Why You Shouldn’t Chase Google Algorithm Updates

In the world of SEO, we all pay extremely close attention to our clients’ search rankings, especially for Google. We also know that things change all the time, so we must constantly make adjustments to our strategies. However, it’s unwise to make major changes to your...

Instagram Adds the Ability to Follow Hashtags

In December, Instagram introduced the ability for users to follow hashtags. Posts will be featured based on recency and relevance. As with any social media feature, there is fear that users will misuse and abuse the ability to follow hashtags. Currently, Instagram...

YouTube Plans to Monitor Videos Better

YouTube has had an issue with ads appearing on violent or extreme content for a few years at this point. Understandably, companies do not want their products associated with YouTube content they find distasteful and/or inappropriate. After significant backlash, the...

Don’t Bribe Journalists For Links

At times, the internet feels like the Wild West of journalism, so it’s not a surprise that unscrupulous “journalists” will accept bribes in exchange for a links. While most people would agree that offering a reporter at the New York Times and CNN is morally and...

Twitter Officially Introduces Threads

Twitter continues its quest to allow its users to express themselves in more than 140 characters. Approximately a month after Twitter increase character count to 280 characters, the social media platform announced that it will officially support what it is calling...

Instagram Introduces Stories Archives and Stories Highlights

Last year, Snapchat introduced an archive feature called Memories. It was only a matter of time before Instagram took the concept and made it its own. That time has come. Earlier this month, Instagram announced that it will also create Stories Archive, a private...

Snapchat Makes Major Changes

Snapchat has unveiled some major changes. Users of the social network will no longer see their friends and the brands they follow in the same feed. Snapchat now organizes Chats and Stories from a user’s friends on the left side of the app, which used to be home to the...

Things To Consider When Starting A Company Blog

While it is practically mandatory for a business to have a website these days, many businesses don’t think to start a blog. You may initially feel that a blog is unnecessary. However, that’s far from the case. A blog provides a company with a way to increase the...

Fraudulent Google Reviews Won’t Help Your Business

Every local business wants to show up at the top of the search results for their town. That’s a given. However, some businesses break Google My Business guidelines to get that prized top spot. While those businesses may seem some short-term success, eventually Google...

Instagram Stories vs Snapchat Stories

Ever since Facebook was unable to purchase Snapchat, the company has become desperate and started copying Snapchat. Even going so far as to create a Stories feature for Instagram, which was launched in August 2016. Both Stories features are 10-second videos that...

Facebook Events Becomes Facebook Local

Facebook has reinvented its Events app as Facebook Local. While the former Events app was designed specifically to target Google Calendar’s consumer base, Facebook Local wants to be a one stop shop for your local search needs. Facebook Local, which is available on...

The Difference Between SEO and SEM

Many people ask us about the difference between SEM and SEO. Both are initialisms used to describe parts of digital marketing. Before you can understand how they relate to each other, you should know that SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing, whereas SEO stands for...

Google Returns As Firefox’s Default Search Provider

Three years ago, Mozilla offered up the prized spot of default Firefox search provider to the highest bidder. The winner was Yahoo, which paid more than $300 million a year for the privilege, and replaced Google as the default. Times have changed. Google and Mozilla...

Twitter Expands $99 Subscription Ad Program

Twitter has expanded its $99 a month ad subscription program, called Twitter Promote Mode, to more accounts. Right now, the ad subscription program is targeted toward small businesses. While $99 sounds like a bargain for ads on a social media platform, there are a...

Understanding the Difference Between Broad and Long Tail Keywords

When you’re first getting into the world of SEO, it can be overwhelming. Making matters worse is that you may not understand all the forces at work. We’re here to make things easier for you. In the SEO industry, there are two types of keywords: broad and long tail....

Facebook Introduces Messenger For Business Websites

Facebook is expanding its support of Facebook Messenger. Currently, the company is doing closed beta testing for businesses that would like to integrate Facebook Messenger into their website. While this may sound like a strange and unnecessary idea, there are reasons...

The Difference Between SEO and PPC

If you own a business, you should be doing Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-Click advertising (PPC), or both to reach as many people as possible with your products and/or services. When deciding which way to go, you should consider the pros and cons of each...

Google Adds Restaurant Wait Times To Search Results

Google has expanded on its Popular Times and Visit Duration feature with the addition of restaurant wait times to its search results and maps. Now, Google users who look for your restaurant are not only able to find out how long the average person spends at your...

Yelp Doesn’t Want You Asking For Reviews

As a business owner, you probably see nothing wrong with politely asking customers to leave reviews if they liked the service they received. However, Yelp is cracking down on this practice, which it calls “review solicitation.” Most online review sites, including...

Did You Know You Can Change Your Facebook Template?

Facebook unrolled templates a while ago, but you may not have realized it because most of us kept our pages on the standard template. While all templates are fully customizable, Facebook’s templates give new pages a place to start from that doesn’t involve picking and...

Black Hat vs White Hat SEO Tactics

In the SEO world, there are two types of link building strategies: white hat and black hat. At the risk of oversimplifying, white hat tactics are good and black hat tactics are bad. Both may give your content a boost, but only white hat tactics will help you in the...

How To Avoid Google Penalties

Google updates may cause your websites ranking to drop dramatically, but strictly speaking those aren’t penalties. When we talk about penalties, we’re talking a Google employee manually applying a change to your site because a Google reviewer has found your site to be...

Twitter Rolls Out 280 Characters For Everyone

Twitter has officially rolled out its new 280-character limit to all accounts. While this is a change no one asked for, especially since we’re still waiting on an edit button, Twitter feels that the change will revitalize its growth. Twitter Project Manager Aliza...

What Does Google’s Mobile-First Philosophy Mean For Your Site?

We live in a mobile world now, which is why Google is currently in the process of transitioning its search results to mobile first. This means that priority will be given to a company’s mobile site, even if it has less information than the desktop site. Previously,...

One-Step vs Two-Step Verification

On October 31st, MailChimp made major changes to its email verification process. Before the change, MailChimp required every mailing list to have two-step verification, which means customers would put their email into a form and then receive an email asking them to...

Why You Need A Responsive Design

In the early days of mobile devices, it was industry standard to have two difference websites: one for desktop and one for mobile. While some companies have stuck with maintaining two different sites, it’s unwise to do so because the majority of websites are moving to...

Facebook Debuts Explore Feed. Is it Relevant?

Facebook has officially debuted its Explore Feed, an alternative to its regular newsfeed. The company says the goal of the Explore feed is to enable users to find pages that may interest them. One look at the Explore Feed and a user quickly realizes that this isn’t a...

Facebook Stories: There’s Nothing to See Here

Recently, Facebook added stories for pages. It’s obvious this is Facebook’s blatant attempt to copy a Snapchat feature, which the company had already successfully stolen with Instagram’s stories. Facebook has had much less success with the feature on its own site....

It’s Time To Seriously Consider HTTPS

It’s time to seriously start considering changing your site from HTTP to HTTPS. In the past, HTTPS web pages mostly belonged to e-commerce sites because it served as a way for them to provide their customer’s financial information some security. Now, Google wants...