online marketing - Website Design | McWilliams Media |Broken Arrow, OK

SEO Spam: How to Recognize and Avoid It

Matt McWilliams — Fri, 10 May 2019 21:02:53 +0000

We understand the pressures your business faces over speeding up the process to make it to the top of Google, but we want to caution you over some new spam attempts circulating the internet. Have you gotten emails trying to sell you a “Get to the top of Google” scam and you were skeptical whether it was spam?

They may have claimed that they can scan your site and provide you with information that only experts can provide. They also may have claimed your website not being up-to-date, missing information, or lacking speed. These emails or calls may be full of promises about your business being able to leverage this success overnight and gain a large quota of sales quickly!

Tempting.

We know.

These scare tactics can convince anyone to jump in on the investment, but before you hand over any private or financial information we wanted to provide you with some valuable tips to help you recognize spam, as well as reasons as to why you should stick to the experts.

How to recognize spam:

Unsolicited emails and/or comments left on your website from random companies or contacts that you have never had contact with before. These are often full of exaggerated promises that seem too good to be true – because they are.
Consider the email address. For example, are they sending you an email from an unprofessional email address or a free service such as @gmail.com or @hotmail.com?
Research their company and consider the professionalism or the lack there of, their website, social media accounts, and email addresses provided.
Requesting private information too soon. For example, are they requesting your private or banking information simply after your first interaction? If they seem pushy at all – RUN.

Why you want to use SEO experts instead:

You will be better off because the experts are not out to trick you, but actually want to see your company succeed. Our success is directly correlated with your company’s success!
You will save money by not trying to find a quick fix that doesn’t work and results in you needing to start ALL over again. Invest your money the right way the first time and avoid detours along the way to your SEO success.
Your company will grow when you avoid the shortcuts.

Bottom line, trust your SEO success with the experts. SEO isn’t an overnight fix. It’s about promoting your site and overtime beating your competitors in the Google race.

Remember: slow and steady wins the race.

The post SEO Spam: How to Recognize and Avoid It first appeared on Website Design | McWilliams Media |Broken Arrow, OK.

Digital Marketing in 2019: Ways to Up Your Digital Strategy

Matt McWilliams — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 04:20:50 +0000

Customers are becoming savvier every day and work hard to not to be “sold”. This means that with each purchasing decision made, buyers are looking for some added value beyond the sale; perhaps a connection, relationship and better understanding of their needs. A couple of great tactics used to gain a better relationship with your potential customers is:

Reevaluate Your Messaging

Simplify your messaging and make sure that your website can be scanned within 10 seconds so a potential customer can understand what you have to offer. Your message should focus on your customer’s story and position your business as their guide. Keep your focus on building an authentic relationship with customers versus simply growing your business. The benefits of taking the time to care for your customers will highly benefit you in the end.

Simplifying Your Business Practices by Using Automation

Automation is drastically changing the way businesses communicate with customers and the way customers expect to interact with businesses. There are a couple of key ways to utilize automation in order to streamline your digital marketing efforts and ensure that no sale is left behind.

Live chat & chatbots are wonderful ways to expand your business’ reach without having to hire more staff. This also provides an on-call service that will answer basic questions at all hours for potential customers.
Voice search technology like Alexa or Google Home is going to provide your business with plenty of marketing opportunities with you having to do a thing!

Using Video as Your Main Communication Tool

Video is not going anywhere. The speed in which content is being created is growing rapidly with everyone having the ability to become a YouTube star. Video, in particular, is morphing the way businesses and customers communicate. Consider the following ideas:

Video is not just for web pages and social media, but a great effective tactic to include in your email marketing. This means that aside from regular text, you can either embed or link to a video of you speaking to the reader and sharing your message. This brings you into someone’s office or home, simply through email.
Welcome videos are a wonderful way to instantly begin a relationship with a new subscriber. Sending a 10-second custom video to a customer is a revolutionary form of contact and will also help ensure some deals. This is a wonderful tactic for realtors, counselors, and any other service that eventually hopes to build a relationship. This can be done through a quick casual video on your phone, or even through apps that service this exact purpose.
Video will ensure higher ratings on Google, better algorithms, and will increase the chances of your emails being opened. Don’t overthink video. Instead, realize it is a way to show how authentic your business is!

Digital marketing leaves a lot of space for creativity. Ultimately, customers are looking for a clear message and efficient ways to communicate so they can learn about your business. What better way to do this than to reevaluate your messaging, take advantage of atomization options, and use the resources at your fingertips to create simple videos!

Our team of marketing specialists are available to help your business succeed and take your digital strategy to the next level!

The post Digital Marketing in 2019: Ways to Up Your Digital Strategy first appeared on Website Design | McWilliams Media |Broken Arrow, OK.

