The key to measuring your web design, copywriting & web marketing
You should know by now that landing pages are crucial for effective lead generation. But why does it seem like you are not generating leads quite effectively as you’d like to be? You must be doing something wrong. Below are some common mistakes that could be hindering your landing page conversion rates from reaching their [...]
There are several things you can do to give your business blog a boost. When you first started out with your blog, your primary concern is to produce original and quality content on a regular basis. However, after a few months of regularly producing and publishing content and attracting readership, it can be beneficial if [...]
Though social media optimisation is a bit overwhelming for beginners, it’s not really. You may want to consult this list we have created to make sure your online presence across all networks cover these best practices. Even if you are not new to the social media marketing game, you may also want to do a [...]
Have you ever written a blogpost, publish it, then feel all you are hearing are crickets? If your content is not interesting enough, then it follows that it is not shareable. Remember that search is social and if your content does not get shared then you may be losing a lot on your blog’s traffic [...]
Increasing your online influence is all about managing connections and associating yourself and your business with those who have a strong online influence. According to McKinsey & Co, word-of-mouth is a factor between 20 and 50% of purchasing decisions – and the influential generate three times as many word-of-mouth messages as the non-influential. However, it’s [...]
It is hard to find the time and people who will write new content for your blog from scratch. Before you try to make new content for your blog, make sure that you are first making the most out of your existing content. The key is repackaging your existing content and distributing it on multiple [...]
All marketers know the importance of metrics. Why? Simply put, metrics help marketers set goals and track progress and data to confirm if they did a good job or not. By digging into the metrics and the results, marketers will understand what worked well and what didn’t and then learn from it. If you are [...]
Nowadays, people not only read content using their computers but also using their mobile devices. Even if you are not yet focusing on mobile optimisation, it is important that you already understand some of the content formats so its easier for you to prioritise your content creation efforts accordingly. Below are some of the content [...]
When done properly, paid marketing opportunities can enhance a business’ inbound marketing efforts. Displaying ads, for example, is a good way to promote your business and drive more traffic to your site. Unless you are doing it wrong! If you want to leverage your paid marketing opportunities and use it your advantage, make sure you [...]
Good business blogging is not about the number of words used, it’s about writing compelling content and optimising the written content for mobile use. Let’s break down some of the reasons why word count in business blogging is unimportant and let’s discuss the more important things we should be focusing on for our blog. Word [...]
Google announced a new tweak in their algorithm coming out shortly. According to their recent announcement, Google will start punishing sites that are over-optimised for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Below are the things you need to know about the new Google algorithm update. Will Level The Playing Field This update will certainly level the playing [...]
Strategic linking, without a doubt, is an essential part of any website’s Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign. Each link to a web page helps enhance the page rank of a web page thus having a higher position in the search results. While external linking is also important in improving the page rank of your web [...]
How many times do you use Google in a day? Chances are, unless you are a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) geek, you probably still use Google in its simplest form. If you currently use Google by typing in a few words and changing your query until you find what you are looking form, then we’re [...]
Whether it’s writing a new blogpost, creating lead nurturing emails, or creating videos for YouTube, online marketers are master content creators. However, when they think about landing pages, most online marketers make the mistake of jumping right away to making the sale without thinking if their content is appealing enough to their site visitors. Remember [...]
Though many marketers are able to fuse their Pay Per Click (PPC) efforts with their organic optimisation efforts quite well, some marketers still cannot balance the two thus relying heavily on paid search traffic to drive visitors and leads to their site. To help put PPC in the right pespective and to help marketers with [...]
Well-written content and inbound links are major elements of a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign. If you have a blog or an e-book, it goes without saying that you naturally want to drive as much traffic to it as possible. Part of your SEO strategy should always be internal linking. By figuring out which of [...]
Producing and publishing a lot of content and optimising them is an important part of inbound marketing. As an online marketer, you should know that content is not just limited to written words. One can also get creative in making informative videos and given that YouTube is the most popular video site, you need to [...]
If creating a quality press release is already hard, its promotion is even harder. What do you do to keep the buzz around your press release? Unfortunately, it is really difficult to extend the life of a press release if not done properly and at the right time. For this post, we will be talking [...]
When we carry out a link building campaign for a local business, we need to consider how much traffic a website will get (return on investment) from the link itself and not just where in the rankings a website will fall. An effective link building campaign is all about going beyond dumping exact anchor text [...]
Google has launched its Panda 3.3 update at the same time it announced its 40 search updates in February. Though it would be impossible to fully discuss all the 40 changes here, it is important to note that Google is turning off a method of link analysis which they have been using for years. In [...]
