Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

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Why We Care About Website Marketing in Washington, DC

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

For the uninitiated, website marketing in Washington, DC, is nothing less than a formidable tangle, rising up to overtake traditional marketing channels as technology took off in the 1990’s. As any small business owner knows, you have to be judicious with your website marketing strategy, investing critical dollars in the right internet marketing techniques to maximize your ROI.

So what is essential and what is nice to have, but not necessary, when you consider your Washington, DC, website marketing alternatives? Read on for a very concise overview of web marketing terminology and concepts.

According to the Brazen Careerist on Business Insider.com, “There are quite a few different factors that go into SEO: researching different keywords, using these keywords in optimal places, gathering and using analytics, linking, on-page and off-page optimization,” and a long list of others.  It is in the long term, methodical pursuit of positive, measured SEO data results that website marketing in Washington, DC, generates the greatest bottom-line revenue impact.

For this reason, SEO has its own department at larger organizations. Well-trained SEOs are always in demand, and for good reason.  SEO marketing usually includes content marketing and brand management, public relations and identity management, as well as the explosive growth of social media campaigns. You need a top-notch professional SEO company to bring a unified marketing strategy to propel your company into the 21st century.

If website marketing in Washington, DC, is anything, it is pulsating – and rapidly. Changes now happen in the blink of a cursor, and we need an SEO village to support small business marketing success in Washington with targeted, laser-engineered, and continuously active website marketing.

Focus on what your SEO website marketing experts deliver for your business. Ask yourself – am I ranking on the first page on Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft Bing? How many new, qualified  leads have reached me through my website this week? Do I have landing pages constructed to pull in new clients searching specifically for a product or service I offer? Does my company brand and message cross multiple media platforms, including video and social media sites? Is my website marketing campaign designed to work for my company on many distinct levels? Is my website optimized for search engine result page (SERP) rankings?

Our firm, Digital Assembly Line, has over 72 years of combines experience in the design, creation, implementation, and long-term management of small business website marketing success. From Google AdWords to Facebook and customized blogs, to PPC (pay per click) ad campaigns that support your SEO ranking efforts, we offer a full range of services to launch your website marketing in Washington, DC, to 21st century success.

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Achieve Advertising Impact With AdWords Marketing in Northern VA

Sunday, April 28th, 2013

The Google advertising program AdWords reaches an audience of 80% of Internet users in the US. With different types of ads (Image Ads, Mobile Ads, Local Business Ads, and Click-to-Play Video Ads) available, and a build-to-suit cost control system designed to fit your budget, you can achieve advertising impact with AdWords marketing in Northern VA.

Over the past decade online advertising has revolutionized the business of marketing your business. AdWords marketing gives every company the opportunity to advertise on Google search engine results pages (SERPs) to reach a wide audience. With terminology like keywords, bids, placements, Ad Rank,  and Quality Score, the landscape of Google Advertising is best navigated in partnership with an experienced AdWords-certified professional. They can guide you through features and benefits, help you understand campaigns, ad groups, and keyword statistics, and make sense of Google Analytics reports.

Google Advertising offers a variety of built-in benefits that sets it apart from other advertising programs.

  • Broad editing capabilities to refine campaign settings, pay-per-click (PPC) and cost-per-click (CPC) benchmarks as your campaigns progress
  • Native tools to develop lists of specific keywords and negative keywords
  • Online support for ad development, ad variations, and compelling ad text
  • Comprehensive statistical data to track ad performance, CPC, and drive the Google Analytics suite
  • Industry-leading optimization tools to increase traffic and conversions.

In the October, 2000 press release for it’s initial launch, Google said it’s ” AdWords Program Offers Every Business a Fully Automated, Comprehensive and Quick Way to Start an Online Advertising Campaign.” What are you waiting for? Your customers are searching for you. It’s time to achieve advertising impact for your business with AdWords marketing in Northern VA.