Not Just For Spies Anymore. The Drone: Marketing’s New Secret Weapon

Matt McWilliams — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 17:17:27 +0000

The Buzz

Drones are creating quite the buzz these days–literally and figuratively. Because they can capture such stunning content, they are becoming the tool of choice for many photographers and videographers. First seen mostly in genres like extreme sports and action film, drones have now brought their very specialized set of skills into the business world.

Smart business owners and entrepreneurs recognize the immense value of compelling video and photo content in marketing themselves and their products. Now, through the use of drones, the value of that content can literally take off! Here’s why drones are the new secret weapon of effective marketing.

1. Aerial Perspective

The most obvious value of drones is that these little guys can fly. Aerial video and photography have an impact that nothing else does. You now have the ability to give your customers a unique and powerful perspective on your business and products. You can literally fly your audience down your street and into your front door.

2. Endless Angles

Flying high isn’t their only skill. Since they are so small and agile, drones can shoot from almost any perspective you can imagine. Shoot from underneath tables, fly through hallways, windows, or tunnels. Outdoors and indoors as well, the possibilities are almost endless.

3. Exceptional Quality

As camera technology advances, video quality elevates. Drones now shoot video in full HD and even 4k resolutions. This means that even at significant heights and distances, your image is clear and crisp.

With image stabilization, the camera movements in drone videos can be smooth and seamless. This takes a level of skill, of course. Make sure you hire a skilled and experienced videographer to produce your marketing videos.

4. Limitless Applications

If you own a business, I’m sure you’re already dreaming about your next drone video. We have lots of ideas as well. Here are just a few examples of how we’re using drones to create impact for our customers.

Roofing Company

Home Builder

Day Spa & Salon

Showroom

5. Emotional Impact

Most of all, videographers use drones because of the emotional impact they can produce. All the tricks and creative ideas have a purpose. That purpose is to move people. This is especially true in marketing.

Marketing is first and foremost about impact. The goal is always to deliver a message that connects with people and moves them to act. Drones can help create the emotional impact that gives your marketing content the power to do just that.

6. Unforgettable Content

Like it or not, marketing is more than just storytelling. Marketing is a competition. Whatever your business, you need messages that help you stand out from the crowd. Just having the right information isn’t enough. You need content your audience literally can’t forget.

This is why drones are such a valuable tool. With the right creative team behind it, a drone can be the key to making your marketing content sparkle. Whether it’s video, still photography, or both, the drone can make your content unforgettable.

7. Brand Power

If there’s one thing business owners want for their businesses, it’s brand power. You want people to remember you and think about you first. Lots of things go into creating brand power. You have to do an exceptional job at what you do, have integrity, and maintain good customer relationships.

Once you have those things in place, effective marketing is the next step in empowering your brand, and drones can play an important role in that. Through video and photography with creative perspectives, exceptional quality, and emotional impact, your content can be powerful and memorable.

At McWilliams Media in Tulsa, Oklahoma, we specialize in brand power. Through web design, branding, social media, and professional photography and videography, we help you build your dream. Contact us today and let us show you how drone video and photography can be your new marketing secret weapon!

The post Not Just For Spies Anymore. The Drone: Marketing’s New Secret Weapon first appeared on Website Design | McWilliams Media |Broken Arrow, OK.

Ready, Aim, Design! 7 Key Questions to Help “Aim” Your New Website

Matt McWilliams — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 16:47:20 +0000

“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.”

If you’ve experienced any business training or been to a motivational event in the past 30 years or so, you’ve probably heard some version of this quote. It’s attributed to Zig Ziglar, sales guru and master of quips and one-liners. And I don’t think there’s anything truer when it comes to website design.

Above all, you must have a clear target when you put your business online. Gone are the days when just putting your name on Main Street or even an Interstate billboard was enough to set you apart. Those things can help, but once your customers are online, the “billboards” are way too numerous. And if you’re lucky (or skilled) enough to get them to your site, your competition, often global, is just a few clicks away at any moment.

How to aim well.

In order to make your website attract your customers and keep them, you have to aim. And you have to aim well. But taking aim is not as simple as it sounds. That’s why professional web design is essential. But in order to make professional web design do its best for you, there are some essential questions you must answer for yourself.

Actually, a really good designer will help you answer these questions. And at McWilliams Media in Broken Arrow, we can help you through this process. But as you’ll see, these are essential business questions that can take serious time to answer.

So we’ve compiled our top 7 here to give you a huge head start. Take time to answer all these questions before that first design meeting. You’ll be miles ahead of the curve, confident that you’ll come away with a plan that really works for your business.

1. What does your business really do?

I know, that can sound way too simple, but answer it anyway. And don’t throw it away. Talk with your team and some key customers. Turn it into a discussion and keep an open mind. Others may see things you don’t see.

