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Internet is a platform that can take you to storm. But, in the present scenario it has become a friend and life saver for those who want to access information in a matter of clicks. Not to forget there is an other side of the Internet too – Digital Media. In the digital age, staying ahead in the online arena has become must for every business seeking growth in 2017 and in the coming time. Here are the signs you should invest in a good digital marketing agency in 2017:

• Huge Promotions: In the present world, every client and brand want to endorse its particular product to the maximum possible extent. Digital marketing has immensely increased the promotion of brands and products. It lets you promote your service, or product in a creative way and proves very helpful because over 50% of the world is present on different social media channels.

• The Maximum Rule: Digital media follows the Maximum rule. Through this platform, your content can reach to a lot of people in a single shot, while you probably sit in your cabin or room.

• Higher Engagement: With this form of marketing you can motivate your prospects, clients and followers to visit your website, go through your products and services, purchase them, etc. which is visible to your market. And , I am sure, you know good publicity doesn’t take much time to boost the prospects of your business.

• Brand Development:A well-maintained website carrying high quality content aims at the needs of your target audience and thus brings more traffic to your website.

• Affordable: The best thing is that digital media is low budget. Whether you pick Facebook or any other social media site, it uses quite minimal amount for promotions and other stuff.

Choosing a digital marketing agency is no less than searching for your business' better half. Most likely, you are going to stay with the agency for years to come. Thus, it is highly suggested to invest time and effort in finding the right digital partner to avoid a bitter breakup down the line. There are many good digital marketing agencies in India, like Softuvo. Softuvo is a leading company in this arena, which can surely turn you into a well known online brand in negligible time. It is a performance-based company which can provide you with guidance as well as implementation service and support for excellent results. The company’s digital strategists don’t just possess experience but also excel in transforming a simple thing into a brand digitally. What’s better than joining hands with the digital marketing experts of Softuvo, who already know the best way to achieve incredible results for your business?

Before we jump to 5 cant-miss Off-page SEO strategies, you must have the clarity of what exactly Off-Page SEO is. What is Off-Page SEO? Off-Page SEO is the act of optimizing the reach of your service or brand using the content, relationships, and links to create an optimal experience for prospects. This act generally results into gradual increase in positive business mentions, traffic to your website, search rankings, and conversions. Next, Why you can’t afford to ignore it? In the SEO world you can’t sideline the value of Off-Page SEO because:

• Goal of off-page SEO: The practice aims at accumulating positive signals and interactions for your business, brand etc.
• Off-page SEO benefits: Positive reviews, brand mentions, links, etc.

While working in the digital age, it is not just important to think of links but you should also make the off-page SEO a priority. Here are the key areas you should consider for off-page SEO to boost your brand. These key areas fall under three categories, including Brand, Audience and Content. Brand: 

1. Excellent Service/Product: Your job as an SEO becomes very easy when the product or service you are offering is recognized as the best in its class. This is because people both online and offline are likely saying amazing things about your work, which thereby increases the visits on your website, and result into positive reviews, resulting into increased sales of the product/service.

2. Customer Service:It is very important to communicate well with everybody you come in contact with. To grow your reach and endorse your brand, focus on making everybody your company or brand spokespeople come into contact with feel satisfied and positive. For example, ensure that the content you create leaves people feel good about your brand.

3. Focus On Web Searchers’ Intent: When we talk about SEO, it is typically like people choose to buy and use the services and products if they can first find them. Most of the times, even the best services fail to live up to their full potential just because they don’t match their offerings to what actually the prospective audiences look for. Besides, matching titles, descriptions, and keyword phrases to searcher’s intent, ensure that you focus on where the content is shared and discussed. The best thing is to put the needs of the audience first.

Audience:

4. Responsive Social Media Presence: Social media must be a vital component of your off-page SEO strategy. This is very easy, just focus on these three factors:

Availability: In case you have a social media account, ensure that you are monitoring it well and can answer queries and respond to comments well in time. Stay Genuine: Internet users look for genuine interaction, not continuous service promotion or robotic responses. Be proactive: The best thing you can do to add value to your brand is to utilize social media to be seen as a useful resource for the online community.

