All posts by Bryan Mixon

JumpFly Reviews

Finding the right digital marketing agency can make the difference between a business reaching the next level or simply plowing on as it does currently. This is especially true for small and mid-size companies that typically don’t have huge budgets for advertising. JumpFly is one such agency that offers a variety of services that are designed to boost the presence and visibility of the companies they work with.

About JumpFly

JumpFly cofounders Brad Garlin and Mike Tatge incorporated the company — it’s actually the second company the pair founded together — in 2003. This step followed years of establishing strong connections and partnerships with leaders of the early pay-per-click (PPC) model with their first company, NetVentures.

Through hard work, resiliency and a commitment to fostering relationships with the industry’s major PPC vendors, JumpFly has honed their techniques so their clients benefit from their leadership. With access to support teams from key players like Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Bing, JumpFly’s clients — both large and small — enjoy the company’s unprecedented experience and access to the latest updates and changes.

Clients they worked with

JumpFly focuses on providing services to small- and mid-sized businesses. Their skillset is applicable to any industry and their diverse client list reflects this versatility. Below is a sampling of the companies they’ve worked with:

  • American College of Acupuncture
  • Battery Mart
  • Wedding Hashers
  • Answer Connect
  • Spicy Lingerie
  • Western Window Systems

Which type of clients they service

JumpFly services more than 400 clients on a month-to-month basis. This is because the company does not require a long-term contract.

More than 80 percent of JumpFly’s clients can be categorized as small or mid-sized businesses. The company tailors its services to meet the needs of its clients. As the result of this versatility, JumpFly works with businesses of all sizes.

Pricing of services

As mentioned previously, JumpFly tailors the services the company provides to its clients based on their unique needs. In order to obtain an accurate price for a particular client’s services, it’s best to contact JumpFly directly for a quote.

However, the following provides a rough guideline that businesses can use. JumpFly charges a one-time fee for each new client that is onboarded. This fee can range from $1,995 for small clients that are focused and need less time to over $2,995 for clients that require more research and time than the average business. For the average client, the fee is about $2,995.

Once the campaign has been launched, there is ongoing management that must be accomplished in order to maximize the client’s results. These fees are tied to the client’s monthly traffic budget.

For example, a client that has a monthly traffic budget of $1,500 pays a monthly management fee of $400. Not surprisingly, the monthly management fee increases as the client’s monthly traffic budget goes up. A client that has a budget between $15,000 and $20,000 for monthly traffic would pay a monthly management fee of $2,500. For budgets greater than $20,000, contact JumpFly for a quote.

Specialties

With a strong foundation in PPC management, JumpFly also provides a number of other, related specialty services. These are designed to target the ideal customer for that particular business and lead to a sale.

Using its proprietary software, JumpFly is able to watch a client’s campaigns 24/7. Other services the company offers include:

Why It’s Necessary

The digital landscape is where businesses level up and attain their goals in the modern economy. Large companies have generous budgets that allow them to fund in-house teams to manage their online presence and advertising campaigns.

Small and mid-size businesses, on the other hand, simply don’t have the funds to do so. Unfortunately, many of these companies try a do-it-yourself approach. While their intentions are good, small and medium-sized businesses often simply don’t have the time, employees, knowledge and other resources to do an effective job.

A common scenario involves the owner of the company attempting to take on the advertising campaign on their own. Through research — which takes up valuable time that could be focused on growing the company in ways that use their expertise more efficiently — the owner applies what they’ve learned in an effort to advertise the company. In other cases, an employee is saddled with this task.

Regardless of who is assigned the job, the result is often a haphazard approach to advertising that doesn’t tap into all of the most effective methods available today. Putting together an advertising campaign is actually just the first step of an ongoing process that must be continuously monitored and tweaked in order to get the most effective results.

Outsourcing this job to a professional digital media company offers exceptional benefits. JumpFly has a proven track record that establishes the company as a leader in a highly-competitive industry. Just like the owner of a small or medium-sized business, the team at JumpFly specializes in the tasks they execute every day. JumpFly is able to stay updated on the latest trends in the industry and apply them immediately to its clients’ campaigns.

Contracting with JumpFly gives a small or mid-sized business the freedom to focus its energies on what they know best. Meanwhile, JumpFly’s clients can rest assured that their advertising campaigns are in the capable hands of people who are as passionate about digital marketing as their clients are about their own businesses.

Benefits of Using JumpFly

JumpFly grew from its roots as a fledgling adopter of PPC marketing practices to one of the renowned marketing agencies in the industry today. Flexible, cutting edge and with a proven record of reinvention, JumpFly develops industry-leading campaigns that expand their clients’ opportunities.

From its earliest stages, JumpFly cultivated meaningful partnerships with the industry’s most influential brands. As a result, JumpFly has attained the following recognitions:

  • Google Premier Partner
  • Facebook Marketing Partner
  • Amazon Managed Partner
  • Facebook Blueprint Certified
  • Microsoft Select Agency Partner
  • TIkTok Program Partner

JumpFly is proud of its commitment to transparency. The company currently works with more than 400 companies on a month-to-month basis. JumpFly requires no long-term contracts that lock businesses into using their services.

In fact, JumpFly is confident in its ability to improve the results its clients see. The company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee so new clients can try its services risk-free.

JumpFly’s Proprietary Software

JumpFly developed a proprietary online ad management software that is as revolutionary as it is intelligent. Using innovative technology, the company’s software is able to perform more comparisons, actions and reviews in a single minute than the average human can execute during a typical eight-hour day. By using its powerful software, JumpFly offers its clients a significant and competitive advantage.

Using both human intelligence and artificial intelligence, JumpFly built its innovative system. The company’s advertising specialists worked closely with its technical team to create state-of-the-art software the taps into Amazon, Google, Facebook and Bing to identify potential trends, opportunities and concerns in advertising.

JumpFly uses its software in combination with the skilled hands-on management from their experienced and award-winning team. This approach provides the company’s clients with an unparalleled level of account monitoring, analysis and performance.

Because the JumpFly application provides ’round-the-clock insights and analysis, it is able to continuously monitor every aspect of its clients’ advertising campaign. Some of the aspects that it monitors include:

  • shopping feeds
  • results analyzation
  • landing page confirmation
  • budget monitoring
  • ads and keywords activation

In addition, this software is able to accomplish hundreds of other tasks so the client’s account manager can then take the appropriate action. Using this unique combination of both human and artificial intelligence, JumpFly is able to provide timely and actionable management of its clients’ success in advertising.

JumpFly Awards

JumpFly is an award-winning company that has a stellar reputation of integrity, transparency, honesty and professionalism. The company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Since 2005, JumpFly has been rated as “A+” and has zero complaints.

TopSEOs.com has independently ranked JumpFly as #1 out of thousands of companies the site has ranked. JumpFly has held this honor since 2008.

Reviews

JumpFly has numerous satisfied clients that extoll their services, attention to detail and professionalism. A few notable reviews from these clients are highlighted below:

“We have never been able to produce nearly as well as they have. They take the time to understand our business and goals to ensure we’re getting the best bang for our buck!” — Answer Connect

“Would give 10 stars if I could!” — Talaria Flats

“Their service is outstanding. I would recommend them to all my business peers.” — Pro Home Improvement

“Not only are they my favorite marketing agency, but they are also becoming like my family and true friends to me.” — Spicy Lingerie

“They have driven up our website visits and points of contacts by 300 percent during the first month.” — Western Window Systems

“They really care about their clients, these are good folks that have been doing it for a very long time. I can’t recommend them enough.” — MensDesignerShoe.com

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MuteSix Reviews

MuteSix bills itself as an ad agency that focuses on providing value-driven, full funnel services for its clients. An award-winning company, MuteSix uses data-driven analysis and creative, targeted media buying that supports client goals.

As pioneers in the brand response marketing space, this agency was chosen as the Best Creative Agency by DesignRush.com in 2018. MuteSix was also the National Winner of the American Advertising Awards that same year.

