The Best 18 Online Quiz Makers for Boosting User Engagement in 2021

The Best 18 Online Quiz Makers for Boosting User Engagement in 2021

Grabbing — and keeping — your audience’s attention has never been harder. Nowadays, people are bombarded with marketing 24/7, and yet in the last five years, the average attention span has actually dropped — to a mere eight seconds.

Fortunately, there are fun and unique strategies you can implement to engage your audience — and one of those strategies is an online quiz maker.

Similar to the addictive nature of Jeopardy, online quizzes are a fun way for people to engage with your brand. Additionally, consistent online quizzes can help you stay top-of-mind when your consumer is finally ready to buy.

Online quizzes also help you gain a better understanding of your users, and help create stronger relationships with them.

But, whether you’re looking for a professional survey tool or a more lighthearted quiz maker, there’s a range of options to choose from — which one will help drive the best long-term results?

We’ll explore our favorite 18 quiz makers shortly, but first, let’s take a look at the key features of great quiz makers.

Easily Build An Embeddable Quiz Using HubSpot’s Free Form Builder

Online Quiz Makers: Key Features

Quiz makers come in all forms. Some are incredibly professional, while others are pretty casual. Some are intended for fun, and others are meant to drive real business growth.

Whatever your goal, you should always look for the following key features in your quiz maker.

Easy Promotion Options

You’re trying to gather as many responses as possible, right?

Choosing a service that has built-in sharing options should be a top priority, as it’ll help increase reach.

Data Collection / Analysis

How are you going to collect and use the data?

This is a huge issue. If the data that’s collected is difficult to sort through and doesn’t help you identify key trends, then it’s useless. Make sure the data you collect can be exported or analyzed in-app in a way that’s easy for you.

Lead Capture

In nine out of 10 instances, you’ll also want your quiz to capture lead data from the user.

Make sure there’s a built-in method to collect more than just respondent’s answers — and ensure it can integrate with your primary CRM or ESP.

Time Efficiency

Quiz makers speed up the process needed to put them together.

By using a quiz maker, you can choose from pre-existing layouts or templates, to make a clear and engaging quiz — without the fuss of starting from scratch. They also provide step-by-step guides on how to build them, so you don’t have to do any second guessing.

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s get into our favorite quiz making solutions.

The 18 Best Online Quiz Makers in 2021

1. HubSpot Forms

Price: Free

Even though it’s one of the more advanced form builder tools, you don’t need any technical expertise when you use HubSpot’s free form builder. You can quickly create forms with the drag-and-drop form builder and convert anonymous website visitors into leads with unlimited forms, fields, submissions, and custom forms that all connect to your contact database. This flexibility and customization means it’s easy to create quizzes using the tool as well.

Once someone fills out your form, they’re automatically routed to HubSpot’s free CRM. Once they’re in your CRM, you can set reminder tasks, call them, and send them one-to-one personalized emails, letting you better manage and nurture relationships with your contacts.

HubSpot Forms is also available for WordPress via HubSpot’s WordPress plugin.

2. Survey Anyplace

Pricing: Basic Plan, $39/month per user; Professional Plan, $59/month per user; Enterprise Plan, contact for pricing

Survey Anyplace is one of the more advanced tools in the market, with skip logic, outcomes, and custom scoring that allow you to create quizzes with a high focus on personalization. Combine that with full customization to your branding and the ability for respondents to download a personalized feedback report at the end of the quiz, and you’ll see why this tool is so popular among HR companies.

Survey Anyplace quiz maker

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3. Typeform

Pricing: Basic Plan, $25/year per user; Plus Plan, $50/year per user; Business Plan, $83/year per user

Typeform takes quizzes and makes them intuitive for both the creator and the user. By offering one question at a time and delivering the quiz in an attractive, responsive interface, Typeform has become a leader in the world of online quizzes and surveys.

The platform is easy to use with its drag-and-drop editing tools. It’s also versatile, offering customer surveys, quizzes, lead generation tools, and more. There are numerous templates to choose from which can be customized to your individual needs.

Using Zapier, Typeform can be seamlessly integrated into CRM services like HubSpot. This way, all the data you collect is automatically added to your existing contacts.

However, it’s important to note some people might feel frustrated when receiving questions one at a time, since it can be more time-consuming. Additionally, the free version limits you to collecting only 100 responses per month.

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4. SurveyMonkey

Pricing: Team Advantage Plan, $25/month per user; Team Premiere Plan, $75/month per user; Enterprise Plan, contact for pricing

With Survey Monkey, you can create basic polls and questionnaires in minutes, and the basic version is free to use. The software features hundreds of templates and questions written by ‘survey methodologists,’ and are specifically designed to draw the right information out of respondents.

Although you can customize the design and layout of your quizzes and surveys, a common criticism is that you can’t fully brand the surveys because the Survey Monkey logo remains.

Survey Monkey quiz maker

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5. ProProfs Quiz Maker

Pricing: Free Basic Plan; Essentials Plan, $25/month per user; Premium Plan, $50/month per user; Enterprise Plan, contact for pricing

ProProfs Quiz Maker is a useful tool for creating scored quizzes, public quizzes, personality quizzes, opinion surveys, polls, online tests, and exams. The tool offers 100+ quiz templates, 100,000+ ready-to-use questions, as well as 100+ configurations and an easy-to-use quiz editor.

ProProfs Quiz Maker allows for 10 different question types so you can easily build online quizzes, exams, tests, and surveys. The quizzes can be integrated with major marketing automation tools like ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, MailChimp, and more.

The tool offers three plans with an option to bill monthly or annually. However, some of its advanced features are confined to the enterprise plans.

6. Outgrow

Price: From $14 per month

Pricing: Freelancer Limited Plan, $14/month per user; Freelancer Plan, $25/month per user; Essentials Plan, $95/month per user; Business Plan, $600/month per user

Using Outgrow you can easily create interactive quizzes as well as calculation quizzes, contests quizzes, tests, recommendation quizzes, and chatbot-styled quizzes. Outgrow’s highly-intuitive drag-and-drop builder allows you to build from scratch or choose from more than 1000 templates.

These templates can include recommendation quizzes helpful for B2B, B2C, and eCommerce businesses. Outgrow allows users to embed their quizzes in 10 diverse ways including Email, Popup, Adverts, Sidebar, Floating Rectangle, Full page, Inpage, Chatbot, ExitIntent, and FacebookTab.

7. Qzzr

Pricing: Basic Plan, $25/month per user; Pro Plan, contact for pricing; Enterprise Plan, contact for pricing

Qzzr was built by inbound marketers with the specific goal of bringing in qualified leads. It creates fully customizable quizzes and surveys through its simple, elegant interface.

Users can also leverage its comprehensive data analysis of the responses, and use its social sharing integrations to reach a larger audience.

One of the most impressive features is the ability to target offers based on the users’ answers. For example, you can add a ‘Buy Now’ CTA on the results page for a product a user expressed interest in.

It’s one of the cheaper options on the list, but lacks the advanced logic features of some of its competitors.

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8. GetFeedback

Pricing: Pricing available upon request

GetFeedback prides itself on its aesthetically-pleasing interface — both customer-facing, and the back-end. It’s one of the more advanced options for quiz and survey creation but is still relatively easy to use for novices. It offers integration into Salesforce CRM software, and detailed analytics so you can put your newfound data to use.

Offering full customization to your branding and coming very highly-rated, GetFeedback is one of the premium options on the market, ideal for larger teams and companies that really want to drill down into their audience data.

GetFeedback quiz maker

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9. Google Forms

Price: Free

Google Forms is a free and easy-to-use form tool that runs within G Suite. The functionality is on the basic side and the interface isn’t very customizable, but you can make decent forms and create quizzes to capture customer data. Since Google Forms is part of G Suite, you can pull data straight into Google Sheets for analysis.

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10. Riddle’s Quizmaker

Pricing: Basic Plan, $29/month per user; Pro Plan, $49/month per user; Team Plan, $199/month per user

Riddle’s Quizmaker is another easy-to-use tool with a focus on capturing email addresses. You can collect data from leads and send it directly to your lists in MailChimp or other software. Riddle’s Quizmaker is particularly good value for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

The tool is available as a WordPress plugin, or quizzes can be embedded into your site via an embed code. The quizzes are fully customizable, so you can stamp your branding all over them.

Riddle's Quizmaker quiz maker

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11. Playbuzz

Price: Free

Full of cheap-looking ads, but absolutely free, Playbuzz is a great option for those who want to jump in and have a go at creating quizzes without the outlay upfront. Try it out, and if it works for you, move onto a premium quiz maker with more features and a better, ad-free interface.

The tool is quick and easy to get started, so it’s a good beginner’s option. Additionally, it’s easy to share your pro-looking quizzes on social media once you’re done.

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12. Alchemer

Pricing: Collaborator Plan, $49/month per user; Professional Plan, $149/month per user; Full Access Plan, $249/month per user

Alchemer is a feature-rich quiz and survey creation tool with a user-friendly interface. There are two versions — one geared towards individuals and small businesses, and another for larger enterprises. The former focuses on ease-of-use, while the latter enables deeper analysis of data and focuses more on customer research.

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13. Wufoo

Pricing: Starter Plan, $14/month per user; Professional Plan, $29/month per user; Advanced Plan, $74/month per user; Ultimate Plan, $183/month per user

A versatile tool for form design, survey creation, and quiz making, Wufoo is a cloud-based platform used by some of the biggest names in the industry. Its most notable feature is the advanced form logic and the ease with which you can collect, store, and organize data.

Not as easy to use as some of the more basic tools out there, Wufoo takes a bit of getting used to if you’re using the more advanced features (basic coding may be required!), but for routine form creation, it’s still pretty intuitive.

The free version limits the number of responses, but above that there are a number of price points, so it’s a good option for businesses that are growing quickly.

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14. Ask Nicely

Pricing: Pricing available upon request

Ask Nicely is a form and survey creator with a focus on customer feedback and improving your Net Promoter Score (NPS). The software integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, or Slack and allows you to automate customer follow-up to improve ratings and reviews on sites like Google.

Ask Nicely is more than just a quiz maker — it’s an advanced marketing tool suitable for medium to large companies who really value customer engagement. Pricing is based on your needs, but $375 is a rough idea of how much it will cost you. (It’s not cheap.)

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15. Brandquiz

Pricing: Free Limited Plan; Starter Plan, $25/month per user; Professional Plan, $75/month per user; Business Plan, $195/month per user

Brandquiz is a good option for quickly and easily creating fun branded quizzes with a range of templates available. The platform enables integration with major marketing tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, or MailChimp, to make the most of the data collected.

The free version extends to up to 100 participants per month, while a range of paid plans offer value for growing companies.

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16. Microsoft Forms

Pricing: Free

Microsoft Forms, similar to Google forms, is a great tool for those who are proficient in Microsoft Office as it has seamless integration with other Microsoft Office software. With easy step-by-step guides for creating basic forms and quizzes, Microsoft Forms keeps it simple.

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17. Form Crafts

Pricing: Free Limited Plan; Standard Plan, $29/month per user; Plus Plan, $79/month per user; Enterprise Plan, $179/month per user

Although designed for creating simple questionnaires, newsletter sign-ups, and the like, Form Crafts supports multi-page forms so it can also be used to make quizzes. With real-time analytics, conditional logic, and easy integration with WordPress via a plugin, it offers a good alternative to the mainstream options.

Pricing is competitive with a range of options to suit any growing business.

