Forty Five percent of people who viewed a home online did a walk through.  So the question then to ask is what about the information they found online made them want to see the house in person? Was it a great description? Probably not, though if it had features they looked for it was probably helpful. Chances are if these buyers are anything like everyone else on the internet for every other reason, it was some high quality pictures that represented the house and told it’s story.  So much information is thrown at us on a daily basis, especially through the web, that graphics and interaction are KING.  Youtube was just ranked the 3rd most used search engine, what does that tell you?

As a company that trys to stay on, and even in front of, the cutting edge that is technology and all things internet let me just say “don’t underestimate the power of quality pictures.”  As tempting as it is use the old digital point and shoot you take on vacation, statistically it is worth your time and money to get someone in there who knows how to shoot a house like Rockwell could paint the American Dream! “There are no shortcuts.”

In the event you are in the market for some great pictures to get your house moving follow this link: http://www.residential-photography.net/

Now these thoughts or tips are fairly general to most businesses although your business might need more specifics in one area or another.

Guiding Principles – Backbone to your web strategy

The guiding principles or backbone to your website strategy should be what determines how things are created, composed and delivered through your website.

Goals & Objectives

Know what your goals and objectives are for having your website.  This can be different for everyone but some of the commons ones are to increase sales, create brand awareness, inform your users about a specific topic, etc.

Know Your Audience

The more you can pinpoint your audience the better the chance you can provide them with exactly what they are looking for, when they are looking and how they are looking.

Brand Message

Does your brand have a specific message? I have found that many companies lose their voice when they create a web presence.  Bring your story to the web and have a clear idea as to what that is and how it is portrayed.

Three Focus Areas

There are three main areas to focus on to better improve your website.  Quality content, layout & design and search engine optimization are the main pilars to a solid web presence.

Quality Content

• honest quality non-marketing-lingo content
• a user should know what the site is about within seconds
• hierarchy of content should make sense
• users don’t read they scan
• be human and have a distinctive voice (ie:mailchimp.com)
• draw users deeper into the content in your website
• start with broad (brief) content and work towards focused (thorough) content

Layout & Design

• design should support the content
• visuals should appeal to the audience you are going after
• be consistent with layout elements (ie: navigation, header, footer, sidebar)
• focus users attention using color, text, technology, graphics (hold their hand and take them where you want them to go within your site
• should provide the qualified user with what they are seeking
• simplicity goes a long way – search engines reward fast loading pages
• don’t be afraid of whitespace

Search Engine Optimization

• make content linkable (would you link to the content you are providing?)
• well structured markup, please don’t use tables in your design.  It is down right dated.
• don’t buy into any service guarenteing first place in google for $99
• make sure you have SEO friendly URLs (ie: [BAD] http://www.yoursite.com/12398/?=342  -  [GOOD] http://www.yoursite.com/category-name/product-name-here/
• determine keywords & keyphrases that are relevant to your audience and offerings
• use those keywords & keyphrases in your body content, meta descriptions and titles in a way that reads like a human being
• TRACK! TRACK! TRACK! – Make sure you know what is working and tweak what isn’t

Resources

• Google search engine optimization starter guide  - download PDF
• Using Google for better SEO
• The Five Key Components to any successful web strategy

Wrap Up

There are so many things you can do to improve your website and reach more customers.  Knowing is half the battle, right?  Jump in there, spend time on it.  Your website is an organic thing.  It takes time, energy and some good ol’ TLC.

If you simply have too much on your plate running the other aspects of your business then you can hire copy writers, web designers and SEO consultants to take your website to where it needs to be.

These changes allow for more options within your Facebook Page.  Here are some examples of how we thought your Facebook Custom Page could be used for real estate.  - View the live example

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Custom welcome page using FBML

Facebook has it’s own language to build pages with.  These enable you to have a custom welcome, coupon, sales, etc. page as your primary Facebook page instead of your wall.

