The talk of the digital marketing world for the past few years has been centered on one thing: search engine optimization. We all talk about it as if we’re experts on SEO, but there are tons of strategies, techniques, and practices that are constantly changing – making it difficult to actually be an expert.

This is why you can’t trust every SEO company or SEO specialist that claims to have what it takes to up your search engine ranking. Maybe you’ve already had some bad experience with your SEO company failing to deliver the results you were hoping for. This is actually more common than you’d think, and here are a few reasons why your SEO company is failing you.

Lack of SEO Knowledge

It is one thing to say you’re an expert on SEO, but another thing entirely to actually be one. Maybe you hired a company based on their humming and hawing and overall confidence in their skills. But these days, anyone with a laptop, a WordPress account, and access to Google can call themselves an expert. It really means nothing unless you have previous customers who can vouch for you.

SEO pros like to talk a big game, but don’t let this fool you. Do your research ahead of time and look into the supposed “company”. If there aren’t many reviews and the company hasn’t been around for long, our best advice is to move on to the next option. Also, see how the company ranks when you perform a Google search – this is a great way to determine who the experts really are.

Only One SEO Specialty

There are tons of moving parts involved in developing a successful SEO strategy. If your company is failing you, there’s a good chance that they only focus on one of those parts, rather than the machine as a whole. In order for the SEO machine to work properly, every part must be working together.

Some companies just don’t understand this, and they feel that keyword optimization on its own will show results. Well, it won’t. There is way more involved than just optimizing your website with related keywords. You also need to focus on things like original content creation, authority link building, and the overall user experience of your website.

Cutthroat Competition

One of the best ways to keep the eye on the prize is to actually keep the eye on the competition. Try to think of Google as the housing market. In order to get the #1 listing for your property, you have to bump someone out of the #1 spot. This is essentially what happens when your competition invests more time and money into their SEO strategies (and has chosen a proper SEO company).

In order to stay ahead of your competitors, try to think outside of the box. It’s a good idea to check out their websites – you can even get your own ideas by browsing through the competition’s site. Obviously we’re not recommending any shady behavior, but it just gives you the chance to see what’s working for them – and what’s not.

 

As you settle into your comfy desk chair, fully caffeinated from this morning’s 3 cups of coffee, you might feel ready to conquer the resume you are about to write. That is, until you immediately experience writer’s block and don’t even know where to begin.

This is a common occurrence for even the best resume writers in the world. It is normal to feel at a loss for words when writing your own – or someone else’s – resume. To make the process a bit easier, a few resume-writing tools have been released in recent years. According to resume writing professionals, these are the most helpful resources to assist you in writing a superior resume.

Readability Score

There’s not point in delivering a resume if the person looking it over can’t even read it. There’s a little thing called readability, which means that the content on the page is easy to read. This is extremely important for resume writing. If a recruiter or potential employee can’t even make out what you’re trying to say, the page will be tossed in the garbage.

A tool called Readability Score can help. Basically once you’re resume is completed, you’ll run it through the Readability Score software and will score your resume based on its ease of reading. The software tells you why it isn’t readable if you rank low, and this allows you to make the necessary changes to up the readability score.

Hemingway Editor

Hemingway Editor is similar to the popular tool called Grammarly, except this one seems to be better suited to resume writing. With Hemingway Editor, the software will catch any little mistakes in grammar, punctuation, or overall language that you accidentally brushed over. It can be difficult to edit your own content, so even if you don’t use Hemingway, have a friend or colleague take a peek at your resume draft before sending it out.

Career Igniter

Career Igniter will help you to build your resume from scratch. Some of the top resume creators in the world have worked together on building Career Igniter, making resume writing easier than ever. All of the formatting is provided for you, all you need to do is input the words and you’re good to go.

Online CV Generator

A lot of people are confused about the difference between a resume and CV. To put things simply, they are essentially the same thing. Similar to Career Igniter, Online CV Generator allows you to create your CV (or resume) following a step-by-step guide. Just follow their steps provided and eventually you’ll end up with a top-of-the-line resume.

Do You Buzz

If you’ve got all the words in your head, but can’t seem to figure out the proper format, try using Do You Buzz. Do You Buzz provides its users with a series of templates to choose from, ranging from classic to more modern looks. Once your resume has been completed, Do You Buzz even gives you the option to consult with a professional to go over the final draft.

