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How NFTs Can Help With Branding
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How NFTs Can Help With Branding

How NFTs Can Help With Branding

How NFTs Can Help with Branding

The NFT market peaked at around $25 billion in 2021, with countless NFTs selling for thousands – millions in some cases. Since then, the market has declined in value amid rising costs of living and failings by large crypto exchanges like FTX. However, the number of businesses turning to NFTs and the number of people buying into play-to-earn (P2E) games is rising steadily, which indicates that interest is still high. There are many ways to integrate NFTs into a branding strategy, but here are our favourites to get you started.

Metaverse User Interaction

Despite Mark Zuckerburg naming his online universe the “Metaverse”, the word simply denotes any interactive virtual world including Decentraland, Roblox, and Fortnite. Metaverse projects built over blockchains like Ethereum are emerging in growing numbers, and you can benefit from them by creating branded lines of NFTs and selling them as in-game assets. Additionally, your business can become a member of the metaverse community and use it as a platform to communicate with potential users. 

If you have the capital to pull together a strong team of developers, you could invest in space on an Ethereum-like blockchain and create your own Metaverse project, which would certainly get people talking. Before deciding to invest in blockchain project space, be sure to check the Ethereum stock price at okx.com. 

Collaborate with NFT Artists

Effective partnerships are a no-brainer when it comes to boosting brand vision. There are already countless reputable marketplaces including OpenSea and prominent NFT artists. These artists and marketplaces have amassed thousands of followers. If you’re adopting NFTs in an industry without much news coverage in the blockchain space, now is the time to make those connections. 

News surrounding newcomers to the blockchain space travels like wildfire. For example, Marriott Bonvoy boomed following a partnership with NFT artists Erick Nicolay, TXREK, and JVY, in which they created a stunning collection of unique NFTs. 

NFTs and Physical Goods

NFTs and physical goods go two ways. Firstly, you can create digital versions of popular physical products, which you can sell as NFTs on open marketplaces or inside P2E games. Secondly, you can sell NFTs alongside physical products. To do this, you need to mint an NFT and affix a special QR code to your product. When customers buy your products, they can scan the code and store the NFT in their wallet, which they can sell if they wish to. 

Auction Limited Edition NFTs

Turning digital media into NFTs is called minting, and anyone can get involved. Creating a limited edition NFT and auctioning it through a marketplace has the potential to bring in profit for your business and it will build up chatter about your brand. For example, the hotel Venice’s Ca’ di Dio created an NFT with an exclusive entire hotel booking attached, and it launched the hotel onto all major blockchain news websites.  

The NFT buzz is still out there, and it can still be utilised to boost brand awareness. The ideas outlined above are only a small cross-section – anything is possible if you think outside the box. 

8 Reasons Web Hosting Is Beneficial For Business Websites
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8 Reasons Web Hosting Is Beneficial For Business Websites

8 Reasons Web Hosting Is Beneficial For Business Websites

8 Reasons Web Hosting Is Beneficial For Business Websites 

Web hosting is a service that enables you to store and publish website files so that people can access them on the internet. It is an essential element to help you launch and maintain a website.

To run a professional website for businesses, you’ll need to opt for a reputable hosting provider, such as Blue Whale Media, Bluehost, or Hostinger UK. Doing so gives you many advantages that can eventually generate more site traffic.

To help you gain a deeper understanding, this article will go over the eight reasons hosting a website is beneficial for businesses. Let’s begin!

1. Improved Site Performance 

Website performance refers to the loading speed of your site, affecting how users see your brand or business. It’s a crucial indicator of how credible your website is. 

A high-performing website will benefit your business in many ways, such as reducing bounce rates, increasing conversions, and improving customer retention. In contrast, a slow loading site will lead to a poor user experience, resulting in lower website traffic.

With a professional web hosting service, the provider can offer better resources for businesses. For example, Hostinger offers the latest LiteSpeed technology and a 99.9% uptime guarantee in all of their plans. That way, you can avoid downtime and make your business site accessible 24/7.

Screenshot of the Hostinger web host company website

Additionally, many web hosting services provide unlimited bandwidth, letting your site handle traffic spikes without compromising performance. Providers like Hostinger also have a built-in cache manager, enabling faster website load times.

Enhanced Security

Due to increasing cyber threats, website security is becoming a significant priority for all businesses. Even in 2021, companies experienced 50% more cyber attack attempts per week compared to 2020.

Aside from that, an unsecured website can make you lose customer trust and damage your brand image. That’s because, if you run an online store, users are less willing to conduct transactions on a risky website.

Cyber security - secure website hosting

One of the best ways to protect your customers’ data is by using a professional hosting provider. It can give you various built-in security measures, such as free SSL certificates, auto-updates, and DDoS protection.

Moreover, professional web hosting services have their own dedicated system engineers who are experts in fixing security issues. This will help you to focus on tasks that grow your business, like establishing an effective marketing strategy

Better SEO Opportunities

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of improving your business’s online presence in search results, resulting in increased organic web traffic. Many factors affect your SEO performance, including the quality of your web hosting service. 

Since search engines like Google use page speed as a ranking factor, web hosting becomes crucial. This means faster business websites will have better SEO rankings. Other factors that affect your website SEO are security and uptime, which can be improved by choosing a professional web hosting service. 

Besides that, good web hosting gives you complete control over your SEO strategy, such as editing the site structure, meta descriptions, and web page URLs.

Whitehat SEO opportunities

Aside from choosing the right web host, remember to implement SEO strategies that will maximise your efforts. For example, conduct keyword research and regularly publish high-quality blog posts on your website to attract the target audience and drive traffic.

