How quickly your website loads matters for several reasons, here is why:

The average website has several areas that require maintenance. The backend like WordPress. Keywords, content, descriptions, and links for search engines and overall user experience. However, recently the speed at which a site loads has taken prominence. According to Rack Allery, here are some of the reasons why:

Google

The most important reason is because Google made site load speed a ranking factor. Although it is only one of several hundred ranking factors, when two equally competitive sites are competing for the top spot on a page, it can make all the difference. Site load speed was always important; it just took Google to bring it to prominence.

Devices

Most websites are responsive and viewable on a range of devices, from smartphones to desktop computers. From the smallest screen to large widescreen displays. According to recent statistics, the majority of website traffic now comes from mobile devices with small screens. Slow loading websites are especially frustrating when you are on the go and need information fast.

User experience

Even if you have all your bases covered in terms of user experience, a website that takes longer than a minute to load is likely experience a lot of traffic loss. Often, a slow loading website also has implications for the reputation of the organization.

One of the ways to improve your website performance is to host your website as close to your target market as possible. For example: Los Angeles colocation will provide the LA area with low-latency high-speed access to the website.

How to Optimize a Youtube Video

If you want your videos to get more views and your website to get more traffic, then you might be wondering how to optimize your YouTube videos so that they will get the best possible rank. This advice from a digital marketing agency will help you reach your goal.

Title

Taking a look at the title of your video is a great place to start when your goal is to optimize your YouTube videos. Many people overlook this step, and their videos don’t enjoy a spot on the first page of the search results. The keyword that you want to target must appear in the title, preferably toward the beginning, if you want to get the most from your efforts.

Description

Never leave the description of your video blank if you want it to show up on the first page of Google. Although you must include a compelling description that will inspire people to watch your video, don’t forget to include your keyword. No matter how tempting, avoid using a short description because using more words increases your odds of success, and if you are not sure how to write an effective video description, then a digital marketing company can take the lead on this.

Audio

YouTube will try to translate the audio from your video into a transcript, and the text will be used for closed captioning and to help Google determine the topic that your video covers. To increase your odds of ranking, always use your keyword several times in each of your videos. If you are doing digital marketing in Los Angeles, including the name of your city will help you get local traffic.


Sticky Web Media is a digital marketing agency specializing in PPC, SEO and digital marketing.

Battling to be Seen: Advanced Search Engine Marketing Tips

Search engine marketing can get expensive, but here are some ways that you can lower the expense while increasing the chance of your ad being seen.

Choose Long Tail Keywords

Avoid choosing basic keywords for your ad campaign because you’re battling big businesses who spend a lot of money bidding on those keywords. Instead, focus on long tail keywords. For instance, instead of paying for “search engine marketing”, place your bid on “Los Angeles search engine marketing” to find your niche in the market. Long tail keywords will help find the demographic of people you want to convert to customers instead of wasting money on keywords that leave you lost in a pool of marketing campaigns.

Know Your Audience

Google allows you to choose the time and locations of when your ads will be displayed in the search engine. Use this function to your advantage in order to avoid wasting money out of your marketing budget. Search engine marketing Los Angeles should be approached differently than if the desired demographic is in New York, so know your audience as well as what they want and when they want it.

Practice SEO in Your Copywriting

Remember to practice basic search engine optimization rules when creating your ad. Use your long tail keywords in your copy, but you don’t necessary have to use it in the full form. For example, you can shorten it down to “SEM in Los Angeles” because anyone searching for those main terms will know exactly what SEM represents.

Combine these tips as a way to decrease your search engine marketing costs while reaching your desired audience.
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Sticky Web Media is a Los Angeles Internet marketing firm offering a range of solutions for better exposure on the Web.

How to Dominate Local Search

Businesses that depend on customers in the local community need to dominate local search results to stand out from the competition. Rising to the top of local searches is simply a matter of following these best practices.

Use geo-targeted keywords and content for increased visibility in local searches. Avoid keyword stuffing, such as a plumbing company placing Venice Beach plumber and twenty other cities followed by plumber at the bottom of each page of their website. Business owners who haven’t mastered writing geo-targeted content using one keyword phrase per page should look for a firm specializing in local search engine marketing in California.local-search

Businesses that depend on walk in traffic should have their address, phone number and hours of operation prominently displayed on the homepage their website, along with customer reviews, which help consumers make a decision. Mobile consumers want information quickly; they will not waste precious data searching for a “contact us” link. A California Internet marketing firm may suggest adding a map or information about local public transportation to make it easy for consumers to reach the business.

