It wasn’t all that long along ago that the word cloud was reserved for conversations about the weather, so you can be forgiven for being a bit hazy on what “The Cloud” is all about.

In a nutshell:

• Cloud computing uses the internet and central remote servers to store and maintain data and applications – rather than a hard drive.
• This means businesses and individuals can access applications from the cloud without having them installed on their device.
• With the cloud, so long as you have an internet connection, you can access your personal files on any device, anywhere.

And, whether you’re familiar with it or not, you’re probably already using the cloud.

• You use cloud computing when you update your Facebook status.
• When you upload photos to Instagram, you’re uploading them to the cloud.
• You’re in the cloud when you do internet banking on your phone.
• Those apps you love so much? Yep. In the cloud.
• Google drive is another cloud-based application.
• Do you subscribe to Netflix? You’re favourite shows are up in the cloud.

“I WANDERED LONELY AS A CLOUD”

The poet William Wordsworth famously used a simile of a cloud to describe his solitary state.

In a similar way, “the cloud” is just a metaphor for the internet – who knew computer engineers could be so poetic?

The term may sound insubstantial, and the cloud can hold a whole heap of information and has the potential to save you a whole heap of money.

WHY YOU SHOULD BE USING THE CLOUD

There are many good reasons to move to the cloud.

Cost saving and profit increasing

• You don’t have to invest in expensive hardware or the staff to maintain it. In fact, you don’t need a very powerful computer or tonnes of GB’s on your phone to run your business in the cloud.
• You don’t buy software, rather you subscribe for access to what you need, when you need it. This means you get all the latest upgrades.
• And, because you’re accessing the best technology, you’re in a better position to compete against other businesses – big and small.

Flexibility

• Cloud-based systems allow you to scale up or down your bandwidth demands.
• It also allows you and your staff to access your files or shared documents anywhere – so long as you have internet access.
• On top of this, you can usually access what you need on any device.

Efficiency

• The fact that you can work from anywhere, anytime will make your business more efficient.
• Staff members who work off-site can access emails, plans or documents, fill in forms and submit applications on the spot.
• In most cases when staff are given the chance to telecommute, at least some of the time, productivity rises.
• You won’t be wasting time, or money, dealing with onsite hardware failures.

Collaboration

• The cloud allows your team members to access, edit (in real time) and share documents from anywhere at any time, leading to better outcomes all round.
• Collaboration between onsite and remote staff or consultants saves time, email chain frustration and is great for document integrity too.

Security and recovery

• The cloud has made reliable disaster recovery a reality for businesses big and small.
• And when you use a cloud-based system, if you or your staff lose a phone or laptop you don’t lose all your important files.
• You can even wipe a lost device remotely.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN

Of course, there’s disadvantages to every technology, including the cloud.

Not all businesses need or even suit the whole gamut of cloud-based options. And, if you do want to embrace it all, you may need bigger and better phone and internet plans.

The big one is that if the internet goes down, or you suddenly find yourself with no service, you can’t access the cloud. But, in my experience, local problems are short lived. What’s more, if the whole thing ever falls apart, and the likes of Amazon, Google and Apple go down, we’ll all be dealing with bigger problems than accessing personal data.

Some people question the security of the cloud, but others think it’s the safest place for their information. It’s certainly got some of the best minds in the business working to keep it that way.

ONLINE INFLUENCE’S CLOUD-BASED APPROACH

You could say that Online Influence has its head in the clouds. Our web servers are cloud-based and we also use:

• G Suite for storing our emails
• Google drive and dropbox for file storage
• iCloud for desktop storage and or backups
• Podio for project management and team communications, and
• Zoom and Podio for client support and communication.

I use a Chrome book when I’m out of the office. This is a new breed of device, primarily designed to be used while connected to the internet, with most applications and documents living in the cloud.

