Everybody is in a panic, as they always are after a Google update. This time we’re cheering Google's massive March 2024 update that makes some long overdue changes designed to reduce unhelpful, low-quality content as part of a broader effort to combat content spam. This is great news for SMB’s that invest in SEO as it should reduce some of the competitive clutter that’s been working against them.

Effective SEO creates value for users. Googles latest update rewards organizations that publish original content based on proprietary data, fresh perspectives, and subject matter expertise. Google is open to Ai generated content when used thoughtfully to enhance quality within a people-first context. For example, when developing content for a client in the chemical manufacturing industry, we work with the client to establish subjects that they’re customers inquire about most. Gather data and insights from various departments within the organization. Prepare a brief, then use Ai to find additional information that may also be valuable to readers. We’re using Ai to enhance copywriters efficiency and ensure that we’re not missing an angle important to our audience – rather than pumping a headline into Ai and letting it generate blind content.

That’s a tall order for SMB’s and requires focused investment. It’s also why you find so much low-quality content online.

Many SEO companies ‘game the system’ by generating content solely to manipulate search rankings. Those that have relied on AI-generated content began feeling the pain. Some sites received ‘Pure Spam’ notifications via Google Search Console and found their sites had disappeared from search results. 
If you’re shopping for an SEO provider, ask them about how sites they manage weathered the March update. Ask for references. And, inquire about these three practices that Google now considers content spam:

1. Templated Content Scaling – Scaled Content AbuseThis is an SEO tactic increasingly used by SEO Agencies and Consultants to manipulate search rankings. This includes mass-produced content created to game rankings, whether human or AI-generated. Learn more about  in this article from our friends at Embryo. Thankfully, Google is taking on cringeworthy content in favor of useful information that people value. It’s all about helping you, the user, find well curated, helpful and original content.
Google spam policies list specific examples of scaled content abuse which include:

• Using generative AI tools or other similar tools to generate many pages without adding value for users
• Scraping feeds, search results, or other content to generate many pages (including through automated transformations like synonymizing, translating, or other obfuscation techniques), where little value is provided to users
• Stitching or combining content from different web pages without adding value
• Creating multiple sites with the intent of hiding the scaled nature of the content
• Creating many pages where the content makes little or no sense to a reader but contains search keywords

Google recommends that, “if you’re hosting such content on your site, exclude it from search.” We couldn’t agree more.

2. Expired Domain AbuseExpired domain abuse is a particularly nasty practice that involves repurposing expired domains to host low-quality content to manipulate search rankings. The practice has been growing over the past two years driving ethical SEO professionals crazy. Google aims to end this practice by punishing clearly irrelevant domains when comparing their old content to new content.

3. Parasite SEO – Site Reputation AbuseParasite SEO refers to a digital marketing strategy where unethical marketers leverage the authority of established platforms to rank their content quickly with less effort, typically by posting content on these platforms with backlinks to their own websites.
The practice involves piggybacking on trusted sites' authority to boost low content volume and/or poor quality content. Typically low-quality content is hosted on high-authority websites to gain ranking benefits.
The March 2024 update specifically targets this practice, aiming to remove the incentive for using reputable sites to rank low-value content. At the SERP conference last week, Gary Illyes, analyst on the Google search team, said that Google has taken steps to combat what some of us call parasite SEO in the most recent Google algorithm update.
Manual penalties have already come down from Google with many sites being removed from search results specifically for parasite SEO practices.

Moving Forward
Successful SEO content development must be fully focused on people-first, original content that delivers value from the users perspective. To accomplish this, we recommend that content developers:

• Leverage propriety data to stand-out and provide authentic value.
• Offer expert insights based on unique, real-world interactions.
• Develop your content from unique experiences that can't be easily replicated.
  

If you’re struggling to gain or rebuild your search rankings, our experts are ready to help build your online presence. Learn more at GreyPartners.com

Image use can be tricky. Check out this quick read to better understand how to proactively safeguard your business and your marketing assets.

Are you using images legally online? Learn how to avoid copyright infringement and protect yourself from legal consequences with this guide.

Images are an essential component of online content – and it’s obvious why. Images aren’t just pretty—they’re powerful marketing tools that help you stand out. They pique your audience’s attention, enhance your messaging, and significantly enhance the appeal and effectiveness of your content.

Whether you’re creating a social media post, a webpage, an ebook, a blog post, or something else, adding visuals goes a long way in improving the overall user experience. However, you can’t just pull images off the internet and use them – and it’s your responsibility to determine if and how you can use the image without breaking the law.
If you violate copyright law – even accidentally – you can face serious consequences. Many online platforms, such as Google and YouTube, have copyright policies that streamline copyright claims and enforcement actions. Often, a minor violation will result in receiving a DMCA notice and the content being removed or demonetized. However, if a violation is egregious or impactful enough, you could face heavier consequences such as hefty fines, court trials, and, in extreme cases, even jail time.

In this article from our friends at Search Engine Journal, you can learn how to navigate these murky waters to ensure that you’re using images ethically and legally online.

WordPress is renowned for its user-friendly interface and straightforward learning curve. Beneath this benefit lies a subtle trap – creators are lulled into a false sense of security because of the ease and accessibility WordPress offers. Many of those charged with creating and managing sites lack the fundamental skills required to create safe site infrastructure, implement regular site maintenance and ensure secure user access protocols.

