3 (Really Good) Reasons to Update Your Website Regularly

A website is never DONE. Until your business is DONE, your website should never be done. Your website is (or should be) an excellent employee who represents and works for you every day. Like any employee, your website should be an asset, not an expense. In this article, learn why it’s important to care for your website as you would a valuable employee.

Your Website Has a Job To Do. Take Care Of It Well.

Actually, your website has a MANY jobs to do, more than most of your other employees (and almost as many as you do). Some of the jobs your website can do are among the most important and most valuable aspects of your business. In this article, I’ll list the top 3:

1. New Customer Acquisition

Business owners rely on word-of-mouth, advertising, lettering on their vehicle(s), signage, coupons, Facebook, Instagram (and the list goes on) to create awareness and attract new customers. In the 21st Century, before most of us make a decision to visit a store, a restaurant, or call a service company of any kind, we visit the company website to learn more.

For emphasis: MOST PEOPLE VISIT A COMPANY WEBSITE BEFORE THEY MAKE A DECISION TO BUY. 

Your website has a BIG JOB to do indeed. It’s called Customer Acquisition. Your website can compel visitors to buy or take some sort of action (such as call you, email you, fill out a form, print a menu, request a quote, make an appointment) or it can repel visitors.

Your website’s #1 job is to acquire customers, and this is a very good reason to update your website regularly. 

• Action Step #1: Have several outsiders give you feedback on your website. Don’t choose employees or relatives, they won’t be objective. They don’t want to make you feel bad. You could probably talk to a marketing firm and tell them you’re thinking about a website makeover. Tell them you don’t think the website is doing a good job at converting visitors into customers and ask them what they think you should do. (Or you can ask me.)
• Action Step #2 Create a CTA: Call To Action. Offer a discount coupon or a Buyer’s Guide, or some other piece of value which the visitor must request on your website. Any of these is a value-add and brings your relationship with the customer a bit closer to you.

2. Serve Your Customers

The #2 thing your website should do is answer the questions to which people are looking to have answered. No matter what your business, people are looking for answers to a question or problem they’re trying to solve. Give them everything you can possibly give them in words and, if possible, with pictures. Your website is often the first communication you make with a potential customer. You can make it pleasant and easy (like a pretty, friendly, smiling hostess in a classy restaurant), distasteful like a salesman in a used car lot, or like a Flea Market on a gravel parking lot.

I’m not saying you need the most beautiful website in your industry, I’m saying it should be clean, easy to read, organized, and useful. The following action steps serve your customers well, and they also serve you at the same time.

• Action Step #1: Create a Frequently-Asked Questions page on your website. Pose the questions people ask you and then answer them. Have you noticed that sometimes customers don’t ask the right questions? You can include the questions people SHOULD ask in the FAQ section. These can be very helpful to people and also help to steer people in the right direction like no other information can.
• Action Step #2: Add a page for every category of items or services you sell. After you get that done, start making a page for every individual service or item you sell. Include pictures. This is a great investment. It makes your website a selling machine now and it keeps working for you forever. It also makes your website super-friendly to the search engines because they know ALL ABOUT everything you sell and your website will rise to the top of the search results. These website improvements serve both you and your customer. I can’t over-emphasize this strategy.
• Action Step #3: Make your website easy to read and east to navigate. Black background with white text is difficult to read. Black background with ANY OTHER color is even worse. Go with dark text on a white background for the best readability. Make sure you look at your own website on mobile devices and desktop computers to make sure it’s easy to read and navigate. More than half of local business searches are done on a mobile device.

****The advice in Action Step #2 will also improve your chances of being included on Voice Search. I’m talking about being among the search results when people are searching for answers by asking Siri (on iphone), Alexa, and Google Assistant.

3. You Can Repurpose All This Work

This work will involve time, effort, and probably expense. But it’s really NOT an expense-it’s an investment because it will convert more website visitors into customers. Just as adding an addition to your building or your home increases its value, building a powerful website and customer base adds value to your business. In my opinion, adding value to your business makes all other investments pale in comparison. Your customers are your greatest asset and your website is your customer acquisition machine.

