If You’re Not Mobile Ready – You’re Unprepared

The prediction has been in the air for years. But now the stats show that people are searching on the their phones and growing speeds, with no sign of slowing down.  While 71% of businesses see the mobile value 78% of businesses are not mobile ready.  It’s a great advantage to  go mobile right now and stay ahead of your competition.  While many business owners cite cost as an issue most businesses have seen a decline in advertising expenses with the demise of yellow page phone books.  Recognizing a website is now the cornerstone of any and all advertising the shift is beginning.  While pay-per-click is still scary to most business owners investing in your organic website structure is building on solid ground.

Google News for Local Businesses

Recent changes make your Google+ page more helpful to your business.  Google used to display about 7 local businesses in its “maps” section on search results. That number will now be cut to 3 as Google gives more preference to its Google+ pages.  Google set guidelines to optimize the business pages.  Take advantage of it – give Google what it wants, don’t be the business that ignores helpful suggestions from Google.  Too busy to handle this yourself?  Inquire about my Webmaster Services.

Freshen Your Website

If your business is service related make the most of your images.  If your site is more than a few years old at that time keeping images small was the best strategy for user friendly load time on each page.  Now there are many ways to showcase your work with much larger sized images – still optimizing for download speed. There are many options to make your photos interactive (click to enlarge).  Read more.

It’s your website – your business online – grow it, make it shine – freshen it – make it work for you.

Google Mobility Deadline

Google’s mobile friendly deadline of April 21st is fast approaching.  Google has been issuing notices for several months like the one below.  Note: You’ll only receive such a notice if you have signed up for Google’s Webmaster Tools.

google-mobile-ready

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s the good news!  Google hasn’t always been forthcoming in major changes it makes affecting search results, so giving advance notice has been a huge help for website owners.

What does this mean? If your website is a desktop version only and you haven’t created a mobile website your site will take a back seat to all the mobile friendly websites for users on cell phones.  The stats continue to climb for people searching on their phones, which is no surprise since we carry our cell phones everywhere.

This mobility issue also applies to blogs.  Google will flag your blog if the theme isn’t mobile ready.  This information isn’t provided this clearly, but revealed in the details.

Beyond Google there are other issues to consider for your mobile readiness.  Make sure your content is viewable on all devices. Flash won’t play on apple devices. Check all link redirects – make sure these are properly configured.  If all your desktop content is not on your mobile site redirect that page to an associated page and avoid an overload of links to the home page.

 

Why Should I Redesign My Website?

There comes a time when your website needs to be redesigned.  This usually involves multiple factors.  Code has changed substantially in the past 3 years which provides more options for your website, and  certainly better performance within browsers.  Leaner code means a faster download which is something Google favors in page ranking.  Websites benefit from a fresh view.  Look it over and discuss with your designer what elements can be improved upon, enhanced, things which are obsolete and how to optimize the space to lead the visitor through the website, while keeping navigation ease a priority.  A mobile presence is critical: whether a free-standing, side by side site or a responsive website (requiring a makeover of your old site) you can’t ignore mobile users.

website in need of a redesign

This site served well for its time, when monitors were smaller, dial-up connections were still around, images needed to be as small as possible, beveled buttons and gradients were trendy and 800 pixels was the maximum width the W3 consortium recommended.  Enter the fun.  Now browsers and monitors span much wider screens, large optimized images are easily handled by browsers and bandwidth. And the most fun of all, design has changed using a much broader palette of colors: beautiful bold, flat colors which let the design breathe and make the web page less cluttered while still offering the same key points, call to actions and copy.  Visual matters in marketing.   A website redesign will keep your website ahead of your competition whose sites may be tired and sagging.  A fresh looking website represents your business well to visitors.  It’s your first impression to potential clients – make the best of it.

Auto Shop Website Redesigned

 

Mobile Website for Auto Body Shop

mobile websiteThere are certain businesses which cannot be without a mobile website. If your services are urgent, or emergency this is a must. There are choices in a mobile website design and structure — the goal is to find what fits your budget and needs. You can redo your existing website to transform to mobile deives with style sheets, but the cost is substantial.  A simpler choice if you have limited content on your website (like a 20-30 page website) is to create a standalone sub-domain, mobile website.  It’s time efficient which translates into cost savings for business owners and will reflect your full website.

Choices!

