Businesses work hard to earn positive customer reviews. Some people may think that they're a distraction from the work that needs to be done, but customer reviews are integral to a business's success.

Thanks to the Internet, many different ways are available for people to voice their opinions. For example, they could post on your Facebook Business Page, give you a review on Yelp, or even write a blog post about their experience.

Since customers have a more significant influence on a business than ever before, it's essential to know how to encourage them to write positive reviews. But what if you get a negative review? How does it affect your business? What can you do to manage it?

The Adverse Impact of Negative Online Reviews on Businesses

According to Brightlocal.com, a single negative customer review could cost a company around thirty customers. And that's a lot of business to lose over one unhappy customer.

Imagine having multiple negative reviews on different platforms. The impact could be disastrous for businesses, both big and small. Additionally, according to Dimensional Research, 50% of the respondents were more likely to share bad experiences than good ones.

The study also found that these bad reviews could have a ripple effect, causing customers to avoid the company in question and businesses like it. In other words, one unhappy customer could potentially cost a business not just thirty customers but hundreds or even thousands.

Aside from these things, negative customer reviews can also affect the following:

Search Engine Ranking

Negative online reviews can hurt your business's search engine ranking because these reviews will show up on the business's Google My Business page. A negative review could be a simple comment, such as the restaurant is dirty or has terrible service, which would not take much for potential customers to see that information.

A single review alone may not decrease your business's ranking, but if there are several reviews with negative sentiment, this could lead to a decrease. In addition, if the negative review is from a credible source, such as a well-known blogger or critic, this could also lead to a decrease in ranking.

Remember that Google's only goal is to deliver the best possible results to its users, and if your business has negative reviews, it is not providing the best possible result. As a result, your website won't rank as highly on the search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty is one of the most important things for a business. It's what keeps customers coming back, and it's also one of the best ways to increase sales. And at its core is trust.

When customers are loyal to a business, they trust that the business will provide them with what they need. They know that they can rely on the business to be there for them, and they're willing to stick with the business even when things are tough.

However, even loyal customers can be swayed by negative reviews or a bad experience. Other's negative experiences with your business can make your loyal customers question their loyalty. 

Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is crucial for any business, especially a small business. But what is brand awareness, and how do you create it? It's simply the act of people knowing your brand exists. 

Creating brand awareness is all about getting your name and message out there to as many people as possible. And positive online reviews can be a big help in getting your brand name out there.

Well, the same can still be true with negative reviews, unfortunately. However, it can adversely impact your brand awareness by creating a negative perception of your company and its products or services. It can lead to customers choosing not to do business with you and damage your reputation.

So, instead of trusting your brand, negative reviews can cause customers to lose faith in your company. 

What Can You Do to Mitigate The Adverse Effects of Negative Reviews?

Businesses can do a few things to mitigate the adverse effects of negative reviews. One is to respond publicly to the review, thanking the customer for their feedback and addressing any issues they raised. Doing so will show other customers that you are taking the review seriously and are responsive to feedback.

Another thing businesses can do is reach out to the customer privately to try and resolve the issue. It will show that you are willing to go above and beyond to make sure your customers are happy, even if it means doing so outside of the public eye. Just be sure to respond in a way that is professional and respectful.

Additionally, the best way to avoid getting negative reviews in the first place is to provide excellent customer service. That means being attentive, responsive, and accommodating when possible. Ensuring that your product or service is high quality and up to customer standards.

If you can do all of these things, you should be able to avoid the majority of negative reviews.

Manage Online Reviews with KangoMedia

Of course, no business is perfect, and there will always be the occasional negative review. But by following these tips, you can help mitigate their effects and keep your business running smoothly. 

At KangoMedia, we can help you get more 5-star reviews and turn those frowns upside down. We'll show you how to encourage your customers to leave reviews and respond to both positive and negative ones. Trust us, a little bit of review management can go a long way!

Schedule a call today to see how we can help or visit our website for more information. We also offer other services like website design, web development, and local SEO.

You've built a new website, and now the wait for clients to visit your site begins. However, you check the analytics every month and notice that your site doesn't seem to get as many visitors as you would hope. 

The good news is that getting more traffic to your site is not in the realm of impossibility. With a solid plan, a watchful eye, and a willingness to stay on a regular content schedule, you can bring more visitors to your website who will continue to visit and engage with your business. 

Today, we’ll take a look at the importance of strong visitor numbers, as well as some of the best ways to drive traffic to your website in 2021 and beyond.

Why Does Your Website Need More Visitors?

Attracting more visitors to your website isn't just about padding your ego. More visitors means more business opportunities and a clearer idea of what your customers want and need from your business. 

Each visit to your site is an opportunity to increase brand recognition, generate qualified leads, and build trust with your existing and future customers. 

While sales are essential for your business, customer trust and brand recognition are also crucial elements in building your brand. Strong relationships are the foundations of marketing your products or services, gaining new customers, and continuing to expand your product or service line. 

The Benefits of More Website Visitors

Conversions

Statistically, an increase in website visitors brings a greater chance of conversions. Granted, you don’t just want to bring in anyone to your site — you want to attract the right traffic. 

By marketing to those who may already be interested in a product or service like yours by way of understanding how to target their other related interests, you bolster your online marketing efforts and stand a much greater chance of turning motivated leads into conversions. Those who are already searching for information related to your niche are more likely to engage with your site by signing up for newsletters, attending virtual events, reading your blogs, and purchasing from you.