This leaves organizations vulnerable to malicious attacks. The good news is that with the right setup, consistent upkeep, and adherence to strong user security, WordPress continues to be a secure and dependable platform.

Hackers find WordPress a lucrative target because 43% of all websites are powered by it. Most attacks are conducted through a barrage of automated attacks - not motivated individuals with a specific agenda against your organization. Typically hackers are looking for the easiest sites to exploit. Minimize threats by consistently executing fundamental security practices.

WordPress is open source, which means that the code that runs your website may be examined by anyone including hackers. So, is it safe to use open-source platforms? For most SMB's an open-source platform is the right choice because it’s safer, more cost effective and consistent site management is more achievable.

WordPress’ open-source code is maintained by the WordPress security team, volunteer developers, ethical white hat hackers, and other interested parties with good intentions. So even if a vulnerability is exposed, it’s typically identified and quickly resolved through a WordPress update.
Understand that most security breaches happen for three reasons:

• WordPress or its plugins versions are not up to date.
• A user unintentionally installed malicious software.
• Insecure login credentials (login & passwords).

In other words, most security breaches are preventable. Read on to learn how to secure your site and minimize your risk of malicious website attacks.

Low-quality hosting is a major factor behind these security vulnerabilities. Invest in a Cloud, VPS, or dedicated host with good customer service. Saving a couple bucks on shared hosting is a big risk - all it takes is for one website to be infected, and the malware can spread across every site on the network. 
This is why you should only consider cloud, VPS, or dedicated hosting.
Research potential hosting company security records. Are they security-conscious? Do they rely on the latest technology and standards? After hiring a host, perform annual reviews to ensure their ability to provide secure hosting hasn’t declined.
In addition, you should look for a host that offers the following services:

• Up to date server software – Too many hosts still run on PHP 5, which has long lost support. At this point in time, servers should at least use PHP 7.0+. The same goes for other software like cPanel, MySQL or other database programs, and the operating system.
• Malware monitoring and removal – Pick a host that actively makes an effort to detect and prevent malware infections, and possibly offers malware scanning and removal for when you do get breached. Not all web hosts have a policy for removing malware from an infected site, and among those that do, some will charge extra for this service.
• Firewalls and other security measures – There are many ways that hosting providers can increase their server security. Possibly, the most effective among them is to rely on a firewall as it prevents unauthorized outside access to the server. It might be a good idea to check whether a provider has this and other means of prevention in place before making a choice.

A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate encrypts the data served between the user and your website. SSL grants you an https URL and a certificate to go with it, without which users will receive a red “Not secure” notification in the address bar when visiting your site.
SSL’s certification is essential because it let’s users know that your site is trustworthy and safe to visit. In fact, most browsers block access to websites without SSL.
Migrating your WordPress website to HTTPS can be a difficult process for existing websites. Your website is migrated by following these four steps, which can easily be automated with Really Simple SSL. 

1. Acquire your SSL certificate. As SSL has become industry standard. Most hosting providers will set you up with a free certificate which can be activated in your hosting dashboard.
   
2. Activate SSL. Once your SSL certificate is installed, activate it.
   
3. Upgrade all requests to https. Now that your site is secured over https, you’ll want to prevent any visitors from (deliberately or accidentally) visiting the insecure (http) version of your site. This is usually done with a 301 redirect. All links to used resources on your site (eg. Images, scripts, etc.) will need to be updated to https to prevent your visitors from seeing an ‘insecure site’ warning in their browser.
4. Enforce SSL. To further secure your site, you can add security headers to your site, which further enforce SSL and add an extra layer of security.

Backups allow you to minimize downtime and expense should a catastrophic event take place. Even if your site does get hacked beyond repair, it won’t have to be rebuilt from scratch.
An automatic backup schedule should always be in place. Check to see if your host offers weekly, monthly, or daily automated backups. If this is the case, and your host backs up both your files and database, set the backup schedule and test that it’s working properly each quarter.
Backups should be scheduled daily. It’s also a good idea to process manual backups any time a major site update is performed.
If your host doesn’t offer website backups, or if the backup provided by our host excludes files or our database, you can also use a plugin to perform the action.
It’s a good idea to have at least a solid solution for each website you own or administer, and WordPress backup plugins can provide that extra layer of protection.

If you’ve chosen a good host and your backups are set up, you have foundational infrastructure in place. Plug-ins are the next area of concern, and you must have a process in place to keep them updated. 
An outdated plugin or an insecure theme is the huge gateway for infiltrating your website.
Updating your site components is as simple as going to your WP admin dashboard and checking for update notifications under Dashboard > Updates.
Mark any themes or plugins you want to update by ticking the boxes, then click the button at the top/bottom to start updating them.
Many plugins can be set to automatically update. Chose this option if available. And check monthly to verify that all plugins are updated. If a plug-in consistently fails to update, consider replacing it with a plug-in that can be more securely maintained.
More important than updating your plugins and themes is keeping WordPress up to date.
It’s estimated that 40% of hacked WordPress sites were exploited because WordPress was outdated. Avoid pushing off an update because it may interfere with a plugin. Lose the plugin to save your site.
Pro tip: Remove the WordPress version number from your source code.
By default, WordPress websites carry a meta tag containing the WordPress version number that the site is using. Why make hackers job easier? If you are using a WordPress security plugin, many of them hide your WP version automatically.

