Diversify Your Marketing

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)



It's no big secret that the crew at Intellisites loves the world wide web. We'll talk your ear off about how amazing websites can be and how they can work with social media sites to help business owners bring their businesses to a new level.

But that doesn't mean we think that once you have a website and a few Facebook fans, your marketing is done.

A well-optimized website paired with a strong social media presence is a huge part of marketing your business successfully, but as your website gurus and pals, we want to make sure you understand that the web, breathtaking as it may be, shouldn't be the only place you show your clients who you are.

Meet Our Posse

If you really want your business to be all it can be, then it's best to use a comprehensive marketing approach that uses different types of media to send a well-defined message about your brand. And the best way to do that is to make sure that your web design team has allies in the marketing and print world who will ensure that all of your marketing efforts jive.

Luckily, we do.

Intellisites is partnered with some of the coolest cats in marketing, in fact. The marketing magicians at Burst Marketing and the diggity design dudes at imPress have worked together with us to help many of our clients develop and implement successful marketing campaigns. Because we can all work together to carry out a solid marketing plan that incorporates the right combination of printed materials, promotional items, and web masterpieces, our clients are able to express a consistent message to both on- and off- web targets.

If you came here looking for someone to build you a super website, then you definitely came to the right place. But thanks to our comrades at Burst and imPress, this is also the right place for people looking for a marketing approach that will make their businesses take off.

A Key to Keywords

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)


Keywords. At the heart of every SEO strategy and PPC campaign there are keywords. These are the phrases that users type into the search boxes of search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing millions of times a day. Keywords are what trigger those fancy search engine algorithms to do their magic and serve up relevant results. They are the key (yeah, I know) to the communication between the user and the search engine, and they come in a few different flavors. We've served up a guide here to give you some insight into how keywords are categorized and how they're handled in the world of web marketing.

1. Short Tail - e.g. "Shoes"
These types of keywords are very general, and very competitive. The ambiguous nature of these one or two word phrases makes them open to interpretation by both the user who is searching with them, and the browser that is trying to find the most relevant content for them. The results for these search terms are usually big brand names that want to pull in a huge audience, and can afford to do so. Ranking high for these terms requires a serious investment of time and money. PPC campaigns that are aggressive, extensive SEO, and a relentless linkbuilding effort that is probably reinforced with Social Media, will likely be required to rank well for short tail keywords. If you have an up-and-coming business, or have a brand new website, and want to rank number one for a term like "shoes," you will need all of the aforementioned strategies as well as a small miracle.

2. Long Tail - e.g. "Red Toddler Shoes"
Keywords that will typically generate more conversions are specific, multi-word combinations that reveal an unambiguous intent. Users who know what they want will use long tail keywords, and the search engines will have no trouble serving up relevant results. This is advantageous to smaller, more niche companies, as these phrases are relatively less competitive. Larger companies will still have a strong presence however, and a well rounded approach to SEO is necessary to rank for them. Another variation of the typical long tail keyword phrase uses a specific location, such as "Red Toddler Shoes Albany." The searcher who uses this phrase is looking for businesses in Albany, NY, and will likely see the search engine's local listings mixed in with the results. Having a well optimized local listing is a crucial ranking tactic, and is one that greatly benefits smaller businesses. Long tail keyword phrases require some creative thinking and a little more analysis, but optimizing for them is usually very effective.

3. Intent Keywords - e.g. "Buy Baby Shoes"
These keywords reveal an intent on the part of the user to perform an action, typically to buy a product. These phrases are usually just as competitive as short tail keywords, but making them more specific like, "buy red baby shoes for girl," will generate more pointed results. The meaning behind these types of searches is easily understood and the search engines will usually provide relevant results like online shopping sites, but product reviews and even "how to" guides will show up in results too. Strong SEO and detailed descriptions of products help sites rank for intent keywords, but more than that, driving relevant traffic will require an effective PPC campaign.

4. Question Keywords - e.g. "What Size Baby Shoes Should I Buy?"
These phrases are in the form of a question, not necessarily with the question mark added. These phrases may have a very general root phrase ("baby shoes" in this case), or be very specific, and that is really what will determine the competitiveness of the phrase. In general, question keyword phrases will produce results that address the question and attempt to answer it. Blog articles, "how to" guides, wiki sites, and forums will likely be among the top results. The best way to rank for terms like this is through quality blogging, and of course on-site SEO that focuses on the root phrase to heighten relevance.

5. Brand Keywords - e.g. "Osh Kosh Baby Shoes"
Keyword phrases that contain a specific brand can be very competitive, unless of course it is your business's brand. Typically that brand's site will rank very highly for these search phrases, but it's possible that online shopping sites featuring that brand's products will push passed it and rank higher. The results are similar to the intent keyword phrases in that they feature sites that list products, but the "how to" guides likely won't be present and the rankings are harder to break into. If the searcher is looking for a specific product it'll be difficult to get them to land on your site unless you offer that prouct. It is possible to rank in those results with carefully worded blogs (articles like "Why Our Shoes Are Better Than Osh Kosh Shoes"), aggressive PPC, and quality Linkbait content.

Cell Phone Browsers and Your Site

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)



Remember the old days when you needed a computer to use the internet?

There's no denying what a big splash smartphones are making on the internet scene these days. Check out this recent article by Sarah Kessler, which references some new crazy stats about how big a role smartphones are playing in e-commerce and commerce in general. The article states that 30% of those surveyed used smartphones to look up product information or find the locations of stores and 11% actually made purchases on their smartphones during the holiday season. And, maybe most importantly, Kessler mentioned that the study indicated a correlation between how satisfied shoppers were with a company's mobile experience and how likely they were to make a purchase with that company.

