by Jonathon Hyjek | May 19, 2013 | Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
The internet’s a battlefield for attention. Whether you’re running a retail empire, a consulting gig, or a local service, succeeding online isn’t just about showing up—it’s about dominating.
But what does it take to have success online?
Too many think it’s all about flashy websites or topping Google’s rankings.
That’s part of it, sure, but real success in 2025 demands a bigger playbook. It’s a three-pillar system: traffic, conversions, and real-life delivery. Each one’s non-negotiable, and the last might catch you off guard. Master these, and you’re not just surviving online—you’re winning. Let’s break it down.
Pillar 1: Traffic—Your Ticket to the Game
Traffic’s the starting gun. No eyes on your site, no chance to play. It’s the foundation of anything you do online, and it’s been the obsession of marketers forever—flood the gates with visitors and hope for the best. SEO pros tweak keywords, chase algorithm updates, and build backlinks like architects. Paid ads—think Google Ads or social campaigns—pile on the numbers too. And yeah, it works. Get this right, and your site’s buzzing with activity.
But here’s where most stumble: traffic’s not the win—it’s the entry fee. I’ve seen businesses celebrate a flood of clicks while their bank accounts stay bone-dry. Why? Because traffic alone doesn’t pay the bills. In 2025, it’s about smart traffic—quality over quantity.
You don’t need a million random visitors; you need the right ones. Tools like AI-driven targeting can zero in on your ideal audience, whether it’s through search intent or social profiling. Voice search is huge now too—optimize for “near me” queries or conversational phrases, and you’ll snag local eyes fast.
Take a plumber in Denver, for example. Ranking for “best plumber” might pull in traffic, but if it’s all from Florida, it’s wasted effort. Narrow it to “Denver emergency plumbing,” and you’ve got a pipeline of ready-to-buy leads. Traffic’s critical, but it’s just the first step. The real test is what happens next.
Pillar 2: Conversions—Turning Clicks into Cash
You’ve got visitors—great. Now what? If they bounce faster than a bad check, all that traffic hustle was for nothing. Conversions are where the rubber meets the road: turning those clicks into customers, subscribers, or clients. This is the heartbeat of online success, and it’s where most businesses drop the ball. A packed site with zero sales is a vanity project, not a strategy.
So, how do you make it happen? First, your offer’s got to shine—product, service, whatever. No one’s buying trash, no matter how slick your site looks. Step two: your website’s got to sell without you hovering over their shoulder. That means crystal-clear calls-to-action—big, bold “Buy Now” or “Get a Quote” buttons that scream “click me.” Navigation’s got to be dead simple too; if they’re lost in a maze of menus, they’re gone. Layer in trust-builders—testimonials, case studies, or a free resource like an eBook—and you’re warming them up.
Design matters, but don’t overthink it. A clean layout beats a cluttered mess every time. Look at Amazon: it’s not pretty, but it converts like crazy because it’s easy. In 2025, you’ve got tech on your side—AI chatbots can nudge visitors toward action, heatmaps show where they stall, and A/B testing lets you tweak headlines or images until the numbers pop.
Say you’re a fitness coach. A landing page with a “Sign Up for a Free Workout Plan” button, paired with a video testimonial, could double your sign-ups over a generic “Contact Me” form. Test it, track it, win it.
Conversions aren’t a guessing game—they’re a science. Nail this, and your traffic’s not just noise; it’s profit. But there’s still one more piece to lock in.
Pillar 3: Real Life—Sealing the Deal Beyond the Screen
Here’s the kicker: online success doesn’t end online. You can crush traffic and conversions, but if the real-world experience tanks, it’s all smoke and mirrors. At some point, you’ve got to deliver—whether that’s a product hitting a doorstep, a service call that wows, or a meeting that closes the deal. This is the pillar too many ignore, and it’s the hardest to perfect. But get it wrong, and you’re toast.
Think about it. Your site promises the moon—fast shipping, top-notch quality, pro-level service. Then the package arrives late, the product’s flimsy, or your team’s a mess. Game over. Every offline touchpoint—your branding, your professionalism, your follow-through—has to match the online hype. I’ve seen a catering business kill it with a gorgeous site and killer ads, only to lose clients because the food showed up cold. Online gets them in the door; real life keeps them.
In 2025, this pillar’s amplified. Social media and review sites like Yelp or Google My Business can make or break you overnight. One happy customer raving about your work? Gold. One pissed-off review going viral? Nightmare. Take a contractor: a slick site and a booked calendar mean squat if the drywall’s crooked or the crew’s rude. Your offline game—appearance, communication, quality—has to be airtight. Even packaging counts; unboxing videos are a thing now—make it memorable.
