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Why you need a mobile website for your business
The following is a feature article from Jaaved Khatree, SEO Strategist at 123SEO.
In the last quarter of 2010, there were more smartphones sold than PCs, for the first time in history. In mid 2011, consumers were spending more time on smartphones and mobile devices than on their PCs.
There’s now more people accessing the Internet from more devices, from more places than ever before, and this is a big deal for business owners and retailers.
Why? Because 79% of smartphone users in Australia use their devices for online shopping but a vast majority of Australian retailers don’t have a smartphone-friendly website. So when your customers are visiting your website on their mobile device, it doesn’t look half as impressive as it does when viewing it on a PC.
It doesn’t make for a great visual experience (tiny text, very large images, Flash, etc) and couple this with the generally slower loading times on mobile networks, your potential customers start to fade away quickly – and all because your site wasn’t optimised for a mobile device.
But it’s a relatively easy problem to solve – all it takes is a bit of time and dedication to provide a complete user experience, no matter where or how your customer accesses your website.
The trick is to keep it very, very simple. From navigation to calls to action to information. This is not meant to be like your regular website with all the bells and whistles. Know what your customer wants when they visit your website and make this the centre of attention. For example, if you’re a removalist, you’ll want to make your ‘free quote’ button big and clear as well as your contact number. Your customer should be able to get information easily without scrolling or navigating too much. There’s no need for fancy imagery either as this just adds to the load time which we want to minimise at all costs.
The other trick is to make your site work with any mobile device, since the screen sizes vary significantly. A key is to use responsive CSS when styling up your website as the site will stretch/shrink based on the screen of the device it’s being viewed on.
If the desktop version of your site is Flash based, there’s no need to replicate that on your mobile site as Flash doesn’t render on the iPhone/iPad and also adds to page load times. Stick to HTML and keep it simple yet classy. If you’re wondering about SEO, it’s actually very easy to optimise for a mobile site. Using clear headings, dot points and concise paragraphs that succinctly provide information whist using your target keywords, you can easily dominate the mobile space.
Now while you’re working on your mobile friendly website, you might be considering an app. It’s generally a lot more affordable and easier to develop and maintain a mobile website than a mobile app. Of course, there are many instances where an app makes sense but it doesn’t remove the need for a mobile friendly website. With mobile set to explode in 2012 in every way from usage to Internet connectivity to commerce, a website that displays correctly on a mobile device is an absolute necessity.
Intelligent Copy – “Words on Your Website” or the Key to Successful Online Marketing?
There are three keys to online marketing success.
- Traffic to your website.
- Converting traffic into buyers.
- Maximizing lifetime customer value.
I’m going to focus on a specific part of numbers two and three: copywriting. If you want to convert readers into buyers and you want to maximize what a client or customer will spend with you, you MUST have the right copy on your website—and in all your online marketing.
What is copy? It’s the words on your website, in your brochures, and in everything that’s marketing what you sell.
Great copy IS NOT flowery language that makes you feel good about your company; great copy persuades as many readers as possible to take the next step in the online marketing process. Testing has proven that copy written by a professional copywriter sells more than ‘words on a page’ written by someone at the company.
I like to go one step further and include ‘direct response’ copywriting on all websites and in all online marketing—including emails written to persuade current clients and customers to buy again. Direct response copywriting uses a set of proven techniques to maximize response.
The six characteristics of direct response copy written to produce ROI.
- It’s a conversation between the seller and the buyer—and nobody else.
- Direct response copy sells benefits more aggressively than features.
- The copy includes a guarantee, an offer, testimonials, a P.S., and a good story.
- The offer is especially important.
- A strong headline that arouses strong interest and desire is vital. You have less than three seconds to get the reader’s interest or you lose the prospect.
- Direct response is readable and conversational and not academic or complicated.
If you want to write your own copy, start with a simple and proven formula: AIDA. This stands for:
Attention.
Interest.
Desire.
Action.
- Get the reader’s attention with a sensational headline, a superb offer, or the lure of a stunning revelation.
- Arouse their interest through empathy, a compelling story, or by promising a solution to a pressing problem.
- Arouse their desire through the benefits—and the offer, guarantee, and testimonials.
- Get action by…get this…telling them the reader to take the next step.
I’m constantly amazed by the number of websites that completely fail when it comes to the extremely simple step of directing the reader to take a specific action. If you want to take a simple step right now to improve your online marketing, go through everything in your arsenal and make sure there’s a call to action to stimulate response in everything.
