Wouldn’t it be good if you could get 20% – 70% more leads from your site? Many companies do. What about increases of 200% – 400%? It’s possible. I’ll tell you how. And, we’ll see if the “description” tags most of us use to craft copy for search returns are outdated, plus we’ll consider an important new Twitter service… it’s commerce time for tweeters.

Conversion Alert: Are there ways to squeeze more ROI out of your website? Definitely, and recent studies show the pay-off can be very big. I attended a webinar this week by a company specializing in squeezing more results — conversions (like when a visitor “converts” to a prospect, etc.) — out of landing pages and direct emails. So far every single company that applies a certain conversion success formula has seen increases… and some of them are huge — over 200%. To prove it to yourself, all you need is a free Google analytics account set-up properly to track goals, conversions and related ROI numbers. Then you use another free tool — the Google “Optimizer” to test for winning combinations of headlines, graphics, and calls to action. We can make this happen with a Landing Page Optimization Campaign – contact me for a quote.

Google Evolution: Have you squinted at the Google search results page lately? If you do, you’ll see a “show options” link  at top left, which when clicked reveals a sidebar of search refinements like related videos, forums, past week returns and more. Nice. But for SEO professionals and “Content Masters,” still another Google development adds a new twist on ways to succeed in search ranking, attracting visitors and inspiring conversions: “Rich Snippets.” Now Google is encouraging webmasters to mark-up content so that Google will find and return more meaningful excerpts than what is commonly delivered in search returns. Watch for plugins to facilitate this work.

Above, watch video presentation by Google experts on new Rich Snippets tactics

Twitter Update: It’s commerce time on Twitter folks. You knew it had to happen. Check out Twitpay’s new RT2Buy service . So now for all those who ask just what is the ROI for twittering? You can have a direct answer in the form of revenue via your twitter followers. We have a great program — our Social Media-MAX Package – to build a focused, targeted list of followers efficiently — contact me today.

So… how are your landing pages… and now, your growing Twitter list(s) converting? Time to call an Optimizer – reach me at (360) 566-2451.

#3 on Google in less than 19 Minutes: What’s the true power of a Business Blog? Well, you know I always focus on conversions. But before you can convert a visitor to a customer, you have to have visibility. And once your Blog gets accepted as a trusted source for information in your market niche (about 2-3 months of steady posting at least twice a week for new blogs), then your latest posts will go up fast — and rise to the top if your content is good.

A case example is a blog post on camp cooking contests we put up Saturday morning at SportsExposBlog.com, during their four-day tradeshow, where each day selling more tickets is a key to success. Within 19 minutes, that post was #3 on Google for the search, “Cooking Contests, Salt Lake City.” Great for immediate, and targeted visibility for those interested in reviewing cooking contests.  It’s still in position #4 on Google as I write this post.  Another client, Tom Hale — an Adwords Expert Extraordinaire — regularly sees his posts register high on Google in under 10 minutes.

SEO Technique Tip: First, the business blog for SportsExposBlog.com is developed on the WordPress platform, which out of the box provides a number of ways to Optimize for Search Engines. Then, we used a professional SEO plugin called HeadSpace (see articles about how HeadSpace works here ) and configured it for the phrase “Cooking Contests”, and the locality, “Salt Lake City”, for that specific post. It worked.

Why WordPress as a CMS? Last week I was at the Portland Search Engine Marketing Professionals annual Search Fest — a day of seminars and trainings on tips, traps, and techniques for this rapidly evolving field. There, a sales rep. told me that WordPress was not a CMS. Huh? Funny, it seems that Ford Motors, Comacho Cigars, CNN, the New York Times, and a host of other Fortune 500 players didn’t get that memo. They’re all enjoying the strengths of WordPress as their primary Content Management Solution. Of course, the sales rep. was, well, repping his own proprietary CMS based on Microsoft’s unpopular ASP.net platform.

There are several platforms out there offering CMS solutions, ranging from Cold Fusion, to Open Source PHP/MySQL, to Ruby on Rails, and ASP.net. Check around, and you will find many more options in the PHP realm, of which WordPress is arguably one of the top five choices. Way back in 2007, WordPress won “Best Open Source Social Networking CMS” from Packt Publishing.

