Website traffic is one of those things that it seems like you can never get enough.  And for those who are struggling to find the right amount of web traffic this can be a serious pain point in your business.

While we work with clients on some complex internet marketing strategies for building web traffic, there are some simple things that we can offer as tips you can do on your own.

5 Steps You Can Take To Increase Web Traffic:

Step 1: Add local meta data and content to your site.

If you don’t know what “meta data” is read our article “Meta Data Explained for People with Real Jobs.”  However for those of you that know where to find a page title – the first suggestion is to never leave it blank.  The biggest mistake we see is that someone just put your company name there which is an enormous waste of space.

Adding your local information to the website in the following areas can have a big impact on attracting more local users to your website.  Make sure to take advantage of the following on each page:

• Page Title
• Content
• Footer

Step 2:  Get rid of Generic or copied content.

Most people have heard that you need good articles or news on their websites.  However they post other people’s articles or news which really does them no good.  The other big mistake is when companies take “stock” content from vendor sites and put it on theirs.

The bottom line is Google rewards fresh, original content.  So do some writing of your own and you will start to attract more web traffic.

Step 3:  Use free local tools.

There are a whole host of free tools out there such as local listings in Google, Yahoo and Bing.  Creating a good listing in those search engines will definitely bring more traffic to your website.  The same can also be said for creating profiles on customer review sites which are also usually free.

Step 4:  Get serious about social.

There is a whole world developing online of social media outlets for information.  The big 3 are Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.  But there are also sites such as Squidoo, Scribd, Hub Pages and StumbleUpon where you can post and share content with millions of other web users.  And these days you can even hire a social media consultant if you need help in this area!

Step 5:  Write and share your expertise or passion.

If you have any subjects that you have expertise or passion about – start writing.  The online world is full of enthusiasts for one thing or another and the best way to reach them is to write something compelling and interesting that you will want to read.

I hope these tips on internet marketing can help drive more visitors to your website.  If you would like to discuss them further please contact us today at 504-669-3207 or email info@mywsiconsultant.com.

Turn Browsers Into Customers

One of the things we often do with clients is look at their websites to see what can be done in order to improve the number of people who take the action you want them to. We call these actions “conversions” which basically means people didn’t just surf your site – they actually did what you asked them to do.  This might be make a phone call, buy an item, email you, sign up for a newsletter, send something to a friend.

Whatever the conversion goals you define for set for your website, there are a few things you can do that will help no matter what the goal.

4 Tips for Improving Website Conversion:

Tip 1: Phone number & email in an easy to find place to find

As simple as this sounds it’s often overlooked.  How many times have you visited a website and had to look hard to find out how to contact them?  Remember there are countless millions of websites out there and the attention span of a web surfer is short – so make sure your phone number and contact info are easy to find.

Our suggestion – put the phone number and email address in the top right of your website.  Make sure to put the phone number in text and not an image file so mobile users can click on it.

Tip 2: Offer A Unique Selling Proposition

Chances are your website is not the only place to find information on the products or services you sell.  And with so many choices online it has never been more important to establish a “Unique Selling Proposition” that differentiates you from everyone else.

Our suggestion – spend time thinking about one single, credible sentence that describes why someone should choose you over your competition.  And make sure web visitors can see that easily on your site.

Tip 3:  Create Special Offers

Face it – who doesn’t love a special deal?  For online users it’s really easy to hit the “Back” button and leave your site.  So while you have them there, offer them something special.  A special price, special offer, special private information, a whitepaper – whatever you can think of.

Our suggestion – identify a compelling “special offer” and make sure web visitors can find it.

Tip 4: Update old information

I recently came upon a client whose website proudly proclaimed he had been in business from 1956-2006.  I told the store owner I was sorry to hear he had been out of business for 3 years since it was 2010.  Don’t give your customers the impression that they are visiting an outdated website with obsolete information.

Our suggestion – make sure your information is up to date as web searchers are generally  looking for relevant, recent information.

We can help

There is a lot more to a good website than just flashy design work.  If you would like to learn more about internet marketing skills which can help you convert more customers please contact us today.

My former CEO was well known for his ability to see the big picture in our industry.  In fact the speech he became best known for was, ironically enough, the “Big Picture Speech.”  The beauty of the Big Picture Speech was that by keeping our eyes on the big picture it made a lot of the details in our work lives easier to manage.

Lessons Learned

The lesson I learned is that by focusing on what was happening on the larger scale, we could always check to make sure our planning and daily activities were helping row the boat in the proper direction.

So with that said, here is my own version of the big picture speech for the online world in 2010:

Digitization of our world

Depending on your technological bent, it’s either really cool or really alarming the pace at which our world is becoming digitized.  What I mean by that is, no matter how you slice it, people are consuming and sharing their information in an increasingly digital format at a faster rate than ever before.  As further proof who would have ever heard of a digital marketing consultant even a few years ago?

Lesson – make sure your marketing efforts are participating in the digital revolution.

Mobile devices

According to a recent study by Quantcast, mobile usage of the internet grew 110% last year.  This should come as no surprise for anyone who has 2 eyes and can see just about everyone using a smart phone of some type.

Lesson – make sure your website and marketing materials are friendly to mobile users.

Local search trends

in the past year or so the 3 biggies Google, Yahoo and Bing have all begun showing you local search results.  If you are searching for something related to plumbing (for instance) they assume your intent might be to find a plumber or a plumbing supply store and will show you a various number of possible results.

