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Think Cre8tive Receives 2017 Best of Keller Award

Keller Award Program Honors the Achievement

KELLER March 2, 2017 — Think Cre8tive has been selected for the 2017 Best of Keller Award in the Advertising Agency category by the Keller Award Program.

Each year, the Keller Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Keller area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2017 Keller Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Keller Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Keller Award Program

The Keller Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Keller area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Keller Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Keller Award Program

CONTACT:
Keller Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@onlineawarded.org
URL: http://www.onlineawarded.org

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The post Think Cre8tive Receives 2017 Best of Keller Award & Enters Hall of Fame appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

This week we launched the new Keep It In Keller website for the City of Keller’s Economic Development Department. You can now visit the new website at www.keepitinkeller.com.

Keep It In Keller houses listings for all of the city’s restaurants, retailers, businesses, and service providers.  You can also learn more about the city’s Economic Development initiatives as well as the Keller community.

The city first approached us in early 2016 in preparation for their new fiscal year budget.  Part of that budget was earmarked for the new website.  We were so excited to submit a proposal and be able to showcase our work to the city we call home. Our proposal was selected and we got started on the project. After months of hard work, we have finally launched the website and everyone loves it!

Visit their website to see our most recent launch.

The post Client Site Launch: Keep It In Keller appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

Running a business can be extremely difficult if you don’t have access to all the various resources that your competitors have. If you’re one of the only people in a position of authority at your company, you’re likely in charge of day-to-day operations, big picture stuff, financials and logistics, keeping your employees happy, and, somehow, everything else.

Clearly, this job is designed for five to 10 people, but it all falls onto your shoulders.

Rather than letting the stress pile up, however, you need to find the resources you need to succeed. And because most small business owners don’t have the time to personally manage a digital marketing strategy, you need to find someone else to take on this important task.

Fortunately, there’s one simple way to help your small business thrive online:

Seek assistance from a professional digital marketing company

Yes, it’s really that simple.

It’s nearly impossible to succeed as a business in 2017 without a high quality website and digital marketing strategy. If you’re trying to run your own business and handle all the aspects of digital advertising yourself, you’re going to undoubtedly burn yourself out. Rather than causing potentially brand-altering issues online, consult with a team of online marketing professionals.

These companies can help you with your overall marketing campaign as well as your social media engagement and search engine optimization (SEO). According to SalesForce Marketing Cloud, 83% of customers “like” or “love” when a company responds to them via social media, and that’s just one way digital marketing can improve your brand.

Here are just some of the services a digital marketing company can offer:

• Local Search Engine Optimization: If your website just isn’t getting traffic and leads, then you need a new SEO strategy. SEO experts can help get your website the crucial rankings needed to bring in customers online.
• Social Media Marketing: Social media isn’t just a marketing tool, it’s also becoming a powerful new form of customer service. Enhance your brand and connect with customers in entirely new ways using social media platforms.
• Branding: Unfortunately, some companies struggle online because they don’t really know what their brand is. Branding isn’t just about sleek design and fancy logos, it’s about forging an identity that defines your company’s mission and values.
• Web Design and Development: A great website is the foundation that any digital marketing campaign is built upon. Create a powerful first impression and transform it into new business with a bold new web design.

 
Your small business may not require all of these marketing services, but ignoring digital marketing in 2017 is like leaving money on the table. By working with a digital ad agency, you’ll enjoy much greater success in the online realm, which will subsequently transfer into real life revenue.

If you’re ready to take your company to the next level in the digital domain, contact Think Cre8tive today.

The post The Fastest and Easiest Way To Help Your Small Business Succeed Online appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

When it comes to marketing your small business, search engine optimization should be at the center of your digital strategy. Google receives up to 100 billion searches each month, but an SEO strategy allows you to hone in on the searchers looking for businesses like yours.

So how do you reach them?

With the right SEO services and techniques, the right searchers will come to you, hopefully becoming customers in the process. Of course, SEO techniques and trends change all the time. To stay up to date, the following are just some of this year’s top SEO trends that favor small business marketing.

