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  • The History Of Search Engine Optimization and What The Future May Hold

    The History Of Search Engine Optimization and What The Future May Hold

    In the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has stood the test of time as a cornerstone of a successful online presence. From the early days of keyword stuffing to the sophisticated algorithms of today, SEO practices have transformed dramatically. At Web Force KC in Kansas City, we’ve navigated these changes alongside businesses striving to optimize their online footprint. Here, we delve into the history of SEO and its current state and speculate on the future.

    The Dawn of SEO

    SEO’s roots can be traced back to the early 1990s when search engines began cataloging the fledgling web. Initially, webmasters could submit a page to search engines to be indexed. Optimization was rudimentary, involving keyword stuffing and excessive tags to rank higher. This era was characterized by a lack of sophistication in search algorithms, making exploiting rankings with simple tactics easy.

    The Evolution of Algorithms

    As the internet grew, so did the need for more sophisticated search algorithms. Google’s introduction of PageRank in the late 1990s revolutionized SEO by considering a website’s backlink profile as an indicator of its authority and relevance. This era marked the beginning of ‘white hat’ versus ‘black hat’ SEO practices, leading to a more strategic approach to optimization. Content quality, keyword relevance, and link-building became crucial for success.

    The Modern Era of SEO

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    Photo by 1981 Digital on Unsplash

    The last decade has seen SEO evolve into a complex discipline that demands a multifaceted strategy. Updates like Google’s Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird emphasized the importance of quality content, penalized manipulative link practices, and improved the search engine’s understanding of user queries. Today, SEO is not just about keywords and links; it’s about providing a seamless user experience, from mobile optimization to fast loading speeds and engaging content.

    Quality, Creative, and Helpful Content

    Content remains king in the realm of SEO. High-quality, engaging, and informative content that meets the users’ needs can dramatically improve a website’s rankings. At Web Force KC, we emphasize the creation of structured pages and blog posts with clear titles, descriptions, and meta keywords. This not only helps search engines understand and index content but also enhances user engagement.

    Optimized Images and Backend Information

    Optimizing images is crucial for both page load speed and search visibility. This involves compressing images without sacrificing quality and using relevant file names, alt tags, and captions. Such practices ensure that images contribute positively to SEO while enhancing the user experience.

    Structured Website Menus and Conversion Goals

    A logical and intuitive menu structure is vital for both SEO and user navigation. A well-organized website makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index pages and for users to find the necessary information. Clear conversion paths must be established to guide visitors towards desired actions, be it making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or contacting customer service.

    The Laundry Principle: Update Often, Always

    In the digital world, your website is never truly ‘finished.’ Regular updates are essential for maintaining and improving search engine rankings. This could mean refreshing old content, adding new pages, or implementing technical SEO improvements. Think of your website like laundry – it’s a continuous cycle of washing, drying, and folding to keep everything fresh and functional.

    The Future of SEO

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    Photo by Melanie Deziel on Unsplash

    Looking ahead, we can anticipate further advancements in AI and machine learning algorithms, making search engines even more adept at understanding and satisfying user intent. Voice and visual search are likely to become more prominent, requiring new optimization strategies. The integration of SEO with other digital marketing disciplines, such as social media and content marketing, will become increasingly seamless.

    At Web Force KC, we remain committed to navigating these changes, ensuring that our strategies respond to the current landscape and are poised to adapt to future developments. The journey of SEO is far from over, and we’re excited to see where it leads.

    The history of SEO is a testament to the rapid evolution of digital marketing. As we look to the future, the only certainty is change, and more often than ever before. Businesses that stay informed and adaptable will continue to thrive in the search rankings, driving visibility, engagement, and conversions in an increasingly competitive online world.

