How to Measure a Website’s Traffic (Google Analytics)

Online businesses should gather web statistics to track essential information about the way visitors interact with the website. With Google Analytics (GA) you can generate detailed statistics about the performance of your website, allowing you to take full control of your website and remedy what needs to be corrected.  Learn how to measure traffic to your website in order to determine whether or not you are generating sales and employ its corresponding corrective tactics.

Install Google Analytics- To install GA, you should have a Google account. Then, sign up for Analytics services using your Gmail id. You will receive a tracking code which needs to be copied and pasted to every page on your website. Once you have successfully added the code, it’s time to look at your site’s data.

Dashboard and Analytics- Your dashboard gives basic details about your website, including number of visits, traffic sources, most visited pages, average time spent on site, the countries your visitors came from and so on. You can select various details that you want to analyse as well as the time duration for the graph. Grouping is also an essential feature of GA, allowing you to group your website traffic weekly or monthly.

Map Overlay- You will find a map overlay service which shows where your visitors are coming from. This information is very important especially if you are targeting a specific geographic location.

Visitor Trending- This tab allows you to breakdown your site’s visitor trends. It has sub tabs that provide more detailed analysis about the traffic such as visits, absolute unique visitors, page views, average page views, time on site, and bounce rate.

Visitor Loyalty- This tab offers different subsections that allow you to monitor several factors about visitor loyalty. It gives you details like length of visit, depth of visit, time spent on the website, and recency.

Traffic Sources- If you want to narrow traffic down, the traffic sources tab allows you to track specific sources where all your sites traffic is coming from. You will be able to determine traffic sources like referring sites, search engines, or if the traffic comes directly from manually typing your into the browser or through a bookmark.

By measuring your website’s traffic, you can gain valuable insights about your online venture, transactions, ROI and customers. Google Analytics allows you to make sound decisions for improving your business. If your site is not performing well in the statistics, contact the SEO experts at Ignition Media to improve your website traffic!

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How to Effectively Use Your Blog to Increase Google Rankings

Even with the algorithm changes in the Google search engines in 2011, blogging is still one of the best ways in improve your Google rankings.

There are two reasons for this. First off, a blog can provide a website with more keyword-rich pages that will be indexed. Secondly, blog posts mean opportunities for incoming links. Both of these factors mean—and can catapult a website in terms of Google rankings.

But how can one effectively use a blog for this purpose?

The key here is to maintain the blog regularly. As mentioned early, a blog works primarily because it gives Google more pages to index. If, for example, you post one blog entry every day, that’s automatically 30 more pages to your site—and 30 more pages to index. A stagnant website will lose in rankings against a website that has constant posts.

But the real factor here is quality content. Google likes a site with incoming links, more so if the links from pages relevant to blog’s content. Google likes it more, however, if the links come from high-ranking, important websites because it is an indication that the blog (and, in turn, your website) is relevant.

However, it’s not just a matter of number of pages, especially with the recent updates in Google search engine algorithms. A site with bad quality content will decline in rankings—even if it has several pages that can be indexed. The key here is quality over quantity.

One way to make sure of quality is to make sure the content is relevant to the keyword. Also, utilise social media sharing tools.

Your blog content should also be original, as duplicate content may be seen as spam. This could be a problem if you rely on canned or shared content, so consider this. Also, try to limit advertisements as pages with several ads might be considered as a spam page.

Of course, relevance of keywords and how much they are searched remain to be important factors. Use tools in order to find out what keywords get searched the most. Also, the blog should be part of your website; do not put up a different blog page as it would be indexed separately.

Remember that the best way to get high Google rankings via a blog is to provide what the user wants—and that’s relevant information and high-quality content.

If you want to know more about search engine optimisation, contact Ignition Media now.

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How to Create a Google Places Listing

Google Places is a service by Google that allows people to search for a business establishment online. When you create a Google Places listing, your business can be found via the Google search engine and its service Google Maps.

For instance, if you have a physical store and you have a listing on this service, anyone trying to find your store can find its complete address along with contact details and detailed directions via Google Maps online. And since results for Google Places are integrated with normal Google search engine results, a listing can also help with your search engine optimization (for instance, if someone uses less than accurate keywords on Google, there’s a chance your store will still come up on top thanks to the listing).

The best thing about getting a business listed on Google Places is that it is free. All you have to do is register online.

