Let’s Not Call it a Blog – WordPress is a Marketing Tool

Website Design, marketing strategies No Responses »
Jun 222010

A lot of traditional small business owners have a preconceived notion of what a blog is and isn’t, and dismiss it right away since they haven’t got time to write a bunch of tips or worse yet, to blather on.

There are many joys in WordPress: some use it as a tool to develop a total website, OR as an add-on so closely integrated with your present site that it acts as an Articles or News section. Although WordPress was not developed for business websites, it is quite good for people looking for a more affordable CMS (to update your own content).

Problems with Themes

However, WordPress is widely misused and each blog needs careful customisation on setup. Sure it’s easy to install a Theme, but so many people forget to really make it a sales tool by linking in their website and business details.

We had a few problems with the flexibility of our old theme – you might find the same. With our new theme Suffusion, it makes changing colours, fonts and layout much easier. This comes with some SEO features.

I also recently discovered a SEO plugin called ‘SEO essentials’ which is readily available from WordPress.org. This allows you to put the keywords in the front of the title, among other nifty options.

Brand Your Header

A blog can have its own identity. Every blog needs to have a customised strong header, but there’s also a need to make that header or URL inside an About Us box clickable – so when people land on the blog, they can get back to the website. This can be set up quickly by a WordPress Website expert.

Secondly, a blog is not just a space to air your personal opinions. The reasons to start a blog (WordPress add-on) on your traditional business website are:

  • Regular updates surrounding your core topic will help you build better Google and Yahoo page ranking.
  • A cheaper/simpler Content Management System cannot be found.
  • Convert visitors into sales prospects and then clients.
  • Reuse blog articles and send them out as an e-newsletter (have an opt-in box on website or blog home).
  • Take advantage of many themes’ integration with social media profiles.

There is a lot of talk online about monetizing your blog. Forget this, a Bricks & Mortar business will ‘monetize’ their blog by drawing in local readers and educating them about the benefits of doing business with them or being helpful – e.g. giving tips on keeping flowers fresh for a florist, etc. Being one click to your main site is so important for any sales conversion, but is not automatic so this often requires someone to customise the code.

Personal Profile Builder

A blog can also become a way to build a personal profile. For service providers, you can either have your mugshot in your header (with phone number) or have a profile box in the sidebar with headshot, about you, website link. Get a gravatar, which is then used when you post comments on other blogs, and a favicon for your whole site (that little icon next to the URL). Make yourself colourful and visible to passersby.

Here’s a good example of a Personalised Blog: http://www.tyroneshum.com/

So if you’re a business manager that’s curious about a WordPress customised website or blog add-on, we’re happy to chat via email.

Posted by Jennifer at 1:01 pm Tagged with: , , ,

Website Checklist for a Better Site

Small Business Brisbane, Website Design No Responses »
Jun 162010

This coming month I’m getting out in northern Brisbane area, offering free web appraisals. Using a 100-point checklist for checking each website, it’s clear that there is a lot more to a good website than nice design and structure. Checking off:

  • Domain names and URLs – (dynamic or static), keywords, redirections, etc
  • Browser issues
  • Logo display
  • Design considerations (33 points)
  • Architectural issues (won’t be looking in-depth, mainly note loading time)
  • Navigation issues
  • Content (grabs attention, WIIFM, needs and benefits, justifies/calls to action, no typos, etc)
  • Content appearance
  • Links & buttons
  • Home Page (provides a good overview, no splash page)
  • About us Page (links to contact/support pages)

So before you say, oh we’ve got a website thanks… perhaps let an outsider take a look.

You may never know if there is something missing until it’s pointed out. For instance, our clients last year were, to start off with, unhappy with their copy not being proofread. Well, with a proper edit and all the right keywords in the right places, this Concrete Products supplier is attracting many more clients via Google for ‘concrete sleeper retaining walls’. On top of this, more people are using the Quote button to ask for a quote via a form (before, it didn’t do anything).

They say that simplicity is beautiful, but it can also be profitable. Call Jennifer on 07 3103 0238 to book in your complimentary website appraisal.

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 9:45 am

Why Create a SmartPhone-enabled Website?

New technology, Website Design 18 Responses »
Apr 232010

Of all the smartphones available on the market, iPhone seems the most popular in Australia. But worldwide they have around 15% of the smartphone market, and growing. There are tens of thousands of people using various other devices (Blackberry, Nokia smartphones/Ericsson P series, powered with Symbian), so to make them all happy is quite a trial.

But with 10% of possible visitors coming from a mobile device – more in some cases – savvy website owners had better ensure that they are making it easy for mobile customers to view and use their site. And not just for consumer-targeted businesses, business usage is increasing too – people want to use their smart mobile for practical reasons as well as fun.

You can see that the mobile web is really gaining traction:

  • 36 million people are using Facebook via mobile devices (global figures).
  • Australian users love to download or stream video, with 41% sometimes downloading video from their smart phone. (Nielsen 2010 Internet and Technology report)
  • Neilsen in US discovered that iPhone users are a marketer’s dream: 40% have household incomes of $100K or more – twice the ratio among all subscribers (19%). No figures from Australia that I can find.

Since iPhone’s Safari browser adapts most websites to its screen, the major hurdle is ease of use (e.g. not having to scroll forever). Also steer clear of Java websites, which cannot adapt and may just show as a blue screen.

To become mobile friendly, the two choices for website development are:

- adapt your site to mobile devices, as well as different browsers, OR
- create a new simplified version – a .mobi website

This second option is the one recommended by W3, to meet their web standards best practice. FYI, .mobi websites should not be any more expensive to create and host than regular websites. Of course someone has to design them specially.

You can check your own website for mobile compatibility here:
W3C MobileOK Checker

Don’t panic if your site does not meet the criteria – because it probably will have a long list of coding and graphics no-nos that mobile devices do not like.

When We Design Your Website:

When designing your website, we test on all the major browsers. There are sometimes font based problems and graphical issues, which we go back and fix.

But with a mobile device, there are so many variations that the web developer might be adapting for 100 years! So if you want to be found on a mobile device adequately, please ask at the outset for a Mobile Compatible website. With the software we use as the basic “shell” of the website (which is then customised), there is a variety of looks and navigation options, and there are mobile device compatible themes too.

There is also a possibility to design your own mobile app (application). We have already had an enquiry for this, and are finding talent to fill this niche need. The Apple store reports now having reached 1 Billion Apps downloaded. WOW!

So are you going to look into this for your business, and cash in on the trend towards mobile web usage? Or will you sit back and say “someone ate my cheese”.

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 11:33 am Tagged with: , ,

Creating Linkworthy Business Websites

Small Business Brisbane, Website Design 4 Responses »
Apr 072010

Sometimes it pays to be brutally honest with clients who are hopeful of receiving hundreds of links to their online store or basic service website.

“The less useful your content, the less likely you are to ever receive a link to it”

– Eric Ward, LinkMoses

So what can an entrepreneurial type do with their ‘plain brand’ business website?
If you have products you can start marketing them through affiliates. This will attract many varied backlinks as well as sales. If no products, please read on….

Be Credible

To ensure people will take you seriously, SEO Book says “you need to make sure your website adheres to good web credibility standards.
• Is your domain name memorable?
• Does your design complement your copy?
• Is your content interesting and conceptually unique?
• Does your site have an editorial component and voice, or is it a boring low-value thin product database?
• Is your about page memorable?
• Is your site easy to use and understand?
• Do you have a brand people care about? (Points care of SEOBook.com)

You do not need to “have it all” to get started, but the more credible you look the faster you will gain momentum.”

- Aaron Wall, SEO Book.

Realise that the Internet is a Social Medium

Speaking at a conference? You may be surprised that people in the audience send tweets about your talk via their mobile.

Want to get leading bloggers/thought leaders to promote your site? You could create a community project or an exciting contest. If for charity, you will often attract the real media too. (Help this along with a press release).

Continuous Improvement

What does it take to be successful online? Improve your website or update your blog, and start a conversation online at least once a week. (We are posting twice per week – it’s not impossible). A little regular effort may snowball into ‘YOU’ being a thought leader in your field. You might notice I do not say the market leader… because you cannot manipulate people on the Internet, you cannot dominate the market, you can only interest people.

In many ways, the Internet more resembles an ancient bazaar than it fits the business models companies try to impose upon it.

- The Cluetrain Manifesto

The book Cluetrain Manifesto declares that “markets are conversations”, “talk is cheap” and “silence is fatal”… they are referring to blogs and websites.

“Though corporations insist on seeing it as one, the new marketplace is not necessarily a market at all. To its inhabitants, it is primarily a place in which all participants are audience to each other.”

Read the book here for free: www.cluetrain.com

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 5:18 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

DIY Template or Employ a Web Designer?

Small Business Brisbane, Website Design 3 Responses »
Mar 312010

If you happen to be a business with a workforce of two to three people and you want to have a website, you might be wondering should I just get my tech-savvy son/daughter/uncle/neighbour to do my website with a template? Or should I spend some money and employ a website designer?

Sometimes the answer is: You don’t know what you don’t know.

Let’s see if I can spot the websites that have gone the DIY route and bought a template online. Let’s Google ‘Kitchen Designers Brisbane’. It looks like the websites that made the first page really had some time and effort put in. Nice designs, lots of handy content, and completed titles (including their location).

So the first lesson is: If you want to be found in Google’s first page, the first step is optimised titles, more than three pages, real content, and no Java.

You can also rely on a Local Business listing to bring in some active searchers. Look at your competitors – do they all have website links? Are they good websites? What can we do to ensure your business stands out?

What about design? For highly impressionable public in a competitive market, if your design looks a bit odd, is not easily navigable, and looks a bit last century, you might find your visitors fleeing in under 1 minute.

Some people do start off with a customised WordPress site, which is OK for a while. However, WordPress was designed to be a blog tool for quickly updated content… it may well display dates and times every time you change a page. As we have done here, WordPress is perfectly OK to append to your main site as a Blog. It helps with SEO too, if there are regular postings.

What about conversion? When you write the content for your website (or your wife or mother writes it), will it connect with your target market?

Nett magazine says, “Confusing, long-winded or ungrammatical copy can damage your brand… your copy needs to be well-structured and economical.”

A copywriter will incorporate your unique selling proposition, make your target audience think “wow I should do that”, and follow up with a clear call to action.

While it is normally up to $2,000 for copywriting of a 5-10 page website, here at Red Planet Design we are lucky to have an in-house copy writer. So we can ensure your new website is written well for a super low price (with optimised titles and headings), including initial consultation and revisions. Just ask for a written quote.

Posted by Gino Lancaster at 2:40 pm Tagged with: , , , , , ,
Newer Entries
© 2012 Red Planet Design Blog - Small Business Marketing Suffusion WordPress theme by Sayontan Sinha