How do you know that your business website is performing?

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Business websites are no longer a ‘set-and-forget’ business asset. Any website which you haven’t touched for months or years is depreciating faster than melting ice cream in summer. It is not helping your business.

The race to perform on Google was thought to be an un-winnable chase for small businesses who don’t have huge marketing promotion budgets.

That is no longer true.

All businesses run on Key Performance Indicators and so today I am going to run through a few important measurements that you can use to see if your website is performing well.

Going Web Mobile

The first one – and the most important is mobility. Google has announced that it will be including mobile-friendliness as part of its algorithm from 21st April.
Test your website here 

If your website fails the test – get in touch with your developers and build a mobile friendly website.

Machine readers for key words

The second one is a quick test to see how a “machine” reads the words on your website. We all know Google, Bing and Yahoo are search engines. What we forget is that engines aren’t human. When machines read web pages they find different emphases than we humans do.

Here’s a test you can do – take the words from your website home page and paste them into the Open Calais Viewer  Click ‘submit’ and then they tell you which words and phrases a machine thinks are important in what you’ve written. If those words are not the most important key words for your website – re-write them until they align.

Clever humans have written another machine reader which also shows sentiment analysis – what subtle messages are communicated using the tone of voice and context of your home page texts. Take the same words and paste them into Alchemi API Language . The keywords tab on the left is colour coded to show positive (green), negative (red) and neutral (grey) sentiment. The size of the squares shows the perceived importance of each phrase.

Expert copywriting for the web combines both human and machine reading – it’s very worthwhile getting these right.  Creative Agency Secrets are copywriting experts.

If you can write clearly about what you do, show off pictures and short articles and work with social media, email marketing and old-fashioned direct mail then your business can stand out.

Get local

Did you know that Google, as the premier search engine, is getting increasingly local? You do not have to compete with a huge national firm who does the same thing as you. It’s easy now just to set your search horizon to the local geography that you serve.

Let me prove it to you. Open up a search engine (Google, Yahoo Search or Bing) and search for “Your business name” and “Your suburb”. Do you show up? Probably yes.

Now change the search to “Your business type/profession” and “Your suburb”. Same answers? Or not?

Narrowing the search terms you show up for allows local businesses to shine as beacons to the local prospective customers they want to work with. And for New Zealand business owners, this is a godsend. Google’s Webmaster Tools are free supports that allow you to register your physical location with them so you can include a Google Map with a red pin at your location. Then customers can easily find your premises and load directions into their mobile phone maps for driving directions.

The hard part of web marketing

There was always going to be a “BUT” in this article…. well here it is.

You cannot get the search results you want with a static website that hasn’t been updated or changed for months.

This means that business owners need to learn how to rub and maintain their websites, just like driving a car – this means acquiring a knowledge of how to present your business to its best advantage, how to show off your skills, how to find the right audience and encourage them to come to your website – not just once but over and over.

In short, you need to learn how to Drive Your Website.

We are running training during May 2015 in 5 cities in NZ to teach you how to do this.  Blogging Concentrated NZ starts on May 1st in Auckland and ends in Christchurch on May 9th.

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Improve The Way Your Website Appears On Google

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We’re often asked by clients when we begin working with them to increase their Google presence. So what’s the easiest way to do this?

Simply put – you need to help Google to help you.

Follow the steps below to increase the size of your “Online Real Estate”.

Map/Contact Details (The Red Boxes)

The easiest thing to do add to your “property portfolio” is create a Google+ Page for your business. Go to http://www.google.co.nz/business/ and register your business.  Chances are, Google has already added your site to their index and simply wants you to verify the information before it displays it as it does in the red boxes.

After locating your business (and verifying if need be) you’ll be greeted with your Business Google+ Dashboard. It’s here you can add phone numbers, office hours, address and map location.

Google_Meta_Descriptions

Sitelinks (The Yellow Box)

Most sites don’t have what is known as “Sitelinks” when you search for their business. These are drawn from Google’s index of your website and are based on what Google thinks are the most important pages on your site.  Sometimes you and Google disagree on this!

Getting The Sitelinks

Enabling Google to index your site and enable Sitelinks is simple – submit an effective Sitemap to Google Webmaster Tools and ensuring your robots.txt file isn’t blocking the pages you want as Sitelinks.

