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Archives for March 2022

4 Ways to Increase Traffic With Content Marketing

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When reviewing other businesses’ content, it is easy to assume that content strategy is easy: you write a few blog posts, insert some keywords, and, voila, traffic. Unfortunately, there is so much more that goes into content optimization.

Do not give up if you do not see the results you want with your content. Most people only need to tweak their strategy to improve their results drastically. On a fundamental level, you should be following a minimum of four rules when designing and developing your content.

1. Know Your Audience

When focusing on content marketing in Canada, one of the essential elements is knowing your audience. Too many business owners assume they know their target market and do not bother to research.

Market research is crucial to identifying areas of interest for your blog posts or content. Thankfully, most businesses have access to their audience for research. Do you have a mailing list? Why not take the time to ask your followers what they would like to hear from you and your company. By designing your content strategy around your current audience, you can pull in more like-minded individuals. 

2. Design Engaging and Relevant Evergreen Content

It is not enough to find an audience and its interests. You will also need to create valuable, engaging, and relevant evergreen content. 

Evergreen content is content that does not require constant changes or updates. The information is always relevant; it is evergreen. If you focus on evergreen content, remove the dates from blog posts. Failing to remove the dates will make people believe the information is no longer accurate, so they will likely try to find it elsewhere.

Content is king or queen in business. Search engines will not rank your website favourably without creative and informative content, and consumers will not spend time on your pages.

Additionally, you want to create engaging content. Therefore, do not only write blogs. You also want to comment and interact with clients in the comments section. Consumers spend more time on pages when they engage, and search engines look more favourably on businesses that engage with consumers. 

3. Follow Best SEO Practices

Additionally, your content must follow best SEO practices. Search engines use algorithms to crawl through the multitude of pages on the internet to find relevant results for users. If your pages do not comply with SEO standards, search tools will either not find your pages or will not list them near the top of the results.

Remember that SEO is about more than keywords. Search engine optimization is also about meta tags, descriptions, internal links, backlinks, quality of the content, etc. If you do not feel comfortable with SEO, it is likely best to seek guidance from someone more experienced or a web design service.

4. Choose Engaging Images and Infographics

Your page will also rank based on the number of time users spend on your site. Suppose an internet user clicks on a search result but is only on the page for several seconds before clicking back for more results. In that case, the search engine will assume the site did not provide valuable information for the query. 

You want to encourage users to stay on your pages and interact with them. Providing images and infographics is an excellent way to promote more consumer interaction, resulting in more time spent on the pages.

Content marketing is about quality and engagement. Creating an effective strategy can be time-consuming, and not every business will have the in-house staff to handle the demands of SEO and client engagement. If you want to make the most of your website and content efforts, contact Unwired Web Solutions, the team with a reputation for improving and developing a business’s web presence.

Are Keywords Still Relevant In SEO

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If you’re wondering whether keywords are still relevant in SEO, the answer is a resounding “yes!” Though Google has made changes to how they rank websites, organic and local keywords are still one of the primary ways to show your site is relevant to a particular search. To rank well in Google today, you need to have a strong keyword strategy in place. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of those SEO strategies and discuss how they may help with your website ranking. 

What Are Keywords?

Keywords are words or phrases targeted in an SEO strategy to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). When someone searches for a term online, Google displays the websites they believe are the most relevant to that query. The better your website ranks for relevant keywords, the more likely potential customers will see you.

Choosing Keywords

When it comes to choosing keywords, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Every business is different and will have different needs when it comes to its keyword strategy. However, some general rules of thumb can help you choose the right keywords:

  • Start with your business name and product names. Chances are, you’ll want to target your business name and product names as keywords since people are likely to search for them online.
  • Think about what people might search for when looking for your products or services. When brainstorming potential keywords, think about the phrases people might use in a Google search. For example, if you sell shoes, some possible keywords might be “women’s shoes,” “men’s shoes,” “kids’ shoes,” “shoe sale,” etc.
  • Use keyword research tools to help you find keywords that are relevant to your business. Several different keyword research tools are available online, such as Google AdWords Keyword Planner and Moz’s Keyword Explorer. These tools can help you find keywords relevant to your business and have a good amount of search traffic.

How To Use Keywords In Your SEO Strategy

Once you’ve chosen the right keywords for your website, you need to start using them in your SEO strategy. Here are some tips for using keywords effectively:

  • Use keywords throughout your website. Include them in your website copy, titles, descriptions, and alt tags. This will help Google understand what your website is about and will help you rank higher for relevant keywords.
  • Don’t stuff keywords. In the past, some businesses would stuff their website with as many keywords as possible in an attempt to rank higher in Google. However, this is no longer effective and can actually hurt your ranking. Instead of stuffing keywords, use them sparingly and focus on creating quality content.
  • Target long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keyword phrases. They tend to have less search traffic than shorter, more general keywords, but they can be easier to rank for. For example, a long-tail keyword for a shoe store might be “women’s black leather dress shoes.”
  • Use keyword variations. In addition to targeting main keywords, you should also target variations of those keywords. This includes singular and plural forms of the keyword, as well as misspellings. For example, if you’re targeting the keyword “shoes,” you should also target “shoe,” “shoes,” and “sho.”

