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How does Local Search Work?

Local search simply involves users getting search results on service, products or whatever else they might be looking for in their specific locality. Every business owner would love to be in the know of what local SEO entails and what exactly makes Google, and other search engine algorithms, tick because a local search more often than not is a strong indication of buying intent. That said, here’s more useful information on how local SEO works.

The past of Local Search

Conventionally, there are generally two ways to scale up the SEO ranking mountain, local or otherwise, with the division generally torn between white and black hat techniques. The latter being the frowned-upon path encompassing SEO engine deception via keyword stuffing and other underhand strategies while the former involves playing by the rules and incorporating acceptable alternatives such as optimization of web pages.

While black hat SEO provided an edge to competitors in the past, internet watchdogs have moved to arrest the situation in a bid to level the playing. And that they have and continue to do so relentlessly.

The present

At the moment, local SEO prowess is crucially dependent on what others say about you aside from primary traditional sources of credibility. Previously, Google, Yahoo, and Bing would heavily influence website success but in the present-age other third-party sites such as Yelp and Facebook are also getting a share of that cake which emphasizes the importance of social media platforms to your cause.

To substantiate this, a recent study has brought to light the fact that people are thrice as likely to discover information outside your business’ website as opposed to on it. That figure astonishingly rises to ten for those in the hospitality industry. Moreover, the numbers also evidence the pivotal importance of local search indicating that 74% of netizens carry out local searches and that 61% of those who do end up buying whatever it is they were looking up.

What matters today?

Mobile friendliness is a big thing these days and can mean the difference between popping up on the very first page of a local search or being buried amongst the double-figures of SERPs where very few people, if any, ever venture.

Besides that, prominence, relevance, and distance are also dictating how local search engines work with relevance generally referring to related services or products within the niche and distance proving a ranking factor in how local searches are displayed e.g. from the nearest to the furthest one out. Meanwhile, prominence takes into account third-party reviews like Yelp which give an account of your business’ public perception.

This trio of aspects has heavily shaped how local search works presently and consequently holds the key to unlocking local SEO success.

The post How does Local Search Work? appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/how-does-local-search-work/

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The Simple Explanation of Marketing with Zoo Analogy

Here’s the simplest way to define marketing

If you’re on the verge of completing a Zoo and you’ve set a date for the opening ceremony, you write something on a billboard that says “Zoo Coming Soon” that’s advertising.

If you get a monkey to jump around the entire city, go to special places like parks, malls, train stations, etc wearing a t-shirt “Zoo coming soon” that’s promotion.

If the Monkey steals some banana at the mall and gets arrested by the police, and the video goes viral on YouTube or Instagram, that’s publicity.

If you get the Monkey to make people in the mall excited and to laugh, that’s public relations.

If the people troop into the Zoo’s opening ceremony, and you get them to see the monkey that stole the banana now wearing a police uniform and take them around to see other animals and they get to participate in other fun games and activities within the Zoo, spend a lot of money, that’s sales

If you planned the entire lineup of events from the very beginning, that’s marketing.

The post The Simple Explanation of Marketing with Zoo Analogy appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/the-simple-explanation-of-marketing-with-zoo-analogy/

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Free Marketing Materials Included with #SmallThanks from Google

Small and local businesses will have a lot to love regarding Google’s newest initiative, the #SmallThanks program.

What is Small Thanks?

#SmallThanks, developed by tech company Google, is a platform that gives businesses free marketing materials as a way for them to reach more customers on listings, review sites, and social media.

Some of these free materials include stickers, posters, social media images, window clings, and others. Most of the content will depend on the reviews businesses get within the Google platform.

How can you avail of the Small Thanks initiative? Easy. All you have to do is to pull up your business on Google’s listings within the MyGoogle Business platform and wait for the marketing material to be auto-generated based on the positive reviews of your customers.

In today’s online society, there’s no better marketing material than a positive review from a happy customer. People will often choose businesses that have great reviews on Google for what they need. Turning these positive reviews into a sort of “giving love back” can enhance your audience’s perception of your local business and lead to more sales and visits.

Google VP in Marketing Lisa Gevelber says that the #SmallThanks initiative is all about turning those “thank you” notes into something local companies can use to impact future customer decisions regarding their products, goods or services.

How To Get Started On #SmallThanks

Local businesses can get their #SmallThanks on by logging in their Google MyBusiness, then choosing from among the positive reviews within the platform. They can personalize the material further by enhancing it with a selection of layouts, styles, and colors according to the brand’s look or personality.

You can put up “Find Us On Google” stickers on your displays, registers, and other prominent places to encourage visitors to post great reviews. The #SmallThanks hashtag may also be used to spread the word on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for audiences to connect and engage with your business.

Did you know that more than 70 percent of people will check up on a business’ rating on the internet before making a buying decision? Reviews do matter, and small businesses can now harness their efforts and hard work via the Google #SmallThanks program.

Small Thanks by Google can help you make more marketing material sourced from positive reviews online, which can fuel your reach and allow you to gain more customers.

The post Free Marketing Materials Included with #SmallThanks from Google appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/free-marketing-materials-included-with-smallthanks-from-google/

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Your Customers Are On Google Maps… Are You?

Why Small Businesses Should Register On Google Maps

Did you know that Google Maps is the undisputed navigation app of today?

It’s true! In a recent survey, about two-thirds of all respondents say that they prefer Google Maps over other options. Statistics have further cemented Google’s dominance in the navigation market- about six times as much as Waze, the second most-used app.

The numbers don’t lie- Waze only has a 12 percent adoption rate, while third placer Apple Maps only has 11 and MapQuest comes in at 8 percent.

What does it mean for small and local businesses? Mobile navigation is an essential part of acquiring more customers. Therefore, getting on the Map (Google’s, that is) is a must-have if you want your business to grow and thrive.

Interestingly enough, the survey from The Manifest showed that the 511 smartphone users use at least 3 unique apps each day. 72 percent of the total respondents are female. In groups, 28 percent of them are aged 25 to 34 and the least are people aged 65 and up (5 percent).

How People Use Google Maps

Navigation apps are meant to show you the route you can take on a turn-by-turn basis to your destination. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that more than 70 percent of participants say that they use navigation apps mainly to get from Point A to Point B.

Broken down further, 36 percent say they look up the directions before climbing in their vehicles, while 30 percent say they open the app while en route. 30 percent of respondents mention they use maps before getting into and while driving on their cars.

