Thursday, May 30, 2019

Surviving the Kind of Crisis that Makes a Bad Yelp Review Seem Like a Love Note

The restaurant business can be both complex and simple. But what happens when a local television reporter turns undercover cop and begins to report that your kitchen has unsanitary conditions will determine the future of the restaurant. It becomes a challenge that needs to be tackled. Many restaurateurs turn to crisis communication pros for this sort of tasks. It is estimated that one doesn’t know when a crisis can hit an industry in this imperfect world. Yet for restaurants, crisis response is harder because of the unique circumstances that they face. This is because in the first place few restaurants have a crisis communication strategy with communicators that can help them to deal with any crisis. Many national chains can employ communication professionals but this luxury is not in the purview of small and local restaurants. Therefore, the restaurant industry is starkly different from the billions of companies in the country who make it a duty to employ these professionals because they always envision that a crisis can surface at anytime. One thing that is going for restaurants is that their crisis are what the general public can easily understand. When there is a food poisoning in a local restaurant, many persons can understand what the news is saying and what action they need to take. That is why crisis are harder on restaurants.

Key Takeaways:
  • Have a solid communications plan in case there is a crisis when speaking to the media.
  • Food connects us all, and if a local eatery has bad publicity, it can ruin a business.
  • be on the look out for issues to avoid them in the first place.
"A crisis can hit any industry at any time. Yet restaurants face unique circumstances that make crisis response harder."



Tuesday, May 28, 2019

7 SEO best practices you should be doing regardless of what Google says

Many persons don’t doubt the fact that the lifeblood of the online search world is organic search rankings. But Google is very quiet about the content of their organic search rankings which fact is not lost to many SEO experts when Google makes an update to its algorithm which happens quite often. Whenever a new update is applied, SEO experts start wondering what twerks they should make to their own pages in order to accommodate the changes that have been applied by Google. Sometimes, the experts at Google give hints about what to do and what to prioritize to help SEO enthusiasts do their work well. But the author believes that there are some SEO practices that goes beyond what Google does or thinks and he has set out to outline these ones today in this post. The first of the seven big practices that goes beyond Google changes is that one has to be optimizing image alt texts. An image alt text gives information about what an image is and what it contains and Google bots have been doing a lot to try to understand this. That is why they must remain a key component of SEO. When one uses good image alt text, no matter the new trend in Google algorithm, he can never go wrong. Other tips are outlined in the blog.

Key Takeaways:
  • While many people know that maintaining an online presence is important they need to know that ranking for organic search should be their lifeblood.
  • Google updates its search ranking algorithm all the time which many marketers find important but they are quiet about what goes into it.
  • When an update is released, the experts at Google drop several hints about what needs to be prioritized or changed on websites and many persons listen to these.



Friday, May 24, 2019

How to turn a bad review around

Part of being in business is seeking out reviews for your business and products. Sometimes the reviews are not so favorable but the business owner shouldn't respond negatively to a negative review. One way to get a five star review was to respond to negative reviews in a new way. Yelp's data reports that business owners that respond to negative reviews within 24 hours increase the likelihood of their disgruntled customer coming back by 33%. Ultimately a negative review is based off one experience so changing that experience the next time works in favor for both the owner and the customer.

Key Takeaways:
  • Sam Elbandak’s yelp page was formerly a disaster that he needed to have some shots of alcohol before taking a look at it.
  • He used to have a lot of negative reviews that he would get so frustrated and depressed with them whenever he sees them.
  • Many restaurant owners are urged to actively monitor their Yelp pages and ask their customers for reviews because it is part of their operations.
"Elbandak, who owns The New Spot on Polk in San Francisco, was one of three operators who spoke at a Yelp-sponsored panel at the 2019 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. Darnell Holloway, director of business outreach at Yelp, moderated the panel."

Thursday, May 16, 2019

6 Small Business SEO Tips for Time-Strapped Entrepreneurs

SEO is a newly created buzz word/acronym that is associated with digital marketing in the business world as we now know it, and while there is plenty of help for larger corporations, small businesses usually end up missing out on large opportunities due to lack of understanding. This new summary suggests that focusing in on keyword research, copy writing, content marketing, link building, and usability will increase your business’s ability to reach its end goal target audience.