And of course, the other part of this is that you have to explain the answer clearly to your web design team. And you don’t want any room for misunderstanding. You know your business better than anyone, so put down in writing the clearest definition you can come up with.

2. What makes your company remarkable?

This is one to talk to your team about, but especially to your customers. Why do they choose you over the competition? What is it that they like about you? What is it that keeps them coming back?

In addition, this speaks to your identity as a company. What do you do best and why is that better than your competition?

3. Who are your competitors?

Who have you lost customers to (ouch!)? And who have you won customers from? Take the time to find out who and why. You may know the answer to these questions, but you may not.

And even if you think you know, do some research. If you haven’t already done so, look at the global market. Many local businesses now have global competition online.

Look carefully at these companies and read their reviews. Don’t just find out who they are but how you stack up against them. Knowledge is power.

4. Who are your customers and what are their pain points?

This may be the most important question of all. And not just for your website, but for your business as a whole. You need to know who you are speaking to. And you need to know what they want and need from you.

So take time to think about who your customers are, and even what your ideal customer would look like? If you could “design” a super-customer, who would that be? What would he or she be involved in? What would their income level, profession, place in life be?

Knowing your customers will make designing your website much more effective. Designing a site without knowing who your customers are is like buying birthday presents for people you’ve never met. You can give them cash, but anyone can do that. You don’t want to give your customers a “gift” they could’ve gotten from just anyone.

What if your customers could feel as if your site was designed specifically with them in mind? Well, that’s actually what you’re doing IF you know your customers. You want your site visitors to “feel at home” on your site. So get to know them. The better you know them, the better your site will be.

5. What do you want your website to accomplish?

Again, this can seem so simple. You want your site to make you more money, right? Of course! But in order to do that, you need to have specific goals for your site. Is it an online store, or is it meant to get people to click or call in?

Another way to look at this is to define “wins” for your site? What is a small win? A visit? A call-in? What’s a big win? This way of thinking can help you visualize what you want your customer to do on your site, and what you want your site to do for them.

Here are some examples of “wins” for different sites:

Collecting an inbound lead

Getting a quote request

Getting a phone inquiry

Increasing brand awareness

Educating your audience (Watching your videos, reading pages, etc.)

Producing sales

Collecting email addresses

Getting social media likes, shares, comments, etc.

And remember, it’s easy to say, “Yes, please! I want all of that!” But a site that does everything is usually a site that does nothing. The intention of this question is to help you aim. And to aim well usually means to narrow your goals, not expand them. Decide what’s most important and do it well.

6. What about your current site (if you have one)?

It’s a great idea for both you and the designer to make a thorough evaluation of your current site. First, for you. You need to think about what you like and what you don’t. Again, talk to team members and key customers about this as well.

And here’s a tip on talking to customers about any of this: ask customers from different generations the same questions. Especially if your target customers are multi-generational. You’ll get different answers and it will help you know how to proceed.

Questions to answer include:

How long have you had this site?

Do your customers find it easy to use?

Do you find it easy to edit?

Which CMS (Content Management System) does it use (if any)?

What do you like about it?

What do you NOT like about it?

Is it giving you the results you want to see?

In addition to these questions, if you have Google Analytics setup, you generate a report for us so we can see what’s working and what’s not. In a nutshell, this gives us the wisdom of your past. We want to make sure we design a site for you that is clearly better than what you’ve had.

7. What websites do you like (or dislike) and why?

Once you answer all the other questions, it’s time to answer the one you might have thought to begin with. But if you begin with this, it could mean trouble. Don’t just show your designer a site and say “I want one of these.” You might end up with something very different from what you wanted in the end.

But once you know who you are, who your customers are, and what you really want out of your site, this can be really helpful. This is the “show” part of the show-and-tell process. We all need to communicate in pictures as well as words. And this can be the most fun as well.

Now that we know your business and your goals, browsing through your favorite (and least favorite) sites is a powerful tool for clarifying communication between you and your designer. You say, “I want this or that,” and your designer can say, “of course! we can do this or that with this or that.”

Ready, aim, go!

Armed with the answers to these crucial questions, you and your designer can go away from your initial meeting with a pretty clear picture of what you want. You can be confident that you’re aiming at what you want to hit. And you’ll be miles ahead of the DIY masses online who really aren’t aiming at all.

At McWilliams Media in Broken Arrow & Tulsa, we are experts at web design and all aspects of digital media. Our team can help you know your business, know your customers, and know that your new website will help your business grow. For a free consultation on your web design and digital media needs, contact McWilliams Media today!

Image Copyright: alphaspirit / 123RF Stock Photo

The post Ready, Aim, Design! 7 Key Questions to Help “Aim” Your New Website first appeared on Website Design | McWilliams Media |Broken Arrow, OK.