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Google Introduces Changes To Make Being Mobile Friendly More Important

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If your website isn’t mobile friendly, or easy to use on multiple different devices (desktops, laptops, tablets or mobile phones) Google will begin penalizing it by ranking it lower on mobile search page results.

In April 2015, Google first started ranking non-mobile friendly websites lower, but now, in May 2016, the strategy has been amped up. Let’s explore a bit more what this might mean for you.

Why Is Being Mobile Friendly Important?stocksnap_gs53c70s0a

More Google searches are now executed through mobile devices than through desktop computers. So if your website isn’t mobile friendly, visitors will organically gravitate away from you and move to websites which are easier to navigate.

Being mobile friendly is part of a movement called ‘responsive web design’, wherein no matter what type of device your website is seen on, even a device which has not been manufactured yet, your website should adjust in size appropriately. Being responsive will entice visitors to stay on your website, which will organically increase your search pagerank.

Having a responsive website is very important, because 95% of people do not go past the first page of search results, and 60% of clicks happen within the top three search results.

How To Tell If Your Website Is Mobile FriendlyStrata-mobile-home

A mobile friendly website is one which has a minimum or no need for scrolling, resizing or squinting to see content, no matter what device a user might be on. The website will have a single URL so that the adjustments to certain devices are automatic; a user shouldn’t have to click to visit a mobile website.

How To Become Mobile Friendly

If you’re not a web developer yourself, you’ll likely need to hire a responsive website design company to help you out. A company like Cohlab Digital Marketing will be able to either convert your current website or build an entirely new website, creating a responsive design, and laying the groundwork for optimization of your website to make it rank better in search engine results.

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their responsive and mobile friendly web design efforts. We are happy to answer any questions you may have!

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What Can Internet Marketing Services Do For My Business?

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Stay with me folks, this might be a bit of a longer blog.

Internet marketing services are basically anything a firm like ours does. Cohlab in particular offers an array of services, from reputation management to email marketing, responsive web design to content marketing.

But how do these activities affect your bottom line in the real world? Let’s take a look at a number of internet marketing services Cohlab offers in detail to see what we can do for you.

Drive Organic Traffic With SEOInternet Marketing Services

Search engine optimization (SEO) drives organic traffic to your website. In essence, this is free advertising.

An internet marketing services provider like Cohlab is hired to execute a myriad of SEO strategies, including content marketing and backlinking, both described below, in order to increase the ranking of your website for search terms relevant to your industry and services.

In general, the higher ranked and more frequently a website appears in relevant search results, the more valuable visitors it will receive.

Find Customers With SEM

Search engine marketing (SEM), or PPC, is a great way to quickly locate customers who are searching for your industry or services. While SEO can take time, SEM is faster but more costly.

This type of internet marketing service creates advertisements within Google searches, either at the top or bottom of a search results page, targeting whichever relevant keywords we choose.

These ads are extremely effective at driving traffic to your website quickly.

Keep Them Interested With 10x Content

No matter how nice looking your website is, or how amazing your ads are, if you have nothing to entertain or educate your visitors, they won’t stay on your site long enough to have an impact on your business.

Content refers to anything on your website which is consumable: text, audio, videos, photos, graphics, etc. 10x content is content which is impossible to improve on. It is created by observing the competition in the keywords a company wants to rank in searches for, then creating content which is 10x more interesting than anything the competition has.

Bring Them Back With Email Marketing

Sometimes, customers don’t bring you their repeat business. Maybe they’re too busy, or it’s inconvenient to get to your store, or some other reason.

Email marketing is a great way to bring them back in, by creating a compelling call-to-action for them to grab onto, whether it’s a used car trade-in, or a 30% sale. These emails are going to a group of people who you know will buy from you, they just need a reason to get back in the habit and email marketing is a great way to bring them back.

Build Trust With High-Quality LinksSearch engine marketing

Link building is a huge part of how well a website ranks in Google searches. Creating high-quality links between your website and others great websites, both back and forth, means Google believes your information is worth sharing or talking about, which means they will want to show it to people who are searching for the keywords you rank for.

