Tag Archives: web and hosting tips

Where To Go When You Can’t Think of New Content Ideas

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Hosting

The post Where To Go When You Can’t Think of New Content Ideas appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Content creation is not an easy task. The Internet is rife with copycats and un-original ideas. The difference is, you’re running a business, and your ideas fuel a resource that turns readership into profit. When you can’t afford to let writer’s block slow you down, here are some powerful resources for getting the wheels turning again.   Mine Your Data If you have a body of content, then you also have a body of ideas. Past blogging successes should inform future topics, and analytics provide insight that can help guide content creation and dig you out of your creative rut. Look at your analytics platform and see which posts have received the most views. This alone isn’t necessarily and indicator of success, but if traffic on the page has remained consistent for some time, then you’ve likely stumbled upon a winner. Consistent traffic signifies that the piece has become a reference for others, resonating with your audience and maintaining traction as a result. Monitor trends in high-performing content and leverage them to generate new ideas. If you’re an industrial supplier, a series of posts on safety with consistently high traffic should indicate that the subject is of great importance to your customer base. Additional posts on safety, or subjects like compliance, which feed into the topic, will likely find success, giving you new material with which to work.   Tap Your Co-Workers When your job is to create ideas, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. Step outside your creative box and into the field where the work gets done to find new insights. Colleagues work within your business, creating solutions that help customers on a daily basis. For this reason, their understanding of customer concerns and the intricacies of your operations can be of great value when creating new content. Ask for suggestions, hold round-table discussions, or ask for guest posts to give your blog a new voice and a new lease on life.   Scout Social Media Just like numerical analytics, social media can be a gold mine of ideas. Users on social media are inundated with content every day, only stopping to interact with posts that actually resonate with them personally. High-performing posts can indicate that a topic is of importance, suggesting new ideas and alleviating your creative burden. Comments on social media posts may also offer suggestions. In the aforementioned example of a safety series, comments to the effect of “how do we do this in our business?” may hint that follow up posts for developing your own safety practices would do well. Read between the lines of reader interactions and you’re likely to find a great deal of inspiration in the process.   Monitor the News As an entity of authority, your insight is trusted. At no time is that insight more appreciated, however, than when it becomes relevant in the news. Wildlife researchers, for example, were treated with additional media attention during the Gulf oil spill, due to the fact that their unique perspective offered direction in a confusing situation. Keep an eye on the news and look for opportunities to give comment. Doing so not only positions your blog and brand well, it also automates the process of inspiration for you. The aforementioned industrial supplier may see an industrial accident, for example, and provide tips for clean up and proper handling of volatile chemicals, achieving relevance and value simultaneously.   Check Out the Competition It’s sometimes difficult to admit that your competition does something well, but their strengths can become your boon. Visit your competitors’ blogs and see what topics are occupying their pages. Copying ideas whole-cloth is not recommended, but trends in subjects can help give you ideas for new territory, providing the chance to turn their insight into your traffic.   Ask Your Audience When you’re looking to hit a home run with each post, few methods work better than simply asking your audience. Gauging trends and assessing the potential of posts pales in comparison to direct requests for topics. When the ideas no longer flow, go to your most trusted asset and simply solicit topic requests. Doing so will provide a wealth of new insight and provide an engagement opportunity that gives readers a personal stake in your blog, turning one-time visitors into devotees.   Your content marketing is only as good as your ideas, and when your ideas seem to evaporate, it’s important to know where to turn. Your owned assets, social interactions, national relevance, and competitors all offer inspiration that can get your creative efforts back on track, so don’t despair the next time that killer topic simply won’t appear. Utilize your not-so-obvious assets and your business blog won’t miss a beat. web hosting Continue reading →

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Why The Images On Your Homepage Matter

