With the sheer volume of information overload, competing for our time and attention, it’s important for your website to drive conversion of traffic into positive action. Here are 9 best practice website optimisation tactics to improve conversion.

1. Clear and Compelling Headline

Your headline should immediately grab the attention of visitors and clearly convey the unique value proposition of your business. It should highlight the benefits customers can expect from your services. Make sure it is concise, compelling, and aligned with your target audience’s needs and desires.

2. Engaging and Benefit-Oriented Content

Your website copy should focus on how your services can solve customers’ problems or meet their needs. Clearly communicate the benefits they will gain by choosing your services, such as increased brand visibility, improved marketing effectiveness, or cost savings. Use persuasive language and storytelling techniques to engage and captivate visitors. We cover content marketing in these articles.

3. Highlight Success Stories and Testimonials

Incorporate case studies or testimonials from satisfied clients to showcase the positive results they have achieved by working with your business. This social proof can help build trust and credibility with potential customers, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

4. Clear Call-to-Action (CTA)

Each page on your website, especially your landing page, should have a clear and prominent CTA that guides visitors to take the desired action, such as contacting you, requesting a quote, or signing up for a newsletter. Use action-oriented language and make sure the CTA stands out visually.

5. User-Focused Language

Tailor your website copy to resonate with your target audience. Use their language, address their pain points, and emphasize how your services can fulfil their specific needs. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that might confuse or alienate potential customers.

6. Easy-to-Scan Format

Break up your content into easily digestible sections with clear headings, subheadings, and bullet points. Use short paragraphs and incorporate visual elements, such as images or infographics, to enhance readability and engagement. Visitors should be able to quickly grasp the key points and benefits of your services.

7. Mobile-Friendly Design

Ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices, as an increasing number of users access the internet through smartphones and tablets. A responsive design that provides a seamless browsing experience across different devices can significantly improve conversions.

8. Trust and Security Signals

Display trust indicators, such as security badges, client logos, or industry affiliations, to instil confidence in potential customers. Assure them that their data and information will be handled securely and highlight any certifications or qualifications that set your business apart.

9. A/B testing

A/B test different variations of your website copy and measure the results. This can provide valuable insights for optimizing conversions.

• As a bonus tip: Remember to regularly monitor and analyse the performance of your website using analytics tools. This will help you identify areas where visitors might drop off or encounter difficulties, allowing you to make data-driven improvements and increase conversions over time. These tactics to improve conversion of your website traffic into action are a good starting point to revamp your website and position it for better conversion.

The post 9 Website Optimisation Tactics to Improve Conversion appeared first on Glow.digital.

Here’s an overview strategy for regularly publishing quality content such as articles, blog posts, or other content that showcases your services:

1. Define Your Content Objectives:

• Clearly define your content marketing objectives, such as educating your audience, increasing brand awareness, establishing thought leadership, driving website traffic, or generating leads.
• Align your content objectives with your overall business goals and target audience’s needs.

2. Define Your Target Audience:

• Identify your target audience’s demographics, interests, needs, wants, pain points, and preferences.
• Conduct market research and create buyer personas to understand their needs and motivations.

3. Identify Relevant Topics – Research and Keyword Analysis:

• Conduct keyword research and audience analysis to identify topics that are relevant to your services and resonate with your target audience and what they are searching for.
• Explore industry trends, frequently asked questions, and pain points to find inspiration for your content.
• Consider creating a content calendar to plan your topics in advance and ensure a consistent flow of valuable content.
•  Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Moz to find relevant keywords with high search volume and low competition.
• Incorporate these keywords strategically into your content to improve search engine visibility.

4. Develop a Content Creation Plan:

• Determine the types of content you will create, such as articles, blog posts, videos, infographics, or podcasts.
• Develop a content calendar with a mix of different content types (blog posts, videos, infographics, etc.) that cater to your target audience’s preferences.
• Decide on the frequency of publishing, taking into account your capacity and resources.
• Create an outline or content structure for each piece to ensure clarity and coherence.

5. Content Creation – Showcase Your Expertise:

• Provide in-depth, well-researched content that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise in strategic marketing, media, and business consulting.
• Share industry insights, trends, best practices, case studies, or success stories that highlight your unique perspective and experience.
• Use storytelling techniques to make your content engaging and relatable.
• Create content that addresses their pain points, provides valuable insights, educates, entertains, or solves their problems.
• Ensure your content is well-written, well-researched, and provides unique perspectives or valuable information.
• Use visuals, such as images or videos, to enhance the appeal and shareability of your content.