 

Perhaps no name has created such ripples in technology capitalization and the digital market than Agam Berry, a tech entrepreneur, and a thriving digital marketer. After his graduation in 2010, Mr. Berry embarked on a tech career that saw him expand his business in the area of digital marketing. With over ten successful years in the tech industry, Agam Berry acclaims as one of the most renowned industry leaders. Since his career start, Agam Berry gains a reputation as a competent digital and tech marketer who can help clients monetize their web inventory and show a steady and robust increase in revenue.

With thousands of clients to his portfolio and as one of the most successful tech entrepreneurs, Agam Barry understands the dynamics of digital marketing and promotion and understand the ways how the young entrepreneurs can capitalize on the technology phenomena to start a successful business career. Today Agam Berry is a tech guru, a successful entrepreneur and a mentor to many aspiring tech professionals. His goal remains to expand his learning, and he is readily available to advise young tech entrepreneurs who want to thrive in the technological and digital arena.

Agam Berry – Advice for Young Tech Entrepreneurs

No doubt Agam has the career, skill, and portfolio that puts him on the driving seat when it comes to tech understanding, digital marketing concepts, and building a successful business. He has a keen interest in helping out the young entrepreneurs who step in the tech world but lack directions to make a significant impact and grow their trade. If we go through Agam Berry work, we will see a plethora of advice for the entrepreneurs. His main points are to help the beginners to understand the potential in the tech industry and what approaches can guarantee success as a digital tech entrepreneur.

Research and Conquer

Agam Berry top advice to all tech entrepreneurs has always been to know your trade before you start the venture. Countless newcomers fail to make a mark in the tech industry as they fail to collect, organize, and understand the market dynamics of the industry. He advises entrepreneurs to research your business, target your customers, and analyze the success rate of building new clientele relationships in their niche before they move forward with business investments.

Have Financial Controls

Agam Berry often witness newcomers with the right set of tech skills and marketing knowledge fail to survive the industry, and often the culprit lies in the inability of new entrepreneurs to manage the finances and operational costs in running the business. Agam urges young people in business to have a robust financial framework right from the start of the tech venture and build on financial expertise as the business process. When it comes to tech business, every dollar matters, so going in, it is imperative to have full control over the finances.

Love What You do!

Agam firmly believes that only those can capitalize on the potentials of the tech and digital marketing industry who have a passion for working in the business. His advice to young entrepreneurs is to find a niche they love and feel excited when they are building their businesses. If you do not have a passion for what you are doing it will reflect on your outcomes, and it will become increasingly difficult to compete with those businesses who love the tech work!

Continue to Learn

Agam Berry continues to learn and grow and strongly urges everyone who is in the business to learn and avoid falling in the pitfall of complacency. Young entrepreneurs should not limit themselves to what they know and seek new information. Tech is changing at a rapid pace, and only those business can catch up with the market demands if they adapt to the latest technologies and continue to acquire new skills.

As an established name with countless success stories to his name, Agam Berry continues with various business projects and remains active in pursuing new clients. He loves to mentor young entrepreneurs and also encourage the students to play the role of mentors as they learn the tech and digital skills. He believes that through coaching and learning any business can reach to the top and generate remarkable revenues.

 

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.

 

Even if machines are made of metal and programs, devices remain similar to humans in that they can wear down and lose their quality of performance with further use. In other words, machines can lose the optimum quality that they once had due to heavy use and old age. As with the changing global climate of technology, different industries, ranging from manufacturing to construction, are forced to keep their machines up to date with the latest trends to keep operations going. This procedure of upgrading and changing has become necessary to stay alive in the competitive game of the business world. To this end, there are ways for a business to keep operations efficient by ensuring the up-to-date quality of their machines.

Always check the quality of your machines

Routine check-ups of equipment and machines are of big help in informing an entrepreneur of what needs to be repaired or changed. Small damages that are detected early on can prevent you from suffering a significant financial loss. Potential massive losses can be anticipated and avoided if the entrepreneur makes the wise decision to replace the machine with a better one. While ensuring the quality of the machines, regular check-ups also ensure the safety of the workers in the business.

Only buy quality products

One of the more efficient ways to accomplish this is by looking at competitors and comparing machines sold by different companies and only buying from those that have published reviews proving their quality. Indeed, it is always a desirable situation if quality equipment is purchased at a low price. In times like this, an entrepreneur is also tasked to weigh options before investing in such machines. Will it help the company in the long run? Will it endure heavy use? Whatever the answers are, quality equipment should always be purchased.

