The Blog
Why Our Core Values Increase YOUR Core Value
We believe that there’s truth to the idea that people are deeply influenced by the company they keep. In other words, to quote the beloved American farm-boy-turned-millionaire Jim Rohn, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” We also...
Currencies Other Than Cash – Part 2
When I first started my freelance business, I of course wanted to make money but I also wanted to help people. I wanted to solve problems and improve my client's businesses—and their lives. I've met so many amazing people along the way and have worked with other...
Currencies other than CASH – PART 1
So, let me just start by allowing Captain Obvious to speak his piece: YES. Cash/income is essential to a thriving business. However, there are many times in history (on a macro scale) as well as personally (on a micro scale) that your business might not be rolling in...
Updating your WordPress Website Safely
If you have a WordPress website, you’ve probably noticed the notifications when updates are needed. Under Dashboard > Updates on the backend of your site, you can see if any of your plugins, themes or WordPress core need to be updated. Updating your site without...
How to Align Your Blog Content with your Sales Funnel
Did you know that – already as of 2019 – there are 4 billion internet users worldwide? This was the first time in history that we could officially say that more than half the world’s population has internet access; 50.8% to be exact. If your organization were only to...
Is your Homepage Helping or Hurting Your Business?
While it isn’t really recommended to judge a book by its cover, many of us still do, right? And in the same respect, many more of us judge a website by its homepage. A homepage should be something that welcomes visitors and gives them a reason to stay a while as well...
Elements of an Effective Blog Post in 2020
Every day that our understanding of technology increases, there is an increased opportunity to use that technology to share, teach and learn. Since the late 90’s, savvy business owners have recognized that blogs are a major way to harness these opportunities. However,...
2019: A Year of Growth
With the year (and DECADE) coming to a close in just a few short weeks, I figured it would be a great time to do a little reflecting. 10 years ago, I was graduating from UW-Milwaukee with my business degree—with NO clue which direction I wanted to take my career....
How to Build Trust with your Website’s Visitors
Your website is your own little slice of the internet. It should be unique, highlight your specialties and communicate why you do what you do. As a business owner, it’s tough to not only to separate yourself from the competition, but also build trust with your...
Why SEO is Like Investing
Explaining SEO is complicated—Google's search engine algorithms change all the time which makes it a tough thing to define. After working with a number of clients to improve their website's search engine optimization, I've learned that SEO is very similar to...
Redesign Your Website Without Losing SEO Rankings
A common misconception is that SEO (search engine optimization) only needs to be done once. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. SEO is not a “set it and forget it” task. It takes time, commitment and an understanding of your target audience along with many other...
Create a Usable Content Calendar & What to Include
The backbone of every effective digital marketing strategy is CONTENT—It's the way you connect with your audience, increase traffic and drive conversions for your business. I write SEO blogs, emails and social posts for a variety of different businesses (on top of my...
What to Highlight on Your Website
You know you need a professional website, but what the heck do you put on it? Many of us have been in this situation before. Building a beautiful and effective website takes a lot of careful planning. It takes time to craft the perfect message for each page and to...
Benefits of a Company Blog
If you have a business website, you SHOULD be blogging. It’s important for your business to maintain a positive online presence because it helps you stand out from your competitors and even helps you to secure more clients. According to HubSpot, websites that have a...
Digital Marketing Planning for 2019
The digital marketing industry is evolving at lightning speeds, which is nothing new. While there are many new strategies out there, there is also always a few classic digital marketing strategies that seem to work year after year no matter what industry you're in....
The Best WordPress Plugins for Small Business Websites
There are thousands of WordPress plugins available for enhancing websites visually and making them easier to manage. How do you know which to trust? Many of my clients are small business owners, looking for plugin recommendations that are not only useful but can help...
Website Security – How to Lock Down Your Site
One Friday morning, not too long ago, I woke up with very little on my agenda. I was pretty excited to put work on the backburner for the day and get some things taken care of at home. I checked my email first like I do every morning just to make sure nothing major is...
Why You Need Content Creation
I get a lot of question about SEO and the role content creation plays in improving your website’s rankings. The more valuable content you publish on your website, the more opportunities your potential customer has to find you in a Google search (or another search...
Social Media Tools You Should Know About
No matter what you sell or who you are selling it to, using social media as a digital marketing tool can help you grow your brand and your bottom line. If you have a good flow of content to publish on your social channels and are looking for a way to take it to the...
Combine Web Design & Hosting
Having an effective website for your business can’t be overlooked. Your website is meant to be a representation of your business – the way it looks, how it functions, and the how the message is delivered. You have to think past the design and how “pretty” the...
Tracking with Google Analytics
If you’ve had a website for a while, you probably know about Google Analytics and maybe already have it set up to track your site. It’s important to monitor your site’s progress and to know what is and is not working in your marketing campaign. This tool can be used...
Why WordPress?
With over 75 Million websites running on WordPress, the platform is by far the most popular content management system (CMS) for personal and business websites. Not only is it free to install and maintain, but there are thousands of plugins and templates, and it’s...
Smarter Email Marketing
Email marketing has been around FOREVER, but it still continues to be a staple of a well-run marketing program. All of us can get overwhelmed by the number of emails we receive every day. As a business owner, you want to stand out and you want your audience to look...
Ideas for Generating SEO Content
Generating regular content for your website is a big piece of the SEO puzzle. It’s also an important part of any digital marketing strategy overall. Writing original content every month, or every week can get overwhelming! It can be a struggle to constantly be...
SEO vs. PPC – Pros, Cons, and Strategy
Businesses of all sizes are noticing the importance of online marketing, especially through search engines. It’s clear that your business must have a strong presence to ensure you’re front and center for your target market to find you. So the question comes down to-...
What You Need to Redesign Your Website
With the New Year quickly approaching, most business owners are eager for a fresh start. I always think about what can I change and improve upon in the upcoming year that will move my business forward. A new day, new week, or fresh month, I tend to get the same...
The Perfect Call to Action
Subscribe. Buy now. Learn more. You’ve seen them all on countless websites. If you want to write the perfect call-to-action that’ll draw in your target audience, educate them, and increase your conversion rates, I’ve written this post just for you 70% of...
Planning Your Digital Marketing for 2018
Happy October! While the new year feels so far away still, it really is right around the corner! Maybe you are wrapping up your digital marketing strategy for 2017, or you are ready to start digital marketing for your business in 2018. Either way, it’s never too early...
My Digital Marketing Process
I’ve been working on a variety of digital marketing projects over the past few years and I’ve since put together a process that has been making my clients very happy! Web traffic is going up, SEO terms are ranking higher, and leads are pouring in. At the end of each...
You Need More Than a Pretty Website
Is your website beautiful and functional for your visitors? I hope so! Is your website bringing in a lot of traffic, leads, and sales? I really hope so! If it’s not, it’s time for a change. You need more than just a pretty website if you want to run a successful...
New Brand and Website Release
In my latest blog post, Rebranding in 7 Steps, I mentioned that I was in the beginning stages of a full LR Design rebrand. I’m proud to announce that my new brand and website is finally here! After 7 years in business, LR Design & Marketing has an updated logo,...