building effective websites: my brother built it, why doesn’t it work?

Who we are

Public relations and social media marketing expert, strategist and

consultant

Internet marketing, search engine optimization, website development, email marketing, social media and CRM consulting expert

Agenda

Why doesn’t it work?

1. Bad content2. Confusing navigation3. Old functionality4. Ineffective at driving traffic5. No tracking or analytics

Marketing Bubble

• Communication • Optimization

• Reputation • Engagement-ination

Why is the Internet Important?

More than 89% of consumers use search engines to make

purchasing decisions.

CONTENT AND BRANDING

Content and Branding

• Fresh Content• Coolness factor – interactive or interruptive• Find balance between the movement of images• Appropriate company branding • Appropriate use of flash and video • Images should support the content • Write updatable text• Skip the sound

Content

• Information about:– Your Product– Updated and

accurate Pricing• This is a must!

– Effective Contact Information

Case Study: Content

Effective Contact Information

DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE

Difficult to Navigate

• What are they looking for?

• How easy is it to find information?

– How many clicks does it take to find _________?

– Am I led to the next step?

– Is it easy and intuitive?

• Does it represent your company image?

• Are you proud to send your friends and relatives there?

Difficult to Navigate

• Top Navigation vs Side Navigation• Buttons• Clickable text

OLD FUNCTIONALITY

Case Study: Mega Menus

Case Study: Enhanced Mapping

Responsive Design

Benefits of a Mobile Site:

• Market your business and brand • Increase your prospect list/email database • Improve search rankings• Change/add content • Expand reach and increase engagement• Enhance image• Improve communications• Market directly • Better user experience • Visitors will stay longer

Mobile Site Must-Haves

• What’s Important to You in a Mobile Site?• Speed• Clarity• Finger-friendly

NOT BUILT TO DRIVE TRAFFIC

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Building a Search Engine Friendly Website:1. To show up in the

organic search engines results pages (SERPs)

2. Sites like Google find your site, read your site, index your site and display your site based on how relevant your site is to the user’s search.

SEO Statistics

• 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine. • 70% of the links search users click on are organic. • 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search

results.• 79% of users say they always/frequently click on the

natural search results. • 80% of users say they occasionally/rarely/never click

on the sponsored search results. • Google owns 65-70% of the search engine market

share.

• Bots and Spiders review

• Relevant keywords

• Title Tags• Meta Data• Proper external

and internal links

• Importance of Fresh, well-written Content

Organic Search Engine

Increase KeywordsJan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov

REAL KEYWORD IMPROVEMENT (JANUARY-NOVEMBER)

Business insurance atlanta

15Unranked to #15

Business insurance consultants

40Unranked to #40

Commercial insurance atlanta

28 30 24 36 15 25 11 11 11Unranked to #11

Commercial insurance consultants

25 9 14 11 10 6 9 8 9 5 5#25 to #5

Flood insurance Georgia

49 34 25 31 52 67 84 65 72Unranked to #72

Health insurance conslutants atlanta

20 25 28 22 8

Unranked to #8Homeowners insurance atlanta

38 44 44 53 40 52 41 32 42Unranked to #42

Life insurance consultants Atlanta

35 13 12 11 17 12 1 1 1 1Unranked to #1

How to Use Social Media for a Competitive Advantage

Increase Your Website’s SEO• Increase Keywords• Increase Referring URLs• Better SERP Results (Search Engine Results Page)Reputation Management• Create Credibility• Interactive Platform to Reach Buyers & Media• Fix SERP Results (Negative online publicity)

Social Media’s Influence on SEO• Social Media

Sites Send Signals to Google

• User-Generated Fresh Content

• Optimizing your Results

• Credibility

Social Media

• Interactive Social Sharing Buttons

• Importance of Strategy

Case Study: Social Media

Blogging

PROPER CALL TO ACTION

Proper Call to Action

• Contact Us• Follow up

– Step by Step plan for converting leads to sales– How much time do you have?– Personalization – increases response by as much

as 75%– How to respond? Email or Phone – Dedicated online sales person

• Tell them what to do!!!

Goals of your Website

Visitors are so EXCITED that they…

1. Drive to your Office/Location

2. Call your Sales Representative

3. Email or fill out your contact form

Are people contacting you because of your website?

Are you getting traffic from the search engines because of the way the site was built?

TRACKING AND ANALYTICS

Tracking and Analytics

• How do you know your site is working? • What metrics do you look at on a regular basis?• What do you do with that information?

Website Tracking Metrics

• Number of Visitors

• Referral Source

• Number of Leads Generated

• Number of pageviews of: – Driving directions– Phone number– Contact Information

Measuring Effectiveness: Mobile

Measuring Effectiveness: Social

Case Study: New Website

Questions?Marketing RELEVANCEwww.marketingrelevance.com@mRELEVANCEwww.facebook.com/mrelevancewww.youtube.com/mrelevance

Mitch Levinson, MIRM, CAPS, CSP, CGP, MBA847-259-7312mitch@mrelevance.com

Carol Morgan, MIRM, CAPS, CSP770-383-3360x20carol@mrelevance.com

Thank You!