Understanding conversion rates and how to optimize them can have a dramatic impact on the revenue you generate from your website. Often, people assume that conversion rate optimization will take considerably more work than it needs to. Understanding a few key points can change visitors to customers quickly. Here’s how: 

1) Vital Information Needs to be Visible

Website visitors have a notoriously short attention span. Make sure you do not bury vital information. They need to be able to swiftly and intuitively find information related to your product and company. Contact information, important details of your product or service, any relevant policies, security details, and purchasing access should be obvious and easy to access.

2) Eliminate Distraction

If you want to turn visitors into customers, get rid of the fluff. Clean design with accessible and intuitively organized information and clear paths when a visitor is ready to make a purchase should be the goal. Remove unnecessary steps between product or service view and finalizing purchase. Clean up excessive pop ups or busy design features and anything else which detracts from the primary purpose of your site. Another related consideration is browser-compatibility. Nothing is quite as distracting as a broken website. Verify that yours will function in any browser environment.

3) Know Your Traffic and Visitors

Understanding your traffic patterns and the types of visitors your site attracts can help you better target your strategy to ensure higher sales. There are a number of programs that can help you monitor where your traffic originates and gather data on the habits of your visitors. Use this data to pinpoint where visitors enter your site, how they navigate, and what issues they encounter. As well, you can monitor visitor viewing habits to utilize effective online upselling strategies and offer related items to what they are browsing.

4) Get Creative

Experiment. Test things out. Move things around. Pay attention to how small adjustments affect your profits. Do some research and play around with big ideas. Don’t be afraid to take bold steps in your design philosophy. Unlike a brick-and-mortar storefront, remodeling your website is considerably less expensive and time consuming, and you can make change with little risk and potentially high rewards.

5) Know your market

For every strategy and design philosophy which exists, understanding the market you operate in will improve its implementation. Understand who your competitors are, get to know your consumers and their wants and needs, watch industry experts and learn from their experience and insight. Consider how the strengths your company has can give you an edge in the market you are competing in.

Summary

Creating a website that makes effective use of conversion rate optimization need not be a challenge. Get to know your website’s metrics and combine it with your knowledge of your product and market. Think from the perspective of a potential visitor to your site when you are developing your strategy. Get outside eyes to review your site and encourage them to give you feedback. A little bit of creativity and a willingness to make adjustments can make your website work harder for you.

5 Tips to Better Conversion Rates on Your Website is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

There is an unwritten rule when using social media for business that states companies should use it as much as possible. Many experts will advise to turn focus to social networking platforms that will provide the best mileage. To find out which social platforms do that for your business takes time and a lot of careful monitoring. Make the time to read through all social media activities and determine which ones work the best for your business, then put all efforts and time into utilizing them on a permanent basis. The following strategies and approaches work well for Google +.

1. Make your Google + Page Interactive

The aim of Google + is to allow businesses and their brands to create effortless relationships with prospects and customers. This why Google created the option for all businesses to interact via Google +. It is a good idea to create your own Google + business page, and place a button on the front page of your website. Next, you need to learn how to fully utilize Google + for your business.
It is important that you ensure your Google + page is not only interesting, but interactive as well. You should upload various product pictures and pictures relevant to the services that you offer. Use the page to post pictures about important events as well.

It is important that you ensure your Google + page is not only interesting, but interactive as well. You should upload various product pictures and pictures relevant to the services that you offer. Use the page to post pictures about important events as well.

2. Make Use of ‘Hangouts’

“Hangouts” is a Google + application that is ideal for group chats, and it allows up to 10 users from 10 different locations to actively use the audio and video chat feature simultaneously. This is a huge advantage to those who are always on the move. The service, however, is currently only available to Android 2.3 phones (and above) that have dual cameras. There’s no need to be in your office when you access this feature, as you can finalize your deals from anywhere.

3. Use Circles and Streams

The “Circles” feature allows either public or private communications. You can create different circles for your clients, friends and family, and prospects. You can also create different circles for various groups of clients that all make a specific contribution at your bottom-line level.

With the “Streams” feature, you are able to post the latest updates concerning all your services and products which offer benefits to your business. For additional publicity, you can forward these streams to your friends, family and business partners. Your posts will be open to the public, where people can access them at any time and if they like them, they can forward the posts to their friends and family, which will further expand your brand.

