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As more businesses continue to develop their online presence and compete for the top rankings on Google, it is becoming harder and harder to dominate your niche, especially if you're a new business. One area of search engine optimization that has become more important than ever is that of link building. Acquiring backlinks is the best way for a business to gain domain authority, which is a key component in Google's algorithm for determining how reputable a site is. When other highly ranked websites link back to your site, you gain domain authority, which in turn affects how well you'll stand out when people search for keywords related to your business.
Now, there are plenty of articles out there with advice on generating backlinks, but in this post we're going to focus on 3 strategies that are simple and easy for business owners and marketers alike to grasp. We were inspired from this recent post by Moz, which has a bunch of ways your business can get links. Here are our three favorite strategies they suggested!
Fundraisers, special sales, classes, or grand opening events...all are fantastic ideas that just about any business can benefit from hosting. However, one step that many businesses forget about is submitting their events to local community sites, such as their Chamber of Commerce. Doing so is an efficient way to generate backlinks back to your site, while simultaneously doing something that those in your community will enjoy or benefit from. Remember to create an event details page on your site before submitting, and be sure to promote it on your social channels and through email! Also of note: if you can get your event listed on a .GOV or .EDU site, it will be seen as even more authoritative in Google's eyes, which in turn helps give a stronger boost to your site.
Universities, schools, and local organizations are great resources for acquiring backlinks (and potential business!). By offering an exclusive discount or promotion to those who are part of those groups, you have an opportunity to get your business linked to from their site. While most people typically think of doing this with local universities, K-12 schools and local area groups can also be great avenues to consider. The trick is to run a Google search and find pages that exist where these organizations are listing businesses and showing the discount or promotion they offer. In the example above, I searched for
site:.edu "staff discounts"
Which pulled a list of searches showing .EDU sites that offer staff discounts, one of which was Missouri State University.
If your business gets its products from a wholesaler, you have the ability to reach out to those distributors and request a link to your site as a retailer of those products! Many manufacturers enjoy showing off a list of "authorized resellers" or a list of "where to buy our products". The best way to do this is to first sort the products you sell by brand. Then, visit the websites of all those brands and carefully scour the site for any indication of a page that shows customers where to buy their products. If you find such a page, bingo! Find their contact info and send a friendly email asking them if they could add your business to their site to help more customers find their products.
Local link building is crucial for small businesses, and hopefully these three suggestions will get you on your way to generating some! What other strategies do you use for acquiring backlinks?
Send us a comment on Facebook or a tweet to @SeafoamMedia with your thoughts!
2015 is shaping up to be a great year here at Seafoam HQ! As business has continued to grow, so has our needs. One of our big recent accomplishments was expanding into a new office on historic Cherokee Street, right across from the Nebula co-working space. Now, we're also happy introduce our latest addition to the Seafoam team! Meet Liz, our copywriter and internet marketing strategist.
Liz comes from a background in marketing and was previously the marketing director at Lasco Foods, where she helped launch Nina's Cocktails, a new brand for the company. Here's a little more about her:
If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?
Believe it or not, this is a question that I have thought about a lot over time, and my answer has changed as I have gotten older. I think the power that I would like the most would be the power to freeze time or people, but that could have something to do with my two children getting bigger and bigger all too quickly. I also think it would be nice to keep my house clean for more than just five minutes, but I blame that on the kids too!
What are you most passionate about professionally? What most excites you about your work and the contribution you can make?
I like to take complicated ideas and whittle them down into something that is easy to understand and communicate. I find demographics fascinating, and I love to try to target my message to the group that will "hear" it in the best way. It is like a mystery to unravel, which may explain my love for shows like Criminal Minds; I am always trying figure things out. There are so many people trying to get their message out into the world digitally, but if you find the right demographic and the right message it can cut through the clutter.
What apps, software or tools can't you live without? Why?
I think the app that I can't live without would be Pandora. This helps me more than my "business-y" apps because it helps me while I work to channel my creativity in a productive manner. When I am working on something technical and I need to focus, classical music helps to get those synapses firing. When I need to get into the zone for a fun blog post or social media message you can't go wrong with some upbeat music!
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to read, and I also enjoy gardening, cooking, baking, knitting, crochet, sewing, painting and finishing furniture. Pretty much, if you can find it on Pinterest, I want to be a part of it.
What do you like most about working remotely?
Working remotely gives me the flexibility to be a working mom, in equal parts. I can take a morning and go to my daughter's field trip and then, when the kids are in bed, hammer out some work. I think my dogs like having me around too, although I am severely cutting into their napping schedule. I think Seafoam gives a great balance to the idea of working remotely.
What does your workspace look like?
My workspace is eclectic to say the least. It is my little corner of the house that is just mine, and so I fill it with what I love. It is in a room full of windows so I can have a connection to outside, even while I work. I have lots of books and pictures of my kiddos. I have a couple of big, comfy chairs to curl up into and of course my computer and digital paraphernalia. I also have a random collection of art that I picked up on countless trips to New Orleans (my home away from home.) My favorite is the sign that says, "Be Nice Or Leave". I also have a collection of Day of the Dead inspired art, a nod to my Mexican heritage.
