• FAQs

          Search engine optimization (SEO) helps businesses drive visits to their website through organic search traffic. Given that the top organic search results receive a third of the clicks, a decline in ranking could be detrimental for your business. Implementing SEO best practices on your website will help to ensure that your web content is seen by as many potential customers as possible. The more visitors you have, the better your chances are of converting those visits into sales!

          Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps local businesses gain visibility by optimizing their local business listings for local search. A business that leverages local SEO will include its address, phone number, local opening times, and exact location in the form of a local citation. The goal is to rank for local searches which are usually performed by people in a specific geographical region looking for a business near them.

          We typically see results within the first 30 to 60 days, but when it comes to SEO, there are many factors at play. It's important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy and results may not come as fast at you wish.

        • FAQs

          Digital advertising uses the internet to send advertisements to customers who are online through different websites and social media platforms like Google, Bing, LinkedIn and Facebook.

          The price for Google Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

          The price for Social Media Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

        • FAQs

          This depends on the complexity and size of a redesign and if eCommerce is needed. On average, it takes around 14-18 weeks from the web design intensive stage to launch.

          If your website experiences the following issues: it’s not responsive on all devices, has a slow loading speed, the design appears old and tired, users don’t spend long on the site, sales are stagnant, or your business is going through a rebranding - your website needs a redesign to boost your brand awareness and sales.

          Sometimes there’s no need to rebuild a website. Minor edits, refreshing page content and images, or restructuring page layout for SEO best practices can boost traffic and sales.

        • FAQs

          Semantic search launched in 2013 with the release of Google's Hummingbird update. Since then, Google's search engine has become more complex. The integration of machine learning, with RankBrain, and NLP, with BERT, has enabled the search engine to better understand the context of a query and deliver more personalized and targeted results. Semantic SEO is the process of creating machine-readable content using structured data and linked open data to help search engines better understand your content.

          On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page SEO refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals. From meta tags to page content, website structure, and HTML, on-page optimization services are focused on making your website more visible to search engines.

          Structured data refers to any organized data that conforms to a certain format, such as information in a relational database. When information is highly structured and predictable, search engines can more easily organize and display it in creative ways. Structured data involves using a piece of code that is laid out in a specific format easily understood by search engines. The search engines read the code and use it to display search results in a more dynamic way.

        • FAQs

          An SEO agency has experts in different areas of search engine optimization that may be out of the realm of your marketing team's abilities. SEO can be very complex and time-consuming. Furthermore, as search engine algorithms change it can be difficult to stay current on the latest ranking factors and strategies for improving online visibility. You will likely see a greater return on investment and better results from using a professional SEO agency than you would from tackling this on your own.

          As a digital marketing agency, SMA Marketing provides products and services in four areas: SEO, Local SEO, Digital Advertising, and Web Design

          We focus on building authentic, long-lasting relationships with our clients. We’re goal oriented and results driven and believe in doing good and making a difference in the world.

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4 Things to Consider Before Launching Your New Website Design

Ryan Shelley, CPBI

May 26, 2015

Your website is often the first place new leads will go to determine whether or not they want to do business with you. So what kind of first impression is your website giving? As an inbound marketing agency in Melbourne, FL we’ve helped a number of businesses launch their first website and even more improve their web design to help give them a great first impression. From custom web design to do-it-yourself website builder platforms these 4 concepts will help you create a website that reflects your business.

Thinking about a website redesign? Download your copy of our free website redesign project plan.

Your website and its design is more important that ever. No longer are websites just for businesses who do a lot of business online, but websites are now a driving factor for consumers in every industry . “60% of consumers start by visiting a search engine, then go to the retailer’s website, and ultimately, 88% made their final purchase in store.” – (retailingtoday.com) So let’s look at 4 things you need to consider before creating your new website design.

1. Strategize

This is the most important step in the web design process. This is where you look at your overall goals for your site. Think big picture. A great place to start is to look at where you are and project forward to where you want to be. Then work backwards from your end goal. Setting goals for your site will help keep the process focused. Ask yourself, why am I doing the redesign? or What do I want to accomplish with this new site? This is a great time to reflect on your business and how your website will show off and establish your brand. Lastly don’t forget about the user. Define your buyer persona and build the site for them! They are the ones using it anyways.

Create buyer personas for your business by downloading our free buyer persona template.

2. Plan

The next step is to take the strategy and add structure. This is where you begin to define timelines, architecture and content. You want to make sure you tie up any and all loose ends by creating checklists of action items. This will ensure things don’t slip through the cracks. Add everything you can think of. A few of the big ones we always make sure we add and are often easily overlooked are; SEO Factors, CMS options, 301 Redirects and CDN hosting. Plan every step as detailed as you can. We recommend you write it down, on paper. This is a great habit to get into because it forces your brain to take in the information in multiple ways.

3. The Design

Before creating the design, plan the design. Start with the layout. Get ideas from sites you like and believe will translate well with your visitors. Next create some mock ups. This is a great way to get a good idea of what the site will look like. As a local web design agency in Melbourne, FL we always create mock ups for our clients and have them review them to ensure they get the site they want. Next test colors. Make sure they don’t clash with the logo, yet give pop and movement to the site and draw users to the information we want them to interact with.

4. Optimize

Before you launch your new site make sure it is optimized and fully functioning. You want to check that the site is compatible on all web browsers. We use browsershots.org. Check your site for broken links and misspellings. If you’re not the best speller in the world, get some help! I have my wife edit most of my work. (I should have her edit all of it!) The last thing we do is check the on-page SEO. Everything gets checked; robots meta and txt, site maps, images, meta tags, content and mobile friendliness.

To help you out with on-page optimization, download our free SEO Checklist.

Let’s close this blog with a quick recap.  Strategize – think big picture. What are your goals with the new site? Plan – add structure to your goals. Design – create mock ups to get a feel for your new design before building. Optimize – make sure you’ve tied up any and all lose ends before launching. By using these 4 steps before launching your new website design you’ll give a great first impression to your buyer personas.

More on helpful articles on website design: 

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Ryan Shelley, CPBI

Ryan is passionate about helping companies make a more personal connection online with their customers and prospects. He is a regular contributor to Search Engine Land, the largest and most popular SEO news site on the web. His works have also been featured on the HubSpot Blog, Business2Community and by LinkedIn Marketing Solutions.

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