Should you have a blog?

Some reasons why we think you should have a blog on your website.

Search engines like them as they add regularly updated content to your site.

They are generally very keyword heavy because you are covering a specific topic.

They are concise and easily digestible, so easy for people to read.

Easily sharable via social media buttons helping to increase your audience reach.

They encourage interaction with the readers (your clients or potential clients) through comments functionality.

They demonstrate that you have industry expertise and knowledge.

It’s easy to publish content.

A blog won’t crowd your current website.

They encourage visitor interaction.

A blog can improve your main website SEO.

Some reasons why websites are still extremely important.

It’s highly recommended that you take advantage of Facebook, Twitter and word-of-mouth marketing to increase awareness of your brand. But the fact is websites remain infinitely more popular with consumers than all of the business pages on social media sites combined.

A report stated that only 22 percent of those online visit a branded social networking page such as those found on Facebook, while 62 percent regularly visit branded websites, according to the latest Global Web Index report. If you were starting to let your site become outdated or haggard, consider a refresh. After all, as these figures note, websites still matter.

Here are some reasons why you shouldn't ignore yours:

1. Branding: Since it's your site, you set the design, which affords you the flexibility to optimize the user experience in ways that directly support your business model and brand-related goals. There's no competition on your website, just a branded experience that you direct yourself.

2. Content: More content should be able to be found on your own website than from a third-party source. Create compelling and useful content that speaks to why someone is visiting your site and you stand a higher chance of that visitor taking action with respect to your products or services. And since inventory (i.e., web pages) is virtually unlimited on a site under your control, you have ample opportunity to add additional content and calls to action in the format you deem most appropriate.

3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): If garnering multiple, relevant and highly positioned placements in the SERPs (search engine result pages) is part of your sales and marketing strategy, a website is a must. When properly coded and managed, your site delivers natural and sustaining search results that drive qualified traffic to the exact pages on your site where you want visitors to be.

4. Analytics: While many social utilities, platforms and networks provide access to data related to demographics associated with who accesses your profile and how often they do so, website analytic tools go much deeper. They can provide you with the type of business intelligence you need to determine in real-time how your online marketing performs and stacks up against the competition.

Absolutely not are we suggesting you drop social in favour of your own website. What were advocating is that you lead first with your website, followed by leveraging social, email marketing, point of purchase, mobile, apps and other forms of marketing and outreach to drive traffic to your website where you can generate qualified leads who convert to paying customers?

The above is what Liquid Modules do and we want you to realise the potential for your business, whatever that may be.

Effective Web Design Principles

Your website is probably your single most valuable marketing tool in this digital age. With nearly 97% of consumers using the internet to make purchases, are you certain your website is standing out above the rest, or is it failing to impress, causing you to lose valuable customers and money?

Aside from the product itself, your website design is the most important factor in whether someone will stay on your page, or click the dreaded “back” button, taking them back to their search engine of choice. Don’t fall victim to your competitor who followed these seven rules and is now profiting from someone who could have been your customer!

1. Flash? 

Some designers tend to think people’s mindsets lean toward “Oh, shiny! It moves! It has action! I must love it!” but that’s simply not the case.

The average consumer doesn’t spend long on a web page. In fact, it is estimated that within 10 to 20 seconds, consumers have made up their mind about a particular website, and your product. Do you want 7 of these 15 seconds to be taken up waiting on the next slide loading in your very expensive flash presentation?

With that in mind, also forget about using a flash intro video. I know you’ve spent a lot of time and money finding just the right images, adding in a voiceover artist, writing the script and paying to have it edited. There’s actually a social media website you can use for all of that. It’s called YouTube. Surely you’ve heard of it. Link or embed a video using YouTube and give consumers the option to view if they wish. No one likes to be forced to do anything!

2. Don’t be afraid of negative space

Everyone thinks that negative space is the down-fall of any creative designer. Not true. Instead, use negative space to your advantage. Apple uses negative space on their website every time they launch a new product. They use a white background, black text, and nothing else. In fact, their website looks almost nothing like the example below:

Any good designer knows how to fill space, but a great designer knows how to let the space speak for itself.

