WSI Matrix is an consulting company in Edmonton, AB serving local businesses. We specialize in building an online presence for local businesses, optimizing their websites and driving targeted traffic.
Friday, 30 November 2012
How To Promote Your Business With Twitter
Do you have a professional Twitter account? You should read this article to find out more about Twitter and how you can use this site to promote your business.
Creating an account on Twitter is easy. You should select a username that is easy to remember and if possible use your brand as a username. Fill out your profile by adding a picture of your product or a logo and write a short description of your business. Make sure you share a link to your main website or blog in your description. Keep in mind that the information you share on your profile will help people device whether or not they should subscribe to your updates.
Since you are new to Twitter, you should start building a list of users you want to follow. You can easily look for keywords or for a specific brand or username. Do not hesitate to subscribe to a large number of users, as long as these accounts are related to your industry. You should subscribe to your competitors' accounts and follow bloggers, writers and journalists who write on topics related to your products. Do not subscribe to your customers' accounts.
Some users will subscribe to your updates once you follow them. You can click on the 'connect' button to see who subscribed to your updates. Some of these accounts might be worth following but do not subscribe to every account that shows up in this list. You should know that some users and fake accounts focus on gaining as many followers as possible so they can share spam. Always check the profile of the users you want to subscribe to and make sure you are following a legitimate account.
You can gain more followers by sharing quality content. If you share unique and interesting content, your followers will retweet your updates. This means the users who follow the person who retweeted you will see your content. Do not hesitate to retweet the updates of users you are connected with; these users might retweet your content to thank you. You can also answer to tweets or address a certain user publicly by adding their username to your tweet after the symbol @. This is a good way to get some attention from the followers of the user you tagged.
It is also important that you optimize your tweets with hashtags. Hashtags function like keywords and will help users find tweets related to a certain topic. To create a hashtag, use the symbol # before your keyword. You will find that there are a lot of popular hashtags already in use. You should look up a few keywords you are thinking about using to see which are the most popular. Do not hesitate to create your own hashtag and encourage customers to share their opinion of your products by using this keyword.
Twitter is a great marketing tool because information can be shared so quickly. If you decide to use Twitter to promote your business, make sure you apply the tips you just read and look for creative ways to use the features of this site.
Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Social Media Marketing Strategies For Facebook
Social media marketing has gained recognition all over the world as one of the top ways to advertise for modern businesses. Facebook is one of the most popular options for social media marketing. There are many strategies that you can use in order to gain recognition on Facebook for your products. This article will help guide you with tried and true Facebook marketing strategies.
Choosing an easy to recognize and remember Facebook URL is just as important to your company as choosing the right domain. People will have an easier time remembering your company's Facebook page if it's the main Facebook site paired with a slash and your company's username or brand name.
Ensure that your Facebook company profile page is complete. Fill out every bit of information that you possibly can. The more information you have, the higher your chances of people trusting your brand name. When you display all there is to know about your company, people will understand what it is you are selling or the audience you are trying to cater to.
Design your own custom Facebook layout. It can be just as effective as a fresh layout for your website. A well designed layout can make your products more appealing and grab the attention of random web surfers. There are plenty of Facebook tools that can help you design a simple layout that will appeal to the masses.
Retain old fans and get new ones on your Facebook profile by offering discounts that are exclusive to people on your fanpage. You can retain your old fans by running a permanent or longstanding discount that only they are able to use.
Let people get to know your brand by using trivia and quizzes on your profile. Make it a bit more interesting by providing your winners with a small prize or discount. This lets people exercise finding fun facts about your brand they may not have found otherwise. By adding a prize for the winner, you are encouraging participation from non-customers as well.
Make sure that you properly engage with your fans. If someone asks a question or raises a concern, answer it promptly and to the best of your knowledge. Even if you have a lot of work, always make time for your customers. Redirect your fans to the proper knowledge base or source to further answer any inquiries they may have.