The nice thing about these pages, is it will allow you to further spread your message without broadcasting the information on your wall. (TIP: remember, social media is not broadcast advertising.  You must change your ways.) Your wall is where you are having conversations with your customers.

Meet your visitors where they currently are spending time.  This is great!  You don’t have to entice them to leave where they are and go to your website.  You can simply bring your message, products or services to them.

MLS Listings or Custom Searches Inside Facebook

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Bring your listings or custom searches right to your Facebook followers.  Make it easy for people to search and share from within your Facebook Page.

This content can be dynamically populated from your existing website.  No need to duplicate the efforts. We like to call this a mini-website within Facebook.  Cool right?

There are other services out there but none that are fully customizable and branded specifically for your company.

Track who is looking at your listings specifically within Facebook.

What else can these pages do?

Here are some other screenshots showing video, photos and contact forms. The possibilities are endless as to what you can build into these pages.

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Ready to get started with your cutting edge Facebook Page?

We offer custom solutions starting at just $100.  Give us a call to get rolling on your Facebook Fan Page.  828.423.0633

Working with Google Webmaster Tools

A great place to start your web strategy of improving the SEO results for your small to mid sized business is with Google Webmaster tools. This collection of free tools that Google provides could accurately be compared to a website mechanic that checks over your company’s Internet site on a daily basis. Google Webmaster Tools are capable of diagnosing many different problems with your site, including tracking down malware, broken links, and other types of problems. It will also disclose the search queries that point to your website pages and will even provide accurate click through statistical information. Besides this, the Webmaster Tools will evaluate the speed of your website to explain the reasons that it moves too slowly. All in all, this is a great help for improving your website.

Experimenting with Google Website Optimizer

Another tool that your small to medium sized business website can benefit from is Google Website Optimizer. This will actually allow you to play around with different website page versions. It will provide you with data to learn which concepts are the highest converting ones. Go to this program to engage in multivariate testing that is also known as A/B split testing. When you use this, you will be on the cutting edge, since this is extremely popular with SEO groups and firms these days.

Google Zeitgeist & Google Trends

These Google tools are useful for keyword research. With Google Zeitgeist, you are able to learn the most popular queries in the search engine. This can be of great help to you in planning your SEO web strategy. You can use these keywords and test them in varying key phrases using the Google Trends tool. Google Trends actually allow you to contrast the numbers of visitors inputting various search terms. You can use it to decide if a certain topic is becoming more or less popular. Both of these tools together can be a huge help to you in determining where to start with your business website’s SEO.

Google Traffic Estimator & Google Keyword Tool

A few other Google tools that you ought to utilize in 2011 are the Google Traffic Estimator and Google Keyword Tool. With the Traffic Estimator, you will be capable of learning the likely quantities of visitors that a certain keyword will lead to your website. To see this information from a different angle, you should use the Google Keyword Tool with it. Utilizing them both will allow you to determine if you are heading in the best direction with your chosen keywords.

Improving your SEO in 2011 could not be easier than with free Google tools. Thanks to tools like Google Website Optimizer, you do not need to pay someone to analyze the problems with your website. Using Google Zetigeist and Google Trends, along with Google Traffic Estimator and Google Keyword Tools, you can determine the best keywords for your SEO campaign. Instead of paying an outside company to optimize your website, you can now do it yourself in 2011.

What is Conversion Rate Optimization?

The more I talk with companies who are making an effort online to market their business the more I realize that most all of them are not doing conversion rate optimization.  Conversion rate optimization yields some of the highest ROI that you can do online.  Conversion Rate Optimization or CRO is the concept of creating an experience for a website visitor with the goal of converting the visitor into a customer.

Do The Math!

Let’s review a simple case to show how conversion rate optimization can be more than worth it to implement in many cases. Let’s start with grabbing some basic data.  How many visitors are coming to your website?  How many conversions are you getting?  (your conversion goals might not be sales. They might be sign-ups, emails, time spent on a page, etc.) Average sale per conversion.

