How Google's Mobile First Indexing Is Affecting Your Website

As more of the world is online every year, a larger percentage is accessing your business through mobile devices rather than traditional computers.

In line with this the big players are adjusting their indexing towards mobile devices as priority.

Will you keep your game up with them? Laura Wolf wrote this article alongside the timing of Google's foray into mobile first indexing.

Things have only ramped up more since the article was first written

If you would like to make sure that you are holding on to your SEO results and are keeping your search engine rankings, you'd better pay attention to the latest updates of the largest search engine; Google. Below you will find a few reasons why Mobile First Indexing might be affecting your page.

Mobile Usability Issues On Your Site

If your site has mobile usability issues, and it is hard to navigate on tablets or phones, it will hurt your search engine rankings. you will need to ensure that the links and buttons are not too close together, and the text can be read on every screen. Chances are that - if you are using an older template - this will be a problem. You might want to get a responsive theme, but this is not enough.

Mobile Speed Test

Once you are confident that your site performs well on mobile screens, and it is giving your visitors the best user experience possible, it is important that you test the speed. Most sites, such as Google page speed checker and Pingdom Tools will tell you about the page speed on desktop and mobile devices. Anything under three seconds is good, but anything over six seconds will simply ruin your search engine rankings.

Google Page Score

You will also have to look at your page quality and performance score. Log into your Google Webmaster Tools account and search for issues. If there are none, you can still make improvements, especially if your site is loading slowly. Take into consideration the origin of traffic. If you have an international audience, you might be better off using a CDN service. CDN stands for Content Distribution Network. As an example, if your host is located in Austin, Texas, and all the servers are there, and your traffic is coming from Europe, it will take while for the server to respond. A CDN service can solve this issue.

How To Get Your Site Updated

It is important that you get your website updated and check the loading time regularly, especially after installing new plugins or widgets. However, changing to a lighter theme is another option that can work really well. Instead of paying thousands to a web designer to create a new site, you can just add speed optimization plugins or change the settings manually. Getting a fresh installation will be likely to solve the problem. You can also get a mobile first optimised site developed by LMNts Marketing.

Your website's mobile performance matters. Make sure that you check your rankings and your page speed to keep the traffic flowing.

Laura is the owner of the UK online consultancy firm: LMNts Marketing.

She is devoted to helping small and medium sized businesses achieve their marketing goals, by creating customized websites, integrated automatic sales funnels, and engaging online marketing campaigns at a low price,

She is also the winner of Corporate Vision Awards 2015, and an expert in responsive web design. She holds a marketing degree and a PhD in Journalism, studying business administration in her spare time.

Her motto for customers confused about online marketing is: "Leave it to Laura".

About the author: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Laura_Wolf/382255

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10153146

Free Article Writing Tips to Increase Website Traffic

 

To get people to your website and interested in your business you'll need to be telling them things about it. A big part of this is letting your customers know you have the expertise they are looking for John Michaels' article really assists in understanding what you need to think about.

If you're not doing so already, you may want to consider writing articles about your website's topic. Writing copyright free articles is a great way to:

• Establish your credibility and build your reputation and brand
• Establish yourself as an expert in your field
• Increase your exposure on the internet
• Gain laser targeted traffic to your website
• Increase the number of one way links to your website, which should help your website in the search results.

Writing articles about the topic of your website is a fantastic way to demonstrate your expertise and credibility and at the same time allows you to build your reputation and your brand. Submitting your articles to the various free article sites gives your articles the opportunity to be picked up by other webmasters for their websites and newsletters. When your articles get used on these other websites they must be used with the author bio section un-edited. This means that you can generate one way links to your website, which in turn leads to greater exposure and better rankings in the search engines. If the readers of your articles on other sites click through to your site, you gain targeted traffic.

Some Article Writing Tips
To get the greatest benefit from your article writing endeavors, try to keep the following article writing tips in mind:

• Try to stay away from turning your article into a sales pitch. Give your readers credit - they will be able to distinguish a sales pitch right away. Once they think they're just reading another sales pitch they will quickly click away from your article. I can just about guarantee that no one will pick up your sales pitch and use it on their website, unless it's one of your affiliates.