Compared to other agencies, MuteSix is recognized in more Facebook Success Stories. It was also listed on Inc. magazine’s 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2019, nabbing the number 15 slot. Also in 2019, MuteSix was listed in the first annual global ranking by Adweek. Securing the number 10 spot in the Adweek 100: Fastest Growing Agencies, MuteSix experienced a 770 percent jump in growth.

About MuteSix

Founded in 2014 by two entrepreneurs who knew they wanted to approach the ad industry in a different way than anyone else in the industry. Steve Weiss, CEO and founder, along with Daniel Rutberg, COO and founder, head a diverse, creative, passionate and highly-tenured team of 150+ talented individuals at the MuteSix headquarters in sunny Los Angeles, California.

MuteSix has been named in Inc. magazine’s best places to work and gives back to the community. For example, in 2020 MuteSix choose to support Wags & Walks, a non-profit rescue group dedicated to finding Los Angeles-shelter dogs their forever homes.

A Premier Google Partner, Shopify Plus partner and certified in Facebook Ads Blueprint, MuteSix has also been featured in Forbes, Facebook Business, Huffpost and more.

Clients MuteSix Has Worked With

MuteSix has worked with some of the biggest names on the planet including GNC, Condé Nast, Adidas, Ring and Quicken Loans. This agency doesn’t just work with established, household names, though.

It also helps up-and-coming brands get the results they need to scale. goPuff, an on-demand personal convenience store, and MeUndies, a popular underwear brand, are just two MuteSix clients that benefitted greatly from the agency’s ultra-personalized services.

Types of Clients MuteSix Serves

MuteSix delivers its innovative creative marketing, digital strategies and video production services to a wide swath of both B2B and B2C industries. These include diverse sectors such as sports, financial services, e-commerce, luxury, retail, non-profit, technology, publishing and more.

Specialties

Understanding that its clients need a multi-prong approach to marketing that harnesses the power of the digital landscape and utilizes cutting-edge data, MuteSix offers a wide range of evolving specialties. These include Creative Studio, conversion rate optimization, influencer marketing management as well as those listed below:

Amazon Management

With about half of all product searches beginning with Amazon, brands need to stay ahead of their competition and maximize their Amazon visibility to meet their sales growth goals. Working with MuteSix ensures that the agency’s many years of proven growth and experience with Amazon’s reps is funneled to their clients.

Facebook and Instagram Advertising

Arguably the two most influential social media companies in the world, harnessing the power of Facebook and Instagram advertising is crucial to the success and growth of today’s companies — large and small. Utilizing big data, psychological drivers and other proven strategies, Mutesix develops a persona-driven and client-centric strategy that fosters deep connections and understanding that clients need with their customers.

Google and Youtube Advertising

Mutesix understands the drivers behind retail due to its deep and robust insight and experience. Driving return on investment (ROI) with a series of precise advertising campaigns that use a scientific approach perfected as a Google Premier Partner, Mutesix identifies, attracts and converts customers for its clients.

StudioSix

StudiosSix is the in-house video production team at Mutesix. Because this sector is located right within the Mutesix team, the agency’s clients have instant access to professional-grade video services that are held to the exacting standards that MuteSix is proud of.

The quality, detail and precision that is evident in the videos MuteSix produces is unparalleled. It’s this quality that prompts so many of their clients to mention the MuteSix video production skills in their reviews.

Email and Messenger Marketing

MuteSix realizes that context is what matters in today’s busy and fast-paced world that includes cluttered inboxes. That being said, email is understood to be a brand’s single largest driver of revenue. Understanding how to create campaigns that hook a customer and prompt them to click-through are the key to harnessing the power of email.

MuteSix uses an approach that is driven by context with ROI as the ultimate goal. Psychological drivers partner with a deep understanding of each brand’s customers — factors that MuteSix leverages to get its clients’ customers to open emails, click through and make that crucial purchase to complete the sales loop.

Messengers campaigns that are high-performing use the same strategy to bring their clients the success they need to scale, grow and expand to meet their goals.

MuteSix Reviews

MuteSix has five stars on its Facebook page, as well as on Yelp and Google Reviews. Many reviewers lauded the agency’s team for its talent, knowledge and skills in areas such as video production and Facebook ads.

In addition, MuteSix was noted as being easy to work with. Each client receives access to a dedicated campaign manager who heads a full team that handles optimization, creatives and targeting. With access to the campaign team 24/7 and the ability to be as involved or as hands-off as the client desires, MuteSix possesses the flexibility to work with a range of clients.

Dan King, director of marketing for MeUndies, noted in a typical review that the brand uses both Instagram and Facebook to build connections with current customers as well as acquire new ones. With plans to continue using social media to spearhead their aggressive goals for customer acquisition, founder of MeUndies, Jonathan Shokrian, noted that MuteSix has been instrumental in helping the brand scale their channel, hone its strategy and assist with attribution.

Daniel Snow, co-founder of The Snow Agency and GOATcase, a brand of premium phone accessories, gave MuteSix a five-star review on the agency’s Facebook page. He noted that the agency is transparent, communicative and efficient. Additionally, he highly recommended the Mutesix team to brands who want to outsource their marketing strategy.

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When Is the Best Time to Post on Facebook

You’ve created a brilliant content strategy that has great posts to share on social media. It’s full of compelling tidbits, news, information and high-value posts that will attract new customers and bring existing customers back.

Now the question is: When should you post the content on Facebook?

Why Does Facebook Post Timing Matter?

Analysts are constantly trying to discern the algorithms Facebook uses for content sharing on one’s stream. If you’re not using paid advertising on Facebook, then it can become a bit of a guessing game to determine when to put your content out in the open.

Facebook does appear to favor posts by friends and family, making it more challenging for organic business posts to be seen. One study of 43 million posts by the top 20,000 brands found that there had been a 50 percent drop in engagement (measured in likes, shares, comments and reactions) from the start of 2017 to the middle of 2018.

With more than 80 million business pages on the platform, that’s a lot of noise to fight against to get your content seen.

What can you do to determine the best time to post on Facebook? Part of the challenge is the various recommendations afloat on the web. Consider the various time recommendations below:

  • 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday (Sprout Social)
  • 9 a.m., 11 a.m. to 12 noon with Thursday and Sunday the best days (HubSpot)
  • 8 p.m. on Thursday (TrackMaven)

Here’s a closer look at the logic behind the selected dates for several of the studies noted above.

Sprout Social. While the Wednesday times were among the most optimal, there are other factors. Broadly, the most regular engagement occurs Tuesdays to Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with much lower engagement on the weekends, before 7 a.m. and after 5 p.m.

HubSpot. The early morning and midday times are when people first arrive in the office or are about to break for lunch.

What Are the Suggested Best Times by Sector?

Many of these studies break down the optimal times by industry or demographic. Here’s a look at some sector breakdowns.

Best Times to Post on Facebook for B2C

According to CoSchedule, the best times to post are when workers typically have breaks or are at the end of their day – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., 11 a.m. to 12 noon and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sprout Social recommends posting on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and Friday at 11 a.m.

Best Times to Post on Facebook for B2B

CoSchedule recommends posting at 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Here are some of the best times for specific industries, according to Sprout Social:

  • Education: Wednesday at 9 a.m. or Saturday at 5 p.m.
  • Finance: Wednesday at 12 noon
  • Healthcare: Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 12 noon
  • Media: Tuesday through Thursday at 9 a.m. or Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
  • Nonprofits: Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.
  • Recreation: Tuesday at 2 p.m., Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 11 a.m.
  • Technology: Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon

What Is Facebook Audience Insights?

Facebook offers users a powerful tool to use in determining the right time to post. Audience Insights is a free tool to provide you actionable intelligence about your audience, prospects or all of Facebook. It is typically used to target ad buys on the platform, but can also be used to understand better when to launch content.

You can select from three options for audience – everyone on Facebook, people connected to your page or a custom audience. You can also set various demographic criteria, including age, gender, location, language, relationships, education, market segments and interests.

