Mobile Shoppers Prefer Mobile Web Sites to Apps

Despite retailers’ desire to move people to their native apps, most mobile shoppers prefer going to their mobile Web sites. A new study from Siteworx shows that 65.7% of people surveyed prefer using the Web site to downloading an app specifically for the retailer. The survey also found that product reviews were the key driver behind people making purchases after using their mobile device for shopping. Price comparisons were the next most popular driver of purchase activity.

Supporting other recent findings, this survey also found that the tablet has become a place where people are more eager to buy than on their smartphone. During the holiday season, 18.6% of tablet owners said they made a purchase using their device, in contrast to 12.8% of smartphone owners.

The survey found that apps still serve a function, but people need a specific reason to download them for a retailer. The survey found that special offers were among the most important things that lead people to download an app, followed by browsing faster than the Web site or gaining specific loyalty benefits.

It’s all about the product when it comes to mobile applications and Web sites for retailers. Among mobile users, 39.9% said they were checking out product reviews on mobile devices and 39.1% said they were browsing related products.

While some aspects of the survey seem to discourage the view of smartphones of purchasing devices, in fact, more than half the people surveyed said that during the month of December they had made at least one purchase on their cell phone and 30.7% said they made 2 to 3 purchases on their cell phone.

Overall, ease of use and ease of finding and comparing products seem to be the leading factor in people’s satisfaction with their mobile apps and mobile Web sites. It almost goes without saying that any retailer needs a native mobile Web site or responsive design for mobile access. But Siteworx also recommends that designers focus on specific mobile features that highlight products and product images and streamline the process of purchase and finding products. The Siteworx survey is based on over 5000 responses across the various questions asked of users about their mobile shopping habits during the month of December 2012. The full report is available at the site.

The tension between mobile Web sites and apps continues. This survey reinforces the idea that most people are bringing their Web habits onto their devices and often are using search as the means to get to a particular Web site or simply typing in a Web address. They need a good reason to download an app.

Siteworx suggests that features like large product images and product reviews are essential to the mobile shopping experience. But we only have to look at some of the more successful mobile shopping apps from retailers like Walgreens, for instance. As their head of digital platforms, Rich Lesperance explained at our OMMA Mobile at SXSW, the app pulls customers in with a core killer feature — the prescription refill function that lets you snap a picture of your prescription bottle and get a refill automatically from the drugstore.

Convenience matters. And retailers that find that central convenience touchpoint in their consumers gives users a reason to download an app as well as a reason for the user to remember that the app is there.

To get your mobile website, click here or call us at 615.398.9932 today!

Vincere Web Design Team

The Importance of Having a Mobile Website

Just how important are mobile websites for businesses? According to a study done by Yahoo!, 52% of mobile users won’t even engage with a brand that delivers a poor mobile experience.

The number of users accessing the web on their mobile devices has dramatically increased over the years, and mobile optimization can increase sales, generate more traffic and boost customer engagement. Having a mobile website will give you a huge edge over your competitors who do not.

Mobile users are now using their phones the same way that they used to use their computers, so making the experience similar is very important. Some things to consider to make your mobile website as user friendly as possible are to make sure your site looks nice on all types of mobile devices and that it loads as quickly as possible. Most mobile users will give up if your website takes more than 5 seconds to load. Businesses should also try not to use Flash content and keep videos and photos to a minimum, as these things will tend to slow down mobile websites.

A major thing affected by whether or not your website is mobile is the shopping experience your visitors receive. A recent survey done by Google found that shoppers are more likely to buy a product or service if your site is optimized for mobile use. Also, three fourths of these people said they are more likely to return to a website in the future if the experience on their mobile device is good.

On the other hand, most people said that if they can’t find what they’re looking for because your website isn’t mobile, they would rather go to a competitor’s mobile site instead of switching to a PC to buy from your website.

A bad mobile experience can also hurt your brand. Nearly half the people surveyed said they felt frustrated and annoyed when a website wasn’t mobile friendly and that a poor mobile experience makes them less likely to engage with the business in the future.

If you’re ready to build a mobile website there are actually 2 types of sites for you to choose from: a responsive website and a completely separate mobile website. A responsive website scales down your website depending on what device the user is looking at the site on. This way no areas of your website will be hidden when being looked at a smaller device, such as a tablet or smartphone. The content on the desktop version of the site is exactly the same as you see on the mobile version. A mobile website is an entirely separate website built on a subdomain made specifically for mobile viewing. This type of website does not look exactly like the full website and may not have all the content of your desktop site, but it increases conversion (sales).

