Saba Digital Marketing

5 BS Online Marketing “Facts” Accepted as True

Online marketing can be tricky if you don’t have a good handle on what you’re doing. There are many myths that people take as fact. To their detriment, these people rely exclusively on these truisms. Here are some of the marketing “facts” that just aren’t true today.

1. Your e-mail list is the end-all

You might hear that your e-mail list is the most important factor that determines whether or not you make money. While e-mail lists are important, there are many other things that matter. How you market to the people on your list is as important as who you have on the list.

2. Passive income works for you

Many believe the myth that passive income works on your behalf. In truth, it’s the other way around. While perpetual streams of revenue may be nice–and may work to your benefit–they are the product of hard work. You have to lay the groundwork so that you can reap the rewards later.

3. Anyone can be an expert

There is a sense that any person who gets involved in online marketing in San Diego can become an expert. Like with any other venture, this is just not true. The people who truly become good at online marketing are those who work very hard and also have some natural skill in connecting with potential revenue sources.

4. Launching a website is the hardest part

Some believe that if you can get a website off the ground, the money will simply roll in. For people who have sustained success, it’s usually continued hard work that does the job for them.

5. All you need is additional traffic

Traffic is important, but it isn’t the only thing you’ll need. You have to have a website that’s designed to convert traffic into sales. All of the traffic in the world can’t save you if you have problematic landing pages that can’t convert.

6. Internet marketing is free

Those who don’t know the industry sometimes assume that they can market their business or service for free. After all, isn’t it free to post onto Facebook, Pinterest, Etsy, and Twitter? The truth is that the best internet marketers are using some of the paid services from these outlets. Online marketing often costs more than business owners imagine, but working with an experienced San Diego AdWords company can make a huge difference when growing your business.

Request a free website audit and partner with a San Diego search engine marketing company who can help you increase your online visibility. Call Saba, Inc. at (858) 277-1717 and see what a difference working with a trusted San Diego SEO firm can make!

Using Basic Psychology to Write Catchy Content

As a trusted SEO company in San Diego, we know first hand what a challenge it can be to write compelling content day after day. Since psychology is concerned with how the human mind works, it only makes sense that basic principles of psychology would be relevant to how people respond to your blog posts, articles, videos or advertisements. Let’s look at a few principles of psychology that can be especially helpful in this regard.

The Need to Belong

This is a very basic human need that probably has a basis in genetics as well as psychology. It refers to the need to belong to a family, tribe, organization, clique or some type of group. If you want to convince people of something, it’s always helpful to remind them that a large or significant group of people already thinks this way. That’s why links to authority sources, statistics about group behavior, or testimonials for products work so well. All of these contain the message, “If you agree with this, you will be joining this group.”

Fear of Scarcity

The fear of scarcity is another deep-rooted psychological principle commonly applied in online marketing. When something is scarce, it is often perceived as more valuable. Phrases like “supplies are limited,” “offer expires in 7 days” or “only the first 10 people who respond will get the bonus” all promote the idea that whatever is being offered won’t be around for long. There are many ways to do this, but in all cases you are telling people that either time or a certain product is about to run out. This motivates people to take action so they don’t miss out on a limited resource.

Loss Aversion

Another important principle of psychology has to do with the fear of loss. For most people, the fear of losing what they already have is more powerful than the desire to gain something new. That’s why savvy marketers often employ risk reduction or even risk reversal tactics. These include free trials, money back guarantees and, in some cases, the promise to give buyers back more money than they initially paid if they return the item. These tactics help alleviate the fear of loss, making the offer more attractive and less anxiety provoking.

These are just a few of the principles of psychology that can make your content and marketing efforts more effective. The more you know about the human mind, the better you can communicate with any audience.

For more information about using online marketing like PPC campaigns and search engine optimization more effectively, reach out to the marketing experts at Saba, Inc. We help businesses gain visibility in the online world and connect with their target audience. Call us today at (858) 277-1717 for a free consultation.

Simple Ways to Build an Email List

You don’t buy an email list, you build one.

Most companies have an email opt-in prominently placed on their website. For some companies that works, for others it doesn’t. If that’s not the right strategy for your business, savvy San Diego online marketing experts offer other ways to build an email list.

1. Take Advantage of Social Media Sites

Place an opt-in form on your primary Facebook page or use your Twitter account to tweet a sign-up link. In this way, your email list can grow along with your social media following.