Customised Email Address

A professional web host can offer branded email addresses, enabling you to create a domain-based email for your business. 

For example, if your business website’s domain is example.com, your email address will be [email protected] instead of [email protected]. As this looks more professional, it will increase your business credibility and improve customer trust.

Custom email address structure

Note that some providers may provide only one email address, while others give you unlimited domain-based emails. For instance, SiteGround offers free unlimited branded email addresses with their hosting plan.

80% off web hosting + a free website transfer with SiteGround website hosting

Besides that, some web hosting solutions also come with email management software. This will help you streamline email tasks using automation, such as responding to customer queries or sending email marketing campaigns.

Cost-Efficiency

When choosing a professional web hosting company, you may worry about maintenance and renewal costs. However, many web hosting services are available where you can opt for a plan suitable for your business needs and budget. 

There are also different types of web hosting to choose from at various price points. For instance, if you are about to start a small business site, choosing a shared hosting plan is a more cost-effective choice than a virtual private server (VPS) hosting plan.

Cloud website hosting graphic

Furthermore, with a professional web hosting service, you don’t need to worry about web server maintenance and security. This reduces costs since you won’t need to hire dedicated IT staff or administrators to manage your server.

Scalability

One of the best advantages of selecting a good web host is the flexibility to expand your server resources, such as storage and bandwidth. These are vital aspects to consider when you want to scale your business website.

With that in mind, highly scalable web hosting plays a huge role in growing small businesses. For example, a small business may require low bandwidth and storage to begin with, but as the business grows, it’ll require more resources due to higher website traffic.

24/7 Technical Customer Support

Even if you use the best web hosting service, you may come across an issue or error once in a while. Just a small website glitch can affect your business, disrupting the customer experience and resulting in customer and revenue loss.

For that reason, finding a provider with round-the-clock technical support is crucial as it ensures your website runs smoothly. This enables you to ask for assistance anytime to fix issues, install upgrades, or retrieve data.

24/7 customer support for web hosting

To ensure your peace of mind, we recommend choosing a web hosting provider that offers:

  • Quick response and resolution times – the support team should respond to you promptly and take no longer than 24 hours to solve a standard issue.
  • Various contact options – this enables you to reach the agents via email, live chat, or phone.
  • Multilingual teams – it helps you to communicate your problems clearly to find the best solution.

Data Recovery

Another great benefit of using a reliable web host is it offers data recovery solutions to keep your content safe. Many professional hosting services come with automated backups, enabling you to recover quickly from unexpected situations.

For example, suppose you accidentally delete some website files or become a victim of a cyber attack. In that case, it is possible to quickly restore lost data without disrupting business operations.

Website backup and data recovery

Having proper data recovery solutions is crucial, as losing data can be detrimental to your brand image. On top of the costs of retrieving lost data, a damaged business reputation requires you to spend more expenses to reverse the issue.  

Conclusion

Choosing professional web hosting services will help grow your business in the long run. By hiring a web host to run and manage the server, your website can operate smoothly and be accessible to visitors.

To summarise, here are the benefits of using a reliable web hosting provider:

  1. Improved site performance – increases conversions and improves the customer experience.
  2. Greater security – ensures data protection through various security measures.
  3. Better SEO performance – gives you control over SEO practices, from editing the site structure to URLs.
  4. Branded email address – allows you to personalise the email address based on your domain name.
  5. Cost-effective – provides various hosting plans to suit your needs and budget. 
  6. High scalability – enables you to increase server resources as the site grows.
  7. Dedicated customer support – assists you in fixing any issues.
  8. Data recovery – restores all your data quickly without compromising website performance.

We hope this article helps you find the best web hosting solution for your business website. Good luck!

How To Create A Winning Video SEO Strategy?
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How To Create A Winning Video SEO Strategy?

How To Create A Winning Video SEO Strategy

How To Create A Winning Video SEO Strategy?

Video has become one of the most popular content online. Everyone, right from ordinary people, organisations and businesses, is involved in creating and promoting their video content. One cannot deny that video content opens incredible opportunities for brands to build trust among their customers, earn their loyalty, and engage with the company’s products and services.

Video content has become a popular choice for consumption nowadays. About 96% of the users increased their online video consumption in 2020, and 9 out of 10 viewers revealed they preferred watching videos from the business and brands. Experts suggest that in 2022, about 82% of internet traffic will have video content, almost 15 times higher than in 2017!

The numbers clearly show the significance of the video and why you should make the best use of it in your content. Video content is now an integral part of the SEO strategy, which plays a crucial role in marketing.

However, creating and posting a video might not get you overnight success. If you are a newbie, you can use the best video editor online. These easy-to-use video cutter tools save tremendous time and effort.

You also need to have an intelligent SEO strategy to ace your video marketing game. Moreover, marketers know that one type of underutilised SEO is Video Search Engine Optimization. When used correctly, video can be compelling content, making a substantial contribution to your SEO strategy in several ways.

What is Video Search Engine Optimization?

Let us put it simply first. Video search engine optimization or video SEO is a method to create video content indexed efficiently and effectively and ranked by search engines like Yahoo, Bing, and Google.

Take, for example; YouTube is one of the social media juggernauts. It is the second most popular search engine worldwide, with more than a billion users watching videos for over one billion hours each day. Consider that level of impact and understand the importance of video SEO and its influence on digital marketing success.

A reliable marketer will tell you that a good strategy brings organic traffic. Video SEO is one of the best ways to gain organic traffic to your website because it helps you rank in Google’s algorithm, win backlinks, and expand your social media engagement and presence.

Why Can Building Sound Video SEO Boost Your Performance?

