Tag Archives: best internet marketing company

Improve your website with these 3 things every customer wants

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Hey folks! Welcome to your one-minute tip! Today I wanted to be inspired by the Port of San Francisco, which is where I am. You can see the beautiful Bay Bridge behind me to talk to you about really easy updates that you can make to your website to get better customer satisfaction.

1. Make it easy to contact you:

So the very first thing is to add your phone number or a large Contact Us button to the very top of your website on every single page so customers don’t have to hunt and search to contact you.

For an intermediate step, you can also add a live chat on your website which you can sync to your smartphone to connect with your website visitors in real time.

website marketing

2. Post your hours of operation:

Especially important for brick and mortar businesses,  add your hours of operation either to the very top of your website or at least to your contact page. A lot of people are searching for your hours of operation and you don’t want to leave them frustrated.

3. Help people find you with a map

For those of you with a local business or store front, be sure to add a Google map so people can get directions and find out exactly where your business is located.

That’s your One Minute Tip. Thanks for watching. And if you found this valuable, please consider sharing with your network and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and never miss a tip. Thank you.

A Digital Entrepreneur’s Manifesto

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digital-entrepreneur-manifesto

A manifesto is a document that outlines your Intentions, Motives and Views

Being a business owner or entrepreneur, freelancer or contractor is inherently a political act.

You have the autonomy to create an economy from your 24 hour day.  You can make real your vision of the world and expand it outwards through your livelihood.

Be the change you wish to see. The world needs what you’ve got.

Now is the most potent time in history to be an entrepreneur.

Powerful reach formerly attainable only by the elite is now available for dollars or for free. The Internet frees you from the restraints of geography and time zone. Whatever reason you have to do the work you do, whatever change you seek to make, you can do it.

Now. Powerfully.

Harness the power of the internet- hire abroad, promote for free, work in your PJS, go viral, correspond with business royalty, automate tedious processes, sell your products.

 Anytime. Anyplace. Online.

No more do you need to be stifled by how it’s always been; top down, 9-5, cubicles, economic uncertainty. Don’t let that dreamer part of you die. It’s time. It’s here. It’s being done.

Working to live not living to work.

The four hour work week.

Laptops and wifi on the beach in paradise.

Say no to mediocrity in work and in life.

Harness the power of the Internet, show the world what you’ve got

—

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

 

What is a USP and Why Should You Care?

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what-is-USP

 

 

 

 

 

When people ask me “what I do,” I can respond in two ways:

1. I can say “I have an online training program” and watch their eyes glaze over with boredom.

2. I can say “I help entrepreneurs make money using the Internet!” and watch their faces light up with interest and excitement.

Obviously, I choose option #2. And when you identify a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that makes your prospects sit up and take notice, you’ll generate the same positive response.

Creating your USP

The key to creating a Unique Selling Proposition (a.k.a. an Elevator Pitch) is to look at what you offer from your target audience’s point of view, and speaking to their needs. How can you BENEFIT them? How will you make THEIR lives better? What are THEY concerned about? And just as importantly: WHY are you a better choice than the competition?

Here’s an example using a fictitious dog training company. The company could say “we train dogs” and watch their potential customers yawn. Or, they can say “we help young families keep their sanity by turning problem dogs into family animals with my mobile training and exercise program” and make a positive, immediate impact.

See the difference? Your aim is to WOW people with your USP!

Where Your Opportunity Lies

A market that is not being adequately serviced existing businesses is where your opportunity lies.

To carve out a niche for, you can generally compete with other businesses on any two of these elements: Price, Quality, Delivery.

Competing on price is usually a bad idea, as you have to sell huge volumes in order to make a profit – and you’re vulnerable to getting undercut by a competitor who is willing to sell for less. What’s more, your customers won’t have any loyalty towards you, because you’re providing the cheapest price; not the best solution.

If you can find something in the delivery of your product or service that people will really value, and it isn’t being provided by your competitors, then you’ve got it made!

For example, my clients love that we don’t give them homework! We understand that they’re busy. So while our competitors find new ways to make life complicated and tedious, we pride ourselves on making the entire web design and Internet marketing process extremely EASY. Without a doubt, our ability to make our customers’ lives simple and easy is a major reason why they choose us vs. our competitors.

What’s more, although our prices are reasonable, we aren’t the cheapest – and we don’t try to be. Our customers are more than willing to pay for the value that we provide them. And delivering VALUE is what business is really all about! Can you give customers what they really want, at a price that they’re willing to pay?

