One scenario we often run across is when the client already has a website but the site is not converting as much as they would like. We first review the website to look for visual conflicts or browser specific problems that would exclude users from viewing the message that the client is trying to portray. We will also look for positions of key elements on the website and calls to action. A call to action is very important on a website. It prompts the user to give a call, fill out a form, send an email or whatever the goal may be.

When we redesign a website, we always design with the user in mind. It is necessary to incorporate all of the features that the client has in mind for the website. Even more important is to make it easy for the user to convert to a goal for the website project. Another item we look for online conversions is the website hosting that the website is built on. We have run into cases where the client was running their website with an outfit that supplied cheap hosting. They were on a server with many other websites as well and the speed of the website suffered as a result. When their customers went to view their website, the pages would time out and the potential customer would leave the site and go to another competitor. Did they lose money? Oh yeah. We set them up with our business quality hosting, tweaked the website and they are now receiving inquiry after inquiry. So there are many items to consider when improving your website conversion rate.

Making sure our clients are getting a healthy ROI is something that we constantly strive for. We are always optimizing our website as well and researching what tactics work best. So if you have a website and you would like to increase its online conversion rate, get in touch with us and increase your ROI!

Minnesota startup businesses need a website and a budget for online advertising. Having a website is one of the most cost effective forms of advertising. This makes a website a great business tool to invest in. Minnesota startups need to leverage the power of the internet to help grow their business and get the best bang for their buck in advertising expenses.

Stay On Budget

It is critical for new businesses to find the best means of rolling out the business while staying within budget. This can prove to be a difficult task, but one piece should be set aside for the website and advertising budget.

Invest Wisely

A professionally designed website for a Minnesota startup business can help make or break a business. Everyone knows that more and more people are searching online rather than going to a big phone book. This is a great opportunity for business startups to take advantage of the search engines and get in front of customers without paying phone book front page rates. In order to get front page space on the search engines, it is critical that all of the website pieces are in place. If a startup is serious about getting found online, we would recommend going with a professional web design company. Let the pros do their job, so you can focus on your business. After all, the only way your new startup will survive and thrive is if the business model is scalable and people can get tasks done for you.

Online Advertising Budget

If you conduct some advertising research, you will find that businesses are turning away from the traditional large phone books and pumping more dollars into online advertising. It is hard to blame them too. When you can put your business in front of motivated buyers, what is that worth to your business? Answer: as much as you can afford! Another reason that startup businesses should take a look into online advertising is that they can set their budget as to how much they would like to spend. Minnesota startup businesses should definitely take a look at an online advertising budget.

Anyone who has been involved with a startup knows the importance of keeping within a budget and spending their money wisely. In today’s business market, one of the best places to invest is in a website and online advertising.

Online Newsletter

Offering an online newsletter is a fairly popular way to keep users informed about new happenings with your company and different products and services that you have to offer.

Online Calculators

This is popular with accountants and mortgage lenders. It makes sense to have a calculator in front of a user so they can calculate the expense of certain fees and interest rates.

Offer Email Updates

This differs from the online newsletter by just sending little bits of information rather than a full blown online newsletter. This can also be a more effective use of your time, than to come up with a monthly newsletter.

A Color Wheel

We have seen this used on a few powder coating websites or on websites that deal with picking colors. This can be a great tool to have the user pick their color online rather than explain it over the phone.

Online Coupons

This can prove to be a very popular way to bring users back to your website and make it useful to them. Offers can appear like a coupon and the user can print them out. There are many websites online dedicated to showing coupons for different products and services online.

Links to Other Related Services or Products

If you have a landscaping business, why not have links on your website where a user can get a siding job done on their house? Or a sprinkler system put in that you would recommend. May be a place to buy a fantastic looking concrete statue? These online links will position you as a knowledgeable professional that knows the in’s and out’s of the industry.

Articles and Tips about Your Services

Articles are a great way to showcase your knowledge about your business and make your website useful to online visitors. Writing articles also helps your business show up in the search engines for longer keyword phrases. Writing a quick article can sometimes be the difference between building that little extra piece of credibility for that online visitor to pick up the phone and give your business a call.

Background Code

As much as people like to do the changes and build their own website, we have rarely viewed a website that is built properly, ranks high in the search engines and is built by themselves. There are many checks that search engines do on a website in order to help rank them. Broken link checks, validation, cross browser compatibility, analytics, to name a few, help your website present itself in a form that is easy for search engines to rank a website. Having solid background code is one key to having a successful website.

