Usability Crucial to Increased Website Traffic

Usability Crucial to Increased Website Traffic

No matter how much traffic your website is generating, it can always generate more. Many business owners believe that the best way to generate more traffic to their website is to have a slick design with compelling graphics and images. While no one would argue that those are great ways to improve your website’s appearance, the best way to increase traffic to your website is to improve its usability.

Jacob Nielsen is the author of “How Users Read on the Web.” According to Nielsen’s research, the more usable a website, the more traffic it will generate. That’s because when a website is usable, people are more likely to revisit that site and encourage others to do the same. In other words, usability helps to create a buzz around your website.

Now that we know what website usability does, let’s define it. To put it in the simplest terms, usable websites contain content that is objective, concise, and easy for readers to scan. Many people are surprised to learn that people read articles and content on the internet differently than they do newspapers or magazines.

So how can you improve the usability of your website content? Remember that people quickly scan a website before they take the time to read it. If a quick scan turns up something they think may be of interest, then, and only then, will they take the time to read the content.

Here are some other tips to increase your website’s usability:

  1. Get to the point. Quickly. Long descriptions and explanations turn readers off.
  2. Start with your conclusion. Many people only read a paragraph or two so this may be the only shot you have to connect with them.
  3. One concept per paragraph, please.
  4. Headlines Matter!
  5. Bullet points, numbered lists, and infographics are always a hit.
  6. Include a brief summary of the content. If it is appealing, it will entice people to read the entire article. If it isn’t, at least they get the main idea.
  7. Shorter is better. Edit, edit, and edit again to keep word counts to a minimum.
  8. Know who your audience is before you write anything.
  9. Write like you are talking to the person reading the article – and only that person.
  10. Quote the experts. By doing so, you sound like an expert.

Once you have incorporated these tips into your content, it’s time to write more content. Remember, if your content is interesting and engaging, people will come back for more. It’s your job to make sure it’s there for them!

When it Comes to Choosing a List Services Company, a Little Research Goes a Long Way

There are very few purchases you make without doing some comparison shopping. After all, smart shoppers want to know they are getting the best value for their money. They also want to take some time to investigate all their options.

GoLeads believes that when you compare our products and services to those of the competition, you will be impressed with what we have to offer. That’s why we don’t mind when potential customers take the time to look around.

At Goleads, we know that generating sales leads is an ongoing task for any business. There are countless ways to generate leads. These include things like attending meet-and-greets, setting up a booth at tradeshows, and staying active on social media.

However, when it comes to generating leads, you can always being doing more. That’s why the tried-and-true method of partnering with a list services company for new business leads is an important way to ensure that you are never short on prospects.

One of the most important ways a list services company can help you to refine and perfect your lead generation efforts is by allowing you to selectively target prospects by narrowing those prospects down by the specific perimeters you choose. Need prospects close to your headquarters? Want to get in touch with CEOs? Looking for nonprofits? No matter what you are looking for, a list services company can help you find it.

If you have decided that a list services company is the right decision for your business, the next step is to find the list services company that meets your specific needs. It may take some time to find the right match but it is definitely well worth the effort if you want the highest quality leads.

The best way to find the right list services company is to do some old-fashioned comparison shopping. By obtaining lists from companies you are considering hiring, you can quickly discern which company is best for you by trying out their lists and then answering a few questions:

  1. Do the leads match the criteria provided?
  2. Are the leads interested in what I am selling?
  3. Is the information up-to-date or will I spend a lot of time chasing down information that is missing or incorrect?
  4. What is the overall response rate of the leads?
  5. Does the amount I am paying per qualified sales lead make good financial sense?

Once you have answered these questions, you should have a good idea of what list services company is right for you. While comparing list companies might take some extra time, it is well worth the effort. Remember, high quality sales leads are the key to the success of your business.

Nearly 100 million U.S. Smart Phone Users

With nearly 100 million U.S. smartphone users, you should have a mobile app for your business. If you don’t use mobile applications as part of your social marketing, you’re missing thousands, if not millions of potential customers. Look at these stats:

More interesting stats about mobile phone usage:

