Be In The Know Blog

Even the best lawyers need to market their firm and its services to build a strong base of clients. But lawyers aren't marketers and running an efficient small business marketing strategy often isn't second nature.

If your business sells tacos, you probably cash in on the hashtag #TacoTuesday. You guesstimate that a high percentage of your customer base will be persuaded to eat tacos on Tuesday, thanks to jokes at work, memes on social media and general knowledge of the spicy food-worshiping day.

People take first impressions seriously. That's why a clean and updated website design is vital when it comes to attracting new prospects. And while adventurous property buyers may see value in a fixer-upper, an outdated website will always drive leads right into the clutches of your competitors.

But how exactly does poor web design turn off prospects? And how can you earn them back? Here are the three design updates you need to make:

While food delivery used to be most closely associated with Chinese food and pizza, online delivery services have provided consumers a whole new world of choices for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert. Even though restaurant owners might vaguely know about these services — or perhaps even use one or two of them — there are even bigger opportunities for restaurant owners to bring their world-class dishes to as many guests as possible. Here are a few reasons why Google is critical to restaurant success:

Pushing the "publish" button on a new website amplifies a small business launch. But when time runs short, a grand opening looms and social media fans clamor for information, it's not unheard of to activate a website early. Don't get in a rush with web development and fall victim to these four brand-damaging and potentially profit-squashing website design mistakes.

There's no shortage of examples of online reputation management catastrophes, and all it takes is one messy situation to tarnish your brand for good. But while larger organizations can work with pricey PR firms to orchestrate a rebound, smaller businesses aren't usually so lucky. In fact, failing to properly manage your company's reputation online could be a kiss of death to your business.

The good news is there are best practices to follow to maintain a positive reputation and keep current and prospective customers loving your brand. Here are our top three tips:

As long as Google has been generating results for user's search inquiries, businesses have been striving to reach the top of page one. After all, 75 percent of users never scroll past the first page of search results, according to HubSpot. Achieving the highly coveted top result can bring plenty of traffic to your site and potential leads to your business.

While algorithms often change, one thing is guaranteed: Search engines will always strive to connect users with the best possible answers to their questions. And the most effective SEO trends are those that improve the user experience.

Voice search is making a quick move into the lives of mainstream customers. Smartphones now come with voice-activated digital assistants, in-house technology like your TV may already have voice functionality and in-home digital assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google home are already shipping to customers around the world.

According to research from VoiceLabs, an estimated 24.5 million devices will be shipped in 2017 alone, resulting in 33 million voice-first devices currently in use. That just counts voice-first digital assistants, which means the true number of voice search touchpoints — counting smartphones and other devices — is much higher.

Remaining relevant and visible is a top objective for any search marketer, which means maintaining prime positioning where online search factors into the customer journey.

However, the role of search has changed over time. In the past, search was seen as a bottom-of-the-funnel activity, rather than something that permeates every stage of the journey. Today, we know that isn't the case. Customers depend on search at every stage leading up to the transaction, which means search strategies must be built to account for these varied stages, too. A diversified approach is required for brands to generate positive results from across the spectrum of customer search activity.

Spring is the season associated with deep cleaning and home renewal. If we credit the warmer weather and the longer days for this motivation, then perhaps it's wise to leverage these spring cleaning habits and tend to much-needed business management tasks. Online presence management requires some year-round attention, but certain tasks only need to be done once or twice a year.

If you've neglected your digital presence and it's affecting your bottom line, now is the time to audit this profile and make changes where necessary. By regularly keeping up on this maintenance, you can make your online reputation work for you, instead of against you.