Foster a sense of community on your profiles. Keep your conversations with fans going as long as possible. The more people you interact with and the longer your conversations, the more trustworthy you will appear to outside sources. When people feel like they can talk to you on a one-on-one basis, they will start to rely on your brand for their future needs.
Avoid clutter on your Facebook page. It may seem rather tempting to display everything about your brand on one page, but it really distracts people and detracts from your page. Use the respective tabs on your profile page to avoid clutter and to organize information.
Social media marketing, especially through Facebook, provides the perfect means for any company to share their products and resources with the world. Use what you have learned from this article to ensure that your future on Facebook is a bright one!
Saturday, 24 November 2012
SEO Strategies For Your Success
How popular is your website? You could get more traffic and rank higher in search results thanks to a good SEO campaign. Keep reading to learn how SEO can help you be more successful.
You need to keep track of how popular your site is so you know where you stand and how efficient your SEO strategies are. Use a visitor counter to get an idea of how many people click on your links. Your popular links or pages will help you figure out what kind of content your audience is interested in. Use the Google toolbar or Alex to keep track of how high your website rank in search results for different keywords. Use your findings to assess how successful your SEO campaign is and always look for new ways to improve it.
Choose some keywords for your websites and place them where they will be noticed by search engine spiders. To choose your keywords, open an account on Google AdWords and look up different keywords related to your products. Choose five strong keyword phrases with high search volume and low competition if possible. Do not hesitate to use secondary keywords for some sections of your site. Place your keywords in your titles, the alt tags of your images, the anchor text of your links, your URLs and your meta tags and descriptions. Use your keywords in your articles if you can, but do not go out of your way to include keywords.
Internal links will help visitors find more pages and products they are interested in and search engine spiders will index more pages if they can follow your links. Place some site-wide links to draw traffic to your most important pages by creating a menu and some banners. You should also create unique links to help your readers find more content they might be interested in. Do not place your links at the bottom of your articles; you should instead include them in your first two paragraphs. Optimize all your links with keywords, test them regularly and do not hesitate to add new links to your old popular articles if you want to direct your traffic to a specific page.
Get as many quality back-links as you can. A quality back-link should be featured on a site or blog that is popular among your target audience and properly optimized with keywords. Write quality content that other writers will want to quote and share, but do not hesitate to contact bloggers and webmasters and agree on featuring their content if they will share links to yours. Sharing some links to quality content will actually make your site more relevant to your topic and help you rank higher in search results as long as you are not sharing links to sites you are competing against. You can also create back-links yourself through your social media marketing campaign and by posting your articles on article directories and message boards.
Apply these different SEO tips and do more research about SEO to learn more about the latest innovations and trends. You also need to focus on developing a good sales pitch and presenting your products in detail to get your visitors to order them.
Friday, 23 November 2012
Internet Marketing Tips for Local Business
Be where your customers are looking for you
More and more consumers look to the Internet for information about products and services they want to buy. Let’s look at 5 Internet marketing tips your local businesses can leverage to win more customers.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
What Is Black Hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO) And Why Should You Stay Away From It?
Black Hat SEO sounds rather dashing and romantic, does it not? Actually, it is a set of fairly sneaky and underhanded practices that play the Internet to produce false and inflated search engine results. Black Hat SEO techniques only work in the short term and can result in having your website de-listed. What are these nefarious activities, and what can you do to avoid them?
Be sure to use original and unique content on your site. With Black Hat SEO, a person might steal the content of another and post it as his or her own. This will raise search engine rankings briefly, but it will also raise red flags that cause those rankings to fall very soon. For this reason, using duplicate content is a very bad idea.
Use keywords judiciously. You need just the right amount to catch the attention of the search engines but not so much as to make them ignore you and make your content dull, repetitious and unreadable. The exact percentage of keywords desirable changes from time to time, so it is a good idea to check this through services such as Google Keyword Tool and others. You may want to adjust your keyword use in existing articles for optimization. Whatever you do, do not stuff keywords.