Here is what a powerful video SEO strategy can do for you:

Build your presence

Every business and brand aims to be on the top of SERPs. Videos are a tool to enhance business performance and sit at the top of the search results. Plenty of users prefers watching videos for an easier and quicker understanding of what they are searching for.

Increase the time spent on the website

Users want to get the most information as soon as possible and prefer the most accessible way. Long paragraphs on the website can be exhausting for some. Individuals spend 2.6x more time on sites with video content than those without. Sure, you do not want to miss out on that!

4 Easy Ways to Create a Video SEO Strategy

Creating appealing videos is not enough if you want to reach your target audience. A strong SEO video strategy is crucial to attracting customers and maximising your ROI.

Not only that, but a video strategy also helps you fetch the best result in your video. Fortunately, existing video tool support several video formats and help generate quality videos in seconds.

Here are four steps in creating a winning video SEO strategy:

1. Define Your Goals

When creating a bright and robust video SEO strategy, the first question is defining your goals and understanding what you are looking to achieve.

Snippets 

Different businesses have different goals, and one can achieve them simply by optimising their videos.

Marketers use video content to get featured on Google’s SERP snippets. Compared to regular search results, rich snippets appear differently and stand out. It can get you many clicks and improve your ranking.

For a video-rich snippet, you need to add schema to your site’s HTML code. You do not need any coding knowledge. You can easily take help online. Once done, your video content will be visible on the SERP.

Conversions

The primary purpose of a winning video SEO strategy is to get more conversions. The aim is to get more users to your site, engage them and drive conversions. Videos are the best way to keep your audience immersed. So, professional marketers suggest including videos on the landing page.

Another way is by creating product-related videos and how to use them. It is highly beneficial for eCommerce retailers looking to make better purchases. Adding CTA to your products and services can also help you a lot.

Brand Awareness

Explaining products and delivering a brand story becomes easier with videos. It helps spread awareness about the best products in the market that people might not know.

Product videos make it easier for people to understand the brand and the products more clearly. It also helps connect with the customers on a deeper level.

Link Building

Link building is a goal that every marketer wishes to achieve through their videos and sometimes blend into their video SEO strategies. It is one of the best ways to build essential links for which one has to come up with excellent video content and promote it appropriately. Adding CTA and asking the audience to share the content will also generate backlinks.

2. Understand Your Audience

When creating videos, the first thing is to know your audience. You will have to research and spend much time understanding what content type the audience prefers to convert.

You can also consider making a buyer’s persona as a business owner. This will help you know what your audience needs, and you can plan and strategize for the video accordingly.

3. Come Up With a YouTube Strategy

As mentioned earlier, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. It is one place where users go looking for information. That is why incorporating a YouTube strategy is a smart move. It can give you a way to attract audiences.

With billions of viewers every day, YouTube is a great place to get the attention of potential customers.

4. Social Media Presence

Everybody knows how social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have taken over the world with now pushing more video content than ever before! Social media is a powerful tool in your hand that can help you conquer the world and put you ahead in the competition.

Once you have created a video, you must promote it on social media. You can quickly update your email subscribers when the video goes out or embed it in your blog post.

When you promote your video in the right place at the right time, you can drive in many users searching for good information. This will help you gain a loyal user base.

5 Tips for Video Optimization

A winning video SEO strategy requires you to optimise your videos to be found in the search engine. Here are five video optimization tips:

Edit Your Video

First things first! After you have filmed the footage, you need to edit the video.

You have to understand how individuals think and feel to better your editing. There are numerous feasible video editor online. Depending on your skills and affordability, you can easily choose one. 

Adding Subtitles

Sometimes you cannot watch the video with sound on. Adding subtitles makes it easier to watch the video. Keywords can also be highlighted simultaneously, and adding a transcript can also be quite helpful.

Keyword Research

Whether you are a beginner or a professional marketer, you can use the following tools to discover keywords:

  • Google keyword planner
  • YouTube’s autocompleted feature

Keyword research is where you start the SEO writing process and is highly important when you aim to rank in the search engine when someone searches for your type of video content. You can easily optimise your click-through rate in paid and organic search results.

Fortunately, there are multiple options for keyword research, and there are various SEO tools you can search for online.

Optimising the Metadata

Video metadata contains all information about the video you have posted, like:

  • Title
  • Author
  • Date of creation
  • Thumbnail
  • Length of the video

The video hosting forum indexes the details you post to determine the video’s precise placement in search results. 

Once you are done with the keyword research and laid down a strong SEO strategy, you are ready to optimise your video content’s metadata with the information before posting on YouTube or any other platform.

Your title and description of the video should be:

  • Convincing to boost click-throughs.
  • Appropriate and applicable to the content.
  • Insert and include keywords matching the intent of the user.
  • Meta descriptions are 155 characters or less.
  • Feature titles are 55 characters or less.

Schema Markup

While many people use Google’s video search function to perform their searches, others rely on the general search tool. To stand out in the search results, use schema markup.

You’ll need to add a few markup elements to your videos, including the title, description, and thumbnail. Google has a page that shows exactly what it expects from the markup.

Promote Video

After adding an engaging thumbnail and creating a dedicated page for your video on your site, you are now ready to promote your content in all the channels.

Say you have used the best video editor and published it on your preferred hosting forum; the next step is to let the world see your beautiful creation.

You can allow your video content to bloom on various platforms, from social media to email marketing. This step will increase your video’s visibility. More viewers mean more likes and shares on your content.

Keep in mind that it is worth sharing your video across multiple platforms. The higher the video engagement, the higher your chance of getting ranked on Google.

Getting Started with Video SEO Strategy on Your Website

Are you ready to get started with your video search engine optimization? Take assistance from the best and most efficient professionals who can help you understand what kind of videos are powerful.