Increase Traffic By Getting Responsive

A responsive website is one which fits whatever screen size it might be displayed on, whether that is an iPhone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

The website won’t look exactly the same in every case; it will respond accordingly and adjust itself at certain size intervals, displaying the most important parts of the website where the viewer is most likely to need them. Having a responsive website will also increase your search engine ranking, and will make people on mobile devices more likely to stay on your site longer and utilize your services since it will be easier to navigate.
Thanks for staying with me through the whole blog, and I hope you have a better understanding of what internet marketing services can do for your business!

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success with internet marketing services. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have, just let us know!

What Can Internet Marketing Services Do For My Business?

/in

Stay with me folks, this might be a bit of a longer blog.

Internet marketing services are basically anything a firm like ours does. Cohlab in particular offers an array of services, from reputation management to email marketing, responsive web design to content marketing.

But how do these activities affect your bottom line in the real world? Let’s take a look at a number of internet marketing services Cohlab offers in detail to see what we can do for you.

Drive Organic Traffic With SEOInternet Marketing Services

Search engine optimization (SEO) drives organic traffic to your website. In essence, this is free advertising.

An internet marketing services provider like Cohlab is hired to execute a myriad of SEO strategies, including content marketing and backlinking, both described below, in order to increase the ranking of your website for search terms relevant to your industry and services.

In general, the higher ranked and more frequently a website appears in relevant search results, the more valuable visitors it will receive.

Find Customers With SEM

Search engine marketing (SEM), or PPC, is a great way to quickly locate customers who are searching for your industry or services. While SEO can take time, SEM is faster but more costly.

This type of internet marketing service creates advertisements within Google searches, either at the top or bottom of a search results page, targeting whichever relevant keywords we choose.

These ads are extremely effective at driving traffic to your website quickly.

Keep Them Interested With 10x Content

No matter how nice looking your website is, or how amazing your ads are, if you have nothing to entertain or educate your visitors, they won’t stay on your site long enough to have an impact on your business.

Content refers to anything on your website which is consumable: text, audio, videos, photos, graphics, etc. 10x content is content which is impossible to improve on. It is created by observing the competition in the keywords a company wants to rank in searches for, then creating content which is 10x more interesting than anything the competition has.

Bring Them Back With Email Marketing

Sometimes, customers don’t bring you their repeat business. Maybe they’re too busy, or it’s inconvenient to get to your store, or some other reason.

Email marketing is a great way to bring them back in, by creating a compelling call-to-action for them to grab onto, whether it’s a used car trade-in, or a 30% sale. These emails are going to a group of people who you know will buy from you, they just need a reason to get back in the habit and email marketing is a great way to bring them back.

Build Trust With High-Quality LinksSearch engine marketing

Link building is a huge part of how well a website ranks in Google searches. Creating high-quality links between your website and others great websites, both back and forth, means Google believes your information is worth sharing or talking about, which means they will want to show it to people who are searching for the keywords you rank for.

Increase Traffic By Getting Responsive

A responsive website is one which fits whatever screen size it might be displayed on, whether that is an iPhone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

The website won’t look exactly the same in every case; it will respond accordingly and adjust itself at certain size intervals, displaying the most important parts of the website where the viewer is most likely to need them. Having a responsive website will also increase your search engine ranking, and will make people on mobile devices more likely to stay on your site longer and utilize your services since it will be easier to navigate.
Thanks for staying with me through the whole blog, and I hope you have a better understanding of what internet marketing services can do for your business!

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success with internet marketing services. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have, just let us know!

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How A Responsive Web Design Firm Improves Your Search Ranking

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A web design firm, especially a responsive web design firm, can help your business in a lot of ways, from helping choose fonts and colors, to organizing your menus and content.

But certain things a responsive web design firm does have a huge impact on your search rankings. So when you are choosing a new designer, make sure they can help you out in the following ways.

