Yelp. It’s a heated subject. When I’m speaking with local business owners, almost everyone has an opinion on the matter.
And it’s usually not positive…
The goal of this post is to determine if you, as a business owner, should pay for Yelp’s services or not.
The last I checked, Yelp’s primary offer to business owners is to have a custom page on their site for $400 a month. This is a 12 month commitment. If you need to get out of the commitment, it’s a steep $1000 penalty.
Thus the question from business owners – should I pay for Yelp or not?
There’s no doubt that a lot of 5 star ratings from Yelp can help a business. Especially when the reviews are legit.
However, you can work on getting a lot of 5 star reviews from Yelp whether you pay for their services or not.
There’s no doubt that Yelp has great search engine results placement.
For example, if you search for “Hair salon in Walnut Creek” you’ll probably see Yelp pages in the first 5 or 6 results.
Does Paying for Yelp Services Provide Additional Benefits?
The goal here however is to see if paying Yelp offers any additional benefits.
To dive a bit deeper, let’s take a look at two former Social Rocketship clients to see if it’s worth paying for or not.
Compared side by side, there’s Ihaul in Concord, CA and All American Hauling in Walnut Cree, CA (you may have to click on the image to enlarge):
Do you see any differences?
Can you tell which one is paying Yelp every month and which one has never given them a dime?
Hard to spot the differences right?
To give you some clues, Yelp says if you pay them, then you can load up multiple pics or even a 30 second video up near the top of the page. Is this is a big benefit? Would a number of different pics really persuade you to buy from someone? Probably not.
Especially because you’re not at Yelp to look at pics.
Next Yelp says if you pay them they’re remove your competitors from your page. By looking at the two images, can you tell where they’ve done that?
Yeah, it’s in one section along the top of the page. All they’ve done is remove their own ads (this is advertising you can pay Yelp – but only on all those free account businesses!)
With that in mind, go back to see if you can spot who’s paying for Yelp and who isn’t. Still probably pretty difficult but IHaul is the company NOT paying Yelp.
What’s crazy is even if you’re paying Yelp or not you’ll still see the “People Who Viewed This Also Viewed…” which is Yelp linking to your competitors! They do this along the right hand side as well as at the bottom of the page.
So the obvious question – why pay $400 to advertise your competitors on your page?!
Does Yelp Hurt Your Rankings If You Don’t Pay Them?
Another aspect is whether or not Yelp will improve your search results if you pay for their services.
Yelp says no. But business owner after business owner says yes – because it actually happened to them.
There have been reports of business owners even being yelled at by Yelp associates for not enrolling with them or for choosing to halt their services.
Granted, this is more hear-say than anything concrete but it’s important to take into consideration.
Yelp or Not?
To sum up I’ll just say this, Yelp is just one of many online platforms. Just one. It’s just one way people can learn about you. But you’re not at Yelp’s mercy for your business.
Instead, you can take things into your own hands. For starters, your company website is by far the most important digital asset you have.
Making sure your website is getting found and engaging new visitors is vital.
From there, your YouTube channel and other social media platforms are very important in getting found and reaching new customers.
Let me put it another way.
If I only had $400 a month to spend on online marketing, it would NOT be with Yelp.
Instead, I would invest the $400 on a more multifaceted marketing approach.
I make sure my website is getting found in the search engines (SEO). I would make sure I’ve got lots of videos on my YouTube channel. I would make sure my social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc) were all engaging. I would make sure I was supplying Google with lots of quality content on a consistent basis.
And most of all, I would be tracking everything to see what’s working and do more of that!
**Ninja tactic** Still want to make all of those great reviews go to work for you? Take them and put them into your own blog posts and even YouTube videos!
If you would like help understanding the Yelp maze or would like to revamp your internet marketing, we can help! Contact us here!
3 Business Uses for Facebook – Regardless What Kind of Business You Have
/in Facebook Marketing /by Social RocketshipWhen it comes to Facebook Marketing, you might not know where to start.
If you’re like most business owners, you’ve probably been working hard to introduce your business to as many potential target customers as possible.
You know, the ones who will find your products or services irresistible and eagerly spend money with you.
Certainly you’re already on Facebook. If not, maybe it’s time. After all, your customers are there. Why aren’t you there?
3 different uses of Facebook Marketing regardless of your business
#1 – Facebook Business Page
Hands down no matter what, your business must have its own page on Facebook. It’s not only good for branding and reaching out to your target audience but it’s also great for SEO. After your own website and YouTube channel, this is arguably the next most important piece of internet real estate you could have.
