Blogging is one of the most inexpensive ways to drive traffic to your website, and bring brand awareness to your business. Not only that, but blogging is a great way to market and distribute information about your business. There are so many benefits of blogging for your business, but here are just a few.

Blogging for your business is easy. Blogging is just a collection of thoughts or facts. When you’re trying to promote your business, put together some thoughts or facts, and post it on your website. Your consumers want to learn more about you, your business, and things your business is selling, so it’s the perfect way to get that information out there!

Blogging is also a great way to boost your ranking in search engines. In fact, search engines love it when businesses blog! When a business creates a blog on a consistent basis, they’re giving Google, Yahoo, Bing, and any other search engines brand new content to index. Search engines LOVE new content! It also gives businesses a chance to utilize keywords that consumers are using to search for them in those search engines.

Blogging also shows that you’re a subject matter expert in your field, which builds trust with your consumers. If you give out good advice, you’ll be the go-to in your field. This can make you stand out from your competitors. It can also help you develop a deeper bond with your readers.

One of the biggest benefits of blogging is to provide value to your readers. If your blog includes tips or how-to advice to make their life easier, it’s much more interesting for them to read,  than to read a constant sales pitch type blog. You’re increasing loyalty by providing them with free advice, which will likely have them choose your company over a competitor when they’re looking to make a purchase or need a service.

Finally, each time you create a blog post, you create an opportunity for your blog to be shared with others. It is free marketing, proving even more that your business is credible!

If you don’t have time to blog yourself, don’t worry, Webtivity has a copywriting team here in St. Petersburg and Bradenton to help work with you to create informative posts for your business!

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After creating a successful business, you want a successful website launch. Not only does that mean having a website that performs well and looks appealing, it also means having a website prepared for the best search engine results as possible. This is why there is a benefit of using the same SEO and web design company for your website.

Using a company that provides both SEO and Web Development services enables the website designer to work with the marketing department to ensure that your new website gets off to a great start. The marketing department will use their trade secrets to improve your website’s search results from the get go. Many people don’t realize that there can be errors in your site that can only be seen by search engines, these errors will impact your potential rank and if your web design company isn’t up to date on the latest SEO trends, you’re hurting your search results online before your site is even launched.

With this in mind, there are specific tasks the marketing department needs to have in place prior to the launch of the website. By working hand in hand with the web designer, this process flows seamlessly between the two, rather than going back and forth between a few different companies. Or even worse, after the website has been launched.

When these steps are taken prior to the launch of your website, Google will index your website and begin ranking it at the launch, rather than at a later date, which is better for you. Not doing these in tandem with the launch can be costly, and sometimes those precious moments can never be recovered.

By using the same team, not only are the team members familiar with each other, there’s already a process in place. They are experienced with communicating with each other, and they can respond quickly should any problems arise.

It doesn’t matter how great your website looks or functions—if no one can find you online you simply don’t exist. Show your business to the world with Webtivity Marketing & Design! Click here to request a consult.

The post See the Benefit of Using the Same SEO and Web Design Company appeared first on Webtivity Marketing & Design News.

TECHXPO HOSTED BY Manatee Chamber of Commerce

On November 3rd, the Manatee Chamber of Commerce will host the 2016 TechXpo at their Lakewood Ranch Office at the McClure Center 4215 Concept Court.

The Techxpo will feature an all-star lineup of local technology experts including Webtivity’s very own Terry Thompson, who will help business owners, managers, and in-house IT staff gain the knowledge they need in order to stay apprised of technology that can help their businesses grow and prosper.

Terry will be a participant in the Web Essentials Panel Discussion, an open forum to help answer questions you may have regarding best practices on web design, search engine optimization, tips / tricks / plug-ins to make your site stand out, and help your clients and customers have an outstanding online experience with you.

The schedule of events is as follows.

9:00 AM – 9:20 AM
Networking and mingling with local IT experts

technology experts

9:20 AM – 9:50 AM
Social and Mobile Computing

9:55 AM – 10:25 AM
Web Essentials Panel Discussion

10:30 AM – 10:50 AM
Disaster Preparedness & Recovery

10:55 AM – 11:25 AM
IT Security & Your Business

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Questions and Answers

Tickets are:

$28 – Manatee Chamber Members and Manatee Young Professionals
$38 – Non-Members and Guests

Enter our coupon code Webtivity to save $5.00 on admission.

Register here.

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Webtivity  team has grown and we feel like it is time for you to meet us all, to put some faces behind the company and to know more about what we do all day.

What is your name? Terry Thompson

Where are you from? Trout Creek, Michigan

How did you get to Webtivity? Bought the company in 2009

How would you explain your job? Man of many hats.

What is your favorite color? Blue

I can’t go a day without… Coffee and my dogs.

Where can we find you on the weekend, and doing what? Camping or hanging out by the pool.

What is your name? Brian Dubil

Where are you from? Born and raised in Sarasota Florida. 

