Regular website maintenance is non-negotiable and should be an ongoing affair. Over and above adding new pages, your website maintenance should also link to the performance of your website; it’s imperative that you continuously maintain your site to ensure it’s performing at its optimum.

The infographic below was created by Smartbear, a company that specialises in software testing. The infographic shows how small things like enhancing the page load speed can improve the revenue you can generate from your website.

1. Site loading speed is paramount
Do you know how long your site takes to load? You may have initially factored in loading times when your website was first designed, but through your regular website maintenance you could have changed something that adversely affects your loading speed, a huge factor in loss of visitors.

Factors that influence the speed of your site include: your server, content on your site and widgets used on your site that are hosted by a third party. A massive 57% of people will leave a site within the first three seconds if the site is perceived to be too slow. Shockingly, most major retail sites take ten or more seconds to load – a whole seven seconds too long.

2. One second is a long time

Let’s look at what a mere one second added to your loading time will do:

• 11% fewer page views
• 16% decrease in customer satisfaction
• 7% loss in conversion

  In monetary terms, if you use Amazon as an example, a one second decrease would result in the loss of $1.6 billion annually. If you want to make sure you aren’t losing revenue due to slow page loading time, regular website maintenance based on page speed optimisation cannot be ignored.

  3. More money is moving online
  The research company Forrester recently predicted that by 2016, 9% off all global retail sales will be conducted online. Retailers spend a huge amount of money optimising the flow of their stores in malls, increasingly though if you want to secure business through your online engagement with customers, regular website maintenance is the first step in making their user experience as enjoyable as possible.

  4. Don’t ignore your conversion forms
  Most people are familiar with the generic HTML contact form employed on numerous websites. These forms fulfil the important task of letting your audience make contact, enquire about your product or services or request a quote. While these forms are useful, they’re often also a source of irritation and therefore loss of revenue. These are the most common things that’ll put people off using your HTML contact form.

  Too many fields: Make filling in the form as quick and easy as possible by minimising the number of required fields.

  Form validation is too strict: Don’t make people jump through hoops in order to make contact. Again, simplicity and ease of use is key.

  The much hated re-typing of some obscure word or phrase: Find another way to ward off spam – this is probably one of the most annoying things encountered on the web today.

  Making someone re-type information: Don’t put people off by making this a laborious task. If they’ve already entered certain information such as their address or shirt size, have a system in place that’ll automatically repeat it when necessary.

  Regularly analysing and maintaining all of the forms on your site will keep your user’s experience pleasant. This goes a long way towards converting them into clients. Remember that these forms are the lifeline of your online business. The cost of not maintaining your online forms is potentially massive – even more so than your loading speed.

  Website maintenance impacts your communication
  A large portion of your communication will entail the building of landing pages for specific campaigns, competitions or a destination they’re directed to upon replying to one of your emails. If you don’t have a marketing automation system or an easy-to-use content management system (CMS) to do this for you, you’ll have to go through the costly exercise of hiring a designer and programmer every single time you need a new page.

  An automated marketing system will not only allow you to easily to maintain your website but should also do things such as automatically personalising each email you send, or personalising a website based on an individual’s preference
  By Gareth Slaven
  
  

One of the most effective ads in social media right now are native-social ads, ads that are incorporated within the social stream, like the ads that appear in Facebook’s News Feed.

In fact, native ads are gettings lots of shares and clicks and, in next to no time at all, it is expected that more than fifty percent of the social media ad spending will focus on native ads. A study conducted by BI Intelligence shows that among all social media sites, the ones that will find natural ads most valuable are the ones that focus on photo sharing, like Pinterest, Snapchat and Instagram.

These three photo-sharing social media sites are indeed benefiting from their native ad strategies. Snapchat’s Stories, or snaps that last for a day, is not yet an advertising unit, but brands will soon be using it as a native marketing tool. Instagram already has a native ad unit, while Pinterest has Promoted Pins, or paid placements from selected retailers and businesses that would appear within Pinterest’s category feeds and search results.

Native in-stream ads are the most successful type of ads in social media sites,, and will continue to find success according to a study. (Image: thalo-mag (CC) via Flickr)

The reason why photo-sharing social media sites benefit a lot from native ads is because photos are the most commonly shared form of media in the Internet.

How the Social Media report was conducted

The BI Intelligence report was conducted through interviews with experts in native advertising, comprising of specialists in social media analytics, social media networking investors, and chief advertising buyers.

It investigated the major advertisers and brands, making comparisons regarding their use of native ads and identifying their level of commitment with regards to using these types of ads. In addition, it also gives details as to why research firms were generally wrong in their estimation of the impact of native social ads.

