Category Archives: Reputation management

9 Best FREE WordPress SEO Plugins – Interactive PDF Infographic

Search Engine Optimization (aka SEO) is key to ranking higher on search engine results pages where more customers can find your business.  We’ve dug in and created an interactive infographic PDF that gives you the 9 best free WordPress SEO plugins with a brief overview of what each plugin does.  Images link directly to each plugin’s WordPress.org download page where you can read reviews and research features.

SEO is Vital to the Growth of Your Business

Ranking high in search engine results is a game-changer for any business or website.  But it’s near to impossible to reach the top of search results without an active and comprehensive SEO plan in even low competition industries and localities.

With over 200 ranking factors influencing how Google and other search engines decide which websites are relevant search results and in what order they should appear it can be overwhelming.

Tack on top of that how often search engine algorithms, results page appearance, and ranking factors can change, and add staying on top of what’s new in the world of SEO while managing optimization for a website and it can all seem far beyond many SEO beginners and non-tech business owners.

9 Best Free WordPress SEO Plugins

Whether you a beginner just learning about SEO or an old pro looking for a better and faster way to optimize your WordPress website for search engines, we’ve got a list that is going to make your life a whole lot easier.

 

On the list of the 9 Best Free WordPress SEO Plugins are the best expertly developed plugins, used by everyone from mom bloggers to Fortune 100 companies, that you can download for free on WordPress.org.  These plugins cover important on-page and off-page SEO challenges such as content keywords and tags, image size and redirects, and even site speed and website performance.

What Can Free WordPress SEO Plugins Do For You?

Free WordPress SEO plugins have many of the functions and features of premium and paid plugins, and all the features necessary to successfully optimize a local or small business website.  If you run your website on the WordPress platform, these plugins will help you optimize the content of your web pages and blog post.

Most SEO plugins can help you by pointing out, on-page while you are creating content, what’s missing and what you need to do to make your website more search engine friendly whether it has to do with content text, tags, images, and videos, or page speed and website performance.

There are hundreds of WordPress SEO plugins to choose from with a wide range of functions. Take a good look at the SEO deficiencies on your website and find the two or three free WordPress SEO plugins that address your major website optimization needs.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful not to download and try to use too many SEO plugins at one time.  Competing plugins fighting to perform identical functions on your website can affect site performance and speed and actually hurt, not help, your search engine rankings.

Be sure to CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE to download the 9 Best FREE WordPress SEO Plugins Interactive PDF!

 

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Zach_Color_Trans_small_CroppedAbout The Author

Zach Anderson is the co-founder of Reputation Loop (helping small businesses grow by generating customer feedback and online reviews) who loves online marketing and golf.

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Reputation Institute Presents: 2017 Country RepTrak® – Most Reputable Countries in the World

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Using & Understanding Google My Business Insights – FREE PDF DOWNLOAD

Using & Understanding Google My Business Insights

understanding google my business insights screen post

Google My Business provides a wealth of data and useful tools such as Google My Business Insights to help you get more from your Google business listings.

If you have a Google My Business account, you’re a few taps away from knowing every who, when, what, and where of how customers interact with your Google listings with Google Insights. These actionable insights show you the trends in your industry, in your area, so you can make the improvements that can put you ahead of your competition.

 

Data Points Google My Business Insights Gives for Each of Your Locations

Your free Google My Business account and listings not only help you show up in Google searches and on Google Maps.  You also get Insights (also known as analytics) on your GMB listing engagement that show how people find your business and where they are coming from.  You can also see how search users interact with your listing once they have found it.

  • Total Searches
  • Direct Searches
  • Discovery Searches
  • Total Views (Search & Maps)
  • Search Views
  • Maps Views
  • Total Actions
  • Website Actions
  • Directions Actions
  • Phone Call Actions

What’s New with Google My Business Insights?

BULK INSIGHTS FROM GMB DASHBOARD – Access 18 Months of Insights Data

Bulk insight was added to the Google My Business dashboard back in April.  Why should you care?  Because you can now select a custom date range for the data you need instead of relying on the one-week, one-month, or one-quarter standard report dates.  This allows you to compare data in custom ranges to pinpoint improvements and negative trends in your optimization efforts.

