5 Ways Technology Has Improved Time Management Skills

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With the integration of technology in everyone’s lives, the amount of time to do a task has been significantly reduced. And this is important since managing time can be difficult to do on your own. Technology brought about tools that help people with time management.

Some of the most useful time management tools are Microsoft Excel, Gmail, and Dropbox. They help with communication, consolidation of files for quicker access, and analysis of huge amounts of data. By learning how to use these tools, you’ll be able to build your time management skills. 

Having said that, technology has a huge part in time management, and they go hand in hand. Let’s look at some of the ways technology can help you with managing your time. On the other hand, the article will also tackle the problems with technology when it comes to time management.

How Technology Helps You Manage Your Time

Whether you’re a professional or a student, you are expected to finish a lot of tasks. Fortunately, you’re living in a digital world where you can use tools that help delegate your time to more important tasks. Some of these tools are straightforward, and some require a little bit of training for you to maximize their use.

But don’t worry! With platforms like Acuity Training, you can also attend online courses to build your technical skills. They provide a medium for you to learn how to work your way around different Microsoft Office programs. Not only that, but you can find courses for other apps and programs like Adobe Photoshop, SQL, and AutoCAD.

We provided a list of how you can use technology to manage your time better.

  1. Provides Easy Access to Documents With Cloud

With technology, you don’t need to fill out bookcases with important documents that are at risk for any natural disaster. You can save your library of work-related documents online through cloud-based programs. This eliminates the need to look for a specific document in a pile of paper, reducing the time to get the information you need.

Below are some software and tools that can assist you with a cloud-based filing system.

Dropbox

Dropbox is one of the most well-known cloud storage services available right now. It’s free, and your account initially comes with 2GB of storage. You can increase the storage and gain some perks by purchasing specific plans.  For example, their standard business plan lets you have 5Gb storage and can share to more than 3 users.

It is a great application since it syncs instantly across all of your devices wherever you may be. As long as you’re connected to the internet, your files are automatically uploaded to the cloud. You don’t have to worry about saving work files to a USB drive again. And more importantly, you are given access to your files through your smartphone, laptop, or tablet.

Google Drive

Google Drive is ideal for generating documents and spreadsheets. Through apps like Google Docs and Google Sheets, you don’t have to remind yourself to save every once in a while. As you work, the system saves the file to the Drive automatically. 

You can simply log in to Google if you need to make changes or view files from home.

Sharing and collaboration are other important features of Google Drive. You can organize projects into folders, share them with others, and work on papers at the same time. This will help get your project done quickly.

  1. Helps You Plan Your Day and Manage Your Tasks

Technology makes it easy to keep track of your schedule. You don’t need to go through paper calendars, emails, or old text messages to know which tasks are scheduled for the day. Some apps are integrated into other apps where they automatically remind you of the tasks you need to do.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is such a useful tool as it syncs with the majority of third-party task apps. This significantly makes it easier to manage your time to do tasks across many apps.

nTask

nTask is a project management tool with a wide set of features that are flexible to use. It allows you to schedule, plan, and manage your tasks through a calendar view. You also get access to the meeting management feature. This enables you to schedule and manage meetings easily.

Most importantly, it has third-party integrations, which let nTask remind you of your to-dos for the day.

  1. Helps Keep Track of Your Time

Knowing where you focus your efforts is a vital aspect of time management. This doesn’t mean you need to keep track of every minute of your work. This just means that you need to have a basic idea of how you spend your time. And technology can help you in this aspect.

Toggl

Toggl is an essential tool where you can accurately monitor the time you spent working on each task. Perfect for allocating enough time for more important projects. It’s a useful program that works on both your phone and your PC. You can manage your time according to projects and tasks, and you’ll obtain a detailed report in the form of graphs and charts.

It’s also useful for getting a sense of how you spend your time. You may think you’re being productive for the majority of your day, but sometimes, that’s not really the case. 

Toggl can help you see your workflow during the day by showing how much time is spent doing non-work-related activities. Knowing this can help you revisit your process and make it more efficient in the future.

  1. Provides a Medium in Delegating Tasks

Whether you’re a manager, a corporate director, or a team member, delegating tasks is an important aspect of your job. Fortunately, technological advancements provide an efficient way of managing a team. You won’t have to do meetings or conference calls as this can take up much time for both you and your team. 

Trello

Trello is an incredible tool for visualizing tasks, especially for groups. It allows you to create boards used to represent projects and simply assign tasks to each team member. You can also create various lists inside each board and include tasks in the form of cards.

  1. Helps You Focus on Your Task

While technology is useful in many aspects of your job, it can also distract you from important tasks. Receiving texts, emails, and calls, for example, disturbs your focus on the task you’re currently working on. 

The only solution to this is to turn off your phone and concentrate on the task at hand. Luckily, you don’t need to be rude to other people when they try to reach you. There are apps with features that automatically send a message that you’re currently away.

Auto Response Feature in Emails

You need to stop responding to emails as soon as they arrive. It distracts you from your concentration and ruins the momentum while you’re working. Is the email urgent? Do they really need an immediate response? If not, you can set an auto-response email to let them know you’re currently unavailable to answer their questions.

To maximize such features, you need to establish a system where you only respond to emails during specific times of the day. If it’s an emergency, they can contact you through other means. 

Create an email auto-responder that informs recipients when they can anticipate a response. Schedule a time of your day for responding to emails and leave the others to the auto-responder.

Final Thoughts

It’s a known fact that technology helps people improve their time management skills. The list above provides some of the examples of tools that you can use to manage your time better. However, some challenges also arise when it comes to using technology. And these can get in your way of doing tasks.

The key here is to avoid becoming distracted or overworked. Schedule a time in your day for non-work-related activities and avoid being on your phone all the time. Technology has its pros and cons. Use technology to your advantage and make it work for you rather than against you.

Want to share other apps and programs for time management that are not on the list? Let us know in the comment section below!

 

Social Media Manager Salary: How Much Should You Earn?

Everyone wants to have a decent pay for their work. It is very important to figure out how much you should be getting. Just look at the statistics of earnings and and you will be surprised at what salaries the qualified specialists receive.  Today we will talk about the salary of an SMM specialist.

So who is an SMM and what does he do?

The profession of an SMM manager can be said to be that young, although in terms of the speed of development and changes, it is quite comparable to SEO, and in terms of volume it is in no way inferior to it. How much does an SMM-specialist earn, what the salary depends on, what skills will help you increase your salary and where big money is hiding in SMM. Today it is one of the most popular professions. But every year, the potential of social networks is increasing, which means that work here requires maximum involvement.

An SMM manager is a specialist who is engaged in promoting a business; there are various companies, brands and individuals in social media: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and others. Its tasks include increasing customer coverage, improving the visual and filling image of the customer, communication with subscribers.

Social media platform managers are implementing various innovative ideas to generate modern projects and formats. They also control analytics and along with the dark indicators of the effectiveness of the projects carried out. Those who used to make money thanks to not entirely honest services for boosting subscribers and likes, today remain without the desired and so necessary activity today. Now the work of an SMM manager should show not just a beautiful picture: a neat profile, a general color palette, individual icons for relevant stories, but, of course, an impressive number of subscribers.

How many SMM specialists work?

There are SMM specialists who are employees of companies and are listed in the states. They work either in the office – usually a co-working space – or from home.

We have much more time to use a programming language in any language. In most cases, the working day will be irregular – this applies to both weekends and work at night, because some weekends or contests need to be held in the evenings, for example, drawings dedicated to Halloween – exceptionally shortly before this day or on the holiday itself.

Average salary for a social media manager

Let’s move on to one of the most important topics for those interested in this profession: the salary of an SMM manager. It certainly cannot be called big, but only because the remuneration depends on the company and specific ones (which we will consider with you below).

It is clear that an SMM manager without experience or an intern earns several times less than a senior SMM manager or a head of the SMM department, who clearly have a lot of experience and their disorderly skills are better than those of a beginner.

How much do professionals with the title of “social media manager” earn in the US? According to Glassdoor, the base salary in the US is $ 50,473, and this role usually does not include bonuses or additional compensation.

PayScale reports a slightly higher average annual salary in the US at $ 51,262, which includes bonus, commission, and profit sharing:

 

How to negotiate a manager’s salary on social media 

Applying for a new job as a social media manager? Be sure to have an idea of ​​the wage range that you can expect from the offer. If you need to find a job but don’t know where to start, check out the expert advice.

But what if the offer you received doesn’t match your needs or doesn’t match what you think you deserve?

