How To Find The Best Dallas Internet Marketing Company You Can Actually Afford

Posted on March 30, 2011 by mike

If you are an entrepreneur, shifting your focus from media advertising to Internet marketing it is important to hire a reputable Internet marketing company to increase your visibility on the world wide web. The Internet has grown substantially in the last decade and has become perhaps the best marketing platform in existence. With billions and advertising and e-commerce sites on the net, it is important to develop an affordable and efficient market strategy that will increase your visibility and your sales conversions. The entire purpose of advertising online is to generate leads, prospects, and sales for increased revenue. If you are not familiar with the various methods of Internet marketing, you will need to hire a professional Internet marketer catering to the Dallas area. Understand how to find the best Dallas Internet marketing company you can actually afford and become a force to be reckoned with on the web.

When you begin your search, you will quickly realize that there are several different Dallas Internet marketing companies specializing in different areas of online advertising. As a small business owner chances are you are not familiar with different methods that exist. Internet advertising is constantly changing and improving. Finding a Dallas Internet marketing company that specializes in every type of marketing on the world wide web is extremely difficult. Some of the most popular and effective methods of marketing online include: backward link building (aka: backlinks), social media, pay-per-click ads, sponsored links, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), web design, content management, article marketing, local business listings, and blogs. Each of these areas of advertisement are different and will require different knowledge. There are specialists in the marketing industry for each and every type of marketing. It may be difficult to find a single company with experts in every area.

Now that you understand the various types of Internet marketing, you must figure out which companies are the best in the business. Hiring a professional marketing firm can be extremely expensive if you do not consider results. Big advertising companies are commonly chosen by large corporations and larger middle-sized businesses. When you hire a large Internet marketing firm to handle your marketing campaign, you could be compromising your budget and the quality of services offered. Large Internet marketing companies in Dallas will assign your project to a project manager to discuss your needs. Once you have explained what you are looking for, the account manager will present the project to the individuals specializing in specific areas of expertise. This means you will never actually talk to the person who is handling your account. When you are designing and rolling out a new marketing initiative, it is important to have contact with each and every specialist handling your account. If you can only communicate with a middle man, you could be compromising the efficiency of your marketing initiative.

Another factor to consider when you are hiring a professional Dallas Internet marketer is their rank on Google. Because the company is responsible for making your site rank as one of the top results on Google and other search engines, they should rank highly as well. You would not hire an interior designer with a poorly designed office, so you cannot reasonably hire an Internet marketer that has not focused on advertising his or her own business. You will need to search some of the top industry terms to find a company that ranks highly. Some of the terms you should search for include:

*Search Engine Optimization Dallas
*SEO for Small Businesses Dallas
*Internet Marketing Dallas
*Online Advertising Experts Dallas
*Search Engine Marketing Dallas
*SEO Web Design Dallas
*Content Marketing Expert Dallas

Chances are you will not find a single company listed highly for every single area of advertising. If you do stumble across a company that is ranked highly for every area they are worth considering. Make sure not to compromise the quality of service received by choosing a large firm that sees you as a project rather than a company.

Internet marketing is essential if you want to be successful in today’s technologically advanced society. More and more consumers are surfing the web to find businesses in their area. If you want to compete in today’s competitive market, do your research and choose a Dallas Internet marketing firm you can trust.

A Holistic Dallas Internet Marketing Expert Is Hard To Find

Posted on March 5, 2011 by mike

Holistic Internet Marketing includes the practice of Search Engine Optimization combined with a holistic approach. It recognizes that there are several important factors that go into creating a successful website and web presence. Holistic search marketing does not combat SEO vs PPC for ones marketing budget, but realizes that they must work together to achieve a great return on investment.