1. Mobile First
   Marketing is all about meeting potential customers where they already are. And today, they are on their smartphones. Google now crawls your site to make sure it’s accessible on both desktop PCs and phones. This means that your website design must be optimized for a mobile audience.
2. Quality Content
   Users are no longer satisfied with clickbait blog posts with clear promotional motives, and neither is Google. Visitors to your site want high quality content with useful information. This goes for your social media posts as well. Keep everything relevant and on brand while giving your audience a reason to read.
3. Localized Keywords
   This may be good news for lower budget startups. Less-competitive, localized keywords are often more effective for small businesses. So, if you have been targeting broader, more competitive search terms, try to think more narrow. Perhaps that will give you the traffic boost you need without stretching your digital marketing budget too far.
4. User Experience Optimization
   Meet UEO, SEO’s cool new cousin. User experience optimization is all about making your website as user-friendly and enjoyable as possible. This includes faster load times and simple, interactive, and visual content that breathes life into your site. The perfect UEO formula will take some trial and error to pin down, so keep a close eye on analytics metrics like the average time spent on page and bounce rate.
5. Social Sharing
   Remember that SEO does not stop on your website. By sharing posts from your website’s blog on social media, you increase your chances of receiving more backlinks from around the web. Guest posting and blogging are also great ways to up your social media engagement.

 
Remember: Crafting your best online marketing strategy all starts with finding the right SEO services. Once you select an SEO company to work with, collaborate with them closely and listen to their advice. Together you can create a strategy that is perfectly tailored to your small business. And if all goes as planned, this will boost your lead generation and revenue.

The post 5 SEO Trends Every Small Business Owner Should Know in 2017 appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are some of the most important tools a company can utilize today. Search engine optimization leads can have a 14.6% close rate, while things like direct mail or print ads only have a 1.7% close rate. They have a lot of marketing power.

However, for those that aren’t familiar with them, they can also be incredibly confusing and difficult to master. That’s why you need to hire an SEO expert. An SEO company will review your business and your website and figure out exactly what you need to improve your internet marketing strategy. But finding one can be difficult.

And that’s why we’ve compiled this list of tips. Here are three things you should look for in order to get the best SEO services for your business:

Years Of Experience
How many years have the companies you’re looking at been working in the industry? The best experts will know what has changed over the years and be able to adapt to changes that are coming because they’ve had so much experience with this particular business. They’ll also be able to see what techniques or digital marketing strategies will work for your website, and what won’t.

A Deep Understanding of SEO
There are multiple factors that go into search engine optimization. Some of these include:

1. Technical Aspects – This includes things like the website’s structure, or how easy it is for a search engine to index your content.
2. Page Optimization – Using the correct keywords, HTML tags that aid the traffic to the site, etc.
3. Off-page Optimization – This includes things like link building and similar SEO strategies.

A successful online marketing campaign understands and utilizes all three of these elements. you may not know which strategy to begin with, but an SEO expert will.

Past Success
The company that you hire should have the ability to show you their past successes and demonstrate that they know what they’re talking about. References should be available to you upon request, and that should allow you to get a feel if their past clients were happy with their services.

You need to make sure that you get the best option for your company when you hire an SEO expert. Keep these things in mind going forward, and don’t hire just anyone who offers their services. If you have questions, our team at Think Cre8tive has your back.

The post 3 Tips to Find an SEO Expert For Your Business appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

With so many simple tools on the web, it can be relatively easy to do your own digital marketing. But that does not mean that you’re doing it well. This is especially true when it comes to search engine optimization. To execute professional SEO, you need a vast knowledge of link building, keyword selection, and other intricacies. This is why it quite literally pays to have the right SEO company on your side.

A digital marketing company provides updated industry expertise… At least the best ones do. By finding a quality agency to work with, you are signing on a team of experts to help you troubleshoot your SEO issues and keep track of your site analytics. Industry data shows that 75% of SEO happens off-site and 25% happens on-site. They will be able to find the best off-site pages to work with. Remember that they have already invested in the best talent, so you can rely on this knowledge.

By signing on an SEO company you can focus on the rest of your business. You can focus on your actual product or service while your team of experts works on the back end of your site rankings. If your revenue starts to dip, you can put in more work on your end while your SEO company also investigates your digital marketing. This is a cost-effective way to have all hands on deck.

This team can also keep track on your target market. Your customers’ behavior is rarely constant, and a qualified SEO company knows how to keep up with this. Whether it means changing up your PPC campaign or redoing your link building strategy all together, a team of SEO experts will know how to do this. While you likely know about the latest digital marketing trends, it can be difficult to stay on top of all of them. This is why trusting a digital marketing company is worth it.

