conversion optimization
4 Easy to Avoid Web Design Mistakes
As a small business, your website is of the utmost importance. When visitors make it to your website they are coming for a specific reason and you want to be sure that you can quickly, and efficiently, provide them with a solution to their needs. If your website design is flawed and difficult to navigate, your company could be missing out on a lot of potential leads and ultimately revenue. Here are a few mistakes to avoid in your website design so you can maximize your website’s effectiveness and provide a positive experience to your customers.
1. Understanding Your Target Market:
Many companies make the mistake of not properly understanding their target audience and the different types of customers that fit that description. This often results in web designs that are not optimized and don't work properly for the audience they are trying to attract and engage. Figuring out your target demographic can be extremely helpful in determining the website design approach that works best to give visitors a positive experience while they are using your website.
2. Having an Unclear Call to Action:
What is your goal once users have found your website? Be sure to direct your visitors clearly to this goal. Help show them where the next step is through a concise and prominent call to action. One of the best ways to do this is to first ask yourself what the quickest and easiest way is for visitors to get value from your product or service, then create a call to action (CTA) that helps you quickly give the customer access to that value or collect their data so you can deliver it to them right away.
3. Stale or Boring Content:
Users want your website’s information to be the latest, most up-to-date content available. If your website has very old content that hasn’t been updated, many customers may assume that you are being the times or might not have nice services or products. Additionally, content that is not very valuable, uninteresting, or not engaging can make your visitors lose attention and click away. Work on a way to write your content in a professional but appealing manner that is easy and interesting for your target audience read and stay interested in or want to come back to read more later.
4. The DIY Route:
Your website is the best way for you to interact with your customers. You want to be sure you make your web design, layout, and content choices a priority and make sure there are reasons behind why you made the design decisions you did. A website designed without a professional web and graphic designer involved can potentially lead to mistakes or missed opportunities that result in a loss of revenue due to your customers leaving your site early or not finding what they wanted to, being unimpressed with the design, or not being as engaged as they could have been. A bad design can negatively impact your customers' thinking by making them associate your services and brand with an unprofessional appearance.
These points are just a things to keep in mind to help you avoid a major problem with user experience in your company’s website design and content. It is especially beneficial to make your customers happy and that applies to their experience with your company not just in person but online. If you need some help or have any questions feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help you any time.
If you have questions or are thinking about making a change in your business’ web presence don’t hesitate to contact All in Web Pro for a professional consultation today.
Web Design Tips: 5 Ways to Make Your Social Media Matter
To harness the full power of social networks and leverage the exponential reach available through social networking, here are 5 best practices.
Social media is a powerful tool for generating brand awareness and building trust. An effective social media strategy integrates seamlessly with your web design so that your online presence represents your company with professionalism and your SEO is boosted. If you do social media the right way you can build relationships with fans and followers that will build long-term relationships by creating content that engages and brings value your audience. Your web development strategy should always include a social element so your social networks are easily visible and your content is easily shared by those interested in your brand and content.
1. Use your social networks to listen, not just talk.
The social interaction between people is what brings the “social” element to social media. People interested in your brand will fan you on Facebook, follow you on twitter and subscribe to you on YouTube to interact with the person behind the company. They aren't always finding you on social channels to hear a one-way message that talks at them. Rather, thanks to social media, marketing and advertising is now a conversation and consumers will demand that you talk with them in a conversation. This is an exciting evolution that allows you to develop genuine connections with your audience that were not available before.
2. Your content should create value for your audience.
Only if you entertain, inform, or in some way provide value, with your social posts and updates will your fans and followers like your posts, share your blog content and videos and retweet your tweets. How can those interested in your brand join the conversation if you are not initiating one? No one wants to be sold to all the time, not in person and not on the net. If you consistently provide content that is of educational, social, or useful value you will build a following that is loyal, engaged and enthusiastic about your brand.
3. Social is not about selling, it’s about building relationships.
You get out of social what you put in. If you use it as a platform to always be selling, making it all about you, visitors will be less motivated to come back to your sites. But the good news is that building relationships is actually more powerful than sales! If you’re a dentist you’re not trying to use your blog to sell one pair of braces. If you blog on interesting subjects related to your business, such as how to ask for a second opinion or, for those that are terrified of the dentist, a 5 minute mediation to put you at ease before you enter the dentist chair, you will begin to build trust with your audience. This trust is the first step to building a lasting relationship. You will become a trusted resource that can develop into a client bond that will outlast a one-time procedure and continue for 5, 10, or 20 years or longer.
4. Use social networks to build relationships with industry leaders, colleagues and mentors.
Social is not only about reaching out to potential consumers, it's also about participating in the conversation among your peers and industry thought leaders. Follow those agencies and individuals that are driving innovation in your field or who have influence with many people. These people have much to teach and they give away valuable information and insights through social media. Are you listening or are you missing out? LinkedIn is optimal for engaging with industry giants and experts. You can join LinkedIn groups representing your field to keep up on the latest news, updates and industry trends. Be a part of the conversation so you too can establish yourself as a leading voice in your market.
5. Track your metrics to develop and fine tune your strategy.
In order to know what you are doing right, and which strategies are not benefiting you, you need to track your performance. There are many tools, both paid and free, that will generate reports which let you know when your content resonates with your audience and when it falls flat and fails to generate interest and engagement. By playing to your strengths and understanding your weaknesses, you can develop a winning social media plan that will increase your presence, raise your SEO ranking and establish your business as a leader in your market.