One of the best features of Facebook Audience Insights is its Relevance and Affinity measures. Relevance shows you the Facebook pages relevant to your chosen audience based on page size, affinity and people in your audience who already like a page. The Affinity measure indicates how likely an audience is to like a page compared to the entirety of Facebook users.

There’s also Facebook Insights, which can give you information about your posts. You access the feature at the top of your Business page. You can look when your page’s fans are online and which of your posts are the most successful.

What Social Media Platforms Can My Business Use to Manage Facebook Posts?

There are plenty of options for businesses looking to automate your Facebook posting calendar. Each of these platforms allows you to schedule times, provides analysis and metrics, and simplifies your content management strategy. Here is a look at a few of the most popular:

  • Buffer. Buffer automates your social posting by adding content to a queue. The tool posts at times you predetermine. The paid version of the service includes analytics.
  • Hootsuite. One of the oldest social media management platforms, Hootsuite includes scheduling options and content curation, allowing you to tag and search for content to use across media and streams while managing usage across teams. The tool also tracks social conversations about your content.
  • Loomly. Started in 2015, this site offers automated publishing, collaboration tools and multi-account management. It simplifies workflows and provides more structure via a strong social media calendaring solution.
  • PromoRepublic. This tool will recommend a posting schedule and suggest content for each social media platform using an artificial intelligence tool that analyzes your audience’s engagement patterns.

How Can I Determine the Best Times to Post on Facebook?

There is clearly no one definitive answer on when to post to Facebook. The optimal time depends on the audience you’re seeking to attract and engage, the content you’re using and the industry you’re in.

Here are a couple of recommendations.

1. Use the Data to Inform Your Decisions

Facebook data and information you glean from a posting platform are plentiful. It’s best to understand your own audience demographics and how your content performs to inform future posting times.

2. Timing Is Everything. Relevance Matters

Sports teams don’t wait to post boxscores. News outlets share breaking news as fast as possible.

You will likely be guided by when you think it’s most relevant. Some content only matters when it’s posted in a timely manner. New product announcements, sales, timing with ad campaigns in other media all should inform when you post. Don’t be afraid to experiment and track the results … giving you more data.

Facebook is a powerful medium, enabling your business to attract customers, fans and followers. Using insights, data and tools can give your business the intel to help create and schedule content to have the greatest impact.

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When Is The Best Time To Post On Instagram

It’s not just your imagination: There’s a pattern behind why some of your Instagram posts get better social media engagement than others, regardless of how hard you worked on them.

Experts have analyzed the science of why some posts seem to reap more than their fair share of clicked-on links, likes, shares, comments, new followers, active fans — and most importantly, results.

Like so much in life, it all comes down to timing. Let’s take a look at which times of day, and which days of the week, tend to have the highest rates of social engagement, and what variations exist within various industries. For consistency’s sake, we’re using Eastern Standard Time (EST) as our frame of reference, so adjust accordingly for your own time zone.

Best (and Worst) All-Around Posting Times

Wednesday is the best day overall when it comes to most-viewed Instagram posts, according to data compiled by the social media management platform Sprout Social. That’s factoring in all brands, influencer personalities, and smaller-scale, individual accounts. Specifically, Wednesdays at noon finds the highest spike of activity on Instagram.

The second most-successful posting time for Instagram users overall is noon to 1 p.m. on Fridays. In general, weekdays between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. are good days and times in which to post to the ‘gram. (Probably not a coincidence that these are the times when so many people are chained to their desks at work!)

Before 7 a.m. and after 10 p.m. are the times in which you are least likely to find social engagement, as well as all day Sunday.

Keep in mind, however, that these figures represent all Instagram users. Within that broad audience are categories that have different social media habits. If you have a specific brand identity, it’s important to delve a little deeper to find if the “best all around” periods of engagement on Instagram is the guideline you should be consulting.

Although one might think that weekends are a no-brainer for people to be hitting social media, there’s a difference between idly surfing the ‘gram,  vs. actually interacting with brands, business services, non-profits, and so forth.

In other words, while your ideal customer might be dreaming of visiting your area over the weekend, she won’t actually be in hotel-booking mode on a lazy Sunday. In fact, the least-successful day to post when it comes to social engagement are Sundays, virtually across the board.

Variations by Industry

If you’re running the social media for a business — or are catering to consumers of specific industries — one size does not fit all when it comes to when to post on Instagram.

Travel and Recreation

The hospitality and recreation businesses are often operating on a slim profit margin, which means that every post counts. That’s true whether you’re operating a resort halfway around the world from your target customers, own a local eatery, or manage a water park.

For the recreation industry, around 2 p.m. is best, with Wednesday and Thursday posts seeming to perform most successfully. (This is probably not surprising, since a midweek “pick me up” post involving a special trip or weekend paddleboard rental can really help office workers make it through the rest of the day!)

As with most other types of industries, Sundays offer the least successful social engagement opportunities on Instagram for the recreation industry. If your own timetable doesn’t make a midday, mid-week posting time realistic (especially if you’re in a different time zone), split the difference by avoiding early morning or late night posts, which have the least amount of social engagement for the industry.

Nonprofits

It’s not enough to simply represent a good cause. It’s also important to find new ways to help current and potential donors and volunteers see why the need is urgent for your nonprofit organization. For example, using Instagram to present success stories is another way to balance the grim need with the positive results that can happen and you can hire an Instagram Advertising Agency.

So, what’s the best time to make an impact on Instagram for your nonprofit? Midweek is best, while Sundays are the least effective times for social engagement for charitable organizations. From about 2 to 4 p.m. are the best times to post, especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Retail Sales

If you’re promoting consumer goods, Instagram presents the perfect way to tell a good story. That’s what makes the difference between “content” and “compelling content.” Rather than simply post a photo and description of the products you’re promoting, help your audience picture themselves using them. Work with influencer partners as well as your own in-house art department to coordinate fun, eye-catching and informative posts.

Whether it’s a flirty dress, container plants for the front porch, or a sleek new drill set, photos and engaging text help would-be customers see how your product will improve their lifestyle. Strike a balance between people who already follow you because they love your brand or store, and those who came across your post  by searching for “#sundress” or “potted begonias.”

In general, the best time to post for consumer goods is Wednesday at about 4 p.m. As with other industries, Sundays remain the days in which posts receive the least amount of commercial engagements when it comes to consumer goods. But, as usual, make sure to track sales and inquiries over a period of several months, because your business might actually do well with Sunday browsers.

Don’t Ignore Your Own Common Sense

If your Instagram caters to a specific audience, following the social engagement trends blindly may do your account more harm than good. If you’re a brand or retail outlet that caters to musicians, for example, they may still be sleeping at 2 p.m.!

Experiment to determine which times and days get the best responses. It may be at 2 a.m., when those hypothetical band members are still winding down from gigs — or in the evening, when they’re killing time before it’s time to hit the stage.

Likewise, a crafting-oriented audience may be looking for ideas before the rest of the family wakes up, making early morning the most likely time you’ll get the kind of social engagement you’re looking for from your niche audience.

As with many marketing initiatives, generalized data shouldn’t supersede your own expectations. Many social media accounts are continually surprised by the actual active hours of their target audience, as well as the types of posts which get the most attention. Rather than seizing on what you’ve gleaned after a few posts, take the time to look for longer-term trends — say, after a month or so, as well as after conducting a quarterly and yearly analysis.

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How To Become An Influencer

In a short time, influencer marketing boomed from a fringe market into a multi-billion-dollar industry. Even though obtaining visibility on social sites has also grown more challenging, new social media stars still appear regularly. Influencers gain their popularity because they can deliver stories that engages audiences. That’s exactly the sort of content that businesses want to represent their own brands. If you believe that you’ve got stories to tell, you can set goals and make a plan to establish yourself as an online authority.

Become an Online Influencer in Seven Steps

With your goals in mind, you can include these seven action steps in your plan to develop yourself into an influencer:

1. Pick a Niche

You need to select a niche that truly interests you. If you plan to succeed, you’ll need to stick with this niche for a long time. If you want to radiate authenticity, you need to find topics that keeps you engaged. Of course, most people have several interests. If you need to choose, you might start with the kinds of topics that are likely to be the most popular and profitable. Later, once you establish yourself in a good niche, you can always use your platform to branch out as you see fit.

