Web Design, Development & Online Marketing - Serving the Central and North Texas Markets

Just like everything else these days online marketing is going mobile. As smart phones become cheaper and more popular, people are finding themselves using their phones and tablets more and more to do their internet searching. Especially when searching for things locally. How many times have you needed to find a restaurant and pulled your phone out to search for directions?

Mobile Phone Usage is Exploding

According to CISCO mobile phone usage is going to DOUBLE by 2012 and TRIPLE by 2013. Sounds like a mobile marketing strategy needs to be developed now.

Have you ever Googled something on your phone and seen different search results then Googling on a PC? That's because Google knows your on a mobile device and wants to deliver the best results for you on the go. Thus they emphasize and rank higher those sites that are mobile friendly and have higher 'mobile ranking' because of Google Places, Local Reviews, etc.

A websites mobile traffic is averaging around 10%, but from personal experience I have seen mobile traffic double during holidays and high traffic times because people are using their phones while on the go as they travel. That's 20% of your traffic, or 1 out of every 5 people vising your site. You might think "Well but 4 out of 5 people still visit us on a computer, so do we really need a mobile strategy?" Remember it's 20%. If you grew your annual revenue by 20% would that be a pretty big deal? I think we all can say yes.

Creating a Mobile Marketing Strategy

Even before we get to the mobile marketing aspects of things, you first need to make sure your website is 'Mobile Friendly'. What we typically see is a 'watered down' version of a website when visiting a mobile website because people want to quickly aspect the most important things to them. This typically leans toward your contact information, directions, phone number, email address etc. People want these things fast, so when thinking about your mobile website keep in mind people will be accessing your site from a phone or tablet for fast information.

So don't use large images, videos, flash etc. Straight forward HTML and CSS can easily get people to what they are looking for on your site.

Start by creating a sitemap of your mobile site, just like you would your regular website. Except ask yourself what would I want to access on my website in 2 minutes or less if I were coming here for quick information?

Now this doesn't mean to exclude critical aspects of your website, but keep in mind your traffic is coming from a smaller screen and wanting the information more quickly.

Optimizing Your Mobile Website

Your mobile website can be optimized like any other site by using good practices of keyword friendly Meta Tags, Title Tags, and SEO friendly URLs. But more importantly to be found on a mobile search is how many LOCAL sites you are listed in. Remember, Google is ranking you based on it being a local search 99% of the time. The more prominent you are on local review sites will be a great improvement towards your mobile SEO rankings. A good place to start would be Google Places, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Super Pages, Four Square, etc.

Your Mobile Marketing Strategy

If you are unsure how to start your mobile marketing plan, feel free to contact us today for a free consultation review of your internet marketing strategy. You can also read our White Paper regarding mobile phone metrics here.

Voting at the Polls may be today, but consumer voting for/against your business occurs daily (and nightly) online.  Pay attention business owners, or be defeated.

Online Marketing can be a lot like today’s nasty political campaigns.

Do you know how your constituents’ (customer/prospects) opinions of you are being influenced beyond your control by reviews and comments online?  Do you have a plan actively working right now that promotes an accurate and positive reputation about your business?

Why Should You Care Now? What is the Influence of Online Reviews?

Data shows that 92% of people read reviews and of those, 89% are influence to buy (or NOT to buy) because of them.   That is huge.  (Request the article summarizing this data in more detail.)

Take Control and the Truth will Save You.

Ok, a little melodramatic, but if you are not controlling the truthful reputation of your business online, you are vulnerable to losing business due to a single poor or bad review.  No business is perfect and everyone has to do right to customers who’ve not had the best experience.  But if one customer bad experience gets posted in a local review site….ouch, it is likely to be syndicated across the Internet for all to see over and over again.

Reviews:  Good, Real….and Real Good!

The same is true for positive reviews.  So, actively promoting the acquisition and syndication of good reviews is a critical element in the mix of your online marketing.

What is the Best Approach for Small Business?

There are several ways to go about this.  Some can be costly and time consuming.  WSI recommends small business clients use tools!  Why do things manually when you can do it better by leveraging technology and achieve greater results? 

WSI has a new solution available that will help you take control by proactively working your online reviews.  Our system will help you:

Real Results:

Positive reviews can drive a 20% gain in on site conversions (or more)!
Ask for a demo and case studies for businesses similar to your.

Customer Lobby,  WSI’s latest addition to the WSI eMarketplace.
Call toll free 866-216-4256 or in Dallas metro  972-208-0926

30% increase in Local Online advertising.  Is your business adapting?

The shift to online is not surprising to us as Internet Marketing Consultants.  We see clients moving their ad and marketing efforts online due to the speed, control and tracking benefits. Some are making the move faster than others, but all are finding some or all of these to be true from their online marketing:

Kind of sounds like the perfect sales person, right?  So it is…or can be if done right.

Advertisers can be frustrated with cost and performance of traditional advertising.  How wasteful is it?
We did a study with one of our contractor client’s print directory ad by tracking and recording phone calls it delivered.  It was proved they got more calls from companies wanting to sell THEM something than they did from prospects looking to buy the product they were marketing.  100% to zero!  That’s horrible!

Most situations are not that drastic, and maybe you are finding some success with traditional marketing.  We don’t suggest going 100% digital.  But times, and channels, are changing so we recommend you consider shifting some of your ad spend before the end of the year or for next year and test it out.  The data will speak loud and clear.

WSI’s unique position is that we can craft an online marketing mix that is custom fit to your needs.  Businesses are overwhelmed with sales pitches and claims about digital marketing from businesses that focus on just one element or a cookie-cutter package.  You might be over sold or undersold.  Either way is a set up for failure.

If you need help, we can help you select some of the best options available and recommend a success template based on our experience with similar companies and set up the analytics that will undeniably prove return-on-investment.

Digital marketing is for Local Businesses wanting to stay in business…..like YOUR business!   Call for a chat today.

This month WSI will be holding a webinar on how to drive more business online with Local Search.

In case you are unfamiliar with local search, almost every major search engine now lists local results when someone searches for something.  This is most apparent when you ‘geo target’ your search.  For instance “Dallas icecream shops”

What does Local Search mean for you?

Part of almost every business’s internet marketing strategy should be a Local Search strategy.  Local searches can help you become found online when someone searches for a particular keyword, even if you don’t rank organically for this keyword.

In my example photo you will see Marble Slab Creamery appears in the local business results, but they aren’t actually listed in the natural organic rankings on the first page of Google.  This means customers are potentially finding a Marble Slab near them through just Local Search.

There’s many many factors and features of how Local Search can help enhance your online business, so come check out our August 18th Webinar “Drive More Business with Local Search”.  Make sure to enter “Patricia Jordan” as your Internet Consultant Contact.

Webinar Register: http://bit.ly/WSILocalSearchWebinar
Date/Time: August 18th, 12:00PM – 1:00PM CST

We’ll see you there!