• Action Step: All the work done on your website, all the images you add, the details of the products or services, and even the frequently-asked questions can be used in other areas of your marketing.  repurposed on your social media accounts and printed material. We call it repurposing. Repurposing your content is cheap and easy and it’s also effective in amplifying your message and your business.

These activities take time and planning. They’re especially effective when done by a marketing expert with knowledge on how to optimize the content to be friendly to the search engines. Search Engine Optimization is how you get the search engines to show YOUR website when people are looking for a business, a product, or a service like yours, even if they don’t already know you exist.

One more important thing to add here. In the title of this post, the last word is REGULARLY. Updating your website never ends. 

Need help? That’s what we’re here for. Call 1-866-799-2825 if you’re interested in talking about improving your website so it can become the customer acquisition machine it can and should be. 

Marketing Ideas Calendar for April, 2019

April 2019 Holidays

Use your imagination to put together fun and interesting marketing messages for your Social Media Posts, Emails, and In-Store Promotions

To receive an email every month with a Marketing Ideas Calendar like this one, SUBSCRIBE.

Monthly Holidays

English Language Month

National Month of Hope

National Canine Fitness Month

National Internship Awareness Month

Distracted Driving Awareness Month

National Child Abuse Awareness Month

National Donate Life Awareness Month

National Cannabis Awareness Month

Month of the Military Child

International Guitar Month

Keep America Beautiful Month

Lawn and Garden Month

National Autism Awareness Month

National Couple Appreciation Month

National Decorating Month

National Fresh Celery Month

National Garden Month

National Humor Month

National Jazz Appreciation Month

National Soft Pretzel Month

National Soy Foods Month

National Straw Hat Month

National Parkinson’s Awareness Month

National Poetry Month

National Pecan Month

National Volunteer Month

National Welding Month

Occupational Therapy Month

Records and Information Management Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month

National Safe Digging Month

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Who’s Birthday is in April

4/3       Cat Cora, Iron Chef
4/19    Bryan Voltaggio, Chef and Competitor on Top Chef
4/28    Bobby Deen, Chef

Weekly Holidays

April 1 -7
National Window Safety Week
Paws International Pooper Scooper Week

 

April 7-13
National Library Week
National Student Employment Week
National Volunteers Week

 

April 14 – 20
Boys and Girls Club Week
Coin Week

 

April 21 – 28
Administrative Professionals Week
National Princess Week
Every Kid Healthy Week

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April Daily Holidays

 

4/1/2019        National One Cent Day / April Fools Day

4/2/2019        National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

4/3/2019        National Chocolate Mousse Day / National Walking Day

4/4/2019        National School Librarian Day / National Burrito Day

4/5/2019        National Deep Dish Pizza / National Caramel Day

4/6/2019        National Caramel Popcorn Day

4/7/2019        National Beer Day / National Coffee Cake Day

4/8/2019        National Empanada Day / National Zoo Lovers Day

4/9/2019        National Name Yourself Day

4/10/2019      National Siblings Day / National Cinnamon Crescent Day

4/11/2019      National Cheese Fondue Day

4/12/2019      National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day / National Day of Silence

4/13/2019      National Make Lunch Count Day / National Scrabble Day

4/14/2019      National Pecan Day / National Dolphin Day

4/15/2019      National Tax Day

4/16/2019      National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day / National Eggs Benedict Day

4/17/2019      National Ellis Island Family History Day

4/18/2019      National Animal Crackers Day / Get to Know Your Customers Day

4/19/2019      National Hanging Out Day / Good Friday

4/20/2019      National Cheddar Fries Day

4/21/2019      National Kindergarten Day / Easter

4/22/2019      National Earth Day / National Jelly Bean Day

4/23/2019      National Picnic Day

4/24/2019      National Administrative Professionals Day / National Pigs in a Blanket Day

4/25/2019      National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day

4/26/2019      National Pretzel Day

4/27/2019      National Devil Dog Day

4/28/2019      National Superhero Day / National Blueberry Pie Day

4/29/2019      National Shrimp Scampi Day

4/30/2019      National Military Brats Day / National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day / National Oatmeal Cookie Day

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Marketing Ideas For Restaurants!

