How active is your business on Social media?

Now’s the time to up your game, because online time has never been higher.

Did You Know?

Online and digital use during the past 18 months has increased by 43%.
(resource: smartinsights)

Online Time Upsurge

People are spending more time online for several reasons:

• Researching companies, services and products.
• Online shopping. 
• Connecting socially with those who share common interests.

A Website is the Most Valuable Asset Your Business Has!

• In order to function properly and stay on top of search engine algorithms, sites require frequent optimization. 

• Without frequent optimization websites don’t function properly.

• Sites not functioning properly fall behind in the search engines.

• When websites fall behind in search engine indexing, income and goals are affected.

Ultimately you’ll lose more sales than you can ever imagine.

What is Website Optimization?

Website optimization is the process of utilizing tools, strategies, and experiments to improve the user experience, and overall performance of a website.

Appearances Matter!

Does your business use a free Email provider to send and receive email?
That’s a definite no-no in the ‘let’s be successful’ online business world.

Small Businesses Can Do Better

• If your business isn’t using an Email address such as: @yourbusinessname.com or @yourdomain.com, then you’re coming across as unprofessional.

• Why would people make a purchase from your website if they feel they can’t trust you? It’s always better to use a custom Email address created under your own domain name. 

Dedicated Email accounts are often included with website hosting plans. Email can be downloaded and read through a client such as Outlook, Apple mail, etc – or can be managed and read in the cPanel of your hosting account.

Choosing a Domain name for your business website seems like it should be a simple task – but in reality it isn’t.

Pairing a relevant Domain name with the proper TLD extension for your business is crucial.

Remember –
A Domain name is a direct representation of your Brand, and intertwines with everything from Social media posts to marketing assets to digital ads.

Going with the right Domain name at the start of every business journey can:

• Be one of the best marketing investments ever made.
• Contribute to the growth and longevity of a business.
• Escalate the Brand and set it apart from competitor companies.

Have you been wondering what those tiny images are in the subject line of email you receive?

Each one of those tiny images is called an Emoji, and they’re being used more and more to attract the eye of the reader, create urgency and trigger emotions.

• Emojis are not 100% utilized in the business world but they’re catching on.
• People are scanning and sifting through countless emails every day on multiple platforms.
• Emojis have come to help readers prioritize email and sort through what’s important and what’s not.
• Marketing email has seen a spike in open rates that include an Emoji.

An SSL certificate can make a huge difference in your marketing efforts 

Whether your website is: 

• A Blog

• Educational or Informational

• A Non-Profit

• A Local Business Selling Services

• Making Ecommerce Sales

Google is suppressing sites in search results without SSL status.

 A website is your primary asset when it comes to marketing your business – so all the time and money you invest into it could be a waste of time if it’s buried in the search results. 

As with any social platform, the more followers you have, the easier it is to get more followers.
People want to experience what others are drawn to.

Just because you might have 100,000 followers - it doesn't mean they're going to be targeted followers your business wants ... the majority may be ‘watchers’ and will never convert to buyers.

Your goal is to cultivate followers who will become customers and loyal advocates of your Brand. 

Now is the time for small businesses to start thinking about event marketing.

Hosting an Event is an effective marketing tool to promote your business, while strengthening connections to your local community, and those looking for your products and services.

People are ready to hear and learn about your business and what you can do for them. They’re eager to know more about your products and how to use them. They want to know what services you offer, and how those services will make their lives easier.

Did You Know?

Google looks at over 200 ranking factors that contribute to where a page appears in the search results for any specific keyword search.

Google is known for making frequent algorithm changes that impact search results - the newest one coming around the pike - Google has labeled as the Page Experience signal.

The Page Experience signal was scheduled to roll out in May. The drop date has been moved forward to a mid-June release with full search ranking integration by end of Summer.

This particular algorithm has the potential to impact your website search results, so it’s important for you to be aware of it, and make changes to your site now … if you haven’t done so already.

For business owners, a website is the core lifeline of an online business.

The reliability of a web host will either support or damage that lifeline.

How Much Risk Are You Willing to Take?

Web hosts that fall short can affect your site's SEO and that's something you can't afford to suffer through - not if you own a business where your reputation and sales are a prime priority.

Cheap hosts can turn into a nightmare if they fall short. Think of a web host as an apartment you're renting. The less you pay will most often translate to fewer perks such as no parking, no doorman for security, faulty appliances and heating, peeling paint, bugs in the kitchen, etc, etc. You soon realize you made a mistake, lured in by the low cost - you end up just wanting to move.