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18. ClassMarker

Pricing: Professional 1 Plan, $39.95/month per user; Professional 2 Plan, $79.95/month per user

ClassMarker is a quiz maker designed for education professionals with custom plans for business users, too. You can create tests and exams that are accessible to as many users as you like. The test can be customized to your branding and can even include branded certificates. A sophisticated results platform allows you to easily analyze the data and draw conclusions.

This is a good option for large businesses that need to survey a lot of users. Pricing plans are pretty competitive for the level of functionality and customization available.

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Now I know there are a lot of quiz makers to choose from this list, so let’s figure out which quiz makers are right for you.

Which quiz maker is right for me?

Different quiz makers can serve different purposes — it all depends on what you’re looking for. Figure out your intentions for the quiz, what you hope to gain from it, and then start your search for the best one.

Best Online Quiz Software for Marketers

Marketers focus on how their content can generate leads, segment their audience, and drive traffic to their websites — and Interact is the quiz maker just for that.

With built-in analytics, marketers can take real-time data from their quizzes and integrate them with email marketing and automation systems to capture and segment leads.

Best Online Quiz Maker for Teachers

This quiz maker engages students, but also goes a step further with more functionality. For example, if you’re teaching a topic that involves math, Typeform offers a calculator function during quizzes. It also offers subgrouping of answers and questions to divide the types of questions offered, too.

Best Online Quiz Creator for Fun

To engage quiz takers both young and old, Kahoot is a fun and interactive quiz maker because it makes quizzes into a game.

Boost Your Engagement with Engaging Quizzes

Sharing engaging quizzes is a solid way to capture more leads. With the help of a great quiz maker, you can make the great ones that showcase your company goals and appeal to your audience.

Check out our comprehensive guide if you want to find out the best ways to capture more leads with quizzes — and good luck in your quest for the best quizzer on the market.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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The SEO Vault: Episode 98

The SEO Vault: Episode 98

 

 

Episode 98 Table of Contents
Co-Host: Mike Milas

Special Guest: Jessie Taylor

– New map features for Google Maps allows users to leave more detailed reviews
– Google Drops The AMP Label In The Mobile Search Results
– Google Tests The Local Pack With Map Placed On Right Side
– John Mueller – No Results Found Response Can Lead To Soft 404s In Google Search Console

 

Don’t Miss it Live every Thursday at 4 pm EST on the Web 20 Ranker Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/web20ranker/

Or listen to the podcast here

https://pod.co/theseovault

Catch every episode and more on YouTube

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Interested in being a guest on the vault!? Sign up now
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Can Ear Infections Create Obstacles During Pregnancy?

Can Ear Infections Create Obstacles During Pregnancy?

Can Ear Infections Create Obstacles During Pregnancy?

They hinder labour and delivery in their usual course. Occasionally, physicians will prescribe Pitocin without a legitimate medical reason to expedite labour and delivery. This may be necessary to make room for other patients in a labour room, or the doctor may have other responsibilities. When labour becomes really stressful, the baby’s capacity to distribute labour is exceeded. As a result, there is an increased risk of experiencing foetal distress.

The Dangers Of Hospital Births: Why Giving Birth In A Hospital Can Cause More Problems Than It Can Solve

It is vital to recognise the many kinds of otitis media. Acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion are the two most common kinds. It is critical to separate them during diagnosis because their treatment regimens, particularly with regard to antibiotic use, are quite dissimilar. Additionally, it is crucial to differentiate between inflammation-induced ear discomfort and earwax-induced ear pain. This is most noticeable when an ear infection occurs concurrently with a fever reaction.

Ear Pain During Pregnancy

Other temporary ear issues associated with pregnancy include dizziness or lightheadedness. Pregnancy may affect your hearing and balance if you already have a problem such as Meniere’s disease.

A significant ear infection, if left untreated, can spread to the brain or other regions of the body.

ear infections and pregnancy

Your Infant’s Hearing Impairment

Otitis media is diagnosed in pregnant women by otoscopy, a microscopic study of an ear swab. Women are evaluated for hearing (with a camera or audiometry), auditory tube function, and, when necessary, nasopharyngeal endoscopic tests. Pregnant women are not permitted to get X-rays or CT scans, while an MRI may be recommended in the second trimester if an urgent diagnosis is required. A brief history can serve as a springboard for a diagnosis concept. However, an examination of the eardrum is necessary to diagnose otitis media and its appearance. This is commonly accomplished with a pneumatic otoscope coupled to a rubber ball, enabling visualising and assessing the eardrum’s movement.

Meningitis, Brain Abscesses, And Other Neurological Complications Can Occur As A Result Of Ear Infections

middle ear infectionsIs ear pain almost always indicative of an ear infection? While ear discomfort is commonly caused by an ear infection (particularly a middle ear infection), it can also be caused by another illness such as the common cold, the flu, an earwax build-up, or teething in toddlers. Following an examination, a doctor can diagnose the source of the earache and give the appropriate prescription.

Even in the presence of illness, pregnancy-related earache is associated with a favourable outcome for the newborn. Your unborn kid will be unaffected as long as the ear infection does not spread to the bloodstream. You may take antibiotics that are safe and well-tolerated during this time period.

Even in the absence of illness, pregnancy-related ear discomfort is associated with a favourable outcome for the newborn. As long as the virus is not transmitted in the bloodstream, it does not affect your unborn kid. During this time period, infections can be treated using medications that are both safe and effective.

Additionally, professionals examine the likelihood that the treatment will result in a plethora of favourable outcomes. For instance, if women have bacterial vaginosis but do not exhibit symptoms and their pregnancy is deemed safe, treating the infection is unlikely to result in significant benefits.

Throughout pregnancy, it is necessary to look for oneself. This is not just for your own profit but also the infants’ wellness. You want to protect your infant’s health. However, how do you know if your baby is healthy? An ultrasound scan can be used to determine this. The first ultrasound performed during pregnancy is critical to the success of the pregnancy. It is an essential component of your prenatal care routine. An ultrasound will be performed at the start of your pregnancy to determine the foetus’s heartbeat. Pregnant women are often concerned about ultrasound scans for a variety of reasons. We want to address a few of them in this essay. Is ultrasonography a practice that pregnant women should avoid? One of the primary worries of pregnant women is the safety of the ultrasound scan. To ensure the safety of the scan, it should be conducted by a trained specialist.

Additionally, no cases of ultrasound causing injury to a pregnant woman have been made. When professionals perform an ultrasonic scan on you, they use extreme caution with the heat. This decreases the likelihood of the pregnant woman becoming concerned. If a pregnant woman also has another medical problem, she may be eligible for…

The Factors That Contribute to Childhood Hearing Loss

Ear infections are caused by organisms such as bacteria or viruses that enter the ear. The inflammation obstructs the Eustachian tube (a tube that connects the middle ear and the throat). As a result of this restriction, fluid collects in the middle ear, resulting in infection. This can occasionally result in temporary hearing loss.

When a physician picks a treatment for a pregnant woman, he or she should keep in mind that the advantages of the medicine should outweigh any potential risks. In other words, the foetus should not be placed in needless danger, and otitis in pregnancy should be treated conservatively. When the eardrum is not ruptured and no pus is identified during the first catarrhal stage of otitis, topical anti-inflammatory ear drops such as Otipax or Otinum may be administered.

Various types of hearing loss

ears and geneticsAs is the case with genetic hearing loss, this condition is incurable. However, you can help avoid hearing loss caused by other factors, such as infections or preterm birth. You may carry out the following actions:

According to Drs. Hutz, Moore, and Hotaling, antibiotic therapy have significantly decreased the incidence of otitis media complications. “However, it is vital to maintain an awareness of the possibility of developing a neurological condition. To achieve optimal care and to minimise morbidity, a multidisciplinary strategy based on rapid imaging and laboratory investigations must be implemented early on.”

Inform your physician if you experience any further ear problems, such as tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Tinnitus and other ear symptoms can also be caused by more significant health problems, such as hypertension or anaemia due to iron deficiency.

Before inserting the otoscope’s cone into the ear canal, the outer ear is examined for evidence of disease associated with the patient’s symptoms. This helps eliminate the possibility that an earplug could cause earache in pregnant women. By lifting and lowering the outer ear, the external auditory canal is carefully examined. This technique straightens the naturally curved external auditory canal and boosts the visibility of the eardrum.

Ear Pregnancy Infection in Childhood

Certain natural therapies and alternative pharmaceuticals are recommended or used to treat inner ear infections. Ear drops flavoured with garlic or tea tree oil, apple cider vinegar, basil, olive oil, and hydrogen peroxide are just a few examples. None of these has been proved in scientific studies to be genuinely useful.

Garlic is well-known for its antibacterial properties, which can aid in ear infection prevention. Utilize a cotton swab to apply three drops of garlic oil to the infected ear. If the infection is severe, recovery may take an extended period of time. 4. olive oil extra virgin or mineral oil Two drops of mineral or olive oil should be administered to the affected ear. When rubbed on the ear, this oil dissolves the trapped earwax, falling out of the ear.

Is Pregnancy Harmful to the Auditory System?

Under the supervision of your physician, you can apply alcohol-soaked hot swabs to the ear to reduce inflammation. Remove pus and clean the ear with an antibiotic suited for pregnant women if you have purulent otitis externa (e.g. miramistin). If the eustachian tube is significantly distended, paediatric doses of vasoconstrictive drops should be given.

Topical antibiotic drops may be given if the inflammation in the outer ear progresses to otitis media (Sofradex, sulfacyl sodium). Additionally, prescription-only penicillin medicines such as amoxicillin and flemoxin are available. If there is a substantial amount of pus, the doctor will pierce the eardrum and disinfect the outer ear in his office with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or an antiseptic. Additionally, inflating the eustachian tube and pneumomassaging the eardrum for 7-14 days is beneficial and fully safe for both mother and foetus.

Acute otitis results in time-dependent alterations to the eardrum. Typically, the eardrum becomes red or yellow in colour and opaque, with irregular patterns. Insufflation has the potential to hinder movement.

Candida is a fungus that causes vaginal yeast infections. Due to changes in the immune system, increased glycogen production, and elevated oestrogen levels, pregnancy raises many infections.

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Are Companies Seeing Summer Slumps in 2021? We Analyzed 103,000 Businesses to Find Out

Are Companies Seeing Summer Slumps in 2021? We Analyzed 103,000 Businesses to Find Out

Until recently, many of us have been doing almost everything from home with no immediate hopes of in-person outings.

But, this summer — as entire countries reopen — people who’ve been stuck inside are finally breathing a sigh of relief. At the same time, some company leaders are doing the opposite.

Why? In past years, entire industries have seen summer slumps — or seasonal dips in sales or web traffic. This year, business leaders are expecting sharper dips as more consumers travel or unplug. They’re also dealing with frequent HR requests from employees who’ve been waiting months to take vacations.

On top of the challenges above, the Society of Human Resources Management reports that 41% of employees feel burnt out while 48% feel mentally exhausted by the end of their workdays. This, in turn, could impact productivity and job retention levels.

Ultimately, many leaders worry that the summer trends above could impact their bottom line.

To help businesses navigate the changing landscape, we dove into 2021 web traffic and deal closing data from over 103,000 anonymous HubSpot customers around the globe. Then, we compared their summer results to pre-pandemic benchmarks from the summer of 2019.

Below are some of our key findings.

