Evan Hoeflich, Author at

Six Most Dangerous SEO Techniques to Avoid

September 26, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

The practice of SEO is quite common among business owners today, even though very few frequently re-evaluate their SEO strategies.

Tactics that might have worked in the past may not yield any positive results today. Several practices of SEO might attract you unmerited penalties from search engines, and compromise your ranking in the SERPs. The following are six of the most dangerous SEO techniques that you should avoid in 2018:

Unnatural links

Most webmasters understand the importance of link building when it comes to attaining higher search engine rankings and increasing organic traffic. However, the links you build to your website must be of the highest quality, and from legitimate sources.

Unnatural links generally involve stuffing backlinks bought from illegal websites. These are incredibly spammy and low quality links that can really negatively impact your SEO. Some webmasters take the extra initiative of hiding the links so that the audiences do not see them. Whichever way, Google and other search engines have become stricter in observation of these types of practices, and are known to heavily penalize websites that engage in this behavior.

Keyword stuffing

It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of using identified keywords with the aim of reaching as many people as possible by ranking at the top of the search engines. However, like unnatural links, keyword stuffing is distasteful to search engines, not to mention, audiences.

Overusing key terms in your copy not only looks like you are trying too hard to make your article relevant but it also makes your content look poorly-researched and untrustworthy. Instead, you can determine various positions to use your keywords, like titles, metadata, image captions and descriptions, and strategically within the copy.

Further, you want to opt for long-term keywords, not only for the fact that they are more descriptive but also in the way they help in minimizing cases of keyword stuffing.

Unpleasant interstitial ads

Truthfully, pop-up ads can be very annoying, especially to mobile site users who have a small screen surface to work with. Even though ads are an income strategy for websites, it is wise to cut down on unpleasant interstitial ads.

Most people using the internet fret from sites heavily mounted with ads in the fear of catching a virus or attracting hackers to their devices and accounts. Therefore, the wrong use of unpleasant adds increase your bounce-rate, which equates to the rate at which people exit your website after a visit.

If you must use ads, assign them to a small portion of your website, in such a way that the user has enough room to keep scrolling on content that interests them. Remember you should also be keen to ensure a smooth and pleasant user experience, including optimizing page load speed.

Duplicate content

Since there is a high value for content in terms of SEO, it tends to get overwhelming for website owners to constantly develop high-quality and exciting content. As the pressure mounts, it is common for webmasters to generate duplicate content, sometimes similar to previous information on their websites, and other times similar to other content owners.

Either way, Google finds this as a way to manipulate search rankings, and this will directly impact your organic results. In fact, if you check the keyword rank tracker at serpbook.com, Google displays the original content as the source of information, which means the duplicate material may not make it to the SERP.

Furthermore, you risk landing into copyright issues for the reasons of plagiarism and stand the chance of tainting your reputation online. Aim to increase the quantity of content your share by working to remain consistent with your posting frequency, and also, ensure you stick close to originality, with a flair for your brand’s identity.

Article spinning

In a bid to run away from duplicate content, webmasters indulge in article spinning, which is a black hat SEO practice. The idea here is to manipulate a piece of work to come up with a rewritten piece of content that seems to be different from the original one, to impress search engines.

The truth of the matter is, search engines love fresh content, and article spinning is stale and can get your websites flagged as spam, or otherwise penalized on SERP. Also, the use of article spinning software produces low-quality content that is an unreadable version of the original content.

Remember, whether you change the terms and phrases used in a copy to generate a different article or duplicate it as it is, it passes out the same idea, and this does not add any value to your target audience.

Comment spamming on blogs

Commenting on other people’s websites is a great way to remain relevant online, increase your brand’s visibility, form relationships with other webmasters, as well as increase audience engagement. However, comment spamming is a technique that webmasters use to build up a comment section with feedback and links pointing back to their websites, which is a means to manipulate their search rankings.

Today, Google has changed its algorithm to punish such acts. The translation here is that the comments you post on blogs should be informative and value-adding, instead of generic messages. If correctly done, it can be an ideal source of backlinks (although no-follow), therefore, avoid unevaluable comments like ‘great post.’

The practice of SEO is one that is engaging and demanding of commitment to put up with the continuity of bettering your website. However, you must tread carefully when operating online, because your reputation is always at stake, and the internet never forgets.

Author Bio

Maycon Diniz Lopes is the content manager of Serpbook. Serpbook is an online platform that gives you information about everything you need to monitor, automate and report on your keyword rankings. It also provides you with local and global SEO rank tracking in real time for Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Are you engaging in any of these harmful SEO strategies?

5 Actionable Tips to Increase Your Conversion Rates

September 22, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

A business runs on sales. It’s one thing to have a website that generates high volumes of traffic and leads, but unless those visits convert into sales, all your efforts are useless.

The conversion rate is also important because it allows your business to grow. Without a steady revenue stream, you can’t invest and scale the company. You won’t be able to support your day-to-day operations, as the business starts spending more money than it brings in.

Luckily, there are ways you can avoid that scenario, and it all starts with improving conversions. And to help you do just that, here are five tips you can use to boost your conversion rates right away.

1. Determine Current Conversion

First off, you will need to calculate the current conversion rate of your business venture. Use analytics tools to find out how much traffic flow passes through your channels, and compare them to overall sales and marketing spending.

Once you have calculated the conversion rate of each channel, you can evaluate them and see what works and where there is room to improve your efforts. It is a good starting point to have, which allows you to monitor the performance of all future strategies.

2. Focus on the Customer

Next, it’s time to check the approval ratings, or what customers think about your brand, products, and services. This an important step to attract leads and convert them into sales, because you also find out where you can improve and give customers what they really want.

Despite the popularity of the inbound marketing methodology, companies still remarkably fail at making their customers the center of their businesses and continue doing the opposite. Listen to your customers, send out evaluation forms and surveys, interview customers and let them review your business.

Once you hear what they have to say, you can make changes to any aspect of the business process most of your customers see as a major deal breaker. However, this doesn’t mean you should neglect your achievements.

