Stuff & Things...

ContentSearch Engine Optimization

Want more Holiday Customers for Your E-Commerce Website?

Quick SEO Tips and Tricks to get your site ranked higher for the Holidays!   Welcome to Thanksgiving week! Black Friday and all the holiday shopping is right around the corner. Is your e-commerce website ready? Can your target customers find you easily using popular search engines like Google and Bing? The truth is, SEO (search engine optimization) is an ongoing project that can’t be accomplished in just a day or two. Usually, the rewards of optimizing your website can take weeks or months to earn a significant rise in rankings. However, here’s what you can do now to help your site rank just a little bit higher for holiday shoppers: Add new posts frequently. Add a post to your…
Mike Morris
November 21, 2016
AdvertisingBrandingMarketing

Can You Boost Brand Penetration with Native Advertising?

Last week, we looked at the role Native Advertising plays in the ever-shifting marketing landscape. If you missed that blog, get in-the-know with "3 Reasons to Try Native Advertising".   We concluded that many businesses, both large and small, can benefit from trying native advertising on social media. But what is the connection between brand penetration and native advertising? Can trying native advertising give your brand a boost? The answer is definitely a “yes,” when the native ads are carefully crafted. A brand is a lot more than a logo. It represents who you are as a company, including your mission and your core values. For a primer in branding, check out my blog “Your Brand – Is It Time…
Mike Morris
October 31, 2016
Advertising

3 Reasons to Try Native Advertising

Have you heard about native advertising? It’s fairly new, so chances are you haven’t heard this term before. But you have most likely experienced it online, within social media apps and news websites. Native ads are paid ads that look and feel like the typical content on the website or app. The ad is placed within a news feed and has the same form and function as the regular content. News media giants such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times strategically place native ads in their online content. You can find native ads (also called “in-feed ads”) in your news feeds on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest. If you are a new, local, or…
Mike Morris
October 21, 2016
Uncategorized

Are You Succeeding at Mobile Marketing?

Why Go Mobile? Mobile internet devices are here to stay. As a small business owner, you must embrace mobile marketing or you will lose business. What consumers look up on their smartphones has a huge impact on their purchasing decisions. The statistics substantiate this: 73% of mobile device searches result in a follow-up action, such as a phone call, a visit, a share, or an order placed. 50% of people report looking something up on their smartphones en route to a store. 60% of people report using their smartphones in a store. 39% of people who walked out of a store without purchasing reported being influenced by something they saw on their smartphone. 48% of people who visited a website…
Mike Morris
September 27, 2016
MarketingPPC

The Great Paid Search Debate: Google or Bing?

In this day and age, the digital world is a marketer’s dream. Among the variety of online channels, it’s even easier for brands to make waves and generate leads. Our team gets asked a series of questions pertaining to these channels, inquiring about our recommendations for delivering the strongest ROI. The most common question: Should I run my ads through Google, Bing or both? To help you navigate the paid search waters, we’re outlining each, helping you decide which makes the most sense for your business. Paid search marketing, also commonly known as PPC or SEM, is one of the most powerful tactics for generating qualified leads within a budget that’s comfortable for your business. Why is this, you ask?…
Mike Morris
September 16, 2016
Small Business

Will the Updated Google+ Be a Boon for Businesses?

Are you a Google+ user? If not, then the main reason you may know about Google+ is by using YouTube, which until mid-2015 required a Google+ membership in order to comment on YouTube content. In the past 2 weeks, Google has rolled out a redesigned Google+. The goal of the redesign is to help businesses “collaborate and communicate more effectively.” Let’s take a look at some of Google+’s new and updated features to see how they might help your small business succeed. New home page that enables users to find what they want faster New notifications center that helps users get up-to-date quickly Users can add links and photos to their comments Community owners and moderators can control/approve member posts…
Mike Morris
September 12, 2016
ContentMarketing Emails

The Secrets of Successful Cold Prospecting Emails

Back in the day, there was cold calling. During my college years, I had many-a-job making cold calls – from insurance agencies to charities. Not very many of us tolerate those calls anymore. National “Do Not Call” registries are popular, though not always effective. Chances are, you don’t know one single person who wants to receive a cold call, much less make a purchasing decision from one. Let’s hereby declare the era of the cold marketing telephone call dead. What is the more commonly accepted way to communicate to potential customers today? It’s cold prospecting emails. Reaching out to current and former customers is not “cold”; the target audience is people you’ve never done business with before. How do you…
Mike Morris
August 31, 2016
Search Engine OptimizationSmall Business

SEO Tips and Tricks for Small Business Owners

If your business goals include having a popular, well-ranked website, then SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a strategy you will need to learn and employ. The field of SEO is rapidly changing and expanding, so if you are managing your own website, it pays to stay up-to-date. Here are a few of our latest tips and tricks that go beyond the basic on-page SEO tactics. Backlinks – Gaining backlinks, or links back to your website content, is a prize worth having. Many major search engines use the number of times your page has been backlinked in their ranking calculation. Since this is a factor that’s hard to control, it may be in your website’s best interests to agree to a…
Mike Morris
August 15, 2016
Small BusinessWeb Design

5 Questions to Ask Before Redesigning Your Website

When was the last time you looked at your business website and thought: “Awesome”?  If it’s been a while since you felt that way, then this blog is for you. Over time, trends and customer expectations in website evolve. If your business website looks like it was designed even 5 (or more) years ago, then it’s probably time for a change. Here are some key questions to consider before you go for a website redesign: What is your website’s goal? Do you want to sell something? Do you want customers to call you for a service? Is the goal to promote an idea or platform? Without a well-defined goal, and a website designed specifically to meet that goal, your website…
Mike Morris
July 27, 2016
Food for thought

4 Budget-Friendly Day Trips near Raleigh, NC

Summer is here and it’s time to take a trip! Does your wallet protest because your budget is tighter than last season’s skinny jeans? If you are lucky enough to live in Raleigh, North Carolina (like we do at Morris Marketing) then you still have lots of super-fun day trip options. Read on to find one or two that will please your family and your wallet! Duke Gardens, Durham, NC 420 Anderson Street, Durham Travel time from Raleigh: 30-45 minutes Cost: $2/hour to park, Gardens are free Kid friendly? Yes Even if you are not a total outdoor enthusiast, this place is for you. The gardens are exquisite and well-kept year round, and have easy walking paths throughout. Strollers are…
Mike Morris
July 19, 2016

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