How Do Others Use Navigation Apps Like Google Maps?

Navigational tools like Waze, Apple and Google’s popular map aren’t just exclusively for drivers. As it turns out, people also look up directions while walking, riding a bicycle or as they head to the nearest public transportation.

Per region, the Northeast tops out the list by having up to 24 percent of responders using the app for non-driving reasons. In the West and Midwest, about 12 percent of responders say they use navigation for other things, while the figure is only 8 percent for the South.

Why Should Small Businesses Take Notice?

It makes total sense to put yourself on Google Map. Not doing so is missing out on all the opportunities it can present.

For instance, you can make your business discoverable by others who are looking for what you’re selling, whether it be electronic goods, services, food and others. The more people can see you on the internet, the better it will be in terms of reach and exposure.

As you may know, the more customers you have the greater the profits and possibility of repeat customers. Moreover, there’s also the power of word of mouth advertising, which can single-handedly give you the momentum in terms of returns, profits and reach.

Registering your small business on Google Maps only takes a few steps:

Step 1.

Claim your business. Head to the Google My Business section and tap on “Get on Google”, then fill up the fields with the necessary business information.

Step 2.

Add some additional info if you’d like.

Step 3.

Verify and complete the process. Done!

Keep in mind that you will appear on Google Maps even if you don’t have a website.

The post Your Customers Are On Google Maps… Are You? appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/your-customers-are-on-google-maps-are-you/

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Improve Your PPC Strategies by Bidding on Competitors Keywords

Most businesses that have to do advertising also have to deal with competition from similar businesses. Many traditional media publishing platforms made it possible to separate your advertising in time (broadcast) and in physical space (print) from that of your competitors.

The search engines are very different from legacy media as most of your ads will be placed alongside those of the competition. For instance, when someone searches for a particular book, the ads will include listings from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and your local retail business. As such, you will all be competing for the same click, which makes things harder for everyone.

In the world of PPC advertising, bidding on competitor brand names can be a lucrative strategy. However, we at BlackStorm have learned that as easy and as enticing as it may be to take away a competitors traffic, it can create some problems with the quality score.

If you have ever tried to bid on someone’s brand name, then you know that Google will hit you with poor quality scores. Their logic is that someone searching for Walmart stores near me” would be interested in Walmart and not Target. As such, Target would get hit with poor quality scores for bidding on Walmart keywords.

Nonetheless, there may still be a few legitimate reasons to bid on your competition’s brand names. Maybe you just got into the market and need visibility or maybe you intend to capitalize on some confusion between your brand and that of the competition. Regardless of your reasons, you can target competitor brand keywords and manage to get decent quality scores and score some visitors. Here are some of the most effective ways to bid on the competition’s brand keywords:

Bid on Misspellings

If your competitor has an easily misspelled or a hard to spell brand, you need to gather all the possible keywords and place your bids. Most of the search engines do not understand misspellings and it may not be clear to them if you intend to find the real brand or something else. Once there is confusion, your ad has a higher probability of getting a decent score and being listed.

For instance: If a searcher were to type in “esurance” while looking for the auto insurance company but ended up typing “ensurance”, the company still shows up on the search engine as the number one ad.

However, the second advert is awkward and is probably the result of dynamic keyword insertion. Still, it has used the searched keyword twice and this has made the search engines bold these out, making them stand out from the others. They are also using more site links as compared to the other advertisers. You would have to read the ad carefully to know that it has nothing to do with the company Esurance. However, most users will simply click the bolded result and visit the site rather than the website they intended to.

Bid on Cancel Keywords

This is one of those tips that could completely revolutionize your PPC competitor keyword strategies.

I do not believe you can find a better way of targeting disgruntled clients of the competition than by bidding on keywords they are likely to use when they intend to cancel their subscriptions.

This is not only smart but is also very effective at ensuring that you never get hit with the poor quality scores that you are likely to get when bidding on competitor keywords. For instance:

Most competitor keywords will get you quality scores no higher than 2, which the search engines are highly unlikely to list on the search results.

However, cancel keywords are a different kettle of fish:

You can get have your scores jump from as low as 2 to something between 4-5 and in some instances even 10. What is even better, cancel keywords tend to get above average click-through rates and drive leads.

If you are in the contractual or service industry taking advantage of cancel keyword can significantly improve your strategies.

Employ All the Weapons Available

At Blackstorm we always say that you are never going to be better than your competition if you do not have great ad copy. The best way of doing this is to provide reasons for the searcher to choose you and to always have a better offer. There are many advertisers that have won the battle for clicks by offering super deals and exclusive offers not found anywhere else.

Writing creative ad copy will also go a long way in improving your click-through rates. For instance, in the example below, Olive Garden gets really creative when targeting the keyword Applebee’s.

They have been so clever that Bing ads gave them annotations on the search engine results showing that they have had 100k visitors in the last month and that they have 205,900 twitter followers.

While it is impossible to control ad notations, ad extensions can be controlled. With good ad extensions, your ad will stand out more on the results. Still, you will have to get your ad to the top of the page before the search engines will show your ad extensions. But, having them show on the results can be a game changer.

Take for instance a search “Adgooroo” a search intelligence tool.

Adgooroo has neglected to bid on their brand and Spyfu has jumped in to bid on it. With their Google+ extensions and callout extension, their ad stands out on the page and they must be getting clicks. You could also use location and call extension on competitor ads. Imagine if the searcher learns that the competitor is a better fit for their needs than the company they were searching for.

Always do anything in your power to give the searcher a reason to click or call your business rather than that of a competitor. All being said, competitor campaigns can a solid source of high converting leads, sales or quality traffic.

The post Improve Your PPC Strategies by Bidding on Competitors Keywords appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/improve-your-ppc-strategies-by-bidding-on-competitors-keywords/

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The Types Of Content That Really Works With Your PPC Campaigns

What Type Of Info Really Sells Your PPC Audience?

When you’re considering a PPC campaign for your business, there are various things you must consider. And that includes knowing who your audiences are, their importance and segmentation. But that said, you have to carefully select the type of information you provide to ensure your campaign’s success. This is really important especially if you’re a B2C eCommerce advertiser. Remember you have to stand out to maintain them. But how? We got a few tips for you. Read on!

