Archive for Website – Page 3

How Sharing Links to your Site Can Help Your Business

How Sharing Links to your Site Can Help Your Business

If you create quality and original content this will encourage people to share links to your website.

The more fresh and quality content you post to your blog or website every week, the better. Original content means that Google searches your site more often. Quality content means that people interested in your industry return to your site on a regular basis.

The more you can do to make sure that people come to your site for resource and research purposes, just as often as they do to buy something, the better. Websites, blogs, brands and companies that offer to help interested Internet users for free via their expert advice are those businesses that end up developing life-long clients and customers. These are the businesses that never go bankrupt.

Use PPC Advertising to Drive Traffic to Your Site

 Use PPC Advertising to Drive Traffic to Your Site

One of the best ways of driving traffic to your site is to invest in PPC Advertising via Google AdWords. The best thing about Google AdWords is that there is no minimum spend required in order to run a campaign. This makes Google AdWords affordable for everyone and you can change how much you spend on a daily basis with just the click of a button.

Driving new customers or potential clients to your site via PPC is essential. The traffic that you get from PPC Advertising is highly optimized, (this means that the people who land on your site have more information about your site before they land on it and are therefore more interested in what it is you have to sell or offer).

With more traffic landing on your site every day, the better your site will rank on Google. This means, when someone is searching for something to do with your industry on Google, Google is likely to start valuing your site more in general and presenting it on the first page of Google more often. Few people click through to page two and beyond on Google, so getting your blog, website and business on the first page is really important. PPC Advertising can help you to achieve this goal in record time.

Want to know more about PPC and how it can help your business? Contact us for further advice and support with regards to Google AdWords.

Why do I need a Website Designer to build me a WordPress site?

Why do I need a Website Designer to build me a WordPress site?

You can build a site yourself, but at the end of the day, and with all the best will in the world, the self builder will only be able to scratch the surface of what WordPress is capable of. Not only that but the world is becoming more tuned in to what sites use templates and what are custom designed sites. As the self builder will only be able to use a WordPress template they could potentially harm their business by producing a site that looks sub-standard. Also, templates can look shoe-horned into trying to match a businesses branding and image.

The self builder will also be limited from a technical point of view. The way that WordPress extentions are intergrated into their site will not be as seamless as what a more experienced web designer can do. Again this can have the effect of harming their businesses on-line presence as the finished site will not have the professional polish that is required to effectivly hold their own against the competition.

Finally, a WordPress website is, at the end of the day, A WEBSITE! Websitesneed  to be designed and built by professionals in order to get the best out of them. From a marketing point of view, from the way that they work, how they gather data, how they fit in with the image a company wants or needs to portray, how they perform in the search engines and how they interact with the sites target audience.

The way that a WordPress website best works is if the way that it looks and functions is developed and built by an experienced web site designer working closely with the company in order to make sure that the site exactly matches their expectations. Then the management and maintenance of the site is continued by the company in order to keep the site fresh and exciting.

Why are WordPress sites so effective?

Why are WordPress sites so effective?

“I can’t update my website!”

“I’ve got to get my webmaster to do that, but it’s going to cost me…”

“Nooooo, I just hosed my website!”

If you talk to enough small business owners, or friends that want to have a website but don’t spend evenings and weekends tinkering around on the web, you’ll hear frustrations like this a lot.

And that’s from the ones who have figured out how to get a website up and running in the first place. There are many who are still trying to figure out where to start. But wait, there is hope!

WordPress to the Rescue

WordPress is one of the most popular blogging tools available. But what many people don’t know is that it is a powerful Content Management System (CMS) that can be used for more than just blogging. With WordPress you can build a blog, a website, or both. It intergrates easily into many third party products to expand it’s functionality and there are thousands of plugins available to enhance it’s usefulness.

 

Using WordPress as a Website

WordPress is an amazingly powerful content management system. It has a lot of power under the hood for a small or medium business looking for an easy way to manage their web site.

WordPress was designed as a platform for blogging, but you don’t have to use it as a blogging tool. With a few tweaks it can be used to run your website, with or without a “blog.” The fact that WordPress was designed as a blogging platform gives it some compelling advantages.

It is optimized for easily publishing and changing content. And getting good search engine rankings requires fresh, unique content. You need a system that does not get in your way when you want to update your website with a new article or newsletter.

Mobile-Friendly Google Search

Google now gives mobile-friendly websites a boost in search ranking

Want to rank higher on Google? Then you need to make sure that your website is free of any mobile usability issues. The company announced that it has now made it easier to find mobile-friendly websites by making them appear higher on search results. Read More →

Just how Important Is Responsive Design (and what is it anyway)?

As more people are beginning to use mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, for every task that used to be only capable on desktop, one thing has become clear: mobile is taking over Internet surfing. And, it’s not even just surfing. It’s everything from browsing social media outlets, checking emails and doing some online shopping. Read More →

How do I know if I need a new website?

How do I know if I need a new website?

There could be many reasons that you might need a new website, we have listed some of the main reasons below.

Your Website Is Being Ignored By Google

There are many reasons why your website may not be turning up in Google, but it’s possibly that an older site, or one built on an older (or even custom-made) platform is not easily crawlable by Google’s bots. Or there are no meta-tags, or no site map, or any of a dozen other things.

May we recommend WordPress? If your site isn’t on the WordPress platform, you may be missing critical functionality.

The Information on Your Website is Out of Date (and You Can’t Change It Yourself)

In this day and age there’s absolutely no reason for you to have to go to your web developer to fix a typo, update an address, or refresh the copy. This is another place where WordPress-based sites shine. Their built-in content-management system makes updating a breeze.