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SEO Tips To Help Grow Your Washington DC Business

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Simple, Basic SEO Tips To Help Your Washington DC Business Grow
Every day our team of search engine optimization, or SEO, experts is asked questions about the best way to start and maintain a SEO campaign for their business. While we cannot give specific instructions on how to make a million dollars with SEO, we can offer tips of the trade that will help your Washington DC business grow.
Even though pictures are pretty and pleasing to the eye, search engines don’t have eyes and they do not care about them. When it comes to SEO tactics, make sure you keywords and key search terms are available in text and not just part of the awesome graphics you hired someone to design for you. This does not mean however to eliminate all pictures on your website, but include the keywords in text as well.
Make sure you website content is actually about the product or service you are trying to promote, rather than a personal website that you have simply added a page about your latest and greatest dog biscuits. Creating content that is meaningful and valuable is essential for the SEO efforts of your Washington DC business.
Consider you domain name as part of your search engine optimization campaign, rather than just the location of your website. For example, your business may be called Danny’s Delectable Delights, but that doesn’t really tell people what you sell. Instead think of a domain name that clearly suggests your products like delectable-dog-treats (.com), search engines like those.
What’s in a title of the page? It should contain more than simply “home” or “contact us” if you are hoping to be found in the search engine results. Be specific about what your pages include and you will get much more attention from search engines.
For more tips and tricks of the trade, contact the Washington DC search engine optimization experts at Digital Assembly Line today.
The search engine optimization professionals at Digital Assembly Line gets asked frequently about the best way to start and maintain a SEO campaign for their Arlington, VA business. Even though we are unable to give you a simple 1-2-3 process for making a small — or large — fortune, we can tell you with time and diligence, search engine optimization techniques will help grow your Chevy Chase, MD business.
  • Pictures are worth a 1,000 words and they are pleasing to look at, they do nothing for your search engine optimization efforts. The search engine robots that find, scan and rank the website cannot see the photos, so therefore, they are not all that important to the search engine optimization efforts you are focusing on. However it is important to keep the human users in mind too when designing your website.
  • Keep your keywords in mind too. Your website is ranked based on the relevance of the site in relation to the topic at hand. For example, if you have a website that is about pet supplies, the content should be about pets and pet-related items as well. If you also include information on auto repair, that is not relevant to the topic and the search engines are likely to penalize you.
  • Keep your domain name in mind when you plan your search engine optimization campaign. For example, your business may be called Kris’s Krispy Katails, but that does not tell anyone that a “Katail” is a family baked good, so they are unlikely to know what you sell. Instead think of a domain name that clearly suggests your product instead.

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Do You Push Your Customers To Your Door?

Friday, March 30th, 2012
With all of the talk in the business world about marketing tactics, you probably have heard about push marketing and pull marketing, but do you know what those terms really mean? Most people don’t, so let’s discuss it.
Push Marketing
Push marketing is a way of providing advertising materials to consumers without a request for the information. Pretty simple, huh? Push marketing is found in nearly every medium of communication available today. Television commercials, radio commercials, newspaper advertisements, billboards on the side of the road, banner ads at the top of the internet browser window and even in your mailbox.
The popularity of the internet has not slowed push marketing tactics at all – if anything, it has created an even larger demand for information thereby increasing the supply of push marketing. Ad revenues support the nightly newscast on your local television station, and nearly each advertisement contains the company’s website or Facebook address. News anchors typically refer viewers to the station’s website for further information on topics, which also happens to be a source of ad revenue – another example of push marketing.
The internet has also created an interesting twist on return on advertising dollars since now consumers have the ability to click a link to learn more about a product or service and with another simple click can purchase that product or service. This means real-time return on investment for online advertisers.
Pull Marketing
Pull marketing is a different approach in that rather than force-feeding your information to consumers, you attempt to draw them to your business to learn more about your product and services. Pull marketing focuses on internet advertising and tactics, even if a direct mail piece is used to promote the online presence. Search engine optimization, pay per click, email marketing, social media and text messaging all are examples of pull marketing. The introduction and rapid growth of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter has lead consumers down a path to nearly instant information on a product, typically accompanied by reviews from their family, friends and business associates. This is a great development – as long as your product is of quality and your customer service is superior. If not, potential customers can quickly be steered toward your competitors. Pull marketing tactics enforce the need for customer satisfaction and its importance. Push marketing techniques should always be used to provide support for pull marketing campaigns, as the two are separate but very closely related.
For more information on how your Northern Virginia or Baltimore Metro business can combine both pull marketing and push marketing tactics to increase your revenue, contact the marketing specialists at Digital Assembly Line. Serving clients throughout the entire Northern Virginia and Baltimore Metro regions, including Chevy Chase, MD, Gaithersburg, MD, Aspen Hill, MD, Chillum, MD, Ellicott City, MD, Reston, VA, Alexandria, VA, Vienna, VA, Rockville, MD and more, the team of professionals at DAL can provide your business with the tools to succeed in the pull marketing and push marketing areBus
Business leaders are always talking about new ways to market your business, to help grow your income and expand your company. But what typically begins with good intentions often turns into a descriptive monologue that confuses the reader and does nothing for the actual business. So, rather than add to the confusion, here is a simple run-down on the push marketing and pull marketing.
Push marketing techniques should be considered proactive measures to attract potential customers. This method provides information to consumers without their request for information — you are essentially pushing the information their way. That’s an easy way to think of push marketing. Television commercials, radio commercials, newspapers advertisements, banner ads, search engine optimization and nearly every other form of marketing is push marketing. This doesn’t mean it is bad or irrelevant, simply the state of most marketing strategies today.
Even though the popularity of the Internet continues to grow, it is not overshadowing the traditional methods of advertising and if anything has created an even larger demand for information. The increased demand for information — and typically a demand for instant information — has actually created a higher demand for push marketing. You can no longer sit by and wait for customers to come to you; you must make the presence of the business known. This is where search engine optimization comes into play. The more you tailor your website to the needs of your customers and populate it with relevant information, the more likely you are to be at the top of the list when it comes to search engine results. SEO is a way to make your business work for you around-the-clock and around-the-world with minimal effort on your part. The up-front investment of time and money is to be expected, but once the SEO machine is working, it operates non-stop.
For more information on how your Northern Virginia or Baltimore Metro business can combine both pull marketing and push marketing tactics to increase your revenue, contact the marketing specialists at Digital Assembly Line. Serving clients throughout the entire Northern Virginia and Baltimore Metro regions, including Chevy Chase, MD, Gaithersburg, MD, Aspen Hill, MD and more, our team of professionals at DAL can provide your business with the tools to succeed in the push marketing arenas.