Another big mistake WordPress users make is getting their plugins and themes from unreliable vendors. A bad theme or plugin can corrupt, deface, or inject malware into your pages. 
Third-party websites and developers are not endorsed by WordPress, and as such, you never know what you’re getting. Even if a plugin is in the official directory, it is not guaranteed to be safe.
Before downloading any plugin, perform due diligence. Know how often they are updated, if they are maintained and how popular they are. WPScan offers a free directory of known plugin vulnerabilities to help in your plugin review.  
The same is true for themes. WordPress offers a some themes in the theme repository. Only purchase original themes from reputable vendors.
Avoid “nulled” WordPress plugins and themes. Nulled WordPress themes and plugins are pirated software - stolen copies of premium WordPress products sold at a discount or given away. Nulled themes and plugins pose significant security and SEO risks.  They often include malicious code — spammy links, redirects to dubious websites, a backdoor that grants unauthorized access to your data, or malware that could steal confidential information or even crash your entire site.

WordPress comes with a set of easy-to-reach theme and plugin editors. You can find them under Appearance > Theme Editor and Plugins > Plugin Editor. These allow direct access to your site’s code.
These tools are useful to experienced programmers. It’s best practice to disable file editing, as hackers can use the file editor to quickly execute malicious code or delete entire parts of your website. Disabling this slows them down.
You could also turn off the theme and plugin editors with one line of code in wp-config.php. If you end up needing to edit your site or plugins, just temporarily turn them back on. Alternatively, you can edit them via an FTP client.
Disabling file editing won’t necessarily prevent attackers from doing damage, but it can confuse less experienced hackers and slow their attacks down allowing time for the attack to be discovered and begin eliminating the threat.

One of the most common ways hackers gain access is through brute force attacks. Automated scripts are used to guess the right username and password to access your WordPress website.
A successful brute force attack can give hackers access to your website’s admin area where they can install malware, steal user information, and create havoc on your site.
Brute force attacks can be stymied by requiring multi-factor authentication and strong login credentials for every user.
The first step to protecting your WordPress website is to add two-factor authentication (2FA). This requires users to enter a login, password and a secondary code (from an app, email, or text message) to log in to the WordPress site.
There are multiple ways to set up 2-step login in WordPress. Best practice is using an authenticator app. An authenticator app is a smartphone app that generates a temporary one-time password for the accounts that you save in it. There are many apps available such as Google Authenticator or 1Password.
Learn how to set up 2F authentication in this article from our friends at Hubspot.

Login credentials consist of a username and password. Most of us are keenly aware, and constantly reminded of the importance of strong passwords. Usernames are an important but often overlooked security element.
Think of your password and username like your home keys: If your keys are ever lost or stolen, the finder would still need to know your address before they could use the key. Brute force attacks need to break both your username and password to be successful. Using your email address as your username is like writing your address on your key fob - it streamlines the process for hackers.

Safe usernames are unique, memorable (but not common), safely storable, not reused, do not include personal information and do not include your email address.
Avoid using these common usernames:

• Admin – This used to be the default username for WordPress and is, therefore, one that will definitely be tried in a brute force attack.
• Your real name or nickname – This is both public information and as easy to guess as “admin”. In addition, it can make sense to create a separate profile without administrator right to publish content. That way, the username of the main login does not appear on the website.
• Any personal information – Including birthday, etc. Only use a personal detail if it’s something no one could ever know.
• The title of your site, or something obviously related to it  – “Kittens” for a cat adoption agency, etc.
  

Just about everything about passwords is inconvenient. Strong passwords are challenging to create, remember, store and inconvenient to access.
Good password hygiene means that every user in your system creates and effectively manages every password they use. For most of us that is hundreds of passwords. And each must be long, unique and complex.
That’s a lot of passwords. Without the aid of eidetic memory, people are simply not capable effective complex password management.
Password managers are fantastic tool to help users and organizations successfully manage an imposing task. These secure applications create, store and generate new passwords as needed. Most password managers can sync across several devices, so users are never without an important password when they need it.
Organizations can utilize a password manager app to retain control over system access, ensure that every user follows best practices, and remotely turn access on or off.
There are a variety of password managers available. Currently, two of the most reputable are 1Password and Authy.

By default, anyone can log into your website by going to yoursite.com/wp-admin. You can stop them in their tracks by changing the URL entirely. WPS Hide Login allows you to switch it to whatever you want. Just install it and go to the plugin settings to change it.
Change your login path to something unique and difficult to decipher. For many of our clients, we utilize a combination of their client code and zip code of their HW. We use 4-letter client codes so an example would be /DCHC33109
Next, install a plugin to limit login attempts. Any person can spam your server with hundreds of requests until they guess it right. A plugin that limits login attempts will give them only a few chances before they’re locked out. It can also detect and redirect bots away from your login page.
Other lock-down tools you may consider deploying are:

• CAPTCHA tests. CAPTCHA is an acronym that stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart."
• Cloudflare Rate Limiting. This automatically detects brute force as well as DDoS attacks and blocks the offending IP address.
  

In summary: Pick a trustworthy host with secure servers, install an SSL certificate, keep your website backed up, update your plugins and themes, and make sure all logins follow secure access protocols. Do all this and hackers will never make it beyond the gate.

