It almost goes without saying in the digital age: before you buy a product, try a service or go out to a restaurant, you’re likely to read the reviews first.
But, as a business owner with so many available review sites to choose from, how do you pick which sites you should have a business page on? Reviews can make or break a business and you want to be sure that not only can you be found for positive reviews, but that you’re also part of the conversation for any damage control.
Customers tend to gravitate towards different review sites for different industries. To make sure your efforts are focused towards the appropriate sites, here is a quick run down of the best review websites for restaurants, products and services:
Best Review Site for Restaurants: Yelp
With over 83 million reviews in total, 135 million visitors a month and availability on nearly any platform, Yelp is one of the most relevant review sites available. Yelp has reviews for anything ranging from mechanics to hairstylists, but the area they tend to dominate is restaurant reviews. (The only category that outdoes restaurant reviews on Yelp is shopping; however, Yelp continues to maintain its perception as a restaurant review site). Restaurant owners can sign up for a free account that allows them to post photos of their business and message customers – a smart way to attract people to your restaurant –and even has a “Best Of” category, which allows site users to quickly determine which restaurants are worth visiting.
Conclusion: A tremendous amount of Internet traffic, as well as Yelp’s continued public perception as primarily a restaurant review site, gives Yelp the advantage when it comes to focusing on restaurant reviews.
Best Review Site for Products: Amazon.com
With over a million reviews to date, Amazon.com reviewers have evaluated everything from moisturizer to video games. Amazon has a Top Customer Reviews list that highlights the best and most helpful reviews on the site to date. Amazon’s five-star rating system allows customers to distinguish quickly and clearly between a product that is rated two stars and one that is rated 4.5 stars. They can also see how many individuals have given reviews, and at what rating, which assists them in making better, more informed decisions about the products they want to buy.
Conclusion: An easy-to-use rating system, alongside a review count and historical information about the best reviews, allows Amazon’s users to make better choices about products they identify as superior or inferior.
Best Review Site for Services: Angie’s List
Unlike Yelp, a membership to Angie’s List will cost you. However, if you’re a business owner, you can sign up for a free account to be reviewed on the site. Angie’s List boasts an impressive 3 million plus users, making it one of the best review sites for services. Angie’s List aims to evaluate services based on five different criteria: service cost, quality of service, responsiveness, punctuality and how professional the service is. These are reviewed in a grading system of A through F. Angie’s List has been in business for more than ten years, making this site an easy and popular way to find standout services in your area.
Conclusion: Angie’s List isn’t free like some of its competitors, but still has a significant number of members – in the millions range – that make up its clientele. Angie’s List also has a well-rounded evaluation system for reviewed services.
To learn more about the best review sites and how to make sure your business is featured on the right ones, contact Millennium at 877-873-7445 for a free consultation. You can also connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn or feel free to send me an email at [email protected].
Companies looking to stand out among the competition know the importance of being found and being remembered, making online advertising a valuable component to any marketing strategy. With a larger reach than ever, the internet has become one of the most popular places for businesses to place ads. There is a vast range of online placement options and each one is just a piece of the puzzle, fitting into different methods to meet varying business goals. The proper combination can be what separates you from a company a customer skims by and a company a customer remembers.
To know what type of piece you’re holding and get the puzzle started, here are the basics of paid search and display advertising:
Search Ads
Text based ads that appear alongside a list of search results with key words. These ads are typically used in situations where customers are searching for a specific product or service.
Photo Credit: Google Adwords
Display Ads
Can be ads in text, but tend to be rich in images, media, or video format that appear on websites with related content. Instead of the customer searching directly for these products, they are displayed within websites the customer is visiting and are placed based on their relevancy to topics or interests on the display website. For example, if you were visiting a camping related website an ad for tents or backpacks from a sporting goods store may appear within the camping website.
Photo Credit: Camping.com
Retargeting Ads
Ads used to reinforce customers who may not be ready to make a purchase. These ads target customers who have already visited your website or have left their contact information in your database.
