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Why You Should Be Investing in SEO?

SEO a Good Idea?

by Brian Lance

It’s no secret that the future of retail includes a healthy dose of eCommerce. In fact, the growth of online sales over the past few years has been nothing short of spectacular. The growth of online sales for 2021 in the U.S. is expected to grow 13.7% when compared to 2020. That means that if the forecasts are accurate – and there is no reason to believe that they won’t be, online sales should be worth $908.73 billion by the time the first of December is reached.

Now, what are the implications of this for those who want to start up an online retail operation or make sure that their Online business stays competitive? In fact, what does it mean for any business that has a website?

In short, those figures give a good indication that online business is becoming a fight to the death for dominance. That’s a fight that is made even more cutthroat by the fact that the barriers to entry for any business that wants to establish itself on the Internet are far lower than for a ‘brick and mortar’ business.

Start Investing to Beat the Competition

Companies need to start investing in their local SEO efforts in order to ensure that they feed their sales funnels and encourage customer loyalty. SEO (pout simplistically is Search Engine Optimization. It is the science (and some would say art) of inserting words and phrases into a website in order to ensure that it appears near the top of any SERP (Search Engine Results) page. Any potential client looking for specific services or products will almost inevitably do a search on the Internet and if the organization’s SEO is poor, they are going to be relegated to page two (or heaven forbid page 3) of the results that are returned by the search engine algorithm.

It is extremely unlikely that the person doing the search is going to check out page three of the Google (for instance) results. In fact, those involved in the SEO business have a saying – ‘the best place to hide a dead body is on page three of the Google results.’ No one ever looks there.

Hiring a Consultant

For any business to thrive in an increasingly Internet-driven marketplace the advice of a professional SEO consultancy is an absolute must. It needs to be done properly by following the pillars of SEO – and will require ongoing fine-tuning depending on the results of measuring effectiveness. Any business that ignore this strategic imperative is at a distinct competitive disadvantage.

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6 Reasons Local SEO Can Help Your Chicago Painting Business

Grow your local painting business

by Brian Lance

Can search engine optimization help your Chicago painting business? The answer is yes, SEO can help and it can help in several ways. Anyone who runs a painting business will want to know what these ways are. That being said, here are six different ways SEO can help a painting business in Chicago:

Rank High In The Search Engines


Painting businesses in Chicago can rank their website in the search engines’ results pages. The higher they rank, the more traffic will go to their site. When someone searches for painters or other relevant keywords, then their website could appear before their competitors. It takes time to rank in the search engines, usually 6 months or more. However, eventually once a site ranks it can bring traffic for a longtime to come. This is why painting businesses need to be doing SEO.

Generate More Leads


Painting businesses can generate a lot more leads via SEO than other marketing methods. SEO can be used to target people who are currently looking for painting services, have inquires or might be interested in painting services in the future. The more leads any business generates, the more customers they’ll eventually get. Service qualified leads via SEO are the best type of leads to get according to the Chicago SEO Scholar, who specializes in local SEO in Chicago. This is because they are warm leads. People who find painting businesses are looking for them for a reason.

Brand Awareness


Another way SEO can help Chicago painting businesses is by improving brand awareness. There are lots of different SEO methods that can be implemented, and eventually some of the SEO strategies can result in a paining business being found regularly. The more a painting company’s website is found in the search engines, the more people will know about them, which means more people will start to recognize it and have a higher chance of being hired for work.

Grow Social Media Presence

Painting businesses need to have a presence on social media, as this will increase the chances of them generating more business. SEO can be used to drive traffic to a painting business’s website, where the business can place links to their social media profiles. When potential customers see those social media links, there’s a good chance they’ll follow the painting business on those social media sites.Social media plays a major role in SEO. When SEO is done right, then a business’s social media presence will drastically grow. In turn, they will be able to use social media to spread the word about their services.

Become Competitive


Painting businesses need to be as competitive as possible, especially since there are many big painting companies in the city and the surrounding area. SEO involves many tasks such as video marketing, content marketing, keyword research and implementation, social media marketing, link building and much more. There are lots of methods that can be used that will eventually make a painting business more competitive.

Return On Investment


Finally, the potential return on investment with SEO services is better than ROI via other marketing methods. In fact, if a painting business implements a solid SEO strategy, there’s a good chance it will generate sales for many months to come. In some cases, it can result in sales for years to come. Best of all, SEO is cost-effective, especially when compared to traditional forms of marketing.

Chicago based painting businesses should be using SEO. By doing so, they can potentially rank their websites higher in the search engines’ results pages and generate more leads. Painting businesses that use SEO can improve their brand awareness and grow their presence on social media. More importantly, they’ll become competitive and will enjoy a better return on investment.

