The first impression might be your only chance foray impression.

Almost every business boasts of a website that furthers its reach to the ever-increasing online community. However, not all of them truly prioritize the importance of website performance optimization, which undermines the capabilities of defining the reach of their franchise.

Adding to that, website visitors grow impatient and much more demanding especially with online competition growing by the day.

FEVAD (Federation of E-Commerce and Distance Selling) in 2015 says almost 57% of the internet users require the website to be loaded in 3 seconds or less.

It’s common sense actually, a website that takes a longer time to load will be given the least preference by any user, right?

Ask yourself that question.

Businesses rely heavily on customers, the building blocks of any enterprise and they need to know that the brand favours them. They don’t want to wait.

Unpleasant impressions generate unsatisfactory reviews that spread particularly fast, resulting in losing traffic and most importantly MONEY.

Amazon says a site being 1 second slower may lead to about a $1.6 billion loss a year in sales.

Tech giant Google paid for half a second delay in its loading time with a 20% downturn in traffic.

Time surely is money, isn’t it?

With the internet flooded with websites almost serving similar purposes, the need of the hour would be to strike the perfect balance within your site, which can please the audience, generate traffic as well as serve their purpose.

Everything in this world is subject to change and so, why not websites?

Statistically speaking, a 15.4% increase in download was recorded when Mozilla upped their page speed by almost 2 seconds.

Kinsta says “People prefer fast loading trivial pages rather than slow relevant ones.”

This doesn’t present itself as a huge conundrum at all since you simply need to outpace your competitors to stay on top.

Somebody call Usain Bolt!

HOWEVER! 

You certainly don’t need the Jamaican’s strategies to code a website for you whatsoever, because we have presented a few TIPS AND TRICKS for you to stay ahead of the competition and boost your page amongst the global audience.

You can thank us later.

Here we go:

Implementing all these in one go might be a cumbersome task, so it’s better you go by each step one by one and analyze the difference in loading time.

It’s essential that you do not blatantly copy them for its sake, understand first and then implement.

 

01. Go Minimal

Organize your webpage such that it stays soothing to the eye- as lean as possible. Extra lines, line breaks, images, and other unwanted paraphernalia go down the drain.

Draw inspiration from the homepages of multi-billion dollar companies like  Apple, Audi etc. and analyze their structuring methodology.

I’m sure you’d understand the fine line between inspiration and plagiarism.

 

02. Image Optimization

A picture is essentially worth more than a thousand words and it certainly weighs that much too.

An HTTP Report in 2016 reads “64% of the weight of a webpage lies solely on its images.” That certainly puts things into perspective.

You would’ve noticed too, images take more time. Now I didn’t have to tell you that right?

 So what can you do?!

• Choose to insert pictures only where it actually matters – in JPEG if you prioritize quality and PNG for lesser significant ones like logo etc. BMP’s and TIFF’S are a NO GO!

• Properly sizing the image based on the corresponding requirement inhibits unnecessary junk data formation that burdens the bandwidth.
• Tools like Smushit, JPEG/ PNG Stripper allows effortless optimization at the click of a button.

 

03. CSS Delivery Optimization

Not long ago, the optimum size of a web page was considered to be around 30KB, including all elements like images, text, and so on.

The advent of CSS and JavaScript modernized and broke this 30KB barrier and provided users with much more enriched experience.

By reducing the cycles of reading code by using “shorthand” method, the speed of delivery can be optimized. Basically, just leave redundancy out of the question.

Preferring an external style sheet, which can load before rendering the page to an internal style sheet helps too. It all depends on how the “coding specialist” works his way through.

Reduce complicated scripts and redundant lines of code. Seems fair enough, right?

 

04. Compression techniques

CSS and Javascript can be optimized in more than one way, actually. We discussed the delivery system before.

Now, let’s look at how we can compress them as such.

• Minify the CSS and JavaScript to compress them by subsequent combination of CSS and JavaScript removing blank spaces in between.
• Others include CSS Optimizer, Clean CSS and a lot more.( Hey don’t get lazy Google them and find out)
• GZip compression aids by finding elements of code similar and temporarily exchanges them with shorter characters.

Caution: Using Gzip to compress images, PDF etc may lead to the new file being larger than the previous version; also old browser support may not be guaranteed. (Who uses old stuff too, btw?)

 

05. The “404 Error”

This might be familiar among coders and something they dread as well. It pops up in the case of missing files or pages.

Although it may seem to be simple, a typical 404 error requires about 50-100 MB of memory to get delivered. Seems hard to digest? I said it’s something people dread.

 

Plugins offer numerous ways to check and debug errors of this kind but they stay in the server for too long, which wastes the resources of each corresponding server.

So it’s preferred to use tools like Screaming Frog to crawl, identify error pages and fix them so that they don’t waste too much bandwidth and reduce visitor wastage.

There’s Visual SEO Studio and WildShark SEO Spider Tool, which are freeware alternatives for Screaming Frog.

 

06. Offloading Assets

By this, we mean separating contents like CSS, images, etc from the main server and relying on other servers to load them.

This, in turn, reduces the reliance over a single main server, by offloading it to others thereby reducing the time take to load the page.

Sharing is indeed caring.

We also suggest a few offloading sides for your needs:

• Flikr, Smugmug, 5– Images
• Google Feedburner – RSS
• Surveys – SurveyMonkey, there are just to name a few.

You can also make use of dedicated hosting, which is a little pricier but offers way more speed than shared ones.

 

07. Server Optimizations

Choosing better servers with more RAM and cache sizes would necessarily improve the performance index.

Regular software updates and creating mirror serves helps balance the load between serves allowing faster access times.

 

08. Plugin Usage

Unnecessary plugins not only fall prey to multiple server crashes, and it takes longer time to load.

That “awesome” transition or element you saw in “that” website might not always be the right choice for you.

 Choose your elements wisely.

 

09 Debugging

Coders beware!  You guys would completely relate to this.

Even the smallest mistake, estimating to a semicolon may result in a memory dump problem that may crash both the site and server.

Render codes repeatedly until you’re positive that the lines would not cause issues and using debugging applications like Microsoft Visual Studio would help you in the long run.

 

10. Speed Tests

Multiple platforms offer speed tests that rate the loading speeds of websites and determine how fast your site loads, in comparison with others.

They also help provide necessary information as to where the problems exist and some may even offer advice to change aspects of the site.

Sites like Pingdom, GTmetrix and some to name a few.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just take a deep breath. The Developers at multibillion-dollar businesses like Dropbox, Apple, and Microsoft etc have gone through the same thing.

It’s true, like really!

They make amends even now, with optimizations occurring by the minute. They don’t want to replicate a success mantra, they want to create more.

Of course, for the non-tech savvy people, we introduce you to a platform where you can outsource work related to webpage optimization and a lot more too.

