10 Essentials Every Small Business Website Needs | John Simensky | johnsimensky.ca.st

 
For any small business, your website is often the heart of your online marketing. But is your website really doing all it can to help attract and convert prospects into customers?
Or, are you losing visitors – and leads – because your website is missing important information or features? Make sure your site includes these 10 elements of a successful small business website.
1. Clearly Visible Contact Information
What is the primary action you want website visitors to take when they visit your site? If you want them to call, request more information, or visit your location, it’s absolutely critical to list accurate, updated contact information in a visible location on your website. This may seem like an obvious tip, but this is a big problem for many small business websites In fact, 60% of small- to medium-size businesses in the U.S. are missing a contact number on their home page, and roughly 75% of websites don’t list an email address!
To make sure your website visitors aren’t sent on a wild goose chase looking for contact information, make sure to at least include a phone number on each page of your website. If you don’t want to place your contact information on each page, consider this solution: build a web page that provides all of your important contact information, including phone number, email address, location with a map, and hours of operation. Then add a “Contact Us” button as part of your website design template or footer to make sure this is included on every page. At the very least, include your contact information on every landing page consumers visit after they click on your search ads or display ads. The more ways consumers can contact you, the better your chance of winning their business.
2. Contact Forms
Contact forms are the online data forms that prospects fill out in order to request information from you. They also serve as a lead-generation tool. But, according to research firm BIA/Kelsey, 66% of small- to medium-size businesses websites in the U.S. don’t have a form available for potential customers to submit. Website forms are a great way to collect important lead-qualifying data. Plus, they also provide your prospects with a place to express detailed questions about the information they’re seeking about your business.
3. Live Chat
Live chat is another contact method that can help you convert a website visitor into a customer. With this lead-generation tool, prospects can ask questions and learn more about your business during their visit to your site. By interacting with visitors and answering their questions, live chats build rapport with prospects at this important touch point in the buying cycle. When your prospect has the information they need and a positive rapport has been established, you’re another step closer to converting a visitor into a customer.
4. Social Media Icons
Social media is crucial in today’s connected business environment. Consumers expect to be able to communicate with businesses through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (to name a few). However, according to BIA/Kelsey, less than 20% of SMB websites link to their Facebook page, with even fewer linking to Twitter and LinkedIn. Social media is an excellent way for customers to learn more about you, connect with other fans, and get the information they need in order to decide to do business with you. If you're not on social media, it’s important to consider adding this as a regular business marketing process – and then add links to your accounts on your website!
5. Engaging Video
By including videos on your website, you can build credibility and attract visitors who might not want to read large amounts of detail about your products and/or services. Prospects will appreciate the convenience that videos provide during their visit to your site. Videos are also a great way to communicate the personality of both you and your business to your audience.
6. Balanced and Accurate Content
 Avoid cramming too much information onto one page; rather than being helpful, information overload is just that – overload. Visitors will not spend precious time reading a webpage with too much information. If you’re unsure how to best arrange your website information, a professional Web designer can help you.
Also, make sure consumers don’t gather inaccurate information about your business. For example, remove information about products or services you no longer offer or profiles of employees who no longer work for you.
7. Modern, Simple Design
Leave the bad website design in the ’90s. Garish color combinations (think neon yellow against bright green, bright red against black, etc.), type in bolded all caps, multiple underlining of words, blinking or swirling of text, and other dated design elements all portray the image that your business is behind the times. And even if you aren’t an expert in design or website development, there are many services available to help you create an effective and pleasant-looking website.
8. Professional, Polished Logo
Your logo is an important part of your brand, so make sure it’s located prominently on your site. Use a high-resolution image on your webpage and consider featuring it in the upper left corner of each of your pages. Also, it’s a good rule-of-thumb to link your logo back to your home page so that visitors can easily navigate to it.
9. User-Friendly Functionality
It’s important to make sure the functionality of your website is a great experience. How long does it take for your page to load? Are all the links working and not broken? Is the formatting of your site up to date? For example, although it can create an interesting experience, using Flash may detract from your site’s effectiveness. Flash is not SEO-friendly because of how the format treats content. Also, using lots of Flash on your website can slow your website’s load time, which may cause visitors to abandon your site altogether. And, Flash does not display on some smartphones, so by using it, you may be alienating some of your mobile visitors.
10.  Mobile-Friendly Experience
Consumers search and surf the Web using mobile technology (smartphones and tablets) now more than ever. In fact, at the end of 2012, nearly a quarter of Web traffic was from mobile devices. But the majority of small- and medium-size business websites still aren't optimized for mobile devices. As mobile technology continues to rise in popularity among consumers, the need for mobile-compatible websites also rises. Have you ever checked out how your website looks on a tablet or smartphone? If so, what was your impression? Was it easy to call you, find your business location, or other information like your hours of operation? If your site isn’t mobile-compatible, consider creating a mobile site that contains 5-10 essential pages from your website to help visitors find information and more importantly, contact you. Mobile technology is only going to grow in use among consumers during the buying cycle, so make sure your website is ready and mobile-friendly.
How does your small business website stack up when it comes to these important features? If you’re not sure, take some time to audit your current site using this post as a checklist so you can see what areas you may need to improve. By equipping your website with the essential features that your prospects need to make an informed decision about you and your business, you can build a more effective website and ultimately increase your rate of consumer conversion.
Which features of your website have turned your website visitors into active customers? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Amy Neeley helps small- and medium-size businesses navigate the online marketing world with insights and information featured on the ReachLocal blog.
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Is Your Website Working? The Trick that Gets You More Calls | John Simensky