This isn’t just about avoiding screw-ups—it’s about exceeding expectations. Overdeliver, and you’re not just retaining customers; you’re building evangelists who’ll spread the word for free. That’s the real power of this pillar.
Tying It All Together: The System That Wins
These three pillars—traffic, conversions, real life—aren’t solo acts. They’re a chain, and a weak link snaps the whole thing. Succeeding online in 2025 isn’t about picking one and praying; it’s about stacking them into a machine that hums. Traffic brings the crowd, conversions filter the gold, and real life locks in the loyalty. Miss one, and the rest crumble.
Want proof? Look at any business killing it online—a retailer, a consultant, a tradesperson. They’ve got the traffic dialed (SEO, ads, social), their site’s a conversion beast (smart design, clear offers), and their delivery’s flawless (quality, service, follow-up). A coffee shop might rank for “best latte in Austin,” convert with an online order system, and seal it with beans that taste like heaven. That’s the formula.
To pull this off, lean on the right tools and people. AI can sharpen your traffic targeting, analytics can boost your conversion rates, and pros—accountants, designers, mentors—can polish the offline edge. Don’t DIY what you can’t master; delegate and dominate. The best don’t fake it—they build a system that fires on all cylinders.
The 2025 Edge: Start Now
Succeeding online isn’t a fluke—it’s a plan. Traffic’s your megaphone, conversions your cash register, and real life your reputation. In 2025, the stakes are higher—AI’s rewriting search, reviews are instant, and customers are pickier. But the playbook’s clear: stack these pillars, and you’re not just in the game—you’re ahead of it. Start today, tweak tomorrow, win always.
by Jonathon Hyjek | Jan 10, 2013 | Search Engine Optimization
In the process of learning SEO, I have tried many different tactics to improve rankings as I am sure other SEO companies have also done. There is some trial and error as it relates to SEO and figuring out what works and what doesn’t work.
However…
There is a big difference between doing testing and trial and error on your own websites versus those of a client. I learned SEO through building and doing SEO on approximately 50 of my own niche websites. Some were successful and ended up earning me some money, some where not, but I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by learning the SEO business this way. If I messed up, I was only hurting myself.
Unfortunately not all SEO companies are created equal. It would seem that many SEO companies are still using techniques that are old and out-dated and are more likely to get your site de-indexed by Google, rather than get it onto the front page.
Two scenarios come to mind when I think about all the different problematic SEO tactics I have seen used by SEO companies in the past 5 years.
1. A few years back I owned a few article directories. This was when article marketing was at the height of it’s effectiveness for SEO. Day after day I would clear out hundreds of spammy articles, written by offshore writers for some pretty reputable companies. Time after time I would see the same poor quality article, submitted to all 4 of my article directories. Spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes and often they just didn’t make any sense whatsoever.
A few times I was tempted to contact the owners of the businesses being represented in the articles to let them know what their SEO company was up to, but I never did. It would have been a full-time job in itself. I think it’s safe to say that they had no idea what their SEO company was doing to get them higher rankings.
2. A few months ago I was doing some SEO work for a client. When I logged into the control panel for their website, I noticed that their website had hundreds of blog posts about various topics, which in no way related to their business. It would seem that their SEO company had signed them up to some sort of private blog network which allowed other people to post articles on their website (unknowingly) everyday, linking to various websites. None of the posts were accessible through the website’s main navigation, so customers weren’t seeing these articles, however they were there. Google was indexing these articles and many were about gambling, online poker, online dating and prescriptions drugs.
What’s My Advice?
While you don’t need to know every detail of your SEO company and what they do to get your website to the front page of Google, you need to be able to trust them. If you don’t get the sense that you can trust them, don’t work with them. It’s that simple! Get to know your SEO company or SEO expert, ask them questions, learn about their integrity (if they have any) and then move ahead with the business relationship. You don’t need to choose your SEO company overnight either. Choose carefully and make sure you are going to be comfortable working with them since this is not a one-time transaction.
A word of advice though: Don’t breathe down their neck. SEO takes time and sometimes, LOTS of time. If you hire an SEO company today, don’t ask them in 3 days why your website isn’t on the front page of Google. It takes time. Most likely they will want to work with you ongoing for several months to start and at first, you may not see a lot of results. Rest assured that a good SEO company is building a foundation and that over time, you will see those rankings improve.
by Jonathon Hyjek | Nov 4, 2012 | Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
In today’s digital age, your business’s online presence is not just an asset—it’s a necessity. When potential customers search for your company or services, the digital trail you leave behind, often referred to as your digital footprint, can make or break their decision to engage with you.