Contact and Content Information

Contact and content information also play a critical role in a successful website structure. Having contact information listed on every page and in a high priority location, such as at the top of every page, makes your website very user friendly. It is very frustrating to be at a website and have to look for the contact information. It should always be located in as many places, within reason, as possible. Having contact information readily available builds trust on a website and building trust is also a critical piece for turning visitors into customers.

Having great content can be a superb boost for your website in the search engines. Many times if your content is targeted towards a specific topic, it is usually found in the search engines for related keywords. Sometimes creating content can be a tedious process, but if ranking in the search engines is important for your business, structuring your content can play a large role in showing up the the search results.

Easy Navigation Elements

Navigation can make or break the success of your website as well. We have all had experiences where the navigation is not clear and it can be a nightmare to try to navigate to the page you are trying to look for. This is especially embarrassing for people who are giving a presentation and they go to the website to find some information and the link they are looking for is so buried in the site that it takes them 5 plus minutes to actually find the content. Your visitors will not spend the time trying to dig out the link. Instead, they will move on to your competition. It is also important to make sure that your navigation works properly in other internet browsers. We have come across many websites that work in Internet Explorer, but not in Mozilla Firefox. Depending what industry you are in, this could be upwards of 50% of people not being able to use the navigation in the way in which you had originally intended. We like to advise people to create a sitemap page so at least there is a “least case” scenario in which the user can find all of your content easily.

“H” Tags

Another important structure element in the “H” tags in the code of your website. Many search engines place some importance on these tags to see how the content is structured. These tags include the H1, H2, H3, bold and other tags. Structuring your content with these tags helps the search engines and visitors skim through information and determine what to read or skip.

Structuring all of these elements on your website is a piece that many “do it yourself” website places do not help their customers with. This can turn out to be the difference between ranking on the search engines and closing sales or being found no where and having the website not producing at all for your business.

In today’s economy, it is very important to have a source of leads for your business. Many businesses that help other businesses grow become a huge asset, especially during a down economy. Minneapolis lead generation can be a huge benefit to local businesses within the Minneapolis area. With the growing number of people conducting online searches for local businesses, this opens up great opportunities for companies seeking to take advantage of local lead generation.

There are many ways to generate leads for your business. A few of the ways are:

• Build a website that is search engine friendly and updated often
• Pay Per Click (PPC) search engine campaigns
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for “organic” search results
• Send out a mail flyer to a specific industry you are targeting and follow up with a phone call
• Write an online article featuring a company that you would like to work with and in the article show how the company could benefit from your services
• Ask for referrals

These are just a few of the ways leads are generated. It is very important to look at all of the options and choose the best one to fit your business’ particular needs and/or budget.

Online Lead Generation Minneapolis

Generating leads from online sources has proven to be a great way to help increase a business’ bottom line. This is also one of the main reasons why Google is as large as they are. When it is possible to give searchers relevant information according to what they are looking for, the possibility to make a great connection is opened. Online lead generation is a very affordable way to see if online searchers are interested in what you have to offer. Online lead generation is far less expensive than more traditional forms of advertising (phone book, TV, newspaper, local magazines, etc) and it is possible to track ROI much better with an online lead generating advertising system.

One quick search for a given industry with a “Minneapolis” location tagged on the end of it usually produces a great wealth of information in a local area. This shows that other businesses are taking advantage of lead generation in Minneapolis and that it is working for their businesses.

Start generating leads for your business today

Another great feature of generating leads online is that you can start and stop when ever is convenient for your business. It is possible to set your own budget. This makes generating leads from online sources a huge, affordable benefit and explains why it is growing so rapidly. Set aside a budget and a time frame and start taking control of the leads being offered to your business.

Now more than ever, business owners trying to find ways to make money to stay in business. A website that is built with the search engines in mind can definitely help in a business trying to build their bottom line. So, when we hear the question, “Does my business need search engine optimization?”, then we like to ask the question, “What is your website trying to accomplish for your business?”.

If the business owner says, “Our website is just to portray an image.”, then search engine optimization is usually not a big concern to them. However, if you are the business owner that says, “I would like to use our website to generate business.”, we would highly recommend search engine optimization for your website.

What are the benefits of search engine optimization?

There are many benefits to search engine optimization.