Where Does SEO Fit in Overall Video SEO Strategy?

You have a clear picture and knowledge that videos are an excellent tool that every business should implement as part of their marketing strategy. However, it should be considered only as part of a larger strategy for SEO.

Quality content is significant to increasing search rankings. Having a consistent video tool is also key to landing on the first page.

Crucial SEO Video Ranking Factor

High-quality video content, when marketed well, can rank in search results. Optimising for low-quality videos is not a valuable use of your time, as it can affect your engagement scores.

Video content should be designed with the user in mind and should provide value to viewers. It does not mean that you have to spend a fortune on creating animations and films, but it does mean that they should be in focus and clear.

Once you have created a high-quality video, upload it to your site and follow these steps to improve its search visibility. These include adding transcripts, displaying results with appropriate markup, and creating sitemaps.

How To Become A Better Business Leader

How To Become A Better Business Leader

How to become a better business leader

How To Become A Better Business Leader

Are you striving to become a better business leader? Many business leaders want to improve their own performance so that they can take their company to new heights, excel in their role, and create stronger and better professional relationships with their team. Becoming a better leader is not easy, and it can require a lot of hard work, but the rewards for doing so make it worthwhile, and you should also find that becoming a better leader helps in other areas of your life as well. So, if you want to become a better business leader, read on for a few of the best ways to do this.

Identify & Work On Your Weaknesses

First, you need to address your weaknesses. You will always be held back without doing this, so this is the best place to start. You might have a solid idea of what your weaknesses are, but it is also worthwhile surveying your team (anonymously) as they may have ideas that you were unaware of. Working on your weaknesses will always be difficult and challenging, but ultimately, this is the best way to improve and become a better leader.

Learn From Others

Leadership is a well-trodden path, and there is a huge amount that you can learn from other leaders throughout history (and not just business leaders). You may find it interesting and helpful to lead about the approach of famous leaders throughout history that you admire. In addition to this, you might also be able to find a mentor or a business leader that you can go to for advice.

Get To Know Your Team

In order to be a good leader, you need to know your team and each individual member. You need to know what their strengths and weaknesses are as well as how to motivate them. A good leader will get the most out of their team by developing individual relationships and knowing how to maximize performance with each team member.

Listen To Others

Listening is one of the most underrating skills when it comes to leadership. The best leaders are not the ones that do it all by themselves but those that spend time communicating with everyone inside their team and then using what they learn to make an informed decision. Not only are you benefiting from bringing multiple viewpoints and different expertise to the table, but you are also making your team feel important and valued. A good leader is one that acknowledges that they do not know it all and will happily seek advice from their team members.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Mistakes are inevitable when you are the one at the helm. You will never make progress if you do not take risks, but this does mean that you will make mistakes. The key here is to view these mistakes as a chance to learn and improve so that you will make the right decision next time. Obviously, you need to avoid mistakes as best you can, but they are not the end of the world and instead can be valuable opportunities to become a better leader. Throughout time, all the best business leaders will have made numerous mistakes, but they will not have let these knock their confidence.

Earn A Doctor Of Business Administration

For those serious about becoming the best business leader possible, you should look to a doctor of business administration (DBA) qualification. A DBA is often seen as the “terminal degree” meaning that it is as far as people will take their business education, and it can certainly give you an edge over other business leaders. A DBA will equip you with the skills and knowledge to conduct research that will allow you to solve complex business problems and maximize your business’s performance. You can take this as a part-time distance learning course that will make a big difference in your leadership abilities.

Set Goals 

Goal-setting is a smart way to keep employees, teams, and the entire business always progressing towards the overall aim of the business. It can be easy to lose focus and positive momentum after a while, so it is smart to set short, medium and long term goals that will be challenging and achievable. Be sure to celebrate these goals to keep morale and motivation levels high within your business when they are achieved.

Delegate & Encourage Autonomy

The best business leaders are the ones that can put their trust in their team so that they can focus on the big picture and offer support as and when it is needed. This is why it is important that you learn how to delegate work and also encourage autonomy. Many leaders make the mistake of micromanaging, with can harm your business and relationship with employees in more ways than one. 

Focus On Employee Wellbeing

As a business leader, the wellbeing of your team should be a priority and more important than profits. Great leaders are those that focus on the wellbeing of their team and do all that they can to support them. This is particularly important in the current climate, with everyone being affected by the pandemic in one way or another. You need to do all that you can to look after your staff during this challenging period, whether this is offering flexible working, offering advice, or lightening their load. When you can boost employee wellbeing, it will create stronger relationships, improve performance and encourage employee loyalty, amongst many other benefits.

If you are looking to become a better business leader, these are a few of the best ways to do this. The best business leaders are the ones that are always looking to improve and develop their abilities, so even by trying just one of these ideas, you are already becoming a better business leader. This can all improve your business, help you excel in your role, and form stronger and better relationships with your team, which are all essential if you want to be a good leader.

How To Make Your Fintech Website More Engaging
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How To Make Your Fintech Website More Engaging

How To Make Your Fintech Website More Engaging

How To Make Your Fintech Website More Engaging

In digital marketing, you may find the term ‘engagement’ cropping up everywhere. Not only does it describe how your business interacts with potential and existing consumers, and vice versa, it is also a popular metric. Engagement metrics can help businesses identify how engaged an audience is to their brand, and they also help determine the best ways to engage more visitors. Here are a few top tips to help make your fintech website more engaging.

Attract Attention With Visuals

Studies have shown that the average person loses concentration after just 8 seconds. This means that websites need to up their game if they want to attract and maintain the attention of their visitors. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and a great way to engage visitors is by using attractive visuals. Not only can visuals break up the monotony of a length of text, but they can help you break down information in a digestible way. Images, illustrations, diagrams, and infographics can all be used to increase engagement.

