Announcement Posts
2021
STARTUP 5 Local SEO Strategies For Your Business
In the age of instant information and smartphones in every pocket, Local SEO rose to become one of the more powerful tools for businesses of all sizes. Everyone sees and understands the importance of Maps Listings and “Near Me” searches…
UX and Healthcare Websites – Balancing Form and Function
In digital marketing, when a new website design is proposed, a battle typically occurs between the internal departments of design, development, and SEO. The team must execute a design that will balance design and development or form and function. However,
Marketing for Niche Medical Practices
New patients are the lifeblood for any medical practice… and niche practices in particular. A doctor who maintains a full patient load and the daily needs of a busy practice can lack the time required for effective marketing.
Social Media Tips for Medical Marketing
In today’s world, it seems as though everyone is on social media. From major corporations to small mom-and-pop shops… business owners are taking advantage of the opportunities social media provides their company to grow and prosper.
Continuing the Conversation: Creating Remarketing Campaigns To Close Window Shoppers
While business owners always hope that prospective customers will see their name or product and buy immediately, that is rarely the case. The sales and marketing term “buyer’s journey” is accurate – most consumers go through a process when selecting
Online Reputation Management for the Healthcare Industry
“Just Google It”. The most common three words heard around the world. What a prospective customer finds on Google will determine if they make the call, send the email, or walk through the door. This is because nearly 80% of
When Should My Business Start Advertising on LinkedIn?
Are you thinking about advertising on LinkedIn but you’re not sure whether it’s a good marketing channel for your business? We already know about other social media platforms that offer advertising like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and of course,
Top Healthcare Digital Marketing Tips for 2021
The past year was difficult for many. Yet here at Efferent Media, our healthcare clients had a good year, unlike many of their competitors. As circumstances change for 2021, here are marketing tips to make it the best year yet
2021 Google Algorithm Updates and Their Impact
Google has rolled out an unusual number of algorithm updates during the past few months, with alarming regularity. Beginning in September, updates were issued every month, ranging from minor to significant. Since August, many glitches have also caused headaches for
5 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Digital Marketing Efforts
With spring right around the corner, scheduling some spring cleaning for your digital marketing is just as crucial as sprucing up your house. Digital marketing encompasses many techniques and strategies to increase your product’s visibility or services, across a wide
5 Ways To Improve Your Website
Your website is your digital business card and the first impression many prospects get. Fancy animations are pretty but are not necessary to grow your business. Instead, you need a website that is clear, easy to navigate, and pleasing to
Google Guaranteed – Everything You Need to Know
We explained how Google Guaranteed is part of the recipe for optimal local SEO efforts in a prior blog post. In this post, we will explain more about Google Guaranteed itself, how it works, and its relationship to Local Services
Why is Inbound So Important During the Pandemic?
COVID-19 has been brutal for a lot of businesses and some industries have been hit especially hard. The common response to revenue downturns is to stop or drastically curtail marketing. That is a big mistake and at Efferent Media we
Mixing Evergreen Content Into Your Blogging Schedule
Evergreen content is an important part of any content marketing strategy. Yet people often misunderstand the meaning and purpose of “evergreen” content and accidentally sabotage their overall marketing strategy. So, let’s take a look at the right way to mix
5 Tips to Enhance Website Traffic for Medical, Health, & Wellness Businesses
A website is essential for any business that wants to succeed and grow, and that includes medical, health and wellness businesses. While at one time such practices could rely on getting enough clients from medical directory referrals and having a
What is White Hat SEO and Why Should You Care?
SEO and search engine marketing have existed in some fashion since the first website was published in the early 1990s. In its current form, SEO is a product of Google and how both it and smart phones have become ubiquitous
What Makes a Website HIPAA Compliant?