Has your WordPress site ever been hacked? How did you manage to reclaim your website and clean it up? We’d love to hear your story in the comments.

Digital marketing is crucial during an economic downturn because it allows you to more quickly assess what's working and what's not so that you can optimize effectiveness, minimize waste and maximize effectiveness. But what's involved, what are the best practices, and what results can a growing business expect?

First, understand that B2B buyers will complete 57% - 70% of their buying research before contacting sales. Nine out of ten B2B buyers say online content has a moderate to major effect on purchasing decisions.  One study found that 59% of B2B buyers would rather do research online instead of interacting with a sales rep because they think reps push their own agendas instead of actually trying to solve the customer's problem.

Digital marketing means using digital channels such as your website, search engine optimization, paid search marketing and programmatic marketing to market your products and services.  There are several types of digital marketing. Using them in combination is wise, but even adding one will increase your digital reach. Decide which ones make sense for your business and what you’ll be able to accomplish with your available resources.

Your Website
Your website is foundational. Research confirms that 99.8% of all first customer interactions begin on a businesses website. You must know your target audience. It's vital that your site can be found fast and impress visitors with fast load times, intuitive navigation, smooth functionality and by being instantly informative. People want what they want instantly - they don't want to have to figure out your website. Make sure it loads quickly and works on both desktop and mobile. Customers skip websites that look unprofessional or make it difficult to find what they want.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a crucial component of digital marketing. Good SEO focuses on improving a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Great SEO makes a website more appealing to search engines and users. The SEO process involves optimizing various aspects of a website, including its content, structure, and back-links. Job 1 is aligning your website structure and content with Google guidelines so that your site engages your best customers who want, need and buy from you." 

Chris Lowers, president of Grey Partners said it best, "SEO is pivotal for small businesses. Through well-maintained SEO small-to-medium businesses can compete and win, increasing their organic search visibility, attracting more targeted and highly qualified customers, and ultimately grow faster than their competition."

Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach people interested in your business. Give customers a simple way to sign up for emails, and you can use it as a funnel for future sales. It’s a great way to communicate relevant information to those who care. Like your website, your emails should be as clean and professional-looking as possible.

Email marketing is a more efficient replacement for traditional direct mail. Mailers cant be tracked and are mostly seen as spam now. Even consumers interested in your business would probably throw out your “junk” mail.

Paid Search Marketing
Paid advertisements are a popular way to reach customers. Typically, a company distributes your ads to the internet, and you pay them for each click they receive. This is known as pay-per-click advertising. It can quickly scale up or down for businesses of all sizes. Ad campaigns can target consumers based on demographics and interests, ensuring that the right audience sees your brand.

Content Marketing
Content marketing is a way to reach your audience with original media. Rather than being a direct advertisement, it focuses on related topics that draw users in. For example, it’s now commonplace for a business’s website to have a blog. Content marketing is a great way to maximize search engine optimization (SEO). Your content can be optimized to rank higher in search results, making it more likely to be clicked on.

Social Media Marketing
Social media has exploded over the last decade with billions of people worldwide addicted social media. It's easy for B2B advertisers to consider social media a viable marketing tool but, smart B2B marketers know that while they may receive a large volume of traffic, converting that traffic to paying customers is often challenging.

Yes, a business presence on these social platforms gives you access to billions of users but what percentage will actually buy your goods or services? Well-planned social media campaigns can expose your business to mass amounts of people and are often a wonderful marketing tool for retail goods, entertainment and services but often under perform for B2B marketers.

1. Reach a Broader Audience. Traditional marketing has limits. Digital marketing offers the opportunity to reach more of the right audience. You can serve your advertising to potential customers with the need and desire to purchase your goods or services at the exact moment they are searching for those products.

2. Reach a More Qualified Audience. Digital marketing lets you focus on the people most likely to buy when they are shopping or researching the goods or services you offer. It's a much more efficient and effective advertising because you know your budget is being spent marketing to those who need your goods or services. Those that are interested in your business, products, or services can choose to follow your content greatly improving your marketing ROI. People also share content with others with similar interests, giving you further reach without extra digital marketing effort.

3. Increase Brand Awareness. Digital marketing offers excellent opportunities for organic brand awareness. One of the best tools is your content. Blog posts, online courses, webinars, and podcasts are a few examples. Anyone searching for suitable topics or consuming related content could organically find yours. That will expose them to your brand and reach even more people if they share it.

4. Measure Results to Focus Your Efforts. Digital marketing channels give you access to important analytics. You can see the number of clicks on your ads, how long people watched your video, where your blog post ranks in search and more. Each piece of your marketing strategy can be analyzed in-depth. This will show you how effective your methods are and allow you to weigh their benefit and cost.

5. Compete with Competitors. Keeping up with your competitors has always been important, but digital media has ramped up the race. Businesses that don’t keep track of technology or follow their analytics will quickly be left behind. Technology can change in days, opening a new marketing path or even closing one you used.

7. Cost-effective & responsive. Digital marketing is has a much lower entry cost and you can instantly tune you campaign at eny time to optimize your response. That's a huge advantage over traditioanl advertising which requires a large up-front commitment without the opportunity to optimize - if you're not getting results that's wasted money with traditional advertising. One of the significant benefits of digital marketing is its flexibility. Changing some of your content or advertising only takes a few clicks and, you're in control of all the details.

