How fast does your website load? If it’s not fast enough, you could be losing customers who get impatient waiting for your beautiful but complex site to load. To help figure out what’s slowing your site down, check out PageSpeed Insights from Google. Simply input your URL and PageSpeed Insights will scan your website and make suggestions on how to speed up your site by optimizing photos, adjusting HTML and more. PageSpeed will also prioritize the changes in order of importance so you can see results immediately by taking care of the high-priority changes first.
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Posts Tagged ‘Web Design’
Web.com Small Business Toolkit: PageSpeed Insights (Website Speed Analyzer)
March 28th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichThe Anatomy of an Effective B2B Landing Page
March 12th, 2013 :: Monika Jansen
One of the best ways to generate leads via your website is with landing pages. Landing pages are hidden pages (i.e., they’re not accessible via your site’s menu) that allow a visitor to download or access content – a demo, ebook, whitepaper, etc. – after they fill out a short form.
Whether you have a landing page or want to add one (or a few) to your site, here are the 4 elements you’ll need to incorporate on your page to make it as effective as possible:
1. Clear and visible messaging
The messaging and value proposition on your page should be written clearly and concisely and positioned front and center on your page.
- Include the value proposition in the headline
- List the benefits of acting on the offer
- If the offer was created by an industry expert, let the visitor know what makes that person so great
- Make it clear what the visitor will receive
2. Clean layout
Avoid the temptation to clutter the page with graphics, quotes, a laundry list of your products or services, or offers for other content.
- Keep design to a minimum – lots of white space is good
- Remove a menu or other navigation tools so the visitor stays on that page
- Make sure the download button is large and pops off the page
3. Short information-capture form
Decide what information you really need in order to 1) qualify the visitor as a lead, and 2) then contact them. There’s a big difference between must-have and nice-to-have, and the shorter your form, the easier it is for the visitor to access the offer.
- At the least, ask for name, company, job title and email
- To qualify them further, you could ask for location, company size, website and/or their biggest challenge in a certain area (a free form field)
- If an question is optional, make it clear
4. Thank you/access page
OK, so this is technically not part of the original landing page, but I wanted to include it. Once your visitor submits their information, take them to a new thank you page that has a similar look and feel to the landing page.
- Say thank you!
- Remind them what they’re getting
- Provide an access link to the offer, or let them know you just emailed access to them
- Provide links to other content or pages on your website where they can find more information on the subject
What else should a landing page include?
Image courtesy of the author
Google+ Etailers Rejoice: Ecommerce Spending Hits New Records
February 26th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
By Maria Valdez Haubrich
You know that ecommerce spending is growing—but did you know by just how much? In 2012, online shopping in the U.S. grew by 15 percent compared to 2011, reports comScore’s recently released full-year 2012 data. This was the strongest annual growth rate since back before the recession began. Overall, U.S. online shoppers spent $186.2 billion in 2012.
In the fourth quarter of 2012 alone (which includes the holiday shopping season), ecommerce sales grew by 14 percent year over year, reaching approximately $56.78 billion. ComScore had originally forecast a higher growth rate for 2012 ecommerce holiday sales, but last-minute consumer worries about the “fiscal cliff” appear to have had some effect on dampening online holiday sales just a bit.
Of course, the fourth-quarter sales are still nothing to complain about. Fourth-quarter 2012 was the first quarter ever that online sales hit $50 billion. It was also the thirteenth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year growth and the ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth.
What kinds of products contributed the most to the growth in ecommerce sales? The strongest areas (those where online sales increased by at least 15 percent year over year) were digital content and subscriptions, consumer electronics, toys and hobby-related items, apparel and accessories, and books and magazines. So while digital content still leads the way (not surprisingly), most major retail areas are well-represented.
Overall, the number of U.S. ecommerce buyers rose by 6 percent, showing that more consumers are more comfortable buying online. In addition, the average spending per buyer rose by 8 percent.