Our company Prime One Global will take care of this and in the end, you can boast of a website catering to the needs of the client as well as the customer.  To learn more, connect with us [email protected] or ping us on our Facebook Page.

 

Before You Go!

All these might sound complicated, but that’s how the websites work. You need to know the technicalities involved in enhanced optimization.

Rounding off with the important points, customers require loading speeds to be at optimum and for that, stick to a minimal design and select the image formats based on their use.

Just think from the perspective of a prospective visitor. Would you wait a long time for a website to load?

Of course not.

Patience still is a virtue these days, but then as we live in a world digitized in almost every aspect within it, to stay ahead we need to embrace change.

Video sharing websites provide users with the opportunity to host premium videos. If you are currently scouting for websites to distribute your content and share it with others, you are in for luck! There are multiple video sharing sites that provide interesting and engaging content for their audience. If you are into video sharing, you might have heard of MegaUpload, which was suddenly shut by the US authorities since it lost a lot of money on copyrighted material.

In your search for a good video sharing site you will realize that while some of the sites are highly popular, they often disappearing since they are either purchased by larger market players or infringe copyright laws and are declared illegal and shut down.

Given below is a comprehensively long list of the best video sharing sites available on the internet. Feel free to visit them all and choose the one that works best for you.

 

YouTube

YouTube has to be the leading video sharing site and deserves the top spot in this list. YouTube is the world’s largest video uploading site and was first developed by Jawed Karim and Steve Chen back in the February of 2005. The website was later bought by Google Inc in November 2006 for a whopping $1.64 billion. The video upload site now functions as a Google subsidiary with apps available for Android, iOS, Windows.

Google has integrated YouTube within the Google+ network and Chrome web browser. Users can now view videos from the site on these platforms as well. YouTube allows registered and unregistered users to watch the videos available on the platform. However, registered users can upload an unlimited number of videos, as long as they don’t violate copyright laws.

The application works on Adobe Flash Player and HTML5. It contains a variety of user-generated and corporate media videos. YouTube has such a wide reach that advertisers are now working on ads solely for the platform.

YouTube doesn’t charge anything for registration, but you can earn from the advertisers via pay-per-click. The amount of money you earn on the number of ads viewed depends on the location of the viewer and the nature of the ads.

 

Netflix

Netflix is slowly becoming a household name when it comes to video streaming. The application was developed by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph back in 1997. The two had worked together for the software company, Pure. The founders had started Netflix as a streaming and video-on-demand online and DVD sales. By the first year, Hastings decided to remove DVD sales and focus on DVD rentals via mail. By 2007, Netflix had expanded its business to include streaming media. With Netflix, you can stream your favorite television series and movies anytime. It has become the world’s leading television network with over 93.8 million members spanning over 190 countries.

Apart from streaming popular television shows and movies, Netflix entered the production industry in 2013 with its original series House of Cards. Netflix Original has now taken a new identity, and each of their original shows is highly popular. Statistics show that Netflix released around 126 original series and movies since 2016.

Netflix doesn’t allow viewers to upload their videos, but you can register on the application to enjoy uninterrupted streaming. Registration fees differ between countries and the nature of the content you want to access.

 

Dailymotion

Dailymotion is one of the most popular video submission sites. Olivier Poitrey and Benjamin Bejbaum started Dailymotion in March 2005. Although the application was originally a French video sharing and hosting service, it is now available in 34 different languages. When it first started, Dailymotion would allow the users to upload and share videos on their platform. With time, they diversified to include options to add friends, subscribe to different channels, and recommend videos for others.

Dailymotion allows registered users to upload videos and share it. The uploaded videos would get converted to the VP6 format, while the audio files would be encoded as MP3 files in 96 kbit/s. Dailymotion has expanded their business to include a kids channel called Dailymotion Kids that caters primarily to children. The channel includes a parental control option.

Recently Dailymotion had started the Dailymotion Mass Uploaded based on Adobe AIR technology that allows the users to upload multiple videos simultaneously.

Dailymotion doesn’t charge for registration.

 

Yahoo! View

Yahoo! View is a video on demand application started by Yahoo! the application works with Hulu and allows the users to view contents from ABC, NBC and Fox networks in the US. Yahoo! View was initially started as Yahoo! Video where users could upload and share videos, but later this feature was scrapped off.

Yahoo! View was re-launched in 2011 as Yahoo! Screen with special emphasis on original content. Following much criticism of the original content, Yahoo! Screen was stopped, and they passed on their subscription to Hulu.

 

Vine

Vine was launched by Dom Hofmann, Colin Kroll, and Rus Yusupov in 2012 and was immediately bought by Twitter. The application allowed the users to upload six second long videos and this content could be viewed on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Users could also browse through the videos uploaded by other users. Following the footsteps of Dailymotion, Vine came up Vine Kids that was designed for children.

Vine was discontinued by Twitter and was renamed to Vine Camera in 2016, which allowed users to take six-second-long videos and upload them on Twitter or the application. The application didn’t see many takers on the Android and iOS store. Users can now only view the existing videos, but there have been some technical problems in accessing some of the archive servers.

 

Ustream

Ustream is a video sharing site founded in 2007. The video sharing site was taken over by IBM in 2016 and forms a part of their Cloud Video Service. Ustream powers internal meetings, press conferences, and on-demand videos for all its users. Ustream has over 80 million users. Apart from video submission, Ustream includes Ustream Align that helps secure internal video communications for the employees. The secure platform allows the employees to carry out broadcasting and marketing strategies without any fear of them being leaked to outsiders.

Ustream counts Facebook, NASA, Nike, Discovery Communications and Samsung.

 

Vube

Vube is a video sharing site that enables budding artists to share their videos. It helped artists build a community and garner likes and followers. Vube organized monthly contests where videos with a high number of likes and comments would be rewarded. However, Vube went out of business since they had copyright issues. They had frozen use accounts and videos on their portal since they had recorded covers of popular bands, which went against Vube’s copyright laws.

Vimeo

Vimeo is a video sharing site, but what makes it different from the other free video upload sites is that it was the first one to introduce high-definition videos. Vimeo was launched in 2004 by Zach Klein and Jake Lodwick. Video enjoyed good traffic, following YouTube and Facebook.

Vimeo has free registration where users would initially get a free space of 20MB disk space. The users could pay a nominal fee and access additional space. Space was increased to 30 MB and by 2007, it had increased to 500 MB. As of today, users can pay a fee of $60 and get additional space of at least 5GB along with 2.5 hours of 720p video play.

 

Live Leak

Live Leak was founded by Hayden Hewitt in 2006. The London-based company has a section where users can post their videos about different topics. Among all the video upload sites, Live Leak is one site that allowed users to upload videos on politics, clips from war and political debates, and different world events. The app tries to combine the power of citizen journalism to give importance to crucial incidents around the world. The video sharing site is known for starting many a controversy. Rumor has it that it was Live Leak that had released footage of Saddam Hussein’s execution.