HIPAA-compliant websites must have physical, network, and process security to safeguard protected health information. While that seems clear, HIPAA privacy and security rules involve many concerns and components. Here are some of the most common questions we get at Efferent
Google Guaranteed + PPC + SEO = 100% Local Marketing
Marketing a local business can be stressful and difficult. As a business owner, you need to ensure that every dollar you spend on marketing is invested wisely. Hundreds of services “guarantee” an unbelievable ROI (return on investment) and an unprecedented
What Is a Patient Persona?
Marketing personas are an essential part of a successful marketing strategy yet are frequently overlooked when companies handle marketing in-house. That is especially true in medical marketing, which often carries the mindset that patients with the right problem will find
One Hour DIY SEO Audits for Busy People
Do-it-yourself (DIY) projects are all the rage due to the current pandemic. For more people, these projects focus on organizing, cleaning, or building something to improve efficiency and maximize unused resources. The same approach can apply to your marketing. Instead
Why You Need to Write P.S. in Your Marketing Emails
You’ve probably noticed “P.S.” at the end of many marketing materials. Is it a cliché? An old-fashioned writing habit? A tactic to improve your results? How about all of the above? The term P.S. is an abbreviation for “postscript”, which
Your Website is a Form of Reputation Management
What is reputation management? Essentially, it’s making sure that your brand is squeaky clean (or as much as possible) in the eyes of your prospective customers. This doesn’t only involve your Google and Facebook reviews though; in fact, a major
2020
Google My Business Hijacking – What to Know and How to Prevent It
Google My Business (GMB) pages are a vital component of local and overall SEO. When GMB pages are optimized, they provide critical information to customers including contact information, reviews, service catalog, and more. As the pandemic continues, the value of
What is Content Marketing?
While the term may sound self-explanatory, many people are reluctant to admit that they’re not sure what content marketing actually is. Content marketing is defined as a form of marketing which focuses on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a
PPC 101 – Introduction to Ad Buying
PPC campaigns can provide an excellent return on investment and generate high quality leads for your business. If you are considering a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign with either Google or Microsoft, it’s important to understand what you’re getting involved with before
5(ish) Tips for SEO Blog Post Writing from an SEO Blogger
Blogs are a key component of a website’s overall SEO. A blog can be an integral component for link building, helpful when establishing authority and trust with Google and your website visitors, and can serve as a platform to discuss
Is Lead Generation Considered Sales Or Marketing?
Lead generation is a multi-step process that is crucial to gain new customers and expand your company’s reach. While years ago lead generation was often considered solely the responsibility of the sales department, it has more recently been shown to
Facebook Is Killing Its Less Than 20% Text in Image Rule for Ads
Facebook is notoriously secretive and that can even apply to rules and best practices for Facebook ads. The latest example of this is the Facebook 20% text rule, which appears to be dead – for the moment.
Tips for Creating your Brand “Voice” on Social Media
In today’s day in age, the key for businesses to be successful on social media is to establish and maintain an authentic brand “voice.” What exactly does this mean and how do you go about implementing your own unique voice
Should you install a Heatmap before a Redesign?
Website heatmaps are an incredibly useful and often under-utilized tool when it comes to understanding your website and its traffic. While heatmapping is not a panacea for all the issues you might be having, it will improve your perception of
Does Social Media Matter For Your Healthcare Practice?
Marketing a healthcare practice involves special considerations. That made many medical practitioners cautious about social media in the beginning, yet it’s where your target audience is. In fact, more than half of adults in the United States get their news
Major Changes Shake Up Google Ads and What They Mean
Despite the ongoing turbulence currently engulfing the world, Google Ads has rolled out several new changes to the Internet’s largest ad distribution system in recent months.
Why Local Search is Critical for Health and Medical Sites
The importance of website search engine optimization (SEO) is widely acknowledged, but the significance of local search still tends to be overlooked – especially for health and medical websites. Medium and large businesses can dedicate the resources for full-scale SEO
Local SEO Benefits of Google My Business Posts
Every business owner is looking for ways to show up higher in Google searches for relevant local search terms. For this reason, your local business’s posts on Google My Business are more important than ever.
