E-Newsletter
An Electronic Publication of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
Inside this edition, you’ll discover the latest Chamber initiatives and success stories from across our region. From economic development projects and upcoming networking events to policy updates and workforce training opportunities, we’re keeping you connected to what matters most for your business and North Central Massachusetts.
The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is here to help – with trusted resources, a strong business network, and a support system to keep your business and the region moving forward
Your company website is the first impression nearly all of your customers have of your business. If it’s not optimized for search engines, though, potential customers may never see you. Search engines have artificial-intelligence “bots” that scour the internet for websites that match a user’s search query, and the more attractive your website is (Search Engine Optimized, or SEO), the closer to the top of the rankings it will be and the more traffic you’ll receive.
If you’re struggling with visitors to your small business website, there are a few tricks you can employ to increase unique site visitors.
On-page SEO doesn’t just mean a great website. It’s also a website that’s constructed properly and easily found. Here’s a handy checklist:
Quality content adds value to the user experience and enhances your SEO. Your ideal customer isn’t just searching your website arbitrarily – they have a need and are looking for specific ways to have it met. When you offer how-to video guides for your products, well-written blogs about trends in your industry, or even detailed e-books, you’re creating a website that’s rich in useful information.
Not only will this strong content strategy increase your visibility, but you’ll also position yourself and your business as a trusted authority in your field. When your customers trust you and depend on your insight and information, they’ll become repeat customers.
The right terms in your content attract the attention of search engine bots and help boost your rankings. Large companies can afford to dismiss more niche keywords and long-tail strings of keywords and phrases, but smaller businesses can’t.
Focus your content on more specific keywords and ones that relate more specifically to your business and brick-and-mortar address. Location-specific keywords are important, too, so be sure to use your city and state, plus nearby towns, in your content.
Good content won’t just earn you new site visitors. You’ll also acquire backlinks, where other sites link your content to their site. These links add value to your SEO and improve your position as a trusted authority.
Not all links are good ones. Types of links that improve the value of your website include:
The algorithms that major search engines use change from time to time, and an SEO strategy that worked a few years ago may not be effective now. Google programs its bots to provide results that match important keywords and relevant, fresh content. Keep your site updated, and look for changes announced by the major search engines.
A great website is perhaps the single best marketing tool for your small-to-medium business. Making sure that it’s visible to new and returning users through smart and effective SEO can help your business grow.
Article Source: SHNS
Author: Sam Doran
The Republican ranks in the Massachusetts House may soon grow even lighter as Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday nominated a Groton GOP lawmaker for a court post.
Baker nominated Rep. Sheila Harrington, the ranking Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, to serve as clerk magistrate of the Gardner District Court.
Harrington’s nomination needs confirmation by the Governor’s Council, which approves the vast majority of court appointments.
Councilor Eileen Duff on Wednesday scheduled a public hearing on Harrington’s nomination for Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 10 a.m.
An attorney, Harrington was first elected to the House in 2010 in a district that runs along the New Hampshire border, including Ashby, Townsend, Pepperell, Dunstable, Groton, and part of Ayer. She served on the six-member conference committee that crafted the compromise version of a sweeping criminal justice reform bill in 2017-2018.
She narrowly won her most recent reelection bid in 2020, keeping her First Middlesex House seat with 51.5 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Deborah Busser, also of Groton.
Harrington broke with the GOP caucus last year as the only Republican to vote against restoring an eight-year term limit for House speakers, and again as the sole Republican to vote in favor of the House’s vaccine mandate for lawmakers and staff working in-person at the State House.
The House Republican caucus has already dropped by six members in the last four years. The roster has stood at 29 members, or around 18 percent of the House, since Rep. Brad Hill resigned last September for a post on the state Gaming Commission.
A 1985 New England School of Law graduate, Harrington, 61, has operated her own law office in Groton and Harvard since 2000, according to her resume, focusing on family law, personal injury, and general litigation, and real estate conveyancing.
She was previously a partner in firms Alter & Harrington and Casey & Harrington, and was an associate in the Fitchburg law offices of George Watts and the Harvard firm of Robert Casey Jr. She was also a liability claims supervisor in the bodily injury claims unit at The Travelers Companies.
The top clerk position in Gardner opened up last spring, according to the governor’s nomination letter, when Clerk Magistrate Whitney Brown departed to accept a District Court judgeship. Unlike judgeships, which come with a mandatory retirement age of 70, clerk magistrates receive a lifetime appointment.
You’ve probably heard that content is king multiple times already, and you’re almost getting tired of hearing it. But with consumer demand for custom content continually increasing, you must get your content in order if you want to reap the right benefit. Statistics from SEMrush show that more than 80% of companies have a content marketing strategy. Moreover, most of your site visitors only end up there after looking at some specific details they need. Therefore, you have to get your content marketing right to boost your traffic and increase conversions.
Unfortunately, even with content marketing being a critical aspect in any enterprise, research shows that only 32% of marketers consider themselves effective at it. We have come up with four critical things in content marketing that will help you improve your strategy. Keep reading for more insights.
