We've integrated a new video player, free of course to our clients.  Here are some amazing highlights of the new built in video player: 

 1. Setup the abandoned cart notice You can configure an automated notice to go out to users that log into your site, add items to their cart, and decide not to check out.
If you wish to offer people a discount for returning or if there is any particular message you would like to convey (such as a reminder on your great shipping rates ) this is a great way to not only capture that client, but keep them happy and returning.

2. Add an incentive to your site to get users to sign up and create an account.  the more users you have logged in and checkout out the site the more abandoned notices will go out and the higher conversion rate you will have.  I have seen many different incentives setup.  Anything from a free ebook when you sign up for some promotional pricing on the first order.  It is totally up to you, you probably know your clientele better than we do.  If you tell us what kind of incentive you are wanting to offer Remote Hands can get it set up for you.

3. Enabling Ratings can help too.  When people come to the site they often like to see feedback from other buyers.   Google, Bing, Yahoo and other Search Engines take ratings into account as a ranking factor when they crawl pages now. Article on ratings as a ranking factor.

4. Enable automated notifications to request your shoppers review the products they purchased.  This is a super common practice these days, and best of all you can completely custmomize the message you send to your shoppers either offering them an incentive to leave a review or appeal to the humanity of helping out others with their important feedback.  See more about how to set this up if you are a WebsiteForge customer here.

Contact Kevin Gannon today if you wish to talk about more ways to increase conversions and other ways to market your website!

(248) 349- 6281

1.  Blog...In our system when you blog you will add new and fresh content to your site(there are many ways this can be manifested on your website), you can also have your posts go to Facebook and Twitter.  Which will draw interest and traffic to your website.  On top of those ways it will also email your subscriber list.  This is one of the best FREE ways to let people know exactly what you offer and what your company is about, and how you are different than the competition!

2.  Keep your site up to date.  Life get's crazy, we understand that.  But often things change and you may forget to update your website with whatever schedule, contact info, services, etc may have changed. Maybe you are offering an alternate contact for sales or support?  Maybe you have adjusted some pricing on your services?  That info should be current on your site.  It's easy to do with our new builder! You can also submit a Remote Hands request to have that info updated as well.  Both fast and simple ways to keep your site current. 

3. Be sure all of your local info is accurate as well.  There are many ways to be seen online, using free services like Bing local, Yelp, and Google Maps is a really great way to be found.  Make sure that your contact, schedules, prices and misc info is added to Yelp, Bing, and Google Maps and is the most current info.  This is a really great way to be found.  Here is a more detailed article about those services.

Contact Kevin Gannon today if you wish to talk about more ways to increase conversions and other ways to market your website!

(248) 349- 6281

NOTE* Anytime you intend on sending out a mass mailing take these rules into account:

The Requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act Rules

In order to remain on the good side of the email spam law, you'll want to be sure you're abiding by the following:

The holiday shopping season is upon us.  It is estimated that $123 Billion dollars will be spent this holiday shopping season in E-commerce ALONE! According to Statista

That's approx. 17 Billion dollars more than last holiday season!  What are you doing to prepare to get a piece of that E-commerce pie? 🍕

If you haven't made a plan of action yet, that's ok!  We are here to help.  I've put together some questions to help you decide the best plan of action for your online business this holiday season.

✓ What are you going to feature on these super savings days? do you have a service you can offer a discount on?  Or perhaps you have a unique set of products you want to offer a discount and free shipping on?

✓ How you are going to inform your old customers and your new potential customers of this amazing offer?  We have several ways for you to make an announcement using our mass mail feature (FREE or put up a teaser graphic on your website luring people back on these days.  If you need help with either of these options and you are a current WebsiteForge customer feel free to contact support and we can assist you in getting this done.

✓ Are you going to offer more savings to users that sign up? Hint hint, we think you should!  Getting user data will help you with future offerings and building a customer base that will keep coming back.  We also have ways you can incentivize returning customers.

As a follow up to our last post, we had a few requests for a sneak peek at our non-E-commerce website checklist.  They are actually very similar, and of course, this isn't the whole list.  But these are some of the most common items I see missed when I am evaluating websites.  These areas will help increase conversions.

Informational Website Checklist:

1. Social Media Integration

This area works in conjunction with many other areas and modules in our system.  For example, if you have a blog set up, you can have your blog posts automatically post to your Facebook wall, Facebook business page, and Twitter feed every time you create a new post!

2. Add an incentive to your site to get users to sign up and create an account.  the more users you have logged in and checkout out the site the more abandoned notices will go out and the higher conversion rate you will have.  I have seen many different incentives setup.  Anything from a free ebook when you sign up for some promotional pricing on the first order.  It is totally up to you, you probably know your clientele better than we do.  If you tell us what kind of incentive you are wanting to offer Remote Hands can get it set up for you.

3. Enabling Ratings can help too.  When people come to the site they often like to see feedback from other users.   Google, Bing, Yahoo and other Search Engines take ratings into account as a ranking factor when they crawl pages now. Article on ratings as a ranking factor.

