Are you an effective or successful coach?

So you’re probably thinking, isn’t that the same thing?

Well in this instance, no it’s not. Let me explain:

As a coach, you help to bridge the gap between where your clients are, and where they want to be. When this is achieved, that’s what makes you an effective coach.

This is just one side of the coin though.

The flip side is – Do you also have strategies in place that consistently attract clients and create a sustainable & profitable income?

Because this is what makes you a successful coach.

When your marketing strategies are on point, you’re not only bridging the gap for your clients, but for your business as well. Ask yourself these 3 questions:

• Are you attracting clients (ongoing and new) that are generating consistent cash flow?
• Are your services sustainable? That is, is the way you’re coaching sustainable in the long term? (think burnout – is that a potential problem?)
• Is your pricing on point? Are you creating an income that will sustain and motivate you?

If you answered yes to these, kudos to you! Give yourself a high-five because you’re a successful coach!

So back to effective Vs successful. Consider these scenarios:

Effective: You’re an amazeballs coach who provides massive value to your clients, but you struggle with marketing and attracting leads.

Successful: You’re a marketing superstar who can sell ice to Eskimos… but can’t quite get the results your clients want yet.

I trust you see my point. Essentially, you can’t have one without the other… At least, not for long anyway.

Being both effective and successful is the secret sauce to creating a lasting and fulfilling career as a coach.

This is one of the reasons I personally wanted to specialise in supporting the coaching industry. If there are gaps in your coaching, there are plenty of ways to fill them:

• Getting coached yourself
• Allowing time for more practice and experience
• Additional education, etc.

And, there’s no mad rush for this. In fact, it’s an ongoing process anyway; there’s always something new to learn and develop.

The successful side of things though is a bit trickier…

Not everyone has the luxury of taking their time to grow, let alone scale their business. No matter how big our dreams are, we all have other important aspects of our lives, not to mention bills to pay!

I find this heartbreaking because I firmly believe that anyone, regardless of experience or background can achieve success in business. You just need the right tools, resources and support to help get you there. Thus the services that I offer in terms of coaching websites, website support and website marketing.

Additionally, this is one of many reasons that I also created Coach Connect Australia, to provide an effective tool to help coaches in their journey of creating both an effective and successful business.

I’m not going to blabber on that Coach Connect Australia is a silver bullet solution… because it’s not:

• The directory should complement your other marketing efforts (website, social media etc.). It should not be the only egg in your marketing basket.
• It can increase your visibility online, but the quality of the content you provide and how compelling it is… falls to you.
• How you nurture leads and eventually convert them, also falls to you.

Like all marketing efforts, a holistic approach will help set the stage for long-term growth.

The good news is, that in addition to the many benefits of directory advertising, CCA also provides resources to help our community get the most out of their listing, as well as support their other marketing efforts.

You can see what has been added already on our regularly updated resources page here.

Please Note: Everyone can see the archive of all resources, but only those with a paid listing with CCA can access each individual resource.

Help me help you!

(Yes, I stole that from Jerry Maguire ?)

I genuinely want to support the coaching community as much as possible, so if there’s a specific area of your business where you could use some more guidance, I would love to know!

Disclaimer: My background is in web design and online marketing so I don’t claim to be an expert in ALL things. One of my zones of genius though is I’m big on very thorough, evidence-based research and standing on the shoulders of giants.

So why not leverage my time and skills? Hit me with your feedback, questions and gaps you need to fill.

Shoot me an email, or submit a resource topic request on CCA here.

The services I offer become more valuable when I can better serve you. And that value can be translated to both your clients and your business.

It’s a win-win for everyone.

All the best,
Libby
Coaching Website Specialist
Rivmedia Web Design

The post Are you an effective or successful coach? Discover how to be both! appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

This is a guest post that was written by me (Libby Hogan) for Coach Vantage.

How To Market Your Coaching Business: 9 Effective Strategies

We all know that even if you’re an amazing coach or consultant, you need a solid marketing strategy to be able to attract clients and run a successful coaching business.

The kicker though is knowing what to do and how to do it right. And unless you’re a marketing expert, this can be an understandable challenge for many.

The good news is there is an abundance of different ways to market your coaching business. And do so not only within a budget that works for you but also with what’s in line with your strengths, and the target audience you wish to reach.

Meet Libby

Hi, my name is Libby and I’m a web designer, marketing strategist and coach in training. I specialise in helping coaches, like you, to build the business you really want, and live the life you dream about.

In this article, I explore 9 popular marketing strategies that you can use for your coaching business. As well as provide handy, actionable tips to improve your marketing efforts so you can attract more leads.

Marketing Strategies: Common misconceptions

First, let’s dispel some myths to get in the right mindset. In my time speaking with other coaches, a lot of misconceptions would often come up about marketing strategies for their business:

• They associate marketing with having to be “salesy” or even “sleazy“.
• The best way to get extra clients is through paid advertising.
• You absolutely have to multiple social accounts and do Reels, Facebook lives, YouTube videos and [insert every other medium that is every introvert’s worst nightmare here]. ?
• You should be posting on all the different social media platforms, multiple times a day, every day.
• Your marketing efforts should include: [whatever Insta’s latest marketing guru is flogging here].

Gah, no wonder so many get turned off by marketing. More good news though, none of this is true. So, as the old adage goes, ‘stop shouding yourself to death!’

Sure, there are foundations that are consistent in the marketing industry but there are no hard and fast rules. Even if you’re in the same industry and have the same niche as another business, what works and doesn’t work for them, won’t be the same for you.

What makes you unique and special, is also what makes your business special.

So, give yourself permission to take a breath, and not put any unnecessary pressure on yourself.

Choosing which strategies are best for your business to reach more potential clients

With numerous options to choose from to market your coaching business and every guru, each saying theirs is a “must-have“, finding what’s right can be difficult. My advice – ignore all the noise and shiny objects, and answer the following 3 simple questions:

1. What’s in line with your strengths: Seriously, if you suck at making videos but are great at content marketing, give priority to your content marketing! You’ll be able to do it well and more importantly, be more motivated to be consistent with it… and consistency is the key.
2. What will resonate with your target audience: There’s no point posting on Twitter for example if none of your ideal clients hang out on that particular social media platform. Plus, you don’t just want to reach any and all clients, you need to connect with your ideal clients.
3. What works with your budget: While we don’t always want to admit it, budget is often a factor, especially if you are a new business. There’s no need to break the bank though when so many effective, free marketing strategies are available. Find what is comfortable for where your business is now. You can always re-evaluate investing in new marketing strategies down the road.

Before you launch any marketing activities, know who your ideal clients are!

I can’t stress enough how important it is to have complete clarity on who your ideal client is. Without this knowledge, you won’t know what they really need, let alone how to create compelling content that resonates with them.

Before you can market anything effectively, you need to understand your ideal customer completely. Then, integrate this knowledge across your entire coaching business and marketing strategies.

If you haven’t defined your ideal customers yet, or if you’re messaging isn’t quite landing, I’ve already written another article about this which will help. In it, we explore the importance of defining your ideal customers so you can confidently create marketing strategies that work.

Check it out here ? Successful marketing: It starts with your ideal customer

Now, let’s dive into the different ways you can market your coaching business. And remember, you don’t have to use ALL of these. Hone in on the ones that are best for your business.

Marketing Strategy #1. Instagram, Facebook Pages & Facebook Groups

Having an appealing social media profile legitimises your business and is an effective way to attract followers and reach new potential clients. With best practices in place, the multitude of free options is almost always sufficient for many coaches.

If you want to reach even more clients though, paid ads are a cost-effective option. (discussed further below)

Plus, you can be found in multiple ways. Such as through keyword searches, hashtags and even by scrolling through other social media accounts to see who they are following.

Joining Facebook groups is also an easy way to increase brand awareness and start building your network. Like guest posting, this is an easy way to leverage someone else’s larger, more established audience.

Social Media Pro Tips:

• Optimise your profile on all social accounts with a great headshot and make it clear what you do and what your niche is.
• Take the time to create relevant content your current and potential coaching clients will gain value from.
• Social media is a social network, so get in and participate. Don’t expect people to engage with your business if you don’t return the favour. It’s a great opportunity to get the conversations rolling and start building strong relationships with your potential customers.
• Leverage the power of social media apps and scheduling tools to make posting consistently easier. My personal favourites are Later and the Meta Business Suite Planner.
• Facebook Groups: As above, it’s important to engage with Facebook group members as much as possible in order for them to take you seriously and view you as an authority figure in your industry.

Marketing Strategy #2. Start your own blog and guest blogging

Blogging is an effective form of content marketing to attract new clients. It gives you a consistent platform to share your ideas, build your reputation as an expert in your field, and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.

Furthermore, each new blog post can help potential clients understand what services you offer, how much value you can give your customers, what kind of results they can expect and all that before they even opened their wallets.

If your own blog readership is low, guest posting is another option that ticks a lot of boxes:

• Contributing an article to a more established site allows you to reach a larger audience and build your credibility and authority.
• You get a link back to your own website which is beneficial for SEO.
• The blog post will continue to drive organic traffic to your website for as long as it remains published.
• In return, the host website gets valuable content to serve their own audience, as well as drive more traffic to their own website, and all with minimal effort on their part. It’s a fantastic win-win situation.

Marketing Strategy #3. List Your Business on Directory Websites

Listing your coaching business with online directories is quick, affordable and an effective way to target specific online consumers.

Directory websites have a number of benefits in helping you to to reach more coaching clients, such as:

• They allow you to gain an instant online presence, particularly helpful if you don’t have a website yet.
• It can give your own website an SEO boost.
• Niche directories help to build your credibility and provide social proof (for example by including client reviews or through guest posting).
• Pricing varies but most offer plans where you should only need to gain 1-2 new clients per year to get a return on your investment on top of what you the benefits mentioned above. So, the cost-benefit is incredibly good.

Directory Website Pro Tips:

Like all of your marketing activities, directory listings are not a magic wand. You have to do your part also in optimising them:

• Make sure you have appealing content that is SEO optimised.
• Ensure you have a strategy in place to make it easy for potential clients to take the next step with you, such as offering a free consultation or free coaching, getting them into your sales funnel, or something as simple as just getting them to visit your website.
• Always keep track of all your directory listings and ensure your business’s content is always up to date, relevant and fresh.
• As long as the websites are reputable, don’t be afraid to list in multiple directories, the more online awareness you have the better.
• Listing on directory websites specifically for coaches is a no-brainer in terms of not just expanding your reach, but in gaining higher quality, targeted leads for your business.