• Don't include too many hyperlinks within the article body and stick to only one in the author bio section. Most webmasters will not pick up an article, no matter how good it is, if there are too many outgoing links. I would recommend not having any links within the article body but sometimes this is unavoidable.

  Which situation would you rather have: 1 article with 1 outgoing link to your website that gets picked up by 1,000 webmasters or 1 article with 10 outgoing links that gets picked up by 10 webmasters?

• Check, re-check and then check your article again for typos and grammatical errors. Have someone else proofread it for you before submitting it. Nothing says amateur more than typos and grammatical errors.

• Write articles that complement the topic of your website. Don't write about something totally unrelated to your website. Remember, you want to establish your credibility and expertise. Write about what you know.

• When adding that one link back to your site, make sure to include a keyword targeted link back to your site. I'm talking specifically about the words between the anchor tags. For example, this is how you should structure the link back to your website: <a href="http://www.yourwebsite.com">keywords go here<a>.

  When the search engine robots come across this link they will index the anchor text and it will help you with those keywords in the search engines. Do not waste this valuable link by just having your website address (www.website.com) as the anchor text unless you have your main keywords in the website address. Try to vary the keywords a little as well when creating this link. There is speculation that having too many "uniform" links to a site may hurt you - just something to keep in mind.

• Do not place a copyright notice at the top of your article. This leads to confusion and may cause webmasters to stay away from posting your articles on their website and in their newsletters.

• It may be a good idea to write completely new content for your articles. Some writers just copy and paste parts of their websites and put them into articles. This may lead to a "duplicate content" penalty and may end up hurting your search engine results. I would recommend that you should play it safe and come up with totally new content for your articles.

How Many Articles Should I Write?
The number of articles that you will have to write really depends on how good your competitors are. If you're competing against many highly optimized websites, then you may have your work cut out for you. On the other hand, if you notice that your competitors are not all that great at the SEO thing, your road to article writing will be much shorter. Any way you look at it, writing articles can bring too many benefits that are yours for the taking.

Author Bio
John Michaels is a part-time editor for ArticleGeek.com. John has developed many websites over the years in many different business areas. He is a professional web developer/designer/architect. ArticleGeek is a free website content resource for publishers and webmasters and a place where authors may submit articles for FREE!

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content

Give 'em a Taste (and they'll likely come back for more)

Give 'em a Taste (and they'll likely come back for more)
By: Alicia Forest

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the original ice cream shop that offers you a taste of any flavor ice cream you want before you make your decision on which scoop you are going to enjoy.

Giving you a taste (or as many tastes of different flavors as you'd like) is a brilliant way to ensure that you not only order a cone at that moment, but it's also a way to bring you back to try more flavors on another day.

You can use this brilliant marketing strategy in building your business, too. Offering your prospects a taste of what it is that you provide is a proven and easy way to get people to become part of your community, and part of your marketing/product funnel (the funnel is the "journey" (that builds a relationship over time) that your clients follow from the first visit to your website, where they enter by giving you their contact information, down through each level as they make their way through each purchasing step in the funnel). By offering them a sample, you're giving them an opportunity to get to know you without risking anything more than perhaps a bit of time.

In your marketing/product funnel, the taste you are giving your potential clients is at the top of the funnel, the widest part. The taste is your freebie/complimentary/gift offering and is your first (and usually only!) opportunity to engage your prospect. Your taste needs to be something of value that you offer for free to people who visit your website in exchange for their contact information, usually their name and email address.

This is often one of the most overlooked steps in building an online business. A prospect needs to see your message many times (it ranges anywhere from 5-10) before they will feel confident enough to risk handing over their money to you. In order to build a relationship with people you need to be able to contact them again, which means your goal is to capture their email address before they click away from your website.

If they leave, it's unlikely that they will come back, so don't lose the opportunity to welcome them into your community, your funnel. They landed at your website because they were looking for something (usually a solution to a problem they are having, right? :)). Give them a taste of the solution you offer. And remember to make it easy for them: make your sign-up form or email so obvious that they'd have to trip over it not to notice it (yes, that includes pop-ups and the like, because even if they annoy you as much as they do me, they work!).