5. Build Connections: Social media can be an asset for any company, if use wisely. When you are doing off-page SEO, the main benefit of social is the ability to create and nurture strong  relationships with influencers. Such people have a huge reach in terms of name, recognition, fan following, etc with high-ranking websites. Create long lasting bonds to endorse your brand and reach maximum audience.

Content:

6. Content: Content isn’t just bound to the text, images, or videos you carry on your website. It is the basically the entirety of the experience your company or brand creates, designs, and shared online and offline. It includes everything ranging from taglines to logos, to phone calls, blog text, images, etc. Videos and images can be a big hit for the off-page SEO of your brand mainly because they work as a low-investment/high potential vehicle to drive awareness and bring traffic to your site, boosting your off-page reputation in the process. Do experiment with your content types they can do wonders for your Off-Site SEO.

The above mentioned Off-page SEO strategies can undoubtedly bring your brand immense success. Just follow these SEO tactics and nothing could stop you from becoming an online brand.

Content audit? What’s that? If you are seeking a content audit for SEO purpose, then I must tell you that it includes a full inventory of all index-able content on a domain. The content is examined with the help of different performance metrics to find out which content we can carry as-it-is, which needs rectifications and which should be removed from the website. Is Content Audit Required? A content audit performed in the right manner has different purposes and desired results. Most of the time, a content audit is performed to determine the following mentioned things:

• How to avoid a content-related search engine ranking filter or penalty.
• Content that needs improvement in terms of quality.
• To avoid keyword stuffing.
• Content that needs to be updated.
• Unwanted content.
• Content gap opportunities.
• Content, ranking, and keywords.
• Potential content marketing opportunities.

How A Content Audit Is Carried Out? If a content audit isn’t performed well, things can go awfully wrong.The most common example is confusing removal from search engine indexes with removal from the web page. Performing a content audit for SEO on your website does not have to be hard. It isn’t easy to perform but must be carried out properly so that the website and its content can receive the attention that is deserves. Whether you agree or not, there are many renowned entrepreneurs out there who agree that content rules are must when it comes to website success. Content audit is one of the most important things to do correctly. All it takes is going through the content present on your website and then determine its relevance and success. Just gather data about the content you have on your website and analyze it to find out which content should be updated, what should be built on, promoted again, or which content should be deleted permanently. Even with all of this information so prevalent, many websites continue to ignore content audits because they consider it quite boring and time consuming. But, you can’t sideline the huge benefits that content audit has, including:

• During a content audit you will look at the analytics, which will help you better understand your website.
• You will come across the trends that will help your website in achieving success in the coming time.
• Content audit motivates you to create a content strategy if you don’t possess one.
• Even if SEO audit is a regular practice for you, every fresh audit will give you a fresh look at your content, giving you a chance to figure out if you need to alter responsibilities related to content for better results or not.

Point To Remember A content audit isn’t just limited to going through your website and the content on the blog. You might have content on these places, but the audit means that all content present on every page, be it contact page, home page, etc. is unique.

The life of web developers is thrilling. They are actually the ones getting a lot to explore. In today’s fast paced world wherein technology is evolving rapidly, web developers never run short of new things to learn. A web developer has to stay updated about the latest trends to grow in life.

To help you lead as a web developer, we are here with some trends that are expected to rule the web development arena this year:

• Developers likely to develop apps and websites using Artificial Intelligence: Yes, you have read it right. With the tech giants like Google, Facebook, Microsoft have already revealed their AI technology that will be open for public use soon, AI has gained a lot of spotlight. Some huge applications are already using AI technology. As soon as developers will get access to the tools required for AI development, we can expect them start using this smart technology in unique and innovative ways.

• Internet Of Things (IOT): The Internet of Things is the next big thing you will probably come across in 2017. This is basically a movement where in the things or objects that aren’t linked to internet at all get the network connectivity to send and receive data. Though developers aren’t going to develop such objects, they are likely to develop applications that use, analyze and display the data of such devices.

• Virtual Reality Technologies likely to be used in app development: The year 2017 is going to bring virtual reality into the mainstream. The future of technology has definitely something to do with virtual reality or VR. This trend has already started ruling the gaming industry, with tech companies like Google and Mozilla already working on APIs to help VR technology transition to the web. This clearly indicates that we could expect development of more applications using VR technologies.