2. Show or Offer a Sample

As effective as ad copy can be at persuading a prospect to respond to a call to action, showing or offering a sample can perhaps be more effective. If you have a newsletter, link to an example of it from your opt-in form. Or, if you’re selling information products, offer them a free sample in exchange for their email address. Here are some other ideas:

  • webinar series (drawn from podcasts, or that get repurposed into podcasts)
  • free phone coaching or lesson
  • an interview about your new audience member that you edit and send back to them

3. Use Quick Response Codes

These are usually referred to as QR codes. They are the square “bar codes” that smartphones can scan and then display content. Use one of these to display your opt-in form. This is excellent for offline forms such as pamphlets, flyers, business cards, or even a sticker on your store window.

4. Offer an Email Receipt Option

This is often easier for your customer than keeping tracking of a paper receipt, so it can be very appealing. It can be especially helpful when the receipt will be used for a tax deduction.

5. Link to Your Opt-in Page

Put it in several locations and make it easy to click through. Just like you have an email signature, create social media signatures and include the link there.

Need help with other marketing tactics? Saba, Inc. in San Diego can help! Call us today at (858) 277-1717 for a free website audit and to find out how we can help you connect with your target audience!

How to Get the Most Mileage out of Visual Content

Images and pictures are worth 1,000 words, especially when it comes to online marketing in San Diego, making visual expressions an ideal way to get noticed online. Get the most out of your visual content by following a few specific guidelines that will help you to garner attention, build a following, and improve your online ranking.

1. Don’t Forget SEO

While visual content is often created just to accompany the actual text, it still has relevance when it comes to SEO ranking. Adding alt tags, descriptions, and SEO keywords to your image will help you to get noticed by search engines. This builds your online ranking while placing you in an image search index, which drives traffic to your site based on the keywords you pick.

2. Post on Social Media (Obviously)

When you post visual content across your social media platforms, you automatically increase the percentage of traffic that notices your profile. Combining stunning and unique pictures with insight about who you are and what your business is will attract attention. Visual content also goes viral faster than other types. Try adding wise words of wisdom, personal philosophies, or learned insight to give your visuals an added boost, further increasing the interest in your page and your business.

3. Be Unique

Avoid the often-used and overused visuals, and instead grab attention by expressing a specific idea through a unique image created just for your company. You might also regularly create and share charts, graphs, or other industry-related infographics. Keep in mind how you present your information will directly affect how it’s absorbed by your followers, consumers, and clientele.

With the right visual strategy, you can build your online presence and increase both interest and traffic to your site using images that define and express your business ideals, goals, and mentality.

Need help further developing an online marketing strategy? Trusted San Diego SEO agency Saba, Inc. has you covered! Give us a call today at (858) 277-1717 for a free consultation!

Understanding Native Advertising

If you’re familiar with online marketing, you’ve probably heard of something called native advertising. Native advertising is a form of online advertising that uses the format and function of a particular platform.

Using Platforms for Advertising

Native advertising uses media platforms on the internet to promote a product or build brand recognition. Traditionally, online advertisements are banner images or overt promotions that do not necessarily appear within the main content of a webpage. In many ways, native advertising is the opposite of this kind of online marketing. Instead of being limited to margins and headers, native advertisements appear directly within the primary content of a webpage. Native advertisements also take on a form that is quite different from traditional online advertisements. They appear as posts or images that blend in with existing content. It is common to see examples of native advertising in social media news feeds and in online newspapers.

Where Does Native Advertising Appear?

Native advertising appears on every major media platform that is accessible on the internet, Facebook being one of the largest. On Facebook, businesses and websites use their page to create posts that promote their product or brand. If these businesses and websites choose to promote their content by paying money to Facebook, their posts will appear in the news feeds of other Facebook users. At a glance, these promoted posts do not appear to be advertisements. Instead, they look like typical posts created by a Facebook user. Because of this, native advertising is a very effective way to engage individuals who may be skeptical of obvious marketing efforts and a good alternative to other social media marketing efforts. Native advertising is also used on Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google, and many other media platforms.

Native advertising is a form of online marketing that appears to people within the context of the platform that they are using. It can be a useful tool for businesses and websites who want engage with a large group of people on the internet in a more organic way that typically offered through traditional marketing efforts.