So, what can you offer of value in exchange for their email address? A newsletter, an ecourse, an audio clip, or a special report, are all good options. Personally, I like the offer of an ecourse AND an ezine. You give them a taste of what your services are like with the ecourse, and then you keep in touch with them on a regular basis with the ezine. The ezine allows you to build a bond with your readers in a uniquely personal way, letting them get to know, like and trust you over time, with you having to build that bond one-on-one.

So, one caution is to not offer any one-on-one interaction with you at this level. You want to leverage your time, and offering free consultations or one-time meetings with you is not a good use of your time. Let them get to know you over the course of your freebie offering. When and if they become serious about you and your products or services, they will move further down the funnel (from free to fee) without you having to "sell" them on what you provide during a complimentary session (how nice is that?).

So what is your taste going to be? Here are some other ideas:


Write a Top Ten article about the benefits of your products and services, convert it to a PDF file, and offer it as a special report.
Record a short audio about the three key things your niche needs to know about X.
Create a mini ecourse that encompasses the five steps to getting started for your market.
or Create a quick-start guide that helps your market focus on how to get started.


Once you've given them a taste, they will likely come back for more, eventually turning from a prospect to a client. Creating a taste of what you provide is easy and it's fun. Try it and watch what happens!

Author Bio
Alicia Forest, MBA, Multiple Streams Licensed Coach, & Founder of www.ClientAbundance.com, helps coaches and other solo service professionals to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately make more money. For FREE tips on how to create your own Client Abundance, visit www.ClientAbundance.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
http://www.articlegeek.com/business/marketing/give_them_a_taste.htm

3 Easy Ways to Get More Blog Comments, Build Engagement and Boost Traffi...

Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash

Write Website Copy That Sells - Try a Little Flesh with Your Flash
By: Paul Matthews

Your website looks great: solid words, easy navigation, graphics just so, and maybe even a bit of flash with some multimedia. 

But customers are not buying.

You wonder if it's the writing. How can that be? You remembered the two key mantras for website content - "write for the search engines" and "write for the medium." You used appropriate keywords to help search engines find you and traffic is up. Surely, customers enjoy reading your content because you laid it out with the internet in mind using short sentences, brief paragraphs, and bullets to list your key points. Customers might be reading, but they still are not buying.

Chances are your site copy has been optimized for technology not people.

Even on the internet, selling is still about connecting to people. So how do you press the flesh across broadband? Start where brick and mortar relationships do - trust. Why not become the trusted provider in your marketspace?  You can use words to raise your credibility in at least 25 different ways.

Here are two of them:

1) write the way customers speak and 
2) replace your pitch with a theme. 

People instinctively trust strangers who speak like them. If you find this article useful, how would you tell someone? Are you really going to say, "I read an unusually amazing article that fundamentally increased my sagging sales"? Not likely. Weak copywriters, not people, use too many modifiers. "Amazing,"  "fundamentally," and "sagging" weaken trust.  How's your site for modifiers?

Give it the finger test. 

You might not want fingerprints on your screen, so I suggest printing a copy of your homepage content. Now, put your baby finger on the first modifier you can find. Put your ring finger on the next adjective or adverb. Repeat until you run out of modifiers or fingers. If your page is a handful, you've got too many modifiers and your copy is hype heavy, not trustworthy. In addition to giving readers copy that matches how they speak, it helps to give them time to get to know you.
             
Customers need time before they trust. 

They will get used to your site in tiny steps, so hold off selling; buy some time. Have a theme for your site, introducing your offer only after your customer feels comfortable. Themes are a subtle form of repetition because they continually reinforce a single concept. Repeated exposure to an idea usually makes it familiar and safe. Remember the first time you used instant messaging or the family car - not so scary now.

Let's say your site is selling dental floss.

Instead of listing the benefits of DentaThread, you could tie the presentation together under the central idea "Some people have nothing to smile about." The opening section could point out how the discomfort of gingivitis wipes the grin off a person's face. Another segment would show how ugly cavities make someone too self- conscious to smile. Yet another piece would reveal how the high cost of root canal causes an individual to frown. In this way, three versions of one idea help the site grow on the visitor: one idea, three versions. Does your homepage have a theme? How many chances does your site give visitors to get comfortable with you?