If you look online, you’ll find well over 100 books written about copywriting—it’s a complex subject. Direct response copywriters are highly specialized professionals who can execute all the techniques necessary to generate a response in different media. And direct response copy is proven to improve response significantly—and quickly.
So you have a choice when it comes to your online marketing—and even your ‘offline’ marketing like direct mail. You can write the copy in house and put ‘any old thing’ on your site…or…you can maximize response by using direct response copywriting techniques (or hiring a direct response copywriter).
If you’re serious about your online marketing then you’re investing in driving traffic to your website through SEO, PPC, or even direct mail. It makes total sense that when visitors come to your website, you want to convert as many visitors/readers into buyers. This can happen when you have direct response copy on your website instead of ‘words on a page.’
How to Optimise Google Places Listings
Article by Zac Grace, SEO Strategist and link building team leader at Dejan SEO company.
Google Places is one of the main ways that consumers find businesses online. That is especially true for local based businesses as local search is always on the constant rise and has been for the past few years. Besides being indexed in Google search you need to cover as many verticals as possible and local search is one you should not miss at any cost, which is why we create Google Places listings in the first place.
Some websites still make the mistake of not creating simple Google Places listings, and just a simple listing like this can triple your visits from local search. Having a listing in Google Places is not enough, you need to tweak it a bit, in other words you need to optimise Google Places and this can be achieved in just 15-20 minutes.
Create a complete profile
Creating a complete profile is the most important part of the process. Many businesses already have listings, but their listings are usually incomplete and missing vital information. A complete profile will include pictures, videos, and accurate contact information such as email, phone, fax, website, and physical address. Always update the contact information because the listing is no good if people cannot reach you due to inaccurate information. Pinpoint the exact location of your business and do not include a service area because it negates your score and it is very vague and confusing for consumers because it does not tell them exactly where you are located. Google will actually give a higher rank to businesses that offer pictures, descriptions, and hours on their profiles. This also makes customers see your business as more credible and legitimate.
Get positive reviews
Reviews are another aspect of a high ranking and optimised profile because people like to know what they can expect from the business. The problem is that most people do not usually report positive experiences that they have had with businesses and instead only leave reviews and feedback when they have had some sort of problem.
If there are negative reviews on your page, then you can try to respond or resolve the issues, but otherwise you must displace the negative reviews by getting positive reviews to show up on the first page of your profile. Google does not allow businesses to coax people into leaving reviews by paying people or offering discounts to leave reviews and the like.
If they find out that you have been doing that they will pull your listing. However, there are some subtle ways you can request that people leave positive reviews. It is perfectly fine to ask website visitors or followers from other sites like Twitter and Facebook to leave positive reviews.
Use keywords
Use the right keywords in your profile so that your profile will rank higher and attract more views. Keywords are just the words used to describe your goods and services, but they are the exact terms that people put into search engines. It is a good idea to strategically place keywords throughout your profile, but do not try to use too many because Google will mark it as spam and possibly pull your listing. The key is to use the most powerful keywords 2-3 times within the profile.
Having a fully optimised Google Places profile will draw more traffic to your website and possibly to your business if done properly. Include all relevant information about your business, include pictures, and keep all of your contact information up to date and that alone will go a long way. Add some positive reviews and strategically placed keywords to get the best results.
How Scalable Is Your Business?
What is scalability and why should you care?
A scalable business is one in which revenue is able to grow faster than costs and other resources.
For example, where you can triple your revenues while only doubling costs.
Scalable businesses make great acquisition targets for VCs or trade buyers because of the upside leverage.
Many service businesses in particular are not scaleable. Every dollar in additional revenue adds linearly to expenses.
Some are even negatively scaleable – where each additional dollar in revenue introduces higher marginal costs, overheads etc.
Fixed Cost vs Marginal Costs
Many businesses have a fixed cost to keep the doors open, plus a marginal cost based on each additional widget shipped or service rendered.
In many industries, once these fixed costs have been met, marginal profit can be enormous. e.g.
- Putting 10 people in a seminar room costs $X. Adding another 10 only costs $0.1X
- Employing a team of staff at the carwash costs $Y. But each additional carwash through the door delivers 90% profit
- Building the software costs $Z. Each additional copy sold is almost all profit. The only cost is marketing and sales cost
Applying This In Your Marketing
Depending on your own cost structure, it’s worth considering how much you would spend to acquire one more customer or make one more sale. This “allowable cost of acquisiton” number is often far more than you would spend if you’re thinking in terms of “average profit margin” across all your client base.