It has never been easier to grow a business than today, and if you make proper use of social media channels, such as Google + and others, your business will likely grow at a substantial rate. Follow the above tips while using Google + for your business, and you may experience success through this social media platform.

3 Ways to Use Google + for Business is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

According to the International Communication Union, globally there are 1.5 billion people who access the web using a mobile device. Therefore, marketing using mobile devices grants small businesses the opportunity to expand their potential customer base exponentially. However, you should establish a formidable mobile marketing strategy before diving into this marketing pool, so to save you time, money and resources.                                               

 A mobile marketing strategy is a must for any size business, so you can be at or above the marketing level as your competitors. Statistics by Web.com show that of small businesses who have a mobile presence, 84 percent have noted an increase in their business. Follow these five tips to ensure your mobile marketing strategy is most effective for the needs of your business.        

 1. Define what you want to achieve using the mobile web, which is your mobile strategy. What types of mobile services, such as text messaging, coupons or apps, do you plan to provide? Are you interested in location services so to increase the visibility of your business among your local community?

 2. Establish your presence using a mobile website. While most people can access the Internet using their mobile device, only those websites that have been designed with mobile capabilities can be opened via most smartphones and portable devices. Provide your business logo and contact information on your mobile          site, as well as sales and services if applicable.

 3. Create a mobile app that links customers to your mobile website. However, you should also add features to the    mobile app to make it a more substantial mobile experience. Say you   offer party supplies. For your app, you can feature an encyclopedia      of all things that are related to parties, such as holidays, table           settings, recipes and etiquette. Consider the app a form of advertising that offers customers a bonus.

 4. Include QR (quick response) codes, which are scannable codes that link to your mobile website. Most mobile sites, as well as print ads in magazines and newspapers, are using QR codes, which can be read by most smartphones and tablets. Customers with smartphones carry a scanner for QR codes within their pockets, thanks to the many free scanner apps available. Unlike apps that must be downloaded before access is granted to your mobile website, QR codes link to your mobile site instantly. QR codes are also useful for providing coupons and discounts to customers.

 5. Connect with potential customers using text messaging. Text messaging is ideal for individuals who own cell phones but lack web connectivity. Text messages are quicker and more effective than emails; there is only an average four-minute window between when a text is sent and received. Use texts to notify customers of sales and to send out coupons. Keep in touch with customers by sending news flashes and information regarding new products using text messaging.

 The mobile market is filled with vast opportunities for your small business. This form of communication allows you to access a greater number of customers than ever before.  It is vital that you stay one step ahead of your mobile customers by providing the latest in mobile marketing.

5 Mobile Marketing Tips for Small Businesses is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

A call-to-action, or CTA, plays a vital role in Internet marketing efforts and it is used in the form of text or an image to prompt visitors and users to take immediate action. Examples of such CTAs are subscriptions to newsletters, requests for a product demo or a call to view a webinar. The CTAs main job is to direct visitors to a landing page where you are able to gather their contact information and in exchange, they will receive a marketing offer of value. You will end up with more quality leads as a result of a successful CTA.

 Creating a relevant and compelling CTA is crucial and a single change to a button, for example, could greatly improve your conversion rate. It sounds simple, but the size and color of the button, as well as the text that you use on it could significantly improve your results. Follow these effective CTA strategies for greater success:

 1) Present a Clear Offer

 A CTA has to consist of a clear description of the offer. Make sure that your call-to-action is specific and reveal necessary details to encourage visitors and users to take immediate action.

 2) CTAs Must Stand Out

 A CTA should not blend in with the surrounding page colors, for example. It has to stand out so that it is highly visible. The use of contrasting colors that are strong is best and can easily increase your conversion rates. A larger button is noticed much easier too.

 3) CTAs must be Action-Oriented

 Start your CTA with an action-oriented verb, such as “Register”, “Download Now” or “Download – FREE.” It makes it clear what action your visitor will be confronted with on the landing page. They will know what to expect as well.

 4) Convey Value with CTAs

 All CTAs should confront the visitor with the question of – “What value is in it for me?” Take the three top benefits of your offer and list them in a priority list. The critical benefit should be at the top of the list and you should shorten it to a couple of words.