3. Promote Success

People want to associate themselves with success. Consumers are wired to buy from exclusive brands, because they are attracted to their success, and believe that by simply owning a product or using a service some of that success will rub off on them.

In fact, a business coach suggests that amplifying business results leads to an increase in sales, but also allows you to scale your operations. So, if you want to increase conversion, a good strategy is to make your leads aware of achievements and success stories from inside the company.

4. Create Customer Incentives

Incentivize, incentivize, incentivize. Time and time again, companies fail to motivate their customers to buy from them. You can have the best products or services in the world, but if you don’t present it as a good deal that adds value (and money in the pocket) your competitors will close more sales.

Strategic incentive programs, like seasonal and holiday sales, two-for-one and bundle offers, discounts and other deals can all help you generate more profit and increase conversion rates. Additionally, think about giveaways, coupons, or include free gifts with every purchase. In all likelihood, it will spark a wildfire of word-of-mouth, which will spread and encourage people to buy.

5. Fine Tune Design and Copy

Design and sales copy are the lethal weapons of marketing. Each one operates on psychology to triggers that target the desires and ambitions of the consumer. You will need to polish, test, and improve both if you are to boost conversion.

Hire an in-house designer and copywriter, or use the services of an experienced creative agency to engineer a clean, concise and appealing brand image across all channels of communication. Then, test your purchase. Use A/B testing to determine what works, disregard what doesn’t, and start over.

In time, you will have the winning design and copy on everything from your website and social media networks, to newsletters and ads.

Take Action

At the end of the day, how the company manages conversion is all up to you. Use these simple, but highly effective tips to improve the process and increase the rate of conversion. As time goes by, you will notice one sale, then a spike in the quarter, until finally, your business becomes the next big success story.

Author Bio:

Lauren Wiseman is an entrepreneur, currently based in Melbourne and a regular contributor to bizzmarkblog.com. She assists clients in growing their personal and professional brands in a fast-changing and demanding market environment. Covering finance and investment topics, Lauren strongly believes in holistic approach to business.

What strategies are you currently using to increase your conversion rates?

Internet Marketing

Solo Ad Coaching – How To Turn Yourself Into a Traffic Selling Machine

September 16, 2018 Evan Hoeflich 2 comments

(Important: If you are looking to start a sustainable and profitable solo ad business and need the proper guidance, coaching and training, please email me ASAP with the subject line “How To Sell Solo Ads” to evan.hoeflich@evanhoeflichmarketing.com…I am going to connect you with my personal mentor/coach who helped me build my solo ad business into a full-time income. This is one of the best guys in this industry to team up with).

Let me be transparent and state that this private solo ad coaching program is not free and will require an investment, however there are various payment options available so that anyone can join (including monthly payment plans)…This the very same coaching program that has allowed me to build a predictable income month-in and month-out and has opened up many doors for me as well. For anyone interested, it is definitely worth emailing me for more information so we can get you up and running).

The solo ad industry can be incredibly lucrative and enjoyable, however it’s important that you’re on the right side of things.

What I mean by this is that 90% of people buy solo ads, when approximately only 10% sell solo ads.

The 10% of people who are selling solo ads, are making way more than the 90% of people that are buying them.

The reason being is because solo ad sellers are much rarer compared to solo ad buyers.

There are thousands and thousands of solo ad buyers out there, yet probably only a couple hundred quality solo ad sellers (if that).

Therefore, most of the money ends up in the hands of the solo ad seller and not the buyer.

Now let me say that you can absolutely make really good money buying solo ads as well, I’m just saying that the big money is in selling the traffic.

If this is something that peaks your interest, then keep reading.

Solo Ad Coaching Program

I started my solo ad business almost 3 years ago at the time of writing this.

I linked up with a mentor (see first two paragraphs of this post), and the rest was history.

From the get-go, I was seeing impressive results once I had my funnel set up and fairly

early on I hit a $778 morning thanks to selling solo ads.

This isn’t to boast or brag but more to reveal to you that being a solo ad provider, rather than a buyer is a crucial concept to understand.

There are very few solo ad coaching programs/coaches out there who are willing to hold you by hand until you see the results you desire and that’s a big reason why I wanted to write this post.

The solo ad coaching program that I followed was incredibly in-depth, organized, motivating and most importantly generated results.

Being a solo ad seller has provided me with so many benefits in my life including:

More financial freedom
Increased savings
Business experience
Time & schedule flexibility
New entrepreneurial connections
Additional business ventures

And a whole lot more…

However, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this without the proper solo ad coaching.

So if you’re reading this post, there’s a good chance you’re interested in selling solo ads yourself.

If this is the case, please re-read my first two paragraphs of this article and email me as soon as possible.

I’d like to give you the same opportunity that I had to be able to connect with an excellent coach and mentor in the solo ad space.

Now the reason I do not offer a solo ad coaching program myself is because I already run a blog coaching and SEO coaching business (on top of running my own solo ad business and doing SEO for multiple companies).

This would just be too much for me to juggle…However, I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed with the solo ad coaching program I am recommending to you here.

In fact, you’ll most likely be blown away.

And as always if you need any help along the way, you have my 100% support.

Are you interested in this solo ad coaching/mentorship program?

Let me know!

Solo Ads

Best Practices For Internal Linking On Your Blog

September 12, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

No matter what your website is about, you need internal links. Why? Internal links are a great way to spread traffic, driving people to more pages of your site, for a start. Links also help readers find what they need, keep them engaged and, by extension, lower your bounce rate. Even better, internal links can boost your overall SEO — as they show search engines how your pages relate to one another and distribute page authority across your site.

So, whether your ultimate goal is more page views for more advertising dollars or better leads to convert into customers, internal links are key. How should you go about increasing them? What are the best practices for internal linking on your blog? Here is a look at what you need to know.