Repeat Visitors

With more conversions and more qualified leads, you can also increase repeat visitors. Those who regularly visit your website are more likely to continue engaging with your brand and purchasing your product or service. 

These regulars also give you valuable information to gain new visitors as well. By paying attention to how regular visitors engage with your website, you gain a firm idea of what type of customer you draw, what kind of customers you want, and what they are most interested in. Tailor your site to your target audience and continue to engage with them to draw them back.

Essential Ways to Drive Website Traffic

While there are plenty of ways to increase visitors ranging from quite simple to rather complex, there are plenty of techniques you can start working on today. Here are some techniques designed to bring more traffic from specifically targeted audiences.

#1. Optimize Your Website's Keywords

Optimizing your website’s keywords means ensuring that keywords and phrases are included on your web pages, peppered in where they make sense and are relevant to the subject matter. These keywords should have a search volume of under 10,000 per month and should also be directly related to your business's or organization's niche. A great way to place these relevant keywords is on your product/services pages or blog.

#2. Keep Your Website Updated

Old and outdated content should be replaced on your website, either updated with the new, more relevant information or removed entirely. Old content that no longer applies to your website can harm your reach. 

#3. Keep Your Website Fresh

You should always be adding new content to your website. Whether this is updated product information, recent customer reviews, or a new blog post, new content is always welcome on your website. 

#4. Make Your Content Exclusive

Exclusivity is a powerful way to draw in new visitors. Whether this is a blog, live video series, or podcast, creating exclusive content on your website can help draw in returning and new visitors alike.

#5. Make Sure Social Media Links Back To Your Website

If you have a social media profile and your posts include links to a product or piece of content, always make sure it includes a link to your website. You always want to make sure it links to your website regardless of which social media channel you use.

#6 Utilize Email Marketing

Sending marketing emails is another effective way to gain new visitors. By gathering a visitor's email, you can send emails with the latest information on products, services, and content updates directly to clients with the worry of lessened social media reach or competitor's advertisements and posts showing up on their timeline. 

It’s Not Just About Visitors — It’s About the Right Visitors

No matter the size of your business or what niche you occupy, the importance of not just increased traffic but attracting the right audience to your website is more important than ever before.

Traditional advertising methods are great and within the comfort zone of many, but to build out your business today, you need to adapt to the digital age and target the right audience. 

If you’re looking for improved digital marketing and not sure where to begin, let KangoMedia do the work for you! Getting a new website that will start generating more leads and customers for your business should be hassle-free. Our clear process will guide you… without any surprises.

Offering services like web design and development, SEO, and review management, KangoMedia will promote your business and bring in more customers. 

Check out our web design portfolio and request a free consultation to extend the reach of your brand today!

We’ve all heard that SEO is the way to generate more leads and bump your website’s search rankings, but how? Maybe you are familiar with the term SEO, but you’re realizing optimizing your website for search may sound so easy to do — but it’s actually quite complicated. 

Lead generation is one of the primary goals of a website in the first place. It is impossible to build a business without generating sales leads. 

While lead generation tools might help you identify prospective clients, your website should still be the origin for generating leads. So, how do you do it? What is it about a good website that draws qualified, motivated leads in the door? Better yet, perhaps the real question is: What am I doing wrong here?

We've done our homework, conducted A/B testing, and applied various techniques to acquire more leads for our clients. So, if you're all ears in learning more about our discoveries, you’ve come to the right place.

What Exactly Are You Doing Wrong?

Your website has been online for some time, but it does not appear to be producing the desired results. Your social media and email marketing campaigns create much buzz, but people don’t seem to be completing the sales funnel. So, what exactly might be the issue?

Copy, design, quality, and user-friendliness are among the factors users consider while assessing a website. If anything doesn't feel right to the visitor, they will not only not complete your desired action, but they will also most likely not return.

It might be a mix of factors that are preventing your website from producing leads. The following five elements may be accountable and are worth looking into.

Your Site Isn’t Mobile-Friendly. 

Some leads may be interested and considering converting, but they can't conveniently access your site  on a mobile device. Individuals and businesses increasingly use mobile devices as their primary means to purchase, obtain news, and engage with service providers. As a result, you'll need to adapt your lead-generating strategy appropriately. 

Begin by making your website mobile responsive to ensure that contact forms and landing pages are compatible with all devices, including smartphones and tablets.

Instead of waiting for customers to come home and browse your website on a desktop computer (which they won’t — trust us), a mobile approach allows you to reach out to them and convert them at any time, on any day. Your best leads are the ones that are currently on your site, and disallowing them from completing checkout or form completion because they’re on mobile is a surefire way to lose that lead for good.

Your Site Content Is either Poor or Inadequate. 

You have only a few seconds to convert a website visitor into a customer and much less time to make a positive first impression. Visitors will not feel targeted if the tone or subject of the product page or article does not resonate with them. 

The picture generated by ambiguous information or poor spelling and grammar is far worse. Don't let poor content frighten away your most valuable customers. Emphasize how your product or service will assist prospective clients in resolving their problems. Mirror your target demographic's tone and style, and be as casual or as formal as they are.

Proofread and edit your work before publication, or hire a content marketing agency to tailor your content for you. People become more engaged with a brand when its content resonates with them, and they are more inclined to learn more (and convert) as a result.

Your Website Lacks a Compelling Call to Action.

When visitors arrive at your landing page, they read the text. There are no pop-ups or texts for them to take action. So, how is it going to play out? Visitors will leave your website if you don't give them a reason to stay.