When it comes to your SEO, there is little room to experiment. Starting an SEO campaign should happen quickly and with force, and digital marketing professionals have the tools to do this. Just be sure to choose a company that offers a wide range of services to fit your needs. This way, you can partner with them for the long term.

The post Forget Digital DIY: Why You Should Hire An SEO Agency appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

Promoting your business in today’s online marketplace takes strong SEO. Since about 70% of the links web users click are organic, you likely do everything you can to boost your site’s SEO. But do you pay attention to the small factors that could be hurting your ranks? Often, web design is to blame for holding a website back from full optimization. While the website might have a strong aesthetic design, there might be small mistakes quietly harming your site’s SEO and digital marketing as a whole. The following are some of these common errors.

1. New Windows
   Clicking on a link and opening a new window used to be the norm. In fact, it may have even been a trend. Now any quality web design company knows that this feature uses up site data and decreases site usability. A streamlined approach is best.
2. Hidden Contact Info
   Web design best practices tell you to place your contact info in several visible places. However, many firms skip this step. When a user can’t find your contact information to call for more information, they are more likely to click away. And that means fewer views on your other pages.
3. Large Media Files
   High quality images are key to digital marketing, but it’s possible to take this too far. If your photos, videos, and graphics are bigger than they need to be, you might be unnecessarily slowing down your page load times. This mistake will also cause users to click away and decrease your page views.
4. Infinite Scroll
   While infinite scroll is a trend, particularly in blogging, it can be confusing for Google’s crawlers. This is especially true if the page is indexed incorrectly. While a human user will know to load more posts once they get to the bottom, the crawler’s won’t. Then they will only index a fraction of the links you actually have on your site.
5. Text In Images
   It’s a common web design and digital marketing trend to place text over images, but this is only effective if you do it correctly. If a website designer places a keyword on a graphic in a design program and then uploads this image, Google will see it as an image exclusively. To get SEO value out of this text, place the text over the image on your website.
6. Little Social Linking
   By not integrating your social pages and your website, you might be missing out on an SEO boost. You site’s social buttons should be placed on several pages on your website (the footer is a common place). Similarly, your website should be linked in all of your social profiles.

 
Remember: The best way to catch these web design mistakes is to work with a professional search engine marketing firm. This way, you can get expert advice on your design and other SEO strategies. And if done well, this should bump your site in the rankings and increase traffic.

The post Small Web Design Mistakes With A Big SEO Impact appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

It’s no secret that digital marketing is an increasingly effective investment for businesses of all kinds. According to the 2017/2018 Global Digital Outlook Study, 43% of marketers worldwide are increasing their investment in digital marketing. Nearly 50% are currently spending half or more of their entire marketing budget on digital. However, before you choose just any digital marketing company to represent your brand and image, it’s important to do some research and steer clear of some common mistakes. Here are just a few mistakes to avoid when working with a digital marketing company.

Not Prioritizing ROI
In the midst of all the different types of metrics used to measure the success of any particular digital marketing campaign, it can be easy to forget the entire point of your digital marketing investment: to gain an ROI. So instead of focusing solely on increasing metrics such as click through rates, organic visitors, and conversion rates, make sure to remember the big picture and not to get caught up in the numbers. The bottom line is that if you aren’t getting an ROI, your digital marketing campaign simply isn’t working.

Hiring Based On Who You Know
Many business owners who make this mistake do have good intentions. The fact is, just because you know someone personally doesn’t necessarily make them a suitable candidate to digitally market your business. When it comes to making the tough decisions for your business, you have to go with your mind, not your heart. Sure, your nephew or family friend may be passionate about what they do and want to help your business to succeed, but if they don’t have the experience and credentials to back it up, you’re taking a huge risk and are likely to be disappointed with the results.

Being Stingy
Finally, having a budget is one thing, but if you aren’t willing to make at least a small investment into a digital marketing plan, you won’t see any significant results. Any digital marketing company that advertises work for suspiciously low prices is almost guaranteed to be a scam.

Ultimately, being aware of these common mistakes can help you make the right decisions regarding your digital marketing needs. For more information about social media marketing or web design services, contact Think Cre8tive

The post 3 Disastrous Mistakes To Avoid When Working With A Digital Marketing Company appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

Securing your spot in the ever-changing digital universe that is the internet can be frustrating. This is especially the case if you aren’t sure what goes on behind the red curtain of Google’s search results. Today, in a society where everything and more is accessible from the tip of our fingers, people increasingly rely on search engines. Everything from products to research projects, sports news to USB cord reviews, free-to-watch media to remedial arithmetic. Anything and everything — the internet in a nutshell. But how does Google determine which results to show you? And how are companies using this knowledge to their advantage?