Stay vigilant for the latest trends in technology

It may be cranes, steam machines, scales, or gadgets; all devices will always need upgrading, and every company will want to have the best among the available ones sold in the market. For the manufacturing industry, more often than not, a heavy-duty scale gets sold out quickly as most companies know the importance of having consistent and reliable tools for the handling of their goods. An entrepreneur is tasked to read up on the news about technology, especially about occasional discounts, sales, and new company releases to be one step ahead of his or her competitors in the industry. Some of the best quality machines are also only sold for a limited time. Hence, it is always crucial for businesses to be updated on the latest trends in technology.

It may feel like a lot to keep a strict eye on your equipment, but you’ll be able to see that staying vigilant on maintenance and keeping up to date on newer models will enable you to raise the quality of your services to your customers.

 

The prevalence of online shopping has brought about a surge in the delivery business. The need for the fast delivery of items bought online means that the courier industry will continue to grow, as more services enter the marketplace. The large number of courier companies has made the competition stiff. If you are part of this industry, you have to go all out to promote your business in order to succeed.

Here are 5 insider secrets that will help grow your courier business fast.

Target new markets

If you already have a customer base, you should start exploring ways to break into new markets. Analyse your market to discover delivery routes you are not currently targeting and consider how you can cover these areas.

For instance, if you currently cover the delivery of gadgets and technology, you can consider including food items and perishables. But first, find out how you will need to adapt your business to manage these new items. It is vital you have the correct preparations in place before committing to anything.

Invest in a new delivery method to expand your reach

Another way to expand your delivery business is to upgrade the way you deliver items. This may mean buying new equipment or overhauling your current one. For example, if you want to venture into the delivery of food items, you will need a refrigerated van to ensure that deliveries remain fresh until they get to their owners.

You should also consider investing in a larger delivery vehicle so that you can expand your delivery reach. This way, you can cover more area without returning to the depot for a reload. If you have or are upgrading to a van, consider investing in the protection of van insurance. It is important that the assets that support your business are covered in the event of an accident or accidental damage.

Offer value-added services

The strength of your service delivery is important if you want to grow your courier business. Explore different ways to make your brand stand out, such as using custom packaging, going the extra mile, and even coming back if the recipient is not available for collection the first time.

Some of these activities will incur a few extra expenses at your end, but improving your customer service skills will become a worthwhile investment when more online stores start using your services. Like everything else in life, you will probably make mistakes, but how you handle these mistakes will mean a lot to the growth of your business.

Explore online advertising

These days, you must have a website, or you are missing out on a massive potential customer base online. The internet offers affordable ways to advertise your business to the people that matter, and your website is a great tool for achieving this.

Apart from your website, you should also have an active social media presence. With social media, you can narrow down the reach of your message to your target audience so that only people that use and need courier services will see it. So, while you are using the traditional methods of advertising that has worked in the past, explore the opportunities that the internet has to offer.

Be visible

After creating a website or blog for your courier service, the next step is to make your business visible across every free platform and database possible. You can use more traditional forms of marketing like newspaper ads, posters, and radio to get the message out there. Make yourself a well-known name in the courier world, and customers will seek you out when they need you.

Running a courier business takes a lot of hard work, but it’s vital you take steps to adopt an effective growth strategy.

To read more on topics like this, check out the business category.

There are many of us who would love to have the career of someone such as Tatiana Regan, a good friend of mine who makes a living as an Instagram influencer. When we first left college and she told us that this is what she wanted to do there were a few of us who didn’t quite believe that our good friend Tatiana Regan could make it, but she has proved us all wrong. Tatiana has worked incredibly hard to get to where she has and this is how she was able to grow such a popular social media following.

Niche

There is no point in having an Instagram profile which is about every aspect of your life, at least not if you plan to become an influencer like Tatiana. The key here is to do what Tatiana did which is to pick a niche into which you will fall. For example in the case of Tatiana she picked two of her loves, food and travel, and from that moment on everything that was posted on her social media channel was relating to that. If you have a profile which is about your entire life, you will get support but you may struggle to find the loyalty which you’ll find when you have a niche.

Content is King

When Tatiana Regan first got started on Instagram she knew that content would be the single most important part of her work. And so even way back when she had absolutely no followers, or at least no more than friends and family, she would always spend hours on each photo or video which she uploaded. At the time I remember thinking that she was going way too far to produce content, often taking hours to get the perfect post. Tatiana however knew exactly what she was doing and when the followers did begin to arrive, they would go back through this content and engage with it.

