anoadmin - Old City Web Services

3 Choices for Your Mobile Website

October 29, 2014 by anoadmin

This is becoming a mobile world. Everywhere you turn, it seems people are using their phone or mobile device when they need information. It is imperative today to have a website that keeps up with this trend and fills the needs of customers who are looking for information on their mobile device rather than their computer screen.

Over 30% of website traffic now comes from mobile devices. While sales from mobile devices only make up 15% of total sales, mobile users are still very important for brand awareness and informational purposes. Since mobile users are generally on the go, they are often quickly coming to your site for key information - location, hours, directions, phone number - and having your mobile site provide that information quickly and in a streamlined manor can result in business down the road.

You have 3 choices when it comes to making your website work with mobile technology and all three serve different purposes and can help your business grow.

1. Mobile-Friendly - a mobile friendly website is your website as it renders on a computer screen. It correctly displays your website on the smaller screens of mobile devices. This is not specifically designed for mobile devices but users will still be able to navigate though not as easily as with other types.

2. Mobile Responsive - a mobile responsive website design is more widely used today than ever before. The basics are that the same design will work on a computer or mobile device and the design will respond to the varying conditions of the user's device. For example, phone numbers and addresses can be clicked for calling or directions.

3. Custom Mobile - Overly complex sites that have a lot of information on them are best served by having a custom mobile version of their site. When a user comes to the site, it is detected whether they are on a computer or mobile device and the corresponding version of the site is displayed. This type of mobile version is optimal because the experience can be customized by removing some content or features or add others that mobile users will require which a computer user wouldn't.

Regardless of which type of mobile experience you want to offer your users, having a website that is user-friendly and streamlined for the increasing number of mobile users is essential to your business' growth.

Using 301 Redirects in WordPress

October 22, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

A 301 redirect is a way to forward one web link to another. It sends users and search engines to a different link than the original while allowing you to keep your search engine ranking for the page. It's also a useful way to preserve your old, out-of-date content by simply redirecting old pages or posts to new ones with new information.

This type of redirect is permanent and passes 90-99 per cent of ranking power to the redirected page. 301 redirects can help solve outdated content problems and improve user experience while preserving your search engine rank.

301 redirects can be done when a domain name changes entirely to be sure that users who are accustomed to using the old address will be automatically forwarded to the new domain. Or they can be done on old content within a website. For example, if your website has numerous posts about a certain topic and the older posts aren't relevant or up-to-date anymore (but still hold strong search engine rank power so you don't want to remove them), a 301 redirect from the old link will send them to the new link that is current. This way users stay on your site reading the new information they are looking for instead of clicking away to another site to find up-to-date content.

In WordPress, a 301 redirect can be done easily with a plugin that not only makes setting up redirection easy, but also allows for seeing statistics of how often a redirect occurs, and where visitors are coming from when a redirect happens. This makes it very easy to see how effective the redirection of your links is on your website.

Consider using 301 redirects if you have outdated content and want to keep your site fresh and current, which search engines love. You can publish new content, use a 301 redirect, and keep your search ranking power.

5 SEO Mistakes to Avoid

October 15, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

It seems like search engines are constantly changing their algorithms, making it very difficult to keep on top of best practices for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Despite these constantly changing factors, there are basic SEO mistakes you'll want to avoid.

Not Researching Keywords Properly

Your website shows up in search engine results based on keywords. It is vitally important to do your research on keywords and produce content that matches those words. Otherwise you are limiting your opportunities to be seen online.

Displaying low-value backlinks

Link building is an important part of your online presence, but you must consider quality over quantity. It is much more important to go after links with authority in your niche rather than spam or irrelevant links.

Not Updating Site Enough

Fresh content matters. Not only does new content help with keywords, but it keeps your site up to date, relevant, and will help with rankings based on Google's new freshness ranking.