In this article, I tried to use the language of my readers and hang it on a central idea, trust. Did it work? Did it help? If yes, I guess I proved my point. If no, I have 23 more ideas to go.

Author Bio
Paul Matthews is The Rezon8or specializing in high resonance copy that sells... all click, no slick. For a FREE site copy analysis and a chance to win a FREE homepage makeover go to www.therezon8or.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
http://www.articlegeek.com/internet/online_business_articles/write_website_copy_that_sells.htm

5 Reasons Why Headlines Are Crucial To Your Website's Success

5 Reasons Why Headlines Are Crucial To Your Website's Success
By: Robert Boduch

With such visual and sequential prominence, it's little wonder why headlines are the number one key to an effective web site.

Without a powerful lead, your message stands little chance of being noticed in an increasingly competitive marketplace. If your headline doesn't capture attention and pull prospects into your sales copy, than your marketing effort is a total waste of energy and resources.

Nothing is more important to getting your message noticed than the first few words on a page. If you're not allocating a sizable percentage of your time and creative effort to the headline used on each page of your website, you could be losing out on a large chunk of business.

Top copywriters understand this concept well. They know how essential it is to capture attention by literally stopping pre-occupied prospects in their tracks. It's the reason why headlines command so much of their collective creative effort.

Here are five good reasons why your site headlines deserve greater emphasis and attention:

Why Headlines Are Crucial #1: Headlines Are Natural Attention Getters.
The majority of online prospects are quick scanners. No one reads the body copy of a page without first reading and being pulled in by the headline. Headlines are the first thing your visitors see. They jump out visually and command attention. Headlines are leads set distinctly above the rest of the text. Often the typeface, size, and style used for headlines contrasts with that uses in the body copy. It's a proven approach that naturally attracts eyeballs, virtually forcing interested prospects to grasp the message of the headline and to read on.

According to advertising legend David Ogilvy, 5 times more people read headlines than body copy. Although Ogilvy was talking about print advertising in general, the observation is certainly applicable to websites as well. With 5 times the readership, headlines have the power and capability to make any message many times more successful.

Why Headlines Are Crucial #2: Site Headlines Serve As Valuable Guides To The Busy Surfer.
Headlines reveal key details. They tip off readers as to what follows. They provide clear signals to help readers decide whether they should stick around for the full message, or dash off to something else - something better suited to their own special needs and interests. As a quick summary of the entire piece, the headline either attracts continued interest and readership, or they repel it. Without a headline, the reader is forced to wade through a portion of the text to understand the meaning. Forcing readers to do this is to risk losing them altogether. It's sales suicide. In effect, having no headline will cost you at least 80% of your potential audience.

Why Headlines Are Crucial #3: Headlines Prepare The Reader For What Is To Come.
Headlines stimulate interest. They captivate, arouse curiosity and stimulate the desire for more. It's the headline that starts the reader's motor running. A good headline sets up a feeling of expectation as the reader anticipates discovering more -- and can't wait to get it!

Successful headlines address specific audiences. They open prospects minds to new possibilities and expand their level of enthusiasm and interest. The best headlines involve prospects... virtually guaranteeing their sustained attention for the time being.


Why Headlines Are Crucial #4: Headlines Simplify The Learning Curve.
Every headline serves to introduce whatever follows. As an opening or lead-in, the role of the headline is to succinctly communicate the essence of the message it precedes in an interesting and compelling way. Effective headlines and sub-headings reveal key bits of information -- often with the added power of emotion. A review of the various headings alone can often provide one with the gist of a given message. This makes it faster and easier to understand, remember, and review. Use your headings to generate emotional involvement and you increase the chances prospects will go back and read more of your copy.

When you make it easier to read and comprehend your messages, you increase the chances of making the sale.

Why Headlines Are Crucial #5: Headlines Allow You To Deliver Your Biggest Bang Right Up Front.
Capture attention and interest at the outset, by using your most appealing selling point. If your strongest, most desirable product attribute (benefit) fails to pull prospects in, surely nothing else you could ever say would do the trick, either. They're your initial point of contact with visitors -- that's why headlines play such an important role.

