Why a Website Audit is Necessary

regular website audit

You need to do a website audit – regularly!

Your website is your online shop window. It is the first impression you are giving to your new visitor regarding the credibility of your business. If a customer cannot navigate your website to find what they are looking for, they will have no faith in buying from you. You should want it to provide a good experience for your customers. Does it function correctly? Is anything broken? Have you checked lately?

Start with these four points:

1. What is your site speed? How long does it take for your website to load? If it takes too long, you may have just lost multiple visitors. If it’s not as quick as your competitors, you have just made a bad first impression.

2. Does the content on your site accurately describe what you are selling? This is not only important for your site visitors; even before anyone else sees it, Google has to value your website to ‘rank’ your business site in the search results.

3. Does your site work properly on mobile devices? Have you checked? If not, you are losing a lot of potential customers interested in your services.

4. Are parts of your site broken? Obsolete? What effect are these broken bits having on the overall performance of your site?

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Does Your Website Have These Important Design Elements?

website design elements

Need some quick tips on important design elements for your website?

There’s been a lot of testing and research done over the past couple of years, and it’s no surprise that more people are using mobile devices to find products or services. The one thing that may or may not come as a surprise is that many businesses haven’t adapted to these changes, or even tested their website. Prioritizing user experience should be the first thing you or your website designer should do.

Any website needs to have design elements that make the website easily seen, and also make it easy to navigate should be on the top of this list. Many websites are starting to get rid of images because they take too long for mobile devices to load, if too many are used. However, if you do use images, they should be scaled down, and the images should use text, such as a card menu seen on Microsoft homepage. This one easy design element shows people what they are looking for quickly, and describes it easily.

And if you’re doing to use video or animation, then fast-loading cinemagraphs are the way to go for mobile devices. These small half-photo, half-animated clips, are quite popular, and load quickly. Make sure that your copy is relevant to the visitor quickly depending on their query, and what got them to your website in the first place. Give a quick big picture of what your site is all about, and what you offer the minute the customer gets there. Realize they may be on a mobile device, and test it, or have your website designer continually test and improve the experience.

Make your site easy to navigate, create different designs for the different sections, but use a consistent theme. Use eye-catching transitions from section to section to keep the user interested. And make sure the font for your copy can be easily seen. Visitors still do the quick scan, so if they quickly scan, make sure you grab their attention quickly. Use custom visual and iconography, or images and symbols, that tells your brand story and shows some personality of who and what your business is about.

All of these design trends are based on statistics. And with the statistics comes the realization that effective website design that makes life easier for users when they visit your site, should be the main goal of you and your website designer. Your competitors are optimizing their websites, if you don’t optimize your site, then you will be left behind.

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Why An SEO Audit Is A Must

importance of an seo audit

An SEO audit is the first step to optimization.

So, you’re excited to get your business back into the SEO arena… that’s great! However, don’t let that excitement make you miss a crucial step before launching an SEO campaign — complete an SEO Audit first.

Forty-seven percent said in a survey that a full SEO audit should be conducted every six months. How often do you have an SEO audit done?

It is of extreme importance for you to gain an understanding of your SEO performance through an independent, objective, and unbiased SEO Audit.

Is your SEO performing well or not? Were benchmarks and goals set before the SEO campaign started?

Without an SEO Audit, you will not have a sound SEO strategy. Without a sound strategy, your SEO campaign will likely fall through, resulting in a complete waste of money.

Here’s some helpful information to give you an idea about the process and points that should be covered in an SEO Audit:

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/the-ultimate-seo-audit-checklist/
https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-site-audit-technical/

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Your Digital Marketing Strategy Needs To Be Aligned with your Business Goals

digital marketing strategy alignment

What is your digital marketing strategy?

Nearly half of businesses (44%) don’t have a clearly defined marketing strategy. For firms that are active in digital marketing, nearly half do not have a defined digital plan or strategy (47%).

No wonder many small businesses are struggling to understand why their online marketing campaigns aren’t delivering an ROI.

Successful businesses that are running online marketing campaigns that impact their bottom line are NOT doing it merely because their competitors are doing it too, but because they have drawn a clear path to how online marketing can help achieve their business goals.