Search Engine Optimization
This is big in today’s digital marketing world. SEO is a way to generate inbound leads for websites like yours, driving both traffic and customers your way. In fact, SEO leads have a 13.6% close rate compared to outbound leads that only close 1.7% of the time. These numbers might surprise you, but when you think about the way people find products today, it begins to fall into place. People want to find what they want. They don’t want to be told what they want.

With hundreds of informational articles on any given topic, it’s pretty important for any company that wants to be discovered to have content that directs people to their product. This is where SEO comes in.

First, you will need to identify the market you are after. This is true of any company’s marketing strategy. Next, you will want to hire an SEO company. Trying to quickly learn all of the intricate SEO services that these companies provide is a fool’s errand. Learn over time how to integrate optimization practices. But what does an SEO company do?

There are too many SEO services to explore them all in this article, but the goal of search engine optimization is to convince Google that your website should show up on the first page of search results. This is a monumental task and it involves many steps. One major part of any successful SEO campaign is the preliminary keyword research. Which words do you want Google to associate with your company?

Now, it’s far from this simple, but say you’re a car dealership that wants to sell cars in Fort Worth. Some of your keywords should include ‘Fort Worth’. You certainly don’t want such a simplistic keyword like ‘car’ because far too many people already want to hold the top spot on Google for highly competitive keywords.

This is step zero of a successful SEO campaign. If you would like to learn more about SEO services and how it can grow your company, consult with an SEO firm today.

The post Step Zero Of Your SEO Campaign: What Is SEO? What Are Keywords? appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

The search engine optimization world changes rapidly, but one strategy is emerging as a constant. In July 2015, a study by Moz and Buzzsumo found that long-form content, defined as articles with more than 1,000 words, consistently received more links and social shares than shorter content. And as of 2017, Google has confirmed that longer content often ranks better than thinner content on the same topic. The longer a post is, the more useful information it can provide. Of course, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of other factors, but for now let’s look at the true value of long-form SEO content.

What Is Search Engine Marketing?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to know what an SEO company wishes to accomplish. The basic goal is to get client websites to the first page of Google searches. The old saying, ‘if you’re not first, you’re last,’ is sort of how it works in this wild digital marketing world. Think about the last time you were desperate enough to resort to the second page of Google. Though page two is better than page three, as any SEO company will tell you, companies compete viciously for page one rankings.

Why?
Think of the number of companies that sell ribbon and yarn. If a potential customer goes online and searches ‘ribbon and yarn’, they’ll be spoiled for page one choices. This is where search engine marketing (SEM) comes into the fray. SEM is essentially an umbrella term for all marketing done on a search engine. This can include Pay Per Click Advertising, SEO, and many other marketing techniques that happen on a search engine. The goal with these strategies is to get as many consumers to see a website as possible.

Why Does Long Form SEO Content Matter?
Google consistently ranks long-form content higher. This is evident in Hubspot’s 2017 analysis of word counts for their posts. They found the word count that consistently generated the highest average organic traffic was around 2,500 words. The data peaks here and falls with either lower or higher word counts. In general, though, significantly more traffic was generated by long-form, SEO optimized articles and blogs.

Now, this doesn’t give you the green light to type out a trillion words that will read like a lumpy jumbled mess, or that it’s a good idea to write a long-form piece about something very simple. The key to these pieces is that they provide value to the reader, something they can learn.

For an SEO company, long-form content can be a marker of their talent. For a digital marketing company offering long-form content, it can be an asset. For your website, it could mean a ticket to page one.

The post A Short-Form Article on Why You Should Write Long-Form Content appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

Online marketing Pro Tip: Companies that post 16 pieces of blogging content or more per month seealmost 3.5 times the volume of traffic than those who publish between zero and four monthly blog posts. Content drives clicks. This fact is inescapable and one of the main tenants of search engine marketing. If you want Google to notice your company, then visitors need a reason to spend time on your site. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play. If you want to compete in the wild and intimidating world of online marketing, you need to enlist SEO services.