Take a look at some of the most effective ways to negotiate a paycheck and demonstrate how much value you add. 

What can affect your salary? 

 Now let’s figure out what most employers want and what is important when applying for a job. What do they pay attention to, what do they require from the applicant and what salary do they offer?

Researching marketing, advertising, or communications can help you qualify for the position. However, these areas of study are not the only ones that can help you increase your earning potential. In fact, social media managers with journalism and political science degrees have some of the highest average salaries.

Your educational level can have a significant impact on your earning potential in marketing. Also, how much an SMM specialist gets is influenced by the person’s position and qualifications. However, if you have an advanced degree, you may have additional negotiating opportunities.

Candidates with a master’s degree earn an average of $ 55,000 per year. Earning a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree can bring you closer to an average of $ 60,000 per year.

Responsibilities of an SMM specialist:

  • development of a strategy for promotion in a social network;
  • generation and design of content: text, photos, videos, infographics and other visual components;
  • attracting subscribers, increasing the audience;
  • building and increasing brand loyalty;
  • monitoring the effectiveness of page promotion;
  • work with brand mentions in social networks, reputation marketing.
  • you need to be able to develop and approve strategies for brand promotion in social media;
  • competently use modern trends and current trends;
  • generate new ideas and test new hypotheses in the field of promotion;
  • analyze the market, competitors and audience;
  • clearly implement the approved content plan;
  • increase: subscriber engagement, brand awareness, brand loyalty;
  • increase the audience;
  • generate content for posts and stories;
  • work with brand mentions (on Instagram, Twitter);
  • reply to comments;
  • communicate with subscribers in Direct / messages;
  • carry out analytical work to monitor the effectiveness of page promotion;
  • prepare regular reports on the effectiveness of page promotion;
  • be creative, literate, stand out;
  • create advertising campaigns and run them.

What shouldn’t be your responsibility:

It is widely believed that an SMM specialist must perform absolutely all tasks, at least indirectly related to social networks. But in fact, this is just a myth, because not every good targeting scientist knows how to write high-quality, useful text and vice versa.

I do not exclude the possibility that there are SMM specialists who are able to single-handedly cope with setting up and running advertising campaigns in social media, writing posts and designing visuals, strategic planning and communication with users in 4 social networks. But the employer should remember that the remuneration for such work will be asked for much higher.

With the correct organization of the workflow, the tasks of an SMM manager should not include:

  • Self-writing texts for posts on social networks – there is a copywriter for this.
  • Creation of designs and creatives for publishing, creating photos and videos, retouching illustrations and editing video sequences for the next dynamic visual. Hand over this case to designers, photographers and cameramen.
  • Independent communication with customers about the purchase of goods or services. Only sales people should do this! After all, they work in the company for this and to sell. And not only through offline communication channels with the target audience.
  • Set up targeted advertising. To obtain a high-quality result and a high return on investment in the promotion of funds, it is worth transferring this functionality to Internet marketers or targetologists.

Important!

Although an SMM specialist should not be able to do all of the above on his own, he must understand the technical aspects of such work, how everything works and why: how to determine the effectiveness of an advertising campaign, how correctly the message is used in the text of the post, which visual element will be appropriate – all this should know the SMM specialist.

Professional skills:

As a rule, in the job descriptions of an SMM specialist, you can see the following requirements:

  • Ability to write attractive texts, competent speech: both oral and written;
  • Knowledge of the possibilities and limitations of social media :, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and other platforms.
  • Understanding the specifics of promotion in each of the social networks. Again, how it works and how to work with it;
  • Experience with web analytics services. For example, Google Analytics and others;
  • The presence of basic competencies in interaction with graphic editors and photo stocks;
  • Understanding of the general principles of SEO and CMS functioning;

Knowledge of the English language also improves the level of the CMM manager, allowing him to follow all foreign trends and open the way to foreign customer companies. Then, how an understanding of marketing and PR processes in a company and the connection of different communication channels: advertising on TV and radio, placement of promotional materials at points of sale, peculiarities of interaction with the media – help to get a complete picture of the specifics of the profession.

The necessary personal qualities include: curiosity, creativity, communication skills, analytical and systemic thinking, independence and internal discipline – they are very much appreciated. The latter is especially important for those who choose the path of a “free artist” who does not depend on the busy schedule of a particular organization and who cooperates with many customers.

By the way, if you look at the ever-growing number of social networks today, you can see that it is becoming more and more difficult to manage multiple accounts, and here SocialPilot will help the specialist, which will serve as a “cloud with a silver lining.” A number of advanced functions of which will help you easily manage multiple social media accounts, which is a very convenient and modern solution.

What are the pros: the ability to cue content and lay out publications in multiple accounts, Chrome Extensions Over To You, creating and managing multiple groups at once. You can also use SocialPilot to create a new group through your dashboard and add related LinkedIn and Facebook groups to it, and it also helps you get to know the latest content on a variety of topics, allows you to curate content, and allows you to intelligently change your posting schedule. This will save you research time as you get quality content with just one click.

Conclusion :

An SMM manager is a person open to new things, ready to constantly learn to improve their own competencies, who loves to stay in trend, who knows how to find language with different people and who is not afraid of stressful situations.

SMMs agree that the market does not have a clear understanding of how much a specialist needs to be paid. Business representatives do not fully understand how evaluate the work of an SMM-boxer and why overpay. So how much to pay ?! Assess work adequately, analyze your capabilities and needs – and set a decent salary.

AUTHOR BIO :

David Walker economic writer and content creator. Strives to meet your requirements within your given deadline. David have acquired over ten years of work experience in finance and investing. Now he working for the company ICOholder.

 

 

 

The Ultimate Guide: Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses

As a small business owner, you may be wondering whether or not social media marketing is worth your time and effort. The answer is yes – social media can be an extremely effective way to reach new customers and grow your business. In this guide, we will provide you with everything you need to know about social media marketing for small businesses.

The Value of Social Media for Small Businesses

The use of social media for small businesses can be extremely valuable. It provides a way to connect with customers and promote products or services. In addition, it can help build brand awareness and create customer loyalty.

Tailoring Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

When you tailor your social media marketing campaign to your small business, it becomes more effective. You need to find the networks that are most relevant to your customers and target them with content that is interesting and useful. Additionally, be sure to respond to comments and questions on time; this helps build customer loyalty.

Another important aspect of tailoring your social media marketing campaign is using the right tools. Many free and paid tools can help you manage your campaigns more effectively. For example, Hootsuite allows you to track multiple social networks, schedule posts, and measure results.

Finally, be sure to keep up with changes in the social media landscape. Networks are constantly evolving, so it’s important to adapt your campaign as needed.

Best Social Media Platforms for Small Business

Many social media platforms are great for small businesses. The ones that you choose to use will depend on your business’s goals and the demographics of your customers. Here are some of the most popular social media platforms.

Youtube

Youtube is a great way to market your small business. You can create videos about your products or services, and post them on your channel. You can also create playlists of related videos, and add links to your website or blog in the descriptions.

You can also use Youtube for advertising. You can create a video ad that promotes your business and target it to people who are interested in what you offer. 

Instagram

Instagram is a visual platform that can be used to show off your products or services. You can also use it to build relationships with potential and current customers by providing valuable content.

You can post photos and videos of your products, behind-the-scenes footage of your business, or posts that show off your company’s culture.

You can also use Instagram stories to engage with your followers. Stories are a series of photos or videos that disappear after 24 hours. You can use them to share sneak peeks of new products, answer customer questions, or give a tour of your office.

Facebook

Facebook is the perfect place to start when it comes to social media marketing for small businesses. It’s a great way to connect with your customers and create a community around your business. Here are some tips for using Facebook effectively:

  • Create a page for your business. This should be separate from your profile.
  • Make sure your page is complete and up-to-date. Include a profile picture, cover photo, and description of your business.
  • Post regularly. You should aim to post once or twice a day.
  • Engage with your customers. Reply to comments and questions.
  • Use hashtags. Tags help people find your posts when they search for related topics.
  • Promote your page. Share it with your friends and followers on other social media platforms, and add a link to your website.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a powerful platform for small businesses to connect with their target audience. With LinkedIn, you can build relationships with potential customers, partners, and employees.

To get started on LinkedIn, create a profile that highlights your business’s strengths. In your profile, include a link to your website and describe what you do in detail.

Next, join relevant groups and start networking. Share your content with group members and connect with people who might be interested in what you do.

Finally, use LinkedIn Ads to reach more people. Target your audience by location, job title, company size, or other factors. You can also use LinkedIn’s Audience Insights tool to learn more about your target audience.

