Common Website Mistakes to Avoid

Websites are the modern equivalent of a business card. They’re necessary to stay competitive. If you don’t have a website, the chances are that your competitor down the street does.  And you can bet that customers will go to that business in a heartbeat if they can’t find out anything about your business online.

These days, an online presence confirms your legitimacy as a business.

With that being said, you don’t want to waste people’s time when they do come to your website. They want readily available information that gets straight to the point of what they need. Wading through useless, peripheral information will only frustrate them and send them clicking over to your competitor before the web page has finished loading.

Website mistakes which can cause that situation to happen more quickly include:

1. Talking Too Much About Yourself Instead of What You Can Do for the Client

Your website is a marketing tool. It is not a one-sheet for your personal or business biography. Your “About” page can give some relevant background about your business’ origins or mission statement, but when people visit your website’s homepage, the focus should be on how they landed on the right website to get exactly what they need. The “who” is not as relevant in this case as the “what” and “how fast.”

2. Forgetting to Add a Search Box

If all the things that you offer can’t fit on one page, then people will probably want to do a quick look up for what they need. The emphasis here is on the word, quick. People are used to doing web searches, and they will look for a search box if they don’t immediately see what they are looking for. That search box should be in a highly visible place because if your visitors have to search too long for it, they’ll just as soon go to Google and search for another business that can deliver whatever it is they’re looking for.

3. Allowing Links to Other Sites to Open in the Same Window

The goal is to keep your website visitors on your site for as long as possible. The longer they stay and engage with your content, the more likely they are to become a customer or at least a subscriber. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to link to third party sites for such things as reading source material or to complete a purchase. No matter the reason that they leave, you always want your visitors to come back. Make it easy for them to do that by having all of your outbound links open in a new window. This way, your website remains present and available as a reminder for visitors to take another look whenever they’ve finished doing the offsite tasks.

By having a website for your business and avoiding these three common mistakes, you can create a better online experience for your prospects and customers.

4 Ways to Get Creative with Content Marketing

What is the absolute BEST way to get your website content seen? People consume content all over the internet in many different ways.  Think of various websites like Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook.  The popularity of these platforms lies in the fact that people can choose how they consume information.  So, how can you make use of this when creating your own web content?  Here are four ways to get creative with your content marketing strategies and help encourage more website engagement from your viewers:

Video Blog with Transcript

Video blogs are exactly what they sound like… a video of you (or someone else) speaking on a topic; and they are becoming increasingly popular.  However, you should consider taking that video a step further by including a transcript of it on the same page.  By doing this, you will optimize both the written content as well as the video content for search engines.

Infographics

Many people love infographics, and for a good reason! They are incredibly easy to understand and can be reviewed quickly.  Infographics are nothing more than simple images that convey your message.  A Google Image search of the term “Infographic” will provide several hundreds of examples.  Best of all, with the right tool (like that provided by piktochart.com), creating a custom infographic can be easy.

Expert Interviews

Nothing gives you credibility like having a celebrity endorsement.  However, that is not always possible.  The next best thing is showcasing an individual’s expertise – whether that is someone within your company or outside of it.  Creating content using an expert interview is an excellent way to add credibility to your website.  You can even combine this concept with the video blog tip, above.

“A Day in the Life”….In Photos!

People love to see a story. Is your company having a business retreat soon?  If so, that could be an excellent opportunity to add a “human” element to your website and help your target audience connect with you.  Just a few pictures, each with a caption telling the story, can go a long way towards building rapport with your audience.

With so much content on the web, it is important that yours stands out among the crowd. Changing things up and throwing in something other than a blog or whitepaper every once in a while can make a world of difference for your business.

Do Catalogs Still Drive Sales?

The belief that print is dead is not only erroneous, it is a false mindset that can cost you customers. Catalogs and brochures remain very effective tools to reach customers and drive sales. Printed marketing materials need to be a component of a successful outreach campaign. Email and digital materials are easily dismissed with a click of a button, whereas print is tangible, vibrant, and imparts information in an effective manner. Catalogs make shopping a more interactive, tactile, and physical experience. Many customers enjoy a mix of print and digital information, and when making the buy decision, many tactile people would rather shop from a printed catalog.

Catalogs also make a perfect leave behind at the conclusion of a sales call; rather than state that you will email them material, you are able to put it in their hand during those vital moments when they are strongly engaged with you. Catalogs are also perfect for recurring customers with whom you want to keep in touch, by having your catalog on their desk, and making that visual impression, can help to keep your company, and your products, at the forefront of their mind. Printed materials that are vibrant, promote the company’s brand identity, and impart useful information will be an effective piece of any direct marketing campaign.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that your firm does not need printed materials, and that digital can meet all of your marketing needs. Catalogs continue to play an important part in driving sales and keeping repeat customers engaged in the sales process. Catalogs present your products and services in a straightforward, informative, and easily digested manner that is accessible to customers across many market niches. Make sure that your marketing campaigns contain all of the tools available.