How to Improve Google My Business Local SEO with GMB

Map pointer displayed on mobile phone for GMB

How to Improve Google My Business Local SEO with GMB

Local Search Engine Optimization is essential to any smaller businesses that service on a local level instead of working at the national level. While nationwide Search Engine Optimization focuses more on ranking in searches across the entire country, local SEO is focused more on ranking in searches within a specific geographic location.

While national SEO services focus heavily on ranking you for keywords that people are searching across the entire country, local SEO services focus on ranking your business for keywords that people are searching within a small geographic radius of your business.

So how can local SEO services help you improve Google My Business Local SEO?

This is where using GMB, or Google My Business comes in. As one of the top three location-based search engines out there, Google My Business allows you to create a business profile, including your business name, address, phone number, and even include photos.

You can use this simple article to help make it easier for people to find your business via Google’s local search results.

Create a Google My Business Account

When starting, you want first to create your Google my business account.

This is a relatively simple process, but be sure that the account information you provide is accurate. You’ll need to confirm your address and phone number with Google for them to verify it is correct.

Once this verification has occurred, things will move forward quickly.

Get a Google My Business Listing

To get your local listing set up with Google, you’ll need to have a GMB account. You could do this by creating your account on google.com/business. When you are finished, the next step is to verify your business with Google.

You’ll have to verify your business information by telephone, and you’ll also need to provide the address of your local brick and mortar store.

This is an essential step! Make sure that all of the information you give about your business is accurate. There are several considerations for how to do this.

NAP Consistency

You’ll want to make sure that your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number) is consistent across all of the directories that you’re listed on. If it isn’t, then Google may see you as a spammer and could blacklist you. You’ll also want to verify that it matches your website information if you have one.

Be Socially Active

For your local business to succeed in local Google searches, you’ll need to be active on social media. If you’re not already established on LinkedIn and Google+ (and in some cases, Facebook Business Page if you’re a local business), you’ll want to create accounts for your business. Once you have an account, build up your followers and connections. You’ll want to do this before doing any marketing or promotion on social media sites.

Anchor Text

Be sure that you’re using keywords and phrases in your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number), and also try to add the exact keywords into your social media profiles. Your keyword usage in these will help determine which search results are displayed first for your local search.

Address

Be sure that the address you use for your google my business listing is the same as what is on your website or matches up with the address on your local store’s sign. If you’re using a PO Box, then be sure that it isn’t shown in the address for your Google My Business listing.

Miles away from you

If you’re a local business, then be sure that you’re not showing up in search results that are too far away for people to drive there. Use the “distance” feature to limit your business location only to places within a certain distance.

Actions with the result

Having more than one location, be sure to list all of your locations and the address for each. You’ll want to do this so that it can show up on local maps. It will also help people find your business if they are searching for a local search.

Create a Google Maps Listing

Google Maps is another essential service to use when you’re trying to improve your local SEO efforts. Local maps will help people find local businesses and store locations, which can significantly impact local SEO.

When you’re trying to use local search results, it will help users find a local business more quickly if they see where the local store is located on a map. Google Maps has an increasingly significant role in local SEO efforts, so make sure that your local business can be found there quickly and accurately by your local customers.

Yelp, Super Pages, and More

While Google is the primary source of local search results, you’ll want to improve local SEO, don’t forget about other local directories. Google My Business will link up with Yelp and Superpages automatically if you have a GMB account. Still, you may also want to check into local directories for other local search results.

Hone in on Local Keywords

Honing in on your local keywords is imperative to outrank your competition. Try to incorporate local keywords into your GMB profile, website, and local listings. The more local you get with your SEO, the better chance for local searchers to find you.

Additionally, local keywords are local phrases that include a general term or specific local information. For example: “San Diego acupuncturist” is a local keyword because it consists of the city name and profession. On the other hand, “acupuncture” is not a local keyword since it references any location.

Although local keywords are local phrases, there is a long list of local keywords (over 60) that you can use in your local listings. You don’t have to include them all in your GMB profile or other local listings, but it’s helpful to know which ones can be used. The local listing guidelines recommend including 10-15 local keywords and locations.

Add local reviews

You’ll want to start collecting local reviews from local customers. Having local thoughts can help improve your local search results, as well as regional rankings. Even if you don’t have any local reviews yet, it’s a good idea to ask for them so that they can be included later if needed.

This is a powerful local SEO tactic because local reviews significantly impact local search results, but they can also affect local rankings in the organic search results.

Tying in your local listing with location-specific about us pages

Build out a set of location pages or a location-specific “About Us” Page

Location-specific pages are local websites that can include specific local information about a local business. This local website will have more authority and local search rankings than the GMB listing.

If you want to rank well for local search results within your local area, this is one of the best local SEO tactics because it significantly impacts local rankings.

Before you make your local website, it’s essential to know which local directories Google accepts. You can find out if one of your local websites will be taken by checking the local directory guidelines for both GMB and Google Maps.

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Local Search/SEO is one of the most effective strategies that local businesses can use to boost local sales and exposure to local customers, but this will only be successful if the local company pays attention to the information they provide in local searches. Ensure that your GMB listing is accurate and consistent, that you are active in local social media, and that local maps can find your store easily. Once local SEO is done correctly, local customers should quickly find the local business online.

What is Local SEO, and How Does it Work?

by GEE PRO

Empty heading

Jump Start Your Local SEO Presence

Local SEO is a type of Local Search Engine Optimization that focuses on optimizing a website for local search. Local SEO can be defined as increasing online visibility to rank higher in regional search engine results pages, such as Google Maps and Yelp. Local SEO services help businesses get found by customers looking for them within their geographical area. Local companies that are not employing Local Search Engine Optimizations techniques may eventually be pushed out of business by competition from those who use these techniques.