Out of all the digital marketing strategies available to you — pay-per-click, social media marketing, email marketing, and more — here’s why search engine optimization should be at the top of the list:

1. Informing The Customer
   We are living in an age where prospective customers are better informed than ever before. But where are they getting all their information? If it isn’t you, they are getting it from another company using similar online marketing methods. This is one of the biggest realizations many small businesses have while adapting to the Information Age. The digital marketing world isn’t about making the hard sell; it is about convincing customers that you are the authority on their subject of interest and you have the solution to their unique problem. If your company doesn’t engage in content production, how are you supposed to inform the customer?
2. Generating Leads
   The way digital marketing companies go about getting leads is not too different from offline marketing companies. It’s all about finding qualified leads and converting them into customers. That said, SEO is one of the most effective methods of generating inbound leads. Through keyword integration and having a high ranking on Google for a specific topic of interest, customers will start coming to you. The closer to the top of the search results you appear, the more likely consumers are to trust your site enough to buy something. Customers are less likely to trust information they find in an advertisement, which is why inbound marketing is so effective. This leads to more leads and more sales.
3. Cost Effective Visibility
   Inbound leads, even offline, are some of the most cost-effective. That is, you have to put in less money per SEO lead than you would with an outbound ‘sales pitch’ type of lead. This frees up resources to execute your services more effectively and expand your marketing reach to other areas.

 
Search engine optimization is becoming ever more important in an online world dominated by a single search engine. Professionals who know how that search engine comes up with its results are able to push a website as high as possible. Having a site that ranks on regularly searched for keywords is an invaluable marketing tool that could bring your company to the next level.

The post 3 Reasons SEO Is Essential To Modern Online Marketing appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

The importance of familiarizing yourself with digital marketing has never been more significant than it is today. In fact, the Global Digital Outlook Study for 2017/2018 found that 43% of worldwide marketers are increasing their investment in online marketing. Almost half of these marketers are already spending 50% or more of their marketing budget on the digital frontier. Since much of this brave new marketing world is uncertain, many people will need a simple way to explain it. One way to take some of the mystery out of online marketing is by comparing it to traditional marketing concepts. This can be very helpful when choosing a digital marketing firm. These are those concepts and how they apply today.

1. BillboardsMuch has changed in marketing, but perhaps the easiest way to recognize some similarities is by looking at a billboard, then looking at banner ads. They are exactly the same, save for one being written in pixels and the other in ink. Online banner ads, like billboards, also cost more in certain locations. If you want to place a big billboard with your brand in Times Square it will cost your company an arm and a leg. Just the same for landing an ad on the New York Times website. If you want a billboard in a town outside of a small suburb in southern Alabama, you will pay proportionally less, like you would when placing a banner ad in a much lesser known online publication.
2. Mail BrochuresMany people still get pamphlets in the mail for local restaurants, department stores, and holiday deals. The same exact thing happens online, but using email instead of physical mail. Websites ask potential customers to sign up for their mailing list, which they then use to send offers and discounts. This is to help cultivate a following and brand loyalty.
3. Critical ReviewsWhile the internet has certainly decentralized the product and media reviewing process, marketers still use it to their advantage. Reviews used to be done by paid food, music, movie, or product reviewers. They controlled who believed what about a product being sold. Now, the power is back in the hands of the masses. While once the critics controlled the review industry in a transparent way, their dominion has now been relegated to the dark corners of the internet. That said, online reviews and the critics of old share much in common.

If you are in the process of choosing a digital marketing firm and feel a bit overwhelmed by all the new terminology and concepts, don’t worry, it is mostly the same concepts as before, but they’ve been adapted to fit a new platform. Use similar criteria as you have in the past when choosing a digital marketing firm today. Trust, versatility, professionalism, and knowledge are all important to help your marketing campaign succeed. Whether you need web design services, social media marketing, or anything in between, call today and get your name out there.

The post The 3 Similarities Between Digital And Traditional Marketing appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

Social media marketing is becoming bigger by the second. In fact, Animoto’s State of Social Video report in 2017 revealed that 64% of consumers stated they made a purchase as a result of watching a marketing video on Facebook within the last month. This just goes to show that social media networks like Facebook are becoming ever more relevant to the modern marketer. Here are some strategies that a great digital marketing company should use.

