Archives

YP.com (the 21st century Yellow Pages) recently announced, after evaluating more than 563 million searches, that the South leads the nation in search queries with Atlanta at #1.  Florida dominated the 49 less curious states with Orlando coming in at #2, Miami coming in at #4, West Palm Beach at #8, and Fort Lauderdale at #9.    What the heck?  Is it just too humid to go outside and play?

It’s no surprise that restaurants rank as the #1 search category.  I mean who hasn’t goggled White Castle at 2 a.m. right?   And while you might think that only B2C businesses benefit from search, think again.  Also in the top 10 search categories: Financial Services (you know, banks), physicians, building contractors, and legal services – services we tend to think of as referral-based.

Earlier this year, Google unveiled Search, Plus Your World, where your friends now influence your search results.  Google’s intent was to improve your search satisfaction since birds of a feather tend to like the same Pad Thai.  You know, just the right amount of crushed peanuts and coriander (I know!  Me, too!)  This shift in the world of search successfully blended social media and search – which will undoubtedly lead to other search engines following suit and more and more searches to be made.

So in today’s competitive world, how can you afford not to compete in one of the fastest growing markets – the internet?  Obviously, people are searching online and if they aren’t finding you, then they’re finding your competition.

It’s time to evaluate your marketing channels and evaluate the ROI they have delivered.   We’re certain that spending less on “warm and fuzzy” program ads and more on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will generate more leads, resulting in more revenue, allowing you to buy more “warm and fuzzy” program ads than ever before.  Or, you could buy an angora chair cover and invest more in SEO.  You’re the boss.

Contact Electrum Marketing and allow our Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialists evaluate your online presence.

Having a website that’s simply an electronic brochure is so 20^th century.  With today’s technology, your website has the ability to be a high performing tool for business development, a valuable resource for your clients, and a means to engage the community.

Do you prominently feature current product or service promotions?  If you’re not promoting yourself, who will?  Place current promotions front and center on your home page.  Make them impossible to miss.

How often are you updating your content?  It is important to update regularly since fresh content not only helps in search engine rankings, but it keeps customers coming back to see what’s new.  When’s the last time your site was updated?  If you had to think about it, it’s been too long.

Does your content help your search rankings?   In 2012, an estimated 3.45 billion local searches will be made, making Search Engine Optimization (SEO) vital.  Even simple changes in text, page titles and URLs can make considerable improvements in search rankings.

Do you use landing pages to increase conversions?  When it comes to online advertising, don’t throw away all your hard work by sending interested customers to your homepage. Create a simple landing page that picks up right where your ad left off with a very clear call to action. Don’t lose your visitor—and potential sale—by confusing them with unnecessary content.

Is there a mobile version of your website?  Nearly half of all Americans (47%) now own a smartphone, 19% have some kind of electronic tablet and those numbers will only continue to rise.  Based on current trends, mobile internet use will surpass desktop use in a few years.

Does your website generate leads for your sales force?  Do you offer any unique value proposition such as a white paper, free evaluation or coupon you can provide in exchange for a prospect’s name and email? 

Does your website contain complicated animations? Flash-based animations can be bad for search engine optimization, but they can also complicate the website experience for visitors. Animations can often be slow to load, which slows down the user and can make them abandon your website.

Does your website contain industry jargon? Write your website copy as if your customer does not understand your industry’s terminology.  Look through your website and highlight terms that are not commonly used outside of your industry and replace them with more common explanations.

Does your website contain excessive images?  Images play an important role in telling your brand’s story.  However, having too many images can slow down the load time for your website in a web browser.  Did you know that search engines consider page load times when ranking websites?

Does your website contain long pages of text? Research has shown that Internet users don’t like to scroll. A product page that takes several scrolls to reach the bottom is a product page whose information will be ignored.   If you have that much information on a page then you are trying to communicate too many ideas.   Keep each page focused on one topic.

Contact Electrum Marketing to schedule your website review and strategy meeting.