Most of the time, if you are not doing it right, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) does not yield good or favorable results. Though a huge amount of traffic coming from search engines is ideal, search engines are not the only way to drive traffic to your site. Below are some methods on how you can [...]
Doing SEO right for ecommerce is never an easy task especially now that Google Panda has been launched. Though I agree with Google that it should clean up its Search Enigne Results Pages (SERPS) the downside is that many legitimate sites are being affected and being caught up with the update. With the recent update, [...]
Have you been running an Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign and not noticing much progress? Perhaps, your website is not SEO friendly. Before you embark on any SEO campaign, the first thing you need to do is make sure that your website is built for the search engines. Whether or not your website is new, you [...]
Are you having trouble converting your visitors to a lead? If you are then one of the areas that you need to improve on is the trust factor of your landing pages (and business in general) especially when it comes to making the sale online (ie. commerce sites). So in order to help your visitors [...]
Be warned if you are delving into the dark art of Black Hat SEO as it will eventually come back and bite you in the you know what! The worst thing you can do as an Internet marketer is to play dirty Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tricks, AKA Black Hat techniques. If you are being [...]
Over the last years, business blogging has really taken off and while some businesses are succeeding with their blogging efforts, some do not. So why isn’t your blog bringing in leads? It Is Not All About Your Company Try to notice that the type of posts you are writing and see if you have been [...]
Advanced Web Ranking Review What do you use to monitor your rankings in the search engines? We have been using AWR seo software (AWR) and we use it on a daily basis to track our clients and also our own keyword rankings. The program is really easy for all or our team to use which is a [...]
Many webmasters and website owners were caught out by the recent Google Panda update, which utilises a kind of algorithm that is effective at filtering out “low quality websites” that have managed to appear up the search engine ranks. Speculations have been raised regarding how severely this update may affect Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) efforts [...]
As we shift to a more social web, businesses should know that on-page Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) still works and is still relevant in boosting one’s online rankings. This article will talk about what on-page factors you should pay attention to in 2012 and the SEO strategies that we feel still remain important to Google. [...]
If you’re sick and tired of waiting and paying a fortune for a web designer to update your website, then should you be looking for a content management system (CMS)? I’m sure you’ve heard somebody complaining (maybe even yourself) complained that they are sick of waiting for unreliable web developers each time they want to change [...]
Google recently posted on their Webmaster Central Blog a great article outlining the guidance to building high-quality sites. Below is a bullet point list from that article outlining what count’s as a high quality site. We’re pleased to say that most of these guides are things we’ve been banging on for years so it was [...]
Another example of a company that has made the mind shift from advertising to content marketing is Melbourne based Blockout Blinds. They will show you that creating great content is easy, and as the book title indicates it also gets you customers! It just takes time and effort. Don’t be fooled though, great content rarely [...]
Following on from our post about the new book Get Content, Get Customers we wanted to show you some examples of customers who have made the mind shift from advertising to content marketing. A great example of a new content marketer is Ace Mobile Mechanics. Ace are a Victorian company offering auto electrical services, car servicing [...]
In May this year McGraw Hill published the new book from Content Marketing Gurus Newt Barrett (Content Marketing Today) and Joe Pullizzi (Junta 42) – Get Content, Get Customers. Content Marketing is something the we have been very passionate about for a long time now. With our years of experience in building, analysing and marketing [...]
OK, it’s time to come out of my Melbourne winter hibernation with this important question… “Can you produce your website KPIs for me in 10 seconds?” “What are they?” You wouldn’t be alone if you asked that. We recently consulted with the lead generation department of very large Australian business. Interestingly they were unable to [...]
It’s unfortunate that we continue to see Australian businesses choosing to spam Google maps. Mike Blumenthal first reported spam local businesses listing on Google Maps on the 27th July 2007. It’s nearly one year on and Mike is still reporting on cases of spam on Google Maps that Google appear to be turning a blind [...]
If you’re involved in marketing, then you’ll probably have heard about the ABC’s show about advertising, The Gruen Transfer. Last week, comedian and host Will Anderson asked the panel to talk about advertising that backfired on them. According to Russel Howcroft, MD of Ad Agency George Patterson’s Y&R, All advertising works, it’s just a matter [...]
We’re happy to say that we’ve set a new conversion rate record for our lead generation websites – 41.82%. That means that for every 100 people that visit this page, at least 41 of them will complete and submit this form. Why is this page converting so well? Here’s a couple of reasons: It’s a [...]