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Hosting

The post Why The Images On Your Homepage Matter appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Your business makes a number of decisions every day. From management to product design, everything about your enterprise is organized with the intention of building a brand and selling a product. In the fray, however, certain aspects can become lost, including the images on your homepage. To the surprise of many business-owners, these seemingly simple assets can shape your brand perception, influence customer decisions, and improve conversion in profound ways.   They Heavily Influence Your First Impression The old adage that “you only get one chance to make a first impression” is hard to shake in a rapidly moving society. For perspective’s sake, consider any time you’ve made a purchase online. You likely visited the homepage of the product in question and made a rather snappy judgment regarding characteristics that may even be impossible to perceive from the comfort of your desk chair: dependability, trustworthiness, quality, worth, value, etc. In that brief few seconds of analysis, you’ve already made a decision, completely independent of the carefully crafted text and list of product features. Photographs help ensure that your product or products make a positive first impression quickly. Tired, hurried minds are far more likely to consider a visual before text, since text requires additional effort to process. Furthermore, the setting, subject, color, and quality of photos all convey the kinds of characteristics mentioned earlier. By presenting attractive images of your product or individuals using your product, you’re more likely to capture visitor attention and make an impression that spurs further research; no small feat on the constantly shifting web.   They Affect User Experience As mentioned, Internet users are tired creatures, bombarded constantly by attention grabbing ploys and solicitations. In this scenario, visuals command immediate attention due to their ability to convey a great deal of information more efficiently and effectively than text. In this way, visuals are more user-friendly, acknowledging the plight of the modern individual and offering a compromise that’s beneficial to both parties. Through presentation of a visual, users are treated to something pleasing, easy to digest, and easy to understand. By presenting a visual, businesses offer a more friendly web experience, additionally controlling the perception created by the presentation. This combination of effective communication and usability leads to a more positive brand perception that will influence future sales and open further engagement opportunities.   They Speak to Design Apple’s market-changing products have shared one characteristic in common: design. The intelligent combination of visual appeal, functionality, and intuitiveness has propelled many of their devices to the forefront of the market, effectively demonstrating that the modern consumer has design in mind. Whether through conscious acknowledgement or subconscious enjoyment, this expectation is carried through all brand interactions. With this conscious attention to trends, maintaining an up-to-date web design is paramount to brand image, and large-format photographs are a part of that package. If the images on your page are pixelated or of poor quality, users will take note and assume that your brand lacks the attentiveness needed to also produce a quality product. High-quality photos, on the other hand, inspire confidence, providing a positive experience and satisfying discerning tastes.   They Set Expectations Unless your marketing campaign has significant clout, it’s generally safe to assume that a new visitor to your site knows next to nothing about your product. With this uncertainty comes a great deal of fear, generally dissuading purchases if an understanding of product functionality, performance, price, and value isn’t conveyed quickly. Images help bridge this gap between uncertainty and comfort by quickly establishing viewer expectations. A photograph of a business setting suggests that your product helps productivity and communication in a professional context. An illustration of a house builds the understanding that your product is meant for consumers and used in their home. While it may be challenging to pick the perfect image to convey the nuances of your product, doing so immediately alleviates the mental burden of uncertainty that customers experience, guiding them further along the path to conversion.   They Affect Conversion While each of these factors can be listed as important in their own rite, the net result is conversion. A strong first impression keeps viewers around while an easy-to-use website provides a more pleasant browsing experience. Strong web design inspires confidence in your company while accurate product expectations help convey brand message and improve conversion rates. Ultimately, the images you use on your homepage are more than just decoration; they are tools to bring potential customers into the fold, generating revenue and enhancing brand perception in complex and far-reaching ways.   From your products to your pitch, everything about your business is engineered for success. Your website should benefit from the same treatment with attractive and communicative images that turn one-time visitors into repeat customers. Don’t underestimate the value of a good visual and use the inherent benefits of these aesthetic assets to turn your homepage into a conversion tool. web hosting Continue reading →

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How To Develop a Local Marketing Strategy

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Hosting

The post How To Develop a Local Marketing Strategy appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . For many small businesses, salvation has come in the form of local Internet marketing efforts. Never before has it been easier for a local business to get their name out to customers, giving them a much-needed edge over nationally marketed competitors. But local marketing isn’t something that happens by accident; to make the most of it, local businesses need to go on the offensive and push their brand harder than ever. Here are a few tips to help maximize your local marketing campaign.   Get Online Marketing in the past used to mean buying space in the Yellow Pages and ads in the local newspaper. But today more and more people are looking to the Internet to find new businesses. Over the next 3 years, businesses that have and maintain web presences are expected to grow 40% more than sites that do not have websites. A common excuse for not having a website is the costs associated with creating it, but even that is becoming less of a hurdle. In 2011, Google launched a promotion to build websites for small businesses for free as a way to bring them into the 21st century. Even without this promotion, the costs of building a website can cost as little as $1,200 dollars which will quickly pay for itself.   Claim Your Market Once you have a site , the most important step is to connect your business with your region using the correct keywords. For example, focusing on the keywords “hardware store” is almost useless; “hardware store Albany, NY” can help draw people who are looking for a local hardware store nearby (assuming you own a hardware store in Albany, NY). The advantage that local stores have over large businesses is that the local site can focus on a particular area. Programs like WordTracker or Google AdWords will show you the level of competition for each keyword and suggest variations that may offer you more success. Once you have the keywords decided, the next step is to implement those across your site. Add them to your site’s title tags, meta description, images, and header tags; anywhere search engines are looking.   External Pages Use sites like Google+ and Bing Places for Business to their full potential. These sites often are favored by search engines and require very little technical know-how. Your business will then show up on sites like Google Maps and Bing Maps. All that’s required of you is fill out the pages with as much information as possible about your business. Creating a profile on sites like Yelp! is also an important step. Because Yelp! pages are constantly updated with reviews, they show up at the top of search results pages and can drive significant amounts of traffic.   Local Link Building In SEO, links are a great way to boost your site’s reputation. Getting reputable, published sources to link to your webpage boosts your search rating significantly because they are, in essence, vouching for your site. One of the most common methods of link-building is to have a local blogger link to your site; keep in mind, the bigger the blog, the more it will affect your SEO. With that in mind, when link building focus on quality over quantity. There are plenty of services that promise to link to hundreds of sites across the web, but search engines aren’t that blind anymore. As a result, these packages are usually just a waste of time and money.   Mobile Marketing Mobile Marketing is the quickly becoming one of the most important methods of marketing for local businesses. 97% of mobile users have used their device to search for local stores and services and over half are not targeted to a specific business. Also, the majority of customers who search for local businesses act upon the search results within the hour, which means the returns on a well-made mobile site can be seen very quickly. While mobile is an emerging market trend, many sites have failed to capitalize on it which means having a well-designed mobile-friendly site could put you miles ahead of the competition.   Old Fashioned Methods While it may seem archaic, word-of-mouth marketing is still an extremely effective way to increase awareness of your business locally. Connect with other local business owners and ask to hang flyers or put business cards in their shops. In the same way that link building from reputable sites will boost your SEO, getting a word-of-mouth recommendation from local shop owners that are trusted in the community can boost business, and referral bonuses can increase loyalty among customers.   Conclusion There isn’t one end-all-be-all fix to local marketing. Successfully spreading the name and reputation of your business takes time and effort, but will pay off in the end. web hosting Continue reading →