Shameless plug – my website Coach Connect Australia is specifically for coaches and consultants within Australia and has over a dozen categories to niche down even further.

Marketing Strategy #4. Create a Strategy-Driven Website

A website allows you to showcase your knowledge, credentials, experience, services and success stories, making it an effective means of establishing the credibility of your coaching business and authority in your industry.

Having a website isn’t enough on its own though, in addition to being visually appealing and functional, a conversion-focused strategy is a must-have for successfully converting visitors into clients.

Website Pro Tips:

• Make it easy to use and navigate.
• Make sure it loads as quickly as possible, everything works and no broken links.
• Avoid unnecessary bells & whistles, they just distract from the important stuff!
• Mobile responsiveness is a MUST.
• Have a robust, value-based content marketing plan for each primary page of your site.
• Include social proof (testimonials, reviews etc.).
• Include CTA’s (Call To Action) to create more touchpoints and to start building know, like and trust.
• Utilise the power of lead magnets: Create a free offer (checklist, guide, etc.) that gives your potential client lots of value and an easy quick win. Make sure it’s integrated with your email list so you can build the relationship from there.
• Be searchable. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is an ongoing effort for every online coaching business. For example, research and implement relevant keywords into your content and inbound marketing efforts, include alt tags in all your images, gain reputable backlinks and so on.

Marketing Strategy #5. Speaking Gigs

Similar to joining a relevant Facebook group, speaking gigs are a great way to introduce yourself to your host’s audience. They allow you to increase brand awareness, build connections and networks, and possibly even gain media attention.

Plus, once you have provided value and gained credibility, it’s a great platform to promote your services. Such as a free workshop, your coaching programs, or offering a free session.

Speaking Gig Pro Tips:

• Focus on providing massive value first, before talking about any of your coaching services. Serve first, sell second.
• As always, align yourself with an event that has the same target audience as you
• Know upfront what other business owners will also be speaking about so you can make sure your content is differentiated from there’s

Marketing Strategy #6. Be a Podcast host or guest

With our on-the-go lifestyles, the popularity of podcasting has grown exponentially over the last few years.

For a coaching business specifically, the platform allows you to connect with customers on a much deeper level as the listener can hear the passion in your voice and the emotion behind your words.

If that’s not your forte, having your own podcast is not a must. Instead, you could consider appearing as a guest on someone else’s and still reach a large audience and provide massive value from there.

guest podcasting Pro Tips:

• Before you even approach a podcaster, be sure to listen to at least 2-3 podcasts to get a good sense of their content and so you’re well prepared to participate.
• Only approach channels that have the same target audiences as you.
• Have a look through their reviews so you can get a good idea of what the listeners like (and don’t like) about the show.
• Get your tech sorted. Nothing worse than low-quality audio!

Marketing Strategy #7. Networking groups

Networking is another great way to gain more exposure, especially to your local area for in-person events.

You can try your local BNI chapter, local business chambers, or other business groups. Or, you can try social media groups to find other online communities.

Networking groups Pro Tips:

• Have a goal. What do you actually want to achieve by going? Don’t just go to these events because you have been told that you should. Set a purpose, so you remain focused on it, rather than just aimlessly wandering around.
• Have a solid elevator pitch prepared and ready before you go.
• Whilst many predominantly run an online coaching business, business cards are still handy for in-person events and make it easy to remember your name, website etc.
• Dress the part – you want to be comfortable but also give a good impression.
• Use your coaching skills! Listen and ask good questions.

Marketing Strategy #8. Email Marketing

Email is one of the most effective ways to reach out to potential clients and stay in touch with existing ones. It provides a great way for you to share content with your audience, build relationships, and promote your services to new and past clients alike.

Plus, it’s relatively easy to set up and manage as long as you invest in a reputable email management system, for example, MailChimp, Aweber or Klaviyo.

Email marketing Pro Tips:

• Create an opt-in list that allows people who visit your website to sign up for news about upcoming events or webinars. This gives them an opportunity to learn more about what you have going on without being pushy or spammy
• Send emails that contain valuable information that might interest readers who aren’t necessarily looking for coaching specifically but might still benefit by learning something new. This is a great way to build trust.
• Personalised emails (i.e. where you use their name within the content or subject line) have better opening and click rates. As do interactive emails, (e.g. including a video)
• Be realistic. Our inboxes are overflowing so don’t be discouraged if not everyone reads all of your newsletters. For example, according to 2022 statistics from Oberlo, the average open rate for a welcome email is only eight percent.

Marketing Strategy #9. Paid advertising

Paid ads are one of the most effective ways to gain more clients for your business and build your brand. Plus, you can decide upfront exactly how much you want to spend and you can refine the targeting options to very specific audiences.

So, if you’ve got a budget for it, here are some great places to start:

Google Adwords

We all know it and we all use Google. So it just makes sense that boosting your business on there has a strong chance of giving you a solid ROI.

There are multiple ad options to choose from including text, image, videos etc. plus multiple budget choices such as impressions versus clicks. Between that and what can be a very complicated-looking dashboard, this can be overwhelming for some.

So, if you do want to utilise this service, my advice is to first get yourself familiar with the foundations and basic terms. Then, set a small budget to begin with and use that as a low-risk, learning opportunity before diving in further.

If you’re new to Google AdWords, Neil Patel offers a great overview and step-by-step guide to help you get started. And, Google itself offers a very handy checklist to follow here.

Facebook

This social media giant is the largest so there’s already a lot of noise out there and it’s true, reach is getting harder and harder.

It is still a good option though in that it can work with any budget, targeting options can be as specific as you need, and the insights make it easy to refine and optimise your campaigns.

Instagram

With over 2 billion monthly active users Instagram is another great option to promote your business. Like Facebook, budget choices, targeting options and insights are very good.

For example, say you’re a health coach that works with Australian mums over 40 who want to lose weight. You can create a social media campaign that targets that specific demographic, and within a budget you choose.

You Tube

Did you know that YouTube is the second largest search engine?! As such it’s getting a tonne of traffic and it’s not all funny cat videos and such. A lot of users come to YouTube for a variety of purposes such as education, inspiration, and motivation… which is right up your alley!

Interested? Check out this video: YouTube Marketing in 2022: A Complete Beginner’s Guide

LinkedIn

Being a work-centric space, this is a haven of quality clients for business coaches and the like. It can be expensive, but if this is where the ideal customers for your niche are, then it should be a worthwhile investment.

Final thoughts: How to market your coaching business effectively

I hope this article has given you a good overview of the different ways that you can promote your coaching business effectively and attract more potential clients.

Remember:

• Each strategy could warrant an individual article on its own (e.g. for each social media platform), so this is really just a taster to give you inspiration, and motivation to get started.
• As you go through each strategy, think about how it might fit into your overall marketing plan. The idea is not to use all of them (that would be exhausting!), but to hone in on the activities that work best for your business and your ideal clients.
• I suggest starting with at least 3. Educate yourself on the foundational details and best practices and get in there and just start experimenting.

Finally, don’t be afraid to delegate! There are experts who specialise in every single advertising option mentioned above. By hiring a pro, not only will you get the most out of your investment, but your time and energy will be free to do what you do best… coaching!

Good luck!
Libby Hogan ?
Coaching Website Specialist at Rivmedia Web Design and;
Founder of Coach Connect Australia

The post How To Market Your Coaching Business: 9 Effective Strategies appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Create a high converting homepage that works

Did you know you only have around 0-8 seconds to engage site visitors before they bounce?

No pressure right?! Your homepage has the power to attract or deter your site visitors and it all depends on your strategy.

You can breathe easy though as I have provided the following guide based on my years of building strategy-driven websites. It has simple-to-follow steps that you can start implementing today.

At the end of this article, you will also find a handy checklist that covers the most important elements that we’ll explore below.

Here are the 7 top tips that we will cover:

1. Header – Where your logo and navigation (main menu) live
2. Hero Area
3. The problem & your solution
4. Social Proof
5. Introduce Yourself
6. Main CTA (Call To Action)
7. Don’t forget Your Footer

1. Header – Where your logo and navigation (main menu) lives

This is where users will start their journey so it’s vital that it is attractive and works. Check off each of the following to optimise your website header:

Your Logo

• Make sure your logo links to your home page. Most sites do it, so users will expect it.
• Ensure your logo is not too big or too small… it has to be just right. Too big and it can be a distraction. Conversely, if it’s too small, people may have to squint when looking at it. Ensure your logo and all text within it are easily readable.

If you have a logo that is vertically large, consider having an “inline version” of it created. For example, the CCA logo shown here is the original design which is quite “square” in its layout.

So, a horizontal “inline” version was created specifically for usage in narrow areas like the website header.

Main Menu

• Keep menu options to a maximum of 7 with a font size that is easy on the eyes
• Only use sub-menus if absolutely necessary (too much choice can be overwhelming)
• Don’t have your social media links in your header. This used to be common practice but has since shown that it encourages people to leave your site which is counterproductive!

You want them to stay on your site as long as possible (to improve your bounce rate). They can always visit your social pages after they have consumed your more important website content.

• Avoid using clever titles for pages, for example, “journal, or content” instead of familiar names like “blog or resources”.
• The link to your contact page should always be the last link in your main menu and called “contact or contact us”.
• If you have a sticky header (one that remains at the top of the screen when the user scrolls down) make sure it only takes up as much space as necessary. Large headers that take up too much screen space are annoying and can distract from more important content.
• Keep things familiar: There is a reason most successful websites share some universal traits (known as web design standards), such as putting the contact link last. It’s just what we’re used to.

So, when a site visitor is ready to take action, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to do so. It’s ok to be creative in other areas, but when it comes to helping people navigate your site, don’t make them think any longer than they have to!

2. Hero Area

The top of the page (hero area) is the first thing people see when they land on your site. It needs to instantly engage users so they stay, and consume more content. If what you offer and why they should care isn’t obvious, they will leave. It’s that simple.

Here’s a simple formula you can use to get started:

We {do what} {for whom} {with this benefit}

Pro Tips:

? To make sure that your headline is clear, ask yourself if you would use the same words to explain your business to a stranger in 1-2 sentences. Will they understand it right away?

? It’s better to be clear than clever – Your goal here is to communicate effectively and stop people from bouncing off your website. There’s no need to overcomplicate things with puns or witty jokes.

Just use straightforward language that sets clear expectations for the rest of your site.

? The image (or video) that you use in this area is also very important. I strongly recommend using an image of yourself or your team. You ARE your business, so putting yourself out there goes a long way in the process of building trust and likability.