By not providing them a clear idea of what they need to accomplish when they arrive at your site, they'll go fast. To put it another way, you must have a solid call to action.

If you want to gain more email subscriptions, tell your visitors to "Subscribe Now." Do you want them to make a purchase? It's best to command "Add to Cart." Place the call to action at or close to the top of the page. It can be a vibrantly colored button or a user-interactive form that users can enjoy filling out and submitting. Whatever it could be, it must be aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand and interact with.

Your Site Has Complex Contact Forms and Landing Pages. 

When it comes to user-friendliness, a landing page or contact form shouldn't make visitors guess where they need to go to take the next step. It won't produce the leads you desire if the call to action is buried at the bottom of the text or the contact form isn't functioning. Keep lead generation sites basic and ensure that they work when someone visits them.

An ideal website has a clean and easy-to-navigate web design with essential visuals and fields. Consider presenting the key information before the visitant's eyes to separate it from the secondary data. If you opt to add a contact form, ask for the information required to complete the process and follow-through. Keep in mind that if the form takes too long to complete, visitors may abandon the task and proceed to another website.

Your Site Has Confusing Navigation. 

A complex layout might divert eyes from the important content on your landing page or form, which is one of the reasons you need a straightforward web design. 

Various eye-tracking tests have revealed that people prefer to skim a web page instead of reading everything. If these areas lack a call to action and other vital factors, you risk losing the reader's interest, not to mention a potential lead.

The F shape is one of the most successful web design layouts to use. The most important information is placed across the top of the page and along the left side. In the same way, it formats your landing page. It breaks up additional information into sub-headers or bullet points, so it's easier to read and opt to put your headline at the top with a call to action or form on the right. 

F shape layout conforms to most people's scanning patterns, making lead-generating features challenging to miss.

What Are the Best Ways to Bolster Lead Generation on Your Website?

More than simply a digital business card, your website functions as a marketing tool. It's where you'll find both lead generation and conversions.

Turning a website into a lead generation powerhouse, on the other hand, isn't rocket science. Following the steps outlined below might work as a catalyst for producing extra website leads. By the way, it's free!

1. Your website must be appealing and attractive enough, but not to the point of becoming distracting. Please don't overdo it. Always return to what your users care about.
2. Create conversion-oriented landing pages. Reduce the distractions that prevent your prospective customers from taking action.
3. Place contact forms where they're needed.
4. Whether it's an ebook or anything else you’re offering as an incentive, make sure that it adds value to your prospective customer.
5. Display any seals, certifications, and other symbols of legitimacy proudly on your site to convey that your brand is trustworthy and up-to-date.
6. SEO is not the end. Never stop there. Don't just focus on Search Engine Optimization alone. Make the most of your digital marketing efforts. The more targeted traffic you drive through social media, email automation, and any other tools in your arsenal, the more leads you'll be able to convert.
7. It is ideal to use a  Customer Relationship Management (CRM) to track all the leads through your website and find out where you can improve your pages to capture more of them.
8. Keep testing. You won't be able to improve your website to generate more leads until you have data.

Want to Convert Your Site Into a Lead Generation Powerhouse?

Many businesses are wasting money on marketing and advertising, sending traffic to websites that don’t convert. 

At KangoMedia, We design websites and digital marketing campaigns that convert website visitors into leads and paying customers so that you get a positive return on investment.

Clients that work with us often see dramatic results in the form of an increase in website leads, requests for quotes, service calls, and sales. Businesses choose to work with KangoMedia because of our focus on growing their business. We are more than a service provider, we are your partner in growth. 

Give us a shout, and let’s talk about your business.

Creating and updating your website can be a stressful endeavor. Suppose you are designing a website or even simply modernizing it. In that case, there can be many essential aspects, like refurbishing the out-of-date information or adding SEO that allows it to be more readily found by your target audience. When designing a website, it isn’t just about how good it looks — the speed, capacity, functionality, security, and user experience (UX) are just as important.

Planning a website redesign can be intimidating and is not a one-size-fits-all sort of project. So let’s figure out which features and functions are necessary when making your website brand new again. After all, this is your investment into your business, so it’s time to make sure you do it right. Here are seven features your business website should have, no matter what industry you’re in.

#1. About Us Section

Users want to know who you are and what your business is going to do to help them. Utilize this by having a section that tells visitors about your story and what motivates you to do the work that you do best. Your About Us section can make a huge difference when attracting new customers. 

The About Us section on your website is an excellent way to talk about your business’s history, mission, and to outline your goals. Tell your customers about your founders and business leaders while also giving information about your team and their work. It’s imperative to add visuals to this section to provide them with a more personal and intimate look into your company. 

Getting your audience to identify with your company is a major hurdle, and by breaking those walls down and being genuine, you use one of your greatest assets as a business - your human element.

#2. An SEO Strategy

Every business needs an SEO strategy. As a business owner, you will want potential customers to be able to find your website before they find your competitors’. Visitors will be able to find you better if you take the time to optimize your site with keywords that will match what it is that they are searching for. This is crucial for generating leads and gaining website traffic.

Get into an SEO strategy by making sure your titles, meta tags, descriptions, and any other written content on your site contain relevant and popular keywords related to what your audience will be searching for. We also suggest you keep your URL short, concise and incorporate keywords to make it easy to follow. 

#3. A Blog

Quality content is essential for online marketing. By adding a blog, you maximize your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and visibility when being searched for online. In addition, we make sure that your blog is listed under your website domain and not some off-site services. 