Customized Attention

With the growth of the internet and advancement in technology, it’s very easy to want to automate your services. But by all means, don’t. Adding a little bit of personalized attention to each of your clients gives them a sense of belonging. It makes them feel you care. This could be anything from free consultation services for the first purchases, a specialist guide every so often, face to face appointments with the sales team, etc.

Easy Accessibility To Price Quotes

The reason as to why a client clicks on your website is because they are interested in what you offer and would probably want to make a purchase. But they can’t go ahead with it if they aren’t sure of how much it will cost them. And that’s why you should always offer a solution for them; providing a price quote calculation sheet on your page. This will be so convenient given that same products together with their various add-ons can cost a little bit differently depending on what the customer wants. Give them the liberty to decide what they want to be included and they will forever be indebted to you.

Provide A Comparison Chart With Your Competitors

This will be mainly effective if only you are the market leader in your segment. It not only gives you the confidence to step forward but also acts as a source of credibility to both your present and potential customers. Who wouldn’t want to be associated with the most sought product with unique qualities and components?

If you choose this way, however, ensure to attractively parade it on your landing page, with as much creativity as possible. You have to convince your audience to choose you over others and that isn’t an easy task.

Free Trials

Anything that’s free has always been attractive. Take advantage of that fact and use it to lure audiences to your product or service. You can, for instance, start with a free sample for the first purchase as a way of converting prospects into potential leads and hopefully long term clients. It’s literally hard to resist spending on a particularly good product/service once you have experienced it.

Valuable Details

People will always stick around where they find valuable information that they can use to improve their lives. So if nothing else seems to work well for you, try your campaign from this angle. You can start by providing a PDF guide or eBook concerning specific consumer-related issues and how they can be solved. There’s no better way to make more sales than avoiding to be too salesy!

There you have it! What else has worked for you? Feel free to share with us in the comment section below!

The post The Types Of Content That Really Works With Your PPC Campaigns appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/the-types-of-content-that-really-works-with-your-ppc-campaigns/

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6 Things You Could Be Doing Wrong in Your PPC Campaign

Having problems with your PPC campaign?

Everyone, including PPC pros, entrepreneurs, businesses and startups experience failure one way or the other. Sometimes, the execution just isn’t there. Or maybe you’ve put all your broad match keywords in one campaign.

Plus, you could be making any of these 8 mistakes, listed below:

No Solid Goal Or Strategy

The first thing you need to do is establish a clear goal, a vital part of any marketing campaign. Getting ads on Google is, unfortunately, not enough to set the tone. Plan for a specific goal or strategy and base your PPC around it.

You Don’t Track Conversions

Having a conversion tracking system turns your ad campaign into autopilot mode. Without it, you’ll be flying in blind not knowing whether you’ve hit your metrics or not. The bottom line? Adding tracking codes is relatively simple, but clients and businesses often fail to see their value or importance.

Loose Campaign Structure

Keep the ad campaign tight and close up any and all loose ends. A classic example of a poor structure includes having too many broad matches under one roof, or not matching brand PPCs with brand keywords.

A good PPC manager will take a look at the campaign structure and shore up any weaknesses. Not doing so is a precursor to low, unsatisfactory results.

Unattractive Landing Page

Your campaign may have a killer ad copy, the right keywords, and a good overall structure, but do you have an equally compelling landing page?

Landing pages are like storefronts that attract your customers. A well-maintained, organized and compelling one brings in visitors, which increase the chances of a sale.

Your Ad Copy is Mediocre

Invest in creating a good ad copy as it’s instrumental to your success. An attractive landing page, sound campaign structure, and ad copies form the triumvirate of any PPC campaign.

What makes an ad copy great? It must be able to tell the users what you want them to do and the benefits of them doing it. Moreover, it must be done with a few characters or fillers as possible.

Passive Campaign Management

Many businesses think that PPC is a passive marketing campaign, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Setting it up is just the first step in the ad process. Managers who know better will fine-tune the PPC’s details, optimizing ad copies, keywords, bids while keeping an eye on the important metrics.

Don’t hand the project to a junior-level marketing staff; instead, hire an experienced manager who will know how to run the ad campaign from start to finish.

Why Am I Still Failing?

Despite all your best intentions, your PPC can still fail. The truth is, even the best ad campaigns can still go down the drain. What you can do is constantly monitor the data and try to troubleshoot the problem.

Is PPC Right For Your Business?

So you may have tried a couple of ad campaigns, but none of them are meeting the goals. You’ve tried everything, but the numbers aren’t favorable. What then?

Truth is, there’s a slim chance that PPC isn’t a right fit for your particular campaign, industry or business. But before you wave the white flag, exhaust all available options and make sure you have a good ad copy, landing page and structure.

The post 6 Things You Could Be Doing Wrong in Your PPC Campaign appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/6-things-you-could-be-doing-wrong-in-your-ppc-campaign/

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Pros and Cons of Using PPC Advertising as a Marketing Strategy

With technology here with us, marketing your brand is made easier. Apart from traditional methods of advertising, there are new and emerging advertising tools that have seen small businesses grow exponentially. One of the most popular advertising methods used by both small and big businesses currently is PPC advertising. PPC stands for pay-per-click advertising, and while more and more business owners are drawn to it, there are challenges that come with it. Here are some of the benefits that come with PPC advertising, as well as some of the challenges you may face while using it as a marketing strategy.

1. Leverage on Data Received

One of the most important benefits of PPC advertising is its ability to gather vast and unlimited data on a brand. With PPC advertising, you get access to real time data showing your performance on online platforms. With this unlimited information, a prudent business owner can be able to consider a marketing strategy that exposes their brand more and cut out those that do not seem to work. The data you receive can also be useful in knowing what to optimise on your website in terms of content. With good SEO, you can increase your search engine visibility and rank higher on platforms such as Google.

2. Benefits for Niche-Specific Businesses

Another benefit of PPC advertising is that it allows a business owner to redirect their marketing strategy towards a specialised niche. With the data you receive from your advertising, you can tailor your website content and campaigns towards a preferred target audience, this may not be easily done with traditional advertising methods such as billboards or print media. It is also easier to find out who exactly consumes your content based on the number of clicks on the ads that you put out. This way, you can monetise your business accordingly.

3. Real Time Results

One of the reasons why PPC advertising has gained traction in the recent past is because of its ability to provide almost instant results for whoever is looking for metrics to benefit their business. For example, with Google AdWords, you can easily put up and ad and get the metrics you require the next day. It is also easy to come up with a campaign strategy and set up ads instantly. This not only saves your business time but also money spent waiting for a traditional advertiser to do an ad for you.