The best native advertising formats were explored, like those of Facebook, and the researchers tried to determine how effectual native ads are on each social networking site. Native ads are so effective that, according to Jan Rezab, chief executive of Socialbakers, a social media analytics firm, “in the future, all advertising on social media will be native in-stream ads. The right rail and banners will disappear altogether.”

Why are Native Ads Effective?

There are several reasons why experts are so optimistic about native ads. In fact, according to Jed Williams, author of a forecast by BIA/Kelsey, forty percent of the 11 billion dollars on social ad spending by 2017 will go to native social ads.

Also, as previously mentioned, social media sites that are primarily focused on sharing photos benefit the most because photos are the most shared media online. In fact, a study shows that 43 percent of Internet users around the world have shared a photo in the past month. Online photo sharing enjoyed a boost with the advent of smart phones, as these devices, along with photo-sharing apps, have practically made sharing pictures online just a few clicks away.

One reason for the effectiveness of native in-streams is the way they look, feel and operate, and how these three perform so smoothly across desktop computers and mobile devices. This is exactly what brands are looking for because they want to deliver ads that work across all kinds of devices.

Promoted Tweets, a twitter native ad which has was already operating since 2010, is evidence that native social ads really work. As proof, Twitter is showing, more than any other social networking site that digital and television ad spending can work in close association. LinkedIn is now creating huge investments to come up with its own native ads strategy and Pinterest is also just beginning to use native in-stream ads with Promoted Pins.

By Aaron Elliott
Founder, Socialbarrel.com

As a marketer, you carefully craft pieces of content for the web. You research your target audience, include what’s trending, topical keywords and a distribution plan across your social networks and web properties. You’ve even found the optimal time of day to post for each.

But when you click “Publish”…nothing happens.

Native advertising, otherwise known as paid media in the format of news content nestled among other similar stories, has risen as one of the more effective ways to reach consumers in 2014. Though not new, certain questions arise: are consumers really clicking on native advertising vs. traditional advertisements or organic posts on the web? Do they actually trust these ads and are they worth your money? The answer may surprise you.

According to a study done by David Franklyn, law professor at the University of San Francisco, when it comes to what people recognize about labels, people often just skip over them. Respondents to his study “didn’t remember seeing ‘sponsored by’ posts when asked to read a web page and the majority (over 50 percent) also didn’t know what the word ‘sponsored’ actually meant.”

These results augment more preliminary findings from the study which stated that sometimes people don’t understand what the word ”ad” means, and even with disclosure, as much as 35 percent of people when asked to identify the type of content they were viewing, said that it was not an ad.

What this study sheds light on is that we do not have a homogenous group of consumers in terms of knowledge and expectations. People struggle with differentiating paid from unpaid ads. The bottom line? Context matters more than labels.

Furthermore, in terms of wanting to know whether a piece of content was paid media or not, out of the 10,000 surveyed, only 40 percent of consumers wanted more clear and conspicuous differentiation between paid and unpaid content. Sixty percent stated that they don’t care. Said Franklyn, “a growing number of consumers don’t care, and enjoy it. They enjoy the hyper-stimulation that marketers do the work to do – they just want to sift through and enjoy it like People Magazine.”

Other than consumers just plain not caring, why do native ads work so well? According to Jamie Cole, creative director at Red Barn Media Group, in research covering audience reception to native advertising, the material that appeared the least commercial was rated as most credible by readers, and attitude toward the brand and purchase intent increased towards content that mirrored and appeared as news content.

But don’t confuse the word “mirror” with “trick.” According to Dan Greenberg, the CEO of Sharethrough, ”it’s not about tricking people, it’s about delivering content that has value. We believe in the power of meaningful content.” (Besides, tricking people couldland you in hot water.)

Preliminary data from a study his company conducted showed that the language used to disclose native ads has an impact on whether or not a consumer perceives a story as being paid for by a brand. “Disclosure language impacts perception. The words ‘sponsored’ vs. ‘featured’ vs. ‘promoted’ vs. ‘advertisement’ vs. ‘placed by’ vs. ‘in partnership’ vs. ‘suggested’ vs. ‘around the web’ all have different perceptions. Context has a major impact on perception.”

Do you trust native advertising or other paid media content? Why or why not?

BY STACEY MILLER

 

Want to build trust and brand with native ads? Register for our free on-demand webinar with Steve Rubel now!

Information adapted from the FTC’s Workshop on Native Advertising.