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Get Your Business Website in Tip-Top Shape with These SEO Tips and Tricks

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a tool to grow your online business while helping customers and potential customers find your business. Whether your business is located in the heart of Washington DC or in Falls Church, VA, without question SEO can help increase your presence throughout all of the greater NOVA area. As you understand more about SEO and how it works in conjunction with your website, you will also learn how important it is to get it right.

Give us a call and we can design a custom SEO campaign for your business, but in the meantime, here are a few tips to help get you started or guide you toward SEO.

  • Be patient. Search Engine Optimization is not a single event, it is a long-term tactic used to maximize the Internet and all it offers. For example, you may find your dry cleaning business ranks first for “dry cleaners in Falls Church VA” one week and suddenly a few weeks later you are suddenly fifth. Search engine algorithms change all the time, which requires you to change as well. Remember, what works today may not work next month or next year.
  • Be smart. Before you hire a company to complete the SEO work for you, ask questions and know what you are getting yourself into. Ask the company for specifics before you agree to anything; find out what they plan to do and how they plan to do it, then take some time and investigate for yourself.
  • Build a fantastic website. Even though you could once throw any website together using a free service and it was “good enough” that time has passed. Work with a developer to create a dynamic website for your business and be sure it incorporates room to grow as well. Since your goal is to grow your Falls Church VA dry cleaning business into a huge conglomerate, make sure your website can follow suit.
  • Buy a smart, SEO-friendly URL. If you are not sure what the URL is, you should definitely hire someone to do your SEO work for you. The URL is the location of your website (the name of it if you will). Rather than using confusing or unrelated URLs for your business, find one that states what you do and if possible where you are. For example, “fallschurchdrycleaning” (while hard to read) fits the bill for a dry cleaning business in Falls Church, VA; but “wecancleanyourshirt” does not. It doesn’t articulate what you do or where your business is.
  • Embrace pay-per-click advertising. No matter what source you choose to use, investing in a pay-per-click advertising campaign, also known as PPC. This is a great way to add actual search volume to your keywords for a rather small investment. Set a budget you can live with and work from there. (By the way, this is also something Digital Assembly Line does, and does very well.)

If you’re ready to move your business into the leader’s position, give us a call. No matter where you are or what you do, we can help create a SEO campaign that will help make you a leader in your market.