Retargeting ads serve as a reminder of what was left behind on other websites and encourages potential customers to return and make a purchase. There are two types of campaigns, pixel-based and list-based. Pixel-based is the most popular type and refers to the topic we all know as “cookies.” Once a customer visits your site, their browser receives a pixel, which turns into a “cookie” and causes specific retargeting ads to appear on other sites they visit. List based is a more personal form of retargeting advertising as it uses information customers have provided the company to create a more personal message.Now with a basic understanding of a few placement methods, it is time to cover the main metrics used in placement pricing and measurement.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost per Click (CPC), also commonly referred to as Pay per Click or PPC, is the most a business is willing to pay for a customer to click on its ad. The main goal of CPC is to drive traffic to your website or landing page by creating an ad customers are compelled to click on. CPC is great option for companies who are focused on increasing sales or boosting website traffic where the goal is to have the consumer take action via a purchase, contact form submission, etc.
Cost Per Mile (CPM)
Cost per Mile (CPM) or Cost per Thousand Impressions is a method aimed at delivering a message and increasing brand awareness. Companies pay based on the number of “impressions” or times an ad is viewed and a CPM strategy is very useful for businesses focused on building brand recognition or product familiarity.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Cost per Acquisition (CPA) is where a specific action is desired and a company pays each time this action is completed. The CPA required action is generally a conversion to a sale where the ad has led to a customer order and this acquisition is tracked electronically.
After a basic understanding of both ad placement and pricing strategies it is time for you to decide which one you believe will work best for your company. Always remember to establish your goals you want to achieve beforehand; as this will help you better determine where you place ads and how much you are willing to spend.
If you are still unsure or just want to discuss if you are making the right decision, call Millennium today for a free consultation and we can help create a digital advertising strategy that best fits your goals. Please also feel free to reach out to me via email at [email protected] or catch up with me on Twitter and LinkedIn.
One of the fastest growing methods for companies to promote their brand is the viral video. According to a recent article by Fast Company, companies that release videos that end up going viral often see up to 34 times more Internet traffic than companies that don’t do any video marketing. BuzzFeed has been rapidly growing, thanks in large part to the videos they produce and the dedicated 40 person staff who creates the videos. But why exactly are Buzzfeed videos so successful at online engagement? Believe it or not, they actually have viral video production down to a science.
The Growth of Online Video
One of the keys to any successful marketing campaign is knowing who your target audience is, and BuzzFeed knows exactly who their prime audience is. They know most of their ideal target comes from what is known as the “Bored at Work” network. The typical member of the “Bored at Work” network is someone who frequently uses a computer but may not be using it for work. BuzzFeed is constantly testing their content with their audience to figure out exactly what resonates well with them and what doesn’t.
The Statistics Don’t Lie
According to Forbes, 2015 is the year when Facebook will most likely overtake YouTube in video views, and this is key to BuzzFeed’s continued popularity. As of August 2015, BuzzFeed has amassed nearly 5.2 million followers on its Facebook page, with an additional 6.5 million followers on their page dedicated exclusively to BuzzFeed Videos. This is in contrast to the BuzzFeed Video YouTube channel, which has 7.2 million subscribers. Using social media helps BuzzFeed reach millions of followers on multiple social platforms almost instantly, followers who in turn share the content with their friends and family.
Brand Awareness
BuzzFeed has mastered the art of creating brand awareness in a way that is engaging, and often times fun, for the consumer. People who had never heard of BuzzFeed just a few years ago have now been drawn to their website, thanks in large part to shares from friends and family via social media. Many of their videos are not only humorous in nature, but informative as well. After all, where else are you likely to see a well made compendium of videos that shows you how to make a milkshake in 32 seconds?
Why should you consider showing videos as part of your marketing strategy? Videos, especially videos that end up going viral, can help extend the reach of your company and its message in an interactive way that truly engages your customers. You can use videos to promote the products you’re selling, to profile your staff, or even to showcase customer reviews. In BuzzFeed’s case, videos are used as a medium to show their fun side in action, which then helps drive traffic to their website. Who knows? If your company starts using videos in your marketing campaigns, you might become the next BuzzFeed of your industry!
As time goes on, website developers not only deal with changing technology but with changing website designs as well. Years ago, developers focused on skeuomorphism because they thought this was the most creative and innovative technique. Recently, we have seen both flat and material design come into the spotlight. These versions of modern website design offer quicker production techniques and faster load times; however, they have lost some of the creative ability skeuomorphism brought to websites. All of these designs, both new and old, can contribute to a creative website design if chosen correctly. To find the best option for your company, check out these three popular website designs and see if you can determine which one is best for you.
