Writing can be a difficult thing to do. I personally went to school and chose a major that helped me become a better writer. But not all marketers, business owners, or other professionals are as lucky as I am. When you look at great websites of companies, they all have something in common. Content. Having access to content to give to your leads, customers, and other businesses is the key to a successful internet marketing strategy. A great way to quickly build your content is blogging. But why blog?

People are what make a good website. Without people the Internet would be a dark and somber place. Facebook would be nothing without the millions of people who add pictures of their children, family videos, and share what they do day to day. Those people light up the technical side of the Internet, and give life to website code and CSS style sheets. This is also true for your own website. If no one is visiting and using your website then it isn’t living, and it isn’t working for your business.

Marketing online is where the future is for small businesses. Don’t be left behind by sticking to old methods and outdated advertising platforms.

Curate a blog about curating? Challenge accepted! A lot of people are still unaware or skeptical about curating other related industries’ blog posts into their own to help support information or to share content as a part of their internet marketing strategy. Here at Half a Bubble Out we curate other industry professionals’ blogs weekly because we think that sharing other people’s knowledge and ideas other than our own helps to offer a good balance, and when we find awesome blogs we like to give them a shout out!

You can write a blog in one hour, but here’s the disclaimer: you have to be writing what you know or at least something you have learned. For example, I couldn’t write a blog about global warming in one hour because I know next to nothing about it, but I could easily write a blog giving you internet marketing tips because it’s what I do day in and day out.

Do you want to connect with your customers on a more personal level? Do you want to show them that you genuinely care about what they think and feel? Well, this is why social media is an important part of your internet marketing strategy! Social media is your stepping stone to becoming more connected with your customers and potential customers. If this is what you want as a business (I don’t know who wouldn’t) keep reading!

Let’s face it, your marketing stinks. You know it, and so do your customers. This is partly because you are trying to do all of your marketing on the cheap and in house. Sure that might work for awhile, but if you're really serious about generating more business then it’s time to change.

Have you seen the new “ask" button that is now on Facebook? Facebook recently rolled out a new feature where you can ask someone what their relationship status is if they don’t have it listed. Did social media stalking just jump to new extremes? I think so!

Keeping the doors of your business open and continuing to grow your business takes customers. Nowadays, using internet marketing to continue to get more customers is a great strategy, but what happens when just having a website isn’t working?

If you're in the process of going through a checklist of things needed to make a wonderful company website, here are a few more that are needed, specifically addressing how to keyword a website correctly.

Some people ask, "Why do I need to keyword my website?" The reason is so that it is optimized for search engines, and just as important, for the people who you are trying to reach!

That’s right keywording isn’t just for search engines. This is why Google is cracking down on websites and content that have an excess amount of keywords just to be ranked higher in the search engines. Websites that "stuff keywords" aren't helpful at all to the people who are trying to find answers to their questions.

Okay, so the title of this blog post might be a tad misleading, I mean George Orwell has been gone for quite some time now and would have known nothing about the future of marketing, let alone internet marketing. However, a good writer leaves his stamp on history somehow whether it be through their books, essays, speeches, or blogs. The fact that the following essay excerpt from George Orwell can be applied to internet marketing to help grow your business is indeed admirable and evidence of a timeless writer.

There are some lead generation techniques out there that are used by companies and we wish they would just plain disappear. We are talking about techniques that are outdated, annoying and downright wrong.

Hashtags are common day knowledge in our world anymore. We see them on social media networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And lately they are even making it into conversations, most of the time as a joke or making fun of something; regardless, they are becoming more and more common in our language, virtual world or not.

If you’re a small business, and the majority, if not all your customers are from the city your business is located in, then you can reap the benefits of local SEO. Local SEO will help grow your business by bringing you more customers from your targeted area, making the leads you attract much more likely to purchase from you.

Tired of long detailed marketing plans that include too many steps? Ready for the one step that can make your business soar? 

Should I be using Instagram for my business?

Have you seen a stage production of Chicago? Or even the movie? If so, then if I say the lyrics of a song – like – “razzle dazzle them” – you immediately get it stuck in your head. It’s memorable. That’s what you want inbound marketing to do for your business – get it stuck in people’s head.

If you haven’t seen the Chicago performance, check it out below: 

Wouldn’t you love to see your business website show up at the top of Google’s search results? Well, duh! Almost every business person will answer the same to that question. However, if you are using your SEO services for small business in the entirely wrong way say goodbye to that wish! Keep reading to learn the top 3 things to never, ever do when it comes to your SEO.

When it come to social media, there seems to be two sides of the discussion. Those who use it as part of their daily lives and those who have no idea how social media is as powerful as it really is. This is true of the general population, but it also seems to hold true to the business population as well. If you are questioning whether or not social media is worth the investment for your business, for your career, or even for your personal life, this video by Erik Qualman is a must watch!

Are you tired of constantly wishing for more customers? If you’re a small business struggling to stay afloat then you probably don’t even have time or resources to hire a sales team, or search for customers. Don’t worry, we have a secret from the pros: inbound marketing. Inbound marketing activities attract visitors to your business like bees on honey! Rather than your marketing team go looking for them, inbound makes your business easily found and draws customers to your website by producing interesting and engaging content. Not to mention it costs a fraction of traditional marketing like print ads, billboards, and radio.

Many business owners or managers, much like yourself, acknowledge the fact that social media is present and frequently used in businesses. However, only a majority of those people actually realize the extent of how much social media can help your business when it is used as social media marketing in your internet marketing strategy.

Sure, your website may look good and a lot of people visit it, enjoy it and praise your design but is it actually helping your business or is it just sitting there looking “pretty?” Want to know the answer to “What makes a good website completely useless?” Keep reading!

Today I made a new friend on my flight from Frankfurt to Rome but when I climbed into my seat next to the window I had no idea that a treat was waiting for me as I sat next to this elderly couple, who were also on Holiday. I thought I would disappear into my computer and headphones but instead I was reminded how important it is to be able to contribute in this world through your work and how important it is to share those stories; even when you’ve been retired for 17 years.

In the fast-paced world of social media, businesses can have a difficult time keeping up with what’s hot and what’s not. There are many different platforms for businesses to use as lead generation techniques that are also a great way to connect with your current customers. But which social media platforms should your business choose?

So, are you trying to figure out how to add keywords to a website so it can rank in the SERPs (search engine results pages)?