Be sure your keywords are connected to each other. Sites that are considered authoritative have consistent content. It should all be on the same or similar topics without the insertion of other sorts of keywords just to try to grab ratings. If you are really an expert on something, that is what you will tend to talk about, and the search engines know it!
Build back-links naturally through genuine association with other websites in your niche. Black Hat SEO makes use of link farms that automatically link all sites in a group to one another. This worked once upon a time, but now search engine bots are wise to it and it can reflect upon you badly.
Use a clean, straightforward presentation of all information on your website. Don't cloak or hide your text or links. One Black Hat SEO technique is to cloak links to trick people into clicking on them or to hide keywords by making the font the same color as the background of the page. Don't do this!
Keep your website clean and free of Trojans, malware and viruses. Use a web host with good security and give your visitors a clean and safe experience. If your website is a threat to visitors, you could end up being blacklisted.
That's just a few of the sneaky, Black Hat SEO techniques you should avoid. There are many more in existence and more growing all the time. Just remember to stay on the up-and-up and give your visitors the same sort of experience you would want yourself, and you can avoid being down-rated, de-listed or even blacklisted by the major search engines.
Saturday, 17 November 2012
Five SEO Techniques That Can Help You
They say in real estate that the secret to success is location. The most profitable restaurants and gas stations are the ones on the corners of busy intersections. Websites are no different if you want visitors, traffic, revenue and sales opportunities. You want the number one search engine listing for your keyphrase so that you stand out above the rest. To learn some tricks to this, keep reading into the following useful paragraphs.
If you ever have a choice in what kinds of websites provide you backlinks, then try to aim for ones with high pagerank. There are various levels of pagerank, usually one through eight, shown as PR1, PR2, etc. The higher the site, the longer it has likely been around, even if through multiple owners. Search engines really value these anchor sites in their algorithms, since high PR sites are as old as some of the original algorithm code. Links from these sites are given far more weight than links from smaller and newer pages.
One little discussed trick in SEO is the h1 tag. It usually stands for heading number one, and it tells the search engine crawlers what your page's main title is. Whatever words you put in your h1 title tags should also be represented within the context of the page itself. The search engines will see this pairing and presume relevancy to the keywords provided, trusting your content to be good to show for anyone searching those keywords.
You might think that search engine optimization is something you can do until you are number one and then you can forget about it. Actually, you can do that, but you will not stay number one for long. Links fade over time in terms of relevancy and recency, which are both factors that search engines use to rate the quality of links. So, you realistically need to get in the habit of seeking out other websites to link to you. Google in particular rates sites by how popular they are with other websites, based on number of links. This is how Google was able to keep coming up with spot-on search results even as the overall number of them mushroomed.
If you ever do content about a big or broad topic, there is a chance that your article will range over several sub-topics. It makes sense to break these up into individual pages. Multiple smaller pages are easier for readers to go through, and you can even do some optimization for each page's keyword.
There was a time where Meta Tags were the hands-down single most critical factor that search engines counted on in ranking your site. That time has long since passed, yet they still matter some. So, make sure that every page of your website has them, because the text you put in the meta description is what search engines show in the search results. Surfers will decide whether or not to actually visit your page based on these.
Now that you have read this article, you know five steps that you can take within the world of search engine optimization. Use these as part of your overall strategy to take the number one listing in your niche and stay there!
Friday, 16 November 2012
Hiring a Website Development Company
Important Tips to Help You Hire the Right Firm
Engaging a website development company involves more than pricing and perusing their portfolio. Here are 5 tips to help you make the right choice.
Tuesday, 13 November 2012
Mobile Marketing Tips For Your Business
Developing an efficient mobile marketing strategy should help you stay in touch with your audience and draw attention to your new products and discounts. Read this article to find out more about mobile marketing.
You should do some research about your target audience and how these people use their mobile phones. Have your customers answer to surveys and read studies about mobile phones and new devices available on the market. You might have to wait a few months before the majority of your customers buy the latest devices available. Your campaign should be adapted to the devices your customers use and to the data plans they subscribe to. Avoid developing apps if you find that most of your customers do not have Smartphones or iPhones.