Content marketing isn’t just about writing and doing more writing and waiting for the desired results. You’ll have to take your time and think about what your content strategy should be before you write your first post. Also, you have to know your target audience, the message that will resonate with them, and the added value of your products or services. If you don’t know who you want to attract to your site and what they expect from you, there are fewer chances of turning your traffic into conversions.
About 89% of marketers used blog posts as part of their content marketing strategy in 2020 to build more brand awareness. However, if you think that having a blog and updating it from time to time will deliver success in your content marketing strategy, think again. You have to be consistent in blogging to increase traffic to your website. Your audience love to go through interesting blogs and active ones too. Post to your blog at least 16 times a month while still maintaining the highest quality in each piece for better results. Besides, this is a clever way of showing your audience that your company is active since you’ll always have something to show and tell your clients.
We can all agree that technology and the internet keep evolving at a very high rate. Also, today’s audience, especially the young generation, keeps switching from one platform to another. You will find that millennials love Instagram, salespeople like LinkedIn, and we know that most of our Chamber members are active users of Facebook and/or Twitter. Therefore, you need to do in-depth research to understand your target audience to have an effective content marketing strategy. When you have the right information about your target audience, you will know the social media platform to focus on when creating content.
Contrary to what social media experts might tell you, there is a single platform that is best for your content: your blog. Google will crawl and index your content more frequently if you have a blog and use it to post your most timely content. After posting your content to your blog, post to your social sites as outposts that engage your audience and lead to better relationships.
Content marketing isn’t a one-time thing or something you can do once a week or a month. This is especially true when you are sharing your content on social media. You will need to constantly supervise your content, even past the usual working hours and during the weekends. This is because you don’t want a negative comment attracting many eyes, especially those who haven’t used your products or services. Also, keeping in mind that your site is accessible from any part of the globe, you don’t know when someone will read your post.
Marketing experts say content marketing is a core factor of any good marketing strategy. By taking into account the above details, you will see significant improvements in your content marketing plan. Don’t just embrace it because every marketer does it but do it right to get the right outcomes.
Mount Wachusett Community College, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, is launching a bridge program for eligible service members and veterans to earn and maintain their National Registry of Emergency Medical Technician (NREMT) certification.
The program enables US Army Combat Medics to earn credit for their military training and experience, smoothing the transition to the civilian workforce while enhancing career opportunities for Reserve Component members.
“It gives us tremendous pride to offer this program to our service members,” stated MWCC President James Vander Hooven. “The Mount is a leader in both veteran services and preparing first responders and healthcare professionals, and this program is a natural fit for our college and community.
“The gap between military training and college education can sometimes be enormous. That’s probably why there are so few programs like this,” notes Robert Mayer, Director of Veteran Services at MWCC. “I’m thrilled that a way of bridging that gap has been worked out here at MWCC. I am optimistic that this could be a first step in narrowing that gap for many in our transitioning military population.”
Military medic to paramedic programs were first established in 2017 in Michigan. MWCC is one of only a handful of higher education institutions to offer this bridge program. The MWCC Paramedic Technology program was launched in 2018 and has since seen a 100% employment rate for graduates.
Workers Credit Union donated more than $400,000 to 175 charitable organizations in 2021. This year they are launching a new program called “Workers Kindness,” which gives its members a voice in how some of that money is allocated each quarter. “There is no one better to determine where we should donate than our members living in the communities we serve,” says Workers Credit Union President and CEO Doug Petersen. “This program ensures our giving is aligned with the causes that are important to them.”
Under the Workers Kindness program, each quarter members receive a voting call to action via email, online/mobile banking, and web alerts. By clicking on the survey link, members can “vote their kindness” from a slate of pre-selected charities and nominate organizations for inclusion on future ballots. Early reaction to the program has been strong with thousands of members responding. Donations will be made to the organizations that are proportional to the support they receive from members.
This program reflects Workers Credit Union’s overall commitment to charitable giving and improving the lives of both its members and their communities. Workers Credit Union staff devoted more than 2,000 hours to volunteering in 2021. The credit union also returned $2.2 million to its members through its Workers GiveBack program, now in its ninth year and having returned more than $25 million to members.

When the workday ends and the lights go down, Custom Cleaning Service of Peabody, Inc. gets to work. “We operate as our clients’ silent partner after business hours,” says Adam Paicos, of Templeton, who now serves as Director of Operations and oversees the company’s expansion into North Central MA. “We are not often seen, but we ensure facilities are clean, secure, and ready for business each day while serving as the eyes and ears for our clients when they are not on site.”
Discover local business stories through our Inside North Central Massachusetts Podcast series. Listen as Chamber members share their journeys, insights, and contributions to our thriving regional business community.
Looking for your next opportunity? Explore current job openings from employers across North Central Massachusetts on our Jobs Board. Whether you’re starting a new career or making a change, you’ll find a variety of local positions available to help you take the next step.
CapEx Facility Services & Construction · Leominster, MA
TaraVista Behavioral Health Center · Harvard, MA
DRS Power Technology, Inc. · Fitchburg, MA
AIS · Leominster, MA