If you manage multiple accounts with the Google My Business API, then you could download Insights data in bulk since January, but this is a huge GMB improvement for anyone managing multiple locations through the dashboard.

Getting More Out of Your Google My Business Account

Looking at search engine result pages, the local pack and knowledge panel give Google search users a large collection of useful information that makes it more likely they will click through to your website or request directions to your location.  Google My Business Insights lets you see how customers are using the information you have on your GMB account to choose your business.

Off-site engagement such as map views and click to calls aren’t shown on your Google Analytics or Search Console reports.  Use GMB Insights to discover how customers are interacting with your business on Google Search and Google Maps.  Search users are highly engaged and primed to act on the information they find in search by visiting your website or location.

All the information you need to improve your search engine marketing and search engine optimization is just a few clicks away with Google My Business Insights.

 

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Zach_Color_Trans_small_CroppedAbout The Author

Zach Anderson is the co-founder of Reputation Loop (helping small businesses grow by generating customer feedback and online reviews) who loves online marketing and golf.

The post Using & Understanding Google My Business Insights – FREE PDF DOWNLOAD appeared first on Reputation Loop.

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Small Business Trends Presents: Cynthia Hester of Salesforce – Trailblazer Customer Awards

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Small Business Trends Presents: Ronan Galvin of Kickstagram: Marketing Automation Led to 282% Increase in Revenue in Eight M

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Reviews Increase CTR – “Get More Online Customer Reviews” CHEAT SHEET

Get More Online Customer Reviews to Increase Search Click Through Rates

For a local business, ranking high in search results and increasing search click-through rates (CTR) are two top priorities.  Get more online customer reviews and you can see huge gains in both search ranking and CTR, earning new customers.

Local search results are where new customers find new, better, and closer places to do business.  You need Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to get a business to rank higher in search engine results. And while plentiful and positive online customer reviews are a search ranking factor, they have a greater power that can’t be overlooked: Online reviews heavily influence click-through rate and purchase decisions.

Get More Online Reviews IMAGE 250

 

 

You Can Download “Get More Online Customer Reviews”

– Your FREE PDF Cheat Sheet Below

 

 

 

How Online Reviews Increase Search CTR and Influence Buying Behavior

The latest Local Consumer Review Study found that reading online reviews about a business was an integral part of the consumer buying process. Here are some of the major results of the Local Consumer Review Study:

  • Over 90% of consumers read online reviews when searching for a local business.
  • Over 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
  • Overall star rating is the #1 factor that consumers pay most attention to when evaluating a local business.
  • 7 out of 10 consumers will leave a review if asked.

BrightLocal, an industry leader in local search, recently conducted their latest study to see how much positive online reviews improve CTR.  In measuring the impact of reviews on search CTR, the study focused on what impact reviews and ratings have on CTR from both Local Pack results and Organic Search Results.

You can read the full report but here are the key takeaways:

How Do Reviews and Ratings Affect Click-Through Rates on Google Local Pack Results?

  • Listings with 5 stars earned 69% of clicks from the Local Pack
  • Listings with 4 stars earned 59% of clicks
  • Listings with 3 stars earned 44% of clicks
  • Listings with 1 or 2 stars earned fewer clicks than listings with no stars

Variance in Click-Through-Rates Based on Star Rating

  • Having a 5-star rating earns a business 28% more clicks vs. having no rating
  • Having a 5-star rating earns a business 39% more clicks than having a 1-star rating
  • Having a 1-star rating reduces the clicks a business gets by 11% vs. having no ratings

How Do Users Pick a Business from Google’s Local Pack?

  • 56% picked a business because it had positive star ratings/reviews
  • 10% liked the business name
  • 9% picked the top listing

BrightLocal Picking from Local Pack
How Do Reviews and Ratings Affect Click Through from Organic Search Results?

  • Listings with 5 stars earned 19% of clicks from localized organic SERPs
  • Listings with 4 stars earned 16% of clicks
  • Listings with 3 stars earned 11%% of clicks
  • Listings with 1-3 stars earned fewer clicks than listings with no stars

Customer Reviews Raise Your Rank in Search Results, Increase Search CTR, and Influence Buying Behavior

You already knew that building a positive online presence that shows a stream on recent and positive reviews was good for business.  Seeing the power of online customers reviews to increase Search CTR and influence buyer decisions only solidify the fact that having a review management and promotion process is a necessary part of today’s digital marketing plan.  This is true for all businesses, but especially small businesses who need to compete on the local market level.

