Red Kite Creative

website redesign

Weekly Links Roundup – 2018 Marketing Statistics, Blogging Benefits, Website Redesigns

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The top website and online marketing links of the week.

Are you a stats person? This is just for you! Here is HubSpot’s ultimate list of marketing statistics for 2018 – enjoy! Some of the standouts for me include:

  • 84% of people will not make a purchase if they are dealing with an unsecured website. (Blue Corona, 2018). What this means: you need an SSL certificate for your site if you don’t already have one.
  • 70-80% of search engine users are only focusing on the organic results. (MarTech, 2018). What this means: the majority of searchers ignore the paid results on search results pages.
  • B2B companies that blogged 11+ times per month had almost three times more traffic than those blogging 0-1 times per month. (HubSpot, 2015). What this means: you need to pay more attention to your blog.
  • 11 a.m. ET has the highest clickthrough rate for email sends. (HubSpot, 2015). What this means: your email platform likely offers you the choice of when to send out your mails or newsletters, so take advantage of that.

And a logical next item: see 5 reasons why fresh content is crucial for SEO. That means regular blog posts or other additions of high-quality content on a consistent basis. Google likes regular updates, and regular updates make search bots visit your site more frequently. More frequent visits can lead to ranking improvements, as long as the new content is high in quality.

How can you tell if you need a website redesign? A few key things that say “yes, you could benefit from a redesign” include:

  • Your site is not mobile friendly (this will impact your search rankings).
  • Your site is older than 3 years, and may be looking dated.
  • Your site isn’t converting well (people aren’t contacting you or buying or signing up the way you want them to).
  • Your site doesn’t have the features you need anymore as your business has changed.
  • Your site doesn’t reflect your current business identity or brand.

When you’re ready to chat about a redesign, please get in touch. Red Kite is here for you!

Did you find this information useful? Please share with your friends and colleagues! And comment below with questions or observations.

Friday Link Wrapup – Resigns and SEO, Calls to Action, Email Templates

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The top website and marketing links for this week.

Your site may be outdated.  It may no longer provide a great experience for users or you may have noticed conversions are decreasing. If you’re at the point where you’re seriously considering a website redesign, you probably already know that the risk of wiping out some of your SEO efforts is a real possibility. Learn how to do that redesign without damaging your SEO.

Speaking of redesigns… they provide an excellent opportunity to reconsider – or beef up – your calls-to-action. Here’s a nice collection of 30 good call-to-action examples for inspiration.

Let’s just continue with this theme… if you have an email newsletter for your business, when’s the last time you took a look at it from the perspective of your readers? Here are some simple ideas to update your email design to make it more interesting and engaging.

And finally, one more from Constant Contact… a quick guide to adding some variety to your usual email template for holidays, special sales, or other notable departures from your typical newsletter.

Things to Consider When Doing a Website Redesign

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Red Kite 2014 and 2016 screenshotsI just recently launched the fifth website redesign of Red Kite since starting out in 2005 – actually it was overdue, but as most small-studio web developers will tell you they rarely have time to spend on their own sites. I took a week during Christmas to do most of the work and have been putting the finishing touches on it since then.

There are a lot of things that go into a successful website redesign – probably a lot more than you think. It’s a big project, but here a few things to keep in mind if you’re ready to take it on.

Here are a few things to consider when you next do a website redesign

  • What three things about the old design would you change right now if you had a magic wand? This is a good place to start.
  • Do a thorough content review – what stays, what goes, what needs to be added, and what needs to be revised.
  • If you weren’t getting found in search results before, a redesign alone won’t help. Get help with search engine optimization early on while you’re working through your content review.
  • See what your competitors are doing – do they have useful, relevant features that would also work for your audience?
  • If you’re making your first mobile-friendly site, realize that it won’t look the same as your desktop site, but that’s okay. Really.
  • Now is the time to carefully consider some of those features you always wanted but never had time to implement – if they work for your audience.
  • If you’re moving to a CMS (content management system) for the first time, or switching from a different CMS, remember to include time for training.
  • Make sure any pages that have been removed, moved or changed names receive a 301 redirect so Google can find them.
  • Event with 301 redirects you may see a small drop in SEO results at launch time. This is normal and temporary.
  • If your site is in WordPress, don’t forget to turn off the ‘don’t index in search engines’ feature when you launch!

How often should you be reworking the look and feel of your site?

In general, I’d suggest every 2-4 years, or more often in the following cases:

  • Your site’s not mobile-friendly (this is a big reason for a makeover now).
  • Your site is just not working – it’s dysfunctional or has too many problems with usability.
  • The audience for your product or service changes.
  • The purpose of your site changes.
  • Your site looks dated.
  • You’re not keeping up with competitors who are now outranking you.

If you need help exploring a website makeover and what’s involved, contact Red Kite.

Friday Link Wrapup – Hiring a VA, Membership Site SEO, Website Redesign

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The top website and marketing links for this week.

Too much to do, not enough time? If you own your own business, this is you.

Ever thought about hiring a virtual assistant (VA) but weren’t sure you could keep them busy? Here’s a list of all the things you might consider outsourcing to a VA.

If you run (or are thinking about starting) a membership site where premium content is behind a paywall, check out these tips on membership site SEO.

And finally… as 2016 approaches you may be like me, where you do some serious business analysis at the end of the year. If your website’s look is one of those things you’re thinking about, read this list of good reasons for a website redesign. It may be time!