What makes a Dallas Internet Marketing expert so indispensable in business is his or her understanding and connection to local conditions. Understanding the local scene can take time for any beginning consultant and hence this would not be the way to go if you need to hit the ground running any time soon. With my experience in the Dallas market, I, Mike Stewart, know more than a handful of demographic facts, which sets this market apart from all the markets of the world. While it is true that the World Wide Web has transformed the planet into a global village, local realities should never be sacrificed in any serious marketing campaign. For example, a Dallas resident would have certain word preferences when it comes to searching for something on the Web. Understanding these preferences can spell the difference between the success or failure of a campaign. As the saying goes, when in Rome do as the Romans.

At the same time, as a Dallas Internet marketing expert operating in the city, I daresay there are also certain qualities, which the Dallas consumer shares with the rest of the world. First, Dallas is truly a cosmopolitan city with all the trappings of wealth and politics. This is why a campaign that has launched and proven its mettle in Manhattan or Los Angeles is also likely to succeed here. Only a few modifications are usually needed to transplant such undertaking. Still, the question of which parts of the campaign to tweak to suit the Dallas audience would still depend to a great extent on the quintessential marketing operator in the area of which I am one of the few. Truly, you cannot go wrong with my years of experience. By hiring me or my firm, you get the best of both worlds, someone with a local perspective who is likewise experienced in global commerce.

Internet commerce is here to stay. In fact, it is almost scary to imagine that there is hardly anything it has not touched in its path. Whenever it does, it has such a transformative power that it rarely leaves the subject unchanged. Just one such transformative tool in the Information Superhighway is SEO or the acronym for Search Engine Optimization that no doubt you have heard of as it is a buzzword that network marketers just love to toss around these days.

While every web commerce site is different and has different SEO needs, under my tutelage my solution for your Dallas business will usually consist of the following:

•An SEO analysis to see what you are doing right and wrong
•A detailed SEO strategy outlining a solution custom-fit to your business
•A blanket list of fully researched and tested keywords to increase your site’s popularity and ranking
•Specific changes to your site’s HTML coding for both search engine and surfer appeal
•Important data on what your key competitors are doing, SEO-wise
•A content-specific solution to SEO deficiencies in your site
•Recommended links to utilize in order to make your site Google friendly at the very least
•Optimized Frequently Asked Questions or FAQs
•Your turnkey Google account for real time self-monitoring purposes

As your Dallas Internet marketing expert of choice, I prefer to operate on an open, no-contract basis unless you prefer otherwise. You can also compensate me for my services through any of the major credit cards. I would gladly consider any profit sharing or commission marketing arrangement, provided it would be mutually beneficial to our partnership. In closing, I just would like to say that if your business is suffering from the economic crunch, Web commerce is definitely one way to get out of this trap. I look forward to hearing from you.

Google Places For Less Informed Dallas Internet Marketers

Posted on February 9, 2011 by mike

Hello, my name is Mike Stewart, a local Dallas Google Advertising Expert who specializes in Google Places Local Search SEO, and I am writing you just to let you know how wonderful an advertising vehicle Google Places is. It literally is your business card on the web, except that you can get it free and there are no limits to customizing it. You can even receive phone calls from new prospects and existing customers. Clearly, there is no end in sight to this remarkable tool. It even helps people find your business location on internet and mobile maps. Why some people do not use it, and especially those in the Dallas area, is simply stupefying. However, it may only be because nobody has told these people about the multifarious benefits of joining Google Places.

Perhaps the best thing about it is that membership is free, and one can get started right away, by simply going to the Google homepage and then clicking the Business Solutions link. You should be able to find Google Places on the lower left side of the screen. It is important to take your time with the setup, making sure that you enter all your information so that people can find you easily, or even contact you directly from the Google website. They can also contact you from their Gmail console, another Google concoction that is certainly transforming the way people are using VOIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol to seamlessly make phone calls on the Web. No actual phones are needed, only noise-cancelling headsets equipped with a microphone which are preferably meant to work with a computer whether it is a desktop or a laptop.

