Tag: digital marketing tips

How to Rank Higher on SERPs

Less than 1% of visitors to search engines will go past the first page to find what they’re looking for. That means if your brand isn’t already on their mind, it had better be on the first page of search engine results. So how do you improve and rank higher on SERPs? Here are a few tips to propel your site from anonymity to renown!

Optimizing Your On-Site SEO

The single most impactful way to rank higher on SERPs is to optimize your on-page SEO. Fortunately, there are tools available to help. Depending on the content delivery service you utilize, there are built-in SEO plugins to help optimize your content. For example, if your site is on WordPress, you can use the Yoast plugin to make sure your content is properly optimized for SEO before you publish it.

It goes without saying, but you’ll also want to make sure your site has the proper HTML markup, alt tags on images, the right H1/H2/H3 use of headlines & tags, and no grammatical or spelling errors. Finally, your content should be written for humans–not robots. If your copy is unintelligible, stuffed with keywords, or otherwise dubiously presented, you’re doing more harm than good.

A Better Website Will Help You Rank Higher on SERPs-What Does That Mean?

In addition to optimizing your on-site SEO, the most obvious way to rank higher on SERPs is to improve your website. But what does that mean exactly? Does that just mean creating a more efficient website? Yes and no.

First of all, as mentioned, getting to the first page of search engine results requires a considerable amount of SEO work. That means not only choosing the right keywords for your site, but the right density, as well as the proper layout, appearance, functionality, and accessibility. If you have dead links, for example, your site will never reach the first page. If your keywords are off-base from what your brand does, you’ll never reach the first page.

However, if your website is securely hosted, full of reputable backlinks and properly formatted images, you’ll be on your way to moving up the rankings. At the same time, while your site may rank on the first page today, it doesn’t mean it will tomorrow. For best results, continually add to and update your page with engaging, keyword-driven content, connect and sync external accounts (like social media and Google My Business), and take advantage of other channels, like paid ads and email marketing, to drive traffic to your website.

The more search engines pick up that users are engaging, interacting, and sharing your website and content, the higher they’ll rank your domain authority. And while producing long-form content like blogs or whitepapers is more of a lead-generation tactic than SEO, it still has the potential to drive significant traffic to your website–and that’s where the higher ranking comes from.

Data & Analytics Are Your Best Resource!

Since part of ranking higher on SERPs has to do with creating better content, how do you know what content will drive traffic? That’s where data and analytics come in.

Tools like SERanking, SEMRush, and Google Analytics can give heaps of insight. Not only can they tell you how your site ranks for target keywords but they can give further insight into which keywords are driving traffic and what people are looking for. That means you can optimize your website–and content–for those keywords to keep things consistently fresh, relevant, and exciting!

Again, obtaining and maintaining a spot on the first page of SERPs is not a one-and-done process. Like most areas of life, maintaining superiority and success comes with constant hard work and improvement. That means if you want to rank higher on SERPs, you have to consistently put in the work. That means regularly auditing your content, getting feedback from your audience, making constant improvements, and of course, continuing to produce the kind of content that got you there in the first place!

June 6, 2025
Instagram or TikTok: Telling Stories With Video

People love video content. Whether it’s a funny cat video or a how-to on the latest tech gadget, your customers probably can’t get enough of it. Need proof? Both TikTok and Instagram have over a billion active users! When it comes to videos that get your customers engaged, which is better: TikTok or Instagram?

Why is Video Marketing So Effective?

First of all, let’s look at what makes video such an effective marketing tool.

People are 95% more likely to remember a message from a video than from written text. Shorter videos also account for the average person’s shorter attention span. Plus, the multimedia nature of videos makes them more likely to appeal to a wider audience. Finally, more than 50% of internet users watch online videos on a daily basis! It’s safe to say more people watch videos than read long-form internet content–especially on a regular basis.

That’s because video has the power to not only tell stories but show the way things are. Just like customers are less likely to believe a brand statement than a peer review, they’re less likely to believe written content–let alone pay attention to it. Whereas a list of brand features tells you what a product can do, a video of a customer using that product shows you what it can do. For example, including a video on your website or landing page can increase your conversion rate up to 80%!

There’s only so much emotion you can evoke from a still image or even the sharpest copy. Conversely, videos are a fantastic medium to evoke emotion, especially if they’re synced with music, sound effects, or natural human noises like laughter or conversation. Put it this way: which are you more like to interact with–a cat video or a picture of a cat?