Create Content That Answers Questions

When it comes to web content, some people may think that simply entering text and publishing it on your website will suffice. In actual fact, you need to make sure you create high-quality content that serves a purpose and is written in the tone of voice of your brand. Your content should provide relevant details so that visitors do not need to click on your FAQs for more information. In order to produce relevant content that answers questions, you can look to your customer service department and identify the types of queries received most regularly. In addition, you can do some keyword research and find out what your target audience is asking when using search engines.

Optimize Your Website for SEO

If you think you already have visuals that attract attention and engaging content that answers questions, then the issue could lie with your online visibility. Search engine optimization, or SEO, can help draw target audiences to a website. To boost the flow of organic traffic to your site, you need to make sure your website is fully optimized. Using SEO tools, you can enhance the quality and quantity of traffic via search engines. Click Intelligence is made up of SEO specialists who can help get your website seen. With a bespoke SEO campaign, they can help you achieve your marketing objectives and increase your ranking in search engine results. 

Add a Chatbox

A chatbox is an engaging website feature designed to convey information in a way that replicates human conversation. This online communication tool can manage customer queries with efficiency and reduce wait time. The best chatbots engage customers who need help, process their questions, then provide them with a real-time answer. A quick response from a chatbox can encourage customers to make purchases quickly rather than wait until someone in your business finally responds to them. Ultimately, investing in a chatbox can boost your engagement levels and leave users happy and well-informed.

How to Maximise Your Digital Marketing Spend
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How to Maximise Your Digital Marketing Spend

Why local SEO is important for local businesses

How to Maximise Your Digital Marketing Spend 

Almost every company in the world now has a digital marketing budget. However, many of them don’t get the most from their expenditure. This guide will look at some of the ways you can maximise your digital marketing spend.

Use complementary strategies

One of the biggest mistakes made by companies is not focusing on complementary strategies. For example, when it comes to social media, blog posts and email marketing, it’s possible to repurpose the same content multiple times. This saves time and ultimately saves costs. Your digital marketing strategies should complement each other as part of a wider plan. 

Ditch what isn’t working

Digital marketing relies heavily on data. For example, if you are sending out five emails a week and only driving a tiny amount of traffic, it might be time to ditch (or at least change) your approach. It’s so important to analyse what’s working and what isn’t. You can spend more of your budget on your successful campaigns and stop wasting money on unsuccessful ones. If you aren’t analysing your digital marketing campaigns, you could be wasting a lot of money. 

Repurpose your material

One piece of content can have so many different uses. When you are creating a content plan, you should focus on how you are going to repurpose each piece of content for different channels. For example, one idea can be made into a long-form blog post, a short-form blog post, an email, a social media post, a video and a podcast. With this approach, you can spend less time coming up with new ideas and more time optimising your existing campaigns. 

Avoid overpaying

To run a successful digital marketing strategy, you need tools (keyword research tools, email marketing tools, paid social media tools, etc.). Without them, you won’t be able to analyse and optimise your spending. However, it’s important to avoid overpaying for tools. You can often secure a large discount by paying for this stuff yearly (rather than monthly), but you need to test it first and make sure you need it. Shop around and find the best deals before signing up. 

Target your audience effectively

If you don’t know your audience, you might as well be burning money when it comes to digital marketing. You need to know where they spend time online, how they spend their money, what they search for, why they prefer your product, and so on. Without this information, it’s unlikely that you will be able to run successful campaigns. Conduct in-depth customer research, and you will maximise your digital marketing spend. 

Find more money 

To maximise your digital marketing spend, you could redirect some funds from somewhere else in the business. If print advertising isn’t working, put the money into digital marketing instead. Alternatively, see if you can save on your energy or water bills at https://www.businesswaterquotes.co.uk/. Redirect this money into your most successful campaigns and watch your business grow. 

Trust the experts

Lastly, you should trust the experts. There are plenty of voices in the digital marketing space that you should be listening to. Find them, follow their advice, and learn from their mistakes.

Can Google Ads Help Your Business?
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Can Google Ads Help Your Business?

How Google Ads PPC advertising can help your business

Can Google Ads Help Your Business?

There comes a point where a business will realise that in order to grow they have to spend money. There are many techniques a business can utilise in order to expand and grow their customer base. Email marketing is a very cheap investment and can have amazing ROI, but it can damage your brand if done wrong. SEO is a great way to generate new website traffic and online conversions, but it can take months to start seeing any sort of results. PPC, such as Google Ads, is the shortcut for SEO. You can instantly get your website to the top of the search results page for the keywords and search terms you want. In this blog, I will highlight how PPC advertising with Google Ads can help your business.

More Traffic

The first point is obvious: if you advertise your website on Google Ads you will see an uptick in website traffic! However, PPC is not all about just getting as much traffic as possible. Since you are paying for every click, the more traffic you get the more expensive your campaign will be. This is where you need to be smart or enlist the help of a professional PPC agency. You need to ensure your getting traffic from the right keywords: keywords with intent to convert.

For example: lets say you run an eCommerce website selling pencils. The keyword [pencil] is of course relevant to your business, but there’s no way of knowing the intent when someone searches [pencil] on Google. Are they looking for an image of a pencil? Are they looking for information about the different types of pencils? In the end, you will be paying for a lot of irrelevant traffic that doesn’t convert and therefore you’ll be wasting money. On the other hand, the keyword [pencils for sale] is much better. It will probably have less searches and generate less traffic than [pencil], but we know that everyone searching the keyword is looking to purchase your product – so every single click is the worth the money. Even the people that don’t convert will be ideal for remarketing opportunities.