It’s also a great opportunity to show off your personality which will help attract your ideal customers. If you can, get a pro to take the photos for you, the difference in quality will be worth it.

1. The problem and your solution

This is where you start talking about the services you offer. Now that you’ve got their attention with your engaging hero area, this section is all about drawing them in further, displaying empathy and showing how you can help your audience.

It’s important to show your site visitors that you really understand their problems. That you know what they want to move away from because it creates frustration & pain for them. Then, highlight how you solve these problems and what they will gain as a result of working with you.

Pro Tip: Try not to include too many services here. Focus on your signature service, or at most, 3 to 4 of your primary services.

4. Social Proof

Without social proof, your site will lack the evidence required to trigger the psychology needed for your clients to feel comfortable buying. In short, having social proof is a key ingredient for a high converting homepage.

Social proof can be achieved in a number of ways. Here are the most common:

Testimonials / Reviews

Seeing how other people have benefited from your services is a great way to support the promises & claims you have made. Here’s how to optimise your testimonials:

? For customers to see them as genuine, they should be embedded from a reliable source (Google Reviews, Facebook Reviews, etc.)

? If you only have written reviews; include the author’s name, a picture if possible, their role and ideally a website link

? If you don’t have any yet, I strongly advise that you start collecting them now. Here’s a handy guide that includes email templates to help get you started

Key Point: “Research shows that 91 percent of people regularly or occasionally read online reviews, and 84 percent trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.” – INC.com

Client & partner logos or press mentions

• A list of clients/brands you’ve worked with and their logos
• Endorsements from celebrities, influencers or people of authority within your niche
• “As Featured In” or “As Seen In” articles or features

Pro Tips:

? When using logos from other media sources, for obvious reasons it is ideal if you can use recognisable brands.

? If you don’t have many recognisable brands yet, they are still worth including. Even if the visitor isn’t familiar with all of the brands, it still offers visual evidence of legitimacy to help build your credibility and authority.

? When adding logos, be sure to link to the original source. Not only does this add credibility to the source, but having outbound links on your website is also good for SEO.

? If you’re building an “As Featured In” or “As Seen In” section on your site, feel free to include our logo! You can enhance this section on your website and we get a backlink. Win-Win. ?

Achievements & Certifications

Have you managed to reach any milestones or achievements? If so, show them off! Showcasing any achievements you’ve had is another effective way to set your business apart. You could include:

• Any certifications or qualifications you have (this doesn’t always have an obvious impact, but prospects see it as an indication of how knowledgeable you are in your industry)
• Courses you have completed
• Professional Memberships
• Business nominations or awards

Statistics & Numbers

These are another great option and there is a heap of different ways you can do it depending on your niche. Here are some ideas:

• Years in business – obviously if you’ve been around a while you must know what you’re doing!
• Number of happy customers – similar to the above if you’ve worked with a substantial number of people that also demonstrates your authority
• Case studies – These allow you to provide quantifiable evidence that your product or service works
• How many hours or $$ you’ve saved your clients
• ROI: What numbers have your clients achieved that you can show off? % increase in profits, dollars earned, etc.

Pro Tip: The logistic, detail-oriented client, in particular, will absolutely love this kind of information! If they are your ideal customer, adding this data is definitely worth your time.

Final tips for building social proof:

? If possible, add your social proof near the claim it supports

? People connect with people so use imagery as much as you can. If your clients are ok with it, include their picture with their testimonial or case study

? When using logos, try to ensure the resolution and quality is good. I also recommend making them black & white so as not to distract from your branding too much

? If you don’t have a lot of logos to include just yet, that’s ok! Even 3-4 is better than none. You can always come back and update it later!

5. Introduce Yourself

This is your opportunity to tell your audience who you are, and what qualifies you to help them.

Pro Tips:

? Even though this is an “about” section, it’s actually not about you! So don’t just list your history and credentials or why you’re so great. Talk about how you can serve your customers.

? Keep it brief. Your homepage is a “taster” for the rest of the site. You can go into more detail within your dedicated about page.

? Include a photo of yourself or your team. Remember, you ARE your business, so showing yourself goes a long way in the process of building trust and likability.

6. Main CTA (Call To Action)

People are extremely unlikely to buy from you after the first visit to your homepage. More time is needed to nurture your leads through the sales journey. Your homepage is one of many steps in this process.

So, at this early stage, what else can you offer them to build on the relationship? What action would you like them to take next?

Most commonly, your main CTA will be for people to opt-in to your lead magnet and for good reason. Lead magnets are not just about building a subscriber list. Yes, that’s one of the primary purposes (because it allows you to market your offerings further), but they have so much more to offer:

? They allow customers to experience how you can help them without any risk because what you’re offering is completely free.

? If you give them a quick win, this will start your relationship on a positive note. Plus, it will also help make them more interested in your paid offers… If your free offer is great, imagine what they can get from your paid ones!

? You start to build relationships: people aren’t usually ready to buy from you straight away. A lead magnet is a means of beginning the process of nurturing prospects through the sales journey so by the time they speak to you, they’re a red hot lead.

? You can showcase your expertise by being able to provide a valuable resource. This will help establish you as an expert and position your business as the go-to resource.

? They qualify leads: If your offer is specific enough to a particular audience it can help you to focus on building relationships specifically with your ideal customers.

? It’s one method of building Know, Like & Trust which represents the journey a person takes when getting to know your business. They first have to know you. Then they can start to like you and finally begin to trust you. All essential elements in converting leads into customers.

If you don’t have a lead magnet, here are a few other suggestions for your homepage CTA:

• Showcase your most popular blog posts
• Encourage them to visit a specific page (i.e. services or work with me)
• Ask them to sign up for your newsletter (include a compelling reason why)
• Link to your social media pages or groups to continue the conversation there

7. Don’t forget Your Footer

Being at the very bottom of the page, the poor footer section is often overlooked. The thing is though if people are given a reason to scroll, they will! So your footer deserves just as much attention as the elements above it.

I should note, that some elements (such as your copyright notice) should also be included in your footer. As this article’s focus is conversions though, I’ve stuck to those elements:

Links to social media

Your social media pages are another great avenue for building know, like and trust, as well as credibility and authority. As discussed above you don’t want them anywhere near the top of your page.

The point is to keep people on your website as long as possible. So the footer is a much better location.

Pro Tip: Set your social links to open in a new window rather than the same one, so they still have your website open in a tab and can come back to it easily.

Newsletter Opt-in

Either in or just above your footer is a great place to have your Newsletter opt-in. 

Pro Tip: Back in the day when getting emails was exciting and our inboxes weren’t filled with spam, capturing leads was easy. Today though, people are less willing to part with their details. They have to feel confident that there’s something of great value in it for them.

So, instead of just having a newsletter opt-in to “stay up to date with your latest news” – try to offer more incentives. Exclusive information, upcoming promotions, or a prime example would be in exchange for your lead magnet.

One final CTA

Every page on your website should have a CTA and I trust you have already covered your main CTA for the homepage, but you can pop another one in your footer too. This is particularly handy as it is accessible on every page of your site.

For example, you can remind them of and link to your main CTA. Or, link to your contact page or booking form.

Final Tips for Creating a High Converting Homepage

Know your audience:

Your website is a tool that represents your business online and connects you with your audience. So who are you hoping to reach? Who are your ideal customers?

If you don’t have complete clarity on who your ideal customers are, you’ll never know what they really need, let alone how to write compelling content that resonates and inspires them to buy.

So, before writing any copy for your homepage, I strongly encourage you to get crystal clear on your ideal customers. It literally forms the foundation of ALL your marketing efforts (website copy, content marketing, lead magnets, social media advertising, you name it!).

So, if it’s not on point, you’re really limiting your potential for everything else that follows it. I’ve already written an article about this which will help get you started. Check it out here ? Successful marketing: It starts with your ideal customer

Keep the content brief:

The homepage is an overview of your business – the primary purpose generally being to draw people in, not overwhelm them with too much information. It should be a “taste” of each of the other internal pages and act as the proxy for checking out the rest of the website.

Tech stuff:

We’re dealing with websites so some tech stuff is unavoidable. Essentially, you need to make sure your website’s usability is good. There’s nothing more frustrating than a website that has broken elements, is difficult to navigate, or is snail-paced slow.

People have very little patience with this. So, be sure to cover these elements as best you can:

• Mobile Responsiveness – this is a MUST
• Site speed
• Easy navigation
• Interactive elements all working (i.e. contact or booking forms)
• No broken links
• Simplicity: focus on what’s important, don’t distract people with unnecessary bells & whistles. For example, revolving slideshows or carousels used to be super-slick but no more! Plus, they can hide really valuable content.

Purpose-driven copy:

Combined with nailing the other features of your site (design, SEO etc.), having compelling website copy will give you the best shot at achieving your ultimate goal – converting visitors into customers.

If you can invest in a copywriter to help, great! If not, you don’t have to be a professional writer to create compelling content. You just have to follow some simple guidelines. Here are some quick tips:

? Get clear on your objectives upfront. Determining what outcomes you want before writing a single word, will help guide the content you create. As Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People said; “Begin with the end in mind.”

? Know Your Audience: As discussed above, if you have clarity on who your ideal customers are, it will be easier to write compelling content that resonates and inspires them to take action.

? Use powerful headlines: Most people scan written content, so your headlines need to be attention-grabbing and on point.

? Write in a way that is clear, concise and ideally reaches people on an emotional level.

? Avoid jargon and lengthy sentences. Break up text with images, headings, lists and graphics. Keep the language simple and easy to digest – If a 5th grader can read it, great!

? Don’t just talk about the features of your service, focus on the benefits and outcomes – that’s what people buy.

Images:

The images you use on your homepage (and the entire website) can greatly impact the perception you give to your site visitors. If they are pixelated and of low quality, that can have a negative influence. If your site looks low quality, that can translate to the quality of your service too. ?

On the flip side, if you use high-quality images that showcase your personality, that can leave a positive impact. ?

Finally, using stock images (quality ones) is sometimes unavoidable but whenever you can use your own images. They are far more personal.

Include videos if you can:

Current trends have shown a consistent increase in video consumption over the last few years and the value they provide can be tremendous. It’s a great way to deliver lots of information quickly, your site visitors can get to know you easier, and it’s a great way to stand out from your competition.

Be realistic:

If you can’t check everything off in this guide, thank’s ok! For example, perhaps you’re just starting out and only have 1 or 2 reviews, or maybe none at all. Don’t stress. We all have to start somewhere, but at least you can make a start!

