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.

How to Use Google Analytics Acquisition Reports

This topic is going to discuss reporting from Google Analytics.  Managing the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of your own website can be a full time job, if you have been tinkering with your SEO you will come to the understanding that SEO is not a "set it and forget it" area of your business.  You can setup your contact page and pretty much not need to touch it again until something with your business changes such as a phone or email etc...  SEO is different.  Going through reports can help you understand what changes you need to work on next.

The “Acquisition” reports are located under the “Acquisition” section in the left-hand navigation. You can use the Acquisition reports to compare the performance of different marketing channels and discover which sources send you the highest quality traffic and conversions. This can help you make better decisions about where to focus your marketing efforts.

The focus of this article is going to be on HOW traffic was sent to your site, referred to as the "Medium" report. Here are some examples of mediums you will see in your report:

• “Organic” is used to identify traffic that arrived on your site through unpaid search like a non-paid Google Search result.
• “CPC” indicates traffic that arrived through a paid search campaign like Google AdWords text ads.
• “Referral” is used for traffic that arrived on your site after the user clicked on a website other than a search engine.
• “Email” represents traffic that came from an email marketing campaign.
• “(none/Direct)” is applied for users that come directly to your site by typing your URL directly into a browser. In your reports, you will see these users have a source of “direct” with a medium of “(none)”.

The majority WebsiteForge customers will see the most traffic from "organic" searches.  This is great news for our WebsiteForge Customers!  Because Organic search results are FREE!

Let's break down a real life example here.

Our top traffic source is "Direct", but we're going to ignore that line for now.  Our second greatest source is Google organic search, which has a relatively low bounce rate compared to other sources. Facebook has a great number of new sessions, but a pretty high bounce rate. Let's do a bit more analysis to understand if this is a problem.

We can click into the comparison view and select the metric “bounce rate” to compare bounce rate for each source/medium combination to the site average. Sure enough, we can see that our Facebook traffic is bouncing at a much higher rate than the site average.

Now that we can see for sure that the bounce rate is really high from this avenue and where they are being directed we can evaluate the content and layout of that landing page to produce a more valuable page being presented to those users.

If you are wanting to rank better organically in the search engines, feel free to contact us and we can help you look over what you've done so far and help you determine what steps to take next!

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?

I've talked about these topics before and hate sounding like a broken record 🔁.  But I know often, people miss a post and they may not realize how important a post really is.  So this post is going to highlight; 

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO BE DOING ON YOUR WEBSITE:

Step 1. ✏️ Content Content Content! Add relevant content to your site about your products and services.  I wrote more about this last year and wanted to bring this post to light again because it is very very important for ALL websites.  If you get stuck on how to write good content you can also check out this article precisely about that! :)

Now that you have added all the content that will overly describe how awesome your business is and how well you do you.  we head over to the next very important key to having a successful website.

Step 2. 📈 Get and KEEP your visitors.  I wrote about this last week and earlier this year. Do you know why?  becuase it really is so very important to capture and utlize the traffic that you do have.  This is important whether you are a service based business or Ecommerce! 

Ok GREAT! you have now taken steps to add super power ⚡ content to your website, you have added all of our tips and tricks to capture and keep your existing visitors...what's left?

Step 3. 💨 Speed and Mobile Compatibility. Yep, I said it.  If your website is not yet responsive.  You need to do it NOW.  Google has announced another algorithm change being released in JULY 2018 that speed IS a bigger ranking factor.  And the SEO community has been talking about it.  So you may ask why does having a responsive site mean it will be faster.  And this is a great question.  In and of it's own it does not mean it will be faster.  With WebsiteForge when you have a website designed or re-designed our team KNOWS that Google factors speed and we pour our experience into creating the fastest and most user friendly design we can.  We have tools that help us offer you the fastest initial load times as well as optimizing images for faster loading. You can see in this previous post that our client's site ranked better and loaded faster than a major competitor!

Now that you have followed steps 1 - 3 you can start watching your sales increase like our other clients that have followed these best practices steps.

