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Proactive’s New Look Website is here (Let’s start a new project together)

This month, Proactive’s New Look Website was launched

Google and other such search engines like to keep us website owners on our toes. They change their expectations which impact businesses around the world.

We would like to share a brief insight into what changes we have made and show you Proactive’s New Look Website. At Proactive Marketing Solutions we respond in the best possible of way by accepting the changes, we evaluated where we were and what changes we needed to implement. As a marketing agency we need to lead by example with our thinking and ability to be dynamic and creative.

Meet the team

But before we go any further let’s do the polite thing and introduce ourselves properly…

We would like to say a huge hello to those of you who are unfamiliar with our work at Proactive Marketing Solutions. We are a small, dedicated and hard-working team of marketers that are excited to launch our user-friendly New Look Website. Click here to see for yourself.

Let’s start with Owen, he is our managing director, he has a wealth of knowledge about so many subjects, but specifically with WordPress and HTML. He will advise and guide you through your journey with Proactive Marketing Solutions and ensure you are getting 100% out of your budget and goals.

Up next is me, Keala, I am Proactive’s Social media Manager and I am responsible for creating and finding content that is useful to the public.

Ok, so that’s a tiny bit about our team– we would love to meet you!

And for all the people who already know us, hello, welcome back.

Let’s look at what we have changed and why

As digital marketers we advise our clients on the importance of making websites mobile friendly to improve elements such as accessibility and search engine ranking. So, what we did was follow our own advice, by ensuring our website translates well. We are proud to say we’ve done it. Many website users might wonder why we often tweak our sites and make changes. Businesses do this because technology is always changing, and algorithms get updated. This can mean websites can soon quickly become out of date. Here at Proactive our team aren’t afraid of change, in fact it keeps us focused.

We’ve been thinking about User Experience

We have also introduced a quick drop-down selection tool on our homepage. It offers speedy results, so you can find a solution to your website dilemmas in a matter of seconds. We love this tool because it works with the notion that website visitors won’t stick around for much time, therefore we want to help you find what you are looking for, quickly. This notion is all about user experience and is another key point we like to discuss with our clients. Visit us to see you our selection tool can quickly point you in the direction of improving your website.

Vital Website Security updates

You will notice that our website now includes a page about security and privacy. Security plays an important role with our website ranking and the way our data is used across the internet. Our website is now protected and encrypted for the better as we have switched to HTTPS from HTTP. You will find essential information about SSL Security certificates, Site Lock and Codeguard on our site. SSL Security certificates Link.

Our fresh new approach

All in all our new look website has a streamline fresh feel that won’t leave you feeling confused. It will encourage you to browse and explore at your own pace. ­

we would like to hear from you if you do have any questions that haven’t been addressed on our site.

Say hello…

We offer a range of ways to get in contact from email [email protected] to messenger and Line.

http://63.250.32.179/~pmsadmin

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Intuitive web design: Top tips

Proactive Marketing Solutions have put together a blog series about intuitive web design. This week we are looking into the notion of trust

In this series we will cover how you can get an intuitive website and highlight ways to encourage repeated website visits. With between 10 -20 seconds for a website to prove itself before a visitor decides to stay or go. It is vital you communicate that they are in the right place.

What is intuitive design

You might be wondering what intuitive design is and how these terms relate to your website. If we consider two concepts, one being seamlessness and the other user experience (UX) and look at how these translate into your website then we are getting closer. Knowing what works for your visitors, and, just as importantly, what doesn’t is a great starting point.

Your visitors will probably return to your site if it is user friendly and running at a good speed.  But if it is chaotic, badly designed, and doesn’t match what is advertised then they will most likely leave, never to return. Its time to be honest with yourself, which category does your website fit into?

Would you trust your site?

When we use the word ‘trust’ we don’t mean anything other than a typical dictionary definition, -‘firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something’. Although you aren’t entering a long-term relationship with your visitors it’s still important to acknowledge that online services, compared to on street shops, are disadvantaged when it comes to trust. So, in essence, you have your work cut out! – We really do need to look at ways we can get our visitors to trust us.