You Lack SEO/ Social Media Integration

Can customers see your tweets? Do they know you have a Facebook page or a YouTube Channel? Can they even share or promote your service to their friends? If no, you may want to seriously consider an upgrade.

…Or You Want to Use Cutting Edge Lead Generation Tools

These days there are dozens of easy and unobtrusive ways to get potential clients into your sales funnel via your website. Are you using any of them? If not, you may be throwing money away. Properly leveraged online traffic can produce well-informed customers, enthusiastic brand evangelists, and most importantly, sales.

If you’d like to discuss your website with us please contact us today for a free consultation and to discuss if you are eligible for grant funding.

Top Ten Reasons You Need a New Website

1. Your company’s online image is stale. Does your site look like it’s stuck in the 90s? Guess what: everyone will assume your company is, too. Show off your new products, services and projects. You want people to know you’re doing well, staying current, and growing. Have you created a new logo, had a big anniversary, or just realized you’re sick and tired of looking at your site? Get up to date and celebrate your newness, your milestones and your fresh outlook with a sharp, current website.

2. Your web copy and image are no longer aimed at your target market. Your target may be changing, and you have to change ahead of them or you risk getting left behind. A new look and content make sure you’re speaking to the people you want to attract now.

3. Your website is all about you and not your customer. If this sounds backwards to you, you’re way behind the curve. They don’t want to just read about what you can do; they want to know what.

4. You need to attract attention. Have you checked your web stats lately to see if anyone’s paying attention? Fresh material and a fresh look get more attention. They keep your current visitors interested, and you’ll generate new traffic, too.

5. You want to use the web to expand the way you do business. Offer online discounts, new offerings, new ideas or concepts, online merchandise, etc. You can start to market using social networks, and launch new media campaigns.

6. Your competition’s looking new, and you’re not. At the very least, you want to keep up with others in your field. Better: stay ahead of them. A new, cleaner look shows you can keep up with the latest in your industry the way you say you can. You want to be the business everyone sees as the leader. You’ll inspire confidence, always a great place to start.

7. You’re losing your audience. Technology is changing every day, and the needs of your clients are changing as well. You have to meet that need and stay current, or risk getting left in the technological dust. Your fans (and potential fans) want blog entries, a social media presence and relevant content from you. Remember, you’re here to meet their needs.

8. Your search engine ranking is dropping fast. Search engines like Google have new and changing search criteria, some of it in the last 6 months. If your site doesn’t meet the new standards, your rankings will plummet (maybe they have already…?) Get higher rankings with new content, new code and new search engine optimization (SEO).

9. Your site isn’t mobile-friendly. Mobile web use is skyrocketing. If you don’t have a mobile-friendly site, you risk alienating a whole generation of smartphone users. This is crucial.

10. Your site isn’t interactive. Today’s marketing has changed. It’s not about telling people what you have (or what you think they want). It’s about engaging them. Do you have ways for viewers to comment on your content? Give you direct feedback? If your site is all one way (you talking at them), you’re losing half the conversation. Get a dialogue going. Start by giving them more ways to comment, express, talk, respond and question.

Think it’s too expensive to update your site very often? Not anymore. A new site can give you an easy way to make updates as often as you need to, right from your office. These days, content is king, so you need to continually update the information on your website every week, every month, all year round. People (and by the way, search engines) respond best to new and changing content.

Time to take action! If you’re nodding at any combination of the above, then it’s time. Time to work with an experienced web company that knows how to engage consumers. Not sure where to start? Contact us and we can help guide you with solutions to your website problems.

5 Essential Things You Need On A Website

5 Essential Things You Need On A Website

Great website content

Websites thrive on quality content. Not only does fresh and relevant content increase the chances of good search engine performance, but it also keeps customers interested and turns website visitors into repeat visitors. Articles, opinion, special offers, news and photos of recent events can all be sources of captivating content for your website.

Clear Contact details

Often overlooked, contact details are of utmost importance if you are expecting potential customers to turn into actual customers. Relevant phone numbers and email addresses should be clearly listed and easily found. Contact forms can also work well if used properly. Customers might not want to telephone you if they have a quick query. A contact form is a non-intrusive method of your customers getting in contact with you.

Relevant photography

Nothing communicates like a good photograph. Affordable and effective, quality photography can enhance a users experience of your website to no end. Relevant photography adds interest and causes comment. When people want to show their friends a photograph on your website, providing the means to link directly to your site can help to increase the flow of traffic.

Website usage statistics

Every website should provide some form of statistics for later analysis. If people are visiting your website, you need to know lots of details about their visit to make the most of your website marketing activity. Who are they? How did they find you? How long did they stay on your site for and what did they look at? NEDC can build you a website that includes all this useful information instantly.

Favicons

In stengthening your brand and standing out against the competition, favicons can help in a subtle but important way. The more a vistor becomes familiar with your logo and colours, the better. (Favicos are a small image that appears in the address bar of most web browsers amongst other places such as bookmark lists and on the tabs that are used when viewing multiple sites at once.)

NEDC can incorporate all these features and more in your new website to help grow your business and get you more clients.

For a free. No obligation chat about how we can help you please CONTACT US

Effective Communication is Vital

Effective Communication is Vital

When you are working on a project for a client, you should strive to maintain frequent contact with that client. This may involve emailing on a daily basis, or calling periodically to check-in and make notes about your progress. Read More →