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Why SEO Is Important For Your Business

Friday, December 30th, 2011

We talk about Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, quite often at Digital Assembly Line. If you ever wonder why we spend so much time focused on it, that is simple: because SEO is essential for your Northern Virginia, Washington DC or Maryland business. SEO, as it is referred to in the industry, is a method of analyzing and constructing a business website as a whole — as well as its individual pages — to attract customers. How are customers attracted? Through discovery by all of the search engines potential customers use to look at and use the Internet. That’s a pretty basic summary of what SEO is, but that basically lays out the information in an easy-to-understand format.

Using SEO techniques makes your website more relevant and more attractive to search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing. These are the driving forces behind Internet searches, which most people understand. How often do you hear friends, family and business associates say “Google it” or “I Googled” when referring to information they found online? The business name Google has become a verb in today’s language, and that’s what SEO is all about: working with the “Googling” world — as well as with the Yahoo! and Bing worlds — to make your website as easily found as possible.

Keep in mind, you are no longer simply competing with the store around the corner, you are now competing with the online merchant on another continent. Making your products and services known and easily accessible to your customers, and all of your potential customers, means something completely different than it did just 10 years ago.

Working with the right search engine optimization company is as important as the work itself. Some companies practice SEO tactics that are less than legitimate, and can have severely negative consequences for your business. When underhanded techniques are used, the search engines can choose — and often do — to blacklist your site completely. Unfortunately they are not concerned with who physically did the wrong thing, they simply want it to be known they will not allow it to happen. So rather than ending up with your website not listed at all, make sure you spend time finding the right SEO specialists to work with you.

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Looking toward 2012…what will the world of SEO be?

Monday, December 19th, 2011

The business of search engine optimization, or SEO, is a fickle, living being and the changes that happen do so without many people even noticing. Unless of course you are in the business of SEO — then it’s all you think about. With the new year approaching quickly, our team of SEO experts at Digital Assembly Line came together and put together a list of what lies ahead. Most of which means you’re going to need our help marketing your Northern Virginia and Maryland business even more.

Currently search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo! all use a combination of human searches and “bot” searches to determine page rankings for websites. In 2012, you should expect that change. But, if you are using SEO tactics right, you will likely benefit from the combination of SEO and social media. The search engines are expected to begin weighing human searches more heavily than those from the “bots.” The bots are useful for site indexing and locating, but human searches give a better impression of what people actually want to see when they search for dog leashes in Bethesda, MD.

Keeping things fresh on your website, including your social media pages or accounts and your company blog, will be more important than ever in terms of search engine optimization. The search engines are focusing more on quality rather than quantity when it comes to ranking your business website. When your content becomes old and stale, the search engines will begin to place less importance on your website than a competitor who updates content regularly. Whether this means bi-weekly, weekly or monthly remains to be seen, which is where search engine optimization professionals come in handy. When you rely on us to update your content, you know it is done without your involvement — unless you want to be involved. Tailoring our services to your needs is part of what sets us apart from our competitors.

The integration of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will become more important in determining your page ranking than ever before. This goes back to the quality versus quantity argument. The more involved you are with your social media fans and followers, the higher ranked you will likely be. A small investment in pay per clicks ads on Facebook can easily generate fans which can then be converted to followers on Twitter and you have nearly automatic page ranking growth.

For more information on how Digital Assembly Line can help keep — or get — your page to the top ranking spots, give us a call today. Offering search engine optimization, pay per click and many other online advertising services, we can help grow your Washington DC metro area business in the new year.

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SEO or Social Media? Which is Better for your Northern Virginia Business?

Friday, November 11th, 2011

We’ve been helping clients throughout the Northern Virginia area make their mark on the Internet marketing world for a number of years. As the times have changed, so has our message. We understand the Internet is a dynamic “place” and changes are constantly happening that may impact the effectiveness of your online marketing and search engine optimization efforts. Rather than forcing a round peg into a square hole, we always customize an online marketing plan to meet the needs of the individual business.

This is why sometimes we use a somewhat straightforward approach to online marketing for Washington, DC businesses that focuses on search engine optimization. SEO tactics focus on implementing a strategic approach to the content of your website, to better match the searches completed on search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing and others. Rather than putting your information on the Internet and hoping customers will find you, using SEO you can help draw customers — and potential customers — to your website.