6. Optimize for Search Engines:

• Incorporate relevant keywords into your content to improve search engine visibility and attract organic traffic.  Incorporate relevant keywords into your titles, headings, meta descriptions, and content body
• Craft compelling headlines and meta descriptions that entice readers to click and explore your content.
• Optimize your content structure (content is well-structured), formatting, and use of headers to enhance readability and a positive user experience.
• Build backlinks by reaching out to influencers, guest posting on industry blogs, or collaborating with complementary businesses.

7. Distribute, Promote and Amplify Your Content:

• Share your content across relevant channels – your website, blog, social media channels, email newsletters, and relevant industry forums or communities.
• Collaborate with influencers or industry experts to amplify your reach and attract a wider audience.
• Leverage social media platforms to promote your content and engage with your audience.
• Consider paid promotion through platforms like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads to amplify your reach.
• Encourage sharing and engagement by adding social sharing buttons and including CTAs (Call-to-Actions) within your content.

8. Monitor, Measure and Analyze Performance:

• Use analytics tools like Google Analytics or social media analytics to track the performance and to gain insights into your content.
• Monitor metrics such as page views, time on page, social shares, and conversion rates to gauge the effectiveness of your content.
• Track and analyse key metrics, such as website traffic, engagement, conversions, and social media interactions.
• Adjust your content strategy based on data and feedback, focusing on topics and formats that resonate the most with your audience and to continuously improve and optimize your content marketing efforts.

9. Engage with Your Audience:

• Encourage readers to leave comments, share their opinions, and ask questions.
• Engage with your audience by responding to comments, answering questions, and encouraging discussion around your content,
• Engage in conversations to build a relationship with your audience.
• Consider incorporating user-generated content or feedback into future content to demonstrate your responsiveness and customer-centric approach.

Remember to maintain a consistent publishing schedule and deliver high-quality content that adds value to your audience. Regularly assess and refine your content strategy based on feedback, data, and evolving market trends to stay relevant and provide valuable insights to your target audience. Regularly publish valuable content, engage with your audience. Over time, you’ll build a loyal following and attract potential customers who appreciate the value you provide.

Glow.digital can help you with this – both to brainstorm your content production process and requirements, as well as helping you to produce the needed assets. We help you to focus on the core of your business, and we take care of the time consuming process to produce quality content. Give us a call or contact us via the email to find out more.

The post Regularly Publishing Quality Content – A Marketing Strategy Overview appeared first on Glow.digital.

If you have been asking the question, “What is Content Marketing and how can it help my organisation?” then this article is for you. Having worked in technology, media and marketing for years, I realise that the terminology and buzzwords can often cause confusion to people who are at the beginning of their journey. The saying, “There is nothing new under the sun!” is very true in the world of online marketing despite the incredible pace and opportunities that are being created by technology and social media platforms. The principles are not new though, and the fundamentals of business and nature of communication are still the same.

The ability to reach people and communicate faster with rich media is constantly changing, but the principles of communication and marketing are not new. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is still fundamental and true. The 4 P’s of marketing still apply (I like the idea of the 5th P – People). The 4 C’s of marketing is an alternative to the 4-P’s trying to describe the same thing from a different perspective, but still relevant. If you look past all the principles and strategies, the bottom line is that marketing is all about you – an audience or potential client. Helping you achieve a goal, solve a problem or meet a need is what it is all about. Even building brand reputation is about influencing your opinion of my brand – it’s still all about you.

The 4 Fundamental Goals of Marketing

I believe these are the 4 fundamental goals of marketing – general goals that apply to most organisations at a high level. Each goal can be extrapolated into several other tactical or business-specific goals, but the heart of each goal is to achieve a result that is common to most businesses, industries and causes. Below are the 4 fundamental goals of marketing in no particular order.

1. Sale of Something

A common goal of marketing is about trying to sell you something – a service, a product, a cause or fundraising need. Direct sales and advertising are mostly used, and the goal is to convert a lead to a sale or action leading to a sale. I’m not going to discuss advertising here, but a key to success is to know what your potential customers want or need and have a solution for them at an acceptable price. Landing Pages and Sales Funnels are just two great tools in the online marketing world to help achieve this goal.

2. Build Your Brand

All marketing efforts in some way or another should be building your brand. It is an ongoing goal to authentically build your brand trust, awareness, perception and authority.

3. Lead Generation

As a precursor to the sales goal, a large amount of marketing effort is used to create traffic and convert this traffic to leads. Advertising and content marketing are both effective at this.

