If you are like many business owners, you have been anticipating the arrival of the New Year for a while. Maybe you have been considering how to make your campaigns even better or possibly you have been putting off a few tasks until “next year.” Regardless, the New Year is now upon us… and now things are real.

In the constantly changing world of web marketing, change is the one thing that remains constant. Each year, business owners are expected to be knowledgeable about more channels, more devices and new technologies, while also getting to know their customers better—their preferences, behaviors and place in the sales cycle.

Businesses to need to adapt to these changes because the technology genie is out of the bottle and we can’t stuff it back in. Business owners can’t ignore the changes anymore and still succeed.

The road to success is in making an effort, in attempting something new, something different. You needn’t fear to try new things, if one doesn’t work then try another – that is the beauty of low-cost web marketing with its targeted reach. Review your campaigns honestly and cut out dead-end strategies. Many businesses have found budget by reallocating funds from ineffective, traditional marketing budgets.

In 2014 we need to look at ways to win conversions.

I’ve pulled together a list of strategies, tactics and actions that can drive conversions (converting visitors into customers) in 2014:

  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Search engine optimization (SEO) remains one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your website. As customers utilize multiple devices to research the products and services that interest them, an SEO strategy that allows customers to find your products or services and provides a great user-experience, regardless of device, will be the best SEO strategy in 2014.
  • Content – Realize that relevance in content – rather than frequency – is the key to conversion. Relevant, fresh content can increase conversions without increasing the frequency of blogs, newsletters and social posts.
  • Mobile Web – This is the fastest growing aspect of web marketing. Smartphone traffic increased 125% as compared to desktop growth, which increased only 12 percent. 74% of mobile device users utilize a search engine during their purchase process, and 83% of mobile users intend to make a purchase within a day.

You need to develop a mobile friendly site that:

  • Focuses on the mobile user experience
  • Has fast-loading pages
  • Incorporates a clean design with a focus on usability
  • Understand mobile-user intent
  • Takes Conversational and Voice Search into account
  • Analytics – Site analytics (statistics on site traffic and flow), while not as fun as video or social, are a huge factor for businesses, especially retail. Google Analytics continues to be a major resource in planning, reviewing and adapting pages, content, strategies, and campaigns. Google recently introduced 70 analytics product announcements. One update provides a more fluid experience to break out product ad groups and track product performance.
  • Pay-Per-Click (PPC) online ads – PPC ads have become a key component of driving online sales. With PPC ads you can target any demographic! Accurate product and pricing information with relevant Landing Pages are needed to succeed. Use impactful images and avoid using generic stock images that won’t stand out from the competition.
  • Link Building – Quality links from other websites linking to yours help your search results page rank.
      • Focus external link building efforts on the acquisition of editorially given links. These are links requiring human intervention and approval.
      • Build links that are relevant – on pages where the readers would have a genuine interest in your website.
      • Quality trumps quantity. A few links from high trust/authority websites will have more impact than hundreds of links from “Made for Guest Posting” blogs.
  • Blog – Sharing your thoughts, opinions, and offerings on relevant topics continues to be a source of interest and traffic. A blog helps establish you as an industry expert and makes your site an interactive place where people leave comments and come back to visit often. Frequent, consistent blog posts also improve your search engine ranking.
  • Video – Rivals Mobile as an area of the most impactful, rapid marketing growth. Every social channel now prioritizes photos and images. Video is a powerful way to share information and ideas and is one of the most popular online tools for effective communication. Many people are much more likely to click on a video than read site content. If you need to explain something the visual aid of a video can better deliver your message. You can increase your site traffic, conversions and sales with product or services videos.
  • Email Marketing – Make campaigns thoughtful. Make them personal. 91% of consumers check their email accounts daily, which makes email marketing one of the best ways to acquire customers. Customers are more likely to open messages addressed directly to them that contain information or offers in which they’re interested.
  • Social Media/Social Commerce – Social networking remains a powerful conversion tool, especially with the many advertising opportunities they now provide. As retailers and social networks become more interconnected, the result will be more purchases made based on peer influence — whether directly on an Ecommerce site or on the social network site itself. Also expected are new approaches to social selling. Keep in mind that:
    • 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind
    • 63% of Facebook users check in daily, 40 percent login multiple times
    • 46% of Twitter members check newsfeeds every day, 29 percent more than once a day
    • 57% of Instagram account holders view content daily, 35 percent more often

Business owners need to understand they are going up against other businesses that have the same or similar ideas and plans. Success boils down to who executes the best, most visible, most relevant campaigns integrating the tools their target audience uses.

Bring in 2014 with campaigns that target customers who are looking for your business, your products, and your services as they navigate sites across the Internet.

You can put the Genie to work for you! We share our best practice experiences which can optimize your site and content, boost your search rankings and attract more leads!

Call us or leave your thoughts below.

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