Avoiding Analytics

You need to be measuring your website's data so you can know what areas are performing well and what areas are underperforming. This is the only way you will know how to optimize your site better. Setting goals for conversion and monitoring terms that are driving traffic are integral parts of your optimization for search engines.

Focusing Too Much on Search Engines and Not Enough on People

While rankings in search engines matters, don't forget about your site visitors. There is a balance to be struck that will help your ranking which will bring more people to your site, but once they are there you want them to feel like you're site is there for them, not for Google. Make sure the content of your site is of value to your visitors and not just a search engine.

Build and Develop a Social Media Presence for Your Business

October 9, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Build - Once you choose the social media platform(s) you want to utilize to increase online awareness of your brand, set up your profile(s) including a short, compelling bio to attract people letting them know who you are and what you do. Having a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Places, and YouTube in addition to your website can push your business up in rankings on browser searches. Include links to your website so that people can learn more about you and your small business.

Connect - To connect with your community and your existing and potential clients, you need to keep up with your page. Ask your friends, current clients, and other small businesses in your area to like and share your pages. Like and share their pages as well. Add a link to your email signature to your website, too. Establishing a presence on a social media platform requires active, consistent participation.

Engage - Social media is not meant to be one-way communication. You may use it to spread your message, share your business, and broaden awareness about who you are and what you do, but you must do this both by sharing and also participating in two-way communication. Listen to your customers and create community with other businesses and clients. Make your social media page not all about you. The 80/20 rule is a good one to follow: 80% of your activity is being friendly through retweets and comments. The other 20% is your chance to contribute your own content. Be an active participant and engage your audience with relevant content instead of just promoting yourself. Ask your audience to participate in the conversation, share photos of them using your product or enjoying your services.

Influence - Your ability to influence depends on your credibility and your reach. A strong, professional and engaging social media presence adds to your credibility. Your reach can expand beyond the number of fans and followers you have as your customers share your content, products and services within their circles.

What Does THAT Mean? 6 Website Terms Defined

September 30, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Does it feel like someone is speaking a foreign language when they start talking about the internet, their website, and how it works? Here are some quick definitions of terms that will help you better understand and be better at keeping up in conversation.

DOMAIN: A domain is an addressing construct for identifying and locating computers on the internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember internet addresses, which can be translated by the Domain Name System (DNS) into the IP address used by a network. An example is www.oldcity.com.

HOSTING: Hosting is a service provided by a vendor which offers a physical location for the storage of web pages and files. A web hosting company can be thought of like a landlord - they rent physical space on their servers allowing web pages to be view on the internet.

BACKLINK: Links from other website pages to yours, used to increase a site's popularity with search engines and to get more people to visit your site. The quality of a backlink and its anchor text is factored into Google's algorithm when deciding how much importance to place on it and therefore where to place it in search engines.

BLOG: a blog, short for weblog, is an online journal or diary and a very popular current method of sharing your thoughts with the world. It is also very popular as a marketing tool. An Example is http://oldcity.com/city-blog.php

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: A content management system (CMS) is a back-end tool that allows publishing, editing and modifying content on a website. Using a CMS can make it easier to change the design of a site independent of the site's content or pages. A CMS doesn't require downloading software to your computer and can be used from anywhere with an internet connection, making it a user-friendly and streamlined way to manage your website.

DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM: Domain Name Systems (DNS) are the Internet's equivalent of a phone book. They maintain a directory of domain names and translate them to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. This is necessary because, although domain names are easy for people to remember, computers access websites based on IP addresses.

Hopefully some of these helped you have a better idea of the enigma that internet can sometimes seem to be. Don't be afraid to blog about it using a content management system!

5 Effective Email Tips

September 24, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Whether for business or personal purposes, email can be a very effective way to communicate.

The ability to compose efficient and effective email is very important for productivity and responsiveness. When not done correctly it can have the opposite effect you are trying to achieve when you send your message off.

Here are 5 tips for sending an email that will get read, be understood, and acted upon.

