mvermeer, Author at Matthew Vermeer

Starred and Recent in Google Drive

Google Drive allows you find important and recent files through their Starred and Recent options. The Starred option shows files that you have identified as important. The Recent option gives you a list of recently opened items with the most recent first. Starred Click Starred to see all the items you’ve marked with a star. Just click the file you want starred, click the More Actions button , and select Add to Starred. Stars are like “bookmarks” or “favorites” in a browser to mark web sites you want to access frequently. Recent Use the Recent view to see all the private and shared files that you’ve opened, in reverse chronological order. This is a great way to quickly find your most current stuff. Steps to access the Starred and Recent options in Google Drive: Click on Starred in the left column. Identify the files that you have identified as important. Double-click a file to open it. Click on the X to close that tab. Click on Recent in the left column. Notice that the file you just opened is listed at the top since it is the most recent file that you opened. If you need assistance with improving your Google Drive understanding, please get in touch with me. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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What is SEO Branding?

Brand / mvermeer

SEO branding refers to a process where your brand becomes an important source of organic traffic. Brands that have established an awareness and recognition tend to be trusted by Google. Therefore, they are shown as a viable source in search results. When they are shown frequently in results, they end up ranking higher. SEO branding builds and promotes a company’s recognition and trust. Much like networking, it focuses on building relevance, authority, and trust within the search engine results. Although SEO and branding are two separate important factors, they also influence and benefit from each other. It is important to consider the brand in all aspects of developing your SEO. This helps expand and paint the picture further about the brand. Some basic SEO techniques include: Brand links Digging into brand search data Using the results to enhance the interest in a brand The important takeaway for SEO is that branding is a huge asset. How a brand performs is an incredibly important to a company. SEO is an extension of that branding and should be used in the optimization of a website. Therefore, you need to see the brand interest as a huge asset and drawing point if you desire to grow a brand online. If you need assistance with your branding or have questions, feel free to get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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Mobile Website Matters More

Web Design / mvermeer

Your mobile version of your website now matters more than your desktop version. In 2018, Google made a major shift in how they SEO rank your website. They moved to a mobile-first indexing. This means that they use your mobile version of your website to rank it in your search results. This change makes sense because more than 50% of traffic worldwide is from mobile devices. What does this mean for SEO? With this move by Google, it puts emphasis on having a website that has a responsive design. This means that the design of your website looks good and loads quickly on any type of device that it is viewed on. What should I do with my Current Website? If your website is already setup as a responsive site, you may not need to do anything. Something you will want to check however is your website’s load time and speed. A great free resource for doing that is PageSpeed Insights. You will also want to ensure that your images are properly sized to ensure their load speed is efficient also. If you are just setting up your website, it would be advantageous to use a theme that is mobile friendly. This will assist you in getting your website ready for the mobile user as well as assist in your SEO ranking. If you are unsure what to do or need assistance, but sure to get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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How to Create the Best Social Media Profile

Graphic Design / mvermeer

The Best Social Media Profile With 4.9 billion people in the world today using social media, the platforms are bombarded with all kinds of profiles and content. Some of those aren’t organized or have a focus, while others are and do. To create the best social media profile that is engaging and professional, there are five important aspects to include: Username or Handle In this day in age, it might seem obvious. But choosing your username or handle is an integral part of building a social media profile. Be sure to choose some that reflects your brand and is consistent across platforms. By utilizing the same handle across platforms, it makes it easier for your audience to find you quicker and follow you sooner. For example, I chose to use my name for my brand: It’s my handle on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. If you find that your handle is already taken, try to extend it with something related to your brand. A good source to help with this is namecheckr. Multiple Platforms Once you have your designated handle, it’s time to create your accounts on multiple platforms. Even if you only desire to start on one platform, it is important to create accounts on as many platforms as possible to ensure you get the handle you desire. This way, you will be able to utilize the platform if you so choose to start using it later. Profile Picture Your profile picture should be your brand’s logo or you if you’re the brand. If possible, you will want to utilize the same image on all platforms to build uniformity and consistency. Don’t use pictures that have little to do with your brand. Be professional and consistent by using a high quality image. Professional Background If the social media platform you are on allows for a cover image, make sure you upload a high quality, professional background image that’s relevant to your brand. Be sure to use the proper image dimensions when creating your background cover image. A simple Google search can inform you on what those current dimensions are as they can change over time. Right now Facebook’s cover image dimensions are 851×315 whereas LinkedIn is 1128×191. Compelling Bio Your bio is your opportunity to share what your brand is all about. It lets you sell yourself in a short number of words. You can focus on what you offer or give a behind the scenes look at what you’re trying to accomplish. Are you ready to get started, but still unsure what route to take? Get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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Social Media Helps Your SEO

