Tag: website design

  • New Website Launched for Forester Benefits

    Here is our latest website redesign, just launched for Forester Benefits Management.

    forester

    The Forester Benefits Management website was recently launched with a distinctive home page images and multiple custom client forms.  We also embedded whiteboard animation, scrolling testimonials, and a bevy of employer and client resources. The site is mobile-responsive, easy to navigate, clean and concise, providing a one-stop resource for potential and current clients.

    Visit the new Forester site at http://foresterbenefits.com.

  • We are Rockstar Technology. Affordable Web Design, Branding and Online Marketing Solutions.

  • New Website Launched for Brio Benefits

    Here is our latest website redesign, just launched for Brio Benefits.

    brio

    Unique features: Single Page Design

    The Brio Benefits website was recently launched with a modern single-page design integrating all content into one long page that users can scroll through without the need to click on subpages.  We also embedded videos, scrolling testimonials and blog posts, and a bevy of employer and client resources. The site is easy to navigate, clean and concise, providing a one-stop resource for potential clients.

    Visit the new Brio Benefits site at http://briobenefits.com.

  • 5 Key Benefits of Email Marketing

    Rockstar Technology is your business solution not only for email marketing campaigns but all social media and website needs as well!  Contact us today to discuss optimizing your online presence today!

    With the overwhelming breakthrough of social media, search engine optimization and mobile marketing, it’s safe to say email marketing is on the verge of death, right? Wrong. Email marketing is alive and well, and it’s arguably the most profitable means of marketing. Here’s why:

    Email marketing presents more opportunities for your business and drives a better return on investment. With email marketing, your business can create deeper relationships with a wider audience at a fraction of the cost of traditional media.

    1. Email Marketing is Targeted

    Email marketing solves all the inherent problems of non-targeted marketing. Gone are the days of placing an advertisement on television, on a diner placemat, or in a periodical with no control of who will see it. With email marketing, you have the ability to control exactly who sees an email by segmenting your contacts based on their lead status, demographics, location or any other data. Targeting emails ensures that your audience receives content suited specifically to his/her needs. Email marketing makes it simple to customize your message for each customer, fostering a higher conversion rate.

    2. Email Marketing Increases Brand Awareness

    With each email sent, consumers are exposed to your business and your brand. With strategic planning, smart design and targeted content, your business will consistently build value. In doing so, you stay top-of-mind with your audience. Then, when a customer needs products or services, your business stands a much better chance of turning those leads into clients and clients into loyal customers.

    3. Email Marketing is Easily Shareable.

    There aren’t many forms of marketing as easy to share as email marketing. With the simple click of the forward button, subscribers can share your deals, offers and news with their friends. Subscribers who share your emails are acting as brand advocates. Therefore, when a subscriber shares an email with friends, your brand gains more exposure and credibility.

    4. Email Marketing is Measurable

    Analytics are indispensable to measuring the success of any campaign. Many marketing channels present ambiguous and estimated results. Email marketing, on the other hand, draws precise and valuable metrics, including delivery rates, open rates, click-to-deliver rates and subscriber retention rates. Even better: these metrics are more than just numbers and percentages. They are insights about your customers behaviors and interests. Use your email marketing campaign as a tool to monitor which information your consumers are most responsive to. From there, you can further target your marketing strategy towards more successful campaigns and topics of interest.

    5. Email Marketing is Cost effective.

    Perhaps the most appealing advantage of email marketing is the return on investment. No print costs, no postage fees, no advertising rates. Email marketing is as affordable as marketing gets. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing brings in $40 for every $1 spend, outperforming search, display and social marketing.

    We Can Help!

    In today’s ever-changing digital world, email marketing tends to take a backseat. However, if you haven’t considered email marketing for your business already, now is the time. Email marketing is a targeted, shareable, credible, measurable, and cost-effective tool overlooked by many. Working with a trusted marketing advisor makes the process simple and cost-effective. With a strategic approach, proper guidance and a strong message, your business is sure to benefit from email marketing.

    Source

  • Reasons to Invest in a Well Designed Website

    You may ask yourself the question, “My business is ticking over nicely, why should I pay for a well designed website?”

    Your website is open 24/7

    A website allows your business to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are millions of people, from all over the world, online at any time of the day. Many of them are looking to source products or services. If you run a conventional brick and mortar business, you can only attract the people who walk or drive past your shop, in any one day. Having a website designed for you allows you to attract new customers that would otherwise never find you – and they can do so when your shop is closed! A well designed web site also gives them a reason to revisit the site in the future.

    Websites increase customer confidence

    A professional, well designed website, with the right content, easy navigation and quickly accessible contact details, greatly increases customer confidence in your company. A well designed website shows people that you are forward thinking and customer focused, much in the way a well designed business card did in the past, which is an important factor in any buying decision that they have to make.