What’s the best CMS solution for your company? Well, WebFadds, of course, can make the case for WordPress. But I admit, you’ll see some great contenders out there. A young fellow on a plane I took to Salt Lake City last week showed me an impressive proprietary CMS built in the Ruby on Rails environment. One big choice is Proprietary (you pay one company for a license and rely on them to continually improve your CMS) versus “Open Source” (the initial core program is free to download and install, and upgrades are free).

WordPres wins again, since it is in this initially “free” category.  But to be frank, free is not really free. You will want to custom configure and tweak it for maximum SEO and administration optimization — and that costs some money. But I think you’ll see that WordPress still wins when you compare your R.O.I. to other systems over the mid-term.  And, optimization with WordPress is not just about SEO — you’ll also streamline your content administration wrok.

Contact me — I’ll be pleased to work with you to find the best solution for your R.O.I… and, take a look at this overview: CMS WebSite Solutions with WordPress.

So… what is a “Conversion”: I get this question a lot.  Remember when everyone worried about “hits?”  Well, “conversions” are the new hits. You see, it’s not really that good to get a lot of hits, if your visitors simply bounce away without doing anything that brings them closer to a business goal.

You want to think very carefully about how you intend to “convert” visitors, into prospects (they might download a whitepaper, for example); into leads, where they usually fill out a contact form which may be given to your sales team; and into customers — when they make a purchase at your site.

The good news? You can use Google Analytics to track with precision your site visitor behavior leading to conversions.  The bad news?   Well, when you consider that most conversion optimization work yields improvements in the 20% – 75% range… it’s really all good news for your R.O.I. (Return On Investment).  If there is any bad news, it’s simply that your work isn’t done after the first design and formatting pass.  You need to always be testing, reviewing, and tweaking to increase conversion rates.

Is there a formula? Yes, in a general sense, but forget about “best practices” here.  Why?  Because every site, niche, and business model is different, and in particular your product or service’s value proposition is different — even from your closest competitor.  So… the right combination of Headline, Graphics, and Calls to Action yielding the highest conversion rates will vary.  But… sound the trumpets — Google rides to the rescue again with the “Google Optimizer” program which rotates these key elements and reports on the best combination.

Above, we can see a Google Analytics report showing that traffic referred from a Business Blog (for a WebFadds client — International Sportsmen’s Expositions) converts 31% higher than average per visit, and 255% higher for the specific “Goal 2″ — a purchase of eTickets for a show in Salt Lake City.

It works. Using analytics for a current client we are able to determine that visitors originating from their Business Blog show a higher ecommerce conversion rate (they purchased 255% more eTickets) than those originating at the parent site.  And using our favorite landing page optimization formula… we were able to increase exhibitor information form fill-outs by 50%, year over year,  for a 3-month period – a $9200 increase in R.O.I. just in 3 months so far. Not too bad.

Give me a call, or contact me and we’ll explore ways to increase conversions and R.O.I.  for your company.

Contact Us · (360) 566-2451 · Email | Twitter: WebFadds

WebFadds.com Conversion Marketing Program

How well is your website converting? If you can’t answer this question, or you don’t know what “conversions” are – you’re not alone. Conversions are when a visitor to your website takes one step closer to an important business goal for you.  That is, when a visitor a converts to a prospect (downloads a whitepaper), converts to a lead (fills out a form), or becomes a customer (makes a purchase).

We took a poll about conversions at LinkedIn.com, and while no one was brave enough to answer “Huh, what’s a conversion?” — 22% may well have answered that way.  They’re not tracking conversions and don’t know how well their site is performing. And what’s worse — they aren’t discovering ways to increase their conversions, and so their sales.

We recently optimized a lead form landing page for a client, and over the two following months they saw their leads increase by 43%.  The client values each lead at $100, since they close one in ten leads for a $1000 sale.  So, in a two month time period, after installing Google Analytics, optimizing the landing page, and running an Adwords PPC campaign to bring traffic for the test — they had 80 more leads worth $8,000 to the company — $48k more business per year. In national surveys, companies of all sizes focused on optimizing for conversions report gains ranging from 20% to 150%.

What’s makes a successful Conversion Site Marketing Program? It’s a process we’ve boiled down into three words:  Optimize, Connect, Convert. First, Optimize your site with a smart, SEO savvy CMS (Content Management System) solution, and install Google Analytics.  Custom configure it for SEO — Search Engine Optimization.  Optimize your landing pages for conversions.  Second, connect with your prospects and customers using a Business Blog, eNewsletters, and Social Marketing.  Use a good Google Adwords targeted PPC campaign to bring qualified prospects to your landing pages.  Third, make conversions, and analyze your statistics (particularly your “sales funnel” at your site) to continually test and optimize to increase your conversions. That’s the strategy for maximum R.O.I. for your web business mission.