TikTok or Instagram?

Again, there are over a billion active users on both Instagram and TikTok. So which is better to help gain exposure, interest, awareness, and conversions for your business? Let’s take a look at some statistics.

TikTok

-The biggest influencers typically see an engagement rate of about 18%.

-Almost half (~47%) of TikTok users are between the ages of 10-29.

–61% of TikTok users identify as female.

–53% of TikTok creators are between the ages of 18-24.

–49% of users made a purchase decision because of a video they saw on TikTok.

Instagram

-The biggest brands & influencers typically see an engagement rate of about 22%.

-Over half (~62%) of Instagram users are between the ages of 18-34.

–55% of Instagram users identify as female.

–53% of Instagram influencers are between the ages of 25-34.

–72% of users made a purchase decision because of content they saw on Instagram.

TikTok or Instagram: The Takeaways

While there’s no denying the burgeoning success and limitless potential of TikTok, Instagram arguably has more power–right now–to attract, engage, and influence your audience. While both TikTok and Instagram allow customers to purchase in-app, there are both more overall users and more users with actual purchasing ability on the latter app, as well as more functionality–like stories, reels, and posts, compared to TikTok’s singular video capabilities.

However, neither TikTok nor Instagram allows you to link external content to your TikTok/Instagram content, and TikTok only stores data for up to 28 days. That means if you want to keep engagement data long-term, you have to do it yourself. Finally, both TikTok and Instagram are pretty saturated with businesses. How can you make your content rise above the rest?

Which platform is more likely to generate interest and conversions in your brand? Is TikTok here to stay or is it simply the flavor of the month? More importantly, where are your customers more likely to spend their time–and where are they more likely to be influenced? Before you dive headlong into a TikTok or Instagram strategy, make sure you have the answers!

May 30, 2025
Content Archetypes: Connect With Your Audience

While there are tons of types of content (videos, blogs, etc.) and even more channels to consume that content, there are really only four content archetypes. Each complements one another to successfully drive customers towards an intended goal. What are these archetypes and how do you use them? Let’s take a look.

Content Archetype 1: The Promoter

Most branded content is promoter content because brands love to talk about themselves. While other content archetypes technically promote the brand as well, promoter content is the most persuasive. It’s argumentative content that persuades customers to make a decision–buy a product, sign up for a subscription, or simply click “learn more.”

The best way to use promoter content is by showing your product or service in action. Persuasive copy and even other customer reviews can only go so far–customers need to be able to see the benefits with their own eyes.

The downside of promoter content is that it doesn’t facilitate that all-important human connection. It might make your customers’ lives easier, but it doesn’t give them a reason to care about your brand on a personal level. That’s where the other archetypes come in!

Content Archetype 2: The Teacher

Here’s where you can start to make connections with your audience. While promoter content shows people the tangible benefits of your brand, teacher content feeds the passions and interests of an already engaged audience. In a nutshell, teacher content shows your audience something new–or something they may have overlooked.

A good way to describe teacher content is thought leadership. Teacher content starts conversations and gets folks thinking. That means it often offers a fresh perspective or unique point of view. Because this type of content is immensely valuable to your audience, it lays the building blocks for creating those connections.

Unfortunately, teacher content is hard to create. It requires authenticity and dedication but also more effort and planning than the other content archetypes. If you’re going to create teacher content, first make sure you know what you’re talking about. Then, make sure you’re willing to commit to effort in to be an industry authority or thought leader.

Content Archetype 3: The Thinker

This type of content is perfect for brands whose competitors might be perceived as “better.” Thinker content doesn’t profess the creator to be superlative; it instead positions the creator as progressive, unique, or different. Thinker content appeals to your audience for two reasons. One, it differentiates your brand. Two, since its primary tool is emotion, it appeals to your audience in ways the other content archetypes can. Like teacher content, it helps start conversations.

Instead of trying to corner the market by being “the best,” change your audience’s parameters for thinking. Thinker content works because it can help your audience uncover truths or insights, which can drastically change the way they think and act. More importantly, it can help position your brand as a thought leader, which means more connections.

Like teacher content, thinker content is hard to create. Not only do you have to know your subject matter but you have to think differently. If you want your audience to see things in a new perspective, you have to see that perspective first in order to be able to share it.