 

Go to the home page of your business website. Do it. Yes, right now.
How long does it take you to locate your phone number?
Okay, now, look at an interior page, like a product page or “About” page. How long did it take you to find your phone number then?
Last test: find a smartphone or tablet and pull your website up. You guessed it – how long did it take to find your phone number here?
If it takes you more than five seconds to locate your phone number in any of these scenarios, your website has a serious problem.
Like many other small business owners, you might believe a phone call from prospects is the Holy Grail of your marketing efforts, because it’s one of the easiest lines of communication between you and potential customers. You wouldn’t put up a billboard or place an ad in the local paper without a prominent phone number, so why should your website be any different? So, if you want more calls from your website, the answer is simple: make your phone number easy to find. Here are a few amazingly simple tips to make your phone number stand out.
1. Put it at the top of every page.
Yes, on every page. Not just on your home page or “Contact us” page. Every. Single. Page. Why? Because people are visiting them. Consumers who are serious about contacting you to learn more about your products or services, getting quotes, and booking an appointment with you won’t just look at your home page – they’ll jump around your website to look at product information, customer reviews, videos, photos, and more.  You never know at what point they’ll make the choice to pick up the phone and call you, so don’t make it hard for them; put your number at the top of every page, in an easy-to-see font and color. Remember: the easier your number is to locate, the quicker prospects will call you.
2. Give it a call to action.
Every effective website page has a clear call to action for a visitor to take. In this case, direct potential customers to call you. It’s always best to pair your specific action with a compelling benefit – essentially, what they’ll get out of contacting you. Additionally, this provides a visual cue for prospects to locate your phone number and helps persuade them take the action you want them to. A few examples of a call to action for your site could include:

• Call Now for a Free In-Home Estimate! 555-0122
• Call Today to Book Your Appointment: 555-0122. Space is Limited!
• Plumbing Emergency? Call our 24-Hour Hotline at 555-0122 