• Higher rankings in the search engines
• Website easier to navigate for users
• Easy to scan and read text
• Website images optimized for faster web page load times

Obviously higher rankings in the search engines is one benefit, but also websites built with search engine optimization in mind are usually easier to navigate because of a more structured website navigation hierarchy. Text on each page of a website with search engine optimization is structured in a way that is easier to read, with headlines and html “H” tags (H1, H2, H3 etc.). Images on the website are optimized for faster viewing and enhanced with html “alt tags” that help with ranking in some regards and image searches that online users may use.

Ultimately, search engines and your online visitors make a decision about your website and where to rank your website or whether or not to do business with you.

When should I start with search engine optimization?

As soon as possible. Of course we are going to say that, right? We are in the business! We all know that it will require a decision to spend some money. We recommend that you talk search engine optimization over with your business partners or decision makers and come up with some questions that you may have. As we all know, it is better to make an educated decision than to jump right on the bandwagon.

However, finding out information as soon as possible so you can make a decision is highly recommended. The faster a business makes a decision to implement search engine optimization the better. It can have a drastic effect on generating leads and ultimately more business.

So if your business has been hearing more and more about:

• online advertising and being found out on the search engines
• increasing conversions from online visitors to customers
• having your website being more effective for your business

Get in touch with us today!

If you own a business in a specific geographical area, we have some tips for your website. These hints and tips are focused to help your website in the search engines and make it easier for online visitors to find out more about the products or services you have to offer.

Place a Google Map on your website

It is a well known fact how helpful Google can be. Their Google Map program isn’t any different. It can help online visitors get directions to your business and show them where you are located. Just a word of caution, make sure that when you type in your address, that it is in the correct location. We have had instances of the map data not being up to date!

List the names of the cities where you conduct business

This can be good information if you drive as part of your service and drive only to certain areas within a 30 mile radius. Naming the cities you conduct business in is also good information that Google likes to see. You may rank high in the search engines by just naming a small city you can do work in!

Link to other local businesses that compliment your specific business

This is a great way to build some trust with online visitors. Listing other businesses that compliment your business gives the user a little more information about other services you work with. When that user contacts you, they know they are dealing with a company that is experienced in the industry.

Write an article about how you helped a local business or consumer

This is great information to show your online visitors and it looks good to the search engines. Not to mention, customers that are featured somewhere like to brag that they are featured and it may drive traffic to your website.

List testimonials of your work on your website

This is great information for online visitors to see. Consumers like to see that the company they are dealing with has a good reputation to work with.

List your business address on each page of your website

Having your website address on each page is great information for online visitors and for the search engines. When your contact information is listed on each page, an online visitor has instant information. This can be a critical component for your website. It is also a great way to help your website appear in local search engine results.

Place pictures of your work online or of local businesses or consumers that you’ve completed work for

As stated before, online search engines like to see instances of city names somewhere in your web page. Having a picture and a description not only shows online visitors where you’ve conducted work, but also is another instance of a local city name where you conduct business.

Now get out there are let your customers know where you are so they can do business with with you!

We hear it all the time. Companies contact us and say, “My website is not working, can you do something about it?” We then go out to their website and it is a horrid mix of broken links, missing images, misspellings and multi-colored font sizes and colors all over the website.

“Yes, we can help.”

We usually end up starting from scratch and discussing with the client what the goal of the website is. Then we explain the process of SEO and internet marketing and what kind of effects it can have on a customer’s business. Almost immediately, the client’s eyes open wide and they say, “Yes, we should go that route.”

SEO and Internet Marketing Effects

The effect that SEO and internet marketing can have on your website also is dependent upon your budget. These campaigns are time intensive, but can have a significant impact on your bottom line. We have seen clients rank #1 after just an initial clean up on their websites. We have also worked to get high rankings a little farther down the road. Either way, it is invaluable to start building your website base as soon as possible.

Climbing the Search Result Ladder

As an SEO and internet marketing campaign is being executed, you should be able to see your listings climb up for the targeted keywords. This will allow more people to come across your website and learn about what you have to offer. In our experience, we have seen many sites climb the rankings and then fall, but usually they end up closer to the top in the long run. This is in part to Google sifting through what you are offering them in accordance with relevant information for the particular search query. I believe it also has been termed the “Google Dance”.

That’s all great, but can I really see results?

Yes. Will it make you a millionaire immediately? Probably not, but it can definitely help with increasing sales from the internet. The more places your website comes up in front of searchers, the more likely they are to learn more about your business and do business with you. More often than not, it is important to rank highly to get in front of the searcher so they can quickly solve a problem that they have.