This footprint encompasses every listing, profile, and piece of content associated with your business that you can control or influence. A robust digital footprint establishes credibility, builds trust, and amplifies your reach, ensuring that your business stands out in a crowded online marketplace.
This article explores the concept of a digital footprint, why it matters for businesses, and how to strategically build and manage it to dominate search engine results. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap to enhance your online presence and attract more customers.
What Is a Digital Footprint?
Your digital footprint is the collection of online content associated with your business that appears when someone searches for your company name or related keywords. Think of it as a virtual pathway that leads potential customers directly to your business. This pathway includes your website, social media profiles, business directory listings, review platforms, and any other online platforms where your business has a presence.
When customers search for your business, they typically fall into one of two categories:
- Discovery Searchers: These are people who don’t know your business but are searching for products or services you offer. They use broad keywords like “SEO company” or “local bakery near me.”
- Direct Searchers: These individuals already know your business name, perhaps through a referral or advertisement, and search for it specifically, such as “Jonathon Hyjek SEO Services.”
While search engine optimization (SEO) is critical for capturing discovery searchers, building a strong digital footprint is equally important for direct searchers. A well-crafted digital footprint ensures that when someone searches for your business name, they find a wealth of credible, consistent, and professional information about you.
Why Your Digital Footprint Matters
A strong digital footprint serves multiple purposes, each contributing to your business’s success:
1. Establishes Credibility and Trust
When potential customers search for your business and find a well-maintained website followed by active profiles on LinkedIn, Yelp, Google Business Profile, and other platforms, it signals that your business is legitimate and engaged. A sparse or inconsistent online presence, on the other hand, can raise doubts about your reliability.
2. Amplifies Your Reach
By occupying multiple spots on the first page or two of search engine results, you increase the likelihood that searchers will interact with your business. Even if they don’t click on your website immediately, they may visit your LinkedIn page, read Yelp reviews, or explore your social media, all of which can lead them back to you.
3. Enhances SEO Performance
Many online profiles and directories allow you to include links to your website. These backlinks can improve your website’s authority in the eyes of search engines, boosting your organic rankings for both branded and non-branded keywords.
4. Shapes Your Narrative
A strong digital footprint lets you control the story told about your business. By creating and optimizing profiles, you can highlight your strengths, showcase customer testimonials, and address potential concerns before they arise.
Building Your Digital Footprint: A Step-by-Step Guide
Creating a comprehensive digital footprint requires strategy, consistency, and patience. Here’s how to get started:
Step 1: Secure Your Website as the Foundation
Your website is the cornerstone of your digital footprint. When someone searches for your business name, your website should ideally be the first result. To ensure this:
- Optimize for Your Brand: Include your business name in your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, and content. For example, “Jonathon Hyjek SEO Services – London, Ontario” is more effective than a generic “SEO Services.”
- Ensure Accessibility: Make sure your website is mobile-friendly, fast-loading, and easy to navigate.
- Claim Your Domain: Use a domain that matches your business name (e.g., jonathonhyjek.com) to reinforce brand consistency.
If your website isn’t ranking at the top for your business name, you may need to investigate technical SEO issues or competing listings, such as outdated directory profiles.
Step 2: Claim and Optimize Key Online Profiles
Beyond your website, create and optimize profiles on platforms that align with your industry and audience. These platforms fall into three main categories:
Social Media Platforms
- LinkedIn: Create a company page and a personal profile for key team members. Share industry insights, case studies, and company updates.
- Twitter/X: Use your business name as your handle and post regularly about your services, promotions, and industry news.
- Facebook: Build a business page with complete contact information, customer reviews, and engaging content like photos or videos.
- Instagram: Ideal for visually-driven businesses, such as restaurants or retailers. Share high-quality images and use hashtags to increase discoverability.
Business Directories
- Google Business Profile: Claim and verify your profile to appear in Google Maps and local search results. Include accurate business details, photos, and regular updates on your Google Business Profile.
- Yelp: Optimize your Yelp page with a detailed business description, photos, and prompt responses to customer reviews.
- Manta, Weblocal, and Yellow Pages: These directories are particularly valuable for local businesses. Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) is consistent across all platforms.
Industry-Specific Platforms
- Quora: Answer questions related to your industry to establish expertise and drive traffic to your website.