Download Now: State of Marketing in 2021 Report

Summer Trends to Watch, According to HubSpot Data

Note: When looking at the charts and data below, each year’s traffic or deal benchmark is equal to its April numbers. Therefore, if industries were 10% under benchmark in June 2019, they saw a 10% dip since April 2019.

Web Traffic is Seeing a Summer Slump

So far in 2021, global traffic is dipping across almost all industries and segments. Compared to 2019, websites are also seeing less overall traffic growth.

At this point, the only industry that isn’t slumping is Leisure and Hospitality, which saw a whopping 17.72% traffic increase between April and June of 2021. This is almost the opposite of what we saw in 2019 when traffic decreased for websites in the industry by 13.27% from April to June.

Although Leisure and Hospitality’s current traffic patterns are impressive, they’re still fairly unsurprising as news outlets continue to report spikes in reopening-related travel, outings, and excursions this summer.

A few of the industries seeing the largest dips in traffic from April to June 2021 are Construction (-12%), Financial Activities (-11%), Manufacturing (-7.2%), and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-7.1%)

As compared to 2019, some of the segments seeing larger traffic slumps this year are Trade, Transportation, and Utilities — which saw 3.7% growth from April to June in 2019 and a 7.11% loss during the same time in 2021; Education and Health Services — which saw 17.52% growth in 2019, but a 2.7% loss in 2021; and Construction — which only saw a 0.16% decrease by June of 2019 but saw a 12.06% loss in 2021.

Aside from Leisure and Hospitality, segments seeing the smallest slumps in summer traffic are Professional and Business Services with under a 1% drop, and Education and Health Services with just a 2.7% drop.

From a geographical standpoint, these web traffic trends are happening in all locations we’ve examined, except for Asia — which is seeing steady traffic growth.

While it’s unclear why Asia’s web traffic is rising, this continued growth could be due to lockdowns and stay-at-home orders in various Asian territories that are still dealing with COVID-19 and its variants. During Q2 and Q3 of 2020, the United States and other territories around the world saw similar traffic bursts as citizens were stuck at home with only the internet to entertain them or connect them to others.

Deals are Going Up

Yes. You read that correctly. While traffic is seeing a summer slowdown, deal closings across industries are climbing.

Industries seeing the biggest growth from April to June of 2021 include Leisure and Hospitality (+44.7%), Manufacturing (+13.65%), and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+10.62%), while segments seeing the slowest growth are Construction and Financial Activities, which both have just under a 2% increase from their April benchmarks.

Businesses are also seeing a higher rate of deal closings than they did between April and June of 2019 — when five of the eight segments we studied saw at least a 3.5% dip in deal closings.

While deal closings were up in June, it’s still important for company leaders to remain cautious at this point of the summer.

Although deals are climbing, businesses could still see dips in later summer months due to consumers continuing to travel, employee vacations, or teams feeling less pressured to close deals at the beginning of a new quarter. However, one optimistic point to consider is that deal closings did not see similar lifts in June 2019, when many industries actually saw dipping.

Ultimately, as the summer continues, it will be key to monitor your traffic, as well as deals created, qualified leads, and deals closed to get a full look at your brand’s performance.

If your team’s seeing more deal closings, but fewer qualified leads, signups, or deals created this summer, it might not be a cause for panic. However, when your business sees a slowdown or shift of any kind, there are plenty of steps you can take to ensure future success.

How to Prepare For and Respond to Summer Business Trends

1. Prepare when you can for business shifts.

Because we’re only halfway through summer, businesses can still take time to predict and prepare for what’s to come.

Alicia Butler Pierre, Host of the Business Infrastructure Podcast and CEO of Equilibria, Inc. says, “There are two major ways businesses can predict, diagnose, and/or prepare for a seasonal slump: resource planning and contingency planning.”

  • Contingency planning: This strategy — which often includes creating a premortem, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA), and disaster recovery and business continuity plan –helps brands prepare for unexpected dips or upticks caused by outside factors like news events or national disasters.
  • Resource planning: “As your company utilizes different resources that serve as inputs into producing a good or delivering a service (outputs), you should collect data such as transaction dates, sale or invoice amounts, product or service type, and some customer demographic data.” says Butler Pierre. “If you notice the same patterns and trends year after year, you are in a better position to forecast and prepare for seasonal slumps. This, in turn, lets you know when to expand or contract inputs like labor and inventory.”

Image Courtesy of Alicia Butler Pierre

Data shows that a strong plan can be rewarding when business begins to pick up. In 2020, as consumers quickly turned to online stores for essentials, businesses that weren’t online were rushing to build online stores, while online stores were struggling to fulfill high-demand orders on time. Around this time, more than 50% of shoppers chose to buy products from brands with more product availability over brands they were originally loyal to.

“I strongly advocate businesses focus on improvements to their business infrastructure during seasonal slumps. It’s difficult to make improvements while things are moving so quickly, as all hands are on deck trying to fulfill orders and meet project deadlines,” says Butler Pierre.

“Improvements can include things like technology and equipment upgrades, process automation, and reconfiguring (or relocating) your physical work location. With these improvements in place, your company can work through the chaos that can accompany a seasonal uptick without compromising quality and excellent customer service,” Butler Pierre adds.

2. Launch demand plays.

“Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with macro trends in the market a lot is out of your control,” says Emmy Jonassen, HubSpot’s VP of Acquisition. “For example, there’s not much you can do if prospects are not visiting your site or talking to reps because they’re all on vacation.”

While you might not be able to solve seasonal business patterns, Jonassen says there are things you can do in the now to help the short and long term:

  • Getting through the slump: When you’re facing a period of slowed demand, any incremental lift at the top of the funnel can go a long way. During times like these consider adjustments you could make in the short term to help in the short term. For example, could you increase your paid spend temporarily? Could you remove a field in your lead form for a period of time to improve CVR? Could you manufacture a bit of demand with a campaign or offer that provides timely and unique value?
  • Making the most of what you have: In periods of soft demand, you want to make sure that you’re not leaving anything on the table. One way to do this is to perform an audit of your key acquisition drivers and invest in making optimizations. For example, if you’re able to improve search rankings and conversion rates of core landing pages, it will help you generate incremental demand. Investing in these kinds of optimizations will also put you in a much better position to capture demand when traffic does start to pick up.
  • Weatherproof for the long-term: Periods of slowed demand can help us see where the holes are in our demand-generation engines. Use this time to identify where your engine’s holes are and put in place plans that work toward patching them in the future. For example, if your desktop conversion rates are outperforming your mobile conversion rates because you haven’t invested in a mobile-optimized site, now could be a great time to start planning that project.

3. Use data to guide your strategy.

Although dips on website views might concern you, summer traffic slumps aren’t unusual. But, you can use analytics tools to prepare for and respond to them.

On the HubSpot Blog team, we use tools like HubSpot Traffic Analytics to examine and prepare for seasonal dips due to vacations, office closings, and global holidays that take people off-line during the summer. Because summer is filled with vacations and holidays, we often use part of the season to focus on historical optimization, long-term conversion plays, process planning, and trend-responsive content that can gain quick bursts in traffic when search engines are impacted by seasonality.

While a summer slump is a good time to look at and respond to unexpected traffic losses, it’s also important to remember that some decreases could be beyond your control and mostly due to seasonality. Additionally, if you’re a leader, you should look at other data aside from just traffic.

For example, you might also want to take a wider look at KPIs like online leads, email subscriber growth, online sales, and deal creation to learn how much web traffic losses are immediately impacting you. If traffic is down, but leads or deals are up, you might not need to pivot your whole strategy. If everything is going down — that’s when you might want to take a deep look at your overall processes.

Ultimately, as with process planning, digging into the analytics you have available will help you determine the best way to handle a traffic slump or uptick. To learn more about building an effective web analytics strategy specifically, check out this post.

4. Don’t forget about your current customers.

While deals are on the rise at the moment, some industries, such as construction and financial activities historically see dips or slower growth in the summer. Luckily, when business is slow, you can still take the time you need to maintain and potentially gain more business from your current clientele.

From a sales leadership perspective, Dan Tyre, Director at HubSpot, says that managers and teams should “look for ways to upsell or cross-sell new customers from the first six months of the year” or “use the time to work your referral program.”

“I like to call top customers in July to check in regarding the state of our relationship and see if there are other divisions or connections that can use similar help,” Tyre adds.

Additionally, leaders and companies can take more time to ensure their processes and operations are running smoothly when business is slow.

Regardless of whether you’re focused on gaining new clients or maintaining your customer list, tools like HubSpot’s Sales or Service Hubs can help you by allowing you to track deal creation, contact activities, and service inquiries. You can also use these tools to communicate with customers and prospects across different platforms like email, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger.

5. Strengthen team communication.

While you’ll want to stay in contact with prospects and customers during times of slump or business uptick, communication with your team will also be incredibly vital. While poor communication can halt processes completely, great communication could speed up the pace of projects that provide great revenue.

Regardless of how busy your business is, take time to check in with your teams through meetings, platforms like Slack or Zoom, or email updates.

Additionally, to keep everyone in the know of each other’s schedules during a busy summer, you should ensure that calendars are up to date with meeting times, blocks for heads-down solo work, and time off.

6. Balance results with employee well-being.

As summer trends fluctuate, it can be easy for managers and teams to get swept up with work and forget about taking time to unplug. And, as economies reopen and employees gain the ability to travel, the balance between self-care and productivity will be even more important for leaders to consider.

“Time away from the office may be a bit more pronounced this year, but it’s not unique. The key to any process is managing expectations and understanding who’s available when to keep consistency in the sales process,” Tyre explains. “It’s advantageous for everyone to manage lower levels of stress and take time off. In many cases, a no-meeting Friday or work from home Friday can increase salespeople productivity.”

Senior Product Marketing Manager Alex Girard similarly says, “First, I think it’s important to understand the value in taking time off. When employees use their time off, they’ll come back refreshed and able to do their best work.”

“Second, make sure you’re prioritizing the important work that will drive real impact,” Girard adds. “If your team is taking time off, make sure everyone on the team is aligned around what’s important, what is not, and what can be postponed for later. This will ensure you keep things moving during periods of high vacation time.”

Tools to Help You Navigate a Summer Slump or Uptick

  • HubSpot Business Software: HubSpot’s CRM, Marketing, Sales, Service, and CMS Hub can help you and your team measure your performance; identify slumps, upticks, or major snags in your process; and assist you in moving customers through the buyer’s journey — even during a time of seasonality.  
  • Google Workspace or Microsoft Outlook: These programs allow teams to keep all their documents, calendars, and emails in one suite of tools that can streamline communication, project management, and the creation of new processes that will be vital to business growth.
  • Task Management Tools: If you work with multiple teammates or are managing multiple projects this summer, tools like HubSpot, Trello, Asana, and Jira can help you track the progress of what your team is working on and identify where any blockers might exist.
  • Communication Tools: Lastly, if you’re on a dispersed team like many HubSpotters, you’ll want to leverage a communication platform like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom to stay in contact with everyone you’re working with — even when there’s not enough time to schedule a meeting or check-in.

Editor’s Note: The data from HubSpot’s customer base is reflective of companies that have invested in an online presence and use inbound as a key part of their growth strategy. Because the data is aggregated, please keep in mind that individual businesses, including HubSpot’s, may differ based on their own markets, customer base, industry, geography, stage, and/or other factors.

