A reoccurring theme in discussions with our customers and across the industry this year was the need for new and improved technology tools to help businesses streamline operations. As some of the larger, more technically-savvy companies have disrupted the market by making promotional products more accessible (and “orderable”) online, we are seeing both distributors and suppliers struggle with enhancing their digital accessibility and ability to maintain accurate, customer-friendly product information across multiple platforms.

On the distributor side, the average company in our industry doesn’t have the internal resources or expertise to design and build a robust product research and shopping website. The expectation from end users, however, continues to rise as a growing number of promotional product buyers come into this industry who are used to a simple, electronic shopping experience.

DistributorCentral can help distributors that are seeking new technology tools to set them apart from their competition. Access to our Responsive Website Editor is free for Distributors. Switching your current site or designing a new site on our platform provides a great opportunity to redesign and rethink the way you display your products and present your business.

The fourth quarter is the perfect time to start planning online strategy for the new year. Join our Responsive Website Editor Intro Webinar on October 26th. In this webinar we will discuss “responsive” and “mobile-friendly” sites in general, and why it’s important to provide your users with a responsive and mobile friendly browsing experience. We will show you how to create a new website, add a company logo, modify content and also talk about how to create and add catalogs, custom links and more. We will also touch on some of the features for advanced users such as custom CSS, SEO and JavaScript. See Upcoming Events below to register.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the activity of ensuring that a website can be found in search engines for words and phrases relevant to what the site is offering, primarily focusing on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to improve rankings, drive traffic and increase awareness in search engines.

Whether you already have a website or are planning to build a fresh site using DistributorCentral’s Responsive Website Editor, understanding the most basic, effective SEO practices that you can do yourself can make a huge difference to your site’s performance since the majority of web traffic is driven by major commercial search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!

There is an art and a science to SEO, and an endless array of websites and SEO professionals out there who can help optimize your website, but the following are a few easy tips to help you improve your SEO that you can do yourself.

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Since the invention of marketing, there have always been buzzwords that generally elicit groans shortly after they are introduced. In 2016, ones that come to mind are storytelling, disruptor, pain points, transparency, and thought leader. Perhaps that one that trumps them all is “content is king.”

In today’s give first economy, people are craving content gives them insight to their specific business challenges. Take this publication for example: the CentralZone has a monthly reach of a bit over 31,000 and an average open rate of 34%. While I’m not mathematician, that adds up to about 10,500 people who read it every single month. Given those numbers, maybe I should put a little more effort into my articles…but I digress.

The point is that while the phrase “content is king” is annoying, it’s very true. Even if you don’t feel confident in your writing enough to start a blog, don’t want to record a podcast, or find the thought of recording small videos abhorrent, you can engage with your clients by sharing content. To ensure that the content you share makes the desired connection, you have to make sure that it’s Meaningful, Relatable, and Sharable...

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Contributing Author
brandivate is a full-service executive outsourcing team that specializes in helping small to medium sized promotional products distributors profitably - and responsibly - grow their business.

Distributor Features Overview Webinar, Hosted by Tiffany Tarr, CAS

In this webinar we will go over "How to Get Started in DC" and how to use all of DistributorCentral's features. All participants will be eligible for a Self-Promo Offer sponsored by a DC Pro or Platinum Supplier.

October 26, 2016- 1:00pm - 2:00pm CT
REGISTER HERE!

Responsive Website Editor Webinar, Hosted by David Shultz

In this webinar we will preview DC's new fully-responsive, mobile-friendly website platform that allows your users to easily build and maintain e-commerce websites that adapt to any device. Plus a question and answer session at the end.

October 26, 2016- 3:00pm - 4:00pm CT
REGISTER HERE!

Submit your photo by Nov 1st, at 12 p.m. ET.

Fall is upon us! We are dying to see how you can top last year’s winners with the most creative jack-o’-lanterns that incorporate the use of promotional products or your company logo!

Three categories will have one winner:
Overall Most Creative
Best Use of Promotional Products
Best Representation of Company Logo

Full Contest Details

• Indigo Spark
• Sarge Knives
• Mac Specialties
• The Chest
• Posh Xessories