We have a few clients who have, say, cost base $X and sales $1.2X. But, at the same time, every incremental client delivers high (70%+) marginal profit.
For these companies to scale rapidly, a mindset shift is required… they need to stop thinking of themselves as a “widget” company and start thinking of themselves as a marketing company.
Often this shift in thinking allows more budget and focus to be poured into client acquision and rapid scaling in a way that is not possible if you’re still thinking in terms of “average cost”.
Demise of the DoFollow Plugin
For some time I’ve been using the DoFollow plugin, which has the effect of passing link-juice through to blog commenters.
But owing to the increasing number of spammy comments I’ve been receiving of late, I’ve just de-activated it.
Your comments will of course continue to be displayed and I welcome comments that add to the conversation – they will just no longer pass link juice.
R.I.P. DoFollow.
‘Old school’ marketing resurgence
The great promise of online marketing is, you can sell to an unlimited number of customers wherever they are – simply by shifting electrons around the Internet.
Websites and emails and marketing automation are great. But there’s just one problem…
Humans didn’t evolve in a virtual world. We evolved roaming the plains, chasing down antelope and spearing mammoths.
No matter how convenient the virtual world is, humans still thirst for the tangible, physical world. Probably more so now than ever.
I’m not suggesting you turn your back on virtual marketing – far from it.
But what I AM suggesting, is by incorporating a “physical” dimension into your online lead generation, you’ll enjoy greatly improved results.
A few real-life examples:
1. One MR client sends out a physical “Shock And Awe” pack to each new prospect.
This is a 3-pound pack of DVDs, Special Reports, Sales Letters, Testimonials and other “goodies” that arrives in an Express Post envelope within 24 hours of enquiry. Somewhat harder to ignore than an email!
2. Another client in the finance sector has been quietly publishing a PRINT newsletter every two months.
It has proven to be an outstanding vehicle for driving repeat and referral business. And it gets read more and commented on more than the email equivalent.
A print newsletter becomes a sit-down-and-have-a-cuppa experience for the recipient. And as the sender, you’re not competing with hundreds of other messages in an overcrowded inbox.
3. Then there’s getting out and meeting people.
Several months ago we held a series of small-group events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. It was a great opportunity to deliver more in-depth content. Meet subscribers face to face. Get “live feedback” from the marketplace. And of course, it resulted in a lot of new client engagements and project work. All in all, a resounding success.
So there you have it…
The FASTEST way to transition a new prospect into a paying client, or build an iron cage around your existing customer base, is by incorporating a physical dimension into your online lead generation.
I’d be interested to know what your experiences have been with this.
Feel free to leave a comment below…
AdWords, steak knives and late-night TV
“Infomercials” exploded after 1984, when US government regulators lifted the 18-minute-per-hour cap on commercial TV content.
At first, TV networks didn’t know how to price these new 30 or 60-minute timeslots. Previously, they had simply closed stations down at night until the next morning. But the networks were happy because every dollar in new advertising was “found money”.
Advertisers liked it too. They quickly worked out how to sell via direct-response TV, and the advertising cost was next to nothing. Those in the know were predicting a new age of easy money and runaway business expansion.
Then, almost overnight, everything changed…
The TV stations started to realise they were undercharging. New advertisers arrived with their cheque books open. The price of media rose, fast.
Mediocre products and mediocre marketing folded and fewer advertisers starting making more of the wealth.
The Internet started out the same way – especially when Pay Per Click advertising started and clicks were 5 cents.
It was easy to make money, even with a terrible website and lame copy. “Early adopters” thought they had it made. But sure enough, over the last 5 or 6 years, we’ve seen the “Infomercial Effect” take over…
New competitors have arrived…
Click prices have risen by 800 to 1500 percent in many markets…
A few years ago 1 or 2 companies in each market were doing SEO… now there might be a dozen or more…
When I founded MR in 2003, I really thought the Internet was the “secret sauce” for making marketing more profitable.
I was wrong. That’s because…
ALL emerging media started out cheap.
Just like infomercials, the days of cheap traffic are over. To dominate your market online, you need to return to fundamental direct marketing principles:
- Make sure there’s a market for your product or service
- Craft a compelling USP that differentiates you from your competition in a meaningful way
- Track everything so you can do more of what works and less of what doesn’t
- Use proven direct response marketing principles to attract and keep customers
- Treat your web strategy like the important business unit it is
- Deliver what you promise
The good news is, most people in business today either don’t understand this, or they don’t have the team or infrastructure to make it happen.