Want to learn more? Maybe you’d like to find out if Native Advertising can supplement your current marketing strategy? Call (858) 277-1717 and find out!  Our local San Diego SEO company offers a variety of internet marketing services and can help you find the right combo to reach your target audience and grow your business!

Is Facebook Marketing Still Worth Your Time?

Facebook has long been the dominant social media platform, becoming a staple of our everyday lives and our preferred method of staying in touch with friends, family members and like-minded individuals. However, does all of this necessarily mean that Facebook is still a viable marketing platform?

Answering this aforementioned question ultimately depends upon your business, your market, and the types of customers you sell to. For instance, in a business-to-consumer (B2C) market, where consumers often make decisions based upon brand recognition, Facebook is actually becoming a more important internet marketing influence. Here is a small list of reasons why.

Facebook Is Self-Reliant

While Google’s share of the search engine market has yet to be challenged, that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t any threats. Facebook itself is testing its own search engine and it will soon have the capability to provide around-the-clock content to over one billion subscribers. This makes it an ideal solution for marketers looking to instantly connect with consumers.

Facebook Has Its Own Publishing Platform

Facebook recently launched its direct-to-Facebook publishing platform called “Instant Articles”. This venture into online publishing means users will spend more time getting their favorite news and stories directly on Facebook.

Advertising Has Improved

At one time, the click through rates (CTR) on Facebook digital advertisements were less than impressive. However, those CTR percentages have steadily improved and they now rival any pay-per-click option available to online marketers.

In the end, Facebook is still a viable means of reaching a company’s target audience. However, it really does depend upon the type of customers your company is pursuing. If you operate in a consumer market, then Facebook is a valid option. However, if you operate in a business-to-business (B2B) market, then professional social sites like LinkedIn are more ideal for your customer base.

Interested in learning more about the best marketing strategy for your company? We can help! Saba, Inc. is a local SEO company in San Diego and has been around for more than a decade, helping businesses just like yours improve marketing efforts to connect with your target audience and improve conversions. Give us a call at (858) 277-1717. We look forward to hearing from you!

Why a Content Marketing Strategy Is So Important

Content marketing is not the same as a traditional marketing campaign. In some ways, it’s easy to create content and publish it. But is that content effective? A strategic mindset is fundamentally different from a 9-to-5 mindset. Here are a few reasons it’s crucial to have a content marketing strategy for your business, brought to you by local San Diego SEO pros.

Clarify Purpose

Attracting, getting, and keeping customers is the most basic goal of any business. But, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day activities that are supposedly meant to meet that goal. Bottom line demands can be overwhelming. At those times, it can seem counterproductive to take a long-term approach.

A strategic mindset asks big questions. The answers to those questions can give clarity to every other activity.

Build an Audience

The biggest question is: Who are our customers? Then, there are other questions:
– How do we find them?

– What do they need?
– Why would they choose us?
– How do we convince them to choose us?

Building an audience can feel different than making profits. In the short term, it is. But in the long term, this is the essence of attracting, getting, and keeping customers.

Establish Authority

People trust those who are in authority. Strategic thinking will put you back in the mind of your ideal customer so that you can remind yourself and them why they should choose you over anyone else.

Determine an Ideal Customer

In order to attract customers, you need to know them better than they know themselves. But “a customer” is not “every customer”. A customer is a single person. An effective piece of marketing content requires a strategy that can make a person feel that it was written specifically for him or her.

Every piece of marketing content will become more effective, will create more return on investment, and will better serve your customers and your business when you’ve created a strong content strategy.

Have questions? We’ve got answers! Give us a call at (858) 277-1717. We’re a San Diego-based search engine marketing company with a content-is-king attitude, always willing to answer questions or  provide a complimentary website audit!

Determining Your Social Media Marketing ROI

Many people use social media marketing as a tool to help them grow their business, but if you don’t know whether or not your marketing is helping your business, then all the money you are spending is wasted. After all, if you don’t know how much benefit, if any, you are getting out of your social media marketing, you have no way of judging whether your investment is worthwhile. By measuring your social media ROI, you can determine whether the time and money you are putting into social media marketing is a good application of your resources.

Set Goals

The first step is to set goals for your marketing. You can’t measure ROI if you don’t know what you are trying to accomplish. Are you trying to boost traffic? Increase visibility? Depending on what your goals are, your ROI may be different. Once you’ve set goals, any seasoned San Diego internet marketing company will advise you to decide which social media platform is the best choice for your business. Different platforms have different user bases, so you should choose according to your target audience.