A Marketing Audit has to be performed for you if you have a digital marketing campaign currently running or had one in the past. The next step is to consult with an expert to identify your goals, budget, benchmarks, implementation plan, and targets — producing an online Marketing Blueprint in the process.

Can a building be constructed without a blueprint? Can a building stand without a foundation? No. These principles hold true for your marketing.

Here are some variables that will shape your Marketing Blueprint:
  • Marketing Audit
  • Business Goals
  • Budget
  • Benchmarks
  • Consulting Services
  • Strategy Recommendations
  • Marketing Services
  • Backup Plan
  • Targets

Your marketing needs a foundation to stand on — your business goals. You need a plan for your marketing with all of the parts working together to reach new heights in line with your goals.

Your goals could be a mix in any of these categories:
  • Brand Exposure
  • Social Media Engagement
  • Website Traffic
  • Sales Targets
  • Target ROI

If you are willing to spend $1,000 to $3,000 a month – or $12,000 to $36,000 a year – then it makes sense to invest in a Marketing Blueprint to ensure a spot-on marketing campaign.

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Why do Digital Marketing Campaigns Fail?

digital marketing doesn't work

Too many businesses think digital marketing doesn’t work.  Here’s some real reasons why they fail.

Do you recognize any of the following signs?

1. You’re not visible on search engines and if you are visible, no one clicks to visit your website.
2. If visitors do click through and visit your website, they leave almost immediately.
3. You’re getting clicks, and website visitors aren’t leaving your website, but they’re not buying anything!

Sound Familiar? I’m sure you’re asking, “What can I do?”

It’s all about understanding who your customers are, their search behaviors, and the digital channels they use – and having the right product.

Online marketing allows your potential customer to be matched with your service to ensure that your product is the perfect one for them!

Here are additional tips:

1. Make sure you are doing SEO. This includes optimizing the titles and description of every page and optimizing your content to match the intent and context of the search.

2. It’s not just about getting potential customers to visit your website. You want them to become engaged with your content.

3. Your written content (the actual words/explanation/description of the product or service) is engaging, interesting. Relevant content will build trust and increase the probability of a visitor becoming a buyer.

So, know your audience, decide on your strategy and use the correct tactics. If you are unsure, seek advice.

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

5 Reasons Why You Need Digital Marketing

reasons to use digital marketing

Need some reasons to use digital marketing?  Here are five!

Customer behavior has changed. Now they go online to research and evaluate brands, products, and services. Your potential customers have gone digital, and so you need to as well.

1. Your prospective customers look online before buying!
Did you know that 81% conduct online research before buying? If your products and services cannot be found online, then you are missing out!

2. It works!
Thirty-three percent of mobile users have purchased from a different brand after seeing advertisements on their mobile devices. So if your website is not mobile-friendly, you’re losing 33% of buyers!

3. It levels the playing field.
If you are a small or medium-sized business, you can take on much larger competitors. To the online shopper, the size of a business is not that important online. If they see you as a business that provides better value, then that is all that matters.

4. It’s cost-effective. You do not have money to waste.
Wouldn’t it be great if every lead who viewed your product or service was a serious buyer looking to purchase? With digital marketing, all your potential customers are targeted and looking for your product or service. Google states a 2.8 times higher revenue growth for companies that use digital marketing techniques.

5. Track potential customers.
You can track customers from the first interaction. Imagine if you could follow your potential customers around and keep promoting your product. Digital marketing will do that for you.

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Great news for travel and hospitality industry business owners!

travel and hospitality industry news

Are you in the travel and hospitality industry?

Consumers are quickly shifting their reliance on digital channels for all of their travel preparation, from researching to booking.

Adobe Digital Insights forecasts online revenue growth for the travel industry, with spending expected to hit $98.02 billion.

The typical customer-traveler spent an average of 53 days browsing 28 different sites over 76 online sessions, with more than 50% of travelers checking social media for travel tips, according to a study by Nielsen.

The digital travel space worldwide will expand at an annual rate of 3.8% to reach $11.4 trillion over the next 10 years, as predicted by travel industry experts.

How’s your revenue forecast?

Need help boosting digital marketing for your travel or hotel business? What’s your plan of action?

