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5-Minute Website Workshop

Your website is a vital piece of your business, and we want you to have the most traffic possible going through it every day. That is why we put together these “Must-Haves” that you need to be checking on a regular basis in order to ensure you are gaining the most customers possible. While working through this list we suggest pulling your website up next to this window so that you can properly analyze your site. First, we will take a look at whether or not the website is correctly designed Your website… Must be user-friendly Must set a clear path for customers to make a purchase Must have trust signals Name of the Business Owner Address, Phone Must have security Use HTTPS or Secure Sockets Layer Must have customer support contact information Now let’s take a look at the answers that the customer is looking for when they get to your website. No matter what point the customer is in the buying process, they are going to have questions and concerns. You need to have the answers to these qu...
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9 Ways to Improve Your Web Design

What makes an effective web design? Is it the visual elements, or is it the functionality? Truth be told it is a combination of both. As Steve Jobs once said, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Websites with great usability and function tend to perform better on Google than those just with beautiful design. We want to show you 10 ways to improve your existing website to ensure you are getting the most bang for your buck. Purpose and Function An exceptional website has a clear purpose, and the function is evident and intuitive. The design of every element and how they come together as a whole should be derived from the purpose and function of the website. Communication and Interaction Internet users want information quickly. To ensure you are providing lightning-fast information, you should be clear and concise, using headlines, and subtitles to provide valuable information. Links to the email address or contact form, live chat, and feedback ...
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How Video Marketing and YouTube Can Help Your Business Boom

It’s no secret that social media can help business owners like you connect with customers. Most businesses have Facebook and Twitter accounts to keep loyal fans engaged and attract new customers, too. But what about YouTube? With over 30 million daily viewers, YouTube can help you grow your business and expand your customer base. Businesses of all sizes are turning to video marketing as a crucial strategy for customer engagement. And since 6 out of 10 people prefer online video platforms to live TV, it’s no surprise that YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network! And YouTube users are watching on the go: More than half of YouTube views come from mobile devices, and the average mobile viewing session lasts 40 minutes! Are you getting visibility like that? With a YouTube channel for your business, you can! Unsure how to use YouTube to your advantage? Here are some ideas to get you started: 1. How-to Videos or Tutorials 2. Customer Testimonials 3. Product-in-Ac...
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The Importance of Building Trust with Reputation Marketing

You might not know that there are many places out there where people can leave reviews telling their experience with your business. Some businesses choose not to get involved because it might be too much work. This can be a huge business mistake that you will want to fix right away. In a recent online poll, it was found that 84% trusted online reviews as much as they would a recommendation from a friend or family member. That’s up 4% from last year showing that more people are looking at online reviews and that you need to have reputation management in place taking care of these reviews and making sure you are getting authentic reviews. Most businesses are starting to see the importance of managing their online reviews, and even getting customers to leave them reviews. With that being said, it is very important not to have fake reviews for your company, intended or not. And it’s always a good idea to know all the popular review sites out there so you can manage any reviews that are bei...
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Whoa! 10 Easy Ways to Boost Your Business on Social Media

Having social media accounts for your business is critical in this digital age. But are you getting the most out of them? Social media marketing works best when people are engaging with your business. Here are our top 10 no-sweat tips to get more engagement for your business on social media. 1. Use attention-grabbing headlines. Why did you decide to read this article? It probably had something to do with the headline. Headlines that start with an exclamation, or “How to…” or “# Ways to…” or that ask a question that your customers might ask themselves tend to get the clicks you’re looking for. 2. Use images, animated gifs, and memes. Posts with visuals perform better, period. Memes and gifs can also bring humor into the mix and increase the chance that your audience will share your content. 3. Create and share videos. Over 100 million hours of videos are watched on social media every day. Get your piece of the pie! 4. Don’t only post your own content. Curate and share content made by ot...
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Welcome a Grimace with a Smile

Social media allows so much information to be at our fingertips. It allows business owners to connect with potential customers in new and exciting ways. It also gives customers new ways to reach out and share their opinions, and it is inevitable that sometimes those opinions will be negative. We want to make sure you know just what to do with the inevitable happens so that your customers keep coming back. The first thing to do when you see a negative review is to take a step back. Never respond in the heat of the moment. Never indulge in an angry flash. Compose yourself and address the review in a cool, calm and collected manner. Also, work to identify authentic bad reviews from those who are just “trolling” looking to waste your time. If a review is unnecessarily inflammatory, profanity-laden or unintelligible, odds are the reviewer is just targeting you for argument sake. In these situations, the best thing to do is just step back and let it go. Once you’ve identified true reviews, s...
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Why a Website Audit is Necessary

Your website is your online shop window. It is the first impression you are giving to your new visitor regarding the credibility of your business. If a customer cannot navigate your website to find what they are looking for, they will have no faith in buying from you. You should want it to provide a good experience for your customers. Does it function correctly? Is anything broken? Have you checked lately? 1. What is your site speed? How long does it take for your website to load? If it takes too long, you may have just lost multiple visitors. If it’s not as quick as your competitors, you have just made a bad first impression. 2. Does the content on your site accurately describe what you are selling? This is not only important for your site visitors; even before anyone else sees it, Google has to value your website to ‘rank’ your business site in the search results. 3. Does your site work properly on mobile devices? Have you checked? If not, you are losing a lot of potential customers ...
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