If you’ve ever shopped online, ordered food for delivery or used a customer support live service (those little icons that ask if you need assistance), then you’ve most likely had interaction with a “bot”.

Some “bots” are bad, such as spam bots – but Chatbots are the good guys.

Chatbots are becoming more prolific in Social Media and on Websites because they’ve proven to be an effective tool for businesses to increase sales, save time and money, and build a stronger bond with their customers.

How strategic have you been in defining your online Brand identity?

If you're a company without competitors - then everyone will buy from you because there’s no other choices. However, a company without competitors is virtually non-existent.

There are so many businesses competing for the same customers, it's imperative to make your Brand unique, relatable and trustworthy.

Many times small businesses overlook the important factor of separating themselves from the crowd. Strengthen and separate your Brand from the crowd by kicking up your Brand identity a notch with these helpful tips.

Google began displaying Mobile Image Thumbnails back in 2016 but they appeared infrequently. Now it's 2019 and over 45% of mobile search results will show an Image Thumbnail.

When a person types a search term into the Google browser on a mobile device, an Image Thumbnail may appear in the organic search results next to a Description text snippet, along with the Title and URL.

Many people think if they just create a Google My Business listing, they’ll miraculously start receiving hundreds of people calling them … not so.

According to Google, the three top ranking factors they use for rating Local results are:

• Relevance
• Proximity
• Prominence

To reach potential customers, a Service Business needs to up their game on a few levels in order to become well placed in results amongst companies offering like-services.

Think of Google My Business as the “hub” … information you enter there is also used on Google Maps.

Sometimes we receive connection requests from people we already thought we had a connection with. If we in fact already do have a connection with that person, and they’re sending another request – it’s because they have more than one LinkedIn account.

How Might a Duplicate LinkedIn Account Happen?

The most common reason a duplicate LinkedIn account occurs is when a person receives an Email invitation to join LinkedIn, and sets up another account using an Email address not associated with the already established profile.

WahLa! Another LinkedIn account is in the system for the same person.

Permission based Email marketing is the undisputed hero for delivering the best bang-for-your buck when it comes to digital Return on Investment (ROI).

Studies show for every dollar spent on Email marketing, the average Return on Investment (ROI) is $38.00.

Check out these Proven Ways to Increase Email Marketing Success

Is your Business one of the over 500 million active users on Instagram Stories each day?

If not - maybe it’s time to get on board. Stories offers ridiculous potential for companies to extend their reach and invigorate engagement amongst their fan base as well as those unfamiliar with their Brand.

Sliding through Instagram Stories can be riveting for many people, and it's difficult for them to exit rather than continue watching. Business owners are taking advantage of the Stories feature to reach large audiences with timely content, while boosting Brand awareness.

Small business websites are able to compete in the Google search engine results by following a few pertinent methods. Regularly audit your site and tweak new content to be sure all is in order.

Here are a few things to pay attention to:

1) Incorporate Schema markup (code that helps search engines return more relevant information to the searcher).

Online shopping habits have changed and people want the best deal they can get on products/services they want. With so many sites in competition for “the sale” one of the best ways to get buyers to your site is to offer value along with incentives by using unique Coupon Codes and Discount Coupons.

Online Coupon use has substantially increased in the last five years. In 2014 16 Billion online coupons were redeemed. An estimated 31 Billions online coupons will be redeemed in 2019. (readycloud.com 2018)

Stastics show that over 78% of online shoppers agree that discounts influence where they shop online, with Promo Codes and Coupon Codes influencing where they make a purchase - even over available product selection and great customer service. (retailmenot.com 2018)

A website is your primary business marketing tool, yet some people don't develop their site to it's fullest potential - and then wonder why their bounce rate is so high, why they aren't making sales, etc, etc.

Often times, business website owners spend their time focusing on areas that ultimately won't pay off if their website is lacking. Social Media, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms can drive visitors to your site, but once people get there, if they feel let down - they won't explore the site long enough to make a purchase.

While there are the rudimentary webpages and elements all sites should have such as good navigation, quality content, great photos, purposeful logo and tagline, etc, - there are ways to enhance basic pages so the website performs better overall.