3. Avoid Awful Stock Photography

It's most likely that your content is only going to get skimmed. Don’t lose out on prospects because you don’t have images. 

Use images that display your product or service. Any type of graphics that display your work will likely make a bigger and better impression than a wall of text. On the other end of the spectrum, be careful not to use a picture just because it came cheap on your favourite stock photo website. Your prospects are smart enough to identify images that are stiff, posed or don't inspire trust. Believe us; don’t fall into the trap of using photo after photo of a person leaning over another person, with a pen in their hand, pointing at something on a graph, to represent business professionals. That’s not really what a typical work day at your company looks like!

4. Colour is your friend. Well, sometimes

There are three very basic rules to letting colour influence your web design, based on principals of colour as an effective small business branding tool:

1.       White backgrounds are more for the everyday consumer.

2.       Black backgrounds are more for the luxurious or business minded.

3.       Colourful backgrounds are geared to people who lead colourful lives. 

Don’t go crazy though. Remember, a lot of research has been done about what colours are most attractive to specific types of consumers. For instance, yellow represents optimism and youthfulness, blue creates trust and security, green is associated with wealth, purple is used to calm and soothe and red creates energy and increases the heart rate. Is your website’s colour scheme giving the overall effect you want for your buyers?

5. Your Call-to-Action Has to Stand Out

Spend time working on the appearance of your call to action buttons. Think about what it should look like. Really research what people to respond to.

Psychologists report that orange is the best colour for a call-to-action. It represents aggression and urgency. This is important when your buyers are making their decision as to whether or not they want more information about you. Make them want to click the link but remember who the end user is.

6. Mixed Fonts and Text Colours

Don’t be afraid to step out of the Times New Roman box. Never fear to give your text a little colour. There’s a bright new world outside of your 11th grade research paper formatting. 

Use the bolding feature. Bold words draw the eye to that particular piece of content. Use that to your advantage. Bold words that really drive your point home and sell your product or service, but don't forget the importance of using contrast. No one likes an orange background with a blue word.

7. Less is more

This isn’t only true in website design. It’s also true in website design. Don’t clutter your website with every widget or button you can find. Your website doesn’t need thirteen videos on your product or service, and we don’t need to see every stock photo of a graph you found in your search. 

Remember that your content is the main focus. If you clutter your site with too much fluff, your buyers won’t be able to navigate through things to find what you’re really about.

Don’t make the rookie mistakes most small businesses make with their design. Take it to the next level and spend time and money on your website’s design, content, and functionality. Remember, your consumer wants you to be the one. They want to stop searching. Give them a reason to not hit the back button!

The above is what Liquid Modules do and we want you to realise the potential for your business, whatever that may be.

Does your website use Google Maps?

Be advised that Google Maps JavaScript API Version 2 has been officially deprecated as of May 19 2010; V2 API will continue to work until May 19 2013.

Liquid Modules can update your code to V3 of the maps or encourage you to do this.

20 Must See Mobile Statistics

Smartphone’s and tablets have burst onto the scene and are fundamentally shifting the way that we all think about marketing.  Mobile marketing has now taken a foothold and according to many benchmark statistics is poised to grow significantly.  Are you considering mobile marketing as part of your mix when developing plans for 2013?  Here are some stats that show why you should be giving some focus towards mobile and planning for how your brand and company will appear and reach target audiences in this new medium.

