Summary of Google Algorithm Updates

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Google changes their algorithm pretty often, so it can be kind of hard to stay on top of all the updates. Especially if you are trying to create content that you want to optimize. Digital marketing companies have no choice but to stay on top of all of these updates. There are eight main algorithm updates Google has gone through, and to make it even easier, they are all pretty simple names- Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird, Pigeon, Mobile, RankBrain, Possum, and Fred.

Panda

Panda was first released in early 2011. The basic idea of Panda was to assign certain scores to different web pages. These scores would then determine where each web page would rank on the search engine. Panda was more of a filter than anything at the beginning, but it is now totally integrated into the algorithm Google uses.

Penguin

Penguin is kind of similar to Panda in it’s ranking. However, Penguin down-ranks websites that use links or keywords that seem manipulative or spamming. Its main goal is to catch people trying to cheat the system when it comes to algorithm ranking. Digital marketing companies are responsible for coming up with ranking techniques that help companies but don’t cheat the system- a tricky job!

Hummingbird

The next big update was Hummingbird which launched in the summer of 2013. Hummingbird wasn’t as minor as Panda and Penguin, in fact, it changed the way search engines work to this day. Hummingbird made it so you could search questions and websites with answers would pop up, even if the title of the webpage didn’t have the same words as the questions. This update was a huge game changer for Google.

Pigeon

Pigeon was released in late 2014. This update worked to include a location in the search results. This helped to increase the rankings of local listings. This update also affected the search results in Google Maps.

Mobile

The mobile updated was released in 2015 and was designed to help make top ranking results be mobile-friendly. This made it so people on smartphones could also use Google to find answers.

RankBrain

RankBrain is pretty similar to Hummingbird as it is actually a part of that update. RankBrain helps to understand the meaning of questions typed into Google rather than the physical words written. It helps to get the most accurate results possible.

Possum

The Possum update was just an addition to Pigeon. It helped to make search results closer to your physical location. For example, when you search “Doctor’s Offices Near Me” instead of just showing results in your city, it shows doctor’s offices within a few miles of your current location.

Fred

Fred is the last Google algorithm update. This update helps filter out the websites that violate Google’s rules and guidelines. This update mostly affected blogs that generated really low-quality content to get ad revenue and that don’t have digital marketing companies to help them.

A huge responsibility of digital marketing companies is to understand and work with the Google algorithms updates. To learn more about SEO and specifically Google Analytics, click here. If you are interested in hiring digital marketing companies for help, contact us here at Fusion 360 Agency.

Sources:

https://searchengineland.com/8-major-google-algorithm-updates-explained-282627

5 Basic Video Equipment Tools

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If you work for any major video production company, you’re already familiar with the most basic video equipment tools. However, all video production companies have to start somewhere. And all video editors and enthusiasts have to learn about the industry at a basic level first. There are certain pieces of equipment that all video production companies use, even if they use different models and versions of it.

Obviously, you’ll need a professional video camera. The camera that you have on your phone won’t work for this purpose. Professionals can teach you how to create relatively good videos on your phone, but these cannot replace those created with a professional video camera.

You will also need a shotgun microphone. People care about the visual quality of professional videos, but the audio quality is just as important these days. Almost every video production company uses a shotgun microphone to enhance the audio quality of a production.

If you’ve been around video production companies at all, you have probably seen a tripod. You’ve also no doubt looked at professional videos and wondered how the camera people managed to keep the camera so steady. It definitely wasn’t because the filmmakers in question had very steady hands. Tripods provide the stability videos require, making it easier for video producers to get really good results.

You may already have one of the most important pieces of video editing equipment: headphones. With headphones, you can listen for absolutely everything during a shoot.

All video production companies use lights of some kind. Professional lighting is extremely important. It can eliminate a lot of disruptive shadows. A camera light can also make everything much more visible than it would be otherwise.

Gather all these pieces of equipment before you start, and you’ll be well on your way to making quality videos.