I have to admit I was a little sceptical when I first got it, but I soon realised how handy it was to link to our cloud-based systems. It also allows me to access my Mac desktop from wherever I am (so long as I have an internet connection) or I can hotspot from my phone. Too easy.

NOT SURE WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU?

If you’re unsure of how to maximise the benefits of the cloud for your business, the Online Influence team has the insight and the experience to help. Call us today to find out the best solution for you and your business.

Is privacy possible in the online world?

After the recent Cambridge Analytica data scandal, “online privacy” can seem like an impossible dream.

But there are ways to protect your privacy and limit the information you unwittingly share.

Jump to my tips here, or read on to get to grips with what privacy really means in a digital age.

How Facebook users were trumped

We all know platforms like Google and Facebook collect data (hello, targeted pop-up ads), but many have been shocked to learn how seemingly innocuous information can be used to manipulate – not just our buying power – but our opinions and actions.

Facebook confirmed that political consulting company Cambridge Analytica gathered data from up to 87 million users.

They did so by inviting users to download a free personality test – online privacy red flag, right there folks!

While the participants were, strictly speaking, willing, they were also ill-informed. The real kicker, is that the app also harvested data from the test-takers Facebook friends without their consent.

What’s worse, Facebook says it doesn’t know how much, or exactly what, information was shared.

Cambridge Analytica collected the information to develop a software program used in President Trump’s 2016 election campaign. The program allegedly predicted voting patterns and, through micro-targeted ads, influenced voting decisions.

Similar claims have been made around the Brexit vote and recent controversial elections in the Philippines.

THAT COULDN’T HAPPEN TO ME

The unsettling thing about these kinds of social media campaigns is that they’re much, much more subtle than a pop-up ad that follows you round. Rather, they’re a hidden nudge here and there that, over time, direct your attention, shape your opinions and determine your actions.

How can they target you so specifically?

Well, in a previous blog post I talked about how, by analysing 300 of your Facebook likes, an Artificial Intelligence enhanced algorithm can evaluate your character better than your partner.

But, of course, Facebook stores more than your likes. The social media platform has:

• every status update you’ve ever made
• every photograph you’ve posted or been tagged in
• every location you’ve logged on
• every messenger conversation you’ve had, and
• every message you’ve started to type and then deleted…yep, they keep and analyse those words too.

It’s important to remember that Facebook sold data well before it started selling advertising. We shouldn’t be too shocked as they’ve never hidden that fact…but they don’t exactly boast about it either.

It’s also important to remember that all social media platforms and internet browers tout themselves as free platforms. But there is a product for sale – it’s you and your information. As the saying goes “If the product is free, YOU are the product”.

DOES MY ONLINE PRIVACY REALLY MATTER?

As the Cambridge Analytica scandal shows, it isn’t so much that your data is being collected, it’s the technology and architecture that allows two or more data sets to be combined to yield a whole other layer of information.

And, as recent events have illustrated, what researchers are proving and social commentators are saying, is the information we willingly surrender through our Facebook pages and our browsing history could potentially allow corporations and influencers to manipulate us individually.

We live in a world where mass media is being usurped by personal devices on which you get a personally curated version of news and current events. You’ve got no real way to recognise if your feed is leading you, or you’re leading it.

TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR ONLINE PRIVACY

While it can feel like we’re on an uncontrollable slippery slope, there are simple ways to improve your online privacy and avoid giving too much away.

Think before you click. Sounds obvious, but question why, or even if, a business or other agency need the information they’re asking for.

Another obvious step is to get to know the settings on Facebook and edit them to within an inch of their lives. You may think you’ve already done this but look again. You might be surprised at what you find.

• Privacy – who can see your posts and who can send you friend requests?
• Tagging – who can tag you in a post and can you be tagged without your permission?
• Face recognition – I’ve turned it off and you can too.
• Apps – see which apps, games or websites have access to your Facebook information.