Live Leak content can be graphic in nature since they deal with war footages and other political clashes. The members can readily share and comment on the videos uploaded on the site, and the site is known for heated debates pertaining to the different contents.

 

Flickr

Flickr is a video and image hosting website that was founded in 2004 by Ludicrop. The same was purchased by Yahoo! in 2005. Flickr allows users to share and embed photos and videos and create an online community. Flickr is also widely used by photo researchers and bloggers for their posts.

Individuals do not need an account to access the videos and photos uploaded to Flickr, but one needs to register on Flickr to upload content on Flickr.

Flickr offers three types of user accounts, one of which is free and includes 1TB space with a limit of 250MB per photo and a maximum of 3 minutes for each video. The Ad-Free option allows subscribers to avoid ads by paying an annual fee. The Double account includes the benefits of Ad-Free account along with a 2 TB space.

 

TinyPic

TinyPic is a photo and video sharing site started by Photobucket.com. The application allows users to upload, share and link photos and videos on the internet. TinyPic decides which photos and videos have better reach on the internet and delete the ones that aren’t accessed frequently from their servers. TinyPic has seen much criticism because of its tendency to delete images and photos without prior warnings.

One doesn’t need to register on the site to start accessing the service for accessing or uploading the files.

 

Break

Break is a video and photo sharing site that is known for its hilarious videos and images. The application was founded in 1998 and was later bought by TMFT Enterprises. In 2007, the application started a video streaming series that was available on their website. Break purchased the PC-game hosting company, Filefront.

One doesn’t have to be a registered member to share and enjoy Break videos on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

 

Twitch

Twitch was first developed by Justin.tv in 2011 and then purchased by Amazon. Twitch is a video sharing site that focuses on games. You can get real time videos from new games. Video shows from the gaming world are also available on the Twitch platform. It also offers real-time coverage of different gaming tournaments.

You can access Twitch from gaming consoles like PlayStations 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

 

Vidivodo

Vidivod is a Turkish video sharing application that now has an English version. You can click on to their different categories and access a large number of videos uploaded to them. Vidivodo deals with different categories and hence some of the video content is explicit and not suitable for children.

The site seems to enjoy a great number of visitors and is slowly gathering users from around the world.

 

Smugmug

Smugmug is a photo and video sharing site founded by the father-son duo Chris and Don MacAskill in 2002. The application supports social media posting so that users can share content from Smugmug.com to different social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The MacAskill wanted to create a service that would cater to budding photographers. They allow photographers to add watermarks to their photos to prevent copyright issues and also help them sell their photos and videos online with their pricing through the Smugmug interface.

 

TV

TV.com is a website that shows TV shows online. Users can submit their choice of television shows for the site to review. The application also developed relay functionality for their television shows. Since CBS Interface owns it, the site covers shows broadcasted by CBS in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland and Canada.

The website offers information on the television shows, including cast and crew listing and description of the different episodes. There are guides like actor bios and trivia. Users can participate to add to the available information and earn points.

All information on the platform is user generated, and they can edit and change the information as and when they feel like it.

 

Viewster

Viewster.com founded by Kia Henniges and Jorg Boksberger is an on-demand internet streaming sites. Viewster users can watch television series and movies on the website. The website has licensed over 12,000 movie titles and a broad range of series. The number of these differs from country to country.

Viewester can be accessed on the internet, via mobile app and is also available in gaming consoles like Xbox 360, where users can download it from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

 

Wistia

Wistia is an online video hosting and sharing site that was founded in 2006 by Brendan Schwartz and Chris Savage. The aim of the website was to help budding filmmakers collaborate.

Wistia offers video hosting to different businesses apart from personal use. The Wistia interface also allowed the users to customize the videos.

 

Sproutvideo

Sproutvideo is a video hosting company that works for the corporate world. They offer secure handling of videos. They offer a different level of securities for each video and the users can choose with whom they want to share the information uploaded on their profile.

Sproutvideo offers free 14 days trial, following which the users will have to subscribe to their service in order to continue enjoying the benefits for the same.

 

Myspace

Myspace isn’t just a video sharing site. It is a social media site that allows you to make friends and then share your blog posts, videos, and images with them. Myspace had enjoyed a lot of popularity before Facebook picked up. It surpassed Google as the most visited website.

With time Myspace might have seen a drop in registration, but it still holds a strong influence on popular culture and went on to create gaming platforms like RockYou and Zynga.

Developers had promised a new design for Myspace to make it more accessible on mobile, but there hasn’t been any further update on this.

 

Metacafe

Metacafe is a video-sharing company that focuses on short video clips relating to television, movies, games, sports, and music. Metacafe doesn’t function at present, but it resembled YouTube and Dailymotion when it was live on the internet. Metacafe had enjoyed a large number of users before it ceased to exist.

Users could register for free on the website and upload and share their videos.

 

Wrapping Up!

You are sure to find a video sharing site that meets your need and budget from the long and extensive list provided. Each of them is similar and unique in its ways. See for yourself which one suits your purpose best and go for it!

Feel free to add your suggestions in the comment below!

With everyone turning to blogs for promoting their brand, its time you think ahead. In order to make your brand stand out from the crowd, you have to think of interesting and unique ways to promote your brand and posts. Guest posting is one such marketing tactic that’s starting to become popular. Guest post is about posting your content on different websites apart from inviting guests to post on your website.

When you invite guests to come over and post on your website, you get the unique opportunity to promote without actually spending any time or money on it. While inviting individuals to blog with your website, you ensure that they share their content among their friends and family and increase the visitors immediately.

This type of free marketing also ensures that you have more social media coverage without actually spending your resources on it. Reports suggest that guest posts guarantees a five time increase in the traffic, ensures that there is more links to your website on social media.

While guest posts are a great way to promote your brand, you need to put some effort on it, in the initial stage.

 

Work Out Your Goal

You know for a fact that your will increase the traffic on your website when you start accepting guest posts. When you are looking for more traffic, you would want the same for a distinctive reason. It is crucial to figure that out. There are a large number of reasons for wanting to increase the traffic to your website. You might want new visitors to your website to sign up for email, or do you want more social media coverage and viewers. It is never right to considering reaping all the benefits. Zero down on your selected goal and make provisions to ensure that the visitors can follow through. Make sure that you prepare your website to fulfill your goal before you start accepting guest posts.

Create Guidelines

Remember that you are opening up your website to strangers and this could compromise the content to a certain extent. This is where you should work out a set of guidelines for guests when you open your website for guest postings. You will see a host of queries when guests are invited for posting, so save yourself the trouble and already put up a page of guidelines for them to refer to you. You can include information on what kind of posts you are looking for and how long you want each piece to be, state if you prefer any particular style of writing apart from information on incentives if you are providing any.