Do you own a restaurant? We send have a Restaurant-Specific Newsletter we send every month. To subscribe email me at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org.  Leave your name, restaurant name, and mailing address. 

4/2/2019        National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

Create a special dessert that resembles a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

 

4/4/2019        National School Librarian Day / National Burrito Day

Create a special “burrito”.  It does not have to be Mexican, add your own flavor profile.

 

4/7/2019        National Beer Day

If you have a bar, have a special price on beer.  Make an event of the day, by having Beer Tastings.

 

4/12/2019      National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day / National Day of Silence

Add a new item to the menu. Make the grilled cheese special by adding meat or veggies.

 

4/15/2019      National Tax Day

Give a “tax break”!

 

4/24/2019      National Administrative Professionals Day

Give a discount for office party trays.

 

4/25/2019      National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day

Bring your son or daughter to lunch and get a free kids meal.

 

4/26/2019      National Pretzel Day

Use pretzels to create a new item – Fried Chicken with Pretzel Breading

 

4/28/2019      National Superhero Day

Dress as your favorite superhero, get a free Dessert or App

May 2018 Marketing Ideas Calendar

As a service to small business owners, we give you over 50 marketing idea-starters every month. If you’re not already getting this resource in your email each month, SUBSCRIBE! 

Monthly Holidays for May, 2018

National English Language Month

National Month of Hope

National Canine Fitness Month

National Internship Awareness Month

Distracted Driving Awareness Month

National Child Abuse Awareness Month

National Donate Life Awareness Month

National Cannabis Awareness Month

Month of the Military Child

International Guitar Month

Keep America Beautiful Month

National Autism Awareness Month

National Couple Appreciation Month

National Decorating Month

National Humor Month

National Landscape Architecture Month

National Inventor’s Month

National Jazz Appreciation Month

National Soft Pretzel Month

National Poetry Month

National Volunteer Month

Occupational Therapy Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month

 

Famous Birthdays in May

5/2       Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

5/2       Donatella Versace

5/5       Lysie Snyder (Heiress of In-N-Out Burger)

5/14    Mark Zuckerberg

5/21    Al Franken

5/27    Jamie Oliver

 

Weekly Holidays

 

April 29-May5

Small Business Week

 

May 6-12

National Pet Week

National Nurses Week

Public Service Recognition Week

National Teacher Appreciation Week

 

May 13-19

National Etiquette Week

National Salvation Army Week

Police Week

 

May 20-26

Public Works Week

National Emergency Medical Services Week

Get this FREE RESOURCE EVERY MONTH, SUBSCRIBE!

Daily Holidays in May, 2018

 

5/1/2018              May Day / National Foster Care Day

5/2/2018              National Truffle Day

5/3/2018              National Day of Reason / World Password Day

5/4/2018              National Star Wars Day

5/5/2018              National Cartoonists Day / Free Comic Book Day / Cinco de Mayo

5/6/2018              National Nurses Day

5/7/2018              National Melanoma Monday

5/8/2018              National Teacher Appreciation Day

5/9/2018              National Bike to School Day

5/10/2018            National Shrimp Day / National Clean Up Your Room Day

5/11/2018            National Military Spouse Appreciation Day

5/12/2018            National Archery Day / National Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day

5/13/2018            Mother’s Day / National Apple Pie Day

5/14/2018            National Dance Like a Chicken Day

5/15/2018            National Chocolate Chip Day

5/16/2018            National Sea Monkey Day

5/17/2018            National Graduation Tassel Day

5/18/2018            National Visit Your Relatives Day / Nascar Day

5/19/2018            National Learn to Swim Day / National Armed Forces Day

5/20/2018            National Be a Millionaire Day / National Pick Strawberries Day

5/21/2018            National American Red Cross Founders Day

5/22/2018            National Buy a Musical Instrument Day

5/23/2018            National Lucky Penny Day

5/24/2018            National Scavenger Hunt Day

5/25/2018            National Missing Children’s Day / National Wine Day

5/26/2018            National Blueberry Cheesecake Day

5/27/2018            National Grape Popsicle Day

5/28/2018            Memorial Day / National Hamburger Day

5/29/2018            National Paperclip Day

5/30/2018            National Senior Health and Fitness Day / National Creativity Day

5/31/2018            National Speak in Sentences Day

https://forms.aweber.com/form/45/490866645.htm

Monthly Marketing Planner-December 2017

December Marketing Ideas Calendar

This resource is prepared each month FREE for subscribers. Serious topics, fun topics, unusual topics, and historical topics, all make for interesting and entertaining emails, promotions, social media post and blog posts. Want some help with putting these ideas to work for you? All you need to do is Ask Andrew, CLICK HERE.

