Social Media Client Feature: Umai Hot Dogs Canada

Posted on 27-09-2019 by Erin Reynel

When it comes to social media, bring us a way to make jokes about meat and buns coming together and we’ll create some true awesomeness! And that’s why we’re so stoked to be working with California hot dog chain Umai Hot Dogs. With Umai Hot Dogs opening their first Canadian restaurant here in Vancouver, we think it’s time they join the ranks of Little Kitchen Academy, GOeVisit, and Waves Coffee, getting their own social media client feature.

Our social media client, Umai Hot Dogs Canada

Umai Hot Dogs was born in 1992, when Loi Tran and his wife were given an old, broken down hot dog cart. Loi used a wheel from his daughter’s tricycle to fix up the cart and opened it up in San Jose, California. But Loi and his wife didn’t want to just have a plain old hot dog cart. Instead, they came up with their own recipes and created their own sauces, which they made fresh every morning. They also sourced local ingredients, getting the best hot dogs, sausages, buns, and more.

All their hot dogs are made with premium cuts of meat and having all natural casings. They’re also gluten-free, naturally smoked, and contain zero MSG, by-products, or fillers. Vegetarian options are available too.

Today, Umai offers over 27 signature hot dog flavours. Don’t want one of these? You can also make your own custom dog with whatever toppings and sauces your little heart desires! Then build your meal with a variety of specialty items, including a fried banana dog, Poku Wings, Tori Wings, specialty noodles, umami glazed hamburgers, and Umai’s famous waffle dog. Can’t wait to put a truffle dog in your mouth? Neither can we!

Our social media work for Umai Hot Dogs Canada

We love a good dancing hot dog GIF – and making pre-teen-esque jokes about weiners. But our work on Umai Hot Dogs Canada’s social media goes well beyond that!

We created a fun Grand Opening ad campaign. It was focused on making sure as many people as possible heard about this amazing restaurant. And we even managed to sneak in a few adorable hot dog GIFs! We also helped coordinate Umai’s grand opening promotions.

Some fun stuff we’ve made for Umai Hot Dogs so far:

Let the spinning wheel of hot dogs hypnotize you… GIF created by Legendary Social Media for Umai Hot Dogs Canada

In addition to our work on Umai Hot Dogs’ grand opening, we have done a variety of work on their social media accounts. This work includes:

Setting them up for SEO
Planning their photos
Creating stop motion videos
Managing their social media
Guiding their media tasting event with local foodie influencers

The best part of all this work? It’s on our plate. That means Loi can concentrate on what he’s serving up on his plates at his first Canadian Umai Hot Dogs location.

We wish you all the best, Umai! And we’re thrilled to be part of this next phase in Umai’s path to total hot dog domination!

See more of our client features here.

Waves Coffee House

GOeVisit

Little Kitchen Academy

How to choose the right SEO keywords for your website

Posted on 12-09-2017 by Erin Reynel

Building a website for your business in Vancouver? SEO should be at the top of your mind when you think about the design, the content (text, images and videos) and the types of pages you’re going to build.

Doing keyword research will help you decide the best SEO keywords for your website. Here’s how to do it.

How to do keyword research for SEO in Vancouver

Researching the keywords to use in website is so easy, anyone can do it. It’s a great part of your marketing to DIY to save on costs, since for most small businesses, hiring a professional keyword researcher isn’t worth the time or money.

Think about how your customer uses Google search, to find businesses like yours

A customer is going to type certain words into Google to find your business. You need to figure out what those words are, and use them on your website, in order to help customers find you.

Customers will fall into one of the following stages of what we call a “sales funnel.”

Awareness

Keyword example: “shoes”

They’re searching for something very general, usually one-word terms typed into Google. For example, “shoes”. This person is just exploring. Maybe they want to know the definition of shoes. Maybe they want pictures of shoes.

Should you use “shoes” as a primary keyword for your website? Probably not.

Engagement

Keyword example: “leather shoes”

At this level, people are searching for something a little more specific, but may not really know what they want to buy yet. By typing “leather shoes” into Google, your customer might just be looking at different brands and styles to compare options.

Should you use “leather shoes” as a primary keyword for your website? Maybe, but understand that you won’t have a buyer on your hands.

Discovery

Keyword example: “leather shoes made in Vancouver”

This is someone who knows what he/she wants. The keyword is pretty specific, and it’s clear that the customer already has in mind what to buy, but just wants to know where to get it from. He’s not quite ready to make a purchase, though.

Should you use “leather shoes made in Vancouver” as a primary keyword for your website? Absolutely. You want to tell this customer that you’ve got the leather, Vancouver-made shoes they’re looking for.