4. Communication

Another underlying goal of marketing is communication. We are living in a digital buzz of communication, and being able to effectively reach your market audience and customers to engage with them is important. This helps with the goal of building your brand, but also in the area of customer experience. Social media exists because of the desire for people to connect and communicate. The ability to hear from your customers or market is a huge advantage we have today through social media and technology. Communication is a key to healthy relationships – with our customers and colleagues.

Inbound and Outbound Marketing

I’m going to answer your Content marketing question now, but let’s step back to a broader view first. Inbound marketing and Outbound marketing are generalised terms used to describe a range of marketing tactics, activities and goals. Inbound Marketing is generally defined as an engagement with your market audience where they initiate the first step to connect. SEO is one of the tools to help your Inbound Marketing be found through organic search. Outbound Marketing is where you actively try to engage the potential audience. Advertising and cold-calling are examples of Outbound Marketing.

Inbound Marketing example: You post an article on your blog or social media. A person does a Google search for a subject and your article appears in the search results – they follow the link to your site and read the article. They like what they see, and decide to contact you, or take you up on an offer that is connected to the article. This is similar to a walk in customer to your store.

Content Marketing is at the heart of Inbound Marketing.

By creating content that adds value to your audience (business, cause or entertainment), it opens the opportunity for your audience to connect with you. The world of Social Media has been a huge driver of this, along with blogging and video. YouTube is currently the second biggest search engine, the result of content being created and an audience finding this content and connecting with the creators. The idea of content marketing is to produce value for an audience and then encourage them to take further action. It could be a sale, but mostly it is a lead relationship. By following, liking or commenting, by filling in an email address, or direct messaging, by clicking on a link – these all fulfil an action that leads to the goal of finding new customers.

Below is a typical Marketing Funnel of the Customer Journey based on the AIDA principle. The idea is to move traffic into the funnel and from being a lead to building an authentic customer relationship (based on 2-way loyalty). Each phase requires a different type of engagement and conversion, to the final goal of a loyal customer. Most Content Marketing deals with the initial (broad) phase of the Marketing Funnel – filling the funnel with leads. This is mostly around lead generation (awareness and interest) in the AIDA model.

Inbound Content Marketing is a preferred method of engagement with your market because there is less friction in the process and conversion. This is due to the fact your lead is already interested in your offering and they initiated the contact. They can often skip over the first phase of the funnel by their interest in your offering. Outbound Marketing requires a much higher cost and effort of advertising or cold-calling your market to turn traffic to leads, and leads to customers.

Where Content Marketing fits into your Online Marketing Strategy?

The following chart is a guideline of how and where some of the Online Marketing components work together.

• Inbound & Outbound Marketing
• Your Website
• Online Store / E-Commerce
• Social Media
• Landing Pages
• Funnels
  Affiliate Marketing
• Influencer Marketing, Passive Advertising & Sponsorships
• Email Lists – Opt-In Marketing (Lead Magnets)
• Online Marketing/Advertising
  • SEO & Search Engine Adverts
  • Content marketing
  • Paid Placement Advertising
  • Social Media Adverts
  • Display Adverts
• Webinars

It is important to have an Online Marketing Strategy before just rushing to produce content. Content that adds value can be costly to produce, and it is important to get your goals, positioning, timing and messaging all working together. I recommend investing some time putting together an Online Marketing Plan. It allows you to be more strategic in your approach and understanding of your market.

The following are a few examples of content that you can produce for your Content Marketing strategy.

•  Courses and training (short or full courses)
• eBooks
• Motivational material
• Blog articles – public and subscription based (with a membership option)
• Facebook Groups or Facebook Challenges
• Video and Social Media Content
• Email newsletters
• Podcasts
• Tutorials, etc.

A few tips for producing content especially for entrepreneurs and small organisations.

Don’t be intimidated by what is already out there. We all have a unique perspective and experience in life that can enrich your audience. We all have our own story to tell and our own style and expression. I encourage you to be authentic and start producing. Don’t wait for it to be perfect, nothing ever is. Learn, grow and have fun, while stretching yourself. Be original and remember, the goal is to help somebody else, so try to create value. Don’t stop at the first sign of resistance. We are never going to be able to please everyone. Focus on your potential audience, your niche and your story. And lastly, don’t forget to put a call to action in your content.

I hope this article has helped you better understand what Content Marketing is and where it fits into your Online Marketing Strategy. I would love to hear your feedback or comments.

The post What is Content Marketing and how can it help me? appeared first on Glow.digital.