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If I were to ask you the difference between search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), you may or may not be able to tell me. Unfortunately, they are far too often used interchangeably. However, they are very different strategies! The similarity between the two makes it difficult for most small business owners to determine a better fit. Should you invest in one or the other, or maybe both? Let's look at what's the difference and which one you need for business.

SEO and SEM, What are they, and what's, are the differences between the two?

Both of these industry terms get used abundantly, and they definitely work hand-in-hand. When used together, your website may benefit. However, they are not the same thing. 

One way to think about the two is to think about fishing. SEM is like taking a single fishing pole and going over to the honey hole where you know the fish are biting and dropping your line. Now an SEO would be like taking a fishing net and stretching it across the same spot. Both catch fish but only by using the net are you going to stay fed for a while or feed your family. Unfortunately, it takes time to weave the net together, so the fishing pole is a good option while you get started perfecting your macrame. 

SEO = Search Engine Optimization

SEO is a marketing strategy, using keywords people use when using a/an search engine like google and linking the keywords to their site or business. Hence, they appear as close to the top of the first search engine results page (SERP) as possible, To gain exposure for their site or business, which leads to higher traffic and sales. But it's not as simple as one might think. A lot has to go into a site to optimize its potential

SEM = Search Engine Marketing

SEM is also a marketing strategy, but one that uses paid advertisement to link the name of their site or business to a list of keywords that customers might use in their search engine for services. The ad will either appear above the organic sites at the top of the SERP or listed at the bottom. Which is why, if you've ever searched for anything using Google, then you know the first three or four things listed in your search results are all ads and marked as such. Those are all what is known as SEM's, and they go by a CPC (cost per click) or a PPC (pay per click).

What is the difference between SEO and SEM?

Well, the obvious answer would be money. An SEM is paid for, and an SEO is not.

More than the apparent financial difference, SEM is mostly used in the short term to announce a sale or to gain better exposure for a highly competitive keyword, which is extremely difficult to be seen and rank for otherwise. For example, if you are a plumber and you are competing against Roto-Rooter or Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. As you can imagine, these companies have money to burn and gladly buy ads, running up the ad prices. Ads for competitive keywords can become very costly and can add up fast!. SEM's are best when used in the short term, so if you use one, remember you can set a daily budget or the max amount you're willing to pay per day.

SEM's are better used as boosters to gain traffic to your site or business and typically are not economically feasible in the long term. SEM should always be used in conjunction with an SEO site for optimal benefit.

SEO or organic search brings more traffic in the long run. Organic search is a search that cannot be affected by paid advertising and is listed by its relevance to a search. Now, if you can't afford any SEM kind of advertising, there are many ways that you can optimize your site to get it to appear high in the SERP by using SEO techniques and content marketing.

Tips And Tricks You Should Know

The White Hat Technique Will Raise Your Search Ranking Based On How Search Engines Rank Sites 

1.) On-Page SEO

This SEO helps search engines understand a page's content. Therefore, giving it a higher ranking in the search by optimizing each individual page of a website to target a specific keyword makes your site more appealing to the search engine.

Keyword Research: Research the most commonly used keywords in searches that have been used for your site's topic or business by going to websites like ubersuggests.com and registering for free. If your site uses the most common keywords people are asking about, its relevance will be raised automatically in the search engine. 

Creative Content Writing: Your site can't be like any others; if you want traffic and to get noticed, you can't just use the keywords. You need to find a new angle on them and make people want to click on them, giving readers what the other sites are NOT. Or, in other words, answer people's questions! Exactly what an AI SEO agency helps you do by combining creativity with data-driven keyword insights.

2) Technical SEO

This SEO will optimize non-content elements of the site and the overall site itself, improving its foundation. 

Site Speeds: Use lower resolution or more transparent media on the landing page for faster site speed. 

Indexing: Make everything organized and clean looking while also making info easy to find 

Crawlability: Make words and buttons bigger for easy navigating.

Site Architecture: Make sure there are several ways to reach, contact, or talk to someone on the landing page, and everything is clearly marked and visible. 

Mobile Friendliness: Make your site or business mobile-friendly. Search engines are used almost more on mobile phones than on computers anymore, and search engines know the difference and rate higher for sights that cater to both. 

Security: Security is vital if you want to build trust and return traffic.