Differentiation=Value

During your USP development, you need to find out what it is that you do differently – and better – than your competitors.

Remember: this has to be something that addresses a customer concern that goes beyond the obvious (or else your competitors would already be doing it!). If you’ve done any prospect or customer surveys, this information can usually be found in the answer to this question:

Why haven’t you purchased X yet?

A Simple and Powerful Formula for Creating Your USP

You don’t need to be a marketing expert to create your USP. Here’s a simple and powerful formula to get you moving forward:

“I solve TARGET MARKET’S PROBLEM with my UNIQUE SERVICE to deliver a BENEFIT.”

Or alternatively:

“I deliver BENEFIT to TARGET MARKET by SOLVING THEIR PROBLEM with my UNIQUE SERVICE.”

My company helps ____________________ (Target Market A)

Who ___________________________________(Target Market B)

By_______________________________________(Differentiation A)

To _______________________________________(Differentiation B)

OR:

I ______________________________( Differentiation B)

To ______________________________ (Target Market A)

By _______________________________(Target Market B)

With my ___________________________(differentiation A)

 

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

How to Boost Sales With Video Marketing Today

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Video-MarketingVideo marketing is essential for success in today’s marketplace. So why are some businesses still putting it off? The 3 most common reasons I hear are:

1. They’re camera shy.
2. They don’t think they’ll do a good job.
3. They don’t think they need to.

And my 3 responses to those reasons?

  1. Trust me, you’ll be much better than you imagine!
  2. With the right help and guidance, you’ll do a phenomenal job!
  3. Video marketing is so effective and lucrative that you need to start – now!

Why is Video Marketing so Effective?

Without question, video marketing is an incredibly effective way to turn prospects into customers, because

  • Videos are more likely to be shared than other types of media
  • Videos tend to be watched by consumers closer to the end of the buying cycle (i.e. when they’re ready to make a purchase).
  • 60% of senior executives would rather watch a video than read text (source: Forbes Insight)
  • After consumers watch a video: 65% click through to visit the vendor website; 50% look for more information; and 45% contact the vendor – and of this overall group, 50% make a purchase

 Topics for your Video Marketing

  • Testimonials: capturing your happy customers on video is one of the best things you can do for your business. They will “sell” you better than anyone else could.
  • Product Demos: this is a great way to showcase your products (e.g. how they work, how they’re assembled, before and after, etc.)
  • “How To’s”: this is another great way to showcase your expertise – and as a bonus, “how to” videos are often shared by audiences, which means you’ll reach even more potential customers!

Why You Need to “Get Personal” with Video Marketing

Are you camera shy? Don’t worry! Your future customers are human beings, too. And in fact, that’s something that you can definitely use to your advantage in video marketing.

You see, your customers would rather see a REAL person who runs the company talking directly to them vs. some slick, over-produced commercial. Plus, you have a lot of knowledge, experience and passion to share. Why keep that to yourself, when you can truly help people in so many positive ways?

Do It Yourself Video Marketing

Don’t worry about professional-grade videos right now. To get started, it’s fine to use your smartphone (it’s better to start with low quality videos than not to start at all!)

Editing

At minimum, put your website address in your video, and preferably your name and logo as well. Be sure to take advantage of YouTube’s free built-in video editing capabilities.

Video Length

Try to keep your video less than 30 seconds. For more in depth presentations, keep it less than 3 minutes.

Optimizing your Videos

When you upload your video to YouTube, ensure that you use your target keywords in the title and tags. Also put your website address in the description (many people overlook this tip!). This will increase the odds of your video appearing in YouTube or Google search results.

Sharing your Videos

You can also upload your video to Facebook, and post links to your video on other social networks. Remember to promote them on website and email newsletter, too, and encourage your community and network to share your video

Video Marketing Summary

Video marketing is an easy and inexpensive way to connect with your target market, show them who you are and what you can do, and boost your sales. Why put it off? Grab your smart phone, use these tips, and get started TODAY!

Learn more about Internet Marketing Service.

 

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

Social Media Marketing Set Up Cheat Sheet

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Social-Media-Marketing-Set-Up-Cheat-SheetWhen it comes to setting up a brand new company on social media, it can be confusing to try and figure out how many pixels and characters are allowed on each platform. Indeed, given that the specifications and functionality of social media sites change on what seems like a daily basis, it can be challenging to keep up with everything.

To help you stay efficient, here’s a comprehensive breakdown of the design and text specifications for each of the main 5 social media platforms:

Social Media Set Up: Graphic Dimensions for Cover/Banner/Timeline images:

The main image for social media business pages is typically large, fun and representative of the brand values and benefits.