With all the pros that come with PPC advertising, the reality is that it is not all that glamorous. While the pros certainly outweigh the cons, it is advisable that any business owner pay attention to the following challenges so as to come up with better strategies for marketing using PPC advertising.

1. Data Might Be Overwhelming

For a small business owner, one of the challenges you may experience is sieving through the data you receive through PPC advertising to retain only that which is necessary. While a lot of data is beneficial for your brand in terms of strategy, you might end up with data which is not useful. This is where the help of a professional comes in handy to assist you in finding use in all the data you accumulate.

2. Extra Work

To be able to hack PPC advertising as a business owner, you have to have knowledge in marketing, content creation as well as data analysis. To be an all-round marketer is not easy, and most business owners trust their PPC advertising with reliable professionals who are a one-stop shop to handle these aspects of marketing.

3. Keeping Abreast with Changes in Digital Advertising

For most business owners, staying ahead of the curve is not an easy thing to do. The digital marketing space is mot an easy one to navigate. However, you can put in extra work by keeping abreast with updates and best practices in PPC advertising. For example, google AdWords has daily updates, which means you have to stay on top of your game at all times.

With PPC advertising, it is easy to see returns but all this comes with a price. However, for any dedicated business owner, developing workable strategies can make PPC advertising work to your advantage. Working with professional advertising agencies is also crucial if you need a helping hand.

The post Pros and Cons of Using PPC Advertising as a Marketing Strategy appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/pros-and-cons-of-using-ppc-advertising-as-a-marketing-strategy/

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Top 7 Benefits of PPC Advertising for Small Businesses

Building a business from scratch can be a difficult and challenging thing to do, especially if you are just starting out. Whether you are a pro or not, the good news is that with a few marketing strategies, you can be able to turn your business into something big. One of the many strategies you can use is pay-per-click advertising. Also commonly referred to as PPC advertising, this can be a good option for any small business. Here are 7 top benefits for anyone looking to use PPC advertising for their business.

1. Increase Traffic to Your Website

One of the main advantages of PPC advertising is that it increases the amount of traffic to your website and related pages. If you strategically have the paid advertisement on the first page of a search engine such as Google, this could be all you need to increase your online visibility in no time.

2. Boost Your Sales

With increased visibility, thanks to paid advertisements, you can be able to translate the views you get into a customer base. If you offer quality products or services, chances are that your audience will buy from you and spread the news to others looking for the same products or services.

3. Monitor Your Advertising Expenses

With PPC advertising, any small business owner can be able to control their expenditure when it comes to advertising costs. Because PPC advertising allows you to pay for your advertising costs as you go along, you do not have to pay for those adverts that are underperforming. The good news is that you can always change your campaign strategy along the way and incur no losses.

4. Pay Only After Clicks

Another benefit of using PPC advertising is that you do not have to worry about keyword bidding wars. All you have to do is wait and pay after someone clicks on an ad on your website. This is cost-effective in the long-term.

5. Monitor Ad Performance More Efficiently

For most business owners, monitoring ad performance is difficult with traditional advertising. However, with PPC advertising, you can rest easy and monitor how your advertisements are performing in real-time. With he real time data that you get, you can proceed with a specific ad strategy or shift to one that markets your business better.

6. Enhance Your Brand Recognition

One of the best ways of enhancing your brand recognition is by remarketing your brand over and over again. For most small business owners, this is as easy as remarketing their brand using their PPC advertising. It is not only effective as the brand will stay in the mind of a potential customer, but this strategy is also cost-effective.

7. Ease of Use

Unlike certain traditional methods of advertising, PPC is effective in that it is easy to create and use. The fact that you can easily come up with one yourself also makes it a plus for small businesses.

If you want to try out PPC advertising for your own business, working with a professional marketing agency can work wonders for your business.

The post Top 7 Benefits of PPC Advertising for Small Businesses appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/top-7-benefits-of-ppc-advertising-for-small-businesses/

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What is Outbound vs Inbound Marketing?

If you are looking to expand your client base, then you must be assessing the effectiveness of different marketing strategies. But how well do you understand modern-day marketing? Can you distinguish between inbound marketing and outbound marketing? If you can’t, then we invite you to continue reading this post as it explains everything you need to know in this post.

What Is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound marketing is the process in which marketers and influencers campaign for products or services to presumably potential customers, regardless of whether the “customers” are interested in the campaigns or not. In this case, a marketer pushes a brand outwardly by creating adverts that he/she hopes has the potential to generate new business leads and attract customers.

Examples of outbound marketing include TV/radio commercials, digital adverts on websites, paid social media ads, cold calls, and the print media- flyers, newspapers, and magazines. In all these platforms, the marketer buys the attention of prospective clients and doesn’t necessarily get it.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

In this marketing technique, a marketer draws the attention of prospective customers who are actually in need of a given product or service. Unlike in outbound marketing where a brand pushes itself onto an audience, inbound marketing has customers searching for and finding a brand that they feel will best serve their interests.

Examples of inbound marketing include SEO, blogging, opt-in email marketing, social media, and content marketing. Here, attention isn’t bought; the marketer earns the attention of prospective customers by using creative, informative, and high-quality online content.

Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing: Other Key Differences.

From the definitions above, it would be clear to many that inbound marketing is more contemporary and effective than outbound marketing. But if you are a business owner or manager- or a newbie marketer for that matter, you need to understand this topic a little bit better. So, what are the key differences between inbound and outbound marketing?

Campaign platforms.

In inbound marketing, you use the campaign platforms that you own and can control. These include your Facebook or Instagram page, your business website or a personal blog, and your YouTube channel.

In outbound marketing, on the other hand, you don’t necessarily own or control the media platforms you campaign on. You have to pay a second party- newspapers, magazines, billboard companies, etc.- to carry your content yet you have no control over how it is published.

If you rely on spam emails and cold calls, technology has made it possible for people to block unwanted calls and messages.

Ability to turn customers to promoters.

After charming new and existing customers with your creative inbound techniques and then delivering quality products and services, the chances of turning those customers into volunteer brand promoters are very high. Think of a well-edited and informative YouTube video, for example; satisfied customers will readily recommend it to their friends. In addition, Facebook and Twitter posts are easily sharable on social media.