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Top 3 Challenges to Tracking Your Digital Marketing ROI

track your digital marketing roi

Do you have a system to track your Digital Marketing ROI?

Do you have a way to quantify how your digital marketing efforts contribute to the bottom line?

MarketingProfs reported that 71% of marketing leaders and providers say attributing social and content to revenue is a top challenge to showing ROI.

49% say that aligning KPIs with overall business goals ranks as the next biggest hurdle, followed by 47% fail to track leads to revenue.

The figures above also suggest that 29%, 51%, and 53% respectively don’t have that problem.

So the top 3 problems are:
  • Attributing social and content to revenue.
  • Aligning KPIs to revenue.
  • Tracking leads to revenue

Are you having the same challenges? Do you have a compelling reason to learn more about this?

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Optimize Your Websites and Landing Pages And Increase Conversions

optimization

Don’t underestimate the value of optimizing your website and landing pages.

It might surprise you to know that a lot of business owners don’t optimize their websites.

And when we talk about optimization, we are not just talking about the speed of your website, although that is a big factor when it comes to the impatience of today’s web surfer.

In fact, everything on websites and landing pages can be optimized and refined so that they will increase conversions.

Speed should be the first thing that you look at, although it is probably the easiest thing to fix if there is a problem. You’ve got 3-6 seconds before a user will think there is something wrong with the page, or maybe that the page is down. You probably understand this if you are looking for something and have landed on a slow loading page before.

The next thing to take into consideration with speed is the headline or the first thing that a visitor sees when they hit the website or landing page. Another 0-8 seconds and if you don’t have the right headline, that potential customer is gone and searching somewhere else. Split testing headlines should be on top of your list.

You should always be testing, and if you find a winner, you don’t stop there. Website owners that get twice the sales are always optimizing headlines and copy.

Other things that you can do is take a look at your copy or your sales pitch. Customizing your sales pitch can increase conversions because it gives your visitor a more personalized experience. Make sure you are offering unique value to that potential customer. Offer something of value right up front, don’t waste the visitors time. Time is valuable and many people have a shortage of time and don’t want to waste time looking for what they need.

Offering something for free is another way to optimize for conversions, especially if you are getting their email in the process. There is almost no better way to get someone interested in what they are looking for than to offer them part of the solution for free, and then ask them what email you can send their free information to. Make that offer limited so they realize it’s not going to be around forever.

Optimization could also include features such as live chat. Live chat is great because if a customer doesn’t see something, and they see a chat box, they are more likely to try and ask about what they are looking for using a chat feature.

Exit overlays should be your last ditch effort to get the customers attention. Again, by telling a potential customer something like ‘Wait, don’t leave empty-handed, let us give you ‘insert product name’ for free just for visiting. You would be surprised how many conversions this will likely bring you.

This is just a small sample of some of the things you can do to optimize your website and landing pages for increased conversions.

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

Which Online Ad Pricing Model Is Best For Your Business?

online ad pricing model

Choose your online ad pricing model.

Digital advertising has been proven to be an effective tactic to increase your business’s visibility, traffic and sales. And there are many different digital advertising pricing models to choose from.

Here are 6:

1. Cost-per-click (CPC) – you pay for every click
2. Cost-per-mille (CPM) – you pay for every thousand ad impressions
3. Cost-per-mille-views (CPMV) – you pay for 1,000 viewed only ad impressions
4. Cost-per-interaction (CPI) – you pay when a user interacts with your ad, such as installing an app
5. Cost-per-lead (CPL) – you pay based on leads acquired
6. Cost-per-action (CPA) – you pay for a defined action, such as a user buying your product

Cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-mille (CPM) are the most common models, and an increased focus on performance-based advertising has increased the popularity of cost-per-action (CPA) and cost-per-lead (CPL) models, but they may or may not be the right fit for your business.

It’s important to evaluate which model is best for your business. Each type has different strengths, some of which may align better with your business’s goals. It may be useful to consider what growth stage your business is currently in, as well as where you want to go. And, of course, consider which is the best platform to use based on your business’s unique needs and goals.

Are you ready to grow your business now? If you’re ready to take the next step and make your business more profitable, please reach out to us.

If you like the information you are receiving, please share this post.

YouTube
YouTube
LinkedIn
LinkedIn