Blogging can help your business grow and gain recognition. Whether with that being away, you can establish your business as an expert in the industry, connect with customers, or have content.

#4. Calls-to-Action 

This one may seem a little obvious, but you would be surprised at how many businesses forget a call to action. First of all, make sure to include the contact information (or links to contact) at the top of every page for anyone who wants to contact you about sales inquiries. 

Make sure to use a call-to-action in each of your blogs, articles, sales pages, and any other area of your website where you want your visitors to take a direct action. This call to action should either open directly to a checkout page, email or form where the visitor can submit their contact information, depending on your desired action.

On that note, it is highly recommended that you use forms to make it easy to get in touch with you. The less steps there are in the way of your visitor deciding to contact you and actually completing that task, the better.

#5. Testimonials and Case Studies

Any potential customer will want a reason to trust you before they choose to work with you. Testimonials are an effective way to gain that trust. Customer testimonials have an average effectiveness of 89% for content marketing.

Your website is a great way to build credibility by sharing your expertise and how successful your track record is with your customers and clients. As one of the most visited pages on any site, we highly encourage making this a dedicated page on yours as well. Once you get testimonials, you can then ask your clients for permission to use their real names to make these testimonials concrete endorsements. Getting real names means more to the customers rather than seeing anonymous testimonials.

Potential customers want to see real-life examples of your work on your website. Case studies are great to show off what you do best. Make sure your case studies on your website are consistent with a concise format. With the information that explains your client’s problem and your company’s process, as well as how you helped your client accomplish their goals, and you will build a repertoire with your customers.

#6. Live Chat

Sometimes customers don’t have the time to search around a site or the FAQ page looking for the information they need. Consider a live chat option on the site to give your potential clients the instant feedback they are looking for. Often, this can be offered as a simple plugin to your CMS platform. 

With artificial intelligence (AI) being incorporated into more and more elements of our daily lives, this function is feasible for companies of all sizes, and presents an immediacy that invites your visitors to interact with you and share their information, becoming leads that you can nurture much more easily than in years past. 

A report done by Kissmetrics highlighted the potential of having a live chat for your business and the benefits of adding it to their site. According to the research, about 63% of customers say they are more likely to come back to a place that offers live chat. While 38% say they made their purchases because of the chat session itself

#7. Search Functionality

A crucial feature for your website is making sure the user experience is as friendly as possible. We believe the best way of doing this is by adding a search function to your site. On average, 30% of website users will use the search function to navigate the site. 

According to Moz, the search function also correlates to conversion rates, and people who use a site search are more than likely to return to the site intending to purchase a product. For example, Moz says that most companies, on average, have an overall conversion rate of 2.77%. Companies, however, see that conversion almost double to 4.63% due to a search function.

Ready to Draw Leads That Convert? Call Kangomedia.

At KangoMedia, We design websites and digital marketing campaigns that convert website visitors into leads and paying customers so that you get a positive return on investment.

Clients that work with us often see dramatic results in the form of an increase in website leads, requests for quotes, service calls, and sales. Businesses choose to work with KangoMedia because of our focus on growing their business. We are more than a service provider, we are your partner in growth. 

Give us a shout, and let’s talk about your business.

The relationship between website designers and clients is at the center of effective website design. It's only through working together that the final product meets all of the goals the two parties have set. However, maintaining a healthy relationship that supports projects rather than impedes them isn't always easy. 

Though clients may come from different backgrounds, we've paid close attention to the most common factors that can stress the designer/client relationship. We've found the solution to many of these problems lies in changing how we work with our clients and how we set expectations from the beginning. 

Whether you work in website development or hire a web design agency, the below steps can significantly improve your working relationship with your partner. Both sides carry equal weight in designing and building a website. Let’s take a look at how designers and clients can work together best for a successful partnership.

Explore the Client's Criteria Together

Clients often come to the first meeting with an idea of what they want or need from a website, and in their head it makes perfect sense. However, they sometimes struggle to articulate it or assume that what they are saying to a website design company will naturally make sense. Assumptions like these can lead to disappointment and frustration as the design process goes on.

Similarly, designers may take what a client says and work with that alone, even if it doesn't make much sense or is sparse because the designer doesn’t want to overwhelm the client with questions. Both sides need to explore the client's ideas together, which often means digging deeper. Rather than focusing on aesthetics and design elements, the designer should guide the client to explain what goal they want to achieve with their website. What is its purpose? Who is it aimed at? What would the client consider a successful design? A conversation focusing on these core questions will hopefully see a dialogue develop and encourage more questions to flesh out the initial website idea.

Keep Prototypes Simple

When it comes time to develop prototypes, be it mockups or wireframes, website developers sometimes make the mistake of getting very elaborate. A detailed prototype may look impressive, but it risks setting client expectations too high. If time or resource constraints don’t permit, they may wonder why the final product doesn't look the same as the prototype you showed them.

Designers have the responsibility to explain just what the purpose of the prototype is. However, they should be keeping their mockups simple for the sake of their client's understanding. Instead of creating a complete rough draft of the eventual final design, use prototypes to show where visual elements will appear, how fonts and colors will look, and where text will appear. Features that go beyond this, like specific images or CSS styles, aren't vital at this stage. A minimalist design also allows clients to give more focused feedback to develop the final product further.

Compare "Inspirational" Websites

Before getting to the prototyping stage, both the designer and the client can clarify their ideas with visual references. A web development agency usually offers up a portfolio to show past designs and their elements. While this may be helpful for the web development company, it restricts the client to the shown references. What can they do if they don't like any of the presented options?

