November 10th, 2017 at 12:23 pm 
3 Key Business Basics
1. Build an audience
This is where many businesses miss the mark. You put together a beautiful website with all the right plugins, widgets and opt-in boxes. You follow all the steps, but the money doesn't come because you have no audience. We touched on this briefly in our "Holiday Preparedness Checklist" article regarding Social Media. Here are some different ways.
There are many ways to build an audience and quickly:
- Be a guest on a podcast. Every morning, Radio Guest List will deliver to your inbox a list of shows looking for your expertise.
- Guest post on blogs. There are blogs that get millions of visitors each month.
- Get exposure from large author sites. If you can be interviewed or write for sites like Entrepreneur or the Huffington Post, you get exposure to millions of potential leads and customers. Writing for these websites builds authority, grows your social media presence and leads to sales. Here is a podcast episode that walks you through how to do this.
2. Learn About Your Competition
Chances are that you are not about to take on Google, Ford, or Wal-Mart head on. However, you still need to be aware of your major competitors regardless of their actual market share. This includes both direct and indirect competitors, because this is where your ideal customers likely hang out.
Search engines offer tools that let you customize alerts and trend watches that keep you in the loop. With time, you should be able to build up a strong list of websites that will key you in on your industry's inside information.
A good article here: Best Competitive Keyword Research Tools
3. Differentiate Yourself to Stand Out and Get Noticed
We live in a very busy world, getting bombarded by thousands of marketing pieces every day. How are you ever going to stand out? How is anyone going to notice you?
You need to differentiate! Unfortunately a lot of businesses copy each other plainly because they think "the other guy" has got it all figured out, but most likely he or she hasn't!
A lot of businesses just blend in rather than carve out their own uniqueness.
So rather than copying anyone else, how about doing things differently, doings things better! Or shall we say "disrupt" since it seems to be a very fashionable word at the moment. Either way, all you need to do is blow your customers' mind with your awesomeness.
It's not just about getting noticed; you need to find ways to get noticed by the right people.
I've got two other great questions for you to get you started with this one. Someone smart once said that the quality of life depends on the quality of questions… or something like that.
So here goes.
Ask yourself "What's the frustration in my industry?".
Think about what people are frustrated about when working with someone in your industry.
Let me give you an example. A common frustration in service based industries is that the service people often arrive late on the job. So one of my clients who is an electrician decided to create a "we are always on time" guarantee. If any of his electricians arrive late for a job, the client gets $50, even if he or she is only one minute late. It didn't take long for his business to create an awesome reputation!
The second question to ask yourself and others is "What would make working with a <insert your industry> irresistible?"
You'll be surprised by how many great ideas you will get from your clients and friends!
How about we set a challenge? Ask ten people in the next ten days and then implement the top three best ideas.
Did you take the challenge? What did you find out? Comment below!
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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November 2nd, 2017 at 12:19 pm
3 Ways you can generate more business for FREE
1. Increase Lead Generation and Customer Engagement with Email Marketing
According to MarketingCharts.com, email is the most effective digital marketing tactic, the one that delivers the best ROI and the least difficult to execute. Start a customer newsletter that offers timely information about the business, special promotions or an inside look at the company. This helps build a community with your customers, and it keeps your product and business on their minds.
Entrepreneurs don't need to pay an agency or marketing consultant to develop an email campaign either. You can do it yourself for free with the built in WebsiteForge Mass Mail Feature!
2. Use Social Media
It's free, easy to get started and offers a massive network of potential customers. The hard part is increasing your followers without wasting your precious time. Make sure you focus on value over volume. Identify the social channels that reach your customers best. I've linked some good articles here for each of these platforms, take some time to determine your ideal market and use the platform that reaches them best. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn.
WebsiteForge has integrations setup for Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. If you would like assistance in utilizing these features please feel free to contact Support
The goal is to provide your followers with something that's useful, interesting and shareable. Start small, post a few times a week and learn who your audience is. Once you have an understanding of who's consuming your content, and what they're interested in, you can start ramping up efforts.