Present your mobile marketing campaign as a way of getting access to exclusive content such as good deals, discounts and useful information. Draw attention to this new campaign by writing about it on your blog and on social networks and by placing a subscription form for your text alerts on your main website. If you want to get more people interested in your mobile marketing campaign, you should organize a contest open to the customers who subscribe to this new campaign or associate it with the release of a new product.
Download a quality mass texting software and use it to send out text alerts to your subscribers. Your text alerts should remain short and straight to the point. Do not hesitate to share links to a mobile website or a coupon code to let your customers know about your latest discounts. Keep in mind that text alerts can be perceived as intrusive, especially if you send them too often or if you share information your audience will not perceive as valuable. Make sure you include a link or a code to unsubscribe from your text alert in each text you send out. If you find that your customers have good data plans, do not hesitate to text a picture of your latest product once in a while.
Are your customers likely to use their phones to go online? You should consider creating a mobile website to share useful information about your products as well as coupon codes. Update your site frequently if you want to get more visitors, and do not hesitate to share links via text alerts and on social networks. You can easily create a mobile site yourself thanks to mobile website-building tools but make sure you text your mobile website carefully before launching it. Use a simple design and keep in mind that people will see your content on a small screen. You could use your mobile website to give your customers access to apps if you find they are likely to have phones that support this feature.
You should now have a better idea of how you can launch a successful mobile marketing campaign. Test these different strategies and make sure you adapt them to your target audience and to your products.
Friday, 9 November 2012
Internet Marketing and advertising
Get ahead of the competition…spend less money, get better results
Getting a steady amount of quality traffic to your site is critical for the success of your online business. A successful marketing plan must encompass Internet marketing and advertising strategies to attract as many qualified leads as possible.
Mobile Marketing: Grow Your Business
Smartphones grow in popularity more and more each and every day. People are using smartphones for calling, texting, surfing the Internet and much more. A lot of people have their phones with them at all times, and you should be taking advantage of this. You can easily target customers and prospective customers using their smart phones with mobile media marketing. This marketing technique is one of the most popular ways to share what you have to offer and businesses are finding great success with it. If you are ready to make mobile marketing work for you, the following article can help. Continue reading to learn some helpful tips when it comes to mobile marketing.
The first thing you need to do is get people to sign up for your mobile marketing campaign. Whether you intend on sending out emails or text messages, you will need the information from your customers. While it is easy enough to ask them, you have to hope they will respond. Many people hold their personal information near and dear and do not like sharing it. If you are not having much luck getting this information, consider offering a discount or free sample or something else enticing to get people to share their information. Be sure, too, to tell them that you will not be sharing their information with anyone. If you cannot stand by this promise, do not make it.
Many people view websites on cell phones or smart phones. A lot of traditional websites are not easy to see or navigate on smart phones. One helpful thing you can do is set up your site so that it is easy to look at and use while on a smart phone. Since so many people use their phones to surf the net, it will help more people go to your site and use it if it is optimized for their smart phone. It is not enough to optimize it for just one smart phone, though; there are a few different mobile browsers and you need to make sure your site works well on all of them.
With mobile marketing, you are apt to send out messages, whether they are emails or text messages. No matter what kind of message you send out, make sure that it is sent at a normal hour. You will upset your customers if you are sending out messages at odd times. Business hours are usually safe, but it will depend upon your clientele.
The messages you send out are important. Since you will be sending them to mobile devices, you want to make sure that they are short and to the point. Many people have a limit on the data they can receive, and if you are sending large amounts of data, they are likely to opt-out. Also, make sure the messages are meaningful to your subscribers.
Mobile marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach out to your customers today. Use the tips shared here and you can find great success with your mobile marketing efforts.
Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Six Degrees Of Internet Marketing
The Internet can be used as a powerful marketing tool for businesses. In just a short time, information about a website or business can be easily spread to reach multiple potential customers. Find out how to use Internet marketing through the following six tips.