The Google product developers have a very good reason for creating Google Places. It is not just about revenue and monetizing “the new yellow pages.” However, what most people do not know is that since the mighty giant is a search engine of the highest order, your listing in Places by default also makes your enterprise visible to search engine spiders on the Web. These spiders number in the thousands and all they do; day in and day out is collect and archive information for the Information Superhighway. No doubt, these automated search bots are nice and turn into your friends by allowing indexing of your business information and thus far, joining Places is one of the best ways to accomplish this. One thing about these bots is that they are equipped with a sprinkling of artificial intelligence, which enables them to discern content-rich Web pages through their so-called algorithms. The last word is simply a fancy way of saying programming the spiders to not be a fool and fetch only information that will provide the most benefit to Internet surfers. Make no joke about it; the bots are getting more intelligent on a daily basis. They are just like Internet routers, which eventually learn to figure out the best way to go.

As an SEO consultant for many years, I know for a fact that the bots stumble when they find a video or a picture online just like they do with word content and links to other web pages. This is because they have been programmed with a bias for text or words. One quick solution is to make sure you religiously put keyword rich tags on your videos and pictures to help the mighty bots, which by the way, do not get any remuneration for the work that they do.

Within a short amount of time, I have attempted to give you some basic information about how someone like myself, a Dallas Google Advertising Expert who specializes in Google Places Local Search SEO, can help you gain a better understanding of search engine techniques. This is just a drop in the bucket, and there is so much more to learn. There is no doubt that if you hire an expert like me, your business is just going to fly on the Web, soaring like an eagle above your competition. Why wait when you can be part of Google Places for free today.

(if you are already listed on Google Places but are having trouble ranking at the top of these search results, or ranking multiple times in Google results, feel free to shoot me an email to mike (at) smbseo (dot) com and I will give you some practical advice on getting your business to the top. Mention this blog post and I won’t charge you… so long as you take my advice!)

Reputation Management

Dallas Reputation Management & Social Media Marketing Blogging Expert

Have you been searching for a social media marketing company that combines reputation management for the most complete online marketing package? If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’re in luck. At SMBSEO.com, your “Local Dallas Internet Marketing Company“, we can do all that for you and more.

Curious how exactly we’re going to do this? First, you should know that reputation management has to do with branding at the most basic and personal level. We will be tracking all your customers’ negative feedback and criticism, process them in a report, and come up with effective ways to combat this. No one wants to have negative customer feedback at the #1 spot in Google or Yahoo when your clients search for your name! SMBSEO will scour the web for all those negativite comments in search engine results and bury them. You don’t have to be at the mercy of one angry customer. You can control your online reputation.

So just how do we go about this? We start with a proactive approach. SMBSEO will implement a campaign that will monitor how customers interact with your content. The objective is to identify and qualify these interactions so we can gain insight from them. Prevention is your best cure in dealing with negative feedback. To do that, we will help you implement a holistic content optimization for your brand. Companies that have a lot of branded content floating around in the web will have less problem with negative ones since it’ll be less concentrated.

Start with the SMBSEO program for reputation management today! We can quickly create profiles for you at a lot of social media networks and start pushing negative criticism of your company down the major search engines. Our highly competent team will manage this project on a month to month basis with no contracts.

We’ve established that SMBSEO can effectively do preventive reputation management. Now, what if you or your company are currently a target of negative content gone viral? Do not waste time and contact SMBSEO.com immediately so we can draft our action plan to drive that content down those search engines. SMBSEO offers affordable and effective online reputation crisis management.

Interested? Here are our prices and packages. If what you want cannot be found below, contact SMBSEO so we can work on a customized package specifically for your needs.

If you’re serious about protecting your online reputation, get the Personal Reputation Management Package. Our reputation management service is offered to companies and small businesses, well-known personalities and figures, executives, and non-profits without a contract and provided at only $1,000/month, this will also include all the set-up fees below.

1. Keyword Research Report (One-Time Value of $500)

Our team will research on the search keywords that your target market is using to find your product or service. This is especially useful if your company has a ton of competitors gunning to be #1 for the same keywords. This report will include data on keywords, which will be sorted depending on its popularity. Aside from this, we will also give our expert recommendations on how to gain visibility by enlarging your content scope.