3.) Off-Page SEO

When other reputable website sites link to your site, it shows the search engine that the brand is trustworthy. This type of SEO builds up a website's reputation and authority. This is usually accomplished by connecting it to other high-quality websites by including:

• Local listings
• Directory profiles

4) Local SEO

Local SEO comprises a variety of tactics. Most will include a geographic landing page. As the name implies will consist of a geographical location and services or products relevant to the area. They are designed for local search or when a user is searching for the keyword or keyword phrase in combination with the "near me," "city," or zip code determined by Google. Other things will include

• Google My Business Listing and Management
• Reputation/Testimonials
• Maintaining Name, Address, and Phone consistency 

Why Good Businesses Use Either An SEO or SEM Or Both

Everybody wants their site or business to appear at the top when someone searches. Obviously, it's a highly coveted position that's extremely competitive. Most people who use search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo for their search only look at the first page of search results. Why? Because we want everything fast. Having to click through pages of search results is work. Typically people use searches for three reasons:

• for businesses and services
• for researching topics to become better educated about something
• for finding info on people, places, or things

Ask yourself this, when you do a Google search, do you click to the second page of your search results? How about the third page? If they don't see what they want to on the first page, most people will type in a whole new search by altering their wording or "keywords" next, rather than click to a second or third search result. Being listed on the second page of search results is still better than five or ten, but it still gives you less than a 50% chance that a searcher will reach your site or business through their search engine results.

Knowing this, I'm sure you can imagine with both SEO strategy and SEM strategy, the goal is to be seen in order to gain the most traffic. The more traffic to your site or your business, the higher the chance someone will contact you or will share your content with others. There's a lot that goes into each SEO and SEM strategy also both on and off-page. However, the one thing they have in common is keywords. Both strategies are intent-based. Meaning someone is purposefully searching for what you're offering or something closely related.

Target Marketing

It's important to know who and what you're marketing to. Some demographics are broad range like sports or medicine, but even both of those topics are umbrella terms for a much greater list that could attach itself to those words alone. Sometimes being broad helps, and using an umbrella term can sometimes definitely help. But so are a million other businesses that got there first years ago and have established themselves on the internet—making your business page 30 in the search engine. So to optimize using an SEO or SEM needs to be far more specific if not closely related to your actual target audience.

For example, let's say I'm an ice cream fanatic blogger. Now the words ice cream have been taken by Baskin-Robbins and rap songs for at least three search pages. Let's say mint-chocolate chip and a couple of other flavors are taken up also. But maybe through my research, ice cream scooper is wide open or ice cream as one word because sometimes people don't care how it goes into the search bar is also a better chance for you to get on that first SERP as #1.

Which Is Better for Your Business, SEO, or SEM?

With the similarities and differences between SEO and SEM laid out, unfortunately, there isn't a clear winner for most small businesses. Just as you and your business are unique, so should the choices you make. For some, SEM might be just the ticket to break through a ceiling, while it might be cost-prohibitive for others.

If you need help choosing, I would suggest reaching out for a free consultation. We will be glad to help you decide if one is better than the other or if both might be a better fit for you and your business.

Controlling overhead costs is critical for all small businesses, but those in the construction and trades it is even more critical. With increased competition, increased material cost, and slim profit margins, it has forced many businesses to take a good hard look at overhead cost management.

Budgeting and variance analysis

Technology has made budgeting systems, control strategies, and planning available to contractors, both large and small. Budgeting allows you to evaluate and assess current operations, future costs, and provide a proactive approach to controlling overhead.

Your overhead will be either variable or fixed. Owners and managers can use these price relationships along with historical developments to potentially forecast costs. Keeping a flexible budget can then be used to evaluate significant variances between actual costs incurred and projected amounts. This will also help you in highlighting weaknesses and potential problems in your organizational structure.

Merely setting a budget, you will help you and can act as an action plan. It can help you change employee behavior and assist you in the decision-making processes. By prompting managers to emphasize cost control and extend planning, employees and staff will often adopt your values. They will also develop a cost-conscious attitude that will start to permeate the company.

Partnering

The global pandemic has thrust the adoption of technology and online communication faster than anyone could have predicted. These advances have also increased the availability of access to the internet wither in the office or in the field. This, in turn, has allowed contractors to join meet with owners, architects, financiers, and subcontractors faster and work through all aspects of a project. Cooperation has the potential to virtually eliminate several of the problems that previously plagued a project. 

Job planning and management

Software is now available that helps builders manage and plan jobs more efficiently. For example, contractors can accurately plan crew sizes, production schedules, manage material deliveries, and schedule subcontractors with the help of technology. These programs allow you to make better decisions, ensuring that your jobs are completed with fewer problems and within budget.

Technology saves time and money

While technology has helped many people, it does come at a cost. You must weigh the benefits of the cost and your time. Ultimately, you must decide if this is going to help or hurt you? Often, the initial sting of technology costs hurt, but the rewards of time gained back is worth every penny.

Just like your website should help answer searchers’ questions so that you or your staff doesn’t have to take time out of their day to answer it. This isn’t to say you should always direct them to your website for an answer, but it does help to have the most common questions answered there as if one person is asking it, chances are there are more with a similar question.

If you are a contractor who needs help with making your website work harder, then reach out to us. We specialize in helping contractors and small businesses grow by simply making their website answer people’s questions, which increases leads and sales.

Jobsite theft can be a hefty burden for contractors of any size. According to the Associated General Contractors of America, it can almost a billion dollars annually.