Monthly Holidays 
AIDS Awareness Month
Bingo’s Birthday Month
National Drunk and Drugged Driving (3D) Prevention Month
National Human Rights Month
National Tie Month
National Write a Business Plan Month
Operation Santa Paws (December 1-December 24)
Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Tomato and Winter Squash Month
Universal Human Rights Month
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month

Have questions about marketing your business online? CLICK HERE.

Famous December Birthdays

Dec 5 – Walt Disney
Dec 6 – Satoru Iwata, Former President and CEO of Nintendo
Dec 10 – Bobby Flay, American Chef
Dec 12 – Frank Sinatra, Singer and Actor
Dec 15 – J. Paul Getty, Businessman
Dec 20 – Dick Wolf, Television Producer
Dec 25 – Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Dec 25 – Conrad Hilton, Hotelier
Dec 30 – LeBron James, NBA Star
Dec 31 – Donald Trump Jr.

December Weekly Holidays

Dec 3 – 9
National Handwashing Awareness Week, December 3-9
Recipe Greetings For The Holidays Week

 

 

 

 

 

Dec 18 – 22
Cookie Exchange Week, December 18-22

Dec 17 – 23
Gluten-free Baking Week

Dec 12 – 20
Chanukah

Dec 26 – Jan 1
Kwanzaa

Have questions about marketing your business online? CLICK HERE.

December Daily Holidays

12/1/2017 World AIDS Day / Rosa Parks Day / National Pie Day
12/2/2017 International Day for the Abolition of Slavery / National Mutt Day
12/3/2017 International Day of Persons with Disabilities
12/4/2017 National Cookie Day
12/5/2017 Bathtub Party Day / International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
12/6/2017 St. Nicholas Day
12/7/2017 National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
12/8/2017 National Brownie Day
12/9/2017 National Wreaths Across America Day
12/10/2017 Dewey Decimal System Day / Human Rights Day
12/11/2017 UNICEF Birthday
12/12/2017 Gingerbread House Day / Chanukah Begins
12/13/2017 National Cocoa Day
12/14/2017 National Bouillabaisse Day
12/15/2017 Bill of Rights Day / National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
12/16/2017 National Chocolate-covered Anything Day / Free Shipping Day
12/17/2017 Wright Brothers Day
12/18/2017 Answer the Telephone Like Buddy the Elf Day
12/19/2017 National Oatmeal Muffin Day
12/20/2017 National Sangria Day
12/21/2017 Winter Solstice / Crossword Puzzle Day
12/22/2017 National Date Nut Bread Day
12/23/2017 Festivus
12/24/2017 Christmas Eve / National Eggnog Day
12/25/2017 Christmas
12/26/2017 Box Day (Canada) / National Candy Cane Day
12/27/2017 National Fruitcake Day
12/28/2017 Pledge of Allegiance Day
12/29/2017 Tick Tock Day
12/30/2017 Bacon Day
12/31/2017 New Year’s Eve

Have questions about marketing your business online? CLICK HERE.

The Search Engine Optimization 80/20 Rule

This article is about the fact that organic search results get more clicks than paid ads…and why this is important for business owners to know and understand.

1st I will define ORGANIC SEARCH RESULTS: When a person searches (on Google, for example) for something online, they get a list of search results. On this search results page (SERP), there is often a group of listings (results) at the top of the page which are notated as Ads.  Google sells these spots to businesses who are willing to pay for this space on the search results page. The results beneath the Ads are called Organic Search Results. These are placements which Google considers the most relevant search results. That is, the search results most likely to meet the needs of the person searching.

The higher a website or a web page ranks in the organic search results, the more likely the person will click and visit the website.