3. Mobile-optimize it.
Did you know that now 46% of consumers have relied solely on smartphones or tablets to find local businesses? And, one-third of those consumers are specifically looking for – you guessed it – your phone number. So, if you don’t have a mobile-optimized site, or your site does not have a quick click-to-call feature, just think of all the mobile leads that may be passing you by. Having a mobile-friendly site for your advertising and organic marketing is imperative in today’s mobile world. So, it’s time to invest in, at minimum, a mobile landing page with click-to-call functionality that you can drive your online prospects to. You don’t want to miss out any more potential customers!
Bonus Tip: Designate someone to answer the calls – and to return them.
Maybe you're already getting a lot of calls- and that's great. But, the quickest way to lose a hot lead from your website is to keep them from becoming a lead at all. And, one of the terrible things a consumer can experience is eagerly calling a local business and listening to the phone ring and ring for what seems like an eternity. Or worse, leaving a detailed voicemail, but never receiving a call back. If you’ve experienced this when contacting another business, then you know what it feels like if a consumer has this experience with yours. If you really want more business from potential customers who call you, consider using a call recording system that alerts you when you receive a new contact, so you have a means to review calls that are answered (either by a human or by a voicemail system) and promptly call back any prospects that aren’t taken care of immediately. Studies have shown that 50% of consumers will go with the business that responds to them first – so make sure it’s yours!
What other tricks have you tried to get more calls from your website? Do you have an effective system in place to handle the calls you do get? Let us know in a comment.

About the Author
Tamara Weintraub helps equip small business owners with information about local online advertising, social media, and content marketing as a writer for the ReachLocal blog.

Are Customers Choosing Your Competitors Over You? | John Simensky

 
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” – Sam Walton
As a business owner, you know that attracting prospects and turning them into customers is the lifeblood of any company. But have you ever thought about why someone would choose a competitor over you? If you’ve ever lost a prospect to a competitor (it happens to the best of them), there are several likely culprits. Check out five reasons you’re losing business to your competitors and what you can do to win back the hearts of your prospects.
1. Poor Search Rankings
Do you know which search terms your prospects use to find local businesses like yours on popular search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo? Are you landing on the first page of these search engines after a prospect types in a search term? If you don’t know which search terms to use for your industry in order to be found online, or if your competitors rank higher on a search engine page than you, you’re probably losing business to your competition. That’s because most consumers don’t look at search results past a search engine’s first page. And, according to BIA Kelsey and ConStat, 97% of consumers use online media to shop locally. The best strategy to high search engine rankings uses both organic search engine optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click campaigns. So make sure you have an online strategy in place so you can be found in search engine results before prospects find your competitors.
2. Poor Online Reputation
Do you know what people are saying about you and your business online? Do you know how your reputation compares to your competitors? Managing your online reputation is critical in today’s connected world. That’s because prospects will often check online review sites and your social media pages as part of their research during the buying process. In fact, 90% of respondents in a 2013 survey said online reviews influenced their buying decisions. No matter how good your products or services are, if past customers have left negative online reviews or posted negative comments on your social media pages, you’re most likely losing business to your competitors. The good news is that there are proactive strategies you can use to address poor online reviews and negative comments on social media. And, you can work to build a positive reputation online to help provide a more balanced view of your company. There are also services that can save you time by monitoring your online reputation for you.
3. Website Quality/Features
Your website is your calling card to the world. It’s often the first place prospects visit to learn more about you and your business. But if your website has poor design, lacks crucial information like an easy-to-find phone number, or is difficult to navigate, your prospects will simply leave your site to check out competitor websites. There are many features you can add to your website to help make it more appealing and helpful to your prospects – features that can help convert a prospect into a customer. The time and money you invest to ensure your website is the best it can be will pay off by attracting and keeping your visitors on your site, which in turn can lead to new business.
4. Slow Response Times
When prospects contact multiple companies via an online contact form or leave messages after business hours, you want to be the first business to follow up. That’s because up to half of all sales goes to the company who contacts the prospect back first. Your prospect is a warm lead because they have already reached out to you either online or over the phone. So don’t waste this opportunity to win new business simply due to a slow response time. By being the first one to follow up with your prospects, you’re demonstrating that you’re proactive and professional. It’s your opportunity to establish rapport, answer their questions, and perhaps even set an appointment or schedule a visit.
5. Customer Service
A brand loyalty survey by ClickFox noted that 56% of respondents said their “first purchase or first customer service interaction with a brand” is the deciding factor in determining long-term brand loyalty. Quality customer service is essential at both the prospect stage as well as the customer stage. Think about yourself as the customer of other businesses and the interactions you’ve had. How were you treated? If you called a company, did the person speaking sound professional and courteous? If you visited a business, were you greeted warmly and given the attention you needed? If you contacted a company by email, did you receive a prompt and articulate response? These are just a few examples where excellent customer service comes into play in the earliest stages of the sales cycle. If you’re providing poor customer service to your prospects, they’re more likely to take their business to your competitors. So take the time to do an honest assessment of how prospects are being treated once they contact you. If you can win a prospect’s heart early on, you have a better chance of converting them into a customer later on.
What strategies do you use to attract new prospects to your business? Let us know in the comments section.
About the Author
Amy Neeley helps small- and medium-size businesses navigate the online marketing world with insights and information featured on the ReachLocal blog.
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4 Signs You Are Making Your Customers Angry & What To Do About It | John Simensky