How Does A Responsive Web Design Firm Increase My Ranking?Rankings

Speed

Studies show that if a website takes more than 3 seconds to load, 57% of your visitors will move on. Those users either close the window, frustrated, or hit the back button, looking for a different, faster answer or result.

As a business owner, you want to serve your customers well. If the doors to your business had a 3 second wait before opening, you’d probably have a lot fewer walk-ins. The only people who would come in are those who are already determined to buy something; it would be hard to get new business.

Check with your web design firm and make sure the speed of your website is up to par.

Future Proofing

A responsive website design effectively “future proofs” your site. Whether someone comes to your website on a desktop, iPhone, laptop, tablet or any other device, your website should automatically adjust to properly fit the screen your visitor is using.

This responsiveness is not “set in stone;” in fact, it’s the opposite. No matter what type of device your website is seen on, even a device which has not been manufactured yet, your website should adjust in size appropriately.

Most Google searches and browsing time is now done on mobile devices, so having a responsive website for the many sizes of screens out there is important so you don’t exclude any potential customers.

Clicks Beget Clicks

Having a responsive website design which is also fast will help improve your rankings, which means more people will be able to visit your site. Those visitors will have a better experience, staying on your website longer and possibly sharing or linking to your content or merchandise. This will also improve your ranking!

Having a responsive website with a good rank is very important, because 95% of people do not go past the first page of search results, and 60% of clicks happen within the top three search results.

“Cohlaboration” With Cohlab

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their responsive web design efforts. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.

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3 Creative Ways To Get More Positive Online Reviews

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The goal of any business should be to get more positive online reviews.

Online reviews drive consumers to visit your website or brick-and-mortar location, creating more opportunities to create loyal customers. In a recent survey by BrightLocal, 57% of consumers visit a local business’ website after reading online reviews and another 15% call the business directly.

Here at Cohlab, we have our own online reputation management tool which helps businesses like yours get more positive online reviews and display them. For only $75, you can have the peace of mind that you are gaining and monitoring those testimonials while also driving additional customers to your website.

Let’s look at 3 creative ways our tool helps you get more positive online reviews.

1. Ask For Reviews

Why should you ask customers for reviews? Research by Emarketer shows that if asked directly, 20% more users will post a testimonial as compared to not asking at all!

Asking is a powerful tool, and our online reputation management allows you to automate asking so you don’t have to think about it. Once a customer’s information is in the tool, it will send them an email asking them to review your business, and will remind them periodically if they have not done it yet.

2. Make Reviewing Easy

Our tool guides your customers through the process, making it easy. Through a link in their email they are taken to a page where they can choose where to leave a testimonial. They can choose from any set of websites you would like including Facebook, Google, Yelp, Fandango, YellowPages, etc.

3. Solve Negative Reviews Before They Are Posted

Research has shown 70% of customers who post negative reviews do so only in the hope the business will respond, so it is a huge advantage that Cohlab’s online reputation management tool allows you to see negative testimonials before they are posted online.

This allows you to contact the customer privately, solve their problem, and possibly leverage them into a positive review instead!

Are You Ready To Get More Positive Reviews?

Click the button below to start gaining positive reviews and monitoring your brand across more than 50 review sites.

Click to Buy Now

 

How Does Your Business Compare?

Use our free Review Scan to generate an instant reputation report and see how your business currently appears on local review sites.

“Cohlaboration” With Cohlab

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their online review management efforts. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.

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3 Bold Lies: You Get What You Pay For With SEO Prices

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When you are unfamiliar with search engine optimization (SEO), the pricing structure can seem arbitrary. Even though it can be difficult to understand without experience, be wary of firms who seem to promise something which doesn’t quite seem right or possible at all, or at least given their SEO prices, because you get what you pay for. Let’s go over 3 bold lies told about SEO ‘black hat’ firms tell to watch out for.

1. “We Can Make Your Website Rank #1 On Google.”Organic Local Search on Google

What a load of hooey! No honest SEO firm can guarantee your website will rank #1 on any search engine, no matter the price. Google’s webmaster guidelines state very clearly to be wary of firms and consulting agencies which guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

While everyone would love to rank first, it is simply never guaranteed and never should be. In fact, reputable companies will admit outright they can’t guarantee results.