These steps assume you’ve already verified your site on Google Webmaster Tools (click here if you haven’t)

  1. Generate a sitemap.xml file (using either a sitemap plugin or a generator such as http://www.web-site-map.com/).
  2. Upload your sitemap to your site’s root folder (the URL will most likely be www.yourcompanyname.com/sitemap.xml).
  3. On your Webmaster Tools home page, select your site.
  4. In the left sidebar, click Crawl and then Sitemaps.
  5. Click the Add/Test Sitemap button in the top right.
  6. Complete your sitemap.xml URL into the text box that appears.
  7. Click Submit Sitemap.

Checking Your Robots.Txt File

  1. Still in Webmaster tools, under Crawl, click robots.txt Tester.
  2. At the bottom of the page, enter the URLs you want to be sitelinks and ensure Googlebot is “Allowed” to index them.

Choose Which Pages Are Linked

Although most of your site hierarchy is decided in the Sitemap (Google “page priority levels” if you’re not sure), how Google deals with multiple pages with the same Priority Level is purely random.

Therefore to make sure the ones you want to appear appear you have to “demote” certain pages from appearing. On the left menu under “Search Appearance” you’ll find “Sitelinks”. On this page you’ll be able to enter in the URLs of the pages you don’t want to be used as Sitelinks on your Google search results.

*Don’t forget to shorten the metadata description on the pages that are Sitelinks – most SEO guides suggest 160 characters or fewer – however for best results we try to use 90 (that way Google won’t shorten your description, cutting out important information).

Of course, if you’ve got any questions about setting these up or other best practices do please leave us a comment or Contact Us – we’re always happy to help!

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Google Analytics Keyword “Not Provided” Workaround

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Anonymous website browsing means it’s harder to track key word searches. This article will show you how to find what keywords visitors search to find your site and the removes impact of the “Not Provided” keyword results in Google Analytics. This workaround will import results from Google Webmaster Tools to Google Analytics.

Inside your Google Analytics you can see which search terms prospects are using to find your website.  Acquisition -> Keywords -> Organic.

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However with the rise of anonymous browsing, this means that Google Analytics can no longer track keyword searches as easily and so an increasing number of searches are now being displayed as “(Not provided)”.

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This situation is getting worse month by month as we track the analytics for our website and those of our clients.

A Workaround For Keyword Searches

Although not a perfect replacement, Creative Agency Secrets has found a work-around which can give you a good indication of what search words and phrases your website is showing up for and which are drawing visitors.

It involves Google Webmaster Tools.  You have to set this up for your website. Read more

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Free training: What can we do to improve our Search Rankings?

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The Blogging Concentrated team are coming to New Zealand in May from 1st to 9th 2015.  Creative Agency Secrets are their hosts and we are running one-day training events in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch for you to learn about how to make your business website effective as a marketing and sales tool.

Ahead of the visit, we organised 3 free training sessions for you to gauge the quality of training and to get you excited and signed up for the NZ events.

The first was yesterday – and here’s the recording for you to listen and share SEO Improving your Search Rankings.

SEO improving search rankings

Join us for the event in your city:

Each link page shows you the curriculum, the venue, the times and the amazing food you’ll be eating (only joking about the food – but it is amazing).

Join us for the next free advance taster event on April 13th on The Business Mindset of Blogging.  Sign up by clicking the “YES” I will watch button.

 

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Are you the CEO of your business website?

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Yes I’m asking you if you drive business success from your website?

Is someone in charge of making your firm’s website successful?  Making the websitedeliver business goals?  It doesn’t matter if you’re self-employed or work for a giant corporation, if you have a website we will teach you how to drive proactive success with Blogging Concentrated education.

Announcing the Blogging Concentrated New Zealand Tour

Running to five dates, we are bringing the US founders of Blogging Concentrated, Dan Morris and Rachel Martin, to NZ so we can get ahead learning how to become the CEO of our websites and drive business success.

Five dates, Four Cities, Two Leaders and One YOU.

Join us in Auckland on May 1, May 3; Wellington on May 6th; Nelson on May 7th and Christchurch on May 9th for the best, practical website marketing execution training available.

What will I learn?

Websites are the modern marketer’s best tool to build new revenue streams and grow audience engagement.  This training comes from the leading edge of best practice with two international practitioners sharing their up to date knowledge.