Also, get your head around the concept that your homepage and site as a whole will NEVER be done. Websites are not meant to be static, they need to be constantly evolving. Factor in some regular time in your schedule to work on it.

Be yourself:

I’ve already said above that you ARE your business so don’t be shy, let your personality shine! Allow your audience to get to know you. It’s the best way to discover if you’re a good fit for them from the get-go, and if you’re not, that’s ok! You only want to attract your ideal customers.

If you’re a nerd like me, geek out! If you’re full of energy, be bubbly. If you’re serious and systematic, be so… Whatever you do, just be yourself.

High Converting Homepage Checklist

I know this was a long read so if you made it this far, you’re awesome!

Now, as promised, here’s a handy checklist that covers most of the elements discussed above. Check all of these and your homepage will be in great shape!

? Pretend you’re a client – have a quick glance at your homepage. Do you immediately know who you are, what you offer and why it matters?

? Is your copy easy to understand, jargon-free and clear? Can a 5th grader understand it?

? Have you demonstrated social proof and why people should trust you?

? Are there strong CTAs (calls to action) telling your site visitors what to do next? And are those next steps easy to find/use?

? Do you offer something juicy that encourages people to sign up for your newsletter or get in touch with you?

? Have you included pictures of yourself or your team and given visitors a taste of your personality?

? How does your website look on your phone?

? Is it easy to navigate, loads quickly and everything works properly?

And that’s a wrap!

Again congrats on getting this far. I know there’s a lot of information, but don’t be overwhelmed. Just chip away one task at a time. Like anything worth doing, the effort will be worth it!

And remember…

I hope you’ve gained plenty of takeaways that you can start implementing straight away and see your conversions skyrocket!

And if you would like help with creating a client-converting website, I would love to hear from you. Take a look at what I do here: Coaching websites that work.

All the best,
Libby ?
Coaching Website Specialist
Rivmedia Web Design

The post High Converting Homepage Guide: 7 top tips for more leads appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Creating Your Ideal Customer Avatar

In this article, we explore the importance of defining your ideal customers so you can confidently create marketing strategies that work.

Before we dive in though, do any of these situations sound familiar?

• You struggle to write content & social posts because you aren’t sure what your customers really want from you
• Or perhaps you are blogging, posting on social media and all that jazz… but getting poor engagement
• The marketing strategies you’re running don’t seem to inspire customers to take action
• You’re investing substantial hours in time (probably $$$ too) in advertising but not getting a great ROI
• When you do get leads, something just isn’t hitting the mark and your conversions are low
• Customers who aren’t ideal have been buying from you, and the outcomes aren’t great (for them and you) because the fit just isn’t quite right.

If you answered yes to any of these, know that you’re not alone. A lot of business owners struggle with this piece of the marketing puzzle.

Only by having a crystal-clear picture of who you want to reach, can you purposefully tailor your messaging to your target market. Only then can you have the strongest impact on your audience.

So, do you know exactly who you’re selling to?

It’s very easy to get caught up in what you’re selling and overlook who you are selling to. As a result, if you’re not reaching the right people in the right way, it doesn’t matter how good your offerings are… If you’re messaging isn’t on point, you won’t reach your sales goals.

But here’s where so many businesses come unstuck: Fear.

Fear that if you focus on a smaller group of people that it will restrict your business. The fact is though, if you try to help everyone, you’ll never help anyone.

When your marketing is communicated to a broad audience it becomes generic, uninspiring, and won’t address the specific problems your ideal customer wants to be solved. You won’t speak directly to the psychological drivers that influence their buying decisions.

This results in a lack of empathy, connection and subsequently, a lost sale.

Essentially, your ideal customer (AKA customer avatar, ideal client, buyer persona, ideal customer profile) forms the foundation for ALL your marketing efforts. So, if this isn’t on point, it can be like the kiss of death for your business.

What is a Customer Avatar / Ideal Customer Profile?

A Customer Avatar is a semi-fictional character that is based on your ideal customer. You create one by gathering demographic and psychographic data:

• Demographic data refers to things such as age, marital status, location, etc.
• Psychographic data is about a person’s personal traits such as fears, frustrations, wants, needs, buying motivations, and more.

This information helps you to understand your ideal customers better and target them specifically, rather than taking a hit & miss approach with a generalised audience.

Why having a Customer Avatar is the secret sauce to a successful business

At the foundation, knowing your ideal customer allows you to hone your marketing efforts to high-quality leads. Then, create messaging that resonates with them in the most compelling way possible, persuading them to buy.

This is by no means manipulative or salesly. You’re simply helping your perfect customers to achieve their desired outcomes because what you’re selling is exactly what they need…

And just like that, your sales process becomes simple, smooth, and much more likely to have a positive result.

Conversely, doing this also limits or even polarises those you don’t want to sell to.

As harsh as that may sound, it’s just as important. If you don’t target your marketing wisely, there’s a possibility that people who are not your ideal customer could buy from you. You may find it hard or even unpleasant working with them, simply because they’re not the right fit.

Plus, because they’re not the right fit and what you offer is not quite right for them, a positive outcome is less likely, and customer complaints are a real possibility… no one wins.

– “You can’t be all things to all people”
Joseph Abboud, American menswear fashion designer & author.

The more you can refine your ideal customer, the better you’ll understand what they want, how to reach them, how to get them to buy, and most importantly, how to give them the outcome they desire.

Plus, your marketing campaigns will be tailored to the exact type of people you want to work with… Everybody wins!

Before you can sell anything effectively, you need to understand your ideal customer completely. Then, integrate this knowledge across your entire business and marketing strategies.

Your Ideal Customer Profile: What to include

There are 5 major components to creating an ideal customer profile which include:

1. Demographics – To paint a clear, more personalised picture. This will help you to target & reach more quality leads.
2. Frustrations & Fears – The problems that your ideal customer wants to move away from. Plus, how these pain points make them feel so you can truly empathise and build a connection with them.
3. Wants & Desires – What they want to gain, how that will benefit them and the positive experience they will have as a result.
4. Transformations: Before and After States – What your ideal customer can expect to experience before and after purchasing your product, and how you can use that transformation as a highly effective motivator.
5. Buying objections and purchase drivers – Determining what might stop your ideal customer from buying and conversely, what will motivate them to buy. Knowing and addressing both will give you a huge advantage in your sales conversions.

Using it in your marketing strategies

Digital marketing has numerous elements. Social media, content marketing, email marketing, product descriptions, and the list goes on. Each discipline comes with its own skill set and way of being implemented.

Your ideal customer profile however is something that is applied across the board. For example:

• Blog Posts: Knowing your ideal customer will help you to determine which topics to write about on your blog. You will know what will be the most engaging and helpful to them. Even what kind of tone and language you should use that will be the most appealing.
• Products: Knowing your ideal customers’ wants and needs will help you create products that are exactly what they are actually looking for. Then, describe and present them in a way that speaks to their needs and inspires them to buy.
• Social Media: Choosing which platforms to invest the most in will become clearer. Which one/s your ideal customer spends the most time on, and when. As well as what content they are most likely to engage with.

All your marketing efforts will improve once you are crystal clear on who your ideal customers are. That’s where the Customer Avatar Worksheet comes in!

With this practical and quickly actionable document, you’ll be able to create highly targeted content that speaks directly to your ideal customers. It will help you to find new customers, create meaningful connections with them, improve your sales cycle and subsequently drive more conversions.

Ready to dive in?

Great! You can complete the worksheet online (via google docs) or download it as a Word Document to complete n your computer (or print and write on if you’re old school! ?). I’ve provided some instructions below… don’t stress, it’s easy!

Google Docs Instructions:

1. Follow this link to the worksheet and sign in to your Google account if you’re not already
2. Go to File, click Make A Copy, and then save it to your Google Drive
3. Once you click OK, your copy of the resource will open and you’ll be able to start editing it

Microsoft Word Instructions:

1. Follow this link to the worksheet
2. Go to File, click Download
3. Select Microsoft Word and save it to your desired location. Easy Peasy!

Pssst! Before you go. Are you an action-taker who would like more guidance?

The above worksheet to create your ideal customer profile template is a great start and will help you implement better marketing strategies. Want to take an even deeper dive though to ensure you really nail down your ideal customer?

We offer an online course that will give you a greater understanding, and we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

You will learn:

• What an ideal customer profile is exactly, how it can be used to refine & improve your marketing, and why it is the secret sauce to a successful business
• How to go about collecting data and what critical pieces of information to include so you can target higher-quality leads
• How to identify the frustrations, fears, wants & desires that your ideal customer has & the emotions associated with them so you can make them feel heard & understood, and genuinely build a connection.
• The psychology behind buying choices and what switches your product or service from a “nice to have” to a “must-have”
• Factors that might stop your ideal customer from buying and conversely, what will motivate them to buy. Knowing and addressing both will give you and your sales team a huge advantage in gaining new customers and increasing your sales conversions.
• What your ideal customer can expect to experience before and after purchasing your product, and how you can use that transformation as a highly effective buying motivator.

Our courses are about taking action, not just consuming content.

This course was created to save you time, money & frustration, not to add yet another thing to your to-do list that ends up collecting digital dust on your computer.

Our step-by-step guides will give you the resources to confidently take action that will move your business forward, so you can finally get the results you desire!

Sound good?

Learn more about the Ideal Customer Avatar Course.

The post Successful marketing: It starts with your ideal customer appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Adding website keywords is vital to your marketing strategy and in helping your ideal clients find you online. You’ve seen and heard all the experts talking about how important it is. Actually doing it right though can be easier said than done if you don’t have a guide.

Don’t worry though, nailing this isn’t as difficult as you think. Like many things, there’s a formula; once you have that, things get much simpler. All you have to do is follow it, and watch your results improve!

In this article, I’ve set out, step-by-step how to implement your website keywords in a simple checklist. When you’re done, you can finally get more, higher-quality leads landing on your website.

First, let’s quickly cover the terminology:

Website Keywords: These are a word or phrase that tell search engines what the content on your website is about. It also refers to what people pop into search engines. If what they’re searching for matches the keywords used on your site, that’s how you show up in the search results. Your position in the results (ranking) depends on a number of factors. Getting your website keywords right is a very important one in your overall SEO strategy.

Focus keyword: You may have several keywords that you want your content to rank for, especially if your content is long. The focus keyword, however, is the primary keyword or phrase you want to rank for. It is used in your title, URL, meta description, text and images.