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  • How To Avoid The Online Reviews Blues

    How To Avoid The Online Reviews Blues

    Local Search Engine Optimization in Kansas City, Leawood, and Overland Park

    One of the most challenging things we’ve had to deal with at Web Force KC while working with our clients over the years is online reviews. In fact, after many years of trying to communicate how vital getting online reviews are to our clients, we eventually crafted a clever reminder that we tend to tell at least one of them once a week: The only review that you’ll get that you don’t ask for is usually one that you don’t want. What’s odd about online marketing and its effect on consumers’ buying decisions is that the days of 2 neighbors chatting at their fence line asking, “who does your lawn care?” are rare, if not nonexistent. What’s even more interesting is that we now use the internet to find products and/or services we want or need and base our buying decisions on the opinions (i.e.reviews) of people we don’t even know. Of course, word of mouth and referrals still exist, but as a marketing agency, our job is to generate leads and customers solely through a carefully woven web of our client’s online presence and let the companies we promote deliver their goods and services the way they see fit.

    That’s why getting solid reviews and maintaining a quality rating is imperative to the success of any business using the web as a tool to generate business. In the case of Web Force KC, we primarily work with small, locally owned, and operated businesses that, more often than not, have big corporate competition that can be tough but not impossible to beat in the SEO arena. With online reviews, we’ve found that larger corporate entities that offer similar services to our clients often struggle to get and maintain good reviews for whatever reason, which is why keeping and growing our client’s online reputation is a big part of what we do. The dilemma is not so easily solved by merely asking customers to write beaming reviews because most will say a resounding “YES” but soon forget or blow it off. This is why we took the initiative to make getting and asking for reviews simple and streamlined using the fact that most everyone has a smartphone in their pocket or purse that can be used to help get our client’s customers onto their review pages and leave feedback that helps win even more business. We’re not going to get into details as to how we are creating seamless avenues to get more reviews or even social media followers, but chances are you’ve seen how and what we do in nearly every business, particularly since COVID-19 hit the US last year. (Hint: it has something to do with a phone’s camera.)

    For some industries we work with, it is incredibly challenging to get consistent reviews as many of our clients are in what some would consider taboo industries. We’ve found that many of their customers don’t necessarily want to advertise publicly that they shop there for whatever reason. That’s why when you see that breakthrough moment with a customer that digs what you do or sell, you make it a point to say something along the lines of, “I’m glad we could help. We’d appreciate it if you could write a review for us so that other people know that we’re the real deal.” That sounds a bit canned, but you get the point. You and your staff should ask for reviews from every customer you know is satisfied with what you do or did every day. Of course, you can’t make everyone happy, and it’s safe to assume that most people online know that, which is why the occasional bat-shit crazy review from someone that you could never satisfy isn’t going to hurt a business that has countless 5-star reviews and 1 or 2 bad ones.

    We get that you get busy, overwhelmed with the details of running a business, and can easily forget to ask for reviews. Still, the fact is that you likely already have customers that can and will write a stellar recommendation for what you sell or do, but they don’t know how and where to do it. Ask and show them.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for Kansas City web design and online marketing.

     

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  • Why We Offer Marketing Exclusivity

    Why We Offer Marketing Exclusivity

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    I’ve been involved in some form of sales and marketing most of my adult life and for the most part I’ve enjoyed it immensely as it has taken me to some pretty cool places. However like any other profession, there are highs and lows, peaks and valleys, and good and bad aspects of any line of work and sales and marketing are certainly no exception. One of the things I did not enjoy about sales and marketing was selling the same marketing product/service to multiple businesses in the same industry in the same geographic area because it always left a bad taste in my mouth and I never thought it made sense.

