If you’re a business owner who has already invested in a professionally-built responsive website, you may be wondering if it’s necessary to put down more money into a mobile app. About half of the traffic on search engines comes from mobile devices, but a well-designed responsive website can already serve mobile as well as desktop traffic. So what’s the point of adding a mobile app to the mix? Being optimized for mobile devices and more quickly accessible in just a single tap, mobile apps can make many interactions easier, quicker, and more convenient for customers as opposed to a website. Here are a few compelling reasons you might want to invest in a mobile app even if your business already has a well-designed responsive website.

Building Brand Awareness

An app will play a significant role in building brand awareness. With icons occupying prime real estate on people’s phone screens, an app acts as a billboard. This makes it easy for people to know what your app is all about before even opening it, unlike a website that must be accessed through a browser. You will improve your brand recognition if you can proceed and get an app. And as all marketers know, when people get to know you quickly, they will tend to do business with you more easily.

Improving Customer Engagement

Once a potential customer installs an app, you will be free to send notifications and even get personal data from the customer. It is unlike running a website where it can be hard to get into details with the customer. Imagine you’re a restaurant owner. Instead of requiring customers to visit your website then call to book a table, you can easily make the booking process available online with a few taps. While web apps can also accomplish this, a mobile app will be more easily accessible and better optimized for mobile devices. Your customers will prefer the quicker and easier option!

Beating the competition

Your competitors may still be relying on their websites to handle all of their online interactions with customers. With a mobile app, you can potentially introduce something different and make your business stand out. When your services are available on an app, you will take advantage of potential customers who are ready to get your services online quickly without having to open their browsers and navigate to your domain. Because of this, many business owners who opt for apps on top of their existing websites find it easy to realize the best return on investment.

Cultivating Customer Loyalty

Most business owners are running all sorts of advertisements out there. You need to look for a way to keep the customers you get and turn them into repeat customers so those competitor ads don’t lure them away. An app allows the creation of special offers that you can then send to potential customers as exclusive deals. It is easy for the customers to get coupons and apply them to the app, making them develop some form of brand loyalty. Making customers prefer your brand over others can make your business grow quickly.

Improving visibility

An app can hold a very prominent place on a smartphone’s user interface. People spend a lot of time on their phones, and an app icon will be immediately visible to them anytime they open their phone screens. This makes it easy to improve your visibility if you can get as many interested buyers to install your app as possible, and those interested buyers will readily do business with you if they can easily access your services.

Creating a More Direct Marketing Channel

Like a website, an app can provide general information about your brand. Customers can use it to find prices, search for other services you offer, and access other features. If you want to introduce new features, you can release app updates that will be available instantly to potential customers. Unlike a website, however, an app makes it easy to market services directly to your customers. Whereas websites tend to be impersonal and informational, apps can more easily facilitate personalized interactions between customers and brands.

We hope this article has made you re-think the relationship between mobile apps and responsive websites. It’s not always a one-or-the-other situation; they can both be valuable parts of a robust digital marketing strategy.

Last month, we took a look at two of the four types of traffic your site should accommodate. We covered organic search traffic as well as paid search traffic, two sources that rely on your site to have a strong presence in search engine results. Today, we’ll be covering the two traffic sources that have nothing to do with search engines: referrals and direct traffic. Like we mentioned before, each traffic source requires different design techniques to generate the optimal results. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some ways you can design your site with referrals and direct visitors in mind.

Referrals

These are visitors that got to your site from a link on another web page. They were, in essence, referred to your content by another web site. What would make other sites more likely to refer their visitors over to your site and generate more traffic for you? How do you make sure referred visitors find your site relevant enough to stay and not simply bounce back to the site they were on?

The best answer to both of these questions is to pack your site full of engaging, useful, shareable content. If other site owners think their audience will find your content useful, they’ll want to share it to increase engagement with their own audience. Interesting or enlightening blog articles, well-made infographics, software or design asset packs, and other unique assets make for great content to link to. The more unique, one-of-a kind assets your site has, the better.

