Raxa Design - Small Business Branding & Marketing

Google's Q3 2012 Search Changes: What You Need to Know

Brian Waraksa — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 05:00:00 GMT

2012 has been a big year for online marketing. While trends like inbound marketing are on the rise, Facebook's less than stellar IPO has cast doubts over the effectiveness of targeted display ads. Only time will tell if Facebook can find a way to have the type of impact on online advertising that Google did with AdWords.

Speaking of Google, even though their stock has seen a big increase over the course of 2012, they're not sitting back and resting on their laurels. Instead, they've continued to make some very big changes to their search algorithm. Since they've announced so many different changes, there's a good chance that you've missed out on hearing about a few. Luckily, we've compiled everything you need to know about Google's key changes over the last three months:

Panda Still on the Prowl

While it's now an industry standard to name any major algorithm update that Google makes, most receive a flurry of attention, and are then forgotten about after a few months. However, Google's Panda update has been in the spotlight for over a year and a half. The good news for website owners is one of Google's latest Panda updates truly seemed to be a minor one, so your site shouldn't have experienced any negative effects from this change. However, Google made a larger Panda update at the end of September. But where things get even more tricky is that may not even be the root cause of a recent change in your search engine traffic.

Exact Match Domains

At almost the same time as their latest Panda update, Google also rolled out a new change that targets exact match domains. While their stated intention was to knock down spammy sites that were only ranking because they had keywords in their domain name, there have been lots of reports of new sites dropping out of the top 100 results. What's interesting is that even though many of these sites' owners reported having solid social media traction, that still didn't prevent their sites from getting hit in the crossfire.

Meta Tags are Back (Sort Of)

For the last five or so years, reputable SEOs have been fighting an uphill battle to educate their clients about the fact that meta keyword tags aren't going to magically rocket a site's rankings to page one of Google. However, just a few weeks ago, Google threw a wrench into things by bringing back a form of meta tags. They announced that sites and blogs that have content published through Google news can now use a news_keywords metatag to help ensure that the Google News' crawlers are able to correctly identify and classify content. The goal of this change is to help publishers get the traffic they want without feeling the need to cram their headlines full of keywords.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Brian Waraksa, founder of Raxa Design in Houston, Texas has been in marketing and small business branding since 2002. He writes the Raxa Design blog on issues affecting small business marketing and corporate brands.

3 Great Social Media Tips for Businesses

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

When the average high school kid tweets, all they care about is getting the attention of their friends. Since many teens use Twitter as a form of public texting, they aren't overly concerned about what they say. Even if something doesn't come out the way they wanted, it will likely be drowned out by their friends in a matter of minutes.

As a business, using social media brings a different set of challenges. The good news is unless you're a huge corporation, you don't have to worry about every tweet you send being scrutinized. Instead of being concerned about a snafu, the real challenge that most businesses face is figuring out how to wade through all the social media noise and actually connect with prospects and customers.

Since using social media as a marketing tool can feel like searching for treasure without a map, here are some useful guidelines for getting and staying on the right track:

Focus on Your Industry, Not Your Business

There are plenty of businesses that start using social media, only to end up annoying most of the people they come into contact with. In the worst cases, businesses put themselves in a situation where they're viewed as social media spammers.

The reason that so many businesses find themselves in these positions is because they assume that getting results requires explicitly promoting their business. While this is true for many forms of advertising and marketing, it's actually not the case with social media. Instead, the key is making your business part of larger conversations.

The best way to accomplish this is by focusing on your industry. Just like you wouldn't go to a party or on a date and constantly talk about yourself, your business will see better social media results by conversing about a wide variety of topics.

Listen More Than You Talk

Very few businesses try to be rude through social media. However, a substantial number are perceived that way. This is because businesses usually think that they're supposed to speak up as often as possible. In reality, listening via social media can be just as useful as sending out messages. By devoting a portion of your social media efforts to listening and observing, your business will be able to find the problems your customers and prospects are having and then come up with advantageous ways to deal with them.

Stay Focused, But Don't Forget to Experiment

Whether it's Twitter, Facebook or another medium, if you notice that a specific social media site is working really well for your business, you're obviously going to want to focus most of your efforts on it. While that's a smart move, it's important to still save a little bit of your time and resources for other sites. Social media is constantly evolving, so it's a good idea to have roots in more than one place.

How has social media impacted your business during 2012?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

The Real Secret to Successful Business Blogging

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

There's a good chance that when you first put your business online, all you had was a two or three page website. Then as you studied your competitors and successful businesses in other industries, you may have realized that expanding your website could significantly boost your online marketing efforts.

During the course of expanding your site, you may have decided to add a blog. Whether this took place a few months ago or a couple of years ago, you're probably in the same position as the majority of businesses with a blog. While most businesses do see real benefits from blogging, hitting a plateau in terms of readers and traffic is very common.

If you want to take your company's blog from good to great, here's the one secret you can't ignore:

Personality

As long as a blog is informative, people who are interested in the subject that it covers will read at least a few of its posts. However, if there's nothing about the blog that makes people feel a connection with it, chances are they aren't going to subscribe, regularly comment or tell their friends about it.

Since you want people to subscribe, comment and spread the word about your business, you need a way to ensure they connect with your blog. And the way to do that is by injecting your blog with personality. Since many forms of business writing are traditionally very formal, it's natural to think that blogging should be done in the same style.

The problem is when a blog's too formal, it seems stiff, which prevents readers from really connecting with it. The good news is regardless of how new or old your blog is, injecting more personality into it doesn't have to be difficult. Here are some of the steps you can take:

Don't Fear Collaboration: Since your blog is a reflection of your business, you don't need to limit it to one author. Additionally, multiple employees don't have to write under a single name. By simply letting employees publish posts with their names, you'll allow readers to learn more about your business and the people who make it so great.

Tell Stories: While you want your posts to be informative, stories are what humans really respond to. Whether it's you writing or one of your employees, don't be afraid to share a relevant personal anecdote. This will not only make your blog relatable, but it will also make readers want to share their own stories with you.

Include an Author Picture: Although it doesn't technically have to do with writing, including a thumbnail picture of whoever wrote a post is just one more step you can take to create the human connection that separates great blogs from good ones.

Engage: If you want loyal readers, don't forget to respond when they take time out of their busy day to leave a comment!

By keeping these simple tips in mind, you can ensure that your business blog continues to grow and thrive!

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

The Top Myths and Misconceptions About Email Marketing

Brian Waraksa — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Email marketing can be an extremely effective way to communicate with potential and existing customers. However, many businesses don't think this is true. Whether they don't do email marketing at all or are looking for other channels like social media because they want better results, the issue isn't email marketing.

Instead, it's how many businesses approach email marketing. Just like SEO, there are a lot of myths and misconceptions about email marketing. If you want your company to avoid the pitfalls that capture so many other businesses, here's what you need to know:

Less is Probably More (But Test to Be Sure)

Because of companies like Groupon and the prevalence of terms like the "rule of 7," many businesses think that the more they can email prospects and customers, the better. Unfortunately, most studies show that other than a few exceptions, this generally isn't the case. Studies have also found that there's no ideal email frequency for every type of business. What that means for you is while it's best to err on the side of less, it's also important to test and analyze the impact of different email frequencies.

Don't Insult Recipients' Intelligence

How do you contact hundreds or thousands of people at the same time without making them feel like just another number on your list? If you said "start the email with their first name," you're with the majority. But just because most businesses think this is a good idea doesn't mean it actually is the best thing to do. A recent study from the Fox School of Business at Temple University analyzed ten million emails that were sent to 600,000 customers. Amazingly, this study found that a whopping 95% of recipients responded negatively to marketing emails that began with their first name! Instead of trying to trick recipients, you're much better off focusing on providing them with the most value possible.

Ask, Then Ask Again

Since most businesses want to spread their message as wide as possible, it's common for them to only focus on how many people are on their email marketing list. Because they want to fast-track their list's growth, they may choose single opt-in instead of double. The problem with not sending people a confirmation link to join your list is it means you're inevitably going to end up with recipients who aren't truly interested in your company. So, while using double opt-in may slow down your list's growth rate by around five percent, the quality of your list will be significantly better.