How Does Local SEO Differ From SEO?

The first and one of the most significant differences in how Local SEO focuses on geographical areas. There is a need for special attention to local SEO san Diego because US search engine traffic has shifted towards local results. Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and AOL are all moving their sites towards a more specialized approach wherein they give higher priority to local listings. This means that people who don’t live in San Diego may not find it on the first page of Google’s search results. How to Get Started with Local SEO If you have a website, the chances are that it is already optimized for search engines.

While many web designers will automatically install meta tags and follow other optimization principles, customers undoubtedly would rather not trouble themselves with the process. That is where GMB comes into play. How Can Local SEO Services Help Small Companies with Online Marketing? How can GMB help small businesses succeed online?

The answer is simple – by offering SEO services. We know that it is not easy to market your business on the internet because of all the competitors out there, but we are here to help you weed them out and get your business to the top of the search engine results. How Our SEO Services Work To rank high on Google and other search engines, we need you to complete a profile for your businesses online.

These profiles give search engine crawlers data that they can use to rank your website correctly in their search results. The only way people will find your business online is if the search engines know where you are located. How The Profiles Work Google, Yahoo!, and Bing understand that a website’s physical location is important and will use it for local ranking data.

By filling out our Google My Business forms, we can provide search engine crawlers with information about your address and phone number so they can connect your website to a local area.

How Does Link-Building For Local SEO Work in San Diego?

There are many ways to go about getting links, but one of the most effective is Through content marketing, the idea is to produce valuable, interesting, and engaging content that will appeal to your target audience and attract links. But it doesn’t stop there: you need to distribute your content on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook.

You can also submit articles for publication on third-party websites or blogs to gain backlinks from those sites. This tactic often involves a two-step process with guest blogging as the first step, followed by submitting an article written for another location or blog which incorporates a link back to your original post/page on your site. It’s essential not only that you have valuable information – but that you share it engagingly.

Once you have the right content, it’s time to distribute it. Let’s say your target audience is local businesses and consumers in a specific area – let’s call it “Midtown.” If you create a blog post that serves this community by answering questions or providing tips, for example, make sure those people can find it.

This means submitting the content on Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and other social media sites. Post articles on niche forums or through advertising with YPN (Yellow Pages Network). Put your content in local directories like Google Places and Yelp.

If you can get people talking about your content, often referred to as “content amplification,” search engines will be more likely to notice you (because people use search engines when they search for information, right?). This is where social media like Facebook and Twitter comes in: it’s a great way to tell your story.

All of this work might sound difficult, but it can be pretty straightforward if you have a good content marketing strategy.

One way to get started is by downloading a free SEO eBook or search engine optimization guide that can put you on the right path.

One last thing: don’t forget local search, which brings people looking for services and products in your area. You want to make sure people who search locally know about you – because if you don’t, your competitors will.

What Does a Content Strategy Look Like For Local SEO?

Google search engine is the most popular search engine on Earth. It’s not surprising that search engines are paying more attention to local search results. With Google My Business, professions in San Diego, CA, can now manage their online presence across various platforms and channels, including Google Search, Maps, YouTube, and Gmail!

Research your competitors

It would help if you always researched what other companies in your area are doing well. If you know what they’re doing wrong or right, it will be easier for you to create a strategy that best fits your goals and objectives. For example, if one of your competitors is using video marketing, you should think about implementing video into your content strategy.- Create an editorial calendar – When creating an editorial calendar, you want to ensure that it’s easy for search engines to crawl and find your website. You can do this by using the search engine’s preferred file types, such as HTML or XML, instead of MP3 files. Make sure you use descriptive headings and keywords so search engines can quickly identify which content goes with which keyword.

Get found on search engines

There are search engine optimization (SEO) firms that specialize in local search engine optimization. If you choose to work with one, make sure they have a good understanding of how search engines rank your website.- Use images and video on your site – Images can be one of the essential factors in your search rankings because search engines are now analyzing search queries and searches with images.

Optimize search engine listings

Claim your listing on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines. Ensure all the information is accurate for search engines to be able to rank your business. If you don’t claim your search listing, a search engine won’t know that you are a local business.

Make search engines aware of your changes.

Search engines will not know about your site once you update your location unless you submit a change report. Google requires you to submit a search engine update request after a certain number of days with an updated sitemap on Google’s Search Console(webmaster tools) page.

Update content regularly

Updating your website’s content regularly is one of the essential search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. It can be very time-consuming and tedious, but it pays off in spades if you do it right.

A good content marketing strategy starts with a well-planned editorial calendar that includes keywords, images, and video to satisfy search engines. You want search engines to know about any changes you make to your site so they can rank you higher for related searches. And finally, continually update your web pages as much as possible because search engines like fresh content.

Landing Pages

Landing pages are a crucial part of search engine optimization.

A landing page is any web page that has been optimized for conversion. The term originated in direct response marketing, where the goal was to get people to “land” on your website and buy something – usually by filling out a form or purchasing an offer.

Most websites have at least one landing page that they use as their homepage. However, search engines don’t rank these types of pages very highly because there’s no way to know what content will be seen first when someone clicks it (or if they click it). That means search engines can’t assign trustworthiness or reliability to those pages – which is why search engines like fresh content instead! The best choice is to build out a specific landing pages for search engines to rank.

A common type of landing page is designed with search engine optimization in mind. That usually means it includes a headline, description meta tag, and search terms that you want search engines to find your website for. You can also create content around specific keywords to help search engines index your site more easily. One hugely important factor is a straightforward call to action and a simple NAP form in the header.

So What is NAP?

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. This information is searchable on search engine websites. The NAP should be included in your website’s navigation and are usually a search engine optimization technique that you can have on your search engine listings page.