In terms of Apps, you can go through each one and limit the access or turn it off altogether. I was stunned at how much information some of these apps had access to. I have my birthdate hidden, but many apps still had access to that information.

Of course, Facebook isn’t the only nosy kid on the block. Look at all your social media accounts and your Google settings too.

Google have a tool you can use to check all your privacy settings – just search “privacy check-up”.

MORE WAYS TO KEEP THE ONLINE HOUNDS AT BAY

• • Never ever click on social media questionnaires or surveys – they may sound like fun but, as 87 million Facebook users found out, they just want your data.
  • Don’t hand over your date of birth unless it’s relevant and you trust the business – when in doubt, make one up.
  • Don’t give your phone number or address unless you are getting something delivered.
  • Don’t hand over your credit card details to a site that doesn’t have an SSL certificate. It looks like this

• Paypal is a secure option for making online payments and has a great refund policy.
• Don’t login to websites or online shops using social media – create an account the old-fashioned way.
• Use a secure password saving site like LastPass.com however, don’t put your banking details in any password saving tool. Memorise these – think of it as exercising your brain.
• Clear your cache every now and then.

PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL OR BUSINESS INFORMATION

There’s a lot to online privacy, more than I could begin to cover in this blog post. And, like everything in the digital world, change happens fast.

The team at Online Influence keeps up to date with the latest advice around online privacy. We’re happy to talk to you about what you can do to make your information and your business more secure.

Contact us to find out how we can help your business today.

So your new website is beautiful and everyone agrees. But how’s the traffic and conversions? Here are six fundamental mistakes of non-converting websites.

Apart from the phone ringing or lots of people filling in your contact form, one of the best ways to see if your website is working is to look at your analytic statistics.

If you don’t have analytics software, check out Google Analytics – it’s one of the best tools for tracking visitors and their behaviour, and best of all, it’s free.

 

What to look for in your analytics account:

• Audience – traffic numbers
• Acquisition – how you got your visitors, their behaviour and conversions
• Behaviour – which pages received the most views
• Bounce Rate – the percentage of single page views (the lower the better)

If your pages or posts are getting a high bounce rate, then these pages are probably not hitting the mark with your visitors, and they are “bouncing” off.

I encourage you to have a dig around in your analytics account – you might glean some very important information.

 

The fundamental mistakes I see on non-converting websites

No clear call to action

This is probably the most common mistake – no clear message and no
call-to-action. Most of us want to be lead or told what to do, particularly on a website.

“Apart from being a major online marketing faux pas, it’s frustrating when you have to dig to find a phone number.”

If I was to land on your website, would it be obvious what you want me to do? That is, call you on the phone, fill in your contact form, download your free report, join your mailing list? There are many options, but you need to pick just one or two to focus on.

Confusing your readers

Another big mistake is too many choices . You need to decide what action you most want you reader to take, and focus on that one thing. Don’t give them too many choices – confuse your reader and they will leave.

Too many distractions

There are several big distractions that will hinder your conversions:

• Ads. It might seem like a good idea to monetise your website with Google ads, but they can be very distracting to visitors. If you really want ads, make sure they are not taking up the best real estate (more on this later).
• Social Media icons. Yes, I think we should all have them, but not in a prominent position. When a visitor comes to your website, don’t invite them to leave! Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn get enough traffic, they don’t need yours too.
• Too many different fonts and flashy images. Try to stick to two or three fonts, you can mix it up by using bold and italic for variety. Flashy images are often annoying.

 

Not maximising the real estate

The best real estate on your website is the top right corner. This is where your call-to-action should be, whether that is your phone number, join here, contact us, or even your location map – whatever your call-to-action is, put it in the top right.

Hard to find contact details

Apart from being a major online marketing faux pas, it’s frustrating when you have to dig to find a phone number. Just put it in a prominent spot on the front page (and make sure it’s clickable for mobile phones), unless of course you don’t want people to call you, and if that’s the case you should consider getting a number that goes directly to an answer service or recorded message.

