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!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Make sure to have your contact information in each page. You have a much higher probability to close a sale for your business if customers give you a call. It is a sign that the customer is taking the necessary steps to accomplishing a goal of theirs.

LACK OF GRAMMAR/SPELLING MISTAKES

Nothing drives down credibility of a website faster than grammar and spelling errors. Make sure to go through your website content and correct any errors.

TESTIMONIALS/EXPERIENCE

Be sure to include testimonials on your website! A website built for your customers will have past customers’ stories about how your company did a fantastic job. Also be sure to include what types of experience you have in your particular field. Many customers search for this type of information to see how credible you are for their project.

YOUR COMPANY LOGO

A company logo can be a vital part of a customer’s recognition of your company. A company logo also portrays the level of professionalism that your company has. Making sure that your logo is set prominently on your website can be an important factor in elevating your customers trust.

ABOUT YOUR COMPANY

Having an “About Us” page on your website is another great way to tell customers who you are and what you have done in the past. We have talked to many businesses that love the fact that we are a small family based business. It is little subtleties like this that can have an impact in whether you get the sale or not.

Keep these factors in mind when thinking about what to put into your website. Customers have many reasons why they choose a particular company. It is your job to capitalize on what sets you apart from your competitors and how you can get their job done above their expectations. Also keep in mind that the website is for your customers. Keeping that in mind will help you determine what you should be including on your website.

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.

Being a local Minneapolis web design company that offers a wide spectrum of services, businesses can benefit from our experience in the web design field. Whether your business is looking for:

• A local Minneapolis web designer
• A professional website appearance
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Pay Per Click (PPC) website campaigns
• Cross browser compatibility (viewers see the same website in Internet Explorer or Mozilla, etc.)
• Website content creation
• Maintenance to most, already built websites
• Help with emails
• Increase targeted traffic to your website
• Optimizing images for the web
• PDF creation
• Complete consulting solutions for your website
• A specific multi-micro website solution for multiple products

Midwest Web Design can help you realize the potential your business can have online.

We have talked to many businesses that would love to have a website presence, but may not have the large budget to accommodate. This is the type of client we love to help and have helped since 1998.

So, if you have been thinking about how your business can benefit from having an online presence, get in touch with us today to find out how we can use our experience to help build your business.

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!

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.

Keeping your target audience in mind when you are planning a website redesign is a critical component of whether or not that website is going to be effective and viewed as a trust worthy source of information in your industry. It is important to review past analytic data from your website to see the different screen resolutions that are used as well as traffic patterns to different topics and the most popular content. It is also a good idea to ask users who fit into your target audience what they like to see in a website and maybe some examples of the way content is presented to them. Keeping your target audience in mind can have a huge effect on whether visitors find your website easy to maneuver through or move on to another website.

Analyze past website visitor data and behavior

Analyzing past data and seeing patterns in user behavior is a great way to dive into how visitors to your website think and act. No matter the website, there are different patterns on how visitors click through the website and different areas they spend more time at. Using this data and analyzing patters can show you how to cater that specific audience for more relevant information. If you see that there is a high rate of traffic that goes to view your contact page and your contact information is solely there, it may be a good idea to place that contact information on every page, so it is directly in front of customers at all times. Another example is if you see patters of users moving from article to article. This can be a sign that you may want to place links to related articles maybe on the side of your website or at the bottom of the article so they can move on to the next article without backing out to an articles page.

Screen resolutions

Another very interesting piece of information you can get from analytics data is the screen resolution that visitors are using to view your website. This can come in handy when redesigning your website so you can keep it in a particular screen resolution. This helps with the amount the user has to horizontally scroll to see all of the content on your website. You may decide that the screen resolution may be large or small and you would like to have a more “fluid” design that stretches to fit the screen of your visitor no matter the screen resolution. Either way, being able to analyze data and see what your visitor is using for hardware can help them have a great user experience on your website.

Ask people in your target audience what they like

What better way to gather information about your new website design than to ask people who are in your target audience? I am always surprised how much detailed information people will give you about what they like about a website and what they find easy and difficult. All of it is good information to gather and sift through for your new website. When we asked people for their input, they are usually very likely to help you out and they like to see some of their ideas incorporated into a design. I have heard different target audiences that like larger text, larger pictures, YouTube videos, blogs, articles, forms, wider designs, contact information are just a few of the features that we have heard people say they like to see on a website. Another great way to have users find your site more useful is to have programs that help them out. For example, if you have a mortgage website, maybe you should place some calculators on your website and some instructions on what they are calculating and how it can affect their mortgage payments. These little programs are a great way for people to bookmark your website and see you as an authority in your field.

Make it easy for your target audience

It is always a pleasure to go though a website that has exactly what you want, relevant information everywhere and fits within your viewing screen. These are the types of websites that we will often bookmark. We have also seen when a website has the features that the target audience is looking for, those website almost always have higher sales because of it. Make it easy for your visitors and hopefully they will make it easier for you to keep your business making money.

Is your website being found in the local search results?

It should be. Many online searchers today will search for keywords along with the city they live in to find local results. This can be a huge benefit to your business. Many people, us included, would prefer to do business locally. It is very convenient to be able to drop by and get to know the people you are working with. Having your website properly optimized can help Google locate your address and phone number and be found locally. There is also an option to add your business listing with Google and they will place it in their results as well.

Importance of having a website that is properly optimized

Show up before competitors

The search results and SEO is similar to the real state motto “Location, location, location!” There are few people who go past the third search result page when they are searching for certain information. Listing on the top, or close to the top of the first page is the ideal location for customers to click and find the information they are looking for. The faster the customer gets in contact with you by being at the top of the search engines, the faster you can let them know what you have to offer.

Conversions

Along with the optimizing for the search engines, it is also very important to have the website optimized for usability. Make sure there are no broken links, broken images, and spelling or grammar errors. Make sure the navigation is clear to the user and that the text and font are easy to read. Make sure you have calls to action, contact information on every page (preferably at the top of the page) and that the graphics are crisp and clear. All of these factors play a role in increasing the conversions on your website and turning visitors into customers.

Relevant information for visitors and search engine optimization (SEO)

Keeping the information on your website relevant to the topic of the page is important also. If you specialize in selling dog houses, place relevant information about dog houses on the first page. This will answer any questions that the visitor has about your dog houses and entice them to contact you and ask some questions, or finalize the sale. I’d be careful about also placing information about real estate houses on the same page, the user is on your website and found your website looking for dog houses. Give them the information they are looking for. Keeping the content information “tight” around a particular subject or topic increases the power of your website to show closer to the top of the search engines for particular related phrases.