Track Your Efforts

Next you need to be able to track your marketing campaign. There are a number of ways to do this, such as Google Analytics and HootSuite. Tracking your campaign is one of the most important aspects of determining your ROI. If you don’t have data to crunch, you won’t be able to calculate anything. Once you have your data coming in, you need to pick a time frame you want to analyze and create a report. This will vary based on the duration of your campaign. You also have to find out how much money is coming in from your social media audience.

Determine ROI

Once all of this is complete, there is a simple formula you can use to determine your ROI: ROI = (Benefit – costs) x (100) / (Costs). By using this formula, you can find out just how successful your social media campaign has been, and how to improve your future campaigns.

For more information on managing social media campaigns or other online marketing efforts, reach out to Saba, Inc. at (858) 277-1717. We’re a local San Diego SEO company specializing in social media, pay-per-click management, and web design. Call us today, we look forward to hearing from you!

Essential Tips to Avoid Google Penalties

The first thing to do is get to know Google Penguin and Panda. They were created to keep bad kids off the playground. But we assume you’re not playing that game. In any case, even good kids need to know Google’s SEO rules.

Don’t write articles for SEO only.

Spam isn’t the only thing Google can identify. Their algorithms can snuff out most silliness. Just write good content your customers would be grateful to see.

Don’t link to articles unless you mean it.

You may want to get affiliate income. But does is it a match your market? Google may or may not know. Relevance will get you on or off PageRank. Integrity matters. Relevance ranks.

Somehow, Google knows if you’re a legitimate site.

A physical address, an 800 number, a Facebook or LinkedIn page all tell a story that Google web crawlers identify and carry back to their indexers. And the better you tell truthful and real stories, the better you rank.

Go for social media.

Audience building is not just about getting fans who don’t have a budget to buy. Google also rewards those who don’t yet do PPC. If you create sharable content for various social media platforms, you’ll not only avoid penalties, you’ll be rewarded with better page rank.

But don’t spam social signals.

Old school SEO created false backlinks. New school bullies create false tweets, Facebook likes, and hire Yelpers to tell people they’ve had a great experience they’ve never actually had. There are other sources of fake social media. Don’t fall for them. Google is getting better at identifying them, and the price for fake free advertising is growing.

Here is the message in a nutshell:

Do what you already do. Be honest, act with integrity, and tell your story. That’s what your prospective customers what to hear, and it’s what your current clients already know.

Interested in learning more about SEO best practices? Give Saba, Inc. a call at (858) 277-1717 and speak with one of our San Diego internet marketing pros. We offer free consultations and website analysis and are more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

How to Build and Engage Your Pinterest Audience

If a picture can paint a thousand words, Pinterest can paint—well, a lot. It is the go-to website for shared images that create interest and build visual and contextual brand identification.

The fact is that 28 percent of adults use Pinterest when they are online. Only Facebook and LinkedIn attract more attention. When done right, Pinterest is a great social media marketing tool to build and engage with an audience regularly.

Link Back to Your Website or Blog

Search engines love links from Pinterest. When you link a pin from any of your business sites, you’re creating a backlink from a reputable, well-known source. Also, when someone shares your pin, the link back to your site will remain as the pin’s source.

Find the Best Category

If you choose an irrelevant category for your pins, people won’t be able to find you. It can also make you look like you don’t know what you’re doing and aren’t familiar with your industry. A simple thing like this can cause you to lose the trust of prospective customers.

Make the Board Your Keyword

San Diego SEO companies encourage business owners and marketers to think of titles and descriptions the same way you would for SEO. There is a 500-character limit, so it’s important to make each letter count. Don’t be afraid to repeat (carefully) between board title and description. Maximize pin descriptions for positive impact, create context, and inspire engagement through user comments, likes, and re-pins.

Use the “Pin It” Button

This is a type of word-of-mouth advertising. It makes it easier for readers, customers, or prospects to share your pins with others. And the best part of this technique is that once you install it, you’re done. Visitors can pin your online content on your behalf and their customers or followers will see that activity on Pinterest as well.

Whether you’re planning to use Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, or any combination of those to promote your business, consult with an online marketing company in San Diego to develop the right strategy for your business. For more information, give Saba, Inc. a call at (858) 277-1717.

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