Seattle from the Margins Book Club Discussion Guide
Book club discussion questions for Megan Asaka’s Seattle from the Margins, with page-referenced prompts, ground rules, and a run of show for your group.
Free Download: Small Business Marketing Ideas Checklist
Learn what's required, and how to make a website ADA-compliant. Tips and insight from our expert team to ensure your site is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
Facebook Ads vs. Boosted Post: Which Is Right For Your Business?
Whether you have an active business social media account or are a casual scroller, you are sure to have stumbled upon either a Facebook or Instagram ad (known in the biz as a Meta Ad) or a boosted post. These both fall within the “paid social” world and are sometimes used interchangeably, but have some...
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Are Hashtags Still Relevant? A Guide to Social Media SEO
Social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube now collectively drive over 60% of product discovery, more than Google’s 34.5% share of total search . People are increasingly searching on these apps the same way they’d search Google, typing full questions into the search bar instead of just scrolling for entertainment. So, are hashtags still relevant...
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Email Marketing 101: What it is, How to Use it, and When to Bring in Help
What is email marketing, and how do you use it well? Get the basics, best practices, and know when email marketing services can help.
Odd Dog Celebrates Juneteenth 2026
The Odd Dog office closes in observation of Juneteenth. Read on to learn more about the national holiday and explore resources.
How to Make a Website ADA-compliant
Learn what's required, and how to make a website ADA-compliant. Tips and insight from our expert team to ensure your site is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
2026 Guide to Google Local Services Ads
What Are Google’s Local Services Ads? What if you could pay per lead instead of per click? Most people think of Google Ads when they hear “Paid Search” — and for good reason. Google commands about 90% of worldwide search volume , making it the default choice for businesses of all sizes. But there’s a...
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Seattle Earth Day 2026: Events & Ways to Get Involved
April 22, 2026, is Earth Day! Discover Seattle Earth Day events and ways to get involved.
How Google Ads Work in 2026
Learn how Google Ads works in 2026, from Search and Performance Max to Local Services Ads. A practical guide from the team at Odd Dog Media.
Bing Ads vs. Google Ads for Small Businesses
Discover the key differences between Bing Ads vs. Google Ads and find out which platform can deliver the best results for your small business.
Google Business Verification: Your Guide to GBP Video Verification
Google Business Profile verification troubles? Welcome to the club! Learn how to successfully verify your GBP with video in our comprehensive guide for all users.
What Is AI Search Optimization, and How Does It Impact Your Business’s Marketing Strategy?
Talk of artificial intelligence (AI) is certainly not new at this point. In fact, AI appears to be infiltrating nearly every online tool available, and predictions of its impact on businesses and industries are equally prevalent — especially in digital marketing . While searching on Google, AI rears its head by providing you with an...
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Small Business Saturday: How Our Team Shops Local (and How You Can, Too)
Small Business Saturday is more than just a day on the calendar; it’s a reminder of how much local businesses shape our communities. From the neighborhood coffee shop that knows your order to the family-owned restaurant sourcing ingredients from just down the road, small businesses bring personality, creativity, and heart to the places we call...
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Questions to Ask a Marketing Agency (for Small Business Owners)
Why Asking the Right Questions Matters Choosing the right digital marketing agency can feel overwhelming, especially for small business owners navigating this process for the first time. If you’re exploring agency options, knowing the right questions to ask can make all the difference — so the team at Odd Dog developed this list of questions...
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Cookie Compliance and Google Analytics Consent Mode
Cookie Compliance and Google Analytics Consent Mode Five years ago, as a young marketer at Odd Dog , the only cookies I worried about were whether I should grab a PCC Bakery snickerdoodle at lunch — or double down and throw a chocolate chip into the mix. Now, cookies have infiltrated the forefront of marketing...
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Get Involved This Earth Day: Fremont Trash Pick-Up 2025
Earth Day is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than by making a real impact in your community? On April 22 from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM , Odd Dog and Diaper Stork are hosting a Fremont trash pick-up event — and we want you to be part of it. It’s...
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Unleashing the Power of Google Ads A/B Testing
Enhance your organic social media growth with Odd Dog's blog: discover 5 effective strategies to boost your skills and succeed online. Read now!
Celebrating Women-Owned Businesses: Our Team’s Top Picks for International Women’s Day
This International Women’s Day, Odd Dog is celebrating a number of our favorite women-owned local businesses. These businesses not only provide outstanding products and services but also play an important role in strengthening our communities! What Is International Women’s Day? International Women’s Day, celebrated on March 8, honors the social, economic, cultural, and political...
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How to Adapt to the New Instagram Grid Size Using Canva
You've probably noticed on Instagram that the traditional profile grid has shifted from square images to portrait images. It doesn’t matter why or how you use Instagram – this change affected all Instagram profiles.
Tips for Creating Designs Without a Brand Guide
Working with businesses that don’t have a formal brand guide can be tricky, especially when you’re tasked with creating social media graphics, advertisements, or other designs. As designers at digital marketing agencies , we’re often balancing the need for quality visuals with clients’ limited budgets, meaning we have to get creative. Here are some...