Image: Pardot (Creative Commons)

Day 2 of New Media Expo 2014 from the Rio got underway with morning keynote speaker Scott Stratten, president of UnMarketing, discussing the topic of QR codes and marketing strategies in general during his presentation “QR Codes Kill Kittens: How to Alienate Customers, Dishearten Employees and Drive Your Business into the Ground.”

Certainly the title of the presentation, which doubles as the title for Stratten’s new book, catches your attention right away, just like the man himself. Stratten, who claims to know absolutely nothing about SEO, invented the ‘No’ Button website, where visitors click an animated button to hear a bellowed “Nooooooo!” for eight seconds. That’s the entire site. Sound a little strange? Try it, I bet you’ll return to the site soon enough. Overall, it’s received 20 million views, and as Stratten notes, he ranks first on Google for every version of “no” except for the two-letter version itself!

The Life and Death of QR Codes
But seriously, why do QR codes kill kittens? Because every time a QR code is used improperly or excessively, a kitten dies, Stratten says. He’s joking (right?), but his point is a good one. They can be effective, but they’re being forced on a consumer base that’s not willing or ready for them just yet. At least not that ready.

“I’ve seen QR codes on airline magazines, for instance,” Stratten says. “Problem is, the only time people read airline magazines is during takeoff and landing, because they’re not allowed to use their phones!”

Perhaps Stratten’s most telling example is a poster of missing pets, which has a QR code directing users to a reporting website. The idea itself makes sense, but when you begin to break it down, you start to see a number of holes in the strategy.

For instance, Stratten notes a total of 3.6 percent of smartphone users are capable and willing to scan a QR code on their smartphone. The willing part is important, because if a user tries once and it doesn’t work effectively, they’re far les likely to try again. As Stratten explains, there has to be a better way for individuals to contact an owner if they find a missing pet. That better way? How about, I don’t know, a phone number? While less than 4 percent of people will be scanning the QR code, 99 percent of cell phone users have the capability of calling a telephone number. It’s easier, and more effective. Don’t just use QR codes for the heck of it, especially when there’s a much simpler way to accomplish your objective, Stratten explains.

More than QR Codes
For Stratten though, the overall point isn’t just about QR codes. It’s about doing too much, and not focusing on what matters. As I noted in my presentation yesterday, you shouldn’t just “use Facebook for the sake of using Facebook.” You need to focus on the important things, particularly the content you’re producing. You can Tweet, Facebook and Instagram the heck out of something, but if the content itself isn’t quality, it’s really not going to have much reach.

“You want word of mouth? Do things worth talking about,” Stratten says. “You can’t manufacture viral, you can’t make people talk.”

The pressure on marketers is to hop on the next big thing, just so you don’t miss out. But that can be a dangerous game. As QR codes show, there’s probably some value in each of these mediums, but they need to be used correctly – and not overused – so that this value isn’t obscured. Ultimately, it’s not even about the tool itself, it’s what you do with it.

“You get ROI from listening and being awesome, and sometimes that can happen on Twitter, Stratten argues. “You can all have Twitter accounts, but you gotta use them right.”

At the end of the day, there’s so much being thrown at marketers, it can be tough to sift through the mess to come up with an effective strategy for your brand. But what Stratten wants to convey – in between showing us hilarious tweets from Taco Bell and police departments – is that regardless of the branding avenue you choose, make sure the message is a good one. That’s what’s really going to attract the Likes, ReTweets and +1s.

Blue

LinkedIn may not seem as sexy as Twitter or Facebook, but with over 259,000,000 users and 2,100,000 groups, it’s a social channel that you can’t ignore.

Sure, you won’t generate as much traffic from LinkedIn as you will from other social sites, but it’s audience tends to be businesses, which means each LinkedIn visitor is going to be worth more money.

So, how can you leverage LinkedIn? Well, you probably already know that posting on the weekdays during the mornings helps. But did you know that if you do 20 posts a month, you’d reach 60% of your audience?

Courtesy of: Quick Sprout

How to Increase Your LinkedIn Engagement by 386% [Infographic]

12/22/2013

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LinkedIn may not seem as sexy as Twitter or Facebook, but with over 259,000,000 users and 2,100,000 groups, it’s a social channel that you can’t ignore.

Sure, you won’t generate as much traffic from LinkedIn as you will from other social sites, but it’s audience tends to be businesses, which means each LinkedIn visitor is going to be worth more money.

So, how can you leverage LinkedIn? Well, you probably already know that posting on the weekdays during the mornings helps. But did you know that if you do 20 posts a month, you’d reach 60% of your audience?

If you want to maximize your LinkedIn engagement, just follow the steps in the infographic below.

Click here to view an enlarged version of this infographic.