Ineffective ‘about’ page

The about page is one of the most visited pages on any website. Why? Because people do business with people they know, like and trust. How can they trust you if your about page has:

• No photo of you
• No real information about you
• No personality

Many small business owners think they have to pretend they are a big company, so they write boring, clinical information about themselves and their business. Please don’t do this – be proud of you and your business and “get real”.

The overall design of your website is very important, but always choose elements that convert clicks into customers, rather than simply make your website pretty or stunning.

What are your thoughts on these mistakes? Can you list anymore website conversion tips?

Originally published on Flying Solo

What should you prioritise on your website, website branding and presentation, or generating leads and sales? Well, here’s my two cents, and you might not like it.

Many small business owners have been given bad advice. Many have been told to focus their time, money and efforts on branding their website rather than building a website that generates leads and sales.

I disagree with this.

Prioritising sales generation over branding is about focussing your efforts wisely to get the most out of your business website, and not wasting time on things that are not initially profitable. It’s about promoting a clear call to action that will increase your sales and ultimately your profits.

Richard Branson and Coca Cola

Many in favour of branding will use the argument that people like Richard Branson put most of his time and budget into branding, or that Coca-Cola focuses entirely on branding. Well, of course that’s how it looks now, but let’s look back to their beginning.

Richard Branson started his first record shop in London in 1971 and worked hard building and publicising his businesses to increase sales and turnover. He put massive amounts of time and money into each and every business. What we see today is the result of his PR machine at work. Yes, he focuses on branding now, but that’s because his sales were taken care of in the early days.

John Pemberton who started Coca-Cola put his first advertisement in the Atlanta Journal in May 1886 and regularly advertised his product after that. His initial focus was marketing and sales.

Can you begin to imagine the billions of dollars these two well-known brands have spent on promotions and advertising over the past decades?

So what does this mean for you and your business?

Well, branding is nice, but it doesn’t pay the bills. Focusing on sales does! It’s as simple as that. When your business grows to a decent size and you actually have a marketing budget, then you might focus on branding over sales.

Initially you must focus on building your leads and sales. In this way you will naturally build your brand, for no effort or money. Your brand will grow as a by-product of good sales and referrals.

I regularly see business owners falling into the trap of prioritising website branding over sales, but there is no competition. Sales consistently produce results.

Prioritising sales over branding is about focussing your efforts wisely to get the most out of your business website, and not wasting time on things that are not initially profitable. It’s about defining what you want your business website to do for you, and promoting a clear call to action that will increase your sales and ultimately your profits.

So, take a look at your Google Analytics and ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you getting reasonable traffic but no conversions?
• What’s your bounce rate like? The lower the better.
• How many people fill in your contact form?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, make it a priority to find out. Knowing these things is the first step toward working out how to get more leads and sales from your website.

What’s your priority? Website branding or website sales? 

Originally published on Flying Solo

While User Experience (UX) is definitely a term from the online world, it makes me think of a footpath near my local shopping centre.

Why? Well, UX is about getting to know the wants and needs of your customers and distilling them into a website that delivers on those wants and needs.

What I’ve dubbed my “user experience path” cuts across an area of grass to a footpath on the other side. It’s a generous, well-maintained walkway. But no one uses it. Instead, over time, countless pedestrians have worn a more direct and more convenient path through the grass.

The town planners who put in the path didn’t take the time to get to know their “customers” wants and needs. The result? Their customers found another way.

In terms of your website, if you don’t meet potential customers wants and needs with a good user experience, they too will find another way – to another business.

 

So what is User Experience?

First and foremost, UX isn’t the same as usability, although usability forms part of a good user experience. Confused?