Why is your online shop disadvantaged?

We know that customers are far more likely to buy a product once it’s been picked up and investigated.  In a physical shopping environment, you’re able to read between the lines- questions things like- how products are being displayed, the way staff behave- are they interested in you and the stock? Is the shop sign hanging off and the floors dirty? Or are the staff attentive and the shop immaculate? All these subliminal messages inform us on quality, and whether a shop can be trusted. Remove all these cues and suddenly we have a situation where customers do not know who to trust. With big brands encouraging the public to buy into their services and products through massive campaigns, it can be tricky to get a piece of the action.

These issues aren’t going away so its best just to embrace them. Google have started to rank websites based on trustworthiness and ethics, which is significant when we consider 96% of smart phone users come through a google search. If you neglect Google’s rules, then your business SERPs may be considerably lowered therefore, It’s time to get on board!

Practical steps that can be taken to build up a sense of trust

  • Use customer reviews- historical and up to date – promote them on social media and a no-nonsense page on your website.
  • Is your website full of problems – because if it is, visitors might begin to believe your services and products are also riddled with issues – Build a space where visitors can happily click through your content without confusion or frustration and won’t leave after only seeing one page – known as a bounce rate.
  • Put out good social media posts – regularly – containing relevant content.
  • Avoid asking for unnecessary information – its suspicious – visitors will be sceptical about why you want their information.
  • Provide your visitors with a means to contact your business – such as messenger – Let your potential customers know how long they will need to wait for a response.
  • You should look closely at your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – For more specifically about SEO, look at our ‘If SEO blows your mind, read this’. Or click here for more help.

False pretenses

Ideally, you want to look at whether your SEO and keywords reflect what your website has to offer. Unethical practices that involve dangling a carrot to tempt visitors should be evaluated, for the sake of pleasing Google and aiming to work honestly. A good bit of news is, 90% of people haven’t made up their minds about a brand when using a search engine which means you can capture this audience without sneaky black hat techniques.

The round up

I suppose a big question to ask yourself, or more constructively others, Is, ‘how much thinking do you need to do when using my website’. Beyond seamlessness and good UX, it is fundamental to reward your visitors with what has been advertised. I suppose it’s about honestly, not luring visitors to your site and giving them a clunky and irrelevant space.

Ensure your social media platforms are being used to their full potential and are linked to your website. If you are a thriving business show the world how you are positively interacting with your visitors and customers. Avoid giving visitors the impression that you are a dodgy individual in a back street, because your website and social media accounts are redundant.

Here are a few more elements to consider which we will look at in more detail over the next few weeks:

  • Say no to unnecessary distractions
  • Get help with speeding up your website
  • Be clear about what your services/ product are
  • Show your potential clients that you care
  • Be careful about demanding and gathering information

For more help on any of the areas covered feel free to get in touch with Proactive Marketing Solutions.

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If SEO blows your mind: Read this!

Now is the time to start thinking about your search engine optimization (SEO)

Even if you feel like running to the hills and hiding away from the subject, you shouldn’t. It can be hard to get your head around if you are unfamiliar with SEO but hopefully our friendly introduction will get you focussed and more confident with an understanding of how to build a happy relationship with your website visitors and search engines.

Keywords

Firstly, an important thing to note is that Google has unleashed an ‘over-optimization penalty’ which is targeting websites that use too many keywords (relevant words and phrases used to help people find your site) on each web page. So, the moral of the story is – don’t be greedy and don’t be a hoarder- Metaphorically speaking anyway! Keep your keywords simple and use a maximum of five per page. If you need some help and inspiration with finding the right keywords you could use Google Adwords Keyword Tool. This tool will help you to find relevant and up to date words inline with todays trends. Alternatively, get in contact to discuss you needs with our expert team.