Learn specific techniques that will deliver outcomes including:

  • Audience engagement with clusters marketing
  • Persuasion and action techniques
  • How to tell a story
  • Using data dashboards to improve conversions
  • The copywriting words that create engagement
  • How to use custom sidebars to optimise your adverts
  • A YouTube strategy to keep viewers on your videos
  • And more….
Watch the 4 minute video Dan and Rachel recorded about the NZ sessions 
Everything taught in the sessions is based on real-world learning and used daily in Dan and Rachel’s own business websites.  They know these techniques work.
You will be learning practical solutions from knowledgeable technicians.

Blogging Concentrated Testimonials

“I think you are going to revolutionize the way I write posts – the Adsense lecture was phenomenal. We will be contacting you with more specific questions e.g. How on earth do we get the CPM per post spreadsheet – and everything else, once we decompress what we’ve learned.”  R Miller

“You know when you go to a conference and you sit through sessions that simply regurgitate stuff you already know?  Yeah, I hate that, which is why I’m so excited about being at Blogging Concentrated Atlanta, Dan R Morris and Rachel Martin have put together a ton of original content that is not just informative but actionable.  When they come to your town you should definitely sign up and go.”  Simon Salt

“Stay in front of your audience was worth the price of the conference ticket! Wow!” Penny Woodin Rogers

“@DanRMorris 16 minutes in and mind exploding with actions already!” Amie Flowerday

“Hi Dan,  Just wanted to say thank you so much for all the valuable information you and Rachel gave us this weekend.  You can not put any price on what we learned, and I am forever in debt to you both!”  Emily Luscombe

Want to pay less for the event?

The Blogging Concentrated business has 2 parts – training events and BC Prime, a subscriber community who buy training and advice by monthly subscription.  If you’re curious about the depth of knowledge these guys bring to training events – read the BC Prime page – note the huge quantity of 2014 Release Archives – impressive, eh?  6 – 10 new pieces of educational content per month…

Choose BC Prime when you book your ticket and pay less – but GET MORE.

Ready to become the CEO of your website?
Join us by booking your ticket

button register

There are two prices, one for BC Prime members and one for the public.
Avoid limp education, buzz phrases and marketing hype.  Concentrate on workable, practical solutions that you can implement immediately on your website.
You know where to come!

 

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Entrepreneurs digital marketing extra content

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Huge thanks to Amaka Gessler for inviting me to the Entrepreneur Networking with a Twist Meetup last night.  I promised to share my slides and have also pulled together a listof all the other material I shared.  Here’s Amaka’s notes from the talk.

Rebecca Caroe Speech Slides

As promised, here are my slides and links to additional material we discussed on the night.

Digital tools for marketers

Machine reading testers for your keywords
  • Open Calais Viewer 
  • Alchemi API – Language viewer test
Facebook comment integration – Facebook Developers comments plugin
NextScripts SNAP WordPress Plugin  allows automation for sharing and distribution
FeedBlitz.com is the RSS to email service I use to automate the blog posts into newsletters. Get in touch if you want a FeedBlitz Discount Code
Unroll me is the email app that allows you to see all your subscribed newsletters and RSS feeds in one place and also mass unsubscribe.

Expert Digital Marketing Bloggers who will upskill you

Expert media analysis and commentary from Thomas Baekdal – there are free and paid for articles – it’s worth the annual fee to subscribe.  E.g. Why print rarely translates to digit.
Avinask Kaushik’s blog Occams Razor is all about Google analytics I recommend you subscribe to get it by email – and his book Web Analytics 2.0 – buy a copy.
You must learn how to use Google Analytics skilfully.
We discussed how to track website visitors’ flow through your site and also how to find out the click stream that led them to your site.  Here’s how to uncover more insight.
Google Analytics visitor flow
  • sidebar menu: Behavior: Behavior Flow
Also look at Multi Channel Funnels (MCF) and the different steps people take before they convert on your website.
  • sidebar menu: Conversions: Multi-Channel Funnels: Top Conversion Paths – see attached
Behavior Flow in Google Analytics

Behavior Flow in Google Analytics

Top Conversion Paths in Google Analytics

Top Conversion Paths in Google Analytics

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Writing a price change email for Event Marketing

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Occasionally I receive the PERFECT message – well-written, timely and full of lessons to copy and adapt.  Copyblogger Media is running an event and…. well you work out why you think they needed to write this message.

