How to Land Almost Any Job on Upwork

For the past decade, I have consistently been one of the highest grossing freelance writers on Upwork (formerly Elance and oDesk), the largest freelance job site around. In four of those years, I was the #1 individual in the world for the writing category, and I can...

Use Content to Build Links & Your Brand in 2018

Content isn’t just something nice to have – it’s one of your most tangible brand assets. Use content to build effective backlinks that are going to stick, and actually benefit your business and brand. Content-oriented link building is some of the most effective link...

Does Modern Design Destroy Your Content Flow?

When a person visits a website, they are almost always searching for a very specific piece of information.   As writers and domain owners,we are always quick to assume that we know what that one thing is- people are here because they want to buy our products and...

Welcome to the New Upstate Synergy!

As you've probably noticed, we've fully overhauled our website and switched our brand name to Upstate Synergy.  Hopefully you like the new look and feel!  It was truly a labor of love that we spent entirely too much time on.  We're still polishing up some final...

Twenty-Seven Reasons to Never Hire a Website Designer

Never hire a website designer?  What kind of idiot would actually say that out loud?  Before you start throwing rotten tomatoes at your screen, just hear me out… After all, if you want a great cup of coffee, then you would visit the best coffee shop in your town.  If...

Web Synergy’s “Lunch with Friends” Campaign

Do you ever get the feeling that if you could only talk to some of your ideal customers and show them that you’re the real deal; that it could really change things in a dramatic way? I was thinking about that today when I realized that I have more clients in Los...

The Death of Keywords in 2018

I need to ask you an important question here- and be honest.  How much do you really focus on keywords these days? Well, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, and you have to promise not to tell anyone about this.  Not even those self-proclaimed SEO gurus that...

Creating a Powerful Content Marketing Plan in 2017

One of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to search optimization is that it takes mass amounts of content in order for a website to rank favorably.  To this very day, I still see businesses taking the quantity over quality approach…even though...

Making a New Year Resolution That Lasts

Now that we’re officially into the New Year and the celebrating has died down, I thought that it would be a great time to share a few words about New Year’s resolutions- that silly little thing we do each year when we promise ourselves awesome change and then forget...

A Very Merry Christmas to All

As a child, I can remember feeling sick with anticipation and excitement on Christmas Eve waiting for the morning to arrive; those were easily the longest nights of my life.  Just the thought of Santa somehow appearing in our South Florida home with a sleigh full...

Update on PackRise & New Clients

I just realized that it’s been a few months since I’ve updated my blog, so I wanted to first apologize to my clients and all the other folks that enjoy reading about the finer points of content marketing and search optimization.  I’ve been working extra-long hours...

Building the Ultimate Dealer Website for Selling Cars

Although it’s been on my to-do list for quite some time now to reach out to a few of the local Spartanburg car dealerships with horrible online presences, I simply haven’t had the time lately to try and add additional clients.  But since I’ve been writing sales copy...

Are You More Loyal to Client Success or Your Own Bottom Line?

I had an interesting conversation the other day with a manager of a classic car dealership in San Francisco, California- he called to tell me that he loved what I did with his local rival Specialty Sales Classics and he would like for me to take over some of his...

Does Online Marketing Work for Restaurants?

I had an interesting conversation with a local restaurant owner in Costco the other day as he tried to push his enormous cart of mozzarella, spices and tomato base towards the checkout counter.  As a former Italian restaurant owner myself, I knew his story without...

Think Twice Before Upgrading to Windows 10

As a life-long Windows user that’s always jumped at the chance to try out their latest operating systems, I have to admit that I’ve been one of those nerds that have pre-ordered a copy or hit my local Walmart at midnight just to become an early adopter.  I can still...
Does Online Marketing Work for Restaurants?

Does Online Marketing Work for Restaurants?

I had an interesting conversation with a local restaurant owner in Costco the other day as he tried to push his enormous cart of mozzarella, spices and tomato base towards the checkout counter.  As a former Italian restaurant owner myself, I knew his story without...

Newest Google Panda Update 4.2 Changes Rules on SEO

Newest Google Panda Update 4.2 Changes Rules on SEO

There’s some good news and some bad news revolving the launch of Google Panda’s 4.2 update that occurred last weekend, and I’m afraid the latter is really going to make some of my readers angry.  So let’s get that out of the way first. The latest Google Panda update...

Five Tell-Tale Signs of a Neglected Website

Five Tell-Tale Signs of a Neglected Website

If you’re like most business owners in the digital age, then you probably measure you’re website’s effectiveness by the number of customers that it delivers to your doorstep.  The more daily foot traffic that mentions seeing you online, the more time you invest on...

Learn to Write Amazing SEO Content

Learn to Write Amazing SEO Content

When it comes to writing SEO content for the search engines, Google and the other search providers have spoken loud and clear on the subject for over a decade now.  Forget about the keywords.  Stop aiming for certain word counts.  Just deliver high-quality content and...

Does Web Design Factor into Search Engine Rankings?

Does Web Design Factor into Search Engine Rankings?

Let’s pretend for a moment that I am your ideal customer. And when I say ideal, I’m not talking about someone that wants to speak to your sales staff or register for a product demonstration.  I mean that I’m THE customer; the one whale of a client you’ve been hoping...

Ignoring Your Website is Ignoring your Customers

Ignoring Your Website is Ignoring your Customers

Just a few days ago, I found an unbelievable steal on a 2014 Chrysler 300 for my parents.  They had been looking for a newer sedan for quite some time now and they absolutely fell in love with the 300’s tough-looking stance and superior luxury.  So when I saw that a...

Study- Online Marketing & the Death of Small Business

Study- Online Marketing & the Death of Small Business

In 2014, Google found that 50% of local smartphone searches led to a US customer visiting a brick and mortar store to make a purchase.  Tech researcher comScore found an even bigger correlation between online searches and local business traffic by stating that almost...

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How One Post on Warrior Forum Drove $400k in Sales

How One Post on Warrior Forum Drove $400k in Sales

As some of you already know, I’ve been posting on Warrior Forum for about three months now under the username "kk075". For those of you who don't visit there, it happens to be the largest online marketing community in the world. My initial goal was to pick up a few...