PSPINC Official Company Blog

Make your Pictures SEO Friendly

2月

21日

image source: pixabay.com

Name your Image Correctly

Use the name of your image to accurately depict what is going on in the picture and try to use correlating keywords. If you don’t know what keywords are, or if you need a refresher, read our blog on keywords here. Think of words and phrases that people are searching for that might pertain to the image. Remember, images are just as searchable as websites and they can lead people to your website.

Use Alt-Text

When images don’t load on a screen the alt-text is there to replace the picture. Use the alt-text to be descriptive about what is happening in the image. And again, make sure you use your keywords in the description. The alt-text isn’t just important for images that won’t load; it’s also there for web accessibility. If you hover over images, and depending on your browser settings, it will show the alt-text.

Add Images to Sitemap

Similarly to indexing your web pages, you can index your images with Google. Add images to your XML sitemap to help Google identify and map your website. This includes adding any internal or external links to images to help guide visitors through your website.

Decrease File Size

When we browse the web we expect everything to load quickly. How many websites have you left because things aren’t loading? There are two different ways to decrease the file size of your image so it will load faster on your website, which will help your SEO.

The first is to decrease the image size. You can do this in applications like Photoshop using websites like this one: https://www.picmonkey.com. The second way is to decrease the image quality, which will decrease the amount of pixels in a given image, making it load faster.

Choose the Right File Type

There are a myriad of file types to choose from, so how do you know which one is right for you? When looking at photo compression there are two main types: lossy and lossless. Lossy means an image will decrease in size and quality. Lossless means that it will decrease in size without compromising quality.

PNG – We keep the background of your image transparent and it is lossless.
GIF – Is similar to PNG because it’s lossless and can have transparency, but it can also have animation.
JPEG – This file type is lossy but is really good for large images, photography, and color gradients.

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #Photography #PhotographyTips #SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #SmallBusiness #WDXnews

How To Take Better Pictures For Your Business

2月

19日

image source: pixabay.com

Rule of Thirds / Use the Grid

A super easy way to improve any pictures you’re taking is to use the gridlines on your DSLR camera or phone. The gridlines split the screen into nine boxes, which follow a principle of composition called the “rule of thirds.” This principle states that an image is more balanced and easier for people to view if it’s split into thirds. By aligning points of interest on the lines and intersections you can create an image that is easy on the eyes.

Choose One Subject

Before you begin taking pictures of products, people, or your office space, you need to decide on one subject. A big mistake people make is focusing on more than one subject, which makes it hard for people to differentiate what to look at. Make your subject clear, obvious, and easy to discern. Simplifying your pictures makes it easier to choose one subject.

Negative Space / Symmetry

Choosing a background for your images can be daunting, but embracing negative space can not only make for better pictures, but also make your job easier. Negative space refers to blank or open space within a picture. This style of photography has become extremely popular. When you leave negative space in your photo you will make the subject even more powerful.

If your subject doesn’t have a background, you might try looking for patterns and symmetry. It can give a sense of harmony to your pictures that will make it more pleasing to the eye.

Leading Lines

Leading lines draw attention to your subjects and tell the viewers eyes where to look in a picture. You can find lines all over and there aren’t any specific rules for how to use them. The more comfortable you get using the grids on your camera the easier it will be to see lines in everyday life.

When using leading lines, you want to have your image at the intersection of the lines. Leading lines don’t always have to be straight, they can be circular and even wavy, it’s up to you to frame the lines to direct viewers eyes.

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #CameraTips #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #Photography #PhotographyTips #SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #SmallBusiness #TakeBetterPictures #WDXnews

Business Communication: Be Simple and Consistent

2月

14日

image source: pixabay.com

Albert Einstein said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” That’s great advice, especially when it comes to business communication. The only thing I would add – in respect to business – is to keep repeating a consistent message if you want it to stick with people.

With all the distractions around us, and all the information and advertisements circulating for other brands, it’s easy for even the simplest message to escape our minds. If you want your business’ message to stand out, three things need to happen. 1) Your message must be simple and the same every time. 2) You have to get it out there in front of people over and over again. 3) You have to be an authority on what your message is conveying.

Let’s use some big brand slogans as an example. Can you match the message with the brand?

Just do it.
Think different.
What’s in your wallet?
I’m lovin’ it.
There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s …
Because you’re worth it.
For life.
A diamond is forever.

These big corporations have nailed down simple slogans that are easy to repeat over and over again. Because of that, I’m betting you knew most of the answers. But they aren’t the only ones who can succeed in this type of marketing. Regardless of your size, keep repeating your message until it becomes a part of your internal business culture and a part of your public identity.

Finally, back up your message with authority and action. Your marketing message should be genuine and authentic and represent your business accurately, otherwise you risk driving people away.