Long-tail keywords: These contain 3 or more words and are really effective in targeting a very specific market. For example, “Life Coach” is a very broad keyphrase and would have a tonne of competition. Therefore, it would be difficult to rank well for it. A long-tail keyword though such as “Melbourne Self Esteem Coach” is more specific, making it easier to rank as well as reach a more targeted audience.

SEO: Simply put, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a combination of practices put in place to improve your appearance and ranking in search engine results. It includes things like keywords, using headings correctly, image alt tags, appropriate linking and more. As this article is focused on optimising your website keywords, we’ll just stick to that.

First, choose which website keywords to use

You need to find which search terms your target market is entering into search engines. Don’t just assume you know them. For best results, take the time to do some research. You might be surprised and even uncover some interesting and useful results.

For example, say you’re a relationship coach who offers support to those going through a divorce. Terms your potential clients might search for could include “How to cope with divorce”, or “dealing with divorce.” If you’ve written an article on these specific topics and optimised your keywords, you not only increase your chances of ranking higher (and getting more clicks!) but also increase your chances of reaching a very targeted audience and your ideal clients.

The point here is that you know your business inside out. So, your mindset of what you would search for online will vary from the mindset of your target market. Take the example above again. Some people may not even be aware of coaches that specialise in helping people through a divorce. So, they’re unlikely to search for your services specifically (e.g. “Divorce Coach”). After using the above search terms though, they could come across your website and find a really helpful article, initiating their customer journey with you. ?

Some tools to help you with your website keywords research:

• AnswerThePublic – get instant, raw search insights, direct from the minds of your customers. You can search 3 keywords per day for free.
• Google – pop in a keyword and look through the results for inspiration for more. Plus, down the bottom, Google even generates a list of “Related Searches”
• Google’s Keyword Planner – Find the right keywords with their research tool.
• Google Trends – This is a handy tool that analyses the popularity of search queries and compares search volume
• Ubersuggest is great for helping you discover new keywords. You can get a lot of data with the free option.

Once you have your keywords and have determined your focus keyword for your page, post, product etc. It’s time to optimise them. Here’s how…

1. The Title Tag

This is the blue link in Google search result pages that users click to go to your website. It is propagated either from your content or whatever you input into your SEO plugin or app (for WordPress users I recommend Yoast or RankMath).

Tips:

• Your focus keyword should be within the title and for best results, place it right at the beginning
• Your page title should be a H1 heading and there should only be one H1 heading, the rest should be sub-headings; H2-H6)
• Always try to include emotional words, power words or numbers (try Coschedules headline analyser for more info… and to make your titles more engaging!)
• It should be no more than 55-60 characters in length to ensure the whole title is visible (on desktops and mobile devices)
• You should always have unique title tags, don’t duplicate the same title tags on more than one page of your website

Example:

Focus Keyword: coping with divorce
Title Tag: Coping with Divorce: An essential guide to heal and move forward

2. The Meta Description

This is the snippet of text that appears below your Title Tag in search result pages. If the keywords being searched for are within your meta description, search engines will also make them bold, making them more visible and increasing your chances of click-throughs.

Tips:

• Include your focus keyword in the meta description. There isn’t an ideal location, just as long as it’s in there. Also, be sure to accurately summarise your page’s content, and make it engaging.
• It should be no more than 155-160 characters in length to ensure the whole snippet is visible (on desktops and mobile devices)
• As with title tags, you should always have unique meta descriptions, don’t duplicate them on more than one page of your website

Example:

Focus Keyword: coping with divorce
Meta Description: Coping with divorce can be intensely painful, causing substantial grief & stress. Our tips will help you process your emotions, heal & start to move on

4. URL

This is your page link. For example, www.yoursite.com

Tips:

• Remove less powerful words or stop words (and, or, but, of, the, a, etc.) to make it simple and precise, just make sure your focus keyword is still in there and that it makes sense.
• Shorter URLs have been shown to have a better chance of ranking higher than long URLs. There’s no hard and fast rule for the length, but aim to keep it as close to 75 characters or less. See our examples below.
• Use all lowercase letters and separate each word with a hyphen (-), don’t use underscores (_)
• They should be easily readable both by humans and search engines. In this URL for example, www.mysite.com/post?ID77&kw=coping+divorce – you can guess what the page’s content will include but it isn’t as clear as it could be
• Avoid using dynamic URLs when possible. This is a URL where the content for the page is pulled from the database. You can usually spot them as they include characters like: ? + &. They look messy and aren’t SEO friendly
• Don’t keyword stuff, your focus keyword should only be in the URL once.

Example:

URL from the title:
www.yoursite.com/coping-with-divorce-an-essential-guide-to-heal-and-move-forward/
URL shortened and stop words removed:
www.yoursite.com/coping-with-divorce-guide-move-forward/
URL with focus keyphrase only:
www.yoursite.com/coping-with-divorce/

5. Keyphrase in Introduction

Your focus keyphrase should also be at the very beginning of your content. This reinforces what your content is about and also reassures site visitors that what they have clicked through to is what they are looking for (i.e. it’s not clickbait!)

Tips:

• Different plugins/apps will give different guidelines, such as it being within the first 10% of the content or within the first 100 words. A good rule of thumb is to make sure it is included within the first sentence
• This first sentence should be SEO optimised, but also still needs to make sense and sound natural. Another rule of thumb; write for your site visitors first and Google second

5. Sub-Headings and page content

We’ve already discussed including your focus keyphrase in your title (which if your website is set up properly should be a H1 tag). You should also include it in your sub-headings, i.e. H2, H3, etc. and body content (paragraphs).

Tips:

• Google pays the most attention to your H1 and H2 headings. However, the others are not ignored and should also be considered in your website keywords strategy.
• Many site visitors scan content, that’s why it’s also important to include your keywords in your headings to help grab their attention
• Seeing as the focus keywords should be related to the topic of the post, including them within your content (paragraphs, not just headings) should happen naturally, just ensure you don’t overdo it. Not only does it get irritating for readers to see the same words over and over again, but including them too many times can lead you to be penalised by Google if they see it as keyword stuffing
• There is no set rule for how many times your keyword should appear in your content, especially as the amount of content each page/post has can vary significantly. As a guide, aim for a density of 1-1.5%. What this means is for every 100 words, the keyword should appear 1 to 1.5 times.
• If in doubt, you are better off having a low keyword density than one that is too high. Keep your language natural; if the search engines don’t penalise you for it, your site visitors definitely will!

6. Image Name & ALT tags

An ALT tag specifies an alternate text for an image and improves accessibility for people who either can’t see the images or if they failed to load. Furthermore, they help search engines better understand not only what the image is about, but what your page’s subject matter is. They are also useful as anchor text should the image be used as a link.

Tips:

• Make the ALT text useful, informative and use keywords appropriately
• Avoid filling all image ALT tags with the same keywords over and over (this is also keyword stuffing)
• Don’t forget the image file name: Name it appropriately with hyphens separating each word, no funny characters, and all lowercase
• Naming your image and using appropriate ALT tags will also help in having your image show up in Google Image search results

Here’s a handy article on how to add ALT tags for your WordPress website as well as some more best practice guidelines.

And voilà, that’s it! ?

On a final note, I fully appreciate that for many people, optimising your website keywords isn’t as much fun as other aspects of your business. Some put it off altogether because it’s boring, or they don’t think they will get it right. But even some SEO is still far better than none. So, have a crack and do the best you can. Give yourself time to get better at it and before you know it, it will just be part of the routine that you barely notice each time you create new content.

The whole point of this article is to help improve your chances of getting more eyes on your website, more leads and more conversions. Yep, this stuff isn’t glamorous. But, it’s a vital tool in making the above happen. Again, it may be tedious and individually each item on the checklist probably doesn’t seem that consequential. Remember though, “A waterfall begins from only one drop of water. Look what comes from that…”

The post Nail your website keywords to improve SEO & website clicks appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Practical advice to stay competitive and get the most out of your digital marketing in 2021

No one can predict what is in store for the business world post-COVID-19. What we do know for sure is that when the pandemic forced everyone indoors, they turned to the internet to consume information and shop online, making digital marketing a top priority for all businesses.

With our ever-increasing busy lifestyles and the convenience the online world provides, this shift in habits is unlikely to go back to how it was before the pandemic, the consumer landscape has changed forever.

So, in order to stay competitive, businesses need to continue to evolve.

If you’re in the process of building or revitalising your digital marketing, here is some useful information and actionable steps to help you stay on track.

Smart digital marketing tips post-COVID

Today, there’s no telling when the post-COVID era will happen exactly. But what’s certain is that after the pandemic ends, businesses will continue to work on rebuilding themselves or may even need to start from scratch.

Brick-and-mortar industries might have to work harder to reach an ideal level of stability. However, the future seems brighter for online businesses, as more shoppers have been and will continue to make purchases online because it’s cheaper and more convenient — with or without a pandemic.

This means that when businesses and people recover from the effects of the pandemic, all your digital marketing efforts will continue to pay off and provide your business with that competitive edge.

But if you haven’t ramped up your digital marketing strategy before, now is a good time to start by implementing these tips:

1. Update your website.

Now is the time to do a site audit and see your website for what it is. Does it load slowly? Does it look old-fashioned? Is it functional, responsive, and user-friendly?

During your site audit, make sure you identify information, photos, and other media or content that require updating. Fix errors and take note of page loading times. Check out competitor websites to find out if there’s anything you’ve missed or information you should be providing but isn’t there.

Ensure your website is mobile-responsive and if it isn’t, brace yourself for the possibility of needing to build an entirely new website.

>> See our tips here to help you get the most out of your current website as well as questions to ask to determine if it’s time to re-develop.

2. Post content regularly on social media.

If you have social media accounts set up for your business, start using those to reach out and engage with your audience.

Social media is a great space to put the word out about your company, products, and services, even on a tight budget. There’s also plenty of content you can include in your social media calendar, including:

• Updates about your products/services, including launches
• Sale or discount promotions
• Photos or videos of your offerings
• Content that gives your audience an insider’s look into what goes on in your business
• Live selling or promotions
• Games, quizzes, surveys
• Content about or from your brand ambassadors
• Testimonials and reviews
• A featured employee of the month
• Corporate social responsibility events or programs
• Videos or images that resonate with or relate to your brand

>> Check out more awesome social media posts ideas by Sprout Social

3. Improve customer service.

There are plenty of opportunities to show your leads and customers you care by providing personalised and prompt customer service. This includes answering enquiries and replying to comments or reviews in a timely manner. Your staff needs to not only be able to address questions and comments but also be trained on how to respond properly to negative reviews and when to escalate certain complaints.

