Manager to throw a party! (of sorts.) We racked in over 30k in just 2 weeks and that didn’t even include the 80 vendor rents.
    1. Event Planning
  5. Email Marketing: Antique Adventures, a mall composed of 80 vendor booths and a small personal collection of antiques being sold by the owner- had a massive marketing tool staring them in the face. People. Not just any people, 80 people who also have feverish intentions for the antique mall to thrive. The vendors. 80 vendors. It is said that each person on  this planet has an average of 100 network connections. 80 vendors x 100 network connections= 8,000 strong, organic “Buzz.” That is what marketing is. Marketing is just “buzz.” A whole bunch of people communicating in various ways- about your company.
    1. Email Marketing 
  6. Promotional Merchandise Design: Antique Adventures gained quite a fan base. So, naturally we wanted to capitalize on that. I created and produced promotional merchandise branding the antique mall with all its glory. When people would purchase furniture or were interested, we would provide them with a tape measure that had our logo and phone number on it. Soon after “Free Stuff” was advertised on our favorite advertising platforms- customers would ask us about our tape measures as they were checking out. A few more things were designed and sold at the antique mall: T-shirts, Brochures, Mugs, Bottled Soda, Old-Fashioned Candy and a Photo Booth.
    1. Promotional Merchandise Design
    2. Promotional Print Design
  7. Logo Design: Chuck Ackerman used his Great Grandfather’s photo  to represent what he envisioned his antique mall to feel like. An old-fashioned adventure that the whole family can enjoy.
    1. Logo Design

Thanks For Reading!

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5 Accreditations & Memberships of My Girl Friday 805

5 Accreditations & Memberships of My Girl Friday 805

  1. Better Business Bureau (BBB)

  2. Google Business

  3. World Organization of Webmasters (WOW)

  4. International Web Association (IWA)

  5. The HTML Writers Guild 

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SEO: 7 Mind-Bottling Statistics

SEO: 7 Mind-Bottling Statistics

  1. 93% of an online users experience starts with a search engine such as google.
  2. 80.5% of the total search engine market shares belong to Google.
  3. 57% of B2B marketers claim that SEO (search engine optimization) generates more leads than any other marketing tool.
  4. 81% of people research a product through an online search before making a purchase.
  5. 47% of customers will review a companies portfolio before contacting that company.
  6. 72% of B2B marketers claim that creating content is the most effective tool when trying to boost SEO.
  7. 14.6% of leads from a search engine, such as Google will end in a purchase. However, only 1.7% of cold calling, direct mail or other means of marketing end in a purchase.

 

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