More Awareness

Even if you don’t get people clicking on your advert, you can still raise your brand awareness. There is a hidden advantage behind getting impressions but not clicks: your pushing your brand in front of people for free! If people don’t click your advert that doesn’t mean they didn’t see it. Depending on your ad copy, searchers can find out your business name, website and what your business does – you can convey all this information without paying Google if the searcher doesn’t click your advert!

Pay For What You Get

In Google Ads, you pay for what you get. You don’t pay for the privilege of being on the SERP, you only pay if someone actually clicks your advert and therefore goes onto your website. If someone sees your advert but doesn’t click it, you don’t pay. Simple! It’s still important though to know how to actually manage your Google Ads budget so you ensure you are spending money to your maximum advantage.

Money To Spend

Even though there are many benefits to PPC advertising, there are still some downfalls. The fact of the matter is, you shouldn’t commit to Google Ads if you don’t have the money to spend. There’s a good saying investors have, “only invest what you’re prepared to lose” and I believe this holds true for Google Ads. Not every impression is a guaranteed click, and not every click is going to lead to a conversion. If your campaign is not setup correctly it can become very expensive.

Blue Whale Media is a professional digital marketing agency with PPC experts. If you’d like a free, no-obligation quote on a new Google Ads PPC campaign you can contact us today!

10 Inspiring eCommerce websites

10 Inspiring eCommerce Websites We Can Learn From

10 Inspiring eCommerce Websites We Can Learn From

Creating an e-commerce website is no longer a hassle thanks to the many easy-to-use platforms like the Zyro website builder and others. 

However, before building a website, make sure the design and components spark customers’ interest and deliver a flawless user experience. At the end of the day, despite the tools being simple, you still need to know how to apply them properly. This is where knowing e-commerce site best practices and recognising good examples come in handy.

The following list of the ten e-commerce websites should give you ample inspiration on how they put together awesome site functionality and design and what characteristics you can steal.

1. Apple

Apple Website

This tech giant is popular for their innovations in services, software, and hardware, which many businesses admire, and their e-commerce website is not an exception. 

What you can learn:

  • Less is more. With less clutter, Apple’s immaculate and modern design makes the site look organised and straightforward. It uses simple colours, graphics and typefaces and focuses on visually appealing photos. 
  • Varied font sizes. To get maximum scannability and certain emphasis even though the brand uses the same font.  

Be brave in using negative space. To help visitors identify the focal point of the site.

2. Mahabis

Mahabis Website

Mahabis is a premium-lifestyle brand making shoes and socks. The brand’s website uses dozens of compelling visuals to showcase the product, and it’s not the only reason why Mahabis’ website is inspiring. 

What you can learn:

  • An interactive graphic. Consists of a breakdown of the company’s shoes, telling the material origins and how it’s made. Interactive graphics can boost visitor engagement that results in higher search engine optimisation (SEO) ranking. 
  • Detailed filters and easy navigation. Help customers find products quickly. 
  • Comprehensive customer service information. The Help button at the bottom right of Mahabis’ site answers all FAQs from the brands’ shoe sizes to shipping methods and refunds.  

3. Skullcandy

Skullcandy Website

Skullcandy sells sound equipment like earbuds and speakers. Their website was honoured with the BigCommerce Best Category or Product Page Design Award in 2018, meaning it has a powerful recognition to be the top e-commerce site.

What you can learn:

  • Incorporate various media. Including photos, infographics, and videos to deliver in-depth explanations of the products. For example, Skullcandy uses videos for the user guide and infographics to demonstrate the troubleshooting. 

Well-written features and benefits. At first, the brand explains the features and benefits in a universally understandable way. Then, add More Tech Specs for further details.

4. Grovemade

This company sells wooden desk accessories, like laptop stands and pen cups. Grovemade’s website has an organised photo composition with great use of whitespace. 

What you can learn:

  • Behind the scenes of the brand. Grovemade shares the staff’s photos, company history, and physical store location. According to Statista, online shoppers love brands talking about their manufacturing process, as well as where it takes place and the people behind it. 

Educational content. The brand creates a blog talking about materials and interviews with experts in the field. Blogging helps brands insert relevant keywords to get indexed by search engines and be perceived as the industry thought leader.

5. KITH

KITH Website

With one section on the homepage, KITH brings the visitors’ focus on their product categories. The photo on the page will change when your cursor is floating around a different category.

What you can learn:

  • Lookbooks. Compared to catalogues, lookbooks make your products more flattering because they focus on visual storytelling and have no prices or other wordy details. 

Currency localisations. Let users set a region and currency based on their location.

6. LARQ

LARQ Website

LARQ is an award-winning bottle using technology that neutralizes harmful bacteria. On the homepage, they display testimonials from famous media, including Forbes and Business Insider, and other aspects below will make you fall in love with this e-commerce website. 

What you can learn:

  • Interactive content. LARQ asks visitors to enter the number of plastic bottles they use weekly, and the brand will show infographics measuring the impact on the environment and how their bottles can reduce it.  

Product comparisons. Help customers choose the best products that suit their needs.

7. Bliss

Bliss Website

With the bright colours on the e-commerce website, the beauty brand delivers a cheerful and energetic personality. It also applies other important features below that can turn visitors into leads.  

What you can learn:

  • Relevant images and symbols. Represent the products’ ingredients that are free from cruelty and parabens. Visuals help people remember the information better than words do. 
  • Customer reviews. Are important as around 95 per cent of customers read reviews before purchasing products or services. 

Lead magnets. Act as an incentive for potential buyers in exchange for their contact information. The incentive can be an e-book or discount like what Bliss offers.