Experts suggest that new websites should offer some incentives like gift cards, and free passes in order to attract guests for posting.

 

Thoroughly Check Before Posting

Remember that just like good content can increase web traffic, bad content can effective the flow of traffic. When you invite guests to post on your website, remember that the content posted by them reflect the ideas of your brand and you can greatly harm your brand image by posting a terribly written content. Before allowing a guest to post on your website, carry out a background check of the person, check out their blogs and writing style. Even after the individual is done submitting his post, make sure that you go through the content to ensure that it isn’t offensive to any section of society and primarily that the content is original and hasn’t been plagiarized. Make sure that the content adheres to the standard of your blog and brand and that it follows the same style as the other posts or else it will look like an eye soar amidst all the other posts.

Pay Attention to Backlinks and Anchor Texts

The guest will only provide you with the content to the blog post, you have to add the relevant anchor text and inbound links that are related to the post. Make sure that the links do not look forced in the article. Use links only from reputable sources. When you work on anchor texts be selective since they will be used multiple times and will go a long way in ensuring a good SEO for your website. While anchor texts can do wonder with your website, make sure that they aren’t spammy and you don’t end up using them everywhere on the website. It helps to remember that the guest post will be published on your behalf and you will have to take responsibility for it.

Create A Plan For Promotion

Your work doesn’t end with getting guests to post and ensuring the quality of the content. You have to also inform the guest posters your plan of promoting their content. You have to realize that the bloggers writing for you want to improve their presence as well and you have to keep their interests in mind. If you want promote primarily through social media, mention that to the guests and specify how many times you would share or tweet about the new posts. If you are going to promote the content through email or newsletter, make that clear as well. Place as much importance in promoting guest posts as you would on any new content on your website. Remember not to slack off in this avenue.

Work On Your Social Media Presence

If you are starting to accept guest posts, you can advertise the same on your Facebook and Twitter page. Make sure that the link to your website is clearly visible on the social media pages. Also include your contact details and ensure that they are the same everywhere.

Wrapping Up!

Guest posting is a great way to get new content for your website and blog, but you need to prepare your website to handle the same. Make sure that the guest isn’t left wanting. Pay attention to these accepts before you start accepting guest posts.

Social Bookmarking sites have become a favourite with bloggers these days. If you are thinking that social media doesn’t have the same reach it had previously, think again. Social Bookmarking drives the traffic to the blogs when users on different social media sites share interesting videos and posts with their friends.

Before we get into the advantages and disadvantages of Social Bookmarking, we need to understand what Social Bookmarking is.

What is Social Bookmarking?

Social Bookmarking is nothing but an online portal that enables users to share, add, and edit different web documents. Every individual spends a large portion of their day online and when you read something interesting that you want to share with your friends and family, you bookmark it and save it online. It’s as simple as adding a bookmark to a book. Social Bookmarking allows the user to return to the page later and access it from different sources since it is available online.

With Social Bookmarking, you save the webpage online instead of copying the URL in a notepad or document. Social Bookmarking also helps the user to organize the best content that they come across on the web in one particular area, so that it is easily accessible.

After the know-how on Social Bookmarking, we need to understand the different advantages of the same. Social Bookmarking is highly popular these days.

 

Advantages of Social Bookmarking

 

Helps You Go Viral

You might have used a lot of codes to increase the SEO of your blog. While some may find success in this technique, there is a lot that you often lose out on. This is where Social Bookmarking comes in. When you make post a link of your blog post as a bookmark on different Social Bookmarking sites, the users will automatically be redirected to your blog when they view the same. Once you interest the new visitors with your blog, they will automatically bookmark your posts on different social media sites. Thanks to a large number of backlinks, you will get more traffic. However, make sure that your content is interesting and unique or else you will not be able to attract new visitors.

 

Increase Traffic

Once your blog goes viral on social media thanks to Social Bookmarking, you will see an increase in traffic. Make sure that you don’t stop at posting your bookmarks on one site. Post on multiple sites to increase the inflow of traffic. Post on Social Bookmarking sites like Google+, Reddit, Technorati, Delicious and Digg. Posting on these sites are free, so you don’t have to spend any money. Once these Social Bookmarking sites contribute to your blog traffic, view the analytics of your page and determine which of these sites contribute more than the others. You can tweak your bookmarking accordingly.

 

Build Your Brand

With Social Bookmarking, you get targeted traffic. When you get the targeted customers, you automatically help your brand grow. Once the new users find your blog appealing, they will subscribe to it. Social Bookmarking sites often allow users to review the different sites. Depending on user preference, some posts are buried while some get more coverage. When you are one of the most preferred sites, you automatically build trust and new users show interest in getting a better idea about your brand.

 

Improve SERPs

 Social Bookmarking is a convenient way to build one-way links. Bookmarking sites have a positive impact on the ranking of the bookmarked sites. They eventually improve the PageRank and SERPs of the sites. Since Google is planning to make SEO social, Social Bookmarking is a convenient way to improve search engine ranking.

Like everything in life, all good things come with their own disadvantages and problems and similar is the case with Social Bookmarking.

Disadvantages of Social Bookmarking

 

 

SEO

While bookmarking can help you with your SEO and SERPs, it can also create a lot of subsequent problems. There are multiple sites that will use your bookmarks to create backlinks for their website, without generating any new content. These bogus websites will simply add junk and hope your bookmarks help them to improve their ranking.

 

Tag Structure

Since Social Bookmarking is still a new concept, there isn’t a lot of information on the same. There isn’t any formal way to regulate how the different Social Bookmarking sites tag the different links. This gives rise to discrepancies that might often create problems. Since it’s individuals who tag these bookmarks, there’s the possibility of human error as well. Such errors create problem inconsistency and organization.

 

Collusion

Scammers are everywhere on social media. There can be scammers who get a large group of people to submit bookmarks and control their votes. They can trick other users into thinking that this highly bookmarked content is worth seeing and trick them to visit pages that might set free a virus or force them to make a payment.

 

Spamming

Since individuals have the freedom to create their own tags and bookmark contents, there is a high risk of spamming. This is the problem has further increased since individuals view bookmarked content from people they aren’t connected to. Spamming can also prevent the user from finding the actual website or page.

 

Conclusion

Social Bookmarking has both its advantages and disadvantages. There are two sides to a coin and like everything, if you are using Social Bookmarking, you have to weigh the odds and go ahead. If you keep aside the disadvantages, you will realize that the advantages are crucial and they can help you to a great extent. The competition to improve page ranking is getting tougher with every passing day. It is easy to make blog posts online and there are over millions of such blogs. If you want to stand apart and expand the number of visitors, you have to do something unique and since Social Bookmarking is still a new concept, it is the best option.

How does social bookmarking help you? Do let us know in the comments below. 