While they shouldn't be shy about showing their work, designers should ask their clients what websites they like, emphasizing the visual elements they think would fit their ideas. Even if they can't express it in technical terms, clients can show you these pages and describe why they like what they want. These discussions can take the guesswork out of prototyping and help build realistic expectations for the finished product.

Always Be Communicating

Traditionally, once everyone agrees to a prototype, the website development agency sets out to build the site while the client waits to see the final product. Hopefully, it meets expectations, but if it doesn't, it's sometimes back to the drawing board. Usually, this happens because the client thinks that's how the process works. They don't want to bother the designer and potentially slow the project down. 

In reality, communication between designer and client should never stop. Open communication should be encouraged from the first meeting until the final design goes live because it's the best way to address concerns as fast as possible. If a client wants a change, or if the designer has a suggestion, it will save time if they can feel free to talk at any time. Keeping the dialogue open and maintaining these lines of communication not only builds trust, but it allows the designer to create the best possible version of the client’s desired website.

It’s Time to Make Your Website Work for You

All too often, clients feel like they aren't involved with the process of developing their websites. But in truth, client-designer collaboration is at the heart of web page design. 

At KangoMedia, We design websites and digital marketing campaigns that convert website visitors into leads and paying customers so that you get a positive return on investment.

Clients that work with us often see dramatic results in the form of an increase in website leads, requests for quotes, service calls, and sales. Businesses choose to work with KangoMedia because of our focus on growing their business. We are more than a service provider, we are your partner in growth. 

Give us a shout, and let’s talk about your business.

When you have a website, regardless of what type of business you have, you and your customers both have expectations. 

Your website is a great marketing tool, but it is only as good as its performance, content, and ability to function. 

Your website is often a potential customer’s first impression of your business. It is a tool that must grab the attention of a visitor within the first few seconds or risk losing their interest forever. Think of your website’s homepage as the receptionist for your business, indicating to all who visit whether their time and money are better spent there or elsewhere.

Today, we’ll take a look at some of the telltale signs that it’s time to revamp that old website and start making the most of your online presence.

Sign #1: Lack Of Traffic And Low Ranking

Spend some time analyzing your competitors.

Google is your best friend for these comparisons. Use ranking tools to compare the ranking of your site to that of your competitors. For a local electrician or plumbing business, for instance,, it makes sense to compare local competitors. Checking Domain Authority (DA), Google Rank, Page Authority (PA), Alexa Rank, MozRank, and more can provide a great deal of information. Many other ranking mechanisms have a basis in traffic as well as other algorithmic features. 

Follow the websites that have higher rankings and analyze what seems to be working for them. Things like content, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and quality images can make a website stand out from the rest, increasing traffic.

Sign #2: Slow Page Loading Speed

If a website has pages that load too slowly, potential customers may give up and look elsewhere. Pages can load slowly for many reasons, such as too many or conflicting plug-ins, an older clunky theme, images that are not optimized for the site, etc. 

Users will not stick around if a website loads too slowly. They expect to see the content almost instantaneously. Long gone are the days of dial-up modems giving you plenty of time to make a coffee after you press enter. A mere handful of seconds stands between you engaging your potential customers and sending them off into the arms of a competitor.

Sign #3: You Have Too Few Visitors

Too few visitors can be tied to the traffic issue above. However, a sudden change or reduction in visitors is a red flag. What is causing the sudden change, and can it quickly be resolved? This may require you to check your website’s cache, root around to ensure a plugin hasn’t broken your CSS, or even restore a backup. Each of these situations poses an inconvenience at best, and hours or even days of lost sales at worst.

Sign #4: You Have An Elevated Bounce Rate

The bounce rate is defined by how quickly a user leaves your site—the lower the bounce rate, the better. For example, a 90% bounce rate means the user is leaving without spending time on your site. They aren’t looking around and seeing what you have to offer. As a result, these users are not engaging with what you are providing. A high bounce rate can send up a red flag for Google, penalizing your site for not being relevant to a certain search term and kicking your site down the rankings.

Sign #5: There is a Reduction In Engagement

When a user finds their way to your website, you want them to engage. If the engagement suddenly decreases, there is an issue.  Analyze your website metrics to see where you are losing people in the process of navigating your site and focus on streamlining and improving those areas. 

This could be an opportunity to add more direct links from your homepage to your most popular products or services, including an easier way for your visitors to contact you, or even developing a simpler sales funnel with unlisted pages. If this seems like a lot of work, well, it can be. You don’t have to do it alone, however. A professional web designer can assist you in streamlining or overhauling your site to cater to your demographic and your industry.

Sign #6: Your Site Isn’t Mobile Friendly

The majority of website traffic now comes from mobile devices. We are in a hectic world and constantly on the go, so the ability to get the intended experience of a website on our phone or tablet has become an expectation. 

Users want the information they need to always be available at their fingertips. If they cannot access the information then and there, they will likely click on someone else’s link. The truth is, visitors will not wait  to look it up when they get home and have  access to a traditional desktop or laptop computer.  

Your website should be mobile responsive, meaning that it automatically detects the aspect ratio and resolution of the device accessing it, adjusting all elements accordingly so that they fit and are easily legible and accessible. Google rankings now prefer sites that are mobile-first, which means that if you’re not optimizing for mobile, you’re losing out on search traffic.

