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Does Your Business Need to Invest in Competitive Analysis? Here’s the answer.

January 15, 2019 by Advertising Leave a Comment

Imagine this. It’s a new year and you are a small business owner. You are committed to taking your business to the next level and trying new marketing tools to achieve your goals. However, you are unsure of how much you should be spending. Should you run the risk of spending too little, causing yourself to be overpowered by your competitors with larger marketing budgets? Or what about the risk of overspending and a possibility of losing your leads to those who are quicker than you? This is where competitive analysis comes to play.

There is no exact science to what your business should be spending on marketing/ advertising, but through a thorough competitive analysis, you’ll have a good starting point.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

You may be wondering what exactly is a competitive analysis? In short, it is a report that is a compilation of what your competitors are doing online. Such research outlines their strengths and weaknesses, but most importantly, the opportunities and potential your business has to be successful in the digital realm.

If you’re still wondering whether your business needs to invest in a competitive analysis in 2019, here’s another good reason. Unless your competitors employ a dark web wizard who is able to hide all of their online actions (which I guarantee they do not), they are leaving a small digital footprint from which we are able to draw and interpret data from. We are also able to compile estimated search volume and bid prices for specific keywords on major search engines. Not to mention, generate an intelligent estimate as to what your competitors are spending on a monthly basis for certain keywords.

Are you wondering how this helps you?

Well, with this data we are able to guide your marketing investment decision based upon what available marketing dollars you have. More simply put, we consider your available budget and suggest the route that is most beneficial for your business. This saves your business from failures such as getting caught in the middle of an unwinnable pay-per-click war with a competitor with a substantially larger marketing budget than you.

Ready to invest in your future?

Advertising Is Simple is proud to offer a competitive analysis from now until 1/31/18 at half the cost! For $495, we will put forth our proven and tested practices towards giving your business the competitive edge it needs to take the next step in 2019.

Advertising Is Simple | 302.407.0431| info@AdvertisingIsSimple.com

What New Digital Marketing Trends Should We Expect in 2019?

December 13, 2018 by Advertising

Can you believe it’s almost time to say goodbye to 2018? As we close in the fourth quarter, we can’t help but reflect on this part year. There was surely a lot going on in the digital marketing world! From Google Chrome security updates, Facebook and Instagram algorithm changes to rise of new smart technology, we can’t wait to see what new digital marketing trends 2019 brings!

Speaking of the new year, do you have your new marketing strategy in place? If you still haven’t thought of new digital marketing trends that 2019 might bring, here are our predictions:

2019 digital marketing trends to watch out for:

Optimize Content for Voice Search – Now is the time to brainstorm new keyword strategies that will cater to all those customers who love using the latest smart technologies (Alexa, Siri) in their search queries.
Diversify Your Content Strategy – In the past year, digital creators and marketers focused more on long-form content (+2,000 words) to rank higher in search. However, it’s been proven that blogs or articles don’t have to be long to be considered valuable. That’s why it’s good to focus on both short and long-form pieces in the new year, so you can cater to those with shorter attention spans as well.
Consider Influencer Marketing – This form of marketing/ advertising will only continue to grow in the next year. Partnering with influencers and content creators to promote your products or build brand awareness is an excellent and effective way to organically reach more valuable customers.
Produce More Video Content – Video is already getting a boost in search from all voice queries, so don’t neglect it in 2019. Producing video content is a great way to liven up your marketing strategy!
Invest in Chatbots – According to Forbes, research “predicts that the chatbot industry will grow significantly as enterprises are enabled to substantially reduce operating costs”. Needless to say, consider investing in this kind of a 24/7 customer service representative to take your business to the next level in 2019.

For more on the future of marketing, please read this WSI article.

Can you see these digital marketing trends to grow in popularity in 2019? What are your predictions? We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do you want to take 2019 by storm?

Contact Advertising Is Simple! We help small to mid-sized business owners who are too busy running their businesses to focus on their marketing and advertising efforts. We specialize in internet, television, and radio advertising, and are particularly vested in search engine optimization, website design, mobile website design, pay-per-click campaigns, and original content management in order to help our clientele claim their share of the marketplace.