2. Optimize Social Site Profiles and Platforms

Once you’ve decided upon your chosen niche, you should figure out which social sites will give you the best chance to grow your audience quickly. Sometimes, you’ll have better results if you establish yourself on one or two social marketing platforms before you branch out much to others. You should research typical social site’s typical audiences.

For instance, LinkedIn works well for professional and B2B marketing while Pinterest captures the attention of shoppers and homemakers. You can uncover plenty of marketing statistics about the larger social sites. On the other hand, you might just check out your competition to see where they’re thriving. On the other hand, some influencers say they make more affiliate revenue on some sites and more advertising revenue on others. Your platform choice may also depend upon your main business model.

3. Understand Your Audience

You should probably spend some time researching your potential audience before you commit to various social platforms. If you’ve chosen a niche market that you’re interested in, you may already have some understanding of your potential audience members already. Before you produce any content to serve to this audience, you should make certain that your understanding of your audience lines up with the current reality.

To get started, you might rely upon a couple of good tools that can help spark your own inspiration:

  • BuzzSumo: This tool will give you good information about the most popular content for given topics and keywords. Because of this, it can also show you the most powerful influencers in your niche. You might view these influencers as competition, but you may serve yourself better if you can connect and cooperate with them. Remember that a rising tide lifts all boats.
  • Google Trends: Google’s free tool will show you what people search for on this major search engine. For instance, let’s say you’re interested in T-shirts. A quick search will tell you that the popularity of that term has waned somewhat over the past year. On the other hand, the popularity of Kobe Bryant T-shirts has increased.

4. Create and Post High-Quality Content

Naturally, you will want to develop yourself as an influencer by establishing your own unique brand. At first, you might try riding on the coattails of established influencers in order to gain visibility. In fact, you might consider current influencers in your niche and figure out how you could add additional value to their work. Then create that value and reach out to them and let them know about it. Also, don’t be shy about adding a helpful description and link to your content in their own comments section, where their audience will see you.

Of course, the kind of content you develop may depend upon your platform, niche, and preferences. For instance, you may want to develop shorter videos for Facebook than you would for YouTube, based upon typical engagement times for people on either platform. In addition, you should look for an angle that’s likely to generate interest.

For instance, one video influencer promotes his historical-artifact shop with period-specific cooking videos. He started with period-battle reenactments and almost accidentally discovered that people liked the cooking videos more. You should develop content to support your clearly designed goals and then make sure you know how you can measure performance.

5. Keep a Consistent Content Schedule

If you want to name one trait of most successful influencers, that would be consistency. You can use tools like HootSuite and Buffer to automate your posting schedule; still, producing a steady stream of content can challenge new influencers. Still, your consistent schedule will help you draw an audience and give you data you can use to measure your success. If certain angles or social sites have proven more successful than others, you will know how to adjust your content plan.

6. Engage With Your Audience

It’s worth mentioning that the entire point of social platforms is to encourage sociability. You don’t need to reply to every comment; however, you should always try to reply to sincere questions and relevant observations. If other influencers stop by to comment on your content, even if it’s plainly just to drop a link, see if you can reach out to build a relationship with them.

7. Let Brands Know That You’re Open to Working With Them

Sometimes, the easiest way to begin earning income by promoting brands is to join an affiliate program. For instance, you might use a particular product in a demonstration and let your audience know that they can purchase it by following the affiliate link in your profile. If that’s not an option, reach out directly to companies that you could feature to introduce them to your social platforms and ask for sponsorships. You can also connect with brand representatives online through platforms like LinkedIn. Once you grow your audience, you’ll probably find that companies will start to come to you with offers.

The Advantages of Developing Yourself as an Influencer

Establishing yourself as an influencer takes effort. In turn, you could gain fame, help worthy causes, promote quality businesses, and sometimes, even get rich. Whatever your own goals, document them in order to develop the strategy to make it happen.

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How To Delete Instagram Account

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today; however, not everyone has fallen in love with the video and picture-sharing platform. There are several reasons why people might not enjoy using Instagram. For some, it might be the amount of time they spend scrolling through pictures and videos. This might impact their ability to be productive. Other people might not like the drive to compete with other people to post the best images. Regardless, there are people who are looking to delete or deactivate their Instagram accounts.

There are several ways for people to close down their accounts on Instagram. It is important to do this carefully to make sure their data is protected appropriately. Some people might want to delete their accounts for good while others might want to suspend their profiles temporarily while preserving everything they have posted. With this in mind, there are a few common questions that people would like to have answered.

Should You Delete or Deactivate Your Instagram Account?

The answer to this question is personal as different people approach their Instagram profiles in various ways. To answer this question, it is important to take a look at why someone might want to delete or deactivate their account on Instagram.

First, some people do not like the amount of time they spend on the app. There are also some users reporting that they are seeing a lot of ads on the Instagram platform as well. We know that there are Instagram advertising agencies that just target users on Instagram,  Some people spend inordinate amounts of time cropping and styling every image and video they post. Other people spend too much time scrolling through people’s stories looking for that perfect picture or image. For those who want to get rid of the distraction, it might be a good idea to deactivate the account. The major advantage of deleting an account on Instagram is that there is going to be an opportunity to return to the profile in the future. Sometimes, people suffer a change of heart and want to return to Instagram. In this case, deactivation will preserve this opportunity.

On the other hand, some people want to delete their profiles entirely. In some cases, people are the victims of cyberbullying and do not want to return to the world of social media down the road. Other people might have had their data stolen. Finally, some people might run an Instagram profile for a business and that company has shut down. Regardless, there are situations where it is preferable to completely delete and close the account rather than deactivate it.

How to Temporarily Deactivate Your Instagram Account

If someone has decided to disable or deactivate an Instagram account, this will hide likes, comments, photos, videos, and the profile from view. The account still exists on a backup server so deactivation will not purge the profile. The account will wait patiently for the user to return. It might even be tempting. In order to deactivate an Instagram account, there are a few steps to follow.

  • First, log in to Instagram via a web browser. Do not log in on the app as deactivation cannot be completed through the mobile app.
  • After this, click on the person icon in the top right corner of the screen.
  • Then, select the “edit profile” option from the menu.
  • After this, scroll down and click on the option that is labeled “temporarily disable my account.” This option is located in the bottom right portion of the screen.
  • Once this option has been selected, Instagram will ask for a reason why the account is being suspended.
  • After this question is answered, Instagram will ask for a password to verify the identity of the person using the profile.
  • Finally, Instagram will allow the account to be disabled temporarily

It will be important to store the username and password of the Instagram profile just in case the account should be reactivated in the future.

How to Permanently Delete Your Instagram Account

If you decide to delete the Instagram account permanently, keep in mind that you are going to lose all of your content on your profile. This includes photos, videos, friends, followers, and more. This means that if you decide to return to Instagram down the road, you will have to start from scratch.

Before you delete your Instagram account, make sure that all of your photos and videos have been copied to another location. Once you delete your account, you will not be able to retrieve them from Instagram. Furthermore, if you decide to return to Instagram, you will need to pick a new username. Your old username will already have been taken.

  • If you want to permanently delete your Instagram account, you will need to login to a web browser. You cannot use the mobile app.
  • Access the “your account page.”
  • From this page, you can select the “delete your account” option.
  • Again, Instagram will ask you why you are deleting your account. You will need to select an option to move forward.
  • After this, you will have to enter your password once again to verify your identity.
  • Instagram will make you think about it one more time. Then, you will be able to permanently delete your account.

Remember that after this process is done, your account will be purged from Instagram. You will not be able to access it in the future. This is why you should store your photos and videos somewhere else if you want to use them for another purpose down the road.