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    The problem that I have with non-exclusive marketing is that no one wins except for the marketer which I always thought should be the complete opposite. Businesses reach out to marketing companies to help them get the word out about what they do, what they sell, where they do it, and why you should choose them over their competition.  So essentially a marketer that works with multiple businesses in the same industry in the same area is technically doing nothing but helping themselves and creating more competition among their clients when they are already in a competitive arena (at least in my humble opinion.) It wasn’t until I started working for a small, start up online marketing company that I learned that you could actually offer exclusivity and make money doing it but like most of the jobs in my life it was short lived because that company had other issues….BIG issues. Nevertheless, I so truly believed that exclusivity in online marketing was imperative that I eventually started Web Force KC to prove it could work but with a new twist. Rather than being constantly focused on adding new clients and growing MY company I opted to help grow what few clients I had internally and as they grew, I would be able to grow with them. Luckily, it worked and much better than I could have ever imagined. For some clients, I helped to add new services to their company that were completely unimaginable when they first started and for some adding new locations throughout the Kansas City metro (and beyond). Either way, my goal was and continues to be to grow them first and focus on Web Force KC second and it seems to have worked out pretty well so far. Sure I like making money but it’s not the first thing I think about everyday when I log on to my laptop and start banging out content for my clients. The simple fact that I can look back at the history of my clients’ growth and attribute it in part to what I do for them everyday is more rewarding than any amount of money and I suspect they feel the same. That’s what Web Force KC does for its clients and we thoroughly enjoy doing it.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for effective web design and online marketing in the Kansas City area.

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  • Same Concept, Different Blog

    Same Concept, Different Blog

    Content marketing can be tough especially when the business you’re writing for doesn’t really change that much. However, I’ve learned to find ways around getting into a writer’s slump primarily by realizing and accepting that no matter how much you’ve written about a given subject, product, or service, there is always more that you can do but it doesn’t always come easy.

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    I write a TON of content for my clients and it’s really easy to get burned out but thankfully I’m never really short on ideas (most good, some not so good.) As I’ve acquired more clients and my older clients have grown, I’ve had to find new ways to market them and, honestly, some weeks it goes as smooth as silk and others it’s like pulling teeth. Look at it this way: for one of my oldest clients, I have written and published over 1,800 blog posts and hundreds of website pages and while their business never really changes much with the exception of adding new products to their retail store, the content I write on their behalf has to be ever changing, unique, engaging and relevant in order for it to be effective. Sure some content is better than others but the key has been to be consistent with regularly publishing blog posts and making adjustments to the overall page structure of their website(s) when necessary for all of my clients to help them grow their businesses.

    A few weeks back, I was in burn out mode and started thinking about examples in my life and the world I observe of how individuals are able to take the same concept(s) and re-imagine them over and over again without getting sick and tired of doing it. At the time, I was getting back into old school Metallica and I thought, “Boy, they must be so over playing the song ‘One’ at every single show for weeks and months at a time.” The thing is that ‘One’ (one of my least favorite Metallica songs) was a massive hit and there are likely fans in the audience every night they play that are only there to hear that one (no pun unintended) song. Having seen Metallica live (among other metal bands) many times over the years, I noticed they always find ways to change things up a little bit in their biggest songs but overall the singalongs and melody remains constant which is cool for the audience but probably also good for the band that has played these songs hundreds if not thousands of times. It made me realize that even though I may feel like I’m writing about the same products and services for my clients over and over again, I have to find new and innovative ways to change it up for my audience as well as for myself so I don’t go insane or get severely burned out. It’s not that there won’t be days when I’m just not feeling it and the words don’t flow like a river but realizing that this is the way that artists, marketers, and people that are just good at what they do have to make changes and adjustments to keep their audiences’ and their own interest focused. Content marketing probably isn’t as cool as a Metallica song but it felt good to connect the two and whatever makes me think, makes me better at what I do. That’s what Web Force KC does (for itself and) for our clients.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for effective web design and online marketing in the Kansas City area.

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  • Shoot Yourself In The Foot Marketing

    Shoot Yourself In The Foot Marketing

    We all have opinions and beliefs which is fine and good but dragging divisive opinions and beliefs into your marketing strategy could cost your business big time. Don’t get me wrong, I personally have some pretty strong beliefs and opinions that I am more than will to stand up for but I have refused to incorporate them into my business’ or my clients’ marketing strategies and for good reason.

