Tag Archives: tips and tricks

5 (More) Ways Your Website Could Be Better

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Hosting

The post 5 (More) Ways Your Website Could Be Better appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Last week we published a post that outlined five ways your website could be better. In our post, we offered recommendations that you could use on your website to increase traffic, gain more online customers, and improve your brand reputation online. The main areas we focused on related to responsive design, social integration, visual content, effective call-to-actions, and customer testimonials. In the post below, we would like to expand on the topic by outlining five more ways your website could be better. If you’re just not getting what you’ve been hoping to get out of your website, consider the following:   It could offer more value. It’s likely that you’re in a very competitive industry. As more businesses and brands fight for the loyalty of consumers online, it’s becoming increasingly for companies to leverage themselves as value-providers. What kind of value are visitors receiving from you or your company when they land on your website? Do they land on a static, seemingly “frozen-in-time” website that only offers basic contact information or information about products and services? Or is it easy for them to find rich, valuable content created by you that they can learn from or use to solve a problem? These are questions you need to ask when it comes to evaluating your website. Consumers today are not just looking for great products sold by great companies. They are also looking for information. In order to build trust and loyalty with prospective customers (especially ones who are active on social media), it’s important that you take the time to offer more value to them—without the expectation of receiving anything in return (i.e. the sale).   It could be faster. We’ve mentioned it on our blog before: as average internet connection speeds increase around the world, web users are becoming less and less tolerant of slow load times. You might have the best products or services in the world, but if your website is too slow, consumers won’t be interested in sticking around to find out. According to one recent report on the impact of website and webpage load times, “a 1 second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions.” For this reason, it’s important to constantly be evaluating and reevaluating the speed of your website. For tips on how to speed up your website, read through this blog post .   It could be easier to navigate. Consumers like to be able to find information quickly and easily on websites. Putting your navigation in a non-standard location, using too many buttons, or having your navigation out of order can have a negative impact on usability. Keep navigation at the top of the page, limit it to only important links, and put your most important items first or last. According to a blog post from KISSmetrics, “items that appear first or last on any list are most effective. Navigation is no exception. Psychology studies show that, attention and retention are highest for things that appear at the beginning and at the end. It’s called the “serial position effect,” and it’s based on the principles of primacy and recency.” To improve the functionality and usability of your website, consider reorganizing or updating your navigation menus.   It could have a cleaner design. In addition to improving functionality and usability across multiple devices and browsers, responsive design can also help make your overall website design a lot cleaner and easier for visitors to use. If you’re not ready to switch over to a responsive design just yet though, there are still things you can do to clean up the look of your website. For example, you might consider tightening up the content that you have on each page of your site. Look through the content on your site and see if there are sections that you can organize more effectively through the use of subheadings, bullet points, lists, and short paragraphs. If you feel like a page is a bit too wordy, you might consider adding visuals to break up content, or you could include a video that helps present the information in a different way for your website visitors.   It could tell a better story. Are you connecting with consumers on an emotional level? Or are you only interested in how to get them to your product and sales pages? The most successful brands online today are the ones who take the time to craft and share their unique brand story (or stories) with customers and prospects. In an article from Entrepreneur about brand storytelling, the author and branding expert Mary van de Wiel outlines the reasons why storytelling is so important for your business: An authentic brand story makes you memorable. It differentiates you as desirable. It brings your brand to life. It gives you a distinct competitive advantage. Your target market becomes hugely responsive. It positions you as a visionary in your field.   You can tell your brand story in a number of different ways and through the use of various media (photos, text, video, infographics, slideshows, podcasts, etc.). The point is to be authentic. You need to help your target audience get to know the people behind your brand and products, why your company exists, and how it has evolved over time. If you truly are interested in increasing traffic, gaining more online customers, and improving your brand reputation online, start working to implement some of the recommendations outlined above. Continue reading →

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Should You Launch A Website For Your Personal Brand