Relationship is the Key Word

Just because someone makes a purchase from you doesn't mean you should stop emailing them. By properly segmenting your list, you can make your email marketing efforts just as effective for repeat customers as they are for prospects.

What's surprised you most about your company's experience with email marketing?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Should Your Company Comment on Other Blogs?

Brian Waraksa — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Whether you have an established company or a business that's just getting off the ground, you're probably always on the lookout for new opportunities to get your name out there. One option that's likely crossed your mind is commenting on other blogs.

If you're wondering whether or not you should pursue this idea, my opinion is you should definitely give it the green light. Let's look at why it's such a good idea for companies to comment on relevant blogs within their industry:

Enjoy a Fresh Perspective

Every savvy company realizes that regardless of how long they've been doing something a specific way, there may be a more efficient way to handle that process or task. But in order to find that out, it's important to be exposed to new ideas and approaches as often as possible. By reading and engaging in discussions on relevant blogs, that's exactly what your company will be able to do.

Attract Targeted, Interested Traffic

Blog readers ignore spammy commenters. But when they see a thoughtful, interesting comment, they're going to want to learn more about who left it. That means those readers are going to visit your company's site.

Create New Opportunities

Publishing a guest post on a targeted blog is a great marketing opportunity. While many blogs ignore cold pitches, first building a relationship can lead to your company actually receiving an invitation to author a guest post. This is just one example of the type of networking and other attractive opportunities that commenting can create.

Now that you know why your company should be commenting on other blogs, here are a few tips for making the most of this practice:

Put in Some Effort

Although a brand new blogger may appreciate a comment that just says "great post," that type of comment is going to be viewed as spam on any established blog. Since your company can build a strong presence without commenting on every single post a blog publishes, make sure every comment that's left adds value to the post.

Use a Real Name

Whether it's you or one of your employees commenting, it's best to use a real name. Since the name attached to the comment will link back to your site, you don't need to just use your business name. In fact, using your business name or any other form of anchor text may result in your company's comments being flagged as spam.

Look for Replies

Since engagement is a major benefit of blog comments, it's important to keep an eye out for any replies your company receives. While that task may seem like a lot of work, most blogs make it easy to subscribe to their comments via email or RSS.

By following these simple tips, your company will be able to reap the benefits of building a strong presence on the leading blogs within your industry.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

The Top 10 Signs Your Website Needs a Makeover

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

If you ever watched ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," you know that makeovers are about much more than a few surface changes. Families' homes weren't transformed simply so they could show off their shiny new digs to friends and family. Instead, it was to give these families a new lease on life.

The same concept applies to your website. While a common assumption is that web design is all about how a site looks, that's actually just one component of the web design process. Good web design evaluates every aspect of your site and focuses on how to make each part as effective as possible.

Because web design is such a holistic process, it can have a significant impact on the bottom line of your business. If you have a sneaking suspicion that your website isn't living up to its full potential but aren't 100% sure, here are the top ten concrete signs that your website is in need of a makeover:

You're Not Collecting Leads

If you want your website to have a positive impact on your business, it needs to be able to make people who come to it more than visitors. The most common way to accomplish this crucial goal is by collecting lead information. Once you have someone's name, email address and any other required information, you can build a relationship with them and ultimately close a sale. But if your website isn't collecting any of this information, you're missing out on this opportunity to increase sales.

Your Website Takes a Long Time to Load

When dial-up access was the only way to get online, people accepted the fact that using the Internet was an experience that required patience. But now that high-speed access has become the standard, people expect sites to load instantly. If your website doesn't load right away, potential customers are going to head off to Google and ultimately end up on the site of one of your competitors.

It Doesn't Include a Blog

Blogs have evolved way past the days of individuals sitting in their pajamas and typing out their thoughts. Blogs have become the standard for businesses to communicate with potential and existing customers. A blog allows you to keep current customers in the loop, as well as give prospects more insights into why your business is the right fit for their needs. Not having a blog on your website prevents you from being able to create these communication channels.

No One's Sticking Around to Read Your Content

If you already have a blog on your website, you can look at your analytics data to see how long visitors spend reading it. If this process leads to you discovering that most visitors leave your blog after just a few seconds, it means the posts you're publishing aren't connecting with your target audience. It probably also means that your blog is lacking powerful visual accents like strong titles and interesting pictures that can grab visitors' attention and get them to stick around.

You Don't Know How Long Visitors are Staying on Your Site

If you have a blog but can't look at how long visitors are reading your posts, it means your website doesn't have an analytics program installed. Because this data creates the backbone for being able to improve your site, not having analytics is a problem that you need to remedy ASAP!

Visitors Have to Jump Through Hoops to Contact You

When someone comes to your website and wants to contact you, what steps do they need to go through to get in touch with you? If the answer is scour your site for an email address or fill out a form with eight mandatory fields, chances are your site is turning away a significant number of people who would otherwise be very likely to make a purchase from your business. Since you never know when someone's going to want to contact you, it needs to be dead simple for a visitor to contact you regardless of where they are on your site.

When Prospects Type Searches Into Google, Your Site Doesn't Show Up

Think of a few phrases someone might type into Google when they're looking for the product or service your business offers. Now, actually type those phrases into Google. When you look at the first page of results, do you see a link to your website? If not, it means your website hasn't been properly optimized and promoted. It also means quite a few prospects are checking out your competitors' websites instead of yours.

Your Site Can't Be Accessed from an iPhone

Thanks to the sophistication of mobile browsers like Safari on the iPhone, "mobile versions" of websites are a trend that has peaked. While your site doesn't need a special version for cellphones, it does need to be accessible. Since mobile browsing continues to be the fastest growing area of Internet access, if you type your URL into an iPhone and don't see key parts of it or any of it, chances are it's the result of your site relying on Flash. Since Apple sold 35 million iPhones in just the last 3 months, you don't want to leave this problem unresolved!

You Don't Have a Way to Connect with Prospects on Other Sites

Just like people expect businesses to have an active blog on their website, they also expect businesses to have a presence on Facebook and Twitter. If your website doesn't link to your presence on these social media sites or you don't have one at all, it means that your site is once again holding you back from connecting with prospects who are very interested in what your business has to offer.

You Always Include a Disclaimer When You Give Someone Your URL

If you're so embarrassed by your website that you always make excuses about it when you give someone the URL, it's a definite sign that your site needs a major overhaul!

As you can see, there are a lot of problems that can plague a website and ultimately hold back your business from its full potential. Although it can be discouraging to realize that your website has multiple issues, the good news is there are solutions for every problem on this list.

If you want to say goodbye to your lackluster website and hello to a new version that consistently brings in new business, get in touch with us today to discuss how we can transform it into a site that moves your bottom line!

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

7 Elements of a Great Blog Post

Brian Waraksa — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

If your business has a blog but it isn't getting much attention, you may feel like giving up. However, just because you haven't gained any traction doesn't mean that your blogging is in vain. In many cases, you may just need to make a handful of changes to the way that you approach each post that you write.

If you want to cook up delicious blog posts, here's the recipe you should follow:

An Awesome Headline: When it comes to attracting readers, keep in mind that you're always competing for people's attention. Since more information about anything that crosses their mind is just a click or Google search away, you're probably only going to have one chance to pull someone into reading your post. If the title of your post isn't catchy, very few people are ever going to see all of the great content it contains.

Plenty of Space: One of the biggest differences between writing in print and online is that more space is never an issue online. Not only does this mean that you're able to dive into topics as deeply as you want, but it also means that you don't need to cram your text together. By embracing whitespace and giving your posts plenty of room the breath, you'll actually make it easier and more enjoyable for visitors to read your posts.

Killer Content: I can't emphasize enough that while the other elements on this list are important, at the end of the day, what matters most is what you write. If readers aren't interested in what you're writing, there aren't any design tactics that will be able to help your blog. While that may seem like bad news if your posts aren't currently being read by many people, it's actually not. Since you're obviously passionate about your business, chances are you just need to make a small tweak to your writing style. Whether that means writing with a less formal tone or slightly adjusting your approach to tackling subjects, you just need to figure out what your audience wants and then deliver it to them.

