The Small Business Guide to selecting an SEO Company

Engaging an SEO company can be a very important decision for an online entrepreneur. The difference between the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ decision can often mean the difference between success and failure. Here are a few tricks that I have learned over time which can help to separate the wheat from the chafe:

• Make sure that the company itself ranks well on terms like ‘SEO’, ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ etc.
  
  
• Call up the company and ask them specific questions about your website, keywords etc and assess their confidence in getting you the top rankings.
  
  
• Does the company offer any Guarantees? If they do not offer guarantees, more likely than not they will not deliver results
  
  
• Tell them to give you examples of projects undertaken and results achieved
  
  
• Ask them about their approach and timelines?
  
  
• Ask them how much increase in traffic they will be able to achieve for you
  
  
• Ask them who will be looking after your project and how frequently will you have access to the person
  
  
• Ask them what is their typical client profile? For example, if you are a large web directory, it helps if they have some experience working with large complex websites.
  
  
• Find out how well they understand your business. If they have a strong business acumen besides being good at SEO, they are most likely a good company to work for.
  
  
• Ask them how they manage multiple projects. With a large volume of projects, a company can only deliver results if they have a solid project management methodology.
  
  
• Ask them if they are willing to work on a fixed fee + Performance based remuneration. If they can, you are very likely in the right place. Read More…

How Modern AI Tooling Can 10x Your Business Efficiency

 

For a modern business, efficiency is key, and every organisation is on the lookout for ways to optimise their operations. The days are never long enough to accomplish all the tasks on the to-do list.

The answer to this challenge might lie in leveraging AI tooling, transforming the business optimization process from a routine task into a strategic advantage. So, how can AI help you multiply your business efficiency tenfold? Here are several major strategic pillars to consider.

Defining and Aligning Objectives with AI

The power of AI extends beyond mere task automation; it’s a strategic tool that can align with your business goals, while also helping you implement them. By defining clear objectives and determining which areas of the business would benefit most from AI, you can set a roadmap that integrates AI into the fabric of your organisation.

For instance, AI can help HR in talent acquisition, assist finance with predictive analysis, and streamline logistics with intelligent automation. 

Key Takeaway: Regular assessments ensure that AI’s integration remains aligned with business goals, offering opportunities for continuous refinement.

Implementing Ethical AI Practices

In the era of social responsibility, ethical considerations are paramount. AI’s capabilities must be balanced with responsible practices that align with broader business values.

By implementing ethical guidelines and transparent practices, you foster trust and ensure AI’s responsible use. 

Key Takeaway: Consistent monitoring and collaboration between legal and technology teams helps maintain compliance with evolving, complex legal and regulatory requirements.

Focusing on Collaboration and Training

AI’s successful integration requires collaboration and understanding between human teams and AI tools. Training and resources that demystify AI technology can help employees see AI as a tool to enhance, not replace, their roles.

Furthermore, fostering a culture where AI and humans work together ensures that the unique strengths of both are leveraged to the fullest.

Key Takeaway: Creating internal AI support groups fosters ongoing learning and collaboration.

Utilising AI for Strategic Business Decision-making

AI’s analytical capabilities can guide strategic decisions across various business functions. From competitor analysis to emerging market trends, AI can collate and summarise insights that inform better decision-making.

This ability to process vast amounts of data and uncover subtle trends can position your business ahead of the curve. 

Key Takeaway: Start with smaller pilot projects to demonstrate the value of AI-driven insights before scaling up. Read more…

Creating a Content Plan for Your Business

 

Creating an effective content marketing plan to feed your sales pipeline by leveraging engaging content

As a business owner or startup founder, you know that creating a successful venture requires more than just a great product or service. You need to be able to effectively communicate with your target audience and build a strong brand that resonates with them. This is where a content plan comes into play. 

What is a content plan?

A content plan is a roadmap that outlines what content you will create, where you will publish it, and how you will promote it. In this blog post, we will guide you through the steps to create a content plan for your startup.

1. Define your target audience

Before you start creating content, you need to understand who your target audience is. 

Who are you trying to reach? What are their interests and pain points? What motivates them? Once you have a clear understanding of your target audience, you can tailor your content to their needs and preferences. 

Shopify recently released a great article about six general Australian consumer profiles that can serve as a great starting point.

Previous work you’ve done to nail your niche and refine the Ideal Customer persona will prove valuable here, letting you quickly establish lookalike audiences and create messaging that speaks to core needs.

2. Establish your objectives

What do you hope to achieve with your content plan? Is it to increase brand awareness? Generate leads? Educate your audience about your product or service? Knowing your objectives will help you create content that is aligned with your business goals.

Before you try to convert your audience into customers, you need to provide something of value in your content, while also educating and creating awareness. Content needs to take a more passive approach at first, and not exist purely to fill a space.

This follows the natural customer journey pipeline from awareness, to consideration, to conversion. It’s important to be aware of how your pipeline works, and map your customer journey milestones, so that you know how to position a particular piece of content within this framework.

For each persona you create, you also need to identify where that person sits in the customer journey. When you begin narrowing into a selling focus, your content should still attempt to speak to the right audience, and provide them with some kind of value beyond basic sales information.

