My latest Go Daddy Article has posted. Check it out!
Newest Go Daddy Article

Writing, Editing, Publishing Services and more…
By Elizabeth Leer
When marketing a business it is important to see the business through the customer’s eyes. Think about how the business is perceived and compare it to the image you want the business to have. Also, consider how convenient and user-friendly your marketing tools are such as do online websites load easily and without a bunch of steps? Do mobile application websites work properly without the viewer having to modify their settings to read it? Does your marketing tool reach the right people? Is your contact information easy to locate? These are some basic issues that will frustrate potential clients and lose a business, customers if not done properly.
The last decade has thrown business owners into the world of the web whether they want to be or not. According to a survey of 800 small business owners by the U.S. Organization NSBA (National Small Business Association) in 2013, the majority of small businesses have a business website and almost one in five of those websites are mobile website compatible. With more than 250 search engines on the web today, and 85 percent of consumers using search engines in 2012 to locate products, services and businesses, having a quality web page has become a necessity for modern businesses.
Consumers automatically assume that all businesses will have an informative and easy to navigate web page. The days of picking up the yellow pages and flipping through to find an auto mechanic or a plumber are no more. Today consumers expect to be able to pick up their laptop or mobile device and search for whatever they need and have all the information easily at their fingertips. That is why it is a vital marketing tool for businesses to have a well laid out and formatted website. Some things to consider when developing or revamping a business website are:
Do not rush through the web design process. Too many businesses rush through the process in order to get something up and running. A lot of times a business’ web page is the first impression to the consumer, so it is important that it be done right. Beta test the new or revamped website before making it live to the public in order to make sure everything is working properly.
Even though online marketing is a vital resource to any current day business, it is important not to rely solely on having a website for marketing. Although print ads are not as effective as they once were, they still reach a wide swath of people and place a company or product in front of the consumer’s eyes. Do not completely eliminate print marketing methods such as direct mail to past clients, or strategically placed bulk mailings.
Consider whether or not TV advertisement would be well-spent money. According to Neilson in 2009, 57 percent of TV viewers also simultaneously used the web. This provides the opportunity for viewers to instantly log onto a business’ website when the consumer sees the business’ TV advertisement.
Blogging and Social Media are the latest in marketing tools. HubSpot in their 2012 article “State of Inbound Marketing” sited that 92 percent of the companies who regularly blogged multiple times per day received a customer from their blog. This same article states that the number of businesses who believe Facebook is of vital importance to their business and marketing strategy has increased by 75 percent.
The automated and technologically based world we live in has changed the way businesses need to market themselves. Whether it is a large conglomerate or a small mom and pop store having a strong web presence is vital to creating a solid bottom line. It is important to keep in mind the customer base and impression while creating this web persona, as well as rounding out a business’ marketing game plan with other forms of non-electronic marketing platforms. Keeping abreast of new technology and comfortably transitioning with the technological tide will help businesses stay on track with the mobile and Social Media hungry consumer base of today.
References:
http://www.nsba.biz/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Technology-Survey-2013.pdf
http://biz.yelp.com/blog/survey-85-of-consumers-use-the-internet-to-find-local-businesses
http://www.ask.com/question/how-many-search-engines-exist
http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics
http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics
Online marketing and SEO practices have changed substantially as mobile phone and tablet technology has improved, making what used to work for your business website obsolete. That is why it is important to take a periodic review of your website’s layout, design, and protocols to make sure that you are presenting yourself and your company in the best light possible when potential customers view your site from their mobile phone, often this encounter will be your company’s first impression; and you know what they say about a bad first impression. Here are a few things to keep in mind and take a look at that may have changed since you developed your website.
Is your website mobile friendly?
Just because you have a good looking website on the internet doesn’t mean that it will be as attractive or functional on a smart phone. Although smart phones have improved in functionality immensely in the past five years, their processors are still limited. This affects items such as:
Some of the things to keep in mind when modifying your webpage to be more mobile SEO friendly are you will need to reduce the number of redirects used, optimize any images used, and turn off any blocks that keep CSS, JavaScript, or images from loading properly. These changes will increase page loading speed and minimize errors or loading crashes.
Use a webpage design that incorporates the mobile layout so that when potential clients view your site from their phone they can maneuver easily. This type of layout generally is a scroll own directionality rather than the traditional above the fold layout of desk top or laptop design, since scrolling is much easier to do with a touch screen cell versus using the mouse.
When it comes to Pop-ups, avoid using them. These are not user friendly or processor friendly on small screens and smart phone microprocessors.
Remember People have Fat Fingers
When designing your touch screen buttons and their locations on your site, remember that they will be viewed and used from a much smaller screen. Having these buttons too close together, or too small will make it difficult for users to use and in the end leave them frustrated as they have to continually back up and try again.
Avoid Using Flash
Although most laptops have or can access Flash, a lot of mobile’s still do not have the availability of the Flash plugin. Instead use the HTML5 for creating your mobile sites special effects. This will give you the versatility in creativity that you want, without causing the end user issues when trying to load the information onto their mobile.
Be Concise with Titles and Meta Data
A big part of SEO is in the titles and Meta Descriptions whether for a desk top/laptop configuration or in Mobile SEO. The difference comes in the screen size. Where as you can use longer Meta Descriptions for larger screens, they will not be visible on a smaller screen; making it imperative that you keep your Meta Descriptions as succinct as possible without losing the main idea or impact effect.
Local Search Optimization
In order for your business to be included in local or “near me” search results you will need to optimize for these searches. One way to do this is to standardize your business name, address, and phone number so that it looks the same wherever it appears on the web increasing your SEO analytic numbers. Another way is to include your company name, city, and state in your Metadata; this tells the search engines exactly where you are so that it can include your company in local searches.
Remembering to follow mobile SEO practices and keeping up with continuing changes as technology improves will be your keys to success for drawing customers to your site