Bedford 360 Digital Marketing Blog

Here are the top five search engine optimization (SEO) strategies for improving the visibility and ranking of your website: Conduct keyword research to identify the terms and phrases that potential customers are using to find products and services like yours. Use these keywords strategically in your website content, titles, and tags to signal to search engines what your site is about. Optimize your website for mobile devices. With more and more people using smartphones to access the internet, it's important to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Use header tags to give structure to your content and make it easier for search engines to understand the main points of your website. Optimize your website's loading speed. If your website takes too long to load, visitors may become frustrated and leave before they've had a chance to explore your content. Build high-quality backlinks from other reputable websites. Search engines view backlinks as a vote of confidence in the ...

Google Ads is costly if you don't know what you're doing, but if you do...     By now, you've likely heard of Google Ads or even just paid advertising. You'll see the latter on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, while the former is advertising solely on Google.      For this blog post, we'll only be covering Google Ads, as social media is its own topic depending on which platform you choose.     So, should you use Google Ads for your business? Here's some information that might help you decide.     First off, it depends on your budget. While you can find keywords that have low competition for cheaper prices, you're still spending money either way. Now, I obviously don't know your personal budget, but if you're going to try Google Ads, set your daily spending limit to something like $10 to start.      That's around $300 per month, so if you're not comfortable spending that much, you're probably not ready...

One simple tactic to save small business owners money on SEO   When building a new business website, it's easy to forget about long-term SEO. You're distracted by which colors to use, which images fit the design the best, and you're probably too excited to actually notice which words you're using on the page. It's more common than not.     I've seen too many businesses do this. Then, once they've reached a few hundred to a few thousand pages, they call an SEO agency and start paying them to fix their gigantic list of issues. As an SEO professional, this isn't bad news for people like me. Obviously it means a consistent paycheck and more opportunities to gain experience. It's a win-win.      But I feel the need to help new business owners, especially those with a new website, get ahead on SEO so that if they end up needing help, they're already in an amazing spot and won't need to spend tons of money on agencies.      So, allow me to give you ...

Sometimes people are just there to watch the show     Since the 1980s, my Dad has owned and operated his own auction business. He's highly regarded by anyone who has ever attended one his sales, although he's moved to online-only since about halfway through the pandemic.           Up until that point, he called sales the way you've seen in movies and tv shows. (Except that he's a bit faster than most I've seen.)     I started helping out at auctions when I was twelve. I just turned thirty, but eased away from the auction business due to acquiring other skills and finding various opportunities in digital marketing when I was twenty-five or so. That means I had 13+ years of watching a successful small auction business operate.      So, without further ado, here are a few things I've noticed over the years.  Sometimes a Brand's Face Makes All The Difference     Live auctions aren't just a place to buy unwanted ...

It's been two months and I've learned that quitting helps you win sometimes      Caffeine is a major part of most people's daily routine. For some, it's a ritual before starting certain activities. In fact, I've met people who can barely function until those first few coffee drops make contact with their tongue.      Now, I'm not a scientist, nor do I have a clue which receptors are affected by caffeine and why, but I can tell you the differences it's made for me personally. And of course, a lot of these changes are similar to other addictions. So, if you've ever considered dropping caffeine, here are some things you might notice happening to yourself.      (Before I begin, I need to mention that I consumed less and less until I reached zero. This wasn't a cold-turkey situation. So when I write about having a more focused mind and better sleep, take note that if you do quit cold-turkey, you'll likely have adverse side effects such as irritati...

    Sometimes a slower pace allows for higher quality and less editing          Six months ago, I started writing fiction by hand. Up until that point, I used a laptop like many other writers.       In fact, most writers use a laptop for their writing. And it's easy to see why. You have access to word documents that can auto-correct typos, save their work to clouds to view on other devices, use AI to auto-generate ideas, and even email their finished works to others for review. It's obviously the most efficient way too, right?     Now, I can type 105-110 words per minute. I can't even come close to that same amount by hand. But that's not always a good thing. Because I've noticed that when I allow myself to fall into the beautiful, mesmerizing flow state that we all love, while in auto-pilot mode, some of the descriptions don't come out in the best way possible, or maybe I haven't chosen the best words for that particular ...