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Corporate Jargon Generator
Corporate Jargon Generator: Let’s Circle Back and Drill Down – If You Have The Bandwidth Corporate jargon—the often absurd phrases we hear in meetings, presentations, and emails—can sometimes leave us scratching our heads. Expressions like “synergize across departments” or “run it up the flagpole” sound impressive but often lack real substance. Leverage Odd Dog’s Corporate...
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5 Effective Strategies to Boost Your Organic Social Media Growth
Enhance your organic social media growth with Odd Dog's blog: discover 5 effective strategies to boost your skills and succeed online. Read now!
How to Get More Customer Reviews (Even Without Our Review App)
Since launching the Odd Dog review app in 2016, we’ve been thrilled to see it adopted by over 1,300 businesses, generating more than 130,000 review requests. Our goal was to address the common challenge businesses face in soliciting reviews—whether it was locating a Google link or the inconvenience of sending a link at the moment...
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Suicide Awareness Month
Explore Odd Dog's resources and personal stories for observance and celebration of AAPI heritage month.
How to Celebrate Pride Month in Seattle 2024
Pride Month has begun and we’re celebrating here at Odd Dog. Our Socially Conscious Committee compiled a list of resources and recommendations to show our support and allyship with the LGBTQIA+ communities.
AAPI Heritage Month
Explore Odd Dog's resources and personal stories for observance and celebration of AAPI heritage month.
The Role of Google Analytics in Shaping Digital Strategies
The Role of Google Analytics in Shaping Digital Strategies In the digital marketing sphere, the significance of analytics cannot be overstated. As we navigate through 2024, analytics continue to serve as the compass for strategic decision-making, offering profound insights into marketing performance and customer behavior. This blog explores how leveraging analytics is pivotal for crafting...
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Climbing the Ranks: 5 Untapped SEO Strategies for 2024
Climbing the Ranks: 5 Untapped SEO Strategies for 2024 In an ever-evolving digital landscape, staying ahead in SEO requires embracing innovative strategies. As we step into 2024, it’s crucial to not only keep pace with changes but also to explore new frontiers in search engine optimization. Here are three untapped SEO strategies that promise to...
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Unlocking 2024: The 5 Google Ads Trends Revolutionizing Digital Marketing
Unlocking 2024: The 5 Google Ads Trends Revolutionizing Digital Marketing Digital marketing is always changing, and Google Ads is leading the way. As we step into 2024, it’s crucial to keep up with new trends in Google Ads to stay ahead. These trends aren’t just small updates; they’re big changes that can really shake up...
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Women’s History Month
Explore Odd Dog's resources and personal stories for observance and celebration of Women's History Month.
Black History Month
Explore Odd Dog's resources for observance and celebration of Black History Month.
Google Review Email Template: How to Ask for Customer Reviews
Looking for a Google review email template that actually works? Here are three proven templates and tips to help you ask for customer reviews the right way.
Simple Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint in Seattle
Ways to save energy and lower carbon emissions in your daily commute to and from work. Climate change and environmental impact are increasingly important issues for many residents and businesses in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest area. Being eco-friendly is one of our top social values for us as a company at Odd Dog . ...
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Integrate GA4 Data in BigQuery Without Knowing SQL — How To Effectively Work With ChatGPT to Construct SQL Statements for BigQuery
In a world where data shapes decisions, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has emerged from the ashes of UA as the phoenix of website data analytics — a critical tool for understanding user behavior and optimizing online experiences. You may have also heard whispers about the magic that happens when GA4 joins forces with BigQuery, an...
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GA4 vs. Universal Analytics | 5 tips to get started configuring your account
Over the past month or so, you may have noticed a bright red countdown pop-up when logging into your Google Universal Analytics (UA) account. This countdown, which signifies the launch of Skynet official sunset of UA, has sparked the frantic transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and has left many UA users feeling uncertain about...
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Earth Day With Odd Dog: 5 Tips to Stay Environmentally Friendly
Happy Earth Day from Odd Dog ! To celebrate, we went green with a team recycling training session. We learned how to separate our most common and trickiest disposables while having fun and competing for prizes. Recycling is an important aspect of environmental stewardship, and we recognize that as a business, we are responsible for...
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Using ChatGPT to Identify SEO Opportunities From The Google Ads Search Keywords Report
Using ChatGPT to Identify SEO Opportunities From The Google Ads Search Keywords Report + Google Sheets Template Curious about the association between a client’s best-performing Google Ads keywords in terms of revenue and their organic search rankings for those keywords, I imported the Google Ads keyword report and Ahrefs organic keyword report into Google Sheets....
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Small Business Saturday Odd Dog Tracker!
Our Commitment Being a small business, we know the importance of every customer we have the pleasure of working with. That's why we support Small Business Saturday and have taken a pledge to make a better effort to support the business in our community! You can read more about that over here: Seattle Small Business...
Read moreSeattle Small Business Saturday 2022
Join us in supporting Small Business Saturday this holiday season. Show your support for small businesses & enter for a chance to win a puppy party for your business!
How to Get the Interview and Land the Job at a Digital Marketing Agency
Whether you have recently decided you want to get into digital marketing or have been in the industry for years, the following advice will apply. In fact, it will apply to just about any job interview. Hold up. Why even listen to this advice? Who are we? As an agency with almost 15 years of...