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this: “I can’t find our website in Google.” The real question usually is, “what did you search for?” Waiting for your new website to show up in Google can be painful. You can avoid disappointment by setting your expectations right in the first place. Don’t [...]
We all know that a picture can be worth a thousand words, but it’s not always the case. Words are the most fundamental blocks of our communication. To prove this Jeff Sexton at Future Now asked, “What happens when you take the words away?” Jeff used the website www.netdisaster.com to suck out all of the [...]
Here in Australia, some economists have been spinning the yarn that our economy is “decoupled” from the US economy. They would have you think that your business will not be affected by the US recession. However Morgan Stanley economist Gerard Minack set the record straight last week on ABC’s Lateline program. Gerard broke the bad [...]
We recently wrote about a Melbourne mobile mechanic who was spamming Google Maps with several hundred Local Business Listings. After our post, several blogs reported on our post and added their influence and ideas to the discussion. We’re happy to say that once the word was out, swift action was taken by the Google Maps team [...]
Mike Blumenthal first reported Local Business Listing SPAM on Google Maps last July. Seven months later it seems that Google has no answer for the spammers filling up the Google Maps Local Business Center with dodgy business listings. We recently found a Melbourne based mobile mechanic who spammed his business into 500 locations on the Melbourne [...]
Have you noticed that the format has changed for Google Local Business Results? The above example was from a Google web search on Storage Melbourne. We’re now seeing about 10 listings in the same space that we used to only see three or four. I think it’s more efficient, don’t you?
Last year, Google Maps quickly became the number one online map directory service in Australia, surpassing whereis.com.au. Did you know that you can put your business on the Google Map? If you haven’t yet done so, head over to Google’s Local Business Center to list your business. The Local Business Center allows you to add your [...]
A number of our clients have noticed that their websites have completely dropped out of Microsoft’s Live Search Engine recently. It was first brought to my attention by Gavin Hodges from Flexitank in early October 2007. Whilst the Flexitank websites receive a lot of traffic from Google searches like “4wd tanks“, “pillow tanks” and “marker buoys,” [...]
I was meeting with William MacLean from McLean Finance today and we found that his website is on page one in Google for the term “Development Loans.” He’s been getting a number of leads through his site for Development Loans and it’s an area that he specialises in. So the question is, “How can we [...]
One of my personal goals for 2008 is to get a new acoustic guitar. I’ve been playing guitar for about 3 years now and I love it. Now that I can hear the difference, I’ve decided that it’s time to get a new, more refined acoustic guitar. I’ve had many different experiences in Music shops. [...]
I wrote a post about the new Google Maps “Street View” feature after seeing this funny image recently. The Street View feature was introduced on Google Maps last year in the US, but the peering eye of Google was spotted here in Melbourne Australia today. Google has a car driving around the main city streets with [...]
Through the haze of excitement about Web 2.0 Jakob Nielsen has articulated what serious web marketing people have been saying for a long time. Get Web 1.0 right before thinking about Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is a popular term that refers to things that encourage sharing and community between users. Think Youtube, FaceBook, MySpace, Linked In et al. Think user [...]
Okay, this is a little off the conversion rates topic, but it made me laugh. For those who aren’t aware, you will soon have to display a sign like this in your front yard to stop Google from invading your privacy… Go here for more: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/30/google-maps-is-spyin.html Does anyone know if the Google Van is in Australia [...]
I was speaking with Copywriter Meri Harley today about how many business marketers seem to have forgotten the very people who made them big… Their customers. It’s manifest in their website copy that is usually laden with self references (We are the leading, We offer blah blah blah). For example have you ever seen a [...]
“Our customers are price sensitive.” “Our product is a grudge purchase.” I’ve been hearing this quite a bit in one of the industries that we’ve been working with recently. Now, I’m not going to dispute the fact that price always comes into the sales process. However, it consistently seems that the businesses that say this [...]
“We are the leading provider of …” Would you like a dollar for every time you’ve read that on a business website? On many business websites, copywriting like this is common. Do all these companies suffer from self esteem so low that they need to pump up their tyres? I think and hope that there’s a better answer. I [...]
So what is the formula for writing great website copy for your business website? Well, let’s cover the basics. Good copywriting addresses each of the following five questions. 1. Who is the customer? When a prospective customer lands on your web page, they should be saying, “This is for me!” You help them to this conclusion by [...]
I received this email today promoting guaranteed listings in Google and Yahoo in 48 hours. I think it’s unfortunate that many people in the search engine marketing industry feel it’s okay to prey on people’s ignorance. I say this because what “getting listed” in Google and Yahoo means in this email is very different to what [...]