How We Protect the Privacy of Our Customers’ Data

We employ the following anonymization techniques to remove or modify personally identifiable information so that data cannot be associated with any one individual:

  • Attribute suppression refers to the removal of an entire part of data in a dataset. Before sharing any customer data we apply suppression to any data attribute that on its own identifies an individual (e.g. name, company name) or has been assigned to an individual.
  • Generalization involves a deliberate reduction in the precision of data, such as converting company size into a company size range. We apply generalization to indirect identifiers. These are data attributes that on their own don’t identify individuals, but could identify an individual when combined with other information. We use the k-anonymity model as a guideline to ensure any record’s direct and/or indirect identifiers are shared by at least k(set at 100)-1 other records,  protecting our customer’s data against linking attacks.
  • Aggregation refers to converting a dataset from a list of records to summarized values. We apply aggregation by displaying a cohort’s mean or median values for a metric.

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Bitcoin or Ethereum – Mike Tyson Asks Fans Which They Prefer

Bitcoin or Ethereum – Mike Tyson Asks Fans Which They Prefer

iron mike tyson

Mike Tyson, a former heavyweight boxing champion, asked his 5.6 million Twitter followers on Saturday which cryptocurrency they preferred: bitcoin or ethereum. Tyson is no new to the cryptocurrency world, having just entered the field of non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles.

Iron Mike Asks His Fans: ‘Which do you prefer, Bitcoin or Ethereum?’

On Saturday, the former professional boxer dubbed “Kid Dynamite” and “Iron Mike” tweeted about bitcoin and ethereum and asked his followers which cryptocurrency they preferred. Tyson is well-versed in bitcoin, as seen by his tweet on July 25, 2015, regarding a bitcoin automated teller machine (ATM) featuring his likeness. Additionally, he shared a website called miketysonbitcoin.com, which has since been taken down. Tyson associated with a company called Bitcoin Direct LLC at the time, but the initiative was swiftly forgotten following some turbulence.

mike tyson

Tyson has just partnered with NFT studio 1ofone, a full-service creative firm. Tyson will release his first official NFT collection with 1ofone in August via opensea.io, according to the announcement. The former heavyweight champion teamed up with digital artist Cory Van Lew to create the NFT collection, which would feature “iconic moments from his career,” unlockable material, and a limited release.

“The more I learn about NFTs, the more excited I am to be a part of the crypto/tech community,” Tyson said about the NFT initiative in a statement. “It’s the future, and I chose 1ofone to assist me in navigating the NFT community with something truly new and creative that tells a storey about who I am.”

Tyson’s tweet on Saturday drew not only a large number of cryptocurrency admirers, but also the iconic rapper Busta Rhymes. Rhymes, too, has recently expressed interest in cryptocurrency via a tweet to his Twitter followers. Following Tyson’s question, “Which do you prefer, BTC or ETH?” Rhymes responded, “Mike, I’m right there alongside you. I’ve spent the last 30 minutes reading the comments.”

Tyson’s tweet had a plethora of answers in the comment box. Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, answered, saying, “Mike, I spent over a thousand hours deliberating on this topic and chose bitcoin.” I’ve already invested $2.9 billion in Bitcoin because I believe it’s the future of digital property.” Even Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, responded to Tyson and posted a website called hellobitco.in.

Tyson’s Question Sees a Number of Responses

Naturally, a number of people promoted other crypto assets, and Tyson’s post has references to a wide array of cryptocurrencies. “Mike, let’s chat #BabyDoge,” the official Baby Doge Coin Twitter account stated, including a boxing glove and dog emoji. Ray Youssef, the CEO of Paxful, also responded to Tyson’s query. “It’s wonderful to have you with us, Mike,” Youssef observed. “Bitcoin is halal and a decentralised, honest medium of exchange.”

Additionally, Youssef stated:

[Ethereum] is a decentralised application platform for defi, or permissionless protobanking. Both have their place, but I hold the majority of my bitcoin, and the people of Africa use it on a daily basis to break free from economic apartheid.

Others claimed that Tyson was not required to pick between the two crypto assets. Naturally, the Tyson tweet sparked a battle between bitcoin and ether enthusiasts. The majority of which came from bitcoin maximalists, while others stated there are superior coins Tyson did not name.

“ETH is an entire decentralised secure economy,” another individual stated. BTC is a safe, decentralised orange coin. As a result, I favour ETH.” The response to Tyson’s question is massive, and as Busta Rhymes stated, one could easily spend thirty minutes reading them.

What do you think about Mike Tyson’s recent tweet about bitcoin and ethereum? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

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A Brief History of Disability Pride [+Why Businesses Should Embrace It]

A Brief History of Disability Pride [+Why Businesses Should Embrace It]

As a legally blind woman, it took me years to disclose the full extent of my disability to employers. When I did, I downplayed my blindness as “just a bit of nearsightedness,” or I had to give a disclaimer of, “It’s never held me back and I have references to prove it.”

And, if I had to go back in time, I’d do the same thing.

Why? Even if I had a great manager, I couldn’t deny the stats that were engrained in my mind. Although one in five U.S. adults has a disability, more than one-third of corporate employees report negative bias or discrimination at work.

If that stat seems tough to swallow, imagine reading it as a young professional with a disability.

Because of hard data, combined with the fact that I knew no one like me in my field, I was terrified to mention my disability.         

Now, at HubSpot, I’ve safely opened up about my blindness. Through doing so, I’ve met others with disabilities. I’ve even helped other colleagues to form HubSpot’s first Disability Alliance group, which provides education, virtual meetups, and resources to our allies and others in the disabled community.

One thing I’ve discovered is that disability impacts almost all of us, regardless of race, gender, or geographic region. If you don’t have a visible or unseen disability right now, you might learn how to navigate one as you age. If not, you might have a friend or family member that navigates a disability every day.

Unfortunately, there are still employers that will ignore someone’s achievements due to physical or mental disabilities. Sadly, because disabled people might be limited by location or financial restraints, they might still have to endure judgment in the workplace to earn a living wage.

Luckily, in 2021, we can and should work towards changing this. And, there’s no better time to start than in July (a.k.a. Disability Pride Month).

Download Now: Free Website Accessibility Checklist

These endeavors encourage those with disabilities to show pride in what makes them unique while encouraging allies to promote the visibility and representation of those in this group.

Disability Pride Month is also an important time to look back and reflect on all the great strides that the disabled community has made in the past. When we look back on positive historical outcomes, it can motivate us to act for a change and a better future for those with disabilities.

Why Marketers and Businesses Should Embrace Disability Pride

Although Disability Pride Month is only observed in July and primarily within the United States, Disability Pride can be celebrated every day by marketers, managers, and companies around the globe.

While marketers can take time to brainstorm new ways to make their campaigns, offerings, and content more inclusive and accessible, managers and employers can consider how they can help all employees receive the accommodations and support they need to succeed.

To inspire future action and change, here’s a brief history of how disability rights have changed and improved around the world — leading up to Disability Pride Month, declared in 2015. This is not an exhaustive list of wins for the disabled community, but it highlights a few people, landmark court cases, and international events that spread disability awareness or encouraged disability equality.

A Timeline of Disability Pride

Disability in the Late 1800s and Early 1900s

1880-1986: The Era of Helen Keller

Helen Keller, a deaf and blind woman who was nearly institutionalized for her impairments as a child, proved many skeptics wrong when receiving degrees from Radcliffe College, within Harvard University; Cambridge School in Weston; and Wright-Humason School of the Deaf.

Keller went on to work in public service and wrote a number of best-selling books.

Keller’s early life and work with teacher Anne Sullivan were chronicled in a groundbreaking book titled “The Miracle Worker.”

1930: The Mental Treatment Act 1930

This was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permitted voluntary admission to, and outpatient treatment within, psychiatric hospitals. At this point, “asylums” transitioned to “mental hospitals.”

1946: Psychiatric Hospital Employees Tried for Murder

German courts tried members of the Hadamar Psychiatric Hospital staff for the murders of nearly 15,000 citizens at the facility. Adolf Wahlmann and Irmgard Huber, the chief physician, and the head nurse, were convicted. This trial was a landmark case that put the livelihood importance on those with mental illnesses as those without them.

1947: Japan Enacts Accessibility Laws

During this year, Japan enacted three laws including

  • The School Education Law: Provided education for disabled children such as general classes, special classes, non-residential classes, special schools, and itinerant teaching.
  • The Workmen’s Accident Compensation Insurance Law: Provided disability pension and disability lump-sum payments, as well as welfare services such as special allowance, medical services, health care, or supply of prosthetic appliances.
  • 1947: The Mail Law: Made postage for Braille paper and recorded mail for visually impaired persons are free of charge, and parcels for disabled people can be mailed at half the cost. The postage for periodicals published by disabled person groups can be mailed at a small charge.

1973: Rehabilitation Act. Section 504 is Passed by US Congress

The passage of section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act guaranteed that people could not be denied services or federal funding on just the basis of disability. It also recognized those with disabilities as a minority for the first time. This law was also incredibly historic because it labeled the exclusion or segregation of children or adults with disabilities as illegal discrimination. Because of this, disabled people were now able to be educated or work in similar roles as those without disabilities.

The landmark law passage was highly publicized and led to more conversations about disability rights and equality in the U.S. Ultimately, it was seen as the foundation for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Disability Pride Celebrations Begin with the ADA

1988-1990: The Americans With Disabilities Act is Proposed and Passed

The ADA was drafted in 1988, brought through Congress within the next two years, and was ultimately passed and celebrated by President George H.W. Bush in 1990.

In its earliest form, the act aimed to protect those with disabilities from discrimination both in and out of the workplace. A few of the act’s major regulations include:

  • State and local governments must give people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from all of their programs, services, and activities (e.g. public education, employment, transportation, recreation, health care, social services, courts, voting, and town meetings).
  • Employers with 15 or more employees must provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit from the full range of employment-related opportunities available to others.
  • The act prohibits discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotions, training, pay, social activities, and other privileges of employment and restricts questions that can be asked about an applicant’s disability before a job offer is made.
  • All employers must make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities unless it results in an undue hardship.
  • Public transportation authorities can’t discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services.
  • Public transit must also comply with requirements for accessibility in newly purchased vehicles, make good faith efforts to purchase or lease accessible used buses, remanufacture buses in an accessible manner.
  • Paratransit must also be provided on fixed-route bus or rail systems.
  • Businesses must comply with basic nondiscrimination requirements that prohibit exclusion, segregation, and unequal treatment. They also must comply with specific architectural standards for new and altered buildings, such as reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures. Additionally, public businesses must remove physical disability barriers in buildings.

Disability Pride Celebrations Begin

The first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston in 1990 to coincide with the passing of the ADA. Later, in 2004, the first Disability Pride Parade in the U.S. was held in Chicago, which made the celebration an annual tradition in the city after the first drew thousands of people into the city.

A seven people are seen at Chicago's annual Disability Pride Parade in 2011. In the center, a woman with a visible physical disability sits next to a walker while other attendees in costume hold instruments around her.

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Disability Pride did not become a full month until 2015 — when Mayor Bill De Blasio designated July as Disability Pride Month in New York state to celebrate ADA’s 25th anniversary. Aside from 2020, when public gatherings were canceled, NYC’s Disability Pride Month Parade has become a major annual celebration that pulls in people from all around the world.

