Ahmad Kareh

While global search engine optimization is important, the importance of local SEO can't be ignored. According to one source, 50% of consumers who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a store that same day. And if your business's visibility is not ranking highly in your area, your brick and mortar location could be losing out to competitors.

Generating traffic and quality leads are high priorities for many companies. Unfortunately, generating traffic and leads are also a serious challenge for a majority of marketers. According to Hubspot's State of Inbound 2017 report, 63% of those surveyed reported this as their biggest marketing challenge this year.

Whether you're starting a new company or overhauling the image of an existing one, building a brand is a big undertaking with extremely high stakes. Getting your brand wrong as a startup means failing to resonate with your target audience. Messing up a rebranding effort could mean alienating and ultimately losing your loyal customer base.

Google's announcement about adding a built-in ad blocker to Chrome presents an opportunity to advertisers. Aggressive advertising, such as pop-ups or auto-playing videos, have annoyed website visitors for nearly as long as they've been in existence. While such advertisements can be used to success, they can also drive away traffic and damage user impressions of a company or product.

As the popularity of immersive virtual reality experiences continues to grow, more and more platforms now offer the ability to create and publish 360-degree photos and videos. Consumers are increasingly exploring and using this media format, and brands might think now is the perfect time to get in on the ground floor.

As channels for sharing important information, influencers, journalists and social media all offer their own advantages. But blasting the same message to the widest possible number of recipients is counterproductive. Journalists and influencers are routinely contacted by firms, and not all consumers are the right audience for every piece of news. After all, no matter how important the information may seem to insiders and people within a company, not everyone will care about every development. Blast the same message too often and you may find users blocking you on social media or your emails to publications or influencers being filtered directly to the trash.

As a business owner, you are surely aware of the value and importance of engaging with your audience if you want to become and stay relevant in today’s competitive online space.

You've had some good meetings with representatives from a new agency. The team members they've sent seem sharp, personable and ready to have you sign on the dotted line. But committing to an agency – whether you're transitioning to a new agency or this is your first time working with one – is a big deal.

Consumer demand is rising for video content: At least 43% want to see more than they're seeing now, according to research done by Hubspot. But poor marketing can turn people away. One danger is that over-produced or overly slick videos can leave potential clients or customers feeling talked at, rather than to. This can lead viewers to feel disconnected from the content and can create the perception that the presentation is inauthentic. Other troubles include videos that focus purely on the hard sale; while these can work, they can also create a sense of "you want something" rather than "you're providing me with something to value" – a significant difference in perception.

Augmented reality is quickly becoming one of the hottest trends in the marketing and advertising industries, recognized as an innovative and creative way of connecting with customers and increasing engagement. The technology has significantly grown in popularity over the last few years, and the AR market is expected to continue this trend; it's projected to reach $117.4 billion by 2022, as indicated by Markets and Markets research.

Every business has a target audience that it hopes will buy its product or service. Rather than create marketing campaigns for an unknown quantity of nameless, faceless "consumers," many companies try to create user personas – clearly defined individual personality types based on real demographic and behavioral information about their target customers. After all, isn't it easier to have a one-on-one conversation with a person you know than get up and give a presentation to a crowd of strangers?

On a popular social media platform, you can share photos and videos with your followers that will automatically disappear after 24 hours. Which one is it?

Have you ever given a friend advice before they were ready to hear it? Chances are, it wasn’t received well. Relationships with your clients aren’t that different. If you build an integrated marketing communications strategy that is specific to the stage of the funnel that your customer is in, it will help you to build a lasting relationship with them. In other words, your ideal customer may be ready to consider your proposal – but only after you earn their trust. In order to do this, you need to respect their boundaries.

What's in a name? A lot, as it turns out – especially when it comes to naming your business.

Choosing your company's moniker is one of the most important decisions you'll make when you start a new business, as it sets the tone for all your future branding initiatives. For better or for worse, your business name helps create a first impression with potential customers and investors, so it's not a decision that should be taken lightly.

For years, marketers have been living by the phrase, "content is king." This is more important than ever nowadays, as new channels for creating, curating, sharing and interacting with content continue to emerge.

Remote working arrangements are becoming increasingly common across various fields and industries as businesses look for ways to become more flexible and efficient. According to recent research by employee engagement platform TINYpulse, remote work has a very positive impact on employee productivity, happiness, satisfaction, as well as on their communication with management. Additionally, telecommute jobs can help a business maintain flexibility and cut costs by limiting the need for expensive office spaces or supplies.

Creating engagement requires more than a flashy video or a solid homepage, especially when it comes to content marketing. It requires both time and effort to establish interest or an emotional connection between the potential customer and the brand.

Personalization is a growing trend in online marketing: Details about what city a computer is located in or whether a visitor has come to a site before can help guide what message should be displayed on a page or sent to an email address. After all, a person in Wisconsin isn't likely to be interested in barbecue deals from a shop in Tennessee, nor does everyone want a bookbinding kit, even if it is a deal of the day.

After the splash made by the arrival of virtual reality headsets a couple of years ago, VR has drawn a lot of attention. The features of the systems seem limitless and there's strong interest from people across industries.

Earlier this spring, during the 2017 Academy Awards, the wrong name was read for Best Picture recipient. This mistake generated a lot of headlines, and while it wasn't the first error made during the show's live broadcast, it was the first one in quite some time. After the event, PwC stepped forward and took responsibility for the error. How should companies deal with a potentially brand-damaging public relations event, such as this one and others that can tarnish long-built reputations? Below, eight Forbes Agency Council members talk about how they handle crisis control.