How Using Google Analytics Will Help You Make Smarter Business Decisions

Did you know there is a free Google website tracking tool?

3 things Google Analytics tells you about your website trafficHere is how Google Analytics can help you achieve your business objectives.

Google Analytics is a free website traffic analytics program which provides an enormous amount of data on your website traffic and user behaviour.

In fact, it’s likely you’re sitting on a gold mine of information.

There is an entire industry dedicated to customer, consumer and market research.

It’s widely believed that the more you know about your customer and their preferences, the more successful you will be.

10 things Google Analytics can tell you about your website traffic:

Google analytics, when properly added to your website can tell you at least 10 things you didn’t know about your future customers.

1. How long people spend on your website

2. What website they were at before, that sent them to your website

3. What keywords they typed into Google or other search engines to get to your website

4. What pages they spend time on and which ones they leave right away

5. What web sites send the traffic that generate the best leads for you.

7. If this is their first time on your site or if they’re returning visitors

8. What device they are using on your site ie: Smartphone versus Laptop etc.

9. Where most of your visitors are geographically located

10. What age & gender your website visitors are.

This information is of little use on it’s own, but with a little analysis you can use these analytics to help you make smarter, more profitable business decisions.

If you knew this information for certain, you could then make fully informed marketing decisions like:

1. What marketing initiatives are deserving of their high budget.

You can tell what website are sending you high quality web traffic that consists of users that stay interested and spend time on your website, and even contact you.

You’ll also be able to tell what websites are either not sending you enough traffic, or the ones that send low quality traffic that leaves right away.

2.  What marketing initiatives should be cut

If your email newsletter sends high quality traffic to your website, but that ad on the radio station isn’t, then it makes sense to cut the radio ad.

This way you can use google analytics to make informed marketing decisions, instead of just guessing what is working and what isn’t.

3. What markets have high demand and little competition- and are ripe for the plucking.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve logged into my Google Analytics and been surprised at some small niche that has a high demand, that I am under servicing.

By quickly reacting to the information displayed in Google Analytics, I can quickly provide that market segment with enough information to make a purchasing decision. In this way I use Google Analytics to drive more profits in my business.

4. What content to create.

If you’re blogging, posting to social media properties or creating any kind of educational or marketing type materials you can use the information from your website statistics to determine what people would like to know more about.

Long tail keyword searches like “google website tracking” often show up in my Google Analytics and help me understand exactly what questions my future customers have.

If I can address these questions properly I have a chance to earn their business.

How will you use analytics in your business? Please comment below.

And, if you found this article valuable, please consider sharing it with your network.

 

7 Easy Ways to Promote Your New Website

Now that you have your new website up and running, you may be wondering how to get more people visiting your site.

There are a number of easy ways you can promote your website, without going broke or spending tons of time.

Here are 7 pro strategies to promote your website.

1. Update your existing contact information.

The easiest and most overlooked method of promoting your new website- update your contact information!

Add your website address, along with a benefit statement to all your off and online points of contact and profiles.

  • Your Email Signature

  • All social media accounts: Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, etc.

  • Your voicemail message

An example of how to add to your website link and benefit statement email signature is: “Click here to learn How to Promote Your Website, the Affordable Way”

2. Make an announcement:

The launch of a new website, especially accompanied by the launch of a local business is newsworthy!

  • Emailing your personal contacts with the announcement that your website is live- don’t forget to include the link!

  • Send out a similar launch announcement message to your career contacts-clients, contractors, vendors, co workers and peers.

  • Draft a press release and send it out to any media contacts you may have

  • Ask influential people in your network to broadcast the message for you

  • Post an enthusiastic message on all your social networks announcing the launch

3. Maximize Local Listings.

Every city has multiple free listing/review websites. Take full advantage of these and add your business details to the following web properties:

  • Better Business Bureau

  • Found Locally

  • Yelp

If you’re feeling ambitious you could also add your business to free classified sites such as:

  • Craigslist

  • Facebook Marketplace

  • Kijiji

4. Coordinate & Optimize all your promotional activities:

Be sure to add a QR code, or your website address to all printed materials such as posters, brochures, signage or any other advertising you may do.

This applies to radio ads, in person networking and anything else you’re doing that is of a promotional nature.

5. Search Marketing:

If you haven’t already, consider search engine marketing. There are thousands of people searching on Google each minute of the day, and a portion of them are looking for what you’re selling.

You can get on google through Pay Per Click Ads, adding yourself and your business to Google Plus and by regularly posting new updates to your website.

Blogging is a common method of updating your website. It’s a great way to satisfy the search engines need for fresh content, and it helps educate your customers as well!

