If you’ve read anything about marketing trends for 2014, you’ve probably read that social media – which has been a valuable marketing tool for the past several years – will likely lose its status as the leading avenue for content marketing. You may have also read our recent blog, The days of easy SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing are over. What this means is that business-owners need to find new ways of successfully engaging their customers. What, exactly, is Branded Content? Simply put, branded content is content that is designed to build brand awareness and affinity, not simply to sell a product or service. Typically, branded content seeks to educate or entertain, while avoiding the “direct sell” that is the hallmark of many other marketing avenues. You want to position your company as a trusted source for information. Content is still King It’s still important to create and/or curate content that is compelling and valuable to your customers. But simple blogs and social media updates are no longer cutting it. So much “content” is created each day, that most of it gets lost in a sea of noise. And regardless of how interesting and compelling your content is, you likely need to step up your game. Creating Branded Content What will grab your user’s attention? The whole purpose of branded content is to be useful and/or fun for the intended user. A good example of this is Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” series. These videos have become hugely popular, and introduced me to a brand I had not heard of before. Has the popularity of “Will it Blend?” translated into increased sales for Blendtec? According to a case study, Blendtec’s retail sales increased 700% as a result of the campaign. How will you disseminate the content? I mentioned the “Will it Blend?” video series as a good example of branded content. Obviously, this was an idea well-suited to YouTube. But it’s important to be open to a medium that’s compatible with your brand. In other words, don’t automatically focus on a video series or an app – brainstorm and see what you come up with organically. What kind of options do I have? Blogs, YouTube channels, and mobile apps are the primary content branding tools. But the possibilities are open – you may be able to find an avenue that nobody else has thought of. Whatever you do though, make sure you are consistent. If you decide on a mobile app, then neglect to keep it fresh, it’s not going to give you the results you want. Make sure you are always serving your brand Branded content must serve both your customer and your brand. Again, it’s not a direct selling tool, but you should always be focused on creating a positive image for your brand.
Search “website launch checklist” and you’ll find plenty of good advice online. But there’s less if you’re looking for real-world advice on what to consider when you’re relaunching a redesigned website. Pitfalls and “gotcha”s abound, and many can significantly impact your natural search engine listings. 1. Make sure your highly indexed content is replicated accurately It seems like a no-brainer, but we’ve seen this key element neglected far too frequently. Review your analytics and make sure your top 50 (or more) pages are replicated under your new site. That is, make sure your page headings are the same: the title tags, the keywords, the images, etc. You want the content of the page to be as similar as possible – if not identical – so that the search engines don’t see it as new or changed. 2. Add 301 redirects for your top indexed content This is crucial and perhaps might deserve to be number one on this list. During a redesign it’s unlikely your site structure or the URL paths remain identical to the old site’s. So it’s critical that you politely and correctly inform the search engines that the old links should be “re-indexed” using their new URLs. This is done via 301 permanent redirects – usually applied via your htaccess or webconfig file. It simply remaps your old url paths to their new ones while also informing the search engines to reindex them properly. This one step will almost single-handedly preserve your natural listings and page ranking during the transition from old to new design. It’s even more critical if you’re also changing your domain during this process. Seriously, if you do nothing else… do this step. 3. Inform the search engines about your change Google Webmasters Tools and Bing’s Webmaster Tools allow you a convenient way to inform each about changes to your site – from its url structure to a change in domain. By using these free tools you can preserve your natural rankings and enjoy a smoother transition. Each also provides valuable data about how the search engines are “seeing” and cataloging your site, and how you could improve the results. So you should be using them regardless of a site redesign. 4. Test and debug your site on mobile and in multiple browsers Again, you’d think this goes without saying, but it bears repeating. Make sure you test your site using various browsers, and on multiple platforms (Mac, Windows, etc.), and on mobile devices. There are excellent online resources for doing this – we personally use crossbrowsertesting.com. You can view and use your site on numerous browsers and operating systems and on emulated mobile devices. 