If you’re still not convinced that a mobile website is the way to go, Google also found that 1 in 5 users are influenced by a company’s mobile website, whether it be to call, visit or make a purchase. It was also found that in 2013, the number of mobile internet users will exceed the number of desktop users. The truth is that if you don’t do something to make your website accessible from mobile devices soon, you might be at risk of losing a lot of customers in the future.

To get started with your mobile site visit our site, email us, or give us a call at 615.398.9932. 

Vincere Web Design Team

What Can Online Marketing Do For Your Small Business

When you get it going and are doing it right, there is no better way of reaching a large number of consumers than online marketing. Any method of marketing done well can be successful but finding something that is able to reach so many people yet be so cost effective is going to be a near impossible task. The problem is finding the best ways to do it.

So, what can online marketing do for you? Done correctly, it can help you get more exposure, more credibility, more customers, and ultimately, increase sales. Online marketing is more than just putting up a website and hoping for people to come and look at it. If you build it, you have to tell people about it. Driving traffic to your site is going to be key to your success. You have to find where your market goes for information about your product, or service, and get yourself on there.

The main thing is going to be getting traffic from search engines. You have to find out what search engines like and try to do things that will get you ranked well or hire a professional marketing firm to do it for you. This will be accomplished through multiple avenues of writing articles on a blog or for article directories that point people to your site, through YouTube videos, blogs, etc. There are other ways but these are going to get you the most exposure. Another thing may be using affiliate marketing. This can be done in many ways but essentially you will have people offering to market your products or services for you. Usually these people will have a good bit of knowledge about online marketing and can be very effective. You will pay these online marketing people commission or for leads that they provide you. All they do, though, is go where the people are going to look and let them know about what you are offering and providing a way to get them to you. They are a doorway to your business. The more you have, the better you are.

Online marketing will help you gain credibility. You will begin to set yourself and your business up as an authority through your website, social media, and blogs. You have to be able to provide the consumer with top quality content that will let them know that you know what you are talking about. You have to be able to connect with them, and through the blogs, social media, and YouTube videos you can accomplish that connection. The more people believing that you are credible, the more traffic you will have to your website. An increase in people clicking to your website will cause your website to climb the search engine rankings which means even more potential customers. Online marketing done correctly can set things in motion for your business. If you have a product or service that you have created and/or want to offer to the public, taking advantage of online marketing can bring huge success.

If your business needs help in expanding your online presence, we offer a full suite of digital solutions. Give us a call at 615.398.9932 or email us and we will be more than happy to answer your questions and help you and your business reach your goals.

Vincere Web Design Team

3 Ways to Increase Local Search Engine Optimization for Your Small Business

Local Search Engine Optimization is necessary for your small business to be successful in the 21st century. When potential customers are searching for a product or service, 68% of them are going to click on the Top 3 results. So, if you're not ranking in the Top 3, you are missing 68% of the customers for your business. So, how do you do it?

1. List your business on local directories. The reason to do this is not only for search engine optimization, and higher rankings, but because a lot of people now rely on these directories instead of Google. These directories are Yelp, Merchant Circle, Manta, etc. There are 100s of local directories that you need to place your business. It takes time, but all good things do.

2. List your business on Google Places. The best way to have your business show up in local search results is to list your business on Google Places. It's a simple process, just head over to Google Places, and walk through the steps. Fill out your profile, and they will mail you a postcard to verify your address. Once you verify it, it will take you a couple of days before you start showing up in the results, but when you do your business will start showing up in your local searches for your business. The key is to optimize the content, and make sure to use keywords in your listing.

3. Geotag your website. Through META data, tags, kml files, and geositemaps, you can optimize your website to show up in local results based off of the location of your searcher. What this does, is places your address, latitude/longitude, and contact info in the code of your website. When a searcher within "x" miles of your business types in a search result containing your keywords, it will pop up with your business near the top as a local result.

These are tried and true ways to get your small business ranking locally. It's important, and it's necessary for your small business to be successful.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns. We look forward to serving your small business.