Twitter

Twitter can be a great way to connect with customers and followers. It’s also a great way to share news and updates about your business. Here are some tips for using Twitter effectively:

  • Make sure your profile is complete and up-to-date, including a link to your website.
  • Create interesting and engaging tweets that will capture the attention of your followers.
  • Include a call to action, such as asking followers to visit your website or sign up for your email list.
  • Respond to comments and questions from followers on time.
  • Use hashtags to reach a wider audience.
  • Monitor your Twitter analytics to see how well your tweets are performing.
  • Use Twitter advertising to reach a wider audience.

Tips for Small Businesses Social Media Marketing

  • Establish your goals and objectives

What are you hoping to achieve through social media marketing? Increased web traffic, more leads, higher customer retention rates? Once you know what you’re aiming for, it will be easier to determine which channels and tactics will work best for you.

  • Define your target audience

Who are you trying to reach with your marketing messages? Knowing your target audience will help you craft more relevant and effective content.

  • Choose the right channels

Not all social media platforms are created equal – some work better for certain businesses than others. Do some research to figure out which channels will be most effective for you.

Quality content is key to success in social media marketing. If you can provide your audience with useful, informative, and engaging content, they will be more likely to stick around and interact with your brand.

  • Engage with your audience

Social media is all about interaction – the more engaged you are with your audience, the more successful you will be. Respond to comments and questions, and join in on conversations.

  • Monitor your progress

Keep track of how well your social media marketing efforts are performing by tracking key metrics such as website traffic, leads generated, and customer engagement rates. This will help you determine what’s working and what needs to be tweaked.

  • Be patient

Social media marketing takes time and effort – don’t expect to see results overnight. Persevere, keep creating valuable content, and you will eventually see positive results.

Conclusion

Social media marketing is an incredibly powerful tool that small businesses can use to reach a larger audience. By creating valuable content and engaging with your followers, you can create a strong social media presence that will help you grow your business.

Also, don’t forget to use social media advertising to reach even more people. By targeting your ads correctly, you can get your message in front of the right people and see a big return on your investment.

Social media marketing can be a great way to connect with customers and promote your small business. In this article, we’ll discuss what platforms are best for small businesses, how to create a social media strategy, and more.

Author-Bio

Mark Hensley is an ex-Senior Hardware Engineer at Hewlett-Packard, an IT Professional, and the Founder of Povverful, contributor to ByRossi.  Website – https://ca.byrossi.com/

8 Website Design Trends That Will Make an Impact on Your Business

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/web-design-webdesign-web-design-1668927/

A website is a powerful, robust, and flexible marketing tool for any business. It is a platform that can reach millions of people, without huge spending on advertising.

The company has total control over the content. This gives tons of flexibility to the marketing team. They can use it to showcase products and services. Blogs and whitepapers are also fantastic ways to build authority in the industry.

So, an impactful business website should have some critical elements. The content should be relevant and provide enough information on the business. Pages must be fast loading and easy to navigate.

An e-commerce website design has specific requirements. Such include the proper arrangement of page elements to allow for easy browsing. Think of it much like an aisle or counter arrangement in a brick and mortar establishment.

There must be a contact page for anyone who needs to reach the company. Tech-savvy companies are integrating some technologies to improve the user experience.

AI chatbots, for example, assist customer service. Voice search provides convenience to online visitors. It works well for those who prefer to speak rather than type requests.

But, there is so much more to website design. Our article explores some trends that could have a significant impact on a business.

Why Web Design Matters

Why should web design be such a big deal? In seeking answers, we spoke to Chromatix web design and conversion agency founder and CEO Irwin Hau. The Melbourne-based digital agency has been in operation since 2009.

This is what he had to say. “Web design is more than the act of putting together different elements. There must be a thought process behind everything the web designer does.”

He goes on to say; “a business website is a robust sales tool. It needs an engaging design, and user engagement persuasion techniques to achieve ROI. The web designer must have a good grasp of human psychology and human behavior to achieve this.”

The business website design matters because it should elicit a specific response. Think engagement, interest, interaction, persuasion, and finally conversion. 

“Staying on top or in the know about the latest trends is not negotiable. It is a requirement for modern web design companies. There is so much competition, noise, and clutter in the online space. The designer will be doing the client a disservice in using outdated practices,” concluded Chromatix CEO Irwin.

We went on to ask the web design specialist what he felt were some impactful business website design trends. Read on to see what they are.

     1. Accessibility is Taking Center Stage

We will place accessibility as the number one trend for business websites. To make it in the business world you must reach everyone. 

That means taking into account people who may have disabilities or specific impairments. The site should cater to those with visual, hearing, or mobility challenges. 

Screen readers, special keyboards are some elements that can help. Others are descriptive alt text in images and easy-to-read fonts. What you may not know is that your business can get into trouble if you do not consider accessibility.

There has been a significant rise in lawsuits within the last few years. In the US, there were 11,053 cases in 2019. One case involved a blind man suing Domino’s because he could not use the website. 

Federal agencies have been on the receiving end as well. Such include Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration.

The web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG), standardize compliance and accessibility issues. What we are calling a trend right now, may very well become a must-have feature on all business websites.

     2. Technology in Web Design

Business owners need to take time to understand the online user. The first thing is that there is so much content in the digital space. Competitors are doing all they can to get to the target audiences. 

The modern, tech-savvy consumer is more demanding. Your offering must evolve beyond the basic product or service offering. What do you have that will set you apart from everyone else? 

The competition is now revving up. It is becoming commonplace to find some of the latest technologies in web design. Such include:-

  • AI chatbots to assist with customer service. Online visitors get prompt responses to queries or concerns. The chatbots can also recommend products, based on past purchasing behavior. They are also a fantastic way to collect data that helps in decision-making.
  • Voice assistants provide convenience on the website. They help in communication, fulfilling orders, and responding to other customer demands.
  • Voice search for those who prefer not to type out requests.
  • Virtual and artificial intelligence to provide immersive shopping experiences. Customers use the technologies to explore products without touching the tangible item. You can try on makeup virtually before deciding what to buy. IKEA has an AR app that allows you to pick and arrange furniture in a virtual room. It helps customers in decision-making. It is easier to buy when they see what the pieces will look like once in position.

     3. The Mobile-First Approach to Website Design

The reality for businesses is that many people use mobile devices to browse the internet. Research shows that as of 2020, there were over 4.28 billion mobile internet users. 

Without a doubt, the number will keep on increasing. The figures show that mobile internet traffic stands at over 55%.

Astute web designers realize the importance of a mobile-first approach. That means they design for small screens and scale them to larger ones. The whole idea is to get the layout right for mobile devices first. 

And, search engines like Google use mobile-first indexing. That means they base their ranking on how the website looks on such devices. When designing for mobile there are some critical things to have in mind. 

The design should be intuitive and simple. Navigation and links must respond to finger scrolling. Font sizes should be easy to read. Image sizes should allow for quick loading while maintaining clarity.

     4. Minimalism is Here To Stay

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If there is one web design trend that remains relevant year in year out, it is minimalism. Just look up the best web design trends, and it  is sure to come up. 

Minimalistic web designs are attractive for various reasons. They scream professionalism, simplicity, and elegance. Web designers incorporate a lot of white space for a non-cluttered look.

It all goes back to Chromatix CEO Irwin’s position of understanding human psychology. White space is inviting and provides a subtle nudge for the online user to browse through the pages. 

Think about it much like you would visiting a brick-and-mortar store. How likely are you to stay if everything is everywhere? The clutter will evoke feelings of confusion and disorientation. Yet, the typical  human mind appreciates order. That is why clean aisles with lots of space bring in a calm feeling. 

Minimalistic designs aid in easier browsing. The online visitor views each unit independently. Crowding elements together forces the eyes and mind to view them together as one. 

But, put some space between each element. The eyes pick and concentrate on each one. It provides a fantastic way to communicate without distractions. The right positioning of elements like CTAs can elicit the right response. 

     5. Ultra Minimalism is Replacing Minimalism

The beauty of web design trends is that they keep on transforming. While minimalism is here to stay, a new concept is creeping in. And, that is ultra-minimalism. Think about it as an extreme version of minimalism. 

The website design team only includes the most basic elements. Think minimalism, then slash it down to 75% or less. Remember the white space we talked about? Now, add a little more blank space. Color use should typically not exceed two tones. Forget lengthy paragraphs, excess details, and so on.

For the business, you get to achieve so much. The most obvious is a professional-looking website that is clutter-free. You also get fast loading speeds because of the few elements on the site. Communicating with audiences is pretty simple with such designs. 

