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How To Get Visitors to Return to your Website

Posted By Sara Bergeron in Search Engine Optimization on April 6, 2010
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No matter why type of business you run, chances are you would like your clients to be repeat customers. Even if you operate a business that doesn’t have many repeat customers, you’d like your clients to keep you in mind for referrals. A great way to make customers remember you is through your website. If you can make customers return to your site even after they’ve made a purchase, you’re on your way to customer loyalty.

But how do you do this? Usually it’s quite tough, but we’ve got some tips that will help you out.

Have a blog

◦ We’ve talked about the benefits of blogging before and we’d like to stress this point again. Blogging about your industry, providing news and updates about future products and services and giving insight into your company will attract people to your website.

If someone just bought one of your products, they may be interested in knowing how it was made, who came up with the idea in the first place and when an updated version will be available.

Have a message board or support forum

◦ Your customers may be looking to discuss their experiences with your product or service or they may have a few questions about it. A great way to entice them to come back to your website is by adding some sort of interactive forum. This is also great for customer service purposes.

Offer games or contests

◦ If you want to build a loyal audience, you could hold a contest that requires customers to come back to your site frequently in order to win. You could also have some branded games designed that will draw in visitors.

Have a mailing list

◦ Encourage your customers to sign up for an email newsletter. This will keep your company name fresh in their minds and bring them back to your site when something in the newsletter interests them.

Search engine optimization and website promotion

◦ Make sure that your company comes up highly in search rankings when people search for your product or service. A customer that just purchased your product may head to the Internet to find out more information. If your website comes up first, they will head to your site for that info.

First2Search offers website promotion and Internet marketing services that will make your website stand out. Contact us today for more information.

Managing Your Brand Image Online

Posted By Meagan Mills in Search Engine Optimization, Website Design on April 1, 2010
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One of the most important aspects of running a business is managing your brand. Regardless of whether you set up your business last month or whether you’ve been in operation for a long time, you probably put a great deal of work into your company’s branding.

Think back to when you started the company. Remember how you spent hours (if not days) coming up with the perfect name for your business? Remember how things like designing a logo and choosing colours took far longer than you thought they would? You spent a lot of time coming up with your brand, so it makes sense that you need to continue to manage and protect it as time goes on.

Unfortunately, it’s very easy for your brand to be tainted online. Given how relatively easy it is for almost anyone to set up a website, it’s possible that someone else could purchase a domain name similar to yours, copy your website design, steal your written content or a combination of all three!

A competing website with a similar name and look could be stealing your customers. Even worse, it could be offering an inferior experience that could make your company look bad.

Another, more dangerous way of damaging a brand’s business online is by spreading untrue, negative messages. It’s very easy for a disgruntled former employee, angry customer or competitor to set up a blog online and trash your company’s name. There are numerous business review sites that people can take advantage of to spread false information.

Imagine what a customer thinks when he or she looks online and finds negative comments on numerous sites. If your brand is tarnished online it could destroy your business. Thankfully, there are several things you can do to protect yourself.

First, you can Google yourself. Head to Google (and Bing and Yahoo! and any other search engines) and search for your company’s name. You can even set up Google alerts that will email you whenever your company name appears online.

If only good things come up, you should be fine. If bad things appear, look into them. If the comments are coming from clients with concerns, see what you can do to improve the situation.

If you find any truly malicious, untrue statements online there are a couple of things you can do. The first is contact the person that has made the comments (if you can find contact information) and try to rectify the situation. If that doesn’t work you could attempt legal action, but that can often be a messy and expensive process.

The other method is to drown out the bad with the good. Add website content that makes your company look positive. Create profiles on Facebook, Twitter and other social media websites. Start a blog. Eventually the positives will outweigh the negatives.

Then you just have to promote the positive content. First2Search can help you design the website, create the content, market it and handle the search engine optimization efforts too! We will do our best to ensure that the information presented online is accurate and that your content is featured highly in search engine rankings. Contact us today for more information.

Five Ways To Turn Website Traffic into Business

Posted By Meagan Mills in Pay Per Click, SEO, Search Engine Optimization on March 11, 2010
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One of the first struggles that website owners usually deal with is trying to get traffic to their sites.

It’s often difficult to find traction and sometimes it seems like no one will ever visit your website. But, through some good website design, skilled search engine optimization efforts, website marketing and a pay-per-click marketing campaign, you finally start to attract some traffic. But you’re still not seeing any increased sales. Why?

Unfortunately, while it definitely helps to see increased website traffic, that increase in traffic doesn’t always translate to an increase in sales. Here are a five tips that can help you turn website visitors into customers:

Make your website easy to navigate

One of the main reasons that visitors do not turn into customers is because they website they are on is too difficult to navigate. You should have easy-to-understand links placed in a highly visible area of the website. In order to avoid confusion, try to declutter your page and only place the information you need on the site.