Direct Traffic

Finally, we have direct traffic: any visitors that reach your site by directly typing a url into their browser’s address bar. These are often visitors already familiar with your site, but keep in mind that urls can spread through word-of-mouth. In both instances, more visitors will be inclined to reach your site if it has simple, clean urls that make sense and are easy to remember.

The first step to memorable urls is to choose a domain that makes sense for your brand. The closer your domain is to your actual brand name, the easier it will be for potential visitors to remember it. For example, say you have a brand called “Peppermint Bark Dog Biscuits”. You’d want your domain to be “peppermintbark.com” so that anyone can find you online, even after only knowing your brand name. It can sometimes be impossible to get the exact domain you want, however, so something close like “barkdogbiscuits.com” would also work nicely.

All of your individual pages’ url slugs should also make sense and contain simple words separated by hyphens. Try to avoid numbers, symbols, and other things that would make your url slugs unintelligible and difficult to type out. Going back to our dog biscuits example, if you have a page dedicated to your dog biscuit flavors, your url slug should be something simple like “peppermintbark.com/flavors” or “peppermintbark.com/biscuits”. The same goes for any blog articles or other pieces of content your site has—make sure your urls are as easy to type as possible, and you’ll be more likely to get those direct traffic visitors.

That’s all of the web traffic types we have to cover. We’ve gone over organic search, paid search, referred, and direct traffic sources, as well as some techniques you can use to design your site with all of these visitors in mind. Web design can be a real challenge with innumerable things to keep track of. If you feel like you don’t want to go it alone, remember that you can always contact a professional team of web designers like the one at tekRESCUE. We’ll use all of our knowledge and experience to drive as much traffic to your site as we can!

Does it matter where we come from to get to where we are today? When it comes to visitors to your website, the answer is a resounding “yes.” A website is like a storefront in a busy downtown intersection—each visitor could have used any number of roads to get there. As the owner of this storefront, you’d want to bring in as many visitors as possible, from as many roads as possible. On the web, however, it takes different design techniques to drive different types traffic, and if you haven’t been designing with each traffic source in mind, you may be missing out on all sorts of visitors.

Today, we’ll be going over these types of web traffic and offering some tips you can use to better design your site to generate as much traffic as possible of every kind.

Organic Search Traffic

The first type of web traffic we’ll be looking at is organic search traffic. These are visitors that entered keywords into a search engine and clicked on your site in the search results. If you want to design your site to drive as much organic search traffic as possible, this is where search engine optimization (SEO) techniques come into play. Your focus should be on telling search engines what your site is about, and convincing them that your site is a relevant source of information for that topic.

You can give search engines an idea of what your site is about by choosing the right keywords and having those keywords appear in the right places. This includes page titles and headers, meta tags such as title and description, image alt attributes, and simply in the flow of your paragraphs. As we discussed in a previous article, quality content remains the best way to convince search engines that your site is a relevant, credible information source.

The biggest design challenge here is to design for search engines without sacrificing your goals of designing for human visitors. A site stuffed to death with keywords may generate a lot of search traffic, but no visitor will stick around long if the site isn’t designed first and foremost with people in mind. Incorporating your keywords in a way that feels natural and organizing your site’s content clearly will appeal to both the bots and the humans.

If you want to learn more about SEO in-depth, check out some of our other articles on this topic. We’ve covered it pretty extensively on this blog.

Paid Search Traffic

The second type of web traffic on our list is paid search traffic. Organic search traffic gets its name because it happens automatically: a search engine recognizes your site as relevant to someone’s search and feeds it to them on its own accord. Paid search traffic, however, comes into play when you pay for an ad to run on a search engine.

Ads can be very effective, as they usually appear at the top of search results and make your site very visible. This doesn’t guarantee traffic on its own though. To optimize the amount of traffic you get out of a search ad, your best bet is to design your ad with attractive copy that will draw visitors in and convince them your site really is relevant to their search.

An effective paid search campaign doesn’t end with the ad, however—the page that visitors end up on when they click your ad is equally important. Your goal is to lower bounce rates, or the rate at which visitors leave quickly after making it to your site. Designing an attractive, well-written, easy to navigate landing page is a great way to keep these bounce rates low and draw in new visitors from a search ad campaign.