    Websites increase customer referrals

    What is easier to remember, mysite.com or 01215501528?
    A website address is much easier to remember than a telephone number, so it stands to reason that having a website increases the likelihood of referrals – and let’s face it, referrals are one of the most important sources of new business.

    A website address increases the ROI when advertising

    Including your website address on all of your adverts, business cards, letterheads, invoices, etc allows people to take action straight away, when they view an advert, or hear about your product or service. Visiting your website is so much easier than driving to your store, telephoning or writing a letter to you. When online, a potential customer can take their time and enjoy finding out about your products or services without the pressure of having a salesman floating about in the background.

    Website sales

    Your website is one of the most impressive sales presentations that you will ever have. Allowing your customers to buy your products or services online is a wonderful and inexpensive way to expand your business. Spending thousands on advertising, for an ad that is featured in one mag, for one month simply doesn’t compare to investing in a long term sales marketing solution – or a well designed website as we like to call them!

    Even if you do not offer a product or service that can easily be purchased over the Internet, a website still acts as an impressive first contact, convincing the potential customer that they need what you are offering and inviting them to contact you, via telephone, email or contact form on your website.

    Websites promote future business

    When a potential customer comes into your shop and leaves without making a purchase and without speaking to anyone, they are basically a dead prospect. When someone views your well designed website and doesn’t make a purchase straight away, they can easily revisit anytime to make the purchase in the future. On top of that, you can use your website to collect the email addresses of visitors and send them periodical promotional emails, newsletters or updates on your product or service. So although they may not buy first time around, you have more than one opportunity to close the sale!

    So there you go, what are you waiting for? Don’t waste time -get a well designed website now!  We are here to help you get your website where it needs to be!

    Source

     

  • Tips for an Awesome and SEO-Friendly Blog Post

    Writing a blog post -like all other writing- is a skill. In order to keep your reader interested, you should think about structuring your text and writing in an appealing style. You should help your readers to grasp the main idea of your post by providing headings, subheadings and clear paragraphs. If people understand and like your text, they are much more likely to share, like, tweet and link to your post. And that will increase your rankings! So, in order to improve your ranking in Google, you should definitely try to maximize your writing skills!

    For some, writing for SEO purposes and writing to attract and keep attracting your audience could appear as two contradictory goals. However, I totally disagree. Indeed, if you not only want a good but also an SEO-friendly blog post, your text should be written in such a way that the words you want to be found for have a very prominent place. And, using your keywords too often severely damages the readability of your text. So, you definitely should not do that!

    In this post, I would like to give some tips on writing blog posts that are both very readable as well as SEO-friendly. I genuinely think those two goals should (and can easily!) go hand in hand!

    Elementary writing tips for good blog posts

    Before anything, your blog post just has to be a good piece of writing! A lot of bloggers just begin to write after creating a new blog post. They just type what comes to mind. For some, this may be sufficient, because they are natural writing talents. Others may need some help. I always follow the next set of ‘rules’ myself.

    1. Think before you write!

    Think hard about the message of your text. What do you want to tell your readers? And what is the purpose of your text? What do you want you readers to do at the end of the page? Write down the answers to these questions before you begin writing.

    2. Write down the structure of your blog post.

    Every post should have some sort of introduction (in which you introduce your topic), a body (in which the main message is written) and a conclusion (which should summarize the most important ideas or deduce some new idea). Write down what you want to write in all these three sections. You now have some sort of summary of your post. The real writing can begin!

    3. Use paragraphs.

    Everybody uses paragraphs, but make sure to use paragraphs that make sense. Do not start a new sentence on a new line, just because it looks nice. There should be a reason for making a new paragraph. Every paragraph should have a main idea or a main subject. Ask yourself what the main idea of each paragraph is. You should be able to grasp that main idea in only one sentence. If you need more sentences, you simply need more paragraphs!

    4. Use Headings.

    If you want people to find their way in your articles, you should use subheadings. Subheadings will lead people, help them scan your page, and make the structure of your articles that much clearer.

    5. Use signal words.

    Signal words help people to scan through your text and help people to grasp your main idea. If you, for instance, have three reasons for wanting to sell a product, you should use signal words as: First of all, Secondly and Finally. Also, words as Nevertheless, Surely and Indeed also give a clear signal to your readers. Readers will instantly get that a conclusion will follow after words as Thus, So or Therefore. Signal words are thus very important to structure your text.

    6. Let other people read your post.

    Before publishing your post, let someone else read your post first. Ask him/her whether or not he understands the main idea of your post. Correct typo’s and sentences that are not formulated correctly.

    by Source: Yoast.com

  • 5 Reasons Why SEO is Important for Small Businesses – SEO Marketing

    Why Should You as a Small Business Owner be Concerned About Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

    Because you want to provide visitors to your website with such a fantastic user experience that they will tell others! Because you want to provide search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo critical information so they will place your site in the
    top 5 spots on the returns page!