Lesson – take full advantage of free local listing services.

There are no shortcut secrets in online marketing

Believeme I’ve tried most of them.  But this $20 per month “do it yourself SEO program” is still my favorite.  A client called me this week and asked me what the difference between my offerings and the $20 “Do It Yourself SEO” package on his host company’s website.

Lesson – if there was a $20 shortcut to success online I’d take it.  However be prepared to work hard at it and recognize these trends if you want to win.

Good Luck with This Program!

Big Picture Summary

Make an Appropriate Investment into Digital Marketing

So stop treating your website like a brochure and breathe some life into it.  Add some content, write some articles, start a blog and get involved in the conversation online.  Find a way to invest some time, money (or both) to making an effort to participate in the big picture changes being discussed here.

Google changes for the Better?

When you turned on the computer and searched the web this week did you notice anything different?  If you’re like me you noticed it but couldn’t’ quite tell what it was – but something had definitely changed.  However if you totally missed it don’t worry…those who live in the internet marketing world are all over this one.!

This past week Google made some slight but noticeable changes to their home page including:

1. Updated Google logo – Yes they actually tweaked their logo!  The new version Google logo has slightly brighter hues of red, blue, green and yellow with less shadow in the background.
2. Changes to the left hand side search feature. Users now have more tools for jiggling their search results into customized categories such as news, images, blogs, etc.  It also suggests related topics of interest.

New Google Logo:

Improvements to the personalization of search

For the last few years all of the major search engines have been striving to improve what they call the “personalization of search.”  By this they mean offering you customized results based on your search habits.

This also involves a greater effort than ever to interpret what your intention was when you searched.  Thus the evolution of things like the Google Wonder Wheel  and related searches.

Also of interest for this round of changes is the ability to filter results by time so you can find the most recent items, and by “social” meaning things being posted on the social websites.  You can also filter sites according to shopping, more or less images and their location.

Google – You Can’t Help But Admire Them

No matter what your opinion of Google you had to admire their willingness to tweak what otherwise appears to be working.  Google says they made at least 550 revisions to their search engine last year alone!  And that’s while owning more than 75% of the market!

The online world seems to be getting more complex every day.  It also seems to be getting more intertwined with our offline world as the 2 are becoming increasingly difficult to separate.

Being “in the field” everyday and talking to business owners here are some high level observations of trends in the internet marketing world:

1.    5 pages websites don’t win anymore.  The days of putting up a 5 page “brochure website” and being able to generate meaningful results are over.  In other words just having a website is no longer enough. You have to create a web presence that engages customers and offers them something of value.  Having a friend build you a Yahoo starter site is so “2006″!

2.    A crummy site with good content beats a flashy site with no content. More than ever the search information drives the internet.  And while web awards are given each year for creative designs that continues to be the exception rather than the norm.  Google the word “mortgage advice” and you will find a dated, but very popular website called the Mortgage Professor.  This site ranks #1 for a hugely competitive phrase simply based on the value of it’s content – not design work.

3.    Free tools can make you money. The search engines continue to provide us with free tools that can absolutely make you money.  Local listings, review sites and blog platforms are great tools for attracting web followers and making money even though they are free.

4.    Invest some time, money or both.  The irony is that just about everyone has a phrase they wish they were #1 for but don’t want to commit the time or resources to achieving it.  Gone are the days when you can just put up your website and be rewarded with top rankings.  It takes time (either yours or someone you hire) to build sites into a resource that web users will want to visit.

Let us know if there are high level ideas you think are important.  And for more information on internet marketing in New Orleans, Louisiana please visit our website.

As the events of the last few weeks have reminded us, life in southern Louisiana is never dull.  A few years ago it was Hurricane Katrina and now it’s the oil spill in the Gulf providing stark reminders of the role that technology plays in our lives, especially here locally.

Think about the lessons we’ve learned from these disasters:

1. People are communicating differently – As my neighbor and I like to argue, most people are consuming their news in some form of electronic medium either via television or online.  Fewer and fewer people are “taking the paper” so to speak.  News from these disasters spread almost instantly across the internet including photos, news and video.  However by the time the paper comes the next day that news cycle is almost a full 24 hours old.
2. Communication has never been more important – With so many tools for communicating at our disposal the need to stay in touch is higher than ever, as is the reliance on technology.  If you took away the blackberry’s and iphones of busy people they might actually go into convulsions.
3. Multi media is king - if you look through Google search suggestions for “gulf oil spill” you will see suggestions for things like “gulf oil spill video,” “gulf oil spill photos,” etc.  What that tells you is that people are looking for more than just writing and words – they are looking to experience this story through all the types of media available to us today.
4. Reliable Information is invaluable – Getting accurate and fast information has never been more critical.  Maybe it’s because everyone has a mobile phone bu the truth is that our margins for error have gone way down in recent years.  What used to take days now takes seconds when it comes to distributing information..making it all the more important to become a trusted source of information no matter what you do.

So how does this relate to your business?  Simple really.  If you think that you can get by with a 5 page brochure website and actually claim online success I think you are in for an unpleasant surprise.    The people who are succeeding online have recognized these trends mentioned in this post and are using their websites and online tools to engage their clients and provide them what they are after.

Don’t wait to do something about these changes.  Get yourself engaged online in the discussion.