Most people who have worked with us know that we’re not a big fan of “cool flash websites” for businesses. Well, we don’t apply this rule to everyone. There are some professions where being cool really is everything. For instance, you’re probably too cool for school (i.e. you need a cool flash website) if you’re a: Rock band or [...]
I had a number of people call me this week to say, “Have you heard this radio ad for ‘Website Rescue’?” Well, I hadn’t heard the ad, so while I was still on the phone I said, “I’ll go to Google and type in Website Rescue and see what comes up.” I was surprised. There [...]
A simple way to boost your eCommerce website’s conversion rate is to make sure your visitors can actually find what they’re looking for. It’s highly likely that a visitor to your site will use your website’s search tool to do that. Seems simple right? Well, in researching this topic we found that the simple things sometimes slip through the cracks. A review of [...]
When you’re running an eCommerce website you spend so much time optimising your site, improving your product descriptions and fussing over your web design that you sometimes don’t notice the little things. After all, you’re the one who’s trying to sell something. You might be looking around at your stock wondering how to sell it [...]
Australians have recently been introduced to Google Maps and Local Business Search in the search results of Google.com.au. If you go to Google.com.au and perform a search on “Self Storage Melbourne” for instance, you will see a section that looks something like this >> Where Google finds a Business and Geographical cross-match for your search, [...]
According to the Marketing Sherpa Search Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008 long URLs are on the nose. “What we discovered was that long URLs actually work as a deterrent and stop viewers from doing what they’re supposed to do (click!). Instead, viewers spend time trying to decipher what’s in the URL itself. Those viewing the listing [...]
We recently conducted a conversion rate review on a website for a company that creates metal finishes for non metal objects such as doors, signs and other building elements. To introduce our readers to how a conversion rate review works, we thought we’d publish a brief summary of our conversion rate review. Client: Metalcote Pty Ltd Website Objectives: [...]
Getting your search engine keywords into the right places in your website copy doesn’t always come easily. We’re working on a website at the moment whose keywords include the terms “life planning” and “life plan.” The trouble with those terms is that they are searched on fairly frequently by the target market of our client. However, [...]
In this article on Clickz, Bryan Eisenberg of Future Now discusses the basics of conversion rates. It’s interesting to note that for all of the technical wizardry that you can use to optimise the conversion rates of your web pages, the basics are still as relevant as ever. Some of the basics that Bryan identified in the [...]
“You have to pay to get into Google right?” Too often there is confusion about what’s paid and what’s not in Google. It’s time to set the record straight. Click the image to the left to see which areas of Google are paid and which are non-paid. The listings that appear with a light yellow background at [...]
Every business that takes web marketing seriously wants to be number one in Google. So we recently published this page – Number one in Google: The Secret Techniques that will get you there! Now we like having a bit of fun at Bitemark and we’re not going to publish anything on this blog that we’re not [...]
We’ve spoken to many franchises about their websites in our travels and have come to the conclusion that franchises are sitting on the biggest opportunity in web marketing today. In the trenches, the potential of the franchise model is the ability to connect the personal interest, service and ownership of local business owners and a big brand [...]
Ask any company that is successful at web marketing and they will confirm the proclamation, “Content is king! All hail the content!” Although it’s specifically written about website video advertising, this post from SiteProNews “How To Make Web-Advertising Worth Watching” contains some important points that relate to all web content. “It has become an article of faith that the [...]
Are franchises sitting on the biggest opportunity in web marketing today? One of the real advantages of franchised businesses is that you have local people with local knowledge running a big business system under a big brand. Content is king in the current web marketing environment of search engines, lead generation and conversion rates. Franchises [...]
If you’re looking for an easy way to identify a web marketing company that can help you to achieve an effective working website, then take a look at their home page. Do they talk in terms of you, their potential customer? Or do they talk about themselves? The answer to that question will tell you how much [...]
There was an interesting article from Dan Skeen in the Age yesterday about Google, Search Engine Optimisation, black hats, white hats and Matt Cutts… If you want to know what any of those things are, read the article here. The following particularly interesting quote from the article highlights the subject of our recent post on [...]
OK, so you want your site to go to number one in Google, and you’re looking for the secret techniques to get you there? Well, the thing is, they’re not really that secret. Ten minutes of searching on Google will reveal that the basic technical tricks to ensuring that you get to number one in Google [...]