8. Scalability. Businesses of all sizes can utilize digital marketing. Some aspects will grow organically through SEO, email subscriptions and social media. You can scale the rest yourself. Some small businesses start by doing all their marketing and then hiring it out once they’ve outgrown that.

9. Establishes a Roadmap for Your Business. Planning your digital marketing will also help you plan a roadmap for your business. You’ll be able to analyze where current customers come from and where you can find new ones. It also allows you to map out your growth and create marketing targets.

10. You Can Do It Yourself. Because the barriers to entry are low with digital marketing, small and medium businesses are able to market themselves without an ad agency or hiring a marketing team.

Digital marketing is more than beneficial — it’s a necessity. Customers research products online. Research indicates that website visitors determine the quality of service within 2-seconds of visiting your website. Without a engaging digital marketing presence, customers won’t find you and those that do will leave and go to your competitor.

Successful businesses know that investing in digital marketing is no longer an option, it's a necessity. If your business needs help taking your digital marketing to the next level, Grey Partners is here to help. Our team will accelerate your growth by helping you attract, engage and convert more of your best customers. We are your force multiplier delivering website design, search optimization and lead generation solutions for small to medium businesses.

The first step in choosing the right agency for you is identifying your specific marketing needs. It’s important to understand that different agencies may offer different services. Some focus on foundational tools such as websites, SEO and SEM, others may favor social media and content marketing while larger firms may offer full-stack services. Businesses should evaluate their marketing goals, review agencies that can deliver results in the areas that matter most and then choose a firm that will truly value your business rather than treat you like a number.

Dr. Michael Perusich, CEO of Kats Consultants remarked, “we often think about marketing as a mechanism to accomplish a task. But, just like the need to create great relationships with your customers, the same is true when choosing your digital marketing partner.  I advise my clients to avoid firms with ‘thousands of clients’. Yes, that can be reassuring to hear but, that also indicates a high-volume, cookie-cutter approach where you are just a number. Choosing a strategic partner that truly values your business will bear much more fruit for your business in the long run.”  

It’s difficult to be confident about what services are offered and needed, how pricing and terms are structured and most of all, what results should be expected. And with so many choices, how do you select the right professional marketing team?

In this blog post we will explore the critical questions you should ask and considerations you should evaluate before selecting a digital marketing agency for your small or medium-sized business, discuss what services marketing agencies do for you, review the elements that make up an effective digital marketing strategy and, reveal standard costs and compensation structures.
Understanding these points better ensures that you’re more likely to select the right partner and create a successful relationship that generates the consistent growth outcomes you’re looking for. Let's get started!

When looking to hire a digital marketing company there are several things to evaluate. Look for an agency with experience in your industry, ask for examples of past work, what tools they use to track success, how often they can meet with you, the size of the agency, how they are compensated, what specifically is included and what terms are required.  

1. What Services Do You Offer?  You want a company that provides comprehensive services. This is often referred to as ‘Full-Funnel’ services. That means they have a wide range of expertise and can handle various aspects of digital marketing, including SEO, social media, email marketing, content creation, and web design. If a digital marketing firm only specializes in one area, you may have to engage different firms to handle other aspects of your online marketing, which can be a hassle and time-consuming.
2. What Success Stories Can You Share?  Before deciding on a digital marketing firm, ask them to share some successful online marketing campaigns they have run for other clients. A credible and trustworthy firm will not hesitate to provide you with examples of their work. Case studies and testimonials from previous clients are a good gauge of what a digital marketing firm can deliver. If they can’t provide specific examples of what they have achieved for clients, you may want to keep looking.
3. What’s Your Industry Expertise?  Digital marketing practices vary by industry, so you want a firm that has experience in your business niche. This way, their team understands your target audience, industry trends, and engagement strategies. Ask for examples of past clients in your field and what specific marketing approaches they used to create consistent impact.
4. Who Will Be Managing My Account?  It’s essential to have a direct point of contact or account manager within the firm you hire. The account manager will ideally provide you with regular updates and reports on your campaigns' performance and help you strategize. Find out who this person is, and how open to communication they are, especially if you prefer to be hands-on with your campaigns.
5. What Are Your Compensation Structure and Terms?  It’s crucial to understand how the marketing agency will be compensated and what terms are required. Ask about their payment, terms and what’s included in their pricing. Be wary of firms that offer vague pricing terms or ask for large upfront payments and promise quick results.

Digital marketing agencies typically provide a variety of services such as website design, search optimization, search engine marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and SEO. Niche firms specialize in providing one or several services. Full-funnel digital marketing firms will typically offer all digital services plus graphic design, copywriting, video/audio production, branding, advertising, media planning/buying as well as public relations services.

