Category: Website Development

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Marketing Strategy Website Development

A Look at the Future of SEO: What Is Coming in 2020?

It’s no secret that having a strong online presence for your brand is crucial if you want to keep up with your industry’s competitors. But, you won’t get very far without ensuring that your audience can find you on their own.

So, you’ll need to stay informed on contemporary SEO trends as well as the future of SEO.

Not sure where to start? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about what to expect in 2020.

1. Website Security Is Crucial

With cybercrime expected to become a multi-trillion dollar industry, there is a greater need than ever to protect your site against hackers.

Not only are you at risk of getting your intellectual property stolen and lapses in productivity, but you’ll also deter potential customers from using your site if there is a noticeable lack of security.

People these days are often very vigilant of where they input their personal info. As such, you’ll need to ensure that your website incorporates HTTPS protocol to both protect your website from attacks and convey to your users that their information is safe.

2. Prioritize Video

By 2022, nearly all Internet traffic is anticipated to come from online video. While this isn’t to say that people won’t have the desire to read blog posts and informative articles, it will highly benefit your brand to incorporate video content.

This also applies to Facebook and Instagram, as well. If you’re having trouble thinking of ideas, things like product reviews, behind-the-scenes looks, and product/service announcements are solid video concepts.

3. Incorporate Voice Search

As our access to information gets faster, people often become lazier. Voice search will see a rise in popularity due to the convenience it provides.

What this means for brands is the need to incorporate keyword phrases that reflect how people would speak to their phone when searching.

For example, most people are likely to type “Mexican restaurants Los Angeles” but are likely to speak“where is the best Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles?”

So, keep this in mind when creating your content and SEO tags to optimize how many people will reach your site.

4. Quality Mobile UX Is Key

Mobile traffic is expected to experience a sharp increase up until 2021. This means you’ll need to start preparing for it now.

Optimizing mobile UX on your site includes:

  • Appropriately-sized icons and links
  • Formatting
  • Minimalist design to reduce loading times
  • Social media buttons to make sharing content simple

If you have a store on your site, you should also ensure that navigating through it is as simple as possible. Similarly, the ‘search’ option should be easy for your site’s visitors to find and use.

The Future of SEO in 2020: Final Thoughts 

With the above information about the future of SEO in mind, you’ll be well on your way to making the best decisions for your company online.

Want to learn more about what changes to expect in social media in 2020? Check out our article about social media trends that you need to know! 

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Marketing Strategy Website Development

5 Crucial Website Best Practices for Higher Conversions

A website for your business doesn’t guarantee that customers are going to like it—or spend their cash when they visit.

If your website is poor, you can’t expect visitors to put their faith in you. Your site is your image, your image is your reputation, and your reputation is everything.

That’s why it’s important to build your website with conversions in mind. Your website needs to be built to sell—and you need to know how.

Here are 5 website best practices you can implement when you’re designing a site for higher conversions.

Ensure Quick Loading Times

How fast does your site load? A slow website means you’re losing potential customers. More than half of all mobile users click off a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

If you’re using WordPress, reduce your site load by removing any unnecessary plugins and developing a lightweight theme. Check out your web host and see if you need to move your site to another provider.

If it’s not your host, it might be your content. Images, videos and some parts of your code should be hosted on a faster content delivery network (CDN) to reduce loading speeds further.

Write Persuasive Content

No content? Or just plain old poor content? Then you’ve not got a website worth visiting.

Without good copy, your business doesn’t stand a chance of converting new visitors into customers. That’s why Google suggests that the most important thing your site needs is high-quality content.

Information should be tailored to your audience and your niche. Good content that offers something useful won’t just sell well. It’ll help your site rank well on Google, offering an organic way to bring in new customers.

Your content should be detailed, unique, and well-written. Don’t forget to include useful videos and images to support your written text, too.

Make It Easy to Navigate

If your users can’t navigate your site easily, they won’t stick around. One of the most important web design best practices to consider is simple, easy navigation.

Have a navigation bar at the header of your site page, but don’t go overboard with options. Categorize your site into areas.

If you’ve got a lot of content then include a search bar for users. A quick “back-to-the-top” button should be displayed in the bottom corner of your site to allow users to return to the top of a page.

Use a Responsive Design for All Devices

The best web designers know that they can’t build websites that are only built for desktop PCs. That’s why you need to design your site using responsive web design.

With a responsive design, you’ve got one website that loads on any type of device or screen size. Smaller screens like a smartphone will show a smaller layout, while bigger devices like laptops will be bigger.

You’re offering the same content on one website, while providing a streamlined experience for everyone, no matter what device they use.

Build an Email Marketing List

New businesses need new customers, but what if you could convert past customers? Start an email marketing list and include signups across your website.

This can help you promote offers and deals to tempt previous customers back to your business. It can also help you build your site profile. If you’ve got new content you want to share, you can share it with your email list first.

Here are 6 simple tips to help you boost your email marketing efforts this year.

Adopt These Website Best Practices

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve got the most incredible product or service in the world. If you don’t include some of these website best practices, you’re probably losing money.

Keep your design simple, quick, and responsive. Don’t forget good content, and use a marketing list to turn one-shot visitors into repeat customers.