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Understanding Google Analytics Website Traffic: How to determine where Direct/None traffic is coming from
Updated 4/21/26 Key takeaways: Direct/None is GA4’s catch-all for sessions when no referral source could be identified It is not always bad traffic, but a spike above 30% usually warrants investigation Consistent UTM tagging across your team is the most effective way to reduce it over time If you’re trying to make sense of your...
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Are One Page Websites a Good Idea?
One-page websites may seem like an easy solution to have something up there for your business and many services and website builder templates offer them. But do they do more harm than good? Are they worth it? What’s the advantage of having multiple pages if you feel like you can say it all with just...
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So you’ve just launched a new website. Now what?
Well, first off, congratulations! Whether you built your website yourself or hired someone to do it for you, launching a new website for your business is a big milestone and it’s OK to take a moment to celebrate! Once your website is launched, you may wonder what your next steps should be and we’re here...
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Odd Dog Movie Recommendations | 2022
Odd Dog Movie Recommendations We’re not all work-work-work over here at Odd Dog! What’s that saying? All work and no play make Jack something, something… When not working, we do love a great movie! We recently asked a bunch of Odd Dogs for their movie recommendations. Maybe their favorite movie. Or maybe a movie they...
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Ultimate Guide To Google Business Profile 2022
If you are new here, welcome! This is a comprehensive guide to using Google Business Profiles in 2022. ( formally known as Google My Business ) We’ve done our best to provide you with relevant and up-to-date information and actionable steps you can take to make your Google Business Profile stand out and hopefully get...
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5 Reasons You Should Run Google Ads in 2022
What are Google Ads? Yes, we are inundated by advertising everywhere we look. And search engines are no exception. Google Ads are the paid search results at the top and bottom of most search result pages and on many partner networks in other forms, such as display ads. Odd Dog has seen some amazing success...
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Odd Dog Recommends – Top SEO tips for 2022
Search engine optimization is an ever-changing beast and it can be difficult to stay on top of every algorithm change that is made. In 2022, SEO is still a vitally important part of your digital marketing strategy, but it doesn’t have to be daunting or scary. In many ways, it’s even gotten a bit easier...
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6 Ways Social Media Can Benefit Your Business in 2022
Why is Social Media still important in 2022? To say that there have been a few changes this decade would be an understatement. With virtual solutions like Zoom and online communities, people were forced to connect online when in-person connections were not possible. This absolutely had an impact on social media. How we interact with...
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What Is a Brand Guide & Why Every Business Should Have One
What is a brand guide? A brand guide provides an overview of the company’s identity, mission, values, as well as serves as an instructional guide on how a brand should be represented in all communication touchpoints . This includes logo usage and variations, voice, values, mission, typography, and color guide. Creating a full brand guide...
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5 Tips: How To Empower Your Employees to Ask For Reviews
We’ve been talking a lot about the importance of online reviews . But how can you get your staff more involved? Your employees are the front line of your business. They are the face of your company and are in touch with the day to day interactions with your customers. That’s why it’s crucial that...
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Why Email Marketing is Still Important in 2022
Just because something has been around a while, that doesn’t mean it no longer works. Take the wheel, for example. We still need those. And email – can’t live without it. Not many people realize that email is older than the internet. The first email was sent in 1971 . But nearly half a century...
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Small Business Saturday Bingo 2021: Shop Local, Win Prizes
The last two years have been tough on small businesses, making Small Business Saturday 2021 more crucial than ever. Your choice to shop locally this season can truly determine whether a neighborhood business thrives or folds. (We understand the struggle personally; as a small company serving other small-to-medium-sized businesses, we’ve seen it firsthand.) Rather than...
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How To Get Google Reviews For My Business
We all understand how important reviews and social proof is for your business. Just think of the steps you take when you’re looking for a new product or service. You may ask your friends or network for referrals, but you will most definitely check online reviews. 97% of consumers report that “customer reviews” influence their...
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Small Business Saturday 2020: Help Us Celebrate Our Fantastic Local Businesses!
2020 has been … challenging, to say the least. We won’t list off the many challenges we’re referring to in an attempt to spare you from reliving any stress. What we will say about it, however, is that small businesses have arguably been hit the hardest. As a small business that serves other small-to-medium-sized businesses,...
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5 Tricks & Tips for Analyzing Your Competition As Done By An Odd Dog
Humans are competitive by nature. We’re raised in a competitive environment from sports to school to the occasional family reunion dance-off. It’s in our DNA and brings out (usually) the best in us as individuals and groups. Without competition, we’d have a difficult time striving to be better, continuing to improve, and ultimately, becoming the...
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Top 5 trends for marketing to your audience on Linkedin in 2020
At first glance, LinkedIn can feel like just another social network that happens to be geared towards professionals. However, once you start to really unravel all of LinkedIn capabilities, you’ll really be astounded at what it can do for your business. Source Hootsuite. Using LinkedIn professionally to make connections and expand your professional network is...
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6 things to help you get the most out of your marketing vendor and make you look great to your boss
Don’t we all want to look good in front of our boss? I mean if we can make their life easier, it makes OUR lives easier, right? Being responsible for your companies marketing and hiring an outside vendor to assist you can be a marvelous thing! But how can you be sure you are getting...