That’s all we have time for today, but these are only half of the web traffic sources we want to cover. Come back next month to read part two, where we’ll be going over referrals and direct traffic!

When making your website is an important but difficult task, this infographic is designed to guide you through all the steps of picking a color.

COLOR SCHEMES

ANALOGOUS

This color scheme is very relaxing because it uses colors that are very similar to each other. An example of this is sky blue, teal, and sea green. This type of color scheme is best for websites displaying calm images.

COMPLEMENTARY

Complementary colors are colors that are exact opposites of each other. When placed together the colors stand out. Complementary colors are not recommended for the overall theme of a website, but using the compliment of the main color is very useful to emphasize important parts
of the website.

MONOCHROMATIC

A monochromatic color scheme is actually a scheme made up of just one color. It is made by using lighter and darker versions single color. This scheme is really useful for bringing out important parts of your website, like titles, navigation, links, etc.

TRIADIC

This color scheme uses the power of three, each color is in equal distance apart from the other two, on the color wheel they make a perfect triangle. You could use one color for the background
and the other two for content and highlighted areas.

SATURATION

Saturation is the strength of a color, low saturation makes a color more dull, while high saturation makes a color more vibrant.

CONTRAST

Contrast is the difference in strength between two colors, and the larger the difference in strength between colors the more contrast they will have. on the flip side, colors that are similar in strength will have very low contrast.

WHO ARE YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Surprisingly, different colors appeal to different audiences.
So, it is important to choose colors that appeal and attract the right customers.

COLORBLINDNESS AND BAD EYESIGHT:It is important to remember not everyone can see perfectly, even though your company may not cater specifically to people with bad eyesight, it is very likely that you will have customers with these problems. The best way to make your website visible for all audiences, is to have proper contrast in your color scheme.

Men typically like neutral colors as well as bold colors. (i.e. black, white, red, grey, brown, green). If your company caters to men it is best to avoid pastel colors, and vibrant colors like yellow, purple, pink, and orange. Women prefer websites with brighter colors such as blue, green, and purple.

It is also important for your colors match your products and/or company. If your company sells athletic gear it would be best to choose more sporty colors such as grey, red, and navy blue. Similarly, if you have a floral design company it would be best to choose colors such as pink, green, white and other floral colors.

DO’S AND DONT’S

DO’S

Chose colors with your customers and your brand in mind. Make sure the colors make it easy to read the information on your webpage. Also, make sure the colors match your product.

DONT’S

Don’t choose colors that are too similar to each other this is the easiest was to make words very difficult to read. Also, try not to choose colors that are too different from your company’s brand, black and red wouldn’t suit a Florist’s company, but it would be perfect for an athletic clothing brand.

A well-designed website can be one of the most important parts of any business success in our modern information age. More often than not, a potential customer is going to have their first impression of your company digitally. It is even more crucial to have a well-designed website when you are selling products online. Heat mapping is a tool that will help you determine which parts of your website are effective and which ones are less effective. Here are four ways you can use heat mapping to optimize your website’s conversion rate.

Understanding Heat Mapping

Heat mapping is a tool that has come in very handy for online businesses. This tool shows you which parts of your site are being clicked on the most. Free Analytics services like Google Analytics will usually have a heat map option available for you to look at. These heat maps come with a guide that tells you which parts of your site are being clicked on the most. This is very important when you are working on designing an effective home page. You will be able to see which of your promotions you are running on your home page are working the best.

Target the Areas of Your Website that are Not Doing Well

In business, when you discover something that works well for you it is important to stick with it. Before heat maps, this was difficult to do when it came to your web design. However, now you can determine which buttons, promotions, banners, and other design elements are helping your business to grow most effectively. You will then be able to design the rest of your site around the proven methods that have worked in the past. Heat mapping technology can also be a great way to gauge if new changes you are making to your site are effective or not. This tool will also help you to narrow down the problem areas of your site that need work. You will be able to pinpoint areas of your site that are not helping you in your sales funnel process. Heat mapping technology can allow you to also see if the changes you are making to your site are effective in remedying these problem areas.