Skeuomorphism
For years, skeuomorphic design has given the user something they want in a website: the feeling of being at home. This theme gives elements within a webpage a more realistic look, allowing the user to feel like they are in an actual scene as the elements appear in a 3-D view. This realistic view is critical for the layout, as the objects appear to the user just as their material, shape, and function would in real life. Unfortunately, due to the newer trends mentioned earlier, skeuomorphism is now becoming less relevant, and developers are moving towards cleaner, more modern design elements.
Pros:
- It allows the user to feel a connection with the website as the objects appear familiar.
- The designer has the ability to trigger emotions by creating scenes within the web page.
- It gives the developer more creative options to express the company’s brand.
- It gives the appearance that the user can “click” on the objects, increasing the UX.
Cons:
- Too many design elements can confuse the user.
- A strong focus on design takes away from the actual content.
- Heavy design elements can lead to longer load times.
- Incorrect use of shadows and textures can alter the actual appearance of the product.
Flat Design
Unlike skeuomorphism, flat design brings a new, simple, and elegant template to the world. For developers, it is considered a more clean-cut and simplistic approach to websites. Flat design utilizes the 2-D interface options while allowing some room for creativity by developers. It focuses more on functionality than on the visual display by appearing on a completely flat surface. This becomes more beneficial for users as there are no flashy elements to confuse them while they navigate the website. This clean-cut appearance allows any company to look professional and welcoming. Although there is a lot of support for this clean-cut look, there are still some designers who miss the creative flexibility that skeuomorphism provides.
Pros:
- The lack of intricate design elements allows the site to function on several devices.
- Eliminates unnecessary elements to create a more simplistic design.
- Allows the user to quickly go through content.
- Allows for quick load times, as there is a lack of intricate designs.
Cons:
- Limited design options regarding color, shapes, and icon designs
- No shadows or shading on icons can confuse the user due to a lack of guidance.
- Can create a generic-looking site, preventing your brand from standing out.
- Lack of contrast and design has the possibility of boring users.
Material Design
Compared to flat design, material design provides the user with the opportunity to explore many different areas in a new and interactive way. With the use of the z-axis, material design brings back some elements of skeuomorphism, which allows for objects to appear in a three-dimensional way. Material design may not come with load times as fast as flat design, but it does provide developers with more color and layout options. Due to the use of the z-axis, it has the ability to guide the user through the webpage. With the illusion of one object floating over another, it is clear what buttons are clickable and where the user should go next. Although it can take longer to implement the theme, it makes the interaction with the UI feel real to the user, which, in the long run, can be beneficial for your business.
Pros:
- Comes with a set of detailed descriptions and leaves little room for guess work.
- Sites becomes easier to navigate with the use of the z-axis.
- Websites have the ability to perform across platforms.
- Provides built-in animations, eliminating the need to manually manage them.
Cons:
- Has the potential to drain users’ batteries due to the large number of animations.
- It is connected to Google, which may limit your uniqueness.
- Changing guidelines may be hard for some to keep up with.
- It takes longer to implement than a flat design.
With all of these different design options, the one thing to keep in mind is: who are you trying to reach? Would your users prefer something clean and simple or more exciting and interactive? Once you know the answers to these questions, you can pick a website design that fits you. The important concept to always remember is that no matter how professional or artistic your website may look, make sure your users understand it.
Image Credit: Medium
Being able to provide your customers with a user-friendly website that also allows them to interact and not get bored will be beneficial for your company, as they will spend more time searching. More time spent searching is beneficial for your company, as this has the potential to lead to large conversion rates.
To learn more about different web designs and how the proper one can help your business, contact us today for a free consultation.
With mobile technology evolving in a smartphone tethered society, it’s no surprise digital marketing success has become a focal point for many companies looking to drive business with an online presence. Digital marketing offers a world of opportunity, but is becoming highly competitive in an increasingly cluttered space. Marketing is no longer about repetition, where the company with the biggest advertising presence (or budget) triumphs, and has shifted towards developing personal connections with a product or service through the quality of brand exposure.