Build a lot of content. Step one to building good internal links is creating a lot of quality content. More pages mean more opportunities to link — leading to a better internal linking strategy for your site.
Use descriptive anchor text in links. Make sure that all your internal links use anchor text instead of images (or images of text) or generic text, for that matter. Rather than using a phrase such as “learn more here,” try telling visitors the context of the link, using relevant keywords. At the same time, the words you use as anchor text should feel natural; don’t try to force anything.
Prioritize the reader experience. Many website best practices go back to a foundational concept: Help the reader. So, in terms of link strategy, ask yourself: What links will be legitimately useful to readers? How can you point them to related resources that will match the context of a page? This helps you know how and where to link.
Link less to the homepage and more to other pages. If you’re like most bloggers, you’re already linking to your homepage throughout your site. This means you don’t need more link juice going to that page; it’s got the strongest authority already. Rather, spread the page authority among your site by pointing to other, lesser-found pages. If you already have an SEO campaign underway, you’ll want to link most often to the site pages that are SEO targets. This helps increase their authority, which is one factor in higher search rankings.
Find related pages through Google search. Sometimes you’ll remember old posts that are relevant to a new one you’re writing, and it’ll be easy to incorporate them into your content. Other times, you’ll need to search. Here’s an easy way to do it: Go to Google and search “site:yourURL.com” followed by your topic. The results will show you related posts you’ve written, which may be a natural fit for internal links.
Aim for about 3-5 internal links per post (per 500-600 words). Filling your posts with dozens of internal links is not a faster path to high SEO rankings. Remember, you’re trying to add value to your readers’ lives. Depending on the type of post (interview, roundup, how-to, etc.), it may make sense to add more or fewer links. In general, though, it’s a good idea to shoot for two to three internal links at minimum. This does not include the homepage or other high-ranking pages such as your “About” page or “Contact” page. Instead, try to link deeper into your archives, to posts that see less traffic day to day.
Use the smallest number of links possible between your homepage and any other page. Think of links like degrees of separation. To make content more findable, you want to minimize the degrees of separation between your homepage and other pages on your site. This is where categories and tags can be so useful. Ideally, you arrange your content like a pyramid — the homepage is on top, linking to a handful of pages (i.e., your categories), which link to pages (such as posts).
Regularly check for broken internal links. Internal links are useful only if they’re working. When one of your blog posts links, for example, to a page you’ve deleted, all that does is damage SEO. Regularly check for broken internal links with free tools such as BrokenLinkCheck.com or DeadLinkChecker.com. Then, either change the link or 301 redirect the broken link to the closest relevant page.

When it comes to blogging, internal links are vital. Build a better site by strategically incorporating relevant links throughout your posts! To make the most of the links you use throughout your site, follow the best practices above.

Author bio:

Shanna Mallon is a contributing writer for Straight North, a professional SEO consultant agency in Chicago. Shanna has been writing professionally online since 2007.

What does your internal link strategy look like?

How I Made $2,500 In One Day & From One Blog Post (From Only 3 Organic Visits)

September 9, 2018 Evan Hoeflich 2 comments

Disclaimer: The metrics described in this blog post are based off of my personal results. I am not stating that you will achieve the same results as I did.

Part of the reason why SEO is so powerful in my opinion is because it allows you to drive highly-targeted traffic to your website…and at no-cost.

It’s also a strategy that works for you once you have everything set up correctly…Meaning that traffic can flood into your website everyday, while you’re sleeping, eating, away from your computer etc…(Of course you need to keep producing content on your website but I’m talking about articles that are already published/optimized properly).

This provides a lot of time freedom and is one of the biggest reasons why I love SEO as much as I do.

The problem I see however, is that many people do not diversify their efforts enough when it comes to targeting the right keywords to rank for.

Today I want to go over a specific example from my blog that will help explain this in a bit more detail.

How I Made $2,500 In One Day & From One Blog Post

The other day, I received a $2,500 affiliate commission with only 3 organic visits to a particular blog post.

Again, only 3 organic visits.

The reason I am telling you this is not to brag or boast but to really drive home a specific point.

Too many people when they get involved with SEO try to target only keywords that have thousands and thousands of monthly search volume.

The “home run” keywords I like to call them.

Now I am absotuely not against targeting some of these keywords in your efforts (I do so myself), but you cannot base your whole SEO strategy around this.

One reason being that you may not be able to rank highly in Google for many of these competitive terms and another reason is that a lot of these keywords are too broad in scope to begin with.

The blog post I made the $2,500 commission from is targeting a keyword that has only 50 searches per month.

Yes, that’s 50 searches per month.

Now you might be thinking…what a waste of time!

Well, it’s obviously not a waste of time and the reason being is because the traffic I’m generating from this blog article is highly targeted.

As you can tell, I converted a high-ticket commission from only 3 organic visits that day.

It doesn’t get much more laser-targeted than that.

Now unfortunately, I cannot show you the particular blog post I made this commission from as that would give away my keyword phrase.

But it’s important to really understand the message behind this.

Some of my best performing blogs are articles targeting long-tail keywords that have very modest search volume.

I’m talking anywhere from 50-500 searches per month.

These are very specific phrases that are easier to rank for and drive traffic that produces results.

Also, if you keep stacking these keywords/blog posts up overtime…this ultimately could lead to thousands of searches per month for your website but in a much more diversified manner.

If you were to lose rankings for a blog post in this example, it wouldn’t be as big of a deal compared to losing rankings for a “home run” keyword that drives all of the traffic to your website.

The reason being is that you’re much more diversified targeting a large collection of these longer-tail type terms.

Does this make sense?

Conclusion

To sum everything up, don’t just go after high search volume keyword phrases. Diversify your efforts by targeting more long-tail type keywords which will give you a better shot of ranking within the search engines. Stack these types of keywords/blog posts up over time and naturally your organic traffic will increase!

What types of keywords are you targeting?

Blogging

Blogging Report (August 2018) – Core Google Algorithm Update Hit In August

September 3, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Blogging Report (August 2018)

In August, there was a Core Google Algorithm Update that affected a large amount of people and shook up their traffic/rankings quite a bit.

Now Google does these core updates throughout the year, but this particular one that rolled out around August 1, 2018 seemed to have more of an impact than others.

