This year was a challenge for so many industries, including digital marketing. People’s internet habits changed drastically last year. So did their needs and concerns. Tried-and-true best practices didn’t always pan out as expected. Because of this, it was a year of trying new things. Staying on top of what was working — and what…
When your website was first designed, it’s likely the designer took the time to run a series of checks and tests before the launch. But have you been engaging in routine website maintenance since then? Has your website been checked at all since launch? If you’re not completing basic maintenance tasks regularly, your website could…
Like everything else this year, Black Friday is sure to look quite a bit different than it has in the past. Will stores be crowded with people desperate for deals as virus numbers skyrocket? Will sites like Amazon dominate as everyone stays home? Will consumers opt for “necessity” purchases over “fun” items? How do you…
Say hello to Heather. Earlier this month, she celebrated her two-year anniversary working with WR Digital Marketing, and we wanted to take a moment to recognize her contributions. In her time with us, Heather has worked as a writer, editor, and researcher. More than what she does, though, is how she does it. Heather is never one to do a…
Regularly publishing new blogs is a cost-effective way to optimize your site for search engines. But if you’ve been at it for a while, there may be another even more cost-effective strategy: going back and refreshing old website content. How does this work? There’s More Than One Way to Make Content “Fresh” Google prefers “fresh”…
Has it been a few years since your website was designed? It may be time to take a peek at how it’s currently performing. When a website is first created, it’s optimized for its current content and by current standards. But over time, “current” becomes outdated. Why? Because new content is added. WordPress theme developers…
This month Google is rolling out it’s long-awaited mobile-first indexing for the entire web. What does that mean? What is mobile-first indexing? Do you need to do anything different? First, let’s take a moment to explain mobile-first indexing. Mobile-First Indexing: What Is It? Mobile-first indexing essentially means that, going forward, Google is going to use…
Well-known author, business advisor, and media personality Carol Roth recently compiled a list of small business marketing tips on her site. Juliana’s is one of the featured quotes! Communicate Clearly Not everyone is willing to visit a business right now. But, those who are on the fence are much more likely to visit a business…
As the world continues to try to figure out how to handle COVID-19 and allow society to function, many businesses are still struggling to attract customers. Depending on the nature of your business, there are lots of strategies that might work for you. Today we’re going to dive into the nuts and bolts of one…
What can you do to help your customers feel safe? Alignable recently posted an article covering that very question. And Juliana was featured as an expert for her advice. Check it out here. Want more of Juliana’s expert advice? Subscribe to our newsletter or get in touch!
While businesses in a number of areas of the US are “re-closing” as COVID numbers skyrocket, those in less-affected areas continue to reopen. If you happen to be in this latter category, you are likely trying to communicate a number of things to your customers. Some of these may include: The simple fact that you’re…
As a business owner, it’s hard to know how to respond during an economic downturn. And it’s a drastic understatement to say that the current economic situation we’re in is a bit, well, unprecedented in that regard. Should you hunker down, cut costs, and be defensive? Or is it better to be playing offense during…
There isn’t a business in the United States — and probably the world — that hasn’t been affected by COVID-19. Some businesses are still completely shut down. Or have had to figure out how to operate with a skeleton crew of workers. Others have had to quickly and drastically ramp up services to meet increased…
Lots of places around the country continue to open as restrictions loosen. But even if you are open right now, things aren’t exactly “back to normal.” Moreover, COVID numbers continue to rise in many places, and there’s a not-insignificant chance that we may be looking at more closures in the future. With all that in…
Recently, one of our clients — Rock Solid Relationship Solutions — came to us for advice on their newsletter. They had been handling it themselves for years but weren’t particularly happy with the engagement rate. It was clear from their high open rate and low unsubscribe rate that their audience was engaged with the content.…
One of the great things about marketing online is the ability to target specific groups of people. You can advertise by a specific geographical area. By sending ads only to those who like or follow you. To people who search using particular keywords. The options are practically endless. Unfortunately, even with this kind of specificity,…
WR Digital Marketing co-founder Juliana Weiss-Roessler was recently featured in the article “How To Start A Social Media Marketing Agency: 17 Agency Owners Share Their Stories” on the Outwit Trade blog. Here’s an excerpt: “What I enjoy most about the industry is the challenge. Technology and trends are constantly changing, so to be successful, you…
Coke or Pepsi? Apple or PC? Marvel or DC? There are lots of big rivalries out there that people feel strongly about. But Microsoft may have just ended the biggest one of all: two spaces after a period… or just one? What the heck are we talking about? In a recent update, Word started marking…
So far, Facebook has been making tweaks to their offerings for businesses to help during the pandemic. Updates to indicate how you’re operating. Promoting local gift cards. And now a fairly robust and somewhat personalized COVID-19 resources page that businesses can use. It’s not perfect, but you’ll find things like: How to Stay Connected to…