    The job of a search engine is to take the information typed in by the user and locate the most relevant websites using those keywords. Simply put, if you are not engaging in SEO, you are not on that first page of results – the other guy is! By investing in search engine marketing, you are staying competitive with those other guys while giving your brand name exposure 24 hours, 7 days a week and are sure to gain new customers – even while you sleep. Let’s take a look at what a good SEO service can do for you while you take a snooze…

    5 Reasons to Invest in SEO Marketing

    1. Optimal User Experience

    SEO is ultimately about providing the user with the friendliest, fastest, best experience possible. A search engine wants to provide the user with what they are looking for, and when it can do that, both parties are happy. A happy visitor will become a returning visitor.

    2. Optimal Reach

    People unconsciously trust search engine results. If Google places Dave’s Donuts in the top spot of a search, then it must have earned that place and it must be good. User then tells all his friends on Facebook and Twitter that he’s going to Dave’s and he invites them, leaving the link for them to click as well. The laws of multiplication can work pretty fast, and before you know it, a dozen hungry teens show up at Dave’s Donuts! Why? Because the search engine matched everything perfectly, and it all pointed to Dave’s.

    3. Optimal Potential for Conversion

    Internet marketing, including SEO, attracts people who are already looking for your product or service. You don’t have to scream, dance, or wear cool clothes to gain an audience; they are already convinced of their need which is why they went searching in the first place. No bold print ad placed front and center on the magazine page is required. You just have to present yourself in one of those top 5 results and – voila! They were looking for you and you showed up right on time! You still have to convince them that you are the better company to purchase from, but half the battle is over. Once they come to your website, if you have invested the same tedious work to optimize the user’s experience with you by providing the content they seek, then you are well on your way to gaining a new customer.

     4. Optimal Exposure for Brand Awareness

    As stated in point #2, people unconsciously trust search engine results. If Dave’s Donuts is #1, then Dave’s serves the best donuts. But most users do not just run over to Dave’s the next hour and buy a dozen donuts (unless they are local teenagers)! They do, however, file it somewhere or bookmark it. They go clicking around the world numerous times before making a final decision. If your website is employing top notch SEO services, how often might that user come across your company name while conducting his search? What if your company came up 3 of the 5 times they searched for that desired product? Next thing you know, they have clicked through to your website.

    5. Optimal Insight into Your Customers

    If your website is properly optimized, it will increase your search engine visibility, usability, and credibility, all of which increase traffic to your site. Now that you are enjoying higher numbers of visitors, Google Analytics (which every website should have set up) can track valuable information about your visitors. Find out what browser they use, what key words, the technology they use, their geographical location, the days and times they are most active, how much time they spent on a page…on and on. This information will help you discover your target market, hone your advertising, and determine strategies based on facts rather than just educated guesses. The better you know your customers, the better product or service you can provide, the higher the ROI.

    Search engine optimization is no longer an option for businesses that want to be competitive, grow, and see returns on investment. But it is only one piece of the puzzle. If your website does not contain viable content, then no matter how much money or time you spend on SEO, it is wasted. Content will always be king. But when used in conjunction with other important marketing tools, SEO will provide visibility, traffic, credibility, branding and help you gain valuable insight into customer behavior.

    Read More

  • 10 Reasons to Upgrade Your Website

    Statistics overwhelmingly show that your website is very likely your customers’ first impression of your brand or store. That being said, keeping your site up-to-date and relevant is definitely in your best interest. An upgrade may mean a new site, but in some cases may be just mean fixing up what you already have. Here are 10 signs that it might be time to make some changes to your website:

    1. You cannot update your website’s content. The content on your website is the reason why people visit your site and also why they choose come back again or why they may lose interest. Not to mention the affect that out-of-date or irrelevant content has on your site’s SEO affecting the ability for search engines to find you. And, accordining to PR Newswire study, 89% of Consumers Conduct Their Product Research Using Search Engines. (Source: PR Newswire). Having the ability to update content or add new content is a must and some content management platforms, like WordPress, are as easy to use as editing text in a Microsoft Word document. So, if you cannot add content, you could be missing out on traffic.

    2. Your website does not link to your social media sites. Did you know that 78% of Consumers Say That the Posts Made by Companies on Social Media Influence their Purchases. (Source: Forbes). The conversations that are had on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are beneficial to your website visitors as well. Linking the sites can open the gates for traffic to access your brand in more than one place online. This can give the user a deeper sense of your brand and your existing community.

    3. Your website is not set up to convert visitors to prospects. When a user visits your website, this is your chance to grab them by the hand and give them a tour of your brand, products and services, much like you would if they walked into your brick and mortar location. If your website doesn’t invite them to look around or give them opportunities to interact, you may be missing opportunities to filter users into your sales funnel. Look at your homepage. Are there opportunities for one to sign up for a newsletter, watch a video, view products, shop or browse? Is the call to action clear?