In other situations, we also put social media marketing to the test as well. Social media networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are ways people easily and quickly connect to like-minded individuals. These may be friends, coworkers, family members or even business acquaintances that all come together to form an online social circle. When looking for recommendations on the best plumber in town many people will put their question out to the masses in search of information. Putting these social media platforms to work for you is both convenient and smart. You may spend thousands of dollars on an advertising campaign that lasts for one day, week or month and see limited results; but you may also create an online presence in social networks that works for you around-the-clock and is easy for your customers to share with their friends, family and coworkers and reach a nearly limitless number of people — that stays around forever.

But, when discussing an article today, we discovered many people are confused about the use of search engine optimization and social media. Bluntly put, one is not intended to replace the other. Search engine optimization is used to promote the website and when used properly, social media will advance the SEO practices. They work together, rather than independently. Using both platforms allows your potential customers to find your website and consider buying products or services, while social media allows your current customers to share their experiences with others as well.

For more information on how you should use the SEO/Social Media combination, contact our team of online marketing experts at Digital Assembly Line today.

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Don’t Be Afraid of Pay Per Click Advertising, Harness its Power and Grow Your Business

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

Internet advertising is an unknown beast to many business owners, which holds most people back. However, as the internet has grown, so have search engines and their capabilities making pay per click, or PPC, advertising a great value.
Consulting with a marketing firm that specializes PPC advertising and SEO is the best way to begin an internet advertising campaign. Understanding the terms and the process before you have a consultation saves time, money and gives you a basic understanding of the concept.

When a consumer uses a search engine such as Google, MSN, Bing or Yahoo to locate information about a particular item or service on the internet, the search engine uses the key words of the search term to target the ads on the side of the screen. For example, if you search “wireless internet router” in Google, on the right side of the screen text-based ads of companies that sell wireless internet routers will appear. This is how advertisements are targeted to your potential customers.
The term pay per click comes from the method in which you – as the advertiser – are charged. Your ad may appear 100 times per day, but if only three people click on, you pay only for those three clicks.
PPC advertising provides immediate advertising and results. The charge for each click is based on the predetermined amount you are willing to spend each time the ad is clicked. This system allows you to compete with other advertisers for the top position on the page. For example, if you are willing to spend up to 50 cents per click and your competition is only willing to spend 20 cents per click, your ad will be at the top of the list.

Companies that switch focus throughout the year, such as lawn care and snow removal services, can tailor their advertising campaign as well. Pay per click advertising allows for the scheduling of a campaign by the day, week or even the hour. If you are offering customers a discount on fall lawn care, you can set the campaign to begin and end during the first week of fall.
For more information on pay per click advertising and how your business can benefit from it, contact the experts at Digital Assembly Line. Locally owned and operated in the Washington DC area, DAL offers PPC, CPC and SEO services to customers throughout the Maryland, Baltimore and Washington DC/Northern Virginia metropolitan areas, including the communities of Ellicott City MD, Hagerstown MD, Chantilly VA, Vienna, Virginia and Reston, VA.

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The Basics of Branding

Monday, December 7th, 2009

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding” mean? How does it affect a small business like yours?

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors’. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can’t be both, and you can’t be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials–all of which should integrate your logo–communicate your brand.

Brand Strategy & Equity

Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy, too. Your brand can also help promote your website if it incorporates keywords or keyword phrases, both important elements when perfuming SEO (search engine optimization) on your website. Some may refer to this as SEM (search engine marketing)

Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company’s products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product–and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example, Nike associates its products with star athletes, hoping customers will transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the product. For Nike, it’s not just the shoe’s features that sell the shoe.

Defining Your Brand

Defining your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:

  • What is your company’s mission?
  • What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
  • What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
  • What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don’t rely on what you think they think. Know what they think.

Once you’ve defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

  • Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
  • Write down your brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
  • Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business–how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything. Integrate your brand wherever you can on the web. (Remember your brand exercise should include the incorporation of Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing) SEO-SEM.
  • Create a “voice” for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.
  • Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand. You may wish to include Strategic Keywords and keyword phrases in your tagline. These keywords can help with your search engine optimization or search engine marketing efforts. (SEO & SEM).
  • Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don’t need to be fancy, just consistent.
  • Be true to your brand. Customers won’t return to you–or refer you to someone else–if you don’t deliver on your brand promise.
  • Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can’t do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

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