All told, U.S. online spending accounted for 10 percent of total U.S. retail spending last year (excluding spending on food, gas and automotive). That makes 2012 the first time that U.S. ecommerce spending has hit double digits.
While comScore hasn’t yet made a projection as to 2013 ecommerce spending, the report says that as long as the lower-than-expected fourth-quarter 2012 sales were just a temporary setback, rather than a foreshadowing of decreasing economic confidence among consumers, 2013 is highly likely to see strong growth as well.
Image by Flickr user SamahR (Creative Commons)
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Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Arqball Spin (360-Degree Photography)
February 4th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichTo improve your click-through rates, you need to improve the look and intrigue level of your website. Stunning, eye-pleasing photography is a must, and if the consumer wants to see products from all angles you can either take many shots or show the object in 360-degree photography. Arqball Spin is a 360-degree photography solution that works right from your phone or tablet. You place your object on a spinning table and then use the free Arqball Spin app to capture, edit and share an interactive 360-degree image. Bonus: 360-degree photos reduce returns by helping customers see the product from all angles before making a purchase.
Google+Luxury Marketing Goes Digital
February 4th, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky
By Rieva Lesonsky
Surveys have shown that luxury consumers spend more time and money online than the average consumer. No wonder, then, that marketers of luxury products and services are expanding their focus on digital marketing in 2013.
eMarketer recently reported the results of a study by Worldwide Business Research and ShopIgniter that polled more than 130 worldwide luxury marketing executives. Some 85 percent say they plan to increase their digital marketing spending in 2013. Of those, 72 percent are planning to spend more on social media, making social the biggest overall area of focus.
The most popular social media platform for luxury marketers is Facebook, where 95 percent of luxury marketers are actively engaging with their customers. Next most popular is Twitter, used by 85 percent; then come Pinterest (used by 60 percent) and YouTube (used by 59 percent).
In fact, Luxury marketers are more likely to engage with customers on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube than they are on ecommerce sites. However, more than half (52 percent) are connecting with customers on ecommerce sites as well.
Since luxury products tend to be highly visually focused, it’s perhaps not surprising that luxury marketers are using visual-focused social sites to reach out to customers and prospects. As mentioned, Pinterest and YouTube have high penetration, and even relative newcomer Instagram is used by 29 percent of luxury marketers.
Luxury marketers’ top content and product promotion tactics were posting images of products (81 percent), posting video (75 percent) and creating content about new product launches (60 percent).
One surprising area where luxury marketers are falling short is in their mobile presence. While the visual focus of luxury marketers could make it a challenge for them to translate their marketing efforts onto the smaller screen of smartphones, the crisp displays of tablets should be a natural for luxury marketing imagery. Still, just 35 percent of luxury marketers report using mobile apps, while a mere 26 percent say they currently use mobile commerce.
Another area of untapped opportunity for luxury marketers, according to the survey, is loyalty programs. Only 20 percent of companies currently use loyalty campaigns to reward customers.
Editor’s Note: Network Solutions offers an easy way to build a website for mobile devices in mere minutes: goMobi™, powered by dotMobi.
Image by Flickr user Mauro Cateb (Creative Commons)
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Who’s Got Smartphones and Apps? Gen Y
February 1st, 2013 :: Rieva Lesonsky
By Rieva Lesonsky
It may not be a surprise, but Gen Y is leading the way when it comes to adoption of smartphones and smartphone and tablet apps, eMarketer reports. A study by Forrester, cited in eMarketer, found that consumers aged 24 to 32 are the most likely to own smartphones. Ninety-seven percent of Gen Y consumers have a mobile phone, and 72 percent have smartphones, higher than any other age group.
Overall, 93 percent of Americans owned mobile phones; however, only 50% have smartphones. Gen Z (age 18-23) was the second most likely group to own a smartphone, at 64 percent, followed by Gen X at 61 percent. After that, smartphone use declines rather drastically, with just 39 percent of younger boomers (47-56) owning them, 28 percent of older boomers (57-67) owning them, and 16 percent of those over 68 owning them.
