The Mobile Revolution is Happening - Is Your Website Ready?

Google, YouTube, Shopify, and many other major platforms are reporting that at least 50 percent of their traffic comes from mobile devices. It only make sense, as we live in a day where our phones are always just a finger tip away at all times. But with that stated, is your website truly optimized to receive this traffic? Or are you simply missing out?

As of April 21, 2015, Google incorporated “mobile friendliness” to its mobile search rankings criteria. Also, since a first page ranking statistically receives over 90 percent of all organic traffic, you want to make sure you are not taking a hit in the mobile search rankings because you don’t meet their simple prerequisites. To ensure your website is ready to take advantage of every opportunity, here are a few key steps that must be implemented with the creation of mobile website.

Listen to Google

As the search engine leader for the better part of two decades, when Google gives advice on how to make your site more visible — you’d be wise to pay attention. When it comes to the list that Google has put together for developers to follow, having a responsive website design is listed number one. A responsive design allows a website to automatically resize to correctly fit the viewer’s device, whether it be desktop, tablet, or phone. Without a responsive web design, your sight may look great on your desktop, but when a customer views it on a tablet or smartphone, the dimensions could be so far off it forces users to leave your site and search for the information elsewhere. You must check both your desktop and mobile version to ensure all of your content is actually accessible.

Out of Order

Now more than ever, search engines are putting user experience at the forefront in their rankings criteria. If you have videos on your site, make sure they are playing on the mobile version of your site. They might be working perfectly on your desktop, but could show an error on your mobile version. This problem can be often found with YouTube videos that have unauthorized third party music. A removal of the song or, in some cases, having YouTube review the video under “fair use under copyright law” can have your video back up and running in no time.

Another problem that can penalize your site is faulty redirects. A common example of this is when users are redirected to your mobile home page … no matter what page they originally tried to visit. If you log on to your contact page, and it automatically sends you to your home page, and you know you have a contact page created, you probably have a redirect issue. So as silly as it may sound, make sure all of your mobile pages are directing to correct URLs.

Speed Kills

You are running through your checklist and your site is up, it looks good, and hosts a wealth of information …  you think everything is all set. Right? With that stated, have you checked how fast your site is running? If you have a slow page load time, your site is as good as dead. KissMetrics.com, a popular analytics blog, breaks it down quite clearly, “A [one] second delay in page response can result in a 7 percent reduction in conversions.” So every second really does count. Being able to pick up a smartphone and immediately have a search result appear is a big part in having a smartphone in the first place. If your mobile site can’t deliver quickly, it may be left in the past. Large images, a slow server, and bulky code are a few items that may need to be addressed.

Caveat Emptor

Lastly, beware. Don’t entrust your website to just anyone. Any person with Dreamweaver or a little WordPress knowledge can build you a website. Make sure before you contract someone to build or rebuild your site there is a clear path on how it will be optimized for mobile use. If they are using too many buzzwords, ask them to break it down so you can truly understand. This is a good way of seeing how knowledgeable and helpful they are versus those who simply are flying by what they’ve been able to pull from a YouTube How-To video. If they do not hit the first three points on this list, then they might not be the right designer for the job.

If you are looking to build a better web site, or need help with inbound marketing or advertising at any level, contact Think Agency today.

Craft Your Website To Engage Customers

Millions of websites are viewed by thousands per day, but not too many stay on a website for over 30 seconds. When a customer visits a particular webpage and leaves the site after 30 seconds, that website’s bounce rate increases. This could be due to many factors. We have narrowed down a short checklist for you to cover when crafting the perfect website for your company.

Responsiveness counts.

If your site isn’t already responsive, you need a new design, as this is the main concern pertaining to websites in general, even over aesthetic appeal! Make sure your website is sized for viewing on multiple devices: mobile use, tablet use, computer use for both large and small monitors and even for viewing on a watch. Budget this into your marketing financials to monitor SEO performance and make changes along the way for maximum optimized viewing.

Keep it simple.

Make sure whoever is visiting your website, whether a savvy 16-year-old or your grandmother, anyone should be able to get to where he or she wants to go in only three clicks of the mouse.

Ghost buttons to envy.

Ghost buttons provide a minimal and classy look to keys or switches placed over images, content, or a blank section of your website. Ghost buttons are also an amazing call-to-action piece, drawing in both customers and outside designers. Not to mention the speed of your website will experience an increase in speed!

Typography matters.

Think nobody notices what font you use? Wrong. If you select an ugly font, customers will notice right away. Even if customers do not have an automatic reaction to your font choice, their subconscious will because fonts form an emphasis on what your company represents value and ethics wise. If you already know ‘content is king’ this will be no surprise to you.

Design defines.

Overall, your company will be based on its overall visual appearance. Flat designs started to trend in 2014 and continue to have momentum through mid-2015. This is due to how we consume content and our need for less is more. By taking on the minimalist approach, your customers will spend more time on your website and be more inclined to share your website with others.

Tip: Our website actually uses a flat design for example!

Make sure everything works well on your website, that there are no broken links or faulty images. Your website speaks volumes and taking the little time to update once, if not twice, a year, along with continually providing new content and call-to-action pieces will drop your bounce rate and attract new clients. Take care of your website so it can take care of your company.

Retro Logo Attracts Home Buyers

Branding is all about imagery. The colors, the shape, texture, even the layout of the images all have cognitive induced responses influencing customer’s reactions. There are certain logos that appeal to the building family more so than others. Triggers that work well for building companies are images that evoke a feeling for strong relationships, reliability, and personal interactions.

An old-school theme shows results. The new “grandpa graphic” has a 1940’s retro-styled feel and construction companies are taking advantage of how much their clients love the new look. The building and home improvement audiences like to see a logo they are familiar with.

This greatly improves upon the diversification of a construction company, as it is difficult to emerge against competitors when rivaling on a platform with the only real differences is between the products available and prices offered. The image your companies see should align with your services as well though. Do not commit to a visual upgrade if the services you provide lack in quality. Make an overall change if you are going to pledge to the change.

There are 5 prime ways to successfully brand yourself:

Know your audience

The construction industry is middle-aged. These people like what is easy, familiar, and low-cost-friendly. Look into the demographics of your customers. Know if they watch television for the news, or listen to the radio more. Are they conservative or like to live on the edge? Where your company is based will also be a factor to consider.

Uniqueness

Stand out! Even if this is giving away a free wrench with every service provided. The roofing and construction industry is a niche market since it is so technical. What is your unique product or service? What makes you different from the next contractor? If you are speechless, than some branding strategy may be in order.

Passion

Passionate people are educated people. If you are not passionate or educated learn to fake it. Make sure you can fake it for the long-run though as customers might lose interest if the short-run flair fades quickly. Think about influencers like Steve Jobs who are very passionate about their products and services. They don’t just tell you what the product or service does but describes it and will sell you on it on the simple fact that Steve Jobs is passionate.

Consistency

When customers receive a service and come back for more, they expect the same service when they return. With the saturation of the industry being filled with so many competitors consistency is something the customer can rely on. Take McDonald’s for instance … the customer knows he or she will receive the same Big Mac in Florida as in China.

Exposure

Posting on social networks helps, but posting to the right social networks has a greater effect. This relates back to the demographics of your customers. Know if he or she spends more time on Linkedin and Pinterest than Twitter and Facebook. Offer deals for customers who share your page. And remember, interacting with people is the social aspect of social networking … talk back to your patrons!

The retro logo speaks to a generation of people as well as gives light to a company in a niche market. Find a way to stand out in such a memorable way someone will have to fall through a roof to remember!