Achieve High Rankings

Though it is more challenging to achieve high rankings than a few years ago, following general rules along with using the right keywords will put any business on the path of better visibility through search engines. SEO analysis tools are available that can help fine-tune a website for an effective SEO strategy, but overall, there is no magic formula for a good SEO strategy. It involves grounded data and experience along with a solid strategy, including relevant content and website marketing. 

Unwired Web Solutions can help businesses make sure they are taking advantage of all aspects of ranking opportunities as well as keeping up with frequent changes made by Google. We offer SEO services, local SEO services, website design, content marketing, and social media marketing. 

At Unwired Web Solutions, we navigate the various decisions you need to make to enjoy excellent SEO on all your web pages, as well as keep up with frequent changes made by Google. Our team of SEO specialists does the leg work necessary to research your industry and relevant search engine strategies used by your competitors. Whether you are looking for local SEO services or help with organic SEO, we can help! Contact us today!

Don’t Be Afraid Of Experimental Web Design

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There’s a reason why businesses often stick to tried and true web design practices: because they work. But there’s also a reason to experiment, try new things, and see what might be possible if you push the boundaries. That’s where experimental web design comes in. By testing out new ideas and designs, you can find out what works and what doesn’t and adapt your website accordingly. This blog will talk about why not to be afraid to experiment – it could lead to some big improvements for business!

Experimenting Defies Traditional Layouts

Conventional web layouts are easy to spot. The homepages typically have a large header area with the navigation bar right below it. Then there’s usually the main body area where most of the content lives, followed by a sidebar and/or footer. If you were to ask someone to draw you a website, this is probably what they would sketch out. And while there’s nothing wrong with traditional layouts, sometimes it pays to break the mold and try something new. Experimental web design is all about testing out new ideas and seeing what works.

Grid System

One popular trend in experimental web design is breaking up the traditional layout and instead using a grid system. This means that instead of having one large body area, the content is broken up into smaller sections that are arranged in a grid. This can be a great way to organize content and make it more visually appealing. It can also make your website more responsive, as the content will resize itself depending on the screen size.

A grid system is known as a basic foundation for web design. It divides a webpage into columns and rows, making it easy to place content in specific locations. Grid systems can be custom-made or use pre-made templates. They’re popular because they make creating websites easier, as everything is already laid out for you. Plus, they create a cohesive look across all the pages of your website. If you’re interested in experimenting with web design, using a grid system is a great way to start!

Don't Be Afraid Of Experimental Web Design

Parallax Scrolling

Another trend that has been gaining popularity lately is parallax scrolling. This is where the background image moves at a different speed than the rest of the page, creating a sense of depth and movement. This can be a great way to add visual interest to your website and make it more engaging for visitors.

There are a few reasons why you might want to consider using parallax scrolling on your website: first, it can be visually appealing and help grab people’s attention; second, it can be used to direct focus to certain areas or content on the page; and third, it can add some interactivity and excitement to a website.

However, there are definitely times when parallax scrolling is not appropriate – for example, if you’re looking for a minimalist design or your website needs to be accessible on mobile devices. You should also avoid it if you’re worried about user experience, as it can be confusing and overwhelming for some people.

If you decide that parallax scrolling is right for your website, there are a few different ways to go about implementing it. You can use HTML and CSS to create the effect manually, or various plugins and frameworks are available that will do the heavy lifting for you.

These are just two examples of experimental web design trends that you could try out for your business. Of course, there are endless possibilities, and you should feel free to experiment with whatever you think might work. Just be sure to test everything out first to make sure it’s actually effective. Otherwise, you could end up making some changes that aren’t really necessary.

Push The Limits

Each day we perform actions that are so routine we barely register that we are doing them. Scrolling on a website gets no more thought than pushing an elevator button. Experimental web design challenges us to work outside those instincts. When thinking of your customers, they will remember your site because it pushed them to get outside their routine actions. 

A site with an experimental design may ask customers to scroll horizontally or direct them to hold down the space bar to explore content. While these design elements can be viewed as playful, it is important to remember that they may also make a website less accessible. Building a website with the right accessibility and experimentation can be a challenge, but it is possible. 

The Bottom Line

Don’t be afraid to experiment – it could lead to some big improvements for your business! By trying out new ideas and designs, you can find out what works and what doesn’t, and adapt your website accordingly. So go ahead and have some fun with experimental web design – the possibilities are endless!

Contact us today for information on Unwired Web Solutions custom web development or custom web app development! 

Elements of a Great Website Design

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Every business owner understands the importance of web design and SEO, even if they do not understand the intricacies of each. Website design services are vital to business operations because they employ IT professionals who understand the principles of design and engagement.

Engagement is the keyword when talking about web design. While personal preferences for layout might get you so far, you are not doing your business any favours if the pages of your site are not optimized for the modern consumer. There are at least five things you need to do to embrace modern and actionable web design.