Be sure to take the time and think about what you’re going to do on your social media properties to achieve your business goals. You want it to look great, but also to reflect and express your strategy, too. And while you may want to have a slightly different look and feel for each property, ensure that the overall look and feel is consistent.

Facebook Timeline cover dimensions are 851 x 315, but keep in mind that this main image is somewhat cut off by the profile image, which sits 23 pixels in from the left side and down 201 pixels from the top. This box will take up 160 pixels.

LinkedIN Cover photo dimensions are a bit smaller at 646 X 220

Google + cover image dimensions are massive at 2120 x 1192 — but if you want to make sure your brand logo isn’t cut off or altered, place it in a 1280x350px

Twitter and YouTube use a background image, which places graphic content off to either side of the main content.

The background image size for Twitter and YouTube is 1280 x 800. It’s best to keep the actual visible content on the left to about 250 pixels wide, though.

Twitter cover image size is 1252px x 626px

YouTube Cover image size is: 970 x 150

Other images for Social Media Sites:

Facebook

  • Profile Picture size is 150 x 150
  • App images are 111 x 74
  • Milestones 843 x 403

LinkedIN

  • Logo size is 160 x 90
  • Product images are 65 x 65

Google + logo size is 250 x 250

Twitter logo/ headshot is 73 x 73

Social Media Set Up: Text

Text on social media sites is typically restricted to very few characters. As such, make your text snappy and benefit-oriented. Also be sure to have a call to action, like “sign up on our website.” Remember to be as concise as possible, and if possible, use images instead of words.

Also ensure that text and images are consistent across all platforms, so your brand messaging is more efficient. With that being said, you may want to write in a slightly different tone for each property, depending on the audience and your business goals.

Facebook

  • Total text size can include 255 characters, although only about 178 characters are visible on the home page.
  • 204 characters per timeline/milestone event.

LinkedIN:

  • About: 1194 characters
  • Products:  The home page teaser is 78 characters, and the products page the teaser is 292 characters, for a total of total 532 characters
  • Careers:  78 characters

Twitter

  • Bio: 190 characters, including hashtags

And remember to keep the focus on the benefits you deliver to your customer, and to make your artwork people-oriented. After all, these sites are for social media networking, so make sure that you’re being sociable!

 

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

Why use Social Media Marketing?

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why-use-social-mediaImagine a continual global networking event with hundreds of millions of attendees. This is, in a nutshell, what the world of social media is.

As such, there exists tremendous opportunity to tap into your target market and build connections and nurture relationships with potential customers.

That being said, this world of social media marketing can be a tricky one.

You’ve heard the horror stories of too much personal information being shared and extraordinary time invested with nothing to show for it.

With a little understanding of social media etiquette and some patience, you can significantly increase your exposure to your target market and build a community of qualified leads, prospects, fans and influencers.

The return on investment is certainly worthwhile.

Here are 5 very good reasons you’ll want to use social media marketing.

1. It gets you in front of your target market

The first is that it’s very likely your target market spends hours on social media marketing websites. They’re present and engaged on these sites, and having a presence gives you the opportunity to engage with them.

2. It’s free

Unlike a lot of advertising, you don’t have to spend any money to use the tools.

3. It builds your network

You can build a network of contacts online, beyond the restrictions of the physical.

Whether that’s your geographic location, time zone or the fearsome gatekeeper to your prospect’s direct line, you have the opportunity to connect with people that you otherwise would not be able to.

4. It keeps you in contact

All those business cards you collect in your day to day life can be put to use. Maintain these connections in a manner that’s appropriately light given that you’ve just met, but allows you to stay top of mind as well.

5. It’s like word of mouth referrals-on steroids

Each time you can have someone in your target market engage with your business online, that action spreads out to their network – giving you free publicity and an unofficial endorsement of your business. You get instant, free exposure to hundreds if not thousands.

Beyond the theoretical reasons why, here are 7 statistics to show it works:

Here are 7 statistics that show social media marketing actually works for turning a profit.

1. 85% of Internet users have Facebook accounts; 49% are on Twitter. (HubSpot)

2. B2B businesses experience a 61% success rate in customer acquisition using LinkedIn.(HubSpot)

3. 43% of all online consumers are social media fans or followers. (Harp Social)

4. 80% of people prefer to get coupons, promos, and discounts from brands in social media.(HubSpot)

5. 67% of Twitter users are more likely to buy brands that they follow. (iModerate Research Technologies)

6. 34% of marketers have generated leads using Twitter, and 20% have closed deals.(Mindjumpers)

7. 20% of Facebook users have purchased something because of ads or comments they saw there. (Ipsos)

Essentially social media websites provide us with a platform to connect with more people than ever before. In connecting with others, we have the opportunity to build relationships and get others to know like and trust us.