10 Tips for Successfully Working from Home
Switching to remote work because of the Covid-19 outbreak was probably a bit of a shock. Typical office camaraderie may have disappeared with social distancing, everyone is worried, and your usual discipline and focus might be lagging. Here at Efferent
2019
E-A-T: What Is It and Why Is It So Important For SEO?
For SEO, staying up to date with Google’s recommendations is the name of the game, and while the EAT guidelines aren’t new, they’re taking on increased importance. In regards to SEO, EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It was
Favicons and Changes to Google’s Search Results Page
The Internet Has Come a Long Way Remember the dial-up days when your internet connection was a continuous phone call between the internet company and your computer? Dropped connections, downloads taking several hours, and picking up the phone only to
In Case You Missed It: Pressure on Facebook, Monetizing GMB, and Italian Regulators Look at Google
Pressure on Facebook Grows Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes wrote a long opinion piece in the New York Times calling for Facebook to be broken into smaller, separate companies. Hughes is far from the first to do so. Presidential candidate Senator
In Case You Missed It: Instagram Hiding Likes, Pinterest’s IPO and more
TechCrunch tipster and reverse engineering expert Jane Manchun Wong discovered a design change test in Instagram’s code for Android that would hide likes on Instagram posts. TechCrunch asked Instagram about the test and a spokesperson confirmed it. “We want your
How To Boost SEO Using Schema Markup
Schema markup has been in existence for years. Yet it’s still one of the least used optimization techniques in SEO. Search engines understand it, but do you? If not, we’re here to explain how incorporating schema into your SEO processes
In Case You Missed It: Instagram Adds In-App Checkout, Facebook Agrees to Change Targeting System, and more
Instagram Adds In-App Checkout for Brands Instagram has added a “Checkout on Instagram” button on the product page for certain retailers, allowing customers to purchase items without ever leaving the Instagram app. Checkout is currently being viewed as an attempt
How to Optimize Your Facebook Page for Business
If you have a business and you have a Facebook business page, congratulations! This is a vital step in ensuring your business is found when people search for your particular service or product. Just having a Facebook business page isn’t
In Case You Missed It: Facebook Hiring, Google Ad Testing and More
Facebook Sets Its Sights on Washington, D.C. Facebook is on a hiring spree in the nation’s capital and it appears to be directly geared to fighting off privacy legislation, and possible fines and antitrust actions against the company. Facebook is
9 Tips for Creating Google-Friendly Content
As anyone who makes any part of their living by writing will tell you, it’s imperative that you write for your intended audience. You wouldn’t write at a doctoral level for a children’s book, and you wouldn’t leave out industry-specific
In Case You Missed It: Facetime Bug, Twitter Fail & More
Facetime Bug Lets People Eavesdrop on Friends A bug in iOS 12.1 allows people to hear and possibly even see the people they call on Facetime even if the recipient doesn’t accept the call. The recipient has no indication that
Get Your Website in Shape for 2019
Happy New Year from Efferent Media! Now that the holidays are over, it’s time to focus on your business goals for 2019. One of the first places that you should start is your website. It can be an expensive overhaul,
2018
Another Facebook Data Breach, Orchestrated by Facebook and Its Partners
A New York Times investigation shows that Facebook gave other tech giants access to users’ personal data, exempting them from Facebook’s publicly disclosed privacy policy. The special arrangements gave companies access to data without the users’ knowledge and even, in
ICYMI: Google Faces Congress, YouTube Ad & Paywall Changes, VidCon Hires CMO & More
Report Exposes Reach of Russian Campaign to Influence 2016 U.S. Election A U.S. Senate report exposing the wide reach of the Russian disinformation campaign to influence the 2016 election said that its reach was far beyond Facebook, Google, search results
Gutenberg by WordPress – What You Need to Know
With all of the usual madness around the beginning of the holiday season, it’s understandable if you missed the most recent WordPress event. On November 27, WordPress officially unveiled the Gutenberg builder as part of the upcoming WordPress 5.0 core
In Case You Missed It: A Monthly Roundup of Digital Marketing News
Pinterest Names Chief Marketing Officer Via Pinterest Pinterest has named Andréa Mallard as its first Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Mallard was hired away from the Gap-owned Athleta, a line of athleisure clothing, where she also served as CMO. Mallard will
It’s Not Too Late! 5 Social Media Strategies for the 2018 Holiday Season
It’s the most wonderful (and stressful) time of the year! As businesses of all sizes gear up for the 2018 holiday season, it’s time to review your company’s social media strategy for the holiday season. What? Your business doesn’t have
Verifying Your Google My Business Listing
!!! Please note that an online marketing company in California is placing ads to recruit people to receive Google My Business verification postcards. When applicants ask questions, they’re given the link to this article. Efferent Media is NOT associated with any