Having a business page on Facebook allows you to post status updates, pictures, videos, and more. This allows those who are following you to keep in touch with your business. They ways to do this are endless and up to your imagination.
#2 – Events
Maybe your business is centered around meeting up. Create an event in your local area to reach out to new customers or clients. You could even create an event to launch a new product or to host a webinar.
For example, let’s say you’re a career coach and you want to grow your clientele. Why host an event at a local venue and give away a bunch of great tips? You could even do it online if you wanted to.
#3 – Groups
Groups are a bit different than pages because it allows for more intimate communication among people with a common interest. They can even be closed if you like as to invite only those that you want.
If you’re involved in a lot of groups in your particular industry, you can keep a pulse on what’s happening. You can also demonstrate your expertise which could result in more traffic to your site.
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Of course, if you need any help with your online marketing, we’re here to help! Check out our online marketing packages here or contact us today!
Local SEO: 5 Tips for Local Business Owners
/in Review Sites, SEO /by Social RocketshipNowadays, any business can (and should) have their own website.
With all of the resources out there, it’s easy to get a website up and running quickly.
That’s the easy part.
But how do you really get your website seen? Especially when you’re running a local business?
The answer lies in search engine optimization.
It’s a process of driving traffic to your website organically (unpaid) from the search engines.
For your local business, it’s highly beneficial to concentrate your resources on the local community.
Here are some useful tips to go local on SEO:
Use your location in your body text, keywords, and metatags
When creating a page in your website always includes your local location along with the type of business you are running.
For example “Bike Shop Los Angeles”. Google easily detects these keywords in their algorithms making your website visible on their search engine. Use the keywords strategically especially when creating blog posts and articles.
Register in local search engines
The big search engine is Google. Be sure to register your business in the local listings. Also be sure to do the same with Bing and Yahoo. They don’t have quite the same amount of traffic but it’s still valuable to do.
Local Directories
Yellow pages has an online version which serves as a directory for local businesses. Be sure to get listed there as well as the huge amount of other directories. Just search for your industry + directory.
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and others are important in the search results. They’re also free to use and can help you build your brand. Be sure to fill out your information correctly in all of these places so get the most Google-juice possible.
Reviews and Testimonials
Ask your clients or customers to write something about their experience with your services or products. You can use popular review sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Merchant Circle and more to get your business more popular online. These are increasingly important as people are looking online more than ever.
Bottom line – Do everything you can to make sure you’re getting the most out of the available resources to get found online. By doing just a little bit, you can see huge results!
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Video Marketing Really Works!
/in Video /by Social RocketshipWhat does that mean? It means that people are going to YouTube not only to find answers to their problems but to see them. Instead of reading the information, they would rather watch it.
It also means there’s a huge opportunity for you to provide good, quality content in the form of video. Having video as part of your marketing plan can make all the difference in the world.
Incorporating video marketing will help your company:
Video marketing is now a vital component of any business – no matter how big or small you may be. It doesn’t even matter the industry.
All things considered, there’s no better way to market your business right now than with video…regardless of your industry!
Online Video = More Business
According to a recent article in the New York Times, “A person who comes to the site and watches a video is twice as likely to make a purchase as a visitor who does not watch a video.” That’s huge!
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Reasons Why a Business Should Consider Using Pinterest.
/in Internet Marketing, Online Advertising, Pinterest, Social Media /by Social RocketshipPinterest is a social networking website that allows you to organize and share ideas to something called virtual pinboarding.
When you find something interesting on the web, you can pin it using Pinterest and then organize your thoughts into individual pinboards based on categories that you select.
People are using Pinterest for all kinds of interesting things, like planning weddings, decorating their homes or even sharing their favorite recipes.
The possibilities literally are endless!
Here are the reasons on why your business should highly consider using Pinterest.
It Helps You Increase Your Brand Authority
To help position yourself as an authority in your field, share from a carefully vetted combination of sources to ensure your boards contain the most accurate and useful information available.
You Will Expand Your Reach
Use Group Boards and collaborate with popular pinners who have a large following to expose your brand and content to more people.
It Helps You Drive Traffic to Your Site
Pinterest users first have to be attracted to your pins and repin them to their boards.
You Will Have Access to a Variety of Pinterest Resources
No other social network offers as many free or low-cost, third-party resources as Pinterest does!
Offers the Ability to Command the Power of Images – and Words
You have the ability to command the power of words. Yet most people are so busy posting beautiful images on Pinterest, they forget that words still carry enormous weight.