3. Determine your content topics

Once you know your target audience and objectives, you can start brainstorming content topics that will resonate with them. 

Consider the questions and challenges that your audience faces, and create content that provides value and solutions. 

Some examples of content topics for startups include how-to guides, case studies, customer testimonials, industry news and trends, and thought leadership pieces. Thought leadership is about both providing useful information that doesn’t necessarily lead to a sale, with the more passive aim of establishing your brand and/or business personalities as experts in the space.

You can use SEO/SEM strategy tools such as Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner and SEMRush to understand which topics are getting engagement and align your strategy. Read More…

Changing Your Mindset Could Revolutionise Your Business

If you feel like you’re constantly working but not seeing the business growth you desire, it may be that your mindset is wrong. Very few people realise that a fixed mindset can be incredibly damaging to business and failing to understand the importance of a positive mindset can be fatal.

A common claim by the business owner with a fixed mindset is that they “can handle it” or that they already have the skills – “why should I hire someone else to do a job I am more than capable of?” But while you are busy working in every aspect of the business, you leave no room to take on more – in other words, no room for growth.

When I started Arrow in 2006, I had a hand in most parts of the business, from sales and customer service to strategic support and technical expertise. As our company cemented itself as a reliable agency, we began to be approached by more and more clients. Now let’s say I had approached Arrow with a fixed mindset. Unwilling to handover or share my roles, I would have had to turn away clients as I would not have had the time to look after them on top of doing everything else. As a result, Arrow would not have grown and it certainly wouldn’t be where it is today.

Instead, I believe in what we call a growth mindset, which leaves me open to collaboration with staff members and means I have the opportunity to discover and foster new talent within Arrow. For example, I recently hired a young staff member to help out with some of my social media marketing. While I could have done this myself I understand that this employee, as a digital native, can offer unique insights into social media trends. Read More…

Get Help Tackling the Digital Marketing Beast

 

Digital marketing is not the one-trick-pony it once was; it has grown into a powerful beast and harnessing its power has become integral to business success.

We all know how important it is to use digital marketing to optimise profitability and improve return on investment. But even so, many business owners are still unwilling to tackle the beast, overwhelmed by the sheer power of digital marketing.

Granted, it’s not easy. To ensure success, you need to embrace all elements of digital marketing and that takes effort. But the digital marketing puzzle is exactly that – a puzzle, and only when every piece comes together will you have a complete marketing solution.

Many business owners struggle to appreciate this concept and often the business will see losses as a result. For example, maybe Google Adwords is being used to advertise a website but the site isn’t optimised for user engagement. This will deter people from visiting in the future.

Or perhaps a business owner is confused and overwhelmed by social media so they’re only using Facebook? Or they’ve handballed the task to a more junior employee with no experience. This is not an effective use of digital marketing. Read More…

Social Media for the Busy Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, social media is one of your best friends (it expands your brand presence and reaches on a huge scale), however it can be overwhelming with so much to learn. In my experience as a digital strategist, I have found that business owners want to learn social media but find it daunting.

Last weekend I was invited to speak at a conference of entrepreneurs in Sydney. It was a 3-day retreat where entrepreneurs worked on their business. I talked on social media – the essentials for the busy entrepreneur on what to do in social media when you don’t want to do social media.

Tapping into Unlimited Potential in a Smart way

It was clear that many business owners struggle with how social media applies to their particular business. Many in fact believe that their target audience isn’t on social media.

Consider though that there are 25 million people in Australia and 19 million are on Facebook. Clearly then there is a huge unlimited potential here that you should be tapping into.

Remember whether you are a B2B business, or a business to consumers it’s all about the human to human connection. And as they say success in business has a strong correlation to success in human relations. Social media takes this human connection to a whole new scale.

Your more traditional platforms like email, print material and now even phone calls simply can’t compete with it. It’s easier to get attention on Facebook messenger than on an email or phone call.

My Four Step Framework

At the conference I shared my four step process for entrepreneurs to help them with making headway in social media. This includes:

·         Attraction – this is all about seducing your viewer at first sight through claiming, creating/updating all your profiles. It’s about utilising cover photos, profile photos, bio/about section in a clear, concise manner in a way that tells what problems you solve rather than what you do.

·         Attention – grab your viewer’s attention through platforms like LinkedIn Showcase Pages and sponsored updates. You can grab your viewer’s attention not only by way of content you post and share but also by comments and reactions on content shared by whoever you would like to seek attention of.

·         Amplification – it’s about of magnifying the impact and going beyond your own network/followers and extending the reach to targeted demographics based on demographics/interest/behaviour by way of paid ads/sponsored content.

·         Action – this is the end goal of inspiring action be it a download or sending direct message on Instagram. Consider using Facebook bots for use with Messenger. They will enhance your marketing through things like recommending products based on internet searches and past purchases.

 

You Can’t Win (G) It Alone

It seems like every week there is a new social media update/release. 

 ·         As someone who is responsible for running a business, it’s just not possible to keep up with all of that. Rely on people whose day job it is to follow all the latest social media trends and put them to test. Like most things in life, for success in social media you need to be consistent and persistent. Once off measures don’t work. Work with Jasmine Batra who can help you to put together a social media strategy. If you need a review of your social media strategy, get the experts to help you. Read More…