• UX is how a potential customer feels about the interactions they have with your website.
• UX is a customer’s perceptions as they find their way around your site.
• Yes, UX is about usability and accessibility (think multiple device compatibility as well as all abilities access) but it’s also wrapped up in feeling like familiarity, trust and even delight.
• Good UX Design sends a customer’s feelings into positive overdrive and leads to an easy and enjoyable interaction.

 

When beauty is only skin deep

All this talk about feelings may sound “airy-fairy”, but good UX Design really can make a huge difference to the success of your website and your business.

Remember that Blue Suede song Hooked on a Feeling? Well, you can hook more potential customers by giving them a good User Experience.

Here’s an example. We all want our websites and the websites we use to look good. But if your site’s gorgeousness overrides practicality, slows the customer down or confuses the process, it will work against you.

Your potential customer’s initial exclamations of delight will very quickly turn to groans of frustration.

Remember, your website is not for your designer. It’s not even for you. It’s for your customers.

 

Off the rack individuality

Of course, UX is highly individual, changes from day to day and is multi-faceted.

You can’t create or own someone else’s experience, but you can create a kind of “ready to wear” UX range based on cold hard facts.

This research can come in the form of:

• market and competitor analysis
• surveys
• social media feedback, and
• data analysis

 

Data doesn’t lie

Data collection and analysis, including with tools like heat maps, are used to inform good UX.

Heat maps track the path of your cursor or mouse, and in doing so, your eye movement.

This kind of research tells us what newspaper publishers have known for a long time – the top right of your page, or in this case screen, is your “prime real estate”. This is where our eyes go first. Don’t waste that space people!

On the Online Influence website you’ll find our Google Partner badge and our contact phone numbers at the top right of our home page.

 

Simple ways to improve UX on your site

Even without diving into the data pool there are steps you can take to improve your customer’s UX.

• Make sure your site is mobile and tablet compatible – mobile devices now represent 65% of digital media time.
• Don’t let design override usability or confuse your message.
• Maximise your prime real estate – the area on the top right of the screen
• Simplify your content and the processes customers need to go through – too many hoops and they’ll jump ship.
• Make sure your tabs lead to what your customers most want or need –take a step back and examine your site with fresh eyes, better yet, get the Online Influence team to do it for you.
• Tell your story – your customers need to “know, like and trust” you.
• Don’t waste too many words telling people how fabulous you are, instead tell them why they need your services and how you can help them.

 

Forging your own path

This post has only just skimmed the surface. UX and UX Design can lead you down a myriad of pathways – paths no town planner would ever dream up!

The team at Online Influence can help you improve your website to improve your UX and create a welcoming path your customers and your potential customers will willingly follow.

To find out more about how we can help you improve the UX of your website go to our website. 

When somebody visits your website, you have just 3 seconds to GRAB their attention. If after those 3 seconds you haven’t spiked their interest, the visitor – your potential customer that you’ve worked so hard (or paid good money) to get to your site will simply click that dreaded little ‘back’ arrow and be lost forever!

Many business owners think that all they need to do is get a website up and the customers will flow through the door – well that may have been true 10 years ago but sadly these days you have to have a pretty slick website to convert a visitor into a lead. 

But don’t worry. There are a few simple things that can be done to improve your existing website or include in a brand new website, which can improve your conversion rate ten-fold.

1. Use An Attention Grabbing Headline
So many businesses’ websites have a HUGE picture banner at the top of the page and then the words ‘Welcome to my website’ or something else un-inspired. Do not do this. The top of your website is prime real estate, don’t waste that space with pointless pretty pictures or useless words.

2. Make It look great
Your website must look professional – don’t get your neighbors’ son to design your website just to save a few bucks, first impressions count so your website needs to be designed by a professional. Good colour combination, clear menu bar and any clickable buttons need to be carefully thought out. It doesn’t have to include any special effects or fancy graphics but it needs to look clean and professional.

3. Develop Confidence
Most visitors to your website will want to ‘check you out’ before they use your services, so make it easy for them. Put some testimonials on your site and give them some background information about yourself, help them see your personality and they may just decide to use you over your competitors.