1. Consistency
   One of the key precepts of social media marketing is having a consistent posting routine. People following your company on social media will come to expect a regular posting pattern. To keep their attention and to bring in other individuals who will follow in their footsteps, make sure to maintain consistent posting times.
2. Diversity
   Having all of your eggs in the Twitter basket isn’t the best way to go about growing your social media presence. Make an account with a number of major social media platforms and spread your efforts out across each, to begin with.
3. Optimization
   Making content for LinkedIn will be quite different than making content for Facebook. Tailor your ideas to the platform you’re using. Twitter will obviously include more short-form content with pictures. Facebook might be better served with videos. LinkedIn would consume more long-form articles.

   Part of optimizing your content is finding which platform is gaining traction. The more one social media platform gains, the more it should become your focus. This way you’ll be able to spend more time on the people who are responding most positively.

4. Social Pay Per Click
   Unlike search engine marketing pay per click (PPC) advertising where a consumer entering a keyword triggers an ad showing up at the top of the results, social PPC advertisements are shown to consumers of a predetermined demographic. Social media companies gather data about their users, and this information is then used by advertisers to create targeted ads based on the demographics certain individuals fit into. This is how Facebook ads originate and how they tend to be so successful.

 
There are many social media marketing strategies. Some of the most important of which simply involve consistency and persistence. An online marketing strategy should be approached on all fronts. If you would like to kick-start your social media presence, give us a call.

The post 4 Pillars of Social Media Marketing appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

The world of digital marketing is wild, new and has fantastic potential to transform the way people market both their companies and themselves. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is on the front lines of this new marketing landscape, but to stay there, it has to be agile. Google, the search engine overlord, knows all about SEO strategies. All they had to do was google it. Due to SEO, there are many updates to Google’s search algorithms every year. So, SEO experts need to change tactics all of the time. Here are some trends you should expect to see early on in 2018.

1. RankBrain
   This is Google’s most advanced deep learning algorithm to date, and it has become the third most important ranking factor in the interconnected web of wonder that is the Google ranking algorithm. Among other data, the primary focus of this almost-AI is on measuring the duration a person spends on a website (Dwell Time), and the percent of people clicking on your page(Click Through Rate).
2. The Knowledge Graph
   This can make or break your page’s CTR. The knowledge graph, or answer box, or featured snippet, or any of Google’s clean-cut boxes of information that come up with generic or broad searches could preclude people from clicking your link. Either you make a website so attractive that you can overcome the knowledge graph, or you become the knowledge graph.
3. Content
   The more you factor in Dwell Time to the decision-making process that Google’s algorithms must undertake, the more you will see why long-form content reigns supreme. Most top-ranked links on any Search Engine Results Page (SERP) will be in the thousands for their word count. Not only that, but they will be good.
4. Image Search
   Google image searches are an ever-improving enterprise. Using picture keywords in content might become an emerging strategy in the upcoming months. Images will be especially useful in social media marketing campaigns.
5. Alternative Search Markets
   For a long time now, Google has been the only relevant platform to do SEO, and in the broad sense it still is. Specific search engine optimization can be done on the engines used on Amazon’s internal search engine by writing reviews in much the same way articles are written for Google. Likewise, Yelp, Siri, and other widely used platforms with internal search functions could be optimized.

Google gets more than 100 billion searches every month. They have some of the most brilliant minds and complicated algorithms in the world working to provide a platform for people to find knowledge. SEO experts are the silent infantry of online marketing. They work tirelessly behind the scenes to make your business visible to consumers worldwide. On the bleeding edge of digital marketing stands search engine optimization, ready for whatever algorithm Google decides to make next.

The post 5 SEO Trends To Watch In 2018 appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

The 2017/18 Global Digital Outlook Study found that 43% of marketers across the world are upping their investment in digital marketing. Almost half are spending 50% or more of their marketing budget on digital marketing alone. The importance companies place on having a solid online marketing game is huge. Everything from search engine optimization to pay per click advertising plays a pivotal role in a successful marketing campaign, but one thing needs to happen first.

Website design can be likened to how a physical store looks. Is it clean? Are things where you’d expect them to be? Do people like being there? These are all important questions for store owners, and now website owners must ask them as wel. Sometimes, however, a website is a total mess. In fact, this is fairly common. So, here are some common web design mistakes to avoid at all costs.