If you need a quality video production company to help you with a project, take a look at the things we’ve done here at Fusion 360.

The Importance of Drone Licensing

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If you’re a drone pilot, getting a drone license is a good idea. If you’re not yet a drone pilot, but plan on flying drones professionally in any way, you’ll absolutely need to get a drone license. It’s true that drones are a new technology, and many of the rules of drone piloting are not set yet. However, if you work for a video production company, an official drone license can help you to capture types of footage that you might not otherwise have access to.

All commercial businesses that operate drones need drone licenses, and video production companies are subject to this rule. If you’re just flying a drone as a hobbyist, you probably don’t need a drone license. However, if you want to make money from the images you capture, you may want to consider becoming professionally licensed.

While lots of people these days make small amounts of money from their hobbies, and you might not be an official one-person video production company, selling your drone footage makes you a professional freelancer. Unless you plan on giving away your drone videos for free, you need a drone license.

There are many benefits associated with acquiring a drone license. If your video production company is still growing, you can increase your credibility with clients by advertising that your drone pilots are licensed. Piloting a drone is a desirable skillone that many clients are willing to pay more for.

Once you’ve acquired a drone license, you’ll gain more options as a drone pilot. An important advantage is the ability to fly your drone in areas that would have been off-limits otherwise. By flying your drone in these previously restricted areas, you may be able to get superior footage. If you work for a video production company, this ability can give you a major edge over your competition.

In the process of getting your license, you’ll also learn more about drone-flying techniques. Even people who work at large video production companies can benefit from learning more about drone flying best practices, especially because drone technology changes so quickly.

Music and Copyright Laws

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While musicians know the copyright laws regarding someone using their music or video productions, the public may be less familiar but they need to know these laws so they do not unknowingly violate them. Fusion 360 is an award-winning production house and digital advertising agency that knows and abides by copyright laws.

Music and video productions are copyrighted immediately after their creation. Creation happens when the lyrics or music is recorded or written down on paper, but the owner of the music needs to register the work.

Music ownership includes the right to reproduce, alter and perform the music. An owner can also display, distribute and sell copies of the work, add visual graphics to it, and permit others to do any of the aforementioned things.

Copyright does not end when the owner dies. Copyright typically ends 70 years after the author’s death.

When a “work for hire” musician creates a piece of music for a business, the business retains copyright of it for 95 years from the time it was first published or for 120 years from the date of its creation, whichever expires first.

There are also special rules in place for people who want to perform a version of a copyrighted song. They have to pay a set rate to the copyright owner to acquire “mechanical rights” to use the music.

Finally, it is important to know that a “poor man’s copyright” is not good copyright protection. You may have heard that the date of creation for a copyright law can be established by mailing yourself a copy of the work and keeping it in a sealed envelope, but that type of copyright will not stand up in court. The best way to ensure that your work is copyrighted is to register it with the United States Copyright Office. This information is important to all businesses that do video productions.

Knowing the copyright laws will help you if you ever copyright a piece of music or someone uses a piece that you have already copyrighted. If you need to make a video with music overlaid but don’t know how to handle copyright laws, contact us at Fusion 360 for any extra help you might need.

Finding the Right Song for Your Video

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Selecting the right song for your video productions can determine whether or not it will be a success. There is a lot of feeling and soul in music and it can absolutely be what emotionally connects your audience to your video. If you can remember your favorite commercial or online video, you probably remember it and feel a connection to it because of the music that is in it. If you want your video to do the same for others, there are some tips for you to follow.

The first thing that you need to do is figure out what message you want to share with your audience. To determine this, you need to know the purpose of your video. Do you want to educate or entertain your audience? Is it product-based or brand oriented? Is it positive or negative? Is it fast-paced or slow? What is the general feel of the video? For example, for an informative video production video, it is a good idea to go with a quiet and soothing song that will not distract your audience.