2. Creation/Management of Social Bookmarking Profiles ($250/month)

The SMBSEO team will implement profile creations on all social bookmarking websites with the appropriate link to your main webpage. The creation of profiles and blogs will send multiple backlinks to the company website in a short timeframe.

3. Profile Optimization of Social Networking Profiles (One-Time Value of $600)

It is not enough to create just any profile. You have to create the profile that is customized to your company. SMBSEO.com will not only create profiles, but it will also target it in such a way that it will prevent your competitors or irate customers to try to take down your company in the internet.

4. Social Media Marketing ($1,000/month)

SMBSEO will create numerous profiles on all social networking sites that allow user-generated content. This can help you manage your search engine rankings and protect you from possible manipulation of ratings and reviews by competitors. By providing links to your website, you will also attract a lot of visitors. Not just that, social networks also have high influence. Links from their site to yours will also increase your page rank and give you a leg up on your competition.

5. WordPress Installation (One-Time Value of $1,500)

It is tempting to think this but the truth of the matter is that managing your online reputation is more than just installing a blog on to your website. For your blog, we will be using the WordPress CMS theme called Thesis that is optimized specifically for search engines, has built in tools for search engine optimization, and is loaded with a lot of anti-spam plug-ins. This is one of the best content management systems available in the market today. What’s even better is that you can use this WordPress theme on your blogs.

6. Targeted Niche Blog Authoring ($1,000/month for a 1-5 year(s) contract)

If you’re wondering what content to produce, our Dallas reputation management team can also brainstorm and develop content for your websites. We can either give you a template so you can do it yourself, or we can be the main content managers to your blog site by making sure that it has changing content all the time. SMBSEO.com will post the content and moderate comments for you.

So what are you waiting for? Let SMBSEO, the Dallas reputation management team, start building your positive brand name online!

Knowing when to walk away from website design companies because of price.

Posted on July 26, 2010 by mike

As Kenny Rogers said in his song “The Gambler,”

“You got to know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to walk away, know when to run!“

This is definitely the case when it comes to hiring a Dallas website design company. Many times you think you are hiring someone to manage your internet marketing, all you quite possibly might be getting is a website designer.

There are many challenges facing small business owners who are wanting to stay ahead of the curve during this huge shift from traditional advertising methods (such as yellow pages, newspaper, and radio), to the latest digital offerings. We all know that there is a huge shift happening in the mobile web browser search business. Google’s Android browser is growing, the iPhone has already contributed to the migration of web searches from traditional personal computer based web browsers. It is expected that mobile search will account for as much as 40% of all web searches within the next 2 years.

So, what are you looking for? If you want just a simple website, maybe a $133.00 per month contract from the yellow pages sounds like a good deal. You get what you pay for. Cheap website design is a get what you pay for service. Website design is just that, a design of a site. Website development is the process of bringing the design to life. Website marketing or internet marketing is a continual process. I have always said that a website build is only 30% of website management. The management of your website needs to be out of the hands of designers and IT management professionals. Your websites management needs to be apart of your internet marketing department or be in the hands of a professional holistic search engine marketer or agency.

How much is website design? Anywhere between $1000-3000.00 if done professionally. How much is development? Usually around $1500-5000.00 depending on the level of complexity. (or how deep your businesses pockets are, depending on who is building the site and how they charge clients.)

We do websites based on how much our clients can afford to invest in them. Want a cheap site…. you will get one like ours that ranks well. Want a great looking website? We offer the services of the most skilled website developers in Dallas – Fort Worth.

So when some sales rep comes to your office and says, “we can manage your website for only $133.00 per month!” Be afraid. Be afraid of the consequences of making a decision based on a very tasty value proposition. Consider that you got to know when to walk away because the price is too cheap. If you expect experienced search marketing advice from an IT Professional or Website Designer, consider what level of expertise they offer in terms of Google’s search engine ranking algorithm.