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    Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

    At the time that this blog is being written, Kansas City (and our entire country for that matter) is polarized on a variety of issues. Civil unrest is a daily news blip and with elections on the horizon in November, there is no shortage of back and forth banter among opposing opinions both online and offline. The funny thing about all of the chaos and insanity is that marketers are finding ways to still get into your head and plant the seeds of their products or services but they are doing it very, very carefully so as not to cut themselves off at the knees. Let me explain: a few weeks back I published a blog titled Marketing In The Age Of COVID-19 where I briefly touched on making sure your marketing efforts don’t piss off 50% of the people you are trying to get to. But I feel like this needs to explored even more particularly in light of some recent campaigns I’ve been following closely that are failing in a major way. If you are from the Kansas City area and you listen to the radio or watch TV, you may have noticed that a very prominent plumber in the area has decided to throw his hat into the ring and run for senate in Kansas. What’s odd is that his hilarious political ads are often followed by or preceded by his ads for his plumbing business. To be fair, I learned that he no longer actually owns the plumbing business but is still the “face” of their marketing campaigns. It’s a free country and more power to a guy that started out as a plumber that ends up running for public office once he sold his company but his rhetoric is highly divisive and word on the street is that the plumbing company is suffering as a direct result of it. You can watch for yourself as the train wreck happens in real time but it is no mystery as to why the plumbing business in which he’s still the “face” of is drowning. Any time you drag politics, polarizing opinions, or beliefs into your marketing efforts you should expect repercussions from those on the opposite side. Republican vs Democrat. Pro-life vs Pro-Choice. Pro police vs anti-police. Etc. Etc.

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    Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

    The goal of marketing your business is to get the word out about what you do, how your do it, where you do it, and why someone would choose you to do it for them and I’m having a hard time thinking of an instance where political or philosophical beliefs would come into play as a means of enhancing a marketing message aside from, well, political marketing. The truth is that anyone opposed to your opinions will likely be opposed to your business because in this day and age, we have a hard time seeing other points of view which makes marketing with politics or any mildly controversial subject matter dangerous and likely ineffective. I’m not saying don’t stand up for your beliefs and ideals but make sure that you consider whether or not they have anything remotely to do with what you do and who you might piss off to the point that they don’t want to do business with you. Sadly, we have all become more easily offended and triggered and it likely won’t get any better anytime soon. We recommend you focus on what you do and/or sell and let the idealists fight it out on social media because the fact is that you won’t change anyone that has already made up their mind as to what they believe. Keep your marketing neutral and go after everyone instead of having people come after or boycott you and your business based on your personal beliefs. You can’t please everyone but you’re marketing efforts will be phenomenally more effective when you focus more on what you do, not how you personally think. Sure it’s hard to appeal to everyone but that’s why my clients pay Web Force KC to do it because it is far from easy. That’s just one of the things we do for our clients.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for effective web design and online marketing in the Kansas City area.

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  • Lead Aggregators Are the Worst

    Lead Aggregators Are the Worst

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    Photo by Jp Valery on Unsplash

    If you’re a business owner and you do B to C (business to consumer), you are likely bombarded on a daily basis on the phone, in your mailbox and in your inbox with companies trying to sell you “leads.” Some claim to provide exclusive leads while others sell shared leads which is even worse but either way do you get what you pay for? In my experience the answer is a big NO. However, I have had first hand experience on the other side of the lead aggregator business as being the one selling the leads which gives me unique insight as to how they work.

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    Photo by fran hogan on Unsplash