- Houzz or Angi: For home improvement businesses, these platforms are essential for showcasing projects and collecting reviews.
- TripAdvisor: Critical for hospitality businesses like hotels or restaurants.
When creating profiles, use consistent branding (logos, colors, and messaging) and include links to your website. Avoid creating profiles on low-quality or spammy directories, as they can harm your reputation.
Step 3: Create Valuable Content
Content is a powerful tool for expanding your digital footprint. By publishing blog posts, videos, or infographics, you can occupy more search engine real estate and engage potential customers. Consider:
- Blogging: Write articles on your website about topics relevant to your audience. For example, an SEO company could publish “Top 10 SEO Mistakes Businesses Make.”
- Guest Posting: Contribute articles to reputable industry blogs, including a link back to your website.
- Video Content: Create short videos for YouTube or TikTok that showcase your expertise or behind-the-scenes looks at your business.
Step 4: Manage Online Reviews
Reviews on platforms like Yelp, Google, and Facebook are a critical part of your digital footprint. Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and respond promptly to all reviews, positive or negative. A thoughtful response to a negative review can demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.
Step 5: Monitor and Maintain Your Footprint
Building a digital footprint is not a one-time task. Regularly:
- Check for Accuracy: Ensure your business information is up-to-date across all platforms, especially after a rebrand or change in contact details.
- Monitor Search Results: Search for your business name periodically to see what appears. If undesirable results (e.g., outdated profiles) show up, take steps to suppress or remove them.
- Engage Actively: Post updates, respond to comments, and interact with followers to keep your profiles active and relevant.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
While building your digital footprint, steer clear of these mistakes:
- Spamming Search Engines: Creating dozens of low-quality profiles in a short period can trigger search engine penalties. Build profiles gradually and focus on reputable platforms.
- Inconsistent Information: Discrepancies in your business name, address, or phone number can confuse customers and harm your SEO.
- Neglecting Maintenance: Outdated profiles or inactive social media accounts can make your business appear unprofessional.
Measuring the Impact of Your Digital Footprint
To gauge the effectiveness of your efforts, track key metrics:
- Search Engine Rankings: Use tools like Google Search Console to monitor where your website and profiles rank for your business name and related keywords.
- Website Traffic: Analyze referral traffic from social media, directories, and other profiles using Google Analytics.
- Customer Engagement: Monitor likes, comments, and shares on social media to assess audience interaction.
Final Thoughts
Mastering your digital footprint is an ongoing process that requires strategy and diligence. By securing a strong website, claiming key profiles, creating valuable content, and actively managing your online presence, you can dominate search engine results and build trust with potential customers. A well-crafted digital footprint not only makes your business appear larger and more credible but also ensures that customers can easily find and engage with you, no matter how they search.
Start today by auditing your current online presence and identifying gaps. With consistent effort, your digital footprint will become a powerful tool for driving growth and establishing your business as a leader in your industry.
by Jonathon Hyjek | Oct 25, 2012 | Online Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
Updated June 2024: I wrote an in-depth guide to help you decide between SEO and PPC.
Should you spend your online marketing budget on Google Adwords (PPC) or SEO (Organic Search)
This is a question that every business with a website must ask themselves when they start to look at how to spend their online advertising dollars.
On one hand, a business can use Google Adwords and set their investment at any amount that they can afford and get almost instant leads (in a perfect world.) A simple text ad can produce great results and your traffic can skyrocket overnight, if you can afford it.
One the other hand, a business can invest in SEO by committing to a monthly SEO package with an SEO company and their rankings will increase over time in the natural search engine results pages.
So which one is a better use of your marketing dollars?
This isn’t an easy question to answer because every business is different and every scenario is different.
Again, in a perfect world, you could start a Google Ads campaign and for example, spend $1000 per month on those PPC ads. If your landing page (the page you point your ads to) is optimized properly, you may end up with quite a few leads or conversions, but in order to keep those leads or conversions coming in, you have to keep paying Google, month after month. Obviously plenty of businesses are doing this since Google is reportedly generating over $100 million per day in Adwords revenue!
This is a great way to generate leads, but it can get expensive because it never stops. If you stop paying, your leads or conversions stop.
Hiring an SEO company to increase your search engine rankings offers you another option. If you invest that same $$500/$1000 per month (or whatever that cost is) in SEO services, over time your website should end up on page #1 of Google in the organic (free) results pages. Once you’re on page one, you should be getting plenty of traffic and you don’t have to keep paying for it. As long as you don’t do anything drastic from an SEO standpoint, a small monthly maintenance fee by an SEO company should keep your website in a high ranking position.
