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Elements of Effective Mobile Website Design

November 30th, 2011

mobile web design It’s never too late to implement a useful mobile website design or update your current one. With more users searching on mobile devices, it’s helpful to look at some fundamental things to keep in mind that will help enhance your customers’ browsing experience. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I really need a mobile website?

Depending on your business, a mobile site could be helpful or not so much. First, sit down and think of why you want a mobile version of your site. Do you want to help local searchers who are on the go? Will the mobile site be an extension of your desktop site? What key features of your site do you want to highlight on the mobile version?

2. Is my design simple enough for a mobile device?

A simple website design is always better than a cluttered one, especially when it comes down to a mobile format. A clean layout will help customers find what they’re looking for and it will also help with your site’s load time. Many times, users will face spotty signals or slow wireless connections. Many web designers will recommend using lots of white space and a single column design to accommodate a smaller screen. Also think about how your site will look in both portrait and landscape mode on the mobile device.

3. What is your call to action and how easily can it be found?
The call to action on your mobile website should match your desktop site. Customers should be able to see this message clearly and do it in as few steps as possible. For mobile devices, you’ll want to emphasize location with calls to action that include phone numbers, maps/directions and even click to call options. Don’t bury this information deep within your mobile site but don’t make it so front and center that customers can’t find anything else!

4. Have you tested your mobile website?

Testing is important on a regular website but mobile can make things more complicated. Remember to test on iPhone platforms as well as Android-based devices. If you don’t have real phones to test, there are many different tools that you can use.

Hopefully, you’ll have a better idea of what you want to achieve with a new mobile site design. Check out these helpful resources below and let us know what you think!

Helpful Resources:
6 Brilliantly Designed Mobile Sites
Developing mobile sites
Uncovering The Best Mobile SEO Resources On The Web

Tags: mobile phone design, mobile website, website design
Posted in web design | No Comments »

Cyber Monday and Your Ecommerce Site

November 29th, 2011

Cyber Monday is over but some retailers, like Walmart, have extended the event into something even bigger…Cyber Week! Sales for Cyber Monday have continuously grown over the years, so expect online retailers and shoppers to take advantage of all the online buzz.
Online sales for Cyber Monday 2011 are expected to break records yet again, the total for 2010 was $1.03 billion in sales.

Here are some more interesting statistics via Get Elastic:

- 64% of adults shop online for holiday gifts because they believe they will get the best prices and deals
- 52% of online shoppers will spend more than one hour researching the best price for each holiday purchase
- 49% of online shoppers use social sources to find gift ideas
- 92% of online retailers are offering deals over Thanksgiving weekend (80% linked to Cyber Monday)

Are you a part of this growing holiday shopping phenomenon? If not, it’s time to take a look at why your online store isn’t using this word of mouth advertising to your advantage. Do you need help with e commerce design or social media? These are all great ways to start building a foundation for the busy season, long before it starts. Remember, there is still time to prepare for Christmas, and even the beginning of the year in 2012. Check out our free site analysis to see how we can help your ecommerce store live up to it’s great potential.

Tags: cyber monday, ecommerce designers, ercommerce store, holiday shopping, infographics, small business strategies
Posted in ecommerce | No Comments »

Thinking of Search Engine Ranking Factors?

November 25th, 2011

Have you thought about how search engine ranking factors affect your website lately? SEOmoz recently released their findings on these factors using a large scale data analysis. Of course, Google (and other search engines) won’t reveal exactly how they determine rankings, which is why Check out the detailed report here.

Let’s take a look at a few factors that have strong potential in affect your rankings:

Social metrics: Social behavior is an important factor. What exactly do visitors do when they’re on your site? Twitter, Facebook and Google+ is obvious but social sharing also counts when someone shares a page via email or subscribes to your RSS feed. All these seemingly small factors lead to bigger picture.

Bounce rate: Does your site have a relatively high or low bounce rate? A high bounce rate can mean many different things. Most importantly, this is a crucial indication that your content isn’t helpful or that visitors aren’t finding what they’re looking for. From a visual perspective, a messy site is unappealing to search engines as well as human visitors. This is where implementing a search engine friendly web design can help lower your high bounce rate.

Keyword usage: Keyword stuffing is sure to sink your search rankings. Keeping to a strict keyword density may seem like too much, but it’s an effective way to make your page more relevant and seem less spammy. Using similar keywords and diversifying your content will make your website more helpful to visitors who will stay on your site for a longer period of time.

Google has many factors in determining how a web site should be ranked. Isn’t it time you stayed caught up? What other important factors do you think small business owners should keep their eye on?

Tags: search engine ranking factors, search engine web marketing, seo, seo moz
Posted in search engine optimization | Comments Off

Would Your Website Make a Worthy Thanksgiving Meal?

November 22nd, 2011

It’s almost Thanksgiving, are you hungry yet? If thinking about dinner tomorrow night isn’t enough to excite you, I’ll do my best to make things interesting by comparing it to your website!

