The Digital Shift Blog

How to Respond to Negative Reviews: The 10 Best Practices (and Response Examples!) Even though every business gets them, negative online reviews still cut deep. Whether justified or not, you’ll probably want to send a response defending your business immediately. After all, 97% of people say that online reviews—both positive and negative—impact their decision about […]

Need Help With a Suspended Listing? Discovering your Google My Business account has been suspended can leave you feeling vanquished. Not to mention, it’s a frustrating experience because Google won’t tell you what went wrong to maintain the privacy of its users. While it’s not ideal, it’s important to know what to do if you […]

Google My Business Insights vs. Google Analytics: What's The Difference? While Google My Business Insights and Google Analytics are both important metrics, they each measure different things. Business owners should be made aware of these differences to better understand how each metric impacts their overall local marketing goals. Google Analytics shows traffic and activity that […]

The Risks of Cheap SEO Services As most business owners know, search engine optimization is a key part of your digital marketing strategy. It helps get your content ranking on Google's first page, where it can be seen by your target audience in organic search results. Without SEO, your website and digital content has no […]

If you have a business, you have a website — and if you have a business website, you've probably heard of SEO. But when you try to find out what an SEO agency does, exactly, and whether you actually need to hire one, all you get is a lot of buzzwords like "conversion rate optimization."  […]

Top 20 Questions to Ask Before Investing in a Franchise So you want to invest in a franchise. You've done your research and looked into what type of franchise you're interested in running, and perhaps you've even connected with a franchisor in your area. Before your initial meeting, it's important to ensure you're prepared by […]

What You Must Know About Google Maps Marketing Your Google Maps listing is a critical marketing tool for your business. Not only is it an entirely free service, but it will also help you get discovered by new customers, generate more business and stand out from your competitors. But why is Google My Business (GMB) […]

What You Must Know Before Hiring Your Next GMB Manager Whether it's a small, independent shop or a major corporation with multiple locations, being a business owner is a lot of work. It's not just about making a product or offering a service anymore—you also have to be a marketing and technology whiz to help […]

SEO vs. PPC vs. Social Media:  Which is Better? If you're a business owner, then you know how important marketing is. You've probably heard of SEO and PPC, and are likely already using a social media account to try to bolster your business. But all too often, we hear from entrepreneurs who are not getting […]

Did you know that 90% of customers read your reviews before visiting your business? Among those, reviews on Google My Business are some of the most trusted. Additionally, 85% of customers don’t trust reviews that are more than three months old and 40% of people only look at reviews from the past two weeks. It […]

When thinking about Social Media, businesses usually gravitate towards a few key platforms - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. But one of the most overlooked Social Media platforms is Google My Business. This platform can help to support your overall digital strategy when used effectively, and really deserves more attention than it currently receives. Many […]

There are 1.62 billion daily active users on Facebook. That means everyone, from your grandmother to your nephew, is using the social media platform. What does this statistic mean for business owners? It tells us that our customers are on social media, specifically Facebook. And if your customers are there, so should your business. Maintaining […]