Still unsure whether you’re getting the best conversions out of your website? Get in touch and we’ll discuss what we can do to improve your business marketing strategy.

Categories
Marketing Strategy Website Development

5 Super Effective Lead Magnet Ideas for 2019

Every business wants tons of free leads.

What is a lead? In the simplest terms, it’s an individual or organization that has an interest in what you’re selling.

But selling is becoming harder according to 35% of salespeople. It now takes an average of 8 calls to get in touch with a prospect after they make initial contact.

For this reason alone, more and more companies are focusing on converting more quality leads instead of more leads overall.

To convert a lead, you need to obtain their contact information. To get their contact information, you need to offer them something valuable in return for their filling out a contact form. The best way to do that is through lead magnets.

Lead magnets represent your best giveaway ideas. They offer more value than other CTAs.

For example, not every visitor on your website will want to sign up for your email newsletter. Others may prefer long-form materials that can help them answer a question or solve a problem.

Here are five lead magnet ideas you can try in 2019.

1. Reports and White Papers

According to one poll, 79% of B2B buyers said white papers are the materials they are most likely to share with colleagues.

Creating a white paper is often an investment. The best white papers include original, proprietary research. But white papers are perhaps the most high-value form of content you can offer for free.

If you’re a B2B business, white papers may be the most effective form of content in your arsenal.

2. Checklists

Checklists are simple but beautifully designed documents that help your leads keep track of tasks. Be sure to create checklists for tasks that your target audience might perform.

For example, if you sell project management software to small businesses, you could offer a checklist for starting new projects.

3. Webinars

Webinars may take some production time to create, but they’re almost as valuable as white papers. You can run a webinar with your own team, or you can bring in experts from outside your company.

Some influencers may be willing to do a webinar with you for a fee. But the ROI of that investment could be astronomical in terms of leads. Once your webinar is done, create post-webinar reports, blog posts, and other materials to obtain even more leads.

4. Free Online Tools

Like checklists, free online tools are designed to be helpful to your target audience. You may need a programmer on hand to design the tool, but once it’s up and running, it will be easy to gate it behind a form.

Consider what your customers need. Then, provide them with a tool that makes their lives easier. If you’re a software vendor, you can even provide them with a limited free version of your product.

5. Free Consultations

Not everyone will be interested in a consultation. But your most qualified leads may be interested in free services like business coaching or niche advice.

Naturally, this type of lead magnet depends on your business. But even if you sell a product, you can offer free consultations on how to use it.

Get More Lead Magnet Ideas

If you’re still struggling to figure out how to make a lead, don’t worry. There are plenty more lead magnet ideas that can help you accomplish the task.

To learn more, contact our business growth consultancy today.

Categories
Marketing Strategy Website Development

How to Move from DIY to Pro Website Development

website development

Upgrading your existing website may seem like an impossible and daunting task. However, with the help of a professional, it doesn’t have to be.

Having a basic website is only going to get you so far. Customers may make negative judgments about a company if the website is too basic.

The benefits of switching to a professional website developer will help ensure a positive impression for any website visitor. This way, your site will be looking and functioning better than it ever has.

The following information will help you make this switch:

Why Switch Your Website’s Host?

Sometimes, a certain web location has slow load times and high costs. Perhaps your website is lagging and not accommodating your audience. These are all valid reasons to switch web hosts.

Moving a website to a new web host is similar to moving into a new home in real life. You search for a new location, sign the necessary paperwork to rent hosting space, and then transfer your “belongings” over to the new server.

Then there’s directing the domain to the new host by changing the DNS record. It’s kind of like hanging up a sign for a new business.

Next, to opting for professional help, switching site servers might be the best decision you ever make.

Why Professional Website Development is Better

While transferring the data over to the new site, some of it might get lost or corrupted. Links might come up as broken and graphics might not appear.

Professionals know the nuances of website development. They understand how to tweak the website and make sure everything runs smoothly.

After switching a site over to a new web host, professionals can build this website into something better than its original form.

Unfortunately, professionals can’t work on the website until the owner switches over to a new web host. This leads me to my next point:

Making the Big Switch

After purchasing a new web host, it’s time to migrate the website over to the new host.

Static files are any type of file that does not frequently change either automatically or through a content editor. In order to back up a static website, copy the old file structures over to the new web host.

An easy way to move files into a CMS site (like WordPress) is to put them in a zip folder and transfer it all to the “public_html” or “www” folder.

Make sure to double check that everything works well on the website once the files have been loaded onto the new hosting configuration.

After all this, it’s important to change the website’s DNS records. A DNS record is like a set of instructions that specify where to send the user.

Switching the DNS record to the new server guarantees visitors will find the site they’re looking for.

The migration can take as little as one hour or up to two days. It depends on a site’s size and the amount of data it contains.

Don’t run the import process more than once. Doing so can cause duplicated or missing data and errors in the new database.

What Are You Waiting For?

Don’t settle for basic website development when a professional can help. Switching site builders can be the most rewarding internet experience anyone could ask for.

Contact an expert to learn more about how you can get professional help for your site. You won’t be sorry.