How to Reactive Your Instagram Account

If you decided to deactivate your Instagram account, you may want to reactivate it later. Perhaps you were too busy in the past or maybe you just wanted to take a break. When you reactivate your account, you will be able to pick up where you left off. In order to reactivate your Instagram account, you will need to log in with your old username and password. When you log in, Instagram will ask you if you want to reactivate your account. Select the appropriate choice and your account should appear exactly as you left it. All of your photos and videos should be there; however, a few of your followers might have deserted you during your hiatus.

How to Access or Review Your Data on Instagram

There has been a lot of attention paid to the storage of personal data on social media profiles. There have been numerous scandals related to people’s personal data being stored for business use. Instagram is sensitive to this and has made it easy for people to review their data. How you are going to access and review your own data is dependent on what server you are using.

If you are using Instagram via the web, start by going to your profile. Then, select the settings icon. From there you can select the “privacy and security” option. Finally, scroll down to the “account data” option and view your data from there. You should be able to see everything Instagram has related to your account.

In the mobile app, the process is similar. Go to your profile first. Then, select the icon that has three horizontal bars. From there, you can access settings and then the “security/account data” option. Finally, click on the “view all” option to take a look at your account and data.

It is important for people to review their data on a regular basis. They should make sure that all of their information is correct while changing or removing things that might be inaccurate or that they don’t want to be stored on the social media platform.

How to Download Your Instagram Pictures and Account Details

Before you decide to delete or deactivate your Instagram account, you should download all of your data first. In order to do this, you need to follow a few steps. If you are using the web browser version of Instagram:

  • Go to your profile and select the Settings icon
  • After this, click on “Privacy and security”
  • Next, scroll down to the “data download” option and click on “request download”
  • Instagram will then ask for your email address and Instagram password
  • Be sure you enter the same email address that you want to use to retrieve your data
  • Shortly, Instagram will send you an email with a link to your data
  • Click on the “download data” link and follow the instructions provided

If you are using the mobile app version of Instagram:

  • First, click on the three horizontal bars to bring up the menu from your profile
  • After this, click on the “settings” icon
  • Again, scroll to the “security” section
  • Select the “download data” option
  • Finally, enter your email address and click the “request download” option
  • Instagram will ask you for your email and password before they send you a link to the email address you entered above
  • Once the link arrives, click on it and follow the instructions to retrieve your data

It may take up to two days for Instagram to send you a link to download your data. Be patient and give them 48 hours before repeating the process in search of another link.

Deleting or Deactivating Your Instagram Profile and Account

This is a brief overview of the various options when it comes to deleting and deactivating your Instagram account. Prior to taking any of these measures, make sure to protect your data by downloading your photos and videos somewhere else. Furthermore, be sure to think about whether deletion or deactivation is best. While there are numerous advantages of Instagram, there are also some downsides to the platform as well. Anyone who is thinking about deleting or deactivating their account should take a look at the helpful information listed above.

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Best Digital Marketing Podcasts

Whether you’re looking to launch a brand new business or you’re hoping to grow your already successful firm even more, great marketing is key. One of the best ways to learn from the experts is to listen to a podcast while you’re commuting, working or relaxing. We’ve rounded up ten of the top digital marketing podcasts out there today for you. Make sure you check these out and find a new (and often quite entertaining) digital marketing informational resource.

Best Digital Marketing Podcasts

  1. Digital Marketing Fastlane – This podcast isn’t afraid to “get real” to help you achieve real results. Hosted by Kevin Urrutia who is also the CEO of Voy Media and is Facebook Ads Agency, Digital Marketing Fastlane offers proven strategies and real success stories that are useful for both new marketers and those who are a bit more experienced in the game. These quick podcasts do not bog you down with useless information, but instead get to the meat of the matter quickly so that you can learn what it takes to succeed in today’s competitive digital marketplace. Plus, they are a fun listen too!
  2. Duct Tape Marketing – If you’ve spent any time looking at podcasts in this area, you’ve probably come across this one. As a podcast that has been around for more than a decade, this one has a proven track record of success. You’ll enjoy the guest appearances from popular marketing gurus and helpful advice that is specifically targeted to beginning and novice marketers. This podcast covers a wide range of topics that are useful to nearly any marketer, however.
  3. AskGaryVee – One of the few digital marketers that has transcended the marketing world into the public eye, Gary Vee is almost a household name. The AskGaryVee podcast is an interesting and entertaining look at the world behind the motivational speaker and digital marketing guru. This podcast does go “off the rails” at times, but there is so much great information that it is well worth a listen, and it is lots of fun too.
  4. Mad Marketing podcast  – This podcast, hosted by Marcus Sheridan, who is a partner of HubSpot, focuses on SEO and content marketing. Based on his affiliation with HubSpot, that only makes sense. Marcus is an entertaining guy, and the show is straightforward to listen to as he is very high energy and adds plenty of personal stories to the mix. You may get started on this show for its entertainment value, but you’ll be hooked by the excellent knowledge he brings to the table.
  5. Social Media Examiner – This is a big one if you are interested in the social media side of things at all. Social Media Examiner runs a website and hosts, on average, two podcasts per week that are chock full of information on how to take advantage of everything social media has to offer today. Hosted by Michael Stelzner, anyone who wants to grow their presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other platforms can’t miss this podcast.
  6. Smart Passive Income – Pat Flynn has hosted the Smart Passive Income podcast for several years now. While it may have less to do with straight digital marketing, it is a great source for inspiration as he is a wonderful source for success stories, many involving digital marketing in one way or another. Plus, almost every episode has a few “hidden” digital marketing tips scattered in among the success stories, so it is worth a listen just for that.
  7. Marketing Scoop – Marketing Scoop is a straight news podcast focusing on what is new and hot in the world of digital marketing. If you are worried about being the last to know about what’s happening in the marketing world, adding this to your playlist is certainly recommended. Hosted by the same people who bring you SEMRush, you’ll not only hear the news you need to stay ahead of the game, you will get interviews from some of the big names in the business too, so even the older episodes are worth a listen!
  8. ProBlogger Podcast – Based off the successful blog of the same name, this podcast is for bloggers who are looking to scale-up in the business. The host, Darren Rowse has been blogging since 2004 and shares all his knowledge on how to succeed. With over 270 episodes already in the archives, there is plenty of older content available to listen to if you’re hoping to use blogging as a way to increase engagement, grow traffic and market your company or your brand to an even larger audience.
  9. Online Marketing Made Easy – More so than any other podcast, the episodes of Online Marketing Made Easy that are hosted by Amy Porterfield feel like they are mini classes. Not only does she teach you lessons on how to market your business and grow your audience but at the end of every episode, she gives you an assignment on how you can take action and make a change right away. If you’re looking for something to truly motivate you to make changes right away, the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast could be just what you’ve been looking for.
  10. Marketing Over Coffee – For a more relaxed approach to marketing, why not try marketing over coffee? This is a “coffee talk” so to speak about the marketing topics that matter most to you. Hosted by Christopher Penn and John Wall, you’ll learn plenty without feeling bogged down. They want you to see that marketing really does have a lighter side, even as you’re learning more about how to grow your business.

Technology has made it easier than ever to learn from experts and in turn, grow your business. With all of these podcasts, you have access to some of the greatest minds in digital marketing today–that you can listen to 24 hours a day! Take advantage and you’re sure to advance your knowledge of digital marketing so that you can achieve amazing things.

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How to Create a Multi-Language WordPress Site

Your website is one of the essential elements of your digital marketing strategy. You use it to inform people about your business or brand and to convince them into becoming your customers. Building your website with WordPress comes with a lot of benefits. One of those benefits is that you can easily create a multi-language site.

Having your website translated into multiple languages is a huge business advantage. It’ll help you reach a wider audience, become more dominant in foreign markets, and improve organic traffic. All you have to do is learn how to translate your WordPress site into other languages.

WordPress doesn’t have the translation feature, so you have to use plugins or other techniques to translate your website. But, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.

Here’s how to create a multi-language WordPress site.

1. Human Translation

The first option you need to consider is translating your site by using human translations.