Vincere Web Design Team

5 Reasons Why Blogging is the New Internet Marketing Tool

Blogging is a concept that started in late 90s.  It used to be a way to comment an existing webpage, an opportunity for visitors and readers to react or voice out one's opinion on the said page.  What started as a single-sentence commentary has evolved into pages of personal take on just about anything and everything under the sun.  As it continues to move forward, online advertising has tapped into the blog's potential.  Here are 5 reasons why you should use blogging as an Internet marketing tool. 

1.Blogging is simple.  The simplest way to get your piece on the net is through blogging.  No skills are necessary, an average adult can read and type, or at least click a mouse.  It's like having a virtual piece of paper and you just write your ideas, experiences, new products, and hope that the truth behind your articles comes out and entice your reader to also try your product.  If you have a PC and an Internet connection (who doesn't?) then you can blog and advertise.

2. Blogging is authentic.  In this day and age where advertising saturate our lives, we question the credibility of promoters' claims.  However, in blogs, real people share their real-life experiences, unscathed by paid advertising.  Reading blogs about first-hand product use is like talking to people about their first-hand experience.  You definitely want to buy a tried and tested product.

3. Blogging is free.  Because blogging is yet to be proven as a mainstream online advertising media, most sites see it as something to augment current marketing tools and thus offer it for free.   Any opportunity for free webtime is definitely a bonus especially to businesses that are starting up.  Needless to say, paid blog pages can generate more income for your seriously growing business.

4. Blogging builds credibility.  As you get more and more into writing your experiences on a particular product or industry, your readers come to realize that they can depend on your posts for their own information needs.  As such, you become an expert on it; as a consequence, more readers visit your site and more bloggers link to your blogs.  As companies and professional organizations notice the growth of your readership base, they may soon get in touch with you for advertising on your blog page, or make you an affiliate, which pays for every referral generated from your blog site.

5. Blogging builds your market.  Unless you are a Hollywood star, chances are, only your Mom reads your posts.  Mom has a lot of friends, so she lets her friends know how interesting your blog site is.  But you need not depend on Mom to increase your readership base.  Look into the following ways to build your market through blogging:

-By using your e-mail.  Today, blogging is overcoming the e-mail's popularity in quickly and effectively reaching and expanding a market.  In this age of speed and quick access, logging in and downloading e-mail is simply taking longer than clicking into a blog site.  Let them explore your site by using a short e-mail message as teaser to your blog site.  If your e-mail is on an entirely different subject, use your e-mail signature to give a link to the site.

-By using subscription.  An easy way to get your readers e-mail is to give them an opportunity to subscribe to your blogsite.  Keep some exclusive information for your subscribers to entice readers to subscribe and give their e-mail address.  Just be responsible in using their e-mail address, as the last thing you want is a comment on your blog that you are a spammer.

-By understanding your readers.  Conduct a simple survey for your readers to understand their profile and advertising preferences.  Ask consumers to give you feedback on a post, an ad link, or a trial that you shared.  In this way, it is like interviewing your readers without the commitment and intrusion of a face-to-face interview.

-By joining a blog network's network of blogs maybe a collection of blog sites that share the same industry, interest, readership base, payment mode, etc.  Consumers find credibility and convenience in clicking one link to several real bloggers about a single subject.  Clearly, more bloggers are better than one.

-By using RSS. RSS is the fastest growing technology on the Internet today.  As such, having RSS feeds to your blog is definitely another means of generating awareness for your readership base.  Having a variety of feeds can add interest to your blog site. 

Give your business a boost by effectively using blogging as an Internet marketing tool. As always, please contact us with questions, or to get started with solutions for your small business. Whether your small business needs cheap search engine optimization, cheap social media management, or cheap web design, we provide the absolute best service in America! The only thing cheap about the services we provide is the price!

Vincere Web Design Team

What Can Online Marketing Do For You

When you get it going and are doing it right, there is no better way of reaching a large market of consumers than online marketing. Any method of marketing done well can be successful, but finding something that is able to reach so many people yet be so cost effective is going to be a near impossible task. The problem is finding the best way to do it.

So, what can online marketing do for you? Done correctly, it can help you get you more exposure, get you more credibility, get you more customers and, ultimately, increase sales. And as Mark Cuban says, "In small business, no sales means no company."

