8WTTT Calls to action

A call to action is simply a marketing concept that persuades a consumer to act, bringing them one step closer to the purchase of your product or service. Actions range from visiting a website, dialling a telephone number or entering a competition. Including active verbs such as call, buy or subscribe is a recognised technique in getting potential consumers to act.

If you would like to learn more about calls to action, please don’t hesitate to contact Eight Wire.

8WTTT Favicons

Simple to create, favicons are small icons used to personalise a URL when viewed in the address bar of a web browser. Favicons commonly appear as a company’s logo and have the added benefit of appearing in the favourites folder and bookmark bar on a user’s web browser. They are installed on a web server so, unless you have access to your server, you'll probably want to ask your webmaster how your site can display your favicon of choice.

If you would like to learn more about creating favicons, please don’t hesitate to contact Eight Wire.

8WTTT Multiple landing pages can increase profits

Creating multiple landing pages is a great SEO technique that can create a positive impact on your business’ website and can help in reducing bounce rates. Each landing page is designed and tailored towards specific keywords, optimising web browser searches and ensuring that the landing page meets the visitors expectations.

If you would like to learn more about creating multiple landing pages, please don’t hesitate to contact Eight Wire.

8WTTT Image file names effect web search results

Assigning keyword rich file names to images on your website is a simple, yet effective SEO technique that can make a positive impact on search engine results for your website.

If you would like to learn more about file naming conventions and SEO, please don’t hesitate to contact Eight Wire.

8WTTT Monitor your web site traffic with Google Analytics

Analysing website traffic provides an invaluable insight to the effectiveness of your website. Google Analytics offers a free, easy to use, yet powerful tool that generates detailed statistics about visitors to your website revealing information such as keywords searches and pages clicked. Access to this data enables you to strengthen your marketing campaigns.

If you would like to learn more about Google Analytics, please don't hesitate to get in touch and pick our brains with no obligation.

8WTTT Don't hide your contact info

Your website should make it as easy as possible to get in touch with your business, in as many different ways as you can provide.

Make sure visitors to your site can find your contact details quickly and easily; provide a contact page or enquiry form at the top level of your menu navigation and/or include your contact information within the footer of every page of your site. Even if yours is a virtual business without a bricks and mortar address, be sure to include a phone number and email address.

Don't hesitate to get in touch with us at Eight Wire to find out more.

8WTTT Include a site map on your website

A site map has two important functions; not only does it allow website visitors to see a list of all the pages in a site and how the site is structured, it also acts as a table of contents for search engines.

Having a site map enables Google and other search engines to index your entire website based on a single convenient text-based resource, so make sure to include one.

Don't hesitate to get in touch with us at Eight Wire to find out more.

8WTTT Sell your products through Google Merchant

If you have an e-commerce website, Google Merchant Centre allows you to upload your product information (descriptions, images and prices etc) into the Google Products database so that they appear under ‘Shopping results’ in relevant searches.

This effectively replicates each of your product pages on a separate platform that links directly through to the corresponding pages on your website, increasing traffic, sales and brand visibility.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at Eight Wire to find out more.

8WTTT Exclude pages from searches with a robots txt file

Search engines use programs known as robots or spiders to browse the web, indexing each page they come across so that each search provides the best, most relevant content.

A robots txt file can be added to a website to restrict the access search engine bots have to the pages within it, effectively hiding pages from being indexed. This is essential if you have any pages or directories on your site that you don’t want listed in the search engines, such as an intranet or any duplicate content.

8WTTT Keep your website navigation consistent

These days it’s good website practice to include your website navigation in more than one place on your site, such as at the top of every page in drop-down format, in the footer and as a site map.

Wherever it appears, make sure each version of the navigation is identical so that visitors don’t ever find themselves in a virtual cul-de-sac.

8WTTT Engage web visitors with video

While video is no replacement for clear keyword-rich website text, a short video may communicate a company’s message quicker and more effectively, especially to visitors who don’t have time to read text-heavy pages. 