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Zach_Color_Trans_small_CroppedAbout The Author

Zach Anderson is the co-founder of Reputation Loop (helping small businesses grow by generating customer feedback and online reviews) who loves online marketing and golf.

The post Reviews Increase CTR – “Get More Online Customer Reviews” CHEAT SHEET appeared first on Reputation Loop.

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Ultimate List of Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools

It is National Small Business Week, and we’ve been celebrating the entrepreneurial spirit and highlighting the enormous impact that small businesses make in today’s economy.  In appreciation of the contributions small businesses like yours make, I wanted to give you a resource that will help you do more with less.  For small businesses with big business goals, we present the Ultimate List of Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools.

Download “30+ Powerful Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools You Need to Try” PDF

You’ve probably heard of most of the free tools on the Ultimate List of Free Small Business Marketing and Management Tools.  They are popular tools and apps that show up scattered across “best of” blog posts every day.

BUT THERE ARE POWERFUL FREE SMALL BUSINESS MARKETING & MANAGEMENT TOOLS YOU HAVEN’T TRIED YET. 

Download and save “30+ Powerful Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools You Need to Try” as a PDF on your desktop, tablet or smartphone to read later.  You can check out each tool at your own pace, research them online on any device with handy links, and decide which ones will help grow your small business.

The Ultimate List of Free Small Business Marketing and Management Tools

All businesses will benefit from finding technology that helps them automate some of the management and marketing tasks that must be done to run and grow a business.  Small businesses, in particular, benefit the most when they free up essential resources like manpower, money and time by using free online tools and software to gather information and get things done.

Finding the right free small business marketing and management tools can be life altering.  And experimenting with free software gives you an opportunity to see if a tool will work for your business and is effective enough to warrant making an investment in the pro, business or paid version.

Here you will find the ultimate list of free small business marketing and management tools but be sure to download the free PDF “Powerful Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools You Haven’t Tried” above to get an in-depth look at new-to-you but proven free small business tools to try.

Free Google Products

See the Complete List of Google Products

AdWords Keyword Planner – Keyword research tool that allows you to find the keywords to use in your marketing and content to reach as many of the right people as possible.

Google Analytics – Analytics service for tracking, monitoring, and reporting website traffic and user behavior.

Google My Business – Free business listing that lets you optimize your online information with Google to rank higher in relevant search results.

Gmail – Email connected to your Google account that lets you access all of Google’s tools and services.

Google Drive – Get access to files anywhere with 15GB of cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more.

Goo.gl – URL shortener with built in analytics.

Blogger – Google’s free blogging platform.

Marketing

Hubspot – Inbound marketing software platform, much of which is free to use including its free Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Email Tracking software.

SumoMe – A suite of marketing tools, including content analytics, an email scroll box, contact form, image sharer and more.

Ubersuggest – Keyword tool with free KeywordEverywhere extensions for Chrome and Firefox that give you search volume and CPC.

KeywordTool.io – Free alternative to Google AdWords Keyword Planner, giving you 750+ long-tail keyword suggestions for every search term.

Bit.ly – URL shortener and link management platform with strong analytics and measurement.

TinyURL – Create shorter URL redirects that never expire and even add to your browser toolbar.

Ow.ly – Part of Hootsuite’s bag of tools, shrinks URL so you can share them on social media.

Blogging

WordPress.com – free open source blogging management platform with thousands of third-party plugins and add-ons to manage and optimize 26 of the world’s websites.

Medium – Post your best content and Medium delivers it directly the homepage of users who are interested in what you are talking about.  Easy to use publishing tools let you integrate photos, audio, and video to write once and share anywhere.

Tumblr – unique micro-blogging platform good for short posts and images appealing to creative industries.

Portent’s Content Idea Generator – Enter a subject and get a series of content ideas in the form of headlines.

Hemingway App  – Free online version lets you compose content or cut and paste to analyze your content, giving you color-coded alerts of grammar issues.

