Looking Beyond SEO: Capturing more Toronto traffic for your small business

“Build it and they will come”. Not true for the Romans and not true for websites either. Even if you have identified and implemented your website’s critical SEO to gain more Toronto traffic, there are inbound marketing tools and strategies that can help draw more local users to your site.

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Do you really need web marketing to sell your product? Yes.

Marketing has changed since the turn of the century. Where billboards and print advertisements once ruled and email was just a passing fancy, we are now immersed in social media, apps and mobile technology. It’s these new methods of communication that have determined how marketing professionals now reach their audiences.

The simple answer as to whether web marketing is key to selling your product is a resounding yes. In fact, no is not an option. This is because the customer’s purchasing  journey has changed.

Do you really need web marketing? Yes

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Five easy online marketing mistakes and how to avoid them

The world of online marketing moves so fast that it can be rather easy to slip up and make some honest mistakes. Repeating mistakes can be disastrous, though. Picking up on some vital signs will steer you in the right direction. Here are 5 common mistakes you may not be aware of, and how to avoid them.

Assuming results or taking things for granted

“Never assume” is the golden rule of the internet. Everything across the web needs to be taken with a pinch of salt — particularly the numbers. Companies like to bulk up their social media presence as much as possible with likes and followers. Clicks are championed as a webpage’s success but it is unique visitors and returning visitors that will determine whether your site is a success or not. Knee jerk reactions to the numbers won’t do you any favours. In-depth analysis of your data can be time consuming but ultimately rewarding.
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Five reasons why you should “like” your competitors on social media

Are you following your competitors on Facebook or Twitter?

Researching marketing performance and strategies includes keeping an eye on competition, and social media has made that a bit easier for you by simply liking or following your competitor’s pages or accounts. Their efforts into social media are also part of their overall inbound marketing efforts, pulling in traffic and potential leads from a highly engaged audience already leaning towards a purchase.


Here are five reasons why it’s important to “like” your competitors: [Read more…]

3 inbound marketing techniques you might not have tried yet

Getting tired of the same old content marketing techniques?

Here are three methods gaining ground in today’s online marketplace — ideas that you may not have considered before. Each leverages online trends and takes advantage of engaged audiences who enjoy interactivity or sharing. We’ve laid out the pros and cons, plus possible use scenarios.

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The (almost) perfect home page: What’s on it?

We’ve all been there. We click through to a company’s website looking for specific information, and ugh, our eyes are assaulted with a cluttered mess of text and images. Sometimes it’s even flashing at us. Or there’s music.

Fortunately, most of these questionable design choices of the 90s and 00s have disappeared from the web. However, some bad habits persist, and they stand in the way of creating an appealing, user-friendly website that is a pleasure to visit.

A key part of your inbound marketing strategy is your website. So how do you give your customer a truly awesome start – an (almost) perfect home page? Read on.

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Smart sharing: Secrets of a winning social media strategy

Do you have a social media strategy in place that bolsters your inbound marketing plan?

You might have some social pages and accounts meant for brand communities, but what is your social strategy doing to actually generate some leads and lure target audiences into your sales funnel? You need a winning social media strategy to take full advantage of your network for your inbound marketing. Here are a few helpful reminders of what that strategy should look like.

Next with Twitter buttons [Read more…]

Five website mistakes that drive your customers away

Websites are an integral part of business today. However, a poorly planned website can actually do more harm than good for your brand. A website that is an exercise in frustration to go through is likely to discourage visits, disillusion customers with your brand, and of course, hurt your bottom line.

But these pitfalls can easily be avoided.


Here are five of the most common website mistakes that create poor user experience and drive your customers away. [Read more…]

How to create compelling content that converts

Like any other type of communication, content marketing is based on what you say and how you say it. People want concrete information they can apply to their own lives, delivered in a straightforward, entertaining way.

If you get your content strategy right, you’ll enjoy great conversion rates and long-term customer relationships. If not, your efforts will fall flat — or worse, turn people off to your brand. You don’t want your content marketing campaign to flatline so before getting started, take the time to create great content that does exactly what you want it to. These tips will help.

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Using Facebook hashtags to bring new eyes to your business

Hashtags: they’ve been a staple of the Twitter user experience for years. Now Facebook has jumped on the bandwagon, joining other social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, allowing users to attach hashtags to updates.

Hashtags 101

So what are hastags, exactly?

They are words used as a form of metadata, prefixed with a hash sign (#).Generally embedded into Twitter and other social media posts, they are used to group messages on a common theme. Content associated with hashtags appears in searches on the keyword.

You may already use hashtags as a way to join in on event- or news-driven conversations, but have you thought about how hashtags can bring your brand into more of these conversations? Read on. [Read more…]