The same cannot be said about outbound marketing: After all, not many people like ads by the way. Pushing unwanted sales onto people may get you a few conversions here and there but that would probably be the end of those customers’ engagement with your brand. Even worse, outbound marketing gives clients very limited feedback options.

Value for money.

Inbound marketing means that you only reach out to audiences who really need your services. These are people who will convert to loyal customers at the drop of a hat.

Outbound marketing means spending money on campaigns that may or may not generate any new business leads. You might spend too much and get extremely low yields.

According to recent reports by CRM Daily, inbound marketing generates more than 3000 percent of the leads that outbound marketing techniques make.

ROI tracking.

If you use several outbound techniques and then make some new leads, you won’t be able to tell which techniques worked and which ones failed. You cannot really track how good or bad your returns on investments are.

Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is easy to track how well a strategy is doing and how competitive it is amongst other techniques. You, therefore, can opt to only invest in the techniques that bring you significant returns.

And, unsurprisingly, businesses who use inbound marketing report over 25 percent growth in their marketing ROI.

Leveraging the Benefits of Inbound Marketing through SEO Marketing

Modern customers search for services and products online, mostly on Google. They find their preferred content by searching for relevant keywords on Google or any other search engine. If customers are to find your products or services, therefore, your online content needs to optimize the most relevant keywords in your niche. That is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in.

SEO marketing makes it easy for prospective clients to find you after searching for keywords that are relevant to your niche/content. Setting up Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaigns on Google AdWords is one of the SEO techniques that will make your content highly visible on Google. You can always turn to WordStream’s Keyword Grouping Tool for help in setting up Google Adword campaigns for different keywords.

Another key technique is publishing comprehensive and quality content on your website at all times. The content needs to be long enough to answer all the questions that your potential online visitors could have, but not too long to bore or exhaust the reader. It should be consistently compelling in order to keep the reader hooked. Remember that if the reader can’t find quality on your website, he or she will find it from your competitors.

The Bottom line

The more the content you publish, the more the keywords your website will have, and the higher it will rank on Google.

The post What is Outbound vs Inbound Marketing? appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/what-is-outbound-vs-inbound-marketing/

[blackstormdesignus]

How To Make Your Blog Posts More Captivating 

Curiosity… Makes The Blog

Do you want to draw a lot of attention to your blog post but don’t know how to do it? Then you’re not alone; many people don’t… But what they don’t know is that the answer lies in creating curiosity.

Yes, you heard it right. Humans have always been curiosity beings. They live each minute wanting to know what will happen next. And it’s evident from the TV shows, books, movies, and other creative materials as none can be successful without it.

So do you want to learn how to maximize on it to bring success to your blog? If yes, then you’re at the right place. We are going to show you how to use it to increase your traffic, witness more conversion rates and increase those email subscriptions.

Let’s get started!

Create An Information Gap

When creating content for your blog, ensure you come up with an information gap that will trigger their curiosity. This is a very effective way as explained in the Information Gap Theory by George Loewenstein, a professor at Carnegie Melon University. But how?

The answer is simple; you should ensure your posts attract attention. And once they do, keep it and continue growing it.

So once you get that perfect headline and have used the correct images to grab attention, you must combine it with curiosity to keep people coming back for more.

The first sentences of your blog post play a vital role in this. This is because once readers read through the first few lines, they will know whether they want to read to the end or not. And that’s where you should maximize on curiosity.

Don’t provide all the useful information all at once. But rather break it down and spread it throughout your article.

Writing A Curiosity Filled Blog Post

Coming up with curiosity is not as simple as it sounds. It can be frustrating especially for beginners. But once you understand the formula, you will never look back. Here’s one of the simplest one that works for us;

(Fresh, intriguing and Fantastic Thing) + (Anticipated Outcome) = A curiosity filled audience

Feeling confused? Let’s break it down for you with a few example templates

Would you like to learn about (intriguing thing) and enjoy (anticipated outcome)?

Are you wondering how you can achieve (anticipated outcome) with the help of ( fresh thing)?

If you want (anticipated outcome) with this amazing ( fantastic thing)

And much more.

You see, it isn’t as difficult as you thought!

We hope you found the above information useful to help turn your blog posts into curiosity filled success stories. If it did, feel free to share your experience in the comment section below. We are looking forward to your feedback! Keep them coming!

The post How To Make Your Blog Posts More Captivating  appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/how-to-make-your-blog-posts-more-captivating/

[blackstormdesignus]

Fix These Common Landing Page Problems & You’ll Make More $$$

Fix these Common Landing Page Problems and Have Higher Conversion Rates With Your Traffic

Do you want to increase the traffic to your site and are considering using pay per click ads? Is it your desire to foster a productive landing page that will guarantee you an overwhelming user conversion rate? Look no further. We are here to show you some of the common landing page problems you should avoid at all cost. Read on!

Before we get into details, here is an overview of what we are going to cover;

Sluggish Page Loading Speed

Poor Quality Writings

Long Lead Generation Template

Unattractive Typography

Complicated Page Layout

Lack Of Mobile Phones Optimization

Having Several Call-To-Actions

Avoiding The Use Of Images or Using Outdated/poor-quality ones

Let’s now get into the details

Sluggish Page Loading Speed

No one wants to waste their precious time waiting for a page to load for information they can also get on other sites. Actually, according to recent studies, 40% of online visitors can only wait for at most 3seconds for a page to load. And one single second of page loading delay can lead you to lose up to 7% of your daily conversions. So ensure that your landing page loads at a super fast speed. And this should also apply to other pages of your website as they all should complement each other. To achieve this, get rid of all heavy-loading features.

Poor Quality Writing

This is one area of your website that you should prioritize flawlessness. The grammar, spellings, punctuation, etc, should all be impeccable. Also, be precise, brief and avoid the use of jargon. Use short sentences, numbering, bullet points, etc. Anything that makes readability easy and fast is welcome. Your reader should be able to know what you expect them to do within the first few seconds.

Long Lead Generation Template

Ensure your landing page offer is luring enough such that your visitors cannot dare resist it. Just ask for a few personal information such as their email and name to aid you to send it to them. If you come off as too invading, you will scare a lot of people away.

Unattractive Typography

It will be useless to write an impressive copy but have it not read because of your poor choice of typography. Take time to carefully choose your landing page’s colors, fonts, sizes, and layout carefully. Double-check if you must ensure your visitors can easily run their eyes through tour content and get the message.

