Tag: small business branding

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
Think Global, Act Local: Big Strategy For Small Business

Even the smallest business has big dreams. Whether you want to take your brand global or lock up the bulk of your local market share, the principle is the same: you have to think big. In other words, think global, act local. So what does that mean exactly?

Think Global, Act Local

Think global.

Despite our obvious fundamental differences, human beings are by and large the same across geographical barriers, cultures, etc. We may look different and have different customs, cultures, and even expectations, but there are a few major similarities. For instance, human beings, as a whole, crave connection. Across cultures, human beings are looking to connect: both with each other and with entities that share a purpose or a way of thinking (i.e. your brand).

By thinking globally, you’re (hopefully) not having dreams of uniting the world. Even Amazon, arguably the world’s single greatest business entity, has its detractors. There are undoubtedly folks in the tech company’s namesake region for whom Amazon has no purpose–and certainly no market. Instead, thinking globally means cultivating a brand that will resonate with people outside your locality. It means coming up with a purpose for your brand that goes beyond providing a product or service.

As for acting locally, for starters, treat every customer like they’re in your neighborhood. Your brand isn’t just in a community, it is a community. If you can think of your brand as a family, community, or neighborhood, you can give your customers that connection they’re looking for. What’s more, you’ll create the kind of brand loyalty you see in brands that have successfully managed to take their business global.

Go Global, Stay Local

A small, local business has significantly fewer problems than a global brand. For starters, the infrastructure is drastically different. Bigger brands have to keep up their customers 24/7–as their customers never sleep! However, as smaller businesses grow–adding more locations, breaking into newer markets, and even introducing new product offerings, it’s important to keep those logistics in mind. At the same time, part of the concept of “think global, act local” means, again, treating every customer like they’re local.

Some businesses have a tendency to put the needs of new customers ahead of the needs of their existing, loyal customer base. One example is businesses that put the need for a sale ahead of the need for a happy customer. Interestingly enough, one of the most effective ways to build your brand is via grassroots, word-of-mouth marketing. Even the best pieces of content won’t measure up to a trusted source vouching for you. Again, since you don’t know whether that trusted source is down the street or halfway across the Earth, your best bet is to treat every customer like they’re part of your community–because they are!

Stay True to Your Values

Think of some of the biggest, most well-known brands worldwide. Now think of the brands that briefly came to worldwide prominence, only to fall by the wayside. What’s the common theme? Authenticity.

In fact, the very essence of “think global, act local” is authenticity. Customers can smell a fake from a mile away, and once they catch on that a brand isn’t what they thought it was, they’ll be looking for a connection to fix that broken connection. The important lesson: stay true to your values and customers will follow. Whether you express those values through content or brand identity, keep them consistent–even as you grow.

Start Thinking Globally and Acting Locally!

A brand is nothing without its customers. A business is nothing without a purpose. Whether your customers are in your neighborhood or around the world, your way of thinking should be the same. Similarly, whether your purpose is to change the world or to sustainably do what you love while being your own boss, if you can think global and act local, your business will be in good hands!

May 23, 2025
Five Ways to Make Your Brand More Memorable

Let’s face it: most people don’t remember most of the content they interact with. So what do they remember? Let’s examine five proven ways to make your brand more memorable!

Talk The Way Your Customers Talk

One of the best ways to make your brand more memorable in the minds of your customers is to talk like they do. Using relatable language will make your communications more like conversations than sales pitches. Since customers don’t like being overtly sold to, part of providing value is how you speak to them in the first place.

Instead of making generalized claims, such as “we are the best at what we do”, put your customers in the driver’s seat. Talking exclusively about yourself only plants the seeds of doubt. Is everything you’re saying true?

Focus on your customers and how they can benefit from your content, products/services, and brand as a whole. It’s a lot easier for people to remember how they can personally benefit, as opposed to an obscure accolade or accomplishment.

Create a More Personalized Experience

Is every customer exactly the same? Then why should they be treated exactly the same?

Your customers have different interests, needs, and expectations, which means a “one-to-all” form of messaging simply won’t suffice. Sending the same messages to everyone is akin to throwing darts at a wall and hoping one sticks.

Instead, develop detailed customer profiles to gain insight into how to really appeal to your customers’ unique personalities. Use data to figure out customer habits and create personalized messages–especially using email.

Something as simple as a product recommendation, “you may also like”, or “customers also bought” can go a long way. So can including your customer’s name on a marketing email. Don’t be afraid to solicit feedback. It may help you understand how to better serve your customers’ interests.

Appeal to Emotions

People don’t always remember the words you said, but they remember how you made them feel. The same can be said about marketing communications. Remember, emotion is the primary driver of sales decisions!

Take for example a television commercial that tugs at your heartstrings or makes you belly laugh. You might not remember the exact specs of the ad, but two things should stick out: the brand and the emotion you felt.

When creating content, think about the emotion you want to affect in your audience. How can you tweak your language, delivery, style, or any other component to better draw out that emotion?

