With the New Year in full effect, its time to ensure you’ve got all of your website ducks in row for 2016. Here’s a list of 5 must-haves for your website.
1. Content is King
While location, location, location is the mantra for real estate, content, content, content should be your website mantra for 2016. Content is still king and lots of it. But, it’s got to be high-quality, engaging content based on its reader value. Google’s algorithm will continue to reward content that delivers value to your online searches and customers. Be sure to blog and Facebook post. Write up some free eBooks, how-to guides and white papers. And if you don’t have the time or writing skills, outsource a qualified content writer. These talented writers can craft fantastic content that lands in front of your target audience and aligns with your business’s brand.
2. Responsive Web Design
With tablet and smartphone adoption projected to increase even more in 2016, you need a mobile-friendly website. That’s where a responsive web design steps in. It’s the coding of a website in a manner that the side can be easily navigated and read across a wide range of devices from PCs to mobile phones. Plus, Google prefers responsive web design and adds it into its ranking factor. That’s because a responsive web design makes it easier for users to interact, share and link with a friend on Facebook. All around, it creates an excellent user experience.
3. Call to Action
If you want your viewers to take action in 2016, you need to instruct them to do so. Generate leads with a strong call to action. For example, offer a free download of an ebook or white paper with the completion of a form with visitor name, email address and phone number. Use that potential customer information to initiate a marketing campaign. Add a call to action like “subscribe” to sign up for a newsletter. On Facebook, you can use the “share now” button to share your social message or blog post. The bottom line for call to actions in 2016 is that you still need to do it.
4. SEO and Local Listing Strategy
Links will play a role in ranking factor for 2016 but with a different twist. It’s implied links that are changing the game. Rather than building links, marketers should be focused on earning links through publishing high-quality content. Guest blogging is an ideal way for building inbound links and promoting content on social media platforms is also effective. Likes, shares and re-tweets count as links and add some juice to your site.
Local listing is essential for many businesses, but it has to be done right in order to rank high in the local search engines. First, you need to get listed with the local directories that are unique to your geographical area and optimize SEO for both general location and geo specific neighborhoods. When it comes to your local listing strategy for 2016, you need to dig deep layers.
5. Website Maintenance and Security
Website maintenance for 2016 should include backing up important files and data. Even if you have anti-spam plugins and secured passwords, it’s really not enough to protect your website from a security breach. Everything can easily be lost suddenly if your site gets hacked. Here’s a great tip for 2016. Store your data in a cloud-based environment. The cloud isn’t an easy target for savvy hackers and much more secure. Be sure to check out a program we put together for just this..
If you implement these within your website marketing efforts, you’ll surely be on top of your niche and outshining your competition. Contact Xplode Marketing today if you have any questions at all.