Marketing during a crisis can feel… weird. You need to make money. But you also don’t want to come across as crass or insensitive. Plus, you genuinely want to keep the relationship with your customers going. And to help in any way that you can. What to do? Ask yourself the same question you would…
Is YouTube marketing really a good idea for your business? Absolutely! Why? Let’s start with some of the obvious reasons. First off, we’re talking about the #2 ranked website in the world — second only to Google! That’s a lot of potential eyeballs on any marketing materials you add there. Sticking with a numbers theme,…
Been listening to the news lately? Of course you have. So chances are good you’ve heard stories about people purchasing gift cards to support local businesses. But what if you don’t have gift cards? Is this something you can do? How do you set it up? Enter Facebook. The social media giant just announced a…
You’re stuck at home. You can’t reach any of your customers in-person. You’ve been wracking your brain for ways to virtually connect. Then it hits you. And it seems so obvious. You’ve got a computer and a webcam. You can start posting YouTube videos and sending them to people. Clients will appreciate the fact that…
Recently, we posted about how Yelp is adding features for businesses. They’re designed to keep customers informed about virtual services and any changes to hours and days of operation during coronavirus. Well, now Facebook has gotten in on the act as well. (Expect this to be a trend.) Right now, Facebook’s options seem to be…
You’ve probably heard about how small business loans were included in the government’s coronavirus rescue plan. But what exactly does that mean? How does it work? Honestly, we’re not completely sure either! But the Small Business Administration is handling them, and they now have a page up that lets you apply and leads you through…
Google recently announced that they are suspending Google Local Reviews for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak. In other words, if your customers write a glowing review of your business right now, it won’t post. What happens to reviews that are posted to Google over the suspension? They haven’t said. Yikes. What’s the solution? Stop…
Many companies are offering help as we slog our way through the coronavirus crisis. Yelp may not be donating the most money — though a $25 million relief fund for local businesses is nothing to sneeze at — but they’re planning changes that may be even more important for struggling companies offering long-distance and virtual…
Times are tough for almost all businesses right now. But they are particularly hard for small- and medium-sized operations that just don’t have a huge amount of cash on hand to survive weeks — or months — of closure. You’ve come up with ways to offer your products or services without in-person contact. And you’d…
If you just started offering digital services, you are not alone. This pandemic has caused a massive shift in how just about everyone does business. The first step is to decide on a technical solution. (We offer guidance on that here.) Then you need to let your current and potential clients know about it. 7…
If there is any way you can offer your services online, now is the perfect time to get started. Even if your area hasn’t been hit hard by closures and social distancing requirements, it is likely only a matter of time. The latest estimates say the government is preparing for the possibility that this could…
WR Digital Marketing co-founder Juliana Weiss-Roessler was recently featured in the article “6 Tips for a Successful Social Media Strategy” on the LegalZoom blog. Here’s an excerpt: Convert Social Media Connections to Email Subscribers If your primary social network disappears tomorrow, you’ll lose all of your connections. Avoid being overly dependent on platforms you don’t…
WR Digital Marketing Co-Founder Juliana Weiss-Roessler was recently a featured expert in the article “How to Get Featured Snippets” on the Flashpoint blog. Here’s an excerpt: Make sure you are formatting and structuring your writing appropriately. Write articles in a Q&A format, covering multiple questions related to a single topic. Format each question as a…
In digital marketing, trends come and go. But there are certain strategies that stand the test of time. One that stands head and shoulders above the rest? Email marketing. That’s right. Email. It may not be flashy. It may not get as much press as some newer strategies. But when you look at the stats,…
WR Digital Marketing Co-Founder Juliana Weiss-Roessler was recently featured in the article “9 Ways to Accurately Identify the Target Audience for Your Website” on the Databox blog. Here’s an excerpt: Look at your current audience. Who is currently visiting? How long are they staying? If it doesn’t align with the intended target audience, then you likely…
WR Digital Marketing Co-Founder Juliana Weiss-Roessler was recently featured in the article “Email Marketing Trends in 2020: Experts Share Their Visions” on the SmartrMail blog. Here’s an excerpt: Juliana Weiss-Roessler from WR Digital Marketing recommends thinking about how your products can support people in achieving their New Year’s resolutions. The New Year is a time when…
Thank you so much for the gift of your business. We look forward to serving you in the New Year. Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a peaceful and prosperous 2020! – Josh, Juliana, Ashley, Heather, Eva, & Erin
WR Digital Marketing Co-Founder Juliana Weiss-Roessler was recently featured on the SmartrMail Blog. Here’s an excerpt: “If you don’t have the time to properly set up email flows in preparation for Black Friday this year, don’t worry. As Juliana Weiss-Roessler from WR Digital Marketing points out, you can still use email marketing now in a way…