Focus on Key Elements of Your Site that are Helping You Make the Most Sales

Just like a great salesman in your organization, your website can be a revenue generating machine. There are certain elements of a successful e-commerce site that just work. Heat mapping technology will help you find the elements of your site that are helping you make the most sales. If you are ever looking to branch out and make a new website, you will be able to use a heat map of your current site as a formula for your new success.

Determine Which Page on Your Website Should be Your Landing Page

If you have a page that is currently helping you make the majority of your sales, you will want to make this your landing page. You will be able to use heat mapping to determine exactly which elements should show up to a user after they have clicked on your ad.

If you’re interested in learning more about heat mapping and increasing business on your website, contact tekRESCUE in San Marcos, TX.

What is a UX designer, and what do they do? UX stands for User Experience and a UX designer is a person who provides the aesthetic design and function of your website. They are responsible for the look and the way a website “flows.” There are a few key points a successful UX designer will keep in mind when designing a website, the main one being pleasure from use. Pleasure from using a website is triggered by key elements within the sites operation. If a visitor enjoys a website, they are likely to return. It’s through small psychological nuances that make up an effective UX design. These nuances are:

Demand

Creating demand for your products or services is simple; your design should reflect that the item or service in question will end soon. Because of its low availability, people automatically attribute value to it. In the mind of the visitor, this design choice tells them that because enough people have used or purchased something until it became unavailable, then that thing must retain significant value.

Group-Think

Group-Think is a very interesting psychological process. People do what others do. If a considerable percentage of a group believes that a particular item is the best or most efficient, the remaining majority will believe it as well. To apply this to your design, simply install positive ratings or testimonials to let new visitors know that previous visitors approve of your product or service.

Reciprocated Trading

Reciprocated Trading in your design is the act of giving something useful to your visitors. This makes them feel obligated to give something in return. This reciprocation can be influenced by your UX design to have the visitor react in a way that is beneficial to you. To apply this nuance to your website, try offering something that fits the niche of your site, like lowered prices or free shipping.

Contrast

The science of contrast is easy to understand. If something is drastically different from the majority of your site, the visitor is more likely to notice it. Things such as a red button on a green website, or even a sudden change in font are effective examples of a contrasting UX design. Use the science of contrast to gain your visitors attention for sign-ups and other deals.

Framing

Where something is can affect your visitors. By associating an item or service’s value by its location, you can generate usage or sales by where your visitor sees it on your site. For example, imagine you have six service packages with varying prices lined from left to right with the lowest price on the far left and the most expensive on the far right. If the middle is highlighted, visitors are most likely to choose that option.

Prominence

Prominence in your design is choosing the moment to provide offers or sales to a visitor. By choosing when an item is the most prominent in your design, you can influence upsells for a particular item or service. Examples of prominence are pop up ads after a customer check outs or a recommended items section.

Since the dawn of the computer era, user preference has been a big deal. Maybe not in the very beginning because there was very little competition. However, since graphic user interfaces hit the market in 1984, computer popularity began to skyrocket. A year after Apple Macintosh released the first GUI computer, Microsoft debuted their own version of user interface experiences in the last fiscal quarter of 1985. Now that we have established the GUI masterminds, let’s look at the pros and cons of user experience. Here is where the controversy comes in!

So, whether if you’re a Mac user or Windows user, you definitely have an opinion about the one you’re not using. Polls, statistics, and other researched data place Windows at the top of every list. Some will argue that it is due to their expansive strategy, making it more available to the public. Windows is known in the technical community as an ‘All-arounder’ being that it has extensive compatibility with third-party hardware and software. Mac users get the luxury of exclusiveness and one of a kind machines. Is this a good thing? It’s time to take it to the ring and let the pros and cons of Apple and Windows duke it out!

The Ups and Downs of Apple

Apple’s reputation is a matter of subjective opinion and comes with positives and negatives, as with any other product. Studies show that Mac users are happy with their system and consider it a
lifestyle choice.