The stronger and more compelling your headline, the more readers are likely to read on and spend more time at your website. Create every headline to grab attention and inspire interest. The more alluring and irresistible you can make it, the more genuine prospects you'll attract and ultimately, the more sales you'll record.

Headlines are powerful marketing tools when used effectively. Take a good look at your site headline. Could you add more intrigue, curiosity, or interest? Test different headlines by trying various appeals and offer combinations. Keep an eye out for additional headline opportunities throughout your sales letters, as well as on other pages on your site. Make your headlines impossible to miss and difficult to ignore... then, watch your results soar!

When you see the difference a strong opening statement makes, you'll see why headlines are the most important part of your sales copy.

More resources at www.makeyoursalessoar.com

Author Bio
Robert Boduch is an author of dozens of best-selling books, reports and articles on the art and science of selling. A free newsletter targeted at anyone interested in selling more of anything is available at www.makeyoursalessoar.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
http://www.articlegeek.com/internet/web_design_articles/website_headline_success.htm

Image and Online Success and The Importance of Good Design

Image and Online Success and The Importance of Good Design

By: Tyson Fenech

Naturally there are many aspects to succeeding online but the nature of business hasn't swayed. You must have a professional image and you must provide a great service for your clients. This is what makes a business grow. This is not another article telling you to be sure you have Meta tags, linking and all the other wonderful Search Engine friendly includes. This is a bare bones old school reflection on how companies are losing sight of the bigger picture.

Put some heart into it

Most entrepreneurs have that essential vivacious approach to starting up a business and the truly successful ones will maintain that level of excitement to help cultivate a healthy and steady growth. A web site can help establish your business as a serious contender or just another hole in the wall. Which one are you? Some businesses place more emphasis on what they're going to have for lunch rather than the image they portray to their clients. Your excitement about your business shows in everything you do.

When getting a web site for your company be certain you place your trust and hard earned dollars with a design firm that is passionate about their work and has a proven record of accomplishment, understand why one charges $500 and another $3000. You will have a much better project if the designer has foresight and desire to see their work succeed and not just become another bank deposit.

If you surf online and scope out the millions of companies, it is amazing to see how many tired looking sites you'll come across. I can't imagine a company that sells from a brick and mortar store, allowing the front of their building to become decrepit with their sign barely hanging on by a couple of bolts. Not a good way of attracting customers off the street and into your establishment.

The heart of your business

Do what you do best. Sell the products and services that define you and earn the capital. Promote your business in the best way possible, keeping honesty and integrity at the forefront. Do not sell yourself short. Invest into your growth and future developments.

There are countless articles on Search Engine Optimization and how to make money quickly. Have we forgotten the core of doing business and how the market is stimulated? There are plenty of ways to promote your business online and expand your demographic just be sure to focus on the important facets that make a company great. Provide and honest service and quality product. More than just attracting customers to your web site you want to retain long lasting relationships which will only draw more clients as time goes on.

Search Engine Friendly

No doubt search engine optimization is an extremely important aspect for the success of your business but can't stress enough that the importance of having a solid image must tie in. What many articles fail to point out is that SEO isn't the only thing to achieving online success. The focus tends to be on one aspect and never the whole picture. Business like everything involving human interaction revolves around the senses.

Okay so your site gets to the top of the search results and gets a click thru. Upon arriving to your site, which lacks any sense of presentation is quickly scanned, forgotten and on to the next site they go. The attention span of surfer's is on the decline. Yes you must have relevant content but it better be presented in the best possible way so when your competitors are visited by the same potential customer you stand out. It's all about standing out and making your presence known. When you first write your business plan (you do have a goal right?), one of the main things is to define your sole purpose and what the business hopes to achieve and how you stand out from everyone else.

Building that niche

It is ideal to focus your efforts and find that little pocket where you can shine and grow. This is very helpful when creating your online image. Custom designed graphics, tailored to your business will help secure your position within your chosen niche market. A beautiful looking web site will not help your ranking but it will help secure client interest and entice sales. Many SEO specialists overlook the importance of branding, which is number one in order for a company to separate themselves from the pack. Don't allow customers the chance to forget your name. Be remembered and maintain your presence.