Your online reputation helps build a strong foundation when it comes to potential customers choosing your business over competitors. In fact, according to one survey, 88% of respondents’ purchasing decisions were affected by the positive or negative reviews they read. But if you aren’t doing everything you can to ensure that what’s being said about you online is positive, then you could possibly upset potential customers before they even get to experience your business for themselves.
Here are four telling signs that you need to take a hard look at your business’ reputation before it’s too late.




You haven’t addressed customers’ questions or comments online, ever.
Hopefully, this isn’t the case for your business, and you have addressed critical issues in the past. But in order to maintain a good reputation for your business, you should at least try to acknowledge comments and questions as soon as you see them online, even if you don’t have a complete resolution. A recent survey indicates that of consumers who leave comments for businesses online, 42% expect to get a response at least within an hour. So, in order to show these customers that you are listening, consider setting up alerts for your business name and critical keywords like “complaints” and “reviews” so that you are up to date on any new mentions that matter for your reputation.
You address your online feedback, but you’re never to blame.
Chances are if nearly every comment about your business online is negative, blaming customers for their own negative experience will only result in more negative feedback, and very bad PR. There are many examples of business owners who cyber-attacked reviewers who by all means had legitimate frustrations about the business, on online review sites. These attempts at justifying bad customer service and bad business practices resulted in more negative reviews from people who would likely never become a customer. So if there’s one thing you should remember about these incidents, it’s that you can’t erase what you write online. The lesson to be learned here is to keep your cool when you see negative reviews, and respond only when you can do so with professionalism and a clear head.
You have a lot of one-time customers.
There are different reasons why customers may do business with you once and not return: for example, if they aren’t from your local area. But if your business doesn’t have loyal customers, then you might have a larger issue at hand. As a business owner, you might not always know the various problems your business is having. But by inspecting your online reputation, you may be able to identify problems that you didn’t know existed. Maybe your online advertisements are dated, creating a false representation of your business. Perhaps your customer service is not up to par. Whatever the case may be, customers are very likely to share negative experiences online, so make sure you know what they are saying and do what you can to fix it.
You have one mad customer whose goal in life is to bring you down.
The saying “one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch” can often be applicable to your online reputation. And if you have that one unhappy customer who consistently rants about you online, then you probably understand the phrase a little better. While their continuous complaints may stem from actual problems, the fact that they continue to scorn you online may be a sign that they just really want to be heard. If you have a reviewer like this, ask about the details of their experience and do your best to right the wrong. If anything, this will show other potential customers that you are listening and attempting to make up for any less-than-satisfactory experiences. And remember, while a timely response is important, a professional response is critical.
Have you dealt with any of these situations? What did you do to resolve them? Let us know in a comment!

About the Author
Tara Banda writes about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing for the ReachLocal blog. You can connect with her on Twitter.