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The Best Sites To Visit For Web Design Inspiration

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Hosting

The post The Best Sites To Visit For Web Design Inspiration appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . There was a time, long ago, when a beautiful website was a crowning achievement for a company. These days, it’s become a necessity. For the uninitiated, however, sifting the wheat from the chaff can be a challenging task. Fortunately, the Internet has developed a robust community of websites dedicated to observing and celebrating the best of the best to the benefit of site designers, and you.   Awwwards Beautiful web design is easy to recognize if you have the right eye for it. Fortunately for those who lack the instinct to assess the sites they visit, Awwwards has built a reputation on scoring and applauding the best that the web has to offer. Curated by design experts, the daily updated site offers scores on web designs, resources for aspiring designers, and the opportunity to submit your own site for appraisal and, if deemed worthy, recognition.   Abduzeedo Brainchild of Brazillian designer Fabio Sasso, Abduzeedo’s legacy online is as long as it is prolific. The comprehensive design blog looks at design in its many forms and inspires a community of creatives through its constant posts and updates. Of particular note, the Sites of the Week column highlights the best in visual web design, interactive design, UX, and UI, giving hungry minds plenty of resources for their own projects.   From Up North Another voluminous contributor to the creative community, Form Up North is virtually the resource for design inspiration. The site features daily updated content over a variety of design concepts, but its most useful resource to web designers is a veritable catalog of web design inspiration. Savvy users even demonstrate their mettle by re-designing already popular sites, giving a A/B comparison and demonstrating the importance of visual and UI design in the process.   Google Plus Social media is, arguably, the richest source of inspiration on the web. However, what Google Plus offers that other sites do not is the ability to subscribe to a community of contributors, alleviating the need to discern worthwhile users for oneself. By subscribing to the Art & Design circle on Google’s social network, users are daily treated with a portfolio of inspired design of all kinds, web design included. This, coupled with the relatively low user base of Plus means less irrelevant discussion or inane status updates, and more time spent discussing what actually matters.   Web Creme When all you need is inspiration, it’s hard to beat Web Creme. The simple interface and no-frills display of inspiring web design is akin to swatches at a paint store, allowing the mind to simply gaze and ponder without direction or influence. Each picture links directly to the website displayed, allowing curious browsers to investigate the design further and enjoy “hands-on” experience with exemplary works of high-quality design.   Behance The socially connected portfolio for serious creatives is a gold mine for aspiring web designers. While it can take time to browse Behance’s impressive collection, those scouring the racks can be sure that what they’re seeing is of particularly high quality. The reason for this lies in the fact that creative professionals often view Behance as a serious portfolio and tool for discovery, compelling them to put their best foot forward and giving you a front row seat to some of the best in the business.   The Webby Awards A Webby could, at one time, be considered something of a dubious honor. The awards had merit, but not based in any popular acceptance. Since the early days of the organization, however, The Webby Awards have blossomed into an arbiter of taste and design on the Internet. In addition to recognizing personalities and contributions to technology, the awards page offers a gallery view of some of the best practices in navigation, animation, photography, and interactivity.   Webdesign Inspiration As heavy-handed as the title may be, Webdesign Inspiration is a no less valuable resource for, as the name implies, web design inspiration. The comprehensive catalog organizes sites by industry, layout, style, and type, allowing discerning designers to look for examples of high-quality work without wasting time. The site also highlights themes, books, and tips and offers free resources to visitors. Standing on the shoulders of giants is a potent strategy when doing design work, but finding these “giants” can be challenging in a young, saturated market. Take the guesswork out of your web design inspiration with the resources listed here, and develop your eye for web design to better your own work in the future. web hosting Continue reading →