With that being said, as with all Google algorithm updates, it’s good to keep them on your radar but not to panic.

Google even said that there is no “fix” to this one if you were affected.

So keep producing quality content, building quality backlinks and ensuring your website is user/mobile friendly.

I saw slight fluctuation myself in terms of organic traffic and search engine rankings when comparing month-over-month but nothing drastic.

See screenshot below to see what I’m talking about:

Organic traffic for August 2018 came in at 135 search visits compared to 168 search visits in July 2018.

However, comparing month-over-month isn’t what I generally look at when analyzing my data.

A better metric is to compare year-over-year to really see how your website is doing over a full 365 days.

Which we’ll get into below.

Organic Traffic (August 2018)- 135 Visits

For the month of August, organic traffic came in at 135 search visits.

August was an excellent month for content generation as I was able to publish 10 blog posts to my website!

A few of these were guest posts, mixed in with my own articles as well.

My goal is to publish 4-8 articles every single month and this was by far one of my best months in terms of content generation.

As I said above, comparing month-over-month, my organic traffic was down slightly, but now let’s take a look at year-over-year data.

Year-Over-Year Organic Traffic Increases (August 2018 vs. August 2017)

I continue to see large year-over-year increases which I’ll continue to push for with the SEO work I have planned moving forward.

For starters, organic traffic is up 365% when comparing year-over-year (135 vs. 29).

The two charts above reveal quite a bit.

This type of growth keeps me motivated to push ever harder than I have in the past, especially since SEO and blogging can take a little while to start building momentum.

The second chart dives in a little deeper and shows the daily plot points from August 2018 (blue line) and August 2017 (orange line).

Overall I’m very happy with these results even though I saw a little fluctuation (month-over-month) due to the core google algorithm update.

Strategy & Next Steps For September 2018

Now that summer in Connecticut is winding down, I really plan to ramp things up starting in September.

Let’s take a look at some of my next steps below.

1.) Publish 4-8 Blog Posts: I’ve been very consistent with my content generation the past year which is partially why I’m seeing the year-over-year growth in traffic lately. To continue building upon this, I plan on publishing 4-8 blog posts to my website in September. Remember, this is always high-quality content for my readers which gives me a better chance of ranking in the search engines.

2.) Link Building: I know it’s boring that this is always on my list but it’s crucial in any successful SEO campaign that you are doing consistent link building. I had a handful of really quality links built last month, and plan to acquire 3-5 more in September. Boy does this help with search engine rankings!

3.) Set Up New Funnel: I’m setting up a new funnel for my blog which will be a bit more robust than my current one and offer some very high-quality training. I have already started it at the time of writing this, but am hoping to be mostly finished by the end of September. You constantly have to be adapting and improving your website if you want to grow in this space.

That pretty much wraps it up, short and sweet this month.

If you’re reading this and haven’t started your blog yet, I reccomend you take a look here.

If you already have a website but are looking to generate more results, send me a message here so we can chat!

I also recorded a video for this blogging report here.

How is your website traffic looking?

Did the core google algorithm update affect you?

Below is the video version of this blog post:

Blogging Reports

9 Game-Changing Tips For a More Successful Blog

August 27, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

Today, everyone seems to have their own blog. But why do we actually blog? What is it that we want to achieve through blogging?

If you’re reading this and have yet to start a blog, check out my post here.

Some people use their blog to become famous and well-known, others to make money. Some just want to inform and educate, and some do it because they think it’s fun to put pictures of themselves and what they eat. Some blog just for the fun of it, and others just use their blog as their online diary.

Regardless of your end goal, it would be a good idea to implement a few specific strategies to make your blog stand out from others and cut through the noise.

This is the first step to gaining traction and becoming a successful blogger.

If you think this sounds interesting and like something you want to do, carry on reading, because in this article, we will be sharing a list of 15 tips you can use to build an authority blog that your readers and search engines will love.

1. Change From the Default Theme

The default WordPress theme isn’t ideal if you want your blog to stand out to your visitors. There are simply too many blogs out there that keep the default theme for their website, which is a big mistake. Do not be one of them. Your blog won’t make nearly as much of an impact with the default theme. With WordPress you can easily change your theme by going going to “Appearance” then “Themes” and then “Add New”. Try to pick a theme that’s engaging, yet easy on the eyes. You also want to make sure it’s SEO friendly.

2. Select a Comfortable Color Scheme

In order for your visitors to not bounce off your website, and to come back to your blog, they can’t be turned off by your colors or layout. For example, a black blog with white text might work great for photos, but not for reading long articles. At the same time, lime green in combination with the bright pink might not be the best idea either. Use a color that is easy on the eyes for your visitors. For example, having a white background on your posts and black text is very clear and easy to read. Mix in a few solid colors (like black, blue, green etc.) in the navigation area to give your blog a solid color foundation. Another tip is to visit your favorite websites and analyze how they are utilizing colors. This can be a great way to get additional ideas.

3. Create Killer Content

One of the most important steps to any successful blog is to create valuable content that people will love to read, share and comment on. It’s also important to create content so the search engines will find you as well. This means doing keyword research, making your posts at least 500 words long, optimizing your content, meta tags and building quality backlinks to you specific posts.

Use headings withing your posts like <h1>, <h2> and <h3> tags, bullet-points, and short sentences or paragraphs. This will break up the text and make your content more easily digestible.

Also, don’t forget to put some pictures in your blog posts. Not only are images appealing to the eye, but they can also be used to help drive home your message and explain what you mean. Humans are visual creatures, so many people tend to resonate much better with images rather than text. This is why using high-quality images is a great way to keep the readers’ attention and keep them glued to your blog.

4. Publish Regularly

In order to continue to increase your blog traffic and keep your readers engaged, you must publish consistent and quality content. At the very least, you should publish one blog post per week. The bloggers that do less than this (say only one blog post per month) will not look as relevant in the eyes of Google and will also disappoint their readers who are looking for more content. You’ll want to get into a flow of consistent content generation and it’s also a good strategy to pre-schedule your posts so you always stay ahead with your content calendar.