• Angular 2: Angular 2 is a rich package of everything that needed to robust data management, HTTP services, and non-code-dependent development features as well. No matter it is a progressive web app or a desktop app, this rich package will help you deliver engaging experiences for end users.

• Ruby on Rails 5: Released in last June, Rails 5 is undoubtedly something you are going to come across a lot in 2017. The task of building a modern web application isn’t easy at all. But, Ruby on Rails makes this tough task quite easier.

Nothing stays stagnant on web for long. With the technology evolving at a fast pace, this year is expected to bring along interesting developments. Let’s see what it holds in store for us.

Just because a company is boasting the words ‘web application development company’ doesn’t make it apt for all your web application development needs. Here are the things you should look for while hiring a web application development company:

• Business Model: Hire a web application development company that follows an optimal business model. Some IT firms take a project with a motive to end it as soon as possible, but they don’t provide any kind of support or maintenance. Consider a company that provides a rich package, including policies pertaining to the ownership of the final code, work portfolio, custom or standard domains served by it, and the types of services the company offers: offshore or in-house.

• Company’s Past: Seek the portfolio of the company before you choose it as your web application development partner. Experience is the best criteria to pick a company that can change your vision into reality. Ask for the applications the company has developed or upgraded in the recent past, and rate them on various parameters, including coding, programming, code manageability, usability, design and marketing, development, performance delivered, etc. Choose the company you give highest rating in the aforementioned attributes.

• Proper Knowledge: Choose a web application development company that possesses sound knowledge of the programming language and tools that the software needs. Don’t forget the fact that a structured framework and organizational coding system are must for better code maintainability. Ensure that the company you choose possesses the tools to get you where you want to reach.

• Maintenance & Support: The responsibility of web application developers doesn’t come to an end with the launch of the project. Post-project launch activities are equally important. To experience lasting ease, choose a web application development company that offers you with the best maintenance and support deal. Don’t forget bug fixes are inevitable and demand continued maintenance.

In the nutshell, web application development isn’t just bound to those leading multinational companies. It has become significant for all types of businesses. Pick the web application development partner that suits best for your business.