4. Make It User Friendly
Don’t use graphics and images that take a long time to load. People will give up and leave your website. Also put the most important information right there on the main page – don’t hassle your potential customers by making them click around to find anything.

5. Make It Persuasive
Now this can be tricky for some people but be sure to give your visitor a reason to go to the next step. They need a reason to call you or email you (instead of your competitor) – so give them an incentive. We can help you to come up with something great.

6. Make It About THEM
Do not make the mistake so many do by talking about ‘this is how good I am’. Instead you should be thinking along the lines of ‘This is how much we can help you’. For example, ‘We have won many awards in our industry’ – this does not really make a visitor want to use you. That may surprise you but unless you translate this for the reader it doesn’t mean anything to them. You should instead say something like ‘You can rest assured that you are in good hands as we have won abc award for excellence’ – Translate it to what it means for them and you will see a dramatic increase in response.

Some other things which are a bit more technical to help increase results from your website.

– Make Sure Your Website Is Search Engine Friendly
This means that search engines like Google, can see, find and read your website. By using well-researched, targeted keywords, this will ensure you can rank highly on Google and get a good amount of visitors (potential new customers).

– Make Sure Your Website is Accessible to ALL Devices
Many websites contain code that actually blocks search engines and smart phones. With the rise of smart phones and alternatives to computers many of these websites are losing hundreds of visitors as some of their main elements may not work on other devices. So this is VERY important.

– Make Sure You Capture Your Visitors Contact Information
Many people will come to your website and leave without taking further action, in fact the majority will do that. Your website may get hundreds of visitors each day or week or month but you may only get a handful of phone calls or emails. What happens to the other 178 people that didn’t contact you? They are LOST forever and you have no ability to follow them up or continue your sales process. HOWEVER – if you use some simple technology you can actual get their contact information and email them a newsletter or call a few of them later and get dozens if not hundreds of sales that you would otherwise had lost!

With the implementation of these strategies plus a few more, sales from your website can increase ten-fold or more! Just contact us to get started today!

Offline and online business owners usually ask, “How does a website get on the top of search engine results”? The answer to this question is that Google has a search algorithm which determines which websites should appear on top, and which ones should be listed last. Based on the criteria of this complex algorithm, Google ranks all websites (search engine optimized websites). If many websites are competing for the top spot, the one which meets the search algorithm criteria the most will appear on top.

The problem for business owners who want to start a search engine marketing campaign is that Google keeps the exact details of its search algorithm confidential. This is a preventive measure to keep so- called “black hat” marketers from manipulating the Google ranking system. Fortunately, there are known guidelines for increasing the chances of a website to appear on the first page of Google search results, and possibly be listed on the top spot. Here are some factors that affect the way Google places SEO websites on their ranking and indexing system:

Relevance

Google was originally built to connect users to appropriate websites which contain relevant information.

• Because of this, the Google team takes website content relevance very seriously because they want to enable their users to find the information that they are looking for in as few clicks as possible.

• However, because the Google crawler cannot really comprehend sentences and paragraphs like humans do, the only way it measures relevance is by looking for certain keywords within the title, tags, and content of a website.

• If the keywords in a website match the exact search phrases that internet users typed on Google, the website will have higher chances of getting higher rankings.

There are many ways through which a website can increase its relevance to popular search keywords in a given industry, and this is the subject of a more detailed search engine optimization study.

Website Structure

When it comes to website structure, Google gives more preference to websites which have higher functionality and easier navigability:

• Functionality refers to the ability of a website to give its visitors a convenient way to find the information they are looking for.

• Navigability refers to ease of browsing through availability of navigation bars, hyperlinks, and appropriate page titles.

These two factors of website structure affect the way Google places SEO websites in its indexing and ranking system. This is the main reason why business owners should hire an SEO expert when it comes to building and structuring a website.