The advantage of human translation over machine translation is the following:

  • better quality of the translation
  • no literal translations
  • adaptation of the content to suit the target language

Naturally, if you don’t speak the target language yourself, you’ll have to hire a professional translator. Still, if you have the resources to do it, we highly recommend that you do.

Apart from translating the content of your website, you’ll also need to add different language options to your website.  You can use the different plugins to help you out.

Polylang

Polylang is a great option for incorporating translations into your website and making it multilingual.

After installing the plugin, visit Settings and choose Languages to configure it. Within the Language settings, you’ll be able to:

  • add different target languages you want to use on your website
  • translate site title
  • translate site description
  • chose date and time format
  • choose the default language

Once you finish with the settings, you’ll be able to add posts on different languages. All you have to do is:

  • select a language
  • create a post
  • add different translations to different posts

So, the plugin doesn’t automatically translate your content and human translation is required. Still, it enables you to make the translations visible and smoothly incorporated into your website.

WPML

The WPML plugin is one of the best known, and most widely used WordPress multilingual plugins. It’s a premium plugin, which means it’s paid.

There are three options:

  • Multilingual Blog, $29
  • Multilingual CMS, $79
  • Multilingual Agency, $159

The plugin offers full-time technical support and a 30 days money-back guarantee.

Here’s what the plugin offers and what makes it one of the best plugins for turning your site multilingual:

  • over 40 languages
  • adding your language variants
  • translate every element of your website
  • compatible with other WordPress plugins
  • supports most WordPress themes
  • ordinary WordPress users can be assigned as translators
  • offers professional translators
  • set translation deadlines
  • media translation

So, the plugin is perfect for making everything ready for adding translations. Still, it doesn’t translate the content itself.

You have to translate the content or hire someone to do it for you. You can consider an online translation service such as Pick Writers.

Also, you can turn to machine translations and then paste the content to your dashboard.

But, there are plugins that offer automatic machine translations. Let’s take a look.

2. Automatic Translation

If you’re looking for an easier way to turn your website into a multilingual one, there are WordPress plugins that can help you out.

Weglot

Weglot is one of the best multilingual plugins available today.

It’s simple to use and it turns your website into a multilingual one in just a few minutes. Here’s how to use it:

  • install and activate the plugin
  • set the original and destinations languages
  • translate

A language selection bar will be available at the corner of your website. People will be able to choose which language they prefer to read in.

Naturally, you can edit your translations to make sure everything is just the way you want it to be. You’ll be redirected to your Weglot account. You’ll be able to use a Dashboard with all your translations.

Here’s a couple of more Weglot features that might pleasantly surprise you:

  • no coding needed
  • delivers clean source code
  • indexed by Googe
  • customizable language button

Weglot is a simple plugin that can turn your site multilingual n just a few clicks. It allows you to edit the translated content and revise it all in a single dashboard.

Google Language Translator

Google Language Translator is another machine translation plugin that enables you to turn your website multilingual.

While most of the essential features are free, there’s the advanced paid version which comes with additional useful features.

The free version offers automatic translation of posts, pages, tags, widgets, etc. The paid version comes with additional great features such as:

  • SEO indexing
  • URLs translation
  • manual translation correction
  • translating metadata

  • live chat support

This plugin can be a good addition to your digital marketing strategy, and help you expand your reach with translations.

However, be careful, since not all translations make sense and sometimes can be of poor quality.

Let’s Rewind

As you can see you have two options when it comes to turning your site multilingual.

If you have the knowledge or the resources for human translation, it’s a better option since it will provide accurate, adapted, and adjusted translations.

If you don’t speak the language and don’t have the resources for hiring translators, go for the machine translations.

There’s a plugin for each purpose, so you won’t have to go through too much trouble.

Final Thoughts

A multilingual website is inviting and welcoming to a wider audience. It helps you expand your target audience and reach out to them with confidence. It’s a valuable part of your digital marketing strategy.

Use the advice above to select the option that suits you the best. Turn your website into a multilingual one and you’ll see it was worth the effort.

Author
At a relatively young age, Donald Fomby has already amassed impressive experience as a freelance writer. Donald studied Computer Science at Texas A&M. He has a passion for technology, social media and travel.

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Content Marketing vs. Link Building: Which Should SEOs Focus On?

Whether you run your own blog, eCommerce platform or business website, brand advertisement is a constantly looming question worth thinking about. According to 99 Firms, 44% of website referral traffic goes through Google as it is the biggest global search engine out there, with 72% of marketers stating that content relevancy is the biggest challenge when it comes to SEO positioning.

Content marketing and link building both add to the overall SEO ranking and general positioning of your brand in their own respect, to varying degrees. Given that the nature of this question is complex, we will go through several points in regards to both content marketing and link building to unearth which approach to SEO would suit your needs the most. Let’s start off with the basics and go through the most poignant questions on the matter.

Basics of SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often considered the de facto deciding factor in a brand’s search engine relevancy. SEO trends are constantly shifting in favor of fresh topics, original keywords, and content relevant to individual search queries.

Technical optimization elements such as keyword density, content formatting, multimedia optimization, and link building are considered baseline requirements for brands that aim to reach the first page of Search Engine Result Page (SERP). However, balancing how much content you produce against how much attention you pay to link building (promoting your hyperlinks on other websites) is a matter of perspective.

Some businesses aim for split attention between the two while others (such as in the case of eCommerce sites) go for a totalitarian approach and place all of their resources into either one or the other. Both approaches are viable and neither is the wrong choice when it comes to search ranking optimization. With that said, optimal SEO will bring your brand certain perks that would otherwise not be available to you.

Advantages of SEO

When it comes to direct advantages related to SEO of your content and website as a whole, there are quite a few items to consider. According to Tech Jury, 93% of online experiences begin with search engine queries, while only 7% of users will go as far as the third page of SERP in order to find relevant content for their engagement.

This effectively means that businesses that don’t regard SEO as an important element of their online brand awareness strategy will effectively lose a tremendous amount of traffic to other brands. Applying the right combination of link building and content marketing to your website however can bring several advantageous points to your brand, including but not limited to:

  • Streamlined and accessible website User Experience (UX)
  • Higher engagement and conversion rates
  • Better brand positioning and industry authority
  • Better networking and affiliate marketing opportunities
  • High return on investment (ROI) in terms of incoming traffic and revenue

Without Content, There is No Link Building

An important point of discussion can be made in regards to choosing either content marketing or link building while completely disregarding the other side of the SEO equation. While possible, this type of approach to brand-building is ill-advised for several reasons.

For one, in order to practice efficient link building, you should have quality content available on your website, whether its blog posts, product pages or other forms of media. No platform, blog or business will promote your links or embed them in their content if there is no tangible value on the other side of the hyperlink. On the other hand, content marketing by itself might yield you positive SEO and traffic over time. However, without link building, your site will come off as very competitive and unfriendly when it comes to networking or cooperation with other businesses.

Without content, there is no link building to speak off in terms of organic SEO and traffic generation. Without link building, there is no high traffic or content engagement, leaving your site barren of leads or word of mouth. As we’ve mentioned previously, both of these SEO approaches offer valuable advantages – let’s dive deeper into each one to discover the minute details which will help you decide on the best combination of the two for your specific business and industry.

Content Marketing Gives your Site a Voice

In the proverbial sea of websites, having a distinct voice is one of the most essential aspects of brand positioning. Content marketing can give your website a voice in regards to how the audience perceives your products and services and differentiates it from others in your industry. Your business culture, long-term goals, company vision, and mission statement will all add to the effect of brand marketing for whoever decides to visit your website.

No amount of link building will ever manage to help your website “speak” to the audience through blog posts or creative product descriptions as content marketing is able to. Backing that content up with well-positioned links on competitive industry websites and aggregates will ensure that your site is reputable and professional in the eyes of stakeholders.

Link Building Promotes your Brand

Speaking of brand positioning, every industry is a competitive battlefield when it comes to vying for the customers’ attention. For better or worse, your website is one of many in a specific industry, with clearly positioned leaders, followers, and newly-launched businesses. Link building can ensure that your website is visible to potential customers, curious B2B clients, and individuals who might be interested in networking and collaboration.

