How SEO Helps in Building A Brand

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the method of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic by enhancing its visibility.  In addition to keywords, you can also search images, videos, news related to different industries, and other statistics. According to Alan Safahi Orinda CA startup founder and advisor, every entrepreneur should adopt an SEO strategy to popularize the brand of their product regardless of the stage of the company, industry or target audience.

Below are a few simple tips:

– The image of the brand of your product should be appealing and must have the capacity to allure customers. 

– The content about your brand should be of good quality and has relevance. The reason is the thing that shows off sells well. 

– Your website must be accessible easily to the customers. 

– All the designs of the product should mesmerize the targeted audience. 

-Your product must have credibility.

Alan Safahi specifically mentions Millennials as the target audience most targeted by SEO techniques as this age group does most of their shopping online on their smartphones, although these SEO enhancements  can apply across multiple generations and target audiences.

Thanks to improvements in smartphones and streaming technologies, one could purchase anything  online these days with the help of search engines. 

(Insert statistics here about phone shopping and search engine usage and cite source)

The customer just needs an appealing presentation to select a particular product. 

There is strong brand recognition and loyalty online manufacturers and retailers need to optimize content marketing and brand image to create brand awareness, earn the customer’s trust and sustain their loyalty.

According to Alan Safahi, The marketing strategy to sell the product is termed as inbound methodology. More than seventy-five percent of customer use the inbound methodology for shopping online (need source) 

The inbound methodology enables you to build a stronger awareness of your brand among the targeted audience. There are four major steps of inbound methodology that collaborate with search optimization engines (SEO). Those are as follows:

1) Attract: The content of your website should be such that it becomes people’s first choice to visit it again and again.

2) Convert: In this phase, convince the people to subscribe to the various products exhibited on your website who are regular visitors to the site.

3) Close: Give attractive offers in this phase so that the customers are forced to buy your product. 

4) Delight: You and your customers should feel happy in both selling and using the product, respectively. It is essential to have the best SEO marketing strategy to popularize what you are selling. 

With small investments in SEO technologies, companies not only benefit from more exposure for their brand, but they help build brand awareness, loyalty and trust. 

Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.wordpress.com/2020/09/30/how-seo-helps-building-a-brand/

7 Tips For Better SEO Ranking Online

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a technique or a process that helps your  website rank higher in organic search results by making your website more visible to your customers who are looking for your services and products in the search engine. 

To understand  SEO, you have to know about how search engines work and how it provides you best results on search engines.

Entrepreneur and advisor,  Alan safahi, suggest some points for better SEO ranking.

1. URL structure – The actual structure of your website can have an impact on the search engine’s ability to index and understand your website’s content. Alan Safahi believes that it is very necessary to choose a good URL structure for ranking your website.

2. Internal linking-  Internal links are the main navigation links that go from one page on your site to another page on the same site.  Internal Links establish information hierarchy for your website and enable your customers to navigate your site, They also spread ranking power around your site. 

Therefore, when creating content for your website on your blog or on specific webpages, you may want to reference other pages on your website.  

3. Pictures/Images- When a picture or image is inserted on your website, the picture’s file name actually lives in your website’s source code so it should be chosen thoughtfully. When search engines scan the website’s code, using a filename that describes the picture (i.e. Alt Tag) will help with your website’s ranking enormously.

4. Backlinks- A backlink (a.k.a. “incoming link” or “inbound link”) is a link created when one website links to your website. Backlinks are an important part of your Off-Page SEO strategy. They signal to the search engines that other websites (preferably of higher authority) believe your contents are important and relevant enough to espoe to their own customers, thus they increase your Domain Authority and Page Authority. There are many types of backlinks used in Off Page SEO components and earning these backlinks (i.e. Link earning) forms an important foundation of your SEO strategy.  Some backlinks are free and for some backlinks you will have to pay.  The easiest way to do this is to look at your competitor’s website that is ranking well for your targeted keywords and tabulate a list of websites that they are backlinks-to! 