1. Digital Marketing Agencies Conduct Market Research.  They’ll identify the target audience, understand the business's value proposition, and the competition's marketing activities. Through market research, digital marketing agencies can create strategies that resonate with the target audience's interests, generate leads, and convert them into paying customers.
2. Digital Marketing Agencies Create Strategies.  Look for them to develop an all-inclusive digital marketing strategy that includes various components such as search engine optimization, search marketing, social media marketing, email marketing and more. They also determine the budget required to implement each strategy and set specific goals in terms of leads generated, conversion rates, customer acquisition cost, and overall return on investment.
3. Digital Marketing Agencies Develop and Maintain Websites. Digital marketing agencies help businesses create and maintain websites that are fast, user-friendly, and optimized for search engines. The websites that digital marketing agencies create are easily navigable, mobile-friendly, and provide high-quality user experiences to the audience.
4. Digital Marketing Agencies Develop and Execute Paid Advertising Campaigns.  Search marketing targets specific audiences through various media platforms such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn Ads, etc. Programmatic ads serve paid advertising to users across any platform such as subscription video services referred to OTT (Over-The-Top) such as YouTube TV, Hulu, etc, or while people are shopping on Amazon or other ecommerce sites.
5. Digital Marketing Agencies Measure and Analyze Results.  Marketers use analytics tools to measure, analyze, and interpret the effectiveness of each digital marketing campaign. They generate data-driven reports to provide businesses with insights on their digital marketing campaigns, identifying areas of improvement, and generating recommendations.

An effective digital marketing strategy requires careful planning, research, monitoring and goal-based adjustment. You need to define your target audience, establish your goals, choose the right channels, plan and implement your strategy, monitor and measure your results then adjust for improvement.
Effective digital marketing strategies are comprised of foundational elements no matter a business’s size, target audience or industry segment. By following these steps, you will be able to create a successful digital marketing strategy that delivers results for your small or medium business.
Ask agency candidates for example digital marketing plans and look for these elements:

1. Defined Audience and SMART Goals. The target audience demographics and what they are looking for, should be clearly identified. Goals should be focused on increasing website traffic, generating leads, improving brand awareness, or increasing sales. No matter the goals, they need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
2. Channel Selection.  Selecting a mix of digital marketing channels that align with the audience and goals is key. Each channel (SEO, content marketing, PPC, social media marketing, email marketing, programmatic, etc) has its strengths and weaknesses, and you need to choose the ones that work best for your business. If you’re looking to boost your website traffic and generate leads, you may want to invest in SEO and content marketing. Whatever channel you choose, make sure it aligns with your audience and goals.
3. Planning and Implementation. This involves creating a content calendar, developing a messaging strategy, creating high-quality content, and testing and tweaking the messaging and delivery. The content calendar should outline the topics and themes you’re going to cover, the channels you’ll use, and the frequency of your posts. Your messaging strategy should be consistent across all channels and align with your brand’s tone and personality. Your content should be SEO optimized, engaging, and provide value to your audience.
4. Monitor and Measure Results. Track progress, identify what’s working and what’s not, and adjust accordingly. Use an iterative process based on analytical data to optimize strategy and to achieve dependable growth.

Digital marketing agencies typically offer two types of compensation structures: project-based & retainer-based. Project-based compensation is charged by the hour for one-time projects such as website design, branding, or social media setup. Retainer-based compensation is charged monthly for services such as content creation, social media management, and email marketing.
When asked about why they chose a retainer through a full-funnel firm, Eric Johnson of CJ Real Estate said, “We struggled to realize how our website, SEO, email, events and social media - all our marketing -  works together and needs to be managed as a whole. We wasted so much time and money with one-off projects and short-term focus. I’m so glad we listened to Chris Lowers and let his team get us marketing strategically. Grey Partners is a remarkable digital marketing agency – they have us off the sales roller-coaster and enjoying steady business growth. And, we’re spending about half of what we did on project work. Go figure!”
Service costs are often substantially reduced by entering into a monthly retainer agreement because it offers the same benefit for both the client and agency – consistent success. Agencies know that your success is their success. One-time projects typically won’t be good for them or their clients over the long term because websites and SEO must be continuously nurtured to be consistently successful.
Check out these FAQ’s to learn more about digital marketing agency pricing:

1. What is the average hourly cost for digital marketing agency services?   Usually, digital marketing agencies charge between $90 and $200per hour for their campaign or project-based services. Hourly fees will vary depending on the scope and complexity of the project.
2. What is the typical cost of digital marketing agency retainer services?  Retainer services vary based on the scope of services provided. Most small business spend approximately $1,200 - $3,000 per month while larger brands may allocate $10,000-$30,000 or more per month for digital marketing services.
3. Are paid advertising costs included in digital agency service compensation? No, unless specifically called out in the contract, hard costs are not included.  Paid advertising costs, stock images, royalties, hosting and other hard costs are charged separate from digital marketing services.
4. What to look for in a Digital Marketing Agency Contract? Before signing a contract with a digital marketing agency, ensure that you're clear on important details such as deliverables, timelines, and payment terms. Check for clauses such as a non-compete or early-termination fees. Always ask if there is a 30-day out or if longer notice is required to terminate services.
5. Are Digital Marketing Agency terms flexible and negotiable?  Yes, reputable marketing firms are always ready to offer flexible terms customized to your needs. While many digital marketing agencies offer standardized contracts, you may want to negotiate a lower retainer if you commit to a longer-term engagement or ask for a clause that allows you to increase or decrease your retainer based on business needs.

The takeaway
Before hiring a digital marketing firm, it’s crucial to do your research and ask critical questions to ensure that you end up with a firm that complements your business needs. Ask about the firm’s services, previous success stories, industry expertise, who will be managing your account, and their pricing structure. Ensure significant experience, an understanding of your goals and objectives, a commitment to be ahead of the latest trends and technology, transparency, and the ability and desire to measure success. With a clear understanding of the digital marketing firm, you’ll be more comfortable working together toward the common goal of building your brand and achieving consistent growth outcomes.

