9 reasons to skip a DIY site builder

Quite simply, if you have a great business, you need a great website. These days, the world is all about the internet, you only get one shot at making a first impression, and stats show that customers can write off your online presence - and therefore your business - within a few mere seconds of clicking in.

The good news for businesses is that getting online is not difficult or expensive. But that doesn't mean you should go for the easiest option.

What's the easy option?

Yes, we're talking about DIY site builders.

As the name suggests, a DIY site builder is a home job. Without knowing how to write code or go to a pro, you can get online. But we think that's a very bad idea. Let's tell you why:

1. Flash
   Many DIY sites prominently feature Flash technology - which Google doesn't like to list. And, let's face it, your customers are busily Googling.
   
   
2. Simple
   Simple is good, but too simple means there is less for Google to crawl and index. And that means less traffic and conversions.
   
   
3. Google
   Again with Google, but we can't over-emphasise its importance. Getting in those listings is not as easy as it seems, and a DIY site is just not maximising your chances.
   
   
4. Analytics
   Analytics give site admins a clear picture of how a website is performing, and the DIY options offer only limited technology in this area.
   
   
5. The look
   You might think your DIY site looks good, but be honest and compare it with some of the best in the business. Do you still think it's the best look for your business?
   
   
6. Mobile friendly
   As time goes on, more and more people are switching off their laptops and using only their mobiles. But most DIY site builders are based on desktop designs that do not necessarily look or work efficiently in the palm of your customers' hands.
   
   
7. Uniqueness
   Maybe you really have found a great look for your DIY site among the template options. But how many other dozens or hundreds of other sites look almost exactly the same?
   
   
8. Professionalism
   Most DIY site builders will want to show the world that they helped you get online. But do you really want to tell the world that you went for the cheapest and easiest option?
   
   
9. Support
   Once your DIY site is online, you will be alone in the world once all those day-to-day website running issues start to crop up. But getting a pro to build your site means you will have someone to turn to.

Canberra Web genuinely cares about providing the best web design Canberra can possibly put online for Australia and the world to see. Call us today.

As new technologies are embraced and customers become more digitally savvy, the need for strategies that attract and retain those customers is essential. Here are six ways to reboot your marketing to meet those demands.

1. Strategies need regular updating

Even if you already have a digital marketing strategy, it needs regular brainstorming with insights on the latest trends. In today’s lightning-speed world, strategies need to constantly evolve to meet the changing demands of the marketplace. The same rule applies if you don’t have a strategy and are just getting started.

2. Integrate your digital strategy with your overall marketing plan

It’s not uncommon for a newly developed digital strategy to exist in its own space, disconnected from a company’s general marketing. Your digital plan should not just be included in the overall strategy but should be its centrepiece.

3. Get to know your customers

There are many tools, such as Google Keywords Planner, that can identify the behaviour and profile of visitors to your website. This data can be used to grow your customer base by understanding and targeting their needs.

4. Stronger communication = Broader reach

Creative development of your social, search, blog and email marketing channels will engage your existing customers, as well as attract the attention of new prospects. An experienced web designer can focus on this, optimising the SEO and achieving higher rankings on Google searches.

5. Leading the way

It’s vital to keep adding momentum. One of the ways to do this is to test different marketing ideas and then adopt the ones that work best. Launching new onsite tools that enhance your visitor’s experience, such as customer loyalty or Live Chat software, is another approach. It enables you to lead rather than just follow what your competitors are doing.

6. The power of analytics

Make the time for an in-depth analysis of every facet of your online activity. When you install a tool such as Google Analytics into your website, you can view data on the traffic your site is receiving. These figures provide you with the knowledge to further streamline and empower your marketing operations.

These six ways of rebooting your strategy can help you stay ahead of new trends and a constantly changing market. Canberra Web can assist you every step of the way with web design and optimisation. We also provide monthly strategies for digital marketing Canberra businesses can rely on.

Many businesses fail to utilise Google Analytics and do not understand how this useful tool works. Google Analytics can help businesses better understand their customer and the traffic they receive on their website. Below, we share a few tips on how to understand and use Google Analytics to improve your digital marketing...