Note: See how this is more like a search phrase, than a word? A keyword doesn’t necessarily mean a single word – “keyword” refers to a string of words people type into Google to look for something.

Purchase

Keyword example: “love jules leather smoking shoes”

Now you have a customer who’s ready to buy. After typing a very specific series of words into Google, it’s highly likely this person just wants these shoes in their closet, already. They’ve decided on the brand, and the model of shoes they want. Nailed it.

Should you use “love jules leather smoking shoes” as a primary keyword for your website? 100%. This should be the keyword you apply to the page in your online store, where your customer can easily add the shoes to her cart, add her credit card, and complete her purchase.

How to build keywords into your website

Using the formula above, we can see that keywords like:

“love jules leather smoking shoes”
“leather shoes made in Vancouver”
“leather shoes”

should be part of this small business’ Vancouver SEO marketing strategy. The company should also find several similar keywords, and build their website using the whole list, to capture all of the customers they want.

How to build a bigger keyword list?

Google’s Keyword Planner is the easiest tool to help you build your SEO keyword list.

Enter your keywords into the list, set your location, and search. Google will build you a bigger list of relevant search terms you may want to consider. Don’t use all of them.

Take the “average monthly searches” number into consideration: You’re going to want more than a small handful of people to be searching for the terms you build into your website, in order to make this work worthwhile! Don’t worry too much about the competition column, or the bid amount.

The number of keywords to use on your website depends on your business, and your industry. But as a rule of thumb, each page on your website should target a different keyword. So, 10 pages = 10 keywords. If you sell products online, each product page should have its own specific keyword as well.

SEO or great content: What’s more important

OK, caveat here people.

It’s WAY more important to build your website around GREAT content, than an SEO keyword. In other words, having a website that’s easy to read, easy to use, and connects with your audience’s soul is worth WAY more than an SEO-heavy website.

But ideally, you can (and should!) have it all. Great content, ease of use, and SEO built in.

Why does SEO matter?

Great question. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, refers to the work you do to make your website show up in Google search results.

When someone searches for the keywords that are important to your business’ website, you want that person to find you first.

The better your website is at SEO, the more money you’re likely to make off your website.

If SEO is on your mind, send us a message. We can walk you through how it works, why it matters, and how we can help.

A FREE SEO blogging template for you to steal

Posted on 18-01-2017 by Erin Reynel

Guys, finding free templates for the stuff you really need to use for your online marketing is HARD. I mean, everyone wants your email address in exchange for a template.

That sucks. We want you to nail it when it comes to content marketing and SEO blogging. So guess what? We’re giving you our awesome, virtually fail-proof SEO blogging template here.

We don’t want your email address. We just want you to crush it.

Why content marketing?

Everybody wants to make it onto Page 1 of Google – but earning a coveted spot is cutthroat competitive. One of the most surefire ways to make it to the top is with SEO blogging – that’s how we did it!

Seriously! Search “social media Vancouver” right now!

How many posts you need to write each week depends on your industry. For some, once a week will be enough, whereas for others five or six might be necessary. Hubspot wrote the most awesome guide to tell you how often you should blog.

It’s easy to get off topic when blogging. Follow these few steps BEFORE you start writing to make sure your blog stays short, sweet, on topic and most importantly SEO friendly.

Before starting your blog use these steps to create a blog roadmap

Step 1: Choose your target keywords for the blog

What is the main topic you’re covering in this blog? If you’re a personal trainer, you might want to write a blog about fat loss.

To choose the right target keyword, think about what people would type into Google to find you blog. In our personal trainer’s case, my target audience might search for “lose fat.” So I’m going to set “lose fat” as my target keyword.

I might also choose a secondary keyword for the blog. This could be “personal trainer Vancouver” or “nutrition coach Vancouver”.

Step 2. Write your headline – make sure it includes your primary target keyword!

Hubspot (again) has the ultimate guide to doing this well. Then, use this stats-based guide to write more interesting headlines.

Step 3. Choose at least one image for the blog.

Upload it to your website, then fill in the Alt Text for it. Include your primary target keyword, as well two or three additional keywords that apply to the image, your blog, or your website (eg. “best ways to lose fat, personal trainer vancouver”).

Step 4. Write your H2s.

We recommend writing two or three H2s per blog. Each H2 should include your keyword! To read more about H1s and H2s, check out our article on header best practices.

Use this free SEO blogging template for your website

With the steps above, you now have a roadmap for your blog! Just fill in the blanks!

Here’s your template to copy and paste into a Word document (or Google Docs). Just change up the text as you write your own blog!