Image optimization is the building block of SEO. It’s no longer a secret that if you want to drive organic search traffic to your website, your SEO game needs to be above the fold. With more competing websites emerging every day, it is important for you to get higher search rankings and improve your traffic. However, majority of the people overlook one crucial resource for raking in all of that organic traffic: Google Image Search. And, to get that traffic, you need to know about the basics of image optimization. Here are few ideas for image optimization.

The relevance of an image on a website is the most basic factor for SEO.

Images must be pertinent to the content of the webpage. If your page is about Panasonic TV, use images of that TV from different angles. Users are likely to get interested if they are provided with ins and outs of the product through images.

An Alt tag or alternate tag is a fundamental part of image optimization.

Alt tags become indispensable because a large number of search engines are text based i.e. they are incapable of reading our images. . An Alt text will be displayed when the image uploading failed. It contains a concise description of the image.

Example:  A description about a Persian cat can be,

Tip: If it’s an image of a product, include the model number in the alt tag.

Read:  Google’s image publishing guidelines.

Images must be compressed or otherwise, the page will take time to load and netizens will not wait for a slow site to load.

A research says that users will not wait for more than 3 seconds for a webpage to load. Try to compress your image to low bytes. The following sites will help you to squeeze extra bytes out of your images.

1. smush.it!
2. compressor.io (can reduce size up to 90% while retaining image quality)
3. WP Smush
4. CompressJPEG (for JPEG images)
5. TinyPNG (for PNG images)
6. EWWW Image Optimizer

Note: Use images with the same dimension as it will be displayed on your site.

If you do not have time for uploading your unique image, there are thousands of sites from where you can get free images.

While in some cases you have to credit the source of image, other sites have no such requirements! The following sites will come handy for choosing images.

1. Pixabay
2. 500px
3. Flickr
4. Pinterest
5. Unsplash
6. And more 20+ websites to download Free Stock Royalty Free Photos

Image name plays a key role in gaining search visibility and relevance.

Therefore image name has to descriptive and should have succinct information about the image.

For example An image about the Smoky Mountains during the fall season could be

Smoky-mountains-fall-season.jpg and not IMG_0076.jpg

Selecting the right file type is another important factor for image optimization.

Source: June mango Design Boutique

 

Commonly used file types are JPEG ( Joint Photographic Experts Group), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) and PNG (Portable Network Graphics).

You can make the best use of each type and here is how:

1. Use GIF format for creating amazing GIFs
2. Use JPEG format for high-color and still photographs.
3. Use PNG format for images with few colors and logos (which involve fading and transparency)

Including images in XML sitemaps further increase the chances of your image being found during Google search.

You can use <image:image> or <image:loc> tags in your XML sitemap.

Tip: Yoast SEO Plugin is one of the best plugins. It automatically adds images to the XML sitemap. You can check the best SEO WordPress plugins here.

If hundreds of other sites use your unique image without giving you credit, your relevance will be reduced and that can be detrimental to your site.

You can use Image Raider for reverse image search. All you need to do is upload your image on the catalogue and whenever a site uses your image, you will be notified.  If you are not given credit, you can always ask the creator of the site for it.

 Image captions will help you to reduce your bounce rates.

Bounce rates are now considered by ranking algorithms, particularly after Panda update.

• What is a bounce rate?

When a user, while looking for a particular thing clicks on your page and quickly goes back to the search page, it increases your bounce rate which is not desirable at all. It means the user found the content of your page unsatisfactory.

So if you include a crisp caption next to your headline, it arrests the attention of viewers as they get to know about your page at a glance. It invokes further reading.

Backlinks are one of the leading factors for improving your visibility and organic ranking.

They help search engine bots efficaciously crawl your site.

• What do I mean by backlinks?

When a webpage links to another page, it creates a backlink.

For example, a photographer took pictures of Coldplay at a concert and uploaded them on his website. If the official website of Coldplay links to that site, it creates a backlink. Now search engines will consider these two sites to be connected which in turn will improve the visibility of the photographer’s page in all searches related to Coldplay.

You need not to worry if you do not have Photoshop, there are several editing tools available online.

You can choose from below.

1. Pixlr (I find it most useful)
2. Photopea
3. Freephototool
4. Freephotoeditor

Thumbnails are very convenient because they reduce cramming and a lot of images can be displayed at once. But beware!

So the best option for you is to reduce the size of thumbnails, even though the quality could decline.

To compress your thumbnail, use the code:

add_filter( ‘jpeg_quality’, create_function(”, ‘return 60;’ ) );  with your functions.php file.

While WordPress uses 90 as default settings, you can safely set any value from 60 to 80 as there won’t be any noticeable slide in image quality.

In a nutshell,

Image optimization can be time-consuming but not difficult. If you inculcate the ideas covered in the article, you’ll be able to see for yourself that your website’s visibility has improved.

Have any more tips for image optimization? Share with us by commenting below! I’d love to know your thoughts!

Good Day!

Given the vast reach of the internet, there is no doubt when it comes to the power of a website for a small business. The first step to setting up a successful website would be search engine optimization or as it is more commonly called SEO. SEO was and still continues to be one of the most powerful internet tools to date.

Reports suggest that over 3.5 billion searches are carried out over the internet every single day. Out of these 94% people click on the first page results of their Google results. When you set up your own website, you want your business to attract more traffic and in order for that to happen, you will have to be at the top in SERP.

There are a large number of small businesses that have their website and hence the SERPs are usually overcrowded. When you set up an online business or open a website, you can be found in three ways:

1. Directly, where the person will enter the address manually.
2. By referral, where the person finds out about you from a link
3. Organically, where the person will search of words related to your business and come across the page.

Given the importance of SEO, it is essential for the success of a website. However, there are several new businesses that beginners make when it comes to SEO. Here are five common SEO mistakes that you need to be aware of and avoid.

 

Not Investing Adequate Time On Keyword Research

 

Keyword research is a simple practice where you have to look into tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and find out the list of keywords applicable for your website and rank them. The process might sound easy, but experts claim that this is where new business owners make a mistake. The process of keyword research is difficult. While the owner might look into keywords relevant for their business, it isn’t the same for the customers. They look for keywords relevant to them and their queries. Consider different intent that the customers might have for looking up for your website and incorporate those keywords in your list.

Expert advice: Place the important keywords in your URL and in the different pages. Make sure that the keywords make sense and aren’t out of context.

 

The website isn’t “Crawlable”

 

Crawling is a technical term that describes the process of search engine robots going through pages in your website. For the search engine spiders to crawl through your website, you need to link each page. When you sit to design the pages for your website, apart from making them attractive and user-friendly, make sure that they are all linked internally. If you skip this part, the pages on the website will not appear in the SERP.

Expert advice: Make all the subsequent pages of the website three clicks away from the homepage. This ensures that they are linked properly.