Use the same paragraph topics if you need to use a similar tactic to fill your event with paying punters.

Subject line: Authority Rainmaker price drop!

We’ve dropped the price of Authority Rainmaker registration from $1,295 to $795 for a limited time. Head over now and grab your spot:http://authorityrainmaker.com

Still here?

Then perhaps you want to know why …Last year we sold out the event months in advance because we were limited to 400 people. We also had to make the ticket price somewhat expensive, because we didn’t want to skimp on anything – food, parties, the audio/visual experience, and so on.

This year things are different in two key ways.

And this is allowing us to lower our ticket prices and get this party truly rocking.

First of all, this year we sold sponsorships. Thanks to the generosity of cool companies like Moz, AWeber, Feedblitz, TopRank Online Marketing, and our Legend Sponsor, Spears Marketing, expenses have been drastically reduced. We had no idea that we would get such an enthusiastic response from our friends in the digital marketing community!

Secondly, we’re in a much larger venue that is turning out to cost us less than the 400-seat venue we had last year. Working with the team at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House has been amazing, and it’s a real treat to have such a magnificent venue without being charged an arm and a leg.

In short, if we would have known earlier how well things would go on the expenses front, we would have sold tickets at a much lower rate so no one was excluded by the high ticket price. We don’t produce this event to maximize profit … we do it to enhance the strength of our community.But it’s not too late to adjust. So we’ve lowered the registration rate to $795. We even issued partial refunds to anyone who paid more than $795!

Cool, right? The event is shaping up to be even better than our high expectations. And now it costs you less to experience it. Check out the details, but remember, the price won’t stay this low forever:http://authorityrainmaker.com

See you soon …

Brian Clark

Founder and CEO

Copyblogger Media

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website slider

Business Websites should not use a slider carousel

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We’ve been researching  sliders on website home pages for a client.  His designer has come up with two website layouts and one includes a slider.

website slider

Image credit graphicsfuel.com

My instincts say “don’t do it”  but I need justification.  My search shows up four great articles – note most of them recommend alternatives and all of them say that sliders are OK in some circumstances.  Many of the alternatives still have motion and some incorporate sliders in different positions on the page.

Make your own mind up.

Call us if you’d like a chat and how to make your website work harder to achieve your business marketing goals.

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Get your business started with SnapChat marketing

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Ever thought SnapChat wasn’t suitable for brand marketing?  Think again – there’s now a clever desktop dashboard which brand managers can use to drive communications through this popular channel.

So what is SnapChat?

SnapChat doesn’t want to be called social media. Instead, they describe themselves as content editors and artists, not for clicks and shares. With SnapChat you can share and tell your friends what’s happening right in the heat of the moment using instant images or videos from your phone.

These messages are timed by the user, often only lasting a few seconds before disappearing when viewed. So why is this so exciting? Because it leaves no trace online it’s catching on like wild fire! In addition, more and more businesses are finding ways to market to their users on the SnapChat platform in a non-invasive, interactive and fun way.

Mish Guru runs the app for SnapChat for brands

Mish Guru makes it easier for brands and companies to use SnapChat for marketing  and content sharing purposes. In short, they create online company accounts and give advice for managing them, or even take the management off your hands.

Their unique dashboard helps you manage SnapChat campaigns and monitor statistics that aren’t actually visible or available on the standalone SnapChat mobile platform itself.

Here are some screenshots.

Screenshot on Mish Guru Demotest

Screenshot on Mish Guru demotest

Screenshot on Mish Guru Demotest

Screenshot on Mish Guru demotest

What Mish Guru can offer you

  • Standard dashboard package

You get a single dashboard, there you can see all of your followers. Your whole team can reach all of your followers with direct Snaps. Mish Guru also does screenshots of all incoming snaps so you don’t miss any important snaps. Through the dashboard you can send out the same content to all of your followers at the same time, (you don’t need to manually click on every follower, as on todays SnapChat).

  • Campaign management/ advice

Mish Guru can manage your account for you, they do all the work while getting the Snaps to your followers, you just need to tell them what kind of content you want.

  • Account management/ advice

You can also manage the account yourself but you’re are while getting management advice from Mish Guru on how to best use their platform.

When you get in touch with MishGuru – please mention you heard about them from us!

So there you go – yet another marketing innovation Creative Agency Secrets has found and brought to your attention!

 

 

 

 

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