by Francois Muscat | Feb 26, 2019 | Mobile Marketing
Your mobile site needs to be designed with conversions in mind. Here are a few tips from our mobile marketers and web designers:
- Do: Design With The User In Mind
People often approach a website design company with an idea in their mind of what they want their websites to look like. Many times, it is a show-piece for their company, instead of a tool that can help their potential clients become paying customers. Design with the user in mind and focus on how the user will navigate the site. Make it simple for them to sign up, complete a purchase or find the information they are looking for.
- Do: Design For Speed
Your website needs to be designed for fast loading times. You only have three seconds to make an impression on a potential customer, so you have lost the client if they have to wait more than a few seconds for your pages to load. Partner with a designer who also specialises in mobile marketing. They will know how to resize and adjust your website’s images for fast loading times.
- Don’t: Make It A Replica Of Your Desktop Site
The way people browse desktop websites is completely different to mobile websites. Design with mobile users in mind first, because mobile searches have already surpassed desktop searches. Your mobile site should be built for people who are scrolling on small screens and want to find what they are looking for quickly and with ease.
- Don’t: Assume You Know How People Are Using Your Site On Mobile
Use your Google Analytics to find out how people are browsing your website on their mobile phones. The results may surprise you, and it can help you to improve your design to optimise the experience for visitors.
- Do: Make CTA’s Easy To See
People need to see your calls to action loud and clear. You need to tell them what steps to take. Make the CTA’s easy to see and click on.
Need help with your mobile content marketing? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 25, 2019 | Blogging, Content Marketing
Content marketing is still a huge part of any successful digital marketing strategy. If you have started a blog, then you probably know how time-consuming (and hard!) it can be to stick to a blogging schedule. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Set short term and long term blogging goals
Don’t overextend yourself if you have just started blogging. Commit to one post every two weeks to make sure you are consistent with posts. This can be your short term goal. Your long term goal, however, should be a big picture plan. Here are a few goals to consider:
- Rank highly for your chosen keywords
- Do four guest posts that link back to your blog
- Invite four people in your industry to do a guest post on your blog
- Start a newsletter
- Increase your blog’s traffic by 40%
- Branch out to different topics
Did you start your blog to write DIY tips and now you’re not sure what to cover? Consider themes that relate to your blog’s topic. If you started out writing about DIY projects, you can also write about renovation jobs, pitfalls to avoid when completing certain projects, how to find good contractors in your area etc.
- Share a bit of personal information
Many people balk at the idea of sharing personal stories, but your followers will love it. Give them insights into your personal life, your team at work, or anything that can help you forge a stronger connection with your followers.
Need help with your content marketing? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 21, 2019 | SEO
SEO is always changing because Google is constantly improving their search algorithms. Everything – from the increase in mobile searches as well as voice searches to the way people consume content – guides Google’s algorithm and SEO practices, which is why you need to stay up to date with how Google ranks websites. Here are a few outdated SEO practices that you should no longer waste your time on:
- Keyword Stuffing
Ten years ago, everything was about keywords. You needed to have as many variations as possible of your chosen keywords on a page. Today, loading a webpage with keywords in order to manipulate Google rankings will do you more harm than good. Stuffing content with keywords does not offer a good user experience – and it can lead to a Google Panda penalty.
- Creating Multiple Pages For Similar Keyword Variants
Creating a separate page for ‘plumber in Pretoria’, ‘plumbers in Pretoria’, and ‘plumbing company in Pretoria’ is pointless. This is the old-school way of thinking about SEO. Google is smart enough to analyse the keywords on the page and know that all the pages can be grouped under ‘plumber Pretoria’.
- Using Outdated Link Building Strategies
Manipulation is no longer a sustainable route to build links for your website. With the Penguin update, Google can identify spammy, irrelevant and mass link building. Spam blog commenting, paid links, private blog networks and spammy footer links are all things that you should avoid.
Need help with your SEO, content marketing or link building strategy? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 18, 2019 | Content Marketing
Not every business owner has a content marketer doing their blogging for them. If you and your team members are drafting your own blogs, congratulations! This type of marketing is a great way to increase conversions, boost brand awareness, and portray yourself as a thought leader in the industry. Just make sure you are not making any of these common faux pas:
- Not Doing Keyword Research
Even minimal keyword research can make a huge difference to your search engine optimization strategy. If you are not doing keyword research and sprinkling them into your content, then you could be missing out on a lot of readers.
If you have not used keyword research in the past, take stock of where your blog posts are ranking in Google before and after you include the keywords. Many times, you will notice your posts move from page three or four on Google to the first page if you have optimized the pages correctly.
For some reason, many writers struggle to come up with great, catchy headlines for their articles. It is for this reason that journalists usually do not write their own article headlines (editors and sub-editors do this).
According to best SEO practices, headlines should not be longer than 60 words. A good tip is to first write, edit and proof the article before trying to come up with a good headline. If you start with the headline first, it can tend to be bland and boring.
- Don’t Let Search Engines Auto-Generate Meta Descriptions
While the headline is the thing that will draw the clicks, do not discount the impact that a good Meta description can have. Don’t leave this area blank, because search engines will auto-generate the Meta descriptions for you. You have 160 characters at your disposal. Use this space to create an attention-grabbing description of your article that compels people to click on the link.
Need help with your content marketing? Then contact WSI OMS today.
by Francois Muscat | Feb 7, 2019 | Social Media Marketing
There are currently over 1,3 billion monthly active users on Facebook Messenger and 2 billion messages are sent every month. As a business owner or a digital marketer, these are numbers that you need to take note of, especially since Facebook Messenger now allows users to buy products directly through the app.
The new comment-to-messenger feature means you can auto-message people who comment on any of your Facebook posts. Here are a few tips to help you drive sales and engagement with Facebook’s comment-to-messenger feature:
- Don’t Only Use The Feature For Customer Support
Many times, you will find that your Facebook is just another platform to provide customer support. While customer support plays a crucial part of your online community management, you need to proactively focus on engagement and sales as well.
Your community managers need to receive sales training. They need to know how to upsell and how to spot a Facebook user that is ready to buy. They also need to be able to provide that person with the right information at the right time. Your sales team, content marketers and customer support staff need to work closely together to ensure consistent and compelling messaging on this platform.
- Link Messenger To Your Store Site
Your Messenger needs to be linked to your website so that product updates and price information is reflected in it. There are three ways to integrate the use of Messenger with your e-commerce site:
- Add the Messenger sales channel to your store site,
- Add Facebook Live Chat to your e-commerce store, or
- Add the Buy Now button to your Messenger bot.
Need help with your digital marketing and social media marketing? Then contact WSI OMS today.