    Many years ago before Web Force KC was even a glimmer in my eye I took a job working for a company “Service Magic”. Sounds corny right? You have no idea. At first it was a real hippy trippy, casual office atmosphere and according to some of the mid level managers I talked to, the owners were pretty cool but the company itself was changing rapidly into an ultra corporate entity that sold millions of dollars in “leads” and I would soon learn I didn’t want any part of it. First let’s define what a lead aggregator is. A lead aggregator is usually a company with a massive website with hundreds of pages that showcase the businesses and business owners that have unfortunately opted to partner with them. Home Advisor (formerly Service Magic) is a great example of a lead aggregator in that they tend to show up in search results for pretty much anything and everything you search for as it pertains to home improvement and they almost always rank pretty prominently. The goal of the lead aggregator website is to gobble up as many clicks as it pertains to a specific search as possible from what we would assume are homeowners looking for home improvement services and then sell the “leads” to their paying contractors. Sound OK so far right especially for a small company that is just starting out and needs business? The problem is that these same “leads” are shared with multiple other contractors in your area all at the same time (or at least as fast as your internet connection is). From there, it’s a mad dash to get that “lead” on the phone and schedule an estimate but the problem is that most of these small businesses or contractors are busy working with their hands and can’t always drop what they’re doing to call the lead back immediately. So it’s essentially a race to get the lead but the bad part about it is that all of the contractors or companies that got that “lead” have to pay for it whether they get the “job” or not. Way back when I worked for Service Magic, some of the leads, particularly for services like home remodeling, cost upwards of $80.00 per lead and I can’t imagine prices have gone down since then. Now, that’s how it works from the lead aggregator and contractor side but there’s another side to the business and that’s the consumer side. The consumer doesn’t know any better as any type of marketing done by the lead aggregator typically won’t disclose that they charge contractors for leads but instead focus on how their service is free for homeowners. They boast that they do background checks and make sure the contractors are licensed, insured, etc to make the homeowner feel more comfortable with hiring someone they don’t know. As the homeowner goes to their website and completes their request for some type of service little do they know it is so on. The phone will ring off the hook, their inbox will be flooded, and it gets overwhelming because the contractors that got the lead are going to make the most of it because they are paying for it whether they get the job or not. It tends to scare off homeowners who just want to get some type of home improvement done and not have to talk to countless contractors. The bottom line is that the lead aggregator got paid multiple times for the single lead they sold to multiple people and they could care less who gets the job or if anyone gets it. Here’s the even more crazy part about all of this: some of the leads are so insane that you wouldn’t believe some of the ones I got to hear about but I will leave you with this one. One of the contractors I worked with called me directly one afternoon asking if it was all a joke. I said no, why and he proceeded to tell me that he had just paid for a lead wanting to add a room onto a trailer in a trailer court.

    Lead aggregators probably have their place but I’m not sure where that is. As a business owner, you are already competing with your competitors so it makes little sense to pay more to do it in an arena you have little to no control over. Take control of your online presence and have people find you and your business for what you do, where you do it, and why you are different than your competitors. That’s what Web Force KC does for our clients.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for effective web design and online marketing in the Kansas City area.

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  • Content Marketing Kicks Ass

    Content Marketing Kicks Ass

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    I’ve always loved writing. I can’t remember the actual moment when I realized that writing came naturally to me but I know it was when I was very young. As a teenager I wrote a ton of poetry and other odd literary project most of which was real hit and miss but nevertheless writing was and continues to be a creative outlet that has not only gotten me through some pretty rough times, it has quite honestly kept me sane (still does). I’m lucky enough to get paid to write for my clients and I don’t take that responsibility and privilege lightly. Through my content writing on their websites, blogs, social media, and other marketing projects, I get to literally become the online voice of that business which is enormously fun but can often times be very difficult.

    Search Engine Optimization and Content Marketing in Kansas City, MO

    Writing for a business is content marketing and the best part about it (at least for me) is that I’m rarely at a loss for words or ideas. The trick to effective content writing is finding new ways to describe the same products or services over and over again in new ways that are relevant to my clients, their customers, and ultimately the search engines which is why they pay me to write in the first place. Looking back at some of my early content marketing work, it was pretty evident that the rules of the search engines weren’t very strict like they are today. In fact, I remember writing blog posts that were so absurdly overly keyword heavy that any normal person reading it would think a lunatic wrote it. That may have worked then but it certainly doesn’t work now in 2020.