 

Not Using Relevant Anchor Texts For Internal Links

 

An internal link is crucial and you need relevant anchor texts within the website content for the same. Make sure that anchor texts used for linking different pages together in relevant and is a part of the content. They shouldn’t seem jarring and stand apart as texts that have simply been inserted for the sake of linking. The manner in which you use your anchor texts also reflects your credibility as a business.

Expert advice: Try to use anchor texts that are single words. If you are using phrases, make sure that they aren’t more than three words.

 

Poorly Written Meta Description and Title Tags

 

Meta description would be the information that you find in the SERP page. This grabs the attention of the reader, so make it crisp and interesting. Title tag is the first page that appears in the Google search results. This will be the first page that potential customers read and see. Make sure it is well written and that the tag includes the subject of your website. There are many websites that look attractive but have poorly written on long and monotonous tags.

Expert advice: Keep the Meta description within 160 characters and the title tag within 60.

 

Not Making The 404 Page Interesting

The website that you create should not only provide the customer with all the information about your website, but also provide a great user experience. Most marketers do not realize the importance of the 404 page. Studies have shown that a customized and interesting 404 page improves the customer’s experience manifold. The 404 page shouldn’t stop the user from exploring your website, but convince them to continue going through it. Make the design interesting and unique so that remains with them.

Expert advice: Add some humor and emotion when designing the 404 page.

 

Now that you know the basic SEO mistakes that beginners make, you can learn from these and start on with a successful online business venture.

Choose keywords carefully, make your site crawlable, use relevant anchor texts, optimize meta description and title tags, tweak 404 page and keep your SEO game on point!

I’d love to hear from you. Let me know which mistake sounds most familiar to you? Don’t be hesitant. Leave a comment right now!

The primary role of an eCommerce site is to earn money. It doesn’t matter if the website is generating a lot of money if it cannot generate sales. If you feel that your eCommerce site isn’t earning you money then you should start focusing on conversion rate optimization, and include affiliate marketing in your brainstorming sessions. The winner in the eCommerce game is the one who can get the majority of the conversions down the hole. There is a very thin line dividing those who force customers to make complete sales and those that smartly get a large number of customers through a complete transaction.

As an eCommerce marketer, your aim is to improve the terrible conversion rates, but by using the least amount of money. Improving eCommerce conversion rate isn’t about spending any money. You need to know how to play it smart. Here are some tricks that can help you optimize your eCommerce sales conversion without any cost.

 

1. Work on the Product Images

The easiest way to get people to click on a product would be to make it look attractive. Experts claim that the images on the eCommerce website are the primary factors for boosting conversion rates. Improving the quality of the images is one aspect of the website that you can change without spending a lot of money. Use high-quality images with a lot of white spaces around it. Users love to check the product out in its entirety, so it works when you use a lot of images. Show the product from as many different angles as possible. Also include the option of zooming in.

 

2. Improve your Product Description

The product description is another factor that matters. The customer can see if you are trying to sell a product with pomp and grandeur. Make the description honest and genuine. Provide all the relevant information that the customer might require about the product. Don’t shy away from mentioning all the information for fear of a long description. Engage the customer and make them read it. Apart from the detailed description, provide a short summary for the customers to glance through. The concise description should also carry the essence of the product.

 

3. Incorporate Testimonial Videos

You don’t have to spend any money on making the videos. Tap onto the existing customer base and ask them to send you a video of their product testimonial or ask them to send a video of them using the purchased product. You can also shoot home videos with your office and use them for the same purpose.

 

4. Exclude the Shipping Cost

While 50% of eCommerce sites offer free shipping, the other half don’t. Many websites offer a condition before offering free shipping while others do it for every occasion. It has been seen time and again that free shipping is often the primary deciding factor for customers looking to purchase. Many customers abandon the product in their cart because of the high cost of shipping that gets added to the final price of the product. If you want to find out how crucial shipping cost is, you should consider how Amazon’s sales increased in every single country where shipping cost was done away with.

 

5. Include Product Reviews

In the age of smartphones and apps, it is easier for customers to compare products on different websites before purchase. This is where the product review comes in handy. Given that the price for the product is more or less similar in the different eCommerce sites, the customers read the review and make their purchasing decision. You can either use plug-ins or widgets that allow reviews on your site or ask your existing customers to provide their reviews. Make sure to include a healthy mix of negative reviews as well since all positive reviews are too good to be true.

 

6. Improve the Quality of the CTA Button

The customer should never have to search for anything on the eCommerce site. It should be an easy transition from searching product categories to adding products to the cart to final check out and payment. Experts claim that improving the quality of the CTA button makes a huge difference in the conversion rate. Make the button attractive and colorful. The key is to make the whole website look attractive.

7. Make Contact Details Visible

Adding contact details on your website can make a huge change in the way customers look at your business. Adding contact details help build trust. It helps more if you are a small eCommerce site that doesn’t have the reputation of a large brand. Include the name and contact details on the header so that it is easily visible to the customers.

When you pick any of the methods mentioned above, try it out and test how your conversions are improving. No matter what your eCommerce conversion rate is, know that it can always improve.

There is no denying that Local SEO can be quite a challenge. However, local SEO can make all the difference in your business and can script a success story for the same. It is a known fact that every online experience starts with a search engine. Statistics reveal that almost 93% users start their work online with a search engine. It should also be kept in mind that majority of the users never look beyond the first few results when they search for something online. It might be surprising to know, but search is the primary force behind pushing the individual to content websites. Search beats social media in this sphere, hands down!

 

What Are The Primary Factors That Affect Local SEO?

Google ranking factor makes it evident that localizing ones business is highly crucial. It is clear that no singular factor is related to local SEO. There are certain primary factors that can make a difference to your Local SEO ranking.

1. On-page Factors: If you want to rise above your competitors and get the traffic to your site, it is time to work on the titles, descriptions and tags. These three aspects matter in local and international environments, and if you want to make your mark in a particular area or city, you will have to localize these.
2. Citations: It is crucial for your website to be cited in local resources. Even in international SEO, the quality of your reference matters. You should include mention in directories and digital media as part of your strategy to get better traffic.
3. Keywords: Keyword is crucial for local SEO. When you are trying to make a mark in a particular locality, make sure you use ample geographical keywords. Add relevant keywords that include names of the area or district that you want to reach out to.
4. NAP Consistency: Make sure to include your business name, address and contact details in a place that is accessible to all the customers. It is crucial to make sure that the name and address is available via search engine robots. These have to be in text format and not image format, for them to turn up in Google search.

If you are clueless about how to use local SEO to your advantage, we are here to help you out. We have compiled a list of tips offered by the leading SEO experts in the market, to help you start.

Save Money and Time by Outsourcing

Local SEO is both tricky and time consuming. SEO experts suggest the one should use tools and outsource the task of citation-building, back links, on-page content and even technical crawl health to outsiders. This way, you can focus on your business, something that you know about and let the experts tackle the local SEO. This aspect of the local SEO doesn’t require much skill-set and can be a tad bit tedious, hence it is easier to outsource the task. This gives the client more time and money to focus on aspects that are more challenging in local SEO.