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Hosting

The post Should You Launch A Website For Your Personal Brand appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . As more and more people continue to use laptops, smartphones, and other mobile devices to stay constantly connected to the web, it’s becoming equally important for businesses to spend time developing a strong presence online in order to effectively connect with potential customers. In this day and age, it’s not uncommon for consumers to spend a good amount of time researching a company on Facebook, Google, Yelp, and other social media before making any final purchasing decisions. Most businesses and brands understand this truth and have taken the time to invest in strategies that can help them strengthen their online presence and brand reputation in order to connect with more prospects and customers. In addition, a growing number of CEOs, business owners, and other professionals have started actively developing their own personal brand online as a way to connect with more prospects and customers. So what is a personal brand?   What Is a Personal Brand? Author and marketing expert Dan Schawbel defines personal branding as: “The process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence.”   Who Has a Personal Brand? You might not realize it or want to admit it, but you have a personal brand. We all do. Have you ever Googled yourself or someone else? If the answer is yes, then you already support the idea of personal brands. We all use the Internet as a tool to find out more information about the people we meet and interact with in daily life. As a result, online reputation management is becoming increasingly important for individuals trying to get a job, get a promotion, sell a product, land a new customer, etc. Do you know what information people are finding about you when they Google your name? Will the information they find about you have a positive or negative impact on your sales, business, or career goals? Each day more and more businesses are creating Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, YouTube channels, Yelp profiles, blogs, etc. in order to interact with their target audience and current base of customers. This trend has fundamentally changed the way consumers interact with and learn more about businesses. Online consumers now expect companies online to be transparent, helpful, genuine, and invested in top-notch customer service. Many also expect the same from CEOs, salespeople, and other business professionals. If you’re interested in differentiating from competition and connecting with more prospects online, it might be time to consider implementing some basic personal branding strategies.   Why You Should Purchase YourName.com One simple way you can start strengthening your personal brand online is to purchase a domain name and launch a website and/or blog for yourself. We recommend searching to find out if YourName.com is available. If it is available, purchase the domain and start thinking about what you want people to find when they visit the site. It’s likely that it won’t take long for your new domain to start showing up on the first page of results when people Google your name. What information do you want to present to people when they land on your site? Do you want them to find contact information for you? A short biography or explanation of what you do? Links to your business website or products? A blog that offers helpful industry-related information? These are questions that you should think about when developing your personal brand website.   The Benefits of Having a Personal Brand Website There are a number of benefits associated with having a website for your personal brand. First and foremost, it gives you the ability to actively maintain and strengthen your online reputation. You might not have complete control of what people have said or are saying about you on Facebook, Twitter, or other websites, but you do have complete control when it comes to your own website. You can use your personal brand website to proactively manage the information that exists online about you. Your personal brand website can help you become more transparent, helpful, and genuine. It can show consumers that you’re a real person that they can reach out to if they have questions, concerns, or praise about your products or business. As mentioned above, online consumers expect top-notch customer service. They need to know that you—not just your business—are genuinely interested in helping them. Your personal brand website can also help you establish credibility in your industry. By taking time to write about industry-related topics and trends, share stories about yourself and your business, and offer other free valuable information on your blog, you can start effectively leveraging yourself as an influencer in your industry.   What Should You Include on Your Personal Brand Website? The possibilities are seemingly endless, but we do have a few recommendations to help get you started. Your personal brand website should have a blog. Blogging is a great way to help prospective customers understand who you are, what you do, what you know, how you can help, and why they should care. Your personal brand website should also have links to your personal social accounts. If you’re not comfortable including them just yet, consider at least linking to your business social accounts. Your site should also include a lot of visuals (photo and video). It can also have links to your business website or product pages—but don’t present this in a way that might appear too spammy to visitors. The point of your personal brand website is not to sell products. The point is to help people get to know you better. Finally, your personal brand website should include an About page, or at the very least, a short bio for yourself.   Do you have a website for your personal brand? If so, leave a comment below explaining why you decided to launch it. Continue reading →