Source/Medium Report from Google Analytics

This report offers a high-level and actionable overview of the performance of your website. It provides a breakdown of the site’s performance by traffic source. If you want to access it, find the tab labelled “Acquisition” and then click on “All Traffic,” and finally, “Source/Medium.”

Some of the things you will see include:

The traffic source identity and the number of users originating from the source.

The engagement of the users on your website.

The bottom line results of the traffic source which can be measured by goal conversions or/and purchases.

Let's look at an example.

You might discover that your YouTube traffic has a bounce rate of 46%, and the bounce rate of your email traffic is 12%. This insight tells you that people using email engage more with your traffic and they visit multiple pages. This will help you to prioritise email over YouTube and enable you to create a different landing page for your YouTube visitors. Additionally, it will help you to see each traffic source’s sales and revenue.

Landing page reports from Google Analytics

When businesses talk about landing pages through AdWords or in digital marketing, they are talking about a page that generates email subscribers. Ideally, it is the first page that a visitor accesses on your website.

Let us look at an example of web navigation. If a visitor navigates your website like this:

Homepage > category page > product and services page > exit.

Then the landing page is the "Homepage."

Now, the landing page report shows the landing pages that starts all the first sessions of your visitors on your websites. Basically, it will show the pages that people saw first. The landing page report will also allow you to compare the performance of all the landing pages, and indicate the best performing landing page.

To access this report, you will access it through the following channel, “Behaviour tab/Site Content/Landing Pages." This report will help you identify the best landing page for a particular ad.

If you want to work with a successful digital marketing agency Canberra based, contact Canberra Web today. We have a team of digital marketing experts who are ready to help you grow your customers and improve the sales of your products and services. Call us today to find out more.

Hitting publish on your website doesn’t mean you will make sales instantly. Creating a website with beautiful design features doesn’t mean you will have people flocking to your site. And colours that rock and images that are on point don’t make you millions instantly.

The reality is this: mistakes will happen on your website, mistakes you are 100% in control of, and these will be hurting your website's performance, whether you know it or not.

The good news? These are all mistakes that can be fixed. From years of analysis and experience, we know which common errors most website owners make, and how easy they are to amend.

Where is the SEO?

When we look into the finer aspects of a website that is struggling with traffic or making sales, what we will normally see is a lack of SEO. There are many SEO components that might be missing or incorporated incorrectly; this could be anything from a failure to add in the relevant SEO plugin, unspecified permalinks that contain numbers instead of keywords, misuse or lack of heading tags across every page, or a keyword strategy that hasn't been implemented into the copy of every page.

Thankfully, the fix is easy. Invest time and money into your SEO strategy and ensure it's implemented correctly. SEO is the building blocks of being found by your customers and you are selling yourself short by missing crucial fundamentals. If it is the only thing you spend your time and energy on, it is worth it.

Are you using a reliable builder?

We have tested, used and designed with many different website design builders, such as Wordpress, Joomla, Woo Commerce, and even WIX. We know from this experience what is going to work for business, and what isn’t. Simple drag and drop builders like WIX may seem easy to use, especially if you don’t have website design skills, but there is a reason for their simplicity. Builders like this don’t offer the complexity of SEO, design or functionality, and rarely create an impact online compared to their rivals, like WordPress.

Investing in a new website created on the right platform will ensure your ideal audience will find you. Set yourself up right from the beginning and your business will thank you for it.

Are you analysing your progress?

People often assume they aren’t making sales because their website is ‘failing’. It is a big assumption to make without actually knowing the true performance of the website. There are many factors at play, and it might not necessarily be your website letting you down. So, how do you know how well your site is performing?

It is easy to start analysing your traffic. Simply implement Google Analytics, or any analytics, into your site. Once you have some data, understand the traffic you are getting. Where are you getting the most amount of visitors from? What pages do they go to most? Once you have a picture of your traffic, and what gaps there are in your marketing, start centring your marketing around improving the weaker areas, and capitalise on what is working for you.

Are you making any of these mistakes? Or has your website been underperforming and you are unsure why? Shoot us an email at Canberra Web, we would love to help you!