Decide on the Number of Landing Pages

While there isn’t any hard and fast rule on the number of landing pages you should add to your website, it should to some extent depend on your location and your target market and customers. If you have multiple locations, then it helps in having multiple landing pages. On the other hand, if your company focuses on a small area with a large population then a large number of landing pages could spoil the venture. Experts suggest that sticking to one page for one city is the smartest way to go about it.

 

Be Smart While Selecting the Domain Name

When you are first choosing your domain name, you should pick it carefully since this will be the first point of contact with your customers. The domain name will also have a huge impact on your SEO. While selecting a domain name with a keyword was the easiest way to earn SEO ranking, things have changed now. Google prefers uniqueness and authenticity. Try to market the business with your domain name. Make sure it is easy to remember and catchy.

 

Go For Quality Content

Another easy way to boost your SEO ranking is through good content. Get inspiration from the top-ranked sites in the industry and fashion your website accordingly. Good content should include images and testimonials along with reviews. Be sure to mention all the products and services.

 

Take Advantage of Directory Submission For Link-Building

Directory link-building is crucial for boosting SEO ranking. It requires a lot of time and patience. You can save your time by outsourcing it to relevant web directories.

Use these tried and tested formulas to build your brand. Take the help of SEO to gain an edge over your competitors.

Instagram has become the leading app these days. I know for a fact that while I might survive without Facebook, I won’t be able to do so without Instagram and its posts on adorable puppies, delicious food and travel photos.

 

Sudden Outburst of Ads

Instagram has surely become better with time, but regular Instagrammers will agree that it was better without the ads that keep popping up on the photo feed these days. Instagram has postponed their decision to introduce ads for a long time now. The IG users weren’t very keen on having adds on their feed, but with Facebook taking over Instagram, it was just a matter of time before the ads appeared on the feed. Instagram runs on users who have signed up to see creative, witty and interesting photo and video posts and the company knows that including ads will kill the charm of the application.

 

Ads Similar To Photos

Instagram is therefore trying to test new ads with some companies who understand the user profile on the app. They work on putting forward ads that will suit the user and help them out. The advertisements on Instagram appear like regular Instagram photos, something like the advertisements you flip through when you go through a high-end glossy magazine.

Yes, it will be a crime to admit that no one like leafing through the glossy magazines with their advertisements and similarly there are many users on Instagram who don’t mind the ads.

Are the Users Warming Up To The Ads On Instagram?

Given that the advertisements on Instagram aren’t cumbersome and doesn’t break the pattern of the photo feed, there are many who are fine with the intrusion of the ads. Instagram knows that the users are apprehensive and are hence pushing out the ads slowly to prevent the users from being overwhelmed with the sudden change. While some feel that the ads are a necessary evil for the app to continue, the IG users ultimately have the scope to decide how their photo feed looks.

About Instagram Ads

For the ‘Sponsored’ ads on the application, you have the option to hide the content. Instagram clearly states in their policy for the advertisements that aim at showing the user ads from businesses that are interesting and relevant to them and for the same, they use your browsing information from the app and from their parent app, Facebook. Users will also see ads based on the pages and people they follow on the application. In fact, by hiding ads and selecting your option to remove them, you end up offering feedbacks that will go a long way in improving the content of the ads that are released on Instagram.

Instagram allows their users to opt out of seeing certain ads by changing their device settings based on user activity on Instagram and Facebook. Instagram has made it clear that the user information is safe with them and that no advertiser can access the user information.

If you are not very keen on seeing the ads on your Instagram feed, then you are in for some luck today! I have an easy trick that will make sure that your photo feed is no longer filled with the sponsored ads and you can breeze through the photos and videos without coming across those annoying ads.

Here are 2 easy ways to remove Instagram ads:

1. Hide the Ads from Your Feed: Instagram has enabled an option where IG users can ‘hide’ ads and prevent them from popping up on their feed. If you see an ad with the word ‘Sponsored’ written on it, all you have to do is report and hide it. The ‘Sponsored’ ads will have a ‘…’ in the upper right-hand corner. If you don’t want the ads to appear on your feed, all you must do is simply tap on that and click on ‘Hide This.’ The process to hide the ads is similar on both Android and iOS devices.
2. Report the Ads: Since the developers of the app knew that IG users will go ahead and hide the ads from their feed when they have the option, they were smart enough to tackle the situation. So, when you click on the ellipses and decide to hide the app, you have to choose the reason for the same. IG users usually tend to pick ‘This is not relevant,’ and Instagram comes up with a message stating that it will pick out ads that are more relevant to that particular user. What happens now is that the app will track your activity on the application and find out products and services that might be necessary for you and show you ads for similar products and services. Now, if you don’t want any ads on your feed and it isn’t about them being relevant or not, so you can simply report all the ads as “Inappropriate” and you don’t have to see them ever again.

I tried this trick a week ago, and trust me, I haven’t seen ads on my photo feed for a while now!

 

Take Control Of Your Feed

Yes, I know some would call be mean for blocking the ads on Instagram since there are more than 500,000 active advertisers on the app per month, but then I don’t want my IG usage being hampered by these ads. I have already seen my Facebook news feed turn into a marketplace with innumerable ads, which often divert me to a new page.

 

Before You Go!

Many don’t mind the ads on Instagram since it doesn’t break their flow of going through the feed. With this blog, I hope I could provide you all with the option of having the upper hand when it comes to dealing with ads. The power lies with you dear IG users and you decide how your photo feed looks like.

Marketing is the door to any successful business. These days, marketers are spoilt for choice with regard to marketing technology. It doesn’t matter if you have a large multi-national company or a small boutique, you will have to make use of your marketing team for success in the world of business. For a marketing team to figure out gimmicks to market the company, it can get a tad overwhelming if you are on your own, with no prior knowledge on the subject. If you go by the recommendation of the marketing gurus, digital marketing is the easiest way to take your business to places.

The evident benefits from digital marketing is easily witnessed and there’s no doubt that Digital Marketing is the preferred choice for most of the brands. More and more companies are resorting to digital marketing to bring in new clients and subsequently grow their business. You might have heard about the influence of digital marketing in the business world and hence taken the decision to step into the bandwagon.

When you decide to go for digital marketing, you have to realize that it will take a lot of time and energy and you will need an expert to guide you through the process. This is where the digital marketing outsource companies can help you out.

How can the digital marketing outsource companies help you?

1. They help kickstart the digital marketing service for your company, which will help it grow
2. They tailor-make services that are suited for your needs and budget
3. They help you gain access to the whole team of experts required for digital marketing- web designers., content developers, social media specialists, SEO experts and campaign designers

Why should you go for Digital Marketing?