Content

Try to make interesting content which your visitors will enjoy and find useful. Not only do you want to keep visitors looking at your site for more than 3 seconds, you also want to please the search engines… as dull as that might sound this is a great way to become more visible. The more content you produce of a high standard the more likely search engines will add more of your pages to their search indexes.

And, of course, we aren’t just a pretty face, we also share great ideas of what kind of content to create…

  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Posting industry blogs
  • Reviews
  • Graphics

We hear you- creating quality content is hard work! You can come face to face with plenty of creative road blocks if you are trying to juggle many tasks by yourself. There are a few things you can do, hire a pro. This can come at a cost, however, it is worth it in the long run. Let’s be honest, building a successful business is playing the long game, success doesn’t show its face overnight. But in the meantime, keep your eyes on the idea that producing good quality content will engage visitors and impress those ‘oh-so’ important search engines.

Link building

The basic concept here is to get other websites linked to your own. If you consider these linked sites as your friends and you are running in a popularity contest, then you are far more likely to win if you have more friends than everyone else- Link building is a similar idea to this.

Ideally, you want to create quality links known as white hat techniques as this approach is considered more ethical. Google are also taking action on websites that use black hat techniques (yep, you’ve got it, the opposite to white hat) such as spamming. Avoid over using keywords and over posting the same content. If you are giving the time to improve business, then you might as well do it on good merit.

You could produce a blog and post it on some blogging websites, maybe even reach out to relevant industries for instance, if you have a restaurant business you might like to link up with food brands you use or sell. Probably best you don’t link with your direct competitors… just a suggestion!

Sponsorship is another way to engage companies and charities, this will help to develop positive links, however, we would suggest you actually engage, and not just make it about a financial transaction. Attend events, write up about them, link up on social media and show interest across all your platforms. This will help to build you an audience in an organic way.

Social Media

While your links to social media profiles may not always count towards your search engine rankings they will get you some attention and will help to drive visitors to your website which in turn is still useful to you.

Finally

Finally, this has been a brief look at SEO, my goodness there is a lot more to it, but hopefully you feel like you have had a friendly handshake with the concept and feel a bit more at ease. Click here if you would like further support from our team.

We’ll leave you with one last thought, and that is, the importance of tracking and monitoring your SEO progress. You can do this in many ways – one way is to use Google Analytics. Through Google Analytics you can learn about who your visitors are, how much time they are spending with you and the type of keywords they are using to find you. This can then feed back into the types of keywords you are using on your pages.

We wish you good luck and if you need a hand- do get in touch!

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Instagram success: 6 things you need to know

Change is something that we deal with in our everyday lives, from a diversion on the way to work to price hikes in your favourite coffee house, social media is no different.

They regularly evaluate and update their algorithms (algorithms are a series of mathematical steps to help with performance resulting in an answer to a problem). Not too long-ago Instagram, the Facebook owned company, decided to do exactly this. Read on to see how this will affect user experience (UX).

What’s changed?

Cast your mind back to 2016 when Instagram changed the algorithm that created reverse chronological feeds, which essentially revealed the end of a plot before the start. The reverse chronological ordering was sacked off in 2016 due to many users missing 70 percent of all posts and 50 percent of their closely followed accounts. However, Instagram recently announced that they had adopted a new algorithm which follows a more chronological ordering with six factors. These give users greater post coverage along with a fresh feel. Instagram historically has been pretty quiet about how it all works but, on this occasion, they have opened up.

How the new algorithm works?

The updated algorithm not only looks at who their users follow it also makes calculations based on what users like and how they engage with posts. Posts are now personalised, with not one feed being the same as the next. Instagram believes that 90 per cent of posts curated by friends and family will now be visible, which is a huge leap compared with the previous 50 per cent in 2016.

The algorithm predicts what users want to view by applying its six stage criteria to ongoing engagement. Here are the six factors Instagram now uses…

#Interest

Instagram decides how popular a post would be with its user. The more popular it feels the post will be the higher up it will show in a feed. It basically looks at previous scrolling and clicking behaviours and calculates these against current posts. If a user likes motorbikes and a post has been published about motorbikes, they will assume its going to be a winner.