HEADLINE

Intro paragraph goes here… two or three sentences. Put in your website’s main keyword. “Vancouver personal trainer” or “how to build muscle fast”

H2 #1

Explain the H2 – We like to use this space to add lists, write a few sentences and even insert a second picture.

H2 #2

This is where you provide the real value and educate your target reader! It doesn’t have to be long, another three or four paragraphs will do. Just make sure you get your blog’s target keyword in here once or twice.

H2 #3

Give the reader an action item, by finishing the blog with a Call To Action! Call us, book your appointment, come in for a consultation, fill out our questionnaire – all of these are great examples – and again repeat your blog’s main keyword!

Hope you dig this blog! If you do, please share it with anyone else who would love having a totally free SEO blogging template for their own content marketing needs.

Get better website SEO with ‘cornerstone content’

Posted on 25-02-2016 by Erin Reynel

Now, more than ever, it’s important to have great website content. That’s because Google recently rolled out a new algorithm that helps sites with great content and quality links, and demotes those who use sneaky tricks to get ahead.

It means good news for businesses that go about ranking on Google the ‘white hat’ way!

Well-behaved websites get rewarded

One of the greatest articles I have ever read about how to get better website SEO, or getting your website to rank high on Google, is this one:

How to Create Cornerstone Content that Google Loves by Copyblogger

We recommend you read their article. It was written in 2007, but rings more true now than ever!

In short though:

Your site should be set up to communicate what you do, to someone who knows absolutely nothing about your business.
Create pages that explain the aspects of your business. Build those pages around keywords.
Useful, high-quality content with lots of media (text, pictures, videos, infographics and links) is what you’re aiming for with each page and blog post.

Better website SEO with links

Legendary Social Media tip: Use internal links! Every time you blog, link to this ‘cornerstone content’ you created. It’ll help build rank authority within your website!

Best practices for H1, H2 tags for SEO

Posted on 18-01-2016 by Erin Reynel

Your website’s performance in Google search rankings depends on a ton of factors that affect your SEO, or search engine optimization. One of the major elements that impact your SEO is the use of H1, H2 tags, also called Headers or Headings.

These H1, H2 tags are used in the static content on your website, such as your home page. They’re also used in your blogs. It’s all part of what’s called “content marketing.”

Not only do headings tell your site’s users how to read your site easily by breaking down the content into easy-to-digest sections, they also help Google analyze your website and decide how to rank it.

H1, H2 tags are part of your website content marketing strategy and should be carefully planned before being implemented.

What are headings?

Headings are divided into 6 header types, from H1 to H6. H1 is the most important; H6 is least important.

The H1 heading should be used only once per page and should always include the most important keyword for that page.

How to use H1, H2 tags

H1: Most important. Use your keyword.
H2: Subheading, second-most important. Use your keyword.
H3: Section heading or sub-subheading. Try to use your keyword again or a related keyword.
You can use multiple H3 tags on each page.
Usually, H4, H5 and H6 tags aren’t used, but you can implement them for styling if you wish.

The significance of the H1 to this engagement metric is that it is often the first page element a user sees upon landing on a page. Therefore it is imperative that this headline assures the user they are in the right place and have found what they are looking for.

Source: Search Engine Journal

Should H1 tags be in the form of a question?

In 2014, Google’s Hummingbird algorithm made phrasing H1 tags as a question an option for website SEO best practices – in some cases.

A website could be featured if its H1 tag answered a question that a searcher typed into Google’s search bar, as seen in this example from Search Engine Journal.

That doesn’t mean that forming all H1 tags as questions will boost your SEO, since improving your website’s ranking depends on a huge number of factors.

Summary of best practices for H1, H2 tags

Use H1, H2 tags on every page of your website.
Use the H1 tag only once per page. The H2 and H3 can be used a couple of times.
Try to include your focus keyword in each H1 and H2 tag.
Place the H1 heading high up on your page so it’s easy for people to see when they arrive on your website.

A step-by-step guide for writing the perfect SEO blog post

Posted on 08-12-2015 by Erin Reynel

SEO blogs improve websites’ search rankings and help your audience connect with your business

Writing SEO blogs is an art and a science all at once. Blogging for most businesses isn’t about writing down personal thoughts or even just about telling a story anymore.
Nowadays, thanks to the “content is king” epidemic that has flooded the internet with more garbage content than quality information, making your blog stand out takes a ton of effort. But when it’s done right, it will improve your website’s search rankings and by posting SEO blogs frequently, you’ll gain a ton of traction, no matter how competitive your industry may be.

To achieve on-page SEO, or SEO blogs, we need to write the proper, using keywords and strategic techniques.