6. Social Media Marketing:

Work the network! Stay top of mind and create a community of prospective customers by being present where your target market hangs out online.

Start using social media networks like LinkedIn, LinkedIn Groups, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Facebook Pages to promote your website.

Connect with your existing contacts, and their contacts as well as influential people using these networking sites.

7. Paid Ads:

You can pay for premium space in all of the sites listed above. Bonus- you can zero in on your target market by selecting very specific demographics to display your ad to.

Consider your budget and audience, and do a trial run to see what kind of results you get.

photoSummary:

With these 7 tips you should create some serious buzz around, and traffic to your new website.

TIP*** Be sure to instal and use Google Analytics to measure the results of your efforts.

Where you’ll find your future customers: what social media sites are a must for your business

You don’t need to be on every single social media website to find yourself a community of new customers.

What you do need, is to be on the right social media site for your unique business.

I’ll show you how to put forth 20% of the effort to get 80% of your results, by following this one simple rule:

Choose the social media sites your business uses based on where your target customers are active and engaged

Here is an executive summary of the demographic, or user base information on each of the major social networks.

Pick One Social Network and Get Started!

Pick One Social Network and Get Started!

If your business markets to other businesses (B2B)…

Then LinkedIn is the social media website for you! It is specifically targeted towards people who are in business and want to connect with others in business.

Both a personal account and a business page are recommended.

Is your business local based with a physical location?

If you have the ability to accept walk in traffic or by appointment, then you need to be on Google plus local -formerly Google Maps.

Is your target market ladies in their 30’s to 40’s ? If so, then you need to be on Pinterest.

To build credibility, stay up to the minute on industry news and connect with or position yourself as a thought leader then you need to be on Twitter.

If you’re marketing to moms then you absolutely to have a presence on Facebook.

If you want to get traffic from Google and show up on Google’s search engine…then you’ll also need to be on Google plus and Google plus local. These factors are becoming more more important terms where you rank on Google so you actually do have to be on Google plus now.

Instagram is a great social media network for just about everybody who is tech savvy and is a great way to generate more exposure if you’re in an image oriented business.

If you’re in any type of business where you need to build more trust, You Tube is the place to showcase your personality and expertise. (There’s no better way to communicate who you are and build trust online than video marketing.)

Video marketing is great for industries that have a bad reputation or if you’re in any kind of technology industry,  where things are complicated I require explanation.

If you’re not ready to do a full video, you can use the video capture tool on Vine and Instagram mobile apps which are 7 and 15 seconds each.

And if you’re not sure which social network your customers use, ask them using a free survey software like survey monkey.

The important thing is to pick one social network and start using it regularly. Once you get in the habit of using one,  you can add on to others.

What social network(s) do you use for your business?

Share in the comments below! And if you’ve found this article valuable, please consider sharing it with your network.

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Top 10 list of tech tools for anyone marketing a business in 2014.

The digital marketing world is becoming a technological cornucopia.

Marketing A Business

If you’re wondering what digital marketing tools will really make a difference in your bottom line, look no further than this list.

Here is our top 10 list of tech tools for anyone running or marketing a business in 2014.

1. Video.

Whether you film how-to videos on your smart phone or shell out for a professional video- customers expect you to use video in your marketing & communications.

Bonus- it’s proven to increase conversion rates, so it’ll nudge your website visitors to call, click and connect with you.

Social Video Tools such as YouTube,  Vine, Instagram make capturing & sharing video easier than ever.

2. Social Media.

You’re probably sick of hearing about social media marketing.

There is a reason why there is so much chatter over it though, and it’s time to start paying attention.

Not just a marketing tool, social media offers incredible low cost opportunities for running your business; providing live customer service or tech support, hire & collaborate with your team.

Social media has gone from a marketing tool, to a must have business tool.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn & Google Plus are all social media sites with lively communities and user base.

3. Surveys.

Now there is no excuse to ignore your customers. Survey them regularly and profit from knowing what they want from you, and what they want less of.

Using existing customer input in marketing to new clients is a highly effective strategy to connect with your customer’s needs & communicate your unique solution.

Free Survey Software is offered by Survey Monkey, Free Online Surveys

4. The Cloud.

The cloud is essentially online web space, or a server where data can sit. This is opposed to having files located on a device, like your computer.

Ensure your sales team always has the latest collateral. Collaborate on the go & protect your data from loss with automatic backups.

Various cloud providers are Dropbox & Google Drive.