 5) Create Urgency with CTAs

 The only way to create urgency with a CTA is to ask the following question to each visitor via the CTA – “Why should I take action?” By emphasizing a special discount or seasonality, and by using words such as “Today” and “Now”, you will create urgency.

 6) Make the CTA Personal

 It can be tricky to personalize a CTA. It will help to know what your visitors are reading and where they are at present. An example is when you add a CTA on your “About Us” page that directs them to your “Careers Page” by using a message such as – “Like what we do? Join our team now.”

 7) Ask Questions in the CTA

 Asking a compelling question in a CTA, which is then followed up by a brief response is usually effective. Such questions predict what your visitors might be interested in and could increase their interest even more.

 8) Be Confident with CTAs

 If you are firm and bold with your offer, it will convey confidence to your visitors. Stand behind what you are saying to them and it could relieve the visitor’s acceptance risks. An example is, “This Is the Best Online College for You.”

 9) Test your CTA’s

 It is vital that you test your CTAs continually to determine what works best with your visitors or users. Test the use of different colors, text, messages and where on the page you place the CTA.

CTA’s are a very important marketing piece and if done effectively can increase conversion rates. Keep these tips in mind the next time you have to write CTA’s. If you take the time to write effective CTA’s you can greatly improve your overall marketing strategy.

Writing Effective Calls to Action is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

As SEO marketers we are constantly bombarded with messages about Black Hat SEO. We are all too familiar with these unethical SEO strategies that make up this type of SEO such has keyword stuffing, invisible text, doorway pages and more. In the SEO world we are often advised against Black Hat SEO tactics, but often times it seems as if White Hat SEO is less talked about, when the majority of businesses and marketers are using this type of SEO. This post attempts to highlight White Hat SEO, its tactics and why it is important and beneficial to stick with this type of SEO even if it takes longer to see results.

White Hat SEO refers to the use of SEO strategies and techniques that focus on the audience rather than strictly on search engines, this type of SEO also follows ethical search engine rules and policies.

There are several tactics used in white hat SEO they include but not limited to; using keyword research & keyword analysis, backlinking, in order to improve link exposure and popularity, as well as creating content for users. Now let’s highlight how these different techniques are used and what they mean.

Keyword Research/Keyword Analysis: While this can be time consuming, it is very much important and can provide insight about your targeted audience. Keyword research and analysis helps you identify which keywords your targeted audience are searching for when they type a search into Google or any other search engine. Ranking the right keywords is a major factor in determining where your website ranks in search engines. Having the right keywords can often make or break your website.

Backlinking: This tactic refers to the links that come from other websites, web pages, etc. back to your website. The more backlinks your website has the more popular it will appear to search engines, thus driving your SEO strategy. Backlinking improves link popularity and exposure.

Creating Content: The process of creating quality, interesting content for users who visit your site. The more content-rich your site is , the more valuable it will appear to Google and other search engines.

The majority of SEO marketers focus on White Hat SEO as the means to drive traffic to their website, and ultimately increase ROI. White Hat SEO has known to be a proven strategy that is dominantly used by those marketers who want to make a long term investment in SEO strategy. White Hat SEO does involve more work and effort than Black Hat SEO, but the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term costs. If you want to be an ethical marketer and build credibility in your industry, White Hat SEO should be your policy.

White Hat SEO: Definition, Tactics, Importance is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

Chances are that at some point most Internet users have either purchased a product or service through an E-commerce site, or at the very least thought about it. E-commerce sites are rapidly growing and the number of customers buying things online is at an all time high.

E-commerce sites are common and popular for a variety of reasons, the most obvious is the convenience factor. With the busy society we live in today it is sometimes hard to get to our favorite stores to shop. Ecommerce sites make shopping easy, simply turn on your computer or mobile device, visit your favorite stores websites and order and purchase what you want all from the comfort of your own home or anywhere.

According to a recent report done, U.S. Online Retail Forecast 2011 to 2016 by Forrester Research by the year 2016 (which definitely isn’t far off) 15 percent more customers will be shopping online and spending up to 44 percent more money. Online spending is not going anywhere it is becoming bigger than most marketers probably ever expected.