The next thing that you need to do is to set the mood of your video through your music choice. Do you want your video to be as intriguing, direct, or positive? You also need to think about how you want your viewers to feel. First of all, you need to write down the feelings that you want to convey with your video to keep you focused and on track. Then you need to search for the right music for your video.

Listening to a few songs before you select the song is another great idea. You can create a playlist and then choose from it. Finally, you should choose an instrumental or vocal song. Having just the right song will complete your video. These tips will help you find just the right song but be sure you are aware of any copyright laws.

For any more video production related needs, Fusion 360 helps businesses produce videos and we can help you as well.

The Role of Hyperlinks in SEO

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When it comes to creating engaging, result driven content, SEO companies need to make sure that their writers are strategically incorporating hyperlinks into their writing. Link building is a crucial step in SEO marketing, and SEO companies need to understand how to use this method efficiently if they want to help their clients succeed.

So, what exactly is link building? The link building process is using hyperlinks to generate traffic to client’s websites, blogs, and ultimately resulting in more client/consumer interactions. If you want to bring more business to your company, you’re going to want to get in contact with SEO companies to see what services they can offer you. Here is the role that link building plays in SEO.

What is Hyperlinking?

Hyperlinking allows for the connection of two separate website, files or articles. The reason that hyperlinking is so important for SEO companies is because this is what helps bring traffic to their client’s websites and blogs. For example, if you’re writing a blog about what you should do if you’re involved in a car accident, you’ll want to hyperlink the lawyer’s website in the piece, as well as any relevant information you may have found on another blog found within that client’s site.

Link building is all about elaborating on specific points and topics and linking to convenient data. If you write a blog post without any keywords or hyperlinks, chances are that nothing will become of that piece, and you won’t see results for your clients, meaning that you aren’t doing your job as an SEO agency.

How to Hyperlink the Right Way

Of course, you can’t just start shoving hyperlinks all over your blogs, you’re going to have to be more strategic than that. SEO companies can’t afford to get blacklisted by search engines, so it’s important that they place these hyperlinks in a strategic way. For one, you have to make sure you aren’t linking to spammy or sketchy websites. Only use trusted sites and reliable sources of information.

Aside from making sure that your links are reliable and safe to visit, you have to make sure that they work. You aren’t going to reach your audience if they’re trying to click on a broken link. Also, make sure that your hyperlinks serve an actual purpose within your blog and that you’re placing them in over the appropriate keyword or key phrase. If you’re adding hyperlinks that don’t relate to your written piece at all or if you hyperlink something over a keyword that it doesn’t match, the hyperlink will be considered more spammy than efficient.

SEO companies have to take advantage of proper hyperlinking techniques because that is what’s going to help your clients stand out from the competition. If you’re struggling to bring in traffic to your site, and your business is suffering, contact us here at Fusion 360 Studios. We’re experts when it comes to SEO tactics, and we want to help your business get back on track.

Sources:

What Are Hyperlinks and Why Are They Important for SEO

https://moz.com/learn/seo/external-link

https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-link-building

The Importance of Google Analytics

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SEO companies that hope to become successful know that they have to harness today’s most influential digital marketing tools to help in their quest to make sure that their clients succeed in their respective industries. One of these tools is the ever so useful Google analytics. This is a free tool that helps SEO companies track all data from channels that are directing traffic to a client’s website, so it’s clear to see why SEO companies should be taking advantage of this software.

So, if you’re looking for a tool to help you track all the necessary data you need to help your agency survive, consider using the tool that 50 million websites around the world use. Here is why Google Analytics is so important.

It Automatically Collects Data for You

Google analytics is set up in a way that helps reduce the stress of trying to manage all of your website data; all you have to do is set up your account and copy a simple line of code to get started. We know that SEO companies are busy creating engaging content for their clients, and Google analytics helps these agencies by removing the stress of having to manually collect their stats.

It Helps Repair Your Bounce Rates

Bounce rates are something that SEO companies need to be observant of, this is something that you want to reduce as much as possible. Bounce rates show how much time consumers are spending on your site, and if you have a high bounce rate, you’re doing something wrong with your website.