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Infographic: The Future of Web and Technology

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Hosting

The post Infographic: The Future of Web and Technology appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . It seems that, more and more, science fiction is becoming non-fiction.  While we wait on delivery of our personal jetpacks, at least we can already look forward to augmented reality contact lenses (which actually kind of give us the heebie-jeebies).  Read all about the contact lenses and more in the following infographic: The Future of The Web and Technology.   Continue reading →

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How To Connect With Online Shoppers This Holiday Season

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Hosting

The post How To Connect With Online Shoppers This Holiday Season appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . It seems like only yesterday that we were kicking off summer. Now the holiday shopping season is almost upon us. If you’re like a lot of online retailers, the holiday season represents a huge source of potential revenue. According to the National Retail Federation, that number is as much as 20-40% for many businesses. If you want to take full advantage of the busiest shopping season of the year (and who doesn’t?), it’s important to know how to connect with your potential customers.   Analytics Power If connecting with your customers on a more personal level is your goal, then your analytics can be a great indicator of how to go about it. You can use your available metrics and demographic information to create a number of approaches. Your creativity really comes in handy. You can geo-target customers and create special offers based on their location, email deals based on popular items among people in the customer’s age range, or create targeted holiday deals based on past purchases. Use your knowledge of your customer base and the power of analytics technology to find ways to personalize your offers.   Optimize for Mobile It’s no secret that mobile web surfing is more popular now than it ever has been. According to the IBM Online Retail Index, consumer online spending in Q2 2013 went up 15 percent since Q2 2012. Mobile shopping accounted for 20% of those sales. In light of this, companies are increasingly turning to mobile apps as a way to market their businesses. IKEA successfully did this last year by creating an app for the iconic IKEA catalog. The app-version of the catalog was interactive and allowed customers to unlock exclusive content by scanning pages. Creating a seasonal app can go a long way in promoting a business during the holidays.   Connecting via Social Media Data has shown that web surfers are more likely to use social media for inspiration rather than a buying portal. In other words, someone is more likely to visit Pinterest to look at shoes before going to the website or store to buy them later. However, this isn’t keeping companies like Express and Gamestop from transforming their Facebook pages into virtual storefronts. Facebook is perhaps the best way to connect with customers during the holiday season both because of their large user base and the ability to share different media. You might also find creative ways to connect with customers on visual-centric websites like Pinterest and Polyvore while they’re searching for inspiration. How you integrate social media into your holiday marketing will depend on what you feel your customers will respond best to. Maybe it’s time to try something new, or perhaps it’s best to stick to a tried and true approach.   Cross-Channel Marketing While online shopping revenue is expected to increase overall this year, the majority of shoppers still plan to visit stores for their holiday shopping. If you have a brick and mortar store, add an online element to your in-store advertising. You can advertise exclusive deals available through your website, or follow Nordstrom’s example. One of their most recent in-store campaigns featured shoes that were the most-pinned on Pinterest . Also, due to the rise of cross-channel marketing, Black Friday and Cyber Monday have pretty much become the bookends to one long shopping period. Data from the National Retail Federation showed that last year, online sales rose 17 percent year-over-year between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. You can expect to see something similar this year, making the days following Thanksgiving ideal for discounts, sales, and more time-sensitive specials that create a sense of urgency for the buyer.   Refine Your Customer Service The importance of customer service for a B2C business can’t be expressed enough. According to a survey conducted by American Express in 2012, two thirds of U.S customers said that they were willing to spend more with a company that they believed provided excellent customer service. The survey also showed that one third of surveyed respondents felt that businesses were paying less attention to customer service than in the past. Now is a good time to review your customer service practices and refine them if necessary. What are the response times for customer emails? Is there a certain website feature that people have been asking for? Conducting follow up surveys is a good way to gauge the health of your customer service, and see where things could use some sprucing up. The holidays are a time where spirits are high and people are gearing up to give and be given to. As technology improves and becomes more widely available, the Internet will continue to play an increasingly important role in the holiday shopping season. Those business owners who stay on top of and act upon trends like mobile usage and cross-channel marketing will see the biggest gains during the holiday season 2013. Continue reading →