5. Related Posts

If a visitor patiently reads an entire post and reaches the end, they may be looking for another article of yours to browse. If you do not provide them with additional articles to read, there is a high chance that the visitor will leave your website (resulting in a higher overall bounce rate).

A good strategy to keep visitors on your blog and navigating from blog post to blog post is through “related posts”. Related posts are exactly how they sound- They’re relevant posts based off of the current article a person is reading that are placed at the bottom of a given blog post. If the visitor has already read a post, there is a great chance that she/he is interested in more things you have to say. YARPP – Yet Another Related Post Plugin is a simple and good option to use for this method.

6. Provide the Opportunity for RSS Feeds and Subscriptions

Many visitors have dozens of blogs that they follow, which sometimes makes it difficult to frequent back to them all. These people often choose to read the blogs through an RSS reader either on the computer or through a mobile phone. Then they can instantly see if you published new content without having to constantly visit your website. This is why you want to give them the opportunity to subscribe to new posts from your blog through an RSS feed and/or also by e-mail. WordPress has a standard RSS feed, but you can also use tools such as FeedBurner. This will give you statistics about your subscribers and other insightful analytics.

7. Have Social Sharing Buttons

This is a no-brainer with how much time people spend on social media today. Help your visitors share your content through social sharing buttons. This is a great way to drive more traffic to your blog and also has the potential to make a particular post go viral if it gets shared enough. You should always be encouraging your readers to share your blog posts via social media so that you can attract fresh visitors to your blog.

8. Use Google Search Console

If you do not already have a Google Account, create one. Then make sure to set up your Google Search Console property. By adding your website to Google Search Console and verifying ownership, you can upload an XML sitemap of your site, which acts as a roadmap and makes it easier for Google to index your entire blog. This will also notify Google when you post new articles. If you use the Yoast SEO plugin, then an XML sitemap will be automatically generated for you.

Within Google Search Console you can also look into keyword data to see what visitors are searching and clicking on to get to your website, crawl errors, indexing issues, HTML improvements and a whole lot more. Having your site verified with Google Search Console is a must for every blogger that wants to be successful (and especially from an SEO perspective).

9. Study your Stats on Google Analytics

By registering your blog on Google Analytics, you can get valuable information about your website traffic. You can analyze metrics such as total traffic, organic traffic, new visitors (from search), returning visitors (from search), referral traffic, direct traffic, technology used, demographics, conversion points and much more. This information is essential to to track as it will help you make improvements and adjustments where necessary for even more growth down the road.

Author Bio

Jens is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Veloce International marketing blog and the influencer marketing directory Veloce Network. He is a social media and marketing nut, sharing his passion for online marketing and business in his articles.

Are you currently using any of these tips?

Blogging

Blog Consulting & Coaching Services – Personal Blog Coaching Program

August 26, 2018 Evan Hoeflich 4 comments

Due to high demand of my blog coaching services, I no longer offer a free 30-minute consultation. Instead, please scroll down and go right to my “What Pricing & Blog Coaching Packages Do I Offer?” section to place your order and book your first call with me. Any questions while reading this page, I’m more than happy to help. I look forward to working with you!

I have decided to open up my availability to offer blog consulting and coaching services to those in need and interested.

One of the most common trends I see in the blogging world is people setting up a website, blogging for about 2-3 months and then completely giving up on it.

I believe a big reason for this is because they do not have the right guidance, leadership and training to help steer them in the right direction.

They do not know how to drive targeted traffic, they do not know how to properly implement SEO strategies and they do not know how to monetize their blog in the most effective way.

I used to just specifically offer SEO consulting but I noticed there was a major need for general blogging coaching with the current “drop-out” rate I see with bloggers today.

So here we are!

I am thrilled to be able to help interested individuals better understand the basics of blogging and also how to dramatically grow/expand their readership as well.

What Do You Get With My Personal Blog Coaching Services

Below, I list out what you can expect to receive when you are a blogging student of mine.

Let me first make clear that my blogging program is completely flexible- meaning if you only want to schedule one-time coaching calls, that’s fine…or if you want to schedule recurring calls every month, that’s also fine. It all depends on where you currently stand and how much support you need.

With my blog consulting services, here’s what you can count on below.

An experienced blog coach who will understand and discuss your needs, goals and current blogging struggles.
If you haven’t created a blog yet, I will help you set it up and get it up and running quickly.
If you do currently have a blog, I will provide you with an initial benchmark analysis to see where your website stands and needs improvement.
Either one-time consultation calls or monthly recurring calls based on the level of support you need to get your blog and results moving in the right direction.
Help/support in setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console.
Technical support and installation of the necessary plugins/tools for your blog.
A full SEO analysis of your blog including looking into meta tags, content, backlink portfolio, website architecture and more, to see where and how we can generate more organic traffic.
A customized strategy specific to your blog on how to increase its exposure, traffic, sales etc.
Insider tips/strategies that I personally use and have years of experience implementing.
Full access & support via email (evan.hoeflich@evanhoeflichmarketing.com) and/or Facebook on any questions or problems you have. Seriously I encourage my students to reach out to me.
Me as your coach, support system and teammate…This is a combined effort and you will not be in this alone!

Sometimes you need a push in the right direction, extra motivation to not give up and advanced strategies that come from an experienced mentor.

You do not have to go about this alone…

Teaching others about blogging, SEO and creating more freedom from the power of blogging is one of my passions.

If you’re at all interested, please use the contact form above so we can schedule a time to talk.

Alternatively, you can email me or call me via the contact information below. Please just make sure you state in your message that you’re interested in my “blog consulting & coaching services”.

With all that being said, if you read this far down that tells me you’re motivated to take your blog to the next level, so please don’t hesitate to reach out.

I look forward to hearing from you!

What Pricing & Blog Coaching Packages Do I Offer?

Please see below for my blog coaching packages. Select a blog package that works best for you and your current situation. I look forward to working with you soon!

Step #1) Select your package and make your purchase. You will have the option of paying via PayPal or Debit/Credit Card.

