Web Marketing – Forward Web

Be Intuitive with your website

Posted on July 17, 2021May 18, 2022 by Forward_Web

Everything about your website should be centered around how easy your website is to use, because well… the easier your website is to use, the more people will use it. This is especially important if you are wanting to leverage your website to reduce the amount of time you or your employees are spending handling certain tasks (processing orders, answering basic questions..ect)

So how do you make your website more intuitive?

Think about what your visitors are wanting to accomplish while on your website (making a call, buying a product, paying a bill, getting a quote..ect). Then, think about how you can make that process as simple and thoughtless as possible (from any device, from any point on your website). An essential part of “easy to use” is intuitiveness. Meaning, when a website user sees it, they know exactly what to do. As long as your website visitors can complete the tasks they want without interruption or thought, your on the right track to higher conversions and better performing website.

Need our help? Feel free to reach out to us anytime via our contact form or chat bar, we’d love to hear from you.

The User Experience Reigns Supreme

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Forward_Web

Whether its generating sales, generating leads, providing useful information or all of the above. When building the foundation of your web presence (your web site). The center of your build should always revolve around the user experience. How?

First identify your intended audience to ensure your content and media relate to your audience. Then, once you’re confident your media and content are relatable to your audience. Second, create a layout that will allow your visitors to make purchases, contact your business, find useful information on your website as quickly and painless as possible.

There are obviously levels of optimization to this, however it all starts with the right mind-set of being more intuitive and engaging with your website vs treating your website like a billboard.

Do this, and you’ll be one step closer to having a successful web presence.

3 common mistakes businesses are making on-line in 2020

Posted on August 9, 2020 by Forward_Web

1. Having a social media presence, without having a website.

The common scenario goes like this. “I have a facebook or instagram and its free, why do I need a website?”

This is a common trap most small businesses fall into, especially if they have a niche business or if the business is in a market with little to no competition. Or maybe, the business owner is a social marketing whiz, posting great and engaging content that convert into sales/leads. Sound familiar?

Where this usually becomes a problem is if/when the social media platform being utilized changes algorithms and decides to stop showing that businesses content to its viewers. Maybe the business fall’s victim to a hack and they lose their page entirely (happens more often then you think) or what if a competitor decides to target that businesses audience through paid ads (slowly, but surely siphoning their audience). What then?

The simple answer here is ensuring you’re business has a website that serves as the end point for all of it’s Internet traffic. Social media absolutely should be used in 2020, however social media should serve as an on-ramp to the business website, not the final destination.

2. Having a website that serves no purpose.

If the business website does not serve a purpose, that business will be sending traffic to a dead end. Whether the business is selling products, collecting information (generating leads) or promoting a cause or event, the website should be centered around the user experience. This can range from having an integrated easy to use payment system or simply a website that provides useful, easy to read content across all devices.

Although the purpose will be different from business to business, the general idea is not letting the website become an after thought.

3. Not having control of the platform the website is created on.

Building a website through services like WIXX, Squarespace, Shopify to name a few, are attractive to some business owners because they serve as cheap, entry level way of getting onto the internet. However, outside of being able to manage content, the business has no control over the platform that the website relies on. Why is this a problem? Imagine a scenario where a conflict between the business and one of these service providers lead to the website being taken offline? Or, what if the business simply becomes unhappy with other elements of the service like downtime, or the inability to fully customize? The only solution at that point would be for the business to start fresh, on a new platform.

The simple solution is open-source. What ever platform or engine is driving the website of a business, that platform should be open source and not tied to any specific service provider. WordPress is one example of an open source platform that allows anyone to manage the content of the website (code free) but does not tie the business to any specific service provider. Since the code is open source, the business will be able to customize the functions and user experience when needed. As an added bonus, the cost of getting a starter website up and running on a open source platform like WordPress is similar to getting a web site set-up on services like WIXX, Squarespace, Shopify..ect

If you have found this information useful, feel free to drop us a comment or message.

Three actions you can take to immediately improve your on-line visibility

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Forward_Web

1. Claim & Set-Up Free Business Pages: Assuming your business has a physical location (shop, storefront, office..ect), Start with your Google Business Page, check to see if Google already has a listing for your business. If they do, proceed to claiming your business page and or creating a new listing for your business if they do not. Next, proceed to ensuring your website URL is attached to your business page and that all information phone number, hours, description..ect are 100% accurate. Once you are done with Google, proceed to doing the same with Yelp and then Facebook.