Advertising Is Simple| 302.407.0431 | info@AdvertisingIsSimple.com

5 Tips on Protecting Your SMB from Cybercriminals

November 28, 2018 by Advertising

Just because you are a small to medium-sized business (SMB) does not mean you are not a target for online criminals phishing attacks. In fact, it’s the opposite. Being a small to medium-sized business makes you an easier target for cybercriminals. While targeting a larger corporation may lead to more lucrative payouts, these larger corporations typically have IT departments that catch these attacks. Typically smaller businesses do not have full-time IT help that assists them in their cybersecurity. Cyber-attacks will mostly be initiated through email, here are 5 tips on protecting yourself from cybercriminals.

1. Attention to Detail:

You may receive an email from what appears to be a co-worker or even superior. This email may have some odd request like requesting an invoice or for you to send the company’s credit card information to pay a vendor. In this situation, check the email address for any characters that are out of place. Cybercriminals will attempt to mimic the email addresses of your co-workers to try to deceive you into releasing valuable company information. In the event of this happening, contact to the supposed sender via telephone or in person to question their request.

2. Download a Free Anti-Phishing Toolbar To Your Browser.

There are plenty of free Anti-Phishing browser extensions available. Some are only available for certain browsers, causing you to have to download multiple extensions to different browsers and learning how each one works. If you are looking for an Anti-Phishing browser extension that is compatible for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari we suggest Bitdefender Trafficlight. This extension protects from phishing attacks, filters out malware, identify trackers, and scans links.

The Danger of Using PHP 5 into the New Year

3. Be Careful With Your Browser Updates.

While It is always important to update your browser, you must be cautious with your updates. These updates are created to protect you from online phishing and malware, and phishing predators are fully aware of these. You may receive a notification telling you it’s time to update your browser or a new version of your browser is available for download. Do not blindly trust these and automatically download them. Simply take the time and perform a simple internet search to see if it is, in fact, a true browser update. If it is not, I can almost guarantee you are downloading a nasty malware onto your computer.

4. Frequently Back up Your Data!

In a world with cybercriminals attacking small businesses with ransomware, backing up your data has never been more important. A ransomware attack encrypts your hard drive, locking you out of your computer and work files. The cybercriminal will then ransom access to your files in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin. If you have backed up your data to a remote hard drive this attacks will leave you unaffected. Simply back up the existing backup files and wipe your primary hard drive clean.

5. Question Authority.

Cybercriminals may attempt to target you by posing as an authoritative figure in the digital world. This could be them pretending to be Google or Microsoft telling you an update is available for your Gmail or Outlook account. Much like browser updates, do your due diligence to conclude the authenticity of the requests.

Phishing in the USA – Why SMB Need to be on Red Alert

Navigating the cyber world can be a difficult and intimidating task, especially when it comes to your cybersecurity. Not only is Advertising Is Simple here to build and spread your digital brand, we are here as a source of knowledge for protecting your digital property, allowing you to spend the time necessary to run your business.

At Advertising Is Simple, we have prepared ALL of our client’s websites for the coming new year. We actively backup, maintain and update all our websites to keep them secure and running seamlessly. If your website was designed years ago and it has not been maintained, it is a ticking time bomb.

Need Help? Get in Touch:

302-407-0431 | info@advertisingissimple.com | AdvertisingIsSimple.com

The Danger of Using PHP 5 into the New Year

November 13, 2018 by Advertising

Any website still running on PHP version 5 at the end of 2018 is in danger of being exploited.

Support for PHP 5.6.x ends on December 31, 2018, after which websites still using the outdated PHP will find itself susceptible to attackers looking vigorously for security flaws to exploit vulnerable websites.

The imminent end-of-life of PHP version 5 is a ‘ticking time bomb’. When a software product reaches EOL (end of life), it is no longer supported by software developers. So even if a security hole in the software is discovered, it will not be fixed.

Support for PHP 5.6.x Ends in 2 Months, Millions of Websites at Risk

Consider that almost 80% of all websites run on PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), it becomes apparent how crucial it is to keep up-to-date on the latest PHP version. When support for PHP 5.6 ends in 2 months, it could put millions of websites at risk. ANY website running on old PHP will be vulnerable to hackers or spammers due to security holes, incompatibility or outdated coding.