Don’t use small and light fonts for your writing. Also, avoid matching its color or making it too similar to that of your background. Create an excellent piece of contrast when it comes to images.

Complicated Page Layout

It’s a common rule that no matter how advanced you feel internet users are, they still prefer reading stuff from left to right and top to bottom. So ensure that you place everything at its rightful place. That’s the headlines, form, etc, For example, it’s only right that the call-to-action remains at the bottom of the page.

Lack Of Mobile Phones Optimization

Nowadays, most internet users prefer accessing it through their mobile phones. This could be because of the convenience it provides. In fact, a study in 2017 rates mobile internet users at 70%. So you see, you will be missing out a great deal if your site isn’t optimized for mobile phone use.

Work on ensuring that the layout remains attractive, as you intend it to and don’t forget to consider their specific needs., especially when requesting for their personal information.

In fact, anyone who visits your site should have an option for mobile or web view. Don’t overlook that, by any means.

Having Several Call-To-Actions

When coming up with the content of your landing page, it’s advisable to only have one call-to-action in mind. Contrary to common assumptions that using multiple of them gives visitors choices, it actually confuses them and drifts them away from the intended message.

Just one call-to-action is enough to get individuals filling the provided information form. You only have to make it as compelling as possible. Make it simple and fast for your visitors. They have other things to attend to.

Not Using Images or Using Outdated/poor-quality ones

Humans are by nature visual beings. so by avoiding the use of it, it’s like you’re signing to losing the majority of them. The same goes to using poor-quality, stock photos, generic images. It leaves a not-so-serious impression to your visitors and so no one will take your message seriously.

The post Fix These Common Landing Page Problems & You’ll Make More $$$ appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/fix-these-common-landing-page-problems-youll-make-more/

[blackstormdesignus]

Why Your Losing Website Visitors

Why People Leave your website and you lose leads

Have you been wondering why you have not been enjoying desirable conversion results from your site, despite the good number of visitors it receives? Do you want to find out why people come and quickly leave your site without paying attention to your call-to-action?

There’s is definitely something you are not doing right and we are here to help you discover it.

Below is a list of some of the top website features that are a huge turn off to internet users.

But before we get into the details, check out this overview of what to expect;

Lacking Contact Details

Using Generic Photos

Unreadable font

Invading Live Chats

No Message

Several Ad Animations

Low-quality Design

Auto-play Videos/sounds

Use Of Sliders

Let’s break them down for you;

Lacking Contact Details

People want to be able to contact you whenever they are compelled you. They want to know you’re readily available and lack of contact information is a way of telling them you aren’t.

Using Generic Photos

People are always thrilled to see something new and they want to associate themselves with hardworking individuals. So if you’re only using stock or generic photos on your site, they easily associate it with laziness and it isn’t appealing.

No one wants to see you explaining your content with photos they have seen elsewhere before. It lacks credibility.

Unreadable font

No serious individual will waste their time trying to figure out what word your faint font is trying to bring out.

Invading Live Chats

They disrupt the smooth message passing process and people would rather switch to a different page for a quick read.

No Message

If you can’t clearly state what services or products you offer, then you won’t find potential customers either.

Several Ad Animations

Animations might be good when used selectively, but some animated ads lack a personal touch, so people would rather avoid them

Low-quality Design

If the design of your site is unattractive and complex, no one will bother to look around, no matter how good your products/services are. Customers are won with what they see.

Use Of Sliders

Choosing to use sliders on your site is one of the difficult considerations you have to make. Yes, they are good, but they consume time and more data bundles. So this might not go well with visitors with little time to spare.

Auto-play Videos/sounds

These ones are annoying and bite into your visitors’ data bundles. They also make concentration difficult. So visitors just end up leaving. If you must include them, at least give them an option to skip.

The post Why Your Losing Website Visitors appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/why-your-losing-website-visitors/

[blackstormdesignus]

Improve Your Rankings by Gaining Google’s Trust Algorithm

You’ve been there. You designed a beautiful website, filled it with engaging content, and optimized it for SEO but then the moment of truth arrived.

You typed your keyword into Google, sure that your new website would at least make it to page one or even the top spot. But to your disappointment, it was nowhere in sight, not even on page two.

What went wrong?

Why did your site not rank as highly as you expected?

Does Google hate you?

No, it has nothing against you. It just doesn’t trust you, at least not yet…

How Google Works

But why doesn’t Google trust you? To know the reason ‘why’ you must first understand how it works. In the past, keywords were the main ranking factor. So with a high keyword density, your site was sure to rank highly.

Today, however, the algorithms prefer relevance to keywords. A relevant website provides value, gains people’s trust, and attracts more visitors. And in turn, Google rewards it with a high ranking.

Which brings us to the next question: How do you gain Google’s trust? Here are a few ways how.

Proper Indexing

When your website launches, Google’s robots crawl over it, searching for key data. At the top of their search list are keywords, domain age, domain authority, and content quality – all key ranking factors. Shortly after, the bots send the data back to the search engine for indexing and ranking.

Now, what happens when they fail to crawl over your site properly? Two things.

One, insufficient data makes it back to Google, which then considers your site less trustworthy than it really is. For this reason, confirm through Google Analytics or domain.com whether your page is properly indexed. If it isn’t, request to have the bots crawl over it again.

Two, no data at all finds its way to Google. Your site remains unindexed and, therefore, invisible to internet users. In such cases, take another look at your robots.txt file. It tells the bots which pages to crawl and not to crawl. If it’s poorly coded, it stops them from reading your entire site. So read its contents carefully and correct any errors you find.

Proper Website Design

Google trusts well-designed websites for obvious reasons. They’re more engaging and user-friendly. And they all have the following features in common.

For starters, they work on mobile devices, read flash, and contain image captions or alt tags. What’s more, they feature straightforward menus and live links, making them easy to navigate.

If your site fails to meet these requirements, upgrade it. Otherwise, Google will drop its ranking.

High Traffic

Internet users looking to search engines for one thing only – answers. After typing a keyword or question in the search bar, they expect the links in the results page to provide a solution to their problem. So when they click on your link and it provides none, they quickly leave it, never to return.

But if your link answers their queries, they flock to your site in droves. Google then notices the increase in traffic and rightly assumes you provide value to your visitors. And in response, it boosts your trust ranking

Google’s Guidelines

Google frowns upon and even penalizes any site, which violates its guidelines. Is your website guilty of these violations? Let’s find out.