And, you get the opportunity to draw their eyes to the products or services, without any distractions. The web designer will focus on elements that spark interest and make you want to click on the site. 

     6. Dark Mode Adds an Element of Mystery

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There is something so mysterious and alluring about the dark mode. It evokes feelings of drama and curiosity while being very attractive. Social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are some of the forerunners in its use. 

Some people find that dark mode makes screen reading more comfortable. There may be no substantive research to support this. But, those who use mobile devices for long sessions find it more comfortable.

And now, the trend is finding its way to e-commerce website designs. There is so much flexibility, allowing for tons of creativity. The right combination of contrasting colors will make images and fonts pop. 

Those who are not ready to make the full transition have alternatives. Such include night shift or low light interfaces. That means the user can adjust the setting depending on the light. Providing toggling options is a great way to get people to engage better with the website pages.

Is the dark mode for everyone? We would say no, but it depends on your target audience. Younger audiences, millennials, and Gen Z would gravitate towards such a site. It has a ‘cool’ factor that is sure to catch their interest. 

     7. Custom Images Increase Engagement

It is not uncommon to find the same images on many websites. To cut costs, some designers will suggest to the client the use of stock images. Such are pretty inexpensive. And you also have the option of free ones on platforms like pixabay.com and unsplash.com. 

But, web design companies are starting to offer clients the option of custom images. There are several options available. 

  • The first is image treatment. The web designer tweaks or customizes photographs using different treatments. They can include shapes, layers, textures, or colors onto existing photographs. The resulting image is unique to your business website. 
  • Another option is to use illustrations. The web designer has complete freedom to ‘draw’ images that fit into the design aspects. 
  • Collage images combine graphics with images. Done in the right way, it provides a powerful way to communicate 
  • Cartoon characters are playful and fun
  • Organic or abstract shapes bring more depth to the pages. Forget straight lines to break sections within the page. Directional wavy lines are a fun and easy way to pull the visitor’s eyes to specific parts within the page.

Taking this approach frees you from the copy and paste culture that exists in the digital space. There is no limit to creativity, which increases engagement.

     8. Movement Makes Things More

 

Image source: https://www.vertbase.com/

The other interesting trend is to add some movement to the website. The advantage is you increase interaction and engagement with whoever is on the site.

There are so many ways to achieve movement including:-

  • User triggered micro animations like hover effects
  • GIFs
  • Shifting shapes or icons
  • Floating elements to remove the rigidity of static layouts
  • Dynamic scrolling
  • Embedded videos, and so much more.

Final Thoughts

Keeping an eye on web design trends is always very interesting. Some manage to remain relevant year in year out. One of the golden oldies that still trumps newbies is minimalism. It is a safe option for any business that wants a professional-looking site. 

But, some new designs show signs of a progressive company. Before making major changes, have a good understanding of the target audience. Gen Z is more accepting of change than older generations. 

The latter find safety in the familiar. So, if your business targets such groups, some trends may not be for you. 

The best piece of advice we can give is to consult a professional web development and design company. They have relevant experience to advise you on the best options. Consider the cost of hiring experts as an investment towards the success of your company.

How can SEO help you build brand recognition?

Having a recognizable brand is perhaps the most important thing to a business. Branding is your logo, motto, and color scheme. It’s what customers remember about your business. If your potential customers don’t recognize your brand, they won’t engage. 

One of the best ways to build brand recognition is through SEO. Through this article, you’ll learn how they are related. You’ll also learn SEO strategies that will ensure consumers will easily recognize your brand.

But why do you need to focus on brand recognition in the first place?

Importance of brand recognition

If your potential customers don’t know who you are, you can’t sell to them. Customers engage with brands they recognize and trust. According to a report by Edelman, 81% of customers must trust a brand to buy from them. If your brand is familiar in the customer’s minds, they are more likely to choose you over your competitors. 

Having a recognizable brand gets customers to engage with your marketing and enter your sales funnel. It also helps you get new leads which results in sales. 

Think of it as a cycle. The better your brand recognition, the more likely you’ll generate sales again. The more sales you have, the more likely consumers will, again, recognize your brand! 

Why SEO matters for brand recognition

Statistics by SmallBizGenius show customers need five to seven impressions to remember a brand. So, how do you get these impressions? Through an effective SEO strategy. You want to appear as high as possible in SERPs to increase your chances users will see you. 

The more time a person spends interacting with your brand through your website, the more they are likely to recognize you the next time around. If they purchase from you, you’ll get even better brand recognition! Not to mention increased sales.

Simply put, the higher you are in SERPs through good SEO, the more visible you are to consumers. That translates to improved brand recognition the next time around.

Ways to improve SEO for improved brand recognition

So, now the question is this: How do you improve SEO to improve brand recognition? Let’s look at some ways.

     1. Use structured data

In the world of SEO, structured data refers to a type of markup on a webpage that allows search engines like Google to interpret how it will display your data in SERPs. So, for example, the code that would tell Google that random numbers on your website are your business contact number looks something like this:

Source

When a bookstore like Full Circle Bookstore in Oklahoma, for instance, uses that type of markup in its site and appears in SERPs for a specific search query, users may see something like this:

You might ask, but what does structured data have to do with SEO? Well, even if structured data isn’t a direct ranking signal, it can help you rank higher in SERPs indirectly. When you give people additional data about your business, you increase the chances someone clicks on your link.

An improved clickthrough rate can lead to improved SEO rankings. That’s because when a URL is frequently visited, Google concludes that the page is valuable. 

     2. Ensure a great user experience

If you want to rank well on search engine results pages, you must ensure your website provides a great user experience. Google’s algorithm, after all, takes into account just that when ranking websites. 

Besides, having a good website user experience is great for your brand image. When people can easily navigate your site, they’ll associate your brand with great service.

But what exactly should your website have to ensure a great user experience?

Here are the fundamentals:

  • Fast website load time 

Few things frustrated customers more than a slow website. According to Portent, website conversions drop by an average of 4.42% with each additional second of load time. So, optimizing your website for fast load times is essential. Optimize your images and remove render-blocking JavaScript. Assess your page speed with Google’s PageSpeed Insights.

  • Easy access to content 

Your content needs to be accessible to customers. The more customers have to click through pages to find what they need, the more likely they will leave your website. 

  • Seamless customer journey 

Tools like Google Analytics allow you to see the paths customers take on your site. If one element is letting you down, fix it, as this is where you are likely losing your customers. 

Make sure your logo features across the website. The idea is for your website visitors to associate that logo with your brand. Don’t forget to ensure consistent branding as well. Visit professional brand agencies websites for more examples. 

Create content in line with user’s intentions

If you want to increase your chances of appearing in SERPs for improved brand recognition, you need to make your content relevant to user’s queries. So, two things. 

One, you need to know what your target audience is searching for.

Two, you need to include those keywords in your content to maximize the chance of it appearing at the top of the SERPs.

Let’s talk about that first point.

Start by defining your audience. That’s where customer personas can help you.

Customer personas are fictional representations of your ideal audience. They contain important data about them, including their problems. These are the problems they are probably looking to find solutions to on Google.

Source

Having a customer persona will help you define your brand voice and the pain points to address in your content. Once you’ve gone through this process, you’ll need to use relevant SEO tools to optimize your content for the search results.

Tools like Clearscope, Frase, and Surfer SEO are invaluable for content creation and content optimization. These tools will help you to identify the keywords to include in your content, the headings to use, questions to answer, and more. All of this data is gathered from a review of the ranking content in the search results.

Here’s an example of the UI for Frase, one of the SEO optimization tools I mentioned.

On the right side of the dashboard, you can see that you have a list of keywords alongside the suggested frequency. There are tabs for questions to answer, content ranking for the term you are targeting, and more on the right menu.

Utilizing all of this data to optimize your content drastically increases the chance of it ranking.

There are many examples of companies that use these types of tools to optimize their content. Nextiva’s SIP trunking provider sales page is a nice example of best practice.

Above the fold, they have the initial sales copy with a call to action.

The sales copy is not optimized for SEO. Immediately below the fold is where the magic happens. You can see they have a definition of SIP trunk. That definition targets the Google featured snippet.

Below that definition, you have sections that address SIP trunking. The page goes on to explain why you might want SIP trunking and has a whole section with Frequently Asked Questions.

The page outline does a great job of addressing customer pain points, answering questions, defining terms, and including all of the relevant keywords. Creating SEO optimized content like this for your site dramatically increases the likelihood of your content ranking.