We have been in the Las Vegas web design and web development industry for years and we have experienced the power of social media to make connections and create partnerships and clients in our community. It’s not rocket science, all it takes is knowledge, a passion for engaging with your audience, and a consistent dedication to the effort and consistency required to create value and build genuine long-term connections.
12 Steps to Creating Value with your Website
12 powerful ways to create value with your company website
The internet is overrun with content streaming and updating every second of every minute of every day. Intelligently planned SEO (search engine optimization) strategy and management can funnel users through the digital deluge straight to your company’s website, but once you have their attention it’s crucial you provide them with value or they may never return. People love the access to information the internet provides and 8 out of 10 of consumers hit the web to research when they are in the market to purchase goods and services. But competition is fierce and if you do not stand apart from the crowd, you will be drowned out by the onslaught of content crowding the internet. Most users suffer from content overload and you really have one chance to make your impression or they will move on to your competitors. How do you keep them coming back? That’s simple, but not always easy: create value with your website.
1. Provide information that helps people.
To determine what information is helpful to people try this effective technique: Pretend you're a visitor and imagine what you would want to know and what information you would want to come away having learned after interacting with your website. This seems simple at first, but there are subtle and sometimes unobvious subconscious decisions that your visitors are making. Try to get in their heads and really think about what would make them, not you happy.
2. Have a purpose and a way to measure your progress.
Think of your website as your online ambassador. It represents you every second of every day, while you're sleeping, away on business, or offline. What do you want your ambassador to say to people who are interested in what you do and what you sell? What is your goal? Do you want your brand ambassador to generate sales or leads? How many and by when? Be specific in outlining your objectives so you can set up benchmarks and monitor your progress. If you are not hitting your marks, it’s a good indication that it’s time to make some changes to your content, online marketing, or SEO strategy.
3. Give or create something specific.
General information is for Wikipedia; you want people to gain measureable value from spending time on your site. Be specific in what you are communicating so people come away with a clear understanding of what they accomplished, learned or gained.
4. Use tools.
Tools help you maximize your web presence. Of all the sites they could end up at, your visitors came to yours; why let them leave without knowing who they are and taking the time to see what their interests and needs are? One way to do this is to use a newsletter sign up that captures their email addresses and maybe a few additional pieces of information. For the cost of providing a weekly or monthly newsletter you gain valuable leads and priceless market research.
5. Always include a Call to Action.
Make it easy for your website visitors; let them know what to do next if they are interested in finding out more, taking advantage of a special discount or promotion, or talking to a representative from your business. CTAs can be designed to run with new product launches, special promotions, your current marketing campaign, or key industry events. Even if you are not offering a specific offer, you can suggest they click on a link to take your desired conversion action. You need to know what specific behavior you want a visitor to engage in on your site to consider it a successful visit. Then invite them to do so, that’s your call to action.
6. Connect to your Social Networking Sites.
Invite your visitors to engage with your brand through the social sites where they spend their time. This takes the one way message of your website and makes it an interactive experience by opening the door to a conversation via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or whichever social networks your company uses. It's important to pick and choose which networks you really plan to use, then stick with it, even if you only write an update once a month.
7. Incorporate a blog.
Fresh content improves SEO while establishing your brand as a resource and leader. Additionally, if you continually update your site with new blog articles it provides a reason for people to revisit your site on an on-going basis, creating a relationship with your readers.
8. Use images and text to communicate your message.
Multimedia makes for a more satisfying and engaging experience. If you can use images to enhance your message, go for it. If you can offer video content too, then even better. Internet users are becoming accustomed to photos and videos and the more variety of media you offer the more enticing your message. Images also help communicate the message you're saying faster and in a more friendly way when used correctly.
9. Use images as part of your navigation on your homepage.
People should be able to click on an image or icon to navigate through your website to improve the ease of use. This is especially true on your homepage. Some people are visual and may prefer to navigate using images so be sure your images are clickable and reinforce the natural navigation structure and flow of your site.
10. Plan your pages and content.
This requires that you have your objectives clearly defined. Once you know what you want your site to offer and what you want your digital presence to achieve, you can plan your pages and content to accomplish your goals. As your goals change and evolve with your business and the marketplace, you should update your site and revise it accordingly.
11. Have your contact info on every page.
Make it as convenient as possible for visitors to get ahold of you when they are ready to take the next step and contact you. Establish the method of contact that works best for your business and have it appear on every page. Have you ever been to a website and not been able to find the phone number? That’s an easy way to lose a client or give the impression you're not eager to receive calls. Don’t require too much work on behalf of your visitors, because they may lose interest or delay contact. Think about websites you've used recently and where you had to look on their site to find the phone number.
12. Make your homepage user-friendly.
Your site should be easy to navigate, streamlined and not overly cluttered. A web page that a visitor can glance at and have a clear idea of who you are and what you do is ideal. You only have a short amount of time to convey your message and if it takes too much of an effort to comprehend, or more than 2 or 3 seconds to figure out how to navigate your site, guests will move on.
As a Las Vegas SEO and web development company helping local and national companies build their brands online we are always interested in hearing about the experiences others have had with user-friendly design and invite you to comment or email us any questions you have or topics you are interested in and we’ll do our best to include them in our upcoming blog posts. And feel free to let us know anything we might have missed or anything that has successfully created value for your users which could help others.