    Photo by Skye Studios on Unsplash

    Rich, unique content is what Google says they want to see and these days when you lay the keyword babble on too heavy, you’ll likely get penalized and loose rankings. This means that there must be a balance between relevant content that is unique, current, and most importantly makes sense to both potential customers reading it as well as the search engines in order to be effective. It sounds more complicated than it really is but it does take some practice to get content to consistently flow and at the same time be functional for online marketing goals. Integrating what’s currently going on is an easy way to create content that is engaging and relevant but there are some really deep pitfalls you’ll probably want to avoid if you go that route. For example, leaning one way politically with your business’ voice will inevitably cut off any potential customers that are on the opposite end of the political spectrum of you which isn’t good. A good rule of thumb I use when I’m debating whether to use an outside current event or mindset in content is to ask myself “is there a large group that are vehemently opposed to this?” If the answer is yes or even maybe, I don’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, I could care less if someone gets offended by my personal opinions but they have no place in my business communications or my clients’ content for that matter.

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    Photo by hannah grace on Unsplash

    I guess the best advise I can give on content marketing is just keep typing no matter what (you can always go back and edit later), keep the content upbeat, and keep it current and relevant to where you are and what’s going on there. Don’t try to explain your whole business in one content piece but instead try breaking up parts of what you do or what you sell into separate content. Don’t expect all of your content to make you surge up in the search engine rankings because you’ll be very disappointed. Obviously some content will be more productive and effective than others and the key is to maximize those that really kick ass and learn why they performed so well so that you can take your future content to the next level.

    When I first started in the SEO/online marketing industry the phrase “Content is King” could be heard in pretty much every sales pitch or presentation to new clients and it still holds true today. Sure you can go and pay Google a mountain of money to show up prominently and  immediately with AdWords but the fact is that once you stop paying, you immediately become invisible again. With content marketing and search engine optimization, your online presence is built organically which, in my opinion, is much more powerful, effective and lasting. Especially when you consider that most Pay Per Click ads only see a roughly 2% click through rate which isn’t much for what you pay. Content marketing works exceptionally well but it is by no means the most simple and easy path to succeed online. However, when done correctly, content marketing can be the most powerful and effective tool in your online marketing arsenal and that is why I enjoy it so much.

    If you have questions about content marketing, SEO, or web design in Kansas City, feel free to get in contact with us.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for web design and online marketing in Kansas City.

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  • The Rise, Fall, and Rise Again Of QR Codes

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    I’ve been a big fan of using QR codes in marketing strategies for many years. Ever since the smartphone became something that nearly everyone had in their pocket, the QR code has been a pretty nifty bridge to take you from the physical world as we know it to the magical land of the internet simply by pointing your phone at the black and white blocked squares. If memory serves me correct, the first REAL phone I owned was the G1 which was one of, if not the first phone to run Android by Google. The G1 amazingly enough had an app for scanning QR codes. At the time it was absolutely astounding to scan codes but there weren’t many ways to actually generate QR codes efficiently or free for that matter. Now you can spot QR codes on everything from Heinz Ketchup bottles and TV commercials to the trailer of a remodeling company and the invoices they send to their customers which should scream to you that they still work. In fact, today’s smartphones make it easier than ever to scan a QR code because all you need to do is open your phone’s camera and point whereas previously you needed an app that was almost always ad sponsored to scan.