The best way to reduce your bounce rates is by making sure that your website is properly optimized and is easy for visitors to navigate. An attractive landing page and functioning tabs combined with valuable information is the best way to reduce your bounce rates.

Google analytics helps track your bounce rates so that you have an idea of how much you need to cut them by.

The Best Part is That Google Analytics is Free

When looking for digital marketing tools, SEO companies are oftentimes wary of the prices; these agency’s want to make sure that they’re investing in a profitable tool for their digital marketing needs. One of the best things about Google analytics, aside from its practicality and simplicity, is that it’s free. That’s right, you aren’t going to have to pay a penny for this useful tool, and it can only benefit you, so make sure that your agency isn’t sleeping on Google analytics.

Simplicity is Key

Google analytics is a beautiful tool in the sense that it is simple to use. Google analytics can be easily integrated with other tools and platforms, making it possible for you to put together your dream advertising arsenal.

Google analytics is a must in the world of digital advertising, and SEO companies should use this tool to their advantage, as well as to the advantage of their clients.

Sources:

https://medium.com/@dineshsem/10-good-reasons-why-you-should-use-google-analytics-699f10194834

https://medium.com/analytics-for-humans/what-is-google-analytics-and-why-is-it-important-to-my-business-8c083a9f81be

The Importance of Google Analytics

The Dangers of Black-Hat Strategies

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The most important thing for digital marketing companies to remember is that they should be coming up with effective strategies to help improve their SEO game. SEO is what makes your content usable, what generates results and ultimately what the main purpose of digital marketing companies is. However, coming up with a solid strategy isn’t always a walk in the park, and some digital marketing companies, therefore, end up relying on black-hat strategies.

If you don’t know what black-hat strategies are, they’re essentially SEO practices that increase a site ranking on search engines through methods that violate the search engines’ terms of service. The problem with this is that if search engines happen to pick up on digital marketing companies using these black-hat methods, they can blacklist the company, which can quickly lead to your agency’s demise.

Here are some of the most common black-hat strategies that digital marketing companies should aim to avoid.

Keyword Stuffing

This is one of the oldest black-hat SEO strategies to date, going back to the 90’s. SEO focused pieces should include keywords and phrases that draw traffic to a specific business. For example, if one of your clients is a law firm who uses the keyword “auto accident” in their pieces, you’re going to want to make sure that you limit the number of times you use it.

The magic number is anything under two percent; if you use the keyword any more than that, your company could be penalized by Google’s algorithms. Keyword stuffing is dangerous and unnecessary, so always make sure that you’re gaging your keyword usage.

Content Spamming

Backlinking is crucial in SEO. The more backlinks your site earns, the more your website ranks when it comes to search engines. But ultimately, more links does not equal more engagement. In fact, if you use too many links, Google will mark your agency as spam, which will cause your SEO value to plummet.

Recycling Content

This one may seem obvious, but digital marketing companies should avoid recycling their old content, even if you’re using different terminology and synonyms. If digital marketing companies fail to create new content and instead lean toward reusing their old blog posts or videos, they can find themselves being blacklisted on the main search engines.

You’re going to want to make sure that your agency is following a professional, efficient and ethical SEO strategy if you want your company to succeed. Always avoid black-hat SEO strategies, or else you can find yourself struggling to stay afloat in the world of digital advertising.

Sources:

https://www.digitalsurgeons.com/thoughts/strategy/four-dangerous-black-hat-seo-tactics/

https://www.wordstream.com/black-hat-seo

23 Harmful Black Hat SEO Techniques You Should Avoid

How to Hire a Marketing Agency

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Before even talking about the steps included in hiring a marketing agency, you should understand why you should hire a marketing agency. Marketing agencies are experts and dedicated to advertising for your company. They come up with campaigns, know the best places to spend your money, and know how to get the most traffic to your business. They are the best way to get the word of your business or company out there, and they also take away all the stress of trying to figure it out on your own.