Relevant Links: A common SEO myth is that if you link out to other sites, it will negatively impact your rankings. In reality, the complete opposite is actually true. If you look at large authority sites and blogs, you'll notice that they almost always link to other quality sources of information.

Subheadings: Since most people like to scan before they actually read, subheadings are a great way to give readers a quick outline of what your post is all about.

A Chart, Graph or Other Complementary Image: The best images are those that actually enhance a post instead of simply serving as a decoration for it.

Conversation: Not only do you want your post to have a comments section, but be sure to actually engage with the people who take time to share their thoughts with you!

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Social Media: Don't Put the Cart Before the Horse

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

I think we can all agree that we're well past the point of anyone thinking that social media "may just be a fad." While the web's most popular social media destinations and tools may be completely different in five years, this form of communication will continue to shape the way the Internet works.

On the other hand, just because social media is here to stay doesn't mean it's the end all, be all of online marketing. From one-man shops to huge corporations, there are a lot of businesses that are putting all their eggs in the social media basket. If you're feeling pressured to jump on this bandwagon, find out why there's a fine line between social media marketing savviness and foolishness:

The Issue

More businesses are choosing to put their entire presence on Facebook and/or Twitter instead of having their own website. Keep in mind that this isn't just limited to sole proprietors. Many large brands who spend millions of dollars on TV ads are sending potential customers directly to a social media site. The problem is that regardless of how much you put in to your social presences, you'll never have full control over the experiences they deliver.

Is It Really That Big of a Deal?

Well, there are several significant issues that can arise from this approach. First off is the worst case scenario. Even if a business thinks they're playing by the rules, Facebook and Twitter always have the right to torch accounts that they feel aren't in compliance with their policies. Let's say your business only has a Facebook account. Even if it's a glitch, that account ends up getting deleted. When this happens, potential customers can't find out anything about your business, including any form of contact information!

Other problems include limited SERP visibility, not having enough information and being unable to maximize the number of visitors you convert into leads or actual customers.

Keep Things in Perspective

Given how easy it is for any business to have their own website and blog, there's simply no reason not to do so. Having a dedicated online property for your business will not only protect your presence, but it will also give you the freedom to market your business in any way that you want.

Additionally, you'll find that your social media marketing efforts are actually more productive when you have your own site and blog. For example, instead of sending your Twitter followers to a note that you wrote on Facebook, only to frustrate those who aren't signed in, everyone will be able to access a post on your own blog that you promote. And not only will they be able to enjoy reading it, but it will be dead simple for them to share it with others.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

5 Tips for Simplifying Your Website

Brian Waraksa — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Although it's easy to feel like you need to pack as many elements into your website design as possible, the truth is that the simpler you can keep things, the more effective your website is going to be. And while many people assume that simplifying a design is the easiest thing possible, it can actually present some unique challenges.

Since you want simplicity to improve your site's functionality and not take away from it, here are five ways to make simplicity work for you:

Write Naturally: If you're going out of your way to write with lots of keywords or in an overly formal tone, you can take a big burden off your own shoulders by writing naturally. While you may initially feel guilty when you discover how much easier this makes writing, you'll actually find that visitors respond more to casual, conversational writing.

Don't Reinvent the Wheel: Have you ever visited a band's website, only to discover that you have no idea what you're looking at? The problem with so many website's in that category is they try too hard to be creative. It's important to remember that when it comes to web design, you can be unique without throwing your visitors for a loop.

Use Fewer Colors: Because no one wants to have a boring website, many business owners make the mistake of adding too many different colors to their site. While this may not seem like that big of a deal, it can actually be very confusing to visitors. The best way to remedy this problem is to stick with a consistent color palette. If you have no idea how to put together a color palette, a free tool like Adobe Kuler is a great place to start.

Remember the Pareto Principle: If that name doesn't ring a bell, you've probably heard this principle referred to as the 80/20 rule. What this means for your site is that 20% of the elements will drive 80% of the actions that visitors take. Since converting visitors into leads or customers should be the ultimate goal of any business website, getting rid of elements that distract from your core 20% can boost your site's effectiveness.

Simplify Forms: While we've brought up this point before, not only is it still a widespread problem, but since this action's benefit can be quite significant, it's definitely worth addressing again. If you have a contact form on your site, you need to look at each of its fields and decide if they're absolutely necessary. Although you may initially think that you need between 6 and 10 fields, you may discover that you can actually reduce that number down to less than 4 and still get all the information that you truly need.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

How to Collect Customer Feedback and Make the Most of It

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

You need to talk to your current and potential customers. Even if your business is doing well, if you don't communicate with your customers on a regular basis, it's almost guaranteed that there are weak or lagging areas of your business that you simply don't know about.

Why It's Important

The biggest reason consistent customer feedback is so important is because there are more than likely problems within your business that you don't know exist. While they may not be causing any real headaches for you right now, that doesn't mean they don't have the potential to erupt. By collecting customer feedback, you'll be able to identify these developing issues and nip them in the bud before they turn into full-blown problems.

The other big reason primarily applies to startups or brand new businesses. It's quite common for founders of these ventures to keep their ideas as quiet as possible. While they think that their silence is a competitive advantage, here's what actually happens to most people who choose to keep their idea or business on the down-low:

They invest a significant amount of time, resources and money into solving an issue that's not actually a real problem; or
They follow the same process, only to discover that there's another competitor within their space who's at least doing "good enough" to keep customers happy.

In either situation, the unfortunate bottom-line is that startups and businesses discover that there aren't actually enough prospects who are willing to pay for the product or service to keep things up and running.

The Tools

When you decide to gather customer feedback, you not only want a tool that makes it easy to collect, but will also take the hassle out of keeping the feedback you collect organized. Although this used to be a task that required a savvy programmer, even a one-man operation can now collect and manage feedback thanks to tools like Confirmit, SurveyMonkey and QuestionPro.

What to Ask

Some of the things that you want to learn from customer feedback include:

who your customers really are
how they're actually using your product/service
if they're using your product in any ways you hadn't even thought of
what they like most about your company
what they like least about your company
what additions and/or changes would make them happiest

If that sounds like a lot of issues to tackle, it's because it is. That's why you don't want to pile all those questions on every customer at the same time. Instead, spread things out so customers can provide feedback without feeling inconvenienced.

Additionally, as you begin collecting feedback, you may want to divide your customers into different segments. For example, you may find that a certain portion are willing to answer as many questions as you ask, while another portion will only deal with the occasional simple question.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

A Big Change for Businesses in 2012: Google Local Goes from Places to Plus

Brian Waraksa — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

On May 30th, Google made a change that impacted more than 80 million businesses. The change was to replace all of their existing Google Places pages with Google+ Local pages. Because this change was literally made overnight, plenty of their users were confused by the look of these new results. However, while it won't take long for searchers to adjust, as a business owner, you've got a bigger challenge. Since this result may determine whether or not prospects ever make it to your website or give you a call, it's important for you to fully understand what's changed.

Because there's both good news and bad news about this change, let's start with the good:

Goodbye Anonymous Reviews

Being able to speak freely on the Internet is a great thing. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people who abuse this privilege. This is especially true when it comes to reviews. While you want to provide your customers with the best service possible, you can't do that when they want to complain behind a cloak of anonymity. What's even worse is although an anonymous review may not even be real, it can still discourage potential customers from doing business with you.

Since countless businesses were hurt by negative reviews that didn't even have any merit, the good news about this transition is those reviews are gone for good. Because Google has a strict real name policy for their Google Plus program, anyone who wants to say something about your business will have to put their name next to it. What's great is not only will this protect you from unjustified badmouthing, but the impact of seeing a name and picture next to a positive review will be even more persuasive to searchers who come across your business.

Social is No Longer Optional

All businesses have a limited number of resources. Regardless of whether a business has one employee or twenty, only so many things can be accomplished during the course of a workweek. As a result, businesses can't pursue every opportunity and avenue that's available to them.

