Jacques Designer Bathrooms is ‘more competitive than ever’ on the Web
Jacques Designer Bathrooms is a long standing eSterling client, having been with us since 2001. Over the past 10 years the web has changed dramatically, but eSterling has ensured that Jacques has been able to move with the times in order to outshine their competitors. The most recent development was put in place last year when Jacques had a new website designed by eSterling.
The new website features a simple layout with the emphasis being on the quality of Jacques Designer Bathrooms’ products and services. The overall function of the website is to be a platform for enquiries, as the bathrooms in which Jacques specialises need to be seen in person at their showroom to be fully appreciated.
To launch the new site an advanced SEO service was put in place to target a wider range of keywords. The work carried out by eSterling has produced excellent results for Jacques as many of the keywords, such as ‘designer bathrooms’, are ranking on page one of Google.
Jacques has also branched out from traditional SEO techniques and have used our press release service to drive traffic to their site. This also gave their rankings a boost, proving that this is a great technique to grow the profile of a business.
Bringing traffic to the Jacques Designer Bathrooms website is important for the development of the company at this stage, as potential customers are sure to want to take advantage of Jacques’ prices on designer bathroom suites and installation.
Managing director David Jacques said that the company’s pricing structure ‘is more competitive than ever’ so now is a great time to order a luxury bathroom. David also commented; ‘eSterling’s ongoing commitment to achieving results for my business has ensured that my site is visible online, even in difficult times for the industry.’
Conversion Rate Optimisation
Here are some simple ways to increase you ROI via conversion rate optimisation.
1. Be Relevant
Your ad text or meta description should always be relevant so the user will know what to expect when they arrive on your website. There is no point making wild claims that are not reflected on the site as this will just lead to poor bounce rates. Make sure that you use the keyword in your H1 title as this will help with both users and search engines. Perhaps one of the most vital points to consider in term of relevancy for the user is to use an accurate image. All to often I see generic images used on eCommerce sites, this will do nothing to improve sales. Always use your keywords in crawlable areas of the page as well utilising keywords in the domain if you can.
2. Proposition
You must quickly and simply portray your business proposition to your customer, frame the product or service in your opening text, ensure you prioritise your key features and benefits, consider the best way to get your point across – text, image, Video? Next try to see it from your customers point of view, see if you can handle any objections or concerns they may have about purchasing from you. One final point to consider is not to overwhelm the the user, do not be tempted to bombard them with too much information – an alternative may be to include downloadable demo, white papers or fact sheets. Always use a call to action.
3. Trust
The more trust your site can instill in the user the more sales it will make. This statement is so true for on-line shops. This can be done by the site itself as well as in the promotion of your company brand and the product/service brand. Your main enemies here are scepticism brought about by lack of information, not including reputable 3rd party ratings/awards and badges, and not have an SSL or payment system from a good provider. Try to use trust inspiring text, for example point it out if you have secure check out system, include testimonials in either text or video format. In terms of the web design you need to have a clean and tidy looking site, it should look professional and not rushed or cheap.
4. Understand User Intent
Try to find out what your typical customer responds to, try varied approaches and stick with the one that works best. You could try a softer call to actions or a harder approach, you may wish to experiment with different web designs and ways of presenting data, perhaps you will convert better if you can engage with the customer in a phone call? The key with all the things you try to is to ensure that you have a tested it in a fair way and to measure your success. Once you have a good amount of data you can choose the best way to proceed in terms of your customers intent.
5. Remove Distractions
Remember that the more obstacles you put between the moment a user enters your site and the point of sale the more likley it is that the sale will not complete. Your sales process should be simple, linear and as easy as possible. Common issues are including global navigation on your PPC landing pages, not using technology’s like JQuery to stop users from leaving the sales funnel by utilising tabbed pages of JS overlays to keep users on the page, off topic text and distracting images, asking for too much information from the user just to make the sale.
To find out more about conversion rate optimisation, get in touch with us here at eSterling.
Web Design and SEO Go Hand in Hand
As we approach 2012 many of you will be looking to get a new website to go into the New Year with a virtual bang. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you all the benefits a website has to offer as a place to showcase your products or services. A new website is no doubt a good move, but what if it can’t be found?