Content Archetype 4: The Helper

This type of content drives awareness and engagement for your brand by helping solve problems for your audience. Compared to promoter content, which shows the benefits of your brand, helper content tells the audience why those benefits should matter to them.

On the plus side, compared to the other content archetypes, helper content is fairly straightforward and easier to create. It doesn’t require the immense thinking and planning of teacher content nor the ingenuity of thinker content. However, it’s more complex and not nearly as boastful as promoter content. It’s the sweet spot that shows your audience your brand has a customer-first mindset.

Though it’s arguably the most effective type of content for driving customer decisions, the downside of helper content is brands can become too dependent on it. In other words, be wary of creating too much helper content. The key to a successful content marketing strategy is a perfect balance of content archetypes, which work together to create the optimal conversion series.

To Recap

Promote: promote your brand through product-focused, branded content that drives customer actions.

Teach: inform your audience through insightful, conversation-starting content that adds value to their everyday lives.

Think: show your audience a new way to think about things with creative, refreshing content that appeals to their emotions.

Help: prove to your audience your brand has a customer-focused mindset with provocative, problem-solving content that hits on their desires and pain points.

If your content doesn’t fit one of these four major archetypes, it might not be worth creating!

May 16, 2025
How to Get More Followers (Without Paying)
The stronger your social media presence, the more highly potential customers will think of your brand. If you have a multitude of followers, not only will you be reaching a larger audience but you’ll get more engagement, drive more traffic, and even boost your SEO efforts. Here are a few crafty ways to get more followers–without paying an arm and a leg!

Choose The Right Channels

This one goes without saying. You’ll never grow your following if you’re chasing the wrong customers. While it’s okay to spread your presence over a few different platforms, make sure they’re the ones your customers are on. So how do you figure out where your customers are?
- Search relevant topics and keywords across social media to see where the traffic is.
- Look for relevant groups and discussions across different platforms.
- Where are your competitors advertising on social media?
Knowing where your audience spends their time is only half the battle.

Next, you have to learn how to best utilize the platform(s) of your choice. This is where you find out how each kind of content drives different actions, reactions, and engagement.

Optimize Your Content

Once you know where your audience spends their time, you have to figure out how to reach them. After all, the average person sees thousands of pieces of content daily. Keeping your content fresh and invigorating will help it break through all the “noise.”

To optimize your content, pick a few major themes/topics/areas of concern and focus your attention on them. Consider the different ways you can approach these major content pillars and plan a content series around building awareness, interest, consideration, or conversions.

Optimizing your social media profiles can be immensely impactful as well. From choosing the right photos to selecting easy-to-remember handles/usernames to including the right density of visible, user-friendly keywords, make your social media profile a cog in the SEO wheel.

The more visible your social media profiles are (both on the platforms themselves and search engines), the more people will find–and follow you.

Share & Collaborate

Sometimes, you just can’t do it alone. If you can collaborate with the right people–who also have a large, highly engaged following–you can add their followers. While it’s not necessarily easy to attract influencers–especially in an organic manner–getting people to promote and share your products, services, and content is a great way to get more followers.

In addition to collaborating with influencers, look to share and engage with relevant, topical content. Look to find other brands and pages with similar audiences and interests to share their posts and add to their conversations. If you do this frequently enough, your visibility will skyrocket, meaning you’ll grow your follower count.

Drive Traffic Across Platforms

Just like your website, your social media presence isn’t a standalone part of your marketing strategy. Each piece in the marketing mix should supplement and complement one another, meaning your website should link to social media–and vice versa.

Cross-promotion is another classic strategy to increase visibility and get more followers. Don’t be afraid to directly appeal to folks to follow all your pages. Stress the importance of each individual page and what folks should expect to gain from following that page.

Plus, by cross-promoting your content, you can make sure no one misses out on your best, most valuable content. For example, maybe you published an insightful blog post–and folks saw it on Facebook and your website. But because it was never promoted on Instagram, a segment of your audience missed out on it. Instead, take advantage of all your platforms, cross-promote, and don’t be afraid to recycle old or curated content.

Get More Followers Now!

There are numerous ways to grow your follower count–but many of them cost money–and their effectiveness is negligible. Stick to the basics and you’ll get more followers, drive more traffic, and engineer more conversions without stretching your budget!
June 17, 2022