Customer service continues to make a big difference in how loyal consumers are to certain brands. By providing your customers seamless, professional customer service, the more loyal they’ll be and more likely to refer your business to their own network.

4. Optimise your consumer database.

In the course of conducting your business, you would have collected a number of email addresses, social media accounts, and mobile phone numbers. Use these to your advantage in creating integrated email and SMS blasts and social media campaigns.

You should also dig into your customer database and take time to get to know your buyer personas and who your customers really are. You can also tap into your leads and see if you can reconnect and engage with them so they turn into customers.

5. Outsource some of your digital marketing tasks.

If you have a small team or budget and do not have the expertise to handle digital marketing tasks, it might be time to look into outsourcing these to digital marketing experts. These include website development — which we can definitely help you with — plus website marketing, social media marketing, e-commerce store setup, and so on.

This way, you won’t need to hire full-time employees to perform these highly specialised functions. Instead, you’ll have access to the expertise you need for as long as you want, minus the big budget for salaries and benefits.

Business growth post-COVID

One of the biggest and hardest lessons companies worldwide have learned from the pandemic is that the most agile businesses that can easily adapt to changing times not only survive but also thrive amidst crises like COVID-19.

This business agility pertains to companies being able to work with an online business model — or, at the very least, having an online presence. So don’t get left behind.

For your web design or digital marketing needs, you can find plenty of info here on our website, or feel free to get in touch with us for a chat. We can work together to build or boost your digital presence and optimise your business growth.

Further Resources:

• Why is Responsive Design So Important? – Why does responsive design matter? Why do you need it? Get all your questions about website responsiveness answered here.
• Why Will the COVID-19 Crisis Boost Digital Marketing in the Future? – The coronavirus crisis may seem like a huge threat to businesses but digital marketing may in fact take a great leap forward as a result.
• Effects of Covid-19 on digital marketing – The pandemic has compelled businesses to transition online to showcase their products and services. This, in turn, has prompted brands to create content that is contextual and relevant in order to garner a larger mindshare from their customer base.

The post Post Covid-19: Now is the time you need to elevate your digital marketing appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

If you build it, they will come

After investing time and money into a website, there’s nothing more frustrating than low website traffic. In this article, we list the main factors that can affect site visits & what you can do to increase them.

So many times I see people who mistakenly think that just because they launch a website, site visitors will automatically come. Truth is, this is not Field of Dreams and just because you build it does not mean customers will magically appear, no matter how good your website is.

Think of it this way, if you held a party but didn’t send anyone an invite, how many people would even know about it, let alone turn up?

Beyond that, even if you are promoting your website gaining those clicks is getting harder and harder. It’s mandatory for practically all businesses to have a website now so the internet is heavily saturated with competition making it difficult to rank well and stand out from the crowd.

Factors that can affect website traffic & what you can do

Brand New?

If your website is brand new it won’t just appear in search engine results immediately. First, your site has to be submitted to search engines and then they need time to crawl your site and index it. Be patient and make sure everything is done on your end (site submission, sitemaps etc.) to help this process.

Hopefully, your web designer has already done this for you, but if not, here’s a great article to help you out: How to Submit Your Website to Search Engines.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

It goes without saying that having a quality website to begin with is an important factor but not just in how it looks, but in how it performs too. A lot of the factors covered below can be held under the umbrella of SEO and if you manage them all: Good SEO = better ranking = increased website traffic.

Your website has to be optimised to help get people to it in the first place. This is where in-site SEO comes in,  such as appropriate use of keywords, proper use of titles and meta descriptions, quality code, optimised images and so on.

This is such a large field it’s impossible to cover everything, so my advice on this point is to either ensure you find yourself a web developer that is proficient with it or be willing to invest a good deal of time in educating yourself about it.

Use social media

The impact of social media on website traffic is two-fold. Firstly, if you have reasonable engagement and social shares, these can help your Google ranking as well as expose you to a wider audience. Secondly, the posts themselves can drive traffic to your site via page links, blog posts etc.

Best of all, you can take advantage of all of this for free! Of course, you can use the paid facilities to boost things further, but if you’re sharing quality content you might not need to spend a cent.

If the thought of posting regularly on social media makes you cringe, there are a few options to consider. Firstly, there’s a huge market for social media managers out there, so if you have the budget, outsource it!

However, if you need to manage it yourself and posting regularly is too hard, aim for at least once a week or even once a fortnight… anything is better than nothing. There’s a range of scheduling tools that are available to help make this easier; Facebook, for example, has its own in-built scheduling tool and one of my personal favourite all-rounders is Later.

Don’t forget why you’re reading this article;
you want more website traffic and social media is an effective way of getting it.

Finally, choose your platforms wisely; you don’t have to be on all of them. For example, LinkedIn is effective for B2B companies, whereas creative businesses tend to have better engagement on Instagram & Pinterest.

Find out which ones are best for your industry and stick to them. Setting up a page isn’t enough, you need to be active on your accounts. So if time, motivation and/or budget are a problem, I suggest choosing 2 and doing those well.

Are you blogging?

Blogging can be time-consuming and at times tricky to come up with new content, but it’s a worthwhile exercise. By creating regular new content you can achieve the following;

• Provide helpful and/or engaging content that your readers will appreciate (which hopefully results in a share or purchase)
• It shows Google that your website (and business) is active and fresh thus helping your ranking (Google doesn’t favour stale websites)
• If you blog quality content, it too will rank well and drive more traffic to your site
• It also provides additional content you can share on social media.

Google Analytics

If you’re not utilising Google Analytics, you should be! It’s a great tool for understanding your site visitors and how they engage with your website. It provides insights into what you are doing well and what you can improve.

What works is always changing so this is an ongoing process and one you should get used to checking in on. It takes a while to build up enough data to start analysing it, but once your site has been up for at least a few months you can start experimenting and tweaking.

Poorly performing website

If a website takes too long to load, is difficult to navigate, confusing, unattractive, or just plain boring people can be pretty brutal and leave very quickly. This can affect what is called your “bounce rate.” A high bounce rate (where people leave your site quickly) can be interpreted by Google that your site is obviously of little value, which can lower your rankings.

If you have google analytics installed you can check a number of statistics including bounce rates to help you determine what changes you need to make to improve things.

Mobile-friendly & secure websites

With a huge number of website traffic coming from mobile phones, a responsive website is no longer optional but a must. If people can’t easily view and use your site on mobile, this too can affect your bounce rate which = lower ranking and less traffic.

Furthermore, the responsiveness of your site is a contributing factor to how Google ranks your site and you will be pushed lower than your competitor’s sites if you’re not meeting best practice guidelines. The same goes for sites that don’t have an SSL certificate (security for your website).

Here are a couple of related articles that explain the above in more detail:

Website not secure? – Here’s how to fix it
Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

Keyword-focused content

Keywords are the terms and phrases that people enter into a search engine to find you online. So when writing your content you need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes, determine what they will search for and write your content accordingly. Doing this well will give you a better chance of your content showing up among the results.

At the same time, this has to be done the right way and if you go too far with it (this is called keyword stuffing) it can actually work against you and lower your rankings. A good rule of thumb is to keep keywords and SEO in mind, but write for your audience first and Google second.

Backlinks

No website was meant to be an island, but rather a part of a much larger interconnected “web” (www = world wide web). The number of backlinks your site has is an indication of its popularity and importance so to google these act as a thumbs-up so to speak because your content is obviously valuable if people are happy to link to it.

As with keywords, there are certain do’s and don’ts to avoid being penalised.

Do:

• Create great content that people want to link to
• Share on social media
• Comment on other websites/blogs with relevant content – but don’t spam!
• Guest post
• Ensure your backlinks are quality links
• Ask clients to link to your content

Don’t:

• Pay for backlinking schemes
• Send spammy emails asking for backlinks
• Inject links into other websites

Final Thoughts

As you can see there are a number of factors that affect the amount of website traffic your site can receive. A lot of these factors may require professional assistance such as SEO (both in-site and external), content creation, social media management and so on. However, with a little time and education, there’s a lot you can do yourself with little financial investment.

It’s also prudent to remember that this is an ongoing process that you have to be consistent with.

The post Why is my website traffic so low? (and what to do about it) appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Website platform comparisons

With so many options how do you choose the best website platform for your business? We compare the most popular ones to help you decide.

Glossary:

Before we dive in, here’s a quick glossary of terms that pop up from time to time:

CMS – Content management system: the software used to manage your website content and allow you to create, edit, and publish.
SEO – Search engine optimisation: how you get found on search engines (i.e. Google)
eCommerce – Adding the functionality of people being able to make purchases through your website
Design – how the website looks
Functionality – the features used on the website (online forms, sliders, etc.)
Apps & plugins – software that extends the functionality of the platform, e.g. a plugin to create contact forms
Website maintenance – all CMS platforms require ongoing maintenance, just like you would for a car to keep them running well. Maintenance is taken care of as part of the price of some platforms, others you have to manage it yourself (by doing it yourself, or outsourcing to someone who can)

As a business owner, you know that a website is one of your most important marketing tools. 75% of consumers admit to making a judgement on a company’s credibility based on their website design. As such, careful consideration needs to be made to ensure it is created to best suit your needs and appeal to your audience.

With so many website platforms to choose from though how do you decide which one is right for your business?

In this two-part article, I’ll provide an overview of the most popular platforms to help you determine which one is right for you covering Customisability, Cost, Site Speed, Security, Support, SEO, and Ease of Use.

Based on usage statistics and current trends, I’ll be comparing the following website platforms:

• WordPress
• Joomla
• Drupal
• Squarespace
• Shopify
• Wix

To begin with, we’ll start with the most popular CMS (Content Management System) platforms; WordPress, Joomla and Drupal.

WordPress

WordPress is the most popular website platform powering 40% of all websites on the internet and holds a massive 64% of the known CMS market. It’s popularity and continual growth can be attributed to a number of factors. Most notably; the vast amount of design and functionality options and its usability.