Introduce “Calls to Action”

Having a call to action button, logo or link on your website is an excellent way to convert website visitors into paying customers. This is a great way to direct your visitors to a contact form or a current promotion or sale.

Write compelling content

Well-written, informative and easy-to-understand website content goes a long way. If your website writing is persuasive and interesting, visitors will be more likely to purchase your products or services.

Have a professional website design

An up-to-date, professional website design that adheres to current standard is important. Your website could be the first time a visitor has ever heard of your company so it is important to look presentable. The graphics and the design of your site should represent your company well and you will want your site to look relevant, so use up-to-date design technology and standards. That doesn’t mean that your site needs to be filled with music, video, graphics and animation, but it does need to look good.

Make it easy for clients to contact you

Have a contact form placed in a highly visible location. Write your phone number and/or email address in large print. Offer online chats or “click-to-call” services. Do whatever is necessary to make it easy for a visitor to contact you.

First2Search is a Toronto website design company, pay-per-click marketer, website promotion and search engine optimization company. We specialize in getting your company noticed online and converting those visitors to customers.

For more information on our services and how we can help your business grow, please contact us today.

5 Tips for Choosing a Domain Name

Posted By Nathan Hughes in Internet Marketing, SEO, Search Engine Optimization on March 8, 2010
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One of the first decisions you make when setting up a website is what domain name you will purchase. For some people this may seem like an easy decision, but it is one that you should put some thought into. Choosing the right domain name can help with your online marketing plans, your search engine optimization and the popularity of your website.

Here are a few tips that will help you choose your domain name:

Include keywords

◦ Sometimes it helps to include some of your keywords in your domain name. This can help your search engine ranking and make it more obvious what your company does at first glance.

Make it short and memorable

◦ If possible, a short domain is usually better than a very long one. However, that’s not always the case. For example, VeryGoodDomainNameChoice.com might be a better name than VGDNC.com. A series of initials isn’t very easy to remember. Then again, neither is IThinkThisIsAReallyReallyGoodChoiceForADomainName.com, so you’ll have to put some thought into your choice. Unfortunately, you’ll likely find that many short, memorable domain names are taken, so you’ll have to be clever.

Notice how it looks and sounds

◦ A domain name could look great on paper, but it can be difficult to say. The opposite can be true as well. You should practice saying your name out loud to other people. It should be easy to pronounce and straightforward.

A dot-com if possible

◦ Most people still assume that commercial websites end in .com and most major websites do. If you choose a .net or a .ca address, you’ll have to make a point to specify your address to people. This is especially true if a competitor owns the .com. You could risk sending people to your competition if you’re not clear.

Check out similarities

◦ For example, if you want to buy domain.com you should also look at domain.net, domain.ca, domains.com and any other similarities of mistypings. If they’re available you may want to buy them. If they’re own by the competition, you have to be careful that you’re not infringing on copyrights and that you don’t accidentally send your customers to a competitor’s website.

Once you’ve thought of a name, make sure you pick a reputable domain name registrar to purchase it from and you’re on your way!

Why Your Website Needs A Blog

Posted By Meagan Mills in Content Writing, Search Engine Optimization on February 24, 2010
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Blogging is very important for almost every website. There was once a time when blogs were personal diaries written by individuals, but that time has passed. Today almost every website has a blog, from the smallest freelance workers to the largest companies. Even the White House has a blog!

But why are blogs important for your business and your website? There are many reasons.

First of all, a blog helps connect your customers to your company. It allows you to regularly update your visitors with company news, information and changes. The comments section of a blog allows your users to interact with you. They can provide you with feedback, ask questions and make suggestions. This sort of connection with your clients will build loyalty and strengthen your brand.

Secondly, a blog is a great way to spread information. Many people read blogs and their very nature makes them easy to share. A blog post about a new development in your organization can be emailed, linked to, shared via social media and promoted on social news sites such as Digg and Reddit. You don’t need to call a press conference to provide some information to your clients.

And the best part is that the information will reach your audience unfiltered. You can write exactly what you want to write and not have to worry about the media distorting your message or your story being changed by word of mouth. There is no “broken telephone” with blogs. Every person that reads the blog will read the exact same message.

Blogs are also great search optimization tools. Google and other major search engines love frequently updated content and there is no better way to add this content to your site than through a blog. You can blog about your industry and add keywords to your text. This will make you much more likely to show up for certain search terms.

Finally, having a well written, frequently updated blog is a great way to gain loyal customers. If what you are writing is interesting and informative, people will return to your blog on a regular basis. They will read your website just like they read the newspaper. These loyal visitors will be much more likely to become repeat customers.