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PRISM and Changes To Google Search

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Hosting

The post PRISM and Changes To Google Search appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Google has always valued the privacy of its users, and privacy has long been a platform on which it has operated. In 2011, the search giant began protecting logged-in searches with SSL encryption, so as to keep unauthorized third parties from seeing what search terms were being used. If a search term was deemed too private, it would show up as “not provided” in Google Analytics. Last month, Google began encrypting all searches, both logged-in and not logged-in. This change was performed without any announcement, though the update was later confirmed by the company. They told the Washington Post last month: “We added SSL encryption for our signed-in search users in 2011, as well as searches from the Chrome omnibox earlier this year. We’re now working to bring this extra protection to more users who are not signed in.”   Why Now? Though it’s not entirely clear why Google started ramping up these efforts just last month, it’s apparent that the overall campaign is in response to the NSA and PRISM. After it was revealed that the national security administration had been secretly collecting data on U.S citizens (as well as other countries) via their PRISM program, accusations were leveled against Google that they’d been participating with the NSA in collecting said data. Seeking to maintain its pro-privacy reputation, Google has since strongly denied any involvement with PRISM. In response they also began a campaign of transparency when it comes to the number of disclosure requests it receives from the government. They also planned to increasingly encrypt data being transmitted between their data centers. Though the program was initially approved in June, they began quickly implementing in December. According to Not Provided Count, a website provided by internet marketing agency ClickConsult, the number of “not provided” search terms across the 60 websites they monitor has increased more than 80% since last March. The number began to spike in the last week of August.   Does This Hurt Search Marketing? A large number of search marketers depend on Google Analytics to collect data on what their audiences are searching for and when. A big part of that is the referrer string, which is a sort of identifier that your web browser records of the last web page you visited before arriving at your current web page. The previous page is known as the referrer page, and your web browser sends a record of it to Google as soon as you arrive on your destination page. When a user uses Google search as a referrer page, the string URL also includes the keywords they searched. Now that Google is encrypting its searches, getting referrer page data won’t be so straightforward for all searches. Search marketers will see more of the “not provided” message when a user uses Google as a referrer page. It’s worth noting that not all search terms will be encrypted, only ones that Google deems “too private” to be shared. It’s not clear at this point as to what extent this will affect search marketing (what countries will be affected, what “too private” means, etc.).  Hopefully Google will offer more clarification in the days and weeks to come. Although some search data will be restricted because of the new privacy measures, “private” search data isn’t withheld completely. Data encryption only keeps the data traveling between data centers from being transmitted for everyone to “hear.” Webmasters and search marketers can see these terms by accessing Google Webmaster Tools, though they can only see the top 2,000 per day for the past 90 days. Webmaster Tools users must archive the information to access it again in the future, or else it’s lost. However, the company made a change in August that will allow users to access the data easily, but only if they’re also Google Adwords customers. Advertisers can also still access data sent when a user clicks on an ad, regardless of the search terms they used to arrive at the ad. Although Google has essentially taken these encryption measures to make it more difficult for the NSA to spy on their data, it won’t make search results completely immune to spying. Google must also still comply with any order of cooperation that the government may give. However, experts say that the increased use of encryption makes mass surveillance more difficult for third parties. Google is a company that prides itself on being a responsible keeper of private information, and rightfully so. Privacy is a major concern among internet users today. This may or may not be a setback for search marketing on the whole since only Adwords customers can access full search information for now. On the other hand, the changes won’t affect all search data. Again, hopefully Google will offer more clarification in the weeks to come. Continue reading →

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