OUR LOCAL San Diego SEO MARKETING PROCESS

Successful GMB campaigns must be maintained and updated by editing details whenever necessary. It is vital to have this information on a website so customers can see who the business is, what they do, and how they perform. Local SEO marketing involves specific steps that help a company gain visibility online.

First steps

Know your customer
Create a Google My Business listing
Submit accurate company information to local directories
Build high-quality links from relevant sites and social media networks
Conduct keyword research for conversion optimization
Publish content on a blog
Get reviews from customers and influencers
Monitor your progress with analytics tools
Create backlinks to improve trustworthiness and increase visibility.

Working with our agency for optimizing your GMB listing

There are always new opportunities to reach your customers. We want to help you take advantage of them all!

We can help you optimize your GMB listing in San Diego, CA, so that it reaches the right people in your target audience with the right message at the right time. Whether through our social media optimization services or other digital marketing strategies, we will work with you to drive targeted traffic and leads for your business.

You don’t have to do this alone! Contact us today for more information on providing a customized solution for growing your business online.

UserWay Review: The Easiest Way to Ensure Compliance

by GEE PRO

Women in wheelchair on phone with laptop

Here at Gee Productions, we’re always looking for ways to ensure our websites live up to expectations. Our latest venture is into improving website accessibility, and for this we chose UserWay.

We’re now affiliates with UserWay, and as such get a small commission if you sign up to their service using our link.

To help you decide whether UserWay is the right choice for your business, here is a review based on our experience and a brief comparison with other accessibility widgets.

What is UserWay?

UserWay is a website plug-in that provides on-page accessibility options that are compliant with ADA and WCAG regulations. The website widget provides options for:

Screen reading
Keyboard navigation
Contrast adjustment
Text adjustments (size, font, spacing)
Larger cursor
And more

Perhaps the easiest way for you to see what the widget offers is to have a browse. You’ll find it in the bottom left corner of this webpage.

It’s easy for website owners to set up because it only requires one line of code, and you can install it as a plug-in on your site.

How Much Does UserWay Cost?

UserWay offers a free WordPress plug-in that provides basic functionality. It includes voiceover options and keyboard functions, but not much else. However, it’s enough to get started.

Alternatively, there are monthly and annual subscription plans starting from $49 a month or $490 a year. This is the price scale for small businesses with fewer than 100,000 monthly page views.

There are also options for medium and large businesses, which are understandably more expensive. Each comes with the option for a free trial so you can test out the widget’s features.

How Does UserWay Work?

UserWay provides a widget that makes no changes to your website’s existing code. As a result, it’s very easy to integrate and won’t have any major impact on your website’s current functionality.

It uses AI to scan your website’s pages and check them against ADA and WCAG regulations (we’ll explain these later). Once this is complete, it provides voice and text functions to ensure immediate compliance and will run regular checks on new content to maintain this.

The higher levels assign you an account manager who monitors everything for you, but it’s designed to be easy enough for business owners (or their website managers) to digest and use the information it provides.

What are ADA and WCAG?

ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990. It prevents discrimination against anyone with disabilities and is most commonly seen in building management (accessible toilets, ramps, automatic doors, etc.).

Online, however, it refers to features such as screen reading, resizable text, stopping animations, and more. In short, it helps make your website accessible for all.

The WCAG is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a resource that defines the basics of website accessibility. Currently, we’re on version 2.1, although 2.2 is due in late 2021.

It offers much the same information as ADA regulations but with specific figures. For example, the zoom function must reach 200%, video content should feature captions, and websites should feature consistent navigation.

The WCAG rates accessibility features into a checklist of three levels. These are:

A: Some users can access the site.
AA: Almost all users can access the site.
AAA: All users can access the site.

The benefit of using a widget is that you don’t need to read and memorize all levels of WCAG and ADA compliance. Apps like UserWay get updated every time there are changes to the rules, meaning you simply install the plug-in and let it do its thing.

Why is Compliance Important?

As a small business, you want as many people as possible to visit your website. Greater accessibility means more potential visitors, which means more potential customers.

There’s no reason why those with accessibility concerns should miss out on the internet, which has been proven to be one of the most vital resources in our lives.

But, not being compliant with ADA regulations leaves you open to lawsuits. It happened to Domino’s Pizza back in 2019 when a blind man sued the company (and won) because their website didn’t provide text reading functionality.

So, while we all want more web traffic, it’s important to note that current regulations require your website to be accessible to as many people as possible. If it’s not, you leave yourself open to lawsuits.

Unfortunately, online accessibility isn’t something many people think about when creating their websites. That’s why a plug-in like UserWay is a good idea. It does the work for you and fixes errors you might not have even considered.

What Compliance Features Does UserWay Offer?

Compliance is the big issue here, so any widget that claims to provide ADA compliance must offer at least the minimum functionality. Luckily, UserWay has this, and more.

Here’s a brief roundup of some of the features UserWay offers. You can find a more detailed list on their site, where you can also request a demo.

Visual Access

The widget provides a zoom function (up to 200%) along with other UX fixes. You can adjust the contrast and color of the webpage, including putting it into grayscale.

There are also options to highlight links on the page, use a dyslexic-accessible font, and enlarge the cursor.

Visual accessibility options are arguably considered the bare minimum, but luckily UserWay does them well.

Screen Reading

UserWay includes a screen reading function that is incompatible with third-party readers, such as Jaws or NVDA. Unlike these programs, it doesn’t require images to have alt text or the site to include other code elements.

Instead, it simply reads the page from top to bottom. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help all that much because it doesn’t make it obvious what’s being read.

Even so, it’s a helpful alternative to specific programs because it doesn’t require extra code (although you should have this on your website anyway).

Pause Animations

Animations are a minimum expectation in modern website design. However, they’re difficult territory for those with photosensitivity conditions, such as epilepsy.