I recently wrote a page about guaranteed Google listings that went straight to the top of Google. I’ve been taken aback by the response that it generated. If you are looking for a company that can guarantee to get your website listed in Google and more importantly to get it listed under search terms that will generate [...]
Online video is fast becoming a mainstream requirement for website projects. Since we’ve just completed a new website for a video production company, we thought we’d publish our guide to using website video to enhance your online conversion rates. Read more >> If you are looking to include an online video on your website, then [...]
Wayne Berry of Top Gun Business Academy taught me that “selling is not telling.” Over the past 5 years I’ve learnt an enormous amount from Wayne about selling. One of the fundamental keys to professional sales is to be more interested in your customers than yourself. Seems basic right? It still shocks me how many sales [...]
If you’re not generating leads from your marketing well, then this question is a no brainer. If your marketing is working well, you may be comfortable that you’re generating enough leads. However, if you are getting lots of leads but you’re experiencing problems with customers and profits, then you might want to think about this. There is [...]
What’s more important, the copywriting or the design of your website? Don’t get me wrong, web design is very important. A bad web design turns people off and reflects poorly on your brand. However, the more important yet often forgotten part of any web marketing project is the copywriting of your website. Good copywriting includes: Well constructed [...]
Copywriting is by far the most imporant element of creating your website. People come to your website to find out what you have to offer and what you have to say. And yet strangely, copywriting is often left out of website projects altogether. Why is it that copywriting is so undervalued on the web? I believe that some of [...]
Business Blogging has become a very integral part of the web marketing mix. It’s been a huge trend with companies like Microsoft and Google maintaining company and staff blogs. We’ve also seen many small businesses use blogging to great advantage. After years of sitting watching this trend we’ve finally dived in and we’re already seeing [...]
Blogging for business is one of the most interesting trends emerging on the web. Whilst I was initially sceptical, I’ve discovered an order of benefits for business blogging. Business Blogging gives you the ability to: Develop and hone your writing skills and that of your staff – Marketing has truly entered the Information Age and blogging is about [...]
Often the first place that SME businesses go to for a website is a web designer. The question to ask is whether it’s more important that your website is designed: For visual impact, or To demonstrate how you can solve your customers problems? The answer you choose for that question could have a significant impact on your [...]
Amongst Australian SME’s, there are 2 sides to the ”generating leads from your website” camp: Those that do Those that don’t. For those that do of course, this is a dumb question… For those that don’t, we find that the reason is often: Lack of understanding about the purpose of a website Fear and confusion about the web Bad [...]
When considering any kind of Google listing guarantee, you should ask, “What will people have to search on to find my website in Google?” Getting your site listed in Google is trivially easy. In most cases, it’s simply a matter of putting the site up and notifying Google that it’s there. You notify Google that your site [...]
Many companies tend to think of their website as a singular entity. As websites continue to become more central to the marketing process, it’s time to thing strategically about having more than one website and more than one domain name. If your company does not have its own portfolio of domain names, then it may [...]
Back in 2001, Bryan Eisenberg wrote this interesting article about WIIFM. “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM) is a question that still seems to be forgotten in many web marketing projects. I say that because I’m staggered by the number of websites that I find that start out with a sentence like this on their [...]
It’s often referred to as your favourite radio station, WIIFM. What’s in it for me is a fundamental question to ask before starting any marketing project. The thing is, whether you like it or not, we are motivated by the personal payoff in whatever we do. It’s fundamental to human behavior, and once you understand it, your [...]
We’ve been working on one of our shopping cart sites that’s just not selling. Whilst we are a web marketing company with years of experience in optimising conversion rates on shopping cart sites, we don’t always get it right the first time! Now the first thing a really good web marketer does to solve a [...]
If pages of your site have disappeared from searches on Google, chances are they might have been relegated to Google supplemental results index. Why do web pages fall into Google’s supplemental results? Here are the most likely reasons: The content of the page is a close duplicate of another page in Google’s main index There are not [...]
The chances are that at some time, some of your web pages of your website will be relegated to Google’s supplemental results index. This page discusses: Some of the reasons that your web page might end up in the supplemental results How to check if your any of your website is in the supplemental index What [...]
Web statistics are the cause of a lot of confusion in business. There are questions that arise like: What web statistics package should you use? What are the important statistics to look for? How can you verify that they are accurate? If you’re relying on the web statistics package that your web host provided for you, [...]
“Testimonials don’t work” “I never read testimonials” “Testimonials are all made up” We often hear statements like these, however we know that testimonials will continue to be a key element of building trust with your prospects online. The trick is in how they’re used. A good article to read on the subject came from Futrue Now [...]