1. Customisability – There are around 5,000+ free themes and 54,000+ free plugins available from the WordPress.org directories, plus thousands of premium themes & plugins across various sites, all of which can be customised. WordPress can be molded into any type of website you want and provide pretty much any functionality you can think of.
2. Cost  – Depending on the complexity of your site, the majority of people will need to hire a developer to build your website for you. Afterward, it will require regular ongoing maintenance and updates which (with education) you can do yourself or outsource to a professional if you prefer. Other costs (hosting, paid plugins) are very affordable to run for the majority of websites. Some bigger, more complicated sites may require larger hosting plans to accommodate as WordPress tends to be resource-heavy.
3. Site Speed – Performance is often cited as a weak spot of WordPress but with the right tools in place and regular maintenance, it can be manageable.
4. Security – Due to its popularity WordPress is a bigger target for hackers. However, more often than not it is the user that creates vulnerabilities. As long as best practices are met, security is not a major issue. Furthermore, with automatic security updates to WordPress’ core, risks are minimised.
5. Support – Some on-going support (depending on your skill level) is usually required from time to time but can be obtained for free via the large online WordPress communities available. When necessary there is also an abundance of developers proficient with WordPress who are also available.
6. SEO – Search engine optimisation is pretty good out of the box and can be extended further with plugins like Yoast SEO.
7. Ease of Use – Writing blog posts and making minor content changes is fairly simple for most but there is still a learning curve. Page builders are available and have been designed with being “user-friendly” in mind. For more complex changes, a designer is often required.

Types of websites you can build with WordPress:

Any! Originally created as a blogging platform it does this best, but over the years has expanded to offer functionalities to run any type of website; a blog, information website, directory, online shop, membership site, a combination of all of the above, you name it. There really isn’t any limit to the kind of site you can build with WordPress and it will suit the majority of businesses. The only exception where it might not be ideal (being resource-heavy) is large scale websites (1000’s of pages + very heavy traffic).

Final Thoughts

WordPress offers users a lot of choices right from the beginning which might be confusing at first but is very flexible in the long run. It’s a platform that you can constantly build on as your business grows which makes it continually adaptable. If you are looking for full customisation, easy access to support, an abundance of features, and unrestricted growth potential, WordPress is a great choice.  Initial investment is required to develop your site and you will need to invest either your time or money to continue running it, but it is still a very affordable platform.

Joomla

Joomla is the second most popular CMS on the web with a 6.7%% market share. The technology behind Joomla is similar to that of WordPress

1. Customisability – Joomla has around 8,000 extensions listed at the official Joomla library. As there’s no official template library though numbers are hard to come by. As a guide, there are just under 1000 premium themes available on one of the most popular theme websites: Theme Forest. Customisation of both is possible but can be a little more complicated compared to other platforms.
2. Cost  – Since Joomla is a little more complex than WordPress, the likelihood that you will need professional help with regard to both building the site and its ongoing maintenance is higher. Other costs (hosting, paid plugins) are very affordable to run.
3. Site Speed – Joomla has a good reputation concerning performance, primarily as it has performance-boosting functionality already built-in.
4. Security – Much of the responsibility on keeping your site secure falls on the user and with best practices met, security isn’t a major issue. However, there are no automatic updates which do increase vulnerability a little so you have to remain vigilant with your updates.
5. Support – As the second-largest open source CMS on the web, Joomla also has a good free support community in place and developers are usually easy to come by
6. SEO – Joomla has some standard features out of the box but further extension is a bit complicated to implement.
7. Ease of Use – In terms of complexity, Joomla is somewhere between WordPress and Drupal so if you’re reasonably tech-savvy you should be able to get a handle on it but beginners might find it too complicated unless they have sufficient time to learn. Joomla offers page builders also to help users with design and content.

Types of websites you can build with Joomla:

Similar to WordPress, Joomla is very adaptable with the types of websites you can create with it, from simple information websites to complex e-commerce sites. If anything its a little more flexible than WordPress in that you can make a lot of customisations without relying on as many extensions/plugins. However it’s worth noting that, Joomla’s market share is declining due to factors including ease of use, price, availability of developers/support, and so on.

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a middle ground between out-of-the-box power and user-friendliness or a good option for social networking and e-commerce, Joomla might be the one for you. It has a steeper learning curve, a smaller ecosystem (of templates, extensions, and support) and is less SEO friendly. It’s still a very solid option though used by big brands.

Drupal

Drupal has been around longer than the above platforms but has slowly been declining in popularity due to various reasons; it currently has a market share of around 2.2%. It too has similar technology to WordPress and Joomla but of the three is the most technically advanced CMS.

1. Customisability – Drupal is all about building custom websites and there is very little that you can not customise with it. The admin area offers a lot of customisation options from the get-go giving you much control over your site. It is part of a healthy ecosystem offering 40,000+ modules and more than 2,600 themes to add functionality and design options to your site. Due to enforced coding standards, they are also basically guaranteed to work together.
2. Cost  – Drupal was made with fast performance a key component. Consequently, it is less resource-heavy than its competitors which is good news for hosting costs. On the other hand, being a very complicated CMS all but guarantees you will need a competent developer to both build and maintain it, and being more complicated usually requires a larger investment.
3. Site Speed – Drupal is known for producing the fastest-loading websites being less resource-intensive. Keep in mind though that just like the other CMS, it can be slowed down if best practices aren’t met.
4. Security – Security is one of Drupal’s strong suits and the CMS is very safe out of the box. Should a vulnerability be discovered, you will hear about it on the official website.
5. Support – If you have technical difficulties or questions, you can rely on the free community support that is available. Developers are less abundant than other platforms but still readily available.
6. SEO – SEO best practices are also very much built into Drupal. For example, there is a built-in caching for fast page loading times (search engines care about that) and meta tags. The platform also has extensions to further improve your SEO.
7. Ease of Use – Drupal is the most technically advanced CMS. As such, a working knowledge of PHP, HTML, and other programming languages to make any meaningful changes is required; this includes updating your site. Consequently, Drupal comes with a steep learning curve and requires the most knowledge.

Types of websites you can build with Drupal:

Drupal can be used for any type of website and is incredibly versatile. If you’re planning on building a huge site with extensive features it would be an ideal choice. However, for most businesses (who don’t require large scale sites), a simpler CMS is more than sufficient and wins out on factors such as budget and ease of use.

Final Thoughts

Drupal is great for technically complex and large scale websites as it can handle thousands of pages and high volume traffic. Being more complicated than other website platforms to set-up it tends to be more expensive but does also come with unlimited customisation options. It offers a lot out of the box, is built for speed and performance, and has great security and SEO features. At the same time, it is absolutely not suitable for beginners and requires a developer both for the build and ongoing work.

Continue reading Part Two where I will discuss Squarespace, Shopify, and Wix and provide an overall conclusion.

The post Which website platform is best for my business? (Part 1) appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Website platform comparisons

With so many options how do you choose the best website platform for your business? We compare the most popular ones to help you decide.

In part 1 of this topic, we compared WordPress, Joomla and Drupal and now will discuss Squarespace, Shopify and Wix. 

Squarespace

The concept behind Squarespace is simple: it’s a website publishing platform that lets you build a sleek looking site without necessarily resorting to coding. It doesn’t have as large a market share as the previous 3 CMS platforms we discussed, but its popularity over the last few years has been on the rise.

1. Customisability – The number of templates available is dwarfed compared to other platforms but there is a decent range available. They are editable but unless you know how to write custom CSS you are limited to the options available in the customiser which is usually just basic things like colours and fonts. It doesn’t come with a great number of extension options either but the lack of choice makes it simple to use and appealing to beginners who want to get something up quickly and take care of ongoing management themselves.
2. Cost  – Squarespace is a fully hosted platform so you won’t have to buy web hosting. You also won’t have to invest time or money in ongoing maintenance, updates, and storing back-ups as this is all-inclusive. As for their plans, these range in price from $16 to $52 per month dependant on your needs, and being simpler to set-up, development costs to initially create a site for you should be more affordable. If you plan on selling via the site, its worth noting that payment gateways are limited and they charge a 3% transaction fee if you’re on a non-commerce plan.
3. Site Speed – Reviews demonstrate that overall, site speed is somewhat of a weak point for Squarespace. There are built-in functions but fine-tuning is not available. For most users, this isn’t a massive issue but if you’re in a competitive niche it could be a factor worth considering.
4. Security – Security on the other hand is great and is all taken care of for you by the platform. You also get an SSL certificate (adds extra security and encrypts data) included which is great for user peace of mind and is beneficial from an SEO perspective also.
5. Support – They have a support team dedicated to its own website builder as well as a library of support articles, videos, live chat, email support, and a community forum to help you build your website. Professional support beyond this is also readily available.
6. SEO – The platform has built-in SEO tools to boost your website but online reviews indicate this is both limited and not user friendly, with some sections not even using the correct terminology which can be confusing, especially for novices.
7. Ease of Use – Adding and editing content is very user friendly and requires only a small learning curve. Some (especially beginners) will most likely require professional help to initially create the site and provide some education, but most users can take care of on-going management themselves with little effort and cost, which makes it very appealing.

Types of websites you can build with Squarespace:

Squarespace is very versatile in that you can create a wide variety of sites ranging from simple one-page portfolios to fully integrated e-commerce sites. There really isn’t any limit as to what kind of site you can create, but there are limitations as to how far you can customise and add certain functionalities to it. Depending on the type of site you’re creating this will either be a non-issue or a hindrance.

Final Thoughts

Squarespace has a lot of advantages in that its very affordable to get started and a lot of the ongoing work is all taken care of for you. Additionally, its aimed at people who lack expert tech skills so has been created to be user friendly enough that you can manage it yourself. Developers love it because when they hand over the site to their client they can be confident they will have an excellent user experience. Its limited features might not be ideal for all business owners but for simpler websites and in terms of ease of use for absolute beginners Squarespace is a great choice.

Shopify

Shopify is an all-inclusive platform created specifically for e-commerce websites. At the forefront of its development is convenience, ease of use, and great support.