Endows the Ability to Pin Related Content from Other Pinners to Your Board
On Pinterest you can use other peoples’ pins to stand with and add value to your own in a highly focused, controlled package.
Offers the Ability to Connect Pinterest to your Facebook Page
If pinning is part of your business strategy, this is an opportunity you shouldn’t ignore!
Pinterest Offers the Opportunity to Sell
E-commerce site such as Sellpin allows you to create a pin-to-pin “shop” for your goods for sale.
You Can Present and Share Video on Pinterest
The ability to share videos on Pinterest extends you many creative uses besides mere entertainment.
You Can Create Highly Targeted Marketing Opportunities
– By using Pinterest, you can create highly targeted marketing opportunities while making strong statements.
Undoubtedly, Pinterest is a great Social Media tool for your Online Business Success.
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5 Reasons Why a Business Should Hire a Web Design Firm to Build their New Website
/in Website Design /by Social RocketshipA company website.
Every business needs one.
Considering the vast quantity of potential customers you can get by marketing online, you no longer have a choice – you have to have a company website.
But how do you even start? What are the do’s and don’ts? What should you put on your website? Can you do it yourself? Should you?
With that in mind, here are 5 reasons why you should hire a website professional to do all the job for you.
#1 Focus on your business
It doesn’t make sense to create and manage a website project if you are not a web designer. It’s better to focus on your core business itself. It’ll be more efficient and much more effective to hire a professional.
#2 Save time
Time is money right? By using a professional web design firm, you’re saving precious time that could be devoted to what you do best. Capitalize on the expertise of professionals instead of starting from scratch.
#3 Get professional expert help and get results
There are a lot of things to consider when creating your own web project. By hiring a professional from the start, your website project will include all of the right element. By working with a great web design company, you’ll not only get a great website, you’ll start to see results in your marketing and sales efforts.
#4 Leverage internet marketing
The internet is the most cost effective solution to put your business in front of thousands of potential customers. Every day, more and more people are coming online. Meaning, more potential customers and eventually getting more sales. In other words, you’ve got to have your business on there!
#5 Get results and a higher return on investment (ROI).
An effective website design can produce massive returns for a long time. It’s more than that. It’s something that reflects your company. It’s something you can and should be proud of. When you work with a professional web developer, you’re putting yourself in a situation to really grow your business.
Your precious time and effort should be spent more wisely. Choosing the right professional website company will get your business farther than you can imagine.
Contact us today by clicking here
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Yelp: To Pay or Not to Pay? A Question Every Local Business Must Answer
/in Reputation Management, Yelp /by Social RocketshipYelp. It’s a heated subject. When I’m speaking with local business owners, almost everyone has an opinion on the matter.
And it’s usually not positive…
The goal of this post is to determine if you, as a business owner, should pay for Yelp’s services or not.
The last I checked, Yelp’s primary offer to business owners is to have a custom page on their site for $400 a month. This is a 12 month commitment. If you need to get out of the commitment, it’s a steep $1000 penalty.
Thus the question from business owners – should I pay for Yelp or not?
There’s no doubt that a lot of 5 star ratings from Yelp can help a business. Especially when the reviews are legit.
However, you can work on getting a lot of 5 star reviews from Yelp whether you pay for their services or not.
There’s no doubt that Yelp has great search engine results placement.
For example, if you search for “Hair salon in Walnut Creek” you’ll probably see Yelp pages in the first 5 or 6 results.
Does Paying for Yelp Services Provide Additional Benefits?
The goal here however is to see if paying Yelp offers any additional benefits.
To dive a bit deeper, let’s take a look at two former Social Rocketship clients to see if it’s worth paying for or not.
Compared side by side, there’s Ihaul in Concord, CA and All American Hauling in Walnut Cree, CA (you may have to click on the image to enlarge):
Do you see any differences?
Can you tell which one is paying Yelp every month and which one has never given them a dime?
Hard to spot the differences right?
To give you some clues, Yelp says if you pay them, then you can load up multiple pics or even a 30 second video up near the top of the page. Is this is a big benefit? Would a number of different pics really persuade you to buy from someone? Probably not.
Especially because you’re not at Yelp to look at pics.
Next Yelp says if you pay them they’re remove your competitors from your page. By looking at the two images, can you tell where they’ve done that?
Yeah, it’s in one section along the top of the page. All they’ve done is remove their own ads (this is advertising you can pay Yelp – but only on all those free account businesses!)
