Quick Thoughts on Updating and Rebuilding Your Website

There are no rules when it comes to updating your business website in a regular manner. Deciding on whether to update, redesign or re-engineer your site should depend entirely on your business goals, objectives and economic considerations. It should not be dependent on a superficial time frame not based on facts.

A variety of factors can make a redesign worth considering rather than rebuilding it.

• For example, you have new branding and color standards this year, and you need to make sure your new look extends to your website. Moreover, your bounce rates - few converts from visitors - are extremely high. A well-thought-out redesign can turn this around.
• Another example is, your business has grown and you will need to have new products and services. Your website’s design may need to reflect that change. 
• Lastly, your customers complain about your site looking outdated, not working or too slow.

Source: UNSPLASH

 
What developments might be required to re-engineer any website from scratch?

• Making it adapt to mobile device screens. Fixing this is an absolute must in today’s mobile-driven world. Anyone in your company should be able to learn and use your content management system (CMS) to update your site. 
• Keep things simple: If your site takes forever to load, you need to re-engineer the back end. Nobody puts up with long waits anymore.

Customer opinion and feedback give you the kind of insights that convert visitors into customers. Start by asking what they think of your proposed design and if it appeals to them. Then,

• ask about the problem they’re looking to solve
• ask if the information they need access to is easy to find in the new design. 
• after you relaunch the site, ask them again if they like it. If they say no, address their concerns through incremental design enhancements, which your new site should allow you to do without starting over.

In short, you want to follow the lead of sites like Apple.com and Amazon.com, which rarely undergo complete facelifts. Instead, their sites evolve over time using an iterative process that results in near invisible refinements that have the bonus of maintaining the user experience that customers know and like.

Understanding the Efficiency of Your Business Website Today

To evaluate and understand the efficiency of your website, it will be helpful to visit the website of another business or company. You might want to take note of the following questions as you continue browsing the entire website:

1) Did you get confused about the website’s design?

2) Was the purpose of the website clear to you?

3) As a visitor, do you understand where the website owner wants you to go?

As you answer these questions, think of your own business website too. Unknowingly, you might be sending the wrong signals to your visitors and causing them wander away from the path that you have designed. However, there are times when spending too much time on your website to perform appropriate evaluation won't help. Therefore, you will need help from the experts.

If you're in the process of creating your business website from scratch, here are three important points which you must bear in mind. Use them as your guide in the creation of website copy, landing page forms and social media posts.

1) Find ways how you can attract visitors to use your website as much as you do.

2) Keep in mind your target audience or prospective customers as you build your website.

3) Have a test run for your website and request for honest feedback for improvement purposes.

Here's a video you might find helpful. (Note: I don't own this video. All credits to the owner/publisher)

Content Marketing: Key Points to Remember

In this fast-phased age, people are consuming increased amount of information from the internet. If you don't want your business to be left behind, you must be quick in creating content that can catch the attention of your target audience.

Once you have already defined your niche, choosing the topics to write about becomes easier. As you do your research, always keep your target audience in mind. Your writing style is another factor to think about. Never write in a way that you are just educating your readers. Rather, write in style that you can walk your readers through the process of learning something important to them.

Try your best to express your thoughts in simpler words and briefer sentences. This way you provide easy-reading materials. Have a list of all the information you have in mind and arrange them according to their importance. Keep a conversational tone that can make your readers feel relaxed. In fact, you can get them hooked by relating stories or adding humor to your content.

You can and might need to write about a topic that has been used many times by different authors. If you fear that it won't be noticed, aim at presenting your content in a different angle - a more interesting or informative one. Be creative and put yourself in the shoes of your readers. Use facts so that people will find you trustworthy.

Easy Copywriting Tips To Remember Today

Keep your paragraphs short but sweet.

The Internet is a fast-paced environment. People come and go. So it’s best NOT to have big blocks of paragraphs on your web pages. One of the simplest yet most vital copywriting tips I have for you today is to create short but meaningful paragraphs.

It’s a common phenomenon. Blocks of paragraphs with 10 to 15 lines seem very tiring to read, even intimidating to some people. They might not bother to read the paragraphs at all. Remember, you are not writing a novel. Break down your paragraphs into smaller, shorter ones, with 3 to 5 lines max, but be sure that each paragraph serves its purpose.

Do not plagiarize.

Every writer knows this. You’re not supposed to copy someone else’s work and label it as your own. It’s common for online writers to research and get bits and pieces of ideas from the web, but one must never ever copy paste someone else’s thoughts, unless of course you will quoting that person and will be giving him due credit as your reference.

 When at a loss for words, paraphrase.

The good news is that you can always garner ideas from something you’ve read and package them in your own words. You can paraphrase what you’ve read and not sound like a total rip-off.

Proofread.

As with any body of written work, proofread your work before daring to submit. Check for grammar, spelling and syntax mistakes. And check if you were able to use the online marketing advice provided above.

Quick Copywriting Tips For Internet Marketers

I’ve prepared a few copywriting tips that you should follow when writing content for your website. You’ll find these very helpful, especially since creating online content is different from writing for other forms of media. Some of these guidelines are also applicable to non-Internet related projects. Read on.

1. Know your target market.

This is actually a rule that applies whether you’re writing for online marketing purposes or otherwise. You need to know who you’re writing for and what type of content they would appreciate. What tone of voice should you use? Which expressions are appropriate? Are they sensitive or particularly sensitive to certain topics?

2. Know your purpose.

What are you producing content for? What is the company’s end goal? More sign-ups? More hits on YouTube? Knowing the company’s objectives will keep you aligned with the kind and level of work that you need to perform.

3. Speak in a language your market understands.

If you’re giving financial advice to stay at home mothers, try not to use financial jargon that is too technical for their level of understanding. Speak in a language your readers understand. This is online marketing advice you should consider whether you’re writing or creating a viral video for your site.

Use easily familiar words. If you need to use a specific term, provide an explanation that’s easy to understand, without even more complicated jargon.

4. Keep it simple.

Let me stress one of my points in #2. Don’t complicate things. Keep your statements simple. Try not to use too much flowery language.

If you feel that some sentences only confuse your readers, take them out.

Doing Forum Posting And Targeting Related Niche Sites

Advertising your business in relevant forums can also be a cheap and practical way of making people know about your enterprise. This is advantageous in a number of ways because apart from being able to publicize your business, you’re also able to know more about the industry you belong in.  From these forums you can know of the latest trends as well as existing problems in your niche that you yourself may prepare for.  You can also meet new business partners through them. What great opportunities, don’t you think?

As you join forums and make yourself more visible in the industry, you can further the efforts by writing articles that will talk about your niche more. You can publish these articles in your own business blog as well as article directories that search engines love to crawl into. Your articles can carry backlinks that will lead readers to your site. If you have fresh, effective, and useful content, there’s no reason why people wouldn’t want to come back for more. The next thing you know, your sales have significantly gone up too.

Finally, try to tie up with other related sites that your clients and prospects frequently visit. This may come a bit late in the campaign because you first have to establish your reputation for other entrepreneurs to trust you, but, when the time is ripe, you can greatly benefit from tie ups.
These are some of the local small business marketing tips you can follow.  Marketing may not be a walk in the park but if you’re willing to learn its ropes, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t succeed on it.