5. We highly recommend scanning your site for vulnerabilities. If you’re working with a web developer this is most likely part of their services. Before or just after launching your site, they should perform a security and vulnerability scan using various tools or SAS options. We generally configure McAfee Site Secure to scan the newly launched site daily for approximately two weeks or more. This way McAfee can scour the site and follow even the deepest links. Any issues or concerns are addressed promptly to avoid problems. 6. Do a quick seo review / audit It doesn’t have to be an extensive seo review. But you should review each page on your site to ensure it has all the SEO fundamentals in place. A unique title tag, meta description, keywords, and one or more heading tags along with copy content. Make sure every image has a completed alt tag and, if possible, the image file itself is named identifiably and with “keyword bias.” Make sure you have an updated XML sitemap file that will be updated regularly – usually this is automatically done by your CMS. 7. Have someone proofread your content While not such a major grievance as not remapping your top content, a typo or bad grammar can be embarrassing and distract visitors from your message. And if you’ve spent money on redesigning to achieve better results or conversions, it’s worth investing some time or money into hiring a proofreader. 8. Finally, have your mother test your site Yes, that’s sounds a bit silly, but what we’re actually recommending is you have someone unfamiliar with your site or brand test your site to make sure it accomplishes and communicates what you intended. Have them visit your home page and then articulate what they think you do or sell. What your benefit is; your unique selling proposition. Then have them use the site and monitor and catalog any difficulties that will need to be addressed. This is especially important on ecommerce sites, so you know your store and checkout are working smoothing and understandably. Follow these eight simple steps and your redesign and relaunch should go smoothly. You should be able to preserve your natural listings and page rank. And most importantly, you should keep your customers happy and converting.
As they’ve done for the past decade, Pantone’s color experts have designated a signature color for the upcoming year, 2014. This year it’s a soft, subtle purple that’s a combination of fuchsia, purple, and pink. “An invitation to innovation, Radiant Orchid encourages expanded creativity and originality, which is increasingly valued in today’s society.” At Elegant Image Studios we’d agree, since we’re fond of purple tones. After all it’s one of our brand colors, though Radiant Orchid is a more muted tone. Nonetheless we look forward to experimenting with Radiant Orchid in the new year along with its complementary hues.
The online world changes daily. What’s needed to find success today is vastly different than it was a year ago, let alone five or ten years ago. Options and challenges now abound and the internet just keeps growing – so to be found isn’t as easy as it once was. Sorry, but it’s the ugly truth. SEO has more options and challenges Google rules the roost when it comes to search, so most focus their efforts on it – and rightly so. Google’s recent and ongoing algorithm updates – intended to fight search spam, content mills, and nefarious black hat SEO techniques – has been brutal. Many sites felt the sting of these updates to some degree – even if they played by the rules. Moreover, while you’re dealing with the effects of Google’s algorithm updates, you have to do it without search term data. Since Google now encrypts all search, keywords are no longer available within Google Analytics. In essence you’re now flying blind when trying to determine what people searched on to find you. Not to mention you also have to include and navigate local search and mobile search and the world of social media as well. Social Media now favors paid promotion Social media allows near real-time communication among family, friends, and folks worldwide. You can quickly check the opinions or reviews of dozens, hundreds, or tens of thousands about anything. You can rant and vent online. You can watch events unfold from personal perspectives unfiltered by mass media. And best of all, it was focused on your interests – your friends, who you followed or liked. It was revolutionary. But shortly after the “big guns” offered their IPOs things started to change. It was inevitable. As venture capital is replaced by investor capital the focus changes from growing subscribers to growing revenue. And so social media has veered towards paid promotion. Algorithms now limit what you see on Facebook and reduce the reach of your posts – even among your friends and family –unless you pay to promote them. And it’s worse for companies and small businesses. Even Twitter now injects sponsored posts into your feed. It’s not going to get better. As each social media company nears or offers an IPO, it will gradually be forced to find a revenue stream – and this generally means advertising. And to pump up ad rates you have to ensure people “need” to advertise to be seen – so attenuating “reach” forces it. Content Marketing is drowning itself Content marketing is basically the term coined to cover any activity that generated “original content” with the purpose to grow your natural search listings or social media reach. Write a blog, create a video, make an infographic, or produce a podcast – it’s all content that’s probably marketing something. Content