    Local Web Design and Online Marketing in Kansas City, MO

    What’s interesting about QR codes is that they aren’t necessarily a new thing. In fact, they’ve been around for many years before the advent of smartphones or the widespread use of the internet as we know it today. QR codes are essentially bar codes but they are read quite differently and are capable of storing much more information. The first bar codes were developed in the 1960s in Japan where the country was experiencing huge economic growth, especially in retail industries. Grocery store cashiers, at the time, had to hand key in prices and products which is not only inefficient but it was also exhausting. Once in use, the bar code revolutionized product pricing, inventory management, and global commerce as we know it. However, the bar code was soon found to have limitations most specifically in the amount of information that could be stored with an individual code. A typical bar code could only store around 20 alphanumeric characters of information which isn’t a whole lot. Plus, a bar code can only be read in one direction (left to right) with a singular scanner device (today’s bar code scanners have since fixed this with more advanced scanning techniques). That’s where Denso Wave Incorporated enters the picture as they were already developing more advanced code reading capabilities that could store much more information than a simple bar code. The QR code they were developing could be scanned unidirectional meaning no matter which way it’s facing or which angle you’re scanning from, it can easily and flawlessly be read. As expected, it took many years and a ton of trial and error before it worked seamlessly. Fast forward to 1994 when the Denso Corporation finally released the QR code as we know it to the public in Japan which prompted the Japanese automobile industry to quickly integrate the codes into auto parts and production processes. They were immensely popular (mostly in Japan) but they soon faded away from the public eye until around 2002 when the explosion of smartphones allowed everyone to have a scanner in the palm of their hand. As everyone on the planet began to get their hands on every increasingly powerful smartphone devices, the use of the QR code rose as well. QR codes have been used on everything from coupons and security badges to airline boarding passes and so much more (just look around and you’ll likely find a QR code on something near you). QR codes seemed to disappear for a number of years especially for public use and applications but with the most recent smartphones equipped with a code scanner in their camera app, they have seen a huge resurgence. While you would think that inventing something as useful and globally used as the QR code would make the inventor insanely rich, the creator did in fact patent the code but opted to allow public use without restriction.

    Today it’s pretty simple to create a custom QR code for businesses or for whatever. At Web Force KC, we use them to help our clients get better customer reviews, direct their customers to non-public pages on their websites, add to their social media presence, promote sales, and many more applications and functions that are easily accessible to anyone with a smartphone. We strive to find new and creative ways to use QR codes for our clients to help them grow their businesses.

    If you enjoyed reading this blog, do us a favor and pull out your smartphone, open up your camera, point it at the QR code below, follow the link, and write a review for Web Force KC. We would appreciate it!

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    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for web design and online marketing in Kansas City.

     

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  • New Business Starter Pack

    New Business Starter Pack

    Photo Credit Alex Holyoake

    My daughter and I are total meme geeks and one of our favorites has always been the “starter pack.” If you’re not familiar with them I highly recommend you check them out as they are hilarious. The starter pack meme is usually a series of images that collaboratively represent a type of person or character but with less then complimentary intentions. Anyway, I had an old friend ask me about starting a new website for his wife who had recently lost her job and was opening up her own private practice. It made me think about how I really don’t have a starter pack for new business owners. I’m not going to get into extreme details but instead I thought that providing some basic insight on setting up a website as, in my humble opinion, it is the most effective way to get a business going and start generating revenue.

    Local Online Marketing and Website Design in Kansas City, MO

    Get a good name for your business. I’ve worked with countless businesses over the years that have the weirdest names and honestly it takes more work to effectively market them. My advise is to pick a name that has at least little bit to do with what your business actually does. Made up words that don’t make sense to people likely won’t make sense to the search engines either unless you pound brand based content repeatedly when you could be spending your online marketing time more productively like pushing keywords related to what your business does.

    Get a good domain name (that isn’t too long). When my clients ask me to research domain names I tend to look for ones that contain what they do and where they do it. For instance, one of my clients recently added a new location in North Kansas City and wanted me to put a website together specifically for that location. He owns multiple smoke and vape shops but this location is the first in what KC people call the “Northland.” I ended up picking SmokeShopNorthKC.com as it not only is one of the main keywords (smoke shop) we will be going after with our SEO services but also where we will be pushing those keywords (in North KC). Don’t bang your head against the wall trying to find a domain name that does the SEO for you because you’ll never find it but do your best to pick one that makes sense, is short and to the point, and most importantly one that is easy to remember.

    local-web-website-hosting-KC-KCMO-Kansas-City-MO
    Photo Credit  Taylor Vick

    Get good hosting. If want to build a website, you’ll need a place to host it. Hosting is essentially renting space on someone’s server for the files that make up your website. Ideally you should host your website where you buy your domain name but it isn’t absolutely necessary. Check out the reviews on the hosting company because most of them suck to say the least. No offense but GoDaddy really sucks. I’ve had to deal with them for years and each time it’s a struggle to refrain from yelling and screaming at them. Plus, they like to nickle and dime your for every little thing which is just silly. Web Force KC can provide hosting and website security through our partnership with Just Host. We’ve worked with them for years and have never had any major problems especially when it comes to their support which is exceptional. The downtime is minimal which means that our clients’ websites rarely, if ever, are “down for maintenance” which is a good thing.