2. “We Can Fix Your SEO In 1 Month.”

The Internet is a living, breathing beast. Change is constant, with websites moving up and down in search engine rankings as users find value in their information or layout.

SEO requires constant monitoring and adjustments to strategy based on Google’s ever-changing algorithms as well as the changing needs of your customers. A firm’s first obligation is to make your online presence useful to customers and second to improve your alignment with Google’s algorithm. Search engine optimization does not happen in a vacuum; your competitors are also constantly working and improving which can place them above you in search results if you don’t keep up.

One month is a completely unrealistic timeframe to work on an SEO campaign for two reasons: 1. If you stop working on it after 1 month, you will fall behind; and, 2. One month is simply not enough time to have any sort of impact. Most work done needs 3-6 months before results can be seen. No amount of money can create long-lasting, effective search engine rankings in 1 month.

You need a firm who can work with your company for the foreseeable future and make recommendations and improvements as you go.

3. “We Use Foreign Contractors To Save You Money.”Money

While this one might not technically be a lie, it is still a terrible tactic for a good search engine optimization firm to pursue.

Yes, using foreign workers may save money in the short-run, but the quality is going to be much lower. Google’s rules change quickly and are intricate. Experience in the field as well as a strong grasp of the language surrounding SEO are paramount to executing a strategy.

You get what you pay for, and often outdated tactics will get your website penalized in the rankings by Google.

You Get What You Pay For With SEO Prices

When hiring a firm, do your homework. The second you hear one of these lies, or feel their SEO prices don’t match their promises, it’s time to start looking at other options.

Always be sure to check out a firm’s website and reviews to make sure they can do the things you are looking for.

Cohlab Digital Marketing has great reviews and tons of information about search engine optimization. If you’d like to learn about our pricing, let us know.

Make Positive Reviews Online Work For You And Your Business

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Positive reviews online are a great driver of sales

Research has shown that positive reviews on your website, Facebook, Google or other review site makes a vast majority of users more likely to purchase from you.

So how can you take advantage of this immense power positive reviews have over users buying decisions? Cohlab Digital Marketing has an online review tool which encourages your current customers to leave positive reviews and allows you intercept negative reviews and leverage them into positive reviews.

If you watch the video above, you’ll learn that there is more to getting your customers to leave positive reviews than just hoping and praying. Cohlab’s online review tool makes it easy to ask for positive reviews!

Make Online Reviews Work For Your Business

Happy customers don’t often write reviews, usually because they forget or never thought to. And dissatisfied customers often simply want their problem solved, and hope that someone will respond to them.

Our online review tool automates the process of asking, reminding and guiding your customers through leaving reviews on the websites which matter to you.

Our tool also gives dissatisfied customers an option of contacting you directly (which is what they want), and gives you a second chance to fix their problem before a negative review even exists online.

The result is more and better reviews from your customers, giving you business the online reputation it deserves!

We can also stream the latest and greatest reviews from across the internet straight to your website or social media profile so prospective customers see you at your best.

Are You Ready To Get More Positive Reviews?

Click the button below to start gaining positive reviews and monitoring your brand across more than 50 review sites.

Click to Buy Now

How Does Your Business Compare?

Use our free Review Scan to generate an instant reputation report and see how your business currently appears on local review sites.

“Cohlaboration” With Cohlab

At Cohlab, we have worked closely with many businesses to help them achieve great success in their online review management efforts. We are happy to answer any questions you may have and provide Cohlaborative digital marketing solutions to meet your company’s needs.

Woman blogging on computer for SEO Strategy

Google AdWord Changes Places Huge Emphasis On SEO

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Until just recently, Google AdWords ads were displayed at the top and bottom, as well as the right-hand column on search engine results pages (SERP’s). The recent changes have eliminated the right-hand column ads from the SERP’s altogether, and now promote ads only at the top and bottom. Also, the number of AdWord ads displayed at the top numbered between one to three, with only 1% of SERPS showing four. However, Google has significantly increased the use four-ad blocks with the new changes. This is highly significant for AdWord advertisers because the changes actually reduce the number of ads shown in SERP’s. Before the changes, the right-hand column typically displayed eight ads on average. Because of this reduction in AdWord real estate, AdWord optimization has become critical, and it places a massive emphasis on the importance of SEO.