Again, they are experts at what they do. They know how to do it, and they know how to do it well. Marketing agencies can help companies of any size grow and expand. Once you have decided that hiring a marketing agency is a good idea, you’ll want to follow a few steps. Following these steps will help you to get the best marketing company for you and your company.

Do Your Research

Researching marketing and advertising agencies is the first thing you should do after deciding to hire one. There is so much you can learn about a company just from some simple online research. One of the best ways to do research is to ask around. Ask companies you respect which marketing agencies they use or ask what advertising agencies companies that are thriving use.

Successful research will help you so you end up hiring a marketing agency that you are going to want to work with. This research will save you from getting tied down on contracts you weren’t aware of and will help steer you away from companies that don’t live up to their promises. Careful research is the very best way to make sure you get what you want.

Case Studies

Marketing agencies can make all the promises in the world, but you can’t really believe them until you see the proof. As humans, we are all creatures of habit. You can assume that if a marketing agency doesn’t have great reviews, they aren’t likely to change just for you. Looking at their past work in case studies is a great way to compare their claims to their actual work. You can also check and see if the work they are doing and have completed in the past is what you are wanting.

You want to hire a marketing agency that does exactly what they claim they will. After sorting through all of your options, you should be able to shrink down your options to just a few. Make sure they not only measure up to what they say they will, but also that they measure up to your personal expectations.

Know What Services They Offer

Different marketing agencies offer a variety of different services, so you need to be sure the agency you decide to hire actually offers the specific service you want. Some services different marketing agencies offer include things like brand development, SEO, measurements and analytics, and some companies include things like website development and video production services. The more services the company offers the more they will be able to market your company over multiple platforms. Make sure though that you aren’t paying for services that you don’t actually want.

Like the Marketing Team

An important aspect of getting a successful marketing team is to make sure you get along with the marketers. If you and the marketing agency are disagreeing on everything, or simply just don’t get along you aren’t going to get much work done. Even if you do get work done, you aren’t going to get the quality of work that you want. It’ll also be a waste of money using your time to fight or not get along rather than coming up with good ideas. Making sure you get along with any marketing agency is crucial before signing any kind of contract, which leads us to the next step.

Read Before Signing

Marketing agencies are going to need you to sing some sort of agreement or contract, for a lot of reasons. They need to make sure you are willing to work with them for a set amount of time, they need permission to use your companies name and trademarks and a lot of other little things that they need legal permission for. These contracts shouldn’t scare you though, it is just simply a part of hiring a marketing agency. You should, however, be extra careful about reading all the terms and conditions of the contract to make sure you know what you are signing.

Reach Out

The final step when hiring a marketing agency is to reach out to them. Once you have narrowed the race down and found an advertising company you are interested in you can contact them. Shoot them an email and express your interest in their services. You can and should also include in this email any worries you have about working with them. This way you and the marketing agency can work out some problems you think you will face before you even start working with them. You can also discuss which types of marketing tactics will be the best for your specific content.

Overall, advertising agencies are here to help you and help promote your company. They want to work and get along with you. They want you and your company to be successful. Looking for these companies doesn’t need to be stressful or hard. Making sure you are doing your research, reading case studies, know what services are offered, get along with the marketing team, read before signing, and reach out you are going to find a marketing agency you can be successful with. Contact Fusion 360 Agency marketers today with any questions you have about marketing agencies!

Who is the Best SEO Company?

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In today’s digitally influenced world, businesses have to start getting more competitive; they have to start thinking outside the box in order to stay relevant, and there’s no better way than by making sure that your SEO game is on lock. When it comes to prevailing in the highly competitive world of business, you have to approach your strategies wisely and carefully. So, how do you ensure your company’s success? Where do you start when it comes to creating solid SEO strategies and getting your company on the radar?