1. Unresponsive Design
   A responsive web design is a site designed so that its presentation adapts to the size of screen that it is being accessed from. If, say, a visitor is using a phone to access your site, but when it loads they are only able to see the top left corner of your site, they will likely find another website to browse.
2. Under or Over Designing
   Too little design being put into a page is one way to make your website look like everyone else’s’. Too much design and your website could end up looking cluttered, distracted, and all over the place.
3. Missing Leads
   If you employ Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, and other lead generation techniques, but fail to capture user emails and contact information when they are directed to your site, you will lose those people as leads. Not every visitor will convert on their first visit, which is why remarketing campaigns, contact forms, and email lists are such valuable lead capture tools.
4. Buried Essential Information
   If potential customers have to click through 17 different pages of nonsense to find the product information they’re after… Well, they won’t click through that many pages, will they? Make any important information relating to purchases readily available and easy to locate, or risk losing lots of leads.
5. 404s
   Error: List item not found.

 
If you wish to avoid these issues and make a masterful website, contact a professional website design company that offers a wide array of web design services. Building a beautiful and high functioning website is no small chore. If you need a hand, contact us today.

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As always, there are a number of different online marketing strategies that can help generate leads. One of the most important of all, however, is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Over half (53%) of marketers say content creation for blogs is the most important inbound marketing priority. When choosing an SEO firm for your business’s blog, you should make sure they can do the following.

1. Keyword Research
   A good SEO company will do thorough research to identify the most effective keywords for their client’s product. While ‘fast cars’ might be what your company sells, that keyword is highly competitive. Keyword research will reveal the intersection of what your company sells and what keywords are more accessible to rank on. This could include local SEO terminology like ‘fast cars near me’ or particular brands or specification.
2. Backlinks
   One of the biggest ranking factors for a website on Google is the number of other websites that link back to it. When choosing an SEO firm, you must make sure they have a strategy to generate these links. A while back this was fairly easy to accomplish by building a bunch of dummy websites and spam linking to clients. Today, Google’s algorithm is much more sophisticated, making this technique obsolete. Backlinks need to come from trusted, well-ranked websites to be helpful.
3. Data Tracking
   In order to know if the content marketing is effective, the SEO firm you choose must provide data tracking tools. This can include organic clicks per week, backlinks generated, conversion metrics, and specific keyword efficacy.
4. Frequency
   Any good SEO firm knows that you must consistently and frequently update a blog for these strategies to be effective. Make sure to choose one that is capable of regular posting at a volume commensurate with your SEO goals.
5. Content Length
   Studies have shown that long-form content consistently ranks higher than short form content. You can test this by simply Googling anything at all. Open the first three links on the results page, and do a visual assessment of their length. Then go to page two and do the same thing. You will more than likely find that top page rankings are much longer than those on page two.

 
These are not the only things to look for when choosing an SEO firm, but they certainly make up a huge chunk of the important ranking factors. Search Engine Optimization is far from an exact science since it is an ever-changing landscape. Perhaps after you know that an SEO firm is capable of the above practices, the next most important quality is adaptability. Google changes its algorithm so frequently that the ability to adapt in the SEO space is the x-factor that can give one digital marketing company the edge.

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A while back Search Engine Marketing (SEM) was used as an all-encompassing term that included both paid search marketing and Search Engine Optimization. Today, more and more search marketing experts are referring to the two terms with an increasing degree of separation. So, what does SEM mean now?

Search Engine Marketing

Today, experts in the field have adopted SEM as shorthand for ‘paid search’. This encompasses the following advertising terminology:

Pay Per Click (PPC): This is a type of advertisement that charges the company placing the ad based on the total number of clicks on that ad. Each click costs a pre-ordained amount of money.

CPM: Also known as cost per thousand impressions, relies on a slightly different strategy. Instead of paying per click, companies pay the search engine a set rate based on how many people (measured in thousands) have seen the ad.

Google AdWords: This is a platform that allows advertisers to access Google real estate with their ads. Marketers decide which keywords to target their ads for, then Google places them in the appropriate results pages.

How does this differ from SEO?

Search Engine Optimization

This category involves an organic marketing approach. When people think of SEO, they tend to gravitate toward the following ideas:

Content: Companies publishing 16 or more articles to their blog each month receive 3.5 the amount of traffic as companies that post zero to four blogs each month. Content marketing is a staple of SEO.

Keywords: The content also needs to indicate what the website is about. There’s a lot more than meets the eye involved with choosing keywords for an online business, but suffice it to say that keywords are integrated into content to point Google toward a website.

Links: Links also point to web pages, indicating how relevant they are. A link to your site from another reputable site will tell Google that your site is probably important.