Keep an eye on the competition. Search for relevant business keywords and look at other competing businesses for cues. Take note of the actions of competitors and use this to get an idea of which strategies work and which ones don't. The successful ones will help you fine tune your business.
Your site can improve if you don't realize that it has faults. There is no such thing as a perfect website, and this includes the one for your business. Once you realize the site has faults, you can think more about what needs to be improved. Chances are there is something that could be done more efficiently or something that could look better. It's easier to pick up on what's wrong with the site when you remove the perception of perfection.
There are multiple forms of free advertising that are at your disposal. Certain websites offer the ability to create ads similar to newspaper classifieds that information about your business and your website. Other websites will list the location of your business with directions of how to get there and allow people to leave detailed reviews of the business.
Snail mail newsletters may be dying, but e-newsletters are alive and well. After you have built a fairly decent customer base, you can send e-newsletters via email to them. The newsletter can feature information about new products or services that they might be willing to purchase. You can also include exclusive deals or discounts in the emails as a reward for doing business with you in the past.
Society has become more about reaching people through visual means. The best way to do this is through a video. Using either a simple camera or video editing software, you can produce a short video that give out information about your company and what it offers. The video can then be uploaded to a number of video sharing websites, many of which offer an embed link that allows you to feature the video on your website.
Social networking sites are too big of a phenomenon to not use for Internet marketing purposes. In a short time, you can create a profile on a social networking site and begin posting content that will link back to your website. Marketing through these sites allows you to increase the size and strength of your brand while reaching an audience who had probably never heard of your business or website.
When you use Internet marketing correctly, you can spread the word of your website and business and increase productivity, too. Utilize the six tips feature here and watch the customers come to you in search of your goods and services. Internet marketing has been proven to work, so make it work for you today.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
Internet Marketing Tips That Will Boost Sales
If you are the owner of a business, you know that getting sales is the most important part of keeping your business alive. With the growing popularity of the Internet, it is only natural that you should think of ways to use it to your advantage. The following article has solid advice that will help you create a solid Internet marketing plan.
One thing that you will realize over time is that people are immediately turned off by getting information that they have seen before. This is why it is important for you to make sure that all content you have on your site is unique and attention-grabbing. This will help you stand out and give people a reason to visit your site over others.
Advertising can get pretty expensive, so you should take advantage of any opportunity you have to advertise for no cost. There are a ton of business directories that will allow you to list your company for nothing. This means that you will have the chance to show up in search results when people are seeking a certain type of company and you will not have to pay a cent.
Always keep track of your website traffic so you know where it is coming from. This is important because most people pay to advertise through different channels. It would not do you any good to continue paying for advertising that is not bringing in any type of business. Analyzing the traffic will allow you to get a better idea of what works and what does not. You can use the data to make some adjustments.
Competition is something that most business owners have to deal with and it is vital that you stay on the same level as the competition, if not ahead. The last thing you need is for a competitor to get far ahead because they are employing better strategies. Keep an eye on your competition to see what they are doing. If you see something impressive, do not be afraid to use the same methods to boost your sales.
Creating a buzz is what it is all about and making marketing videos can help you do that. You do not have to come up with some long, boring video that is bound to put everyone who is watching it to sleep. Think about the people that you are trying to attract and come up with a video that will entertain them. A great video is bound to become an Internet sensation, which means more sales for you. Be creative and have fun with it.
With all of this information you have just learned, you should be on the right path to making your business more successful. It may take a while to see an increase in sales, but keep at it and you should definitely see an improvement. Once you get the hang of things, you will be able to relax a bit more and enjoy the fruits of all of your hard work.
Friday, 2 November 2012
Social Networks for Business
Leverage social media marketing to create a positive impact
Social networking has changed the way the world communicates, advertises and markets. Online social networks offer great potential to promote your business by leveraging a dynamic, spirited, ever growing network.
Here, we examine the top five popular social networking sites that your business can take advantage of and grow:




