2011-10-25

6 WEBSITE ‘NO-NOs’

Listed in order of severity
#6 is the least severe, #1 is the most

6 USE OF JARGON IN WEB CONTENT

This rule of journalism applies to electronic journalism as well – avoid using terminology that someone outside of your industry may not understand. Remember, they are going to be the ones looking for your services anyway. Jargon is OK on downloads and white papers, but not on general pages.

5 USE OF SOUND ON A WEBSITE

If you want people to visit your website, lose the sound. Think of an example of someone at work visiting a website they should not be on and having unnecessary attention drawn to them because of music or ‘blips’ during navigation. Not referring to ‘adult’ sites, but sites that someone should not be on at work such as a competitors site when they are trying to apply for a job. If you use music, allow the user to dictate when it starts/stops – ALWAYS.

4 (MIS)USING FLASH

In the late 1990s, Flash became a popular platform for building websites because of the ‘wow’ factor.  In 2011, web users are finding Flash-based websites more annoying than anything else.  Long load times are nothing compared to the fact that Flash sites don’t get indexed by major search engines and are not view-able on many handheld devices (including iPhone & iPad).

3 NO CONSIDERATION GIVEN TO SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

7-out-of-10 websites evaluated by AI Software do not even contain an appropriate title.  8-out-of-10 do not contain meta data.  9-out-of-10 contain irelevant or way to general meta data.  ANY website should have SOME consideration given to SEO – most should have a campaign in place.

2 THINKING THAT YOUR WEBSITE IS 100% OF YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

Your website is a VERY IMPORTANT part of your marketing strategy – it opens your organization to the world.  However, it should not be 100% of your marketing strategy.  When a professional, functional website is coupled with tried & true marketing strategies – that is when your organization gets the most out of a web presence.  Internet-based companies such as Constant Contact and GoDaddy have become successful due to a top notch web presence as well as traditional marketing efforts. 

1 HIRING NON-QUALIFIED PERSONS TO DESIGN YOUR WEBSITE

Easily the biggest ‘no-no’ in web design.  Seasoned and successful people who run businesses and organizations would never think of having someone without sufficient experience perform tasks such as accounting, management, operations, etc. – yet, many of these people still trust unqualified individuals to build their web site – the only piece of marketing collateral that can be seen by anyone and everyone in the world. 

We would love it if you trust AI Software with your web presence, but if you’re not going to use our team . . . . PLEASE HIRE A PROFESSIONAL!

For additional information, contact terry@aisoftwareinc.com

2011-10-15

Does My Organization Need a Mobile Website?


Would having a mobile website help my business sell more products and services?
 
People are searching evermore using their mobile phone. Many business owners have had a dot com website for years and say they've never experienced an increase in business, especially locally. They have asked how a mobile website would help. A mobile website and traditional dot com websites are very different. A dot com website usually has focused on the early stage of the sale, a mobile website is normally used more in the later part of the sales process, and potential buyers are looking and ready to buy at that point.
 
Mobile users want information about how they can buy your product or service. They want to know your hours, location, how to contact you, about specials or promotions, etc. Without having a mobile website in place, your competitor's will be found.
 
So whether your business is a pizza place, you're a consultant, lawyer, a plumber, your customers/clients are still going to be looking for you and if you have a mobile website the better chance they will find you.
 
Monetizing components of Mobile Marketing and Increase Customer Loyalty
 
You have customers that come in once every 2 weeks, once a month, once every two months. By offering mobile opportunities and engagements aggressively to existing customers, your mobile database will grow rapidly. When this happens, timely notification of special VIP only deals and discounts, friendly reminders of events and promotions will get them to come in 2 more times this year.
 
Lead Generation: Your brand may be attempting to reach out to new customers in a variety of ways; radio, newspaper, direct mail, events, networking, signage, flyers, word of mouth, email, are just a few of the possibilities.
 
When these potential clients see or hear your message they frequently ignore it, forget it, or simply disregard it because it isn't the right time of the day, or possibly the right time of their life for your product or service.
 
When you put the immediate "call-to-action" of Text BUSINESS NAME to 72727 in the center of "traditional" advertising, it gives customers an easy and immediate way to interact with you and your brand.
 
These customers already love you and your business, and have requested updates and offers. Now when we promote to this loyal database anywhere between 2 and 4 times a month on average (frequency varies greatly by industry), data shows that this branding and timeliness of additional communication will trigger additional engagements over the course of a year.
 
Since the amount of cell phones and smart phones are growing at an alarming rate, along with local searches, mobile websites are the tool to drastically help increase the speed of the buying process.

Customers are looking to buy and the mobile website is designed to answer just the questions they need to find you and buy from you.

For more information, email terry@aisoftwareinc.com