If you can successfully appeal to your customers’ emotions, you’ll also simultaneously differentiate your brand–which can also make your brand more memorable. Customers will start to associate your ads and content with those emotions.

Be A Thought Leader

Is your brand a leader or a follower? Do you come up with new, innovative products, promotions, or ways to appeal to your audience–or do you do what your competitors are doing?

Being a thought leader is a great way to both differentiate your brand and make your brand more memorable. If folks look to you for new ideas and inspirations, it means they both trust you and they’re impressed by what you’re doing.

It also sets a standard for your competitors to follow. You don’t want to compare yourself to the benchmark, you want to be the benchmark. Look for new, creative ways to break through to your audience and offer value in ways your competitors aren’t.

Deliver Consistency

Being consistent is a great way to make your brand more memorable. Whether it’s delivering consistently valuable content, a consistently positive personalized customer experience, or a consistently superlative product or service, you want to reinforce your customers’ buying decisions. What better way to do that than putting your money where your mouth is?

From a visual standpoint, keep your designs, copy, and content thematically and visually consistent. If you have a brand color scheme, don’t create a piece of content with a whole new color scheme–it’ll just confuse your audience. Stick to using the same language, messages, and themes and you’ll build a rapport with your customers.

That should extend across your digital content. For example, if your website has a number of different pages, those pages shouldn’t all have different designs and layouts. Keep things steady and consistent across all media and platforms and all you’ll have to worry about is the content itself!

Make Your Brand More Memorable!

There’s no secret magic to make your brand more memorable. It takes hard work, consistency, and a fundamental understanding of your customers’ wants and needs. However, if you can deliver a superlative experience, you’re already on your way to cementing your brand in the minds of your customers. To really make your brand more memorable, keep doing what you’re doing!

May 2, 2025
Plant the Seeds of Brand Growth with These Strategies

Building a brand can be downright overwhelming. Between establishing who you are, what you do, and how you do it differently, a challenge presents itself: why should your audience care? If you can excel in three key areas right off the bat, you can plant the seeds of brand growth and watch your business blossom! So what are those three key areas? Let’s take a look!

Brand Growth Starts With Trust

Trust is instrumental to brand growth. The more customers trust you, the more they’ll think of you as the go-to when they need your product or service. At the same time, how can you earn customers’ trust while you’re just starting out?

The most surefire way to build trust is to create a great product. If your customers come to trust what you have to offer, they’ll associate that trust with not just the product or service in question but your brand as a whole.

Remember, brand growth is built around relationships. Customers have to care about the message behind the brand, not just what they can find on the shelves. Be transparent with your brand values and back up your words with actions. If your brand purports to care about a social issue, show your customers you care about it–don’t tell them.

While the bottom line is most important–especially in the early stages of branding–never put a sale before a customer. Offering a “money-back guarantee” shows customers two things: you stand behind your product/service and customer satisfaction is paramount. Be a brand you would want to do business with and start building your brand growth around trust.

What Do You Do Differently?

What will really ignite brand growth is showcasing what your brand does differently. Let’s face it, if you don’t have competition, you probably don’t need much marketing to begin with–you’ve got the market cornered. For everyone else, why should a customer do business with you versus one of any number of competitors?

The answer is your point of differentiation. Whether it’s lower prices, better customer service, faster delivery, or a combination of attractive elements, show your customers what you can do that no one else can.

Your point of differentiation doesn’t have to be limited to your product or service offerings. If you can create content or value that no one else can, that can work as a point of differentiation! For example, if you sell a product that comes with a “how-to” manual or other valuable literature, customers will have more incentive to buy from you than from your competitors.

Listen to your customers. Find out what parts of the customer journey they enjoy and which parts make them apprehensive. Focus on minimizing their pain points, providing value from start to finish, and reinforcing their decisions with confidence.

Brand Growth and Content Marketing

Brand growth can only happen with increased brand awareness. In other words, your brand can only grow if more and more people become aware of not only your brand’s existence but why other people are so keen on doing business with you. What better way to foster more brand awareness than through content marketing?

If folks are liking, sharing, and engaging your content, more and more people are seeing it. Try to create content other people aren’t creating, find insights others aren’t finding, and do what others aren’t doing.

Creating valuable content doesn’t just help plant the seeds for brand growth, it’s a crucial part of search engine optimization. People can’t find your brand online if you have no content–or if your content is poorly configured for SEO purposes. The more your content helps solves problems and adds value, the more highly it’ll rank on search engine algorithms, meaning the more likely folks will find you when they search for relevant queries.

Start Planting the Seeds of Brand Growth!

You don’t build a brand overnight. The most successful brands today got where they are through an efficient approach to delivering excellence on all fronts. At the same time, there are a few common links between the most successful, renowned brands: we trust them, they do something unique, and their marketing is consistently on-point. If you can deliver on these fronts, you can start seeing more brand growth!

February 26, 2025