You can spread your link building efforts to other, related industries and thus offer unique services to that website’s audience. For example, if you run a graphic design agency, positioning your links in the arts or photography blogging niches can do wonders for your lead generation. Find interesting niches to position your brand in and use existing content marketing materials as a precedent for those businesses to consider embedding your links into their pages for mutual benefit.

Content Marketing Boosts your UX

Once you attract an audience through your link building, it’s important to create some form of value for their time and (in case of products and services) money. Content marketing in the form of blog posts, detailed product portfolio descriptions and multimedia should be created to further cement your link building efforts. This will create an efficient loop for your SEO efforts and ensure that your visitors enjoy a well-thought-out UX as a result.

Link building without any relevant content or value to back the effort up will quickly deteriorate into your brand’s reputation as a spam website. Most importantly, your SEO ranking will drop as a result of link building which isn’t backed up by quality content in the placed hyperlinks. Strive for engaging UX on your website and work on your portfolio’s sales pitches, calls to action and other engagement opportunities before devoting your attention to outreach and link building.

Link Building is a Long-Term Gain

One notable factor to consider when it comes to link building is that it can provide your website, SEO and brand as a whole with long-term gain. Once your links are positioned on competitive websites and prolific industry portals, they will most likely stay there for the foreseeable future. Whether today, tomorrow or in two years, anyone who visits those particular pages will encounter your links and be tempted to follow up on them to see what value they hold for their interests.

Content marketing, on the other hand, leans more on current trends and what is considered a hot topic now as opposed to two years ago. If you write blog posts about topics which are stale and old news in everyone’s eyes, they won’t drive new traffic to your website and most certainly affect your SEO in a less than stellar way. In this aspect, link building holds a clear advantage but it should be noted that the content your links are embedded in will grow older over time, prompting you to seek new link building opportunities constantly.

SEO Mistakes to Avoid

To cap things off, it’s worth noting that not every SEO activity will hold net benefits for your website or ranking. Even too much of a good thing can become bad as a result of spam or overreliance on singular optimization activity. In that regard, let’s take a look at some of the most prevalent SEO pitfalls you should keep in mind in your content marketing and link building efforts going forward:

Poor Internal Sitemap

Your website’s internal structure will play a major role in the SEO ranking and visitor engagement efforts. In this aspect, you should categorize your links according to their content and role in your business. Gather all of your links into a sitemap and make the map accessible through your landing page for both your visitors’ and search engine algorithm’s benefit.

Content for Content’s Sake

There will always come a time of the year when content ideas simply run dry. When that happens, you shouldn’t start creating content for the sake of publishing “new” posts or pages on your website. Look for new trends to discuss, opinion piece topics to tackle and other forms of creative content marketing instead. Patience is a virtue in this regard; it will showcase that your brand is about quality more than it is about the sheer quantity of pages.

Content quality is another important thing search engine look at. It is always a good idea to work with a variety of usual tools, writing and translation services as well, such as TheWordPoint, Grammarly, Readability Score or Hemingway Editor, to ensure the relevance, high-quality and readability of their posts.

Lack of Website Auditing

Website audit is what is commonly referred to as “SEO spring cleaning”. Even though you should actively look for new opportunities for content marketing and link building, you should also tidy up your website on a semi-regular interval. Check your pages in regards to keywords, active links, ads and other content which will affect not only your SEO but the overall UX of your website. Don’t get caught with dead links, broken media or wrong keywords in your content by running an audit on your site every once in a while.

Best of Both Worlds (Conclusion)

When all is said and done, choosing between content marketing and link building shouldn’t be a mutually-exclusive choice. Find a healthy balance of both in regards to your brand’s marketing strategy, resources, networking and most importantly – product and service portfolio available for lead conversion.

Start with relevant content and look for link building opportunities that will be happy to work with you in terms of brand positioning going forward. Before you know it, you will settle into a routine of content marketing followed by link building in a production cycle which suits your staff and resources regardless of what popular trends or industry leaders might say on the highly subjective matter of either-or.

 

Author:
Erica Sunarjo is a communications professional with more than five years of experience. Erica runs her own blog BestWritersOnline and is proud of her an uncanny ability to explain the most complex subject in simple terms.

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Best Google AdWords Advertising Agencies 2020

January 2020 Update:

The AmazeLaw team is excited to announce our updated Google Ads Advertising Agency picks for 2020!

QUICK ANSWER: BEST GOOGLE ADVERTISING AGENCY 2020

  1. Voy Media
  2. Disruptive Advertising
  3. AdVenture Media
  4. Loud Mouth Media
  5. Ignite Visibility

If you are interested in online advertising, it pays to understand and consider Google AdWords. Google earned over $95 billion (approximately 86% of its revenue) from advertising last year because their pay-per-click (PPC) advertising model is highly effective. Whether you are an entrepreneur who’s just starting or have millions to spend on advertising each month, you need to have AdWords on your radar.

If you’re already proficient at online advertising and promotion, you may be able to learn AdWords on your own or hire a suitable employee. Some people run their paid search strategy in-house.

But most business owners and managers already have their hands full with running a successful business or even already using a Facebook advertising agency, and the complexity and long learning curve of AdWords are obstacles to successful PPC campaigns.

Big and small businesses often choose to hire a professional agency to assist with implementing and running an AdWords campaign. Hiring or training one employee may be less cost-effective than going outside your company.

A PPC agency that specializes in Google AdWords can provide you with valuable advice, devise short- and long-term strategies, and save you time and money navigating the world of pay-per-click advertising.

Unfortunately, when it comes to choosing an agency to assist with AdWords, beginners may find it difficult to select the right agency – or even to understand what the differences are between one PPC agency and another. There are hundreds of agencies out there, but unless you know a thing or two about AdWords, it’s hard to choose the right one.

I’ve put this guide together to make your life easier. I’ve compiled the most important facts to consider when choosing an AdWords agency, so you can learn the basics without putting in hours of research. I’ve also combed websites and read hundreds of reviews of different providers to bring you the best of the best in the world of AdWords agencies.

What You Need to Know About Google AdWords

Before you hire an agency, you need to understand some of the basics of Google AdWords. The whole point of hiring an agency is for you to focus on the things you’re good at, but without a basic understanding of AdWords, you won’t be able to find the right agency for your business.

Hire an Agency Experienced in Your Industry

You may encounter dozens or hundreds of different AdWords agencies as you search for the perfect match. Here’s a simple test to narrow that number down: does a given agency have experience in your industry? If so, they’ll know norms and benchmarks like typical cost per click (CPC) and return on investment (ROI) for your specific niche.

You don’t need someone with direct experience in your precise area of focus; experience in a similar area works, too. For example, if you sell and install vinyl siding, an AdWords agency that’s worked with a roofing contractor would probably be a good match.

Before you hire an agency, be sure to check if they’re more experienced with sales as a service (SaaS), lead generation, mobile marketing, e-commerce or Instagram marketing. Even if the agency is the best in the world at lead generation, if you need PPC management for an e-commerce business, you may need to look elsewhere.

AdWords Certified and Google Partners

At a minimum, you want a firm that’s AdWords certified and part of the Google Partners program. That isn’t the only relevant criterion in selecting a provider; it’s a relatively low bar, so anyone who doesn’t have these credentials should be ruled out automatically.

Any agency that’s AdWords certified has passed certification exams and must maintain a minimum monthly AdWords expenditure of $10,000. If an agency has this certification, you can know they have some level of competence. Google Partners get inside tips from Google as well as beta-testing opportunities, both of which can provide your business with a competitive edge.

Hire a Multidisciplinary or Networked Agency

For best results, you need to hire an agency with a multidisciplinary team, or one that has established connections with other high-powered specialists. Pay-per-click (PPC) is a huge part of advertising for many businesses, but it’s not a standalone proposition.