Communicating

Tatiana would always spend hours communicating with her followers, thanking them for their interest and their comments and encouraging them to share things with her. To be honest as a friend this used to annoy me a lot because she’d always be glued to her phone. As the follower count continued to increase Tatiana could no longer manage all of the comments on her profile but she would still try her best to answer as many as possible. Tatiana has always understood the idea of community around social media and this is why she was so keen to constantly talk to her followers, or at least as much as she could. When people follow a certain page they want to be included in the conversation and they want to have a direct line with you. If you can engage with followers like Tatiana did then you will grow in popularity and you will have followers who continue to like and share your content.

For more tips from Action Life Media, check out our Blog.

Jeff Lupient wife is a truly inspirational figure and a woman that I feel very lucky to know and lucky to call a friend. I first met Jeff Lupient during our time at Hamline University and it was clear even back then that he would go on to find great success. After experiencing the world of management for over 10 years Jeffrey Lupient eventually set up his own automotive group right here in our home town of Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, Minnesota. Given that we both loved the industry and that we were both from Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, Minnesota, he invited me on board to manage some of the admin side of things. Jeff places high focus on success, much like myself and this is why we have managed to achieve so much, in Jeff’s case however, his highly charged energy and drive for success comes from his super star of a wife, and here is how she supports her successful partner.

Pushing

Jeff’s wife Anne is not someone who will hide in the shadows when it comes to how Jeff manages his business and she is very often the one behind him giving him a push. Anne also hails from Minneapolis-St. Paul Area, Minnesota and around here we don’t accept second best. Jeff’s wife is able to gee him up when it is needed and ensure that he is firing on all cylinders when his head starts to drop.

Decisions

Anne is also involved in a lot of the decisions which are made about the business and although she isn’t necessarily named on the business, she always has insightful and interesting things to share when it comes to making a decision. I often think that this must be brilliant for Jeff, to have an intellectual and forward thinking partner who can help him out.

Responsibilities

Given that Jeff Lupient can’t be home as much as he’d like to his wife takes on a huge amount of responsibility when it comes to looking after the home and their children. The pair could easily pay for a nanny but they both decided that a present parent would be far better. Somehow Anne even finds the time to work as a consultant despite how busy she is with her home life.

Sacrifice

When Jeffrey W. Lupient decided to start this business his wife and he had a conversation about what they wanted to achieve. Knowing that they both couldn’t achieve their dreams right away, Anne decided to put hers on hold until the children were old enough to look after themselves. This act of sacrifice is incredibly noble and it shows just how much she loves and supports her partner in his endeavors. Knowing Jeff as I do, I understand full well that he will repay that debt to her.

What do you think a partner of someone successful should be like?

 

When you are running a consumer business, you always expect the unexpected. A number of problems can arise, and it is vital for you to find ways to resolve things to the best of your abilities. One of the most common scenarios that you can possibly encounter is a customer complaint. What are you going to do to make the customer satisfied at the end of the day?

In reality, customer complaints are unpredictable. Some issues are pretty much easy to handle, but some problems are known to be quite complicated and can trigger the customer to get angry thus negatively affecting the business. That is why everybody in your company needs to know how to handle complaints in a professional manner. Here are some tips on how to get you started.

Just listen

When a frustrated customer approaches you with a series of complaints, it is essential that you let them talk while you listen. It is usual for the customer to vent out their frustrations towards you but do not take it negatively.

Check account history

Proper documentation is essential in every type of business. Investing in a CRM system can help you efficiently manage each customer account making it easier to check for issues and provide real-time solutions. Being organised with company records will benefit not just your existing clients, but it is also for your employees.

Acknowledge the customer

If the customer is expressing their frustration make sure to let them know that you are listening. If you are speaking to them over the phone, short statements such as “I see”, “I understand” or “Go ahead and tell me” are helpful in terms of letting the customer know that you are listening. When taking customer complaints personally be eager to show them your willingness to help by writing down notes and asking probing questions.

Apologise

Whether it is your fault or not it is important to apologise to the customer for making them feel bad. Aside from offering a solution, customers would also like to hear that the other party is sincerely apologetic about the situation. Remember that filing a complaint alone is a very frustrating process that is why every angry customer deserves an apology.

Find a solution right away

Once you are able to get all the necessary information, do the investigation and provide the appropriate resolution. Make sure that you are still using the standard guidelines to ensure that you are giving customers equal treatment.

Do not forget to follow-up

Make sure to get back to the customer to check if the issue is already resolved. Call backs may seem like a small gesture, but it is a way to show customers that you care.