Digital Marketing is the new mantra to success these days. With all the companies seeing a surge in their business with digital marketing, it is one trend that you shouldn’t miss out on.

1. Professional Help: With consumers spending so much time on your mobile and laptops, there is a demand for less tracking cookies. For the companies, it is important to note how and where their marketing data is sourced. It can get difficult to track customer’s data very rigorously since that reduces the trust factor. This is where a digital marketing team comes handy. You have a team of experts who track your marketing data responsibly, while you can focus on the business aspect and help your company improve.
2. Advice on Marketing Technology: It is common to get overwhelmed with so many marketing technology. If you have to pick any one tool for our company, you have to go through them all, which will take time and money. A digital marketing partner helps you in such times. You get a digital marketing model that has been tried and tested multiple times. You cut down on time by having an expert pick up the marketing technology that works for you.

Now, when you are joining hands with a third party to improve on your digital performance, there are certain aspects that you need to keep in mind. The digital marketing partner can provide you the opportunity to create great content and interesting campaigns, which result in great sales. Since it’s all about the brand image and sales, it is an important task and a small mistake can end up costing you, big time. Therefore, be cautious when it comes to choosing a digital marketing partner for your business. There are certain things that you need to clarify before you enter a commitment with a third party for your digital marketing.

Five questions to ask your digital marketing partner:

Q1. Can you provide a reference list of your current clients?

Before settling with a digital marketing partner, it helps to know their client base. This will not only help you understand the quality of your marketing partner but also help you realize which companies are seeking help from them and watch their market performance. Given that digital marketing is a booming business now, a lot of inexperienced people are entering the workforce to make easy money. Make sure you don’t end up paying an inexperienced team when you go for a partnership. Make sure you have the reference list of clients and go through it carefully before you make your selection.

Q2. Do you offer guarantees for your service?

Every service provider offers guarantees on their service, so don’t shy away from asking your potential digital marketing partner for the same. If the answer to this question is a vague one, it is better to continue looking and if it is too good to be true, we suggest that you continue with your research and check into the company track record in the market. When a digital marketing agency guarantees to take your company to the NO.1 position in Google, they will offer the same to all their clients. The success in the digital world depends on the update of the competitors, new entry and exists. Decide on set goals and see how well your potential digital marketing partner can achieve them and then go ahead.

Q3. What is their take on a successful client-agency partnership?

Talk to them clearly about the partnership since their take on things might be very different from what you are looking for. The difference won’t help in forging a good relationship for the long run. You need to match your way of working with the agency you ae partnering with. Many companies have a certain level of adaptability and will go that extra mile for their clients. If you want something specific from your digital marketing partner don’t be afraid to ask them for it and be very clear about your wants.

Q4. How experienced is your team and is it helpful for my industry?

The company might be in business for a century, but you need to know how aware they are of the digital marketing scenario and how frequently have they worked on what you expect them to do. You need to know about the nitty-gritty and see if the experience applies to your industry and needs. Be careful with the use of the term “experience.” It is a subjective notion and make sure that the experience amounts to work that is relevant and maintains a certain standard. For instance, there are many individuals who can competently use Facebook, but they won’t be able to use it as business tool. It is necessary for the partner to have the required set of skills since they won’t be able to meet your needs otherwise.

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Q5. Who will be working on my account?

The company that you want to connect with might have a great client record and have in the past created successful digital marketing campaigns for their clients. However, you might not get to work with the same team since they have been assigned to a more prestigious account. You might be stuck with the newbie, who has limited experience. It is important that you meet the individual in charge of your account. When you meet the team or the person responsible for holding your company’s digital marketing, you can decide if they are the right pick for your business and needs.

 

Q6. Do you focus more on your commission or the success of the client?

When an agency makes a recommendation to you, they might be aimed at helping you out or might also end up helping them earn increased commission. Be very careful about the reputation of the company before you go for a partner. Be certain that the recommendations offered to you are in the best interest of your business and not to help the agency earn a high commission.

Q7. Are you utilizing proprietary digital marketing technology?

Digital marketing has become complex these days. The best way to achieve success in the digital world is to combine digital marketing with digital technology. When you pick your digital marketing partner, make sure that they are focused on both digital technology and digital marketing. When the agency has both digital marketing and technology capabilities, it helps you be in sync with the rapid development and opportunities in the marketing sphere. If you are digital marketing partner is able to develop in-house technology that you can benefit from that becomes an added bonus, since many other companies might not be able to access the same technology.

Q8. What percentage of your total business is focused on digital marketing?

If you go for a company that focuses on different core areas, you might lose out. A company that is focused on too many things might not excel in all. Work with an agency that focuses primarily on digital marketing. If you go for a small agency that looks into digital marketing apart from many other things, you might end up wasting your money. Even if you are a small company, it helps to work with a good agency. You are taking a huge risk in your business when working with a digital marketing partner, but they might not understand the gravity of it.

Q9. Do you offer all digital marketing solutions?

It can get a tad difficult if you have to work with multiple vendors for the same line of work. Digital marketing requires SEO technology, web designing, CMS technology and many other things. If you work with an agency that offers only SEO technology, then you will have to look for web designers and meta search marketing and social media solutions among other things, elsewhere.

If you have the same company that focuses on web designing, SEO, inbound marketing, meta search marketing, mobile marketing, social media and SEM, then you don’t have to worry. Also, getting different agencies to work together can makes things confusing and difficult. There are confusions with regard to deadlines and communication, which can have a detrimental impact on the final product and affect your business.

Q10. What percentage of the work is handled in-house?

If the potential partner covers all your digital marketing needs within the company then you are in a better position to work out a cheaper deal with them. If they delegate the task to say freelancers, then you will have to bear their cost. Also, you won’t be able to communicate with those working directly with your account. When majority of the assignments and tasks are met in-house, there is less chance of error as well, which ensures the quality of the campaign.

And lastly…

What is the strength of your workforce?

If the agency has a small group of people, there is a chance that they might outsource some of their work. Given the marketing technology these days, a small team can’t handle the complexities in the field of digital technology and marketing. A larger team will have all the expertise on board and will get the task moving fast.

Before You Go!

These are the ten questions that you need to ask your potential digital marketing partner. A company that provides you with the answers that you are looking for from these questions, will be the right pick for your business. Connect with the best and watch your business soar. If you are completely clueless about where to start from, then head on to our Official Facebook or Twitter Page or comment down below for any advice. Working with an expert will automatically reflect on your company’s profile, so make sure that you don’t shy away from the best. Digital marketing can be a tad expensive, but it pays off in the long run.

A trusted digital marketing partner can transform any business and help you achieve success in the digital world. Working with the complex digital world is the task of the digital marketing experts, so it’s better to delegate the task to them. Your work is about looking at the business aspect of the company and with the right digital marketing partner you can do what you do best without worrying about other aspects.