First, go to the Google Places websites. Choose the Get Started option and log in using your Google account. Create a separate account for the listing, in cause you’ll want to give others access to the account.

Next, input your business’ location and phone number. After this, you’ll be asked to put in more information about the establishment—from the name of the company, complete address, email address, and company description and category. It is important to fill this up completely and accurately, and this information will appear on the Google Places profile of the company later on.

Once submitted, you will have to verify the info (particularly, the address or the phone number) of the business you listed. Through verification (via phone call, text messaging, or postcard), you will receive a PIN. Sign in using Google account and go to Google.com/local/add/ (if you have not registered the listing using the account, the URL will not be active and instead ask you to add listing) and enter the PIN. Thus ends your Google Places listing process.

The listing will go live in a few days although Google Places says it only takes a day. So don’t worry if the listing doesn’t not go live after 24 hours.

A Google Places listing will make information about your establishment within easy reach of potential customers. The listing is also customisable with videos and photos and other business promos. In itself, it’s a great complimentary feature for any business.

If you’re looking for website promotion solutions in the Gold Coast, check out Ignition Media.

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How to Create a Custom WordPress Theme

Nowadays, many professional bloggers have turned to WordPress as their blogging platform due to the enormous availability of WordPress themes. If you have created your website with WordPress, why don’t you modify the elements on your site and come up with a professional looking custom WordPress theme?

The WordPress themes are available for free and these themes are being utilised by many site owners. To give your site a unique and professional look, it is highly advised to create a custom WordPress theme. The main advantage of having an incredibly dynamic professional looking site is that the viewers will repeatedly visit the site. Hence, increasing visitor traffic and increasing the conversion rate to your site.

If you want to create a custom WordPress theme based on your taste and preference then you must learn about HTML and CSS codes. Otherwise, you’ll have to look for theme generators online.  For those who want to build a deeper relationship with their respective website visitors, creating a forum or a discussion board where you can interact with each other is a good idea.

Other basic make-or-break features of a customised website include the font and the necessary SEO plug-ins. The font you choose will create a huge impact on how visitors will view your site. Keep your font readable so your visitors will enjoy reading your content. As for installing SEO elements, you can either get them free or paid. Either way, you can increase the likelihood of getting more people visit your site.

If you are doing an online business, consider what features will contribute to the profitability of your site. Remember, you only have one opportunity to get a first impression; therefore, you have to nail it. Remember, there is a growing rage of businesses going online, so you need to stay ahead of the competition. These simple tips will create maximum impact in terms of your website’s search engine visibility.

If you do not have any idea on how to customise your WordPress theme, consulting a theme designer is your best option. Doing so will eventually help you create a lucrative source of income through your online business. Now if you are looking for a unique custom WordPress theme, there are many Gold Coast web designing companies available to help you design your website. You can visit Ignition Media for a high-quality, unique theme for your site!

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How Can Article Marketing Help My Websites Ranking Performance

Article marketing is a form of advertising campaign wherein businesses publish articles concerning their respective industry. If you own a business, then this is a good way to promote your products and services. Here’s how article marketing can help boost your website ranking performance.

Content Writing

Content Writing is very helpful for striving businesses on the internet. The only concern, however, is the massive publication of articles with poor quality. Remember, the articles that you are going to publish will have a direct impact to your business. If your articles are well-written and very informative, they can boost your credibility and this reputation helps in increasing your website ranking. In addition, keywords are also vital in search engine optimisation. It allows readers to easily view relevant details concerning the particular information that they wish to obtain.  This is why you need to determine the keywords or keyword phrases that internet users utilise for their search. Make use of these word/phrases to direct genuinely interested readers to your content pieces.

Search Engine Optimisation

SEO helps strengthen your website’s online presence by dragging traffic onto it. Articles do not only contain a particular subject pertaining to your industry but they also contain the url that will direct readers to your website. Hence, by providing your contact details in the resource box you can draw maximum number of prospective clients towards your site. If your readers wish to learn more of your service, all they have to do is click the backlinks to your site thereby increasing your page rank.

Article Submission

Article submission is easy to do and requires little or no financial investment, giving people who have limited funds great opportunity for maximum exposure. To enjoy a great deal of exposure, it is important that you submit your articles to article publication websites. For a great advantage, submit your content pieces to websites that already have a superior ranking in the search engines. This way, your articles will have better chances of being viewed by internet users. You can also post helpful replies on forums that include a hyperlink to your site.