Your customers need to be able to find your site when they are searching for your products or services, which is where SEO comes in. SEO stands for search engine optimisation and it’s the behind the scenes stuff that gets your website noticed in Google. Without it, your website is like a shop with no signs – not good!
There will be some of you that already have SEO covered and your old website has brilliant Google rankings. Your customers are finding you, but when they get to your site they don’t like what they see. This is something we internet types refer to as ‘bounce rate’ – if your bounce rate is too high it means that too many customers are bouncing straight off your site using their metaphorical internet space-hopper. One way to make sure your customers stick around is to upgrade your website to something more modern, slick and shiny – a website to be proud of.
Whatever category you fall into, you need to be aware of the ways that SEO and web design can work together for you. A good internet solutions company (like eSterling of course) can help you with the complete package, making sure your website attracts visitors and keeps them interested.
Web design and SEO go hand in hand like fish and chips or gin and tonic… I just wish the web designers would learn this and make the SEO team a cup of tea once in a while!
In House Vs Outsourcing
I speak to a lot of prospective clients and a phrase I hear often is “It’s OK, we deal with all of that in house”. I always feel that these people have made a mistake by not listening to what an external web design and SEO company could have to offer, as there are many benefits to outsourcing work to a company such as eSterling…
- The cost of employing a single developer or SEO professional to work on your website will cost an average of £30k per annum. SEO packages start at just £75 per month with eSterling.
- An in house team (or individual employee) may only have a vague overview of all the areas of web design and SEO that needs to be covered. eSterling’s team is built up of individuals who specialise in different areas, including SEO, Adwords, email, web design and coding.
- Finally, a permanent employee will need to take holidays and sick days. Here at eSterling our team is large enough to provide cover all the time, meaning your company won’t be at a disadvantage.
Outsourcing web design, web development and SEO to eSterling could save you a lot of time, money and effort. So why not compare our service with your in-house team to see if you can get a better deal?
Is it fair that Google likes paid links?
I’ve been asking this question to our SEO team for a while now. Why is it that Google ‘likes’ links? And how can this be fair?
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of ‘links’, here’s some background information:
- Links (also known as backlinks) are from another site to your site
- Links can help your Google rankings because ‘they are a useful way of measuring a site’s value’
- The quantity and quality of links count towards your site’s rating
Google’s official guidelines state that links should be from trusted sources and should not be bought and sold illegitimately. This is part of Google’s commitment to make search results fair.
But in reality there is very little sanctioning to determine which links are legitimate and which aren’t. This means that successfully ranking sites often have links from what could only be described as ‘dodgy’ sources and are not penalised at all. Therefore many webmasters continue to buy their links from questionable sources simply because they are getting results.
As buying large quantities of links ultimately comes down to money, then companies with a higher budget can achieve better rankings. But isn’t this at the expense of search relevance?
So how can Google root out this practice? The trouble is that links are an SEO factor that is out of the webmaster’s control. In theory, you can’t help who links to your site and this means there is potential for interference from competitors should Google crack-down on ‘bad’ links.
This leaves Google with a conundrum. Either Google accepts that all links are a ‘vote of confidence’ from other users and gives them all a green light (no matter their legitimacy); or Google decides to ban all links (no matter the relevancy). Or perhaps, and in my opinion, the ‘right’ way would be to use a clever algorithm to root out those links that are irrelevant.
Unfortunately, SEO companies have very little control over Google’s decisions. We have to move with the times and do what Google says (and not necessarily as they do). But is the integrity of search being spoiled by this factor? I would certainly welcome your comments on links and how they should affect SEO rankings.
A new website for personalised clothing specialists White Lodge Promotions
White Lodge Promotions is a leading supplier of personalised clothing based inLichfield, Staffordshire. The company offers a wide range of printed and embroidered clothing for work and leisure including everything from branded workwear to hen-night t-shirts.
White Lodge Promotions came to eSterling at the beginning of 2011 for a new website that was clear and modern. eSterling designed a site that reflected White Lodge’s existing branding and showcased their products to the best effect.
Luke Edmonds, from our web design team commented on the design; ‘The scrolling banner on the homepage is an eye-catching way to draw attention to important product types and also highlight the top brands that White Lodge work with,’
eSterling also provides ongoing SEO services for White Lodge, making sure key products such as school leaver hoodies and embroidered work wear are found in the search engines.