Customizing the user experience is not an easy task, but can lead to great success when executed correctly. Although, before success can be measured, there are three fundamental aspects a digital marketing strategy should cover: research before creating content, choose the right digital platforms for your brand and audience, and clearly define your goals/manage your campaigns so they’re always working and improving.
1. Evoke Emotion
Customer conversion relies heavily on the ability to capture an audience’s attention and keep them positively engaged with your brand throughout the buying cycle. Digital strategies should reflect this aspect by nurturing an emotional preference for your product or service by intrinsically understanding your customer’s needs and engaging them with highly tailored content.
As SAS, a business analytics provider, summarizes it: “People want brands they can trust, companies that know them, communications that are personalized and relevant, and offers tailored to their needs and preferences.” Customers also want you to deliver on your promise, because if you don’t there are plenty of other options a keystroke away and several online forums to discuss their displeasure. Your marketing plan should not only include methods for initiating positive interactions, but best practices for following up on and managing negative experiences. Sometimes simply acknowledging a customer’s issue and offering assistance can convert a detractor back into a brand advocate.
2. Pick Your Platforms
Digital marketing encompasses a vast array of electronic media you can utilize to promote your business, but the platforms you choose and the design of your content can have a big impact on the success of your marketing efforts. Regardless of your company size, location, industry, B2B or B2C services, people are talking about you. Make sure you are a part of the conversation. Knowing how these platforms operate and the composition of the audience using them is paramount to crafting your digital marketing campaigns.
Although digital platform options are increasing and some may be better suited to your goals than others, a general understanding of the major online players listed below is a good starting point.
Website
Your website is often one of the first touch-points a customer has with your company, whether it’s the landing page link from a paid ad or a direct search for your site. It is the first impression they’ll receive and a pivot point for whether or not they’ll pursue your services further. Use smart design and well-crafted content to stand out amongst the crowd. The website experience should seamlessly guide visitors through the buying process with clearly defined value proposition(s), ample resources for informed decision making and direction towards making a purchase. At a minimum, a good website is:
- Intuitively navigated
- Mobile friendly
- Content rich
Social Media Channels
Social media has become vital to digital marketing practices. It’s free to enter the arena and get the conversation going, but also offers targeted advertising options to increase visibility. The first step to customizing your social content is to take a look at your follower demographics and dig into the content they’ve been engaging with. If you haven’t launched any posts yet, be sure to do some research on your target market and develop a strategy around how you’re going to entice followers and continually supply them with appealing information. To help you discern where to direct your energy, here are some high level data points for the social media industry’s top players:
- Twitter reports having 302 million monthly users sending 500 million tweets per day. Tweets are restricted to short text of 140 characters and demographics point towards a younger audience (18-29 and 30-49).
- Facebook has 1.44 billion monthly active users and continues to dominate the social media space, but growth has slowed in comparison to other social channels. At a minimum, your social media strategy should include a Facebook business page.
- LinkedIn reports 347 million members in 200 countries with over 50% having college degrees and the highest segment of members falling into the 30-64 age range.
- Instagram has 300 million users sharing 70 million photos per day.
- Pinterest shows 72.8 million users pinning content with 85% of users being female.
YouTube
- YouTube has over 1 billion users uploading 300 hours of video every minute.
Blog
A blog allows you to push out custom content specifically related to your business, your customers, and the valuable information your audience needs to view you as a knowledgeable and reliable resource in your industry. It also provides dynamic content to improve your website’s SEO ranking.
Email Automation
Email automation is a great way to nurture leads and keep existing customers informed. This type of audience has elected to receive information from you and supplying behavior-triggered content at specific intervals helps prevent your customer interaction from becoming dormant.
Search and Display Advertising
There is a range of online advertising opportunities and various pricing structures. Here we’ll just cover some basic terminology to help you select which option is best aligned with your business goals.
- Search Ad – Text based ads that display alongside search results with related keywords.
- Display Ad – Ads in text, image, rich media, or video format that display on websites with related content.
- CPC – Cost Per Click. Drives traffic to a website or landing page.
- CPM – Cost Per Mile or Cost Per Thousand Impressions. Delivers a message/increases brand awareness.