With that in mind, go back to see if you can spot who’s paying for Yelp and who isn’t. Still probably pretty difficult but IHaul is the company NOT paying Yelp.
What’s crazy is even if you’re paying Yelp or not you’ll still see the “People Who Viewed This Also Viewed…” which is Yelp linking to your competitors! They do this along the right hand side as well as at the bottom of the page.
So the obvious question – why pay $400 to advertise your competitors on your page?!
Does Yelp Hurt Your Rankings If You Don’t Pay Them?
Another aspect is whether or not Yelp will improve your search results if you pay for their services.
Yelp says no. But business owner after business owner says yes – because it actually happened to them.
There have been reports of business owners even being yelled at by Yelp associates for not enrolling with them or for choosing to halt their services.
Granted, this is more hear-say than anything concrete but it’s important to take into consideration.
Yelp or Not?
To sum up I’ll just say this, Yelp is just one of many online platforms. Just one. It’s just one way people can learn about you. But you’re not at Yelp’s mercy for your business.
Instead, you can take things into your own hands. For starters, your company website is by far the most important digital asset you have.
Making sure your website is getting found and engaging new visitors is vital.
From there, your YouTube channel and other social media platforms are very important in getting found and reaching new customers.
Let me put it another way.
If I only had $400 a month to spend on online marketing, it would NOT be with Yelp.
Instead, I would invest the $400 on a more multifaceted marketing approach.
I make sure my website is getting found in the search engines (SEO). I would make sure I’ve got lots of videos on my YouTube channel. I would make sure my social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc) were all engaging. I would make sure I was supplying Google with lots of quality content on a consistent basis.
And most of all, I would be tracking everything to see what’s working and do more of that!
**Ninja tactic** Still want to make all of those great reviews go to work for you? Take them and put them into your own blog posts and even YouTube videos!
If you would like help understanding the Yelp maze or would like to revamp your internet marketing, we can help! Contact us here!
Why Content is the Life Blood of Your Business
/in Content Marketing, Internet Marketing /by Social RocketshipThe internet is the answer.
The internet has now become, hands down, the go-to resource for people looking for answers.
Online visitors, your future clients or customers, are looking for quality information that’s going to solve their problem.
Your product or service can probably do it. Are you telling people about it? Online? If not, you’re missing out on a HUGE amount of business.
Here’s Why
Content provides the answers. This can be in the form of blog posts, videos, articles, white papers, photos, podcasts, and more.
By producing content that addresses the main concerns of your visitors, you’re proving you know your stuff.
The result?
You’re going to be the one getting the phone calls.
What About Google?
Let’s not forget the mighty search engine (and those other less-used search engines too).
By producing quality content that answers real-life problems, you’re not only going to be discovered by your future clients but also Google too.
In fact, it’s kind of an upward spiral. The more you get found in Google, the more people see you and the more people see you the more Google ranks you higher and so on.
When you’re producing content, you’re really doing it for two groups. One, the people you’re trying to help with your business. And two, the robots at Google who are scanning your stuff.
Without Content, Your Business will Die
That’s a bold statement. But it’s true.
Online visitors, your future clients or customers, are looking for quality information that’s going to solve their problem. If it’s not on your website, they’ll quickly bounce off to your competitor’s website.
Without content, the end result is that your website does little more than to act as sort of a digital business card.
Sure, it provides your hours of operation and business address, but is it providing the content that your visitors are looking for?
And don’t forget Google. If you’re not supplying content that Google can find, your website will get buried!
Being that over 90% of consumers in the U.S. are now looking online for their next service or product, this is kind of a big deal.
The conclusion then is if you’re not marketing online through good quality content, you’re not going to be in business very long.
Start producing content. Start sharing your knowledge. Create a blog. Do videos. Start a podcast. Your business and your pocketbook will thank you!
Naturally, if you need help with content or anything online, we can help!
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Three Basic but Vital Components to a Great Website
/in Website Design /by Social RocketshipThe following is a quick list to three basic but extremely vital components that every business absolutely must have on their website.
The list may seem very basic but it’s very important. And you would be surprised at the number of company websites that don’t have even these simple components in place!
#1 Dynamic Content
Your website must serve as an education tool about your product or service as well as the overall industry you’re in. Your role is to inform your potential customer why you’re the best in the business.
Additionally, you’ve got to demonstrate through your knowledge how you can solve their problem. In other words, you’ve giving them a sample of what you can do for them.
Videos and blogs work great for this. Through videos, you can literally demonstrate your knowledge in action. Blogs work the same way but just in a written form (and visual with images).