“All things being equal, people will do business with — and refer business to — those people they know, like and trust.” – Bob Burg.

 

Learn more about Social Media.

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

Your Cheat Sheet: 22 Social Media Do’s and Don’ts:

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social-media-dos-and-dontsForgetting the “rules” of social media? No worries, things change so quickly it can be difficult to keep up.

That’s why we’ve created this printable social media cheat sheet – 22 Do’s and Don’ts for success!

12 Social Media DO’s

1. Champion others – share their stories, like and comment on their news feeds and support them in their endeavors. The law of reciprocity means they will return the favor.

2. Give to get – Give helpful, entertaining, funny, inspiring or clever content to your social media audience. The more you can provide value, the better your odds of ensuring your content is shared, thereby growing your network.

3. Use multimedia – Use image or video based content whenever possible.

4. Optimize your accounts – YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook properties all appear in Google Search, Google + does as well, but Twitter does not anymore. If possible, use your keywords in your usernames.

5. ASK. Ask people to share, comment, like, re-tweet, sign up for your newsletter, visit your website or whatever you want them to do.

6. Be interested not interesting: be genuinely engaged with your social media contacts. Check in and see how they are, like their statuses, wish them happy birthday, ask their opinion.

7. Grow your network: Add all contacts you meet in real life and send them a hello message. Regularly add your email contacts and people you might know to your various social media profiles.

8. Add your social media live feeds, or at the very least, icons to your website or blog.

9. Suggest your Facebook page to friends on a weekly basis and participate in Follow Friday on Twitter

10. Ask your network to promote you

11. Comment on the news and events of the day

12. On Twitter – Use Hashtags to contextualize your conversation and connect with others discussing the same topics

Social Media Don’ts:

1. Don’t create an account and abandon it – set aside 10 minutes a day to check in and post something

2. Don’t be offensive or post in bad taste – you can be opinionated without being rude

3. Don’t talk only about yourself – self-centred people are as off putting online as they are off.

4. Don’t fail to acknowledge when people interact with you – it’s just rude

5. Don’t Sell, Sell, Sell! – no one likes a pushy sales person

6. Don’t make Spelling Mistakes: Use spellcheck!

7. Don’t expend a bunch of energy without a strategic plan

8. Don’t assign your social media marketing in its entirety to an intern – they can help you, but make sure their work is on point and you’re coaching them. Remember they are representing you online.

9. Don’t get too familiar – you can be cordially social without providing too much information

10. Don’t get into contentious or political conversations unless they’re part of your brand and you’re prepared for the fact not everyone is going to agree with you

 

Follow these 22 simple tips and you’ll have a failsafe methodology for engaging with your customers, clients and prospects on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google + and more.

Behind these points is the guiding principle of being genuinely likeable and providing value to your audience.

By being interested in others and consistently applying these tips, you’ll be well on your way to social media mastery

 

Learn more about Social Media.

 

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

7 Principles for Social Media Success

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7-principles-for-social-mediaIt’s 2013, and do you know where your target market is?

Social media provides vast opportunities for connecting with your target market.

However, the fast pace and info overload can make it challenging to carve out a distinct methodology for success.

It’s hard to cut through the social media noise overload and get down to marketing basics. If you’re looking to do that, here are some very clear principles for using social media tools to engage and grow relationships:

1. Thou shalt obey the 80/20 rule. Make 80% of your posts about your audience, promote    them, educate them, entertain them, poll them etc. When you have done so effectively, they will embrace the shameless self-promotion you’re doing the other 20% of the time.

2. Thou shalt be strategic: Using the info below, or one similar, find out which social media network your target market is present and engaged in.

a. Twitter is used by urban youth
b. Google + is used by college kids and software developers (and smart business owners like you that want to be found online)
c. Facebook is used by everyone – except elitists
d. LinkedIn is like Facebook, but for business. Essential for Business 2 Business companies.
e. Pinterest is where 30 something women spend an obscene amount of time

3. Thou shalt plan thy content.

a. Use a healthy mixture of styles, mediums and sources.
b. Keep in mind your target`s concerns, hobbies, lifestyle
c. Curate a community of like-minded businesses and people to share content from.
d. Share your social media network`s content, status updates etc.
e. Measure your results and tweak accordingly

4. Thou shall be authentic: Let your freak flag fly – Drew Barrymore said it. It’s your wild hair, or love of horses or biting sarcasm. Something about you and your business is distinctive, and believe it or not, is your competitive advantage. What is authentic is audacious and memorable and therefore captures social media market share.