Pros:
As with any product, there will always be pros and cons to consider before making a purchase. Computers are no exceptions. How well does Apple fair?

• Macs come preloaded with software known as Bootcamp. Bootcamp allows Mac users to dual boot, either booting to an OS X or to a Windows OS.
• Tailored software that is designed to work efficiently on Apple machines.
• Preloaded software doesn’t contain bloatware that slows the PC down.

Cons:
Surely, with all the greatness, Apple has some kind of shortcoming that makes it appear less desirable. Let’s see what they are.

• Limited upgradability. Apple machines have minimum upgrade options, leaving power users who require upgrades, empty-handed.
• Shortage of certified resellers and repair technicians. Apple unlike PC does not have contracts with tons of outlets—offering repairs to their machines. Chances are you will have to visit the closest Apple store, wherever that may be. Apple stores are unique and cater only to Apple products. With this being the case, Apple also limits the number of stores they have available to the public, turning repairs into a hassle if you do not live near a large city.
• Poor backwards compatibility. Apple machines can support newer OS X’s but some features may not be available for older Mac users. Apple users are forced to upgrade their machines in order to take advantage of newer software and OS.

Getting into PC Business

In the world of the digital era, when you ask someone what type of computer they are using, 90 percent of them will respond with a Microsoft Windows computer. This doesn’t mean PCs are better than Macs. What this means is that Windows has more accessibility than Apple. There are greater means of exposure for Microsoft products. This is related to the partnerships and contracts they hold with other manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, HP, and Toshiba just to name a few. So, how does Windows stack up against Apple?

Pros:
Available in nearly every city, PC users take advantage of how easy they are to obtain for the general masses. So what makes PCs so great?

• Maximum interchangeability. PCs are known for the ability to upgrade, upgrade, and upgrade. Every component on the PC can be replaced or upgrade with very little struggle. This is a result of the numerous companies that have access to product PC parts and software outside of Microsoft’s thumb.
• Repair shops are everywhere. Window users can stop by a wide-range of stores to get repairs and gadgets.
• Compatible with the past. One of the most notable features of PCs that chump Macs is the ability for outdated PCs to support newer operating systems as well as newer PCs supporting forgotten software. Unlike Mac where older models lose features when upgrading to a new OS, PCs rarely experience this problem and upgrading between Windows is seamless and painless.

Cons:
Where is Microsoft PCs dropping the ball?

• Poor resale value. Unlike Apple products, which hold their resale value for years, PCs lose their value quickly.
• Bloatware slows down brand new PCs. Window computers are packed full of third party software known as bloatware. These ‘added bonuses’ do more harm to the computer than not having them. It causes the PC to slow down and reduces the performance of the PC.
• Unfriendly user interface. Apple prides itself on ‘ease of use’ and is committed to making the user experience as simple as possible. PCs while to most seem straight forward are not as user-friendly. Once again this falls under a matter of preference.

The Final Consensus

Whether if you are PC user or a Mac fanatic, both come with a reasonable list of pros and cons. There are no right or wrong reasons to purchase one over the other. It all boils down to a matter of preference. Each PC and Apple computer have their key features to attract certain users. Make a wise decision when choosing your next computer system by doing a little research. Do not make ill-informed purchases!

A “responsive” website is one that rearranges itself to display optimally on any device or screen size. Since 2013, phone use rose by 78% while desktop use fell by 10%. Because of this, it is very important for businesses to keep up with the internet trend and make their site mobile responsive. The average person spends 20% of their day on their smartphone, which is about 2.8 hours a day!

Google uses mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal that affects all mobile searches worldwide so that users find it easier to get high quality results optimized for their devices. Also, 70% of mobile searches lead to action within one hour while it takes nearly a full month for the same percentage for desktop users to catch up.

Some of the additional benefits of having a mobile responsive site are:

• Saves time
• Save money
• Wider Browser Support
• Improves SEO
• All pages available on every device
• No need to zoom on smaller devices
• One URL, One Code, All Devices