Article marketing can be lucrative if properly executed. Apparently, when you enjoy a great deal of exposure in the search engines, you will gain the trust and confidence of many internet users. SEO experts can properly plan and implement various steps required in article marketing that would help boost your website ranking. Contact Ignition Media to attain a top ranking website!

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How Adding a Video to Your Site Can Help to Sell Your Product/Service

Having a website rich with quality content is a sure way to attract visitors and increase your profitability in the process. Besides using the right keywords and creating a quality content, adding videos to your website pages also comes with numerous benefits.

Stimulates a Pleasant Visual Experience

Internet users can’t stand reading long texts and jumping between pages. Remember, website visitors know exactly what they want from your site and want to obtain it the easiest way possible. This is where videos play an essential role in your site. Besides, most of us would rather “see” something than “read” something, right?

Provides Solid Evidence

Not only does video provide pleasant visual experience to your visitors, it also provides solid evidence that your products and services really exist. By using videos, you can simply and directly show your customers how your products operate, provide tutorials, and highlight your promotions. You can even post testimonial videos from your satisfied clients as a proof of product quality and client satisfaction.  Simply put, videos clearly communicate the products and services you are offering whilst you build trust and confidence from the viewers.

Demonstrates Professionalism

If you are posting a high-quality video on your website, it can represent your company’s professionalism and values therefore taking your business to a higher level. Video advertising, like what we see on television, has always been effective in communicating to the viewers. So when videos are added to your website, it becomes much easier and more effective for you to convey your message or educate potential customers about the products or services you are offering. Videos are particularly useful for websites offering tutorials.

Improve Search Engine Ranking

When it comes to incorporating a video to a website, there are certain rules to follow for video search engine optimisation. The title, tags and description should contain the main keywords of your site to give the spiders relevant information to crawl. With the right video SEO knowledge, your video can drive huge traffic to your site and eventually increase your sales.

Videos with keywords-rich descriptions can help boost your visibility in the search engines. If you don’t know how to perform keyword analysis yourself, people will not be able to find your video online.  But don’t despair. Contact Ignition Media if you want to make sure that search engines will be able to locate your video.

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General Costs of a CMS Website

How much would it cost you to have a CMS website?

The answer, of course, is from none to thousands of dollars. At the very least, a website powered by a content management system is free. You can get free website hosting, use WordPress as your CMS and WordPress plugins for website add-ons and features—and you already have a running website.

However, if you want something more professional (or if you want to have a website made), it will cost you. The actual cost will differ depending on one thing: what you want your website to do. Here are a few factors that can dictate the price or costs of a CMS website:

• What you need. The cost of the littlest factors such as domain name and hosting to the more important elements such as the e-commerce system of a site depend on one thing: what you need the site to do.

For instance, the web space or hosting. Web space that would support a website with a complex eco-system (a bidding website, for instance) could cost hundreds to even thousands of dollars a year. A simple corporate site? Space for it may not even cost more than a hundred. Using a dot net over a dot com could change the cost of a website.

• What it has to do. What is the purpose of site? What you want the website to do, obviously, will dictate what functions you need from the website. In turn, these functions will require or may require technologies that may or may not cost money. For instance, if you’re a shopping website, you will need an e-commerce system.
  

• Free or paid? Which brings us to the next factor: will you use a free service for that website application or will you pay for it?
  

A good example here are, again, e-commerce systems for the WordPress CMS. A system such as PHPurchase costs around 50 US dollars. The WP e-commerce system plugin? Absolutely free. Here, you decide which will fit the needs of your website—which is an entirely different things altogether.

Complex websites with custom applications (read: no use of free plugins and bespoke CMS, for instance) can cost up to 50,000 AUD—and above. However, this is already at the higher end of the spectrum.

If you want reliable website development and designing services, contact the Gold Coast CMS website professionals at Ignition Media now and get a quote for your website needs.

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Freelancers versus Website Design Companies: Pros and Cons

Besides the actual skill and ability of the designer, one may consider when planning on having a website developed is whether to choose a freelance designer or a design company.

Freelancers

The actual definition of a freelancer is someone who offers services to an employer without any long-term obligation. A freelance designer works within that same conceit. Usually, a freelancer design is not connected to any company and does the design services directly for a client.

Obviously, the edge of freelancers over design companies is their price. Freelancers can offer services for a lower price because they do not have any overhead expenses. Their clients, therefore, merely pay for the actual designing job and any other additional services rendered

By getting a freelancer, the client can also expect a more personalised service.