How did you get to Webtivity? I completed my AS in computer graphics and design. I was looking for a job in the design field. I heard about a job opening at Webtivity through a friend, went in for the initial interview and the rest is history.

How would you explain your job? Diverse, you never really know what you will be getting into day to day.

What is your favorite color? Dark Green or Navy Blue.

I can’t go a day without… Tea, love me some tea!

Where can we find you on the weekend, and doing what? Spending time with the family, whether it’s being lazy on the couch, out paddle boarding or on an adventure they are always with me.

What is your name?  Tim Seward

Where are you from? Rockville, MD/ just outside of Washington DC 

How did you get to Webtivity? Met Terry at a local St. Pete business.

How would you explain your job? Customer Relations. I get the client and keep them happy. I liaison between the marketing team and the client. I go to community meetings to keep the face of Webtivity current and alive. SALES!

What is your favorite color? Blue

I can’t go a day without… COFFEE!!!… And music

Where can we find you on the weekend, and doing what? At home, working on the house OR out with friends laughing…the gym too.

What is your name? Didier Bizimungu

Where are you from? I am originally from a small country in East Africa called Rwanda. 

How did you get to Webtivity? I was lucky enough to be hired by the Webtivity family shortly after graduating from the University of South Florida

How would you explain your job?  My job varies day by day. From entire campaign management to minute details that might take a few days. The constant theme to my job would be the excitement; every day presents a different challenge.

What is your favorite color? My favorite color is blue. It invokes a calm emotion within me.

I can’t go a day without… That would be a prayer.

Where can we find you on the weekend, and doing what? You will find me in nature either hiking, biking, playing with my dog at the park, or even just taking long walks.

What is your name? Meredith Bardsley

Where are you from? Beverly, located on the North Shore of Massachusetts. 

How did you get to Webtivity? I moved to FL (finally) and was fortunate enough to see the job posting, thought it was perfect for me, and I got the job!

How would you explain your job? I do many different things day-to-day. I manage social media accounts; write blog posts, online marketing, website support, customer service. I learn something new here every day!

What is your favorite color? Purple. My condo up north was ALL purple!

I can’t go a day without… Coffee and the ocean

Where can we find you on the weekend, and doing what? Enjoying all that is Florida! Running, kayaking, paddle boarding, boating, yoga, visiting one of our many preserves, and taking pictures of rainbows and sunsets.

What is your name? Janvier Nshimyumuremyi

Where are you from? Kigali (Rwanda) 

How did you get to Webtivity?  I was referred to Webtivity by a friend.

How would you explain your job?  Responsible for delivering marketing programs to support the growth and expansion of our clients’ company products and services.

What is your favorite color? Blue

I can’t go a day without… talking to my daughter.

Where can we find you on the weekend, and doing what: Most of the time, I spend my weekend with family, road trips and spend lot’s of time either at the pool or the beach.

The post Meet the team at Webtivity appeared first on .

How many people does it take to build an effective website?

I frequently find myself having a conversation with potential customers about how many people it takes to develop an effective online marketing solution.  Many seem to have the impression if you know how to repair or network computers, then you must know how to design a website and promote it online.  The training required to be an IT professional is very different from the training for web design.  There are dozens of certifications one can obtain in the IT field and none of them are related to web design or internet marketing.

Since I worked in the healthcare industry and I think more people can relate to that industry, let’s think about it in these terms:  When you go to a hospital to receive care, how many people does it take to care for you during your stay?  Is there one person assigned to you who draws your blood, performs surgery, and takes a CAT scan?  No, individuals from various disciplines perform those separate tasks.  Why?  Partly because they were each trained in their specific areas to insure the best outcomes for each aspect of your care.

The same is true in most industries.  For example a company may offer plumbing, electrical and HVAC repair services, but they don’t send the same technician to work in each of those areas.  Instead they hire technicians who were trained and received certifications in each of those areas.  In our field there are three primary areas of expertise involved with creating an effective website:

• art/design
• technical
• marketing

Sadly many schools offering web design programs don’t offer a comprehensive curriculum which adequately addresses all these areas.  Most schools focus primarily on the design aspect (layouts, colors, etc.)  By necessity they do delve into the technical side, but tend not to spend significant time teaching students about search engine optimization and the more technical aspects of developing a website.  And many schools tend to spend even less time teaching basic marketing principals.

But think about it: your website is a primary marketing vehicle for your business — so if your website does not effectively communicate your marketing message and is not technically developed to current search engine standards, you are likely wasting a lot of time, money and potential.

That is why an interdisciplinary team can produce a much more effective online marketing campaign for your business.  You have the individuals working on your project who specialize in web design; those who specialize in the technical side of search engine optimization, and those who specialize in the marketing.  It is very rare to have all those necessities contained in one individual.

What’s that you say?  You need custom programming for your project?  Well that adds another discipline into the mix!  Programmers are trained completely differently from designers, SEO specialists, and marketers.

Understanding the people who make up our industry, their training and capabilities can make you a much more informed consumer when seeking an online marketing partner.