The IT industry is rushed with lots of companies, each claiming them to be an expert. But behind the curtain, there lies a catch that you would never know until you land there. Hiring an IT consultancy firm after getting fascinated with the jazzy aesthetics of their website design or after getting convinced to the attention grabbing sales pitches doesn’t make sense. So, then how would you ensure that they would fit rightly in improving the productivity of your business? There are certain things that you need to keep in mind to make a good hire at the very first attempt. While most IT consulting companies may seem similar to you on the surface, but in reality not every software consulting firm has an equal expertise. Investing in the right IT consulting agency is the key to avoid frustration in the future. Take a look at the below mentioned things to ensure a great hire: 1.Check If Company Operates In Your Desired Platform! The moment you chose to make a lead in business by leveraging technology, you will be exposed to a gamut of options. Should you go for a conventional website design or web application development for getting the technological edge over your competitors? The first and prime thing is to decide between the two. Analyze your business functions, if you are a service based company, SaaS would be great for you. However, if you just started out with the product selling and have a limited budget, web development may be more suitable for you. Make sure the company you are going to hire offers the service that you are going to choose. Not every IT firm develops SaaS web applications, so better ask that upfront before making a hire! 2. Ask For Client References! References saves your time and efforts, but unfortunately many people tend to skip this crucial step. You may vouch for those flashy portfolios of web/software development, but you would never know if they had delivered them on time and budget. Who knows if those stellar results have been created out of a dirty war between a company and client that might have made client’s life miserable? To make faith, companies must provide at least 2-3 references out of those elegant portfolios. Asking for the references from your friends is the best thing that will help you escape that glittering side and meet the reality note. 3.Inquire Who is Handling Your Web Project! Never expect that your project will be handled by the same team which is behind designing the pixel perfect designs on a firm’s website that have got your attention. So, don’t hesitate to ask about the professionals who will be handling your project. Since you would be getting references from the clients, you could directly ask a client to name the active member of the team to include in your project. Before signing up the contract, make sure that you talk directly with the prime members to let them know your vision of your project. Make sure you understand their core competencies. This way you would come to know if the IT firm has really got the skills that could deliver you amazing results. 4. Know The Pricing Including Hidden One Before You Start! Pricing directly affects the quality of your project deliveries, that means if you are paying less, you would be getting low quality work. You would get what you pay for. Narrowing budget often hangs the project in the middle and will leave you nowhere. Understand that your aim to build something outstanding requires a high level of technical expertise that needs a surplus amount of money. This particularly applies in case of web applications as a developer may need to come up with highly creative solutions every time. So, working with newbie developer may not help you, only creative and experienced software can handle the unique challenges. However, they are tagged with expensive rates but could take your project to the finish line without hassles. 5. Don’t Forget To Ask For Source Files! It’s better to keep the source files in your stock to use in the future if the need arises. Not every company deserves to be trusted, especially when it comes to source files. You would never know when your relationship with the agency goes bad and they even fail to make simple changes to your website after your several requests. So, it’s always better to stay on the safe side and prevent an annoying experience from happening. Keep your full-control on photoshop files, web hosting credentials, access to code repositories and associated things related to your project development. You may need those in the future in case you chose to hire your own development staff. Add these clauses to your contract to ensure that you get the ownership hold on all the relevant stuff belong to your project development. 6. Does Company Keep Communication Channels Open? Discuss with your IT firm, their modes of communication and if you are fine with them or not. Make sure you and they are agree to the preferred channels and styles of communication to avoid communication issues lately. If you want to see project updates every day, make sure you convey your project manager in the advance. It would help him allocate time and send reports as per your convenience. He may also recommend you to use project management tools. Don’t hesitate to set aside the periodic chunks of time if your team really needs brainstorming real time interactions with you. If you both operate in different time zones, set a schedule for the online meetings to manage things easily. 7. Go Through Their Work Process! The process of work approach varies from company to company that may be different from yours. Make sure you understand about their process and resist the urge to switch to the process that you are convenient with. They might be following milestones that you shouldn’t hesitate to go with. They might be preparing a detailed list of the delivery dates on their preferred medium and might be expecting things from you at every point of the project progress. You might be surprised to see delivery dates taking several weeks, but that’s completely fine due to the complexity of the development. Interfering with them will eventually bring troubles and you would end up becoming a bottleneck in your work flow. 8. Inquire About Quality Content Delivery! If you are one of those clients who got a flare for writing and would love to write the content for your web pages/ web app, then make sure you allot yourself a plenty of time. The process that you might be assuming simpler is actually tedious and time consuming. Having enough time to fabricate those words into an excellent copy would ensure that you won’t fail to deliver. Also, keep in note that you don’t skip writing content for FAQs, privacy policy, terms & conditions in the service agreement, etc. If that sounds too much time to you, you should rather consider hiring a professional writer. 9. Ask If They Can Maintain Your Old Rankings! If you want to redevelop your old website, then you might be on the brinks of losing customers due to slipped rankings as the structure of your site changes. But that shouldn’t stop you for changing your decision from having a contemporary website with powerful features. Acting a little smartly would help minimize the impact to null. For instance, your development may recommend you using 301 redirects to help cope up the changes and redirecting your online users to the new URL where the new content has been shifted. This way you would keep close to your old rankings and will enjoy the charm of revamped site. 10. Hire A Technical Consultant! The idea of hiring a technical advocate is just great when you are foreseeing the technical challenges ahead that could make your life more miserable. You may consider hiring your friend or acquaintance who has a strong technical background in handling technical strategy of software/web development. He could help you understand the technical jargon and ensure that work is going smoothly. Investing in someone for technical consultation is worth the deal. You may hire his expertise on a fixed price or hourly depending on what suits you. Looking for an IT firm that can add value to your project? Welcome to Softuvo Solutions - the leading IT consultancy offering end-to-end IT solutions under one roof. Working with us ensures a great quality as we are a leader in web development, design, web & mobile application development on all platforms. Our customers enjoy working with us because we listen to their needs and won’t mind going the extra miles to cover their unique needs. We strive to develop a long-term work relationship with our clients. We believe to deliver value in every project that we undertake and remove bottlenecks for harnessing full-power of IT. Let us simplify your business processes as we have simplified various others. Talk to us today!