4. SSL certificate.  Securing your whole site with the new SSL certificate has benefits with the search engines too. More Details about our SSL

5. Send offers. Whether it's an offer to subscribe to your awesome blog or some sort of promotion on your website...OFFER IT! :) They won't think about you unless you intentionally become a thought in the minds of your audience. You don't have to have an e-commerce site to take advantage of the traffic that is already on your site!

6. Offer a Live Chat option.  There are free apps that will let you offer it.  There is an article here about the different types of clientele that appreciate Live chat vs other options.

7. AMP.  Google Amp is something that not everyone wants to offer.  It's a faster version of the site(which really helps with mobile loads) and is something that Google shows a preference for. https://www.ampproject.org/ there is more info on their site about what AMP is.  If you are wanting to have your pages AMPED it is something that Remote hands can

I will often get asked to review a website for our clients to help them improve their online presence. (which does boost traffic and conversions)  I'm releasing my E-commerce checklist cheat sheet.

E-commerce Website Checklist:

1. Setup the abandoned cart notice (this is something that Remote Hands can do for you or you can set it up yourself.)
let us know if you wish to offer people a discount for returning or if there is any particular message you would like to convey (such as a reminder on your great shipping rates )  The abandoned cart notice will go to any user that was logged in added items to their cart and left before checkout.

2. Add an incentive to your site to get users to sign up and create an account.  the more users you have logged in and checkout out the site the more abandoned notices will go out and the higher conversion rate you will have.  I have seen many different incentives setup.  Anything from a free ebook when you sign up for some promotional pricing on the first order.  It is totally up to you, you probably know your clientele better than we do.  If you tell us what kind of incentive you are wanting to offer Remote Hands can get it set up for you.

3. Enabling Ratings can help too.  When people come to the site they often like to see feedback from other buyers.   Google, Bing, Yahoo and other Search Engines take ratings into account as a ranking factor when they crawl pages now. Article on ratings as a ranking factor.

4. SSL certificate.  Securing your whole site with the new SSL certificate has benefits with the search engines too. More Details about our SSL

5. Send offers. Whether it's an offer to subscribe to your awesome blog or some sort of promotion on your website...OFFER IT! :) They won't think about you unless you intentionally become a thought in the minds of your audience. You don't have to have an e-commerce site to take advantage of the traffic that is already on your site!

6. Offer a Live Chat option.  There are free apps that will let you offer it.  There is an article here about the different types of clientele that appreciate Live chat vs other options.

7. AMP.  Google Amp is something that not everyone wants to offer.  It's a faster version of the site(which really helps with mobile loads) and is something that Google shows a preference for. https://www.ampproject.org/ there is more info on their site about what AMP is.  If you are wanting to have your pages AMPED it is something that Remote hands can

So many choices online today.  You can buy from any major retailer to a mom and pop shop that offers their items to the public through channels like Amazon or their own website.  Because there are so many choices buyers choose to rely on ratings, reviews, and testimonies.  Each of these is slightly different so let me explain. 

• A Review is a buyer feedback about a product or service. 
• A Rating is generally a buyers input on the quality of a product or service. 
• And a Testimony is a consumers experience with your business or service. (IE Fast shipping, friendly customer service etc...)

Consumers generally rely on these types of feedback when they are making their purchasing or service choices online.  It is important to display this info loud and proud! :)

It is quite ok to ask your customers and clients to give you Testimonial feedback, ratings, and reviews. You can do so easily with our FREE mass mailing system!

(Use the instructions in this video and choose "ordered within" instead of "no purchase within" then ask your clients for a quick rating, review or testimony based on what you want and need on your site.)

All of these aspects are important for online businesses and they all have their place.  Each business is different, our system can accommodate all types of feedback.  Regardless of what you want or need to display on your website, WebsiteForge has you covered.

Feel free to contact us today if you would like to get set up with ratings, reviews or testimonies on your site.

We are your unfair advantage, here's another reason why:

We optimize, and test, then optimize some more at no extra charge!

I've talked to some SEO (Search Engine Optimization) experts and read many recent articles and the resounding replies I get, sound a lot like this:

"People need to understand that it's now a ranking factor and if their site is slow then it's going to hurt them."

Here at WebsiteForge, we stay faster than our competition to make sure our Clients stay faster than their competition.

I strongly suggest that you use a 3rd party testing tool - like www.gtmetrix.com to compare your site VS your competition...

And as always, feel free to reach out to us if you are not killing the competition in speed.  There is likely a very simple solution to resolve whatever is delaying loading.

We did a recent test, using some data that was provided to us by our friends over at ShopBakersNook.com

They have a good working friendship with one of their competitors and have done many different tests.  Over the course of the last year and a half we have poured into optimizing and updating the core elements and coding structure for optimal speed and loading times.  And this is a great example of how it's really paid off!

3rd Party Speed Test:	Google Speed Test

 You might think, well great, so they test better.  Why does that even REALLY MATTER?