Step #2) After purchasing, you will then be redirected to a simple page where you can schedule your first coaching session with me. Once I have you booked, I will send you a private Zoom link we’ll use for our session together.

STARTER Package

$159

1 Coaching Call @ $159/hour

1 Coaching Call

($159 per 1 hour call)

Order Now!

BRONZE Package

$298

2 Coaching Calls @ $149/hour

2 Coaching Calls

($159, $149 per 1 hour call)

Order Now!

SILVER Package

$556

4 Coaching Calls @ $139/hour

4 Coaching Calls

$159, $149, $139 per 1 hour call

Order Now!

GOLD Package

$774

6 Coaching Calls @ $129/hour

6 Coaching Calls

$159, $149,$139 , $129 per 1 hour call

Order Now!

PLATINUM Package

$1,190

10 Coaching Calls @ $119/hour

10 Coaching Calls

$159, $149,$139 ,$129, $119 per 1 hour call

Order Now!

What are my clients saying?

Evan Hoeflich Marketing LLC

11 Deer Run Road, Wallingford

5.0 28 reviews

Jerry Yoo ★★★★★ 3 months ago
I've used many SEO agencies over the past 10 years for my 4 physiotherapy locations, and Evan's team has consistently produced year over year results since we started working with him 4 years ago. His acumen, problem-solving approach, … More and hands-on care have been invaluable for my practices.
If you're a healthcare business owner, in particular, Evan's team has a great handle on how to get your organic reach to make it worth your while. His expert team, which includes Nick for paid ads, Meghan for content, and Judy for website services, adds layers of support to help your SEO soar.
I would and have recommended Evan to many of my colleagues over the years and he has not disappointed (many of them have also written reviews below :)) !
Jessica Hanneman ★★★★★ 5 months ago
We had an excellent experience working with Evan Hoeflich Marketing LLC. The team was incredibly honest, responsive, and quick to communicate throughout the process. They provided valuable insights and were extremely helpful with the SEO … More tasks we needed assistance with. Their expertise and professionalism made a real difference, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to anyone looking for top-notch SEO support. Thank you, Evan and team, for your fantastic work!
Cassandra Sibilski ★★★★★ 5 months ago
Working with Evan, Meghan, and Judy has been great! All three of them were always so prompt in answering any questions that we had, and always willing to explain in depth what was going on! Would highly recommend working with them for your … More SEO and website needs!
A Google User ★★★★★ 5 months ago
Working with Evan, Meghan, and Judy has been great! All three of them were always so prompt in answering any questions that we had, and always willing to explain in depth what was going on! Would highly recommend working with them for your … More SEO and website needs!
Hannah Matheson ★★★★★ a year ago
Evan and his team have a tremendous asset to both our businesses since we started working with them. Their SEO services are top notch. We've seen a direct correlation with their work and prospects in our businesses. And they take the … More time to explain their work, teach us what they are doing in a way we can understand, and definitely have the skill and knowledge to get the jobs done and done well. Plus – they are easy to get in touch with, responsive, and have even helped us with other requests regarding our website. Definitely recommend!
Andrew Kenas ★★★★★ a year ago
I've been in business for 5 years and grew almost exclusively through in person events throughout the community. This was great, however my monthly revenue was up and down, up and down, depending on how many events I did and how successful … More they were. It also sucks asking my team to spend nights and weekends away from their families to host the events.
Then I was introduced to Evan and his team, and let me tell you it was one of the best business decisions i've ever made!!!! Our website is FINALLY getting the traction and organic leads we've been needing. Now, my business is BOOMING and we're less reliant on in-person events and almost getting more high quality leads than we can handle. I couldn't be more grateful for the amazing work they've done for us. If you're unsure on whether the investment is worth it – it 100% is! 10/10 recommend!!!
Natalie Bybee ★★★★★ a year ago
Evan was very responsive, flexible, and patiently explained the intricacies of SEO in order to get my business noticed. Really enjoyed working with him and his team!
Julie Gray ★★★★★ a year ago
Evan and his team are ultimate professionals. They have helped my SEO tremendously to drive traffic for my physical therapy/wellness practice. They are incredibly organized and communicate with you every step of the way. They are friendly … More and just a pure pleasure to work with!
Shannon Scholl ★★★★★ a year ago
I've been working with Evan and his incredibly professional and efficient team for 6 months and have seen a HUGE uptick in organic traffic. I'm so thankful for their expertise – it's made all the difference for my business!
mPower Physical Therapy ★★★★★ a year ago
Evan's Marketing company is a worlds difference from the last SEO company I worked with. The last SEO company I did not see any results. They were put off with me asking for a call to get an updated. I switched to Evan's Company … More and I could immediatley tell a difference. I get monthly reports, We can do monthly calls. There is a collaboration on content and next steps. And the best part is my SEO is gaining in numbers each month. We have over a 500% increase over last year! It is hard to find marketing companies you can trust and this one you can trust!
Mike Yasson ★★★★★ a year ago
I own a Physical Therapy business and have been working with Evan for almost 2 years now. To say his SEO work has transformed our business would be an understatement. When we first started working together, we were seeing almost no leads … More from google and then ones we did were very inconsistent. 2 years later and we are steadily getting new, qualified leads every month. He has a great team that has done an outstanding job speaking in our voice so that our content can continue to feel organic. Lastly the communication from him and his team has been outstanding, we sit down every month and he is able to show me what work is being done and where our current progress is at!
Ariela Freedman ★★★★★ 2 years ago
Evan has done an amazing job with SEO for my two businesses, and he's so easy to work with. I appreciate that Evan takes the time to explain what he's doing and gives me options along the way. He's so knowledgable about all … More kinds of things that I wouldn't think to ask about, and he's also completely approachable and down to earth. I can't recommend Evan enough — he's really great at what he does!
Jesse Lewis ★★★★★ 3 years ago
I'm the owner of a physical therapy practice in Washington DC and have had great success working with Evan. When we started together, we were getting less than 1 lead from Google searches per month. Now, 2 years later, we're getting … More over 20 leads per month due to Evan's SEO work combined with a Google ads strategy that he recommended as well. It has completely changed our business and we've grown much faster than anticipated in part due to the work he's done for us. Can't recommend him highly enough.
Lauren Sok ★★★★★ 3 years ago
I've been working with Evan and his team for nearly 2 years. I can't say enough about how great he has been to work with. The results we've seen overtime have drastically improved my leads. Every month he provides a detailed … More report outlining our progress and it continues to go up by 100% compared to the prior year. It's been one of the best investments I've made to drive more traffic my way. Evan is also a great communicator and his team writes content that perfectly speaks to my audience. If you are on the fence regarding SEO, don't hesitate. Evan will take care of everything and produce excellent results. Keep in mind that SEO is a long game so you'll have to stick with it for at least a year to note the impact. By year two mine has taken off!
Alex Aksanov ★★★★★ 3 years ago
It has been great working with Evan. His professionalism and expertise stand out from any other marketing company we have worked with before. He takes the time to go over all important details and provides great additional resources. I … More highly recommend working with Evan!
ITR Physical Therapy ★★★★★ 4 years ago
Evan and his team have been steadily helping me with my SEO for my website over the past year and we have seen a consistent steady increase in organic traffic. This was something that was sorely needed. He is easy to talk to and is always … More ready to explain what he is doing and why! I highly recommend Evan and his team!
Ted Bilodeau ★★★★★ 4 years ago
I am developing a website at partyhound.com, and I can't say enough great things about Evan. Not only did he help me to make the most of the SEO consulting time he gave me, but he always gave me extra time! He helped me to understand … More the basics of SEO, made it clear and simple for a novice such as myself, and has certainly given my website a chance to be found online. Well worth the money!!
j stx ★★★★★ 4 years ago
Evan meets and exceeds every expectation I had about approaching blogging. He meets you where you're at and guides you at a pace that's perfectly paired to your current understanding of blogging, SEO, writing tips, and more. … More He's patient, knowledgeable, direct, and I couldn't recommend him more!
Jill Johnson ★★★★★ 4 years ago
Evan has been wonderful to work with! He has helped me to take my business to a new level. He was willing to teach me so that I could handle things as they came up. Appreciate Evan's attention to detail and caring about getting my … More business to where I wanted it to be. I highly recommend working with Evan!
John Martin ★★★★★ 4 years ago
When we started our YouTube channel, Retirement Travelers, we knew we needed help. We found Evan through an internet search, and after working with him over the past year, it was truly one of the best decisions we made. Evan was patient … More in teaching us about SEO and the analytics of our website, as well as critical information we needed to know about YouTube. His encouragement, ideas, and suggestions have helped us to have a fantastic first year. We couldn’t have done it without him, and it was money well spent. Surely we could have learned it on our own, but why? He saved us countless hours of frustration and helped us channel our efforts in a direct path toward success. We highly recommend him!
Melissa Miller ★★★★★ 5 years ago
I found Evan after I had done some research for pro blog coaches. I really resonated with him as he meets your where you’re at in your business and critiques his lessons to what you need. He isn’t pushy and so available! I love how he always … More available via email and covers things from both a teaching stand point and where I am at in my business during our Zoom lessons. Even though I haven’t been able to pay for sessions in a few months I still consider him as my first coach. The feedback via email I am continuing to get is helping me so much!
Evan, thank you!!!