So, did you guess most of them? Check your answers:

Just do it. - Nike
Think different. - Apple
What’s in your wallet? - Capital One Credit Card
I’m lovin’ it. - McDonalds
There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s MasterCard. - MasterCard
Because you’re worth it. - L’Oreal
For life. - Volvo
A diamond is forever. - De Beers

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #Branding #Communication #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #SmallBusiness

Business Communication: Building Mutual Relationships

2月

12日

image source: pixabay.com

I strongly believe relationships in business – a company and its customers, a company and its employees, a manager and team – must work like a marriage. Both parties must mutually benefit, reciprocate, and want to engage in a healthy relationship. And healthy communication in those relationships include being genuine and clear, sharing not only the goods, but sometimes the bads and the risks. It requires us to know each other pretty well.

Let’s talk about a specific example.

Let’s say you’re a salesperson at PSP, and a customer came to you to buy a computer. The customer had a budget of $1,500 but you strongly recommended the $2,000 computer which the customer bought. One week later, an issue arose and you had to deal with the repairs which took several days.

At the time of purchase, if the customer was super happy to learn about all the all the added features he/she was getting by spending the extra $500, thanking you for all the advice, the problem that came up will likely be dealt with pretty smoothly. Overall, the customer was happy with the purchase from the start.

But what if the customer felt pressured to purchase the more expensive machine? Well, if the customer never felt comfortable with their initial purchase, you can bet they won’t be happy with the new issue. Getting it sorted out might not go as smoothly since the relationship between you and the customer was never mutually beneficial.

In any relationship, unless it is mutual, you’re more likely to encounter issues sooner or later. So be honest, be genuine, and put yourself in their shoes, so you can make the relationship mutually beneficial and successful. This requires clear and honest communication to work.

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #Branding #Communication #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #SmallBusiness

Business Communication: Getting your Point Across

2月

7日

image source: pixabay.com

Has anyone ever asked you, “So what is your point? The point we try to make to someone can easily get muddled with extra words and long explanations, or it can get confused by lack of tone over digital communication. So how do we get to the point faster and make communication more effective?

Here are some points to consider:

State your point up front.

It’s important you know what your point is before you start communicating it. What is the outcome you’d like to get after your explanation? Particularly over email, it would be great to include your point in the subject line, if possible, so people are prepped to read. You should also summarize your point and purpose for the email in the very first paragraph.

Keep it simple.

When people ask what your point is, or say get to the point, they’re asking you to be direct –in other words – simplify the message. Don’t fill your explanation with big words, slang, abbreviations, or buzz words. If you have time to prepare your communication, choose your words carefully.

Getting to the point also means “be specific.” If you state, “I need the products to be delivered fast,” what “fast” means to you may be different for someone else. You meant within one day, but by another person’s standards maybe a week is fast. Best to say things like, “I need the products to be delivered within 24 hours,” or “by 2 p.m. tomorrow.”

Don’t bury your point in too many words.

We tend to explain ourselves more when we aren’t confident or clear about our own point. People read diagonally if you have too many words in your email. Keep it short and sweet. One way to do that is by using bulleted or numbered lists. You can summarize specific points really well that way.

Give examples.

If you can include examples to get your point across, do it. And the more specific examples, the better.

Finally, re-read your email before pressing send.

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #Branding #Communication #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #SmallBiz #SmallBusiness

Business Communication: Setting Core Values

2月

5日

image source: pixabay.com

Communication is a very broad topic in business – it includes internal communication between staff, from management to employees, and it also includes external communication to the public through branding, advertising and PR.

One of the key elements in business communication is persuasion. How do we get people to trust us, believe our stories and get on board with what we do? A big part of doing that is getting your internal values and communication in sync so the message you put out to the public is consistent.

Since it’s the beginning of a new year and time to communicate our company goals with the team, I thought I would write down some of the key points and share them with you as well. We call these our “core values.”

At PSP, have 5 core values:

• Creativity:
We are here to be creative and innovative so we will stay ahead of our competitors.

• Professionalism:
Customers seek our advice because we are the pros. Demonstrate knowledge and professionalism.

• Simplicity:
Let’s not confuse customers or each other. Simplicity can provide efficiency.

• Consideration:
Putting ourselves in each other’s shoes should guide our response and actions.

• Excellence:
Always seek improvement. Never compromise.

Setting and sharing your internal core values is a good way to keep your employees in sync – who are coming from different departments, have different motivations, job descriptions, and even come from different generations and backgrounds.

Core values serve as a guideline for employees to follow and they should be shared and talked about within your organization all the time. It’s fine to share those core values with your customers too, as long as they’re being met internally. Have you considered your business’ core values?

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #Branding #BusinessCommunication #Communication #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #SmallBusiness

How Search Engines Rank Websites

1月

31日

image source: pixabay.com

What is ranking?

When you type something into a search engine there are typically 10 website links that appear on the first page, with multiple pages of results that follow. The position at which a website is listed is considered its ranking; the higher the position, the better the ranking. Websites that appear lower down the list of links have a lower ranking.

How do search engines rank?

Search engines rank using two methods -- indexing and crawling -- which help determine where they rank each website. When someone performs a search, a list of top websites appear that are deemed to be the most relevant to the search. This list is the “answer” to your search question or query.