    Have a professional write your website content. Nothing is worse than having terribly written content on a website. First, your potential customers can get annoyed really quick if your content is poor quality and end up bouncing off of your site to one of your competitors. Second, the search engines like rich, unique content that makes it crystal clear who you are, what you do, and where you do it. Content writers usually aren’t cheap but they do provide an invaluable service that make businesses money.

    seo-web-design-online-marketing-Kansas-City-MO
    Photo Credit Christian Wiediger

    Have good images. If you aren’t a photographer, no worries, you’re not alone. I’m by no means a great photographer and neither are most of my clients even though we have increasingly more powerful cameras on our phones. I’ve had clients that have held contests with their employees to take pictures which worked out pretty well but in the end nothing beats a professional photographer. There are many websites that offer free image downloads for any type of use including commercial use. DON’T USE PICTURES THAT AREN’T YOURS! Copyright infringement is real and can cost you a ton of money. (Trust us, we’re currently in the middle of suing a local business for stealing our images and content). We recommend checking out Unsplash.com for tons of great free images. In fact, we used UnSplash images for the blog you are currently reading and we think they look pretty damn good. You may not find exactly what you are looking for there but you can at the very least get some good ideas. If all else fails, go buy some stock photos.

    Lastly, make sure your website makes sense. A website should allow users to get the information they need or get in contact with you quickly and easily otherwise they’ll go somewhere else. I can’t tell you how many times a website (or more specifically a web designer) over-complicated thing when the business offered a pretty simple service or product but made it almost impossible to actually get info, make a purchase, or get in contact with the company. Clean, simple, and user friendly always works.

    At Web Force KC, our goal is and always has been to help our clients navigate the ever-changing world of the internet while helping them grow their business as well. Our common sense approach to web design, content creation and website hosting/security allows our clients to focus on running their business instead of worrying about the web.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for local web design, SEO, and online marketing in Kansas City.

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  • Why You Should Blog About Your Business

    Blogging For Businesses In Kansas City

    Web Force KC helps small businesses in Kansas City and surrounding areas develop solid and consistent online marketing strategies that are results driven and effective. One of the main ways we help the businesses we partner with is by blogging on behalf of their business. We typically are not using the blog to make social commentary, rant & rave, or create a social buzz. In fact most of the time our blogging is a direct assault on keywords and sets of keywords that generate traffic to websites that can then convert into potential customers for the businesses we work for. There is much more to it than just dropping a ton of keywords onto a blog and blasting it out onto the internet and we thought we would share some of the things we at Web Force do in blogs for the businesses we work with.

    Using Effective Titles In Your Blog

    Whether your business is seasonal or not, there is always something you could talking about for your business online. Web Force KC researchesweb-design-search-engine-optimization-Kansas-City-Lees-Summit what keyword(s) or keyword phrases are the most relevant to your business online and then we find ways to incorporate them into blog titles, page titles, and content with the blogs. The trick is to not duplicate the content while still utilizing the target keywords and keyword phrases which can be difficult which is never easy. As targeted keyword campaigns become more successful and effective, Web Force KC will broaden the keyword spectrum to include other relevant keywords to the business that are an expansion to the keyword sets that are the foundation of the campaign.  Using primary target keywords in blog titles along with location based verbiage usually makes the for the most effective blog titles that yield the best traffic but the curtains need to match the drapes in the content, categories, tags, H1, H2 H3 etc.

    Web Force KC uses knowledge of web design, search engine optimization (including blogging) and a little sales savvy to help grow small businesses via online marketing. If you own a small business and would like to see how Web Force KC can help your business’ marketing call (816) 462-9128 for a free consultation.

    Call Web Force KC at (816) 462-9128 for web design and online marketing in Kansas City.

    Contact Web Force KC For Web Design and Online Marketing In Kansas City at (816) 462-9128

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