Social media is one avenue that many businesses have put on the back-burner or completely ignored. The two main reasons for this are difficulty measuring its impact and not fully understanding how to form a comprehensive social media strategy. If your business falls into this category, Google Local's change is going to be a double-edged sword.

On one hand, having the features of Google+ available to your business presence means you're going to have even more ways to interact with potential and current customers. On the other hand, the social signals surrounding your Google+ Local page are most likely going to influence how visible you are throughout your target Google searches.

Because of the increased importance of these metrics, businesses who don't fully embrace the importance of building a strong social presence are going to lose traction to competitors who do. While you may have concerns about how you're going to integrate this into your overall marketing strategy, the silver lining is you're not only on a level playing field, but can actually get a major competitive advantage by putting social at the top of your priority list.

If you want to discuss the specific impact this transition is going to have on your business, as well as how we can help you deal with its new social requirements, we're available for a free consultation. All you need to do is fill out this simple form:

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

5 Examples Of How Less Can Be More

Brian Waraksa — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 05:00:00 GMT

At first, the idea of offering less in order to increase the effectiveness for your website may seem counterintuitive. However, there are several proven ways that this strategy can improve your website and the profitability of your business:

Trial Periods

While a trial period is a great way to give potential customers a feel for your product, you don't want to offer too wide of a window. Consumers who are ready to make a purchase are not going to need a ton of time to make a decision. Offering trial periods that are too long can actually be a distraction for individuals who are serious about making a purchase.

A shorter period gives serious prospects an opportunity to test the product and then make a decision. If you're currently offering a trial period that's longer than a month, you should test shortening it to 30 days, as well as test the results of shortening it to 14 days.

Product Options

The last thing you want your website to do is overwhelm visitors by providing too many choices. Research has shown that when consumers are presented with too many choices, they often make no choice at all. This is especially true for online sales. Luckily, the less is more philosophy can help your visitors stay focused and make a decision on the best product for their needs.

Most conversion testing shows that between 3 and 6 options is the sweet spot for maximizing sales. Many SaaS companies offer 3 monthly plans, while Amazon limits the additional books it suggests to 6.

Forms

The less is more concept can also apply to any forms you use on your website. While forms can play a central role in collecting leads, forms that are too long and involved can drive prospects away. Split tests have shown that forms with 3 to 5 fields result in the highest number of conversions.

Navigational Links

Websites that contain too many navigational links not only look cluttered, but they can also make it very difficult for users to find what they need. When someone visits your website, they want to find valuable content without needing to spend a bunch of time clicking around your site. By setting up your navigational links to include only the most relevant content categories, your website visitors will be able to have a much better experience.

Blog Posts

Because it allows you to communicate with both potential and current customers, a blog is a valuable addition to your website. However, many businesses make the mistake of thinking they should crank out as many posts as possible. In reality, you can increase engagement with readers and improve the amount of social media sharing blog posts receive by publishing less of them. For example, instead of publishing 5 decent blog posts a week, invest the same amount of time into publishing 2 great posts a week.

Have you applied the less is more strategy to any other areas of your website or business?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Actionable Tips to Help You Kickstart Your Email Marketing

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

You've read multiple articles and blog posts that have told you how important it is to create an email list and connect with your subscribers on a regular basis. While you know that a service like AWeber or MailChimp makes it really easy to create and manage an email list, what you don't know is what you should email the people who are interested in hearing from you.

If you're hesitant to email your list subscribers, that's actually not a bad thing. Since building a quality list of prospects and current customers takes time, the last thing you want to do is waste that list by accidentally annoying your recipients and causing them to unsubscribe. Although figuring out what to send is a big decision, the good news is you do have quite a few different options:

Don't Let Old Content Go to Waste: Blogging is a great way to build an active audience. The only downside to blogging is it emphasizes new content over older content. While your old posts will bring in some search engine visitors, they're not going to be seen by the majority of new prospects who come to your website. While this isn't a big deal for blogs that mainly focus on news, the evergreen nature of your blog means that posts you wrote a year ago may be just as relevant today as they were then. What's nice about email marketing is it gives you an opportunity to breathe new life into the posts that you worked so hard to create. WIth just a little editing to make them the perfect fit for email, you can use old blog posts to educate and engage your email list.

Can Be a Two-Way Conversation: Many people forget that just because you're sending an email to multiple recipients doesn't mean that it can't be personal and engaging. Awhile back, entrepreneur Jason Calacanis got a lot of attention for switching his primary communication medium from blogging to sending an email newsletter. One of the things that made his newsletter unique is he always asked for subscribers to send him their thoughts. This allowed him to build a very strong and engaged audience. You can enjoy this same level of engagement with your audience simply by asking them to send a reply with their thoughts about your email.

Email Works Best as a Marathon, Not a Sprint: Now that you've got some ideas for your email list, you're ready to start connecting with your subscribers. The last thing to keep in mind is that this format is best suited for building relationships over the long-term. Instead of immediately blasting your list and asking them to make a purchase from you, focusing on building their interest and trust in you. While this long-term approach doesn't appeal to spammers, it's actually great for real businesses. The reason is it means you're free to experiment with different approaches and figure out what works best for your audience.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Do You Have a Video Strategy Yet

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Learn about a recent change Google made to YouTube, as well as whether or not video marketing can help you deal with Panda and Penguin.

Do You Have a Video Strategy Yet?

Back in May, I said that if you weren't currently doing any video marketing, you should start experimenting with it. If you took this advice and got started, you can give yourself a pat on the back. If not, the good news is it's not too late to do so. In fact, during this short period of time, having a video strategy has become even more important.

Google+ Integrated with YouTube

Although some analysts predicted that Google+ would go the way of other products like Wave, several actions Google has taken have made it clear that they're serious about sticking with this product. One of these actions was integrating Google+ with YouTube. Prior to June, Google had already taken steps to bring these two properties together. They then tightened this integration even more by launching a YouTube app that was specifically designed for Google+ Hangouts.

The purpose of this app is to allow users to create, save and share playlists with others directly from within a hangout. Since Hangouts are all about giving people another avenue of interactivity, it makes since that Google would want to make that work well with YouTube. And while there was initially some confusion about the extent of Hangouts functionality, they have actually turned out to be one of the most popular aspects of the Google+ platform.

Can Video Help You Weather Algorithm Changes?

Google is obviously serious about social. Since they're combining Google+ with properties like YouTube, it's easy to see why it's a good idea to get ahead of the curve by making videos a core part of your marketing strategy. However, the benefits of videos are not just limited to the future. There are also ways that they can directly help you now.

Over the last eighteen months, not only has Google rolled out multiple Panda algorithm updates, but they also introduced Penguin. The result of these changes left thousands and thousands of webmasters scrambling to figure out how to fix their sinking rankings. While there are plenty of things people have tried that haven't yielded any real results, other actions have proven to be much more effective.

One of these actions is to use videos as a marketing and link building tool. What's great about videos is not only does Google index them right away, but due to their nature, it's possible to build deep links that are extremely relevant and targeted.

As with any other method of building links, keep in mind that the key to making the most of video marketing is to focus on quality instead of quantity. Additionally, it's a good idea to explore all the avenues that are available to you. For example, if you put a lot of effort into creating a great video, you may want to give it an extra push of promotion by creating a press release for that video.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

How Do You Figure Out What Keywords to Target?

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

By now, you're aware of the fact that keywords should play a role in your search engine marketing strategy. While they're not the only component of this type of strategy, since keywords are what prospects type into a search engine when they're looking for something, you do need to pay attention to them.

For awhile, there were plenty of people who thought that more was always better when it came to keywords. This led to the creation of "content farms." The problem with this approach was that while these sites targeted staggering amounts of keywords, their quality wasn't all that great. As a result, Google made algorithm updates like Panda to lower the prevalence of these sites in their SERPs.