3. Stand on the Shoulders of your Customers
Satisfied clients can be a business's best marketing tool. Actively engage pre-existing clients through PR, social media and email.
For example, pitching your business and a satisfied customer to a writer can be mutually beneficial for both parties. This tactic generally leads to a more compelling story and a stronger relationship between you and your customer. Once you have a customer army of spokespeople, let them share positive experiences and tell your company story for you.
Marketing a small or new business is extremely crucial to a company's success but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to invest a huge chunk of capital into it. Savvy, frugal entrepreneurs can find products and services that can help increase visibility and drive customer acquisition – without spending any overhead.
You can offer incentives as well for your existing customers to promote your products or business. The E-commerce module has a virtual wallet option, you can offer free VW dollars per referral or a Gift Certificate this not only helps your current customers want to repeat business it will bring in new business.
For non eCommerce sites you can advertise discounts on your services for future services rendered. These are great ways to spread the word about your business at a very low cost.
Have you started any of these practices? if so leave us some comments below and tell us about your experience!
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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October 27th, 2017 at 2:13 pm
| ∞ Unlimited |
Bandwidth
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Pages and Content
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Products and Categories
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The 3 U's that you get with WebsiteForge
1. Unlimited Bandwidth
To really understand how this benefits you, you need to ask the question "What is Bandwidth?"
In its most basic definition, bandwidth describes the level of traffic and amount of data that can transfer between your site, users, and the Internet. When you are looking at web hosting companies this is often one of the more overlooked features. Failure to estimate the bandwidth needs of your website could produce an underperforming website, additional charges. Websiteforge uses 5 Tier-1 OC-12 Backbone Connections with Unlimited Bandwidth - It's like recruiting the "Fantastic Five" of internet connectivity.
2. Unlimited Pages and Content
This feature is huge! You may not realize how many pages you end up wanting to have on your site. And in our system you don't have to "budget" pages. You get an unlimited number of pages FOREVER. I hear a lot of people say things like "I need a simple 1 or 2 page website" 9 times out of 10 those people end up with about 30 page websites. Because when you realize the benefits that come with having quality content on your website it only makes sense to populate your website with as much relevant content as you can to make your website an authority on whatever product or service you offer. And when you have the option of unlimited pages why wouldn't you?
3. Unlimited Products and Categories
This is another HUGE benefit! You can have 300,000 products or 3. There are no extra charges for offering more products on your website! You also get unlimited storage for your products! When you have a complex system with thousands of products, you will most likely also need to have a large number of categories. NO PROBLEM, we got you covered! Have as many categories as you like. We don't limit you, we want your business to be your main focus, not tedius things like tracking how many products, pages, or categories you are allowed to have.
Have you had to count out pages before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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October 20th, 2017 at 11:12 am
Weekend Homework: Increase your website's Ranking (SEO)
Follow these suggestions, and watch your website rise the ranks to the top of search-engine results organically.(meaning, without paid ads)
1. Publish Relevant Content
Quality content is the number one driver of your search engine rankings and there is no substitute for great content. Quality content created specifically for your intended user increases site traffic, which improves your site's authority and relevance.
Identify a keyword phrase for each page. Think about how your reader might search for that specific page (with phrases like “Become a Dog Trainer in Michigan,” “Dog training certification courses,” or “Michigan Canine Certification Programs”). Then, repeat this phrase several times throughout the page—once or twice in the opening and closing paragraphs, and two to four more times throughout the remaining content.
Don't forget to use bold, italics, heading tags, and other emphasis tags to highlight keyword phrases, but don't overdo it.
Never sacrifice good writing for SEO. The best pages are written for the user, not for the search engine.
2. Update Your Content Regularly
You've probably noticed that we feel pretty strongly about content. Search engines do, too. Regularly updated content is viewed as one of the best indicators of a site's relevancy, so be sure to keep it fresh.