If your website is not SEO friendly, you are missing out on significant traffic, leads, and revenue for your business. Think about it, what good is a website that's essentially hidden from your customers?

In this article, we'll take a closer look at what it means to have an SEO-friendly website and provide you with tips on how to optimize your website for search engines.

First, understand that SEO is a process rather than a destination. It must be continually refined and updated.  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) refers to the process of optimizing your website's content, structure, and links to increase your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs). Essentially, the higher your website ranks, the more likely people are to see it when they search for relevant keywords in Google or other search engines. This can lead to more traffic, increased brand visibility, and ultimately, more conversions.

There are three core SEO elements: on-page, technical and off-page.

On-page refers to the content that makes up your website - both (1) what people see and read to learn about your business so they can take action and buy, and (2) what search engines read to learn about your business so that they can return relevant results to people searching. One of the main components of SEO is keyword research. This involves identifying the search terms that potential customers are using to find businesses like yours. There are various tools available for keyword research, including Google AdWords Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer, and SEMrush. Once you've identified your keywords, you'll want to incorporate them into your website's content, meta descriptions, and other on-page elements.

Technical SEO plays an important role in your website's rankings. This involves optimizing your website's structure and code to make it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content. Factors such as site speed, mobile friendliness, and structured data can all impact your rankings. Working with a professional web developer or SEO agency can help you ensure that your website is optimized from a technical standpoint.

Off-Page SEO refers to everything you do outside your website to improve your ranking on search engine results pages, such as link building, social media marketing, and guest blogging. Off-page SEO is an essential part of optimizing your website. Without a good off-page SEO strategy, your website may struggle to rank well on search engine results pages. Remember, Off-page SEO is not a one-time thing; it’s an ongoing process that requires continuous effort. If you want your website to rank well, you need to build quality links, engage with your audience on social media, guest post on other websites, submit your website to web directories, and save your website pages on social bookmarking websites.This involves posting content on third party sites and getting other websites to link back to your website, which signals to search engines that your content is valuable and authoritative. You can build links through guest posting, outreach campaigns, and other methods. It's important to note that not all links are created equal, and quality over quantity is key. Getting a few high-quality links from authoritative websites can be much more beneficial than getting numerous low-quality links.

When done well, these three components contribute to build search engines understanding of your EXPERTISE, AUTHORITY and TRUSTWORTHINESS. In search vernacular this is referred to as E-A-T which is the fuel that drives search engine effectiveness and your websites ability to generate high seach engine results page rankings.

But what exactly is E-A-T, and how does it impact your website's visibility?

E-A-T is a concept that emerged from Google's Quality Rater Guidelines, which are used to train human evaluators on how to assess the quality of search results. Expertise refers to the knowledge and skills of the content creator, authority relates to the creator's credibility, and trustworthiness is about the overall credibility of the website.

Why E-A-T is Important
When search engines crawl your website and finds high-quality pages with excellent E-A-T, it views your content as trustworthy and authoritative. As a result, your pages are more likely to rank higher in search results than pages with lower E-A-T. Poor E-A-T, on the other hand, can result in lower search engine rankings and less visibility for your brand.

E-A-T is tough to quantify. Search engines do not provide a guide to building E-A-T ranking factors but, we know that there are a few factors that drive E-A-T. Some of these factors include the quality of your content, the expertise and credibility of the author, the reputation of your website, and the quality of your website's user experience.

Effective SEO generates strong E-A-T by feeding search engines high-quality content that's informative and helpful to your target audience, ensuring that you're publishing content that's written by experts in your industry, establishing your brand as a credible authority in your niche delivering top-nothc user experiences with intuitive navigation, fast loading speeds, and a mobile-friendly design.

So how do business owners move forward?

1. The first step to improve your website's SEO is to evaluate its structure. An SEO-friendly website should have a clear and organized structure that makes it easy for search engines to crawl and index. This means having a logical hierarchy of pages, a clear navigation menu, and a URL structure that is easy to read and understand.
2. Once you have a clear and organized website structure, it's time to focus on your content. High-quality content is the backbone of SEO, providing value to both your readers and search engines. To optimize your content for search engines, you need to ensure that it includes relevant keywords and is structured using header tags. Additionally, strive to make your content engaging and informative, as this will encourage users to spend more time on your site.
3. Link building is one of the most effective ways to improve your website's SEO. High-quality backlinks from reputable sources can help establish your website's authority and credibility in your industry. This, in turn, can improve your website's ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs). To invest in link building, reach out to other websites and ask if they would be interested in linking to your content.
   
4. Mobile optimization has become increasingly important for SEO in recent years. With more people using mobile devices than ever before, Google has placed increased importance on responsive design. Ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices by using a responsive design and ensuring that your content is easily accessible on smaller screens.
5. Social media can be an effective tool for SEO, allowing you to connect with your audience and build backlinks to your site. Incorporate social sharing buttons on your website and encourage users to share your content. Additionally, use social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn to share your content with your audience.
   

Having an SEO-friendly website is essential if you want to establish your brand and grow your business online. By following the tips outlined in this article, you can optimize your website for search engines and improve your visibility on SERPs. Remember, SEO is a long-term process, and it requires consistent effort and attention. Stay dedicated to these efforts, and you'll see positive results over time.