Why Google AdWord Changes Occurred

Google regularly makes changes to the SERP’s and the algorithm determining page rank. In fact, we just recently discussed the latest update to the algorithm known as Panda. In some cases, Google is very straightforward in sharing the purpose of their changes. Often, however, it is left up to speculation. We can be sure that Google is placing more emphasis on the importance of mobile optimization. The issue with the AdWord placement was that mobile does not support the right-hand column. By eliminating this area, Google advertising becomes standardized and uniform regardless of the device being used.

AdWord Optimization and SEO More Critical

The whole point of using Google AdWords is to drive traffic to your website and to convert visitors into customers. With a reduction in Adwords in the SERP’s, it makes the keywords used in your AdWord strategy even more important. If you have irrelevant keywords, people searching for the products or services you provide may not even see your ad. AdWords must be carefully optimized to ensure you are getting the most from your investment. In addition, SEO on your website also becomes more necessary. If your site and content are not SEO optimized, and you are not making the conversions needed to improve ROI, the use of AdWords is simply not justified. Of course, AdWord optimization and SEO were always important. These recent Google AdWord changes only made it more so.

At Cohlab, we are a Certified Google Badge Partner and fully understand AdWord strategy and the importance of SEO. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand and meet their needs. However, achieving this practically can be a challenging effort. That is why we work closely with you, and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.

Google AdWord Changes Places Huge Emphasis On SEO

/in ,

Until just recently, Google AdWords ads were displayed at the top and bottom, as well as the right-hand column on search engine results pages (SERP’s). The recent changes have eliminated the right-hand column ads from the SERP’s altogether, and now promote ads only at the top and bottom. Also, the number of AdWord ads displayed at the top numbered between one to three, with only 1% of SERPS showing four. However, Google has significantly increased the use four-ad blocks with the new changes. This is highly significant for AdWord advertisers because the changes actually reduce the number of ads shown in SERP’s. Before the changes, the right-hand column typically displayed eight ads on average. Because of this reduction in AdWord real estate, AdWord optimization has become critical, and it places a massive emphasis on the importance of SEO.

Why Google AdWord Changes Occurred

Google regularly makes changes to the SERP’s and the algorithm determining page rank. In fact, we just recently discussed the latest update to the algorithm known as Panda. In some cases, Google is very straightforward in sharing the purpose of their changes. Often, however, it is left up to speculation. We can be sure that Google is placing more emphasis on the importance of mobile optimization. The issue with the AdWord placement was that mobile does not support the right-hand column. By eliminating this area, Google advertising becomes standardized and uniform regardless of the device being used.

AdWord Optimization and SEO More Critical

The whole point of using Google AdWords is to drive traffic to your website and to convert visitors into customers. With a reduction in Adwords in the SERP’s, it makes the keywords used in your AdWord strategy even more important. If you have irrelevant keywords, people searching for the products or services you provide may not even see your ad. AdWords must be carefully optimized to ensure you are getting the most from your investment. In addition, SEO on your website also becomes more necessary. If your site and content are not SEO optimized, and you are not making the conversions needed to improve ROI, the use of AdWords is simply not justified. Of course, AdWord optimization and SEO were always important. These recent Google AdWord changes only made it more so.

At Cohlab, we are a Certified Google Badge Partner and fully understand AdWord strategy and the importance of SEO. It is critical that customers and prospects be targeted and provided the best message, in the best manner, at the best time, and that you fully understand and meet their needs. However, achieving this practically can be a challenging effort. That is why we work closely with you, and take the time necessary to ensure you get the most out of your efforts. We “cohlaborate” with you to generate the right message, and our strategy is proven to be exceedingly successful for our digital marketing clients.