For starters, you’re going to want to seek out the best SEO agency you can find to handle your content creation. With over 120,000 plus SEO companies in the United States, how do you find the perfect company, one that will make sure your brand makes the impact it deserves? Well, let’s look at some things that make an SEO agency successful.

Reputation

When you’re looking for a reputable SEO agency to handle your content, you’re going to want proof that they know what they’re doing. In order to be the best, you have to hire the best, and there is no agency better than Fusion 360, and we aren’t just saying that. I mean, how else would you describe an agency who has won three Emmy awards, three Davey awards, 12 Telly awards and… well, you get the point. What we’re trying to say is that you want to see proof that an SEO agency has succeeded in the past and continues to succeed to this day.

Clients We’ve Served

Of course, you don’t just have to take our word for it. We’ve helped countless clients crush the competition and help their brands grow. For example, we did a killer commercial for a company named Utah Hair Restoration. Since hiring Fusion 360., their practice is up over 1000 percent with a 400 percent return on investment.

We’ve also worked with the luxurious, five-star Stein Eriksen Lodge and their sister resort the Chateaux. By creating steezy websites and through bulletproof marketing, we managed to increase their bookings and won a Webby along the way.

Proving that we can perform in any industry, we took on the challenge of helping out local accident attorneys at Sam Adams and Darren Davis at Adam Davis P.C. We turned a killer ad campaign into results when we took Adam Davis P.C. from an obscure name to a front-page name. Another law powerhouse, Robert J. DeBry and Associates needed some love too, and through our effective marketing techniques, we helped bring in more business by over 45 percent.

Point is, we’ve helped companies across the state, and even the nation brings in new clients and created killer conversions. We aren’t doing our job if your company isn’t smashing the competition.

Awards

You also want a company who has been recognized as the best SEO agency around. Much like a resume, you aren’t going to catch a client’s attention if you don’t have any valuable experience and accolades to back up your claims of being the best agency. Where Fusion 360 is different from our competitors is our list of awards:

Three-time Emmy Award Rocky Mountains Chapter winner
Utah Business Magazine’s Top 25 Advertising Agencies six-time winner
Utah Business Magazine’s Top 25 Public relations Firms four-time winner
One-time Webby Award winner
Twelve-time Telly Award winner
One-time Mercury Award winner
Three-time Davey Award winner
One-time W3 Award winner
See, it’s all about results, especially when it comes to digital marketing, and the only way to get results is to work hard and be the best. We turn our hard work into results, which leads to clients, and that keeps us at the top; being at the top gets you awards, and awards get you more clients. Really, it comes full circle!

Time and Experience

You also have to take into account an SEO agency’s experience as well as how long they’ve been around to ensure that you invest in a promising campaign. We hate to put a damper on your dreams if you’re planning on investing your time and money into a startup SEO agency just to save a few bucks, but the Small Business Association (SBA) states that 30 percent of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 50 percent during the first five and a whopping 66 percent fail during the first 10 years. Yikes. Unlike other SEO companies, Fusion 360 knows how to stay afloat and stay ahead of the digital marketing curve.

This year, 2018 is our 15th year in business, and that was made possible by our burning desire to excel in the digital advertising business. Our goal to create next-level content for our clients, develop upcoming brands and deliver fresh, new content has been constantly achieved by our extremely talented in-house marketing team. There isn’t a service you can think of that we don’t offer in-house. From our writers to the creative team and our innovative leader, there isn’t a challenge that we can’t tackle.

Something else to note is that our clients outperform their competitors by a 5:1 ratio. We aren’t kidding when we say that we don’t settle for average, because the average is what makes clients fade into the abyss of their industry. Right now, we are currently serving nine U.S. markets. We want to help our clients shine, and the only way we help them outperform their competitors is by outperforming ours. Sorry, not sorry.

Trust us when we say that you aren’t going to find an SEO company quite like Fusion 360. We take cutting-edge to a whole new level so that your brand can shine brighter than your competitors. Give us a call today and see what we can do for your company.