Have you duplicated pages, used spammy links, or written worthless content? And has your site been recently hacked into? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of those questions-fix the violations or Google will continue to distrust you.

Original Content

Have you ever opened a website, only to discover that it’s a carbon copy of the one you’ve just visited? How did that make you feel? Disgusted, most likely.

So why should Google feel any differently? In fact, it hates copied content so much that it has created algorithms not only to detect plagiarism but also to penalize it.

Fresh Content

You created original, useful content years back, and it ranked highly. But since then, its ranking has steadily dropped, yet you’ve not altered the content. What could be the problem?

It’s your doing nothing. Google loves fresh content. But that doesn’t mean you have to write new material every day. A post a week is often enough to maintain high trust rankings. Alternatively, update your current copy regularly.

Keyword Use

Earlier, we saw that Google no longer focuses on keywords as it used to in the past. Should you then ignore them altogether? Absolutely not!

Researched and targeted correctly, keywords drive traffic to your site. After all, they reveal better than anything else what it’s all about. But when using them, focus less on density and more on LSI keywords, which are keywords related to the main keyword.

Anchor Text

It’s common practice to use keywords, both chose and LSI, as anchor text. Unfortunately, keywords sometimes sound unnatural when used in this way. And when they do, Google notices.

Its Penguin algorithm then considers your content spammy and untrustworthy. Even worse, it demotes you from your rankings, the penalty it reserves for all spam.

High-Quality Links

As you’re well aware, links raise your SEO profile. But in your quest to add them to your site, avoid any linking to and from new, low-authority, or banned websites. Google considers such links as questionable and understandably so.

Now, what do you do if you already have them on your site? You have two options. One, remove them and replace them with better ones. Or two, disavow them.

User Experience

Earlier, we saw that Google loves well-designed websites with a focus on user experience. But what exactly is user-experience and how can you apply it to your site? For the answer, think back to your own experience.

Don’t you just love fast-loading sites with easy navigation, few pop-ups, no broken links, and engaging content? So will your site’s visitors.

Engaging Content

To grab your visitor’s attention and keep it, create engaging content. Besides the rules of grammar, also apply the rules of common sense. For instance, write short sentences and paragraphs.

Unlike large blocks of text, they seem less intimidating. Likewise, avoid jargon to make your text readable.

Mobile Compatibility

Rather than use a desktop computer, most internet users now access the web through their mobile devices. Google knows this. So from 2018, it has been prioritizing mobile-friendly websites in its search results and index. To make the most of this change, ensure your site is mobile-compatible.

Social Media Compatibility

As far as Google is concerned, social media is not yet a ranking factor. But make no mistake: The platform directs traffic to your site, which as we saw earlier boosts your rankings. So post regularly on social media and make sure to include social media links in your site.

Conclusion

To rank highly on Google, focus on building trust with both the search engine and your visitors. Fortunately, this is an easy thing to do provided you’re willing to apply yourself.

The post Improve Your Rankings by Gaining Google’s Trust Algorithm appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/improve-your-rankings-by-gaining-googles-trust-algorithm/

[blackstormdesignus]

3 Tips for a More Productive Office

As a business owner, you understand the demands and pressures of running the show. It entails satisfying the needs and wants of your customers, maintaining a good relationship with suppliers, ensuring good profit margins, innovating for ways to stay competitive in the market and the list goes on. However, one of the most tricky parts of running a business is increasing office productivity.

It is true, indeed, that one of the determinants of the success rate of your business is the productivity of the people who work for it. This includes you, your partners and your employees. Moreover, this heavily relies on the office location, gears, and tools available in order to get the job done.

Every business owner, no matter how big their enterprise is, always looks for more ways for increasing office productivity. Here are some useful tips that you can use in order to make this a reality for your own business:

1. Choose the right spot.

The right location doesn’t have to be the biggest, the most expensive, or the one at the heart of the city. Sometimes the right location has to be in the more slow-moving, more quiet place, or maybe even somewhere in your home if you are a start-up company.

It is recommended to choose a place where there is good lighting and ventilation, so as to be comfortable while working. It also has to be in a quiet place where you can focus on the job and work more efficiently without distractions.

It is also important to keep the office from clutter or mess. Maintain tidiness and cleanliness at all times. It may seem too generic or basic but this actually has a serious impact on the productivity of an office.

2. Invest in making the office comfortable and conducive for working.

Your office is where you and your associates will be at for most of the day, You even stay here longer than at your own home. If you are aiming for increasing office productivity, you will have to invest in quality materials such as:

Ergonomic chairs which prevent backaches and other pains

Spacious standing desks that are flexible and durable

A reliable backup power supply

3. Get a high-performing computer.

This will definitely save you hundreds of hours waiting for a program to load or a file to open. Avoid having time constraints, or losing momentum just because your computer runs too slow. It is always a good idea to invest in a quality computer that can keep up with the applications and software that you need to get the job done.

Find out the minimum computer specifications needed for your line of work and from there check and compare various models that are within your budget.

Keep in mind that you use your computer all the time and putting in some money for the sake of increasing office productivity is actually a must!

And that wraps it up! There are of course tons of other ways for you to maximize your office efficiency however these are the ones that need to be highly prioritized. Always remember that investing in your workspace is a good way to spend money, and doing it wisely will give you back your money’s worth manifold!

The post 3 Tips for a More Productive Office appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/3-tips-for-a-more-productive-office/

[blackstormdesignus]

Simple Tweaks to Make Your Words Sell More

In the world of marketing, language is as important as it is powerful. It not only allows you to connect with your target audience but also spurs them to take action. And the language, in this case, is largely defined by the words you choose to use. So what options are there for you to explore? Well, let’s just delve straight into words that sell or words that can work great for your marketing strategy:

Understanding Marketing Power Words

Power words, in the marketing sphere, are basically words that trigger emotions in the brain of the consumer. Such words as WHAT, HOW and WHY can grab the attention of the reader, prompting them to take action. The words are mostly effective when used in the headlines because that’s most certainly the first line the reader will see.

You’ll also need to use Power Words sparingly in your marketing copy, in order to give them the much spark that they need within the content. Research has shown that using such words for business pages not only helps draw more readers but also increases sales significantly.