Turkey – At Thanksgiving, we all have turkey on the brain. Do you feel the same way about your website? You can look at a turkey as it represents your site as one whole entity. From a first impression, we can tell if a turkey is going to be delicious or disgusting. And that’s how quick potential customers will judge your site. While an attractive website is enticing, you’ll have to have real substance before customers want to move on or dig in any further.

Stuffing – A turkey dinner can’t be complete without stuffing and your website shouldn’t be complete without quality content. Would you say that your content is bland and mushy, or does it have unique seasonings that showcase great textures? Trust me, it would be truly disappointing to get a great slice of turkey only to find out it was paired with something that’s essentially inedible.

Cranberry sauce – When you think of cranberry sauce, does the image of a jellied log come to mind? Think of this element like your web design. Is it a boring template that looks like it literally fell out of a can? Or is it a rich layout with original features to accommodate your small business?

Mashed potatoes – Who doesn’t love mashed potatoes? Although this is a popular side dish, it really doesn’t cut it on its own. Social media marketing is like mashed potatoes in that it complements the main event of a meal – your website. Good mashed potatoes can make a great website even better. But have you ever been satisfied with tasty potatoes with lackluster turkey? I didn’t think so.

Dessert – The crème de la crème to round off your Thanksgiving meal. Think of dessert as your reason for keeping customers interested and bringing them back. Will your customers be back for another meal or will your forgettable website give them indigestion?

An internet marketing firm doesn’t just create websites. Think of a company as a helpful tool to create an attractive gateway to your business. And like a turkey, don’t forget that your website should truly be the star of your show. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Tags: online marketing, seo web site design, thanksgiving, website design
Posted in search engine optimization | No Comments »

Why is an SEO Analysis Important?

November 18th, 2011

Search engine optimization is a great tool for small business. But what good is it if you don’t undergo a proper SEO analysis?

Before you dedicate your resources to executing search campaigns or other online marketing services, an SEO analysis will help you understand the areas of your website that you need to work on as it relates to your competitors.

No matter how well-optimized your website is, it doesn’t exist as a singular entity. Depending on the competitiveness for your desired keywords, your rankings will constantly change unless you put in a consistent amount of work to maintain your position.

Although SEO analyses are usually done when a site is first built, it doesn’t hurt to do a regular analysis. Usually, it’s helpful to do this at least every couple of months. This will give you time as search engines crawl new content and adjust your rankings. You can even analyze organic traffic on a month to month basis and tie those into keywords that you want to be associated with. It helps to keep a regular list of keywords that you want to rank for and keep track of them to see the progress you’ve made.

When new updates are made or fresh content is added, links and pictures may get broken. You can thoroughly test the usability of your website across different browsers to ensure that everything is working as it should. There are also free tools, like Link Sleuth and Google Analytics that can help you identify problem areas on your site.

Now that we’ve seen the importance of a competitive SEO analysis, make sure to get your free site analysis today!

Tags: free website analysis, keyword research, search engine optimization, seo analysis
Posted in search engine optimization | No Comments »

6 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Web Designer

November 16th, 2011

Thinking of hiring a Los Angeles web design company? Here are 7 questions to think about before you hire a web designer for your small business:

1) Can you show me websites you’ve worked on? – Ask to see a portfolio and find out whether they use templates or build web sites from scratch. Make sure to be clear as you’re describing what you’re looking for to make sure that they can meet your needs.

2) Can I get a quote? – Will your designer give you a quote based on a list of everything you want? Or will a number just magically appear out of thin air? It’s important to get down in writing exactly what you want and to make sure that the designer can make it happen. For example, if you have special accommodations, such as an online store or different types of contact/subscription forms.

3) How long will it take to complete the project? – Tied into question 3, your web designer should give you a basic timeline of how long it will take to create a new website design. Ask them to prepare a basic outline of what will be done on a regular basis to ensure that your website is created in a timely manner.

4) Are you familiar with any other forms internet marketing? – Nowadays, many web designers are also proficient in SEO. Having a search friendly web design means that the designer will create code that is easy to index and crawl. Many web design companies also work with SEO to ensure that your site will get maximum visibility.

5) How and when can I contact you? – Is your web designer or company easily reached? Would you rather talk to them on the phone, via email or meet face to face to discuss timelines? Many companies and individuals work in different ways, so make sure that you know what you’re getting into.

6) How is a new design layout going to help my small business? – Lastly, an effective web designer should be goal-oriented in helping your business succeed. What do you want from your new website? Here are a few things you might consider: increase web site traffic, reduce bounce rates, increase phone calls, increase sales, increase in inquiries or subscriptions.

Hiring someone or a company to create a new site for your business consists of more than just pretty graphics. This doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process, but make sure to have these questions (and more) ready as you find the answers you’re looking for.

Tags: marketing goals, seo web design, web design
Posted in web design | 1 Comment »

PPC Landing Pages and Quality Score

November 15th, 2011

Have you heard the recent news about pay per click landing pages and how it affects your Quality Score?