Online marketing is more than just putting up a website and hoping for people to come and look at it. If you build it, you have to tell people about it. Driving traffic to your site is going to be key to your success. You have to find where your market goes for information about your product or service and get yourself on there. The main thing is going to be getting traffic from search engines. You have to find out what search engines like and try to do the things that will get you ranked well.

Another thing may be using affiliate marketing. This can be done in many ways but essentially you will have people offering to market your products or services for you. Usually these people will have a good bit of knowledge about online marketing and can be very effective. You will pay these online marketing people commission or for leads that they provide you. All they do, though, is go where the people are going to look and let them know about what you are offering and providing a way to get them to you. They are a doorway to your business. The more you have, the better you are.

Online marketing will help you gain credibility. Through your website and other things that you do such as writing articles and making videos you will be setting yourself up as an authority, You have to be able to provide them with top quality content that will let them know that you are knowledgeable in the subject and business. When you are able to connect with them through blogs, articles, YouTube videos, etc. you can establish a connection with your target market. Once that connection is established, more people will know you are credible, and you will see an increase in traffic to your website. From there, it is a cause and effect scenario...an increase in people clicking to your website will cause your website to climb the search engine rankings which means even more potential customers.

Online marketing done correctly can set things in motion for your business. If you have a product or service that you have created and/or want to offer to the public, taking advantage of online marketing can bring huge success.

Online marketing can be a very time consuming task, and you have enough going on as a business owner, which is why Vincere Web Design offers these services cheaply. We have cheap social media management, cheap search engine optimization, and cheap web design to help your small business succeed in the competitive markets we live in today. And, of course, the only thing "cheap" about the services we provide is the price.

As always please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!

Vincere Web Design Team

Free Report Reveals: How to Use Social Networking Websites to Promote Your Business

Social Media Management for Small Business

The goal of most business owners is to make money. This often results with the selling of a particular product or service. However, to sell that product or service business owners need to alert the general public.  Customer cannot buy a product or a service if they do not know that it exists, which is why, as a business owner, you need to advertise your business, right?

When it comes to advertising there are many business owners who literally cringe. Are you doing this now?  There is a good chance that you are because many advertising methods cost money. As a business owner you want to make money not spend it, right? Unfortunately, if you believe that all forms of advertising take money, you are sadly mistaken. Although you may have to spend money to make your business what you want it to be, there are ways to promote your business and the products or services that you sell without having to spend any money at all.

Is your curiosity peaked yet? I hope so! One of the ways that you can promote your online business, without having to spend a dime, is by using something that is readily available online. That thing is an online social networking website. A large number of internet users, in fact billions of them, belong to at least one social networking website.

When it comes to social networking, there are many individuals who think of just online friendships or online relationships. While these types of relationships are the most common, did you know that social networking is also used for businesses?  In fact, that was originally how social networking got started.  If you are a small business owner, especially one that operates an online business, there is a way that you can use social networking sites to your advantage.

Although social networking websites are traditionally focused on those that would like to make online friends or develop online relationships, there are networking sites that are designed for business owners.  These websites will not only allow you to share your business information with other business owners, but it will also allow you to develop close relationships with those that share an interest that is similar to yours. Essentially, this means that you could not only learn valuable business information, but you could also walk away with a new business partner or a new friend.

As previously mentioned, social networking websites with a focus on businesses, are a great way to promote your business. However, this does not mean that you should completely forget about the other online social networking websites, the ones that are designed to make online friendships. Although you may not learn any valuable business tips by on Facebook or Twitter, you will be able to get new customers and new customers is exactly what your business should want and need.

If you are looking to join an online community, you will need to create your own profile or profile page.  If you are planning on joining a traditional social networking website, to gain access to millions of potential new customers, you are urged to be careful when making your online webpage or profile.  One thing that internet users hate is being solicited for business. This does not mean that you cannot use social networking to your advantage; it just means that you need to be careful with how you do it.

By joining a social networking website, especially one that is popular and has a large number of members, you should be able to generate interest in your business, including the products or services that you sell.

Vincere Web Design offers a small business social media management package specifically for this need. We manage your online presence, and target your specific area and customer base to get more customers walking in the door. We also interact with and engage your online social networks with existing customers to offer a new, high-quality, 21st century customer service experience.

Contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns, and we look forward to serving you.

Vincere Web Design Team