Posts By: Chris Wielinski

5 Biggest Web Design Mistakes You MUST Avoid This Year

Posted February 23, 2018 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Website Design.

The 2017/18 Global Digital Outlook Study found that 43% of marketers across the world are upping their investment in digital marketing. Almost half are spending 50% or more of their marketing budget on digital marketing alone. The importance companies place on having a solid online marketing game is huge. Everything from search engine optimization to pay per click advertising plays a pivotal role in a successful marketing campaign, but one thing needs to happen first.

Website design can be likened to how a physical store looks. Is it clean? Are things where you’d expect them to be? Do people like being there? These are all important questions for store owners, and now website owners must ask them as wel. Sometimes, however, a website is a total mess. In fact, this is fairly common. So, here are some common web design mistakes to avoid at all costs.

Unresponsive Design
A responsive web design is a site designed so that its presentation adapts to the size of screen that it is being accessed from. If, say, a visitor is using a phone to access your site, but when it loads they are only able to see the top left corner of your site, they will likely find another website to browse.

Under or Over Designing
Too little design being put into a page is one way to make your website look like everyone else’s’. Too much design and your website could end up looking cluttered, distracted, and all over the place.

Missing Leads
If you employ Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, and other lead generation techniques, but fail to capture user emails and contact information when they are directed to your site, you will lose those people as leads. Not every visitor will convert on their first visit, which is why remarketing campaigns, contact forms, and email lists are such valuable lead capture tools.

Buried Essential Information
If potential customers have to click through 17 different pages of nonsense to find the product information they’re after… Well, they won’t click through that many pages, will they? Make any important information relating to purchases readily available and easy to locate, or risk losing lots of leads.

404s
Error: List item not found.

If you wish to avoid these issues and make a masterful website, contact a professional website design company that offers a wide array of web design services. Building a beautiful and high functioning website is no small chore. If you need a hand, contact us today.

5 SEO Trends To Watch In 2018

Posted February 1, 2018 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Search Engine Optimization.

The world of digital marketing is wild, new and has fantastic potential to transform the way people market both their companies and themselves. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is on the front lines of this new marketing landscape, but to stay there, it has to be agile. Google, the search engine overlord, knows all about SEO strategies. All they had to do was google it. Due to SEO, there are many updates to Google’s search algorithms every year. So, SEO experts need to change tactics all of the time. Here are some trends you should expect to see early on in 2018.

RankBrain
This is Google’s most advanced deep learning algorithm to date, and it has become the third most important ranking factor in the interconnected web of wonder that is the Google ranking algorithm. Among other data, the primary focus of this almost-AI is on measuring the duration a person spends on a website (Dwell Time), and the percent of people clicking on your page(Click Through Rate).

The Knowledge Graph
This can make or break your page’s CTR. The knowledge graph, or answer box, or featured snippet, or any of Google’s clean-cut boxes of information that come up with generic or broad searches could preclude people from clicking your link. Either you make a website so attractive that you can overcome the knowledge graph, or you become the knowledge graph.

Content
The more you factor in Dwell Time to the decision-making process that Google’s algorithms must undertake, the more you will see why long-form content reigns supreme. Most top-ranked links on any Search Engine Results Page (SERP) will be in the thousands for their word count. Not only that, but they will be good.

Image Search
Google image searches are an ever-improving enterprise. Using picture keywords in content might become an emerging strategy in the upcoming months. Images will be especially useful in social media marketing campaigns.

Alternative Search Markets
For a long time now, Google has been the only relevant platform to do SEO, and in the broad sense it still is. Specific search engine optimization can be done on the engines used on Amazon’s internal search engine by writing reviews in much the same way articles are written for Google. Likewise, Yelp, Siri, and other widely used platforms with internal search functions could be optimized.

Google gets more than 100 billion searches every month. They have some of the most brilliant minds and complicated algorithms in the world working to provide a platform for people to find knowledge. SEO experts are the silent infantry of online marketing. They work tirelessly behind the scenes to make your business visible to consumers worldwide. On the bleeding edge of digital marketing stands search engine optimization, ready for whatever algorithm Google decides to make next.