     3. Invest in link-building 

Another crucial part of a successful SEO strategy is link-building. If you can get backlinks from sites with high domain authority, it will have a huge effect on your search rankings. Google looks at backlinks as votes of confidence made by sites that link to you. So, if many authority sites link to your content, Google is likely to conclude that your content is high-quality and should therefore rank.

But how exactly can you get those backlinks? Well, sure, you can wait for other sites to discover your high-quality content. That, however, might take too long. You need to get your content in front of them.

Guest posting is a great way to generate backlinks. Write a great blog post that contains links to your content on your site, and have that blog post (guest post) published on another website. Check out this sample guest post from Neil Patel on Geekwire:

Source

The guest post contains a link to Kissmetrics, one of his companies.

The more backlinks a piece of content gets from relevant authority sources, the higher the likelihood Google will show that content on the front page of the search results. When that happens, Google can analyze user quality metrics like bounce rate to assess whether the content deserves to be shown on the first page of Google.

 

Optimizing images in WordPress for SEO

In a time where we have cut-throat competition in almost every sector, it gets very crucial on our part to make sure our product, site, or business stands out. In a virtual world, you can make your content or site visible by optimizing it according to the latest algorithms. That’s the way you can rank better in Search Engine Result Pages (SERP). People who use WordPress know that this platform allows you to build your own site from scratch and requires almost zero programming information. But creating a site through WordPress doesn’t mean the admin will get the highest rank on SERP. Again, there are many more pages that have quality content and can give you competition. For that part, you need to learn a few tricks about WordPress SEO. You need to understand which tools can help you coax more traffic to your content.

Now with time search engines are also revolutionizing to make it a more efficient experience for their users. One of the features which define this revolutionary take is ‘image search’. Around 1 billion searches are made on Google Images every day, and that number is quite big. That’s why people have initiated to optimize their images for WordPress SEO.

We have jotted down 10 really constructive tips to optimize images in WordPress for SEO. Go through each point and build a better optimization strategy.

     1. Use Images

The foremost tip to optimize your page through images is to add images to your site. Many people just believe in writing a good piece of content for their website and don’t pay much attention to the visual outlook of their pages. Images help your readers/visitors to understand better. They are a visual representation of your ideas which might not come across through words but definitely through images. As it is said, a picture is better than thousand words. Sometimes what your content fails to do, images can do that like a child’s play. Now, comes a very important clause to this trick. You can’t put TOO MANY IMAGES in your blog post either. If it has been advised to use images, that doesn’t mean we can overload our pages with that and don’t have any useful content for our readers.

     2. Choose The Right Image Format

Search engines are evolving every day. They are getting better each day. So, it will be wiser to choose the right image format for your site. A large image will make your website big and it will take a longer time to load. When everything in this virtual world is just one click away, you can not even take an extra second to revert to your user with apt information.

Images saved as JPG are usually smaller in size as compared to PNG and GIF. However, when you have to maintain the quality of the image you must use PNG images which are better for high-quality images, and WordPress Seo.

     3. SEO Friendly Alt Text

Before we start with how to put your Image Alt Text, let’s clear out the idea of what it is. Alt texts are generally used to describe your image to Google. You have to put words in Alt Text which describe your image best so that the search engine can rank your image better in searches. Now, the next important question that arises here is how to optimize your images through Alt Text. That’s quite simple, stick to the basic rule: elaborate with minimum words.

For example, do not just write ‘Books’ instead write ‘Steve Jobs Biography’. This way, you can make it more clear about what your image is. In case your image doesn’t load, at least the viewer can understand it by reading the Alt Text.

     4. Work on Your SEO Title and Description

By default, Google uses the title and description you have used on your page to show under the description space of an image. You must take care of what title and description you are putting on your page, whether it matches with the image or not.

     5. No Attachment Pages

When you use WordPress, in case you upload images on your site it creates a page for all the images being uploaded. These pages are called attachment pages. Now the thing is, these pages just display the bigger size version of your image. Search Engines usually consider such pages/sites as lower quality with little or no content. This could result in bringing down the ranking of your page. The good part about WordPress is that it is one of the most SEO-friendly CMS which gives you plenty of options to work on WordPress SEO. In this case, as well you can disable your attachment pages by using the plugin.

     6. Image Structured Data

Google Images categorize some images as a rich result and show them along with prominent badges on search result pages. You can get that badge for your images as well. All you need to do is work on adding structured data to your site. This way Google will consider your image as a rich result and rank it better with badges. These badges give quick info that what your page is all about which increases the chance of bringing traffic to your site. Google Images display schema markup for categories including products, videos, and recipes.

     7. Turn to Social Media Platforms 

We know this well that the amount of traffic social media has these days can’t be matched with any of the other online platforms. Social media has immense traffic always available for doing great business. Under your WordPress SEO strategy to optimize images, make sure you select the right images which can be shared on social media for your site. Social platforms like Facebook and Instagram are quite image-based, users are generally there to check out interesting stories or pages through images. So, that can be a great opportunity for you to optimize the kind of images you may use for your site and bring traffic through it.

     8. Speed Up Using Plugins

If your site has some large files and images, you can try up the idea of browser caching. The cache stores all the large files on the user’s web browser which can enhance the speed of your website. There also another way in which cache contributes to WordPress SEO is that when your site’s first page is loaded cache copies that page and then shows the copied version of your page to other users. In this way, it speeds up the load time of your site for the user. We are already in a time-space where everybody is in so much hurry that they need everything available online within seconds. So, this trick can do wonders for your SEO strategy.

    9. Compress The Size of Images

Google has already shared in their algorithm that speed of site matters in SEO. You have to build your website in a way that it takes less time to load everything online. That’s the key to ranking higher on any SERPs. Google uses this as a factor to serve the user with rich results including fast and relevant sites. One way through which you can speed up your site is by compressing the image size. This way your images used on the site will take lesser time to load without compressing with the quality. There are plenty of free online platforms available where you can compress your images before use.

     10. Create Mobile Friendly Site

Earlier the sites were accessible through browsers only until smartphones came. Now everything is just right in the hand of your user and a click away. So being a good and efficient website, it must be mobile-friendly. Google even ranks mobile-friendly sites even higher on search result pages. All you need to do is select a good responsive WordPress theme that can adapt to different sizes and shapes.

Try on these 10 tips to optimize images in WordPress for SEO and make your site even better.

 

HOW TO WRITE AN ARTICLE THAT WILL BRING A LOT OF TRAFFIC

Gone are the days when you needed to simply update your site to attract a lot of organic traffic. Such basic tools don’t work now, but with the right strategy, you can still boost your metrics. In this article, we are going to show you some interesting tactical decisions that you should try to take your blog to the next level. The main point is that you should always be flexible — to hire specialists , to try different strategies, to get rid of outdated topics, and so on. Be open to new opportunities, and you’ll surely succeed.

Write about something your audience is really interested in 

Most students hire companies like Studybay when they don’t like their essay topics because they know it is a losing game. Starting your blog, you should write about something that you really like. Passion always serves like a readers’ magnet. But if you feel that it is time to generate something new, you should take your audience’s opinion into account. The world is changing rapidly, and while you’re writing about your favorite music, young TikTokers own your followers. Just because they follow trends.  

So, what can you do?

  • Ask your readers directly;
  • Do research in different social media and find hot trends;
  • Analyze your blog and think about topics that you’ve not written before;
  • Think about collaboration with other bloggers. 

Of course, it doesn’t mean that if your website is about running, you should write about cycling. But what about interesting sports ads that were posted recently? Make brands your friends, and they will bring you a new audience. 

Use technical content

There’s no need to always write only your own content to fill your blog. Sometimes the best content can only be created by a professional at times with more experience. The trick is to use that content for our own purposes.

Don’t steal, copy and paste anything; just put some effort in and create a list from the content you already have and then refine it. A weekly “best of the industry” post can make you relatable. It shows that you follow the news, link to the best of the best and it makes people want to read you and share a link to your blog.
Write optimal length posts

The ideal length for an online article is somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000 characters.

If it’s less than 500 characters, it’s probably too short to be meaningful. If it’s 5,000 or more, then break it up into 2 parts, that will be right and beneficial to you. Although… big articles, especially if they’re guides like this one – have their perks. So – the choice is yours, your niche and your audience.

Ask for professional help 

Though your blog is your business, you can collaborate with other people and enter into partnerships that will help you to increase your traffic exponentially. The main point is that you work with people and companies who do something that you can’t.