With all the changes taking place in local search and the internet, it is wise to plan your web marketing, web design, and social media strategy while updating your website. Remember, when a website is built it is only 30% complete. Search marketing is about catching the longtail and geo-location keyword phrases that account for the greatest value in website traffic.

Just in case you were wondering, How much does a cheap website cost from a Dallas website design company? Ours start at just $1500.00

Can we build one for only $800? Sure. You get what you pay for, so don’t expect to get very far. Why buy an $800.00 website? I would buy one only if I had a limited amount of funds and wanted to concentrate on search engine marketing. Who offers $800 websites? Well, I wouldn’t tell you no. I would just make sure you understood what you were getting!

Cheers,
Mike Stewart

Negative Reviews Suck! Here is a few tips on how to avoid the pain.

Posted on June 15, 2010 by mike

When it comes to your online reputation, you can’t afford not to protect your brand by being aware of your companies ratings and reviews. If you are not collecting positive case studies, testimonials, and positive experiences from your customers or clients, you are already behind your competition on the web!

Reviews are a major factor in local search rankings, such as Google Page Places.

Here are a few ratings and review tips and facts we have collected over the years:

Negative Reviews Will Happen, This is a Fact of Life!

It is almost impossible for a small business to make every single client 100% happy.

1-2% of your customers with a positive experience will leave a review (without your “request”.)

20-30% of your customers with a negative experience will leave a review (without your influence.)

When is the last time you commented about great service from your waiter? What is the likelyhood of you doing the same after suffering food poisoning? Over 77% of consumers research online before purchasing a product or service. They may purchase the service at a store, but prior to doing so the majority of shoppers spend time on the internet.

If you want to make sure bad reviews don’t show up online, you better get some good reviews.

Write it on a napkin. It doesn’t matter how you collect the review, just as long as you save them.

We often recommend using a page on your website for reviews. Such as www.smbSEO.com/reviews. Just a simple form page to collect reviews. You can use the comment section of a site. The key is to encourage clients to write SEO friendly reviews by asking them to include a description of the location of service and the type of service provided in the review.

All it takes is 5 reviews per month.

Here are a few suggestions on how to handle or respond to negative online business reviews:

Investigate – Find the person that submitted the review or negative testimonial. Does the review look real? Contact the webmaster of the review site.
Make Amends - Reach out and offer to resolve the complaint. Oftentimes the other party may remove or re-review the review. It is worth a shot!
Address the Issue – Find out what the problem was and if you can’t make amends or get the reviewer to fix it, tell your side of the story. Be honest!
Bomb the Review Site - Positive Reviews (not suggested for Google Page Places etc due to frequency and authenticity factors)

What is the big deal with online reviews?

Online reviews are perhaps trusted even more than what friends and family say these days. “User reviews are more influential than third-party reviews.” (”Web users and web community,” Rubicon Consulting, Inc. October 2008)
About 90% of people browse through online business reviews before buying (or not buying) your services; 90% of whom automatically trust these reviews. (Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)
Almost 75% of consumers read product reviews on the Internet. (Deloitte & Touche, September 2007)
Customers consult Websites with product and service reviews, even beating out a knowledgeable friend (59%). (Marketing Sherpa, July 2007)
Seven in 10 (69%) consumers who read reviews share them with friends, family or colleagues, sometimes exaggerating the facts to your harm. (Deloitte & Touche, September 2007)

Online ratings and reviews can appear for large or small businesses, and can be important to individuals where ratings are conducted, such as doctors, accountants, dentists, and even plastic surgeons.

Posting your own reviews can get you in big trouble! So never post your own reviews for YOUR company.

The New York Times reported last year that cosmetic surgery clinic Lifestyle Lift would pay $300,000 in civil penalties after an investigation by the New York State attorney general’s office found that employees had posed as plastic surgery patients to write glowing reviews of their own business. It’s not worth it. How many “pay per clicks” could $300,000 buy?

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