#2 Call to Action
Once you’ve informed your website visitors about your business, you must tell them what to do. Again, this may seem basic but you cannot assume that your visitor knows what to do next.
Think about it.
What do you want them to do? Do you want them to call you? Do you want them to fill out a contact form? Send you an email?
Tell them! Have a big red button (or something that works well with your branding colors) in a prominent location on your website that can be seen at all times.
Somewhere in the header or upper right hand corner is usually good.
#3 Contact Information
Closely related to your call to action is having your contact information proudly displayed. The whole goal of your website is to sell your visitors on your business.
Supposing it does its job, you’ve got to make it easy for them to now contact you to buy. Have your phone numbers, emails, and all other contact sources displayed in a very visible location at all times.
Preferably, you’ll have your contact listed somewhere near the top, middle, and bottom of your website.
Also, you should have an entire page dedicated to how to reach you. This can include a map of your location and a contact form.
You should also include all of your various social media profiles. Regardless of your business, you should have at least links to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
You might not personally spend much time there but you never want to limit how a customer with money in hand can contact you.
So that’s it!
Put these three basic but vital pieces in place on your website and watch your business grow!
Of course, if you need assistance with this, we can help!
Contact us today at 415-857-5715 or contact us here.
(See how we did that?!) 😉
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Why Your Company Must be Marketing on YouTube
/in Video /by Social RocketshipVideo marketing is hot. In fact, it’s a fundamental shift to the online marketing game. But it wasn’t always so.
12-ish years ago it was enough to have a website. This was your online home – a digital representation of your business. It’s still just as important today, if not more so.
10-ish years ago SEO (search engine optimization) was the name of the game. Get as many backlinks and so forth as you can to game the system and get your website on page #1 of Google.
About 5 years ago companies started adding blogs to their sites. This provided much needed content marketing. This served both for the real humans (your customers) discovering your business but also for SEO purposes.
And just a couple of years ago, businesses started reaching out via social media. This provided another channel to build your brand, reach out to your customers, and even provide market research.
Now, video marketing reigns supreme.
In fact, having a YouTube channel is arguably the second most piece of internet real estate following your website.
It’s that important. There are so many benefits to marketing with YouTube. Here’s why…
One Stone, A Lot of Birds
First of all, video marketing knocks out all of the above items (SEO, content marketing, and social media) in one fell swoop.
In other words, video marketing is SEO. Video marketing is content marketing. Video marketing is social media marketing (yes, YouTube is a social network).
So you’re able to accomplish a lot through using only one medium.
People Are Visual
As people, we’re visually geared. TV killed the radio. And now the internet, with the help of online video, is killing TV.
YouTube just passed over 1 billion views monthly! Think of that! That’s a lot of people watching a lot stuff online!
Your business should be there!
Google Friendly
Most people know that Google owns YouTube. They also know that YouTube videos tend to rank very well with Google.
Also, with the increased viewership of videos, Google is ranking videos more and more.
What this means is that while your website might good, having a video (or an army of videos) is great! Imagine having someone look up your business and coming across 3 or 4 videos.
It’s like having an army of virtual sales people who go to work for your business 24-7 and for free!
It really happens.
Also, most of the latest statistics say that with the same search terms, video results will get clicked on more than 60% of the time.
That’s good news if you’re doing video marketing!
So start today with your video marketing.
Snag your YouTube channel. Load up a lot of really, useful videos. And start watching your business grow in a way you never thought of before!
For more information on how you can market your business online to get real results, call use today at 415-857-5715 or contact us here.
Home Works by Kelly – Kitchen and Bathroom General Contractor
/in Client Spotlight /by Social RocketshipAt Social Rocketship, we like to highlight our clients and their great work. Today we’re focusing in on Kelly Lems and her company Home Work by Kelly Lems.
Kelly’s main goal is to help home owners save money when they go to do a remodel of their kitchen, bathroom, or any part of their home.
Kelly works from a proven process which she uses to help home owners get the most bang for the buck. Take a look at how it all works below:
(click to enlarge)
Kelly has years of experience of helping home owners with their remodeling needs. She’s also a member of the National Kitchen and Batch Association, Northwest Society of Interior Designers, and has volunteered with Rebuilding Together in Seattle.
If you’re looking to do a remodel whether it’s your kitchen, bathroom, or any other part of your home, and you’re in the Seattle or Eastside area, be sure contact Kelly.
You can reach her at 425-417-3183 or visit her online at www.homeworksbykelly.com
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