marketing worked until it didn’t. Well, it still works… it just takes a lot more effort. And the problem is that huge companies have popped up that generate humungous volumes of content – even after Google clamped down on content mills in their last updates. The difference here is that Buzzfeed.com, Mashable.com, Cracked.com, and similar companies all generate content that’s consumed, shared, and that tends to go viral. These companies “each” generate 10, 20, 30 posts per hour, flooding social media with them (via subscriptions and Likes and Shares). This translates into thousands of posts, videos, and/or infographics every single day flooding the world with content. And don’t forget, every other business is also being “advised” to create content too. So how is your business blog that posts once per week (if you’re lucky) suppose to be found and succeed? So what should you do today to compete? First, don’t try to compete with the Buzzfeed.com’s of the world. Focus instead on connecting with and resonating with your customers and prospects. Generate content that is relevant, interesting, and genuinely helpful to them. Don’t play the game of generating lists and aiming for quantity over quality. It’s a vicious downward spiral that generally doesn’t end well. If you’re only able to write a blog post or create a video or podcast once per week or once per month – that’s OK – provided it’s good content. Don’t just create something to get it done – spend the time to create something that your audience will enjoy. Second, if you’re creating content that’s focused on helping your customer or prospect, it should automatically align with what they’re searching for online. Not that this guarantees good natural listings – but it’s a good start. And the longer you continue and the more good quality content you create around related topics and key phrases, the better your results will be. It just might take time. Of course if you need faster results you can certainly invest in SEO services or budget for online ads. Third, as for social…again if your content is interesting, helpful, and focused your audience will likely share it or recommend it. But it also helps to make it easy for them to do so. Add sharing links/buttons to your content. And don’t be ashamed to ask… adding a line such as “if you enjoyed this post share it on Facebook or Twitter” can help. Make sure you’re also active and engaging on social too. Don’t just push out your own content – try to find other “helpful” information and share it too. Your audience will appreciate it and you’ll stay “connected” with them. And be ready to respond to questions or comments on whatever social channels you’re participating. Remember, social is about being social. And yes, if you need faster results and can afford to, you can also explore ads and promoting posts. What you shouldn’t do What you should avoid is the delusional concept that SEO, social media, and content marketing are easy and cheap. That may have been partly true when each was in its infancy and the early adopters found easy success. But things are
According to comScore, as of May 2012, smartphone ownership reached 110 million users. To put it another way, about 55% of all US mobile phone owners, are using a smartphone. And the trend isn’t going away. By mid 2013, I’ll safely predict the number will be nearly 75% if not higher. So how’s a higher percentage of smartphone ownership translate into 2013 being the year the web goes mobile? Isn’t it already mobile? I’ll answer the second question first. Yes, the web is mobile now. But it’s not generally optimized for it. While standard sites will usually work on phones and tablets – newer web technologies are making it easier for web designers and developers to create sites that work on computers and work even better in mobile environments. And while these tools existed during 2012 and are maturing rapidly – it takes time for both web designers and businesses to become comfortable with them. Not to mention, in 2012, not every business was ready to invest in retooling their website so it was mobile optimized. In 2013 companies will feel the pressure to truly embrace mobile As the economy continues it’s glacial “rebound” companies will again start to spend – including on web redesigns. The smart businesses will embrace mobile and all it’s devices and resolutions by adopting responsive web design. Responsive web design is the solution many have been looking for in the web design world. Instead of building multiple sites that correspond to each device (and their resolution) the site is designed so it’s adaptable to whatever device or screen size & depth it’s being viewed upon. Responsive web design isn’t perfect….and it has its detractors. But it’s our experience that it takes less time to design, develop, and deploy a responsive site then it does to create multiple site designs for various devices. And as the responsive frameworks improve and designers begin to better understand and adapt their thinking – the development process will exponentially improve too. If you’re a small business, think mobile in 2013 So if you’re a business that’s launching or redesigning a website in 2013 – make sure you’re focusing on mobile. More and more of your users will interact with you via their smartphones, tablets, or whatever is next. So make sure your site is ready for them or you’ll be left behind in 2013 – they year the web truly goes mobile.