1. Embrace Semi-Flat Design

Too many business owners believe that a website needs to be filled with dynamic images and video. While every website should have some dynamic and perceived three-dimensional objects, these elements should be used sparingly, primarily for the hero images.

Most of the website or a good portion of it should be flat — images without fancy drop shadows to represent depth. The flat design translates easily and loads quickly.

Readability is the name of the game. If your customer cannot read the page or understand what you want them to do, you lose a sale. Sometimes, simple design is the best strategy.

2. Include Quality Product Images

The reason for a website is to engage with customers and increase sales. The best way to increase sales is to show the customers what you have to offer. 

Many small business owners fall into the trap of having a text-heavy website. The internet is built for visual people. Take the time and invest the money in taking high-quality photos of your products. For example, instead of having a restaurant website with a text menu, fill the pages with gorgeous pictures of your food.

A quality image is worth 1,000 words. People’s eyes are automatically drawn to high-quality and colourful photos. Once you have their attention, give them the details.

3. Think Multi-Platform

People access the internet through several devices: desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc. You are doing yourself a disservice if your website is only optimized for one or two devices.

If you are going to go to the trouble of creating a website, the least you want to do is ensure that it is compatible with mobile devices. Most people will look for businesses, restaurants, and services with their phones, so a mobile-friendly design is crucial to website success.

4. Consider White Space

Another element of excellent web design is white space. Many people underestimate the value of a clean screen, but it helps bring attention to the areas that really matter.

Many people fear empty space or believe it is a sign of weak design. However, when done well, white space can accentuate purchase buttons and navigation items for a more streamlined and effective user experience.

Still, while white space is valuable, it should be used strategically. A web design service can help you make the most of your white space strategy.

5. Focus on Speed

Some of the best online tutorials explain the importance of dynamic images, videos, and other interactive content on websites. These elements allow for more engagement when on a page, but you need to consider your site’s download or processing speed.

Too many fancy elements will slow down the load time of the page. If a customer is met with an infinite spinning wheel, they will likely click the back button and find another service. Make sure your website loads quickly across multiple platforms.

Web design is a complex task that sounds simple. If you want to make the most of your current or future website, you should think about hiring a design service. Contact Unwired Web Solutions for a fast, dynamic, and user-friendly design.

How to Reach Your Target Audience with SEO

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SEO is primarily a keyword-driven process, but that is not all. To optimize your website, you need to focus on evergreen, dynamic, and quality content. However, no local SEO marketing effort is effective without an audience, people or users, to engage with the content.  

Finding your audience is only one part of the process; you also need to reach them and provide encouragement to engage with your content. The process of connecting with a target market is where most businesses struggle in terms of SEO. 

Engaging with your audience is about more than selecting the right long-tail keyword and moving up the search results in the SERPs. You need a customer to look at the heading and meta description and click through. When they land on the page, the content, images, and videos must be relevant, informative, and helpful, and the pull towards a sale cannot feel too forced. 

SEO and reaching your target audience is a delicate ballet requiring research, expertise, and understanding. While it is possible to work through the process and build effective strategies alone, working with a professional service is more cost-effective and time-effective. 

1. Understand Your Customer Base

Defining your audience is vital to effective content marketing and SEO strategies. To target individuals with information, you need to know what type of information they are looking for or interested in, and SEO services in Waterloo can help.  

Thankfully, as a business owner, you already have a built-in audience that you can use to determine a broader or more targeted market. You can talk to your sales division and ask about the motives behind purchases. Most customers will have a reason for buying your product or service. 

Additionally, the past is a prologue. Look at sales reports to determine which products sell the best. Understanding what people buy and why they buy can help develop a portrait of a typical customer, which you can use when creating content. 

Finally, if you have an existing website, look up Google analytics to understand how consumers are using your site. Are they engaging with the content? Do they spend more time on one page than another, why?  

Answering these questions and researching your current client base will help you understand existing buyers. The takeaway from the research will help you create more targeted campaigns in the future. 

2. Acknowledge the Competition

Do not spend too much time on your competitors. However, every business should spend a little energy investigating its competition’s performance and basic strategy. Thankfully, in the digital age, researching strategy is a straightforward process. 

You want to examine your competitor’s website. Look at the type of content they create and the layout of their pages. Do a deep dive into website analytics to determine the keywords they are using and any other helpful information. 

A quick analysis should help you identify the best-performing pages, other competitors, and best-performing keywords. With that information in hand, you can examine your site to find areas for improvement. 

3. Focus on the Right Questions

When creating content for your audience, you need to focus on answering the questions your audience actually has. Too many business owners write the content they want to read rather than what their clients want.  

There is an easy way to determine what your clients are asking by using Google searches. You can also use services like AnswerthePublic, SEMRush, or Buzzsumo. However, it is often more practical to hire a web service developer. 

Trying to reach your target market is not the most effortless process on your own. Thankfully, you do not have to do it alone. Contact Unwired Web Solutions to learn what the company can do for you, your website, and consumer engagement.