3. Metadata
Metadata is the content that the Search Engines use to identify a page. You should insert metadata, or information about the contents of your page for every page.
- Title Metadata
Title metadata is responsible for the page titles displayed at the top of a browser window. It is the most important metadata on your page. In the "Page Settings" you can add your "title" wich is the Metadata Title. (Click image to enlarge) 
- Description Metadata
Description metadata is the textual description that a browser will use in your page search return. Think of it as your site's window display—a concise and appealing description of what is contained within, with the goal of encouraging people to enter.
(Click image to enlarge)
- Keyword Metadata
Keyword metadata are the search phrases that people type when they want to find your page. You'll want to include a variety of phrases. However, don't get greedy: if your list becomes excessive, the browser may completely ignore the data. As a general rule, try to keep it to about 6-8 phrases with each phrase consisting of 1-4 words. A great example would be "Dog Training, Canine Certifications."
4. Have a link-worthy site
Focus on creating relevant links within the text. Instead of having “click here” links, try writing out the name of the destination. “Click here” has no search engine value beyond the attached URL, whereas “Dog Certification Course Outline” is rich with keywords and will improve your search engine rankings as well as the ranking of the page you are linking to.
5. Use alt tags
Always describe your visual and video media using alt tags, or alternative text descriptions. They allow search engines to locate your page, which is crucial—especially for those who use text-only browsers.
These are only a few of the many methods for improving your search engine ranking.
Have you tried any of these techniques to boost your website Ranking? Are there others you've found success using? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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October 12th, 2017 at 2:31 pm
3 E-Commerce Tricks to Boost Website Conversions
Are you one of the ecommerce businesses that are obsessed with traffic?
I've heard people say “If only I can increase my traffic by 50 percent, sales will also go up by 50 percent,”
The problem with this approach is that, while probably true, not only is it more difficult to increase traffic; it is also costly.
When you focus on conversions, small changes that often cost you nothing can have a long-term compounding effect on your bottom line!
The following are three powerful ecommerce hacks based on time-tested research and psychology principles, and it's going to give your business a boost in conversions, e-commerce or not.
1. K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Often people believe that giving people more choice is the key to boosting sales and revenue. However, a series of psychology studies have found that this is not true. In fact, a book dedicated to the subject – The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz – found that too much choice can have a mentally paralyzing effect on people.
In one of the more notable studies on the subject of choice, the Jam Study (conducted in 2000), psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper found that reducing choice can boost sales by up to 900%.
Limiting the choice you present is an effective strategy for boosting conversions. When the only thing you want is for people to buy, presenting them with fewer options will make the choice that much easier.
2. Targeted Blogging
I've seen firsthand the impact blogging can have on boosting sales and leads off of a website. One of the first tips I give to people who are looking for ways to boost sales is to start blogging!
Now, don't just take my word for it: research conducted by Hubspot found that businesses which blog generate significantly more leads and traffic than businesses that don't blog.
More importantly, there is a right and wrong way to blog – especially if you're doing it for ecommerce purposes.
- Be sure you blog relates to your ecommerce store or service; this way, you can easily drive users from your blog to your ecommerce store or service that you offer.
- Regularly link to your ecommerce store and specific products on your store or important information about your services throughout your blog. Otherwise, your blogging efforts could be empty.
- Blog Regularlry. Research has shown, especially for businesses, that publishing more content will yield more traffic and leads.
3. Don't over think the simple things, such as color.
Questions like; "What is the best color for conversions?" can overwhelm you. And in reality the issue isn't with "What color is used", but the contrasts in colors.
If your site has a major bold color, then important links on your site need to contrast that color. If the base of your site is white, then making bold colors for buttons is a simple way to make important links stand out on your website. Choose content on your site that should stick out and make it bolder. This will help increase conversion.
