Fact: There is no such thing as a website that never needs to be updated.
Fact: People will leave your website if it is difficult to use.
Fact: Your website is your strongest marketing tool.
With consideration given to these facts and many others regarding your website, it is safe to say that many websites on the web need to be updated. The bigger question is – Is your website one of them?
Is your company’s website getting the results you want? Perhaps, you think it has all the important features but instead of being inviting, it seems that people are more interested in the competition’s offerings than yours. If this sounds familiar, then it might surprise you to learn you are not alone.
According to a recent study, it was found that 75% of consumers admit to making judgements about the credibility of a company based solely on the website design. So, if your website is not meeting the expectations of your guests, then perhaps it is time to figure out what is about your website that is driving customers away from your website.
You may think of your website as merely a way to be found on the Web. Perhaps, you see it as just another way of improving your business. Each of these thoughts is correct. However, in order for your website, and by extension your business, to be found and your revenue improves then you need to have more than just a website – you need to have a marketing plan that leverages your website to transform into conversions, or actionable items such as signing up for your newsletter, filling out a contact form or purchasing something from your store.
Being successful in today’s world of business is much more involved than it once was. Gone are the days where business meetings, networking, TV/radio commercials, and sending out flyers were enough to grow a business. Today’s businesses must also incorporate aspects such as PPC (pay-per-click) advertising campaigns, social media, SEO, and others in order to be found in web searches.
And while most businesses of today recognize that these additional elements are necessary, many of them are stumped as to how to implement them within their marketing strategy, if they even have a marketing strategy. Some either ignore these strategies altogether, others hire someone younger with the assumption that they will know how to implement various new technologies or they reach out to a team of professionals to take on tasks such as social media management and marketing, PPC, web design, SEO, etc.
Every day numerous websites are hacked. It doesn’t matter how large or small the company is, any site is fair game to hackers. These hacking attacks are typically achieved with ease because hacking can be automated via “bots.” These bots scan the Web and look for specific vulnerabilities on a website. Elements such as plugins or themes with known vulnerabilities make it easy for hackers to attack your site. So, what actions do you take to minimize your risk? One of the first things you can do is choose a hosting provider who will be there for you in the event that your site still gets hit- despite your precautions!
That sounds easy- right? Perhaps, but not every hosting provider is the same. Not only do hosting providers vary in price, but the packages, type of server, and services differ. But, before delving into the must-have list for host providers, let’s take a moment to explain the types of servers- as those will play a significant role in the host provider selection process.
If you want to have an ecommerce website for your business that is beneficial for you and easy for your clientele to use, then you must have a payment processor. There are dozens of payment processors out there, so it can be difficult to know which one is best for your specific needs.
If you are new to the world of ecommerce, then it can be a bit overwhelming. Since everyone has different needs and preferences, it may be necessary to have more than one payment method in place. So, to help you determine what payment processing option(s) will be best for your website, we have researched several options.
Which is better – investing in SEO or Google Ads? While it might seem like a very simple question, there is no such thing as a simple answer. In fact, according to a recent report based on just over 1,000 marketing professionals and business owners whose both organic and paid search tactics the results were nearly tied.
More than three quarters said both were effective, however, if forced to pick just one, 36% lean towards SEO and 64% opt for Google Ads. Some of the criteria each of the approaches were based included effectiveness, benefits, importance, simplicity and cost. However, it should also be noted that a separate survey found that only 30% of Small Business Owners had an SEO strategy. When done well, the cost of SEO and using Google Ads are typically about the same if you have to hire an agency to perform the SEO and a writer to develop all your content each week.
So, when it comes to choosing to focus on SEO or Google ads, how do you determine where to put your efforts? The short answer is most businesses should be implementing both strategies. Each strategy has advantages and disadvantages over the other. But assuming you only have the resources to pursue one strategy first, let’s take a few minutes to compare and contrast the two.
One cannot go anywhere currently without Covid-19 being a part of the conversation. From retailers, restaurants, offices and places of worship, everyone has been affected. And, not surprisingly, the unscrupulous (hackers, phishing scams, and malware) on the Web have also found a way to take advantage of Covid-19.
Hackers, scammers, and others have become so prevalent that Cloudflare (based out of the UK) recently reported that that online security threats have increased by 37% in just four weeks. In fact, Cloudflare reported that on some days it was blocking between four and six times the number of attacks normally seen! It was also noted by Google that in mid-April that every day there were over 18 million malware and phishing emails related to the pandemic. In addition, the organization behind Trickbot sent out hundreds of emails claiming to be from volunteer and humanitarian groups who offered testing and to have information regarding testing and medical advice. The Trickbot emails contained an assortment of attachments all designed to install malware onto the computer of anyone who opened it.