5. Content on your website – contents are very important to any website, without your good content your website will take a long time to grow on search engine result pages, if at all.  A good content will always increase visibility on your website and attract customers and other visitors, which in turn increases your website traffic, hence authority.

6. Who is linking to you – It is important to know who is linking to because not every link is good for your website. You can use free tools like Link Explorer to determine what websites are already linking to you.  

7. Spread Content – The best SEO advisors, suggests Alan Safahi Orinda CA, use  social media (like facebook, instagram, LinkedIn, et.c) extensively to spread content. The amount of social activity that a webpage has on social networks (shares, likes, comment) is an important factor in that page’s eligibility to rank on Search Engine Result Page (SERP). Using emails to spate content will also help bring more people to your website and increase your website visibility thus pushing your website toward first page positioning on the SERP.

Originally Posted: https://alansafahiorindaca.wordpress.com/2020/09/27/7-tips-for-better-seo-ranking-online/

Strategies to Help Founders and Entrepreneurs reduce Financial stress

Entrepreneurs are typically familiar with a degree of uncertainty when it comes to launching and managing their business, but COVID-19 has delivered even more unknowns.

We’re operating in a risky business climate that has led some companies to close their doors indefinitely or cut back on staff, while others transition to working from home as they grapple with an uncertain future.

While it’s true that stressful times make running a business even more challenging—especially while juggling financial obligations and overhead. Yet there are actionable steps business owners can take to weather the storm and remain strong and resilient.

Below are a few tips from Alan Safahi, Board Advisor and 6X serial entrepreneur, to manage financial stressors in a time of overwhelming uncertainty.

Pre-evaluate your business plan

Before starting any venture, be prepared to put in the time to make a detailed business plan. This is the foundation of your business, so the time and effort you put into it from the start, the more solid your foundation will be.

A business plan guides you through the different stages of turning a concept into a viable business, and in uncertain times, it can act as a reference point to keep you on track, strategically and financially.

Financial projections usually get pushed to the back of a business plan, but they’re incredibly valuable and important. Take the time to think through the cost of running your business, your overhead and how your projections will look in the next year.

Know your numbers

It goes without saying that you should prioritize understanding your company’s financials. “Document all your expenses and maintain good records to track cash flow, expenditures and outgoing payments” – says Alan Safahi Advisor & Board Member at Safahi Global Advisors.

“Doing so will give you greater clarity when assessing your financial position, and perhaps even some peace of mind”.

Streamline as much as possible

In recent times, we’ve seen many companies look for ways in which they can cut back on costs to keep the business afloat. Can you make do without an office space for the rest of the year? Are you able to cut down on advertising to keep expenses down? When you take a closer look at your business and its expenses, you’ll likely find a few opportunities to trim your spending.

Set aside for a rainy day

It’s not too late to start saving for a rainy day because businesses are usually cyclical and cash is like an oxygen needed during rough times to sustain the business.

Use your creativity

Entrepreneurs are accustomed to rolling with the punches, global pandemic or otherwise. If you’ve been thinking of a new approach, wondering when might be a good time to pivot or introduce new offerings, now may be the time. That may sound counterintuitive (shouldn’t I be looking for ways to reduce risk?), but if you’re looking for new ways to swim – rather than sink – it….

Seek support when you need it

Entrepreneurs and business owners usually carry the stress of running a business with them and are often too concerned with keeping the lights on to check in on themselves. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s important you find support. Seek out the advice of an accountant, financial advisor, coach or even other entrepreneurs who understand the position you’re in. There are a number of resources available to business owners, it’s a matter of sifting through to find what’s relevant for your business and needs.

While these are unprecedented times for entrepreneurs, Alan Safahi encourages founders and business owners to take a step back and see where there might be opportunities to reduce risk and find financial stability.

Originally Posted: https://vocal.media/journal/strategies-to-help-founders-and-entrepreneurs-reduce-financial-stress