1. Have an attention-grabbing subject line The first thing the recipient sees in your email is the subject line. The purpose of a subject line is to summarize the content of the message, specify urgency if there is any, and make it easy for the recipient to find later. The purpose is not to be witty, boring, or vague - don't leave the subject line blank or with a greeting like "Hi".

2. Keep the message focused No one wants to get an email that is disorganized, vague, or leaves the recipient wondering what the point is. Be clear, concise, and organized. If you have more than one point, suggestion, question, or request, break them up into different paragraphs. Don't ramble. Get to the point quickly.

3. Be Polite Urgency and being concise do not mean rudeness. Say please and thank you. Offer lightness and fun while still maintaining professionalism. No one wants to receive an email that makes demands or makes them feel unappreciated.

4. Edit, Edit, Edit Make sure you proofread your message before you hit send. Email is a casual form of communication but is still a way for you to send the message that you are well-educated and a good communicator. Don't let poor spelling or grammar make your message look bad.

5. Don't Overcommunicate If you have 3 questions for someone, put together one well-thought out, clear concise email with your questions. Don't send someone 9 emails with one line each that will just annoy them and lead them to get frustrated and respond less.

Remember, using email is a time for you to put your needs in writing for a reason: you want them read, understood, and met. Following these tips will help you achieve that goal.

#Hashtag Best Practices

August 12, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

What's a #Hashtag? A Hashtag is any word or phrase with the pound (#) symbol immediately in front of it-- no spaces or added characters. This symbol turns the word or phrase into a link that makes it easier to find and follow a conversation about that topic. First find out if the subject you're tweeting about already has an established Hashtag, then join that existing conversation, or you can create your own. Hashtags can show up at the beginning, middle or end of a Tweet.

You may be tired of seeing Hashtags everywhere, but consumers aren't. Better yet, search engine giant, Google, now supports Hashtags in their search results! When consumers want to find you, talk to you or talk to other people about you, Hashtags make it easy for them to do so. Connect with your audience with the keywords they're already using and help steer their conversations back to your brand. Here are a few Hashtag best practices:

1. Do your research:

Don't just pull a Hashtag out of thin air, find out what your customers are searching for and make sure the Hashtag is appropriate and talked about. Use RiteTag to help determine the strength of your word or phrase.

2. Keep it simple:

#hashtagsthataretoolong only create confusion among your consumers and you decrease your search-ability since the lengthy tag you just created isn't being used or talked about among others.

3. Don't over tag:

For optimal engagement, it's important to make sure Hashtags are only a part of your tweet or social message. Avoid using more than 3 Hashtags per tweet. Keep your message relevant, directed to general interests and pay attention to the time you deliver the message.

Overall, Hashtags are a powerful symbol, even off of Twitter. When people see one, they know they need to turn to Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to find out what's happening.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s message. Want to learn more about the trending world of Hashtags and social engagement? Call on us for your web and marketing needs: 904-867-4112 or Email Us.

How to use Google Analytics

August 12, 2014 by anoadmin Leave a Comment

Google Analytics is a service offered by Google that generates detailed statistics about a website's traffic and traffic sources and measures conversions and sales. Basically, it generates valuable reports that become helpful in developing an online marketing strategy.

To sign-up for Google Analytics, visit the Google Analytic Homepage. If you already have a Google account (e.g. Gmail or Google+), just simply sign-in. If not, you must first create one. To link Google Analytics to your site, a tracking code will need to be generated. You must copy (Ctrl+c) the code and paste (Ctrl+v) to the end of the Head tag. Not sure what an Head tag is? Contact Old City Web Services and for a small fee, we'll set it all up for you!

3 Things to Pay Attention to in Google Analytics

1. Traffic Sources

Go to Acquisition > Overview

The Traffic Source Report tells you the number of visitors (both new and returning) and where they are coming from. Pay close attention to your search traffic percent-- this tells you the percentage of people finding you from search results.