Sign #7: Your Competitors Are Making Changes

Keeping an eye on your competitor’s websites is essential. If they are investing in a quality website and imagery, you need to also to remain competitive. If you have one primary competitor, use them as your benchmark. Follow them and see what they do, how they do it, for how long, etc. Always keep an eye on industry best practices and don’t fall behind modern trends in your niche.

Sign #8: You’re Not Using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol over SSL (HTTPS)

HTTPS certificates identify your site as a secure site. As a result, users can expect that their data is protected. In addition, the failure of a site to have the HTTPS certificate will cause Google to lower a site’s ranking. Thus, Google essentially penalizes sites for not protecting users. Thus, the HTTPS protocol adds a level of trust and expectation to your site. 

Sign #9: Your Business Direction Has Changed 

If the business direction changes significantly, it’s time to create a new website. Not only may your target audience have changed, but any of the keywords you previously ranked for may no longer be relevant to your business. Consider where your business is headed and plan accordingly. Consider all the areas of opportunity presented by your old site and use that information to make your new site work for you.

It’s Time to Make Your Website Work for You

Many businesses are wasting money on marketing and advertising, sending traffic to websites that don’t convert. 

At KangoMedia, We design websites and digital marketing campaigns that convert website visitors into leads and paying customers so that you get a positive return on investment.

Clients that work with us often see dramatic results in the form of an increase in website leads, requests for quotes, service calls, and sales. Businesses choose to work with KangoMedia because of our focus on growing their business. We are more than a service provider, we are your partner in growth. 

Give us a shout, and let’s talk about your business.

"More is Better", right? Well, apparently not when it comes to making a buying decision.

In fact, research shows that you are actually more likely to convert less by giving your prospects more options to deal with.

This is true if your selling physical products, virtual info products, asking visitors to fill out a web form, or anywhere you want someone to make a decision.

When presented with many options, it's often much easier to do nothing.

How to Increase Your Online Conversions: Reducing Your Options Leads to More Sales

The New York Times ran an experiment to test this theory at a grocery store by setting up a booth on two different Saturdays.

On the first Saturday they set out free samples of 24 different flavors of jam. 60% percent of those walking by stopped to get a free sample. 3% of those that stopped purchased some jam.

On the second Saturday they only set out 6 flavors of jam. The result was that only 40% of those walking by stopped to get a free sample. Was this a bust?

Not at all! Of those that stopped for a free sample on the second Saturday...30% bought a jam!

That was a 600% increase in conversions. The smaller set of options outsold the larger set by a huge margin!

Why Do Less Options Lead to More Sales?

Less options lead to more sales conversions because people don't want to think. That's true! We want to be able to make a quick decision, choose and go, because thinking is just too taxing.

Don't make your website visitors experience "information overload". Make it simple for them to find what they want and quickly make their way to the checkout.

If you sell physical products don't display your entire inventory. Learn from companies like Amazon that will only display 6 related items when customers are looking at a product. Sure Amazon has thousands of products they can recommend...but they keep it simple. Surely they know what they're doing, right?

If you sell a service, can you keep your subscription choices to 3, or at most 5, options? Don't pull out all 30 different price points.

The same is true when it comes to web forms as well. The more information you require from your visitors, the less people will fill out a form on your site.

Instead of asking for name, email, phone, address, sex, social security, blood type, favorite movie, weight, and most embarrassing moment......can you keep the required information to a minimum?

Research shows that you can gain a 25% conversion rate by requiring, at most, only 3 fields in your contact forms.

Bottom Line

Now I'm not telling you that you have to eliminate your entire inventory or that you have to completely rethink the way that you do business.

However, I am saying that if you're conversion percentages are not where you would like for them to be then you might need to tweak your offers.

Give your website visitors a few options to choose from and test. Tweak your options a bit and test some more. Keep on tweaking and testing.

But, whatever you do, keep it simple, keep it direct, and your conversions will definitely improve.

What do you think? Have you had any success by reducing the number of offers for your product or service? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.

"So, how long does it take to see SEO (Search Engine Optimization) results?"

We get that question a lot from our clients.

And we completely understand where this question comes from.

SEO is something that's mostly intangible, something that most people have a slight difficulty really comprehending and getting a grasp of.

So, I'm writing this post in hopes to give you the skinny.

I want you to have a good understanding as to what you can expect when you begin to do search engine optimization for your website, and how long it takes to begin to see the fruitage of your labor.

But first....

What Are We Referring to When We Say "SEO Results"?

When we say "SEO results", we are referring to improvements in your rankings, and your visibility, in the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

So, let's say, for example, that your website is currently showing up on page 5 of Google for your main keyword. An improvement would be to get your website to show up on page 1 of Google.

That would result in more clicks, more traffic, and more visitors to your website since most people only visit the sites that they find on page 1.

Now, what do you think it would take to see that kind of progress?

As you might've guessed it...

It requires a lot of work, optimization, and...of course...patience.

What Kind of Work Is Involved?

While I won't go into full detail as to all of the work that is involved, I will mention that some of the techniques include:

• Blogging
• Article Marketing
• Video Marketing
• Bookmarking
• Social Media Marketing
• Backlinking
• Forum posting
• Blog Commenting
• Link Exchanges
• Directory Submissions
• and more

Now, some of these strategies are much more time consuming and require more effort than others.

In some cases, as in article marketing and blogging, a lot of time needs to be given to research and writing quality content.

In the case of backlinking, or obtaining links to your site from other sites, it can take a while to gather and even more time for those links to get some weight and gain traction online.

As, you can imagine, the process of getting the work done can take some time.

So, How Long Before I See Results?