BERT is a significant algorithm update from Google — impacting 1 out of 10 searches. So at WR Digital Marketing, we’ve been keeping an eye on news about the update, particularly relating to how content can be written and optimized for it. Here’s a good summary of what we’ve learned… “There’s no optimizing for BERT…
For many businesses, the main challenge with maintaining a blog or social media account isn’t coming up with ideas. It’s finding the time to write the content or create graphics. That’s where we come in. But we’ve noticed that sometimes another challenge arises: finding the time to review and approve that content. Unfortunately, it does…
There’s no hard-and-fast rule for email newsletter length, though a good general rule of thumb is no longer than one printed page or roughly 500 words. If you can accomplish your goals with fewer words, that’s often better. The less time you ask readers to give you, the more likely they are to follow through.…
Meta tags. Just the term makes them sound complicated and highly technical. So, when it comes to writing or reviewing them, you may not know where to start. Fortunately, the basics are easy to learn. Here I’ll cover the two meta tags that get the most use and attention: title and description. I’ll share exactly…
Repetitive language. Awkward phrasing. Clunky sentences. Writing for SEO gets a bad rap for a reason. Websites that are written only to please the Google gods aren’t just painful to read—they’re entirely unnecessary. With over 25 years of combined experience in web writing, we’ve seen the evolution of SEO recommendations—from simple keyword repetition to the…
If we create your newsletters, then the answer is yes. Recently, MailChimp changed its pricing structure. If you use the free version of MailChimp, you should still have a free account. If you pay for MailChimp, your cost may have gone up. The number of people in your “audience” has expanded to include not only subscribers but…
Meta tags. Just the term makes them sound complicated and highly technical. So, when it comes to writing or reviewing them, you may not know where to start. Fortunately, the basics are easy to learn. Here I’ll cover the two meta tags that get the most use and attention: title and description. I’ll share exactly…
If you start noticing that you’re getting more comments on your blog posts than usual, you might assume that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, not all comments are created equal, and there’s a good chance that some of those comments are spam. There are a few major problems with spam messages: first of all, they can…
We’d like to introduce you to Ashley Simons, our new administrative assistant. She’s been working with us for a few months now — helping with everything from brainstorming ideas to scheduling blog posts. Ashley has many years of experience as an assistant and an ecommerce manager, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business with…
Likely due to recent controversy, Facebook has released a new section on business pages called “Page Transparency”. It will display, among other things, the location of all people who have a role (e.g., admin, editor, moderator, advertiser) on your Facebook page. If you want to review who has a role on your Facebook page, read these…
For many businesses, the main challenge with maintaining a blog or social media account isn’t coming up with ideas. It’s finding the time to write the content or create graphics. That’s where we come in. But we’ve noticed that sometimes another challenge arises: finding the time to review and approve that content. Unfortunately, it does…
You’ve created quality content. It’s posted on your blog. Now on to the next one, right? Not so fast! You can get more value out of that investment of your time and energy. For most small businesses, we recommend that you at least: Publish it on your blog. Share it in a newsletter. Post it…
Content is widely considered the top factor in search engine optimization. After all, search engines need to parse through words in order to determine what your site is about. If there aren’t very many words to look at, how will they be able to draw conclusions about its relevance? But that doesn’t mean you should start…
Well, Google made the decision for you! The social network will shut down for consumers in April 2019.What if you already have a Google+ account? If you want to save your Google+ content, do so before April.What about your audience there?90% of sessions on the site only lasted 5 seconds, so it’s likely your audience wasn’t very…
Direct me – but don’t tell me what to do. One of the great paradoxes of using calls-to-action is that people need to be guided and encouraged with clear, forceful language – but it better not come off like you’re telling them what to do. This can put people on the defensive, make you seem…
Putting together an e-newsletter is a lot of work. Even if most of the content just reflects what you’ve put up on your site recently, you still have to format it, write an introduction, and make sure that it’s error-free. Because of all that, it can be incredibly disappointing when only a small percentage of…
The good news: Your traffic is up. The bad news: Your sales aren’t. Perhaps your problem is that you’re not being direct enough with your audience. While it’s true that no one wants to feel like they are being sold to, most people still need a bit of direction or encouragement once in a while.…
Repetitive language. Awkward phrasing. Clunky sentences. Writing for SEO gets a bad rap for a reason. Websites that are written only to please the Google gods aren’t just painful to read—they’re entirely unnecessary. With over 25 years of combined experience in web writing, we’ve seen the evolution of SEO recommendations—from simple keyword repetition to the…
We’ve been keeping an eye on information about the usefulness of Google’s new website analysis tool. So, we wanted to share this recent article from Search Engine Journal (SEJ):How Reliable Is Google’s Web.dev SEO Score?(We took the liberty of correcting the grammatical error in their headline. Verbs should be capitalized!)A Brief Summary…Here’s the skinny in case you…