Disability Pride Today

In the past decade, we’ve seen more representation of disabled people in the media and workplaces than ever before. While there are still a number of changes we’re fighting for, equality rights have come a long way. Here are a few great examples of where we’re seeing groundbreaking disability pride:

Books

One area where disability stories have particularly been embraced is in the world of literature. Even in the 1900s, we had groundbreaking books like, “The Miracle Worker” which followed the early life of Helen Keller (noted above). Today, there are thousands of great works written by disabled figures, their advocates, or their followers. Here’s just one long list to start with.

Television

Here are two awesome examples of current or upcoming shows that feature disabled actors playing a character with a disability:

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix, YouTube)

This Netflix documentary follows a groundbreaking Woodstock-era summer camp that inspired a group of teens with disabilities to build a movement and forge a new path toward equality and independence.

Ramy (Hulu)

A few members of HubSpot’s Disability Alliance have recommended Ramy, a Hulu dramedy that follows a first-generation American Muslim, played by comedian Ramy Youssef, on a “spiritual journey in his politically divided New Jersey neighborhood.”

While the show’s been buzzed about for its plotline, it’s also made news because Youssef cast his best friend, a standup comedian with muscular dystrophy named Steve Way, to play his onscreen pal.

Here’s an interview Way gave about the show and how the casting was a groundbreaking move in streaming content:

This Is Us (NBC, Peacock, Hulu)

The most recent seasons of This Is Us have partially followed the parents of a blind character named Jack. As Jack grows up, he gains independence, struggles as a musician, and eventually becomes a famous singer and parent. Not only is the story hopeful, but the character is incredibly realistic because he’s actually played by a blind man.

Here’s an interview with Blake Stadnik, who plays Jack, talking about his experience on This Is Us:

Social Media

Social media has become a major platform for those with disabilities, and their allies, to tell their stories. Below is a list of just a few great accounts to follow, courtesy of HubSpot’s Disability Alliance:

Where We’re Continuing to Increase Awareness

Disability Pride Month is a great time to recognize how far we’ve come, and how far we can still go. As we continue to boost awareness, July is also a time to ask ourselves questions like:

  • “Am I being a good ally for those in the disabled community?”
  • “How can we push businesses and people to become more inclusive?
  • “How can we make workplaces safer for those with unseen or mental health disabilities?”
  • “How can we prevent people with disabilities from feeling like they have to hide their identity to have job security?”

By continuing to learn, tell our stories, and listen to others, we can better reflect on where we can better improve the lives of those with disabilities.

Ultimately, landmark laws, regulations, and change — like what we’ve seen above — come from a combination of advocacy and allyship. By telling and listening to Disability Pride stories, those with disabilities can be empowered to advocate for themselves. Meanwhile, those without disabilities can learn how to serve as stronger allies.

To learn more about building inclusive campaigns or offices, check out these recent posts:

Want to learn more about how HubSpot celebrates Disability Pride Month? Follow HubSpot Life on Instagram to catch takeovers from myself and other members of HubSpot’s Disability Alliance.

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Brisbane Recommendations For Purchasing A Ceiling Fan

Brisbane Recommendations For Purchasing A Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fan installation is a typical electrical service in Brisbane.
They are a need in many Brisbane houses.

The fans are suspended from the ceiling and circulate the air, cooling those who can feel it.

Contrary to popular belief, ceiling fans do not really lower the temperature of a room; rather, they cool people down through evaporation.

When the body attempts to cool itself down in hot temperatures, it sweats. Air passing over sweat cools the skin, which is why a fan feels so good on a hot day.

When used with an air conditioner, ceiling fans are extremely effective in cooling a home and saving on energy expenditures.

ceiling fan installtion reasons

Essential Recommendations For Purchasing A Ceiling Fan

1. Energy Saving

Ceiling fans are an excellent way to increase indoor comfort while also conserving energy and money.

Unfortunately, homes are battling with rising energy prices, which are expected to continue to rise.

Therefore, it is never too late to consider installing ceiling fans to help your air conditioner run more efficiently and save money on utility bills.

In the summer, a ceiling fan may help keep you cool without cranking up the air conditioning to its maximum setting, saving you both energy and money.

Additionally, raising your thermostat while using a ceiling fan might save you up to 40% on air conditioning bills.
According to studies, this can result in a room feeling up to seven degrees cooler.

They Also Help With Heating

They can also help you save money on heating expenditures during the winter.
Because heated air rises, reversing the direction of a ceiling fan on the lowest speed setting will assist in pushing the hot air back down into the room.

It is necessary in rooms with high ceilings and will save you money and energy by circulating warm air and allowing you to lower the thermostat setting.

2. Larger Rooms Need More Fans

To maximise performance, select the appropriate fan for the size of your space.

Consider using multiple fans to suit your cooling needs in lengthy or huge rooms.
Place the fan as close to the centre of the room as possible for best comfort.
Maintain a minimum of 18 inches between the blade tips and any wall for ceilings less than six feet.

For ceilings greater than six feet, the fan should be elevated three to four feet above the floor using a rod extender.

It is advisable to hang it at this height because the fan will circulate less air towards the floor the higher it is raised above eight feet.

3. Ceiling Fans For Outdoors

Are you looking for a ceiling fan for your covered outdoor patio?
Choose an outdoor ceiling fan that is listed for use in wet locations by the UL.
They have protective motor covers that keep moisture out of the motor and prevent it from corroding.
The blades of the fans are often made of plastic, which does not corrode like metal blades or warp like wooden blades.
While an outdoor fan may seem superfluous, they make an excellent complement to any outdoor recreational space.

On a hot day with few winds to cool you down, the fan’s airflow will keep everyone comfortable and happy outside.

Additionally, the airflow created by a fan helps keep midgies and mosquitoes away, as they avoid being outside when it is windy.

4. Fan Blade Size And Pitch

The fan blades control how much air circulates in a room.
To prevent fan wobble, fan blades must be weighted and matched in a balanced pair. Ceiling fans at an angle less than 12 degrees are inefficient because they do not circulate air. The higher the pitch of the blade, the greater the air circulation in the room.

5. The Ceiling Fan Motor

The motor ensures quiet operation by operating the blades that move the air. Look for high-quality motors with heavy-duty windings and permanently oiled sealed bearings. Smaller, less powerful motors found in lower-quality fans might result in increased operating temperatures, decreased airflow, and increased noise.

ceiling fan installation Brisbane

Does Leaving A Fan On Keep A Room Cooler?

Fans do not chill a room. They do not cool a room; rather, they cool your body by blowing air over your skin.
Therefore, if you are not in the room, leaving a fan on will not cool it down.

However, if the air outside the house is colder than the air inside, a fan near a window can assist in drawing cool air into the space or creating cross-flow to remove some of the trapped hot air.

Another advantage of leaving a fan on in humid weather is that it circulates the air, which reduces the likelihood of mould and mildew.

Do Ceiling Fans Increase The Value Of A Home?

Ceiling fans are an excellent addition to any home.
The addition of a ceiling fan to a room can provide numerous benefits, including the following:

Modern ceiling fans give elegance to a place while also assisting with cooling.

Adding ceiling fans to spaces such as bedrooms, living rooms, and family rooms instantly boosts your home’s value.

What Is The Trend In Ceiling Fans?

After hours of searching, I have picked out the latest stylish ceiling fans.

1. MINKA AIRE ROTO CEILING FAN

The Minka Aire Roto ceiling fan is simple, sleek, and quiet, and it comes in a variety of attractive colours. It came highly recommended. If you’re searching for a fan that is unobtrusive and blends in with its surroundings, this white fan is an excellent alternative. Additionally, take note of the stunning Coal and Driftwood hues.

2. HUNTER HEPBURN CEILING FAN

It’s difficult to locate attractive ceiling fans with lights! However, I adore the Hunter Hepburn fan, which features a sleek globe light and interchangeable white and aged oak blades.

3. PEREGRINE INDUSTRIAL CEILING FAN

If you have a large area in need of a magnificent ceiling fan and a large budget, this 60″ Peregrine Industrial fan is stunning! This design is basic yet attractive, and you may choose from a variety of color/finish options.

4. WESTINGHOUSE INDUSTRIAL CEILING FAN

The Westinghouse Industrial 56-inch ceiling fan is the most contemporary and affordable option on my list. I adore its clean and understated style. It’s an excellent fan for industrial environments and is suitable for large rooms with high ceilings.

5. XENO CEILING FAN

The Xeno ceiling fan is another lovely option for indoor and outdoor use! It comes in three distinct finishes: white, dark bronze, and brushed nickel.

Why Do Ceiling Fans Make Noise?

When there is a problem with a ceiling fan, it may begin to make obnoxious noises.
These noises can keep you awake at night, and if left unchecked, they can harm the fan and pose a risk of injury if it breaks loose from the ceiling.

Different issues with a ceiling fan result in a variety of different noises. As a result, it is critical to ascertain the precise reason of the bothersome ceiling fan noises in order to resolve the issue properly.
Bear in mind that in Australia, you must use an electrician to fix or replace any ceiling fan.

Inspect The Fans Screws 

A loose fan or blades can create noise and be the source of the blades wobbling.
As long as no component of the fan’s shell is removed, you can ensure that all exposed screws are fastened.
Before touching any electrical component, always cut off the power at the switchboard.

ceiling fan installtion bedroom


Traditional Ceiling Fans

We are all familiar with the appearance of a standard ceiling fan. They are typically white in colour and collect dust while not in use.
They are unattractive and serve only one purpose: to move air.
Ceiling fans have increased in popularity over the last decade as a result of the variety of styles presently available.
Numerous new ceiling fans now include retractable blades.
This means that when not in use, the blades are concealed.
During the cooler months, there is no dust gathering, and they appear far more attractive than a standard ceiling fan.

Bladeless Fan: A New Type Of Ceiling Fan

A bladeless fan, as the name implies, has no visible blades and blasts air.
The blades of the fan are concealed within the motor.
The air is drawn in and then pushed out, and the strength of the airflow is determined by aerodynamics and physics.

The airflow is not as strong as a typical fan, which makes it more pleasant to sit beneath the fan because you are not buffeted by the breeze created by a standard fan.

Is A Bladeless Fan Better?

In the fan industry, bladeless fans are the newest trend. It is intriguing because it multiplies the outgoing airflow, resulting in significantly improved cooling. Additionally, a bladeless fan offers numerous advantages over conventional fans.

It is safer than a conventional ceiling or table fan since it lacks outside blades that could damage someone.
The hollow tube of the fan makes it simple to clean. While the blades of a conventional fan easily accumulate dust, a bladeless fan does not. You can operate it remotely. As a result, you won’t have to manually adjust the fan speed every time.
Turbulence occurs when the blades of a traditional fan cut the air before it reaches you. There is no turbulence with a fan without blades because it lacks edges.
Ideal for smaller rooms that do not lend themselves to conventional ceiling fans


electrician Brisbane

When To Call An Electrician For Your Ceiling Fan

All ceiling fan repairs or replacements must be performed by an electrician.
In Australia, all electrical wiring connected to the mains is 240 volts.

Attempting to perform electrical repairs on your own can result in death, and an electrical fire will not be covered by your insurance.

Contact a Brisbane electrician immediately if you notice any difficulties with your home’s cooling system.

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SEO Updates July 16, 2021

SEO Updates July 16, 2021

 

Let’s end the week with your favorite info-packed SEO newsletter to keep you up to date on the latest news, SEO tactics, tests, and so much more.

What Happened on the SEO Vault this Week
Deal of the week: Launch Special – Save Big on AP News Brand Features
Special Announcement: 2021 Local Marketing Mastermind – Limited Tickets Available
SEO Mad Scientist: Do AP News Links Provide Brand Authority?