Want to connect? Follow Seafoam Media and Liz on Twitter!
When it comes to anything in life, the idea of "cool" will always be subjective. Maybe you really like those puffer vests that were popular a decade or so ago. Or perhaps you're really into houndstooth patterns. Hey, that was an awesome wallpaper for Windows 95, we totally get it. One thing is for certain: there will always be something new that's in the spotlight, whether it's actually a unique idea, or just an old one being rehashed. The former is especially true when it comes to web design. The look and aesthetic of sites is constantly changing as we strive to capture people's attention spans long enough to click our calls to action. As more ideas for designing a site and improving user experience emerge, older sites begin to look increasingly outdated.
With this in mind, what can you do to give your website more modern appeal? Below you'll find a list of several ideas that have been sprouting up and appearing in the mindsets of many modern developers. Whether you're a designer or a business owner looking at a potential website refresh or redesign, you'll want to consider using these!
1. Hero Images
One of our personal favorites, a hero image in web design refers to having a home page where the first thing the user sees is a large background or banner spanning the screen. The background image is usually blurred somewhat, but to where the user can still clearly convey what the product or service is about. Hero images have become immensely popular, and will continue to be a design trend to consider for modern websites. Below you'll see an example of one we did recently for KNOWiNK.
2. Thin Line Icons
It's simple, clean, and efficient. Thin line icons have a flat UI design that work extremely well with vectors, allowing them to be re-sized perfectly without any worries. Many sites have started switching to this style, especially for things like social icons, as they provide an appealing minimalist look. Want to add your own? There's a plethora of free ones available, such as this list from InspiredMag.
3. Web animation
Button hover effects, stylized drop down menus...with JavaScript and CSS3, there are a ton of different subtle things you can add to your website that will make the user experience that much more interactive and engaging. These are becoming more commonplace in web design, and one trend that is really interesting is the use of background video animation.
UVM, a Czech web design company, has a great example of this. If images catch our eye for a brief moment, an entire background video can have a stronger captivating effect, which is huge when you're trying to keep visitors on your site longer.
Keeping abreast of modern design trends is important for any web developer. One key skill we always look out for is the ability to be able to look at what's currently popular, and to build upon that with your projects. This way, you're staying ahead of the curve, rather than playing an eternal game of catch up.
What modern web design trends are you fond of?
Send us a comment on Facebook or a tweet to @SeafoamMedia with your thoughts!
Here at Seafoam Media, we've been strong advocates of remote work, dating all the way back to our founding days. There's a good reason why, too! According to a study from Harvard Business Review, those who work from home are actually more productive overall than their peers at the office. This is due in part to having less distractions, less sick days, and taking less breaks to talk about what happened last week on Better Call Saul.
We're reminded of a blog post we created some time ago, touching on what it's like to be a remote worker. We covered some of the mental aspects of it, but what about the physical ones? If you work remotely, you probably have a home office setup that you prefer to do most of your tasks from. With this in mind, there are some great ways you can spruce up your home working environment to keep yourself running at maximum efficiency. Take a look below at these five tips and incorporate them into your office setup:
1. Setup your workspace away from potential distractions
A noisy environment makes for a lousy work area. Be sure to set up your space away from things like the TV, and make sure that your space doesn't coincide with someone's play or entertainment area. Choose a quiet corner, or study room if possible.
2. Clean house, clean mind
For some remote workers, myself included, keeping the house straightened up helps you to concentrate better. This may occur because you don't have the thought looming in the back of your head that you need to do the dishes or another chore. Knowing your house is clean (or in my case, acceptable) can free your brain to focus on other tasks.
3. Add some scenery
Arrange your home office near a window to ensure that you get natural light every day. Then, consider getting a plant or two. A desk or floor plant provides a nice, brief visual distraction from your screen, especially when you've been stuck looking at WordPress sites and emails all day.
4. Scent it up
Aromatherapy is a great way to keep yourself in a zen-like state. Best of all, you can control what you want it to smell like! Whether with scented plants, or something like a jasmine or lavender candle, soothing smells can help you avoid fits of procrastination.
5. Get physical
Ever done push ups at work? It'd definitely garner some stares if you were in a cubicle or an open working environment, but when working from home, you have the freedom to get a little bit of exercise whenever you feel like it! Exercise is the perfect way to de-stress, especially when you've been slugging away on a particularly long project for hours at a time. What I like to do is set an alarm that goes off a few times throughout the day. Each time it does, I take a short break, and do a set of push ups. You'll be amazed at how refreshed you feel afterwards!
Do you work from home? What are your favorite tips to stay on top of your game?
Send us a comment on Facebook or a tweet to @SeafoamMedia with your thoughts!
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