Now we have the basic data to show how increasing your conversion rate can improve the bottom line.  Let’s turn to the CRO ROI calculator to do the math.

We have the total monthly visits of 10,000.  The monthly conversions who reach the goal of the “Thank You Page” of 600 and the average value for each conversion of $1,000.  The current conversion rate is 6% and by increasing that 2% would yield an additional $12,000 per month.  Wow!

OK So how do I increase my conversion rate?

Hold the phone there pal.  First we need to setup and track all of your data and get a good handle on what your current conversion rate is.  Once this is setup and tracking properly then comes the optimization part.  There are many tools out there both paid and free for running testing on your website.  The two most common are an A/B test and also a multivariate test.  Generally speaking if you need to test major game changers you would use an A/B test and once past that and more fine tuning you would turn to a multivariate testing. Google Website Optimizer tools along with Google Website Analytics provides excellent resources for digging into this information.

By continually testing things on your website in a manor that is appropriate and not haphazard you can capitalize on small increments of positive growth.

“You cannot improve one thing by 1000% but you can improve 1000 little things by 1%. ”
— Jan Carlzon

Have you asked yourself why web site marketing strategy is important?

The web site marketing strategy of a company provides the big picture that shows how all the specific online efforts are coordinated to reach the business objectives. It is through this web site marketing strategy process that the overall direction of the online efforts are set. This is based on the objectives, strengths and weaknesses of the business.

As the online trends and marketing avenues change, perhaps due to changes in technology or where customers are spending time on the web – it is important to come back and ask some fundamental questions to further develop your web site marketing strategy. Competitive actions change and companies need to review what is happening, prepare for any real or potential competitive manoeuvres and find new insights into ways to create value for customers.

Your missing customers who are looking for you!

Developing a web site marketing strategy is so important because you want to increase your opportunities to be in front of the people who are looking for your goods or services.  According to kgbanswers.com there are around 5.4 million Google searches each minute!  That is… well… a lot.

Having a well thought out web site marketing strategy based on analytical data and setup in a way that can be measured to better reach your overall objectives is the difference between connecting with customers and missing the boat all together.  By tracking all of your online efforts, such as your web site, email campaigns, social media and blog, you will save time and resources by not just “throwing the info out there and hoping for the best” and instead focus those efforts with laser beam accuracy.

Ok, point taken.  How do I start?

The best place to start is with the information right under your nose.  Take a look at who your existing customers are?  Learn as much from them as you can.  Where are they spending their time online?  Do they use social media and if so which ones?  Do they love getting eNewsletters or is it really aggravating to them?  Paint the picture of who these customers are and when you kick off your web site marketing strategy, talk to them. Chances are, they are listening. Take our free web site marketing strategy evaluation if you just want to get an idea as to where your website stands.

Make sure that you have the proper analytics in place so you can measure the outcomes of the strategy you are outlining.  Without tracking the data you don’t know how you are doing.

Here is our web site marketing strategy process that might be helpful for you to create your own or if you think it would be fun to work together we can help you create, define and measure your web site marketing strategy.

Google Webmaster Tools

This is a free service provided by Google to provide information to website owners about how Google views their website. You can see the top website search queries which produce traffic for your site, as well as the top keyword rankings which you have. You can also see how many back links each page on your site has, as well as which sites are linking to each page. Other features include uploading an XML sitemap, generating robots.txt files, removing URLs and finding broken URLs on your website. Google Webmaster has many tools in this toolbox so be sure to use all of them.

Google Analytics

This is a free analytics service provided by Google. Simply open an account and paste the tracking code on every page of your website and you’ll be able to see a wide range of information about your website visitors. For SEO purposes, you want to look at the ‘traffic by non-paid keywords’ report to see which keywords are producing traffic for your site. Setup conversion tracking and sort the list in descending order by keywords which are producing the highest number of conversions. Keep an eye on this report to find new keywords which are driving traffic and conversions which you weren’t aware of and then focus SEO efforts on them as well.