SMX East Recap
On October 24 and 25th, members of the Efferent Media team headed into New York City, this time to the annual SMX East SEO/SEM Marketing Expo, whose programming is directed by Search Engine Land. At SMX East, representatives from over
Transformation of Search Summit Recap
On October 19, 2018, several members of the Efferent Media team headed into New York City for the inaugural Transformation of Search Summit, which was sponsored by Search Engine Watch, one of the leading sources of online information for all
GDPR For Your Business
NOTE: The information in this document is for guidance only. It’s not meant as a substitute for a consultation with an attorney for your specific business needs and circumstances. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect May 25, 2018,
The Essentials You Need to Know About GDPR
NOTE: The information in this document is for guidance only. It’s not meant as a substitute for a consultation with an attorney for your specific business needs and circumstances. See our full breakdown of GDPR for additional information. What is
2017
What Is a Relevance Score & Why Is It Important?
Facebook marketing campaigns are more complicated than advertised. The plug-and-play interface in Facebook ads manager, which is designed to work without user intervention, makes running ads a quick and simple task, but understanding why or why not your ads are
The Questions to Ask Your Digital Marketing Company
There are many reasons why you need a digital marketing company for your business. Technology is constantly changing and algorithms on search engines and social media sites are often updated. Making sure your business ranks well on desktops and mobile
5 Steps to Building an Online Community as a Community Manager
Community Management has quickly become an integral part of fostering successful, long-term relationships with your customers and a wonderful marketing strategy. According to Forbes, a study done by Bain & Company, hows that increasing customer retention rates by just 5%
How to Generate a Direct Link to Google Reviews
If you’re a business owner, then its a good idea to have a Google My Business listing. It’s here customers can leave their star ratings and written reviews that help Google to determine where you rank on the local spectrum.
15 Things to Do for SEO Before Launching Your WordPress Site
So you’ve finally launched that site your web developers have been frantically working on for what seems like ages. As a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Specialist what do you do to help? Here at Efferent we have an SEO site
What is Quality Score? 7 Tips on How to Improve It and Save Money
Advertising on Google It’s no secret that Google dominates the search engine market share. As their share continues to grow month over month, companies are buying more ads, and people are increasingly clicking on those ads. According to The Wall
The Importance of Filtering Spam from Analytics
Whether you call it referral spam, ghost spam, fake traffic, or just plain old spam; filtering out bogus traffic from your Google Analytics data will help ease a few headaches and give you a better idea of the legitimate traffic
Why Branding is So Important for Pay-Per-Click Campaigns
How Branding Can Affect Your PPC Campaign Today, with a little organization and know-how, it’s easier than ever to run a well-targeted PPC campaign online and land your ad right in front of your ideal buyer. And by leveraging the
5 Ways to Boost Engagement on Your Facebook Business Page
Are you not seeing the engagement numbers you’d hoped for after putting your business on Facebook? If you’re aiming to catapult your brand awareness, increase post likes, comments, and shares on your page, attracting the attention of your target audiences
What You Need to Know About Website Accessibility and the ADA
Website Accessibility is an issue that’s on the front lines for persons with disabilities, and it could effect how everyone, including Efferent, does business going forward. Businesses and other organizations around the country are addressing how to make their websites
Efferent’s Social Media Campaign Earns Client Prestigious Award
When Tragar Home Services asked Efferent to plan a social media campaign for them, they knew they were putting their marketing in the hands of a quality team. After all, Tragar has been a client since 2012. What they might
Social Media Intern
We’re on the hunt for driven and tech-savvy college students (or recent graduates) who are hungry to learn with our Social Media Marketing division. Efferent Media is a full scale digital marketing company based in Lindenhurst, New York. Why This
Digital Media Sales Representative
Our team is growing and we are looking for experienced, energetic Digital Media Sales Representatives. You will be a key member of a growing team focused on the execution of innovative digital advertising campaigns that drive revenue. As a Digital
2016
Amped about AMP: Accelerated Mobile Pages
Nowadays, mobile is king. According to Search Engine Land, traffic on mobile devices surpassed desktop in 2015. If your page takes more than a couple seconds to load, chances are the viewer is going to get annoyed and give up,
SEO in a Nutshell
For more information about our SEO services please use the navigation above.