Mobile Stats

  • 98% of iPhone users use the data features of their phone, 88% use their iPhone to surf the internet and 75% download apps. Source: The Neilson Company
  • 60% of iPhone users access the internet at least once a day. Source: Rubicon Consulting Research
  • The App Store is popular among iPhone owners, with 55.6% accessing news and information via a downloaded application, compared with 22.1% of smartphone owners, and 6.3% of all mobile phone users. Source: Comscore
  • Smartphones are used everywhere: 95% – “downtime”; 82% – at work; 81% – shopping; 80% – at home; 65% – commuting to work. Source: Questus
  • 37 percent of smartphone owners have purchased something non-mobile with their handset in the past 6 months. Source: Compete’s Smartphone Intelligence Survey 2009
  • 50% of iPhone users are under thirty, and 15% are students. Source Rubicon Research Consulting
  • The largest age group of iPhone users is 35-54 who account for 36% of all users, followed by 25-34 at 29%. Source: The Neilson Company
  • 75% of UK iPhone users are males, mostly between the ages of 18-44. That figure is slightly up from UK smartphone ownership demographics, which suggests males comprise 65 per cent of owners. Source: Comscore The Neilson Company has revealed that 5% of iPhone owners are between 13 and 17 years old. Source: The Neilson Company
  • By mid-January 2010, three billion apps have been downloaded from Apple’s app store alone. Source: Apple
  • Apps that break the top 50 are generally downloaded over 10,000 times daily. Source: AdMob
  • Mobile Analytics firm Flurry suggests an app ranked in the top five is downloaded more than 50,000 times a day. Source: imediaconnection.com
  • In the US, mobile marketing budgets leapt by 26% in 2009, in contrast to a reduction of 70% in overall marketing spend. Source: MMF Panel.

Get in the hands of your prospects. Get a mobile application!

Hire Professionals to Write Online Content

content-marketing

Inbound marketers know it’s all about content marketing. This is what gets you noticed online-content, SEO work, content and more content! But knowing this doesn’t mean anything unless you’re providing consistent, quality, custom content. As a business owner, or inbound marketing leader, do you really have what it takes to provide exceptional content that makes your phones ring? Can you engage your audience; entice them to come to you? Can you influence buying decisions with your SEO and social media prowess? Were you an English or journalism major? If you answered with even one “no,” hire professionals to write online content.

  • Professional writers know how to present fresh content. Inbound marketing teams may have good concepts, but professional writers know how to execute them online with engaging content, proper grammar, SEO infused sentences and interesting ideas. Business owners know their products and services, but professional writers know how to discuss them.
  • Custom content for the Internet is created for specific audiences. Professional writers know how to speak to each market. They understand the audience and create quality content marketing pieces for each group.
  • Professional writers thrive on deadlines! Inbound marketers understand the importance of maintaining a schedule, but do their jobs depend on following it down to the minute? Most professional writers are driven to get the “story” in before deadline-it’s in their nature, training and vocation. Professional writers get online content out on a timeline, not when “they can get to it.”
  • Inbound marketing teams often have several products/services they’re marketing. Instead of using insider’s technical jargon (which often happens when they are used to produce online content) professional writers are adept at research and turning their findings into useable, teachable language the masses appreciate and understand. Professional writers “speak” to their audience.
  • Professional writers are just that-professional writers. They are trained to write well. They understand the language and how to effectively share a thought with written words. Professional writers create quality content, enjoyable posts and concise thoughts.

If you don’t have a professional writer on staff, use a business that does! GoLeads uses a team of professional writers to create their online content and lead inbound marketing efforts. GoLeads Plus also provides the services of professional writers to all its users.

Call today to find out more: 402-334-1824 or visit the website at http://www.goleadsplus.com/.
 

4 Tips to Get your Call Returned

Telemarketing is a part of many businesses. Most companies make outbound calls, receive inbound calls and hope to close the sale with these. Unfortunately, most callsthat result in left messages do not get returned. Koka Sexton, Director of Social Strategy at InsideView, is one of the most recognized social experts in the technology industry, said, “92% of executives you try to contact will not return your phone call. You should already know why, unless you have an amazing reason for them to listen to your message, they will delete it in the first 5 seconds. If you don’t give them a compelling reason to spend the time to call you back then you get forgotten about.” Make good uses of your telemarketing time and your phone call return rate should improve.
  • Use your contacts: You work hard to build your business connections. Whether you use telemarketing to reach your contacts’ firms or not, ask them to introduce you or provide a reference to the company you do make outbound calls to. Again, Sexton has some proof-positive information regarding this: “84% of the people you try to connect with leveraging an existing connection will respond.”
  • Know who you make your outbound calls to: Whoever your call reaches is a person, not just another phone number. Check their names and look them up on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Google +. You’ll find valuable information that will provide good insights on how to best to approach them.
  • Give a head’s up: Send a simple introductory email to your prospects. Sexton uses this as an example: “I’d like to introduce myself. I’ve noticed your company has been actively growing the size of your widget factory and I’d like t know if I can help with anything.” Let your telemarketing prospect know you’ll be calling within a few days, and be sure to follow up.
  • Talk up your prospect: After you’ve done your homework and you know a bit about your prospect, structure the first call around them. Focus the outbound call on them and their company, sliding a sales pitch in covertly. Focusing on your lead keeps them engaged and willing to listen to more. Use this time to share how your services/products have helped companies similar to theirs. Make your telemarketing call relevant to them.
Telemarketing is effective, but most times leaving a message does not result in an inbound call back. Use these tips to make the most out of your telemarketing and see your callback rates rise.