by Liz Hersh | Jun 7, 2016 | Marketing, Website Design
5 Easy Ways to Generate More Website Traffic
After your website has been designed (or redesigned) and been successfully launched, it’s everyone’s hope that visitors start flocking to it immediately. In reality, the concept of “build it and they will come” doesn’t always work. The Internet is a crowded place. You have to work hard to get your message and your brand in front of consumers. Even if you’re getting a decent amount of traffic to your site, the more (quality) traffic you generate will help increase the number of leads and conversions. Luckily, there are some fairly simple ways to actively drive more traffic to your website.
Generating More Traffic to Your Website 
The first step in driving more traffic to your website is to identify your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Who is your best potential customer? It’s recommended to create at least three different buyer personas/target audiences so you can align any type of advertising campaign with your target audience. Once you’ve pinpointed your personas, you can create customized campaigns designed to bring that audience to your website. Here are five easy ways to generate more website traffic:
Facebook has made it simple to advertise to a very specific audience. While having an engaging Facebook page is an important element to your marketing efforts, you can also designate a modest budget for getting more clicks to your website with Facebook ads. Choose the option of “Clicks to Website” from Facebook ads manager, and you’ll easily be walked through the ad creation process.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising with Google AdWords
Using Google AdWords, you can set an advertising budget and only pay when people click on your ads. You’ll need to choose the proper keywords to bid on and create ad text around them. These ads will appear at the beginning of the Google search results page when people search for the terms you’ve identified.
When you’re an expert in something, lend your skills to others! Reaching out to provide a blog post on another reputable website will help lead visitors back to your own site while helping to build your brand and prove your expertise.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the internet, and LinkedIn Pulse is their award-winning daily news application. Pulse allows members to publish and share content to reach their potential audiences at just the right time. As you’re writing and publishing your article, make sure to backlink to your website and your own blog.
Providing a monthly email newsletter is also a great way to drive more traffic to your website. Just one successful email blast can result in a nice uptick in traffic, and you can also provide a form on your website for visitors to easily subscribe. If you’re looking for more customers, increasing the traffic to your website is the first step to generating results. If you need help with any of these strategies, leave us a comment and we’ll be sure to respond!
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by Liz Hersh | May 27, 2016 | Featured Articles, Website Design
5 Common Problems with SMB Websites + How to Fix Them
Frequent Updates Help Generate Leads and Sales
Your website is a critical touch point in your sales process, giving you the opportunity to connect with potential customers and demonstrate your ability to deliver an amazing service. Maintaining a website that connects with and converts leads is crucial to growing your business.
After building and maintaining hundreds of websites, we’ve seen several patterns emerge. Here are five common problems that can negatively affect your website’s performance. The good news is that these challenges are easy to solve with a little time and the proper resources.
As many small and medium businesses (SMBs) discover, managing and maintaining a website can be especially challenging if you don’t hire the right professional. Front-end content updates are essential to demonstrate your expertise. And technical support ensures your site remains up and running.
Without the proper assistance, many SMB websites are left for dead. But your website needs to do more than just exist! Your website is a tool that can communicate valuable information about your small business and your services. It’s easy to spot a website that hasn’t been touched: the graphics begin to look dated, blog content is old and the mobile experience is less than ideal.
How to Fix It: If you’re unable to hire an in-house professional, it’s best to outsource this work to a trusted partner, freeing up your internal team to focus on what they do best.
Zero On-Page Optimization
Optimizing for Google strengthens consumer trust and value. When a business ranks high in organic search results, it generates a certain level of trust, respect and credibility which are necessary for brands relying on digital channels for leads.
Visibility on the internet involves technical and creative and strategies to encourage traffic, leads and sales – but optimization isn’t one and done. It’s an ongoing task. While the frequency of these updates will be determined by the competitiveness of your specific niche/keywords, you must make this a priority.
How to Fix It: Make sure you periodically update on-page elements like title tags and meta descriptions. Keep the content (blogs and case studies) and imagery updated as well.
Not Giving Visitors a Reason to Stay on Your Site
Do the visitors of your website leave after just checking out a few articles or pages?
Do they spend significant amounts of time surfing your website?
A little more than half of all website visitors spend less than 15 seconds on any given website, and we obviously want these visitors to hang around longer than that.
Publishing original content such as blog articles, case studies, podcasts, videos or white papers gives visitors a reason to explore your website. As you build trust and credibility, your website becomes a more powerful sales tool for you. Search engines continue to reward new content, so keep this in mind if your goal is to attract more organic traffic.