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Have you tried any of these techniques to boost your conversions? Are there others you've found success using? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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September 29th, 2017 at 11:24 am
Once your website is secured here are some steps to take with Google to update your site:
1.Webmaster Tools
- Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
- Add a "new property" and use the https://www.YourDomain.com version of your webite to create a new property. (and make sure you are verified with Google)
- Add Sitemap for the new property
2. Google Analytics
- Go to https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/ login and go to "property settings" and make sure you are using the HTTPS version there as well.(the below screenshot is located under "Admin", and "Property settings". in your Google analytics account)
You can also add your site and update the sitemap on Bing as well.
Didn't secure your site yet? You should...
Click here to learn more
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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September 18th, 2017 at 11:32 am
Happy Fall! This is the Pumpkin Spice🎃, Holiday Shopping 🛍️, Turkey eating 🦃 , Fall decorating🍁🍂 season. As with all of your local shopping stores updating their storefronts with all the fall smells and sights, your website should go through a checklist to be sure you are ready for the holiday season.
I am going to list out things in the order that the search engines make them relevant.
1. Responsive
If you have had the "mobile" site in the past you should know that the search engines (and most users that shop on their phones) consider this to be hard to use and outdated. To understand more about responsive please visit our Responsive Explanation page.
2. Secure
Securing your website is going to be very incredibly important in the coming months to shoppers and the search engines. Please don't ignore this.
3. Updated Content
Please take the time to go through your site and put relevant items on the home page for the coming months. As you walk into a grocery store, hardware store, lighting store...you name it! They have changed the store layout to appeal to the season. While I know not every website is a retail store, I do know most websites services changes and the seasons change. And products change as the seasons change. Be mindful of what your shoppers are looking for. Feel free to contact support or schedule a 1 on 1 FREE training session to go forward with updates. (NOTE* If you have Remote hands time this is a GREAT way to use it! )
4. Social Media
If you haven't already started using the Social Media integration (that is FREE and built into our system) you should! One of the best ways to do this is to Blog. There are many ways to use a blog to increase traffic to your website. Feel free to Contact support to get ideas on how to setup your blog if you don't have one already and ways to capitalize on the blog feature.
5. Speed
Speed is a bigger factor than most realize. We offer FREE ways to improve speed. One of them is the Google Pagespeed service. If you don't have this enabled for your site feel free to contact support and we can enable it for you. There are also some other ways that involve some work from you, but may be more than worth the effort.
Clients that have put all of these factors as the most important factors for their site this year vs last year have seen revenue, and traffic increases.
Click here to opt out.
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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January 9th, 2017 at 4:44 pm
Have you ever thought about integrating your store POS with your website?
| POS |
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Many stores have many different Point Of Sale systems, some of those systems offer their own website integrations, but those websites usually don't offer the powerful Search Engine tools that we do.
Did you know that WebsiteForge is already integrated with POS systems and can integrate with virtually any system?
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Contact me today for more info. 888-558-2446 x 212
The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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November 17th, 2016 at 3:47 pm 
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Most People Shopping on Cyber Monday are Looking for Low Prices!
90% of online shoppers surveyed say low prices are most important to them. 86% say free shipping is next.
Source: National Retail Federation |
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Are you offering a deal this Cyber Monday? And if yes, how are you advertising it?
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People Spend the Most on Cyber Monday
Since 2010, Cyber Monday is the highest online spending day.
Source: AP |
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Making sure your website is ready for sales is a great idea. Run through your site and attempt to checkout on several devices and make sure it flows well and is easy to use.
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Mobile Device Use Increases Year Over Year
An estimated 29.6 million online shoppers will use mobile devices on Cyber Monday.
Source: USA TODAY research |
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It's not too late to get your site mobile friendly! If you have not done this YOU ARE MISSING OUT ON SALES!
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Sales Consistently Increase Every Year
Cyber Monday sales have increased by $100 million each year since 2005, estimates say.
Source: International Business Times |
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Don't be stuck with one of those hosts that limits your sales! WebsiteForge gives you Unlimited Sales, Unlimited Products, Unlimited Bandwidth and MORE!
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The goal of this posts is to help you realize and achieve the most success from your website
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