- CPA – Cost Per Acquisition. Focused on conversion where a specific action takes place.
3. Analyze and Adjust
Monitoring results is just as important as developing the initial content strategy. If you take the wrong route to work each day and don’t eventually stop to determine if there is a better course, then you’ll never make it to your destination. Data driven marketing is smart marketing and almost all online platforms provide some type of analytics component. Your digital marketing campaigns should include success metrics and you should be monitoring the performance of your efforts to see if they are achieving your desired outcome.
With mobile devices overtaking desktops as the screens of choice for online users, the benefits of having a website designed to work on any device are many. While it’s been important for a while now to have a responsive web design for your business, it hasn’t been a requirement.
In two weeks’ time, Google is hoping to change all that. Come April 21, they’re going to start penalizing websites that aren’t optimized for mobile devices. Here’s what you need to know to be prepared.
Why is Google Updating Their Algorithm?
It’s all part of their ever-continuing effort to make it easier for users to find the most relevant and timely results, regardless of the device they’re searching from. While past updates to their search engine algorithm have made it easier for mobile users to find mobile-friendly websites, this latest step appears to be a far more drastic measure towards changing the shape of Google and improving their product to keep up with the times.
After the update goes into effect, Google will begin weeding out non-responsive websites and making them harder for mobile users to find in their results pages.
What Does This Mean for Your Website?
The good news is that, even if your site lacks responsive web design, this latest update will only affect your mobile search rankings. The bad news is that it’s definitely going to affect your mobile search rankings, which are just as important – if not more important – than your desktop search rankings.
While Google has yet to announce specifics in regards to how they’ll punish websites that aren’t optimized, they did state that the update “will have a significant impact on [their] search results.” Since Google doesn’t usually extend a warning like this in the lead-up to updating their algorithms, it’s safe to assume that the warning should be heeded unless you want to see a drop in your PageRank, customers, and conversions.
While companies in the past could still get by without implementing responsive web design, a non-responsive website will soon be a non-option. With roughly 30% of today’s web traffic coming from mobile users and an overwhelming majority of them clicking the first link on a results page, responsive web design will soon be a requirement.
How Can You Continue to Rank?
The first step is seeing if your website is mobile-friendly. Thanks to Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test, it’s as easy as inputting your URL. If it passes the test, you should be all set. If it fails, you’ll want to have your website analyzed as soon as possible to determine which design areas are posing the greatest detriment. From there, you can begin addressing them accordingly by having your site redesigned by a professional web developer.
In addition to avoiding a significant penalty from Google, a mobile-friendly website will prove invaluable towards attracting new customers and improving your site’s overall functionality. While it’s one thing to have a website, it’s another to have one that caters to your customers and won’t prevent you from reaching new ones.
If you’d like to learn more about the benefits and importance of having a responsive web design, check out our blog post on good UX and good UI.
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business. Visit www.mill.agency or book time here.
You’ve got a good-looking website filled with quality content. Great.
You’re active as all get out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. Even better.
You’re all plugged in and doing everything you’re supposed to do; yet, for some reason, the conversions just aren’t adding up like you hoped they would.
Which brings us back to that good-looking website…
Earlier this week, we were telling you all about how to make AdWords work for your business. Hopefully, you’re now well on your way towards cornering the market and climbing to the top of the search engine results pages. If not, no need to worry. Digital marketing can make for a steep learning curve and mastering AdWords can take time.
Lucky for you, Google will help AdWords users starting now:
Until The Coolest came along, the minds at Pebble held the title of “highest-grossing Kickstarter campaign of all-time” with their E-Paper Watch. With this week’s unveiling of the Pebble Time, they’re certainly on the fast track to reclaiming their former glory.
Back in the day, grandpa used to tell us “You have to spend money to make money.” Nothing against dear old grandpa, but times have changed thanks to this ever-growing digital landscape. Now, with the dawn of Google AdWords, the potential to turn a profit no longer depends on how much you’re willing to spend.
When used correctly, AdWords can provide you with all the exposure your business needs and then some. So, if you want to understand the basics of how to use AdWords effectively and give your business a better shot at succeeding without wasting your time, money, and hard work, start by following these steps.