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3 Key Pillars of a Successful SEO Campaign

Foundations of SEO

by Brian Lance

There are several pillars of search engine optimization. However, there are three main ones. The three key pillars of SEO are:

  • Content
  • On-Site SEO
  • Off-Site SEO

Have Great Content

It includes everything from text, videos, images and PDFs to name a few. Generally speaking, anything that goes on a website is content.

Website owners need to ensure their content is of high quality and unique. It also needs to contain relevant keywords, but not stuffed with as many keywords as possible. Furthermore, Content should be recent/fresh or updated every now and then.

Content plays a role in people being able to find websites in Google’s search results. When search users type in a phrase or specific keywords, then there’s a good chance well-written content will rank high in the search engines. Content should always be created with SEO in mind.

Optimize Your On-Page SEO

On-Site SEO refers to optimization done on the actual website. This can include creating meta descriptions, optimizing page titles and using H1 thru H6 tags. Creating descriptions for images on a website is a form of on-site SEO, and so are creating internal links. An example of internal linking is when a new article is created, then it includes a link back to a relevant article on the same site. One example would be why you should invest in SEO. The blue link here is the internal link.

Promote Your Website

The third pillar of SEO is off-site SEO, which is all about performing SEO tasks that take place off a website. Link building is an important aspect of off-site SEO, which involves getting other websites to link back to website. Let’s say a person runs a painting website and they end up getting links back from other websites, then this means they have generate back links. It is extremely important that back links come from websites that are within the same niche to help their painting website’s SEO.

Another example of off-site SEO is social media. A website should build a strong presence on social media, and be active with responding to their followers, publishing posts regularly and things of that nature. Using social media is a great way to get back links, but social media also plays a role in helping websites generate traffic from the search engines.

Those are the key pillars of SEO, but website owners will want to create an SEO strategy that involves those three pillars. It’s important to note that there are lots of different SEO tasks that can be done within those three pillars. Whether a site is brand new or been around for many years, those pillars of SEO should always be implemented.

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The Top 7 Tips For Hiring A Painter

Row of Houses Being Painted
Photo by Eirik Hodne on Unsplash

When it comes to painting a home, most people usually go with the most cost-effective painter. However, such a decision will leave your home sporting a fantastic paint job or recovering from a mess. So read on as we dive into some tips that will ensure that you hire the best help for painting your home.

1. Check if They are Registered

One of the first things to enquire about is if they’re registered. While most if not all painters are licensed by the Building Commission, you’ll still find a couple of them that aren’t. So if your job costs over $1000, it’s best to ensure that they’re registered and don’t forget to ask for proof.

2. Ask About How They Price

Before bringing in a painter, it’s best to know exactly where you need work done and how you intend it to be done. However, if you’ve already selected your ideal colors, don’t forget to mention them to the painter. Since painting takes time, it’s best to still set a deadline for the job so that the painter knows when he must be completed. So, if you’re planning to compare the prices before choosing a painter, it’s a great idea to compare and contrast with different contractors.

3. Do They Have Reviews or References

Additionally, it’s also important that references are checked. This can be done by asking the contractor for the names and contacts of customers so that they can be used as references. However, you can also contact the Painters Association and enquire about any potential contractor.

4. How Do They Prep for Work

Before your job can be started, you’ll need to enquire about how the contractor prepares surfaces for work. This involves knowing details about the following:

  • Surface prep
  • Which types and brands of undercoats will be used during the job
  • What color, how many coats of it, what brand of finishing coat will be used
  • How plants and property nearby will be protected

5. Get an Expected Completion Date

As previously mentioned, it’s a great idea to set a start and a finish date. This also ensures that homeowners know exactly how to prepare for the painting crew and how many of them will be on site. In the case where the job isn’t completed on time, reputable painters will generally come to terms with an agreement to remedy the situation.

6. Ask About Their Warranty Policy

Just like any other contractor, painters should also provide a warranty. Warranties usually cover materials and labor. So before you hire professional painters, it’s best to ask about the warranty and ask if you can get a written copy in case you should need it.

7. Get a Second Look at Their Work

If you’re having doubts in your mind about the quality of your job, it might be a good idea to get a quality control specialist to look at the work being provided. Professional painters tend to easily provide this service in the event that it is needed.

As we conclude, we have just looked at the top 7 tips that will guide you in hiring a painter. Professional painters will provide a great quality paint job for your home that will last for many years to come. So, if you’re ever skeptical about a painter, you can always ask for references or their registration certificate.

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