Many corporations, small to mid-sized businesses and home businesses have discovered the versatility of Content Management Systems (CMS) that use PHP for functionality, such as WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. These CMS make it easy and quick to add fresh content and dynamic media such as videos, Calls-to-Action, pop-ups and chatbots.

I’m personally partial to WordPress as the number of contributors across the nation and the world have worked tirelessly to keep it an open source software available to everyone, everywhere. It makes it easy to manage your content and the plethora of plugins available extend functionality without limits.

Using PHP 5 Becomes Dangerous in 2 Months

WordPress and many other CMS use PHP, an open source general-purpose scripting language powering all types of web development. PHP enables the generation of dynamic page content, collects and encrypts data, manages your website files and more.

It is highly suggested to upgrade to PHP version 7 quickly, not only because it is EOL, but because there are many bugs in PHP 5 that relate to performances, memory usage and more. PHP 7 will make your website run faster, be more stable and run more efficiently.

Look at updating to PHP version 7 as a sort of 2000-mile checkup – just as a car starts to run rough or could even break down if regular oil changes and tune ups are missed, your website will not run optimally or could even break if you fail to regularly maintain its engine!

If all of this is still Greek to you, contact your website developers and talk with them about which version of PHP your website is running on. Be firm that you want to upgrade to PHP 7 before the new year arrives!

Final argument for updating to PHP 7: Do you REALLY want to take that chance that your website will be hacked or breakdown? Won’t that be BAD for business? AND couldn’t it cost you more to fix than if you had been proactive and upgraded before EOL of PHP 5?

At Advertising Is Simple, we have prepared ALL of our client’s websites for the coming year. We actively backup, maintain and update all our websites to keep them secure and running seamlessly. If your website was designed years ago and it has not been maintained, it is a ticking time bomb.

Need Help? Get in Touch:

302-407-0431 | info@advertisingissimple.com | AdvertisingIsSimple.com

Why Should You Outsource Digital Marketing Services?

November 1, 2018 by Advertising

We live in a fast-paced world, when nearly every piece of information needs to be delivered right away. These days we rely on technology so much that being constantly connected to social media became a bit of a job. Not to mention, there’s a sense of responsibility to be present online whether you know digital marketing or not!

So how are small business owners who deal with daunting day to day operations of running a business supposed to manage it all? Well, they don’t have to. That’s when you outsource digital marketing services!

You see, a digital marketing team you hire will not only stay abreast of all new digital marketing tactics, but they will also know how to help your business adapt to the changes. Trust us, nothing ever stays the same in the digital world! Just in the last year, Google Chrome made a number of changes to their security requirements, Facebook announced a new “community commitment” and Instagram updated their algorithm every few months. Is your business able to keep up with all the updates without the expert knowledge of how to navigate this digital space?

WSI experts said it best: When it comes down to it, working with an agency is better than going it alone – even if you’re a solopreneur – because there is so much to learn about the digital world. We say it all the time, but it’s tough to keep up with digital marketing trends, even for marketers and agencies. And we live this stuff, every single day!

When you work with an agency, not only do you solve the “time is money” problem and escape the sell-do loop, you also gain access to the knowledge of people and resources who can take you – and your business – to the next level. Gaining knowledge is power, and it’s also so much better than struggling by yourself.

Makes sense? Next time you worry about the numbers and not enough leads, do yourself a favor and think about outsourcing digital marketing experts! They will assess your online presence from every possible angle and come up with a solution and marketing strategy that’s catered to your needs! They will also make advertising for your industry simple and straightforward.

Ready to outsource digital marketing?

Contact Advertising Is Simple! Our mission is to increase our clientele’s brand awareness through the use of proven marketing techniques and unparalleled customer service in order to create a greater return on your investment.

We specialize in internet, television, and radio advertising, and are particularly vested in search engine optimization, website design, mobile website design, pay-per-click campaigns, and original content management in order to help our clientele claim their share of the marketplace.

Call 302-407-0431

Does Your Business Need to Invest in Competitive Analysis? Here’s the answer.