Key Takeaways:
  • To ensure that your small business has high internet visibility, you must ensure that the trawling bots that roam the net for search engines can find your site easily.
  • It's important that you utilize key words that match those your potential customers are inputting to find your service.
  • It's important to vary and update key word choices, because the way people search for goods and services will change over time.
"When entrepreneurs get SEO right, they can see lifts in website traffic, brand visibility, and revenue. This makes for stronger growth and more sales opportunities."


Wednesday, May 15, 2019

How to Drive Traffic to Your Small Business Website

SEO is not all it's cracked up to be, especially for small businesses, especially if the small business has a Google account. Google has a number of ways to drive traffic to a small business, taking advantage of local communities. But, if a small business owner does want to go down the SEO path, they should carefully look over their options - both in the SEO theory and in what personnel could help them set up a good method.

Key Takeaways:
  • Many businesses have found that if they need to be successful they need to have an online website because this drives customers to the business.
  • The days when people will wander on the streets looking for a product or service are long gone because today when people need something they just Google it.
  • People who provide products and services on a local level want to have online success and the way to do this is to rank well on Google results.
"What's a business owner to do when they need to rank well on Google but have no experience in the area?"


Tuesday, May 14, 2019

6 Things You Need to Know Before Starting an SEO Campaign

As with all lines of work, jumping into a project without having some sort of plan or execution design in place could prove to be the end of your project before it even had a chance. The Atlanta Small Business Network is here to help individuals take a hard look at the costs and benefits of starting an SEO campaign before you put in all of those long hard hours. Always ensure your technology is in working condition, your keywords are focused and grab attention and put the end goal within your reach.

Key Takeaways:
  • SEO is at best a challenge to implement if one wants to get good rankings but so many things tend to get in the way of consistent rankings.
  • When many managers on SEO and SEM think that the formula they have produced is a good and successful one, suddenly there is an algorithm change.
  • One of the things that a manager can control is on-page optimization so he needs to make sure that his pages are optimized.
"Thinking about the following elements will position you for the best possible results with the search engines."


Friday, May 10, 2019

How to Market Your SMB Without Breaking the Bank

Many persons find reasons why they should delay marketing and for many, it is because of time and money. According to data from Drip, 49 percent of small business owners spend less than two hours each day marketing their business and more than half of those business owners say that they carry out their own marketing. But cash flow problems cause many businesses to fail and it is a facet of life for these businesses. Marketing may seem like a luxury when business owners are forced to choose between paying money for marketing or paying money for operational expenses. One advantage that large companies have over small businesses is that they can spend more on their ads. Therefore, consumers might be able to see and hear their ads more than that of small businesses. Yet, small businesses can make research and grow their business despite the competition. The author proposes three unique ways they can do this. The author states that they should be using Google’s free tools. They should try to create a Google My Business account. The second is that they should try texting. This can help them to drive engagement. The third is that they should use facebook in an engaging way. If they do this, they will be sure to grow their business on a low budget.

Key Takeaways:
  • Many persons think that it is hard to do marketing for their business and they cite time and money as one of their drawbacks.
  • A research done by Drip found that about 49 percent of small business owners spend less than two hours a day on doing their marketing activities.
  • Cash flow problem affects several businesses and it is a fact of life for small businesses that makes many of them to fail.
"A Google My Business account is a free account from Google that allows you to publish your business online. It allows your business to become visible when people search and to appear on Google Maps."


Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Chipotle's digital sales up 100%

Past food safety issues put a dent on Chipotle’s reputation but now one can safely say that Chipotle has recovered from those events. On Thursday the Chipotle chain reported that they recorded a restaurant sales increase of 9.9 percent for quarter 1 that ended in March 2019. Of significant is the digital sales figures that shows a bump in that sector because the digital sales figures grew by about 100.7 percent and it was accountable for about 15.7 percent of the overall sales for that quarter. According to the CEO of Chipotle, Brian Niccol, these figures represent the fifth consecutive quarter where comps have shown remarkable acceleration and this makes the company to believe that customers respond enthusiastically when they connect with them through culturally relevant marketing with a focus on the great taste and the real ingredients that Chipotle provides. Some stats that were reported was a revenue growth of 13.9 percent to stand at $1.3 billion and an increase of operating margin by 21 percent. The figures show that the digital end of the restaurant chain has a lot to account for the improvement in sales.