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Creating winning content that attracts your ideal customers
Maybe you’ve been given the advice that you need to be churning out more content. I mean, we give that advice to our clients (and to ourselves) aaaaaalll the time! But creating content for content’s sake is a waste of time and resources. How can you not only create content that will help your business...
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How to define buyer personas and their pain points
Knowing your customers and fully understanding your unique buyer persona is an important part of every successful startup, SaaS , e-commerce, small business , or enterprise company. When you know who your customers are and what they need, you can position your products and services more effectively to align with your target audience. But your...
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Why you should work with an SEO agency to fuel your inbound marketing
Your content may be king, but if no one ever finds it, then it’s just one of those unclaimed baronies . SEO and inbound marketing are not mutually exclusive, in fact they rely on each other to perform. Inbound marketing is everything from the content you host on your website, like blog posts, to your...
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Need to grow your email list? Grab these handy tips and get cracking!
Email is far from dead, people, and if you don’t have a strategy in place to grow your list, you are missing out on one of your most valuable (and FREE) marketing assets. Emails are an audience that you own, unlike your social followers or website traffic. You can’t control social platforms or search engine...
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How to Get More Out of Your Marketing Budget
No matter what industry you work in, marketing is essential. Big and small businesses have to rely on marketing campaigns to draw in new customers as well as retain existing ones. If you have a small marketing budget, you may feel like there’s not much you can do to market effectively. Fortunately, that’s not true....
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8 Things You Can Do in Google Analytics to Determine How Your Marketing Dollars Are Doing
Where are you spending your marketing dollars and how are they being tracked? Here are some ways you are most likely spending your marketing budget. ( and some tips in case you need more of it! ) Paid digital advertising campaigns – like Google Ads, Facebook, etc. Paid print or media campaigns – direct mail...
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How to secure more marketing budget from leadership
Marketing budgets, am I right? When you are planning out your marketing strategy, the first question you need to know the answer to is, “What’s my marketing budget?” And sometimes the answer just isn’t enough for what you’d like to accomplish. When your company sets an allocated amount of money to spend on marketing each...
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Why you should use your budget to invest in a copywriter
While many business owners and marketing managers write their own copy for their websites, blogs, and sales pages, there are some instances when hiring a professional copywriter is a good investment to make. There’s a huge difference between someone on your staff who simply writes well and a professional copywriter who understands the nuances of...
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Tips for Identifying Your Audience so you Don’t Waste Your Marketing Budget
If you’re a marketing manager with a small staff and an even smaller marketing budget, it can be a challenge to determine where to spend your budget, let alone who you should be marketing to. One of the biggest reasons that marketing managers’ campaigns end up failing is that they’re not targeting their highly curated...
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How to accomplish your marketing goals with a limited staff
We get it. Not every company has a marketing team. As a growing company ourselves, we understand the number of hats that employees wear at a small company. When you don’t have the personnel to dedicate to marketing, here are some ways you can still accomplish your goals with the team you have. Get clear...
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Don’t Have the Budget to Rebuild Your Website? 7 Tips to Get More From Your Current Website
What can you do when you discover that your website has become outdated and that it is lagging behind modern technology, thus limiting its performance and appearance? If your site traffic has dwindled to the point that you feel like you’re home alone, while everyone else is attending the Saturday night dance, your website is...
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We Applied for a Facebook Business Grant – Here’s What We Learned
Facebook launched a Small Business Grants Program to provide some much-needed relief to those businesses being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a small business, we applied for the grant and wanted to share our experience with you. First off, who is eligible for the Facebook Business Grant? In other words, does this...
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Large Website Migration – What You Need to Know
When you’re considering the possibility of building a new website, migration is something you should have top of mind. Different systems hold content differently and migrating it to a new platform might not be as easy as waving a wand. A few questions you should ask: • Do you even have enough content to worry...
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Top 6 Mistakes Marketing Managers Make With Social Media
We audit and review a lot of social media accounts in our line of work. And while we’re not always perfect with our own (ahem, you do know the story about the cobblers kids’ shoes , right? ) we do have some valuable insight to pass along and help other marketing managers not make the...
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How Marketing Managers can Increase Leads with Social Media
Social media can be a beast to manage but in this day and age, impossible to ignore. Whether you are B2B or B2C business, it’s important to leverage your social media channels to increase your leads. Here are ten ways you can help convert more social followers and interactions into leads: Use social media as...
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When and How Often Should You Rebrand
Rebranding has gotten, dare we say, trendy , over the last few years. I mean, who doesn’t love all things shiny and new! In addition to desiring a fresh and updated look, it can also be tempting to blame your current branding on any lack of success your business may be seeing. We’re here to...
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18 Things You Can Do To Help Your Business Adapt During COVID-19
Given all the craziness lately, it’s easy for businesses to overlook a few simple tasks in communicating with your customers. We included a few checklist items below that you should keep in mind and execute as you have new updates to share: Consider sharing the following information via your website, email and social media posts...
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Four Ways Video Can Help Attract New Customers
“Class, we’re going to watch a movie today.” Is this not one of the best sentences to ever be uttered from your school years? Why? Video is entertaining. We learn visually, and we like learning at 24 frames per second. “Yes, but how does video translate to my business and connecting to my customers?” GREAT...
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How to Get the Most Out of Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a web analytics program that tracks and reports on visitors to your website. The information it provides can be invaluable in helping you to decide how well your website is converting traffic into customers, where visitors are spending the most time, and where your web visitors are even coming from. When you...