How to Fix It: Develop a content strategy to position your SMB as a thought-leader. Commit to something manageable, even if it’s one new piece of content per month.
Missing a Clear Call to Action
For your website to capture conversions, you must include a relevant call to action (CTA) on every page. A call to action moves a customer closer to working with you. Potential customers won’t be inclined to take the next step if it’s unclear what they should do next.
Is the first step in your buyer’s journey educational? Perhaps they should download an eBook or review product specs.
Is your product highly customizable for the unique needs of each client? Perhaps you want to highlight case studies that demonstrate your ability to partner with customers and solve complex problems.
The journey to becoming a customer will be different for every business. It’s your job to test and understand what’s going to move them along.
How to Fix It: Make it clear and obvious what you want the website visitor to do. Include several different types of CTAs throughout your site. Measure and track your progress to see what performs the best.
83% of mobile users say that a seamless experience across all devices is very important and yet only 17% of websites are considered mobile friendly by Google.
When building your website, you must take into consideration all screen sizes and build it according to the latest responsive design standards. Now more than ever, people are accessing websites from their mobile devices. Today’s tech tools make it easy to build beautiful looking mobile websites that result in positive interactions with your brand.
How to Fix It: Invest in mobile responsive design so your customers have the best experience on your website on their devices.
Remember that a website is always in development. The time and energy you spent on your current website was not wasted – it’s a great place to start. Now is the time to update your site so it converts leads and grows your business.
Hopefully the tips above will help improve website conversions. Have more questions about improving your website? Reach out to us directly.
Editor’s Note: This article was last updated in April 2021.
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by Liz Hersh | May 16, 2016 | Featured Articles, Marketing, Website Design
Why Website Content Matters + How to Update It
Content Provides Value and Supports Your Digital Strategy
A well-rounded digital marketing strategy includes many elements. From paid ads to organic search engine marketing, your brand needs to be present and visible on numerous channels. However, there is an underlying component that fuels it all: content.
Content is arguably the most important component of your digital marketing and your website. It can set you apart from the masses by demonstrating your knowledge, expertise and capabilities. Other elements such as design, photography and video are important, but it’s the content that will speak directly to the customer’s needs and wants.
Content is also present in every step of the sales funnel. When your audience is looking for a solution to their problem, they seek professional insight in the form of blog articles, checklists or white papers. When your audience is closer to making a purchase, they will further explore your services, case studies or testimonials.
The bottom line is that along with having a great design for your website, it’s also vital that the information you’re providing is high-quality, relevant, and can convert visitors into qualified leads.
Quality Content on Your Website
What is quality content and how can it be incorporated into your website? It can take many forms but there are several elements that all high-quality content contains.
It Provides Value: Your audience wants a solution to their problem. To craft high-quality content, it’s necessary to understand exactly what your audience needs and wants. When you understand their pain points and goals, you can write content that directly addresses them.
It Has a Long Lifespan: The term “evergreen content” refers to content that remains useful for many months or even years after its initial publish date. It can be shared many times over or repurposed into different formats like video and podcasts.
It Fuels Your Digital Strategy: As mentioned, content is the foundation for most digital marketing strategies. From email marketing to social media to PPC ads, you can attract and engage your ideal audience with the right content.
It Moves Your Audience Through the Sales Funnel: Great content can help you build relationships with an audience and inspire them to take action. Think about and craft content that is not only informational, but also inspiring, motivational and directs the reader to next steps.
Keep the Content on Your Website Updated
Actively maintaining the content on your website can be a significant undertaking. Everything ranging from blog articles to service pages need periodic updates. Unfortunately, many SMBs have an outdated website. A website should never be stagnant. An untouched site creates a disconnect for your audience and potentially harms the brand you’ve spent time building.
Publishing new content or updating existing content is well worth the investment. If it’s done correctly, you’ll see an improvement in your search rankings and improved engagement on your site. Here are several suggestions to ensure your content conveys the right message:
Update Older Pages and Articles
Posts and pages published years ago need periodic updates to ensure they remain evergreen. Updating statistics, timelines and major milestones ensures that you maintain your authority and trustworthiness as a source. Updating your pages/posts will also signal to search engines that a page is still relevant to searchers.
Revamp Your Keyword Strategy
Search intent and keyword trends are always changing. You should continually reassess your keyword strategy when updating your content. You might have pages ranking for keywords that no longer generate the search volume they once did. This could be an opportunity to refresh the content and target new keywords.
