These steps will give you complete ownership of your small business presence online and provide results in getting the clicks, calls, leads, customers, foot traffic, etc. that you are looking for!

1. Keyword Research

Keyword research is the foundation of building your online presence. You need to find out what your customers are searching for, so that you show up! The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to do a Google Search and see what comes up in the pre-text. Who’s ranking for the term you put in? Where do you rank with this term? You can also download a free tool call “Keywords Everywhere’ https://keywordseverywhere.com/, that will give you a lot of insight on the terms you believe your customers are using and other suggested keywords with data.

2. Advertise

Advertising on Google is a really fast way to get your business to the top of search results for the keywords you are targeting. Setting up ads are easy and if you claim your Google Business Page (mentioned below), Google usually sends a $100 credit!

3. Get Your Map Pack Cranking

The Map Pack is the information in the middle of the Google results page – of companies and their location. To rank in this area, you’ll want to focus on the following:

-Google Business Page

If you have not claimed your Google Business Page yet, go do it! Search for your business and on the right you’ll see if it’s been claimed or not. To tell, look for the link that says ‘claim your business’. This will get you started.

-NAP

This is your business name, address, and phone number. You will want to make sure they are consistent across all sites. These are called citations – your profiles on other sites like Yelp & CitySearch. If they are not the same, Google gets confused and you will not rank as well. If you see a lot of inconsistency here, let us know and we can help. 

-Reviews!

Reviews are huge for ranking! When is the last time you purchased something without looking at the reviews? The more good reviews you have, the better! Always ask customers to leave a review on Google. A good way to ask for reviews is a good Review and Reputation management service. This will help weed out the negative – so you can help your customers better, and post the positive everywhere you’d like!

4. Organic listing/SEO/backlinks

This is making sure everything you do is optimized for search engines. It takes longer for this to start working, but it helps everywhere. You’ll want to make sure your Google Business Page, your website, any blogs, videos, or podcasts you put out are using your researched keywords. And, anytime it makes sense to link one piece of content to another, absolutely do it!

Reading over this may seem overwhelming, but once you start learning about it and putting things into practice, you’ll be a rockstar SEO expert!

Good luck! If you have any questions, we’re always here to help!

Your business logo is a huge investment. It’s not only a financial investment but it’s also a time investment.

You spend hours pouring over ideas with your designer and educating yourself on design terms such as color schemes and white space to ensure you have a quality logo.

But is your first logo the end-all-be-all? While it’s smart to not dramatically alter your logo, there’s no harm in updating or improving your existing logo.

Even major brands such as Starbucks underwent a logo makeover, making their logo more concise so it’s a better representation of their brand.

But do you really need to update your logo? Here are 7 signs it’s a good idea.

1. It’s Out of Sync With Your Branding

Let’s face it — your business is different now than what it was in the beginning.

Many companies endure internal changes that cause their branding to alter with new executives. Some companies simply grow up; they attract a new market or have more stringent standards, and want their logo to represent that better.

Your logo is the best representation of your brand. If you don’t feel like your original logo encompasses your modern image, there’s no shame in tweaking it.

Keep in mind, your logo shouldn’t change drastically. For example, keep the same typography and color schemes.

2. It’s Outdated

When buyers look at your logo, they should know you’re a modern and well-established brand. The last thing you want them to think is your logo design is poorly done and/or looks old.

In the digital age, a lot changed in the design world over the past decade. Simply put, maybe your logo design is outdated.

At the time your logo was created, designers may not have had the technology they do today. Or maybe you used a design intern or cheap logo services to help cut costs.

Outdated or low-quality logos don’t represent your brand well. If you believe your logo is outdated and you have the budget, invest in a better quality logo to create a modern image of your brand.

3. It’s Too Simple or Too Complex

You want your logo to be powerful and captivating. But the imagery and font shouldn’t be too complex. In addition, simple logos look bland and even similar to other logos.

You want a logo in that sweet middle spot of unique enough while it still gets to the point.

What are some great recommendations? Find any unique qualities of your brand. This can be your favorite color that you used to decorate your whole office. It can be your “mascot,” such as your dog you always bring to your office.

Take these qualities to a logo designer. They can piece together a logo that is clean and sharp but still unique and striking.

4. Your Products and Services Changed

When you first started your business, maybe you had specific products and services. Then, later down the road, you decided to either expand your products or even focus on one specific type.

This is a change many businesses face. If your logo focused on your old product vision, it may be time to create a logo that focuses on your new products.

This change isn’t limited to specific products or services. Changing your branding may be more about tailoring to your buyer than changing a specific product.

This commonly happens with startups and any new entrepreneurs.

They start a business based on their own interests and passions. As their business expands, they realize their own interests don’t coincide with their overall market’s interests.

They may have created a logo to their liking; however, they’re realizing they should create a logo that will attract the buyer more than the business owners.

5. Trending Logo Designs

Maybe there’s nothing wrong with your logo. It represents your brand well, it’s high-quality, and you received good logo insight. However, there are trending logo designs you may prefer over your current logo.

This is just as good of a reason to consider a logo re-design. Your logo will look more modern, appeal to a younger crowd, and it fits the style that consumers gravitate toward.

Following logo designs can also benefit you on a digital scale.

Today, trending logos are optimized for responsive websites and even for social media. Not only will your brand look more trendy but will also appear better on your digital platforms.

6. Your Market Is Changing

Times change and so do your consumers. Maybe you first started a business that attracted millennials when they were in their late teens.

Now, the modern millennial is almost 30. They have careers, have families, and are making smarter purchasing decisions to save for serious expenses such as a house.

Some brands keep their branding to try and attract the same age demographic.

Others move forward in the same direction as their retaining customers. If this sounds like you, a logo re-design will help make your brand look more mature rather than the spunky and cool brand you were in the beginning.

Some brands have no choice but to change their branding to appeal to market preferences. New buying behaviors and even research are changing the modern consumer.

This is affecting many brands, such as lingerie and underwear brands. Instead of featuring swindling and gorgeous models on the forefront, lingerie brands are body-positive and focus on making quality underwear for women of all sizes.

These lingerie brands have to change their whole marketing strategy to appeal to these buyers, and this includes removing anything potentially objectifying in their logo.

Update Your Logo to Appeal to Your Customers

A high-quality logo can help increase sales and assist with your branding. But many brands change or settled for low-quality logos. If this is the case, update your logo to better reflect your company.

Are you changing your overall branding strategy? Have a chat with us and see how we can help you out.