Blogs are very important for businesses of all sizes. They serve as a promotional tool, they build customer loyalty and they increase your client base. If you want your business to grow and prosper, you should consider adding a blog. Remember though, having a rarely-updated blog is almost as bad as not having one. If you decide to start a blog, spend some time on it and develop it properly. It will pay off in the long run.

Your Website Needs A Hook

Posted By Nathan Hughes in Search Engine Optimization on February 23, 2010
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In any given niche, on any given topic, there are hundreds of thousands of web pages. Even if you have the best search engine optimization and your site ranks number one for every important keyword in your industry, your site could still be doing better. You need a hook.

Today’s web surfers move quickly. They may click on your page if it is ranked highly, but if they don’t find what they are looking for, they will click away and head to the next search result. You need to have something that keeps people on your page and turns them into customers.

A good place to start is with your website design. Your design should be attractive but not overwhelming. It should also be easy to navigate. You want your visitors to understand the site structure immediately and not be confused. This will increase the likelihood that they remain on your page.

Another hook is the site’s written content. You don’t want to overwhelm your visitors in this area either. There are few things online that are more intimidating than a giant block of text. Very few people will read several long paragraphs online. You should structure your text so that it is easy to read. This includes breaking up the content into smaller sections, separating sections with relevant headings and using lists whenever possible to display important points.

You also need informative content.

People visit web pages with a purpose. They usually want some sort of information and it’s important that you give them what they want. If you write clearly and in a way that people can understand, they are more likely to stay on your page.

The best way to hook someone into your page is to give them something they can’t find anywhere else. Maybe your page has an in depth comparison of your product against the major competitors. Maybe it explains the benefits of your service in greater detail than others do. Maybe your page makes it easier to communicate with your staff or share ideas. All of these unique features are hooks that will make you stand out from the competition and turn your visitors into customers.

Once you’ve found your hook, you will usually see an increase in business. Your web page can be a very powerful persuasion tool and it can definitely boost your sales. Don’t overlook this valuable resource.

Some Tips For Choosing Keywords

Posted By Meagan Mills in SEO, Search Engine Optimization on February 16, 2010
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One of the most important things you can do when setting up your website is choosing the right keywords. These words will be the basis of your entire search engine optimization plan and they will ultimately be the words that visitors (and potential customers) will use to find your website. Many people overlook this step and they will have problems attracting traffic to their website.

Since keyword research is so important, it’s a good idea to spend some time on the process. It doesn’t make sense to just whip off a few keywords and get started. Proper keyword research takes a bit of time, but ultimately it’s worth it.

Here are a few tips that will help you with your keyword research:

Write down as many words as you can that have something to do with your website. This is the “brainstorming phrase” so don’t worry about the quality of the words and don’t filter yourself. Just write down as many related words as possible.
Think of key phrases as well as key words. Most people type several words into a search engine at a time.
Think about what you yourself would search for if you were looking for your own website. Most people have learned how to search and they usually type only the words they are looking for into a search engine. For example, you might type “blue widget company” into Google instead of “Company than manufacturers blue widgets”
Edit your list down to 15 or 20 key phrases.
Now perform those searches online. Type the list of words and phrases into Google, Yahoo! or Bing and pay attention to the websites that come up. Are they the kind of sites you expect? Are they similar to your own website? They should be.
Also pay attention to the number of sites that show up for your chosen phrases. The more sites that are listed, the more difficult the competition for those phrases.
Revise your list as necessary.

There are a number of sites online that can help you with your keyword research. Google’s Keyword Tool is a popular one. These tools can sometimes give you an idea of how many people have searched for those keywords in the past.

The keyword selection phase of your website development is definitely an important one. You need to choose keywords that represent your site, words that are not too competitive and words that people are actually searching for. If you choose the right keywords for your website, you’ll be off to a great start!

Why Keyword Research Is Important

Posted By Meagan Mills in SEO, Search Engine Optimization on January 26, 2010
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There is perhaps no more important aspect to Internet promotion than keyword research. It should be the starting step in just about everything you do regarding your website and doing it wrong, or not doing it at all, can have dire consequences for your web page.

Visitors find your website based on keywords or, more accurately, key phrases. These are the words that they type into a search engine in order to find a site. Google, Bing and other search engines all have different ways of determining how to rank websites, but they all scan pages to look for keywords.

This is a good time to note that you should not just fill your website with as many keywords as possible or stuff the same words and phrases all over your page. This tactic may have worked at one point in time, but those days are long gone.

When picking keywords, it’s important to think about what your potential clients may be searching for online. Think about how you use search engines and try to figure out what you would type in to find websites similar to your own. You will then want to use a keyword research tool, such as the one provided by Google AdWords, to discover how many people are searching for the terms you have chosen.

Both of these steps are very important.

For example, if you sell blue widgets, you want your clients to be able to find you when they search for “blue widgets” online. You don’t want your website to come up as the first result for “green things” and appear no where for “blue widgets.” Customers searching for “green things” may visit your site, but they likely will not find what they want and you will not do any business.