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Coping with COVID-19
Well, we can all now relate to that feeling your dog gets after it hasn’t been out for a walk in a week. Here at Odd Dog, we’re all working from home and the adjustment has been “ruff” at times. (too early in a post for a pun?) But we’re making it work. I mean,...
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6 Things to Look for in a Digital Marketing Agency
Most business owners have a limited budget when it comes to marketing spend, and that means you can’t afford to misfire when you’re looking for a digital marketing agency to collaborate with. Choosing the wrong company can at best waste your time and money, and at worse leave your company in a hole with penalties...
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How Should I Market My Small Business?
The way that you market your small business will depend to a large extent on what your budget is. Obviously, a very limited budget will not allow you to make use of some of the more exotic and costly strategies which a larger budget would permit, like skywriting, or a Superbowl commercial. The majority of...
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Social Media Marketing Trends in 2020 for Small Businesses
Businesses have come to realize that they simply can’t afford to ignore the tremendous reach of social media or the targeting that it offers. As a result, virtually all marketing campaigns these days include some component of social media marketing. However, one of the challenges of this is that social media is always changing, and...
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The Ultimate Guide on How to Use Facebook for Small Businesses
Facebook – that powerful social media platform that has eluded business owners for years. It can either be a huge marketing and customer service asset, or a huge waste of time. How can you be sure that you are making the best use of Facebook for your business? That’s what we’re here to help you...
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5 Awesome Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
The majority of small businesses have a very limited market spend available to them, which means they’re obliged to maximize their marketing budget to get the biggest return on investment. At the same time, it’s also necessary to successfully compete against much larger companies for the attention of your target audience, and this also has...
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Are Your Google Ads ready for a campaign restructure?
For businesses, it is generally true to say that “you need to spend money to make money.” However, spending money is not the same as spending money wisely. Google Ads (nee Adwords) campaigns are like plants in your garden – they need to be lovingly nurtured. Like plants though, you eventually need to get out...
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The Complete Guide To Auditing Your Google Ads Account
In this article, we will examine what’s involved with performing an audit of your Google Ads accounts, and this should be a task everyone regularly conducts, so as to determine the effectiveness of their advertising program. Unless you know which Google Ads are performing well and which ones aren’t, how will you make any intelligent...
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Does Google Ads Help SEO?
A common question we get from a lot of our clients is, “Does Google Ads help SEO?” This is a great question that we’ve all wondered about at some point. Let’s face it – wouldn’t it be awesome if you could just make your website rank higher and get tons of free traffic just by...
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How to Generate More Leads From Your Google Ads Campaign
How to Generate More Leads From Your Google Ads Campaign We live in the age of the Fourth Industrial revolution (4I), better known as the digital or internet age. Of course, we all remember from high school the profound impact factories and steam power had on forever changing human society, but while this was the...
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How Do I Know if My SEO Company is Doing a Good Job?
Hiring an SEO company to manage your company’s online presence can be scary. It’s like handing the keys over to a nice new car… that you built… with your dad… and hoping that not only it doesn’t get scratched, but it comes back to you running better than ever before. Ok, I suck at metaphors,...
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How do I know if my SEO is working?
How do I know if my SEO is working? Easy checks you can do to make sure your SEO is going in the right direction. Maybe you’ve hired an SEO company to improve your rankings, or maybe you’re just wondering if the SEO that your web developer *said* they did is actually doing anything at...
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Marketing Your Business For A Local Audience
“I need help growing my business.” This is a statement I hear all too often when speaking with potential clients ranging from carpet cleaning companies to tech-savvy SaaS entrepreneurs. Local business owners like yourself are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met but as a result, they’re often juggling a million things at...
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Why Location Pages Matter for Local SEO
When I was ten, I almost met Johnny Depp. My family was in Disneyland on vacation, and it just so happened that the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie was premiering the same weekend. To celebrate the movie’s release, there was a red carpet event scheduled for Mr. Depp just outside the eponymous ride. As...
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A Night With NuHope 2019
Odd Dog Media is Sponsoring A Night with NuHope 2019 Odd Dog is proud to be sponsoring NuHope’s “ A Night with NuHope 2019 ” fundraiser. This year, NuHope will be raising funds for REST | Real Escape from the Sex Trade. REST provides direct services to hundreds of people exploited by the sex...
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Why you should be using Google My Business Posts
What are Google My Business Posts? If you’re a local business, you most likely have a Google My Business listing. (if not, STOP and read this first) Google My Business Posts are a feature within Google My Business that allows business owners to share content, events, sales, or other promotions right within their knowledge panel...
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How We Helped Find Homes For 5 Rescue Pups – The Odd Dog Puppy Campaign
It’s no secret: our team at Odd Dog is a team of dog lovers. With at least three pups in the office on a given work day, there’s never a shortage of heads to pet or bellies to scratch. That’s why, when October 2018 rolled around, we were compelled to do something to celebrate doggos...
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Why Reviews Should Be at the Top of Your Local Business Marketing Strategy
As 2018 comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to work on your 2019 marketing strategy. With a new year comes new marketing trends, opportunities, and hopefully great ideas (an afternoon with puppies , anyone??). It’s also the perfect time to re-evaluate what’s working and make plans to do more of it. As you’re...