Get local citations and your business will dominate the local search results. A Google My Business listing is essential. Yahoo! Local, Yellowbook and Manta are also perfect examples of places to claim your business listing. Always include multiple photos when it’s possible. Local citation building takes time unless a business owner hires a California Internet marketing company to perform citation building.


California SEO agency Sticky Web Media specializes in on site optimization for businesses of all sizes.

Top Strategies To Improve Email Marketing

If you’ve dabbled in the world of email marketing, then you’re aware of the challenges that you have to face when creating an email that actually yields consumer engagement. Even if you’re an amazing writer, you’re only fighting half the battle. There are numerous steps that you have to take and an abundance of marketing strategies that you need to integrate.

Nurture Your Campaigns

It’s a delicate process to say the least. For one, if you decide to skip the whole strategic planning part, you could end up being labeled as a “spammer”, which generally doesn’t end too well. People will then begin to disregard your emails and your reputation could take a tremendous hit for it.

This is why properly planning out your emails beforehand will start you off on the right foot.

Everyone is looking for ways to improve their emails so they can drive new customers into their business. And, everybody struggles at some point trying to get over the hump. You’re definitely not alone in this. Honestly, the best advice that can be offered here is to do what works and stopping whatever doesn’t. It sounds like common sense, but in fact there’s more to it.

Check Your Analytics

It’s there for a reason. By evaluating your performance data, you’ll get an idea of what people like. This is important because you can then incorporate your findings in the next campaign that you host.

Optimize Your Emails

Merge the strong keywords on your site into your emails. Popular keywords are essentially popular because a high volume of people search for them on a daily basis. This is an important aspect in marketing that should be considered.

Bio: eTargetMedia is one of the top agencies providing targeted email and postal lists to businesses of all sizes. eTargetMedia also provides a variety of email and landing page design services as well as email append services.

Three Tips for Improving Email Deliverability

Written by eTargetMedia.

Making sure your emails get delivered to their intended targets is just as important as having great content. Unfortunately, many emails never reach their destination for a variety of reasons — anywhere from incorrect email addresses to the sender being on an ISP’s “blocked” list. Here are a few steps that you can take to ensure that this doesn’t happen to your emails:

Avoid Email Blacklists: Getting on an email “blacklist” can severely cripple your ability to run effective email campaigns. It can be easier than you think to get on one of these lists if your email lists is not kept clean. You can do a web search to see if you are currently on any lists.

Understand Your Bounces: There are two different types of bounces: temporary and permanent. A temporary bounce my come from a person having a full mailbox; permanent errors can be anything from an ISP setting up an email trap to an incorrect email. You can set up an email network to recognize the difference between the two.

Trust the Source of Your Mailing Lists: If you are going to pay for the use of a third-party’s email list, make sure it is coming from a source you can trust. You’ll want to make sure you are working with companies such as eTargetMedia that have completely permission-based email lists in order to comply with regulations. You’ll also want to make sure that the list is frequently updated for bad emails and is broken into target audiences.

eTargetMedia offers digital marketing solutions to companies ranging from startups to Fortune 500 businesses. They have email lists that include more than 150 million names and 15 million businesses.

 

Common Causes of Email Bounces

Written by eTargetMedia.

When your business sends out an email campaign, you want to make sure that it gets to the intended recipients. Unfortunately, some emails will get “bounced” back to the sender as undeliverable. Some of these instances are simply because the email address is no longer valid — in this case, it makes sense to make sure you are using a validated email list from a direct marketing company such as eTarget Media. In other instances, the bounces will happen because of correctable errors.

Here’s a look at a few common reason why emails get bounced back and never reach their intended recipient:

Bad Domains: Because of a typo, the recipient’s domain in their email address is not entered in properly; for example, an email address of “youraddress@gmail.com” might accidentally be “youraddress@gmial.com.” Make sure you check domain names as much as possible before sending an email.