But a freelancer cannot guarantee top notch service. This isn’t to belittle the skills of freelancers, as a freelancer can be as good as a design from a design company or firm. However, a freelance works for himself. When the client is not satisfied with the design, he has no one else to report it to. He is left with the freelancer, so the process can be a bit of a hit or miss

There’s also the matter of equipment and software. Is the freelancer up to date with the latest designing technologies and techniques?

In short, freelancers can offer a more personal type of service for less the cost, but with no guarantee of quality assurance.

Website Design companies

Website design companies, on the other hand, can offer a standardised service. This is because, most of the time, the product they create is checked and approved before it is delivered to a client. The company has a name to uphold, after all, so they make sure everything they give to the client is top notch. Otherwise, they’ll have to redo it again, which will mean lost revenue opportunity.

Design companies also make sure they use the latest technologies and techniques. And since they can afford it, acquiring them won’t be a problem. These companies make sure they offer all possible options to attract clients. For the clients, this means their site will be made using the best tools.

On the downside, design companies charge more. This is because more people are involved in the creation and development of very single website.

Ignition Media is a website design and programming company that offers the best services on the Gold Coast. Contact a professional Gold Coast website designer at Ignition Media today to inquire about their services.

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Creating a Custom Landing Page in Facebook using ‘Static HTML’ Application

A Facebook landing page is the page you use on the welcome tab of a group or “like” on this social media network. It cannot be placed on an ordinary profile, needless to say. It’s the first thing you see when you go to a business Facebook page.

It’s important to have a landing page on Facebook because it helps give a good first impression. Unlike the timeline wherein the content moves depending on what you and your followers post, the landing page is static. It’s also a good opportunity to show what your page can offer. Will you offer discounts to your Facebook followers, for instance? Or do you simply want to present the URL on your site what it offers on the page? Basically, you have the landing page to do this.

To create a landing plage, go the Static HTML application on Facebook and add it (just search for it on the search box). Of course, it goes with saying that you need to be a moderator of a page before you can add the application.

Once you’ve added it, you can go to your page and look for the button that will prompt you to add a landing page. When you press this, a prompt will make you choose what page you want the landing page on. After this, you add the landing page.

Now, creating the actual content of the landing page is a bit more complicated. But once you have the actual content on HTML codes, put them on the code boxes. There are two boxes there. If you leave the second one empty, non-fans will see your landing page. If not, only fans will see it. Basically, you put basically the same codes on the boxes.

Of course, you have to make sure that the landing page will be effective in helping you attain your goal (whether to facilitate a sale or to increase your site’s traffic). Make sure the landing page suggests a basic ad direct to the point action (for instance, suggest the visitor to like your Facebook page, among others). It should also have captivating content—images is the best choice here as it instant attracts attention.

Offering incentives via the landing page (if applicable) is a good plan too.

If you’re looking for social media designers for your Facebook landing page, check out Ignition Media portfolio. Ignition Media offers website and graphic design services.

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Campaign Monitor vs MailChimp: What Email Marketing System is Better?

Although email marketing has become less a priority or online merchants and entrepreneurs, it hasn’t exactly become useless. While people consume more of their time online at social media sites, they still do check their emails regularly.

Point is: there are still eyeballs on emails—and it’s best to exploit this opportunity to get maximum income.

An email marketing system is essentially the application that handles this technique. Basically, it sends bulk emails to the marketer’s audience (some systems allow the sending of emails to unsolicited audiences). Besides that, the system also provides the marketer with the tools to check if the email campaign is working and the flexibility to customise email templates, among others.

Two of the more popular email marketing systems are Campaign Monitor and MailChimp? Which one is the better choice?

Bar none, Campaign Monitor is one of the most used marketing systems today. It has unlimited picture hosting and has flexible pricing options (you can buy according to contact count or according to email sent).

With Google Analytics integration and built-in tools for user statistics, a marketer can easily get information on the number of clicks, forwards, and spam reports an email gets. This is important because, as a marketer, you need to know what works and what doesn’t. Campaign Monitor allows for a customised spreadsheet for file export.

It also has a very responsive 24-hour email customer support service and good pricing options.

On the downside, it’s options for email creation is a bit more complicated as it involves HTML editing. Although this means the template can be altered and manipulated flexibly according to your needs, it will require HTML knowledge.