If you're not too familiar with how SEO works and what it really takes to get traffic to your website, it might seem like I'm still dodging the question.

The fact is, though, that the most accurate answer is, "It Depends."

It depends on what?

It depends on several factors.

It depends on the competitiveness of your keywords - It might take months or years to rank well for a very competitive keyword like "auto insurance". But, it could take a day or so to rank well for a keyword phrase like "auto insurance for 18 year old in mcallen, texas".

It depends on the amount of work that needs to be done - If your project requires a lot of article writing and video creation, it could take weeks or months just to create all of your content.

It depends on the algorithms of the search engines - We are all at the mercy of the almighty search engines. They are constantly changing the requirements to rank well in their directories. So, a strategy that worked last year might not work this year.

I've experienced occasions where I get a client on first page of Google within hours of updating their website. But, to be honest, the keyword they wanted to rank for wasn't a very competitive one.

So after determining their needs, it was quite simple to get them ranked very quickly.

In most cases, however, we explain to our clients the amount work that will be involved and that ultimately they will need to be patient. We ask them to allow for at least three months to see results.

What Do You Think?

Did you find this explanation helpful?

If you did, please leave a comment below and share this post with your friends.

In today's article I'm going to show you how to craft the best elevator pitch that'll shock and awe your prospect and have them begging you for more information.

Whether you work for someone else or own a small business, you will at some point be asked..."So what do you do?"

It's inevitable.

If you haven't been asked that yet, you will. Believe me. And having a well-crafted elevator pitch will make you sound both interesting and professional.

But first, what is an elevator pitch?

According to Wikipedia:

"An elevator pitch is an overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The name reflects the fact that an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (for example, thirty seconds or 100-150 words)."

So, what do you say then when you're asked what you do or what your business is about?

Well, most people would start to spew out verbal vomit, jumping right in and starting to talk about how and why they started their business, why it's their passion, their work schedule, how they love working for themselves, and how they're the best in the industry.

Boring! Who cares?

In order to create the best elevator pitch for your business, you first have to realize that your elevator pitch's focus should not be on you or even your product or service.

The focus of your elevator pitch should always be the benefits to your prospect or client.

How are you going to help them? How does your product or service affect their bottom line?

Your elevator pitch should be benefit focused.

So, instead of saying something like, "We sell the best insurance products"...include something like, "We show families how they can protect their assets and save money".

Did you notice how the latter is benefit focused? If you say that to someone, the logical thing for that person to do is ask, "How?" And that's how you can continue to schedule an appointment with an interested prospect.

Remember to Keep It Short

You have to remember that an elevator pitch is not a conversation, so keep it short.

You want to use your elevator pitch to arouse interest and intrigue. You want to entice your listener to want to learn more. So your goal is to craft something that will stay in the minds of your listeners even after they've left.

Be creative.

Use a question if possible.

Where to Use Your Elevator Pitch

So where can you use your new, finely crafted elevator pitch?

You can think a bit out of the box. You don't have to limit yourself to person-to-person networking events.

According to Darren Rowse at Problogger, a few places that you can share your elevator pitch are:

• Your Website's Tagline
• Your About Page
• Real Life Conversation
• Business Cards
• Pitching to Media
• Pitching to Other Bloggers
• Email Signature
• Social Media Profiles

The places that you can share your elevator pitch are really endless, but I'm sure you get the idea.

Give Yourself Options

You'll probably have many, many opportunities to share your elevator pitch.

And you know, as well as I do, that you won't always get the perfect opportunity to share your pitch. Sometimes you'll have 30 seconds to share your pitch...sometimes you'll have 10 seconds.

Prepare some options and multiple variations of your pitch.

For example, our full-length elevator pitch here at KangoMedia is, "KangoMedia helps small businesses make a big impact online with a professional image that breaks into new markets, generates leads, and makes more sales through effective web design and development."

A shorter version is as simple as "KangoMedia builds websites that work for their clients."

Of course, our elevator is always a work in progress. We are continuously tweaking it...as should you.

We Want to Hear Your Elevator Pitch

Do you have an elevator pitch or are you currently working on crafting one?

We'd love to hear from you!

Be sure to share your elevator pitch below and share this post with your friends.

 

In today's post I wanted to explain a bit about what a content management system (CMS) is and highlight some reasons why your website should be run on one.

A content management system is a web platform that a website can be built on that allows the owner of the website to make changes and updates to their website relatively easy. I say "relatively" because some can be very easy while others can be a bit more tricky.

Over the years there has been an ever increasing shift to content management systems of all sorts and capabilities. And for many a good reason.

But, how do you know if your site should be run on a CMS?

Well, if you have a static website that hasn't been updated in months (God forbid, years), or maybe you don't know how to access your website content, or (as in many cases) you can't get a hold of your web developer...then a CMS shouldn't be an option, it's a must.

In fact, I believe there are 5 very good reasons that you should seriously consider migrating, or moving your website over to a content management system.

{One} There's a CMS For Everyone

While my favorite CMS, hands down, is WordPress, there are dozens of content management systems to choose from.

Some are good to use for small sites with just a few pages and not a lot of customization or functionality.

Others, like WordPress and Drupal, are perfect for blogging and websites for small to medium-sized businesses.

And there are still others, like Magento, that are extremely robust that can handle websites for even the largest enterprises.

So, really then, there is no business or website too big or too small to be built on a CMS. It's very likely that you'll find one that is a perfect fit for you.

{Two} Easy Peezy to Update and Maintain

In most cases, updating your website on a content management system can be as simple as updating a Microsoft Word document or sending an email.

