Tom More says, “While an image in the past used to have quite the impact on target audiences (remember Facebook’s old news feed?), nowadays marketers are well aware of the fact that a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. In fact, a video is more powerful than the written word or the photograph that an executive from Facebook has actually predicted the social platform will probably be “all video” in five years. This dramatic shift means great things for businesses, big and small. It means the more videos businesses post, the more clicks, and traffic they will receive. YouTube... [...]

Courtney Feairheller says, “Did you know that the search result in #1 position on Google gets 33% of search traffic? And that page 1 search engine results resulted in 92% of all traffic, dropping off by 95% for page 2? Numbers don’t lie. If you want to climb to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), well-written, engaging content alone won’t cut it. You also need to focus on writing SEO-driven, keyword-focused content that attracts not only website traffic, but the right kind of traffic. You might be thinking, “That sounds great, Courtney! But, how do I get started?” We’re... [...]

Brian Clark says, “In the beginning, there was blogging. And for businesses looking to build an audience that helped grow the bottom line, it was good. In fact, many of the leaders in the digital marketing space started as blogs and evolved into multi-million dollar businesses. I personally have immense gratitude for what Rainmaker Digital has been able to achieve, and it all traces back to the early Copyblogger audience. Then, around 2008, “business blogging” gave way to the term “content marketing.” Eight years later, as we wind up 2016, we’re drowning in content, and there’s... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “All bloggers have a number of websites that they visit every single day. Aside from the obvious ones (like email and Twitter), your favorites might be anything from your blog’s publishing calendar, to your online to-do list, to all your favorite social media buttongenerators. Wouldn’t it be great if all of those helpful resources were just a click away? That’s exactly what bookmarks are for. In your web browser, bookmarks are links to specific websites that show up as buttons at the top of your web browser — making it easy to visit your favorite... [...]

Sonia Simone says, “It’s time again for Andy Crestodina’s annual survey of 1000(+) bloggers. Take a listen and see how your site measures against the trends … For the third year running, Andy Crestodina over at Orbit Media has run his Survey of 1000 Bloggers. We had a chance to chat about the most interesting findings … and talk about what a big project like this can mean for an organization like his (or maybe yours). In this 30-minute episode, Andy and I talk about: – The content practice that twice as many bloggers are doing this year: How does your process stack up? –... [...]

Sophia Bernazzani says, “Imagine you own a business that films and produces yoga routines for at-home practice. As search engine results pages become more crowded, your chances of ranking for a popular industry keyword — such as “yoga” — begin to diminish. But as it turns out, that’s not the end of the world. These days people are actually conducting more specific, conversational queries — think: “how do I teach myself yoga?” — to get the information they’re looking for, faster. Unsurprisingly, Google responded to this change in... [...]

Eric Siu says, “You’ve probably invested a lot of time and money into your blog. Perhaps you’ve hired freelancers to contribute content, or you’ve spent hours pouring over analytics to find that sweet spot in your content marketing that generates results. Given the investment in your blog, it makes sense to revisit old posts and make them new again. Optimizing old blog content to generate more leads can have great results. When the team at HubSpot decided to optimize their archive of older content, the results were nothing short of extraordinary. HubSpot saw a 106 percent increase... [...]

Justas Marcus says, “Four years ago I worked at the bank. It was one of the biggest banks in eastern Europe. At that moment I thought my life was perfect. I had a job in the bank. For me, it was a dream come true. Bank = money, right? Yes! But it’s bank’s money, not yours. After a year of work, I felt that it’s not for me. I didn’t like to work from 8 to 17; I had a small office (it was a small room), and I had the same tasks every day. Sell, sell and sell! One day I came home from work and, I decided, that tomorrow I need to quit. I need to try something different!... [...]

Jeff Rose says, “The year was 2008, and I had just launched an independent financial-planning firm. As a new business owner, I had determined that my number one goal was to stand out. But, how? Eventually, I stumbled on the concept of blogging. I didn’t know how to blog or how to get started, yet I quickly recognized the inherent value of reaching out to potential clients on their home turf — the internet. After figuring out how to launch my website, Good Financial Cents, I dove into the various strategies that might help me succeed. I learned everything I could about search... [...]

Richard Stephens says, “As content marketing continues to prove itself in the digital marketing realm, an increasing number of business owners find themselves balancing precariously at the edge of the blogosphere, building up courage to take the plunge. But if you’re new to the practice, you need to be extra careful not to make any rookie errors. A few simple blogging mistakes can turn an otherwise stellar content marketing strategy into an embarrassing, sticky mess. Thankfully, these blunders are easy to avoid when you know exactly what you shouldn’t be doing. Here are seven common blogging... [...]