Andy Preisler says, “It’s tough to measure the ROI of your content. Sometimes, you’re not certain where a customer come from; other times, a customer visited your blog or social media page months ago and has just now come back to make a purchase. What you can measure for certain, however, is traffic and on-site conversions from that traffic, whether that conversion is a subscription to an email, is taking advantage of a free trial or is making an actual purchase. If you are getting these things in increasing numbers, then your ROI is looking pretty good. Unfortunately, many businesses... [...]

Murray Newlands says, “Social media is one of the easiest and most inexpensive ways to promote your brand within your target market, but you won’t have much of a reach on your own page. Building relationships with social media influencers is your answer — you can extend your reach and boost your visibility by creating relationships on social media with the right people. You probably already have a personal network built and know some of the people in your industry. But there is more to be done. Are you connected to the bloggers who write about your industry? People who have written... [...]

William Johnson says, “Marketing ideas are floating everywhere. Tips and tricks of social media lead generation are plenty across the web. There are also some great articles on it with a handful number of resources to motivate you to do a better job. However, that’s definitely not enough for a marketer when it comes to ensuring the maximum yield at minimum effort. A lead generation campaign through social media includes both creative as well as stereotype activities. Both of them stand equal in terms of importance, effort, and returns. Unless you automate lead generation mechanism and... [...]

Your site needs traffic, actually, it needs more traffic and better traffic (i.e., traffic likely to invest in your offers.) That traffic does exist; no doubt about it. You just need to find it. Abbas Ravji had the same problem, and he decided to do something about it. When he analyzed the situation, he realized that the sites on Google’s page 1 are getting the traffic he needs. If only he could find out how they get the traffic and steer some of that traffic to his site. The result of his investigation is his new plugin, Wp RankMe. This new WordPress plugin digs into the public information... [...]

Jim Yu says, “The search and content marketing world has undergone some major changes during 2015. The stage has been set for a shift away from producing content for its own sake. Instead, there is a trend towards the use of search and social data to guide content creation. This development will be a critical part of boosting engagement for brands and helping their content attract the desired audience. Although the content itself has a central role to play in the conversion of customers, the importance of the more technical side of search optimization should not be overlooked. The industry... [...]

Jennifer Cedorchuk says, “The sheer volume of sales you experience during the holiday season could put you in a very different situation during tax season next year. There are several considerations you’ll have to keep in mind, such as an increase in revenue, locations where you or other staff members work, and potential exemptions. These tips won’t make up for advice from an accountant, but these are some things to keep in mind when dealing with sales tax. Know Where You’re Selling There are so many different taxes you’ll be responsible for this holiday season, from federal all... [...]

Ryan Stewart says, “Earlier this year, Google rolled out the Related Questions feature (AKA “People Also Ask”). If you haven’t seen them yet, related questions appear in an expandable box, mixed in with organic results. Once expanded, a typical answer contains a machine-generated snippet, a link to the source website, and a link to the Google search for the question. How common are related questions? We started tracking Related Questions in late July on the MozCast 10K, where they originally appeared on roughly 1.3% of queries. Keep in mind that the MozCast set tends toward... [...]

Stefanie Flaxman says, “I’m good at math. If you looked at my standardized test results from when I was back in school, you’d see I scored very high in math and very low in verbal. And yet, today I’m a professional writer and editor. It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. Sort of. Your content needs to quickly communicate what your audience wants and needs, so my natural abilities are actually the perfect fit for content marketing. You probably possess some of these editing skills too, so let’s examine how you can use them to become a discerning content marketer“. Why Content Marketers... [...]

Olivia Dello Buono says, “From confirmation emails to connecting with customers, we’ve covered a lot of hot topics on the blog in 2015. So in light of the new year, we’re counting down the best of the best (as determined by your clicks, tweets and shares): 10. Quick Ideas for Emails You Can Send Today Bookmark this handy email cheat sheet, filled with quick ideas for emails you can send today. 9. How to Write an Autoresponder Email Series Autoresponder emails have a ton of time-saving and business-growing benefits… and yet 75 percent of businesses aren’t using them. Add a follow up... [...]

Matt Walker says, “Keeping abreast with what works in digital marketing can be a constant catch-up game. Fickle consumers jump from channel to channel. Google updates its search algorithm. Keeping up with Facebook’s monthly changes requires constant education. Because of all of this change, it can be hard to keep on top of which digital tactics still work — and which are no longer relevant. Read on to understand which digital-marketing tactics you should consider ditching in 2016. 1. Having a desktop-only accessible website The mobile website living separately from the desktop website... [...]