To your success,
Chaz and the Entire Team

 

 

FROM THE VAULT – Episode 97

Don’t forget The SEO Vault airs live on the Web 20 Ranker Facebook every Thursday at 4 pm EST.

Co-Host: Sophie Allen

Special Guest: Bucky Helms

? Google July 2021 Core Update Effectively Complete (As of July 12th)
? Google Tests Big “Carousel” For More Specific Searches
? Google Local Ranking Changes With Core Update
? Google Discontinuing the Feature to Post in Verified Knowledge Panels

Happening on August 5th, the 100th Episode of The SEO Vault. Be sure to tune in live for your chance to win a ticket to The Local Marketing Mastermind ($1,197 value)


– Watch the Latest SEO Vault Episode here

– Listen herehttps://pod.co/theseovault

 

Interested in being a guest on the vault!? Sign up now
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Launch Savings Continued!
Get Your Brand Featured On AP News

Save $30 When You Use Coupon Code: apnews

7/16-7/18

AP News articles get you live links from a trusted, authoritative, and internationally recognized news source.

AP News Features provides
✔ Powerful AP News Article with Branded Links
✔ An Unstructured Citation to Support Local Rankings
✔ 800 Word Article Completely Written For You
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AP News features are some of the strongest links available at Web 2.0 Ranker because they’re from highly trusted, authoritative news sources. These links can boost authority, strengthen your online brand, and increase reach. Plus, not everyone can access these links. With live links from top-tier domains, you strengthen your link graph to overtake the tough competition and solidify your client’s place at the top.

The Strongest Brands Get Backlinks From The Strongest Websites

As an added bonus, every campaign includes Premium Content at no added cost, so you can show off the hard-to-get News Feature and leverage those client’s properties for even more coverage.

Get your AP News Feature Now
https://web20ranker.com/ap-news-brand-feature-article/

 

 

 

 

Local Marketing Mastermind

Together We Will Build A Better Sales System For Your Agency

November 5th To 7th, 2021
The Hilton @ Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia

Work Directly with Experienced SEOs Over the 3 Day Event to Build Out a Better Sales Process for Your Agency. When implementing proven strategies developed by top marketing experts, you can feel confident in your agency’s sales system, even in uncertain and fluctuating economies. Direct from real marketing professionals and agency owners who work in this industry on the day-to-day, the secrets, tricks, tips, facts, tactics, and processes that will be shared at this event are based on real-life experience and success.

100% Actionable Training & Tactics

Limited Spots Available
Get your Tickets Now!

https://web20ranker.com/local-marketing-mastermind/

 

 

 

SEO Mad Scientist ???

 

Welcome to another week of the SEO Mad Scientist…

As you may know from our previous week’s updates we are still waiting on results from our ongoing CTR tests and we have been running some single variable tests as well, but this week we are going to be talking about branding with AP News…

You may have heard that we Web 2.0 Ranker recently launched their AP News links. These links are meant to be great for brand Authority, so we wanted to do a simple test ourselves by running one for Local Client Takeover.

While we’re waiting for our other tests to show some more data we wanted to show you the results we got from our AP News link test.

First, you can take a look at the link which is still live at the moment. AP News links are guaranteed for 6 months!

https://apnews.com/article/business-corporate-news-ownership-changes-mergers-and-acquisitions-24b9ec2d45b18b7c11a8b057c223cb17

 

 

Our news link went up April 8th and indexed very quickly then began showing page one for our brand. You can still see it around the number one position if you search for the brand name.

This is something that you don’t always get from a simple press release. Not only does this provide a large amount of brand authority as you can see, being able to steal the fourth position for your brand can also be great for things like reputation defense campaigns.

 

 

Even more interesting we wanted to see the impacts of some of the keywords in the title of the press release on the website itself.

Local Client Takeover has a wide range of Target keywords but in general, they include their base terms “local” and “marketing”.

When we look at Google search console for the average ranking position for keywords including these terms we see that our average position has increased in the two months following the press release as opposed to prior to the press release.

 

 

Because of the power of the brand these links provide, we are going to continue to use them to test other brand signals and even some tiered links so be sure to watch out in the future for those results.

You can grab your own AP News links now and experience the brand power for yourself.

We should have some more updates from our ongoing test next week so be sure to join us then and until always

Happy Testing…

 

 

 

 

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You can send your videos to: [email protected]

E-Commerce SEO Best Practices for 2021 (Guaranteed to Boost Sales)

E-Commerce SEO Best Practices for 2021 (Guaranteed to Boost Sales)
Ecommerce

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in August of 2018 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

When looking for new products or goods online, 70% of people start with a search engine like Google.

Fewer and fewer people are heading directly to a brand website as their first stop than ever. Developing a solid ecommerce SEO strategy is critical to landing new customers and loyal buyers.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best practices of ecommerce SEO in 2021 to help you rank your products on SERPs and get your brand in front of the customers you want.

Let’s jump in!

What is ecommerce SEO?

Ecommerce SEO — is it any different than a traditional SEO strategy?

Yes and no.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the marketing practice in which you implement a set of best practices to increase your visibility on organic search results.

The goal of SEO is to generate more organic traffic and sales for your ecommerce business.

An ecommerce SEO campaign consists of doing the same thing (focusing on organic visits) with the following goals:

  1. Driving more traffic to your product pages and ecommerce store
  2. Building organic sales that you don’t have to spend ad money to get
  3. Creating better organic brand awareness on keywords/products

You might be thinking something like this: “My sales are fine, and many people find me organically already. Why do I need to put time and effort into ecommerce SEO?”

Well, it’s extremely important to focus on because ranking your product pages or store content on the first page of Google takes work. Lots of it.

If you rank on the second, third, or even fourth page of Google, you won’t generate much traffic (if any at all). Less than 1% of users ever reach the second page of Google.

Meaning you have to nail the best practices for many ecommerce SEO factors.

If you aren’t doing any SEO but are driving organic traffic, then you are likely shooting far below your potential.

Let’s discuss the best practices to guarantee more sales for your store.

Top three ecommerce SEO categories

Just like traditional SEO, ecommerce SEO can be split into three categories:

  • On-page: On-page optimization refers to the improvement of your site’s code and content to improve rankings. It’s called “on-page” as the changes you make are visible to visitors.
  • Off-page: Off-page SEO involves all the activities you perform outside of your site to improve results, such as link building.
  • Technical: Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing your overall website’s performance to provide a better experience and, thus, increase your rankings.

Some people argue that technical SEO is part of on-page optimization.

In some ways, it is, but technical SEO is a huge practice that involves multiple optimizations, so it’s worth referring to it as a different category.

For the sake of brevity, we’ll focus on the long-hanging fruit of ecommerce SEO: On-page and technical optimization.

Let’s break them down.

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Since 2009, we have helped many ecommerce businesses dramatically increase their online sales. Let us do it for you!

What is on-page SEO in ecommerce?

Google can’t read a page like a human does.

When customers visit your ecommerce site, they can easily identify titles, descriptions, images, and videos.

Google doesn’t.

Instead, search engines look at your code and identify “clues” that tell them what your site is about.

If you look at your site’s code, you’ll see a bunch of “tags” that categorize the actual content of your site. These tags help search engines understand your site and match your pages to specific search queries.

For instance, any text between the tag “<title>” will help Google identify a title.

The tag “<a href>” indicates a hyperlink.

On-page SEO is the strategic optimization of this code to rank product pages, category pages, and even your entire ecommerce site for a primary keyword (or a set of keywords).

Let’s explore the most important best practices for on-page optimization.

Ecommerce title tags

Your title tag on a given product or category page on your website looks like this in organic search results:

Title tags for ecommerce are the HTML codes that develop clickable titles/headlines for organic search results.

Title tags serve a few key functions when it comes to SEO impact. Title tags are great for providing relevance and increasing your organic click-through rate by appealing to customers searching for products.

For instance, the title tag above came up after a search for red basketball shoes.

The closer that your title tag relates to the keyword searched, the more likely users are to click.

One company was able to generate a 62% increase in organic traffic by updating their title tags for SEO.

Title tags are a critical piece of on-page SEO for ecommerce.

Depending on what ecommerce platform you use, you should be able to easily edit your title tag for products, category pages, and more.

For example, on Shopify, you can find this in the search listing preview for your products:

(Image Source)

So, how do you optimize it?

Here are some best practices to keep in mind when crafting a title tag for your store:

  • Place relevant keywords at the forefront title tags.
  • Include LSI keywords if applicable/natural.
  • Limit your length to 50-60 characters.
  • Create unique titles for every single product page/category. Never duplicate.
  • Consider utilizing your brand name at the end to develop better brand awareness.

Ecommerce meta description tags

Like your title tags, a meta description tag is an HTML code that helps explain the content of your page to users on a search engine. Unlike the title tag, you can’t click on the meta description text.

This appears on organic search results as a paragraph description just below the title tag:

While inserting relevant keywords and context into your meta description is great, it doesn’t directly boost SEO.

So, why is it important? Because it creates the context for the user and helps dramatically increase CTR.

In fact, one brand found a 48% increase in organic clicks by improving their metadata.

Optimizing your meta description to improve CTR takes testing and great copywriting.

Here are some best practices to follow:

  • Always include your primary keyword or keyword variations. They show up highlighted in bold to attract more attention.
  • Focus on compelling descriptions that generate clicks.
  • Avoid clickbait since it can increase your bounce rate. A high bounce rate is a bad signal that could harm your ranking potential.

Like your title tag, you should be able to edit your meta description where you edit on-page data. The exact location will depend on your platform.

For Example, here’s what the page looks like where you can edit your title tags and meta descriptions with BigCommerce:

(Image Source)

Search engine friendly URLs

If you search for anything on Google, you’ll likely notice URL strings immediately:

Why? Because they display a company’s brand name. And since they’re highlighted in green, they draw your attention.

Do they actually make an impact for ecommerce sites? Absolutely.

A poor URL structure is confusing for searchers who are looking for your products and for search engines that are scanning your pages.

For example, when you analyze the following two SERP results, which product category page URL looks more appealing to click?

Are you drawn to the first one that’s simple and contains just the keyword, or do you like the long-string URL with dozens of random number combinations?

Probably the first one.

Absolute URLs like the first SERP page are what Google prefers.

When optimizing URL structure, platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce even pack tools to streamline the process:

(Image Source)

Here are some best practices to follow when creating your URL structure:

  • Place your target keyword in the URL.
  • Keep URLs as short and clean as possible.
  • Stick with absolute URLs rather than dynamic or date-based URLs.
  • Consistency is key. Stick with the same format on your entire store.

Category/product content

Content is king, right? Absolutely.

According to Orbit Media, the more content you produce in both B2B and B2C (ecommerce, too), the more results you get.

(Image Source)

It’s no secret that producing great content can help you build everything from brand awareness to real sales for your products.

But when it comes to category pages or product pages, what do you do?

Do you write a long-form blog post? Not necessarily.

Category and product pages are tricky. You don’t want to have thin content and struggle to rank organically, but you don’t want to bombard buyers with tons of writing just for the sake of search engines.

This factor is potentially the most important aspect of optimization on your product pages.

Great product information not only educates the user and fulfills their number-one need, but it also gives search engines context on your page.

You can see one of the best examples of stellar ecommerce product page content from Bolthouse Farms:

Keeping the product description short and sweet allows the potential buyer to understand what the product is without reading a full article.