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How You Can Support Businesses This Small Business Saturday
We all know how important it is to support local businesses—right?! With the holiday season in full swing, Shop Small Business Saturday this weekend presents the perfect opportunity to dedicate some of those holiday dollars to your community’s entrepreneurs. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee from the neighborhood café, picking up unique gifts from a local...
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Don’t Scare Your Customers: 4 Things You Should Never Say When Asking for Reviews
Asking for reviews is not the easiest thing to do in the world – especially when you’re a small business and you know that every piece of feedback counts. So, when it comes time to ask a happy customer to leave their thoughts, it’s easy to fumble up, get nervous , and make it all-too-easy...
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3 Reasons Why Buying Google Reviews Hurts Your Business
There’s your business, sitting on Google Maps, with an overall rating of 2 out of 5 stars and a total of four reviews. You had a couple of angry customers, due to no fault of your own outside of unfortunate circumstances, and they left scathing reviews that have all-but-destroyed your online reputation before you had...
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How to Increase Your Local SEO Through Customer Reviews
By now, many of us are used to shopping online. Whether you’re looking for a specific product or a local business to visit, the process generally looks the same. You log onto Google, type your challenge, and are faced with blog articles and businesses trying to sell you on their solutions. After searching around for...
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The Key to Managing Your Online Reputation as a Small Business
Getting negative reviews, in a word, sucks. You're going about your business, working every day to sell your fares and pay the bills. Then, one day you wake up to find a one-star rating and scathing comments about your business; about you. At this point, you'll want to do everything you can to get that review...
Read moreGuide to Managing Multiple Locations on Google My Business
Google My Business is a valuable tool for every business out there. Whether you have a brick and mortar location or you travel to your customers within a specific service area, Google My Business helps you connect with customers in your immediate area. But what if you have multiple business locations? Do you need a...
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How to Get Past the Fear of Asking for Customer Reviews
Your palms are sweaty. Your breath is shaky. Your eyes can't seem to focus. Your heart is beating fast. You feel as though you're about to wrestle a bear (yes, that's something people apparently actually do ). But, in reality, you're about to ask your customer to leave an online review for your business. It's...
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How to Optimize Your Small Business’ Facebook Page
Are you capitalizing on the benefits of Facebook Business pages? Facebook is a fantastic tool for small businesses to find new customers, spread brand awareness, and tell customers about your business. However, it’s a platform that’s changing constantly and can be overwhelming for small business owners. If you already have a page for your business...
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4 Ways to Use Customer Reviews in Your Small Business Marketing
There are so many ways to use your customer online business reviews in your marketing! Our top four are broken down in the post, but for those short on time, here’s the TLDR version: Make them center-stage Make them social Make it known Turn them into a story We’ve all been there: you’re sitting at...
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National Adopt a Dog Month, New “family-led” attribute in GMB, and more this week
It’s OCTOBER! It’s also National “ Adopt a Dog ” month and we have something VERY special planned this month. Stay tuned! GOOGLE LOCAL • Google adds new ‘family-led’ attribute to Google My Business profile The new “family-led” attribute will allow business owners to identify their business as a business that is run by a...
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How to Set Up a Google My Business Account
Editor’s Note: This post is great for those with new businesses or those who don’t have their business up on Google. For those who need to claim their business page or want to further optimize what you have, check out our Ultimate Guide to Google My Business pages . When potential customers search for your...
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The Small Business’ Guide to Responding to Negative Reviews
“Have a nice day,” you smile and nod as your customer steps out the door. Taking a deep breath, you turn and move on to helping the next person in line. You go about the rest of your day, business as usual. Once you get home, you notice you have an email waiting in your...
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Case Study: How many citations do you need? New Google Search Console and more…
Welcome Odd Dog Blog fans! Lots of industry updates this week including more results from the recent Google algorithm update, a great citations case study from Bright Local, and Facebook and LinkedIn updates to be aware of. LOCAL SEO • Google now displays pending edits in the knowledge panel Some users have reported seeing a...
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Using Google Analytics to Determine and Track Your Goals
As a local business, you know how important it is to have a web presence your customers can use to learn more about how you can solve their problems. A well-functioning website will tell your customers everything they need to know and, ideally, convince them to come to your location and make a purchase. After...
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How to Get High-Quality Google Reviews For Your Small Business
Imagine one day you’re exploring a new city. You’ve been out exploring all day and now your stomach is growling. It’s time to eat, but you’re not sure where to go and you don’t want to miss out on some of the top-rated cuisines in the area. So, you pull out your phone and open...
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Optimizing Your Google AdWords Campaigns for Conversions
Creating a successful Google AdWords Campaign can be frustrating. Imagine you want to run a Google AdWords campaign and start going through the steps to launch your campaign. You create the campaign, ad set, and design a couple of display ads. You choose a few keywords you think people are using to search for your...
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Facebook removes trending news, Google Local Posts may be given more life, and more
Hello and happy June! As always, the digital world does not sleep. Some highlights this week include Facebook’s removal of trending news, Google Local Posts may be getting more attention, and AdWords notes released. GOOGLE LOCAL • Google Local after antitrust – Careful what you wish for Are Yelp results better than Google’s? If you ask them,...