UserWay’s pause animations function does exactly what it needs to. It’s a simple thing but it doesn’t need to do any more.

Page Adjustments

UserWay provides a host of other page adjustments, such as line height and text alignment. There’s also a dictionary search function, which makes up for the text adjustment features you might find in other accessibility plug-ins.

The paid versions of UserWay include language functionality too, such as unusual words and abbreviations. These features help people with cognitive impairments to understand the copy on your webpage.

Of course, it’s vital to ensure any content on your site is clear and easy to understand anyway. You might have seen the difficulty AI translation software has with ambiguous words, and this is no different.

Comparison with Other Services

As you can imagine, UserWay isn’t the only accessibility plug-in on the market. It does everything we need (which is why we chose it), but it might help to offer a comparison with some of the other big names in web accessibility.

Siteimprove

Siteimprove provides accessibility features for websites, but not in the form of a plug-in.

Its website doesn’t provide pricing options and there are no free trials. You can schedule a demo, however.

Much like UserWay, it provides WCAG-compliant options up to the AAA level, meaning its sites are accessible to all.

Unlike UserWay, it’s done manually rather than through AI. Considering this, it’s likely to be far more expensive.

AccessiBe

AccessiBe prides itself on using more than 250,000 lines of code. But, as UserWay has proven, this isn’t necessary. If nothing else, it means greater integration, more chances for something to go wrong, and the need to outsource the work.

It doesn’t provide anything more than UserWay, and uses the same price scale. Therefore, it makes more sense to stick with the simpler option.

AudioEye

AudioEye uses page certification to let you know how compliant each page is. While using visuals is helpful, it doesn’t make much difference in the long run. You need to know whether your page is fully compliant and how to fix any issues.

It offers a free trial and its basic monthly package is the same price as UserWay. AudioEye’s higher levels are more expensive than UserWay’s, however.

It uses the same autonomous page scanning and also automatically fixes common issues. But, considering you can get this for less money through UserWay, there’s little need.

Conclusion: Why Choose UserWay

Although UserWay isn’t the only accessibility product on the market, it’s certainly one of the easiest to use. It does everything you need to make your website compliant with ADA and WCAG rules.

Better still, it does this using only a single script of code, meaning it’s incredibly simple for anyone to integrate into their website.

If it sounds like the right accessibility widget for your business site, sign up through the link below. And, if you have any comments, questions, or feedback, please feel free to contact us for more information.

What is Clubhouse and How Can I Use it for My Brand?

by GEE PRO

What is Clubhouse and How Can I Use it for My Brand?

Whether for good or bad, Clubhouse has received a lot of publicity in recent months. This is thanks in part to the large number of celebrities using the platform, which, as usual, has drawn people in.

But what is Clubhouse, and is there any way you can use it for branding purposes? The answer to the second part is yes, and we’ll explain how shortly.

What is Clubhouse?

Clubhouse is a voice-only social media network. It’s divided into rooms, which are based on established topics, or simply whatever the poster is thinking about. These rooms can have a maximum of 5,000 participants, but that doesn’t mean everyone gets a voice.

Here are a couple of examples to understand the format:

• Conversational podcasts with some level of audience engagement
• A Zoom call with no cameras
• Old-school party lines (without the massive phone bills)

Clubhouse basically sits at the crossroads of all these concepts. It’s novel in the sense that it’s literally just audio. The only pictures you’ll find are display photos, and don’t even think about video.

How do Rooms Work?

A room is essentially a forum on Clubhouse in which participants discuss a topic. This can be something fairly general, like a place, or something more specific, such as gardening hacks, SaaS, faith, and so on.

The current limit on a room is 5,000 people. You start by listening in, but if you want to contribute you have to “raise a hand”. The creator or moderator of that particular room can then decide if they want to let you say something.

Rooms can be opened or closed at will, and currently the content isn’t recorded (officially on the app, anyway). People are getting round this by screen recording and live streaming.

While there can be thousands of people in a room, they’re not as lively as that might sound. They function more like a conference call or moderated panel, with people only being able to contribute when a moderator lets them.

Rooms can be social, open, or closed. Open is completely free to join, social is a room that only mutual followers can join, and closed is invite only. You’ll also find clubs on the app, which are groups that create recurring rooms around different topics.

How Can I Get It?

Currently, Clubhouse is only available on iOS, and you need an invite from an existing member. This setup is for two main reasons:

1. Limiting accessibility creates a surge in demand (particularly after Elon Musk showed up on the app).
2. There are fewer iOS users in the world, and the creators were concerned about the servers crashing.

An Android version is in development, but there’s currently no word about when it’ll be released.

Does Clubhouse Have Any Downsides?

The app’s creators naively thought they could release an app with little to no internal moderation. How wrong they were. After only a few months, racism and hate speech became major issues on the platform because, well, that’s what happens.

Luckily, this has since been overcome, and moderation is much stricter. In fact, the platform has become very popular with Black and Asian creators. Actress Tiffany Hadddish became the first user with 1 million followers, and Daniel Dae Kim and Lisa Ling recently moderated a room discussing violence about Asian Americans.

How Can Clubhouse Help My Brand?

Clubhouse offers a new route for interaction with fans for a range of brands, particularly for musicians. Fans love interaction with their favorite artists and companies, and Clubhouse offers the chance to see a more human side.

While streaming on something like Instagram offers accessibility, Clubhouse is about discussion. Think of it like a Reddit AMA but with voices. It would be really easy to set up a room, have fans join, and discuss music or other topics.

In fact, you could even use it as a performance space. A room was recently set up in which 40 cast members recreated the Lion King musical. As you can see, it’s got plenty of potential from a music perspective.

