The last two years we have seen some significant updates by Google related to mobile users. In April of 2015, a new algorithm was released by Google which would possibly boost, or decrease your ranking, depending on whether or not your website was mobile-friendly. It didn’t end there. More major news by Google came out towards the end of last year having to do with mobile. Google announced that starting sometime in 2017, they would for the first time be splitting their index into two, a desktop index and a mobile index.

When you hear the terms strategy and tactics, what do you think of? It is extremely common for people to confuse the two ideas. In fact, many people believe that strategy and tactics mean the exact same thing. There is a clear difference between the two, and having a proper understanding of each is extremely important.

Is blogging necessary? This is a question that tends to spark quite some debate, not only among marketers, but also among business owners. Countless times, I’ve been in a meeting where concerns have been raised at the mention of blogging. “That’s not for our industry,” or “We don’t have time for that,” as well as “I don’t see how it will help my bottom line.” These are among some of the most common objections I tend to hear. The question of blogging being a necessity becomes irrelevant once we learn of statistics such as, 81% of people conduct online research before making any purchase.

So, you think you're using Facebook to it's fullest potential huh? Well, think again. When it comes to using Social Media to promote your business, there are definitely some major rules for success that not many small businesses are following. For instance, if the last thing you posted was self promoting (like a sale) you totally missed the mark. If you are using Facebook (or any other social media for that matter) merely as a billboard to talk about yourself, you're missing out on a whole world of possibilities for business growth.

If you were driving around looking for a place to eat lunch, would you stop somewhere that looked old, dirty, and run-down? Or how about a place that didn’t have any signage, somewhere that you weren’t quite sure was even a restaurant? I can almost guarantee that you wouldn’t bother with either situation.

Back in 2008 while working for the local newspaper selling print advertising, I was sent to a digital marketing conference to learn all about advertising on the web. That was my introduction to a world that I am now extremely passionate about. The digital world! We have come a long way technologically since 2008, but I am learning that a lot of small business owners in my area still have little to no knowledge of the options they have for improving their business model and marketing with all of this great new technology.

How many times in a day do you explain what exactly it is that you do for a living? I am in sales, so I do this quite often. I describe our services and products, as simply as possible, and try to keep it interesting. I have a few dusty old elevator pitches that I pull from my memory from time to time, repurposing as necessary.

When it comes to marketing your business online, there are an overwhelming amount of choices and it can be difficult to figure out where to begin. I have worked in advertising and marketing for over 10 years, and in that short time many new online marketing options have been developed. Digital marketing is excellent because results are trackable and measurable.

"I have this cool new website, now everybody on the planet will know about my business!"