Questions? Please Fill Out the Form Below!

Blogging

4 Ecommerce Promotional Strategies That Drive Sales

August 24, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

4 Ecommerce Promotional Strategies That Drive Sales

Every ecommerce store on the market strives towards having more sales. In fact, sales are the number one business goal for any ecommerce business. However, it’s not easy to encourage online consumers to make a purchase. The main reason is that the online market is crowded with various businesses and different offers. That makes it difficult for businesses to stand out and it’s even more difficult for consumers to choose the right store to do business with.

That’s why it’s important to help customers make that choice by having unique and creative promotional strategies. Still, that’s easier said than done, mainly because ecommerce stores are looking for a long-term revenue increase and not just a one-time sales boost. In order to achieve that, you must have a good understanding of your target audience and their preferences, as well as their expectations and needs. Here are a few ecommerce promotional strategies that drive sales.

Offer discounts

Discounts have always been a powerful means of encouraging customers to make a purchase. It’s also a great way to boost your sales when you need it the most. Not only that, but you can leverage special discounts, such as coupons, to encourage your indecisive leads to make the desired action. You can also leverage personalization in your discounts to appeal directly to a specific group of consumers or individual customers.

In addition, coupons work well with your other promotional strategies. For instance, you can add coupons or discount codes to almost every marketing promotion, such as email, social media, direct mail and so on. It’s a good way to get customers interested in your offers and it’s also a great way to gain new customers, as well as inspire existing ones to conduct repeat business at your store.

Seasonal giveaways

Special seasonal events are a great way to engage with your customers. In the ecommerce business, not every lead will turn out to be a customer. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take the opportunity to further nurture those leads until they decide to become customers. The holiday season, for example, is a good time to create special sales. Make a strong presentation of your offer that will communicate with your audience in a meaningful way, while being visually captivating. Consider teaming up with professionals, to create a unique design and to maintain the consistency of a branded message.

While informing your email subscribers about your seasonal sale, you can also send them some promotional products. That way, you’ll definitely gain their attention and even increase the odds of those leads making a purchase. Not only that, but you can implement the same strategy for your existing customers to encourage them to participate in your seasonal promotions. Having free giveaways is a good strategy to engage with customers and show them that you still care about them.

Cross-sell and up-sell

Ecommerce stores oftentimes have a wide variety of products made available for their customers to choose from. In most cases, your customers don’t have the time or the patience to browse through everything. In that case, you can implement a cross-sell strategy. The way it works is that you add recommended products that align with the customers’ purchase, in order to encourage more purchases. For example, if a customer bought a keyboard, you can also suggest a mouse and other peripheral hardware that goes along with the item.