Gen Y consumers are also more likely than any other age group to use smartphone and tablet apps, a different study by Flurry found. (This study defined Gen Y as 25 to 34.) Of the Gen Y users surveyed, 33 percent used smartphone apps and 26 percent used tablet apps. The 35-to-54 age group was next most likely to use apps.
You might be surprised that Gen Y are bigger users of smartphones than the younger generations, but eMarketer notes this group is in the “sweet spot” in terms of being old enough that they can afford more expensive smartphones, but young enough to want them and know how to make the most of them. In fact, the biggest reason younger customers cited for not having a smartphone was that they couldn’t afford it, while the top reason cited by older consumers was that they didn’t think it was useful or necessary for their lives.
What do these stats mean to you?
- If your target market falls in the younger end of the spectrum, you’ll want to make sure your business website is mobile-friendly.
- You’ll also want to consider developing useful, relevant and/or fun apps for your business that encourage sharing with friends.
- Keep in mind that Gen Y is most likely to own iPhones, while in other age groups and overall, Samsung phones dominate.
- Finally, keep in mind that Gen Y’s smartphone-dependency isn’t going away. As these customers move into their prime buying years, they’ll rely on their devices even more—so be ready to grow with them.
Image by Flickr user milesopie (Creative Commons)
Google+Why Your Emails Must Be Mobile-Optimized
January 30th, 2013 :: Rieva LesonskyBy RIeva Lesonsky
Are your email marketing messages optimized for mobile? They’d better be. According to the latest Return Path global bi-annual mobile email report, 37 percent of U.S. respondents surveyed now open their email on mobile devices, compared with the 30 percent opening them through webmail in a browser. The percentage of emails opened on mobile devices has increased 300 percent since 2010 and shows no sign of slowing down, says the report. Here’s some more of what you need to know:
Platform matters: While Android mobile phones still dominate in the U.S., Apple device users are more likely to open and read email on a mobile device than any other group. Although Windows Mobile saw an 85 percent increase in email opens since April 2012, it still accounts for just 0.3 percent of total email opens on smartphones.
Industry variation: Certain industries’ emails are more likely to get opened on a mobile device than others. The retail (40 percent), consumer product (40 percent) and real estate (38 percent) industries lead the way.
Is it safe? The information being sent via email is also a concern. For example, banking-related emails were less likely to be opened on mobile devices due to security worries.
Desktops aren’t obsolete…yet: Users check email more often on a desktop than on a mobile device during the day. I’d surmise that’s probably because they are sitting in front of their computers at work, but as more workplaces incorporate tablets into the work day, the desktop is likely to become less and less dominant.
Mobile sitting still: It’s a myth that mobile purchasing is taking place out of home. Just 22 percent of mobile purchases take place on the go; 18 percent occur at work and more than half (51 percent) take place at home. Your customers are more likely to be opening that email in bed or on the couch than in the car, so keep that in mind when designing your message.
If you doubt optimizing email for mobile matters, keep these facts in mind: Return Path found that email marketing messages drive twice as many conversions as social media or search. In addition, the average order value is higher on mobile devices, whether tablet or smartphone. However, since even those who open their emails on mobile devices still make most of their purchases on the desktop, you need to make sure your emails are optimized for both platforms.
Image by Flickr user Brad Flickinger (Creative Commons)
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Web.com Small Business Toolkit: Clipix (Bookmarking Tool)
January 8th, 2013 :: Maria Valdez HaubrichBlack Friday online sales numbers prove ecommerce is alive and thriving, but why would consumers pick your website over a competitor’s? Clipix can help consumers remember your site and keep them coming back to shop again. For consumers, Clipix is a private bookmarking tool that lets consumers set Price Drop Alerts, an innovative feature that monitors real-time discounts on the items sold on your website. By adding the Clipix icon to your site, you’re encouraging shoppers to bookmark your page to their personal shopping lists. And if a Price Drop Alert is received, the customer is linked directly to your checkout page at no cost to you (the online retailer).
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