How to Use Your Newsletter Email List for Facebook Ads
You’ve spent years building your email list, but the open rate just isn’t as high as it used to be. What happened? The quick answer is over saturation. Over time, consumers have grown and shared their email address with more
What You Need to Know Before Making Your Snapchat On-Demand Geofilters
Last week Snapchat announced on-demand geofilters. This is huge news for marketers, especially those with smaller budgets that can’t afford to shell out five or six figures on a 24-hour campaign.
3 Reasons You Need Landing Pages
After all the hard work that is put in to getting your clients to visit your webpage, how do you now convert them into leads? Landing pages are a great start! A landing page is a web page that allows
The Snapchat “Secret” You Need to Understand
Snapchat has gone from that “inappropriate sexting app” to one of the most engaging apps of 2016. It is fair to say you’ve heard about Snapchat, but probably aren’t doing anything about it at this time for your business. There’s
How to Build an Effective Like Campaign
A common objective for all businesses on Facebook is to grow their Community. That doesn’t mean businesses should try to get as many random Like’s as possible. You still want to be strategic when building your Community. One of the
2015
How to Strategically Create Content for Your Facebook Page.
The importance of posting content is often overlooked. Let me reword that: the importance of strategically posting content is often overlooked. It’s important to remember that you’re posting on behalf of a business – this isn’t your personal Facebook Page.
Run Last Minute Social Ads This Holiday
The Holiday season is here. Advertisers have saved a lot of their annual budgets for this very moment. Businesses of all shapes and sizes are looking for increased profit this very second. While many of them will turn to Social
3 Reasons Designers Love Carousel Ads
As a designer creating micro-content, it can be difficult to capture one’s full artistic expression using just one advertisement or design. With the release of Facebook’s new Carousel Ads, this now changes! Facebook released carousel Ads last year in order
Tips for Strategically using Hashtags on Instagram
The Instagram platform is arguably one of the most effective Social Media outlets for businesses to reach audiences and engage with their following. Without a set strategy, gaining the momentum and traffic you need to reach goals will be extremely
Optimize Your Facebook and Instagram Ads with 3 Tips
So your business has started running ads on Facebook and Instagram — congratulations! That’s a great first step; but as with any other marketing effort, you’ll want to achieve the best Return on Investment that you can. When it comes
Four Reasons to Be Excited About the New Facebook Pixel
Conversion pixels can get messy – especially when you’re tracking multiple conversion event types. Can you relate to this problem? Well, you’re in luck: a few weeks ago, Facebook announced the new Facebook Pixel. The Facebook Pixel combines both the
3 Secrets for Building an Engaging Audience
Likes and Followers mean nothing if your community is not engaging – period. Creating a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram page for your brand is a great step into current day marketing; but they serve no purpose when your community is
3 Tips to Make Your Buyable Pins More Effective
It’s getting to be that time of year again. The holidays are around the corner and people are gearing up to get all of their shopping done. In the past, that used to mean a mad dash to the nearest
Winning Your Match in the Ring Against Facebook’s 20% Text Rule
Facebook ads allow you to reach your most interested customers, and send them to your website. In fact, on average, Facebook ads reach 89% of an advertiser’s intended audience. This means you’re only reaching the people who matter to you.