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How To Build A Better Website In 2014

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Hosting

The post How To Build A Better Website In 2014 appeared first on HostGator Web Hosting Blog | Gator Crossing . Being a website owner can be hard work. Moderating comments, creating content, and handling the design and performance of your site can take up a great deal of your time. But the work is worth the payout, and focusing on the elements of your site that matter can actually make your life easier in the New Year. With a little design overhaul, your site can be more responsive, more usable, and more visually appealing, driving viewers and customers to your doorstep, and validating all that extra investment.   Be Responsive If you haven’t yet heard the term “responsive web design”, it’s only a matter of time. The term refers to a range of HTML and CSS mechanisms that allow a web page to change configuration based on the device it’s being viewed on. For businesses in particular, this new development in web design is more than a trend, it’s a necessity. Customers are going mobile. Between laptops, tablets, and cell phones, the range of devices used to view the Internet is growing by the day. Because of this, customers expect the Internet to adapt to their changing needs. If your website can’t be viewed on a mobile device , then your business misses out on valuable traffic and your brand appears behind-the-times in the eyes of customers. For this reason, building a responsive website should be your top priority in 2014. Using liquid layouts and CSS grid systems, coupled with media queries, your code can facilitate the change with surprising ease. The key is to remember that each device has specific capabilities, and your site should reflect that. For example, enable large fonts for your mobile site so that smaller screens don’t result in a more difficult viewing experience. Adapt your business’s online storefront to the needs of your customers and your customers will thank you with sales.   Make Usability a Priority The concept of responsiveness is only part of a growing trend in web design in the New Year. While previous iterations of the Internet focused on loading times, graphic flare, and SEO, growing availability of high-speed Internet, changing design trends, and an enhanced Google algorithm have rendered these concerns largely moot. What users want in this new era, subconsciously or otherwise, is usability . The modern visitor is looking for an accessible site that’s easy to understand, allowing them to reach the information they seek without difficulty. While this does call for some additional accommodation on your part, the benefit of fulfilling this need is happier customers and better perception. Explaining the concept of usability here would likely consume a dozen or more pages and a great deal of your time. However, there are some simple considerations to make when re-designing your website: •   Make the navigation, important information, and any “sign-up” or “subscribe” buttons as obvious and visible as possible. •   Use larger font sizes and expressive typography to convey a message without the slow loading times of images. •   Don’t be afraid of white space. It reduces visual clutter and makes a site more pleasing to the eye. •   Make it easy to contact your team and add sharing buttons to enable social traffic. These are just a few of the ways that you can design your site around the viewer’s natural behavior. Above all else, look at your site and ask yourself, “If I were brand new, could I find what I was looking for in less than 5 seconds?”   Optimize A big component of usability is speed. Effective websites that fulfill customer wishes do not load slowly. After all, the Internet reader is impatient, and with high-speed Internet and many websites loading at light speed, it’s not without cause. Keeping up with your competitors and the web at large will improve your site and your conversion rate. Currently, two primary schools of optimization are changing the way the web works, even without our realizing it. The first is basic website optimization in a growing age of visuals . With more and more sites using large-scale visuals, and a greater volume of visuals in general, page load times are the first casualty. Some basic rules to follow: •    Always use images on your site, uploaded at the resolution that they will be used. •    Multi-color photographs and detailed illustrations should be uploaded in JPEG format. •    Plain-color graphics and images with large blocks of identical coloring (the sky does not count) should be uploaded in GIF format. •    Use CSS rules to set the height and width of your images so that your content doesn’t load strangely before the image appears. The second school helps page load times through typography. This occurs in two ways. The first: using large-format display fonts creates a visually appealing and eye-catching page without the hassle of loading an image. The second: icon fonts, fonts specially designed to display common, plain-color graphics, can be used in place of many graphics to help reduce load times. By implementing these two solutions, your site will look more distinctive, and appear quicker, satisfying the eyes and attention spans of eager readers. Creating a website is not what it once was. From the early days of XHTML to the new era of expressive web design, users and businesses alike are learning the ropes and improving their appeal in the process. In 2014, make your website a priority with a visual and usability overhaul, and enjoy the extra revenue that such a simple change can bring. web hosting Continue reading →

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