Since quantity isn't the answer, how should you decide what keywords to target? The best approach is to focus on keywords that are going to provide the best return on the time and resources you invest in targeting them. Here's how to make that happen:

Define What You Want to Accomplish: Before you start picking out keywords, you need to know what you want those keywords to accomplish. As you may have learned from past experience, simply bringing visitors to your site doesn't mean anything if none of them take action. Since you want customers and not just website traffic, start by deciding exactly what you want your website to do. In many cases, you may have multiple goals. For example, you may want to increase the number of subscribers to your email newsletter, as well as bring in more direct buyers for a specific product. Once you know your actual goal(s), you can begin building keyword lists for each one.

Start by Brainstorming: Instead of immediately going to a tool, it's a good idea to start with a brainstorm session. Since you have one or more specific goals defined for your sets of keywords, think of all the words or phrases someone might type into Google in the process of completing the goal you've defined. Using the previous example, prospects who eventually sign up for your newsletter are going to be interested in finding more information, while those who promptly make a purchase may be looking for a specific product recommendation. The main reason to start with a brainstorm is if you immediately go to a tool, you may miss good opportunities as a result of your scope being too narrow.

Hone Your List and Put It to Use: Once you have your brainstorm list, you can use a free or paid keyword research tool to figure out which phrases have enough volume to target. After you hone your list, the last step is to put it to work. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to create tons of new pages just to target keywords. Instead, you may be able to accomplish a lot with simple changes like writing more descriptive titles and improving your site's internal link structure.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

From Places to Plus- What's Really Changed About Google Local

Brian Waraksa — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Google's change Places to Places Plus has affected business reviews, iOS and pictures next to local listings. Find out exactly what this means for your business.

From Places to Plus: What's Really Changed About Google Local?

Now that it's been over a month since Google Local got a + added to it, let's take a look at what this change has actually meant for business owners like you:

Reviews Not Showing Up

In a June 14th post on Google's Product Forums, a business owner expressed concern that while he was aware that two customers had recently reviewed his business, neither review had shown up on Google Places. Over the next day, two more people stated that they were experiencing the exact same problem. To top things off, on June 19th, a participant named nseidl said that one of his clients had gone from nearly 80 reviews to just 5! He added that since his client had two listings at two addresses, around 30 of the reviews were showing up for the second address.

iOS Issues

Two issues have been brought up in regards to how Google+ Local works with iOS. The first question was asked in the SEOmoz forum. A user named Journeyman said that it appeared to him that it was no longer possible to write a review from an iPhone or iPad. He asked if others had noticed that, as well as if anyone had found a solution. While it wasn't a direct answer to his question, The Cardinal Rule published a blog post about this same topic. They found that the ability to leave a review through Safari has been eliminated for now. They added that it's still possible to post a review through Google's Places iOS app.

Pictures Next to Local Listings

In an SEO Chat thread, a user named Dr. Marie said that her local listing had suddenly jumped to #1 for her local SERPs. Not only did it move to #1, but she also mentioned that while her local listing wasn't officially attached yet, she had an existing Google+ page that resulted in an author picture appearing next to her listing. The end result of both of these changes were that she received several calls from prospects "that will likely translate into tens of thousands of dollars."

Make Sure You Cover the Basics

As with any significant change that Google makes, it can take a lot of work to figure out the root of a specific problem. However, before you can start dealing with any advanced issues, you need to make sure that you have the basics covered. In the case of Google+ Local, that means ensuring your listing is rich with pictures, videos and plenty of descriptive text. Additionally, it's a good idea to take advantage of the new Google+ functionality to start using your page's stream to share with potential and current customers.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

You Don't Have to Be a Tech Wizard to Benefit from Automation

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Although it wasn't the spectacle that many people were expecting, Facebook's IPO has still had some major effects. One of them is putting programming in the mainstream spotlight. Thanks to this attention well-known individuals, like Ezra Klein and Mayor Bloomberg, have expressed their interest in learning how to program.

While many within the tech community are thrilled that more people want to take a walk on the technical side of life, there are those who have published blog posts to discourage "amateurs" from "wasting time" on these pursuits. Not surprisingly, a lot of heated debates have sprung up around this topic.

Even though both sides are likely to continue arguing their position, the good news is there's no reason you have to be a tech prodigy to benefit from what automation can offer. In fact, you don't even have to learn true programming thanks to all the great tools that are available. You can do a lot just by being aware of them. Let's look at a few examples of what you can accomplish simply by actively making an effort to automate parts of your workflow:

Basecamp + MailChimp: Shortly after launching the new Basecamp, 37Signals added the ability to make to-do lists via email. If there are tasks or projects that you do each month, you can automate the process of keeping track of them by combining this Basecamp feature with MailChimp.

If you have both a Basecamp and MailChimp account, all you need to do is create a list for each Basecamp project where you want to create to-do’s. You can then add the corresponding Basecamp email address to each list you create. Next, make a campaign that includes the to-do’s you'll need to complete. Finally, schedule this campaign for when you want it created. For weekly or monthly tasks, just replicate and schedule the campaigns accordingly.

In less than half an hour, you can use this simple automation to take care of ensuring that you'll never again forget about a task or project step you need to complete.

TextExpander: Whether it's a few words or entire paragraphs that you have to type on a regular basis, this $35 Mac program allows you to eliminate repetitive typing. All you need to do is create a snippet that corresponds to what you want to type and TextExpander will take care of the rest for you. If you're a Windows user, PhraseExpander provides similar functionality.

Fake: Do you find yourself regularly opening your browser and performing the same steps? If so,Fake for Mac can automate these steps for you. While you can incorporate any programming knowledge you have into using this program, its graphical interface makes it possible to automate processes simply by dragging and dropping. If you use Windows and Google Chrome, Automato is an extension that can provide some of the same functionalities as Fake.

Do you currently use any tools that make it easy to automate tasks with just a little technical knowledge?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

The Top 3 Tools to Help You Measure Social Media Metrics

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Social media has revolutionized the way people communicate. Since so many conversations now take place online, it's natural for products and services to be among the topics that come up. Wouldn't it be great if you could hear what a current customer was telling a potential customer about your business? While this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, you can now get this information in a real-time manner.

Although it would be next to impossible to manually monitor every mention of your business across all the social networking sites that people use, the good news is there are tools that can take care of capturing and analyzing all of this data for you. To help you save time, here are the three best social media tracking tools for businesses:

HootSuite

This product pulls in all activity from sites like LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter & Facebook and puts it in an easy to manage dashboard. You'll be able to easily manage all of your social profiles, keep track of what's being said about your business, schedule posting activity and dig into data about the traffic that comes to you from social sites. What's nice about HootSuite is in addition to all of its standalone features, it can also be integrated with other programs like Google Analytics.

Google Analytics

Because it's free and has a lot of features, you may already be using Google Analytics on your website. However, many current GA users aren't even aware of the specific social tracking that it provides. Its standard reporting gives you a good overview of how many social media users are actually visiting your website. If you want to take your tracking to the next level, GA makes it possible to use conversion tracking to find out how much your social traffic is actually worth to your business. You can also find out how well the different types of content you publish perform on specific social sites.

Viralheat

This product gives you the ability to manage, monitor, engage, review analytics and use actionable insights. Not only can you monitor and manage your social media accounts, but if you're a Salesforce user, you can also tie that account directly into Viralheat. In terms of engagement, what makes this product attractive is the ability to instantly respond via Twitter or Facebook without needing to log into different accounts. Although Viralheat costs $49 a month, you may find that its extensive analytics and insights are worth it. And since you can try it free for 14 days, you'll be able to see if it's a good fit for your needs before committing to a paid plan.

Increased site traffic, the ability to develop targeted marketing activities, and a more solid understanding of customer perceptions are only a few of the advantages of utilizing social media metrics. If you're looking to attract more prospects, improve engagement, and identify new product opportunities, tracking and analyzing the effectiveness of your social media efforts can be very useful.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Involved in B2B Commerce? Then You Should Be Using LinkedIn

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMT

In today's competitive B2B market, it's crucial to have a strong online presence. Businesses cannot rely solely on distributing business cards at trade shows. Since Facebook is primarily focused on friends chatting with each other, LinkedIn is the ideal social media network for B2B.