#Timeliness

The new algorithm will favour up to date posts against ones that are much older – as simple as that really. In response to this change professionals will need to be producing up to date materials to ensure they don’t end up archived and at the bottom of its followers’ feeds.

#Relationship

If a user comments, tags and interacts well with others, Instagram will assume they are in the friends and family category. Comment more on a user’s photos and videos and see how they begin to show up on your feed.

#Frequency

If Instagram is used regularly, the feed will look more chronologically up-to-date as Instagram is trying to show the latest posts that are considered interesting to its user. However, if you only scroll now and then, the feed will focus on what’s considered to be more popular and interesting to the user. It will be less focused on making the feed chronological in this instance.

#Following

The consequence to an account that has many followers is that posts will become diluted. The feed will contain a bit of everyone and not much of anything. Compared with an account that has just a few followers where posts will show more frequently and regularly. It may or may not be the right time to consider the theory less is more and unfollow those unwanted accounts.

#Usage

Instagram will be put to work digging through its catalogue to find up to date posts that are of interest for a user who sits for hours scrolling through the feed. Highlights will more likely appear if engagement time is minimal… a bit like ‘the best bits’.

For professional who are using Instagram as a marketing tool these changes mean:

  • More content needs to be produced to stay on top
  • Avoid republishing work to save time as users will not engage with it if they have seen it before
  • Be more aware of when your audience is using Instagram, so your content is timely and doesn’t end up at the bottom before you have even started!
  • Engage your audience so they spend longer with you, and in turn your content will show up more regularly on their feeds
  • Leave comments and create a community that want to interact with you and your enterprise.

If you would like further help to develop a social media strategy that works with up to date algorithms and platforms, then say hello to one of our team at Proactive Marketing Solutions.

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Ways to Optimise Your Website’s Conversion Rates – Part 3

Ways to Optimise Your Website’s Conversion Rates – Part 3

In the third and final part of our series on ways to optimise your websites’ conversion rates, we again investigate simple techniques to get the results that you are striving for.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT COLOURS TO INCREASE CONVERSION RATES

Colours have a close association with emotion and provoke reactions. The colours you choose to promote your brand is vitally important in conveying the message you want and can have a hugely persuasive effect on how people respond.

People generally make purchasing decisions based on emotion so this needs to be fully appreciated when you are looking to optimise your conversion rates. Apply colours that strike a chord with the audience and trigger an emotional response.

Perhaps most importantly, they should be carefully considered for your CTAs, which need should adopt contrasting colours that really stand out. Some colours are frequently used for particular states to trigger certain responses, for example, a the bold red for an error messages so be aware that you don’t use a colour that sparks a level of confusion.

WRITE CONTENT THAT CONVERTS

Of course, thoughtful layouts and bright colourful images make your website look fantastic. However, there is no substitute for copywriting so avoid becoming lazy. The way you say things and what you say plays a massive role on how your brand is perceived. Filling your otherwise-fantastic website up with bad or misleading text can destroy all your other good work.

First and foremost, you need to write content that your audience understands and can engage with by using language and tone. The content and words that are used for a bar or restaurant website will be vastly different from those used for an accountant or a lawyers site.

OPTIMISE YOUR HEADLINES

On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.

–David Ogilvy

It stands to reason that possibly your website’s one and only chance to communicate your message is through your website’s headlines. You need to immediately grab people’s attention and hold it! Great techniques include:

  • Let the reader know immediately what they will learn from your page – lead with the benefit
  • Being concise and to the point whilst also being provocative
  • Be clever, people like things that are amusing or use wordplay
  • Avoid clichés unless you use them in your wordplay. They are not appreciated and can have an immediate negative impact

Avoid following the crowd – if your competitors are using something or you think they might, don’t use it. Think outside the box and be a leader not a follower!