5 Types of Images That Enhance Your Online Marketing | John Simensky

 

 With the rise in popularity of sites like Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest, and the emphasis on photo- sharing on sites like Facebook, creating and sharing attractive, interesting, informative, and entertaining images is quickly becoming an important component to any online marketing strategy. Not only can sharing images help you generate engagement from social media fans and followers on sites like Instagram and Facebook, but posting great images on your blog or website can encourage users to link to your content from sites like Pinterest or Tumblr.
But, what kinds of images should your local business share in order to engage potential customers, boost site traffic, and build your brand? Here are five popular image types to consider:
1) High-Quality Product or Service Photos
Own a bakery that creates gorgeous goodies or a home improvement business that transforms ordinary rooms into extraordinary spaces? Have a signature look to your products, packaging, or events? Businesses with visually-appealing products or services like these should be creating high-quality images of them and sharing them online. Not only does this showcase to current and potential customers the awesome work you do, but it can also help you visually build your brand online.
Even if you have a small budget, you can generate high-quality  images by batching your requests. For example, consider hiring a professional photographer or recruiting a friend or family member with photography skills to create product or service photographs for your business once a quarter, and then share the photos over time until you have new ones made.
2) Infographics
An infographic is a long-form image that illustrates a concept or groups of information visually. Infographics are very popular on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and blogs. Users frequently share these informational images, and often, other bloggers will repost them, linking back to your site as the original source. If you have someone create a custom infographic for your business, make sure they include the URL to your website and your business name at the bottom of the image so your company can get the online credit for originating it. Then, post the infographic to your blog and share links to that post on your social media pages. Spread the word about your infographic to local influencers who may be interested in the topic, too.
3) “Snackable” Images 
Facebook’s Timeline redesign puts more emphasis on images in a user's news feed stream, and sites like Pinterest also feature images prominently in an aggregated feed. For both of these formats, small or “snackable” images tend to perform well. These images tend to be informational or illustration-based, but they are typically in a smaller or square format as opposed to the large, long-form images format used for infographics. Some include photos and text in the form of a miniature tutorial, while others include short quotes or share an interesting stat. These small informational images can be a great way to generate engagement, and businesses that create custom images like these can generate lots of likes and shares from this content type.
4) Meme-Related Images
Memes are extremely popular on social media sites and blogs, and one of the more popular formats for memes today is the image. Chances are, if you use Facebook, Pinterest, or Tumblr personally, you have seen people re-sharing popular meme-related images of all types. Your business may want to create meme-related images to share with your online community, or you could even create a meme of your own. In fact, the Google+ platform allows you to easily add text onto the images you share there, so you can use your own photos to create a unique meme. Or, consider sharing a photo and asking your fans or followers to “caption” the photo or add their own meme tagline.
5) Inside-Your-Business Photos
Is your business involved in your community? Do you have a unique culture or tradition or business “mascot” such as the owner’s beloved pet that customers love? Photos that illustrate and share the life of your business with fans and followers can generate a lot of engagement, especially on sites like Facebook and your blog. You might showcase a day in the life of an employee in the form of photos once a month. Or, take photos of the Little League team your business sponsors and share them in a Facebook album. Make sure to get permission from employees or customers you include in your photographs. Sharing these photos can bring your business to life online and help differentiate you from competitors.
These are just five types of images that you can use in your online marketing for your local business. You can find inspiration for images for your online marketing just by using sites where image sharing is popular. So, try sharing some of these image types to help build your brand and boost engagement.
Are you using images in your online marketing or social media efforts? What sites are you using to share images? Share your thoughts about the role of images in local online marketing in a comment!


About the Author
Tiffany Monhollon shares practical tips and insights about reaching consumers across the web as a blogger for ReachLocal. Follow her on Twitter and Google+

Types of Images You Should Be Posting Now | John Simensky

Visit any website, blog, or social media site today and you will see images as an important part of the content and layout. No matter where you go, images are now an integral part of the stories we tell online.  Because images are such an important part of today’s online landscape, it’s important to create and use the right kinds of photos across your entire Web presence. Effective images can help drive action and engagement from customers and prospects on photo-sharing sites, directories, blogs, and social media pages. Check out the types of photos you should be using to market your business online.