Spam Content: Email servers can automatically reject incoming email messages if they detect content patterns consistent with spam emails. These triggers can include overuse of phrases such as “free” or “guarantee,” the use of multiple colors of text or multiple fonts within the same email, overuse of exclamation points and the aggressive use of calls to action.

Mailbox Issues: A person might want to receive your email but be unable to get it in their mailbox because of a problem on their end. This could be for several reasons including that their mailbox is full or that their email server is crashed. When you receive these types of bounces, you’ll want to resend the email in a few days to see if the user has resolved their email problems.

eTargetMedia has 20 years of experience in direct and Internet marketing. The company’s dedicated and experienced team helps businesses of all sizes create and execute a range of marketing campaigns.

Benefiting from a Professional Web Hosting Company

Written By Rack Alley

Does your company have a web presence? If it doesn’t, you should definitely make this a priority ASAP. However, if your company does, it’s just as important that you make this a priority in every single way. Never stop looking for ways to improve the way you relate to others online. One way you could do this is by bringing on a company to handle your web hosting. The good news is that, in LA, it won’t be very hard to find one.

The benefit of Los Angeles web hosting is that your company doesn’t have to pay for all the physical space it takes to house your hardware. Another company will handle that need and you’ll simply pay them a reduced price for it. Otherwise, you have to have this space on your own property. You’ll also need all the supplemental hardware it takes to look over your hosting equipment. Then there are also the added bills for hiring IT experts to do more of the same.

There’s also Los Angeles colocation to consider. With this option, you just pay for the space. This is a good option for smaller companies that may not be able to afford hosting. You get the space and check in on it and work on it as necessary.

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If you need an LA web hosting company, don’t waste your time considering all your options in Southern California. Instead, let the experts at Rack Alley show you what is possible now and in the future for your company.

Three Ways to Modify Your Email Subject Lines and Increase Open Rates

Written by eTargetMedia.

You can have a skillfully crafted and informative email campaign that potential customers would love to read, but if they’ll never know about it if they don’t open the email first. For this reason alone, it’s imperative for you to pay close attention to your email subject lines. They are the first thing that your customers will notice when they receive your email and the strength of the subject line will likely be the difference between an email being opened or marked for deletion.

So how can you improve your email subject lines to get more people to open your emails? Here are a few tips from leading email marketing firm eTargetMedia:

Straightforward subject lines often are the best. It’s easy to try and create a cute and very creative subject line that will capture the imagination — and attention — of your customers. However, it’s also possible to get so cute that you obscure the message. Whether or not you are using humor in your subject lines, make sure the point of the email is clear.

Numbers and lists attract attention. Just as with online content headlines, people are naturally interested in email subject lines that list the “10 Best…” or “Seven Ways to…” do something. They know that they will be getting information in short, easy-to-digest packets of information.

Include action verbs whenever possible. Directing action verb at people — instead of writing in a passive, third-person voice — can be incredibly powerful. You want people to do something after reading your email, so why not spell that out in the subject line?

eTargetMedia has 20 years of experience delivering online and offline targeted marketing services to clients ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies.

Why Businesses Prefer Colocation

Written by Rack Alley

At some point in time most businesses would be face with the tough decision of whether to move, consolidate or expand their data center as a part of their IT infrastructure strategy. The decision would involve analyzing the hard and soft costs surrounding the data center and whether to go for colocation or to get a dedicated data justify. Off Site colocation is usually preferred by most companies and some advantages are listed below.

Reduced IT Infrastructure and Management Costs

Lowered costs constitutes of one of the main benefits of colocation. Businesses opting for colocation are able to reduce their total IT management cost. This is because they do not have to invest in HVAC systems, UPS and backup generators in order to store their data. All these investments would be carried out by the colocation provider.

Increased Power Capacity and Redundancy

A high power density is generally required when it comes to upgrading IT applications. An in-house data center would have to cope with such power challenges. Colocation providers enable companies to have access to a higher power-per-square foot ratio in comparison to in-house data centers. This allows companies to target innovation in terms of high density virtualization and computing.

Reliability and Uptime

Network reliability would lead to business continuity. Colocation providers offer various networking options with flexible solutions depending on the needs of the business. For instance, Los Angeles web hosting solutions are among the most reliable in the world. The configuration of the data centers are meant to provide reliability and availability.

Rack Alley specializes in Los Angeles colocation and LA web hosting services for businesses.