One of the most frustrating things we encounter regularly is business owners that are unwilling or nervous to share their budgets. Sure, some may not know it, but others will guard it like the crown jewels – fearing if they reveal the budget that we’ll spend it all instantly. Well, of course we’ll spend your budget…. It’s called a budget for a reason – you’ve budgeted it for spending. So if you tell us what your budget is – of course we’re going to use it. Maybe not every last penny but we’re going to try to maximize results by spending most of it. But what we’re NOT going to do is take all your money and give you nothing in return. What we’re going to do is match the services and expenses to suit your budget while we achieve your objectives. You’re also not going to hand over all your money upfront – so you’ll be able to review the work and service you’re getting in return for your investment. If you’re unhappy – you can always stop. If some firm does ask you to hand over all your money upfront – you’re not hiring a marketing firm – you’re being held up – run away. Yes, you can tell us your budget – you’ll get a better result. Provided your budget is realistic – by sharing what it is – and discussing your objectives – your design or marketing firm (hopefully us) can tailor the projects and services to fit. We use to be more easy going about budget discussions with clients. We’d head back to the office after our meeting and brainstorm all sorts of things. Big ideas. Great ideas. Then we’d write up our proposal and arrange another meeting to review it. We’d go over all the great stuff we wanted to do and get buy-in and we’d all be excited – then they’d turn to the budget page…and say “we can’t afford that.” And then finally, they’d tell us what they could afford… but now they wanted everything we outlined – for far less. And we’d have to say, “we can’t afford that.” So now we insist on a budget figure. It can be ballpark. It can be a range. But we have to leave our initial consultation meeting with a number – otherwise we can’t do a proposal. We want to offer the best services and best options that are affordable under your budget. Sure we can think up all sorts of things – but if they can’t be paid for what’s the point. Wouldn’t you rather us use our creativity and experience to develop solutions that will accomplish your goals and that you can afford? So don’t be afraid to share your budget. Even if you hold a little bit back in the figure. It will make the whole experience and end result much, much better. If you’re hesitant because you’re getting an uneasy feeling about “them” then don’t hire those guys. You’re entering a relationship – so you’d better like and trust who you’re going to bed with – and if you’re not comfortable discussing money with them – that should be a big alarm bell. By sharing your budget and your goals – your new marketing / creative partner will be able to design a strategy and plan that’s doable. And their “plan” should include how you will be measuring success too – so you can determine if you want to continue paying them. But that’s a different post.
Elegant Image Studios would like to thank Alliance Fire Protection Services, Inc. in Loganville & Stuart & Johnston, LLC in Atlanta for letting us redesign their 2nd generation websites. This is their 2nd website for both companies with us. Our clients continue to come back to us time after time. We must be doing something right.