Digital Marketing / mvermeer

Social Media Helps SEO Although social media does not hold a ranking factor, it does help with SEO. However, there are benefits that your social media efforts can indirectly feed into your SEO results. Social media helps SEO through these methods: Boost Your Content Social media is a place where people hangout and spend their time. By creating your own presence on a platform, you begin gaining the attention of those people interested in what you are sharing. This content can be your personal interests or that of a company. When you create content on your website, you are at the mercy of waiting for someone to find it through a search engine. To help speed up the process of bringing in visitors to that content, it is advisable to share it on your social media profiles. This will gain attention quicker and bring traffic to your website sooner. Gain Backlinks With using your social profiles to bring in traffic to your website, more eyes will see your content. With more eyes seeing your content, you enhance the chances of someone linking to it. Backlinks are an integral part of SEO. They show search engines that people like your content and see it as valuable. Because of that liking, your content can get ranked higher in search results. By showcasing the content on your social profile, it could lead to a sharing of it. That sharing could leads to others that begins the snowball of people finding out more about your offer. Bring More Traffic The goal of SEO is to increase visibility of your website and bring in visitors. By creating an active presence on social media, you open the door to a whole new audience. With over 4.9 billion people accessing social media worldwide as of 2023, you can be assured your target audience is there somewhere. Some of these people might only run across your products or service through social media. Therefore, putting work into this aspect of digital marketing becomes vitally important. Social Profiles Build Trust An important reason for investing in SEO is that it helps build trust in your brand. There are many companies and offers out in the marketplace today. This makes it harder for prospects to decide on which brand to buy from. Because billions of people are on social media today, they use it as a starting point to find the brands they choose to buy from. It a brand has a poor or nonexistent social media presence; it serves as a red flag to the customer that it might not be the best option. Likewise, a strong social media presence with relative content can be anattractive piece for bringing in new clients. Everything you do to build your business online should work synergistically for the same purpose. SEO and social media both have their own benefits for your business. It becomes your job to make sure they cohesively work together to support one another to help expand your brand awareness. If you need help with your social media strategy or SEO, get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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Google Drive Files Shared With Me

Google / mvermeer

Google Drive files that are shared with you show up under Shared With Me. Specifically, Shared with me in your Google Drive is where you’ll find the files, folders, and Google documents that have been shared with you: However, Shared with me only shows items that were shared with you explicitly. Therefore, you won’t find items here that were shared with the “Public” or “Anyone with the link.” (You can find those items by searching in the All items view.) If you’ll be referencing a shared document often, you can drag it into My Drive so that it appears there as well. Tip: Are you looking for a folder that is shared with you? Click one of the column headings in the Shared with me view to put all the folders that were shared with you first. Steps to view shared with me files: Click on Shared with me in the left column. Identify the files in this folder. Locate a file you know that has been shared with you. If you need assistance with your understanding of Google Drive files under Shared With Me, please get in touch with me. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences. Let’s connect!

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What is Visual Branding?

Brand / mvermeer

Visual branding is influential for your company. There are two absolutely important elements when building a brand that’s remembered, referred, and respected. Those two elements are clarity and consistency. Clarity When you are clear about your mission, your audience, what sets your apart, and why you are the best, the marketing activities become effortless. On top of that, you will get more referrals because your audience better understands you and what you are about. Consistency When you use the same colors, typography, imagery, and message across all marketing channels, you build trust, credibility, and reliability for your brand. When a company changes their messaging and visual imagery, a brand loses traction in the market. It Matters Visual imagery is proven to get more attention, increase audience involvement, and enhance social sharing. Here are some facts that back that up: Content that includes imagery gets 94% more views Including images in blog posts will get 35% more shares 66% of all social media posts include visuals For every 350 words in an article, one image should accompany them Because millions of images are shared amongst social media and blog posts every day, it is important to include some important visual branding practices. Five Ways to Implement Add a logo or icon Use brand colors Use consistent typography Add color overlay Create templates Visually branding your media and content is vitally important. Giving attention to these important aspects can greatly affect how prospects view your brand. If you have questions about visual branding or would like help establishing it, get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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Meta Data Matters