Author Bio
Tyson Fenech is the Creative Director for Core Creative Concepts. Designing web sites and print materials for the past 7 years helping both small startups and Fortune 500 companies. www.coregraphicdesign.com

Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
http://www.articlegeek.com/internet/web_design_articles/importance_good_website_design.htm

4 Ways to Boost Your Website Engagement and Conversion

People often ask me why, as a business coach, I specialize in working with creative professionals. The answer is, I love to see talented people fulfilled in their work, as busy as they want to be, and be compensated really well for what they do.

But what I learned from my 15+ years as an agent for independent copywriters, art directors and fashion illustrators is that talent and taste aren't enough. If you're going to land those coveted projects, you need to stand out, connect and be ready to close the deal.If the mere mention of closing the deal makes your feel queasy, take a deep breath! I'm going to share 4 easy-to-implement ways in which your website can help you do that. Ready?

1) Incorporate language into your website

Even if your work is 100% visual, adding language gives your work context, communicates your mission and helps clients get to know, like and trust you. Bonus, if your text is keyword-rich SEO rating will benefit from a nice boost.

Not a writer? No problem. Here are some ways you can easily incorporate language:

Testimonials:

Nothing boosts your credibility more than having other people say how awesome you are. Sprinkle testimonials throughout your site and be sure one is on your home page.

A positioning statement:

This can be a short paragraph, or 2-liner. Your goal is to state what you do, who you do it for and what they get out of the process. For example, mine is: "I help freelancers and creative entrepreneurs define what makes them unique, create a clear marketing message and strategy, and get more clients".

Your story:

I'd much rather read someone's story than another boring bio. That said, your story must have a purpose, structure and flow. Rambling childhood memories are not client attractive!

2) Present work that resonates with the client you want to attract

I recently did a website VIP planning and strategy day with a photo artist and one of her challenges editing and presenting her work. We started out by selecting only the images that she really loved and felt represented her vision. Sounds simple, right? But when factors such as what colors people in certain regions like and what you images you have in inventory (and therefore, are motivated to move) get involved, your vision can quickly become clouded. Next we printed out the image select and laid them out, left to right, on the floor (an old agent trick) to see how they flowed. We immediately saw that the edit would be much more impactful if we reversed the order. Funnily enough the opening image was one she had initially felt ambiguous about, but now made sense within context of the edit and flow.

Be objective, look at your work with fresh eyes and edit, edit, edit. If you can't do it alone, recruit an objective and constructive partner to help you.

3) Drive traffic to your site

One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs and freelancers make is subscribing to the belief that if they build it, people will come. It's a nice idea, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way. Prospective clients need several points of contact before they're ready to buy, so you need to be consistently on their radar. I've tried every method from cold-calls to promotional mailings, and the best way I know is to share high-quality, high-value content with your prospects - no strings attached. Whether it's a newsletter, blog, social media or give-away on your website, building and nurturing your list is invaluable.

4) Get clients to take action

One of the first questions I ask my coaching clients is "what do you want people to do when they get to your website?" Answers range from a blank expression to "enjoy the work". If you don't know what you want people to do, how are they going to know what to do?

Here are a few things you might want them to do, along with suggestions of how to get them to do it:

Join your mailing list:

Create something helpful/educational/gorgeous that they can download once they subscribe. Make sure that the offering really is of value and is related to the services you offer. For example, I offer a free 5-step guide to building a thriving creative business.

Call you:

Have a call to action that clearly communicates what you want them to do and what they will get e.g. "for a free 20-minute consultation call me" or " call me to discuss your next campaign". Make sure that you include a link that takes them to your contact page or your on-line calendar.

Check out your services:

You might create a 'Work With Me' button or link that takes them directly to your services page. Whatever your call to action is make it really easy for them to follow through on it.

5) Bonus tip: Have a submission form on your contact page.

If your contact page features just your email address and phone number, your visitors now have to find a pen, write it down, open their email, type it in... You get the point: the more obstacles there are between them and you, the less likely they are to make contact. Make it really easy!

Article source: http://www.abcarticledirectory.com