Just make sure your cross-sell promotions are practical for your customers. If your cross-sell strategy isn’t working too well, you can also up-sell. In fact, the up-sell strategy can be 20 times more effective for ecommerce stores. Up-selling is offering customers a product superior to the one they’re willing to buy. However, the increase in price may be an issue, so make sure you explain to the customers why the recommended product is better and more beneficial for them.

Include a loyalty program

Loyalty programs are a great way to ensure customer engagement and loyalty, as well as to improve repeat business and boost your sales. As a matter of fact, existing customers oftentimes spend up to 67% more than new ones. What’s more, it’s around 6 to 7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one.

Not only that, but customers that are part of your loyalty program are more willing to promote your store further through referrals and personal word-of-mouth recommendations. Moreover, 91% of consumers read online reviews and 84% of them trust recommendations online as much as they trust recommendations from friends. Therefore, a loyalty program can be a great promotional strategy that will ensure that your sales continue to grow.

Developing a good promotional strategy that will yield considerable profits and boost sales isn’t easy. Not every approach works for all ecommerce stores equally. That’s why you must plan ahead and develop a strategy that will work out for both your business and your customers.

Author Bio:

Do you currently have any of these ecommerce promotional strategies in place?

e-commerce

Should You Use Welcome Email Automation In Your Business?

August 22, 2018 Evan Hoeflich Leave a comment

How important is a welcome email really when it comes to email advertising? It may feel like an extra step that is a bit of a hit or miss in terms of necessity, but the reality is actually quite surprising. Even though it may seem like an unimportant step, the right welcome email can actually be effective in creating lasting, loyal customers in a way that costs virtually nothing on your part.

Where does a welcome email campaign actually get used? Typically, if you have some kind of subscription or membership service, a welcome email is sent out to “welcome” them to the party. The range of welcome emails is expansive. Some are simple confirmations that the signup is complete. Others are elaborate messages designed to promote further action or conversion.

In short, it is never a bad idea to have a welcome email if you have this type of service or any other way people can sign up as a member. While it is a safe bet to have this message, one area that people often struggle with is knowing whether to use an automated drip email sequence or not. Having to reply to every single signup by hand can be difficult and time-consuming, so the idea of automation is attractive from the start. But is it the best approach?

To help you with your email campaigns and to determine if you should be using welcome email automation, here are some of the pros and cons of this strategy.

Pros of Welcome Email Automation

It Saves Time

It is not difficult to see where the major benefit of welcome email automation really comes in. Just like anything else that can run automatically, a welcome email that is sent off on its own does not require any time or effort on your part. This means you can attend to other things after you have crafted the actual welcome message and have hit the “run” button.

Automated welcome emails usually work through online software supplied by a web host or dedicated messaging service. Because of this, you do not even have to waste your time installing and learning new software if you do not want to. Instead, these services typically make the process easy to craft a new message and send it on its way.

It Offers More Consistency

Let’s face it, not everyone can be a prolific writer 24/7. Even the best copywriters have their off days. If you have experienced the need to communicate to customers on a daily basis, you have probably learned that consistency is difficult when it comes to written communication. The benefit of an automated message is you only need to be good once. After that, the message will be sent to fresh eyes each time without any possibility of “being off.”

If you have hired someone else to do the writing for you, this can also help you save money while maintaining consistency. Writing a single message will always be less expensive than hiring someone to maintain that part of your customer communication. This will also give you time to consider the exact details of the message. What do you want to achieve? What is the tone? How should it sound to the reader?

Best of all, many of the online automated platforms allow you to customize the message with details (Disclosure: I get affiliate commissions for purchases made through the link above). You can change basic information like the recipient’s name or get more advanced with things like changing promotions and news. Much of these placeholders are automated as well, so you can set the program to change once and then forget about it later on.

Cons of Welcome Email Automation

There Is Less Personalization

Despite the convenience that automated welcome messages offer, there are drawbacks that make it unsuitable for certain businesses and situations. More than anything else, because it is automated, the welcome message will lose a sense of personalization. Even with the customization many services offer, there is no substitute for a genuine personalized email or message.

Readers are often good about telling whether a message is genuine or just an automated script. Quite often, the tone and content of the message is broader than something personalized would be. The lack of specific details other than the basics like a name are also a good giveaway. Even when you have a lot of customization, it can be easy to tell when placeholders are being used instead of the real deal.

What is the harm of this? It depends on the audience. Some readers are okay with automated scripts. They may even come to expect this type of content. Readers looking for a personal connection with a business, however, are less likely to be impressed. More importantly, they are also less likely to connect with the business. This can be harmful if you are wanting to build a positive relationship with your customers based on a more personal connection.

Conclusion

Choosing to Automate or Not

There is no concrete answer when it comes to whether you should or should not use automated welcome messages. It depends on your business, your customers and what you hope to achieve with the welcome message in the first place. Depending on these things, combined with the variety of possibility with automation, you will begin to see whether automation is appropriate or potentially effective for you or not.

The size of your business and customer base will be the most important thing to consider. If this welcome message is for a membership group or subscription list, the size of these things is important as well. In all cases, the smaller the business and number of people, the more personal things should be. The advantage of having a small presence and audience is you can take the time to personalize your welcome to any newcomer without resorting to a script.

If you have a large audience, however, it may be time to automate. Unless you have employees or the time to personalize these messages, you may find efforts to be overwhelming without automation. If this is the case, be sure you customize the message as much as possible, so you can retain the convenience and personalization a good welcome message can create. More than anything else, do not rely on just a single message without updating and customizing it.

Author Bio

Jim Rulison serves as the CEO for Media Loop LLC (formerly the National Center for Pain Inc). Jim oversees the day to day operations for all lead generation accounts, with a concentration in the healthcare industry. Before joining Media Loop, Jim was the CEO of PME Home Health and was the founder of one of the nation’s first virtual call centers. He lives in Rochester, New York area where he and his late wife raised their two children. Jim spends his free time with his family and enjoying cooking and his two dogs.

Are you currently using welcome email automation?

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Email Marketing

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