Here’s how to make every dollar or minute you spend blogging worthwhile:

Step 1. Identify your keyword

Each blog post should only have one keyword. The topic of the article should be focused on that keyword.

What is a keyword?

In online marketing, a keyword is a way to connect your content with the words or phrases people type into Google when they’re searching for a topic or for information. Check out HubSpot‘s explanation. (Note that broad keywords aren’t useful in most cases these days, and long-tail keywords are generally more effective.)
Let’s say you’re a Realtor in Calgary, Alberta. You may want people to find your website by typing “house prices Calgary Alberta” into Google. “House prices Calgary Alberta” is your keyword!

Step 2. Write an SEO-friendly headline

The headline for your blog post should include 2 things:

1. Your keyword

2. An attention-grabbing or informative promise

In the case of the above Realtor’s blog, the SEO-friendly keyword for the article might be “The future of house prices in Calgary Alberta looks grim: Prices plummet 18%”

Step 3. Write your opening paragraph

Your opening paragraph must also include your keyword. It should also grab people’s attention and intrigue them enough to read on.

Step 4. Write the body content

The body content of the article is everything except the first and last paragraph. It’s the largest part, but also the easiest. A great article should tell a story to readers, and should also include researched statistics.

Step 5. Use headings

Whichever tool you use to write articles for your blog, such as Blogger or WordPress, you’ll see an option to change the format of the text. The default is the “Paragraph” style, but SEO-friendly blogs require that H1, H2 and H3 tags be used – those stand for Heading, or Header, 1, 2 and 3.
Basically, Google looks at the words you write in these headings to determine the importance of the text in your article, and helps your content get found on the internet. Yoast SEO has a great article about headings.
Header 1 is the most important in Google’s eyes, and Heading 6 is least important, before Paragraph.
Use the headings strategically within the article to organize the content and make it easier for people to read. In this blog, I made the headers that say “Step 1. Identify your keyword” and such into Heading 3s.

Step 6. Write the closing paragraph

The last paragraph of text in your article should include your keyword again.

Step 7. Apply external links

Great articles link to external sources. This also helps Google to rank your page, but it’s a way to show your readers that you’ve done your research as well. Think about essays you wrote in high school, which often required footnotes and indexes. Or newspapers that quote sources. Blog articles, like newspaper articles, should include trustworthy sources.

Step 8. Improve the blog post’s URL

Most blogs have the option to edit or customize the URL for each post. The default is usually to have the URL end with all of the words in that post’s headline. There’s nothing wrong with that, but long headlines make for ugly URLs. It’s fine, and even encouraged, to take words like “a,” “the,” “that” and “for” out of the URL.

Writing for SEO is a major undertaking. High-quality blog articles can no longer be pumped out in 20 minutes – they require a ton of skill, strategy, planning and research in order to be effective enough to affect your website’s SEO and Google search ranking in a positive way.
If SEO blogs sound like too much to chew, you can chill – that’s what we do. Contact us and tell us about your business, your blog and your SEO goals and we’ll create a customized blogging plan just for you.

Your new website isn’t getting the results you hoped for? This is probably the problem…

Posted on 16-11-2015 by Erin Reynel

Getting a new website for your business, or even a first website, is extremely exciting! But a few months have gone by now and the flood of traffic you thought you’d see post-launch just isn’t happening. The problem could very well be related to blogs, even if you don’t have a blog page (ESPECIALLY if you don’t have a blog page, actually). And here’s why.

You aren’t blogging.

More and more, blogs are becoming the #1 most important element of your website. Here’s why.

Source: Hubspot

They keep your site updated.

Google likes sites that get lots of love, attention and updates. Blogging frequently makes that happen, and Google rewards sites that receive constant updates with better rankings.

Here’s a personal example. When we first launched our sister website 11lettersfreelance, we didn’t have a blog.

Then, within two weeks of blogging three times a week, we shot up by three pages on Google, surpassing digital marketing agencies in the rankings game.

And, two weeks after having moved our operations to Vancouver, we were already on Page 4 of Google for “Vancouver content writer” – a keyword that has a ton of competition Nothing to brag about yet, but the point is, it’s working.

They help you use keywords.

Keywords are the key to better SEO. And blogs that target important keywords are crucial to capturing new customers who will search specific terms in order to find you. The more often you write blogs that use the keywords your customers might type into Google, the more likely they are to find your website.

Blogging is hard. It’s time-consuming and requires a fair bit of skill and dedication in order to do it right. If your website needs some help with getting the right kind of blogs it needs to start performing better in search results, let us know – that’s what we do.