4 Pillars of Social Media Marketing

Posted January 25, 2018 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Social Media.

Social media marketing is becoming bigger by the second. In fact, Animoto’s State of Social Video report in 2017 revealed that 64% of consumers stated they made a purchase as a result of watching a marketing video on Facebook within the last month. This just goes to show that social media networks like Facebook are becoming ever more relevant to the modern marketer. Here are some strategies that a great digital marketing company should use.

Consistency
One of the key precepts of social media marketing is having a consistent posting routine. People following your company on social media will come to expect a regular posting pattern. To keep their attention and to bring in other individuals who will follow in their footsteps, make sure to maintain consistent posting times.

Diversity
Having all of your eggs in the Twitter basket isn’t the best way to go about growing your social media presence. Make an account with a number of major social media platforms and spread your efforts out across each, to begin with.

Optimization
Making content for LinkedIn will be quite different than making content for Facebook. Tailor your ideas to the platform you’re using. Twitter will obviously include more short-form content with pictures. Facebook might be better served with videos. LinkedIn would consume more long-form articles.

Part of optimizing your content is finding which platform is gaining traction. The more one social media platform gains, the more it should become your focus. This way you’ll be able to spend more time on the people who are responding most positively.

Social Pay Per Click
Unlike search engine marketing pay per click (PPC) advertising where a consumer entering a keyword triggers an ad showing up at the top of the results, social PPC advertisements are shown to consumers of a predetermined demographic. Social media companies gather data about their users, and this information is then used by advertisers to create targeted ads based on the demographics certain individuals fit into. This is how Facebook ads originate and how they tend to be so successful.

There are many social media marketing strategies. Some of the most important of which simply involve consistency and persistence. An online marketing strategy should be approached on all fronts. If you would like to kick-start your social media presence, give us a call.

The 3 Similarities Between Digital And Traditional Marketing

Posted January 2, 2018 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Display Advertising.

The importance of familiarizing yourself with digital marketing has never been more significant than it is today. In fact, the Global Digital Outlook Study for 2017/2018 found that 43% of worldwide marketers are increasing their investment in online marketing. Almost half of these marketers are already spending 50% or more of their marketing budget on the digital frontier. Since much of this brave new marketing world is uncertain, many people will need a simple way to explain it. One way to take some of the mystery out of online marketing is by comparing it to traditional marketing concepts. This can be very helpful when choosing a digital marketing firm. These are those concepts and how they apply today.

BillboardsMuch has changed in marketing, but perhaps the easiest way to recognize some similarities is by looking at a billboard, then looking at banner ads. They are exactly the same, save for one being written in pixels and the other in ink. Online banner ads, like billboards, also cost more in certain locations. If you want to place a big billboard with your brand in Times Square it will cost your company an arm and a leg. Just the same for landing an ad on the New York Times website. If you want a billboard in a town outside of a small suburb in southern Alabama, you will pay proportionally less, like you would when placing a banner ad in a much lesser known online publication.
Mail BrochuresMany people still get pamphlets in the mail for local restaurants, department stores, and holiday deals. The same exact thing happens online, but using email instead of physical mail. Websites ask potential customers to sign up for their mailing list, which they then use to send offers and discounts. This is to help cultivate a following and brand loyalty.
Critical ReviewsWhile the internet has certainly decentralized the product and media reviewing process, marketers still use it to their advantage. Reviews used to be done by paid food, music, movie, or product reviewers. They controlled who believed what about a product being sold. Now, the power is back in the hands of the masses. While once the critics controlled the review industry in a transparent way, their dominion has now been relegated to the dark corners of the internet. That said, online reviews and the critics of old share much in common.

If you are in the process of choosing a digital marketing firm and feel a bit overwhelmed by all the new terminology and concepts, don’t worry, it is mostly the same concepts as before, but they’ve been adapted to fit a new platform. Use similar criteria as you have in the past when choosing a digital marketing firm today. Trust, versatility, professionalism, and knowledge are all important to help your marketing campaign succeed. Whether you need web design services, social media marketing, or anything in between, call today and get your name out there.