The format could work well for any brand, particularly those based on niche expertise. For example, if you run some kind of food-based business, Clubhouse would give you the ability to discuss recipes or share insights.

Another option, theoretically, is to use the platform for influencing. While it’s not as visual as Instagram, something like a beauty or lifestyle brand could arrange product reviews or discussions to generate interest.

In short, all brands could benefit from the level of access Clubhouse provides fans. It’s arguably more personal than existing platforms, and it offers the chance for you to showcase your expertise on specific subjects. This, of course, is an excellent way to build credibility and reach out to your audience.

Conclusion

Clubhouse offers loads of potential for brands to expand their reach. It focuses more on a human aspect than other social apps, and this can easily be used to your advantage.

Of course, the current challenge is getting on the app. If you know someone with invites, it’ll be worth getting on board while it’s seeing such massive growth. Taking advantage of the surge in demand would definitely work in your favor.

And you never know, you might even be able to connect with some of your favorite celebs.

The 7 Types of Logos – Which is Right for Your Brand?

by GEE PRO

We all know that a logo is the cornerstone of a business’s branding efforts. They are the visual symbol your customers remember and associate with your company.

Of course, you want to make sure it’s just right for this purpose. Perhaps the best starting point is to decide which of the 7 logo types is right for your business.

Didn’t know there are 7 different types of logo? You do now! Here’s a rundown of each to help you decide.

The 7 types of logo

Generally speaking, logos will involve text, images, or both. But it gets a bit more involved than that.

1. Lettermarks

Also known as a monogram logo, a letter mark consists of (you guessed it) letters. To keep things short and sweet, these logos rely on initialisms: the first letter of each word in the company name.

Think NASA, IBM, HBO, and so on. In fact, these logos are so strongly associated with their brands that many of us don’t even know what they stand for.

The fundamental part of a good lettermark is the font. Whether you design it yourself or pick a readymade one, it needs to stand out and be simple yet memorable. Just consider the branding potential of NASA’s logo.

Monogram logos are ideal for companies with long names – they help to make the company more memorable. After all, your customers only need to remember a few letters rather than something like International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

2. Wordmarks

Workmarks, or logotypes, are a similar concept to lettermarks. As the name implies, they use a whole word (the company’s name).

They’re best for companies with a short, succinct brand name, usually one word. Think Visa or – better yet – Google.

Google arguably encompasses everything that’s right about wordmarks. They have a short, catchy business name and iconic typography. Pretty much anyone who’s been near a computer could describe their logo to you.

As with lettermarks, the right font is crucial. It should reflect your business: a fashion brand would use something elegant; a security firm, something bold and secure.

When to use

Lettermarks and wordmarks can be used in similar situations. You might be tempted to jump on either at this point, but hold off. Not every company will benefit from basing their logo around their name.

Consider these points:

• A lettermark is useful if you have a long business name.
• A wordmark is a good choice if you want people to remember your name, particularly if it’s distinctive.
• Both are easy to replicate and versatile across all marketing and branding strategies.
• Detail is vital: a clear font that reflects the nuance of your business is a must.

3. Pictorial marks

Also known as a logo symbol, a pictorial mark is just that: a picture or symbol. Customers being able to recognize your brand simply by seeing a picture is a sign of excellent marketing.

You probably don’t need many examples of this, but think Apple, Twitter, Snapchat, the World Wildlife Foundation; the list is endless.

Pictorial marks can be a reflection of your company name (again, Apple), a more abstract relation to your product’s function (the Snapchat ghost), or create an emotional response in your customer (the WWF panda).

This type of logo is arguably better suited to well-established brands, but even they started somewhere. However, Apple’s logo originally had text, so bear this in mind.

4. Abstract marks

An abstract logo is simply an image that isn’t something recognizable. Unlike a bird or apple, they’re things like Pepsi’s circle, Nike’s swoosh, or Adidas’s… thing.

Abstract logos offer a lot of freedom but also require plenty of work to establish the right feeling in your consumer. Sometimes this can be more straightforward: the Nike logo symbolizes movement. Other times it’s a bit more challenging (Pepsi’s logo, for example).

Again, the key here is cultivation of emotion in the minds of your consumers. Therefore, abstract marks require solid marketing plans and commitment.

5. Mascot logos

Simply put, a mascot logo is a character that becomes associated with your brand. By including them in your marketing campaigns, the link is immediate and recognizable. What’s more, it gives you a free spokesperson for your brand.

Some examples include the KFC colonel, Mr. Peanut from Planter’s, the Michelin Man, even Mickey Mouse.

Mascots are fun, often cartoon-based, and can appeal to adults and children in equal measure.

When to use

Mascots, pictorial marks, and abstract marks offer similar pros and cons. Consider these points:

• Abstract and pictorial marks are useful if you have a long brand name.
• However, they can be tricky if you’re a new business. Getting to the point where customers know your image takes time and money.
• All 3 are useful if you want to do international (or multi-language) business and your name doesn’t translate well.
• Mascots offer a massive range of marketing potential, particularly towards families.

6. Combination marks

You can probably guess by now what a combination mark is. Simply put, it’s a combination of text and image. There are different methods of combining them, including using the text within the pictorial image.

Take, for example, Pringles, Burger King, and Doritos. All offer iconic brand images that you immediately recognize.

They offer versatility and a good way to begin the association between your brand name and its chosen image. Apple and Twitter are both examples of this. Over time, they phased the text out because people know who they are.

Combination marks are a good choice for new businesses that want their brand image to be primarily picture-based, either now or in the future.

7. Emblems

An emblem is basically the more classical version of a combination mark. They include text and image; the text may be as simple as the business name, or might include a slogan.

Starbucks is a good example, as is almost any automotive company or school. Emblems are striking and rely on their traditional appearance to establish a feeling of trust in their consumers.