Google Trends

This is yet another free service by Google which shows the trends of particular keywords over time. You can compare the trends of multiple keywords against one another, with a specified country. As the process of ranking a website at the top of a search engine can take 12 months or more, you want to make sure that the trend of your target keyword is moving in an upwards direction.

Google Adwords Keyword Tool

The Google Adwords Keyword Tool provides keyword suggestions based on ‘descriptive words’ or ‘website content’. Although this tool is made to assist Google Adwords advertisers, you can use it to research SEO keywords as well, by selecting ‘Exact’ from the ‘Match Type’ drop down menu. The best thing about this tool is that you can see estimated traffic volumes for exact match phrases within any country where Google has a search engine. Google is the major player in the search engine game and they are giving you tools to better your search.

Google Adwords Traffic Estimator

This is a free tool provided by Google, which provides Adwords advertisers with an estimated cost of running a PPC campaign using specific keyword phrases. Use it like this: export the exact match keywords from the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, paste them into the Google Traffic Estimator, select the country you are optimising in, run the search and then sort the keywords in descending order by ‘estimated cost per day’. This is a great way of identifying the keywords which may have high traffic volumes but don’t convert very well, because those phrases which do not produce revenue for advertisers will have a low cost-per-click and an overall lower estimated cost per day as a result.

Microsoft AdCenter Labs

Predict a user’s age, gender, and other demographic information, based on their online behavior. This tool will use what queries they search online and what web sites they visit to determine the results. It lets businesses learn more about their customers while working on their web strategy.

Google Insights

Google Insights allows you to break down your search terms based on date, location and industry. This can help you to avoid using terms that are not as popular as others in your target area and really see where your target audience is geographically located.

Google Trends

If all you’re looking for is a basic search volume trend line and a few regional ideas, this is your tool. Google Trends will show you the keyword search volume trends on Google since 2004.

Compete

Compete is a good tool for analyzing the kind of traffic your competitors are getting. With a Pro account you can also get ideas about their visitor demographics. You can use this site to get general information about other sites that are similar to yours.

Alexa

Alexa is a useful resource for people to discover information about websites. You can use Alexa to discover how popular a site is, to find new sites, to learn who owns a site and a lot more. Whether you are a web professional trying to size up your online competition or you’re just trying to find the best website to buy a new TV, Alexa is for you.

SEMRush

Use this site to find out about the cost for specific keywords, find related keywords and learn what the search volume for specific words.  This will also tell you what the positions are of domains in the search engines.  Know who you are up against.

Trend Data – Pew Research Center

Frequently updated data showing the current demographics and participation of internet users.

Quantcast

Excellent tool for identifying some key demographics about your visitors for your web strategy.

American FactFinder

Decennial Census – taken every 10 years to collect information about the people and housing of the United States.  This is a great tool for local general information.

Spokeo

Spokeo is a search engine specialized in organizing people-related information from phone books, social networks, marketing lists, business sites, and other public sources. All data aggregated is derived from public sources.

1. Define your mission and ideal customer

Start by defining your reason for being and your unique marketing position. From there, ask “Who would benefit from this product/service?” After all, what good does it do to launch a new business or service  if there is no target market? Yet a good number of well meaning businesses venture on line with no real idea of who they are attempting to attract. Are potential customers mainly male? Female? College educated? High income earners? Moms? Sports fans? Geeks? Locals? What is the common denominator that determines your core customer? Create a persona that epitomizes your perfect customer and formulate your web presence in a way that would appeal to this key demographic. Identify what the pain points are for these customers or target markets and how your business can fulfill these needs.