For example, if you post content just for fun, and now you want to delve deeper, to look for more serious topics, to show your attitude, etc., it would be a good idea to hire a writing service with appropriate experience. These are people who will study your request, analyze your blog and ideas, and write incredible content for you. When your articles are of high quality, interesting, fresh, and unique, people just can’t ignore them.

Try basic SEO tools

If you believe that your content is great, and the only problem is that people don’t see it, you should try search engine optimization (SEO). It is a set of practices that make your blog visible on the Internet. The better you optimize your site, the more followers you can get. 

The most obvious choice is to hire a SEO expert who will conduct an audit and provide you with a plan of action. If you’re ready to invest, choose this way and find a reliable professional. But it doesn’t mean that there are no other solutions that will take you less money.

You can install apps like All in One SEO, Semrush, MozBar, etc. You can also learn more about Google Analytics. These services can give you a score that evaluates the optimization of your site. You can also receive an actionable checklist with tips to follow. For example:

  • Use keywords in your posts;
  • Optimize all links;
  • Link to other articles from your blog;
  • Link to articles from other blogs;
  • Ensure your title, description, and headings are optimized;
  • Write longer articles;
  • Optimize your visual content, etc.

This SEO story may take you some time, but you definitely shouldn’t avoid it if you want your blog to grow.

Experiment with hooks for your audience 

You may think that traffic is just numbers but, in fact, traffic is people. It is your audience that likes or dislikes your content. If you want your readers to share your posts, comment on them, interact with you, and get engaged in any other way, you need to make your content fascinating. There are some ideas that you will appreciate:

Infographics

If you want to communicate some concepts in your blog, it would be great to add quality infographics that can hook your readers. Even the most valuable data and statistics are dull, but you can change the way your audience perceives it. And you don’t even need to hire a graphic designer, there are many free or cheap tools like Canva and Crello that will help you to create visual content.

Memes

Memes are funny, easy to make, and, what is most important, they are viral. People don’t share smart articles, they share something that their friends can laugh at. Use online generators to add your text to common meme images. However, it is very important that you don’t overdo it. When your mood hits, you can meme the funny idea, but you shouldn’t create memes all the time. Use them like icing on the cake but don’t forget that your cake should be delicious as well.

Reviews

If you want to make your content useful and attractive, write articles with titles like “10 best romantic movies to watch this summer” or “5 books that changed my life”. People like lists, and they like it when somebody provides them with recommendations. Share your opinion on the content you digest so that your site becomes more vigorous. It would also be a great idea to ask your readers to share their favorite movies, books, songs, etc., and to compile their ideas in your articles. 

Ask for feedback

If you have been analyzing your blog for a while and can’t understand what is wrong, it is because you’re biased. Most content creators consider their sites to be impeccable because they consider them to be their children, raised from birth. And if you don’t want to hire third-party auditors to provide you with some recommendations, you can just ask your audience.

Write a post with your reflection on this issue, and your honesty will surely attract a lot of traffic since people like it when bloggers become closer. Besides, you’ll receive more interesting hints from your subscribers.

You can also conduct a small survey with questions and make it anonymously. Gather any kind of feedback you receive and analyze it to come up with new solutions.

It is essential to remember that running a blog is a continuous job that never ends. You have to follow the trends and be flexible if you want to stay aboard! 

Best Ways To Build An Email Marketing List For A Brand New WordPress Website

An email list is a bunch of individuals who are interested in getting general email updates from you. Normally, individuals get onto your email list by providing their data in an opt-in form on your website. 

Email marketing is not the only approach to keep your crowd up to pace. But it tends to be an important technique for business. Sure it’s a decent method to get individuals to return for extra. However, you can likewise consistently fabricate customer trust by offering some incentive for nothing. You would then be able to transform this into a deal or customer further. The best part is, you can practically robotize the entire cycle. You simply need to develop and create an email list. 

Isn’t email marketing outdated?

In any case, isn’t email dead? Haven’t you heard that social media is the place where everybody’s at? 

It’s a typical assertion! However, if email use was really dead, for what reason would each online platform expect you to join with an email address? 

Email has been the most solid type of electronic communication for as long as twenty years. And it hasn’t eased back down. Also, building an email list is significantly simpler than building followers on a social media platform. 

Facebook and Instagram both cut off the reach of your pages to only a portion of your followers. Except if you need to pay for advertisements. Likewise, your tweets just show up for a restricted time frame on a client’s feed. 

Then again, when you send an email, it arrives at all your subscriber’s inboxes and stays in their inbox until they make a move. 

We are not saying you should relinquish social media. These platforms are extraordinary for building client engagement but the email will bring you more guests, conversions, and deals. 

Ultimately, a social media website can vanish or turn out to be less famous. By the time they vanish, they will take your subscribers along with them. 

But email has been around since the beginning of the internet. It’s as yet the most well-known way individuals impart on the web. 

Email marketing beats social media advertising in a number of snaps. 

We have tried this over and over. And the outcome is consistently something very similar. Emails get us multiple times a greater number of clicks than all social media consolidated. 

Be that as it may, how does email perform so well? The appropriate response is simple. Email is private and individual. 

If this is anything but sufficient motivation to begin building your email list, here are some significant advantages. 

Assured Reach

Consider you are using a social media platform like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. Your updates will undoubtedly be missed because of the actual idea of how social media works. Be that as it may, individuals will generally browse emails more cautiously than their social media accounts. 

Completely accessible and full ownership

You don’t claim the content you post via social media. Your profile can be suspended anytime. And you lose every one of your subscribers. Or even wild, what if the famous social media platform leaves the business? We are not saying that they will, for sure. However, your email list is something that you own. Next, you are not restricted to the standards of the social media platform. For example, the length of the content or hashtag rules. You create the boundaries yourself. You can add email newsletters inside your WordPress blog with more viability than adding on social media platforms.

Focus on your audience

The best part about building your email list is that you can utilize it to focus on your target audience locally. Moreover, target people in explicit nations, urban communities, and states. Let us assume that you are introducing a new product in selective areas. Email is the most ideal approach to arrive at your subscribers around there. 

Boost income

You will attain a stage where you have ensured reach, better focusing on, and your client’s consideration. Then, you are unquestionably going to build an income. 

Check out some numbers!

The ROI of email for every $1 spent is $40. That is more than paid hunting and natural traffic consolidated! 

2% of followers of a business social media account follow a company’s post in their feed. But 90% of emails reach the intended inbox.

You are 6 times bound to get a click-through from an email campaign than from a Tweet.

When requested to pick to get updates from an organization, just 10% ended up with Facebook. 90% decided to get email updates.

These details explain enormous opportunities for anybody hoping to increase their promotion exertion.

Building an email list – Get started

You can’t make an email list in WordPress if you don’t have a set-up in place. A popup plugin! With a WordPress email list building plugin like Optinly, you can make delightful, customizable opt-in forms and show them on your site. 

Popups – How effective are they?

There are various sorts of pop-ups that can be utilized to build conversion and guest engagement. Choosing the perfect one for your WordPress site is the only thing that is in any way important. Alongside picking the right plugin, idealizing the pop-up prescribed procedures, you need to know the right kind of pop-up for a colossal effect on your WordPress site. 

Ways to build an email marketing list 

Each and every popup is outfitted with its highlights that aid the cycle of business development. Distinguish the popup features and type that will work for you and install them on your WordPress site. Here are a couple of popups you can look at for your WordPress site. 

Gamification or spin the wheel popups

Presently, who might not cherish a fun component to a great extent? Then gamification pop-ups are the ones to opt for. These pop-up forms boost conversion and increase customer engagement on your WordPress site. This permits you to collaborate with your WordPress site guests extraordinarily. 

Gamification pop-ups are ideal ones for gaining the attention of first-time guests. They help increase guest communication on your site. 

Crowd pulling popups

Create extraordinary forms through attention-gaining and eyeball-grabbing pop-ups. These sorts of pop-ups will play an essential part in expanding your email list. Not exclusively will it increment the number of email accounts you have but also will produce better quality email leads. 

Get the WordPress pop-up messages right, then these sorts of pop-ups can have an extraordinary engagement rate. There is no uncertainty about these pop-ups building a solid crowd base. 

Guide website visitors

Why not utilize a popup for directing guests to your WordPress sites? 

Directing through the site doesn’t mean assisting the guest with exploring but telling them about the following steps or a major announcement. This will go about as an update just as an aide for the guest to monitor your site updates. 

 

These popups are ideal in telling the guest about your tentative plan and convert them into a dedicated client. However, commit no errors as these popups are pivotal and should be utilized at the perfect spot of page pop website design. 