What does this mean for mobile marketing?

What does this mean for social media?

As we all know, social media must be a part of every business’s marketing plan. No longer is this tool and option in order to fully optimize on marketing efforts. E-commerce is no stranger to social media, online sales happen on social media networks very often. According to the consulting firm Booz & Company. U.S. online social network sales will grow by 93 percent per year through 2016. With these numbers social networks cannot be ignored, if you want to increase your sales.

It is safe to say that in just a few short years E-commerce will be more profitable than ever, and it will be driven by mobile and social media marketing. Marketers will have to increase their mobile and social media efforts in order to fully achieve their marketing goals.

Online Spending: What It Means For Mobile & Social Media Marketing is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

How many times have you been on a website, started to buy something and the phone rings, or the baby starts crying and you are ultimately distracted and don’t finish your purchase? It is safe to say this has happened to most of us on more than one occasion.

Marketers have learned this behavior among users and have developed a marketing practice to convert these potential customers, this practice is known as behavioral retargeting; more commonly referred to as simply retargeting or readvertising.

How does it work?
So you get distracted from buying your purchase online, or you decide not to make the purchase for other reasons, but then the next day you are online you see an advertisement for the product or similar product you thought about buying the day before. Over and over you see this product or service you considered purchasing but for whatever reason decided against it; this process my friends is retargeting.

The next morning you go back to your computer and browse to a news site. As the page of that site loads so does an Ad that is from the site that you visited yesterday (where you looked at some products or services but did not buy). Maybe you go do a Google search or search another site, and you see yet another advertisement for a product tor service you recently attempted to purchase or thought about purchasing but did not for whatever reason. Marketers are trying to get you to convert to a sale, and long term to a customer since they “lost” you the first time around.

Does it work?
Yes retargeting works! Retargeting allows you to keep your message and your brand in front of prospects after they leave your website. Retargeting gives us marketers another chance for every lost conversion. Retargeting allows us to get more out of every marketing dollar by giving us another chance to convert a user into a sale and long term customer.

Many companies have already seen success in their retargeting campaigns. As always we as marketers should not rely on retargeting alone to increase sales and conversions, but it is another piece of the marketing puzzle. When done effectively retargeting greatly contribute to your marketing campaign.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Try Again: Retargeting 101 is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

Effective Link Building Techniques

While many companies use paid link building  techniques and practices there is still a lot of benefit to organic link-building when done right. Strong organic link building approaches are harder to track but in the long run are extremely valuable to the websites’ overall domain strength and in turn increasing their SEO efforts.

Here are five valuable link building tips that will help you improve your website’s Google rankings long-term.

1.      It’s What’s on the Inside that Matters the Most: Linking Your Inner-Pages

Make sure that the majority of your backlinks are pointing towards your inner pages and blog posts and not just your homepage, otherwise Google will penalize you. It doesn’t make sense for Google if your backlinks simply point to your homepage. You have to prove to Google that your site is valuable and what better way to do that then to point to your inner page and blog posts; the pages where the real content is, the pages that really matter.

2.      Become a Social Butterfly

Social media is extremely important in your SEO efforts and link building techniques. The more you spread the content from your website and blog across social media platforms the better. When you share useful content, you will get likes, retweets, and +1′s. This not only gives you bonus points in terms of SEO, but it also helps virally spread your content far beyond the confines of your fan-base.

3.      Diversify Your Anchor Texts

Don’t force Google to do anything. There’s nothing Google hates more than feeling like you’re trying to force it to rank you for a specific keyword. Practice using minimal anchor text for each specific keyword, that way you will stay on good terms with Google.

4.      Quality vs. Quantity

You do not want to get on Google’s bad side by have a large amount of backlinks from untrustworthy sites. Quality backlinks are the key to making Google happy not quantity.

5.      Make your Content Link-Worthy

Last but not certainly not least, make sure you are producing link-worthy content. You have to make sure that you are producing content that your visitors like or find informative. If your visitors don’t like your site, they will leave and go elsewhere. High bounce rates on websites mean low Google rankings. If Google thinks people don’t like your site or the content it provides, you will not rank high in their rankings.

It is important for businesses to practice these link-building techniques for their websites. Using these techniques over time will increase brand exposure, fan-base and overall Google rankings.