Web Design / mvermeer

What is Meta Data? Meta data matters as it consists of the meta title and meta description of a web page link. This is the page title and lines of text that appears under the page title when you do a search in a search engine. A meta title specifies the main title of the webpage. Meta titles help search engines match your content to search queries. Meta description appears below the meta title. It is a snippet of data which summarizes the content of the webpage. For example, if you Google “why have a website,” the metadata you will see is shown to the left. Meta data tells the user what they can expect to find if they click on the page. Five Metadata Must Haves Keep it concise. Meta titles need to be short and sweet, typically 50-60 characters. Your meta description should describe your content in less than 160 characters. Use keywords. Having your keywords in your meta title is a must have! The closer to the beginning the better. It is common practice to use those keywords in your meta description as well. Have a call-to-action. Your metadata is essentially an organic ad in the SERP. Therefore, it is your opportunity to use it to sell your content to the user. This will also increase your click-through figures. Match metadata to content. If you are using your metadata to trick searching to come see your website, you will potentially lose them forever. In doing so, you will be doing more harm than good for your brand. Uniqueness is key. The internet is full of content these days. Your best chance to be chosen by a searcher is as much about how you portray and present your information than anything else. One way to get their attention is to use unique metadata. This will draw them in and lead them to your website. Although some might overlook the importance of metadata for your website, it is potentially the first interaction a lead might have with your brand. Making sure you provide them with an accurate picture of the content that lies behind the link gives you a better chance to get them to click-through to your website. If you need assistant understanding or creating your meta data, get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences.Let’s connect!

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Graphic Design and Web Design are Different

Graphic Design / mvermeer

What is Graphic Design? Graphic designers create graphics and interject typography with photos to present an idea. Historically, graphic designers worked primarily on logo creation and print designs for posters, brochures, and packaging. As technology has advanced, graphic designers today are more involved with the digital aspect of those same components. Web design is designing the visual look and feel of a website. Web designers focus on planning the user experience, layouts, organization of content, and overall design on the website. How Are They Similar? Graphic designers and web designers both need skills in design fundamentals. These include, but not limited to, typography, color, hierarchy, and layout. Both designers need to stay up to date with design trends. Sometimes a website needs a certain appeal or feel, but in most cases a modern, up-to-date trend of today is needed. Graphic and web designers both need to be creative problem solvers. Their design work typically has a purpose to serve. Whether that is solving a problem or communicating an idea, the only difference between the two designers is the medium used to accomplish the task. Both designers need to be good communicators. Because the design work is an extension of the clients overall ideas, communication with them on design work needs to happen throughout the design to ensure the end result becomes what they desire. How Are They Different? The main difference between graphic designers and web designers are technical skills. Web designers need to be familiar with HTML, CSS, and how to make it look good on the internet. Web designers also need to be concerned with file size and load speeds. Graphic design works tend to end up as permanent pieces while web designer’s projects can go through many changes. Web designers create interactive projects whereas graphic designers projects are less interactive. Although there are similarities and differences between graphic designers and web designers, the future looks bright for both parties. Because more and more content is going digital, it’s vitally important to acquire skills associated with it. Outside of that, there will continue to be a need for both professionals. If you need assistance with either graphic design or web design, get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences. Let’s connect!

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Digital Marketing Complements Digital Branding

Digital Marketing / mvermeer

Although digital marketing and digital branding have different approaches, there is overlap between the two that complements each other and help progress a company. Digital marketing is the vehicle for creating and maintaining a company’s digital brand. It connects the brand and products/services to establish the brand identity and values. Through the uses of social media, online advertising, and a company’s website, it can get this messaging out to prospects. However, for digital marketing to be effective, a digital brand needs to be established first. Digital branding gives a company it’s face and identity. It allows your customers to see the bigger picture than just what is shown in an ad for a product or service. Digital marketing gets a customer’s attention with the offer, but the digital branding ties it with the overall focus and goal for the brand. It establishes a deeper connection between the brand and the customer. It shows it’s not just about making a sale but it has a bigger purpose. Sometimes digital marketing complements digital branding so well that they appear as one. However, each plays an important role in specifying certain targets to collectively grow the company. If you need assistance with your marketing or branding, get in touch with me and I would be pleased to assist you along this path. Got a Project in Mind? GET IN TOUCH I collaborate with innovative brands to create cutting-edge digital experiences. Let’s connect!

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