This social network caters to professionals who want an easy way to connect with each other. As a business owner, you can promote your products or services through networking, in groups or by answering questions. By sharing your expertise, your reputation and credibility will increase. The process of becoming a recognized authority in your industry will translate into more sales for your business.

In order to get the most out of LinkedIn, you need to:

1. Build an exceptional profile: Your profile acts as your landing page. You want to personalize it by including plenty of relevant details. This will ensure that when potential customers read it, they are compelled to know more. Although a profile is basically your resume, you don't have to limit it to a conventional format. Instead, you can write an interesting narrative about yourself and your experiences.

2. Connect with your network: Connecting with the right people in your industry is a key part of making the most of LinkedIn. You can start by uploading your contacts from your email accounts. Since there's a good chance that some of them already use LinkedIn, you can send a personal invitation to them.

3. Join and participate in groups: One way to get noticed and to attract potential customers is by joining relevant groups. You can join conversations by commenting, giving feedback or sharing your expertise. By posting valuable information, other users will take notice of your contributions.

4. Create and start your own group: You can leverage your popularity by starting your own group. As the group owner, you can create topics on subjects of your own interest or start targeted topics to attract those people you want to reach. By growing your network, you can create more direct connections that ultimately lead to sales.

5. Update your profile frequently: In addition to participating on a regular basis, don't forget to keep your status updated. Having fresh content will keep other users interested in your profile. Ways to do this include adding a link to your latest blog entry or integrating Twitter with your profile. Additionally, you can share a video with tips on how to solve problems. Since you want people to be able to find the content you share, make sure your titles include relevant keyword phrases.

6. Ask others: Not only can you contribute your own opinions and expertise, but you can also engage others by asking questions. This can be in the form of asking for a recommendation or creating a poll that allows other users to share their thoughts.

Do you currently use LinkedIn?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

5 Tips For Maximizing a Blog Post's Chances Of Going Viral

Brian Waraksa — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Although the last thing you want on your computer is a virus, having a blog post go "viral" can be quite beneficial for your business website. Some of the benefits of attracting this type of organic buzz include more potential customers visiting your site, an increased number of RSS and/or email subscribers and attracting more backlinks. Since most of the links will come from real people with quality blogs, they can do a lot for your rankings.

While going viral has a lot of benefits, it can take some work to accomplish. There are two main reasons you can never be 100% certain a post is going to spread like wildfire. The first is that until a post is published, you're not going to know exactly how people are going to react to it. The other is that people only have so much time and attention. As a result, your post will be competing with many others.

Publishing a post that gets shared far and wide isn't an exact science. However, the good news is that there are steps you can take to increase the likelihood that your post turns into a home run. Here are five tips for maximizing a post's chances of hitting it big:

Pique Readers' Curiosity: A large percentage of most people's days follow the same pattern. Since they're used to cruising along on autopilot, anything that stands out as different will grab their attention. You can benefit from this behavior by focusing on something truly interesting or unexpected in your post.

Be Direct: You want to write a post that readers are going to remember for more than a few minutes. One of the keys to making a strong impression is to be direct. Posts that are wishy-washy don't stand out from the crowd. You need to figure out what you want to say and then convey that message as directly as possible in your writing.

Looks Great: If a post is one big block of 450 words, then people are going to have trouble digesting it. By adding formatting elements like subheadings or list items, you can ensure readers don't miss the highlights of your post.

Trigger an Emotion: The top six emotions that make people the most likely to share a piece of writing are awe, anger, positivity, anxiety, surprise and interest. Just be sure to avoid sadness; it all but kills the likelihood of writing being shared.

It's Got to Have a Great Title: If you open any book about copywriting and look at the table of contents, you'll notice that quite a few pages are dedicated to writing headlines. The reason that so much time is spent discussing this subject is because experienced copywriters know that regardless of how good their writing is, not many people are going to read it if the headline doesn't grab their attention. In order to get people to read and ultimately share your post, you first need a title that pulls them in.

What's the most successful post you've ever published?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Video Marketing - Now's the Time to Dip Your Toes in the Water

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Internet users are no longer limited to static pages that require them to read. Because an endless supply of distractions are just a click away, if you want to keep visitors on your site, you have to provide them with what they want.

Does Video Actually Work?

In many cases, video may be the only way to keep a visitor’s attention. Even if someone’s not in the mood to read, chances are they’ll be happy to spend five minutes watching a video. The best approach to using video is to upload options that aren’t too overwhelming or sales heavy. You want to give potential customers information and ideas that are useful to them. This establishes trust, which can ultimately help you close a sale.

Make sure it’s easy for visitors to find the videos you add to your site. You also want to make it easy for visitors to share your videos. There’s nothing better than having your customers do marketing for you. Keep in mind that it’s informative and memorable videos that can stimulate buzz and potentially bring lots of traffic.

What's in It for You?

Videos are a way to establish a more personal connection with customers and spread awareness of your products, services or brand. Additionally, video sites like YouTube can drive visitors to your site. Since YouTube videos generally rank quite well in the SERPs, they are a small investment that can pay off in a big way.

How Can You Get Started?

There are plenty of tools that make it easy to start shooting and uploading videos. Because there are lots of affordable HD cameras and most computers are already equipped with editing software, the main thing you have to do is come up with ideas that are going to interest your potential customers. You may have to do a little research to find out what your customers want.

For example, if it’s a product video, make sure customers can see your product in action. For informational videos, customers want to learn something they didn’t previously know. Other wishes people have are to be entertained or become inspired to use what you sell to explore their own ideas.

Some of the excuses companies make for not utilizing video is it’s going to be too complicated or too expensive. While this may have been true a decade ago, these are no longer good reasons to stay away from video. Thanks to easy to use technology that can fit a wide range of budgets, shooting, editing and uploading videos is now easier than ever.

The icing on the cake is not only are videos an effective marketing tool, but you can use analytics to track just how well they perform. By evaluating the performance of each video you upload, it won’t be long before you get the hang of putting together really great ones!

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Is Your Website Discouraging Sales?

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Your website is often a potential customer's first point of contact with your company. As a result, it’s crucial that your site be well designed, easy to use and informative. Unfortunately, many sites suffer from problems that actually drive customers away.

To ensure your site helps your business instead of hurting it, you should pull it up on one side of your screen. Then put this post on the other side of your screen and use it as a checklist to see if your site:

Is Too Hard to Use

Your site's navigation should flow logically from one area to another. All navigational links should be clear and obvious. Most importantly, your homepage and key landing pages should offer a strong call to action that links directly to your order or contact form. Customers who cannot figure out how to order from or contact you will very likely move along to a competitor.

Seems Vague or Confusing

Customers need precise information regarding the service they are ordering and the price they will be paying before they place an order. Unclear pricing structures or vague descriptions of services can leave your customers too confused to place an order. Your best bet is to explain each service concisely but thoroughly. You should also include detailed pricing in a table or list that is easy to read and comprehend.

Provides Too Many Options

Presenting customers with too many choices can actually be a bad thing. If your business model allows for infinite service or product customization, you don’t need to include every possibility on your website or in your price list. Instead, select the most commonly ordered options and list those. Then make your contact information visible and clear so that customers who want a specialized order will be able to reach you. This is the best way to avoid discouraging potential customers who have simple needs without losing those with more specialized interests.

Looks Insecure or Unprofessional

Appearance does matter. Customers can make snap judgments about businesses based on little more than the appearance of their website. If your site looks cheap, has spelling errors or outdated design features, a customer may conclude that your business is less than reputable. They may also think your site has been abandoned. Keeping your website up-to-date and well written will prevent customers from hitting the back button.

If you collect orders online, customers want to know that their information is safe and secure. Your website should use secure processing for all personal information, including addresses, phone numbers and credit card numbers. Making it clear to your customers that their information is secure and will only be used for the fulfillment of their orders will go a long way towards winning their trust.