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Facebook published content removal policies, New Gmail features are on the way, and more
Happy last day of April! I can’t believe that May is beginning tomorrow… time. amirite? Let’s take a look at what’s been happening in the digital marketing world this last week, shall we? GOOGLE LOCAL • Google celebrates Local Business week by providing a free personalized marketing kit Want a cool graphic like below for...
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Zuckerberg hearing, Google loses UK case, and new Local Ads on Waze
GOOGLE LOCAL • Google as the new mobile website It seems that every month, Google is rolling out new features for their Google My Business product. It looks like a new “about” tab may be coming soon as well on mobile. We have yt to see it, so it doesn’t look like it’s rolled out...
Read moreHow to Analyze Your Search Terms Like A Boss
The purpose of this analysis is to decrease your account CPA and improve your CVR by analyzing your search terms report. A 7-step walkthrough using a spreadsheet and phrase match negatives.
Google tests a new app, Bulletin, How proximity impacts law firms, and Backlinks from low ranking sites
Howdy Odd Dogers! As we move deeper into 2018, it’s been really interesting to see what exactly SEO and Local Search have in store for us so far. Will local websites become a thing of the past as Google makes the local knowledge pannels more robust? How important will backlinks continue to be, or will a...
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Facebook Announces Big Changes for Pages, GMB videos and more
The big news this week is all about Facebook’s announcement to dramatically change the newsfeed. Posts from friends and family will be taking priority while business and brand pages will be knocked lower and decrease in their reach. Read more below… More updates for Google as Local continues to play a bigger role in search...
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From 0 to 30+ Reviews in Just 6 Weeks
If you’re a business owner, you know how hard it can be to get your HAPPY customers to leave reviews for you. Happy is capitalized because we all know what people do if they have an experience they’re not pleased with. Here we’ll break down the numbers to identify Seattle Towing’s conversion rate with our...
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Get Your Business Ready for the Holidays in 2017
It’s November already and it’s time to start thinking about your holiday plan if you haven’t already! This includes holiday hours, staffing, promotions, and any additional ad spend that you may be putting out there. Here’s a quick rundown on how you can get your business ready for the holidays this year. SET GOALS What...
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6 Signs You Received a SPAM SEO Proposal and What to Do About it
Oh, SPAM SEO emails…. If you have a business and a website, there is no doubt you have received emails like these: Hello there- I’m contacting you because your website is terrible and not ranking at all for any of your keywords. Also, your local listings are non-existent. It’s a wonder anyone can even find...
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6 Simple Steps Toward a Greener Business
Climate change is all over the news. Even the weather channel had a creative way to voice a message on it . We won’t bore you with our commentary about the problems, but rather wanted to focus on some solutions that businesses can implement. Let’s just say that we agree with the Terminator (and science)...
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5 Ways You Marketed Your Business in the 80s That Don’t Work Today
Business in the ’80s Oh, the 80’s. Those glorious days of Saturday morning cartoons, big hair, and VCRs. Luckily, things in the marketing world have gotten easier and the hair has gotten smaller. I’m still not over losing Saturday morning cartoons though… Here’s a look at some ways that, if you had a business in...
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How important are backlinks in 2017?
There are many factors that Google and other search engines (wait, there are OTHER search engines?!) use to determine how a website is ranked in search. Website structure, content, meta descriptions, title tags, schema, and backlinks are all signals that search engines use to determine a website’s rankings. Backlinks are links from other websites that help...
Read moreTips for Running a Digital Marketing Agency
I have been running Odd Dog since 2008 and we have been through just about everything the world can throw at us. For those of you considering starting your own Digital Marketing Agency , below are some tips that we have learned along the way in hopes that they help make you more successful. Niche...
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Content: How to Write the Best, from the Best*
*Okay, maybe we’re not the best content writers in the entire world and from time to time might rely on the Grammarly discount we get, to use the software for its on-point plagiarism tool, but we are the top result for “Seattle Marketing” on Google. So you’ve crafted the perfect headline , now what? You...
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Which online reviews should your local business be targeting?
Often times online business reviews are the bane of a business owner’s existence. All it takes is ONE customer who is already having a bad day and decides to take it out on your business’ Yelp page to put into question why you even bother running the business in the first place. Unfortunately, you can’t...
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Managing Facebook Pages for a Multi-Location Business
If your business has more than one location, should you have separate Facebook pages for each location? YES! If you’re a multi-location business owner, here are some reasons why you want separate Facebook pages for each of your business locations: Great for Local SEO Facebook is a social networking website, but it is also a source...
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9 Chrome Extensions That Will Rock Your World
Google’s Chrome web browser has taken the lead in the most popular web browser claiming 60% of all internet traffic. Source And if you spend as much time on this web browser as I do, I thought that is was high-time I shared the Chrome Extensions that are rocking my world so they can rock...
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What is PPC?
What is PPC? PPC stands for “pay per click” PPC can also be known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Paid Search or Cost Per Click (CPC). PPC is a form of advertising done online where you only pay for advertising when someone clicks on your ad. Clicks can cost anywhere from $.10 to $100+, depending...
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Headlines: How to Win Customers and Influence People
4 steps to crafting fantastic headlines that drive traffic to your blog Studies have shown that about 60% of people will share an article with a great headline without even reading the article. This means that p eople online are sharing content online without even reading past the headline. Moral of the story? You might want...