Small Business Development

SBA.gov – Business education and advice from the experts at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Local Small Business Development Center – Find a local SBA small business development center.

SCORE – A nonprofit that provides education, online learning, and mentorship to small businesses.

Bplans – Business development resource with free templates and samples of business plans, pitch presentations, and SWOT analysis.

Enloop – Create one professional looking business plan complete with 3-year financial forecast reporting and free business plan score.

Images and Creative Design

Canva – Easily create beautiful designs and documents using Canva’s drag-and-drop feature and professional layouts.

Pablo – Buffer’s graphic design program where you can easily create images for your social media in under a minute.

Piktochart – Make your own infographics with Picktochart’s templates and easy-to-use tools.

Easel.lyCreate infographics and other online images using over 1000 reporting, timeline, and process templates.

PicMonkeyFree online photo editing tool and collage maker with a mobile app for designers on the go.

Email & Email Marketing

Boomerang – Add scheduled sending, response tracking, read receipts, click tracking, and email reminders to Gmail – free for the first 10 schedule messages per month.

Unroll.meSee a list of all your subscription email and unsubscribe easily from whatever you don’t want with just a swipe.

MailChimp – Create bulk newsletter content, sending up to 12,000 emails to 2,000 subscribers absolutely free utilizing a huge list of integrations with major sales and marketing platforms.

Benchmark – Customize user-friendly templates for your email marketing, free for life up to 2,000 subscribers and 14,000 emails a month.

Team Communication

Skype – Free video conferencing and internet calling.

Slack – Use to communicate with your team, customers and clients with social media accounts, email, text messages, chat tools, and ten app integrations on the free plan.  You also get two-person voice and video calls and 5GB of file storage.

Legal

Docracy – Free collection of legal documents such as employment contracts and service agreements you can negotiate and sign online.

Money Management

Expensify – Expense reporting software that lets you import expenses directly from a credit card for approval and reimbursement to designated checking accounts.

Paypal – Collect online payments from credit cards, PayPal accounts and debit cards.  Create, send and track invoices.  Generate detailed financial report with no sign-up fees (you pay per payment transaction).

Square – Credit card processing platform and point of sale software. Get a free magstripe reader for your mobile device with your free no commitment, no contract account.

Productivity

Evernote – Collect and share ideas across desktop and mobile platforms as you organize projects with notes and to-do lists as you save things on a platform that is always accessible and in sync.

Easilydo – A smart assistant app that lets you connect to social media accounts, calendars, contacts, and other accounts to put important tasks and reminders in one place.

Producteev – Task manager and to-do lists that give you real-time updates on your projects.  Get unlimited users, projects, and tasks with real-time updates on mobile devices with the Producteev app.

Social Media

Buffer – Social media posts scheduling with a free browser extension, mobile app, Pablo image creator, video uploader, optimal timing tool, and link shortening.  With the free plan you get one social media platform and the ability to schedule 10 posts to that account.

Hootsuite – Connect three social media profiles to schedule posts, respond to comments and messages, and monitor your profiles and feeds while monitoring post engagement with analytics.

SocialOomph – Schedule tweets and track keywords for up to five Twitter accounts on the free plan with a posting tool that includes a trackable URL shortener.

Stock Images

FreeImages

Pixabay

Unsplash

File Sharing & Storage

Dropbox – The free basic account includes 2 GB of space and the free app to access Dropbox from your computer and mobile devices.  You can earn more space by completing the Getting Started guide, following on Twitter, and referring friends.

Box – Save, access, edit and share your files from anywhere with 10 GB of storage with the free plan.

Apple iCloudStore 5GB of files in iCloud — and access them from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.

Get your FREE PDF at the top of this post!

Don’t forget to download your free copy of “Powerful Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools You Need to Try” above.  Let us know in the comments what free small business tools you can’t live without.

 

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Zach_Color_Trans_small_CroppedAbout The Author

Zach Anderson is the co-founder of Reputation Loop (helping small businesses grow by generating customer feedback and online reviews) who loves online marketing and golf.

The post Ultimate List of Free Small Business Marketing & Management Tools appeared first on Reputation Loop.

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Small Business Trends Presents: Bob Jenkins of Leadpages: Most Small Businesses Still Don’t Believe They Need Landing Pages

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