With Organic SEO, you get FREE traffic, day after day, month after month.
In my opinion, if you don’t want to keep paying for an Ads campaign, investing money in organic SEO services is your best option. The downside of course to spending money on Organic SEO is that your rankings will not change overnight. It could take several weeks to several months before you see the results. In this case, SEO services are front loaded with costs and then it will ease up once you are in a good position, whereas Adwords continues to cost, day after day, month after month.
The other challenge with SEO as a single strategy is that Google can (and does) change their algorithm frequently. What worked last year, may not work today – and websites have lost 80% of their organic traffic overnight from one Google update. This can be catastrophic for a business so in my opinion – in 2024 – you should look at both organic SEO and pay per click.
Ultimately you need to decide what’s best for your organization and your current situation. One good option for many companies would be to split your investment between the two. This way you get the best of both worlds; You get leads or conversions immediately while building your rankings for future leads or referrals that come in free of charge.
by Jonathon Hyjek | Sep 9, 2012 | Search Engine Optimization
Over the course of completing SEO audits, I consistently see SEO issues that are avoidable, even by amateurs. For example, improper page titles are a very important SEO component that still get overlooked for the value that they can bring. Page titles are one of the factors that will tell the search engines what a web page is about. Combined with meta description, on-page content and backlinks with relevant anchor text, these factors help Google determine how to rank your page or website for certain search terms. This of course is a simplistic view as many other factors apply, but just because this is a basic concept, doesn’t mean it’s not an important one.
Time and time again I see page titles written in a way that is inefficient and sometimes, just wrong. For those that don’t know what I’m talking about, the best way to describe a page title is to go to a website/webpage and look up at the top of your browser. This is the title of the particular page and there’s a right way to write the page title and there’s a wrong way.
Page Titles – The Basics
The page title should be descriptive of what a particular page is about. If your website is selling “yellow widgets” on an individual page, using “yellow widgets” is a great start for your page title. You have about 60 to 65 characters to work with in a page title, so it’s usually a good idea to use up your available characters, if you can use them without looking spammy. Putting a location in your page title may be a good idea as well, especially if your website is targeted at a certain geographic area. It’s likely that people will type “yellow widgets in Toronto” into their Google search page, so adding the location may be of benefit.
Wasting Page Title Real Estate
Time and time again I see websites wasting SEO real estate by putting words or phrases in their page titles that do nothing but waste space. For example, if your company name is “The Blue, Green & Yellow Widget Company,” using that in your page title may seem logical, but it’s a waste of characters, since you only have about 20-25 characters left to tell your visitors and the search engines what that page is about. It’s common for websites to have their company title on every page title, but this isn’t a great title in many cases. Putting your company name on your index page can be a good move for some companies trying to build their brand, but not for everyone.
Some companies waste page title space by putting a slogan in the page title. This may work for your home page (maybe,) but it’s a bad idea for the bulk of your pages. This is another waste of space that should be avoided in most cases.
Duplicate Page Titles
It’s tempting when building a website to just put the same page title on every page of a website. This is a bad idea! Make sure every page has a unique title that is descriptive of what’s on the page.
“Home” is Not a Good Page Title
An unnamed, fairly high profile website in the city I live (London, Ontario) has a page title that makes me laugh. The saddest part of this is that the website was built by a big web design agency in London and they should know better. What’s the page title that I’m referring to? Here it is: “HOME – Company Name”
This page title makes me laugh. Yes, it is the “homepage” but it’s not really important for them to tell everyone that their index page is called “HOME.” It’s not a big deal in that it only uses up 4 characters, but it’s unnecessary.
Keyword Research Is at the Foundation of a Good Page Title
Your page titles should be determined after you have done thorough keyword research to find out what phrases and keywords actually get enough search volume to make them worth pursuing. There’s no sense using a page title that doesn’t get much search volume or one that isn’t descriptive of what’s on the page.
An Optimum Page Title
An optimum page title is goes something like this:
Keyword 1 | Keyword 2 | Company Name or Brand
Remember, you only have 60 to 65 characters to work with, so sometimes you have to make sacrifices with a page title, but the above is a general guideline that works well.
Choosing the right page titles should be done after some thought and research and not chosen in haste. Choose page titles that describe what service or product you provide, make them keyword rich and possibly include a geographic location if appropriate or maybe your brand/company name, but avoid wasting space with redundant information.
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