5. Mobile Marketing.

From apps, to responsive web sites, to SMS or Text marketing, if you’re not at least considering mobile marketing you’ll be missing out on sales, period.

Research indicates that internet usage over mobile devices will soon surpass the traffic from desktop & laptops.

And if you don’t believe me, consider your own mobile usage…

mobile marketing guy

6. Analytics

A fancy name for statistics,  you’ll want to measure the results of your marketing efforts for effectiveness.

Learn what pages of your website your customers use, where your web traffic comes from and how many web visitors convert to hot leads or customers.

Making decisions based on what internet users/future customers want as opposed to what you think they want will separate the profitable from the bankrupt.

7. Blogging.

A proven digital marketing method that generates better ranking on search engines and better conversion rates from web traffic, this year is the time to start blogging, even quarterly.

Blogging is as simple as writing a short word article answering your customer’s most frequently asked questions, and posting this article on your website.

As competition increases, blogging also helps establish rapport & build the credibility of your business.

8. Location Based Marketing.

If you’re a local business, you’ll want to look at tools like Google Maps, Yelp, Facebook Places to capitalize on the local search demand.

Tech savvy customers like to search by map and check in when they’ve arrived, and this behaviour is only increasing, so you’ll want to start this year.

Tap into your local marketplace by creating and maintaining a presence on these websites.

9. On Demand Customer Service.

Customer’s now expect a response within one hour of them contacting you. This can be tricky to juggle as a small business owner unless you have the right tools.

Sync as many social media & email apps as you can with your smartphone so you can be notified and check in on the go, and consider a live chat app on your website, like ZOPIM,

10. Email Marketing.

If you’re not already sending out a newsletter, this year is the time to start. Cultivate and nurture your client relationships & prosper.

Use this to: Auto respond to email newsletter sign ups, stay in touch with current and inactive clients.

Mailchimp &  Constant Contact both offer a free to paid email marketing service.

In Summary:

Like many New Year’s lists, the key to success is moving from consideration to action.

If you have specific sales goals you want to achieve this year, start planning how and when you’re going to incorporate these new tools and how you’ll measure their effectiveness.

Do you have a must-have marketing tool? Share it with us below.

As always your comments are encouraged and appreciated.

If you found this article helpful, please consider sharing it.

The Complete Beginners Guide To Blogging

If you’re wondering how blogging can benefit anyone marketing a business, look no further!

Here we’ve outlined what the benefits of blogging are, how often you should blog, what to blog about and BONUS what to do if you’re not good at writing.

5 benefits of regular business blogging:

  1. Creating a regular blog post is a fantastic way to help the search engines find your website.
  2. Posting fresh content will make visitors want to come back to your website over and over again.
  3. It will give you something to talk about on social media.
  4. Blogging helps establish you as about leader in your industry by increasing your reputation for your expertise and credibility.
  5. As a customer service and sales tool it can help educate prospects on the details of your offering & benefits

photoHow often should I blog?

I recommend that every professional and business start blogging at least one post a month.

How do I start blogging?

Typically each blog post should be between 300 and 500 words.

It should take about an hour to create a blog post and then maybe another half an hour to edit it.

Be sure to schedule a time in and keep that commitment to yourself.

What if I am not good at writing? 

If you are not very good at writing you can use the various voice recording tools to translate your speech into text– then you can always edit it later. (I use the voice to text tool on my iphone).

What should I blog about?

The first thing to do when you are starting to blog is to come up with a topic.

  1. Topics to blog about things that your customers or future customers are concerned with.
  2. If you have a frequently asked questions page on your website, for example, you can start by creating a blog post to provide in-depth answers to each one of those questions.
  3. Visit your website statistics or Google analytics and review the keywords, or what people are typing into Google to get your website that will give you plenty of topics.
  4. Get Interviewed: Another easy way to get blog posts done is to have somebody interview you, record it and then publish those interviews.
  5. News Related Posts: You have things that happen in your business that you can write about, such as a move, expansion, hire, new product line etc.
  6. Piggyback on trends: Whether it’s the latest movie, or an internet meme, see if you can find away to incorporate the trend with your business.
  7. Seasonal posts: Whether it’s Hallowe’en or New Years, there’s always a seasonal event you can capitalize on for new ideas.

Ok I have a blog post- now what?

Once you created your blog post you can then post it on your website and share it with your existing and future customers through your email newsletter and your social networks

You can then repurpose your blog posts by creating videos and custom images to accompany the blog post.

Be sure to review your website statistics to see what posts got the best response, and ask your friends, family, customers and staff to provide you with feedback and help share your post.

If you found this post beneficial, please consider sharing it with your network.

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