Here are a few tips and tricks that you can do to help secure your job site: 

Install A Fence

Merely installing a fence around the entire work area can help limit the lazy thief. Fencing such as a chain-link fence is easy to install. If the site you are working in allows you can also add barbed wire to the top to discourage the more ambitious thief from climbing over it. If you are looking for a good fence installer in the WNC area, be sure to reach out to Asheville Fence and tell them we sent you!

Hey, you can’t park in here

By having your employees park outside the main job site will help prevent smaller tools from growing legs and walking off to the trunk of a car or bed of a truck. 

Light it up

Having a bright light area can help deter both vandalism and theft. It allows police and neighbors to keep a watchful eye out for any unusual activity.

Alarm systems

By simpling putting up an alarm that detects motion and activates additional lighting may be all that’s required. If you want to go a step further, then adding security cameras might be another option. If you need a good alarm system or looking for a consultation, talk to Integrity Security, and be sure to tell them we sent you! 

Mark equipment with ID numbers. 

By marking equipment with an ID number will help not only deter theft but help you in inventory and depreciation management. Use something like a Google Sheet to help you keep track of everything. Be sure to have one that is visible and one that is hidden, such as an access panel that is rarely removed or hard to remove.

Getting a delivery, be sure to sign for it 

It is helpful to have one person you really trust in charge of materials coming to the job site. Have them keep a log of what is there and what isn’t. Expensive and critical materials should only here there just in time.

Inform the proper authorities

It’s always wise to inform the proper authorities such as fire and police before starting a project. Simply reaching out to them and showing them some goodwill will help in protecting your job site. To help oversee the site effectively, police often use inventory tracking software for agencies to monitor equipment, materials, and on-site activities, ensuring everything is accounted for and reducing potential risks.. Be sure to make sure you give them an estimated completion date and typical work hours, don’t forget to update them if it changes either! Also, try to provide a list of key personnel and their mobile phone numbers for emergencies.

Hopefully, with these tips, you can help ensure your job site is safe and secure. While we at Cube Creative Design can’t help you with securing your job site, we can help you with securing your website and making sure you have a full pipeline of leads. Contact us today to see how we can help your business grow!

The primary purpose of your small business website is to attract the right customers and motivate them to take action. The call to action might be to contact you, find out more about you and your offerings, or referring others to the business. A mere entertaining site is simply noise and is no real value, ahem social media sites. Your website needs to work just as hard for you as you do; consider the following suggestions:

Define your buyer persona

A buyer persona is just a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer base. This is based on your market research and real data about your existing customers. This will help you in not only identifying the target audience for your website, ads, or social media, but it can also help identify who are ideal people for your sales team to go after.

Make your content skimmable

News flash, searchers will not read all your copy. Crazy, I know! I bet you are skimming this right now, which just proves my point. You need to make it easy for people to scan or skim your content. Numbered and bulleted lists will help people digest your content. Add a few well-placed headlines, and you are well on your way to building a great page.

Be clear and succinct 

You need to make it crystal clear what you do and even what you don’t do. A little transparency can go along way in actually building your credibility. Make sure you also describe the characteristics, parameters, or capabilities of what you can do.

I don’t want to use a GPS on your site

Your website should be easy to navigate and find the information people need. Nothing is worse than coming to a site and not finding the information you are looking for. Unless it is a landing page where you only want them to focus on the one call to action, make sure your navigation is prominent. I often tell clients that you won’t want to switch the gas and the brake on your car, what would you want to change where your navigation is? 

Social Proof

Searchers want and need reviews and/or references in the form of social proof. It comes in many forms. 

Here are a few impressive statistics about social proof:

• According to Voices.com, placing the logos of business customers on a company website can increase conversions by as much as 400%. I also refer to this as the NASCAR section.
• The average consumer reads ten online reviews before making a purchase decision.
• 57% of consumers will only buy or use a business service if it has at least a 4-star rating.
• 88% of consumers trust user reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Don’t Ghost Your Prospects

While ghosts may be ok at Haloween or a graveyard, the bottom line is they have no business being around your website. Just as they shouldn’t be around your website, you shouldn’t ghost a prospect. Be sure to promptly answer all inquiries and/or respond immediately with automated e-mails stating when you will follow up.

Keep The Vegas Strip In Vegas

The goal of your site is to attract prospects. If you have too much flash, sound, and fury, then you will alienate them before you even have a chance to convert them. While it might be nice to win a design award, that might not mean you win over visitors. Often less is more.

Too much detail

I will admit, I am passionate about what I do, and I tend to over-explain things. I have realized that, just like the design, less is often more. The 3,000-word blog post with 50 images may say what you need to say, but what will your prospect say about it? Will they wait for all the images to load? Can they find what they are looking for? Or would it be better to trim the fat and the number of images to better convey the message? Hint, its the latter!

It’s Not Hide And Seek

In other words, don’t hide the essential information from searchers. Make sure you present information in order of its importance. Make things clear and concise.

Your small business website can be your single best sales tool if you let it. You simply have to give it the attention it deserves.

If you need help making sure your site is the best it can be, reach out to us. We offer a free consultation on your website and online marketing efforts.