Conclusion If you aren’t leveraging LinkedIn yet, hopefully the infographic above changes your mind. And if that doesn’t, consider that the highest quality of leads that I generate for NeilPatel.com tend to come from LinkedIn ads.

Three simple ways in which you can get more traffic from LinkedIn are:

1. When you post images, you’ll notice that you get 98% more comments.
2. If you link to your YouTube videos from LinkedIn, on average, you’ll generate 75% more shares.
3. Keep in mind that 60% of your connections on LinkedIn are interested in industry updates, while only 43% are interested in news and products from your company.

So, in what other ways can you leverage LinkedIn?

by Neil Patel

 

What’s the secret to a successful E-commerce site? Is it graphics; ease of use; loading time. or something else, something harder to define?

As anyone who has ever attempted to find their place within the saturated E-commerce market will know, while traffic levels are indeed part of the battle to succeed; it is in fact a whole new challenge to convert that traffic into sales. Your products might be unique, crafted with quality and have an attractive price point for consumers; but it could be your website that lets your brand down leading, to lost sales.

Vouchercloud has collated the latest statistics and data within this new infographic demonstrating how consumers respond to various features within the checkout process and how they can lead to cart abandonment and lost sales.

Infografic Source: Vouchercloud

Tweet These Stats

• 57% of online shoppers will abandon a site after waiting 3s for page load, 80% won’t return Tweet this

• 92.6% of online shoppers say visuals are the top influential factor affecting a purchase decision Tweet this

• Offering multiple product views and alternate images leads to 58% more web sales Tweet this

• 57% of online shoppers have more confidence in purchasing a product after viewing product video Tweet this

• 52% of online shoppers say they are willing to stay longer on sites that use product videoTweet this

• 45% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a retailer who integrates video into the website experience Tweet this

• 85% of consumers read online reviews for local business before purchase, 79% trust them as much as a personal recommendation Tweet this

• 41% of online shoppers will abandon a checkout due to “sticker shock” Tweet this

• 29% of online shoppers will abandon checkout if asked to register (24% of ecommerce sites require reg) Tweet this

• Only 10% of online shoppers will abandon a checkout process they perceive as “too long”Tweet this

• 50% of ecommerce checkouts ask for the same information twice Tweet this

• 81% of online retailers pre-check newsletter opt-ins in registration (40% of consumers don’t want them) Tweet this

• 59% of consumers consider shipping costs when making online purchase decisions Tweet this

• More than 80% of consumers feel safer seeing logos of trustworthy payment options on a site Tweet this

• 40% of online shoppers say they have more confidence with sites that offer >1 payment option Tweet this

By BLUE

Is there such a thing as failing profitably? In the world of lead generation, this may sound like a very dangerous idea. After all, the only real measure for a company’s continued survival is its success in generating sales leads. So what about failure, and its connection to making a profit?  You see, there is what we call a total failure, and there is also what we consider as a profitable failure. The former is one that really ruins a company, while the latter becomes a stepping stone for the eventual success of a firm. If that is the case, then we should aim to fail profitably, if success will not be had on the first try.

But here is the question: how will you do that, create a culture that promotes this idea?

First of all, we should take an active role in embracing failure. If you think about it, the reason why so many firms are mediocre, if not worthless, in the products or services that they offer is because they decided to play it safe. And if there is anything you can learn from playing it safe, it is that you will never truly grow. It stifles creativity, makes conservatism reign supreme, and it rarely helps you in your appointment setting campaign. If you want to succeed, then be open about the possibility of failure.

Second, try to fail small, fast, and smart. When you embrace failure as part and parcel of your lead generation efforts, you will want to turn it into a manageable setup, a learning opportunity. The trick here is in division. Let us take a major telemarketing campaign, as an example. For a big project like this, you would want to divide it into several smaller steps or stages. In this way, you can mitigate the effects of failure, as well as learn what went wrong before you proceed to the next stage.

Third, identify the opportunities from failure. As the old saying goes, “every cloud has a silver lining”. Make it a point to understand what went wrong. Take it as a learning opportunity for you and your marketing team. Yes, it may look bad, but if these can serve as a springboard for your campaign to shine, then why not take the chance?

Lastly, think of this as an attitude issue. If you think that failure will ruin you, then it will. But if you believe that this will help you become a better business manager or entrepreneur, that this will just be another stage for you to finally get to the top, then it will be the case. What you need to do now is to take that leap of faith, take the risk, and learn a good lesson from it all. That is how you properly make failure be profitable.

Who knows, this might just be the thing you need to generate the B2B leads that your company’s success require. Falling down is not the end, you know. It is in standing up that matters.­
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