2. Analyze the data

The beauty of the internet is the rich data mining available at your fingertips. Through the use of Google’s keyword research tool, analytics and insights, you can quickly gather a substantial amount of customer research that will either confirm your business strategy or provide clues and insights that will help you to adapt and revise. In addition to researching potential customers, be sure to drill down on the competition to see how they are positioning themselves. Are your business offerings unique and differentiated, or common place and redundant?

3. Build your foundation

At this point you have a firm grasp of your company’s reason for being, your ideal customer and your unique marketing position. Now you can begin building the actual infrastructure of your web strategy. Beginning with your web site as the central hub, design each element of your web strategy to lead, guide, capture and retain new prospects. Utilizing the data from step two, build a keyword rich site that appeals to your core customer, providing him or her with exactly what they want in the order that they want it. At this “beta” stage, be sure to test your site, colors and navigation by getting consumer feedback via testing services.

4. Implement the plan

Once you have a fully functional web site, begin adding additional and complimentary functionality through the use of customized blogs, Facebook and Twitter pages, customer e-newsletters, press releases and article marketing. Treat each of these components as “feeders” to your main web portal. Make sure they have a consistent look and feel to match your brand message. Look to optimize each of them with the phrases and keyword from your research in step two.

5. Monitor and refine

Use Google analytics and other tracking tools to determine which of your marketing methods are most effective. Continue to test, tweak and revise to respond to customer demands. Heat mapping is one example of observing exactly how a potential customer interacts with your web site. Evaluate and adjust links and navigation accordingly. Play with new offerings, free downloads, white papers, and other lead capture tools. Build your data base of loyal followers and contact them on a regular basis.

By investing time upfront on your overall web strategy, you can ensure that potential customers will find you, buy your products and recommend your services to like-minded buyers. Rather than a hit-and-miss approach to web marketing, you will have a well conceived, well executed strategy that will pay dividends for years to come.

Google Webmaster Tools – this is a free service provided by Google to provide information to website owners about how Google views their website. You can see the top website search queries which produce traffic for your site, as well as the top keyword rankings which you have. You can also see how many back links each page on your site has, as well as which sites are linking to each page. Other features include uploading an XML sitemap, generating robots.txt files, removing URLs and finding broken URLs on your website. Google Webmaster has many tools in this toolbox so be sure to use all of them.

Google Analytics – this is a free analytics service provided by Google. Simply open an account and paste the tracking code on every page of your website and you’ll be able to see a wide range of information about your website visitors. For SEO purposes, you want to look at the ‘traffic by non-paid keywords’ report to see which keywords are producing traffic for your site. Setup conversion tracking and sort the list in descending order by keywords which are producing the highest number of conversions. Keep an eye on this report to find new keywords which are driving traffic and conversions which you weren’t aware of and then focus SEO efforts on them as well.

Google Trends – this is yet another free service by Google which shows the trends of particular keywords over time. You can compare the trends of multiple keywords against one another, with a specified country. As the process of ranking a website at the top of a search engine can take 12 months or more, you want to make sure that the trend of your target keyword is moving in an upwards direction.

Google Adwords Keyword Tool – The Google Adwords Keyword Tool provides keyword suggestions based on ‘descriptive words’ or ‘website content’. Although this tool is made to assist Google Adwords advertisers, you can use it to research SEO keywords as well, by selecting ‘Exact’ from the ‘Match Type’ drop down menu. The best thing about this tool is that you can see estimated traffic volumes for exact match phrases within any country where Google has a search engine. Google is the major player in the search engine game and they are giving you tools to better your search.

Google Adwords Traffic Estimator – this is a free tool provided by Google, which provides Adwords advertisers with an estimated cost of running a PPC campaign using specific keyword phrases. Use it like this: export the exact match keywords from the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, paste them into the Google Traffic Estimator, select the country you are optimising in, run the search and then sort the keywords in descending order by ‘estimated cost per day’. This is a great way of identifying the keywords which may have high traffic volumes but don’t convert very well, because those phrases which do not produce revenue for advertisers will have a low cost-per-click and an overall lower estimated cost per day as a result.