If you would like an estimate for a site re-design please contact me.  Or if you would like a site review, we can evalutate your site and let you know if there are any features that your site may benefit from using.

The number one question I get asked is "what can I do on my website to increase sales".  I usually evaluate the site and check for many different factors.  But the most common factors are that people have traffic they are just not tapping into!

There are 2 pieces to really improve sales from existing traffic.

1. Capture your audience.  

2. Communicate with the people that are ALREADY on your site!  This means:

a. Get people to sign up!

Whether you offer a free guide to something amazing that is relevant to your site, or a subscription to your blog...whatever it may be.  There are many many ways to get people to sign up on your site.  Find the way that works best for your ideal target clientele.

b. Setup an abandoned cart notice!

For e-commerce, one of the best ways to increase sales is to reach out to those that have already been pondering a purchase on your site.  The abandoned cart notice does just that.

c. 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 your audiences minds. You don't have to have an e-commerce site to take advantage of the traffic that is already on your site!  If you don't have a blog, you should really consider starting one.  There is a really good article here about how to decide what you should blog about.

Now, if you are having traffic issues on your site (traffic is low) I've written an article previously about ranking either with paid ads or Organically.  Check out the article here.  We can also evalutate your website with you to discuss ways that you can improve the traffic on your site.  Feel free to contact us to schedule a time we can review your site with you and offer up some FREE suggestions on your website.

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

We offer free integration with Google Sheets for all of your data.

With Google Sheets, you can create, edit, and collaborate wherever you are. For free.

Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet app that lets users create and format spreadsheets and simultaneously work with other people. Google Sheets allows businesses to integrate their data with 3rd party apps to expedite and in some cases automate every-day business processes, such as operations, reporting, shipping, updating Clients & exployees, etc.

Feeding Data Into Google Sheets 📝

Let's begin with a few ways that you can feed your data to Google Sheets. Once it's in Sheets, you can create charts, dashboards, or conduct the analysis to get the answers you need. Later, we'll talk about how Sheets can be an intermediate step in a workflow, and how it can go from there, out to other services or platforms.

• Feed your WebsiteForge product data To and From Google Sheets
• Feed your WebsiteForge order data To and From Google Sheets
• Feed your WebsiteForge Members To and From Google Sheets

These can be utilized in many different ways.  More to come on this below.
Also, soon, more areas of your WebsiteForge members area will be integrated with Google Sheets.

Google Forms 🎫

These days with the Google Docs Platform, it couldn't be easier to create a form and log the responses into a spreadsheet. It is now a built-in option to route your Form responses directly into Sheets. Forms can be a much more natural feeling method for users when you're looking to have them input data; consider this approach if it makes more sense than opening up your spreadsheet for collaboration.

Zapier ⚡

Introducing Zapier into your workflow can open up many powerful options to meet your needs. With Multi-Step Zaps you can do things like have an email with an attachment trigger a zap that will upload the attachment to dropbox, then have it notify you about the attached file in a communication app like Slack.

That is just 1 example of a multi step zap.  You can see all kinds of integrations with Google Sheets and Zapier here. 

Here's a good example of how to use the already great tools in WebsiteForge and maximize your social presence.

If you aren't already familiar with how our social media integration works I will summarize it by saying it's like having a dashboard from your website to broadcast to your social media.  With zaps you can take it a step further by expanding which social platforms you broadcast to.

Now that you see some ways that Zapier works, you can start to play around with the options at your fingertips.  Being able to push your WebsiteForge module data automatically to a google sheet and then triggering events from Zapier can help you automate tasks like never before!

If you would like assistance setting up an integration, feel free to contact support.

Often people think I only need XYZ service to make my website work.  But when most people try to get a decent looking website up using a cheap hosting option they deeply regret it, often times they quit the project they started, or end up losing thoursands of dollars hiring different "Specialists" to just "make it work like they want".

You don't want to find a storage unit to park your car in and never touch it again...You want a pit crew you can count on to keep your business engine running smoothly.