Poor customer service can significantly affect your business in many ways. Stories about lousy experience travel fast, and it can discourage other potential clients from trying out your products and services. That is why all customer complaints must be handled quickly and efficiently before they escalate to a higher level.

Image: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/07/25/09/39/call-center-2537390__340.jpg

 

If you just fired another receptionist for continuing to show up late for work over and over again, it is time to look into another option. Have you ever considered a live answering receptionist service instead? Maybe you assume that it could never work, not having an actual receptionist come to the office every day. But there are some major advantages to a professional receptionist service, so don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.

Services are provided 24/7

With a normal answering service utilizing an in-person receptionist, business hours are only in session for 9 hours of the day. With a receptionist service, your business can accept calls 24/7 without ever needing to send someone to voicemail. This is true even when the office is closed, setting you apart from your competitors whose phones redirect to voicemail after 5PM.

There is no hiring, training, or firing involved

You won’t need to accept applications for a receptionist or invest time and money into training that person. Instead, you just need to call your local live answering agency and you will be assigned with someone who has been thoroughly trained already. Of course there will be a briefing period for this individual to learn the ins and outs of the company, but this should not take long. If you decide that it’s not for you, simply call the agency to discontinue the service.

It will save money in the long run

Keeping an in-house receptionist on your payroll is actually more costly than outsourcing. Not only will you be required to pay your receptionist a salary, but you also need to provide health benefits, office supplies, vacation time, and an office space.

You don’t have to worry about sick days or vacation weeks

When the office receptionist takes a sick day or heads to Bermuda for her 2-week vacay, the entire office seems to fall apart. Someone from another department can be assigned to the phones, but who will cover that person’s position? When you hire a live answering service you never have to worry about this.

There will be several call representatives who can handle the job, so if one rep is not available another one will just fill in for the day. The same goes for vacation time; when it comes time for your regular virtual receptionist to take her yearly vacation, you won’t be responsible in any way to find a replacement.

There will be more time to focus on business growth

When you are not concerned with answering the phones or receiving reports from your in-house receptionist, you will have more time to focus on the overall business. Your main goal is to grow your business, and with a virtual receptionist you can do that.

It will impress your potential customers

When a client calls and is directed to a professional virtual receptionist, your company appears to be well-established and more “corporate”. Even if you are running a small family-owned business, a call service will give the appearance of extreme success. This is something that a lot of potential customers gravitate towards.

 

Investing in the services of a search engine optimization agency is proven to be one of the top methods for growing your business. The results probably won’t come about instantly, but you will definitely see some positive change with time. Getting started is the hardest part, but luckily there are plenty of experts available to help you out. Here’s what they have to say about getting started on SEO the right way.

Step 1: Analyze EVERYTHING

Before you can set goals, you have to understand what is going on with your website and the current state it is in. This can be done by using analysis tools that will provide you with every piece of vital data you might need. There are 3 main categories of data that you should focus on during the analysis phase:

• Website analysis – Start doing keyword research, look into your coding vs. text ratios, etc.
• Initial keyword nomination – Think about what you yourself would type into the search engine if you were looking for a company like yours. You can even ask your existing customers about this.
• Competitive analysis – Look into your competitors. Closely examine their websites and the keywords that they use throughout it.

Step 2: Keyword Research and Optimization

We’ve already brushed on keyword analysis, but the next stage is to delve even deeper into researching your keywords and phrases. You can do this in several ways, the first being to utilize Google suggest. When you type in a keyword relevant to your company, what other suggestions appear below? These should be utilized as keywords since they are suggested by Google based on what people are searching for.

Once you’ve researched what they are and compiled a list, the next step is to optimize your site with them. So how are keywords optimized? This is done by placing them throughout your site, but in a natural way. Don’t just plug in keywords wherever possible – the site will look unnatural and it will read as if you are trying too hard. Everything on your site needs to flow naturally, including the placement of your keywords.

Step 3: Start Submitting Your Content

This is the fun part. The next step is where you can actually start to get creative and provide your audience with valuable information. It is time to start adding more content to your website, as well as to other sites filling the internet. First, focus on your own site’s content. If you don’t already have a blog section, now is the time to create one.

Once you have filled your own site with interesting content that provides some sort of value, you can focus on other aspects of the internet. The practice of “link building” is when your website gains more authority on a search engine. This happens by increasing the number of links to your site found throughout the world wide web. You’ll have to pay for each link, but this practice is extremely effective in improving rankings.

For more business tips from Action Life Media, check this out on our category page!