2. Organic Search Traffic

Go to Acquisition > Keywords > Organic

This report shows you what keywords visitors used to find your website. Pay close attention to the non-branded keywords-- these are the services, products, or offers that you provide to your customers. If most of your keywords are branded (the actual name of your company), then you may want to consider investing in an organic SEO strategy.

3. Bounce Rate

Go to Audience > Overview

The bounce rate is one of the most overlooked analytic. Most people look at the total number of visitors that came to their site, however the bounce rate shows how many of those visitors went to one page of your website then immediately left. Having a high bounce rate can tell you that there might be something wrong with the design, layout, or content on your site.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s message. Want to learn more about Google Analytics and ways to improve the number of people finding and engaging with you online? Call on us for your web and marketing needs: 904-867-4112 or Email Us.

Quality Content: What It Is, Why You Need It & Where to Start

June 25, 2014 by anoadmin

Web content is more than placing a brochure on your site or typing out a bullet point list of the services you offer-- you need a good amount of quality content for two primary reasons:

1. Traffic - You need it to get people to your site; it's the king of SEO
2. Engagement - You need it to keep visitors from leaving your site

Hands down, the absolute most important element of content is quality. Without quality, you can wave goodbye to potential customers because they either can't find you online or they're just not interested in what you have to say. So, how do you know if your content is quality...

Quality Content Is:

Original (you wrote it!)
Unique
Offers real value - customers want substance
Purposeful
Jargon-free - it's tough to sell something when users cannot decipher your lingo
Easy to find - you want Google to find it, rank it and display it in relevant search results

Now that you're set up for success, it's time to get started so go ahead and grab your laptop and start typing...pretty easy, right? Negative.

Content writing is NOT easy, but it can sometimes be fun! Here are a few ways to make the content creation process a little bit easier and a little more fun:

Schedule a coffee date. . .

Interview your employees, customers, business partners, etc. Invite them to a quiet, relaxing cafe or coffee shop as an incentive. They'll give you valuable context and a unique perspective that you wouldn't have seen otherwise. Bring a tape recorder or record on your smart phone to easily refer back to later on.

Use your imagination. . .

Put your customers shoes on to tell a story others can relate to. Think of specific customer experiences or problems you solved that made a lasting impression on you. Put a name to your story and tell is how it is. This is the type of engaging and purposeful content you want.

Speak their language. . .

By using keywords that your customers use, you will help them better understand what you're saying. This will also help your content show up in Google's search results.

If you're struggling with content writing for a new or existing website, contact Old City Web Services! You can Email Us or Give Us a Call: 904-867-4112.

The Power of Image-Centric Content

June 18, 2014 by anoadmin

Tips on how to use images to support your content marketing

What do SnapChat, Instagram and Pinterest have in common? Images! Even the top-two social platforms (Facebook and Twitter) encourage users to share images rather than just text. Think about it: aren’t you more likely to read a tweet with an image attached than one without? Did you know that Facebook actually gives more exposure to posts that include photos (or video) than just text? Overall, images rule! Here are a few reasons why images will absolutely rock your marketing efforts:

Make blog posts more inviting
Increase social engagement and share-ability
Boost search engine rankings

In what ways can you better use images to convey a message? I'm glad you asked! Here are 3 things you can do:

1. Use photos to break-up text on your website or blog
2. Combine the two by layering keywords / phrases, a sales pitch or call-to-action over an image (customers are more likely to read and retain content that’s presented in a visual manner!)
Tip: Take a step further & hyperlink images to redirect the customer elsewhere on your site!
3. "Share" instead of status - Use Facebook's photo-sharing feature instead of the status update when posting a photo on your Facebook Business Page. Make sure to post as much visual content as possible-- it gains a higher status in the timeline and news feed than text-based updates.

Need assistance boosting your marketing efforts with image-centric content? Contact Old City Web Services today to start reaching more customers! Email Us or call: 904-867-4112.

We look forward to hearing from you!