The numbers are in. Google organic traffic is down. Sound the alarms! We’re all doomed.  Or maybe not. Stay tuned for more about that. First, let’s get into the details behind this decrease in Google organic.   According to the latest Merkle digital marketing report, year-over-year visits from Google organic are down by 8%. And that’s…

Content marketing is an essential part of any successful online marketing strategy. But as consumers of information, we are drowning in content. With so much content being produced, and with the ever-changing search landscape, how do you ensure your time and effort spent creating content isn’t wasted? Many marketers think the solution to overcoming poorly…

Meta descriptions play an important role in how your webpages appear and perform on search engine results pages. The meta description itself has undergone several major changes in recent years, but its importance is one aspect that has stayed the same, if not increased. Here’s a brief history of the meta description’s wild ride through the…

The ultimate goal of every website is to get conversions. If your site doesn’t convert, it’s not doing its job. For ecommerce websites, that means selling products. For lead generation sites, your point of conversion is typically going to be a contact form. Getting users to see your contact form is one thing, but getting…

There’s more to an effective marketing strategy than simply producing good content. That’s just part of the foundation. James Cameron’s job wasn’t done when he finished writing The Terminator. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was then faced with the even greater challenges of bringing the script to life and getting butts in the seats. Successfully marketing your…

We’ve all been there. You’re putting the finishing touches on some truly dynamite content you know is sure to impress and convert like nothing before. Then you hit publish. And no one sees it. It’s as if Shakespeare had flushed Hamlet down the toilet. The best writing in the world means nothing if it doesn’t…

Here’s a test for you. Go to any page on your website and swap out your company’s name with the name of your biggest competitor. Now read the content. Did it make a difference? Probably not.   If you don’t have a brand messaging strategy, your content could be anyone’s content. It doesn’t matter what…

Category pages are often overlooked when planning content for your ecommerce website. After all, most people just view a category page as a collection of products. Show your customers the products and let them figure it out, right? If you want your category pages to dominant search results and provide a great experience for your…

As a website user, you probably hate pop-ups. But as a business owner, web designer or marketer, you sometimes have to put your personal feelings aside. Contrary to what many people say, pop-ups are not the root of all evil. Sometimes they are useful—both to you as a website owner and to your users. Of…

For a moment, let’s imagine a world of absolutes and break the web design process down to two possibilities: Design first, then write content Write content first, then design It’s not much of a stretch. Some designers will ask you for all your content and then create a design that complements it. Other designers will…

So your company has developed a killer blog filled with great content that drives traffic to your website, establishes you as an industry-leading expert, and occasionally even results in a new lead or sale. But there’s one little problem. You simply don’t have time to write any new posts. What are you supposed to do?…

Whether content is king, queen, or something else entirely these days, one thing is definitely clear: you still need good content on your website. No, this isn’t another pitch for content marketing or a plea to get that company blog going. This is about the words on the main pages of your website. You know,…