Google recently announced some changes they are making to determining Quality Score. After some previous testing in Latin America, Google liked what they saw. These ad quality improvement updates will start rolling out worldwide.

If you take a look at the image to the left, you can see all the different components that make up Quality Score. Google’s recent update means the quality and relevance of your landing page will play a bigger role in determining your Quality Score.

Why?

Although it seems like a canned response, Google’s goal of these making changes is to “improve user experience.”As businesses try to adapt to these changes, they will also be improving their PPC ads to make it easier to find what they’re looking for. In other words, they’ll be doing things that they should be doing in the first place! This means:

- Having original content that is relevant to the user
- Being clear about the nature of your business, customer interaction and your intention of what to do with visitor information
- Having a fast loading and easy-to-navigate. Pop-ups and pop-unders should be kept to a minimum!

If you need more help with your Quality Score and PPC campaign, here are some helpful “Tips for Success” on how to improve your Adwords results posted by Google. Or you can contact a PPC company that is Google Adwords qualified, like Emarketed, today!

Tags: Google, google quality score, landing pages, pay per click, ppc ad quality
Posted in paid search | No Comments »

5 Common SEO Myths

November 10th, 2011

Old SEO myths never seem to really die and it doesn’t help that new ones are being created. Let’s take a look at 5 common myths about search engine optimization:

1) SEO is a set it and forget it process – Are we done yet? Many online marketing services have a completion end date or end goal – web design project, PPC campaigns etc. But what about SEO? An effective SEO campaign is an on going process that never really ends. It helps to think of web copywriting and content creation as a regular process, like a more traditional marketing campaign that changes with the seasons and consumer trends.

2) More keywords will get you a higher ranking – More is NOT always better and this is exactly the case when it comes to optimizing content. You can’t just throw in random keywords because you want to cover as many areas related to your business as possible. Keyword stuffing isn’t going to impress people or search engines – not to mention that it’s a dead giveaway that your site is spammy page that’s not helpful.

3) Search engine rankings can be guaranteed – Have you ever had an SEO company guarantee you #1 positions? Talk about shady… As frustrating as it may be, there’s no such thing as a 100% guarantee when it comes to SEO. Rather than focusing on the top spot, a reputable SEO company will give you a detailed plan about how to achieve top rankings within a realistic time frame using white hat methods.

4) Once you reach the top, you’ll stay there – Search engine algorithms are changing all the time and you can bet that your other businesses are making changes to keep up. Success is possible but staying in the top ranks is a constant and time consuming process. Related to Myth #1, we recommend a consistent SEO plan so that you can stay in the top rankings once you’re there. If you stop your efforts after reaching the top, it will be a waste because your rankings could easily slide and your competitors will surely be thankful!

5) Linking Out to Other Sites Will Help Your Rankings: I’ve heard this more than a handful of times so it must be a common misconception! Some people believe that linking out to well-known sites and brands will help their rankings. Not sure where this idea came from but it’s definitely not true. Incoming links from relevant and trustworthy sites will give your site the link juice that you’re looking for, not the other way around.

Do you have any other myths about organic optimization that you’d like to share or debunk?

Tags: online organic, search engine optimization, seo los angeles, seo myths
Posted in Search Marketing | No Comments »

Are Your Marketing Campaigns Ready for the Holidays?

November 2nd, 2011

Halloween is over but Thanksgiving is up next. Before you know it, Christmas will be just around the corner! As a small business, what can you do to make the most of online marketing services during the holidays?

Research
Research is number one and it’s crucial to be aware of consumer trends. As you can see from the snippet of the infographic above, 61% of consumers plan to research the “perfect” gift on social networks. The recent article on Mashable also shows that 38% of people have already started shopping. If your site isn’t optimized or prepared for curious buyers, you could be missing out on more than you think! Research counts in all areas including: trends, keywords and even phrases that consumers like (free shipping, sale, reward).

Be SEO-Prepared
Think smart so that you don’t have to work harder and exert your resources during the busy holiday season. SEO changes can be made easily and gradually over a period of time. These updates will also look more natural to search engines as they crawl and index your pages. Finding the right words that appeal to customers is effective when you incorporate them into your Title, title tags, meta descriptions, h1 tags and more.

Stay Relevant
Creating holiday specific content is a great way to generate link bait that is interesting and relevant. Very much like this infographic we posted! Creating content specifically for each holiday will help create awareness towards your desired demographic. Posting about different holidays can also inspire you to post more frequently and get all the relevant clicks that you’ve been looking for!

Need a Helping Hand?
Whether you hire an experienced marketing firm or handle your own online marketing, it’s important to get started as soon as possible. If you need extra help, it doesn’t hurt to ask for it or look for resources early on. You can always just keep an eye out for competitors. Also, starting early will give you more analytics and data on what is working and driving customers to your site and what isn’t.

Tags: holiday shopping, infographic, mashable, social media research
Posted in search engine optimization, social media | No Comments »

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