Create a Website Content Calendar
A documented content schedule will help you stay consistent with your updates. It can keep you focused on the content that’s relevant to your audience. You can also keep track of when pages and articles were last updated, or make note of new content ideas.
As search engines get smarter and buyers get more selective, your written message is more important than ever. As time consuming as it is, the dedication you give to updating your content contributes to short and long-term success. Your audience will appreciate the value you provide, and you’ll enjoy strong growth and conversion rates.
Hopefully the tips above will help improve your website content. Have more questions about running successful marketing campaigns? Reach out to us directly.
Editor’s Note: This article was last updated in June 2021.
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by Liz Hersh | Mar 22, 2016 | Marketing
As business owners, we’re always trying to work efficiently with the time we have. The best way to do this is to delegate various tasks to our support staff.
I do this all the time with tasks like proofreading, email follow-up and social media scheduling. It allows me to focus on more important revenue-generating tasks like campaign strategy for clients or marketing for the agency.
But there are some tasks that your support staff is just not equipped to do. Marketing is one of those tasks. Sure, your team will be part of the process and can help with some of the execution, but they shouldn’t be solely responsible for the growth of your company or organization.
Here are three reasons why your administrative staff shouldn’t be running your marketing campaigns:
Reason #1 – They aren’t marketing experts
Marketing is a bit of an art and a bit of a science. You must have a good understanding of consumer behavior, buying trends and what’s going to make someone take action (i.e. – move them from a visitor to a lead to a customer.)
Developing lead generation campaigns that get measurable results comes with experience. Relying on someone who has executed one or two campaigns won’t provide the level of insight and confidence you need in your marketing.
Research from Capgemini Consulting (PDF) indicates that 90% of companies lack the necessary digital skills to run effective marketing campaigns. This includes the areas of social media, mobile marketing, process automation, campaign performance monitoring and analysis.
Remember, it’s about leads, customers and a return on your investment (ROI).
Reason #2 – Technology moves too fast to keep up
On any given day, I might get the office and find a new update from Google or Facebook. It’s my job to understand these changes and how they might affect our clients.
And the effects might not be evident right away – it might take some additional testing to learn more.
Unless your support staff is willing to take on this responsibility for all the channels you want them to manage, they shouldn’t be running your marketing.
Reason #3 – They don’t have time to do it effectively
Think about the reasons you hired your support staff. Perhaps it was because you needed someone to schedule appointments, answer the phone or assist with the product or service you deliver.
That’s important work, and I’m guessing it keeps them pretty busy. Is it really wise to give them more work? Or will you be spreading them too thin?
What’s the solution?
It seems like delegating your marketing and lead generation to your support staff is an ideal solution to ensure the phone is ringing. But in reality they probably lack the expertise and the time to do it right.
It’s a better use of your time and money to hire an expert who knows what they’re doing. It will certainly be an investment, but one that can also save you money in the long run. Hiring a digital marketing agency takes some careful considerations so check out this blog article for additional insight.
Have more questions about hiring a marketing agency? Leave a comment below and we’ll be sure to respond!
by Liz Hersh | Jan 14, 2016 | Legal Marketing, Marketing
Building an online presence is no longer an option. It’s really a necessity if you want to be seen among your target market and generate leads.
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by Liz Hersh | Jan 7, 2016 | Legal Marketing, Marketing
You’ve been in business for a few years now, and you’ve managed to get by without a marketing plan. Why take the time and effort to create one now? Will it really make a difference in your business?
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by Liz Hersh | Dec 22, 2015 | Legal Marketing, Marketing
You’ve reached a point in your law practice where your time is allocated to running the business. The attorneys and your support staff are busy with the client load, which is great. This is a fantastic place to be in.
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by Liz Hersh | Dec 14, 2015 | Marketing, SEO
The internet has made marketing campaigns far more trackable and measurable. You no longer have to make an educated guess about whether or not a campaign performed.
The data you can collect is incredibly detailed and valuable, but it can be overwhelming if you’re unsure where to focus your attention.
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by Liz Hersh | Dec 7, 2015 | Company News, Legal Marketing
I was recently featured as a guest on the Law Business Podcast! I had a great conversation with the host, Borbala Banto, about the power of inbound marketing and how law firms can use a digital strategy to grow the practice.
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by Liz Hersh | Dec 1, 2015 | Marketing
Is your inbox feeling a little crowded? I know many entrepreneurs feel this way so they decide that emailing their subscribers less frequently (or not at all) is the best course of action.
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