8. Allbirds

Allbirds Website

Allbirds is sustainable apparel that emphasises the vision using attractive copy and photos. A simple description below the homepage photos helps visitors know a suitable product even before clicking on it. 

What you can learn:

  • Powerful missions and brand stories. Can create an emotional connection with the audience. Allbirds also show sustainable corporation certificates and the brand’s complete sustainability approaches to gain trust. 

Clear return policies. Give customers a feeling of security. The brand offers various size charts with a free 30-day return policy for getting a perfect pair.

9. Burrow

Burrow Website

This furniture brand becomes one of Time’s 50 Best Inventions of 2018. Their website offers photos captured at different angles, and you can also shop by room styles to imagine how the furniture looks in your home. 

What you can learn:

  • Referral programmes. Provide exclusivity and rewards as customers become a part of the company. 
  • Free swatches and shipping offers. According to Statista, more than 50 per cent of online shoppers think free shipping deals are of functional importance when visiting e-commerce websites. Here, not only does Burrow offer free delivery, but they also provide free swatches to set the customer free from trouble choosing a colour. 

Quick account registration. When signing up, users only input names and email addresses and additional shipping details when requesting swatches. 

10. Everlane

Everlane Website

Fast Company has listed this fashion brand as one of the most innovative companies because of their brilliant campaigns; two are explained below. 

What you can learn:

  • Showing transparency. Radical transparency has been Everlane’s robust marketing strategy that aims to make people aware of the production processes. Based on Statista, being transparent is one of the vital features people love when visiting a brand’s website. 
  • User-generated content. The brand used selected summer holiday photos from their social media followers on their page. This type of content can generate customer engagement. 

Conclusion

An astounding e-commerce website is more than an excellent design. Consider other essential elements, like powerful branding and return policies, from the ten inspiring e-commerce websites above. 

3 Investments for Your Company to Consider in 2021
,

3 Investments for Your Company to Consider in 2021

Three investments you should be considering for your company in 2021.

3 Investments for Your Company to Consider in 2021

These days, a lot of companies are focused on survival. Some industries are doing better than others, but the overall state of the economy has left many business owners worried about their long-term revenue. 

That is certainly understandable, and it may be the only option for those in dire straights. Those that are merely facing some relatively minor hardships, however, would be wise to not just duck for cover. In many ways, now is the perfect time to separate yourself from the pack. Everything is already in flux, so why not use this time to reevaluate and improve your processes and operations. 

A few investments could also make all the differences. It may not be the perfect moment to make a massive outlay, but you would be amazed at how much the right upgrade can make. 

If you’re trying to get ahead and come out of this downturn on better footing than ever, the following are four investments you should consider for your business in 2021.

Social Media Growth

As the whole world goes virtual, your digital identity becomes more meaningful than ever. Maybe you have not needed a large following or consistent presence online in the past, but now is the time to make some headway and take advantage of these opportunities. 

The best part is that it isn’t that hard. Hiring a talented social media manager can be very valuable in terms of getting your brand’s message and tone out there. But that isn’t even necessary. Simple ads on Facebook, Instagram or other channels can quickly gain you followers and potentially even sales. Those higher numbers may not yield an immediate ROI overnight, but having a larger profile will add credibility and visibility that should pay off before long. 

Technology Upgrades

Tech solutions are a fantastic way to overhaul the way you work. Especially now, when workers are adjusting to remote working and collaboration platforms, they will be very appreciative of any new systems that can make their job easier and more effective. 

Anything that helps streaming remote logistics is a great investment. Mobile workforce optimisation will be critical in the months and years to come — and a big competitive advantage for early movers. 

Employee Wellness

With more people working from home and everyone struggling right now to some degree, it will be increasingly important to have a happy, healthy workforce. This isn’t just about being a kind boss, you need employees operating at their best if you want your company to do its best. 

Fortunately, a few simple investments into employee wellness can make a big difference. Employee assistance programs remain popular, virtual fitness or yoga classes are easy to offer and nutrition discounts and education can be provided at a great cost.

Making the Right Investments for 2020

In 2020, it makes sense that companies are focusing on bad news and challenges, however, there are some real opportunities out there as well. 

Some smart investments now can potentially lead to big gains down the road. Look to make improvements to your social media presence, tech solutions focused on mobile workforce optimisation and empowering your workers with employee wellness programs. 

If you find the best options for your company, these could be the investments that help you grow even stronger in the years to come.

The Importance of PR in Data Breach Crisis Management

The Importance of PR in Data Breach Crisis Management

The Importance of PR in Data Breach Crisis Management

The Importance of PR in Data Breach Crisis Management

Reputation might be an intangible asset, but to most companies, it’s as important as the product or service they’re selling. After all, reputation takes years to build, and without it, the business can pretty much kiss its competitive edge goodbye.

And yet, when it comes to data breaches, there have been some pretty extraordinary corporate PR bungles in the last few years.

You can’t say organizations aren’t aware of how crucial concepts like privacy and security now are to the average consumer. Before, customers cared about privacy but didn’t do much about it. So companies also did the bare minimum so they can save on security costs but still save face when needed.

That isn’t acceptable anymore, as this 2019 survey conducted by Cisco proves. A rising number of people (32%) said they cared about privacy and have switched services in the past because of it. That’s especially impactful during a data breach; if the company handles it poorly, then they can lose those customers forever.

A strong PR presence is essential in the aftermath of a data breach if the company wants to keep its reputation intact.

Data Breaches are Massive Blows to Customer Trust

People put their trust in companies to protect the data they hand over from being misused or distributed without their knowledge. When a data breach occurs, those consumers feel that business broke their trust.