3 Reasons SEO Is Essential To Modern Online Marketing

Posted December 29, 2017 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Search Engine Optimization.

Online marketing Pro Tip: Companies that post 16 pieces of blogging content or more per month seealmost 3.5 times the volume of traffic than those who publish between zero and four monthly blog posts. Content drives clicks. This fact is inescapable and one of the main tenants of search engine marketing. If you want Google to notice your company, then visitors need a reason to spend time on your site. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play. If you want to compete in the wild and intimidating world of online marketing, you need to enlist SEO services.

Out of all the digital marketing strategies available to you — pay-per-click, social media marketing, email marketing, and more — here’s why search engine optimization should be at the top of the list:

Informing The Customer
We are living in an age where prospective customers are better informed than ever before. But where are they getting all their information? If it isn’t you, they are getting it from another company using similar online marketing methods. This is one of the biggest realizations many small businesses have while adapting to the Information Age. The digital marketing world isn’t about making the hard sell; it is about convincing customers that you are the authority on their subject of interest and you have the solution to their unique problem. If your company doesn’t engage in content production, how are you supposed to inform the customer?

Generating Leads
The way digital marketing companies go about getting leads is not too different from offline marketing companies. It’s all about finding qualified leads and converting them into customers. That said, SEO is one of the most effective methods of generating inbound leads. Through keyword integration and having a high ranking on Google for a specific topic of interest, customers will start coming to you. The closer to the top of the search results you appear, the more likely consumers are to trust your site enough to buy something. Customers are less likely to trust information they find in an advertisement, which is why inbound marketing is so effective. This leads to more leads and more sales.

Cost Effective Visibility
Inbound leads, even offline, are some of the most cost-effective. That is, you have to put in less money per SEO lead than you would with an outbound ‘sales pitch’ type of lead. This frees up resources to execute your services more effectively and expand your marketing reach to other areas.

Search engine optimization is becoming ever more important in an online world dominated by a single search engine. Professionals who know how that search engine comes up with its results are able to push a website as high as possible. Having a site that ranks on regularly searched for keywords is an invaluable marketing tool that could bring your company to the next level.

A Short-Form Article on Why You Should Write Long-Form Content

Posted December 7, 2017 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Search Engine Optimization.

The search engine optimization world changes rapidly, but one strategy is emerging as a constant. In July 2015, a study by Moz and Buzzsumo found that long-form content, defined as articles with more than 1,000 words, consistently received more links and social shares than shorter content. And as of 2017, Google has confirmed that longer content often ranks better than thinner content on the same topic. The longer a post is, the more useful information it can provide. Of course, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of other factors, but for now let’s look at the true value of long-form SEO content.

What Is Search Engine Marketing?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to know what an SEO company wishes to accomplish. The basic goal is to get client websites to the first page of Google searches. The old saying, ‘if you’re not first, you’re last,’ is sort of how it works in this wild digital marketing world. Think about the last time you were desperate enough to resort to the second page of Google. Though page two is better than page three, as any SEO company will tell you, companies compete viciously for page one rankings.

Why?
Think of the number of companies that sell ribbon and yarn. If a potential customer goes online and searches ‘ribbon and yarn’, they’ll be spoiled for page one choices. This is where search engine marketing (SEM) comes into the fray. SEM is essentially an umbrella term for all marketing done on a search engine. This can include Pay Per Click Advertising, SEO, and many other marketing techniques that happen on a search engine. The goal with these strategies is to get as many consumers to see a website as possible.

Why Does Long Form SEO Content Matter?
Google consistently ranks long-form content higher. This is evident in Hubspot’s 2017 analysis of word counts for their posts. They found the word count that consistently generated the highest average organic traffic was around 2,500 words. The data peaks here and falls with either lower or higher word counts. In general, though, significantly more traffic was generated by long-form, SEO optimized articles and blogs.