Emblems often require high levels of detail, which can restrict their marketing potential slightly. If you want something striking on a business card, for example, an emblem might not be the right choice.

However, you can overcome this by keeping your emblem design bold and striking. Think Harley Davidson, which is widely known to work well on clothing and smaller items.

When to use

Emblems and combination marks share similarities in their appearance but differ in use. Consider:

• A combination mark is great for new businesses because they’re easy to make unique.
• What’s more, they quickly establish a link between a visual and your company name.
• Emblems have the potential to be popular, but you need to put a lot more work into the design to keep them simple yet full of impact.

Conclusion

Hopefully one of the 7 types of logo will be the right fit for your brand.

But if it sounds like a challenge to pick the right one, contact Gee Productions. We’re happy to set you up with a logo that truly reflects your brand.

Our consultations are free and we’ll go over everything we need to get started.

Do you drink Starbucks coffee because of their logo?

by GEE PRO

Do you drink Starbucks coffee because of their logo?

Most likely not.

Then why do you?

Here’s my wife’s reasons why:

White chocolate mocha
That “ooowee good” feeling
Relaxing atmosphere
Good memories with friends
Customer service
Loyalty program

I don’t drink coffee but here’s my reasons why I like Starbucks:

How it makes my wife feel
Bagels with cream cheese
Very Berry Hibiscus
Chill music
Good memories with friends
Customer service

What can we learn from this?

Although a logo is an important part of a business it’s not the main reason why customers become fans.

Customers become fans based on how your brand makes them feel, an emotional connection.

And whenever a customer sees your logo they’ll recall their experience with your brand, whether good or bad.

How does your brand make customers feel?

Brand vs Identity vs Branding

by GEE PRO

Why Building Your Brand is the Cornerstone of Success

It shouldn’t be a secret that branding is the cornerstone of success for any business. But unfortunately many companies don’t give it the attention it deserves.

As branding experts, we know the power it has over a business’s success. That’s why we’ve put together this article: it’s designed to help you understand why branding is so important.

We’ll cover what exactly we mean by a brand, what a brand identity is, and some comprehensive information about branding.

What is a brand?

This might seem like a fairly simple question to answer, but what is a brand?

A brand might refer to a company’s logo or its identity, but these alone aren’t a brand.

In short, a brand is a set of assets relating to a business. Many of these are intangible and built around their relationship to their customers.

For example, a brand includes:

An emotional connection
A range of feelings associated with that company
A promise to offer a good product or service

These might sound like incredibly generic concepts, and to a certain extent they are. However, they’re all based around the way a company offers itself to its customer base. In other words, a brand is credibility.

Take a minute to think of some top-name brands. These might be companies like Apple or Coca-Cola. While their credibility might be debatable in some regards, their customers definitely hold them in high regard.

People love brands like Apple and they trust them. Here you can see the benefit of emotional connections between a company and their customers.

What is brand identity?

If the concept of a brand is so fleeting and intangible, is the same true for a brand’s identity? No, a brand’s identity is essentially the opposite of what a brand is.

Brand identity is the range of assets that influences the way customers perceive a brand. They’re things that set one brand apart from another and help a company to solidify their position in the minds of consumers.

Importantly, things you might have considered to be a brand actually relate to brand identity. Things like logos, website design, color schemes, custom fonts, these are all part of brand identity.

Brand identity is what you see about a brand. Think again of the two major companies referenced above. Coca-Cola has one of the most instantly recognizable brand identities in the world. This is arguably part of their massive success.

Similarly, anyone could point out an Apple product. Even without seeing the logo, their cool, sleek product design is another part of their brand identity.

The key to great brand identity is consistency. Creating a consistent and holistic identity for your brand will do wonders for its success.

Of course, this is one of the main roles of a designer: they help to build a brand through its identity. A good designer will create the intangible (emotional connections) through the tangible (recognizable logos).

What is branding?

Now what we have a better understand of a brand and brand identity, we can discuss the concept of branding. Branding is the process of combining the two.

Perhaps the best way to understanding the process is through the words of successful marketer Marty Neumeier. Marty claims that branding is the process of creating potentially millions of brands, one unique brand in each of your customers’ minds.

Similarly, he states, “a brand is a result. It’s a customer’s gut feeling about a product, service, or company.” By this, he means that your goal is not so much selling a product or service, but the associated feeling that draws customers to your company.

Branding, therefore, is the process of creating this feeling within your potential market. It uses identity to create an image in the minds of your customers, the result of which is a successful brand.

It begins with research: what your customers want and what you will give them. Next comes strategy, the process of how your company will give it to them.

Once you have this in hand, then you cover brand identity. This is based around your strategy and assets, and how these combine to create your unique niche.

Only once this is completed can you move on to what people believe branding to be: advertising. Advertising is basically creating your brand identity in the minds of potential customers, hoping they’ll perceive you in the desired way.

It’s up to the specific company how they want to proceed with branding, but it’s essentially the process communicating your desired identity. As mentioned, your brand is the result of this successful communication.

Strong and successful branding comes about through long-term strategies built around a tight concept and unique identity. It’s not a guaranteed process, but the better the strategy, the more likely you’ll be to succeed.

Conclusion

In short, a brand is the result of the successful process of branding using a unique brand identity.

Having a clear picture at every stage will result in a strong and successful brand.

Here at Gee Productions, we’re experts in brands, and we bring our knowledge to each and every business we work with.

If your business needs to build its brand, contact us to see how we can help.

What is Brand Strategy and What Does it Mean for Your Business?

by GEE PRO

Brand strategy is a term thrown around in the world of marketing. From a business perspective, you might think of it as your logo, font, graphic design, and so on. But it’s so much more than that.