Key Takeaways:
  • Chipotle has seen an increase in comparable restaurant sales for the five quarter in a row.
  • The recent successes for Chipotle appear to be driven by it's digital sales.
  • Chipotle's digital sales account for 15 percent of all sales and are up nearly 100 percent since last year.
"Through a combination of delivery, order ahead and catering, the chain's digital sales accelerated from Q4 and grew nearly 101% year-over-year and quarter one."


Monday, May 6, 2019

How to Raise Your Blog to the Top of Google’s SERP

Blogging is a great way to increase a brand's exposure and the size of your customer base. If you want to start a blog, however, you need to learn how to optimize it for search engines. The Golden Rule about SEO (search engine optimization) is to consistently create original content. Another important rule is to have a self-hosting blog (no subdomains, please) with a unique name. SEO can be further enhanced by making your blog mobile friendly, by creating natural backlinks, and commenting on complementary blogs. Finally, consider using SEO tools, such as SEO Moz or Yoast, which give you a lot of analytical data to evaluate and improve your blog.

Key Takeaways:
  • It seems that everyone today is blogging because it has become full of business and opportunities. Companies and travelers use it for all sorts of reasons.
  • Some of the advantages of a company running a blog is that it can help boost the exposure of its brands and increase its customers.
  • Before a blog can be beneficial, it must be optimized for search engines and must rank high on the pages of search engines.
"You must essentially make your blog easy to read for search engines, so they can index it."


Saturday, May 4, 2019

Essentials for courting, retaining millennials

The fast casual restaurant industry is going to become increasingly reliant on hiring and retaining Millennial workers. Tech-savvy young people will expect an easy, efficient, tech-enabled hiring and on-boarding process, with computer-based training used when possible. More than a third of Millennial food service and hospitality employees say their employers could make better use of technology — not surprising given that the vast majority of Millennials use their smartphones daily, including in restaurants. Performance review technology can also help give Millennials the feedback and positive reinforcement they are often very responsive to.

Key Takeaways:
  • The food and beverage industry is moving at a very fast pace and this makes restaurant managers to be pulled in more directions than ever before.
  • Restaurant managers now rely on team members who are mostly millenials to make sure there is smooth running of the companies they supervise.
  • When the technology is right for the work force, every member of the work force can be a star, and these technologies should attract the tech savvy population.
"While hiring and onboarding technology is important for attracting and hiring millennials, integrating technology to assist with daily restaurant operations and tasks is even more critical for consistently retaining top talent."



Thursday, May 2, 2019

4 Simple Tips That Will Get Big Results for Your Business on Google Search

Many marketers will readily tell you that one of the most important tools in their marketing work is Google. There are about 3.5 billion searches done each day on Google alone. That means that a lot of people are on Google and depend on Google for search results. People who want to sell products maybe on Amazon or on other ecommerce sites, or just want to grow a brand can use Google to good use. But they have to use it right. Therefore, the author has compiled some best practices that can help marketers to maximize their exposure and achieve their marketing goals. The first tip is that they have to utilize their Google Ad extensions very well. One thing is to make sure that your keywords are relevant. But extensions add to the descriptive text of an ad without taking away much space in the actual ad. The second tip is that marketers should leverage the power of Google Maps. This will make sure that local web users can be able to discover your business. Other tips are included in the blog.

Key Takeaways:
  • Use Google Ads extensions to enable more descriptive text without taking up pace in your actual ad.
  • Local customers are more likely to discover your business if you utilize map extensions in your Google Ads campaign.
  • Generate quality backlinks by creating a profile on business directories such as Yellow Pages and MapQuest.
"Whether you’re trying to sell a product on Amazon or grow your personal brand, Google can serve as a powerful resource -- but only if you use it right."