Many companies today are currently using PPC campaigns to bring in jobs from the search engines. It is a great way to immediately get in front of potential customers and see if there is a demand for your product or service. It is also possible to closer track where those visitors came from and make a decision to continue with the campaign or to move dollars to other forms of advertising.

It’s working for others…and it can work for you

Many businesses have already taken the plunge and are grabbing clients that could have been yours. There is a reason that it is almost impossible to pick up any publication and not see some article talking about the search engines and how your business should be in the listings. It is a valuable tool to get in front of prospective buyers and let them know what you can do for them.

Immediately get in front of searchers

With a PPC campaign, it is possible to run a campaign with your ad at the top of the search results for a couple of months and see what type of conversions you get through the website. This is a great way to see if it is worth it to get into the top spots in the “organic” search results that appear when an online visitor searches the search engines. It is also possible to switch text in the ad and test different variations to see if one ad has a higher conversion rate. It is these characteristics of a PPC campaign that keep companies coming back to the search engines for sales increases.

Tracking Sales

Tracking sales from a PPC campaign is one of the reasons why so many companies are switching to online advertising with the search engines. It is possible to see what the user clicked on, how long they were viewing your website and the pages they went to on your website. Another great part of a PPC campaign is that if it isn’t working, you can stop after the initial campaign and use those dollars for something else. Tracking all of these factors can give the owner a better understanding of where their website stands in the buying process and what to improve to turn visitors into customers.

So, if you have a marketing budget and are willing to give internet marketing a try in the search engine realm, take the plunge and see if your business has what it takes to increase ROI with the help from the search engines.

We all want to make more money with our web sites. There are ways you can invest to get quicker
results. These 5 tips are ways we have seen that are critical in order for your web site to draw
in more clients, which means more ka-ching, ka-ching for your business:

1) Get your web site built by a professional organization.

Some professional web design companies (like Midwest Web Design) have been studying the way
of the internet for years and have watched it grow into the useful tool it is today for
information and business. Getting your web site built by a professional web design company
takes advantage of this knowledge. A business can save huge amounts of time and energy
that they can spend on building other parts of their business, such as advertising,
infrastructure, future contacts, etc.

2) Invest in search engine optimization for your site.

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as they call it in the business, can have a huge effect on the profitability of your web site. SEO helps a web site to be found easier in the search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. With approximately 92% of people online using search engines to find information online, it is obvious why companies would like to rank higher up in the search engines. SEO deals with keywords, descriptions, densities, articles and other bits of information that are picked up by professional web design companies.

Don’t be fooled by internet marketers that promise “Number 1 Spots on Google,” this is not the sign of a professional. Prorofessional web design companies that know Google won’t promise a “Number 1 Spot” and they also won’t run away with your money once you paid. We have seen clients who went with these internet marketers because of what they “offered” and have came back to us feeling taken advantage of and left with an empty wallet. Once again, having your web site built by a professional organization does have its benefits!

3) Make your site useful and easy to navigate and read for your visitors.

You should be making your site valuable to customers by showing:

• Business Hours
• Services/Products
• Offers or Coupons
• Company History
• Email Address
• Having the Site Easy to Navigate

Each of these are key ingredients for customers to find your web site useful. We highly recommend our clients to have all of the above.

A web site also needs to be easy to navigate. Less clutter and making your site easy to navigate can make a difference sometimes overnight. Don’t be fooled by thinking you have to have a graphically-heavy web site in order to have customers order from you. In our experience, the more simple the better, both from a user standpoint and from a search engine standpoint.

4) Add your web site to your other forms of advertising.

We are amazed at the number of businesses that do not have their web site listed on all their forms of advertising. It is one of the most valuable forms of advertising in business today. Period. The more information you have on your web site, the better. Customer make decisions while they are on a web site. Think about it, without a web site they are unable to make any decisions and you won’t get the sale.

5) Invest in internet marketing for the search engines.

Companies such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and others offer services that allow a business to be placed in certain positions that will drive targeted customers to your site. Don’t be fooled by internet marketing services that promise 800 clicks a month. You want targeted traffic to your site. Targeted traffic offers the best conversion rate from visitor to customer.

These are some of the easiest ways to make more money with your web site. Keep in mind that having a professional web design company build your web site will maximize your time and stretch your advertising dollars. They know all the little tricks and shortcuts that will help you use your web site as a tool to make more money the most effective way possible.