Targeting the wrong keywords is an excellent way to get a lot of traffic that you don’t want. There is little benefit to drawing uninterested customers to your site. It would be like opening a store and marketing yourself as a dress store when you actually sell electronics. People coming into the store to buy dresses will not be too happy when they find the shelves lined with televisions and computers.

Secondly, you’ll need to find terms that people are actually searching for. You can rank first in the world for “purple pieces” but if there isn’t anyone searching for that term, it doesn’t help you.

The same holds true for pay per click advertising. If you’re going to spend money to advertise yourself online, you want to target the right keywords and drive in the right traffic. A good, experienced pay per click advertising company can help you with this.

Keyword choice is important when purchasing a domain name, designing a website and writing the site’s content. It also plays a very key role in your search engine optimization efforts and your online marketing plan. By doing good keyword research upfront you will save yourself time, money and hassles and you will bring in the traffic you want. This will make your business grow.

The Single Most Important Aspect of Internet Promotion

Posted By Meagan Mills in Pay Per Click, SEO, Search Engine Optimization on January 22, 2010
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There are many, many important things to take into consideration when you are developing and promoting a website. Website design, keyword choice, written content, site structure, onsite SEO, link building strategy and pay per click advertising are just a few aspects you’ll need to pay attention to and keep track of. However, there is one thing that more important than all the rest of them put together.

Give your visitors what they’re looking for.

This overarching thought should be in your mind every single time you do anything related to your website. You shouldn’t design your site solely for aesthetic or SEO purposes. You shouldn’t produce your written content only for search engines. You always need to remember that the final decision to use your company or not will be made by a real person, not a computer.

When you are putting together a PPC campaign, keep your customers in mind. What would they be searching for? Just because Google keywords or another similar tool can tell you what the most popular search terms are, it doesn’t mean that the clients you are looking for will be using those terms. “Widgets” may be the most searched term on Google, but that doesn’t matter if most clients looking for companies like yours are searching for “Green doodads in Canada.” The bottom line is that you need to structure all of your efforts with your customer in mind.

When you design a website there is a lot of pressure to rank highly on major search engines, and for good reason. If people cannot find your site, they won’t be able to purchase your products or services. You could have an amazing website that no one ever sees. So it is important to use SEO techniques and pay-per-click campaigns to drive traffic to your page. However, if your site doesn’t meet your customers’ needs, you will be left with a high bounce rate, very few clients and a serious issue on your hands.

Keyword choice is key, as picking the wrong keywords to optimize and advertise can bring in the wrong traffic and definitely hurt your business. There’s no point in receiving high traffic if almost every person that visits your site leaves almost immediately. Web design and written content are incredibly important as well. When a client reaches your site it’s important that they find an attractive, easy-to-use, informative web page. Otherwise they’ll be on to the next site almost immediately.

If you have a site that gives clients what they want and it’s promoted and optimized well, you’ll be set for success.

Search Marketing and SEO are Ongoing Services

Posted By Meagan Mills in Google Analytics, SEO, Search Engine Optimization on January 21, 2010
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If you want your website to be successful, you need to implement a good SEO and search marketing plan from day one. It is much easier to structure your site with SEO in mind than it is to change your site later on if it isn’t performing well. However, SEO and search marketing should not be “turned on” at website launch and then forgotten about shortly after.

For a website to consistently receive traffic and grow over time, SEO and search engine marketing should be ongoing services.

For example, you should not stop link building. You can never have enough related links from quality sources. Your competitors are likely trying to secure additional links every day, and you need to stay at least a step or two ahead of them. The same is true for website content. Frequently updated content is an excellent way to draw in visitors and improve traffic.

The same can be said for all forms of search engine marketing. This is not something you should do once and then leave alone. If you put together a pay-per-click advertising campaign when you launched your website, you should be monitoring and updating it as time goes on. Choosing a few keywords once and then doing nothing more is not the most effective way to run a PPC campaign.

Good search engine marketing campaigns require frequent maintenance. You should be aware of which terms are performing well, how effective your bids are and any other related terms that could help improve your traffic. Keeping track of what’s working and making changes to fix what isn’t won’t just bring more visitors to your site, but it will also save you money. You’ll avoiding spending money on terms that do not deliver the kind of traffic you want and you won’t sit around for months wondering where your traffic is.

You also need to watch your website analytics and statistics. This way you will notice any traffic trends and be able to modify your site to match these trends. If certain pages or more popular than others or if your site has a high bounce rate, it’s important to know these things as soon as possible. You may need to change your website design if certain pages are not being noticed.

Remember, search engine optimization and online marketing are not one-time services. To be most effective, they should be monitored, updated and changed when necessary. This will ensure steady website growth and help your business.

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