That’s why I invite you to plug into our proven team and infrastructure for putting your online marketing and lead generation on autopilot – so you can generate more leads and sales with less marketing cost.
Do This And You’ll Win In ANY Market
There’s one number you should focus on, if you want to dominate your market online.
You’ll never see this number mentioned in any newspaper article or magazine.
Hardly anyone understands it…but those who do often lead their industries.
What is this number?
Average Visitor Value (AVV)
Average Visitor Value is simply how much each website visitor is worth to your business.
If you want to dominate your market, aim for the highest AVV in your industry.
When your Average Visitor Value is higher than anyone else, you can unleash what Jonathan Mizel dubbed “The Unlimited Traffic Technique”.
The Unlimited Traffic Technique goes something like this:
If a visitor is worth $2 to you, but only $1 to your competition, you can pay them $1.50 per visitor to send all their traffic to you, and you’ll both be better off!
Over time, website visitors gravitate toward the two or three companies with the highest Average Visitor Value because those companies can afford to…
..spend more on AdWords and other forms of advertising…
…outsource more work…
…invest in more content generation…
…generate more exposure and publicity…
Bottom line: whoever makes the most money per visitor…WINS.
9 Beliefs That Will Incinerate Your Website Results In 2011
- “I know I’m spending money on AdWords, but is conversion tracking really that important?”
- “I can’t see any point in us doing social media. I don’t even have a facebook account!”
- “I never click on Google ads… do they work?”
- “Hiring a company to manage my online marketing is too expensive… we’ll just get our admin person to do it.”
- “My neighbour’s cousin’s son is a really smart kid. He’s building my website.”
- “Everyone’s talking about iPhone apps. That’s where our online marketing budget is going for the next 6 months”
- “We already have top organic rankings, so that’s our website traffic sorted.”
- “We don’t really worry about getting more repeat orders… it’s all about customer acquisition.”
- “We’re pretty sorted for internet marketing. We’re already getting tonnes of opt-ins through this here squeeze page!”
Any more you’d like to add?
How Many People Have Paid You At Least $1?
How many people have paid you at least $1?
People who have paid you $1 or more are clients.
People who have paid you $0 are still prospects.
The first dollar is the hardest dollar to earn. It means crossing the threshold from “non-client” to “client”.
Once clients see what you can do and understand more of your capabilities, the chance of them giving you more dollars increases exponentially.
Yet in many typical lead generation scenarios, the contact database looks something like this:
Total number of suspects (e.g. newsletter subscribers): 5,000
Total number of prospects (e.g. past enquirers): 300
Total number of clients: 100
Now the value of each client may be high (say, $10,000). But nevertheless, the client:non-client ratio is also very high at 1:50.
In this scenario, the shortest path to growth is often what I call thickening the sales funnel.
In other words, implementing strategies to reduce your client:non-client ratio.
This simply means getting more people to pay you $1 or more.
A few options for doing this are:
- Publishing a book ($19 – $29)
- Publishing a CD or DVD ($19 – $99)
- Offering a ‘free plus shipping’ offer
- Holding low-cost webinars
- Holding events or seminars
- Group coaching or accountability mentoring
- Smaller or self-contained project types
As you do this, you start to thicken the middle section of your sales funnel, resulting in more clients who are further along the journey with you.
These “entry level” clients are far easier to convert into “full blown” clients than are cold prospects.
Yes, your new product offerings may supply some extra income too, but depending on how you price your services, the incremental income may pale into insignificance compared with the effect of shifting prospects from a “standing start” to a “rolling start” when it comes to fully engaging with you.
This may look like I’m talking about the “Product Ascension Model”, well-known in information marketing circles. In fact, this is the reverse (Is Descension a word?)
With Ascension, you give away a free report…
Then you sell a $19 ebook
Then you sell the $97 audio program
Then you sell the $497 full-day seminar
Then you sell the $10,000 year-long mentoring club
Then you offer the $30,000 “done-for-you” services.
With Descension, you start with full delivery, then drop down new offerings as “fish-hooks” laden with attractive bait, with the aim of luring more prospects up to higher levels of engagement with you.
We’ve recently been experimenting with Descension by offering paid webinars to our subscriber list. The first webinar was a great success and these will become part of our regular offerings in future.
We also have several online marketing events on the cards for next year, which will offer a lower price of entry and a new way to engage with us.
Will Swayne
Connect with me on twitter. I’m @willswayne!
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