Search engines determine this relevancy on multiple factors including site link structure, content and keyword relevancy, traffic volume, and link quality. The links within your website are the roads by which search engines find your content, the better the roads, the easier it is for them to get around. Content and keywords on the pages your links take you to must be relevant to what is being searched. You should always write your content for users, NOT search engines. The quality of a link is determined by the number of relevant websites linking to it.

Conclusion

It takes more than typing a bunch of keywords on your website to rank well on search engines. And although there isn’t a secret formula, there are steps you can take to get better results: 1) Think about the content on your web pages as the answer to someone's search query, to help you get started. 2) Write the content for users, not for search engines. 3) Build out the link structure of your website to make it easy for search engines to find your content.

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #ENnews #Google #Link #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #PageRank #SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #SmallBusiness

Keywords: Why They Still Matter

1月

29日

image source: pixabay.com

What are keywords?

In terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and websites – keywords are the words and phrases that define your content. If you take a single web page and you only look at the text, your keywords are the words or phrases that appear repeatedly.

Why are they important?

When someone goes to a search engine they type in keywords or “search queries.” Keywords are the road between what a person is searching for and the content you’re providing. When building a website, writing a new blog post, or even when adding pictures to your website - keywords matter. If your goal is to drive organic traffic to your website, the keywords you choose will define what kind of audience you attract.

Take Mars bars for example (yes, the candy bar). If they try to rank for just the word “mars” they might rank really high on search engines, but they’ll get extremely different types of traffic. Some people might be searching for the planet, while others are looking for something to satisfy their sweet tooth. It’s important to think about the searchers intent and align that as best as you can to the types of keywords you use.

What are long-tail keywords?

Keywords can be broad or they can be specific. Broad keywords will get you lots of searchers (and lots of competition!) but might not bring people at the right stage of their search. Long-tail keywords, 3 words or more, have more intent behind them. For example, the phrase “used cars” is broad and might have a different meaning depending on who is searching for it. But, “used sedan in Spokane Washington” is a long-tail keyword that might indicate they’re looking for a used car to buy, and soon. Using long-tail keywords might bring you less traffic but they will have less competition and bring you a more targeted audience.

Does it matter how I use keywords on my website?

Trying to rank for certain keywords isn’t about jam-packing your website full of them. Search engines, and your visitors, want to read content that brings actual value by providing an answer to a search. The goal is not to trick search engines into ranking you high; it's to provide information that’s relevant to the keywords. Part of SEO 101 also includes adding keywords to your URL, headers on the page, meta descriptions, and in the alt attributes of images.

#Advertising #B2B #Blog #ENnews #Keywords #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #SmallBusiness

Defining Backlinks & Why They Matter

1月

24日

image source: pixabay.com

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a hyperlink from one website to another website; they’re also called “inbound links” or “incoming links.”

Why do they matter?

Ultimately, backlinks matter for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. When multiple websites link to the same web page, it signals to search engines that this content is worth linking to. Backlinks are a way of vouching for a web page or website, which makes it more worthy of showing up on search engine result pages (SERP). If your web page about grooming horses has a lot of inbound links from other relevant sites, it’s more likely to show up in the search results when someone types in “how to groom horses” or “horse grooming.”

How do you earn backlinks?

Not all backlinks are created equal. Backlinks from popular and trustworthy sites will be worth more to search engines than backlinks from sketchy or spammy websites. Earning these backlinks can be as simple as posting quality content and receiving backlinks without any promotion or effort. Or, you can actively share your web pages and push promotions to get more reach from your content in the hopes people who view it will also link to it.

Linking to other web pages.

When you choose to link to a web page, the value your website brings depends on the specific page you link to, the anchor text you use, and whether you choose to follow or nofollow the link.

#Advertising #B2B #Backlinks #Blog #ENnews #Marketing #OfficeTips #PSPinc #SEO #SearchEngineOptimization #SmallBusiness

Internal Links: Establishing Site Architecture

1月

22日

image source: pixabay.com

What are internal links?

Internal links are hyperlinks that point to a subpage within the same domain. In other words, internal links point to another page on the same website.

Why do you need internal links?

Internal links fulfill a few different purposes. They provide site architecture by linking web pages to each other and creating pathways within your website. These pathways are beneficial for users and for search engines like Google. Internal links allow Google to crawl through your website content easily, and helps the Google crawl bot make connections between subpages. The anchor text used on these links can also tell Google bots why certain pages are relevant to search terms. Internal links are a critical piece of your website’s search engine optimization (SEO).

For users, internal links provide a way to navigate the website. Having the appropriate internal links on each of your web pages can keep a user on your website longer. This in turn can lead to positive user behavior on your website, which will be relayed to search engines and help with rankings.

What makes a good internal link?

• Ideally, internal links should be at the start of a page so that a click is more likely.
• The anchor text of an internal link should offer insight into what the user can expect once they click.
• The internal link should expand, add to, or match the topic of the page it’s linked from.
• The quantity of links on a page should be limited to a helpful amount and not be overdone.
• Internal links should not be in the footer or sidebar.