The more you understand SEO the more likely it is that you'll seek professional SEO help. Here are 12 questions to ask before hiring an SEO provider.

Learn what you need to know to successfully manage key stakeholder expectations through Google Analytics 4. 7-minute read.

Managing stakeholder expectations is what sets people apart. Yes, the most important part is getting the work done, but the way you manage stakeholder expectations will directly impact your success, your reputation and your business relationships.

In this article, we'll examine 11 expectations you should consider setting as you take on the task of migrating from UA to GA4:

1. GA4 Is Not Plug & Play. It requires significant planning and testing to deliver exactly what you want.
2. New Terminology. Becuase GA4 focuses on user interactions, everything worth measuring is referred to as an event. Clicks, pageviews, downloads, session start, first visit - everything
3. Numbers Won't Match. GA4 is different. Both UA and GA4 are intended to measure trends rather that hard numbers but, the way that they do that is different. Not worse or better, simply different.
4. More With GA4. Google newest analytics tool is more flexible with far more customization however, it's much more complicated on every level. Small businesses in particular may struggle to adapt.
5. Short-term data. GA4 data will only be available for up to 14 months so, you may need a data warehouse to retain data resources longer. Also, the default is set to retain data for 2 months so be sure to adjust your setting to fit your needs.
6. Paid features that were free in UA. Get used to paying for the good stuff. Less data storage, even multiple filtered views will now require an upcharge.
7. Level up or outsource. The learning curve is real and, likely more that most small to mid-sized businesses will want to take on. GA4 managers should either take courses and/or retain outside migration, training and management help.
8. Help for those struggling with cookie opt-outs. Data Modeling in GA4 offers the potential to fill the data loss gaps of sites hit with cookie opt-outs. This is particularly valuable for sites following GDPR or similar other privacy regulations.
9. Metrics are changing and stakeholder expectations should too. While this impacts all stakeholders, managers should be strongly proactive in communicating what changed, why it changed, what the new metrics are and what the benefits of the change are. Simply put, give every stakeholder reasons to embrace GA4.

Hopefully this will help you and your business reduce your stress and successfully manage analytics migration for you and your stakeholders.

Switching to GA4 isn't a question of when but how, and quickly. Universal Analytics will stop processing data on July 1st, 2023 for all standard properties and on July 1st 2024 for 360 properties. How will you set key stakeholder expectations and what will it take to make the switch?

Switching to GA4 isn't a question of when but how, and quickly. Universal Analytics will stop processing data on July 1st, 2023 for all standard properties and on July 1st 2024 for 360 properties. How will you set key stakeholder expectations and what will it take to make the switch?
For those of you that are late to the GA4 migration game, setting key stakeholder expectations should be your prime directive. It's you opportunity to start fresh and deliver improved insights from a flexible resource that better understands, relates and reports user interactions.

First, know that GA4 is vastly different from UA. As the reporting standard for over a decade, it's widely accepted that UA over-reported activity. GA4 provides a more realistic reporting standard because tracking focuses on how users interact with pages on a deeper level. These deeper insights can benefit your business well past the cost of the GA4 migration.

To get to that point, we need to figure out how to plan your migration roadmap so that you can set expectations for internal and external stakeholders. Here's a good start:

1. Start the conversation internally and/or with your agency partner
2. Educate yourself on the migration process
3. Go through the process, create a GA4 property and get comfortable
4. Implement parallel tracking for UA & GA4
5. Flag UA reports and develop GA4 reports
6. Build a 'Migration S.W.O.T.' presentation refining it with internal stakeholder feedback
7. Present your 'Migration S.W.O.T.' presentation to external stakeholders for feedback and set the expectation of a forthcoming Migration Action Plan
8. Develop your Migration Action Plan and put it into motion as soon as possible.

When you're ready to get started, Google makes it easy with a host of step-by-step workflows and informative videos dedicated to help anyone and everyone take advantage of GA4. Learn more here.

Is direct mail an old-school relic, or a powerful tool that helps you bypass digital clutter? It pays to look at the whole package.  There's more to direct mail than you might think.

Integrating your inbound and outbound funnels with sequenced direct mail can help you reach the right person at the right time through cohesive campaigns can fuel impressive gains.

Learn more in this article from our friends at Adweek.

SEO is the primary driver of brands, businesses and organizations of all types and sizes. Customer journeys beging with search. And, organic search delivers 53% of all website traffic.

Think about it, whenever you want to go somewhere, do something, find information, research or buy goods/services – what's the first thing that you do? It's probably involves a click.

How people search is fragmented and businesses are struggling to keep up with the pace of change. While Google may represent over 84% of all searches most business leaders aren't aware that 61% of Americans start their product search on Amazon verses the 39% who begin on a search engine like Google.

Unlike other marketing channels, SEO work is sustainable. Think of SEO like an ecosystem. As long as you care for the individual parts the system sustains itself with minor maintenance requiired from you. However, when a paid marketing campaign ends, so does the traffic. f

The bottom line is that SEO is foundational to your business. Yes, it's a marketing channel but the most successful businesses budget SEO as a capital expense because they understand that SEO is elemental to consistent market share. Without a strong SEO plan your business simple can't compete.