Website Development Archives

SEO-Snap

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Kersten

Why you’re doing it all wrong. Probably.

The Search Engine Optimization game changes A LOT, and if you’re not getting your SEO strategy right, then you’re definitely losing potential customers. Since the rules change so often, businesses need to have a solid plan in place to improve SEO rankings. Lucky for you, there are some relatively simple things that you can do to stay ahead of the game.

First of all, you have to know your customers (or potential customers). Knowing your audience will allow you to have an idea of how people search for your product or one like it. A retiree or Baby Boomer is not going to search the same way as a teenager or Millennial. So, think about what segment your biggest consumers come from. Or, in what segment of your consumer population would you like to see the most improvement? What phrases would your target use to search? If you’re not seeing good SEO results, you need to re-think who (and how old) your target audience is?

Next, keywords. Trying to be too specific or too broad is going to get your searchers and your company lost in a loooong list of competitors. Also, using single-word keywords instead of long-tail keywords is a MISTAKE. How do YOU search for something? Like a caveman? Ugh. Shoes. Grawp. No, you use whole sentences and sometimes even a question mark. Using very broad or popular keywords and hoping to get noticed is also a bad idea; keyword phrases should have a conversational feel, and be as specific to your company or product as possible.That way potential customers will be more likely to type in some sort of combination of your keywords. Trying to force keyword use in your on-site content is awkward and unnecessary too. If your brilliant keyword phrases worked and got the client to your site, then they want to see valuable content, not random reference words in nonsequiturs.

Additionally, if you’re not using digital marketing tools, you won’t know if your strategy is working, or if it needs some help. Management tools allow you to both better understand and track SEO. They let you see results more than just through an elusive “increase in business”. Analytics trackers and goal trackers are necessary for data visualization and being able to track your SEO efforts. Optimizing your SEO results and website takes time and constant improvements and data trackers are the best way to see how you’re doing.

Sources:

Here & here

How to Take Advantage of Webrooming

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Kersten

A true benefit if you know how to work it

Techopedia defines Webrooming as ‘a slang term for the consumer practice of researching products online before buying them in a physical store’.

Webrooming is a relatively new trend in shopper behavior that can work to a small business’ benefit if you know how to work it! Webrooming is the opposite of Showrooming—customers using stores as a showroom to examine products and make a decision about which to choose, but making their final purchase online. With Showrooming, small businesses can lose money when customers use their showroom to browse, then go home and buy online from somewhere else. Learning how to take advantage of Webrooming, however, can help small businesses recover the ground they have lost.

It’s always good to remember that most people prefer to buy in actual stores; the excitement of seeing, touching, even smelling their new find is more attractive than the convenience and (usually) better prices of online shopping. Also, try returning something you bought on the internet, it’s not exactly a pleasant and easy process.

To make Webrooming work for your business, you need to highlight the benefits of buying in an actual store, not a virtual one! Make shopping at your business an “experience”! A great idea is to focus on engaging customers with knowledgeable sales staff (expert advice always helps), and offer incentives like in-store smart-phone discounts or customer loyalty programs. Try to include the convenience of online shopping in the store experience by allowing customers the option of in-store pick-up of online purchases, or allowing them to order, in-store, the products they want in different colors, sizes, models, etc. Perhaps the most effective way to bring customers back into your store, and do some advertising in the process, is to engage shoppers through social media. Using location-based check-in applications like Foursquare, engaging shopper’s opinions through interaction with the business’ social media page (like a Facebook profile or Twitter account), or even encouraging customers to post photos and reviews to their own social media accounts. Get creative and get customers through your doors!

Sources were here, here & here.

It’s All Been Done

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Kersten

Soooo…you’re telling me you want original content?

According to a new study about website content, consumers want it to be original and custom to what you are selling (or your brand). From the study conducted by BusinessWire.com, we learned that 62% of Americans prefer original content directly from their brands. They state that consumers like to read tips on how to use the company’s products, don’t like a blatant sales pitch, and they much prefer personal client stories to celebrity testimonials. A whopping 96% of those polled said they didn’t want to hear about how a celebrity uses a company’s product…so much for the epidemic of celebrity addiction! 46% of respondents said that they read their favorite brand’s blog. Blogs by nature are (supposed to be) original, like journal entries. You can literally write about anything you want, like I’m doing now. Whatever your industry is, research if you need to, and then write. Honestly. Look at how interested people are in reading the aimless mental wanderings of total strangers on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Tumblr, flickr, Instagram, etc. Maybe it’s because people want to see if they agree or disagree with someone they don’t know. Who knows? But nobody ever liked a book-report.

The survey also showed that 60% of Americans wanted content and even articles about current issues from their favorite brands. They prefer to check it out on their favorite websites, rather than reading a news site or something not one of their favorite brands. Researching and writing your own information shows your customers that you are on top of things, involved in providing the content for your website, and that you have an opinion. So give your consumers what they want: a brand that is not lazy with its website content!