Tracking Your Instagram and Facebook Ads with Conversion Pixels
Getting the most out of your advertisements is crucial to success. With that in mind, how does one really measure the success of their ads? Facebook provides conversion pixels to ensure you’re getting your message across, and your business goals
How to Track Calls to Your Business from Facebook
You’re running an ad on Facebook and hoping it’ll result in phone calls to your office. The campaign is running, you’ve spent hundreds, and you’re still not sure how to measure the success of your campaign. You could send your
What’s up with Videos on Facebook?
The way we interact with content continues to change as technology and social networks evolve. Although each Facebook user experiences the same social network, their experience with content on the platform is tailored to their interactions and interests. Over the
Are You Using Emojis to Speak to Millennials Yet?
As marketers, we are always searching for the next best way to communicate to the coveted millennial generation. We jump on trends that are “cool” and we try to seamlessly stitch ourselves into our target audience’s culture. It’s what we
New on Twitter: Quote Tweets!
Twitter has just stepped up its game with revamping quote tweets! Quote tweets are tweets that are retweeted and have a comment attached. The updated quote tweet feature allows users to say more with each retweet comment. Small updates like
What the Houzz Is Houzz and Why Should My Company Be Using It?
Houzz is awesome. Seriously. If you’re in the home improvement industry, but don’t use Houzz yet, it’s time to sign up and create a profile for your business. What is Houzz? In short, Houzz is an online binder for all
Goodbye Facebook Like Box, Hello New Page Plugin
In case you missed it, Facebook quietly announced that they’d be getting rid of the old version of the Like Box plugin. This is the embedded Like Button that allows you to Like a Facebook page directly from a company’s
Why Your Facebook Business Page Could Lose Likes This Month
Last week Facebook announced in a blog post that they would be updating Page like counts. While some Page Admins may be upset to hear this news, any page that notices a dip in overall Likes shouldn’t be too concerned.
Instagram Announces Carousel Ads: 6 Instagram Facts You Care About
Last week Instagram announced a new way for brands and businesses to share images with their intended audience via carousel ads. As expected, following the announcement, many decided it was time to get active on Instagram in preparation for the
5 Snapchat Hacks to Help You Improve Your Content
It’s no secret that Snapchat is THE place for millennials right now. If your targeted audience includes them and you’re not there right now, you’re missing out big time! Below are five Snapchat tricks to help you build better creative
Your Monday Morning Social Media Checklist
Wake up! It’s Monday morning and it’s time to get the ball rolling again. Whether you’re a business owner who runs the show alone or a social media manager, these are six things you should be doing every Monday morning
How to Setup Your Business on Snapchat
With more than 100 million active users each month, it’s not shocking that Snapchat is quickly becoming one of the largest and most frequently used social networks. If you’re not thinking about signing up for Snapchat yet, especially if your
Three Reasons You Should Be Using Video on Twitter
Video is becoming more and more predominant in social media. When you think video, you think of YouTube, Vine, Instagram, Snapchat and now Facebook. Chances are, you don’t usually think about Twitter. Why? Because Twitter hasn’t allowed video uploads –
Your Non-mobile Friendly Website and SEO
Mobile usage has taken over as leader for total web usage. I remember hearing that prediction in 2008 and thinking, “That’s just insane!”. In 2008, Mary Meeker, an analyst at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said that mobile would surpass
What Pinterest Advertising Means for Businesses
Everyday social media giants like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and now Pinterest, are moving into the world of paid advertising, some with more success than others. It’s hard to monetize these websites because they’re social in nature. With no clear ROI,
