Igniting Business Blog

Balancing a business, regardless of size, can be incredibly difficult. Management may be an incredibly demanding job and unpredictable journey; however, there are a few things you can do to lighten your entrepreneurial load when it comes to selling online.

When customers search for a local business on Google, sometimes they have unanswered questions in their mind. Questions that, if answered, may capture their business. If left unanswered, these searchers may turn to another provider who successfully answers their question – this can all happen before the customer even decides to reach out to the potential vendor!  Google noticed the need for a Q&A section and added one for companies listed on Google My Business (GMB). As a small business owner using GMB, it's important to stay up-to-date on new tools like this and learn how to use them effectively. Let's go through some key elements your small business needs to know about Google My Business's Q&A feature.

No matter what business you're in, online marketing success depends on good graphics. Visual displays decide everything from consumers' faith in your website's legitimacy to the likelihood of a product's reliability. One of the most important graphical elements to include on your website, your e-commerce platform, and any video thumbnails is properly executed and relevant images of people. 

In 2016, mobile use moved ahead of desktop browsing and it has increased with every passing year.  Additionally, Google has begun rolling out it’s “Mobile First Index” which ranks each website based on its mobile experience, instead of the desktop experience.  Thus, it should come as no surprise then that the web design trends in 2018 are geared towards creating a better experience for mobile users.  In this post we will outline three emerging trends in web design and how they help improve customer experiences, especially for mobile users.

Landing pages are specifically designed web pages used to enhance the effectiveness of a campaign.  Landing pages are most successful when created with certain essential elements. Clear and compelling copy, concise forms and the perfect call-to-action are three essentials elements that you must consider when creating a landing page for your small business' next marketing campaign.

Small businesses have a lot of risks. If your small business has an e-commerce website, it’s imperative your or your web firm performs adequate security on the website.  Here are three considerations to keep in mind when building up or maintaining your e-commerce site:

Quite simply: Yes.  Customer reviews can and do affect your small business’s search engine rankings, especially for businesses that sell their service or product locally.  Many users routinely perform searches on local small businesses. One of the best ways for a search engine like Google to determine which organization should receive a higher ranking status is through evaluating the organization's quality and quantity of relevant customer reviews.  So, whether you own a small restaurant, a local plumbing business, or an auto mechanic's shop, if you want to place high on the list of (local) searches, you do need to pay attention to your customer review collection strategy.

Making the choice to advertise online is a big one. You need to decide your budget, look for the right ad platforms, hone in on your targeted audience, and create effective campaigns that will get you the results you want. You also must consider whether or not online advertising is the right strategy for your business, which involves looking at your current sales, your profit margins, and your competitors through a variety of strategic lenses. Just as important, though, is doing the prep work on your own site so your campaigns direct traffic to a place customers want to go. Below are four areas to consider before deciding your small business website is ready for online advertising:

You can drive traffic to your site with good content. No matter what business you're in, every article, brief post, and description on your website gives search engines more information about your business and gives potential customers a reason to keep exploring your site. While originally intended for Google AdWords planning, Google's Keyword Planner can be a great tool for planning content on your small business website as well.

Your company’s website is one of your best marketing engines.  It doesn’t sleep, require vacation, call-in sick, and it works 24x7. Some of the most effective ways to keep visitors on your site are universally known: have good content, solve your visitors' problems, and always have related articles in the wings. But having an effective website design is just as important as having good content. Here are a few ways to keep your visitors on your site longer.