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The Importance of Online Reviews
How many times have you read a review for a new restaurant you want to eat at? How did you take a look at it? On Yelp? Google? Facebook? I don’t know about you, but every time I’m looking at a new place to find some delicious grub, I do a little homework before committing...
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How to Survive Blogging for Your Small Business
“The first thing you need to decide when you build your blog is what you want to accomplish with it, and what it can do if successful.” – Ron Dawson, writer and educator I was recently meeting with our client BLUE INK, a Seattle print and design agency, when I finally realized how difficult blogging...
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7 Ways to Market Your Local Business in 2017
Marketing your business has evolved over the years. You used to be able to take out a Yellow Pages ad, do a little networking, and call it a day. Today, people take to the internet, not only to find the business they are looking for, but also to research the company they are looking to...
Read moreJSON Schema for Businesses with Multiple Locations
Here at Odd Dog Digital Marketing Agency , We have been handling multi-location marketing for a while now, currently managing over 4,000 locations for our clients. Needless to say, we have experimented with multiple versions of multi-location schema. The simplest implementation thus far has been a single snippet that can list multiple locations rather than...
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How To Take Advantage of Google Maps
Google. We’ve all heard of it. We all use it to help us find the things we need. Everyday. Google is an ever evolving beast that works to bring you the most accurate results possible. It’s like they can read your mind and it’s actually pretty scary (when they do)! Nevertheless, it’s becoming an increasingly...
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The Ultimate Guide to FREE Local Marketing
Whether you are just getting started in your businesses, or have been in business for decades, knowing how to market your business can often feel like you are spinning your wheels. Getting a dozen sales calls and emails a month (or more!) from companies that can guarantee first page of Google, or the next best...
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How to Use Instagram for Local Businesses
We’ve updated this post to add more of the features that Instagram has released over the years! If you run a local business, be sure to check out our updated post How to Use Instagram for Local Businesses in 2019 I know, I know, ANOTHER social media platform to monitor? Yikes! When will it end?!...
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5 ways to convert web traffic into customers
It can be very exciting to see numbers go up on your web traffic. Your website may even be seeing the most traffic that it ever has! So, why have your sales not budged? It is all phantom “referral” traffic? (See Jay’s post for some ways to clean up your referral traffic: Stop Spam Bots...
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How to Take Better Photos for Your Business
We are visual creatures and live in an age of internet research. We want to know as much as we can about a product or service before we commit to making a purchase. Photos give you a wonderful opportunity to let potential customers get to know you before they even set foot in your door...
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How to prepare your business for the holidays
The holidays are fast approaching. Christmas decorations seem to go out earlier and earlier each year. What do the holidays look like for your business? Is it a slower time of year? Is it the busiest time of year? Either way, there are steps you can take now to ensure the season is a successful...
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Stop Spam Bots from Ruining your Analytics Referral Data
As a Seattle Website Design agency , we use WordPress and Google Analytics. Right to the point: Comprehensive list of all active spam bots to block. What’s going on and what to do: As a digital marketer data is everything. Our primary goal is to create measurable impacts on clients. Whether that is an increase...
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5 Reasons to Have a WordPress Website
#1 – Outstanding Support – WordPress started as a blogging platform, and now claims 23.9% of the internet’s websites and growing fast! That’s pretty huge. And with that many sites being run on the WordPress platform, the support community is pretty large. #2 – Easy to use and scale. With little to no know-how,...
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8 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Internet Marketing Company for Your Local Business
As a business, there are numerous ways to market, generate leads, and find new prospects. In 2015 the air is filled with buzz words around Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Digital Marketing, Online Advertising, and others. It almost feels as though there is some “get rich quick scheme” that everyone is buying into! So what is...
Read moreMarketing to a Younger Audience: Use Humor
If you’re trying to get a message out to a younger audience, just use humor and you can pretty much say anything you like. Case example is the latest episode of “ Between Two Ferns “. Between Two Ferns is Zach Galifianakis’s show where he awkwardly interviews celebrities. https://www.funnyordie.com/videos/18e820ec3f/between-two-ferns-with-zach-galifianakis-president-barack-obama
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Speed Up Your Site!
Listen Up! Stereotypically local business websites run slowly. This negatively affects not only the user experience on your website but it can also negatively impact your search rankings. There’s a lot of information out there about how to “minify” your website code or cut down on the number of redirects your have on your site....
Read moreGoogle’s Project Glass – Google everywhere you look!
Last Wednesday, Google released a concept video for Project Glass , Augmented-Reality eye-ware that incorporates Google services like maps, weather, photo sharing and check-ins into a location-aware heads-up-display (HUD). In the quickly parodied video, we see a young New Yorker using his Glass eye-ware with voice commands to meet his friend at a bookstore, order...
Read moreMeet the Newest Odd Dog
This is Pantz. Tell us you favorite “Pantz” commands on Twitter @odddogmedia #pantz. #Pantz Down! #Pantz off! Pantz the Goldendoodle Odd Dog Adam is the proud new owner of this little gem with teeth. He is an 8 week old Goldendoodle, and in true Odd Dog Spirit his name is Pantz. We’ve also determined...
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