Special offer popups

As the name says, these pop-ups are powerful. They show up and let the guest realize what is “going on” on your site. For instance, a WordPress site that offers certain downloadable items or resources at a unique cost can raise its deals through these popups. 

With regards to getting the message out about unique offers, there is no option in contrast to this popup in the advanced range. They are experts in completing the work hassle-free. 

They make the best out of each circumstance and will tell the guests the deal they will get. They can be shown on a full screen or in a specific position of the screen. 

Notification popups

How might you tell the guest something significant that is happening on your site? The appropriate response is a notification popup. 

They are ideal popups when you need your guest to think about the extraordinary digital books, impending significant occasions, or something enormous. These popups immediately command guests’ attention and let them think about the significant happenings on your site. 

These popups can be set anyplace on your web page and it will draw in guests’ eyes when it pops up. Notification popups are among the most utilized email popup prescribed practices. This will engage your guests with new data and furthermore go about as a reminder.

Countdown timer

Indeed, you got it right. A popup to incite a need to keep moving among your guests. Let us say that your site is facilitating a tremendous discount deal. Then, this is the popup you should opt for. It will tell the guests about the deal while poking them towards making the purchase. Utilize this popup at whatever point a huge deal or an enormous occasion is drawing nearer. It’s anything but a high drive towards the objective event.

Full-screen overlays

These full-screen popups are baffling in some cases. When rightly utilized, there can be no other popup that can compete with this popup’s capacity. These popups with the right message will command the client or guest’s attention totally. 

For instance, let us say that you are introducing another product. You need every one of the guests on your WordPress site to think about the product. Then, this is the popup that can get it going. Indeed, these popups can sometimes be bothering visitors. So, ensure that the button to close the popup is unmistakably apparent to the guest. 

Make the most of these popups each time they are shown with the right message. A full-screen popup will empower you to convey the right message with no problem. Have a clear and concise objective while utilizing these popups. 

Timed popups

These popups will appear when a guest invests a specific measure of energy in your WordPress site. This popup can be utilized when you need to give the guest extra data about your site. 

For instance, let us assume that there is a guest on your WordPress site. And checks out around five minutes on the landing page will find out what the site is about. Now you can utilize this popup to give the guest something exceptional, such as digital books, unique event content, and things like that. 

These timed popups are viable and will effortlessly command crowd attention. The guest will be unquestionably taking a look at the screen when this popup is shown. 

Exit-intent popups

An exit-intent popup can similarly help you by running with advanced triggers. 

One of the immense concerns of eCommerce is cart abandonment. If you look to reduce the cart abandonment rate, then this is the popup you should opt for. 

Commonly this popup will wake up when a client is just a few minutes away from abandoning the cart. 

You can pass on a message to the client regarding an exceptional discount when they will finish the purchase. This will push the client to place the order successfully. These kinds of popups have a solid demonstrated history of diminishing cart abandonment.

Another exclusive way to recover abandoned carts and boost sales is to run automatic cart recovery campaigns using plugins like Retainful – Abandoned cart recovery plugin.

Widgets and ribbon forms

Utilize a standard ribbon form at the most visible area of the site. 

It is direct and undeniably observable. You can similarly make a widget email membership form for your sidebar that appears on each page. You can use floating bar popups in various positions like those listed below.

You have alternatives to 

  • Show slide-ins on either corner of your screen. 
  • Show floating bar popups either on the top or lower part of your screen. 
  • Fix floating bar popups to the screen while being looked over.

This shows up at the most visible point of your visitor’s program. Thus making it easy for them to spot. You can just make it with the assistance of a WordPress popup plugin like Optinly that you add to your site to look rich. 

A sign-up form

In any case, you need to guarantee you have an email signup form that lives on your blog or website forever. 

While picking where to put your sign-up form, the thumb rule is to find the most recognizable yet extraordinary position that doesn’t encroach on the experience someone has with your site. 

Your site visitors may not be adequately searching for your email membership form. In any case, they really desire to see the link in the navigation bar of a site. Whether or not it is a link to your newsletter or your free ebook, use the navigation bar to add more subscribers to the email list. 

 

Feature box ends up being a commendable way to gain the attention of the site visitors and get their contact information. A feature box is just an enrollment membership box set around the highest point of your landing page or other important pages of your website. 

With Optinly, you can make a membership popup that is viable on all gadgets – mobiles, tablets, and computers at zero expense, as it is a responsive WordPress popup plugin. 

The wrap

While the initial step to developing a set of audiences and transforming them into clients is obviously traffic and getting guests, mainly. The subsequent step is ensuring that they continue to return. If they don’t return, they’ll simply be some arbitrary individual who wandered onto your site once. 

In this way, whenever you have begun building your email list, it’s significant that you engage your subscribers. 

In a perfect world, you’ll make it a habit to send them periodic emails, regardless of whether it’s week by week or month to month. 

Only one out of every odd email must be promotional. You can send emails asking for inputs, giving supportive tips, or telling them of the new content you have made.

Meta description:

Got your business a brand new WordPress website? Subsequently, you want to know how to grow an email marketing list. Check out the blog for the best ways to building an email list.

Author Bio:

Tharani is a blogger and round-the-clock learner. Apart from blogging, she has years of experience writing content for social media promotion, explainer video scripts, project case studies, and various forms of content. When not busy writing, you can find her exploring movies, cooking, and of late discovering the amateur voice artist in her.

Author Email: [email protected]

What is a Lead Campaign on Google Ads? How to Set it up?

Google has captured 92.42% of the market share in web search by capitalizing on its ability to provide users with relevant information quickly and easily through Google Ads campaigns, according to a 2017 report from eMarketer .

But as SEO becomes more competitive than ever before, organic clicks are no longer profitable enough for advertisers who can choose from over 1 million keywords that cost them upwards of $2 per click or 2¢ per view.

Creating a lead-generation campaign on the Google ads platform is incredibly simple. You need only follow three easy steps and you’ll be ready to start getting more customers for your business or organization! 

Advertisements are now taking up a significant amount of space on mobile devices. While Google search ads used to occupy only 25% of desktop clicks and 55% of mobile clicks from 2015-2017, this trend has continued until they can take up the full screen above your result before you even click through or reach page one.

These results are bad news for advertisers who want to capture a high percentage of search traffic. In the past three years, ads have started appearing above or below organic links on mobile devices and desktop computers as well (full screen). Now that Google has made it so difficult to get through even the first page in most cases, ad campaigns seem like an unnecessary investment.

What is Lead Campaign on Google Ads ?

An online advertising campaign is a lead generation tool that draws in high-quality, relevant leads for businesses.

To make more sales, businesses that have long sales processes need to use lead campaigns. Lead campaigns supply their employees with opportunities for making a sale when there are many customers in the market who might be interested (in buying insurance or real estate).

By driving traffic to landing pages, insurance companies are able to acquire their customer’s contact information in exchange for a free quote.

People visit insurance landing pages to get a free quote in exchange for their contact information.

Google Search Ads are ads displayed in relevant search results and can be the most profitable type of ad. As Google has expanded its advertising program, these now include YouTube video ads as well as display network text-based advertisements that appear on websites across the internet.

 

Google Search Ads are ads that display relevant search results. They typically generate a positive ROI and drive an average of $2 for every dollar spent on them.

Google is one of many companies that uses paid advertisements to generate revenue for their business. These types of digital marketing tools have become very popular among small businesses due to how easy they make it for a startup company with little resources compared to other forms such as television or radio commercials which require much more time and money spent before seeing any return on investment (ROI). While some online advertisers struggle finding success from using traditional methods like PPC or CPM platforms, starting out with Google’s

So let’s start with the lead campaign

1.Find The Right Keywords

The first step in starting a business is to find the right keyword. The best way to do this is through research and testing, so it’s important that you don’t rush into anything blindly or spend too much time on one particular keyword before moving onto another.

The very first thing someone should consider when they are looking for keywords for their business is whether there has been enough search volume recently within Google Keyword Planner Tool – meaning these words have just started gaining popularity as of late which might make them more relevant and useful than previously used ones such as “buy now” rather than something like “how can I help”

Google encourages advertisers to target generic keywords, but users are more attracted by a targeted approach. Google Ads actually show the search term in parentheses next to organic listings and paid results for that particular phrase or word on the page.