Mobile Commerce

1. 85% of consumer uses their phone while shopping in a store. (Source: JIWIRE)

2. Mobile technology will influence 29.4% to 33.7% of electronics and appliance sales in 2016, up from 8.3% in 2012. (Source: Deloitte)

3. The global mobile advertising market was $5.3B in 2011. (Source: IAB)

4. 56% of Smartphone owners identified email as a primary mobile medium that led to purchase. (Source: eMarketer)

5. Mobile email opens and clicks peak around meal times. (Source: MarketingCharts)

Mobile Search

6. 40% of mobile clicks are accidental or fraudulent. (Source: Trademob)

7. 70% of mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. (Source: Borell Associates)

8. Mobile search budgets increasing 307% for Smartphone’s, 231% for tablets. (Source: IgnitionOne)

9. Apple iOS sees the highest click-through rate.  Ads run on iOS devices have almost double the CTR (72%) of those on Android devices (41%). (Source: Jumptap)

Mobile Apps

10. U.S. Consumers download an average of 41 apps. (Source: Nielsen)

11. In-app purchases will drive 41% of app revenue in 2016. (Source: Gartner)

12. 74% of Smartphone owners use their devices to check email. (Source: Gartner)

13. Facebook had 604 million monthly active users who used Facebook mobile products as of September 30, 2012. (Source: Facebook)

14. 42% of mobile users have clicked an ad on the mobile web and 37% of clicked ads in apps (Source: Adobe)

General Mobile

15. 51% of U.S. mobile phone owners, own a Smartphone. (Source: ComScore)

16. The average tablet user is 34 years old, vs. 30 for the average Smartphone user. (Source: Flurry)

17. 69% of Smartphone owners that scan ScanLife’s mobile QR codes are male. (Source: ScanLife)

18. Two-thirds of Smartphone users (64%) want a site to load in less than 4/5 seconds. (Source: Keynote)

19. 18% of those who access the Internet via their cell phones say they do so because phones are simpler and more effective. (Source: PewResearch)

20. 49% of U.S. marketer’s boosted video ad spending in 2012, and 65% have larger mobile ad budgets. (Source: eMarketer)

Any other stats that you have found on mobile marketing to keep in mind, Share them with us in the comments.

Liquid Modules can offer your business the potential via mobile.

We've moved!

Liquid Modules have moved to the brand spanking new Reading Enterprise Centre on the Reading University campus.
As you'd expect, the centre has close links with the university and offers  the mutual benefit of supplying us with the talented graduates, while we supply vital work experience for undergraduates to give them an edge in today's ultra-competitive job market.

Liquid Modules have been in managed office buildings before and without hesitation can say the experience so far is extremely positive. The companies in the building have been picked not on how much rent they can pay but how they compliment each other, meaning the opportunities to work together are plentiful. The office managers are very responsive to any requests you make. There is a bizarre situation where every company has to buy their own milk which means the fridge is stacked full of separate containers, but you can't have everything...

We've only been here a week and it already feels like home. We just need to decorate our office now - ideas welcome...

UK Cookie Law comes into effect on 26 May 2012,
or risk a £500,000 fine

To act in accordance with new EU legislation, websites must now gain consent for the use of cookies.

The law requiring websites to gain explicit consent before storing cookies on users’ computers was passed last year in May, but the ICO granted firms a year to comply before prosecuting any cases.

In simple terms, the law requires you to ask permission from the user before you start dropping cookies on their devices. There are one or two exemptions but they're quite narrow, so don't go thinking you're off the hook!

Apart from the odd lonely voice reactions from the industry have been entirely negative. Many see the law as fundamentally flawed, some hold out hope for a u-turn on the legislation and others hope for a universal solution from browser vendors.

The bad news is that it is really happening: there will be no u-turn, there are no silver bullets and yes, unless you can avoid 'non-essential' cookies altogether, unfortunately it's going to affect your website.

For strict legal compliance, you really mustn't drop any non-essential cookies, including those used for analytics. But the ICO has said that it's looking for some positive steps and I think we can expect the agency to be helpful rather than adversarial in the first few months of enforcement.

While most websites will be able to comply with a few simple tweaks to their code and the application of a consent solution, some third party apps will be badly affected.

Google Analytics is estimated to run on 90 per cent of websites. As an entirely cookie-based analytics solution it is not compliant with the legislation without the provision of explicit consent by website users.

As a software development company, we at Liquid Modules will be very busy leading up to 26 May 2012, so we will be offering a first come, first serve basis to investigate and change your website by this date.