From CTAs to Photo Galleries: Everything You Need on Your Small Business Website

  It’s nearly impossible for a small business to thrive without a website or online presence these days. However, the prospect of creating a website can feel overwhelming for many business owners. Here at LinkNow, we specialize in helping small business owners establish an online presence quickly and affordably. Today, we want to share some valuable insights on building a successful website for a small business. If you’re a small business owner or operator seeking to establish an online presence and gain traction, consider incorporating the following key features into your website. At Least 10 Service and Landing Pages for a Multi-Channel Presence Picture your website like a large building, akin to a stadium or a bustling train station frequented by numerous visitors. Think about how many entrances such buildings typically boast, often situated on different sides of the building and leading out to various intersections or roads. Now, extend […]

Jane Willsie

Author: Jane Willsie

About Jane Willsie

About Jane Willsie: Since 2014, when she landed her first editorial role at her undergraduate student newspaper, Jane has continually grown into the passionate, meticulous writer and editor she is today. Entering the marketing field almost a decade ago as an entry-level social media consultant and content writer, Jane has become a strategic data-driven SEO and content marketing specialist able to turn her hand to everything from the perfectly crafted landing page to attention-grabbing email copy. She completed her Master’s degree in English at UBC in 2017—receiving a prestigious SSHRC grant to research feminist South Korean literature’s reception in the English-speaking literary world—and continues to grow her knowledge base every day, consuming research on SEO, content management, social media strategy, and more. Beyond her work, Jane is an avid reader, amateur sewer, and adventurous traveler.

Core Web Vitals: What Are They and Why Are They So Important?

Back in 2020, Google unveiled its new Core Web Vitals, a set of specific factors designed to measure the user experience on a web page. As of August 2021, these metrics have become an official Google ranking factor as part of the “page experience” update. Over a year later, Core Web Vitals continue to be an important factor for search engine optimization and must be considered by anyone hoping to rank highly. It is clear that Google plans to continue emphasizing user experience and may even evolve its Core Web Vitals over time, so it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with these metrics. This blog post will help you understand all three Core Web Vitals and why you should be paying attention to them.   The Core Web Vitals Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) This is essentially the average loading time for the main content on a web page. […]

Tyson Breen

Author: Tyson Breen

About Tyson Breen

Tyson is a content writer and SEO specialist with over half a decade of industry experience. He is an expert on digital marketing and is passionate about providing his clients with powerful content that boosts traffic and engagement. When away from his desk, Tyson enjoys home cooking, comic books, and live music.

How to Dominate Google in 2022

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If you’ve been looking to do more than merely show up in Google’s search results, then you need to read this article. In this blog post, we’re going to show you how to dominate Google. We’ll start from the ground-up so you understand Google’s front-page results, how they work, and how you can appear at the top. Ready to make Google work for you? Let’s get started. Google’s Front-Page Results: A Breakdown The first thing you need to understand is how the search results appear on the page. In general, they are broken down into three different sections:  The local search pack  The organic search results  Google Ads (aka, pay-per-click ads, and formerly known as AdWords) Here, a visual reference might prove useful so that you have an idea of what these categories look like. Let’s try typing general contractor boston into Google to see how the search results are […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.

4 Big Benefits of Blogging (and Why Even Contractors Should Do It)

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teIf you’re not blogging in 2022, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Blogging helps put eyes on your business. It helps build trust with your audience—and with Google. Even contractors like roofers, plumbers, and general contractors are reaping the rewards, using it to scale up and build their brands simultaneously. If you’re not, you’re losing out. With that in mind, let’s look at 4 concrete reasons every business—including contractors—needs a blog. 1. The Cheapest Way to Increase Traffic Content is king when it comes to search engine optimization, and keeping a blog means that your website will be updated regularly with indexable pages. Try focussing your blog posts around topics that are related to your industry and include keywords and terms that promote your overall SEO strategy. Without a blog, a good chunk of the clicks on your website will likely come from people already familiar with your business […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.

Does Long-Form Content Improve Search Ranking?

In background, a person wrotes in a notebook. In foreground, text says: More words. More chances to score.