The old mantra that things on web pages had to be above the fold is an antiquated idea from the very early days of the web. When people didn’t know what the internet was or how to use a browser. Back then, yes, the “above the fold” idea mattered. But that was back in 1999 – today people know what a browser is and how to use it. This old newspaper term was adopted and refuses to die. Above the fold originates from the newspaper industry where positioning a story or graphic “above the fold” on the paper could increase readership. Since newspapers are displayed and sold flat – if the headline or photo was compelling it could increase sales. And of course, readers are more likely to read and be interested in things placed on the top half of the front page. So “above the fold” was born. When the web was young, and newcomers didn’t understand how a browser worked, monitors were small, and the world wide web was not ubiquitous – this idea was co-opted and applied to web design. Since screens were small, things seen within the boundary of the home page screen were “deemed” above the fold. So back in 1999, something visible within the 800 x 600 pixel dimensions of the home page was more likely to be seen, read, and clicked on. Similar to a “folded newspaper” if it appeared above the fold or in digital terms, within the visible area of the monitor, then it was golden. AOL also made this concept popular since its standard interface was constrained to 800×600 everything was “chopped up” to be contained and displayed within this area – to keep it visible. The result, articles spanned multiple pages, you clicked to the next page instead of scrolling to see more. But that was then… Repeat after me, above the fold doesn’t matter any more. Now breath a little bit. Relax. It’s ok. You’re not going to die. Your head isn’t going to explode. And visitors to your website aren’t going run screaming from their computers because they have to scroll. In fact, with the explosion of the big monitors and the mobile web with its small screens on smart phones, scrolling is almost a requirement in some instances. The fold has vanished. It has ceased to be. It is a dead issue. User testing, eye tracking, and click data dispels the fold myth Many studies of been conducted to test the validity of the “above the fold” hypothesis and they’ve all shown that today’s users do indeed scroll. The above the fold myth has been debunked. CX Partners, a user-centric design firm from the United Kingdom, does a lot of eye tracking research for their clients. And they’ve consistently found that the “fold” is no longer relevant. You can read about their “above the fold user testing” on their blog. But to paraphrase their results – often less content above the fold will encourage exploration beneath. And if the design tantalizes that more exists below – scrolling is almost guaranteed. In essence, if something bridges the fold people with scroll down to see more. Further, people now recognize that scroll bars on a browser indicate more content lies below and know that the scroll bar can also visually indicate the page length. Evaluation of click data also supports the notion that people do scroll. Milissa Tarquini writes for boxesandarrows.com about her experiences as an interface designer at AOL since 1995. Her article, “Blasting the Myth of the Fold” is a very good read and provides lots of anecdotal and real-world evidence to support the concept “the fold doesn’t matter” – but one of the interesting things she mentions is the click data for TMZ. She notes that the links at the bottom of TMZ’s super long pages are often the most clicked on – this indicates a willingness of the user to scroll long pages – if the content is compelling. Things above the fold should be important… If you’ve scrolled down this far, you’ve just read the above headline where I acknowledge that content above the fold should be important. But it’s a no brainer to proclaim interesting and important things should be placed at the top of the page. Really “above the fold” was an argument against scrolling and against longer content on pages. The mantra of “above the fold” was used to constrain design to an arbitrary and mostly imaginary screen dimension. But as research has demonstrated compelling content and visual cues that more content exists below have obliterated the old notion of “above the fold” in web design. Unfortunately the out dated idea simply refuses to die. But where is the fold? Again, back in the 90’s when most computer monitors were typically 15 inches, screen real estate was at a premium. But more so, it was fairly standard. Most people viewed a web page full screen and with “browser clutter” designers knew they had less than the 800×600 pixel dimensions to work with and designed for 640 x 480. But today, high resolution monitors are fairly standard and their pixel dimensions and aspect ratios vary wildly. Desktop monitors can span 20” to 30” or larger; you can connect your computer to huge LCD or Plasma televisions; and laptops come in all sizes and shapes with lots of different screen resolutions too. And need I mention smart phones and tablets? So the answer to “where is the fold” isn’t easy to answer today. The “fold” was usually defined as the bottom of the browser window…but if you open your browser on a 24” monitor it’s likely most web pages will fully display within that height – so there really isn’t any fold. Or if you open the same page on a smart phone…it’ll either resize the content to fit or you’ll need to scroll. So why cling to the old 800 x 600 dimension? By adhering to the “above the fold”
Elegant Image Studios is now offering mobile apps for lawyers, restaurants & bars. Contact us today for details.
WE’RE NOT FOR EVERYONE Like the Italian sports car, our websites are the finest in the world. So, naturally, they’re not for everyone. Some people don’t recognize unique quality, some recognize it but don’t want to pay for it and some just don’t care enough about the best website possible. But, our clients know the difference – that’s why our websites are Number One for businesses from New York to California! At Elegant Image Studios Web Design we believe in a credo that we have stood behind since we founded our firm – “Superior quality websites will attract superior quality clients.” Since we started, we’ve not been disappointed. That’s why we’re not everyone – but then, neither is a Ferrari! For choosing us to design and develop the very best websites, Thank You! We appreciate your good taste! Bob Hendrix CEO/Chief Web Architect