As branding experts, we thought we’d put together an article on what exactly we mean by brand strategy and why it’s a vital component for any business looking for success.

What is brand strategy?

Brand strategy arguably encompasses everything about your brand. It’s entirely centered around where you want to go – your destination.

Think of it like a GPS navigation system. You type in your intended destination and it tells you how to get there. But importantly, it does so in a structured and detailed way. It doesn’t just highlight your end point and say “off you go”, it states every step for getting there.

Well this is what brand strategy does. Inevitably, your end goal is to provide your potential customers with a product or service that you’ve decided they need. Your brand strategy details how you’ll provide them with this, from concept to execution.

It includes:

• Brand identity (logo, website design, name, etc.)
• Competitive positioning and market research
• Necessary tools (website, copy, etc.)
• How you’ll create and retain customer loyalty

The starting point of your brand strategy is your core principles. These often include philosophies of production and supply, emotional connection with customers, consistency, flexibility, and more.

Designing your brand strategy around your core principles will result in a much more comprehensive and applicable set of steps.

It also covers things like clarity of your company’s message. For example, developing a clear brand strategy allows you to produce consistent brand messages across a variety of channels, such as social media, your website, and even printed marketing.

Lack of consistency in a brand strategy quickly becomes obvious. In a worst case scenario, potential customers will leave more confused than when they found you and will have no idea how or why they need what you’re offering.

So, in short, a brand strategy is your road map to success. It should factor into everything you do from identity and research to customer interaction and marketing. Clarity and consistency are cornerstones of an effective brand strategy.

Brand strategy is about clarifying your purpose. It forces you to ask: “Besides making money, why does my brand exist? Where do I see my brand in 10 years, and what steps must I take to get there?”

Knowing these questions before you start marketing, or even developing a business strategy, will help make things much clearer and more streamlined.

A great example of an almost perfect brand strategy is Tesla. While they’re currently one of the most valuable companies in the world, this has never been their main objective.

Since Tesla’s inception, its goal has been to revolutionize the sustainable transport industry. Within this was the secondary goal of accelerating technological development and making it more accessible to a wider market.

In short, their goal is sustainable transportation that’s not only environmentally friendly, but also stylish. Each year they’re able to improve the design and function of their vehicles, and over time make them more affordable.

Having an effective brand strategy in place allows Tesla to keep their efforts streamlined and consistently reach their goals. It’s through brand strategy that the company has built a loyal following and become so financially successful.

Why is it important?

The answer to this question should now be fairly obvious. Brand strategy is important because it dictates everything you do for getting your brand out there and into the minds of your customers.

Having a clear brand strategy will also make these steps much easier. If you have a clear picture of what your customers want and how you’ll give it to them, you’ll have a much greater chance of success.

Brand strategy impacts the following vital areas:

• Market analysis and company objectives
• Managing assets and launching brand identity
• Deciding and refining your business focus
• Design and marketing

Coming up with an effective business strategy should be your first step, even before deciding on things like a name. The only bit of information you need to start a brand strategy is your business idea – everything else flows from there.

You use this idea to do your market research to understand your potential niche. In turn, this impacts your business model and asset management. Having a brand strategy first will refine your scope much more effectively.

Similarly, a brand strategy will make it much easier to produce your brand identity, which we discussed in more detail in a previous post. Brand identity includes assets such as logo, website, business cards, font type, colors, and so on. In short, anything related to the visuals of your brand.

Without a strategy, these could become unrelated and disparate. With a strategy, they’re much more consistent. For example, prior market research will give you an indication of what works in the market and what doesn’t. This information is vital for deciding the visual aspects of your company.

Conclusion

To summarize, then, brand strategy is vital for success. This is true regardless of the size of your company, as everyone benefits from better business results.

The important thing with brand strategy is that it allows you to articulate your brand. By the end you should be able to summarize your business into a sentence; that’s the result of a good brand strategy.

Here at Gee Productions, we’re brand experts. If you feel your company is missing the vital tools to make it really stand out, we can help.

Our process will help you to build and understand the right brand strategy to take your business where it needs to go. Contact us for a free consultation.

How To Improve Your Business Website

by GEE PRO

1. Optimize Your About Page

Do you want to know how to improve your business website? We’ve got some major tips that will help you!

Here’s one. Make sure that your “About” page rocks!
⠀
You want your customers to know who you are and earn their trust.

Include a photo of yourself and of your team members with a short bio.

Avoid using industry jargon to describe your services or products.

Make it fun!

Customers find it easier to trust real humans.

2. High-Quality Content

If you are looking to improve your business website, consider having high-quality content. Well-written content is an essential characteristic of any reputable website. Without it, you’ll struggle to engage your target audience and promote your company efficiently. High-quality web copy throughout the various pages of your site gives customers a reason to stick around, check out what you have to offer, and massively increase the chances of successful conversions.

3. Blogging

Another popular and useful form of content is blogging. While this started out as a novel way to keep a digital journal, it’s now become a crucial marketing tool for businesses, helping them to improve their site’s SEO and directly connect with their audience. A blog is the perfect way to establish your brand further, as well as provide more information about products and services.

4. User Friendly Design

How user-friendly is the design of your website?

The first thing you notice when visiting a website is its design.

When potential or returning customers visit your website, it’s crucial for their experience to be an efficient, hassle-free affair.

If your site is complicated or confusing to navigate, links or buttons don’t work correctly, or the information they need is nowhere to be seen, it’s safe to say your competitors will be gaining a new customer.

Take a look at your favorite websites. Why do you like that website and what features do they have that you don’t? Try making a list and then incorporate those features onto your own website.

5. Optimize Loading Time

If your business website is slow, people won’t hang around when there’s a quicker and more reliable alternative.