Lee Gwinnett, White Lodge’s MD is impressed with the results. He commented; ‘I’m genuinely pleased with the efforts of the team at eSterling. We now have a professional website and I’m looking forward to continually pushing forward with the SEO campaign. I recommend eSterling without hesitation to my business contacts,’
Visit the White Lodge Promotions website today to browse for products and take a look at our design.
FREE SEO Seminar!
Due to high demand we have added three more dates to the popular seminar ‘Online Marketing to Boost Business Sales’. Attend this seminar to find out how to use online marketing to win more customers for your business.
Is your business ready to improve its online marketing? Do you want to know which techniques are right for your business? Or are you feeling overwhelmed by all the options?
This half-day interactive session will take you through a proven formula for online marketing success. It will provide you with all the information you need to:
- Make the right choices when improving your website
- Generate substantial traffic to your website
- Take advantage of the advertising and communications tools available
This seminar is packed full of practical examples and information, delivered in easy-to-understand bite-sized chunks.
Date: 25th October 2011 – Fully Booked!
Date: 2nd November 2011
Date: 3rd November 2011
Date: 4th November 2011
Are paid links bad for my website?
I often hear people in the SEO world saying all paid links are bad news. If you’re buying links from link farms or spammy sites then Google may penalise your website, but there are also a lot of good quality links out there that are up for grabs.
These could include links generated through press releases, directory listings, article submissions or adverts. All of these sources create links that will bring relevant traffic to your website. They are also available from genuine sources. So why should Google penalise you for paying for these links?
In fact, Google likes to see your site being given a ‘thumbs-up’ by other websites, as this shows positive interaction with your brand. Think of the times you’ve shared a link to a site with a friend because you’ve found it helpful, or fun, or interesting…
So next time you hear the term paid links don’t automatically think ‘bad’, because there are a number of paid links that could be beneficial to your website. Simply give us a call for more information about how to create good quality links to improve your Google rankings.
Back to Basics Part 4: Hosting
What is hosting?
Web hosting is basically making sure your website is available online. Your website will be hosted on powerful computers called servers which are connected to the Internet at all times.
Is it secure?
eSterling use Cloud hosting which has a safe, reliable infrastructure meaning that your site is always available. We take daily back-ups of your site to preserve your web content. Sensitive information (such as payment details or customer information) will be securely exchanged between you and your customers and will be stored in a safe way.
Is it flexible?
Absolutely. The nature of Cloud hosting means that if you need more space it is always available, so if your website expands the hosting system will expand too. We can always add more resources, just contact us to discuss your requirements.
Is it expensive?
In many cases eSterling offer secure hosting packages for free, as part of your wider service with us.
eSterling offers a bespoke hosting package for each of our clients, handling each site in the most appropriate way. If you have a large site and require dedicated hosting, we can offer a safe and secure package. Simply call us today to find out more.
Back to Basics Part 1 – Do I Need A Website?
Following Phil’s post on Friday, which was about how to choose a web design company, we thought we’d go back one step further.
Our Back to Basics guide will talk you through everything you need to know about setting up your own website. We will be posting a series of articles discussing domain names, hosting, web design and SEO. All the posts will be jargon free – we promise.
So onto Part 1… Do I Need A Website?
With an estimated 51million of us in the UK now online, getting a website for your business makes perfect sense.
If you decide to make the commitment to having a website which is easy to use and easy to find, you could be opening up a huge potential market.
Online retail is now growing six times faster than high street retail and UK companies are exploiting this trend by selling products through e-commerce websites.
Even if you don’t want to sell online, research shows that 83% ofUKshoppers use search engines to research a purchase before they buy. This is also true for consumers looking for services, making a website a cost-effective way of advertising your company.
However, a web site which isn’t seen by your customers is like a shop with no front door. It is essential that your website can be found by using search engines such as Google, which is where SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) comes in.
SEO is about making your website easily found when people use search engines to look for keywords related to your business. We will be discussing SEO in more detail later in the series.
If you would like more information about getting your own website please email helpdesk@esterling.co.uk. Tune in for the next Back to Basics when we will be discussing domain names.