In other words, people are taking this whole smartphone/shopping thing seriously.

How To Keep Up

If people are going to be making decisions about where to spend their money using their smartphones, then your company's website needs to be prepared for mobile visitors.

Of course, different businesses are going to need to take different steps to make themselves mobile friendly. You'll need to sit down with your web designer and have a chat about what kind of business you run and who your targets are. From there, you two can put your heads together and decide whether you're the kind of business that needs to make smartphone users generally happy or the kind of business that needs to make smartphone users jump for joy.

If you're going to get some smartphone visitors but not many, then making those visitors generally happy should be plenty. Your web designer will just need to make sure that your website shows up nicely on their phones, and you'll be good to go.

But if smartphone visitors are going to start taking over your site in the near future, you want to go all out for those folks. There's a difference between a site that can show up on a phone and a site that was designed for a phone. So if a good portion of your website visitors will be using smartphones to get there, you're going to need your web designer to make an alternate version of your site that is simplified and easy for mobile users to navigate in order to drive conversions. After all, those cell phone users are working with a small touch screen, so providing big buttons and easy ways to get to the important stuff on your site will really help them out.  And if you really want them to love you, you can even incorporate digital coupons and other promotions just for smartphone users into your site.

Smartphones are hip and here to stay. And if you want their users to say the same thing about your business, make sure your web design team gets your website into shape.

Put Social Media to Work for Your Site

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)


Social media is an increasingly popular function on websites, but your social media sites and your website are not the same thing. And you shouldn’t confuse the two. Each has separate goals and purposes, and it’s important to have a separate plan of action for each. Here are three differentiators to help you navigate the separation.

Linking to other websites. Once you get people to your website, don’t let them get away. Keep them for as long as possible through a series of calls to actions and conversion points. But on your social media sites, you certainly want to drive people away from your page and to your website. Your website is the hub of your social media activity, while your social media pages are marketing efforts to get traffic to your site.

Updating content. Undoubtedly, you’ve spent considerable time creating sharp content for your website. You probably don’t spend as much time analyzing the content on your Facebook posts and Tweets. The tone of your social media entries should reflect that of your website, and should be updated frequently with relevant information. Your website should remain relatively static in its content, and be a solid foundation to people to learn about your company. Keep your website consistent and provide timely updates via social media.

Creating strategy. Divide your online strategy into two sections: Your website and your social media efforts. The strategy for your website should be consistent across all pages. The strategy for your social media should be custom-tailored for each platform, but be unified in the fact that all platforms should drive people to your website. Facebook, Twitter, forums and blogs all have separate purpose, so devise a strategy that works for each. Efforts for your website and your social media pages should have the ultimate goal of increasing sales and producing measurable results.

Your online presence is important, and it’s key to create a unified identity in all online efforts. But don’t mix the purposes of your website and your social media pages. While they go hand-in-hand for successful online engagement, each has a distinct task, so plan your involvement accordingly.

Is Google Taking Advantage of You? And Is That So Wrong?

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)

When you're Googling something, do you ever stop to think about who else knows you're Googling it?

Relax, I'm not trying to start any mass paranoia about Big Brother or anything like that. What you search for is probably just between you and Google.

But it is between you and Google. And everything you type into Google, along with everything your Google accounts do, joins Google's massive pool of information.

Endless Supply of Data...Courtesy of Us

Think of how much information Google is able to collect every day. Between activity in Google accounts, data collected through Google Analytics, and just plain old Googling, internet users yield an astounding amount of information to the company around the clock.

Once this information is gathered, Google can connect the dots and identify trends, which in turn allows the company to make improvements. So by utilizing Google in all its forms, we're giving the company the information it needs to build itself up even more. And we're giving them this data free of charge.

Or Are We Returning the Favor?

It's kind of an eerie feeling to realize that you and everyone else you know is freely giving away important and sometimes personal information to a major company each and every day. Of course, the reason we're giving it to them is because we're using their services...which are pretty amazing. Even as just a search engine, Google is top of the line, but when you throw in Gmail, Google Chrome, Google Analytics, Google Earth, Google Docs, Google Alerts...there really are a lot of phenomenal features. And we're giving Google that information for free while we're using all of the services Google provides...for free.

Maybe Google's using us for our data. Or maybe we're using Google for its powerful capabilities. Or maybe we're just working together.

Design For Conversions with CTAs

Original Article from IntelliSites, the smart choice for Albany Web Design (and Albany SEO)


Website design is an art not to be overlooked. The design encourages visitors to explore the website and can assist in making it “user friendly.” The design can also help increase the conversion rates of calls to action (CTAs). Your CTA is more than just the words that comprise it. Its success is also based on how easily it is found in your website design.

When creating your website design, be mindful of the content that will be on the page. Consider how a person will read the content, and place the CTA in a place the eye naturally travels to. Typically, this is the right hand margin of your webpage. Design a special section for the CTA to increase click-through rates.

Separate your CTA from the rest of the copy by using different font styles and colors. Create a clickable link that is bolder than the rest of the font. Of course, make it fit with the general aesthetic of your site, but don’t make it difficult for your reader to find.

Don’t wait until the end of the page to highlight your CTA. Place it throughout the copy, and make sure your reader doesn’t have to scroll down endlessly in order to identify it.

As a final tip, use an image-based link instead of a text-based link. It will increase the “clickable” area the link has and will help the CTA stand out from the rest of the design and content.

Design and content are simultaneous processes that should coordinate to help boost CTA visibility. By knowing what language and how much space is provided on your website, your CTA will have the best chance for being found and followed.