Custom Mobile Website

mobile-bannerThere’s no question it’s time to embrace mobile devices.  If your website is 10 pages a simple custom mobile website hosted alongside your full website is a great choice.  Brand the design based on your full website.  The mobile website will be very lean.  This makes surfing your mobile site easy for bandwidth download.  Still many people have limited bandwidth.  Think of it as a courtesy to potential clients.

It’s time to make something small work for you!  Mobile website – more info.

Website Marketing

Your website has become the cornerstone of your business.     All roads of marketing point to your domain.

Website RedesignIt’s not uncommon to want a new look for your website. A “refresh” can be the solution. Change photos, add a JavaScript slide show, update the page content and a critical step: review the SEO. Google changes rules more than 500 times in a year.

Thinking about blogging? A blog is a huge asset to driving your website. You know your business, who better to write short articles and post periodically? Sites adding new relevant content are seen as reliable and this, in turn, improves your rankings. A blog on your website is an easy way to add regular content while expanding your web presence. Give me a call if you have any questions. ph 909.595.0610

 

Mobile MarketingIt’s hard to ignore the usefulness of “going mobile”. Our phones have created a new market place for businesses.

Your mobile website needs to feature the most important aspects of your desktop website in the most user friendly way with quick download time. Equally important is giving the user a quick way to view your full website and avoid a frustrated user experience.

Give me a call if you have any questions. ph 909.595.0610

Online Reviews Your online reputation is part of your internet presence. It’s an opportunity to engage with customers via websites they trust to to be accurate.

You may get negative reviews, but you can turn this into a positive, by addressing any issues. The fact your business has responded to a negative review  often is the tipping point for a potential customer. It’s an opportunity to  build customer confidence in you and your company.

I have created Webmaster Services to help you fine tune your online presence to make it a more effective marketing tool. Give me a call for more details, or read online.

Mobile Website

Business owners are questioning the need for a mobile website.

Easy to say every website can benefit from a mobile website, but if you have a large site, or limited budget you will be weighing the “if” and “when”.  While there are many solutions selling “free” mobile websites – businesses need to control and maintain their internet presence.  “Free” still means something is out of your control.   Know the tradeoff, before using free products and confusing your target visitors with websites you may abandon in time.

These websites (below) each created a simple mobile website mirroring their existing site.  A simple solution and cost effective.  For my auto repair shops a mobile website is a must.  People stranded roadside need to get to your contact info quickly.  You can encourage them to bookmark your website – no more hunting directions at the last minute, everything is at hand.

Animal hospitals’ clients emotions run high when in need of their vet, or a new vet.  Having the website be mobile friendly, means one less bounce if the full site takes too long to load.  Think about what your business needs.  If you have a large website – begin to plan to be sure to be mobile friendly.  Your existing website will probably need some changes in order to use styling sheets which can create the mobile website output, without maintaining a separate mobile site.  You want to engage all visitors on the platform of their choice.

Mobile Website

With the release of the iPhone5, once again, mobile websites are spotlighted.  The huge sales of mobile phones remind us of another opportunity for business advertisement.

The beauty of many Smartphones and iPhones is the way you can view most full websites.   But when your mobile phone plans don’t allow unlimited data use the user will be glad to have the option of viewing a mobile website.  My own mobile website is a brief touchstone.

A mobile website is designed to keep everything small – no large graphics; but more importantly  to get your contact information immediately in front of the visitor with phone numbers clickable, maps directly linked to Google.  Using the tools to help the client to connect with your business easily.

If your business has emergency issues – auto related, medical, dental, etc. – a mobile website can reach yet more people on their phones quicker.

As your business grows online a mobile website is another piece of the plan.

Mobile Website

With iPhones, iPads, smart phones and more surfing is taking place on a very small screen in ever increasing numbers.

While most websites are viewable on these devices, users want an even leaner experience.  Especially when bandwidth consumption factors into their mobile phone bill.  The parameters for a mobile website are tiny.

Do you need a mobile website? If your website is an online brochure – most likely you don’t.  You might want only something to be bookmarked and viewed on a desktop if your user needs to see details in large photos.

If your business is a service like auto body – a mobile website can be worth the investment.  While waiting after a minor accident – your clients will turn to their phone and you might lock in a client before the tow truck arrives. Great for the client, great for your business.

Your mobile website will be stripped down of most graphics, adding things like a clickable phone link to call you from their phone and QR code to locate you quickly.  Lean, simple and user friendly from design to code.  It’s all about making it easy for mobile users to connect with your business.