If you hire a PPC specialist, you’re also going to need to track conversions, design a landing page, probably engage in email marketing or e-commerce design, and the list goes on.

If you hire a multidisciplinary agency, you’ll save money through sheer efficiency as opposed to hiring multiple contractors. If you don’t, you’ll face some of the same downsides you would have faced going with the do-it-yourself approach: juggling vendors and trying to coordinate the AdWords project when you’d prefer to be managing other facets of your business.

Different Agencies Have Different Pricing Models

The PPC advertising industry has multiple pricing models that will determine how an agency gets paid. Here are the most popular models:

  • Hourly
  • Percentage of ad spend
  • Performance-based
  • Milestone-based

Hourly is the most common pricing model, and also the most straightforward. It’s easy to understand what you’re paying, and therefore the hourly pricing model is attractive to small businesses with low budgets who are interested in keeping PPC advertising costs manageable.

Percentage of ad spend is the second-most common pricing model among AdWords agencies. With the percentage of ad spend, you will typically pay the agency between 15-30% of your total PPC expenditure.

Percentage of ad spend is an excellent choice if you want to stick with a set budget, and let the agency take care of the rest. If your business is large or if you have plans to scale, you can get better deals with the percentage of ad spend.

Performance-based pricing is similar to a sales commission for the agency. They get paid based on a predetermined performance metric like impressions, clicks, conversions, or revenue from ads.

The best part about performance-based pricing is that you know the agency will work hard to give you results. Some agencies combine performance-based pricing with a base rate or minimum rate per month.

Milestone-based pricing is similar to performance-based pricing, but it is based on agreed-upon medium- and long-term goals. Companies that offer milestone-based pricing will typically require longer-term contracts and have a detailed approach to onboarding you and understanding your company’s needs.

Is There a Contract?

Some AdWords agencies require contracts, and others don’t. This decision is best left to your gut instinct and personal preference. If you own a small business and want to test the waters of AdWords advertising, you may be more comfortable with a month-to-month commitment. That way, the agency has to earn your repeat business each month.

Not all contracts are created equal. If you get involved with a contract-based agency, make sure the arrangement suits your needs. If you know you want to commit to PPC advertising, you may be attracted to performance-based or milestone-based pricing with a detailed long-term contract that benefits both parties.

Ad Rank = Quality Score x CPC Bid

“Pay per click” sounds simple and easy, but there is more to running an AdWords campaign than just paying for clicks or conversions! Google computes your actual ad rank from the CPC (cost per click) bid and Quality Score.

For AdWords, you want the highest possible ad ranking and the lowest possible cost per click bid (CPC bid). That means you need a high “Quality Score.” The Quality Score is Google’s hidden metric that takes into account your click-through rate per 1000 impressions or views, time spent on page by customers, and more.

A good AdWords agency can help you with all of this, meaning you can save money buying clicks if you hire a professional rather than do it yourself.

Don’t Neglect Organic SEO

According to Clutch’s 2018 Small Business survey, 45% of small businesses invest in pay-per-click advertising. Of those that do invest in PPC, 90% also use organic search engine optimization (SEO) strategies.

You will get a better return on investment (ROI) by spending your advertising money on PPC and SEO together, and even coordinating your strategies (for example, applying lessons learned from PPC campaigns to your SEO approach).

PPC is an excellent choice for short-term return and a wise way to direct your growing revenue to accelerate growth further, while organic SEO is an essential long-term strategy if you want to become an online leader in your industry.

Track ROI

Any good AdWords agency will track all sorts of variables for you like cumulative ad spends, quality score, conversions, impressions, and cost per click. But you must not neglect the most important outcome of all: return on investment!

If you are getting a positive ROI, you can learn from your success to get even more revenue. If you aren’t getting a positive ROI, it’s important to know so you can stop wasting money and fix the problems.

To track your ROI, you need to keep a record of every single cent you put into AdWords and PPC advertising, including costs other than ad spend. You also need to use tools that allow you to see data like cumulative sales from advertising leads or e-commerce clicks, or ensure that the agents you’re working with show you that data.

Some agencies will help you track ROI, but you need to discuss this up front.

Top FIVE Best Google AdWords Advertising Agencies

Here are our top five picks, narrowed down from thousands of listings and hundreds of user reviews.

#1 Voy Media

Founded in 2014, Voy Media is an industry leader in PPC advertising and Google AdWords. They are industry pioneers in A/B testing, scaling, geo-targeting, and other revenue-building tweaks that can improve your ROI. Disruptive is known for working with businesses of all sizes, from nationally-known retailers to companies with relatively low monthly advertising budgets.

Ryan A. says he appreciates Voy Media’s proven systems and the way everyone he’s worked with has been on the same page. Since he switched to Disruptive a few months ago, his sales are at record highs, and his overall costs – including the agency fee – have come down. He says he cringes when he sees the missed opportunity in not beginning work with Disruptive sooner.

Some clients reported that their account was repeatedly moved from one client manager to another as Voy Media was recently reorganizing, but Voy Media has since resolved this situation. They deserve their reputation as perfectionists.

#2 Ignite Visibility

Ignite Visibility is an online marketing agency based in San Diego, CA, founded in 2012. They specialize in pay-per-click, website design, web development, social media marketing, and viral marketing.

One of Ignite Visibility’s clients, the Chief Marketing Officer for a boutique cosmetic company, says that the agency helped the company meet its goal of sales conversions. Ignite visibility used a strategy that combined PPC digital marketing, content creation, social media, and organic SEO. The client was particularly happy with the high-quality reports that Ignite generated throughout the campaign.

Ignite’s main selling points are their versatility, excellent communication, and reporting.

#3 AdVenture Media

AdVenture media belongs to a small and exclusive group of Premier Google Partner agencies. They were awarded that credential because they have produced outstanding results for their clients. AdVenture is 90% PPC-focused, and as one of New York city’s fastest-growing PPC ad agencies, they currently manage over $50 million in advertising budgets.

The director of marketing for a medical oxygen group reports that under the management of AdVenture, the company’s ad spend has decreased while the number of leads has stayed constant. He says their clear communication, quality deliverables, and excellent results justify the investment.

AdVenture’s online marketing educational content has reached over 900,000 students and is worth checking out if you want to learn more about digital advertising.

#4 Loud Mouth Media

Loud Mouth Media is a top-ranked pay-per-click agency in the UK and is also a Premier Google Partner agency. They have offices in Belfast, Dublin, and Glasgow. The agency provides a fully-managed digital marketing service that is 70% focused on PPC. They earned awards for “Best Small PPC Agency in the UK” two years in a row at the 2017 and 2018 UK Search Awards.

An online clothing store manager who approached Loud Mouth with a limited budget says business is growing and website traffic is on the rise. She says Loud Mouth Media went above and beyond to accomplish all goals, and is a reliable partner.

Loud Mouth is a good choice for an all-in-one solution if you want to combine your PPC strategy and organic SEO, as I recommended earlier.

#5 CPC Strategy

The appropriately-named CPC Strategy agency is 100% focused on providing pay-per-click services. In particular, they focus on e-commerce and PPC for various retail channels.

The owner of a retailer specializing in cooling products says that CPC Strategy has increased the number of customers and revenue per customer, and is an excellent deal.

They excel in responsiveness and are always available, providing answers to his important questions immediately. He appreciates their transparency of operations and extensive experience.

CPC Strategy is our top pick for a Google AdWords agency if you run an e-commerce business and check if they can also do Amazon advertising.

Wrapping Up

Whether you’re an entrepreneur running a brand-new startup or the CEO of a high-revenue established company, you can benefit from hiring the right AdWords agency to handle PPC advertising for you.

Look for a multidisciplinary agency with specific experience in your niche. Consider what pricing model best suits you, and whether or not you’d like to enter into a contract. Be sure to track your return on investment so you can be confident your dollars are being put to work properly.

If you haven’t already settled on an AdWords agency check out our top pick, Disruptive Marketing. They have the perfect blend of experience, innovation, reliability, and scalability to work well for almost any size or type of online business.

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