Tip: Always put yourself in the shoes of the reader and imagine how you would want them to feel. This will help you come up with the right power words to use in your marketing material.

Words About Saving

Almost every shopper out there is always figuring out how to get quality products and/or services at discounted or reasonably cheaper prices. So if you have genuine offers in store, the least you can do is use attention grabbing words to pull customers to your side.

Words such as Save, Cheap, Reduced, Lowest and Bonus can come in handy in that regard. You are also free to use other words like Win, Free and Discounted. They are attention grabbers too.

Guaranteeing Words

Anyone who wants to purchase a product or service would want to get something that will not only assure them of great usability/functionality and genuine value but also one that will last. It is such assurance that can prompt the reader to forgo the competitors’ product/service and come for yours.

Examples of guaranteeing words include, but not limited to, the following:

Risk Free

Dependable

Lifetime

Proven

Delivers

Safe

Easy

Words with Urgency

These are marketing words that create a sense of urgency. They mostly encourage readers to act quickly and take advantage of the offers and deals in line before a certain deadline elapses. Examples of such words include Hurry, Quick, Limited, Act, Fast, Immediately, Rare, Now and more.

Words That Insist On Quality

In a market that’s filled with countless substandard products and/or low-quality services, it is almost inherent as a business to stand tall and let your quality products or brand be counted. And that’s where the power of words comes in.

Such words as the following can do great in endorsing your product/service to readers:

Professional

Exclusive

Best

Top

Ultimate

Improved

Unique

How to Address the Target Audience

An effective marketing strategy comes down to how you address the readers. People would basically want to know what is in for them. So, when writing content, be sure to do it as if you are talking to an individual and not addressing a crowd. The word ‘YOU’ in this case can do the magic.

Conclusion

These are just the basics of getting your marketing right when the crafting content. And the principle here is quite simple. If you understand what readers and consumers are looking for, you’ll never miss the most appropriate words to use.

The post Simple Tweaks to Make Your Words Sell More appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/simple-tweaks-to-make-your-words-sell-more/

[blackstormdesignus]

16 Tips to Turn Your Website Visitors into Customers

Internet marketing is becoming a science, requiring thoughtful and data-driven decisions. These decisions are geared towards driving more traffic to a website and perhaps even more importantly, to optimize conversion rates. Optimizing your web-page’s conversion rate is a process, a systematic process that tweaks and modifies elements of a webpage in order to lower visitors bounce rate and increase the percent of web visitors to take action. Whether that be signing up for your email marketing list, making a purchase, or filling out a form; the action depends on your website niche.

So, how do you make this magic happen? Science! And here is the science behind it broken down into 16 easy steps.

1. Track website data

You want to take action to improve conversion, but do you know where you stand? Having analytics tools installed will help you track important information about your visitors and the actions they take while on your website. This is key information when strategizing on areas of improvement in functionality on your website.

2. Beef up your site’s security

Turns out lots of people (50%, in fact) scan through to see your site’s security before giving personal information. If you want them to sign up or take any action on your site, ensure that your https is secured.

3. Got speed?

If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, you’re losing visitors. If your site is photo heavy, this may be one of the reasons it’s slowing down. To solve this, compress your images using CDN (Content Delivery Network). It compresses the size without compromising on image quality.

4. Have an enticing and to the point title

If you don’t snare the visitors’ attention within the first five seconds, chances are they’ll lose interest and move on to your competitor’s websites. We don’t want that. Have a concise and descriptive title that gives them an overview of what you’re talking about but doesn’t give everything away. You want them to keep scrolling!

5. Don’t slack on your CTA

Your CTA (call to action) is the heart of your web-page—it tells the visitor exactly what you want them to do. But people don’t like being told what to do, so you have to be crafty. Don’t be boring. Boring is bad. A good place to start in crafting a good CTA is to understand your niche and use words that appeal to them.

6. Have credible validation to your claims

Visitors want to know that if they purchase from you or sign up for your list, they’ll get good value. If you can verify your offer with a credible third party, you’re easing their worry and ensuring their purchase or action is worth their time.

7. Optimize bite-sized high impact copy

You don’t want to bore people with long sentences, they’ll lose interest. Make it short and sweet with lots of nutrients—the first 14 words are your pitching points. Your visitors want to get straight to the point in as little time as possible, make their decision, and move on. The more you can help them do that quickly, the more likely they’ll like you and want to purchase from you or sign up!

8. Use videos

If you have a YouTube channel, it’s a great idea to embed your videos onto your website. Not only do you source for potential views and subscriptions, but you are increasing your interesting factor that sways your visitors’ decision in your favor. Careful though! You don’t want your video to direct your visitors to another video (likely a competitor’s), so turn off related videos before posting.

9. Show off your impact

Having positive reviews is a great way to show your visitors that you are a safe bet! If your product has worked for others, it’ll likely work for them too.

10. What’s in it for them?

Your visitors already know what they want. But how does your service give them what they want? In your copy, focus on the “why” of their action. Why should they purchase from you? Why should they trust you? Listing key benefits will certainly boost your CRO.

11. Use high impact photos

Free photos are great! But if you randomly select photos that don’t emphasize or support your words, you may be working backward. Select photos that support your talk and appeal to your viewers’ sensitivities.

12. Share valuable content

Give value to receive value! It’s just that simple.

13. Don’t ask for too much information

If you have in-built forms, be careful with length. Too long, and they’ll give up along the way. Be short and concise on the first encounter. Plus, chances are you’ll have plenty of other chances of gathering their data as you build your relationship.

14. Integrate live chat support

Buyers who have live support feel valued. If you can invest in a virtual assistant, do so. It may make a difference between a bounced visitor and a converted visitor.

15. Encourage social media connections

At the very end of your pitch, encourage your visitors to connect with you on other platforms. This should come at the end because you don’t want to distract them before you make your point. Plus, if they do follow you on social media after putting up with your content, you probably have a solid lead there.

16. Mobile friendly optimization

42% of your searchers will use their mobile phones to search for your services. You want their experience to be just as smooth and fast as the PC experience.

See? Science.

These tips have been proven by marketing researchers and now you have the power to make your website as good as the marketing pros!

  The post 16 Tips to Turn Your Website Visitors into Customers appeared first on BlackStorm Lead Generation | BlackStorm Design + Marketing.

source https://blackstormdesign.com/article/16-tips-to-turn-your-website-visitors-into-customers/