Most people know how to do that, so I usually feel really confident when I'm explaining to a client how to update their site after we've set it up on a CMS.

Content management system "dashboards" are usually designed in a way for even the most novice of users to be able to update their site quickly and easily.

Because there a literally millions of websites that run on content management systems and millions of users, there is usually a lot of support and tutorials that are available to anyone through Google or any other search engine.

So if you forget how to update your site and you're too embarrassed to call your web developer for the 20th time that day...then help is usually only a search, click away.

But, once you feel comfortable updating your site, you might even consider it to be fun.

You'll be able to change up the text on your website, change and add photos, change and add videos, and even keep any "news" or "portfolio" items up to date.

{Three} Templates, Themes, and Customizations

The availability and popularity of content management systems adds a measure of standardization to the web.

What this means is that the framework is pretty much the same and it allows for designers and developers to customize or create other functionalities built upon the same structure.

For example, if you gave ten children a box of legos and told them to build whatever they could imagine, you'd probably end up with ten different creations or designs. But, although the end results looked different, each child had to work within the constraints of what legos were designed to do.

Similarly, designers and developers can create templates, themes, and be able to completely customize the look of your website while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the content management system.

Many CMS's even have large communities of people that offer their pre-made and pre-designed themes and templates for a price and some even for free.

There truly is a look and feel for everyone.

{Four} Search Engine Optimization (depends)

I'm going to have to get on my soapbox for just a second here and explain why I chose to put down Search Engine Optimization as one of my 5 reasons.

As I mentioned before, I am a big WordPress fan. And I have to say that the developers over at WordPress have done, and continue to do, a fantastic job when it comes to creating a platform that the search engines love.

In most cases, the websites created on WordPress are coded in a very search engine friendly way which makes it very simple for search engines to crawl them and index them in their directories.

And since my focus when creating a website for a client is to get their website found by the search engines and found by people, then I make sure that I am using a platform that gives my client the best opportunity to achieve those goals.

While I highly recommend WordPress there are, of course, many other content management system that are just as good.

{Five} Plugins, Widgets, and Extensions

Plugins, widgets, and extensions are usually small programs, scripts, or code that extend, or add to, the functionality of a website.

You can almost get sense of euphoria when you think of all of the plugins, widgets, and extensions that can be added to a content management system so that it can do exactly what you want it to do.

In other words, out of the box, a CMS can do some great things. But when you start adding more functionality to it...then the possibilities are endless.

Most content management systems have scores and scores of plugins available that can do some pretty cool things like adding a Facebook Like Box to your site, add a Twitter feed to a sidebar, add analytics programs so you can track how many visitors you get, and so on, and so on.

And if you can't find a plugin for what you want. Then you can hire someone to build one for you or (if you're tech savvy) you can code one yourself.

I absolutely love plugins. I like to think of them as neat little accessories that pretty-up my sites.

What Do You Think?

You already know how I feel about content management systems. But, of course, that's just my opinion.

What do you think? Do you think it's better for a client to have such quick access to their own content? Or do you think that's something that should only be left to the web developer?

Leave your thoughts below and share this post with your friends on Facebook and Twitter if you liked it.

If I only had a nickel for every time someone asked me...

"What is Web Hosting and Why Am I Being Charged For It?"

I'll try to stick to a basic explanation without getting too technical and getting into a discussion about domain names registration, ip addresses, and so on. I don't like blurting out web development jargon if I don't have to.

According to Wikipedia,

"A web hоsting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. "

I read that definition and it's clear as crystal to me, but it may be as clear as mud to you, so I'll try to offer another explanation.

Let's imagine a scenario.

You hire a web designer to create a website for your small business or organization. The designer might design the look and feel of the website in a graphic program on his personal computer. The images that were created are files that can range from several kilobytes to megabytes.

Then you give him a CD with photographs of your business partners, clients, samples of work for him to add to the website. Those pictures are also files that can range from several kilobytes to megabytes.

You also provide many documents with text and content that you would like to have on the website. You guessed it, these files also can range from several kilobytes to megabytes.

The web designer also has to code and program pages that internet browsers can read in languages such as HTML, PHP, RUBY, Flash, etc.

All of these images, content, and other files take up space on a computer and they have to be stored somewhere.

Now, you could store them on your personal computer. However, if you did that, nobody would be able to see them because they would not be accessible to the World Wide Web. And if you did make it accessible to the World Wide Web from your personal computer you would run the risk of hackers accessing your computer and your website would be inaccessible on the internet any time you turned off your computer.

This is where a Web Host comes in. As mentioned above, a Web Host provides space on their computers, or servers, where you can store your files and make them accessible to the World Wide Web.

So, paying for web hosting is similar to paying rent for your business address. A web host gives your website a specific address on their computer and your website is live as long as you pay for your space.

I hope you now have a better understanding of what web hosting is and why your web developer is charging you for it. It's not scam...it's not just a techies way of pinching a few bucks out of you.

In this video review I wanted to show you how you can do credit card processing without a merchant account with a little device called Square.

Don't let the small stature fool you. It's powerful and could very well take your business to the next level.

With Square you can process credit card and/or debit card payments easily with any iPhone or Android powered cell phone with a headphone jack.

There are no monthly payments. Just a percentage per transaction and a transaction fee.

Use it to sell your products. Use it for your garage sales. Use it for anything.

For more details about Square, visit http://SquareUp.com.

Leave a comment below to share your thoughts on Square.