Effective Link Building Techniques is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, getting involved in social media networks has become a relevant and necessary marketing strategy for businesses. However, with all this social signal talk, many business owners don’t understand what’s there to know and why is it important.

Here are the basics behind social signaling, its importance and how you can get start getting social signals.

What are Social Signals?
Social signaling is the accumulation of your participation in social media networks. It refers to how many Facebook “likes” or shares you have, the activity level of your Twitter account and the number of followers, or how many Google+ your business has. Essentially, social signals represent the strength of your online presence, relevance and authority. They support your image and branding by creating positive chatter about your business on the internet.

Why are Social Signals important?
Social signals help search engines determine how authoritative and important your website is to the online community. The more active you are on social networks, the better your social signal on search engines. And yes, your social signal does matter. In fact, social signals account for 8-10% of Google and Bing’s search algorithm. Search engines such as Google, assign a social signal rank, from 0 to 10, to all websites. The better your rank, the more important and popular Google deems your website. This, of course, leads to a higher overall search engine ranking for more visibility and exposure.

How do I get Social Signals?
The best way to start creating positive social signals is through content creation. A content-driven strategy helps you increase your social signals. Your content strategy may contain press releases, case studies, white papers or reports, blogs, videos and webinars. By sharing your content, you provide something useful to the online community. Imagine publishing a blog that gets retweeted, shared on Facebook and referenced on other sites. All this social activity surrounding your content increases your authority on the internet.

Creating a social signal strategy requires both time and strategy. From content creation to social sharing, building your social signal can become overwhelming. Nonetheless, given the growing importance of social signals, it’s critical to start building your social signal rank.

Want expert advice on your online marketing strategy? Contact our online marketing specialists at ClickXPosure at 888-909-RANK for a no-obligation consultation.

Why Social Signals Matter is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization

With limited time and screen space, most online browsers prefer reading content that is written in an easy-to-read format such as lists, over long paragraphs or essays. In fact, articles written in a list format are so popular that some websites focus on them exclusively, and the successful ones have no shortage of web traffic.

The popularity of lists isn’t just something the internet age spawned, but the abundance and search optimization of lists have made them an internet mainstay. Most successful article-based websites feature lists, and succeed for the following reasons.

1. Keywords. List titles are like the perfect storm of SEO. Words like “top,” “most,” and “best” are some of the most commonly-searched terms, and while you’ll need to be a little creative to distinguish your list from the others, by titling your article appropriately, you already have an SEO head-start.
2. Length. You could probably find a few list articles out there detailing the reasons why online readers prefer short articles, but the main things you need to keep in mind are that your reader a) is probably under a time crunch, b) wants to make a decision as quickly as possible, and c) needs to maintain interest in the article at hand in order to read further. A short, well-written list article is more likely to generate interest than a detailed treatise that examines a single topic in depth.
3. Opinion. Many of the keywords in lists are unabashedly hyperbolic and subjective.This doesn’t mean that your article should contain fallacies, but that you should highlight the best things your company produces. For example, an article entitled “Customers Vote on our Top 10 Products” will show the reader that your company values customer opinion while providing them with a detailed list of your most popular products.
4. Format. List articles essentially have an outline format, meaning that they have clear headings at each section. This means that a reader can skip the list items that don’t interest them and go on to read the ones that do. Compare that with pages of unmarked paragraphs and you can see the appeal.
5. Links. A list article can serve as an introduction to your website and contain links to other sections that cover list items in a more detailed fashion. For example, a list article describing the services you provide would contain a link to the section of your website that describes the services or contains customer reviews of services. Another organic way to incorporate links into a list article would be to provide an FAQ page or a page detailing common problems that your company can remedy.

A good list article will keep readers interested and encourage them to explore your company’s website. In addition to increasing web traffic, list articles can serve as effective marketing tools that serve to inform, and ultimately increase, your customer base. 

If you need help producing online content or are looking for creative ways to integrate keywords, links and other SEO friendly elements into your content, consult ClickXPosure’s copywriters by calling 1-888-909-RANK.  

5 Reasons List Articles Increase Page Views is a post from: Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Pay Per Click Management (PPC) Local Maps Optimization