Now, this doesn’t give you the green light to type out a trillion words that will read like a lumpy jumbled mess, or that it’s a good idea to write a long-form piece about something very simple. The key to these pieces is that they provide value to the reader, something they can learn.

For an SEO company, long-form content can be a marker of their talent. For a digital marketing company offering long-form content, it can be an asset. For your website, it could mean a ticket to page one.

Step Zero Of Your SEO Campaign: What Is SEO? What Are Keywords?

Posted November 28, 2017 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Search Engine Optimization.

Securing your spot in the ever-changing digital universe that is the internet can be frustrating. This is especially the case if you aren’t sure what goes on behind the red curtain of Google’s search results. Today, in a society where everything and more is accessible from the tip of our fingers, people increasingly rely on search engines. Everything from products to research projects, sports news to USB cord reviews, free-to-watch media to remedial arithmetic. Anything and everything — the internet in a nutshell. But how does Google determine which results to show you? And how are companies using this knowledge to their advantage?

Search Engine Optimization
This is big in today’s digital marketing world. SEO is a way to generate inbound leads for websites like yours, driving both traffic and customers your way. In fact, SEO leads have a 13.6% close rate compared to outbound leads that only close 1.7% of the time. These numbers might surprise you, but when you think about the way people find products today, it begins to fall into place. People want to find what they want. They don’t want to be told what they want.

With hundreds of informational articles on any given topic, it’s pretty important for any company that wants to be discovered to have content that directs people to their product. This is where SEO comes in.

First, you will need to identify the market you are after. This is true of any company’s marketing strategy. Next, you will want to hire an SEO company. Trying to quickly learn all of the intricate SEO services that these companies provide is a fool’s errand. Learn over time how to integrate optimization practices. But what does an SEO company do?

There are too many SEO services to explore them all in this article, but the goal of search engine optimization is to convince Google that your website should show up on the first page of search results. This is a monumental task and it involves many steps. One major part of any successful SEO campaign is the preliminary keyword research. Which words do you want Google to associate with your company?

Now, it’s far from this simple, but say you’re a car dealership that wants to sell cars in Fort Worth. Some of your keywords should include ‘Fort Worth’. You certainly don’t want such a simplistic keyword like ‘car’ because far too many people already want to hold the top spot on Google for highly competitive keywords.

This is step zero of a successful SEO campaign. If you would like to learn more about SEO services and how it can grow your company, consult with an SEO firm today.

3 Disastrous Mistakes To Avoid When Working With A Digital Marketing Company

Posted October 23, 2017 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Display Advertising.

It’s no secret that digital marketing is an increasingly effective investment for businesses of all kinds. According to the 2017/2018 Global Digital Outlook Study, 43% of marketers worldwide are increasing their investment in digital marketing. Nearly 50% are currently spending half or more of their entire marketing budget on digital. However, before you choose just any digital marketing company to represent your brand and image, it’s important to do some research and steer clear of some common mistakes. Here are just a few mistakes to avoid when working with a digital marketing company.

Not Prioritizing ROI
In the midst of all the different types of metrics used to measure the success of any particular digital marketing campaign, it can be easy to forget the entire point of your digital marketing investment: to gain an ROI. So instead of focusing solely on increasing metrics such as click through rates, organic visitors, and conversion rates, make sure to remember the big picture and not to get caught up in the numbers. The bottom line is that if you aren’t getting an ROI, your digital marketing campaign simply isn’t working.

Hiring Based On Who You Know
Many business owners who make this mistake do have good intentions. The fact is, just because you know someone personally doesn’t necessarily make them a suitable candidate to digitally market your business. When it comes to making the tough decisions for your business, you have to go with your mind, not your heart. Sure, your nephew or family friend may be passionate about what they do and want to help your business to succeed, but if they don’t have the experience and credentials to back it up, you’re taking a huge risk and are likely to be disappointed with the results.

Being Stingy
Finally, having a budget is one thing, but if you aren’t willing to make at least a small investment into a digital marketing plan, you won’t see any significant results. Any digital marketing company that advertises work for suspiciously low prices is almost guaranteed to be a scam.