Without an effective PR strategy prepared for the event of a data breach, the company would have little chance of mitigating the damage.

Like with any other disaster, the damage is already done. But the way an organization handles the aftermath can make a big difference.

When companies rush to respond to a breach with transparency, their stock prices tend to recover in about a week. Meanwhile, companies that are slow to react or try to hide the facts see their stock prices steadily decline.

Stock prices aren’t always a good indication of sales. But they do show sentiment towards a company. That blow to customer trust can also be a massive blow to the company’s bottom line.

The Mindset of a Company After a Data Breach

Keeping the customer’s feelings in mind should help steer the conversation in the right direction. Customers feel vulnerable and may feel panicky about their safety or the safety of their other accounts. So it’s essential to take a humble and empathetic approach and to be as transparent as possible.

That last point is crucial too: people want to know what’s going on. They should find out about the breach from the company, not from the media. It doesn’t mean the company should start sending out announcements before they have a grasp on what’s happening themselves. It is important to present a calm, coordinated approach. Only then will the users know the company is handling the problem.

To sum up, fast and accurate communication is critical. This is why a data breach response plan or a crisis management framework should already be in place. It allows for better and faster communication between departments in the event of a data breach. Thus, it also leads to sooner communication with customers.

Take Steps to Mitigate Risks but Always be Ready for the Worst

Every company that handles customer data of any kind has a responsibility to keep that data secure. It means not doing the bare minimum as many competitors do to look good on paper. It means spending time, effort, and money to ensure that customer data stays safe. And regularly following up on systems and policies to make sure they’re still valid.

A proper strategy involves:

  • suitable security measures, e.g., encryption
  • policies that are enforcing privacy laws.

For example, a company could backup and encrypt data at rest and use a virtual private network that has servers in the UK (the UK VPN) to protect data in transit. Moreover, it should apply company-wide new policies to comply with the GDPR.

But even a company that takes every step to mitigate their security risks should prepare for the worst. There’s no way to secure a system or data server against every possible risk out there.

Summary

Organizations must convey a consistent message after a data breach to reassure their customers. Not just for the sake of having their own best interests at heart but also for their customers’ safety. For that to happen, the company needs to have a solid plan in place, a good grasp on the situation, and transparent communication. It all requires an experienced PR team.

The Importance of PR in Data Breach Crisis Management

The Importance of PR in Data Breach Crisis Management

Reputation might be an intangible asset, but to most companies, it’s as important as the product or service they’re selling. After all, reputation takes years to build, and without it, the business can pretty much kiss its competitive edge goodbye.

And yet, when it comes to data breaches, there have been some pretty extraordinary corporate PR bungles in the last few years.

You can’t say organizations aren’t aware of how crucial concepts like privacy and security now are to the average consumer. Before, customers cared about privacy but didn’t do much about it. So companies also did the bare minimum so they can save on security costs but still save face when needed.

That isn’t acceptable anymore, as this 2019 survey conducted by Cisco proves. A rising number of people (32%) said they cared about privacy and have switched services in the past because of it. That’s especially impactful during a data breach; if the company handles it poorly, then they can lose those customers forever.

A strong PR presence is essential in the aftermath of a data breach if the company wants to keep its reputation intact.

Data Breaches are Massive Blows to Customer Trust

People put their trust in companies to protect the data they hand over from being misused or distributed without their knowledge. When a data breach occurs, those consumers feel that business broke their trust.

Without an effective PR strategy prepared for the event of a data breach, the company would have little chance of mitigating the damage.

Like with any other disaster, the damage is already done. But the way an organization handles the aftermath can make a big difference.

When companies rush to respond to a breach with transparency, their stock prices tend to recover in about a week. Meanwhile, companies that are slow to react or try to hide the facts see their stock prices steadily decline.

Stock prices aren’t always a good indication of sales. But they do show sentiment towards a company. That blow to customer trust can also be a massive blow to the company’s bottom line.

The Mindset of a Company After a Data Breach

Keeping the customer’s feelings in mind should help steer the conversation in the right direction. Customers feel vulnerable and may feel panicky about their safety or the safety of their other accounts. So it’s essential to take a humble and empathetic approach and to be as transparent as possible.

That last point is crucial too: people want to know what’s going on. They should find out about the breach from the company, not from the media. It doesn’t mean the company should start sending out announcements before they have a grasp on what’s happening themselves. It is important to present a calm, coordinated approach. Only then will the users know the company is handling the problem.

To sum up, fast and accurate communication is critical. This is why a data breach response plan or a crisis management framework should already be in place. It allows for better and faster communication between departments in the event of a data breach. Thus, it also leads to sooner communication with customers.

Take Steps to Mitigate Risks but Always be Ready for the Worst

Every company that handles customer data of any kind has a responsibility to keep that data secure. It means not doing the bare minimum as many competitors do to look good on paper. It means spending time, effort, and money to ensure that customer data stays safe. And regularly following up on systems and policies to make sure they’re still valid.

A proper strategy involves:

  • suitable security measures, e.g., encryption
  • policies that are enforcing privacy laws.

For example, a company could backup and encrypt data at rest and use a virtual private network that has servers in the UK (the UK VPN) to protect data in transit. Moreover, it should apply company-wide new policies to comply with the GDPR.

But even a company that takes every step to mitigate their security risks should prepare for the worst. There’s no way to secure a system or data server against every possible risk out there.

Summary

Organizations must convey a consistent message after a data breach to reassure their customers. Not just for the sake of having their own best interests at heart but also for their customers’ safety. For that to happen, the company needs to have a solid plan in place, a good grasp on the situation, and transparent communication. It all requires an experienced PR team.

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