Product Images

There are many types of product images you can use across your Web presence to drive clicks to your website, build engagement from current and prospective customers, and grow awareness for your type of business in your local area. Here are a few types and examples of product images you should consider sharing.

• Best-Selling Products – Do you have products that fans and current customers rave about? Highlight them on your social media profiles, website, and local directories with a small description on what makes them top sellers.
• Before-and-After Shots – Sharing side-by-side before and after photos of the results of your products or services can be a great way to help potential customers visualize the value of your business. These illustrate the benefits of you what you have to offer in a way that words may not be able to fully demonstrate. Plus, there are many iPhone apps and Android apps that allow you to easily arrange side-by-side photos using images from your smartphone’s photo album.  
• Happy Customers and Their Comments – If your business has customer feedback cards, or if you have received special handwritten notes from your satisfied customers, snap a picture of them and use them to show positive feedback about your business. Make sure to ask the customer who wrote the feedback for permission to use their comments, and make sure to hide any personal information such as phone numbers or email addresses. You can also ask happy customers to provide their photo to post along with a written review, which can humanize your brand. 

Infographics

An infographic may take longer to put together than a photograph, but when done correctly, it can be a great tool for sharing information about your business or industry or to educate others about your types of products or services. For example, a sushi restaurant could create an infographic about the etiquette of eating sushi. Or, an orthodontist could share an infographic illustrating the top 10 foods to avoid when wearing braces and why. When you decide what content to feature in your infographic, there are several online infographic generator tools to help you develop your infographic, or you can hire a talented designer to help you create something shareable. Then, post your infographic on your blog and image-driven social media sites like Pinterest to get the word out.

Quote Images

Quotes are great pieces of content you use in “snackable” images, and they are simple to make with photo editing programs or easy-to-use quote graphic tools. Consider using inspirational quotes that relate to your business or that your fans will appreciate,  quotes from leaders of your company, or short messages from happy customers. Make sure to cite the quote’s author in the image itself. Also, creating a quote image with an attention-getting line from a blog post is a simple way to share your blog post on your social media sites. Just make sure to include a link back to your original post in the photo description.

Memes

From Grumpy Cat to Success Baby, you’ve probably seen many different memes posted on your social media sites. But, have you thought of using these as part of your business’ content marketing? For instance, GE has taken the Ryan Gosling “Hey Girl” meme and turned it on its head, creating industry-related memes starring Thomas Edison. There are many different types of memes to choose from, but if you decide to use one as part of your content marketing, make sure it’s not offensive or crude. You can also upload your own image to start your own meme.

Culture Images

Posting images featuring your company’s culture is a great way to demonstrate your commitment to your employees and to your community. Do your employees volunteer at community events? Does your business sponsor a local animal shelter or youth sports team? If so, make sure you share photos of these events and goodwill on your website, blog, and social media pages. You may discover that you have even more in common with your fans and create new advocates within your online community. 

These are just some of the many types of images that you can post online to boost engagement with your brand and build your overall Web presence. What other types of images do you use as part of your content marketing strategy? Let us know in a comment! 

About the Author:

Tara Banda writes about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing for the ReachLocal blog. You can connect with her on Twitter.

7 Popular Types of Social Media Fans | John Simensky

What do all of your social media fans and followers have in common? They follow you on your social media sites. Aside from that, your social media fans can range dramatically – from the fans who like, retweet, or repin every one of your updates seconds after you post it to the angry “fans” who follow you only to share their bad customer experience.

However, by understanding the different types of consumers on social media, you can determine the best type of engaging content to post in order to get them to take action and share your content. This infographic features seven of the most common types of fans, and what they mean for your business on social media. 

About the Author:
Tara Banda writes about how small business owners can reach local customers through online marketing for the ReachLocal blog. You can connect with her on Twitter.