By taking the time to review your site and then fixing any issues you identify, you should be able to improve your sales in a very short amount of time.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

How to Increase the Effectiveness of Your Ecommerce Site

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 07 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Selling goods and services on the Internet is a big business. Although many consumers buy products from major players like Amazon, smaller sites are also flourishing. If you have an ecommerce site, you can still do very well. The key is making your site as effective as possible.

The good news about making your site more effective is it’s not as difficult as it may initially seem. There are two keys to getting the results you want. The first is to commit to making changes on an ongoing basis. One of the main reasons many ecommerce sites don’t perform as well as their owners would like is because they don’t look for ways to make improvements. Instead, they simply keep waiting and hope something will magically improve their site’s performance.

The second key is not to get caught up trying to achieve “the perfect conversion rate.” The reason this pursuit is a waste of time and energy is because no metric actually exists. Because there are so many factors involved in ecommerce, conversion rates can greatly vary from one site to another. Instead of worrying about how other sites are performing, only focus on your own. Once you know how well you site is converting, use that as the base for measuring your improvements.

Now that you know what your mindset should be for making these changes, here are some of the areas you can improve, along with specific ideas for doing so:

SEO: You want to use targeted keywords to drive as many customers as possible to your site. However, make sure that they are the best keywords for your business. There is no point in getting lots of hits on your site if those people will not be interested in your product. What this means is you’ll probably be better off going after long-tail keywords than shorter but less targeted ones.

Web Design: Multiple high quality pictures are a great way to help customers connect with products. The same is true for video. Not only can video be a very good way to encourage people to buy, but what’s really great is you can easily shoot your own video with an affordable HD camera.

Content: Don’t limit customers to a few technical details about products. Instead, write great descriptions that will get them excited. You should also encourage your customers to post product reviews. This builds up customer loyalty and is a great advertisement to new customers. And if you have any incentives such as free shipping, make sure that these are clearly displayed on your site.

Regardless of how many sales your ecommerce site is currently doing, you can improve. Instead of worrying that there’s no room for smaller players or that you will need to start from scratch, you just need to start with one improvement and build from there.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Analytics and Data - What Actually Matters?

Brian Waraksa — Tue, 01 May 2012 05:00:00 GMT

When you pull up the analytics data for your website, you see graphs that look nice and a whole lot of numbers. Inundated with what appears to be positive information, you smile to yourself and close your browser, making a mental note to check the data again later. The only problem is you didn’t actually do anything with the data you just saw!

What many business owners forget is simply collecting a lot of data isn’t a productive activity. In order to use this data, you need to be able to analyze the key parts of it. To help you out, here’s the what and why of the three types of data that matter most:

Keyword

Your analytics data is a goldmine for keyword research. The advantage of using your own data instead of a third-party tool is that instead of simply seeing volume, you get to see what keywords are being used by people who actually take action on your site.

When you’re looking through your data, you should spend time analyzing the content area. This will allow you to see the performance of your landing pages. One interesting use of your analytics data is to beef up your best landing pages with your best keywords. This will allow you to drive visitors to the pages that you already know are proven winners.

Traffic

Your website analytics can dissect your traffic into specific categories. As a result, this information is quite valuable for targeting your marketing efforts. Depending on your specific marketing needs, you will want to dig into the details of your traffic sources and related data so that you can use what you learn to tweak or create new advertising campaigns.

For example, if you have a local retail store, you can check just how much of your traffic actually comes from the area you’re targeting. If you want to expand your advertising efforts into mobile devices, you can use this data to check what devices and browsers your visitors use.

Conversion

When it comes to your website, what matters most is the number of people who are actually taking action. Having hundreds or even thousands of visitors isn’t helping your business if those people aren’t filling out your contact form or making a purchase.

There are plenty of website owners who aren’t even aware that they can set up their analytics program to track conversions. If you fall into this category, the good news is it’s likely easier than you expect. In many cases, you’ll just need to copy and paste a snippet of code. Once you start collecting this specific data, you can use it as a starting point for all of the changes you make.

Now that you have a better understanding of how to actually harness your analytics data, it’s time for you to stop staring at it and start using it to take action!

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Does Your Website Need to Be Mobile?

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMT

It's no secret that people spend a lot of time browsing the web on their cellphones. As a result of this shift in usage, many businesses have jumped on the mobile website bandwagon. However, while cellphones couldn't handle full websites several years ago, the iPhone and all of the other devices that have sprung up to compete with it have eliminated that issue.

Mobile Websites Can Do More Harm than Good

When someone uses a modern smartphone to visit a website, it can be frustrating when they are presented with a mobile website that only offers a fraction of the functionality provided by the standard version of the website. The reason this creates a bad experience for those users is they may be unable to do or find what they actually wanted. Because of this issue, if you decide that a mobile version of your website is still the right fit for your business, be sure that you make it easy for all visitors to access the standard version as well.

There are Some Valid Mobile Elements

While your website may not actually need a mobile version, there are a few elements that you may want to adjust for those visitors who come from a mobile device:

Flash: Popular cellphones like the iPhone don't work well with Flash. And even if a phone is able to play a Flash file, it may take forever to stream. There are several options for dealing with this issue. If you have a video that's in a form like MP4 or hosted on YouTube, iPhone users will be able to watch it. And if you're worried that it's going to take too long for the video to stream, you can supplement it with an explanation or even a full transcript.

PDFs: Some documents are best shared as a PDF. However, this filetype is misused on a regular basis. For example, there's no reason that a restaurant should have their menu as a PDF file. Not only is it a hassle to pull up on a desktop computer, but on a cellphone, it can take forever to download. If you've got important information on your website that is currently in the form of a PDF, you should convert it to HTML. Mobile and desktop visitors will both appreciate this change.

Popups: Because they are so effective, many websites use a popup light box to highlight a special offer or email opt-in form. While that's fine for desktop visitors, this type of window can be difficult to close on a mobile device. As a result, if you're using one of the windows, it's best to set it so it isn't displayed to mobile visitors. This will ensure that you don't cause them to go away as a result of being frustrated.

Does your website have a mobile version?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

How Can You Convert More Visitors Into Actual Leads?

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:00:00 GMT

When businesses want more customers, they often think that they need to drive more traffic to their website. While that may be the case, it's not always what's preventing them from getting the results they want. Often, business websites receive plenty of traffic. However, the reason that traffic isn't turning into customers is because the website itself isn't properly optimized to generate leads.

In order for someone to give you their name, email address and any other personal information you may request, your website needs to accomplish several things. First, it needs to make them trust you. This can be accomplished by having a professional design and including elements like testimonials that show you're a legitimate business. Second, your website needs to provide a simple experience. If it takes too long to load or people have a hard time finding what they want, they're going to leave before taking any type of action. This factor is why it's so important to have clear navigation and prominently feature important elements on your homepage.

Finally, you have to pique their interest to the point where they want to take action. Since most people are tackling multiple things at once when they are on their computer, it should come as no surprise that grabbing their attention in this manner can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are several options that can help you accomplish this crucial goal. All of the options take the form of an offer. For some businesses, one of these offers will be the perfect fit. For others, they will actually get the best results from using two or three of the options in combination with each other. Let's take a look at each one:

Eliminate Risk: There are a lot of situations where you simply need an offer that can bring people into your sales cycle. The key to properly making this type of offer is to eliminate all obstacles. That's why something useful and completely free is the best way to go. Whether it's a whitepaper or free report, make it clear that anyone who gets it will benefit without taking on any type of risk.

The Extra Push: Chances are, there are plenty of people who visit your website and are almost ready to do business with you. However, before they actually become a paying customer, they just need one final push. The type of offer that can persuade something in this position is something like a free webinar. While it's more involved than the previous offer, its effectiveness will make it worth your time.

Provide an Upgrade: It's important to remember that people who have never done business with your company aren't the only potential source of leads. Your business can also benefit from existing customers who choose to upgrade to another product. It's also possible for potential customers to have one option in mind, but then be persuaded to go with another. The one thing you need to keep in mind about making this type of offer is while you want it to be attractive, you don't want to make your basic offering look like junk.