MailChimp offers pretty much the same features as Campaign Monitor. It’s main edge over Campaign Monitor? The easy to use features. The templates, for instance, can be slightly edited using the Delivery Doctor feature.

However, this is also a disadvantage, as easy to use here means less power. It also has less flexible payments options and less manageable contact organisation features.

Basically, Campaign Monitor is used by more marketers with experience and those who require more from their email marketing campaigns. Beginners can use MailChimp because it is easy, but they’ll surely outgrow it easily.

Are you looking to integrate email marketing into your website’s business operations? Contact Ignition Media now to know how their professional web developers can improve your website’s marketing strategies today.

Posted in Email Marketing, Website Promotion | No Comments | Posted by admin

Best Social Media Plugins for your WordPress Website

Social media has become an important part of the internet life. So, it goes without saying, your website has to heavily integrate social media in its system to further engage visitors and get more views into your pages.

WordPress has a number of social media plugins for such purpose. Here are some of the best plugins that can make your WordPress website into an amazing social media hub:

1. ShareBar—This is a social media sharing button that offers one amazing feature: it allows you to customize your button list. You can add various social media accounts into the like area (which is, literally, a share bar on your website). This is good for its expansion potential and its convenience (only on plugin for various social media networks!).

2. Facebook Comments for WordPress—A plugin that allows visitors to comments on your site using their Facebook accounts. This works two ways: a visitor will no longer have to do a separate log in on your site and the comments can appear on the commenter’s Facebook page.

3. ShareThis—Easily among the most popular social media sharing plugins available, ShareThis is a good choice because it is unobtrusive and highly customizable in terms of function (for instance, you can choose whether you share content per page or per post) and appearance.

4. Smart Youtube—This plugin allows you to post and embed YouTube videos on your website easily, allowing you to have more consistent look on how the videos appear on your site.

5.  Social Metrics—Basically, this will allow you to check up on how your pages are doing in terms of social media shares; a good tool to have if you have integrated a lot of social media formats on your website.

6. BuddyPress—A pluggin that will allow users to create a user account for your site (basically, if you want your visitors to register in order to gain access to some or all of your website features). This is a good tool if you want your visitors to interact with each other via commenting and messaging, among others.

7. Bookmark Me—A popular social media bookmarking plugin that is available in several languages.

Obviously, there are more social plugins available for your WordPress website. Feel free to check it out to know what your website would need.

And feel free to contact Ignition Media for your social media website integrations needs, as well as for website design and web development services.

Posted in Social Media | No Comments | Posted by admin

Advertising a Website Beyond Search Engines – What Are The Options

Let’s say search engines didn’t exist. Do you think there are other ways to make your website known to the public? Of course! Internet advertising can include various methods and strategies to make your site known to many, particularly to your target audience. Here are some of your options to advertise your website beyond search engines.

Social Media

The latest fad in social media has taken the internet by storm. Social networking keeps everyone active, making it a good channel for promoting your website. With social networking, people are encouraged to interact with each other. Hence, making your website the main topic for conversation is a great way to introduce to your contacts not only your site but also the products and services you are offering. In general, social media can help promote your site by generating awareness, producing links, and sending direct traffic to your site.

Email Marketing

Email has always been an effective medium for online communication. It is also an essential way to invite users to your site sans spamming. You can either publish an email newsletter or install a “signature” in your email program. Newsletters are an excellent way to keep in touch with your prospective clients, generate trust, develop brand awareness and create future business. Meanwhile, including signature into your email program is an effective technique for making your website known to your email recipients.

Online Banner Advertising

Alluring and intriguing banners are sure to catch one’s attention. Search for relevant websites and blogs and contact them for a banner exchange. Besides, you can also suggest for a link exchange deal. This is an excellent opportunity to improve website traffic and boost brand recognition.

Issue News Releases

Sending news releases to both print and web periodicals is a great way to enjoy long term exposure. Thus, providing your website’s URL in the new copies will improve link popularity and increase traffic to your site.

Video Marketing

The growing popularity of YouTube has brought a new meaning to video marketing. Through videos, you are able to advertise your website in a more humane manner. Aside from promoting your website, video marketing is also about making your products and services visible to your prospect clients.

These are only few of the many online advertising options you have besides search engines. If you want to get your website noticed in various techniques, a good SEO company like Ignition Media can help you achieve your desired traffic!

Posted in Social Media, Website Promotion | No Comments | Posted by admin