1. Customisability – There are hundreds of website templates to choose from which do allow for some basic customisations within the theme options itself, but further alterations to code can also be made with the help of a developer. You can also extend the functionality of the template and functions with hundreds of available free and paid apps.
2. Cost  – Shopify is a fully hosted platform so you won’t have to set-up or buy web hosting. Their plans range from $29 to $299 per month (more for large scale websites). The standard set-up is usually suitable for most small businesses but if you require paid apps to extend the functionality of your store the ongoing costs can quickly add up. On paper, the cost for Shopify can appear expensive compared to other platforms but the appeal is that most people can manage the site themselves and not have to worry about any maintenance. Depending on how far you want to customise the theme, initial development is usually very affordable not being as complicated as other platforms to set-up.
3. Site Speed – Performance is mostly taken care of for you already and generally site speed for Shopify sites is very good. Users can improve things even further by other factors such as choosing a quality theme, limiting apps, and optimising images.
4. Security –This too is completely taken care of by the platform. All sites get an SSL certificate (adds extra security and encrypts data) included which is great for user peace of mind and is beneficial from an SEO perspective also. Shopify is known for always keeping their security systems up to date with best practice.
5. Support – This is another great feature of Shopify as they provide 24/7 support via live chat, phone, email, and Twitter. For users who want to fix things on their own, Shopify offers extensive documentation, how-to guides, knowledgebase, video tutorials, and forums. There’s also an abundance of developers available when you need professional assistance.
6. SEO – Being an e-commerce specific platform, Shopify structures its SEO around ranking for products, which makes it terrific for that purpose. The built-in SEO functionality is strong and can be extended further if necessary with apps. A big part of how Shopify lets you arrange sites is with categories which is not only great for your users but search engines love it too.
7. Ease of Use – An easy to use drag and drop interface makes it ideal for those who are looking for something that is quick and easy to learn and manage themselves. Managing your products, sales, and inventory inside Shopify is also user friendly, and being an all-in-one solution makes it very convenient. Most people will need a developer to build their site and some initial education is required to learn its ongoing management, but even non-techy people can quickly get started with this platform.

Types of websites you can build with Shopify:

Shopify is a website platform designed specifically for online stores and can cater for small businesses right up to enterprise-level sites with thousands of products. It’s completely scalable so you can adjust your plan accordingly as your business grows. If e-commerce is your primary focus, Shopify is a great choice.

Final Thoughts

As a dedicated e-commerce platform, Shopify comes with a range of integrated store management tools; inventory management, statistics, marketing solutions, and more. It also handles all the technical parts of your store which means you don’t ever have to worry about maintenance. It’s completely scalable and can grow as your business does. Like anything, there is a learning curve involved but it is very user friendly (even for complete beginners) and Shopify support is excellent. One disadvantage is you don’t have full control over everything and additional costs for apps can quickly add up which can make it expensive for start-ups.

Wix

Wix hosts a whopping 110 million websites; its popularity attributed to providing a website builder that is all-inclusive and is quick and affordable to set-up.

1. Customisability – There are hundreds of templates to choose from but there isn’t much control over advanced features. You can access the code behind your site for greater customisation but this will require the help of a developer. Building tools including a drag-and-drop editor make it easy for beginners to design pages and there are also hundreds of third-party apps to extend the functionality of your site. One downside is that you can’t switch templates after your site has been published and if you do switch you’ll lose your content and have to start over.
2. Cost  – Wix has a free plan, but only if you use a Wix subdomain (e.g., yourwebsite.wix.com) and this also comes with limited functionality and display ads that you have no control over. The paid plans (to remove the above) range from $11 – $35 per month; the higher your plan, the more features you unlock. As a fully hosted platform, you won’t have to set-up or buy web hosting or worry about ongoing maintenance. Wix is also appealing to some as you can usually build the site yourself without the help of a developer at all, saving on initial set-up costs.
3. Site Speed – Being fully hosted the servers are optimised specifically for Wix websites which is an advantage. However, Wix sites run off lots of Javascript so their speed tests are a bit different than others. The sites respond quickly initially, but can sometimes be a little sluggish to load in full.
4. Security –  This too is also managed by the platform and all websites come with an SSL certificate (adds extra security and encrypts data) included in all their plans which is great for user peace of mind and is beneficial from an SEO perspective also.
5. Support – Wix provides free help by phone and email, plus hundreds of articles and videos are available to help you build your site. If you get stuck, you can also submit your question to the forum. Answers are usually prompt but sometimes a bit of email back and forth can occur until the issue is solved. Wix isn’t very popular with developers so finding professional help might not be as easy, but usually, you can solve any issues via the aforementioned avenues anyway.
6. SEO – Wix has a lot of SEO features built-in and there are apps available if you need guidance or keyword support but it is limited. If most of your leads come from word of mouth, referrals, social media, etc. then people should be able to find you when they google your business specifically, but if you rely on non-branded organic searches you will have a serious disadvantage.
7. Ease of Use – Wix is generally known to be easy to use for everyone with a quick learning curve. Most people can manage both the build and ongoing management of a Wix site so that and the associated savings are what makes Wix particularly appealing to those on a small budget.

Types of websites you can build with Wix:

Wix is suitable for anything from personal online portfolios to small business and e-commerce websites. It doesn’t accommodate larger more complex sites though and customisation and functionality options are limited so it usually appeals to small businesses and start-ups with a limited budget and who are happy to go with something fairly simple.

Final Thoughts

Because you can build a site with Wix cheaply, its a great platform to at least get you online if you have a very limited budget. It’s also handy that all the tech side of things is taken care of and you can manage ongoing changes and updates yourself. Should your business expand in the future though you might outgrow it and end up spending more anyway on a re-design. Like all things, you get what you pay for.

How to choose the best website platform for your business

Now that we’ve covered 6 of the most popular platforms, which one is the best?

All have pros and cons and which one is best is dependant on a number of factors such as your needs, budget, time, and skills. Here are some questions to ask yourself to help narrow down the list:

• What is the primary goal of your website?
• Do you want full control over the design and/or functionalities or are you willing to have some restrictions?
• Budget: how much can you invest in the build and ongoing maintenance?
• Are you tech-savvy enough to use this platform, or willing to pay someone else to manage it for you?
• How much time are you willing to invest in education if you want to manage the site yourself?
• Growth: Is the platform adaptable should your business grow and expand?

What’s our favourite platform?

Of all 6 platforms discussed, WordPress, Squarespace, and Shopify stand out for me as favourites.

If you’re looking for a versatile, fully customisable, adaptable and professional website within a reasonable budget you really can’t go passed WordPress; there’s a reason that it powers almost 1 in 3 websites across the globe… Nuff said

For those who have smaller budgets and a simpler website is sufficient, then Squarespace is a great alternative. With everything all-inclusive, no maintenance, and the ability to take care of ongoing management yourself, its no wonder its popularity over the last few years has continued to rise.

Finally, if you’re building an e-commerce site specifically and want an all-inclusive solution that you can manage yourself and not worry about maintenance, then Shopify is a great choice. Yes, the costs to run it can add up depending on how far you push it, but what you get in return is really great value for money.

We hope this article helps you to choose the best website platform for your project and of course if this is something we can help you with, feel free to get in touch!

The post Which website platform is best for my business? (Part 2) appeared first on Rivmedia Web Design.

Negative Online Reviews and how to deal with them

It’s never pleasant receiving poor feedback but negative online reviews are not necessarily a bad thing & can actually be used to your advantage.

In this digital age, online reviews now play a huge role in influencing customer’s buying choices. According to a recent survey by Bright Local a whopping 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation (see full survey results here). With that in mind, I often hear concerns from new businesses about setting up social media accounts or listing their business on directory websites purely because of their fear of possibly receiving negative online reviews.

In my opinion, this is nothing to fear; not only do the benefits of online reviews far outweigh the risks but as strange as it may sound, receiving negative feedback is not necessarily a bad thing.

Negative Online Reviews can actually be used to your advantage for a number of reasons:

• You’re human and humans aren’t perfect so seeing the odd negative comment among your list of reviews can make them more authentic (and not just a heap of 5-star reviews submitted by your friends!)
• If other potential customers see that you are actively handling problems (and not ignoring unhappy customers) this is going to give them greater confidence in you.
• You may just receive some feedback that helps you to improve your products and/or services; contributing to the growth and ongoing success of your business.

How to Respond to Negative Online Reviews

Respond promptly, but take a deep breath first

People expect a quick response in the online world so you need to deal with this promptly, but at the same time when you are best equipped to do so. Understandably you might feel sad or angry after reading negative online reviews but the worst thing you can do is respond to them when you’re still upset. So go grab a coffee & some chocolate and deal with it after you’ve cooled down and have a clear head.

Be professional and understand the customer’s point of view

There’s nothing worse than reading a response to a negative review that is defensive, making excuses, or sometimes even rude; even if you disagree with their comments or if they are being unreasonable you need to be polite, professional and keep your personal thoughts to yourself. You need to try and understand why the customer has posted it and what their pain points are if you hope to have a successful outcome.

If the review is valid:

If they have a justifiable complaint, take responsibility for it and do what you must to address the situation. Most people understand that sometimes things just don’t go quite to plan, but if you take ownership of it and resolve the situation you’ll earn their respect and they may even change their review as a result. Furthermore, if other current or potential customers see this, it will give them greater confidence in your customer service.

If the review is unfair:

No matter what you do, there will be the odd occasion where someone just cannot be satisfied and may even be unreasonable. In these cases, again address the customer’s complaint and make it known what steps you have taken to resolve the issue. Even if they don’t change/remove their review, most people understand that some people just cannot be pleased, but if you at least demonstrate that you have tried everything to make a difficult customer happy, it’s only going to reflect positively on you.

Take it offline if necessary

If things don’t go quite to plan, it might be prudent to take the conversation offline. Provide them with your direct contact details so you can deal with it privately; any continual negative back-and-forth that is public won’t be helpful to anyone.

If it comes to it, ask for the review to be removed

If the review is intentionally malicious or breaks any rules (swearing, personal attacks, etc.) you can reach out to the site owner and ask for it to be removed. This can be a slow process sometimes or the site owner might disagree with you, so it’s always best to try everything else first and remember to keep your cool.

Learn and move forward

It’s never pleasant receiving a negative review but you can also turn it into a positive by learning something from it. As a result of the negative feedback you can:

• Address any flaws in your products and/or services that might have been previously overlooked
• Re-write some of your website copy or terms & conditions to give customers more accurate expectations
• Adjust some of your business practices to address the issues raised
• Learn how to avoid certain problems in the future or if they do arise, be able to deal with them appropriately

Final note: “How many people are completely successful in every department of life? Not one. The most successful people are the ones who learn from their mistakes and turn their failures into opportunities.” Zig Ziglar

More Helpful Links

Here are some related articles you might find useful:

• Online reviews – a guide for business & review platforms:
  This guide has been designed to help you ensure the integrity of reviews on your site or about your business…
• Local Consumer Review Survey:
  This survey explores how consumers read and use online reviews. The information contained in this survey helps businesses and digital marketing agencies qualify the value of consumer reviews and how reviews impact consumers’ opinions and actions when searching for local businesses…
• Google+ It’s more important than you think:
  We all know that reviews play a huge role in online marketing and influencing a customer’s buying choices. As Google is by far the most popular search engine, having reviews on there is super important!…

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