The Academy - Your source for business growth.

Today on the Academy we’re talking about measuring the performance of your social media efforts. That starts with establishing why you want to be on social media in the first place, and ultimately what success means when you get there. Determining which social media metrics to measure can be confusing and a bit overwhelming, and quite honestly hard to do. For many businesses, it's hard enough to j...

"Whenever somebody asks me how long search engine optimization takes, I counter by asking them, “How long does marketing take?” – AustinSEOguy.com I just think that's a great quote. So, with that quote in mind, here are some reasons why SEO takes time and requires an ongoing investment, and ultimately what you need to be doing to compete in the future. About Sanctuary: Do you need a partner to hel...

Today we’re talking about designing a new website. For many people, this means hiring an actual designer. Someone that will help them to decide how their website is going to look. They’ll go through the process and create multiple color schemes and layouts. They’ll debate about the right shade of blue, and explore all the different font styles, sizes and weights that are presented. There will be d...

I encourage you to explore the theory and science of social media on your own because it can be complex and a world of it's own. It's an understatement to say that it's always going to be changing. But to get started today, let's simplify our focus on what you could be doing as a business owner and marketer. If you need some values to strive for, you can't go wrong with the original 5 pillars of C...

Email marketing is one of the best ways to promote yourself and your business, whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or a strictly online business. It is relatively simple and easy to use, and it can help you reach an unprecedented number of potential customers while staying in touch with current customers. When you're talking about inbound marketing, there are many ways that you can use email...

For those of you that are interested in learning about basic marketing principles and strategy, I’d like to recommend The 22 Immutable laws of marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout. This is not a book review and I am not going to fully endorse this book, nor am I going to say that it’s a waste of your time. This is just a summary of some of the points that the authors cover in the book which I found...

For many local, small businesses it’s essential that you’re found when local people search for what you do. It doesn’t happen magically though. Search engines have no idea what your site is about, or where you’re at unless you tell them. If you search for a term related to your business and city and you don’t see yourself on the first page of results, then that’s a major missed opportunity. I’d li...

Today we're talking about SEO friendly design again. This is part three in our series where I provide tips to help you design your site in a way that benefits your SEO instead of hurting it.  Many people don't consider "design" an  important part of SEO. But when you consider that "design" includes related topics like UX (User experience) and UI (User Interface design), you'll start to s...

Today we're talking about SEO friendly design again. This is part two in our series where I provide tips to help you design your site in a way that benefits your SEO instead of hurting it.  Many people don't consider "design" an  important part of SEO. But when you consider that "design" includes related topics like UX (User experience) and UI (User Interface design), you'll start to see...

Many people don't consider "design" an  important part of SEO . But when you consider that "design" includes related topics like UX (User experience) and UI (User Interface design), you'll start to see how many of these practices can make or break your SEO -- all while helping to improve the overall experience of your website visitors. These are just a few of the best practices of SEO friendl...

Of the two major online marketing opportunities on the web, which one is the "best bet"? Many people struggle with this question and I believe the answer is, unfortunately, "it depends". Both avenues have their strong points and weaknesses and I'll do my best here to explain both. Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) can be a very effective way to get your website in front of your target audience. Ther...

Blogging is indeed just a tool, a mere dot… on a longer continuum. But it is a revolutionary tool, and those who just keep hacking along in the undergrowth will remain blind to the big picture until it is too late.” – Robert Scoble The blog has finally hit prime time; it’s now the engine for announcing news, providing information, expanding marketing and increasing sales for many individuals, busi...

Content marketing is a core component of any digital marketing strategy. No matter what it is you are trying to promote, or what audience you are trying to target, content plays a key role in your approach. With that said, success is not guaranteed—you’ll need a smart strategy to see your efforts pay off in the long run. To help you formulate a content marketing strategy for your small business, C...