If you’ve been in business for any length of time or at least studied business or even personal development in any capacity, you’ve probably heard of the 80-20 rule also known as the Pareto Principle.  The core of this principle is that 20% of your activities make up 80% of your productivity. It also usually means that 20% of your customers represent 80% of your income. It could also mean that 20% of your Investments produce 80% of your positive results.

Comparing Search Engine Optimization to Google Adwords (Paid Traffic)

This post compares building a better, search eingine optimized website to investing cash into Google Adwords (also known as pay-per-click or PPC).

This morning I was watching a webinar  talking about Google search results and  the relationship between paid advertising online and organic search engine optimization and how the 80/20 rule applies.

In most cases where people are looking online for  a local business, for example a plumber, an electrician, an attorney, an accountant, a chiropractor,… The search results will almost always yield about 7 search results on page one which are paid ads. These are also known as AdWords ads. These are usually in a group of three or four at the top of the page and three or four all the way down at the bottom of the page. They are indicated by a specific emblem which indicates these are ads.

Between the ads are what we call organic search results. These are the search results which are generated by Google and are determined by a number of criteria,  many of which can be influenced by search engine optimization techniques. These are NOT paid ads.

Organic Search Results Get 80% of the Clicks

It’s a well-known fact, and you can look it up, that organic search results get more clicks and therefore more visibility than the AdWords ads. And guess what the ratio is.  You got it… 80% organic and 20% ads. Therefore, out of every 1000 searches, the ads get 200 clicks, and the organic ads get 800. Both marketing tactics have their advantages. Read on!

Advantages of Using Adwords

The advantages of using AdWords are

1. You will drive traffic to your website and your message.
2. You only pay if people click on your ad and visit your website. If no one clicks you don’t pay.
3. You can set a daily, weekly, monthly budget and a maximum price you’re willing to pay per click.

Disadvantages of using Adwords:

1. Clicks can be expensive. Depending on your industry and the competition fighting for those High positions on the search rankings you could pay anywhere from $0.50 per click to over $20 is per click.
2. Clicks don’t necessarily mean customers. You will pay for a lot of clicks which never become customers. Only a fraction of them will.
3. Advertising with AdWords is a process and very much a science. The average person cannot possibly hope to optimize their AdWords campaigns effectively. Yes, you may meet with success but hiring a trained and experienced expert will yield better results. Therefore you are looking at  adding a professional fee on top of the cost of the ads.

 Advantages of investing in organic search engine optimization

1. For every 1,000 searches for a business like yours if you occupy a spot on the organic search results, you have an 80% better chance of being selected over the adwords ads. As I said above 80% of the people choose from the organic listing and only 20% of the people choose among the ads.
2. A click on your organic listing cost you nothing. This is a gift. Google helps businesses with good websites and good search engine optimization show up in the search results.
3. The investment you make in time to learn and Implement search engine optimization where the money you spend to get an expert to do it for you will continue to work for you almost indefinitely. Yes, there is a cost to this either to pay an expert or to spend the time and money to learn this skill but the payoff is enormous.  In many respects, search engine optimization gets even better with time.
4. If you are optimization is exceptionally good (and with a little luck) and you are the first search result under the paid ads, statistics show that this position gets 40% more clicks than all the other search results on the page. So out of 1000 searches for a product or business like yours, you could potentially get 400 website visitors.

Disadvantages of Organic SEO

1. Slower results. Once you start paying for AdWords you are almost certain to start showing up on search results and getting traffic to your website. Not necessarily so with Organic search results.
2. Nothing worthwhile is easy. Search engine optimization is a process. It’s actually a continual process.  It takes time and time is money.

In my personal and expert opinion I think search engine optimization is one of the best investments you can make in marketing your business. Search engine optimization can work in conjunction with almost every other marketing investment and activity you engage in. Including social media, blogging, video, and even offline marketing efforts such as print ads, sponsorships, radio ads, Adwords campaigns and any other Grassroots marketing you may do will all be enhanced by the efforts you make in building a better website with content that will  be a benefit to your potential customers, clients, or patience.

The FASTEST way to get people to your website is by paying for the traffic. Adwords works.

The best LONG TERM MARKETING INVESTMENT is a methodical and well-planned investment in search engine optimization.

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