LSI keywords are sprinkled in the description and among the side panel, too, which provides extra context on related searches.

Similarly, Surf Station has stellar category pages:

Each category page uses visuals to showcase the entire product offering within that category.

A rich description compels you to continue shopping with them.

And potential conversion roadblocks and pain points are demolished by a list of value propositions — all while containing LSI keywords to capture more topics.

When crafting your own product and category pages, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

  • Prioritize your top product and category pages first. Find your top pages in Google Analytics and make those a priority:

  • Perform keyword research to find semantic words to sprinkle in your copy with a tool like LSIGraph. Just plug in your product or category to generate keyword ideas:

  • Include your target head keyword as the title of the page.
  • Optimize meta descriptions.
  • Keep it short, sweet, and informative. Make it enjoyable to read.

Rich snippets

Ranking on Google is great, but if people don’t click on your pages, rankings won’t help your ecommerce business that much.

Here’s where rich snippets come in handy.

Rich snippets help search engines better understand your site’s content and display additional information on search results (e.g. star ratings for reviews). They might look like this:

As you can see, rich snippets help you stand out in Google’s search results compared to those pages that don’t have them, which can increase your CTRs.

In terms of reviews, there are different types of snippets you can add, including author, item reviewed, ratings, and more.

You can explore the complete list of review snippets here.

The question is: How can you add rich snippets to your ecommerce website?

You can do it manually, but you need a bit of coding knowledge.

Fortunately, Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can help you implement rich snippets more easily.

Simply head over the tool, select “Products,” and type in the URL of a specific product page.

Then, click on “Start Tagging.”

Google will then show a “copy” of your site. You only need to highlight the data you want to display on search results.

For instance, if you want to display reviews, select the review section in your page and add relevant data (e.g. name of the reviewer, date of the review, etc.).

If you want to display star ratings, highlight the stars in your page and select “aggregate rating.”

You can play with the tool and explore the different elements you can select.

Once you’re done, simply click on “Create HTML.”

The tool will provide you with a piece of code.

You only need to add this code into the HTML of your page and voila! Now you have added rich snippets to that page.

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Since 2009, we have helped many ecommerce businesses dramatically increase their online sales. Let us do it for you!

Internal links

When authoritative sites link to one of your pages, that site “sends” some of its domain authority to yours. This is called a “backlink.”

The same happens when you add internal links from one of your most authoritative pages (e.g. your homepage) to another one.

(Image Source)

Sadly, most people focus too much on external link building and neglect their internal linking strategy.

To get results, you need to constantly add keyword-rich anchor text links that direct to your top-priority pages.

The navigation of your site is perfect for internal linking, as you’re adding relevant links to your product pages naturally.

But you should also adopt a strategic approach to internal linking and deliberately add links in your product descriptions and other important content areas.

What is technical SEO in ecommerce?

Now that you understand the basics and best practices of on-page optimization, let’s step into technical SEO strategy.

What is technical SEO?

In short, technical SEO involves all the aspects of your site’s architecture and servers, as well as how well search engines can crawl and index your site, including:

  • Site speed
  • User experience
  • Rendering
  • Website’s size
  • Duplicate content
  • Broken links

And some others.

Let’s explore the main ones.

Website architecture

Your site’s architecture dictates how your content and pages are structured and organized.

This is crucial.

If your pages aren’t properly arranged and structured, search engines might not be able to crawl them and index them correctly.

For example, if customers need to click on seven category pages before accessing a specific product page, search engines may struggle to find it.

Worse yet, that page won’t get link equity passed down.

(Image Source)

This is especially important for ecommerce sites with a large catalog.

The rule of thumb is that your domain authority should be concentrated into your product and category pages.

Here’s an example of an optimized ecommerce website structure:

(Image Source)

As you can see, it only takes four clicks to reach the homepage.

This type of structure comes with several benefits:

  • Better crawling and indexing: A simpler structure will help search engines crawl and index your pages much faster (and more effectively).
  • A simplified user experience: Fewer subcategories will help users find specific products in a simple way.
  • A more concentrated link authority: Reducing the number of “layers” in your site will help you concentrate link authority on your most important pages.

Number of pages in your site

Number of pages is a huge problem for most ecommerce websites.

Since you’re dealing with dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of products, each requiring a unique page and content, your site can become a complete mess pretty fast.

Dealing with so many pages can create multiple SEO problems:

  • Duplicate content
  • Broken links
  • Abandoned pages
  • Increased complexity

The best way to get rid of this problem is by deleting non-performing pages.

If some of your products aren’t selling or people simply don’t find them, there’s no reason why you should keep them.

A quick analysis in Google Analytics can tell you which pages aren’t getting visitors.

(Image Source)

Also, most ecommerce platforms, like Shopify or Bigcommerce, provide you with reports that help you identify products that aren’t selling.

By eliminating these pages, you’ll save yourself from tons of SEO headaches later on.

If for some reason you don’t want to eliminate some pages permanently, you can create a single page containing those products.

Duplicate content

Since the release of Google Panda back in 2011, duplicate content has become one of the major challenges of ecommerce sites.

Most ecommerce sites use a unique URL for each product and product variation (e.g. size, color, type, etc.), which can create duplicate content.

Also, if you have the same product description on multiple pages, Google may see it as duplicate content, and that can hurt your SEO success.

Now, how can you find duplicate content on your site?

Platforms like Raven Tools and SEMRush can help you spot duplicate content pretty quickly.

Simply enter your website URL into the tool and it will show you a detailed report on your most critical SEO issues, including duplicate content.

(Image Source)

Once you’ve identified duplicate pages, it’s time to solve the problem.

You can do it in three ways:

  • “Noindexing” duplicate pages: Adding a “noindex” tag to a specific page tells Google to “ignore” that page.
  • Adding a canonical tag: Canonical tags tell Google that some of your pages are exact copies of a single page.
  • Producing original content: This is probably the most difficult solution, but also the most rewarding.

Poor content

There’s a direct correlation between longer content and SEO results.

Research suggests that first page results have 1,447 words, on average.

(Image Source)

Tha said, the same study reveals that word count alone isn’t enough. Content with higher “Content Grade” on Clearscope, a content optimization platform, seems to rank higher in Google.

According to this study, increasing Content Score by one approximates to boosting rankings by one position.

Clearscope measures things like competition and semantic keywords, which means that longer content isn’t the answer. Comprehensive, relevant content that fully answers a user’s question is.

(Image Source)

Here’s the thing:

Producing this type of content is a rough task for most ecommerce businesses.

Most of your content is composed of product descriptions.

If you have 200 products in your catalog, how could you write 200 in-depth pieces of content?

Even though this is challenging, experts suggest that you should add, at least, 500 words worth of content in your product descriptions.

Most ecommerce businesses don’t do it, so this extra work can become a true competitive advantage.

User experience

Improving your site architecture, eliminating non-performing pages, and producing high-quality content is crucial. But if users can’t access that content properly, they’ll have an overall bad experience.

Google doesn’t like that.

Over the next few years, we’ll probably see a dramatic correlation between user experience and search results.

This year, Google has launched a new algorithm update called “Page Experience.”

This update aims to improve user experience by measuring three main signals:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How fast your content loads when users visit your site.
  • First Input Delay (FID): How fast users can actually interact with your content.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS: How visually stable your content is when users interact with it.

In other words, your site shouldn’t only load fast, but also provide a smooth experience to users.

Unfortunately, covering these elements in depth is outside the scope of this guide. To learn more about Google’s Core Signals, we suggest you read this guide from Google Search Central.

MOST ECOMMERCE WEBSITES STRUGGLE WITH GENERATING CONSISTENT SALES…WE FIX THAT!

Since 2009, we have helped many ecommerce businesses dramatically increase their online sales. Let us do it for you!

Mobile-friendly ecommerce optimization

Mobile, mobile mobile.

I’m sure you’ve seen the hype of mobile optimization just about everywhere.

But the truth is that it’s not just hype anymore. Mobile is dominating online traffic now.

Last year, roughly 55% of worldwide traffic came from mobile.

It’s rising every year and showing no signs of stopping.

Recently, Google announced that their mobile-first index was rolling out, too.

What does it mean? In a nutshell, the mobile-first index means that Google will be indexing your mobile site first — before your desktop.

This means that your mobile site has to be on-point to continue to thrive on organic SERPs.

If people are landing on your mobile site and bouncing due to bad speeds and horrible UI, you can bet that your rankings will take a hit.

If your website isn’t mobile optimized and responsive, that should be priority number one for your mobile optimization.

On top of that, mobile page speed is critical for success.

What’s the problem with being just a few seconds slower than the “best practice” for speed?

Bounce rates that go through the roof:

If your ecommerce site takes two or more seconds to load, your bounce rate can grow by up to 9%. If it takes five seconds or more, your bounce rate will be around 38%.

(Image Source)

Roughly 35% of users’ money is left on the table due to a poor user experience. Meanwhile, improving UX can increase your results exponentially.

User experience and conversion rate optimization in ecommerce are two peas in a pod. With that in mind, you have to make the discovery and buying process as smooth as possible. From UX to cart abandonment rates, optimization is key.

There is possibly no better conversion-optimized website than Rothy’s. Even if you’ve never enjoyed shoes or you aren’t a woman interested in women’s shoes, exploring the site is enjoyable.

When you land on the home page, the site instantly greets you with a simple design that gives you two easy options: menu or shop all.

This is helpful because too many choices can be paralyzing for shoppers.

At the top of Rothy’s home page, a dynamic and changing ticker displays instant value that reassures users that they won’t experience common pain points.

As you scroll down, the options are again consolidated into product styles that are elegant and simple:

Clicking on individual products opens the product page directly in the window without directing you to another page that might take ten more seconds to load and result in a bounce.

The flow of the site and buying process is virtually unparalleled.

And for the icing on the cake, value is communicated at every single step:

That’s ecommerce conversion optimization.

Here are some best practices that you can follow to ensure that you convert all of your organic traffic:

  • Site speed: Make your site faster and prioritize ease of use.
  • Navigation: Give fewer, simpler options to find products. Too many choices can cause friction.
  • Simplify checkout pages and focus on value: To avoid high cart abandonment rates, always address pain points before consumers have to ask about them.

Amazon in the ecommerce marketplace

You already have an established ecommerce site that’s driving sales.

Why on earth would you turn to Amazon and lose a percentage of your profits?

Back in 2019, Amazon was responsible for 46% of all the ecommerce sales in the United States.

(Image Source)

Each month, 214.8 million people visit Amazon, on average.

To put that into perspective, around 332 million live in the U.S. today.

This means that Amazon gets the equivalent in traffic of 64% of the entire U.S population every month.

What does that mean for you?

If you aren’t on Amazon and your competitor is, you can kiss that sale goodbye.

Think about it this way:

Let’s say I’m your typical customer. I want to find a product that your store offers.

So, I start with Amazon. I find the product for a good price, but I still want to browse. I head to Google and find your site. It’s also a good price, but shipping and returns aren’t as clear, and I’ve never purchased on your site before.

Amazon has been loyal to me, and I’ve never heard of your brand.

So I go back to Amazon and buy from your competition for the same price with free shipping and returns.

Yeah, that’s daily life for the majority of online shoppers.

Amazon virtually dominates the ecommerce market.

People love Amazon, and there’s no denying it. The data doesn’t lie.

Plus, brand building isn’t required for selling on Amazon. If someone searches on Google for a product, they’ll naturally choose brands they know over brands they aren’t familiar with.