5. Thou shalt encourage dialogue: Ask questions, solicit advice, conduct polls, and offer prizes for best feedback. Cater to the masses and benefit from ad hoc focus groups and market research. Everyone likes being asked as long as they feel heard.

6. Thou shalt reward engagement: Say thank you, offer prizes, feature a fan or follower, feature their business, offer fan or friend only pricing. Make your social media audience feel loved and they will return the favor.

7. Thou shalt be timely: Respond within 24 hours, post semi regularly. Don’t abandon your accounts and return months later. Once a week is minimum, 24 hours is preferable. 3 times a day is optimal. Social media is a 24 hour worldwide conference and every ones is invited. Don’t show up a week late talking about last year’s news.

Follow these 7 principles to engaging with people on social media and you will go far and do great things.

You don’t have to be perfect at it to start, you will learn as you grow. Follow and friend those you admire and watch what they do. And remember, social media is just a platform to connect with people.

As with real life, simply position yourself to be liked and trusted. Be intelligent, good looking and flattering. Help people. Provide value. With a little patience you’ll see your social media efforts will start to pay off.

 

Learn more about Social Media.

 

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

What Should You Pay To Get On Google?

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internet-marketing-resultsThere is such a huge range of costs and methods of billing to get on google that it can be confusing to know what is a good deal, and what is too good to be true. Likewise, it can be hard to understand why some firms charge 10 times more than others for what appears to be the same work.

Here is a breakdown of the different billing types, SEO Package services, and rates that typical SEO Companies will offer you to ensure your company’s website will get on Google:

Billing Type:

  1. Per hour: According to a 2012 survey by SEO MOZ, most SEO professionals charge between $76-$200/hour to help you get on Google.
  2. Flat rate or per project: Many firms will charge a flat rate for a very specific service to be performed ie: keyword analysis, site optimization or backlink creation
  3. Retainer: By far the most popular, a monthly retainer ensures specific services are performed each month. The advantage of this model is flexibility in allocating resources to what service within the offering is needed the most at that time.

Most common types of services needed to help you get on Google:

  • Pay per Click: offering to create and manage your ads for you
  • Google + local: claim your google + page
  • Inbound organic optimization: creating backlinks and directory listings to point back to your site and drive traffic
  • Web optimization: adjusting and tweaking the code of your site, including metatags to better “tell: the search engines what your site is about
  • Content marketing: Creating keyword heavy blog posts for distribution across the web.

Variables to the cost to get on Google:

  1. Amount of competition for keywords/ complexity of goal
  2. Size and complexity of site
  3. Experience of SEO firm
  4. Range of services provided- full service to bare minimum

Price Range of services that will help:

Keyword Analysis:  The low range is around $250, and the highest range is $2500. The variable can be attributed to how in depth the report is, and how experienced the SEO packages professional

Site Optimization: The low range is around $300 and the high range caps at $3000. For best results, ask for a price range based on hours of work. This directly correlates to how big and complex the website is.

Monthly retainer: For on-going SEO Packages: (Site and External to Site Services) $1000-$3000.

Content Marketing: Blogging + content submission: $500-$2500 a month, depending on how many hours/blog posts.

Google + Page Claim: $300 month seems to be the average price, but they go as high as $500.

Social Media Management: Yes, Social Media and SEO are blending into each other, making it hard to do one without the other.

Internet Marketing Consulting and Recommendations: Range from $76-$200 on average. Most SEO firms will include a set number of hours in their monthly retainer SEO Packages.

It’s recommended that, at the very minimum, your SEO package includes not just recommendations, but actual hand coded SEO Optmization of your website.

It is also recommended that your provider use the triple prong approach to off page SEO: Places, Organic, and Paid. This way you can cancel your SEO Package and still receive the benefits of a high ranking website well into the future.

For more information on the three ways to get on Google.

Your Turn!

I’d love to hear your questions or challenges – Tell me in the comments below.

And, if you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Laurel LindsayLaurel Lindsay is a Calgary Internet Marking Consultant & President of The New Media Group Inc. She has over 8 years hands-on Internet Marketing experience.

Laurel is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people live better lives by leveraging the power of the internet.

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