This is what sets WebsiteForge apart.  We don't piece together random elements from 20 different coders to try and just "Make things work".  We have in-house Designers, Programmers, Project Managers and tech support so that you get the very best option for your business.

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

WebsiteForge's Managed Services Broken Down for you...

Our monthly managed services are so much more than "just hosting".  It's an all in one bundle of savings that no one comes close to offering!     WebsiteForge offers an incredible monthly package that includes Hosting AND Services:

Personalized communications can make a repeat customer;

Outside research from Narvar has revealed that the modern retailer needs to look carefully at the quality of the communications experience they are providing before and after the "buy button" is pressed.

"Customers Judge their online shopping experiences in large part based on how retailers communicate with them after they click the 'Buy' button.  And the more thoughtful, intuitive, and personalized the communications are, the better."

The study also found that millennials and baby boomers strongly believe that fast and direct communications about an order are the number one factors in securing their loyalty.

Key findings:

• Millennials are 20% less likely to contact a retailer via email than baby boomers and are five times more likely to use live chat on a website

• Fast and direct communications about an order are the number one factors in winning the loyalty of millennials and baby boomers - that's over things like retailers sharing recommendations and product reviews

• Millennials are the age group least likely to want to be contacted by a retailer over SMS

Did you know you can customize(personalize) your automated notifications about orders to your customers?

There are some really helpful variables listed in this help article that can help you personalize your communications with your clients.

In this help article, you can see how to customize the invoices and order related notices that your customers receive.  If you have not done this already I strongly recommend doing so.  It can mean the difference between a 1-time customer and a repeat customer!

3 Reasons to love Google Data Studio

Google Data Studio is a service from Google that let's you pool data from multiple sources into a data sheet.  It let's you customize the layout of the sheet and even updates the data in real time.  Giving you the ability to create and share relevant information about your website statistics to those that need to see it.

This video shows you how to make a simple report using the Google data studio tools.  The benefit of this tool can be great!  Perhaps you are wanting to keep an eye on some very specific aspects of your website and only want to view that data. 

Creating a report can give you a great looking sheet of data that is interactive and live fed data, only showing you the information you want to see.  You can also share that data with your co-workers.

There are even pre-built templates that you can use to get started.  Take a look at the 3 reasons we love Google Data Studio:

1.Use Multiple Data Sources

At first glance, we thought Data Studio was a nice alternative to the standard dashboard in Google Analytics. While it can pull in data from Google Analytics, the ability to customize and arrange the data takes it to a whole other level. What's more, Data Studio allows you to pull multiple data sources into one place (not just Google Analytics). Some of the data sources that you can bring into Google Data Studio are:

• Google AdWords
• Google Analytics
• Search Console
• YouTube Analytics
• SQL
• Google Sheets
• And More

Data Studio also has many 3rd party “Connectors” that are available to connect with and pull data from. Some of the Connectors are:

• Amazon Seller
• Stripe
• AdStage
• Facebook Ads and Insights
• DoubleClick
• eBay
• Twitter
• And More

Overall there is massive value in being able to view multiple data sources in one place.

2. Google Data Studio is Customizable

Now that you have all of your data, it's time to customize it. Yes! Data Studio gives you the ability to pull your multiple data sources into one customizable dashboard and lay them out in a visually appealing way. Some of the features of the dashboard:

• Ability to pull in multiple data sources and report on the metrics that drive your business ROI
• Brand it by changing colors
• Easy drag and drop elements within the dashboard
• Add and edit text
• Customize data displays as bar graphs, pie charts, and more
• Customize for easily save, email, and/or print PDF's

3. Sharing & Collaboration

Collaboration within Google Data Studio is a complete time saver. Grant access to your team set permissions, and at any moment they can view and contribute on any dashboard. Even if you have that old school team member you can easily save and share the dashboard as a PDF by email or print it.

• Grant access and set permissions
• Edit and save in real-time
• Make a copy of your own
• Share the dashboard by email or print