If you think keeping your content short and sweet is the recipe for success, think again. Long-form content is the Internet’s gold standard. It’s the best way to rank well on Google, increase your online visibility, and grow your audience. No matter the type of content you’re creating, if there’s not enough meat and potatoes to satisfy your audience, no one is going to want to stick around for dessert. So, what’s good about long-form content? Read on to discover what could be your new secret weapon. What Long-Form Content Is (and Isn’t) To break it down, long-form content is content that’s comprehensive and in-depth. It provides a deep dive into the subject matter, providing a full reading experience that leaves your audience feeling satisfied. The Best Long-Form Content: Is easy to scan Uses plenty of headings “Chunks” content by using images, infographics, and other visual information Uses bullet-point lists […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.

6 SEO Tricks for Page-One Results

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6 Solid SEO Tricks for Page-One Results Competing for a spot on Google’s front page requires some fierce SEO magic to achieve. But with the right approach, that magic can become a whole lot easier to grasp. In this post, you’ll find 6 rock-solid tricks to catapult your webpage to the top of Google. These are tried-and-true techniques we’ve used for thousands of clients to help them reach the front page and crush the competition. Let’s dive in. 1.      Create Internal Links on Your Website An internal link is a hyperlink between two or more webpages on your website. This is an internal link to our home page. Internal links help users navigate your website. By creating “clusters” of webpages, these links allows users to retrieve information more quickly and easily. But internal links don’t just help your users. They also help Google crawl your website more efficiently. The more […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.

Cornerstone Content: How to Write Stuff Google Will Love

A rocketship made of brown construction paper blasts off. Text says: "Give Google a reason to rank you."

With digital marketing, it’s never enough to create content that engages your audience. You also need to grab Google’s attention. But how are you going to do that? Enter cornerstone content: the basic building-block to a rock-solid website. Cornerstone content is what you need to power your web presence, get Google’s attention, and convert clicks into phone calls. It’s what you need to drive traffic to your site, and ensure that traffic translates into real customers. Read this post in full to learn what cornerstone content is, why it’s so important, and how you can create your own today. What Is Cornerstone Content? Cornerstone content is exactly what it sounds like: it’s the content that’s core to your website: Your key service and product pages Your best, most essential articles Your highest-performing blog posts and landing pages Cornerstone content is the content visitors will first see when they arrive at […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.

Revolutionizing the World of Web Design

A painter smiling with text overlaid: "Making the small-business life easier."

There was a time when websites cost a fortune, or took an eternity to set up. But LinkNow’s put a stop to that. Since 2009, LinkNow’s been changing the name of the web-design game. Our cost-effective marketing solutions have helped businesses across North America get seen, boost profits, and maximize growth. With over 10,000 active clients, LinkNow is leading the way in affordable, value-driven web design. Join us as we look at LinkNow’s journey and how we continue to make waves across the industry. Making the Small-Business Life Easier—One Website at a Time LinkNow began not with a service but with a mission: To make the small-business life easier. Co-founders Wesley Mendelovitch and Sonny Bettan realized that one of the biggest hurdles for small business owners was getting a website. Back in 2009, hiring a web design and digital marketing company was a massive investment. It cost a small fortune […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.

The 5 Most Important Questions to Ask When Choosing a Digital Marketing Agency

Looking for a digital marketing firm to take the reins of your web presence? This post’s for you. There are more than 5,585 digital marketing companies in the US alone. The sheer size of the industry can make it difficult to find a company you can trust, so let’s show you how to sift through them. When looking for a reliable, professional agency, it’s important to ask questions before hiring them. Here are the five questions you should always ask when interviewing digital marketing agencies. (Bonus: Read to the end for one of the best interview questions!) The 5 Questions to Ask Any Digital Marketing Company 1.     Do you guarantee first-page rankings? (They better not…) This is a big one, and it’s a question with a definite yes-no answer. So, let’s cut to the chase: Any company that guarantees they’ll get you to the first page of Google is lying. […]

John Wickham

Author: John Wickham

About John Wickham

John Wickham is Senior Content Writer and Strategist at LinkNow Media. An SEO expert, he writes to empower small-business owners by giving them the information they need to market themselves. His love of the written word is matched only by his love of ancient history, as well as the semi-colon.