Images – One way is reducing image sizes. Images are often very large files and can slow down a website. You can use a plugin like shortpixel to compress & optimize images.
Videos – User external hosting platforms for videos such as Youtube or Vimeo. Don’t host them on your own server.
Another way business owners improve site performance is by upgrading their website hosting service from a shared server to a dedicated server. In some cases moving your website to a new WordPress hosting service may be required. But before upgrading make sure you contact us to recommend which hosting is best for your website.

More on this coming up in a new blog post.

6. Search Engine Optimization

3 words. Search Engine Optimization.

SEO is something that every website owner should take note of and embrace to the fullest. SEO relates to the marketing methods used to make websites rank higher on search engines.

Ranking higher means you’ll appear on the initial pages of a search, and give you a better chance of gaining new customers.

It sounds scary at first, but just like most things in life, practice makes perfect. The truth is that SEO techniques such as keywords and backlinks are easy to apply to your content and benefit you greatly.

7. Mobile Friendly

Look around, what do you see? You see everyone staring at their phones. It’s important to have a website for your business that is also mobile friendly.

Have you ever clicked on a website on your phone and the words are cut off?

Immediately this should tell you that the website you are looking at is not optimized for mobile. This type of website is not user-friendly.

The consumer that comes across this will often move on to the next business website that’s easier for them to use.

When mobile users enjoy a more pleasant user experience, they stay on-site longer. Search engines take this as a sign that your content is relevant and valuable and, therefore, you can get a rankings boost!

Need Help with Improving Your Website Loading Time?

If you need help to improve your WordPress website loading time make sure to schedule your free web consultation today.

Email Marketing Tips

by GEE PRO

1. Your Goals

Good Ole Email Marketing! It can be tempting to simply sign up for an email marketing tool like Mailchimp or Hubspot and start sending your first campaign. But BEFORE jumping in head first, it’s worth taking a minute to think about your goals and what you really want to achieve with email, as that will dictate the type of campaigns you send, who you target, the content you include, and how you measure success.

Email should be an important component of every digital marketing plan because of its effectiveness in driving conversions and building brand loyalty. The key to establishing the correct goals for your email marketing initiative is to align them with your company’s wider marketing goals & KPIs. Is the goal to drive new signups for your product? New leads for your sales team? More attendees for your event? What are YOUR goals? Let us know in the comments!

2. Build Your Email List

Now that you have established your goals and what you want to achieve from email marketing, it’s time to build your email list so you can start sending campaigns that those goals. There are a couple of different ways you can build your email list, but the right method for each campaign really depends on the goals you established. If you plan to use email to keep in touch with existing customers, then your email list can be built largely by importing your existing customers details into your chosen email marketing tool. Before you import any contacts though, ensure you have adequate permission to email these subscribers.

If you plan to use email to communicate with an audience whose email address you might not have yet, then you’ll need to start capturing email addresses and building your list from scratch. Fortunately for you, there is a 2-part formula for building your email list that is followed by many of the most successful email marketers around. The formula is: A valuable incentive + simple subscribe opportunities = large email list. While it is a little bit of a simplification, it’s also just logic. Regardless of how many subscribe opportunities you present to a visitor, it’s unlikely they’ll act without a valuable incentive. And no matter how good your incentive is, you still need to make it simple for people to subscribe if you want to get them to join your list.

3. Grab Customer's Attention

There are couple of different ways to grab the attention of the consumer on your website to grow your Email list.

1. The Header Bar sits at the very top of your website and contains a call to action encouraging people to join as well as a form to input your email address. You can use tools like Hello Bar and Sumo Me to do this.

2. A slider is small box that ‘slides in’ to the bottom corner of your website and contains a call to action encouraging people to subscribe along with a field for visitors to enter their email address.

3. When a visitor reads your content all the way to the end it’s fair to assume they enjoyed the read. So, why not ask them to sign-up to ensure they never miss out on upcoming content? End-of-post opt-ins are a great place to grab subscribers in a space where brands otherwise rarely include a call-to-action other than telling readers to comment and share. Instead, include a visual call to action with your newsletter opt-in.

4. Choose The Right Campaign

There are a number of different types of email campaigns you can send to subscribers, and the type you choose really depends on the goals you established. For example, an Email Newsletter is a regularly distributed email campaign that is generally about one main topic of interest. You can choose the timing of these campaigns. However, they are usually sent monthly and contains content around a particular theme: photography tips & stories. If your goal is to keep in touch with a list of people you already know (i.e. existing customers), then a newsletter is the perfect type of campaign to send. It will keep your business and your products top of mind and drive people back to your website.

5. Build Your Email

Now that you’ve decided on your goals, built a bit of an audience and selected the type of campaign you’re going to send, it’s time to start building your email. Here are some fundamentals that you should know to make sure you get the best results from each campaign. Make sure you structure your campaign for easy reading. Research shows that an adult’s attention span is, on average, 8 seconds. With such a short attention span, you can assume people aren’t closely reading your campaigns word for word and are instead scanning through them looking for something of interest. Therefore, writing long, text-heavy email campaigns isn’t the best approach. You need to structure your emails to help draw people into reading your content while guiding them toward the email’s call to action.

6. Use Images and Visuals

Here’s an Email marketing tip! Use images and visuals to boost engagement! Use the 80/20 rule. 80% visual and 20% text. Ideally, you want to avoid walls or blocks of text. This is because visuals – both video and images – are more eye-catching. They’re also more memorable and help content stand out. In fact, studies have shown that people can recall as much as 65% of visual content up to three days later compared to just 10% of text-based content. People also follow visual instructions 32% better than written instructions, so it’s a good idea to use visuals when directing your readers to take a desired action.

Need Help with Your Email Marketing?

If you need help to create or optimize your email marketing campaign make sure to schedule your free web consultation today.