2. Harness Your Existing Audience: If you’ve been in business awhile, you likely have email, addresses and phone numbers of your existing or previous clients and customers. If you haven’t done so already, organize these contacts into a CRM (i.e Zoho, Nutshell..ect) that will allow you to regularly communicate with your current and previous clients. The key here will be consistency, while being mindful that your clients are already receiving loads of email, mailers and text messages. Before sending your first form of group communication, put your-self in your clients shoes and ask your-self what type of information you’d be interested in receiving. Is it coupons, business updates, all of the above? Nonetheless, you always want to be genuine in your communication (never spammy). The goal is staying connected, not selling.

But wait, how does this activity increase your Internet visibility? Although connecting with your audience directly does not have any effect on your Google/Search Rankings, the trickle down effect that occurs when you regularly connect with your audience is they will at some point, conduct a search of your business on-line. Just think, how many times do you “ok Google” for a business you’re already familiar with? If you’ve followed point#1 even if you do not have great organic visibility for your website, the business pages you set-up should. Thus, the more searches that are conducted on Google that result in a click through to your business page or website, the higher the rank Google will give your pages for these searches.

3. Get Busy on Social Media: For the sake of keeping it simple, focus on a single social media platform that you will use to build your audience, provide relevant information about your industry and lastly, to provide information about your business. Using facebook as an example, according to eMarketer reports, the average facebook user 18+ years of age is spending roughly 30 minutes per day on facebook. During this time, users are not just liking photos and writing comments, they are also searching for businesses and or being introduced to new business they did not know previously existed.

Questions? Don’t be afraid to send us a message, we love to help.

Why is optimizing your web presence important?

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Forward_Web

When successfully optimized, your web presence can spread brand awareness and turn digital interactions into ideal clients. Here are a few points every business should take the time to cover.

1. Make sure you have a mobile friendly website.

If your a business owner, chances are you do most of your work on your laptop or desktop computer. However your potential clients will likely make their first interactions with your business via a mobile device. This means you should have a mobile first mentality when it comes to your website. Information on your website should be easy to access and easy to read, otherwise you might as well not have a website at all.

2. Get Listed on Popular Directories

Google Places, Yelp, Facebook are some of the most popular pages you can get your website listed on. Make sure you add current pictures, your information like phone number, hours..ect are included, along with a nice and descriptive bio about your business. Make a note somewhere that you are listed on these pages so you can remember to keep these pages updated.

3. Get Active on Social Media

Facebook is a great place to start, even if you do not have a facebook profile, your friends, family, colleagues and last but not least, your potential clients likely do. If you followed point#2, you already have your business page set-up, now all you have to do is get active. Post frequently, however make sure what you are posting is relevant, professional, yet something your viewers can relate and connect to. If you do not know where to start, keep it simple and start by keeping your viewer-ship up to date with what is going on with your business (sales, events, new products, services..ect).

This of course is just a starting point, if you have already covered this points, kudos you are on your way. If you have not, getting started is half the battle.

What is Google AdWords?

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Forward_Web

As Google explains:

“Google AdWords is Googles on-line advertising program, the program allows you to create on-line ads to reach audiences that are interested in the products and services you offer. The AdWords platform runs on pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, i.e. you have to pay every time a visitor clicks your ad.”

Although there are many advertising avenues available for your website and business. Google still reigns supreme for two of the following reasons:

1. Googles massive reach

Google handles an obscene 2+ trillion searches per year. Thats over 5 billion searches per day.

Among those are people looking for solutions to problems that your business can offer. If they’ve ever used the Internet, chances are they’ve Googled the answer to something. And if you can help them find the answer, even if it’s with an ad, they’re more likely to choose you than your competitor.

2. Harnessing intent

The biggest difference between the people you’re reaching with Google AdWords and the people you’re reaching with other forms of advertising is their intent.

On social media, for example, people aren’t looking to be advertised to. They’re not looking for solutions to the issues that plague their everyday lives. They’re looking for pictures of friends and family, memes, updates..ect. And when you advertise to someone who doesn’t want to be advertised to, your conversion rates are going to be much lower. On the search network, though, you’re not advertising to people who don’t want to be advertised to. You’re advertising to people who are looking for something.

With that being said, other advertising avenues like facebook, Instagram..ect all have value, so we are not advocating becoming a Google Maxamilist. However we do encourage business to not shy away from the effectiveness of utilizing Google Adwords to drive physical or digital traffic to your business.

Want to learn more about how we can leverage Google Ad-words to increase your business visibility, sales and inquiries? Send us a message or set-up a consultation at: https://forwardweb.net/web-consultation/