Custom Design & Configuration of your WordPress Business Blog, or CMS.  This platform both saves you money (it’s Open Source — meaning free to use with frequent free updates), and is optimized for SEO out of the box.  We’ll design a blog to match our existing site, or upgrade your old-school side to a dynamic, automated CMS solution for your company.  Costs range depending on size and scope of project.  Simple Business Blog Set-ups average $499.

Max-SEO Configuration, for WordPress based Business Blogs and CMS solutions.  We research the actual terms people search on and weave them into your site, meta-tags, and titles using an installation of five major SEO plugins, plus we install ping services and coach you on blog copywriting.  Now, you’re optimized.  Starts at $489.

Analytics-MAX service. We’ll install Google Analytics at your site, help you set-up your conversion “funnel”, and site goals, then track and analyze results.  $199 mo. – 6 mo.

eNewsletter Service — we offer two options: An installed WordPress plugin for a one-time fee (includes custom template creation), and a pro-service through Constant-Contact that tracks open rate, provides 100’s of templates, tech. support, and an online control panel (set-up and monthly fees apply for this option).  WordPress is not required for the second option.

Adwords PPC campaigns. Bring targeted, qualified leads directly to your landing and conversion pages so you can analyze how well your site is performing, make adjustments, and increase conversions.  Management fee is 35% of your PPC ad buy ($1200 min. PPC buy), so figure $1620 for a minimum campaign ($1200 PPC ad buy, plus $420 management fee).

Landing Page Optimization: Want to increase leads at your website by 15% – 60% or more?  Make your site pay you back – WebFadds will track, analyze and adjust your key landing pages to increase conversion rates – Contact us for estimate.

Reach us: email:  sales@webfadds.com  •  phone: 360.566.2451

Do you have Goals for your website? You probably set some when you first built it, but I am talking specifically about “Goals” in Google Analytics — an excellent way to track visitor behavior and analyze the R.O.I. for your web effort.  You should be tracking “conversions” (number of visitors who buy or become clients), via the “funnel” (series of pages at your site leading them to a conversion).  You can read more about this important strategy in this blog post.  Contact me to get your Goals set up.

Trusted Email Marketing

Remember to stay in constant contact. A colleague of mine, Bob Leonard from B2BContentConversations, was just hired for two jobs as a result of enewsletters he sent out several months ago.  Newsletters require discipline, but it pays off.  We offer two options to help with your email campaigns — a Pro Package through Constant Contact, and a Do It Yourself Package, where we install an excellent eNewsletter program in your WordPress website, build you a template and you go ahead and write and send a newsletter to key contacts.  Constant Contact provides your own account with support and tracking stats to see how many recipients opened your newsletter (you can take a free, 60-Day trial to check it out).  Read more about the two packages… here.  Contact me when you need help setting these key marketing tools up for your business.

New B2B Website on problematic Windows Hosting: We just finished a new B2B business blog for Wang & Wang, an international law firm, and wrestled with making it work properly in a Windows server environment.  The majority of hosting plans (like our own at WebFaddsHosting.com), are based on the Linux Operating System… the one most “friendly” to WordPress installations.  While WordPress will work on Windows based servers, a couple of key functions — automatic database backups, and “permalink” structure (see next item) — could not be activated.  Bottom line: Why did we install it on a Windows server?  That’s what the client wanted.  Does it run as well as on a Linux server?  No.  Choose a Linux based hosting solution for your dynamic WordPress based websites.

SEO Matters:  One main reason we develop dynamic websites and business blogs on the WordPress platform, is that it comes with built in/automated methods of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  But you have to configure it properly.  There’s automated “pinging” (your site will alert a number of indexing services when you publish new posts), but you need to input a good list of services.  There are user and search friendly “permalinks” (url structure) you can set.  And, a number of SEO related plugins which both strengthen your site, and save you some time by automating insertion of tags, titles, etc.  I’ve written a series on SEO Matters… here.  We also have a service package, “Max-SEO“, that can help you quite a bit.

Let me know when we can help with SEO strengthening, enewsletters, and development of your dynamic, automated websites. I’ll be pleased to provide a prompt estimate for your projects — reach me via our Contact Page.