If they haven’t heard of you, you’ll lose the sale to a competitor.

But on Amazon, anything goes. It’s almost as if your brand is an extension of Amazon. Check out the top reasons why people like to buy from Amazon:

Didn’t see “brand” in there, did you?

If you’re selling on Amazon, the most important factors that go into buying decisions are pricing, reviews, shipping, and Amazon recommendations. Brand recognition is virtually irrelevant.

It’s wise to have both an ecommerce and Amazon storefront. Amazon packs so much traffic and buying power that you can’t ignore it.

If you choose not to have an Amazon presence, you should mimic the benefits of Amazon on products that your competitors are selling on Amazon. Things like free and easy shipping and returns.

If shoppers can’t find similar benefits and they don’t know your brand well, the chances are good that they’ll purchase from your competition on Amazon who likely has good reviews too.

See also: Beginner’s Guide to Amazon SEO

Top ecommerce platforms for SEO

When deciding to host an ecommerce store on the web, you have a bunch of different options, and each packs powerful SEO tools to help you boost rankings.

Here are the top ecommerce website platforms for SEO.

BigCommerce: BC is a top online store platform, and for good reason. It has integrations, SEO capabilities, and the ability to integrate your store on multiple channels like Amazon and Facebook with the click of a button.

Shopify: Like BC, Shopify is a top player for ecommerce. With more advanced SEO options, it’s a great choice for growing stores.

Magento: Magento is another popular ecommerce platform that thrives on Adobe software, which gives you next-level tools and to drive more sales. Magento’s SEO related features also provides a nice advantage over other platforms.

Volusion: Volusion has some of the most picture-perfect and optimized site themes out there. Plus, their digital marketing and SEO tools are great for helping you rank organically.

WooCommerce: WooCommerce directly integrates with WordPress to give you great CMS and online store features.

3dcart: 3dcart allows you to build an online store or simply add a shopping cart feature to an existing website. It also has basic SEO features.

Weebly: Weebly is a popular website building tool with great ecommerce functionality. Weebly integrates with popular shipping carriers and packs tons of SEO tools in the process.

The verdict?

SEO is a huge factor in ecommerce success.

Ranking your website, product pages, and content on the first page of Google will help you secure more organic traffic.

Beyond that, it helps you build brand awareness, which is a big factor in driving sales from organic search results.

Instead of only paying for ads to drive traffic and sales, you can do it organically through powerful SEO.

Turn your efforts to the following key areas of ecommerce SEO that can give you the most bang for your buck:

  • Title tags
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Patio Furniture For Your New Timber Deck Guide

Patio Furniture For Your New Timber Deck Guide

Timber Deck And Patio Furniture 

If you’re planning to invest in an outdoor entertainment area, you should conduct some study and determine what you require.

To begin, understand the difference between a deck and a patio, and then select on the best patio furniture for your outdoor entertainment area.

A deck is an open-air structure without a roof, and in Brisbane, the majority of people desire some shade.

Historically, a pergola was a free-standing structure primarily built of wood. However, contemporary pergolas are also constructed with metal frames.

Pergolas are normally quite simple structures that can be placed over a timber deck or paved area.

In Australia, a patio is more of an outdoor room; it may have walls and is frequently located on a paved area adjacent to the house.

Patios and pergolas are often used interchangeably when referring to a covered outdoor area.

Guide To Buying Deck And Patio Furniture

You’ve stained and sealed your new deck and are now ready to enjoy the outdoors.

You’ll now require outside furniture for you and your visitors.

The good news is that there are now additional sorts and styles of patio or deck furniture from which you can choose.

What you need to know is as follows.

Patio Funiture for timber deck

Wood Or Timber

On a deck, wood always looks fantastic. Bear in mind, however, that any wood exposed to the light for an extended period of time will turn grey.

Assume you frequently oil or stain your wood furniture – at least every two years – with a high-quality furniture oil. In that situation, you can delay greying for several years while gradually darkening your furnishings.

During the winter, store your wood deck furniture indoors or under a cover.

While pine is affordable, it will not withstand the outdoors for long unless it is completely painted with at least two coats of paint on all sides of each board.

We are not huge fans of pressure-treated wood furniture due to the fact that the wood is typically of poor quality, cracking and splitting over time.

Cedar creates attractive outdoor furniture that is weather resistant — to a point. To maintain your cedar furniture at its best, you should refinish it every two years with a high-quality penetrating sealant. Certain sealers contain a slight colour to aid in their resistance against UV radiation.

Teak: Is the best and most popular wood for an outdoor space.

Expensive? Of course! However, it is attractive and sturdy, and will not fracture or warp like less expensive timbers.

pergola and patio designs


Wrought Iron (and cast iron)

Iron is a strong metal that is undoubtedly one of the heaviest.

Iron is an excellent choice if you live in a windy place to protect furniture from being blown away. This is especially critical if it is located on a balcony above street level.

Because iron furniture is prone to rust, it should be cleaned on a regular basis with fine steel wool.

If it is painted, it will last for many years with only minor touch-ups required.

Due to the fact that iron is a metal, it will become quite hot when exposed to direct sunlight, thus you should exercise caution.

Finally, you’ll require outdoor cushions for the back Because iron is very hard

Cast Aluminium

Cast aluminium is a contemporary (and reasonably priced) alternative to traditional wrought iron patio furniture. It is lightweight, weather-resistant, and sturdy, with a variety of styles ranging from sleek modern to industrial-era flourishes and embellishments.

Additionally, powder-coated aluminium deck furniture is corrosion resistant. This is the recommended practise in coastal locations.

Always keep an eye out for wind gusts. Windy regions along the coast can be dangerous, because aluminium furniture is lightweight and easily blown away in a storm.

Due to the hard surface, plan on purchasing appropriate all-weather cushions for the seats and backs.

Stainless Steel

Powder-coated steel provides an acceptable trade-off between cost and durability. It is not as durable or low-maintenance as the other metals, but it provides superb style at an affordable price.

Wicker Also Sometimes Call Rattan

Outdoor wicker creates a relaxing, sophisticated, and tranquil atmosphere.

It’s a catch-all word for any piece of furniture constructed entirely of woven fibre materials.

It’s designed in a range of styles, ranging from exquisite Victorian to a laid-back coastal vibe.

Wicker dining chairs are always fashionable. For added comfort, pair chairs with plush cushions.

• Wicker is a natural material composed of rattan, reeds, bamboo, or seagrass. After sanding and staining a piece, the wicker is coated with lacquer.

It requires proper care, which regrettably includes protection from the sun and rain, which is why it may be preferable to utilise it beneath a covered area of your deck.

• Synthetic wicker is weaved from vinyl and resin fibres. It is moisture and rot resistant, making it suitable for outdoor use. There are inexpensive alternatives, so read reviews to choose high-quality products. Synthetic wicker of superior quality will last for many years. The less expensive ones will not!

Tips For Designing and Styling Your Timber Deck

A well-chosen piece of deck furniture will enhance the comfort and functionality of your outside environment.

For instance, furnishing a porch with a wicker sofa and a traditional rocking chair, both upholstered in plush cushions, can transform it into a second family room in the warmer months.

When combined with the appropriate furniture, even small places such as balconies and small gardens may entice people to spend time outdoors.

Utilize these suggestions to assist you in selecting the greatest deck furniture for your area. Considerate planning will assist you in transforming your backyard into your new favourite area to lounge, eat, and entertain.

1. Form A List Of Timber Deck Furniture Requirments

Consider how you wish to utilise your outdoor space.

Are you considering using it as a dining area on those balmy summer evenings? Are you considering hosting a dinner party or a children’s birthday celebration in this space?

Or do you have in mind a secluded reading corner in your outside space?

If the primary purpose of your deck is to hold informal get-togethers in the evenings, for example, you do not require a large dining table.

Rather than that, opt for enough seats, multiple side tables, and a fire pit.

If outdoor dining is a priority, get a large table with easy-to-move seats or seating that can be placed beneath the table when not in use.

pergola builder

2. Try Out Outdoor Seating Before You Buy

When purchasing deck chairs and sofas, ensure that you test the seating before making a purchase.

Because deck furniture is likely to be used frequently, particularly during the warmer months, it is critical that it is comfortable.

Choose pieces with plush cushions on the seats and backs for maximum comfort.

Additionally, ensure that all fabrics are weather-resistant to avoid colour fading. Outdoor cushions in newer styles can get wet and dry out without rotting or becoming mouldy. Always cover outdoor furniture during stormy weather to avoid excessive wetness.

3. Opt For Low-Maintenance Garden Furniture

Spend the majority of your time outside enjoying your living place, not maintaining it.

To keep care to a minimum, look for low-maintenance deck furniture.

The majority of metal, teak, cedar, and all-weather wicker furniture are resistant to the majority of weather situations.

With regular light cleaning, furniture made of these materials will last for years.

Additionally, outfit your deck furniture with outdoor cushions and pillows with washable covers.

4. Consider Storage For Your Deck Furniture

Store your deck or patio furniture in a sheltered location during the off-season to extend its life. For instance, a garage or shed will shield smaller goods from the elements, such as shade umbrellas or small BBQs, preventing damage or unnecessary wear and strain.

Even the most durable deck furniture, such as teak chairs or a wrought iron couch, will last longer when not in use if covered.

If you have limited storage space, search for foldable or easily disassembled deck furniture.

Numerous dining tables include a nested design that accommodates the chair beneath the table. Always store cushions away from the elements. This will prolong the life of the fabric and prevent bird or bat droppings from landing on it and staining it.

When deck season is gone, stackable chairs can also assist you in making the best use of available storage space.

timber decks

5. Match The Colours To Your Outdoor Décor

When it comes to purchasing deck furniture, you are not confined to neutral hues or natural wood tones.

Today, synthetic wicker, wood paints, and metal furnishings come in an array of colours.

Consider purchasing furniture that complements the colours of your yard, your home’s exterior, or your other outdoor décor.

Choose vibrant hues for cushions and accent pieces to extend the life of your furniture. Additionally, these items are likely to be utilised less frequently, resulting in less noticeable wear and tear, and thus are less costly to replace.

6. Invest In High-Quality Deck Furniture

Make a significant investment in high-quality deck furniture. For example, while plastic chairs and side tables may appear attractive on the shelf and retain their appearance for a year or two in the sun, they grow brittle and lose their brilliant colour with time.

The same can be said for certain types of wood and low-cost synthetic wicker. Before making a large purchase, exercise caution and consult consumer reports and reviews.

If you’re on a budget, invest a bit extra in the goods that will be used the most frequently, such as a comfortable chair or a durable dining table.

Additionally, you can save money on minor items like as cushions and end tables.

deck screens

7. Add Colour And Freshness To Your Outdoors

• Outdoor rugs

Arrange deck furniture on an all-weather mat to protect it from the elements. An outdoor rug, soft underfoot and dense in texture, can bring inside comfort to your patio or deck. To tie your outdoor space together, choose a colour and pattern that complements with your other furniture and accessories. Before purchasing a rug, ensure that it is suitable for outdoor use.

• Pot Plants

Plants are an easy way to enhance the appearance of your deck, give a dash of colour to shaded places, and improve the soil quality in your yard. Ascertain that the bottom of the pot has a hole to prevent the plants from drowning, and consult the label or the nursery to determine which plants will thrive in your specific location, such as full sun or partial shade.

If you are looking to spruce up your backyard, Local Deck Builders Brisbane can help transform your outdoor areas!

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