Consider whether a video could successfully demonstrate what your business does. Embedding existing video into your site from resources such as YouTube and Vimeo can also improve your site’s ranking, visibility and traffic.

8WTTT Avoid jargon-heavy website text

It can be tempting to include industry jargon and sector-specific terminology when writing about your business, but this may frustrate potential customers who don’t want to spend time decoding the real meaning.

Make reading your website as effortless as possible by keep your text plain, informative and to the point.

8WTTT Create a LinkedIn company page

LinkedIn is a social media website designed to be a professional networking hub, connecting people through business. A personal LinkedIn profile is a great way to promote yourself as an individual and a company page does the same for your business, with a customisable business profile on the website.

Add as much information about your products and services as possible when creating your company page. Keep in mind that social media sites are fast becoming alternative ‘search engines’, helping potential customers find what they’re looking for online. If you need a hand, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

8WTTT Give your images keyword-rich alt-tags

Search engines need as much information about your website as possible in order to index it and rank it in search results.

As search engines cannot see images, each image on your website should be assigned a keyword-rich descriptive ‘alt-tag’, to identify it so it can contribute to your overall site rank.

Alt-tags also give visitors using text-only browsers a description of images and are shown if images fail to display properly.

8WTTT Tweet industry news

If you’re new to Twitter it can be tricky to decide what to tweet about, especially if you’ve yet to build up many followers.

Sharing links to online news articles relevant to your industry not only gives you an easy tweet but helps to associate you with content specific to your business and helps you to become established as a source of sector-relevant news over time.  

8WTTT Make your content 'sticky'

With so many websites on offer to potential customers, it’s important to do all you can to stand out from the crowd.

Your site should be as ‘sticky’ as possible, actively engaging visitors to stay and explore and ultimately, encouraging them to get in touch with you.

Include as many interesting and interactive elements as you can, from video to latest news updates, blogs to social media feeds.

8WTTT Website size matters

Search engines such as Google use an ever-changing formula to index, assess and rank websites each time a search is carried out.

Sites that have less than five pages often struggle to be recognised and included in searches due to their size; there just isn’t enough content to compete.  

If you need your website to be found in searches, keep in mind that bigger is better.

8WTTT Check your links

The internet changes at a bewildering pace and with so many websites moving, changing or being rebuilt everyday, links out to other sites can quickly become out of date.

If your site links out to others, make an effort to check your links every so often and fix any that are broken, especially if you’ve got a reciprocal link back.

8WTTT Social media for SEO

As well as providing hugely popular interactive platforms through which to interact with your customers, profiles on social media websites greatly improve your online visibility.

Setting up business profiles on major high traffic sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and keeping them regularly updated with content that links to your website can significantly boost your place in the search engine rankings.

8WTTT Include keywords in your domain name

Your website’s domain name isn’t just its online address, it also has an impact on how well your site performs in Google and other search engines.

As with the rest of the written content on your site, your domain name should include search terms you want to be found for.

A domain name that includes your top keywords will improve the search engine optimisation of your site far more than one that simply includes your business name.

8WTTT The importance of link building

When it comes to the performance of your website in Google’s search results,  having relevant, quality links coming into your site is crucial.

Think of each inbound link as an online recommendation; the more quality websites Google sees linking to yours, the higher it will rank your website.

Start by asking your clients, partners and suppliers to link to you and don’t be afraid to offer a reciprocal link back to them from your site, a little back-scratching goes a long way.

8WTTT Become W3C compliant

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the internationally recognised standards organisation that acts as a watchdog for good quality websites.

Being W3C compliant not only makes your website easier for visitors to use, it also has a positive effect on your site’s rank in the search engines.

For many sites, making just a few simple changes can achieve W3C compliance. Get in touch with us to find out more.

8WTTT Keep content short and sweet

Writing for marketing purposes can be tricky. Not enough information and your audience won’t get the point, too much and you risk losing them half-way through.

The golden rule is to be brief but informative. Try to make every word work for you; if it’s not there for a reason, it’s best to take it out.