​Pew Research reports that 81% of Americans own a smartphone. So the chances are very high that your customers also have one – and are looking at your website on it. 

Since the whole point of digital marketing is to be found by customers, if you are ignoring Google My Business, you are only hurting yourself – and your business. It’s free and simple, so just take care of it already. Read on for the whys and hows:

This is an update to "Can't Buy Google's Love” dated 2/6/2013.

So you wanna be at the top of the search engines you say? How much is it going to cost you, you ask? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Google’s love is not for sale folks. (No matter who is trying to sell it to you). You’re going to have to wine and dine her; you’re going to have to work for it a bit. So, if you can’t buy a higher ranking, how does it work then? What, exactly, do you have to do to make it to the top?

This is an update to "Lights, Camera, CONTENT" dated 11/07/2012.

When planning out how you’re going to pull your website together (and even after you already have it all together!) remember that the content on your site is absolutely one of the most important components. Consider this: Search engines like Google are out there scouring the web trying to find relevant, fresh, and substantial content with which to fill their searches. What does this mean for your business website? It's essential that you update your content, do it often, and keep it relevant to what your customers are looking for. 

We still get requests for “some SEO” as if you could order it by the pound. Getting a handle on the concepts will help your website and keep it safe from unscrupulous “experts.”

Have a favorite nonprofit? One way you can serve them is to help them make use of Google for Nonprofits. Check out all the benefits available!

If your website was built some time ago and you are no longer in contact with your web tech, you should check to see if you have a Google Map and if it’s working correctly.

Appearing on the front page of Google search results is a very big deal to many people in business. Considering Google’s partnership with Twitter in recent years, it’s a great reminder to keep your tweets SEO friendly. Tweets show up in Google search results, so you should utilize this tool accordingly. Taking this step further, certain brands with a very active presence will show up in a carousel unit in Google search results. This means that when you search a brand on Google, if they meet certain requirements and have been selected by Google, their Twitter page will appear in the search results with a carousel of their recent tweets on display.