Ultimately, being aware of these common mistakes can help you make the right decisions regarding your digital marketing needs. For more information about social media marketing or web design services, contact Think Cre8tive

Small Web Design Mistakes With A Big SEO Impact

Posted October 17, 2017 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Website Design.

Promoting your business in today’s online marketplace takes strong SEO. Since about 70% of the links web users click are organic, you likely do everything you can to boost your site’s SEO. But do you pay attention to the small factors that could be hurting your ranks? Often, web design is to blame for holding a website back from full optimization. While the website might have a strong aesthetic design, there might be small mistakes quietly harming your site’s SEO and digital marketing as a whole. The following are some of these common errors.

New Windows
Clicking on a link and opening a new window used to be the norm. In fact, it may have even been a trend. Now any quality web design company knows that this feature uses up site data and decreases site usability. A streamlined approach is best.

Hidden Contact Info
Web design best practices tell you to place your contact info in several visible places. However, many firms skip this step. When a user can’t find your contact information to call for more information, they are more likely to click away. And that means fewer views on your other pages.

Large Media Files
High quality images are key to digital marketing, but it’s possible to take this too far. If your photos, videos, and graphics are bigger than they need to be, you might be unnecessarily slowing down your page load times. This mistake will also cause users to click away and decrease your page views.

Infinite Scroll
While infinite scroll is a trend, particularly in blogging, it can be confusing for Google’s crawlers. This is especially true if the page is indexed incorrectly. While a human user will know to load more posts once they get to the bottom, the crawler’s won’t. Then they will only index a fraction of the links you actually have on your site.

Text In Images
It’s a common web design and digital marketing trend to place text over images, but this is only effective if you do it correctly. If a website designer places a keyword on a graphic in a design program and then uploads this image, Google will see it as an image exclusively. To get SEO value out of this text, place the text over the image on your website.

Little Social Linking
By not integrating your social pages and your website, you might be missing out on an SEO boost. You site’s social buttons should be placed on several pages on your website (the footer is a common place). Similarly, your website should be linked in all of your social profiles.

Remember: The best way to catch these web design mistakes is to work with a professional search engine marketing firm. This way, you can get expert advice on your design and other SEO strategies. And if done well, this should bump your site in the rankings and increase traffic.

Forget Digital DIY: Why You Should Hire An SEO Agency

Posted September 22, 2017 by Chris Wielinski & filed under Uncategorized.

With so many simple tools on the web, it can be relatively easy to do your own digital marketing. But that does not mean that you’re doing it well. This is especially true when it comes to search engine optimization. To execute professional SEO, you need a vast knowledge of link building, keyword selection, and other intricacies. This is why it quite literally pays to have the right SEO company on your side.

A digital marketing company provides updated industry expertise… At least the best ones do. By finding a quality agency to work with, you are signing on a team of experts to help you troubleshoot your SEO issues and keep track of your site analytics. Industry data shows that 75% of SEO happens off-site and 25% happens on-site. They will be able to find the best off-site pages to work with. Remember that they have already invested in the best talent, so you can rely on this knowledge.

By signing on an SEO company you can focus on the rest of your business. You can focus on your actual product or service while your team of experts works on the back end of your site rankings. If your revenue starts to dip, you can put in more work on your end while your SEO company also investigates your digital marketing. This is a cost-effective way to have all hands on deck.

This team can also keep track on your target market. Your customers’ behavior is rarely constant, and a qualified SEO company knows how to keep up with this. Whether it means changing up your PPC campaign or redoing your link building strategy all together, a team of SEO experts will know how to do this. While you likely know about the latest digital marketing trends, it can be difficult to stay on top of all of them. This is why trusting a digital marketing company is worth it.

When it comes to your SEO, there is little room to experiment. Starting an SEO campaign should happen quickly and with force, and digital marketing professionals have the tools to do this. Just be sure to choose a company that offers a wide range of services to fit your needs. This way, you can partner with them for the long term.