    4. Your website is not mobile friendly. If your website is built in Flash (which is not mobile or search engine friendly at all), you’ll definitely want to look into a new site. But, even if your website does not render well on a mobile device, or if you don’t have a mobile version of your website, you could be missing as much as 27% of your website traffic, according to Smartmetrics.

    5. Your website is not user friendly. If one can’t figure out how to navigate through or use your website, why would they visit or ever come back to your site? When thinking of how best to organize your website, try to put yourself in the seat of the user. What do they want to know? In what order do they want to know it?

    6. Your website loads slowly. If your site loads slowly, people are leaving your website without even giving it a chance. 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.  Learn more about faster load times: http://www.rcpmarketing.com/faster-website/.

    7. Your website is not as good as your competitors website. People use the Internet to shop and learn about the products and services they are looking for or are interested in. So, chances are if they found your website, they also have looked at your competitors sites as well. If their site is more user friendly, draws them in and looks better than yours, you might be losing more money in missed prospects than it would cost to upgrade your website.

    8. Your website is more than 3 years old. The world of web development is ever-changing and in three years, the options have exponentially increased and changed.  There are so many new options, widgets, apps and integration opportunities that make your website more user-friendly and appealing to your audience more than ever before. Sometimes this means an upgrade to what you already have and sometime this can mean a completely new website.

    9. Your website is an online brochure. People expect more than just text about your offerings and brand when they come to your site. In fact, they need more to take full advantage of getting to know you. A website no longer benefits you or them if it doesn’t encourage and facilitate interaction.

    10. The purpose of your website has changed. If your marketing strategy has changed, it may be time to change your website to match the new plan. For example, at the time that you built your website, your goal may have been to sell products. Now, your goal may be to increase repeat business. In order to keep your website relevant, you may want to evolve your website navigation and options to match your goals.

    Source: Carly Crow – RCP Marketing

  • 4 Things You Need to be Doing on Social Media — Now

    By now, if social media isn’t a critical element in your online marketing strategy, it should be. Having a presence on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can add value to your product, to customer service and ultimately to your brand.

    But simply having an account and broadcasting company news isn’t enough. To attract and keep customers — and to build a strong brand online — business owners need to be active on social media. They have to provide valuable information and engage with their followers.

    Here are four things businesses should be doing on social media in order to grow the brand online:

    1. Engage with followers and provide customer service.
    Your customers are engaging with your brand wherever they are — including over social media. Don’t miss this opportunity to listen to what they’re saying to and about you, and to provide the best customer service.

    Why is this so important? Responding to customer questions and resolving issues over social media shows everyone who’s following you — and potentially anyone who is online — that your company cares about its customers, potential customers and goes the extra mile for people.

    Related: 10 Tips for Using Twitter Like a Pro

    Tools like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck can be handy for monitoring mentions of your brand over social media. As for when and who you respond to, set the tone early. If you reply often, people will expect it. If you don’t reply a lot, people will see that as well and might stop engaging with you as often.

    2. Crowdsource ideas.
    Use social media as a marketing research tool. Just as people can reach out to you, follow you and stay connected with you, business owners can do the same with their customers. Social media is a two-way street.

    Say, for instance, you’re getting ready to launch a new product. You can ask your fans and followers what they think about specific details like which colors they prefer or what types of features they want. Not only can you get real, valuable market research at no cost, you’re involving the consumer in decisions. Asking customers for their opinions can help show that they matter, and when they see their ideas become a reality, ideally you create brand and product champions.

    Read More (Source: Scott Levy, entrepreneur.com)

  • 3 Reasons Why Responsive Web Design is the Best Option For Your Mobile SEO Strategy

    As smartphone and tablet adoption rapidly increases, so does the importance of mobile-friendly websites.  If SEO is a core component of your digital marketing strategy, having a mobile–friendly website is becoming essential.

    Mobile sales have already overtaken desktop sales, and mobile Internet usage is predicted to overtake desktop internet usage by 2014. It is only logical that mobile search will overtake desktop search at some point in the near future as well.

    Since 67 percent of users claim they are more likely to purchase from a mobile-friendly website, companies that rely on SEO are wise to begin making the transition to mobile-friendly websites, and responsive web design specifically.

    The argument between whether to choose a responsive website or a separate mobile website is a highly debated topic. However, the truth is that both options have their pros and cons.

    The option that is best for your business depends on many factors, such as the purpose of the website, the intended target audience, and whether SEO is a factor.

    If SEO is a factor, here are 3 reasons why responsive web design is the best option for your mobile SEO strategy.

    1. Recommended By Google

    Read More (Source: Jay Taylor, Search Engine Watch)