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

5 Additions That Can Make Your Homepage Even More Effective

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

The fact that you're taking time out of your busy schedule to read blog posts about ways to improve your business means you're already ahead of many other business owners. What you realize is regardless of how much you may already know, there is always room for improvement. This concept is especially important for web design. Many people think that web design is a one-time task. While that can be true, the most effective web designs are the result of ongoing changes and improvements.

Since there's only so much time that you can spend on improvements, you want to make sure that you choose areas that are going to have the biggest impact. Because it's the first page most visitors see when they come to your website, your homepage is an excellent candidate for where you should focus your attention. If you want to know what you can do to make your homepage even more effective, here are five additions that can help you turn even more visitors into customers:

A Clear Headline: Even though your homepage probably isn't just a single article, that doesn't mean you should neglect having a strong headline. In fact, because it may only be a second before a visitor decides to stay or leave, you want to ensure that there's a powerful headline to make them choose the former. When it comes to crafting your headline, you want to be clear and relevant. Keep in mind that the goal of this element is to get visitors to continue looking at your homepage and the rest of your site. While a bold headline can work very well, just be sure that the rest of your site can back it up.

Focus on Your Visitors: Visitors to your website obviously want to learn about your business. However, the reason they care is because they want to know if your business has something that can help them. Because their interest actually has to do with themselves, you want to make sure that the elements on your homepage reflect their true intentions. If your current homepage is all about your business and not about what it can do for visitors, a few adjustments can go a long way.

A Relevant Photo: Multiple studies have confirmed the usefulness of having a relevant photo on your homepage. While there are cases where a stock photo can work well, a real photo of anything from your store to a customer can be even more effective.

Clear Directions: Whether you're collecting leads or actually making a sale, there is a path you want visitors to follow from the homepage. Instead of leaving their choices up to chance, be sure to make it clear to them exactly where you want them to click next.

Contact Information: Although it sounds like common-sense, many businesses still overlook this important element. In addition to having a prominent link to your contact page, it's a good idea to actually display the phone number and email address of your business directly on the homepage.

Have you recently made any changes to your homepage?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Are You Looking for Some Social Media Inspiration?

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

Consistency is one of the keys to getting the best results from social media. Since social media is all about building relationships, you don't want to leave people hanging for days or even weeks at a time. Instead, you want to keep them engaged with your brand. While the fun nature of social media means that being consistent won't create the type of burden that comes with an activity like dieting, that doesn't mean you'll always be bursting with ideas about what to share.

If you've gotten into a regular social media routine but have suddenly hit a sticking point, the good news is there are quite a few ways to come up with interesting new ideas. To help get your creativity flowing again, here are some ideas that you can use as inspiration for your own social media activities:

Talk About Customers: Obviously, how much you can share will depend on your specific industry. However, even if you're in an industry where privacy is important, that doesn't mean you can't say a single thing about any of your customers. While it's great if your industry is one where openness is an option, if that's not the case, you can still discuss recent positive experiences you've had with customers without revealing any specific details about their identity. You can also take this specific strategy and substitute partners as another option for coming up with social media content.

Make It a Team Effort: It's good if your social media activities have a clear and consistent voice. But just because you want your brand to be consistent doesn't mean that you have to exclude members of your team from engaging through social media. The 37Signals blog is a great example of how to properly execute this strategy. They regularly publish posts from all different members of their team. Because each post is clearly labeled with the author's name, it allows multiple team members to contribute without creating any confusion among readers. In addition to blogging, this strategy can be used everywhere from Facebook to Google Plus.

Ask for Feedback: One of the simplest ways to create engagement is to ask questions. What's great about this option is you don't have to feel pressure to come up with extremely creative questions. While those types of questions can be interesting, there's nothing wrong with asking for something as simple as feedback. The reason this works so well is because everyone likes to give their opinion. For example, if you make changes to a page on your website or its entire design, ask people what they think about it. While it's true that you may receive some criticism, keep in mind that can be a good thing. Since you may discover something you overlooked, this form of social media engagement can be just as beneficial to you as it is to your customers and followers.

What other sources do you turn to for social media inspiration?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Social Media Can Help Take Leads Through Your Sales Process

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

People who have never owned a business commonly think that customers simply make a purchase as soon as they come into contact with a business. However, as a business owner with years or even decades of experience under your belt, you know that's quite far from the truth. Although it would be nice if it was that easy to close sales, the reality is it normally takes multiple interactions for a promising lead to become an actual customer.

Although the Internet has not eliminated the standard buying habits that people follow, the good news is it has made it easier to guide them from an interested lead into a customer who actually pays for something. If you are wondering how you can make your sales process more efficient, social media is the answer. By properly utilizing social media, you will be able to guide leads through your sales process and end up with customers who are very happy.

Here are the details of exactly how it works:

Start with Free

Today's consumers have more options than ever. In addition to their increased options, chances are they have been disappointed or completely ripped off by multiple companies. As a result, they are generally hesitant to jump right into making a purchase.

Although that may seem like a major obstacle for your business, there is an easy way to accommodate it. The solution is to begin your sales process with something free. What you give away will depend on your specific business and industry. In addition to being free, the key to getting the most out of this step is to provide something of value. Once you figure out what you should give away, you can use outlets like Twitter to share it with potential customers.

Move Towards Commitment

Some businesses try to skip directly from a free giveaway to paid customers. However, studies have found that adding an intermediary step to your sales process is a more effective option. If you sell a physical product, this will generally be a free sample. And if what you offer falls into a different category, a free trial is usually the best option.

The way that social media can complement this step of your sales process is by allowing warm leads to directly communicate with you. Additionally, when they discuss your free sample or trial through an outlet like Facebook, it creates opportunities for other potential customers to discover your business.

Close the Sale

The last step in a successful sales process is to actually close and gain a new customer. This is arguably the step where social media has the biggest impact. The reason social media can be so beneficial for closing a sale is because people realize they have a public venue for discussing your business. As a result, they understand that you stand behind what you offer. This combination creates a level of trust that would be difficult to achieve without the support of social media.

How big of a role does social media play in your sales process?

About The Author

Brian Waraksa

Is Guest Blogging an Effective Marketing Tool?

Brian Waraksa — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 05:00:00 GMT

If you want to be able to reach more potential customers and create more opportunities for your business, guest blogging is definitely an effective marketing tool. However, some business owners who have dabbled with guest blogging weren't impressed by the results that they saw.

In most cases, the reason for less than stellar results is because people miss out on one or more crucial elements of effective guest blogging. If you want to avoid these mistakes and make the most of your guest blogging, here's what you need to remember:

Quality > Quantity: Because it takes time and effort to write a quality guest post, you don't want to take the approach of trying to crank them out and then throw them up on any blog that will accept your posts. Instead, you want to choose blogs that are going to provide you with the best mileage. Initially, you may think that means choosing blogs with the most traffic. While it doesn't hurt to have your content on an "A-List" blog, don't discount blogs with smaller but very targeted and loyal readers. In many cases, you will get the best results from utilizing that kind of blog.

Since you want to choose your guest posting opportunities wisely, be sure to take some time to research in advance. Not only will this help you find the best options for publishing blog posts, but because you will actually learn about the blogs you're interested in, you will be able to contact their owners without sounding spammy.

Target the Audience: One of the benefits of guest blogging is it allows you to put your business in front of readers who may have otherwise never known about it. Since you're probably going to be writing for a very focused audience, make sure you hone your post to match their interests. That means you're probably going to change things up from how you write for the blog on your business website. If this sounds complicated, you'll be relieved to know that just about all bloggers are happy to provide guest authors with some ideas and tips. In addition to reading multiple posts to get a feel for a blog's style, don't be afraid to ask its owner questions.

Don't Abandon Your Post: Just because you finish writing a post doesn't mean that you're done with it. Once it's published, you want to make sure that you give it the attention it deserves. Not only will the blogger who published it for you appreciate the effort you put into promoting it, but it will also maximize the results you see from it.

One of the best things you can do is interact with commenters on your post. In addition to taking the time to respond to readers who leave a comment, you can also promote the post through your own social channels.

Have you published many guest posts over the last six months?