This is an example of how it’s easy for people who don’t know what they’re doing with their campaign targeting strategies can cause major problems when trying to get leads/customers from Adwords campaigns because there isn’t enough research done before starting them up about which words would be best suited towards getting conversions easily – instead just using terms like ?electrician.? People should look into whether these types of keywords, if used, will draw interested parties through ads so that companies won’t waste time and money resources advertising a product. This is why it is really important that you focus your efforts on understanding your customer expectations. A customer centric business has a clear advantage regarding its strategic keyword campaign as it has a deeper knowledge about its customers’ needs and mindsets, and knows the exact words that will trigger them.

2.Optimize Your Landing Page 

you have to optimize the page to convert as many visitors into leads. Google has set out best practices in order for their ads to not be paused/removed from search results if they are followed properly.

ohh no! the pop-ups

Google Doesn’t Want You Using Pop-Ups or Interstitials

While most marketers are using popups and interstitials to make money, Google doesn’t like them. This means not only no annoying popup ads that you probably weren’t planning on including anyway, but also no lead-capture interstitial ads.

Full-screen landing pages don’t always have to be long and informational. Google is fine with them as long as the content is relevant, but there are still some rules that users need to follow for their page not to get penalized by search engines or catch user attention in a negative way.

3.Run and  Test

Testing ads can improve the quality score, CTR, and CPC/CPA.

The secret of successful marketers is that they run tests to improve quality score and lower cost per click. Google defines ‘quality score’ as a metric which measures the relevance between ads, landing pages, search queries on GOOGLE Ads. Some advertisers think it’s just for vanity but really this holistic benchmarking algorithm helps with finding new ways to place your ad in front of relevant users according to their keywords searches thus helping you make some revenue from them!

The way I understand marketing campaigns such as AdWords (specially when we talk about Quality Score) is almost like running an experiment where one gets data back after every step taken during the execution process so understanding results becomes easy & effective at deciding what next steps need be done based off past

A/B testing landing pages can improve your conversion rates by as much as 550%. You could also perform simple changes like adding extensions to your ads. This may help you increase CTR and ultimately boost ROI!

With drastic improvements like this, you will see a huge improvement in your quality score and lower CPCs & CPA.

Try to Split-Test Ads

To test different ad combinations, simply enter in the description and headline variations you want. Then select an aggregate function to automatically generate ads for testing.

If you aren’t already an AdEspresso user, there are still some testing options within Google Ads. You should make sure that the ad group to test ads in has disabled its “optimize” setting by default.

A new Ad Variations feature in Google Ads will help advertisers create more varied ad groups for campaigns.

This update to the original automated tool, called “Ad Group Experiments” was created specifically with small businesses and marketers without large advertising budgets in mind. The tools allow users to automatically experiment within their existing ads instead of having one option always be shown while another is being tested on its own separate campaign or even entire account level.

This can interfere with impressions shared and prolong time needed to get conclusive results from tests so it’s important that only two options are ever running at once during experiments which this updated version allows you to accomplish easily through manual set up or via an improved AdEspresso integration .

Then, you only have to monitor the individual CTR, CVR, and CPC. also switch the ads on and off based on your  performance.

Conclusion

It only takes a few clicks to create an effective lead-generation campaign on the Google ads platform, but it requires more effort than that in order for such campaigns to be profitable month after month.

Instead of creating an individual landing page for each search query, you can create a few general pages that are optimized to drive people towards your CTA.

A campaign manager’s true test is their ability to improve upon results over time. You can also utilize external digital marketing CRMs to manage all leads at one place. Campaign managers must continue testing, or they will lose out in the end due to rising costs and a shrinking margin for profit.

 

 

 

8 Things Every WordPress Website Needs

Whether it’s a business website, creative portfolio or personal blog, no WordPress website is complete without these 8 “must-haves”.

When it comes to creating a high quality WordPress website that looks the part, there are a few essential things every WordPress website needs. Some are obvious, some are subtle, and some are things you might never have thought about.

In the points below, I’ll cover all the WordPress must-haves, so that you can develop a sleek and professional website to be proud of.

     1. Clear Purpose

It’s such a simple factor that it often gets completely overlooked in the site creation process – what are you trying to achieve with this website?

Is it a portfolio to display your work? Is it a point of reference for potential customers who want to learn more about your services? Is it an ecommerce shop where customers can actually purchase your products and have them delivered to their door?

Whatever your motives are for creating a website, it’s important to regularly remind yourself of this throughout the creation and development of your WordPress site. Purpose-driven websites deliver a clear message while maintaining a consistent tone of voice, with minimal distractions.

Whether you are selling a product, exhibiting a collection of work or providing valuable information, make sure you assign a clear purpose to your website – and stay true to it!

     2. Simple Navigation

When it comes to navigating between various pages on your website, you want it to be as fluid and intuitive for the user as possible, so that you don’t overwhelm them with too much information.

Drop-down lists are an excellent way to declutter your site menu, by grouping numerous pages into a handful of categories.

For example:

  • Links to Hairstyling, Nails, Massage and Skin Treatments can all appear when the user hovers the mouse over Services.
  • Links to Our History, Testimonials and Store Locations can all appear in a drop-down menu when the user clicks on About Us.

By streamlining your site menu, you keep your website looking sleek and simple, while still providing quick and convenient access to every internal page with the click of a button. Crisp site navigation is something every WordPress site needs.

     3. Eye-catching Design

Once your website conveys a clear purpose and is easy to navigate, it’s time to add some flair. Thankfully, WordPress makes this remarkably easy, with a whole host of visually stunning design templates to choose from – many of which can be customized to make your site unique.

The ideal design ultimately depends on your brand personality, and your target audience. The “less is more” mantra is always a good policy, and consistency across every webpage is key.

When it comes to search engine optimization, content and web design make a powerful SEO duo. This brings me to my next point.

     4. Good Copywriting

Have you noticed that everyone – from public figures, to pubs and restaurants, and even your local plumber – has a blog these days? There’s a good reason for it.

A blog can help you maintain a presence on search engines, so that when someone is looking for the products or services that your business provides, they’ll find you. This process requires good copywriting.

And when I say “good copywriting”, I’m not just talking about spelling and grammar (although, a quick spellcheck before publishing never hurts!). Good copy will:

  • Clearly demonstrate that your brand is a reliable authority on the topic
  • Contain keywords that can place you higher in the search result
  • Link to reliable external sources that substantiate your claims
  • Link to other content you have written, in order to strengthen your website’s internal links

Not only do you need to post regularly in order to stay on the radar and maintain your status as an authority in your field, but you also need to update ageing content to remain current.

     5. Share Buttons

This one is quite straightforward to implement, but it can do wonders for your website’s online presence.

Now that you’re engaging readers with quality content, you want to make it as easy for them to share your stuff as possible. Don’t make people copy your blog URL and paste it into the “share” field of their social media accounts – set up “share buttons”, so that every new blog post contains icons that the user simply clicks.

These icons will redirect the user to their social media page, with the link to your content embedded and ready to share. I recommend including share buttons for:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Depending on what your website is and who it’s for, you might also include links to Pinterest or Instagram.

     6. Testimonials

As persuasive as your website copy might be, it still comes from your brand. A simple yet effective way to convince potential customers that you provide a quality product or service is to include testimonials from existing customers.

This establishes brand trust, and displays a positive review of your business from a third party source.

     7. Numerous Contact Options (if applicable)

If the purpose of your website is to promote your business (or yourself), then ideally you want customers to be able to quickly and easily contact you for assistance, or a quote, or any other query.

Your website’s contact page should contain a phone number, email address, social media links (for instant messaging) and an enquiry form. In addition, every single page of your website should contain some form of contact method, whether it’s a phone number or email address.

Rather than simply stuffing your website to the brim with the same phone number in every corner of every page, I recommend a subtler approach – which brings me to my final point.

     8. Call to Action

A CTA is a phrase or sentence that speaks directly to the reader, commanding them in as persuasive manner as possible, to:

  • Buy your product
  • Book an appointment
  • Request a free quote
  • Start their free trial
  • Get in touch, etc.

Ultimately, you want your website to convert visitors into customers, members or subscribers. A well-written CTA that inspires urgent response from the customer is vital to maximizing conversions.

Don’t stop at these essential “must-haves”

By incorporating these eight things every WordPress site needs into the creation of your website, you can rest assured that your website already has the foundations for success.

While the points listed here cover the bare essentials of any professional website, there is no limit to the ways in which you can improve your WordPress site.

For instance, if you plan to sell products directly through your website with Shopify, it’s worth reading up on how to get your Shopify SEO right from day one.

And finally, keep in mind that a website is like a car – it requires servicing and maintenance in order to run efficiently. There are actions you can take on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis to keep your website optimized, updated and refined.