The difference between SEO and SEM is different than what it was in the past, yet they share a close relationship. Both tactics, paid and organic, are executed on the same platform. The goal for a digital marketing company is to capitalize on the vast amount of search engine traffic that occurs every day.

The post What’s the Difference Between SEO and SEM? appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Think Cre8tive Receives 2018 Best of Keller Award

Keller Award Program Honors the Achievement

KELLER March 30, 2018 — Think Cre8tive has been selected for the 2018 Best of Keller Award in the Advertising Agency category by the Keller Award Program.

Each year, the Keller Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Keller area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2018 Keller Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Keller Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Keller Award Program

The Keller Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Keller area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Keller Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Keller Award Program

CONTACT:
Keller Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@awards-online.org
URL: http://www.awards-online.org

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Copied from original release: http://keller.keller.awards-online.org/PressReleaseub.aspx?cc=DKL3-UBF7-S755

The post Think Cre8tive Receives Best Advertising Agency 3 Consecutive Years appeared first on Think Cre8tive.

When choosing a digital marketing firm, there are a number of services you need to consider. Not only do you want to spread the word about your company, but you want to do so in an impactful and positive way. That’s why, when looking for ‘marketing firms near me‘, you must find an agency that has capacities not just geared toward generating leads, but towards creating a desirable identity for your business.

Criteria for Choosing Marketing Firms Near Me

When picking the right digital marketing agency, there are four key service areas you should look for:

1. Branding
   It all starts here. Branding is identity. It is your public appearance. Your image. And when it comes to branding, graphic design is key. Think of any brand in the world. The first thing that pops into your head will likely not be the exact product they sell, but the design of their logo and what the company stands for. Any major player in a market will have a huge branding presence that helps them achieve further visibility and greater customer interaction.
2. Web Design, Web App Design, and Web Development
   You need an online presence even if your business is not based on the internet, but for e-commerce companies, custom web development is essential. Having a nicely designed, mobile-friendly website can also make a massive difference in earning the trust of potential customers. Like with branding, before you start marketing your products, you want to make sure people will like what they see.
3. Social Media
   Now that you’ve built your brand, it is time to go for leads that will convert. Social media marketing is a great source of both lead generation and community cultivation. Get people invested in the outcome of your business by socializing your brand and you will find communities that are supportive and helpful.
4. Search Engine Optimization
   Search Engine Optimization (SEO) leads are a type of inbound lead. This type of lead has an average 14.6% close rate, whereas outbound leads like print advertising only have a 1.7% close rate. SEO also tends to be less expensive and can continue building your brand’s reputation through rigorously written content.

Digital marketing, and indeed marketing as a whole, is all about creating an image for your business, then delivering upon that image within a certain market. Once you can do that, there’s no telling how far your business may go.

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In digital marketing circles, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a pretty big deal. It even gets some press outside of the marketing world, and it’s been piquing the interest of budding businesses everywhere. The questions on everyone’s mind are: what is SEO and how can I use it to help my small business grow?

What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is the process of utilizing knowledge about search engine ranking algorithms to place content as close to the top of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) as possible. Before any optimization or content creation takes place, your business needs to know which keywords to try and rank on. Find specific phrases that potential customers of your business would search on Google. When they search those words, the goal is to have the first result they see be a link to your website.

Of course, it is much more complicated than this, but keyword selection and research is the ultimate starting point.

How Can I Use It?
Practically everyone uses Google for research and making purchase decisions. If you want people to visit your website, you need to somehow make it visible. There are other strategies to accomplish this goal, but SEO is among the most cost-effective.

There’s a reason roughly 53% of marketers cite creating blog content as their top inbound marketing priority. Posting blogs regularly is a great way to integrate your chosen keywords and create linkable content. This strategy is a staple for ranking improvement, traffic generation, and becoming a more visible website. These blogs will also play another important role.

Which SEO Companies Near Me Should I Use?
You might be wondering do I even need to look for SEO companies near me? If you are, the answer is both yes and no. You can certainly create and post basic blog posts on your own, but getting links from other websites is another story entirely.

Great SEO companies are able to use your linkable content as the source for other factual articles written on sites that rank better than yours. Links from high-quality sites give your site more credibility. Backlinks and offsite SEO are important ranking factors that cannot be easily done by individuals without a large network.

All in all, SEO is much more layered and complicated than simply writing a huge volume of articles. That is, however, the best place to start for any SEO beginners.

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